Crossing kingdoms las ve.., p.23
Crossing Kingdoms--Las Vegas, page 23
“I will respect whatever decision you make. But I need you to know I love you. I want you. I want us. And I hope you choose us. I get that you have a lot to sort through with Dante, but please remember this.” His kiss this time was gentle, inviting, drawing her in for more, yet full of restraint. Lips barely apart, he surprised her by spinning her under their clasped hands, dropping her into a dip, and kissing her emphatically on her forehead.
Beth laughed as she was maneuvered across her living room, finally ending back in the kitchen. With a gentle nudge, Brock playfully demanded, “Now go finish my dinner, woman!” She landed by the counter and skillfully whipped around, throwing a mango, and hitting him square in the chest, taking his breath away once again. Brock stumbled backwards in surprise, catching the mango, and flopping down on the couch chuckling in amusement.
Dinner was enjoyed with more laughter and relaxed talking. Beth had decided not to share the play list she’d made for him as it no longer felt right, but after dessert she gave him his gift – tickets to an upcoming Vegas Golden Knights home game. He was thrilled with the gift and told Beth he could only accept them if she came with him. At least he would get one more night with her this way, if she ended up choosing Dante.
“It’s a date,” she agreed with a grin.
They finished the night watching a movie in the den, hands intertwined and snuggled close under a blanket. Beth fell asleep curled against Brock. He carefully shifted so he could bring his legs up onto the couch too, and relaxed into the bliss of her soft, warm body melting into him. He knew he couldn’t stay the night, but he was going to enjoy this for as long as he could.
It was shortly after midnight when Beth woke up. Brock had put a second movie on trying to stay awake, though he was more captivated watching Beth sleep; her flickering eyelids, the rise and fall of each breath, the outline of her facial features in the dim light of the room. He had been softly stroking her hair, sliding it away from her shoulder which revealed her heartbeat gently pulsing in her neck. He really had fallen in love with her. That’s what he was thinking about when she opened her eyes. Beth was startled to find herself waking up in Brock’s arms, with him smiling at her. She felt embarrassed, for so many reasons.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I fell asleep! And on your birthday!” She went to get up, but Brock tightened his arms around her.
“This was an awesome way to end my birthday!” Smiling as he saw her blush, he kissed her forehead, whispered, “thank you,” and let her go.
Beth went to the bathroom to wake herself up with a cold cloth before driving Brock home. He didn’t live far but she didn’t want him walking. Pulling into his driveway, Beth said, “I’m sorry tonight didn’t go quite how I planned. I hope it was still a good birthday for you.”
“I got to spend it with you,” Brock smiled sincerely. “I wouldn’t want anything else.” He leaned over and kissed her gently. “Goodnight, Beth. See you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight. Happy birthday,” she sweetly replied, watching him walk away and feeling the anxiety resurface about her predicament.
BROCK WAS WAITING FOR Beth at the usual spot he would meet her and her family, near the back door at church the next morning. Beth’s family would be home later that evening, so she was on her own at church. Hugging, they walked hand in hand to her usual pew, fourth row from the front on the right-hand side of the chapel.
“I’ll join you after sacrament, if you want,” Brock offered. Beth nodded as he went to the front of the chapel to prepare the bread and water, and to officiate the ordinance of the sacrament.
She was peacefully reading from the hymn book when she heard a commotion behind her. Beth didn’t need to turn around to know what was happening. The look on Brock’s face said enough; Dante had come into the chapel. Exclaims of surprise were followed with enthusiastic affirmations of how happy they were to see him and welcoming him back. Most people had stopped asking Beth about him after he had been gone for over a month. Staring straight ahead at Brock, Beth’s heart pounded within her. She hadn’t thought about Dante coming to church and what that would be like. How was she supposed to deal with this?
Brock saw the worry, almost fear, in Beth’s eyes as she stared at him. They both knew Dante would come sit with her; he always sat with her family at church, until he disappeared for months. Then sometimes Brock sat with her, or she joined his family. Brock tried to give a reassuring smile and mouthed the words, “It’s ok,” as it became clear he would not be joining Beth after the sacrament. They both nodded as Brock finished his preparations and sat at the sacrament table.
“Good morning, Beth. You look beautiful,” Dante smiled as he sat beside her on the pew. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Beth had her hair braided, leaving a few soft golden curls dangling beside her face. She was wearing a deep blue blouse with cream-colored flowers, the long sleeves flaring out at her wrists, and a knee length cream skirt that flowed over the bench around her.
“Hi, Dante,” she quietly replied with a small smile, awkwardly tucking the fabric of her skirt under her legs as though it might provide some sense of security for her like a cocoon. She was extremely relieved when the bishop stood right then to start the meeting, making it so they wouldn’t have to talk to each other. She wasn’t ready for that.
Beth could feel a cold sweat building as time passed, Dante’s presence overpowering her concentration. She couldn’t believe Dante was sitting next to her, close enough their arms brushed, and Brock was right in front of them looking out from the sacrament table. When it came time to sing, Dante shared her hymn book and gently rested his fingers over hers along the spine of the book. She closed her eyes at one point; it felt so good to feel his touch and hear him sing beside her.
During the quiet of the sacrament, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her legs and pleaded a silent prayer asking God what she should do. Almost as natural as it had always been, Dante reached over and began gently rubbing her back. Although his touch felt incredible, she immediately sat up to stop him, and gave him a look as though to say, “not here.” He responded with an innocent raise of his eyebrows.
“What?” he whispered, leaving his arm resting on the pew behind her.
Beth shook her head in frustration and sat with her arms crossed the rest of the meeting, hoping he would pick up on her body language. She wanted to shake him. If he thinks we are going back to how things were with no explanation, he’s going to get a piece of my mind – a big, loud piece! She fumed inside. Oh, how he infuriated her! Brock had noticed Beth’s body language toward Dante and felt huge relief, but he could also tell Dante wasn’t giving up on her.
Sunday school class was quite the awkward situation. Brock got to the class first; Beth had gone to the bathroom immediately after sacrament meeting, and then joined him. Dante had been caught up talking to people and came in a few minutes late, sitting down on the other side of Beth.
“Awkward,” one of the other classmates sang under his breath, with a ripple of snickers spreading through the class.
“Welcome back, Dante,” the teacher said, trying to quelch the laughter, then moved on with the lesson.
Beth was extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed. Thankfully, neither Dante or Brock tried to hold her hand or put their arm around her. Although both stayed close to her as their friends gathered to socialize after church. Dante had the advantage of getting alone time with Beth because he didn’t have family rushing him to go home.
Clearly Brock didn’t want to leave them together; Beth smiled at him, promising to call him later. Mildly reassured, Brock gave Beth a lingering hug goodbye, making direct eye contact with Dante, who was staring back with a cocky raised eyebrow.
Once the group had dispersed, leaving Dante and Beth were alone, Dante tenderly rubbed her arm. “Will you come over so we can talk?” he asked.
Beth felt nervous and relieved at the prospect of getting answers. “Ok,” she nodded. “Let me go home and change and get some lunch first.”
Not wanting to take the chance of her changing her mind, Dante suggested, “I can make you lunch.”
Considering the offer, Beth finally agreed and said she would meet him there. Her family wouldn’t be home until later that evening, and she wanted to be able to leave on her own terms, if it came to that, rather than relying on Dante or her parents to drive her home.
CHAPTER 30
Walking into Dante’s condo with him flooded her with emotions and memories. She stood in the entryway looking around. Nothing had changed; yet everything had changed. With his hand on her lower back, Dante guided Beth to the couch. “Please try and relax.” He could sense her tension.
Curled up at the end of the couch, draping a small blanket over her bare legs, she quietly watched Dante make some sandwiches for them. He joined her on the couch, sitting close enough for them to touch, but not as close as they used to be. They ate in silence, looking at each other and trying to decipher what the other was feeling and thinking. Beth only ate half of her sandwich; her stomach was too tense to eat. She quietly waited for Dante to finish.
Looking at her for a bit, and with a deep breath, he rhetorically asked, “Where to start?”
“From the beginning,” Beth responded a bit more harshly than intended.
Dante told her how he had been woken early that fateful Sunday morning and found Tanis at his door. He explained that his mom and dad had met through an organization while his mom was a young escort, but they ended up becoming partners and falling in love. When they discovered Ella was pregnant, they had to break up because of the danger of the work.
“Wait,” Beth interrupted. “What kind of organization and work? What kind of danger?” She sounded skeptical and concerned.
“I can’t tell you,” Dante hesitated. He knew this part would make her mad.
“What? Why not?” she demanded.
“Well, honestly, because it’s too dangerous and I’m not allowed.”
“Oh, come on Dante! What is going on?” She was starting to get agitated.
Dante took her hands and stared deep into her eyes. “Beth, I can’t tell you everything. I really can’t. But I swear to you, what I will tell you is all truth. Please, I need you to trust me,” he pleaded.
“I did trust you!” she yelled, tears filling her eyes. “And then you disappeared! For months! With no explanation, only cryptic texts.” She pulled her hands away to wipe at her tears in frustration. Dante got up to get her a tissue, then knelt on the ground in front of her, resting his arms on her lap, waiting. “Why did you leave, Dante?” she whispered.
With tears in his eyes, he explained, “It had to do with my mom’s death. That is the only reason I agreed. Beth, you are everything to me! I love you. I’m so sorry!” he dropped his face into his hands on her lap and let his tears flow. She stroked his head, unsure what to say. “I’m so sorry I hurt you,” he cried, lifting his eyes to meet hers; both had tears streaming down their cheeks.
She tenderly brushed his hair off his forehead, uncovering the new scar that she’d noticed in the grocery store the day before. The feel of her soft finger caressing his scar made him close his eyes as he remembered the night he got it, after she texted him that she was on a date; likely with Brock, he realized. Then the image of seeing Beth and Brock kissing in her living room last night filled him with rage.
Pushing himself up to stand, he startled Beth as he growled, “Ugh!” and paced the living room.
“What’s wrong, Dante?” Beth was shaken by his outburst.
Stopping, he said with his back still to her, “I got this scar the night you texted me that you were on a date.”
“Oh,” she felt awful. She hadn’t really been on a date at the time and had only texted that out of hurt feelings. “Dante, I ...”
“No, Beth,” he turned back to her. “You can tell me about you and Brock later. I need to finish this.” Taking a breath, she waited for him to continue. Trying to gather his thoughts, he finally sat beside her and blurted, “I think my mom was murdered.”
Beth let out a gasp of horror. “What?!”
Nodding slowly, Dante continued, “This organization they were a part of – my mom and dad – deals with some really shady people and situations. The organization actually does a lot of good, but in order to do that, those involved have to live a life of secrecy. Beth,” he looked at her with such pain in his eyes, “my mom hadn’t actually worked as a real escort for years. Years! It was all a cover.” Even saying it out loud now was still hard for Dante to believe.
“A cover for what?” she asked, still confused.
“I can’t tell you,” he sighed. “I wish I could. I just can’t.”
“So, let me get this straight. You disappeared for months because of some secret organization that does good but is so dangerous its people have to live secret lives. And you think your mom was killed because of it?”
He knew it sounded crazy; it was crazy! “Yes,” he said weakly.
“And have you joined this organization?” she demanded.
“Well, it’s complicated,” he started to say, which made Beth roll her eyes in annoyance. “At first, I only agreed to go with Tanis to find out more about my parents. But when I got there ...”
“Where? Got where? Where were you?” she interrupted again.
“I don’t know, exactly. Tanis took me on a helicopter to some massive estate that is a training facility.”
Beth was shaking her head. This was unbelievable, yet she could sense he was telling the truth.
“When I got there,” Dante continued, “and learned more about it, and after getting over my own shock, I had some experiences where I knew I should be a part of this. I’m not deeply involved, but the small part I am doing required extensive training. That’s what I’ve been doing all this time – training. And missing you. I missed you so much,” he added with profound sincerity. “Beth, I know God wants me to do this. I know it with every cell in my body.”
“Why, Dante? Why would God want you to be a part of something so dangerous and shady?”
“Because it’s important, Beth. It’s really important.” He knew he couldn’t say more, so he waited.
“So, what does this mean? Are you going back? Are you moving? Dropping out of school? Are you in danger?” She had so many questions as her mind struggled to grasp this warped situation.
“No, I’m not moving or dropping out of school. They made me keep up with my studies as part of my training. I’m coming back to school tomorrow.” He watched her as that sank in. “And I may need to go back to the facility occasionally, but for a maximum of a week or two. Nothing like I just did. And the biggest danger,” he paused, “is losing you. I hated not being able to contact you. But they had me totally unplugged except for the two times they gave me a cell to text you. And they insisted I only send something generic in case it could be traced.”
Taking a deep breath, he switched gears. “Which brings us to your turn; and your date,” he didn’t hide his displeasure at that. “Tell me about you and Brock. How serious are you and what are my chances? I won’t lie; I want you back, Beth.”
Flooded with the yearning to wrap her arms around him and feel the warmth of his lips again, she opted to rub her face with her hands and take some deep breaths. She felt so conflicted. “You broke my heart, Dante,” she finally began. “I was devastated and felt lost for so long. And then I got angry; so angry!” She stared at him for a moment before continuing; he remained silent. “But I was still waiting for you. I went on group dates, but I wasn’t dating anyone specific, not even Brock. Just having fun and trying to keep my mind off you. Brock had been so kind to me. He never pressured me to go out with him. He was just my friend. But we got close, as friends,” she emphasized.
“Then one night a group of us were having a movie night at his house when I got your second text. It caught me so off guard, I had to go outside so I didn’t lose it in front of everyone. Brock followed me out to make sure I was ok. I told him you had texted me but were still not giving me any idea where you were or when, or if, you were coming home. I was so angry at you.”
Tears filled her eyes again. “So, in my frustration, I replied to prove you wouldn’t even see it. I just typed saying I was on a date without really thinking. I didn’t think you would see it! But you did. And then you just typed a pathetic ‘OK’.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Slowly, Dante repeated, “So, you weren’t really on a date?”
She shook her head, “No.”
“Oh man!” Dante couldn’t believe it as he recalled the fight he got into after seeing her text.
He was about to tell her what had happened to him, when she quietly added, “But that is the night we got together.” They both sat in silence, remembering that night and how it had changed their lives.
Dante was furious with himself. If he hadn’t sent that text that night, he wouldn’t have pushed Beth into Brock’s arms. And he wouldn’t have had the crap beaten out of him, which would have allowed him to come home sooner, instead of his extended recovery. “Do you love him?” Dante asked, bracing himself for the impact of her answer.
“I care about him a lot,” she admitted but couldn’t bring herself to describe it as love.
“Do you still want to be with him?”
“Yes,” Beth answered slowly.
That one hurt him deeply. “Do you still love me?” he continued tentatively.
“Yes, Dante. I never stopped loving you. Yes,” she whispered her conflicted confession. “I don’t know what to do.”
Their eyes became an overpowering conduit, both feeling the energy pulling them together. Dante made the first move, gently stroking her cheek. Closing her eyes at his touch, she reached up placing her hand on his, holding it against her face. That was enough for Dante. Sliding his hand around the back of her neck, under her long, mango scented hair, he pulled her to him. What they had both ached to do for months was now their passionate reality. It felt incredible to be in each other’s arms again, sharing the fierce softness of their lips.
