All of Me (12 page)

Bobby looked from
Stella to Nathan.  “I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

“We’re neighbors,”
Nathan snapped.  He cleared his throat and softened his tone.  “I’ve got some,
uh, neighborhood business to tell Stella.”  Nathan gently tugged on Stella’s
upper arm.  “So, if you’ll excuse us…”

Stella
half-followed him, was half-dragged, toward the front of the restaurant, out
the doors, and around the corner.  Once they’d gotten to a more secluded spot,
Nathan turned and cursed.  Loudly.  Hands on hips.

“What in the
hell
are you doing here with him?”

Stella reared
back.  “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.  I
said, what are you doing here with
him
?”

“Listen, I don’t
know where you get off being pissed at me!  Danny called me and invited me out
to dinner and the museum with him and his girlfriend!”  Stella pointed toward
the restaurant. “I show up here and there’s some guy named Bobby waiting to
meet me!  And then you and your
date
show up.  I don’t have any idea
what Danny is up to, but don’t you dare talk to me that way!”

Nathan steamed and
stewed and processed what she’d said until he calmed down enough to speak.  “I
am going to strangle him.  I am going to-“

Stella waved it
off.  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, get in line.”  She blew out a long, hard breath and
crossed her arms over her midsection.  “So what should we do?  Leave?  Bobby
seems like a nice guy and this isn’t his fault.  I’d hate to ditch him.”

Yeah, she threw
that last part in for fun.  And it
was
fun to watch Nathan’s Adam’s
Apple bob up and down and up and down.

He scoffed.  “I
wouldn’t get too chummy with good ole
Bobby.
  He’s got quite a
reputation around the station.”
   “Oh, good, cause I was gonna jump his bones as soon as we go back in!”

Nathan’s
expression darkened.

“And what about
your lovely
lady
?”  Stella stepped closer and went up on her tiptoes. 
She was nowhere near being able to confront him face to face, but it was the
best she could do.  “I can only guess what you see in her.  I guess she can
really handle all of your
issues
, huh?”  She sneered.  “I’ll just bet
you’re not too screwed up for
her
!”

Nathan grabbed her
and pulled her closer; kissing her so deeply she melted right into him. 
Stella’s arms snaked around his neck and moaned with pleasure when Nathan’s
hands found her lower back and pressed her farther into him.

He walked her
backwards until her butt hit the restaurant’s brick wall.  One of his hands
braced the wall next to her face and the other one gently gripped the back of
her head.  Ladylike decorum and her short-ish dress be damned, Stella lifted a
leg and curled it around the back of his leg.

He liked that.  A
lot.  Enough to growl in the back of his throat.  Nathan broke the kiss and
moved his lips to her neck.  He kissed and licked his way up to her earlobe,
nipping at it before whispering in her ear, “What have you done to me?  I don’t
understand...” 

Stella grabbed his
face and kissed him long and deeply.  He tasted like Altoids – the green ones,
not the red.  His lips were somehow firm
and
soft and she couldn’t get
enough of them.  She sucked them, bit them, and licked at them before plunging
her tongue into his warm, silky mouth. 

She’d kissed men. 
A handful between junior high and today.  They’d been nice kisses given by
generally nice guys and she’d really enjoyed most of them.  But
this
…
this
was something else. 
This
was primal and desperate and Stella couldn’t
get deep enough, hard enough, or close enough.

That is until he
slid one hand up from her hip over her ribcage and headed straight for her fake
boob. 

And – just like
that – the spell was broken.

Stella pulled away
and pushed at his biceps.  “No.  Please.  Stop.”  She twisted out of his
embrace and side stepped until she was a safe distance away.  She readjusted
her dress and patted her upswept hair checking the damage. 

She felt eyes
watching her and knew he was confused.  Stella was tempted to talk to him – it
was her instinct to get it all out. But it probably wasn’t a good idea to get
into a conversation about life, death, missing boobs, and damaged psyches in
the bushes of The Stony Lonesome while their respective dates were inside
wondering what “neighborhood business” Nathan and Stella were up to.

She approached
him.  All the while she adjusted his tie, shirt tails, and wiped the grass
clippings from his pants, Nathan’s eyes followed her every movement.  Stella
moved a hand up to smooth over his hair and he caught her by the wrist.  He
held her hair there, mid-air, while he stared into her eyes.  Searching. 

“I…” 

Stella waited
patiently for him to collect his thoughts and formulate his words, but nothing
more was said. 

She smiled up and
gently pulled her hand back.  “We have to go back in now.” 

Nathan nodded and
gestured for her to precede him. 

Chapter
Eleven

“You’re kidding
me.”  Bobby shook his head. “Your dad owned ‘C’s?’ We shopped there all the
time.  My grandparents lived over off Groveland.”

“My family still
owns it.” Stella threw a forkful of ice cubes into her wine glass and swished
it around.  “My sister and her husband run it now.”

“Wow.  Cool. 
Great.”  Bobby was nodding his stupid head up and down, staring at Stella’s
profile as she sipped her wine. 

When she looked
back at him, Bobby smiled.  No, ‘leered’ was definitely more like it.  “So
where did you go to high school?”

“St. Clarence.”

“Ah, a Catholic
girl, huh?”

“Born and bred. 
Didn’t do much good though.  My sisters and I all have mouths like sailors and
we eat meat on Fridays.”  While Bobby fake laughed his ass off, Stella stole a
quick glance at Nathan.

He knew what she
saw:  nothing.  A straight face.  Stoicism.  No emotion.

Because that’s how
he rolled.  Which was a really good thing, because if his face had betrayed his
insides, the whole restaurant would have run screaming for cover.

She looked back at
Bobby and Nathan almost upturned the table. 

Nathan jerked when
a bony hand squeezed his knee.  He looked to his right to find Nadia almost
purring next to his face.  “What made you finally agree to hang out?” She
leaned in closer, pressing her huge breasts into his bicep.  Nadia stuck out
her bottom lip in a fake pout.  “I’ve been trying to catch your attention for
years, Nathan.”

God, he wished he
could flirt with this woman and make Stella as crazy as she was making him. 
But Nathan had never flirted a day in his life.  He wouldn’t even know where to
begin. 

And he didn’t want
to do anything but stare at Stella across the table. 

Oh, and fantasize
about different sadistic ways he was going to murder Danny.

Nathan knew
everyone noticed him staring, but he couldn’t help it.  Stella was a natural
beauty – no makeup, fancy clothes, or jewelry needed.  But Nathan couldn’t deny
how amazing she looked in that tight little black dress and black heels, with
her hair pulled up, and dark makeup around her eyes.  She was wearing gold hoop
earrings, a gold charm necklace, and some gold bracelets that clinked when she
gesticulated  

She looked like an
Italian princess.  Or a gypsy. 

His
gypsy.

Unfortunately, his
gypsy was on a date with another man.  And watching her talk to him, smile at
him, and accidentally touch him now and again was enough to have Nathan
grinding his molars down to nubs.

“Are you related
to the cop Nina Ciaramitaro?  Over in Collinwood?” Bobby asked.

Stella nodded. 
“Yep, she’s one of my sisters.” 

“I thought my
cousin on the force told me one of her sisters married a Shaker Heights cop.”

Stella paused,
wine glass in hand. 

Danny leaned into
to their conversation.  “Is one of your sisters married to a cop, Stella?”

Stella finished
drinking before replacing her glass on the coaster.  “That was me.  But we
never got married.”  The table quieted down and a slight blush rose in Stella’s
cheeks.  She smiled stiffly and shrugged.  “Worked out for the best though.” 
Her forced laugh was like a knife in Nathan’s heart.  “Usually does, right?”

“It did for me,
that’s for sure,” Bobby said and everyone laughed. 

Well, everyone but
Nathan.  And Stella.  And Nadia, who was too busy trying to grab Nathan’s junk
under the table to be aware of anything going on.  The more she drank the
clumsier her grabs were, thank God.  Four chardonnays later, she was currently
caressing the table leg and that suited Nathan just fine.

Stella had dated a
Shaker Heights cop.  They were supposed to get married, but didn’t.  Whatever
happened, obviously Stella was still affected by it.  And that bastard Bobby
thought the Shaker Heights’ cop’s loss would be his gain.

Over my dead
body.

Nathan had never
been a jealous person.  He’d never cared enough to muster up the energy.  His
father had cheated on his mother over and over again; flaunting it in his mom’s
face all the while accusing her of being unfaithful and eventually killing her
in a jealous rage.  So Nathan knew not to take any relationship too seriously. 
Feelings were fleeting and love was for people west of the Cuyahoga.  Or at
least people not living in the projects or foster homes or a state run juvenile
center. 

But try telling
that to the ugly, green monster foaming at the mouth inside of him right now.

Nathan guzzled
down the rest of his iced tea and polished off the pitcher of water on the
table, but his mouth was still dry.  His mouth was dry, his palms were sweaty,
and his muscles were twitching.

I’m a hot,
fucking mess.

The lights
suddenly dimmed and the restaurant glowed with candlelight from the tables. 
Nathan stole a glance at Stella’s profile.  She was leaning in toward Bobby to
hear him over the discordant sounds of instruments tuning up. 

The candlelight
was not helping his situation.  At all.  It just made Stella look even more
beautiful.  She was radiant, as stupid as that sounded.  Stella tilted her head
back and laughed at something Bobby said and Nathan couldn’t stand another
second of it.

He stood so
abruptly his chair teetered.  “I need some air,” he announced to no one in
particular. 

Nathan wasn’t
outside two seconds before Nadia stumbled through the doors.  “Nate!  Nate!” 
Never mind he’d never been called ‘Nate’ in his life.  He couldn’t imagine
where she’d come up with that. 

Nadia giggled,
holding out a hand for him to grab.  When Nathan didn’t comply, she narrowed
her eyes and pointed at him, shaking her head.  “You bad boy.  You’ve been
playing hard to get all night.”  Nadia ran a fingertip down Nathan’s tie. 
“What do you say we get out of here?  Go back to my place?”

Both great
suggestions.  Nadia would be bummed when she realized Nathan wasn’t having a
slumber party at her place, but he’d deal with that when it happened.  For now,
he needed to get away.

When Nathan
nodded, Nadia’s eyes lit up and she made a beeline for her sweater and purse
inside.  Nathan trailed behind, coming to a sudden halt when he realized Stella
and Bobby weren’t at the table anymore.  He scanned the room and finally found
them.

On the dance
floor.  Together.

Bobby has his arm
around Stella’s waist and she had her arm around his neck.  Their hands were
clasped and their bodies, while a respectable distance apart, were still close
enough to make Nathan’s vision go fuzzy.  Bobby wasn’t a freakish giant like
Nathan, so his face wasn’t far from Stella’s as they rocked back and forth to
the music.

They looked like a
perfect couple.  A great fit.

Well, how
lovely for the two of them. 

It was for the
best.  Nathan was no good for Stella and she had been nothing but a wrecking
ball through his existence since he’d met her.  She belonged with someone like
Bobby – a normal, well-adjusted guy who could be everything she deserved. 

Nathan
had been fine before he’d met Stella and he’d survive her aftermath.  But he
wasn’t going to stand here and watch the happy couple laugh and whisper on the
dance floor.  Even a robot like Nathan had his limits.

He
stalked over to the table and grabbed his suit jacket.

“Wait,
where are you going?”  Danny walked over.  He looked around and lowered his
voice.  “Listen, I know you’re pissed at me and I don’t blame you.  Hopefully
you’ll let me explain later.  But stay.  We’re hanging out here a little while
longer here and then we’re heading over to the exhibit.”

Nathan
didn’t look around and he didn’t lower his voice.  “
Fuck.  You
.” 

“Come
on, Nathan-“

“You
wanted drama, but you should know me better than that, brother.”  Nathan smiled
wide and tight.  “I don’t give a fuck.  Never have and never will.”  He pulled
two $100 bills out of his wallet and tossed them on the table.  He pulled out a
third and handed it to Danny.  “This is for Stella. If I find out you let that
douchebag pay for her, I swear to God I will cause you pain.  Do you understand
me?” 

Danny
wisely chose not to ask any questions or point out the hypocrisy of Nathan
paying for Stella’s dinner when he’d just declared to ‘not give a fuck.’ 

Nathan
gestured for Nadia to precede him out of the restaurant.  Nathan left without
looking for or at Stella again.  He silently wished her luck and promised
himself that was it.  The few weird, wild times he’d had with her were over. 
It had been interesting and…different…for sure.  But it was over.  Done.