Plastic Hearts (16 page)

He walked closer to me. “I’ve never seen anything sexier than you in that jacket.” I blushed before reaching up to kiss him. We didn’t have Art class so most of the day would be spent apart. I was going to my much-hated medical classes while he was enjoying his other Art classes. Every day I spent with Dane increased my desire to follow my heart because I watched him follow his without reservations. I didn’t know if I’d ever act on my desires, but they were growing like a weed.

After a few minutes of kisses, I looked at the clock. “I have to get to class. Some hot guy had me wrapped up all night and I’m already running late.” I winked as I pulled my black ankle boots on over my jeans.

“Sorry, Gorgeous. Next time, I’m not letting you go,” he said with a sly grin on his face. He grabbed me for one more kiss.

“Is that a promise?” I asked, breathing heavier than normal. Within seconds, he was behind me, pressing against my back. I felt exactly what I did to him.

“You better be careful what you ask for,” he whispered, pushing against me one more time. “I may have to show you.” His voice was breathy and I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t aroused by what he was doing to me. I’d never been with someone so intense and didn’t realize how much it would turn me on.

I turned, trying my hardest to hide the blush on my face. I placed my finger over his lips. “Hold that thought. I have to go to class.” He eyes burned with desire as he turned to open the door for me. He certainly made things interesting and fun. I hoped it would stay that way when Gwen arrived on Saturday.

Gwen was in the city to meet her florist and we had made plans to have dinner. I was a little surprised when she suggested I bring Dane. I wanted them to meet, but I was nervous about it. If Gwen couldn’t accept him, there was no way my parents would accept him. I was happier than I had ever been in my life and I didn’t want anything to ruin it.

A knock at the door pulled me away from my thoughts. I didn’t even have to look to know who it was. As I opened the door, Dane pulled me in for a kiss with one hand while holding a carrier with two coffees in the other. He broke away long enough to whisper, “Good morning, Gorgeous”, against my lips before capturing them for one more kiss. If this was my future, I would be a very happy girl.

“Good morning. Thanks for the coffee,” I said, smiling up at him. I opened the door to let him in and watched as he took his usual seat on my bed. We hadn’t spent the night together since that one night; I think Dane knew that moving too fast scared me and had decided to give me my space. I appreciated how considerate he was, especially since I was pretty sure he was not used to being so patient. He continued to surprise me on a daily basis.

He watched me as I pulled my hair into a loose knot at the top of my head and applied makeup. I would have thought he’d be bored just watching me do this day after day, but he never complained. “Are you excited for Gwen to get here?”

“Yeah, I’m a little nervous though,” I said, honestly. We’d talked about this throughout the week. I told him my family was a little judgmental, but Gwen was the least evil of the three. If we could get through today, I would be one step closer to meshing my two lives. I never thought this was possible a month ago, but being with Dane changed me.

“Baby, it’ll be fine. I’ll be right there with you and I promise to be on my best behavior,” he said, taking a drink from his coffee cup.

I took a deep breath. “I know. You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“Quit saying that. I want to meet your family,” he said, grabbing my hand in his.

I sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Wouldn’t miss it, especially if it’s the only time I’m going to see you this weekend.” He gave me a quick kiss. “You should come over on Sunday. I’ll cook you dinner.”

“You cook?” I raised an eyebrow.

“For you, Gorgeous, I can do anything.” How did this guy always know what to say? He could melt a thousand hearts with his words and he didn’t even realize it.

“Sounds like a plan. No hot dogs or macaroni and cheese, though.” He laughed.

“Don’t worry, you are worth at least a hamburger,” he winked. I replied by tickling him on both his sides until he was laughing uncontrollably. I knew from previous experience that this would drive him mad and he would be begging me to stop. It worked. “Okay, okay, steak? Pork chops? You name it, Baby, and it’s yours.” Yep, I had Dane Wright wrapped around my finger.

Dane left right after coffee to run a few errands and I went to the library to get a few hours of studying in before Gwen arrived. I had a hard time concentrating on my notes because I couldn’t stop thinking about tonight and how everything would play out. Would Gwen like Dane? Would she see what I saw in him? What if she hated him and ran right to Mom? I prayed she would see him through my eyes and give him the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully she would see how happy I was and give him credit for his part in that.

I finally gave up on my attempt to get some studying in and walked back to my dorm. It wouldn’t be much longer until Gwen was here. When I opened the door to our room, Jade was standing there in a tight black cocktail dress and four inch heels. “Wow, Jade, where are you guys going tonight?”

I invited Jade to have dinner with us, but she had said she had plans. I didn’t press her, but I thought her and Tyler were getting kind of serious. She seemed happy, but guarded, and I hoped he had good intentions. I didn’t want to see her heart broken.

She looked at me, a huge smile pulling at both sides of her mouth. “Tyler’s company is throwing a cocktail party at Keen tonight to celebrate the completion of a big project. He should be here any minute.” She was absolutely beaming and I knew that look; I’d seen it in the mirror numerous times over the past few weeks.

There was a soft knock at the door. Jade moved as fast as she could in her killer heels to open it, only to find Gwen standing there. The two had met before and while they got along, I doubted they would ever hit friend status; they were two very different people. “A little happy to see me, Jade?”

“Sorry, Gwen, I thought you were someone else.”

Gwen completely ignored Jade, walking past her to give me a big hug. “I missed you, Alexandra. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“Doesn’t absence make the heart grow fonder or some weird crap like that?” Jade piped in from across the room.

I gave her a warning look before turning back to Gwen. She was a little shorter than me, but had the same shade of blonde hair that she kept shoulder length and pin straight. She wore black dress pants with a crisp, light blue button down. In some ways, she looked older than she was; more mature, actually. “I missed you, too. Are you ready to head to dinner? Dane is going to meet us there.”

“God, yes. I have been waiting for this all week,” Gwen said enthusiastically.

Jade stared at us from across the room and an awkward silence fell over all of us. Tyler couldn’t get here soon enough. I could deal with Jade and I could deal with Gwen, but the two of them together was almost too much for me.

Jade grabbed her long black coat and glanced at her phone. “Tyler should be here any minute. I’m going to go wait downstairs so he doesn’t have to come all the way up here to get me. Gwen, it was nice to see you again. You girls have a good night and don’t wait up for me.” She winked before disappearing through the door.

Gwen stood there with a confused look on her face. “Won’t she be cold in that dress? It’s freezing outside.”

I rolled my eyes. “Believe it or not that type of outfit’s pretty standard, even this time of year.”

“Hmmm” was all she said in reply before we left to head to restaurant. It was a cold night and snow had just begun to fall. I was happy I was able to dress in a sweater and jeans with a warm beanie covering the top of my head and my favorite white mittens. Something about this weather combined with the lightness in my heart put an extra bounce in my step. Gwen looked at me and laughed; she may be a little prudish at times, but she had this other side that only I saw. She needed someone to bring it out of her.

“So how are you and Dane?” she asked, tucking her hands into the pockets of her tan pea coat.

“Really good. I can’t wait for you to meet him.” Just talking about him made me smile.

“Oh my God, you’re in love.” Her eyes were huge as she waited for my response.

“No, I’m not,” I said, blushing.

She hugged me. “Oh, Alexandra, you are. I can see it in your eyes.”

“Being in love scares me. I don’t know if I can handle it,” I said honestly. I thought about all the ways I had changed recently and how my heart changed pace when I talked to, or looked at, Dane. Just thinking about him made my pulse pick up. But I wasn’t ready to admit to the “L” word, much less say it.

When I saw Dane standing on the street in front of the café we had agreed to meet at for dinner, I jumped into his arms and wasted no time finding his lips with mine. Any hour spent away from him was too much and I hadn’t seen him since this morning.

After we finished our greeting, he started to run his fingers over a loose strand of hair that had fallen across my forehead. “Did someone miss me?”

I tapped his nose with my index finger. “Just a little. Come on, I want you to meet Gwen.”

I had left Gwen standing a few feet away when I ran to greet Dane. She looked a little uncomfortable seeing this affectionate side of me. She offered a small wave as we approached her. “Hi, I’m Gwen.”

Dane extended his hand to her. “I’m Dane. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She accepted his hand. “All good I hope.”

He laughed. “Of course.”

“Why don’t we go inside? It’s freezing out here,” I said as the cold wind blew in my face. It was particularly unpleasant today.

“Good call,” Dane said, throwing an arm around my shoulder.

As we took our seats and ordered, I stole glances at both Gwen and Dane. Gwen was quite literally staring at Dane and he was oblivious because his eyes were glued on me. He removed his leather jacket, revealing his long-sleeve grey t-shirt, with sleeves rolled up to his elbows showcasing his tattoos. I didn’t even notice them, but Gwen couldn’t seem to stop staring.

I cleared my throat, hoping to gain her attention. She lifted her eyes to mine and then looked over at Dane. “So, Dane, did you grow up in the city?”

“Yep, I have lived here all my life and I don’t ever see myself moving away.” He glanced at me and the side of his mouth turned up. We had talked about our mutual love for the city and our desire to stay here forever a few times since we had been together.

“That’s cool. What are you going to school for?”

“Art. I do sculptures and sell them at local shows,” he replied.

“Do you make a lot of money doing that?” I glared at her in an attempt to send a warning signal; she caught my eye and quickly worked to fix her mistake. “I mean, it must be expensive to live in the city.”

He shrugged, “I do alright. I wish I didn’t have to work tonight so I could hang out with you ladies longer,” he said sticking out his lower lip. I loved his attempt at a subject change.

“Where do you work?” Gwen asked. So I guess we weren’t done with the personal stuff.

“Loft 10. I’m a bartender.” Her eyes shot to me and I knew what she was thinking; our parents were going to hate this guy. I couldn’t wait for the one hundred questions that would come my way once we left this place.

The rest of lunch went pretty much the same way. Gwen’s inquiring mind kept working and I kept trying to change the subject. I didn’t mind her curiosity, but at times I felt like she was judging Dane and, in turn, judging me. At one point she got up to use the restroom and Dane leaned into me, kissing me below the ear. “I think I’m under investigation,” he whispered.

I turned to face him, planting a quick kiss on his lips. “She is just watching out for me.”

“Does she do this with all your boyfriends?” he asked.

“No. You’re the first boyfriend I’ve had that she didn’t know for years before we started dating.” I saw her coming out of the bathroom and placed one more kiss on his lips before returning my attention to my food.