The Beautiful People (5 page)

“Come
on Nat. Something’s bothering you. What’s going on?”

Brittany and the
shooter girl walked out of the employee lounge then and she smirked at me. She
picked up on the tension between us and seemed pleased. Dominic saw the smirk
and scowled at Brittany. She laughed and walked away.

“What
did she say?”

I didn’t want to talk
about this, but didn’t want to leave it unresolved either. So I put as much
armor up around my heart as possible and answered him.

“I
overheard her talking about us and she said you’re a player. This whole thing
between us is just a conquest for you isn’t it?”

“No,
not at all! Brittany is a psycho. We dated…briefly, but it didn’t work out. She
is a little obsessive.” He seemed like he was being honest and I wanted to
believe him. But, then I thought about Grant’s warning and still wasn’t
convinced.

“Natalie,”
he continued, reaching for my hand, “I really like you and I swear this isn’t
just a thing. I enjoy hanging out with you.” I looked at him skeptically, but his
eyes were sincere. Knowing I might regret my decision later, I smiled and
squeezed his hand.

“I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t judge based on hearsay. It’s just, well, I’m not exactly like
a Crimson girl.”

“No
you’re not. You’re very different – you’re real.” He bent down and kissed me.
His lips were soft and tasted of mint from his gum. “Now, are you ready to go?”

“Where
are we going?

“Are
you hungry?”

At the mention of food
my stomach growled. It dawned on me that the only thing I had to eat was the
bowl of cereal. “I’m starving!”

He laughed at my
enthusiasm as we walked to his car. “You told me you like Chinese food. Are you
up for that?” At the mention of Chinese my stomach growled even louder, this
time he heard it. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He chuckled as he held the door
open for me.

We went to a small
restaurant in Chinatown and the hostess recognized Dominic.

“You
must like Chinese food too,” I commented as she led us to a table.

“My
parents took the family here all the time growing up. “

We were the only
customers, but being that it was three in the morning, I wasn’t surprised. As
we waited for our order I sipped on some tea. I didn’t need alcohol to talk to Dominic
anymore, conversation came naturally between us.

            “So, when
will your uncle make you manager of Crimson?”

            “I’m not
sure. It’s really up to Miranda, I guess.”

            “Why’s
that?”

            “She’s
Uncle Marco’s oldest so she gets preference.”

            “Wait, I
knew you were cousins, but Marco is Miranda’s dad?” I asked, shocked. There was
no way Marco could have fathered someone so beautiful. I examined Dominic more
closely and saw the family resemblance I never noticed before. He and Miranda
had the same eyes and black hair. Miranda was fair skinned though, where Dominic
had more of an olive complexion.

            “You seem
surprised.”

            “Yeah, I
am. I just thought Grant would have mentioned it.”

            “Those two
are good at keeping things private. I’m sure there’s a lot about Grant you
don’t know about.”

            “You’re
probably right. He’s always busy getting into my business so I’m usually too
annoyed to get into his!”

Once our entrees arrived,
we were too preoccupied feeding each other with chopsticks to talk. Sometimes
food slipped and would land on the table, or in my glass of water; which set us
off laughing.

It was almost five in
the morning when he pulled up in front of my apartment building. This time
there was a parking space and my brother’s Lexus was nowhere in sight. I didn’t
want the night to end, but I had class in four hours and had to get some sort
of nap in. I scooted over to kiss Dominic goodnight and he cupped my face in
his hands, pulling my lips to his. Reaching behind his head I grabbed onto his thick
hair. This wasn’t like a shy first kiss or like an ‘I’ve had too much to drink
kiss’ either. This was deeper, passionate and hungry. The same connection was
there too, I hadn’t imagined it last night. Dominic moved his lips down my neck
and kissed my collarbone and I moaned with pleasure.  His arms wrapped around
me and pulled me closer. I went willingly. My body was pressed to his and he
moved my jacket aside to slip his hand up under my blouse. I gasped when his
skin grazed against mine. His fingers were cold and sent shivers down by back. I
lifted his head up from my neck and kissed him hard. We were both breathing
heavy and I was getting to the point of no return.  It took all my willpower to
stop and pull back.

            “Oh my God
this is hard. I want you so badly Dominic, but I have class soon and I need to
get some sleep.”           

Dominic groaned in
frustration. I kissed him again, slower this time. “I’m sorry,” I said, pulling
away.

He twined his fingers
through mine. “I understand. But next time, I don’t know if I’ll be able to
stop.” He lifted my hand up and kissed the top.

            “Next
time?” I teased and raised an eyebrow.

            “What are
you doing tonight? It’s Monday so we don’t have to work.”

The promise of a normal
date with Dominic was too good to pass up, even if I had a ton of projects due
this week. “I’m not doing anything.”

            “You are
now! I’ll pick you up at 8.” With the plans set, he kissed me one more time and
then I trudged up the stairs to my apartment. I didn’t even make it to my
bedroom and passed out on the futon.

Chelsea shook me awake.
“Wake up Nat. You’re going to be late.”

I groaned and mumbled,
“Go away”. She continued to try to rouse me. “You’re persistent,” I growled at
her, but I was awake – barely. My eyes burned and it felt like the undersides
of my eyelids were made of sandpaper. I sat up and yawned and caught a whiff of
my breath - Chinese food morning breath, nothing worse. I rushed to the
bathroom and started brushing my teeth. Studying my reflection in the mirror, I
surveyed the damage. Dark circles had formed under my eyes; which were
bloodshot. Medusa had had better hair days than this - a ponytail would have to
suffice since there wasn’t time for a shower. I threw on a pair of jeans, a
sweater and my sneakers. I readjusted the ponytail, dropped some Visine in my eyes,
grabbed a diet coke out of the fridge and bolted to campus.

My 9:00 class was Art
History and in a large lecture hall. I knew the risk of getting caught sleeping
was minimal so, I was able to doze. Chelsea was in my next class and she kept
nudging me awake when she heard my breathing get deep.

The rest of the day
dragged by in a fog and by the time I got home at three, I was ready to fall
into a coma. Chelsea was dying to hear more about Dominic, but took pity upon
me when she saw haw badly my ass was dragging. Thankfully she sent me straight
to bed without any questions.

I was still exhausted
when my alarm went off at 6:30 leaving an hour and a half to work a miracle. Dominic
might run away screaming if he came to pick me up and I looked like an extra
from The Walking Dead. I had no idea what he had in store for our date and was
at a loss as to what to wear. Chelsea came to my rescue and started pulling
clothes out of my closet. After having me try on five different outfits and
trying my patience, we both decided on black, boot cut pants and a deep wine
red v-neck cashmere sweater. The pants paired with high heeled black leather
boots made my legs seem longer and the sweater hugged my curves in the right
places. The neckline actually made my boobs appear bigger. I never realized how
handy it was having a fashion design student as a roommate. Chelsea let me
borrow her black leather jacket to complete the ensemble.

            “Don’t do
anything I wouldn’t do in this,” she teased.

            “I don’t
even want to know what you’ve already done in this.”

Chelsea snorted out a
laugh and then left me alone to finish getting ready. I blew dry my hair until
it was straight and smooth. It hung in long, dark shiny plaits down to the
middle of my back. I found some lipstick, the same shade as my sweater, and
dabbed it on, but not too much as my lips were big enough. When I stepped out
of the bathroom, Chelsea whistled at me.

“You’re
hot!” I smiled at the compliment. For the first time, probably since Toby, I
felt sexy.

The intercom let out a
loud buzz announcing Dominic’s arrival. Chelsea, perched on the edge of the
couch, waited in anticipation. I probably made Dominic sound like a model in my
description of him. I opened the door as he was reaching the top of the stairs.
He had a dozen red roses in his hand. He stopped when he saw me and his eyes
lit up.

            “Wow! Have
I ever told you how gorgeous you are?” He appraised me up and down and I
dropped my head in embarrassment. He looked fabulous himself with dark blue
jeans, which hung just right on his hips, and a black shirt that was unbuttoned
at the neck. He too had a black leather jacket on. He handed me the roses and
kissed me. I stepped closer, deepening the kiss. Then Chelsea quietly giggled,
reminding me of her presence. I broke away and spun around.

            “Please come
in and meet my best friend.”

Chelsea sprung up from
the couch and shook Dominic’s hand. She was appraising him too, but I think she
appreciated his sense of style more than anything.

“Nice
to meet you, Chelsea.”

            “Me too.
I’ve heard a lot about you.” Chelsea smiled at me and winked. I shook my head
and blushed. Nice, Chels, very subtle.  Dominic and Chelsea chatted while I put
the roses in a vase. I set them on the breakfast bar and wished I had a more
suitable surface for the bouquet. We left my apartment and walked down the
block to Dominic’s Mustang. He held my hand and I appreciated the warmth.

“What
do you have planned for us tonight?”

            “I’m taking
you to the best Italian restaurant in the city,” he boasted.

            “Spaghetti
Warehouse?” I asked, completely deadpan, referring to the remodeled warehouse converted
to a restaurant which served all-you-can-eat spaghetti. He had the most
horrified expression on his face, like I suggested we commit a murder or
something. I couldn’t keep a straight face and busted up laughing. It took him
a few seconds to recover, but he soon joined in.

We drove to South
Philly again and he turned onto a small side street like any other street in
Philadelphia with brick row homes lining each side. One had a little sign
extended out by the front door. The street was dimly lit so I had to squint to
read it: Franco’s Ristorante. The restaurant was so non-descript I would have
passed by thinking it was just another house until Dominic opened the car door.
Scents of roasted garlic and other deliciousness assaulted my senses and my
mouth started watering. I inhaled the aromas deeply and Dominic smiled at me..

“Wait
until you taste it,” he said as he locked the Mustang.

He held the door for me
and I walked in through a small foyer. The aromas inside were so much stronger.
A girl, a little bit younger than me, was waiting at the hostess stand. Her
eyes lit up when she saw us. “Dominic!” she squealed and threw herself at him. Dominic
gave the girl a big bear hug and actually lifted her off the ground. He set her
down and laughed. She looked at me curiously.

 “Natalie,
this is my cousin Bianca. Bianca, this is Natalie.”

            “It’s nice
to meet you,” I smiled and held out my hand. She shook it enthusiastically. The
girl radiated enthusiasm. She spun around like a pixie and grabbed a couple
menus.

“The
usual table, D?” she asked as we followed her through a small dining area.

            “That’d be
great B,” he answered. Cute, D & B, I thought to myself. We entered what probably
would have been a living room at one time. There were several occupied tables
and a couple of people glanced up as we walked by, but most were absorbed in
their dinners. I couldn’t blame them, the food appeared delectable. We
proceeded through this room and Bianca led us through a set of double doors straight
into the kitchen. Pots and pans clanged, food sizzled on the stove by which an
older couple stood, arguing in Italian. The speech was so fast, I didn’t
recognize any words. The dining room was calm and the kitchen was chaos.

Ignoring the arguing
couple, Bianca sat us at a small dinette table in the corner by the brick oven.
After she got us situated she spun around and shouted, “Ma, Pa, will you shut
it for two seconds! Look who’s here.” The silence was deafening. Who would have
thought such a little thing had such a big voice? The woman dropped a spatula she
had been wielding like a weapon into a big pot of red sauce and, wiping her
hands on her stained apron, waltzed over to us. She was short and round and her
full cheeks were bright pink from steam. She opened her arms up and Dominic
walked into her hug.

“Dominic,
it’s so nice of you to stop in!” After their embrace she held him back at arm’s
length surveying him. She clucked and shook her head, “You’re too skinny Dominic.
Are you feeling well?” Dominic laughed and assured her he was just fine then he
introduced me.

 “Aunt
Gloria, this is Natalie Ross, my, um…my girlfriend.” I’m surprised my jaw
didn’t hit the floor. Girlfriend? I wasn’t ready for that, but didn’t correct
him. Instead, I recovered quickly enough and went to shake Gloria’s hand.

 “Oh,
please honey!” She cried and pulled me into a suffocating hug. Afterwards I
went through the same inspection as Dominic. I too was declared too skinny,
something I would never hear my mom say, and a loaf of fresh baked Italian
bread was brought over to the table. I was introduced to Uncle Franco after
Gloria had finished fussing over us. He brought over a bottle of red wine and
popped the cork, pouring us each a glass. Uncle Franco was tall and skinny,
with dark, olive skin. His soft brown eyes were kind, just like Bianca’s.

“Sorry
you had to hear us arguing, Natalie,” he apologized in a deep voice.

“It’s
alright.”

Even though they were
arguing, the atmosphere wasn’t tense. I could sense the love between Gloria and
Franco. After being raised by a single mom it was nice to bear witness to a
relationship like that. I bit into a piece of the Italian bread and practically
swooned. It was still warm from the brick oven and the crusty exterior melted
away to a moist, soft center. I would have been satisfied with just the bread
and wine all night, but didn’t dare suggest that to Gloria.

Franco fried up some
calamari and brought a heaping plate over. Dominic dipped a piece in the
marinara and popped it into my mouth. I had to close my eyes and savor the
moment. The golden batter was light and flaky and the marinara had a bit of
spice to it. I’d never had calamari like that before. Having an Italian God
feed it to me wasn’t too bad either. Dominic seemed entertained by my enjoyment
of the food. Then he handed me a menu to pick out the main course.  I couldn’t
make up my mind.

“What
do you recommend?” I asked Dominic.

“Everything,”
was his answer.  I had to play eenie meenie minie moe to pick my entrée and
landed on eggplant parmesan.

Gloria and Franco were
distracted making our dinners so I seized the opportunity to grill Dominic. I
found out that Gloria was his mother’s sister and Franco was the third Franco
to run the restaurant, Franco’s grandfather being the first - he was an Italian
immigrant right out off the boat from Sicily when he started serving meals out
of his house. Bianca was their youngest out of five children.

“She’s
cute,” I commented.

“Yeah,
she’s like a little sister to me. “

“I
can tell. She just adores you. That’s sweet.”

“She’s
a good kid and the same age as my brother, Johnny.” I leaned forward,
interested in learning more about Dom’s family. “As you can tell, Aunt Gloria
and Uncle Franco like to feed us, so I’d stop by after school for snacks with
my cousin Dante. All the kids still do.” Dom paused and took another bit of
calamari.

I took a sip of wine,
followed by a deep breath before addressing the elephant in the room. “Listen
Dom, I really like you, but girlfriend? I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

His
eyes met mine. “You’re not?”

“No.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been someone’s girlfriend and that didn’t end well.
We need to take it slow.”

He frowned slightly and
processed what I said. “It’s been awhile for me too. I’m not a relationship
kind of guy,” he admitted. “But, I feel differently about you. I’ll take it
slow with you, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re my girlfriend.” He said this
with a sort of possessiveness.

At first I thought he
was feeding me a line, but he didn’t break eye contact and seemed sincere
enough. “I think I can work with those terms.” Smiling, I reached my hand
across the table. He entwined his fingers with mine and caressed the side with
his thumb. We were interrupted by the sound of Aunt Gloria clearing her throat.
She had a steaming plate in each hand. We separated so she could set them down.
I caught her wink at Dominic before she turned and smiled at me approvingly. I
giggled, embarrassed.

From the first bite I
was in love and would never be able to eat eggplant parmesan from anywhere
else, ever again. I managed to eat half before surrendering. My pants were
going to split at the seams if I ate another bite. I sat back and watched Dominic
eat his lasagna. He too was engrossed in his food. After he finished his
serving he started to eye up my leftovers. I handed him my plate, unable to
look at it anymore and sipped my wine, enjoying watching him eat with such
fervor. Between the wine, my full stomach and the warmth from the brick oven,
my eyelids grew heavy and I really didn’t think it was possible to eat another
bite until Franco brought over the Tiramisu. I rallied and reached for a spoon,
savoring the sweet creamy goodness that slid down my throat. I could get used
to this, I thought to myself.

After the meal was done
we got up to say goodbye. I hugged Gloria and Franco and thanked them profusely
for the best meal of my life. They both beamed and said I was welcome anytime.
We walked through the restaurant, which had already closed. Bianca was bopping
around with her iPod clearing the tables. We waved goodbye and she waved back
without interrupting her groove. Dominic grabbed my hand as we walked outside
into the calm, chilly night. Before we got in the car I stood up on my toes and
kissed him.

“Thank
you for introducing me to some of your family…and their cooking!”

“You’re
very welcome. “

Eleven o’clock is past
bedtime for most people, but the night was still young for me and Dom. He drove
down to the Penn’s Landing River Rink and parked in the empty parking lot. The
ice skating rink was empty too, since it was after hours.