Page 6 of Just Once

Because all of a sudden, as I’m stopping to catch my breath, I realize that I’ve jogged all the way to Dante’s neighborhood.

“Shit,” I pant. I can see his house a little further up the block. I look around, panicking that he’s somewhere around here. Am I really panicking, though? Or am I actually hoping to see him?

“Angel?”

I spin around and am slammed with mixed emotions as I see Dante approach.

He’s just as hot as he was last night, although his bare chest isn’t exposed this time. Now, he’s in a sweatshirt and pants. And instead of holding a pipe, he’s holding a dog leash.

“Hi,” I say. “I…um…I was just out on a jog.”

“I can see that,” he says. As he comes closer, the dog he’s walking—a really cute mutt—strains against the leash to sniff my hand. I stroke his soft head.

“Hi there,” I say to the dog. “What’s your name?”

“This is Shep,” says Dante. “He’s not actually mine. I’m just dog-sitting.”

“We’ll, he’s cute.”

Dante doesn’t say anything. I straighten up.

“You can’t do this, Angel,” Dante says.

“I didn’t come here on purpose. It was an accident. I swear.”

He studies me for a second, then nods. “Well, try not to make the same mistake again.”

“I won’t.”

I expect him to walk away then. But he doesn’t. We just keep standing there, looking at each other.

Finally, running a hand through his hair, Dante says, “Fuck. This is ridiculous.”

Um…is he waiting for me to leave? I look at him questioningly. He shakes his head in frustration.

“Let’s just get it out of our systems,” he says.

“What are you saying?” I ask.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Angel. You’re driving me absolutely crazy.”

My chest warms. “I’ve been thinking about you constantly, too.”

“Let’s stop imagining what it would be like, then.”

“But what about my dad? And—”

“Don’t talk about your dad,” grunts Dante. “He’ll never find out about this. Okay? We’re going to fuck one time. We’re going to get it out of our systems. And then we’ll both move on with our lives.”

My heart starts beating like crazy. “When? Right now?”

“Yes. Right now.”

“In your house?”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Unless you have someplace else in mind?”

“No. Um. Your house is good.” I look down at the sweat stain on my shirt, then back up at him. “I’m really gross right now, though.”