Chapter Thirteen

Doni drives us to a small café in town about thirty minutes away from school. The café has an outdoor dining area set inside a screened-in patio with a beautiful view of the lake. Doni parks the car and runs around the front until he reaches and opens my door like a perfect gentleman. A trait I am very unfamiliar with. He lightly places his hand on my lower back, guiding me to the entrance. Sade's "By Your Side" plays in the background.

My stomach releases a low rumble caused by the mouthwatering aroma in the air.

"You hungry?" Doni grins sweetly with a soft chuckle while he removes his hat. He runs his hands through his messy hair, still looking sexy as hell.

A woman approached us, holding two menus close to her chest. "Welcome to Caféze Bay. Is it just the two of you today?" Her eyes linger on Doni's face a little too long for my liking.

"Yes," he responds quickly, not paying her any attention.

The hostess frowns for a second and directs her attention to me. "Wonderful. Would you like to dine in or enjoy the beautiful weather on the patio?"

I glance over to Doni, waiting for him to respond, but he turns to me and asks, "What would you like to do, Shorty?" I will never get tired of hearing him utter the nickname he chose for me.

"Outside, if that's ok with you?" I ask him nervously, biting my thumbnail while looking around, knowing I'm out of place. It's a bad habit I can't seem to get rid of whenever I'm anxious. He makes me feel all giddy like a little kid. He chuckles and pulls my thumb from my mouth.

"We'll sit outside." His eyes never leave my face.

We follow the hostess to our table. The place reminds me of a botanical garden. There is a beautiful outdoor garden with a small inner courtyard.

"Josie will be serving you today. Enjoy your meal," the host says with a smile as she hands over the menus and strides away.

"So, you're still biting your nails?" Doni asks in amusement as I peek over the top of the menu.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say in a dismissive but playful tone before returning to the menu.

Holy sh… $12.50 for a cup of soup?

He leans forward and lowers the menu from my face, flaunting his perfect white teeth while displaying a full-size smile. "Yeah, you did." He laughs as he sits back. "Do you remember what happened when we watched Halloween?"

He laughs at the memory.

I love horror movies, but I like to watch them from between my fingers. He thought it was hilarious to wear a Michael Myers mask and scare the shit out of me. He never pulled that crap again after the bloody nose I gave him with my elbow.

Later that night, I stayed over since Dad had not been home for a few days. I didn't think Mom knew I would sleep over at Doni's. He waited until I was in bed when he started to bang on his bedroom window from the outside, and I flung off the bed like a slingshot. He was a sneaky little bastard back then.

"Yeah, I remember," I quietly say, keeping my eyes on him. His laugh fades but he replaces it with a soft smile, sending me an involuntary shudder.

The young server arrives to our table and takes our order.

"Hi! My name is Josie, and I will be your server. Can I offer you anything to drink?" she says in an energetic tone while holding the pen and pad. She gives us the rundown of the specials for the day before taking our orders. After she returns to our table with our drinks, the silence between Doni and me finally breaks.

"So" —clearing his throat— "tell me a little bit about yourself?" He takes a sip of his Coke, keeping his eyes on me.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Everything."

For the next few minutes, we talk about our lives and what happened during the eight-year gap. I place the straw into my lemon iced tea and take a sip as we both chuckle. "But if you're looking for something wild and crazy, Tia and I sat behind a cop's car when we went skinny dipping in the lake."

His bright blue ocean eyes widen with pride and excitement.

This tea is freaking delicious.

"In winter," I add. I was so scared of freezing to death, getting lost in the waves, or getting locked up.

"No shit. Skinny dipping, huh?" He shoots me a wink.

"Ha-ha. Of course, that's the only thing you got out of that, and not the part where we were in a cop's car." Shaking my head, I bite on the tip of my straw. Another bad habit of mine when I'm nervous.

His eyes lock on me, making me even more nervous, so I change the subject.

"This place is nice. You come here often?" I glance around the area.

He nods.

"A few times. I love being out by the water. The food's great too." He leans back in the chair, tapping the outside of his glass with his fingers and looking out at the lake.

I tilt my head to the side, nipping at my straw. "It's your turn."

"My turn...?" He turns to face me with a confused look.

"Tell me the craziest thing you've done."

"Oh." He chuckles and leans forward with his arms crossed on the table when he says, "It's nothing like your skinny-dipping escapade. Although, I wouldn't complain if you wanted to take another dip. I'll be there to keep you from drowning."

He grins.

I blush big time.

He pauses and concentrates on my face. His smile widens a fraction, showing off his perfect straight teeth. The anticipation is killing me. He's toying with me.

He laughs.

Oh God, I love that sexy deep sound.

"When I was fifteen, Ash and I blew up the principal's truck with Tannerite on a dare." He laughs at the memory as if he cannot believe it. "It was pretty fucking epic."

"Did you guys get caught?" He's laughing at my expression, my mouth wide open and my eyes probably bugging out.

"Nope." He leans back, takes another drink, and winks.

Doni tells me his mom is a fashion designer and the founder of Jacqueline Designs, and his stepfather is the founder of Du Pont Enterprises Investment Corporation. I'm not surprised about his mom. When we were

kids, she was always making clothes with her sewing machine. She even made a dress for me the summer before they left.

"Yeah, I guess. They do well for themselves." I notice how his eyes sparkled when he spoke about his parents, and how proud he is of them. He has always been humble, just like when we were kids.

The sound of his phone vibrating breaks my trance.

"Sorry." He pulls out his cell phone from his pocket and starts typing a response. When he sets it on the table, it goes off again. This time I glance over and see "Addy" on the screen.

"The girl with you at the restaurant, was she your girlfriend?" I regret the words the moment they come out of my mouth. The shocked look on his face makes me want to take it back, but deep down, I need to know. It's a reminder I need to drill into my head that we can never be more than friends. And that's not a bad thing. I carry a lot of baggage and secrets.

After a stretch of silence, he clears his throat and glances toward the water in deep thought, as if trying to figure out the best way to answer without hurting my feelings. It's what he always did when we were kids—always tried to protect me, but he doesn't need to anymore.

"Um, yeah. Kind of." He looks away and roughly clears his throat.

That should make me happy, but it doesn't.

Without looking at him, I stare at my soup and ask, "Kind of?"

He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "Fuck. I don't even know what we are. Addy and I started dating freshman year, but before this past summer..."

He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "Addy and I started dating since freshman year, but things between us became casual during our sophomore year."

"Casual?"

He shrugs. "I don't have the best track record, Shorty, when it comes to girls. Addy and I had an open relationship."

"You mean…you shared?"

"What! No. Fuck no." He laughs nervously. "I never share, I mean shared. It was nothing like that."

I try to mask my true feelings, but a wave of sadness hits me like a tsunami. He's been with God knows how many girls and I've only been with one guy.

While lost in my thoughts about Doni and other girls, he leans forward with both elbows on the table and angles his head, staring at me for a minute.

"What about you, Shorty?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Not anymore," I say too quickly. "I dated someone since freshman year too, but we broke up a few months ago."

Before he tried to kill me.

"Was he the one who hurt you?" There's venom in his tone.

"Unfortunately, yes, but he wasn't like that at first." I don't know why I'm defending Christian, but he wasn't all that bad in the beginning of our relationship.

Doni waits for me to continue.

"Christian was a good guy in the beginning. He was sweet, funny, and cared about me. But things changed last summer."

"What do you mean?"

I sigh. "He started dealing drugs, I didn't know until I walked in on him selling. That's when it all started."

I close my eyes because I really don't want to go into how badly he treated me.

"So, what happened?" he asks in a soft tone.

I look up at him and offer him a reassuring smile to show him I'm ok. "It started off with insults and later turned physical."

I close my eyes, wanting to erase the memory of him using my body as a punching bag for the first time.

"It's ok, Shorty. You don't have to tell me."

When I open my eyes, concern floods his expression.

"Yeah." I let out a breath. "I really want to tell you, but not today."

"Yeah, of course." He leans back and gives me a pinched smile.

The rest of the dinner goes surprisingly well. We continue with the small talk, getting to know each other again until our food arrives. Doni was adamant about me ordering whatever I wanted since he is buying. Suddenly, an overpriced cup of soup isn't a big deal. Doni ordered a club sandwich with French chips while I swallowed my cup of tomato basil soup with oyster crackers and half of a grilled cheese sandwich with baked chips. I wasn't starving, but the soup was freaking fantastic. It definitely beat the out-of-the-can type.

The overhead jazz music is like a sedative. I relish in the high then slowly feel a sense of calmness. The cool breeze gently rushes through my hair as the small tides in the water collide to the surface.

Josie returns to clear our table and leave the check. Doni pays the bill and leaves a very decent tip. I start to walk toward the café, but he stops me by gently grabbing my arm.

"Hey. Do you want to walk by the water?" Before I can respond, he adds, "Unless you have to be home at a certain time?" He pulls off his hat, running his hand through his hair, then slides it back on while patiently

waiting for a response. Even though there is somewhere else I need to be, I answer,

"Yeah, I'd like that." He smiles from ear to ear.

He takes my hand and leads me to the waterfront until we reach a bench facing the lake. The green leaves on the sugar maple trees surrounding the waterfront walkway have already begun to transform into a deep amber color. The first sign of fall. My favorite season.

"I always imagined what our reunion would be like." He pauses with a woeful sigh. Instead of answering him, I let him continue.

"This was definitely not how I wanted it to be." He turns to glance at me. "There is so much I want to tell you. So much I want to know about you, your life. All the moments I've missed." He faces the water, slightly leaning forward, interlocking his hands together between his legs.

I, too, wondered what our reunion would be like. So, I just sit and watch him intently. Savoring this moment of being with him. We lost so many years of memories we could've created, but maybe we can start over by restoring what we lost.

"I've missed you," he says in a quiet and ardent tone, "So goddam much. "Not a day went by that I didn't think of you, wondering if you were safe, taken care of, and…." He stops, hanging his head low. "When Mom told me that you were dead, my heart stopped beating. I couldn't breathe. I didn't sleep or eat. I was so lost without you." He leans back, resting his hands on his thighs. "That sounds fucked up, doesn't it?" He smirks, shaking his head and rubbing his hands up and down his thighs.

"No, it's not. I was going through my Doni withdrawals, whatever that means," I respond with a low chuckle. "

"You have to know, Shorty, that I felt your absence since I was nine years old. In everything I did and everywhere I went."

I'm at a loss of words. The things he says…what they do to my heart and soul.

We sit in silence until I find my words.

"We can't do anything about the past. All we can do is start over." Tia would be so proud of me for taking her advice to build the friendship we once lost. Even if part of me wants it to be more than friendship.

"I'd like that a lot." He smiles in approval.

"Shorty, I can handle whatever you throw at me. I know you said you weren't ready to talk about your past, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you. You'll never have to go through it again on your own." He promises, and I believe every word. Doni has always been my superhero. How can I reveal my darkest secrets without scaring him away? Growing up in a violent home to dating a guy with a violent temper.

This has never been his life.

I cannot drag him back into my nightmare.

He doesn't deserve that.

He deserves to be with someone without a dark past. He is too pure for the likes of me. Choosing my words carefully, I say, "Doni, a lot has happened, and I'm not ready to share those secrets with you yet. I can't—no, I won't drag you down with me. I want your friendship more than anything." I twist to the side to face him. "I missed you so much, and I am so, so happy to be able to sit here with you, but we come from two different worlds, and I'm not sure you're ready to accept mine."

Or if your world will accept me.

He looks at me with a sad expression and slides closer to me to cup my face. "I get that, but what you're forgetting is that I'm still a southside boy. I can and will protect you, Shorty. I'm not a scared little boy anymore. I'm not afraid to fight for you. Now that you're back in my life, there is no way

in hell I am letting you go. Not this time. Not while I still have a chance to do this right. I will do right by you, Shorty. You have my word." He leans his forehead against my forehead, and my heart flutters.

"Please don't ask me to stay away. Let me be there for you. I want to be there for you." He releases a soft sigh as his shoulders droop. "I want all your secrets. All your pain. All your hopes and dreams. Please let me back into your life."

My sweet blue-eyed angel. He can have my heart, mind, body, and soul. This boy completes me in ways I can't comprehend. I have to be smart about this. I will never forgive myself if something terrible happens to him because of my past and the current battle I'm facing to survive each day.

The constant annoying sound of a bee buzzing interrupts my thoughts. "Sorry, that's my phone." Tucking a strand of curls behind my ear, I reach for my cell phone.

An uneasy feeling stirs in me when I read the message on the screen.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Doni's concerned tone snaps me out of my daze.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just need to head home." I tuck my phone away in my purse.

"Hey, hey, hey," he coaxes softly while reaching for my wrist. "Are you sure you're ok? You seem spooked."

You bet your ass I am.

I can never get enough of the way he makes me feel whenever he touches my skin; his soft intimate voice relaxes my body, and I want to collapse into his embrace and his eyes. God, those eyes are hypnotizing.

"Oh, no. Everything's ok. I just have to get home."

He contemplates that for a second before he nods and follows me back into the café.

Before Christian came into my life, I was happy, even when Dad tortured me for years. I have had friends, a loving brother, a decent job with co-workers who cared about me, even Joaquín in his own sick twisted way.

Back then, Dad's fits of rage episodes were minimal—almost bearable. Then Christian came along and changed the rules of the game. He became my new tormentor. At first, he was sexy, sweet, and kind in a bad boy way. Then he became possessive, controlling, and jealous. Christian and I dated since freshman year in high school until he was arrested for beating me to a pulp, leaving me in a coma for seven days.

That was when I realized he finally broke me.