Chapter Eighteen
.:Lover Boy:.

With an aggravated sigh Nadia began to sift through the lavish array of clothing that her walk-in closet contained for a third time, but decided against a fourth round before she could reach the other end to start again. She had already picked out seven outfits which were now lying haphazardly on top of her plain bedspread.

“I’m turning into Kylie,” she muttered to herself with a groan, running her hands over her face and through her hair.

She turned toward the freestanding mirror situated in the far corner of her room and stared at her reflection. She took several steps toward it and stopped within a few feet. From the short distance where she stood, she could see that there were bags under her eyes, small bruises that looked like little smudges over her cheeks, while her lips were chapped and dry.

Yet Dean had still made out with her…

Was he insane? She looked like hell frozen over.

Within a few strides Nadia made her way over to her vanity table where she found her foundation in the top drawer and began liberally applying it under her eyes and on the bruises. Adding the finishing touches, she moved for her lip gloss when the phone by her bedside began to ring. She gave the phone a curious glance before she tossed the tube of lip gloss back into the drawer, pushed it closed, and picked up the receiver.

“Hello,” she answered, afterward regretting the subtle irritated tone she had used.

“Is he still there?” a male voice asked hesitantly.

Nadia couldn’t help but laugh. “No, Blake, he’s not. But he will be here soon,” she added after checking the digital clock on her bedside table.

He let go of a sigh of relief which she heard through the receiver.

“Do we have enough time to discuss that little deal of ours?”

She walked back over to her vanity where she picked up her brush with her free hand and began to run it through her hair, detangling the fine, silky strands. “That depends on how fast you can get here.”

“Here.”

“You’re joking,” she replied in disbelief. She dropped the brush on the table with a ‘thud’ and jumped onto her bed, rumpling the clothes she had laid out in the process, in an effort to reach her window in the shortest time possible. She slid off the mattress and walked dead ahead, roughly shoving her drapes aside in order to peer through the pane of glass.

Sure enough, Blake was outside, cell phone to his ear, as he leaned casually against his car staring up at her. He smiled when his gaze met hers and blew her a kiss from two stories down.

“Mind if I pay you a little visit?”

Nadia shook her head, still not quite letting herself believe that he was really, truly there.

“I’ll be right down.”

. X . x . X . x . X .

Dean pulled off the fifth shirt he had tried on in less than ten minutes only to slip back on the first one. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and pulled it off again.

There was a soft knock on the door before it was pushed in and Kylie appeared in the doorway. “Hey,” she greeted quietly.

He could see her reflection in his mirror peaking out from behind his own. Her light brown hair was unbound for once, allowing loose curls to frame her oval face and fall over her hunched shoulders. Her eyes, normally bright and full of life, were dark as she nervously rung her hands in front of her.

“Hey, sis,” he returned.

“Mind if I come in?” she asked tentatively, taking a small step forward, then, when he didn’t reply right away, took a larger step back.

“Nope,” he finally answered as he pulled out a new shirt from his closet, one that was soon to join the others on the ground.

Kylie allowed herself to enter the room, once the permission was granted, where she took a seat on the edge of his bed, staring up at him. She let her gaze fall to the floor momentarily where she took notice to the mound of colored shirts scattered over the carpet in front of him.

“Going somewhere?”

It seemed that even though Kylie was miserable, she was still talkative.

“I have a date with Nadia in half an hour,” he replied, not once turning around to face her once she had entered his room.

She forced a smile at his answer, dipping her head. “That’s nice.”

He frowned at the tone of voice she used and also her false smile and dubious blue-green eyes. “Did you need something, Kylie?”

She folded both of her hands in her lap, eyes trained on her thumbs as she answered, “I just wanted to say I was sorry. I was a real bitch this morning.”

Dean stopped himself from pulling on another new shirt, turning to face her instead of her reflection. “Why are you telling this to me?”

Kylie’s head snapped up. “What?”

“Why are you telling this to me?” he repeated. “If you were a bitch to anyone, it was Nadia.”

Her face grew red with anger, her eyes glistening, as she pointed an accusing finger in his direction. “You didn’t see them. I saw them. There was nothing innocent going on there.”

He knew it would take more than her word to vindicate Nadia in Kylie’s eyes. “How do you know that?”

“I—” she cut herself off when her voice cracked.

“You don’t know, do you?”

Sobs wracked her body as she bit back tears. “Tell me I’m wrong, Dean,” she entreated.

Dean crouched down in front of her on one knee, engulfing her trembling hands in his. “I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong and I’m not going to tell you your right,” he began softly. “What I am going to tell you is that I love her and I trust her. You’ve known her for as long as I have. Do you really believe that what your mind is telling you is true?”

Kylie sniffed, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. “No.”

“Then just drop this. You’re both miserable over this stupid new guy when you shouldn’t be.”

She nodded in agreement. “You’re right.” A smile spread out over Kylie’s lips, but it was something that didn’t quite match her gaze. “Wear the teal. It brings out your eyes,” she suggested.

“Oh, the teal!” he exclaimed, turning his attention back on the closet. By the time he had fished it out and pulled the shirt over his head his sister had already slipped out of the room.

. X . x . X . x . X .

Kylie slammed her bedroom door shut behind her and dragged her feet all the way to her bed. It took her mere moments to bury herself under the sheets and comforter where she then heaved a frustrated sigh.

She let her eyes slide shut and embraced the darkness, but the sound of Dean jogging down the stairs stopped her from drifting off into sleep. It wasn’t long before she heard the garage door open then close and she knew Dean was gone and would be gone for the next few hours.

Again, she sighed, roughly rubbing her hands over her face.

She needed someone who would believe her.

She needed someone who would be on her side, not just shrug her off because she was saying something that they didn’t want to hear.

Who she needed was…

Her blue-green eyes snapped open as she clawed her way through the sheets and reached for her phone located on the edge of her night stand. She punched in the number she wanted and waited until the person on the other end finally picked up their side of the line.

She gave them no return greeting when they answered, just asked, “How soon can you get here?”

. X . x . X . x . X

Blake looked up at Nadia from where he sat, perched on the edge of her vanity table, and looking doubtful. “So that’s all I need to know?”

She stopped to give his question some thought, nodded her head, and answered with, “I’m pretty sure that’s it. I can’t think of anything else that would help you.”

He seemed more than pleased by her words. “Then this should be easier than I thought. And here I was worried.”

Nadia couldn’t stop the smile that overtook her lips, “You’re a godsend,” she told him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Our sweet victim might take offense to that,” he informed.

“She never has to know,” Nadia said, a playful glint in her eyes.

“You’ll tell her everything anyways after this is all said and done,” he pointed out, and then added, “If this goes according to plan.”

“Of course I will and of course it will. Have a little faith.” She picked up another outfit from her bed, one that she had previously pulled out of the closet, and held it up in front of her. “What about this one?”

Blake winced, giving the outfit a thorough once over. “Mind if I look at the goods?”

Nadia shook her head and stepped aside so there were no obstructions between him and the closet. He spent a good five minutes sifting through her assortment of clothing before he finally pulled out a simple, pale blue dress.

“This is it,” he said with confidence, flipping it around.

Nadia raised an eyebrow. “Blake, that’s not seasonal! I mean, isn’t it a bit cold out for a sleeveless, knee-length sun dress?”

“You’ll be in either a car or a restaurant for the majority of the date,” he stated, thrusting the dress in her hands.

She grimaced at the weight of the fabric clutched in her palms. “You men like dresses too much.”

“Go put the damn thing on. If lover boy is the punctual sort then he’ll be here in about fifteen minutes,” Blake notified, pointing toward his wrist watch.

She sighed, swinging the dress over her shoulder, and entered the bathroom to change in privacy. During that time, Blake had taken the liberty of pulling out a light sweater for her to wear.

When Nadia emerged from the bathroom she was barefoot with her mass of long blonde hair twisted into a messy bun supported in place by a plain black clip. Several strands had escaped the confines and now framed her face. The dress she now donned fit snuggly across her chest and middle but fanned out at the waist in ribbons of soft blue, ending just past her knees.

He was quick to realize just by looking at her that she was one of the few who didn’t need to be garnished with anything other than the basics.

However…

“We need to do something with that hair,” he stated in a displeased manner, reaching over and pulling out the clip that had held it in place. Immediately her hair cascaded down her back and over her shoulders in waves of gold.

“You’re scaring me,” Nadia said, eyes filled with suspicion, when he pulled out two smaller clips and moved to fasten strands of her hair back out of her face.

“Why, is that?” he asked out of curiosity. “Because I’m helping you?”

“You know too much and you’re too good at it.”

He chuckled softly. “Well, I have a twin sister. She used to spend hours getting ready for her dates, and for the longest time I just could not figure out why she would do such a thing. During my own dates I started to see just how much effort the girls put in to making themselves look good as well and that’s when it finally dawned on me. They took the time to do something they didn’t need to do…for you.”

Nadia smiled softly. “I did that sort of thing with my first boyfriend. But with Dean, he never seems to care if I’m wearing makeup, not wearing makeup, bruised and battered, not bruised and battered. No matter what I look like he still looks at me the same way.”

“It doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate your beautiful self getting all dolled up for him,” he added with a wink, positioning the last clip in place. He took a step back to give her a quick once over and paused, “Do you have any of that shiny lip stuff for those lips of yours?”

“Oh, right,” she said, turning back to her vanity and fishing out the neglected tube. “What time is it now?”

He glanced at his watch. “He should probably be here in the next few minutes.”

“Not to sound ungrateful but you should leave. I’m not sure at how Dean would react to find you here with me…in my room…alone.”

“And I wouldn’t want to find out either,” Blake replied honestly, picking up the sweater he had pulled out earlier for her and placing it in her hands. “Have fun tonight, beautiful. And thank you.”

She placed a hand on top of his and said, “No, Blake, thank you.”

He smiled down at her for a moment or two then exited the room. He jogged down the flight of stairs, passing through the living room the lead straight to the front door. It was already unlocked from when Nadia had let him in earlier so he didn’t have to fuss with the locks in order to get back out. The moment he opened the door, however, he nearly ran right into a more than surprised Dean whose hand was raised to knock on the once closed door.

Blake swallowed loudly and took a small step back. “Oh, shit.”

. X . x . X . x . X .

Kylie raced down the flight of stairs blocking her path and headed straight for the front door the moment the door bell rang shrilly throughout the house. Breathing heavily she grasped the handle and flung open the door, smiling brightly.

“Violet!”

Violet smiled in return, sliding her brown jacket off of her shoulders and holding it between folded arms.

“This better be good. I’m missing my favorite show for this,” she said once she was well past the threshold and the front door had been shut and locked behind her.

“I need your help.” Kylie paused then shook her head, waving her hands in front of her. “Scratch that. Dean and Nadia need your help.”

That sparked Violet’s curiosity.

“What’s the problem?” she inquired with slightly furrowed dark eyebrows.

Kylie crossed her arms over her chest as a dark look crossed her face. “Blake Black.”

At the mention of the name, Violet first looked taken aback, but not a moment later she burst out laughing.

A confused look replaced her dark one as Kylie said, “I don’t see how that can be funny.”

After catching her breath Violet asked, “What does Blake have to do with any of this?”

Kylie moved toward the living room, Violet following, and sat down on the edge of the couch. “Well, I take it you know him.”

That sparked her interest again.

“Of course I do,” she replied, baffled.

“Then maybe you can tell me why one minute he’s helping Nadia and the next minute he’s trying to kiss her.”

And that had her sputtering.

“What! That’s impossible,” Violet exclaimed, sinking down the couch next to her, settling her jacket in her lap.

“Apparently not since I saw it with my own two eyes,” she replied, rolling said eyes afterward.

A strange silence engulfed them before Violet laid a hand on hers and softly asked, “Are you sure about what you saw?”

Shaking off her hand, Kylie stood suddenly and began pacing the room. “Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m not blind!”

Violet shook her head slightly, “But my brother wouldn’t help Nadia get with Dean and then try to kiss her.”

Kylie came to an abrupt halt, nearly colliding with the television set. “What did you just say?”

“He wouldn’t help Nadia and then try to—”

Kylie cut her off when she wasn’t repeating the part she really wanted to rehear. “He’s your brother!”

That bewildered look reentered her chocolate eyes as she replied with, “Well…yes.”

“Wha…but…how?” she stammered. “You’re Violet Shepard and he’s Blake Black.”

Something akin to understanding coursed through her, followed by, “Oh, sorry. Confusing, right?”

Kylie nodded, mouth agape, as she leaned heavily against the television set behind her.

“Well, he’s my twin brother. When we were born our parent’s were going through a bit of a rough patch. They ultimately decided to separate and each respective parent took a child. Mom took me and I got her maiden name while Blake got dad’s last name,” she explained. “We still saw each other a lot over the years but it wasn’t until recently that our parents decided that they wanted to get back together and be under one roof. And now here we both are in the same school as well.”

Kylie blinked, shook her head, and stared at her friend, “Talk about the ‘Parent Trap’.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered under her breath. “But, I still don’t see why Blake would act this way. It’s not like him at all. Trust me, I would know.”

With Violet returning to the matter at hand Kylie forced herself to walk over to a nearby reclining chair. When she was comfortably situated she asked in a hushed tone, just loud enough for Violet to hear, “What is he supposed to be like?”

Excitement shown in her features as she answered, “Call it crazy, but he’s a great matchmaker.”

Not quite something she expected to hear.

“A matchmaker?” she repeated, hesitantly.

“Oh, yeah! And trust me on this; once he matches two people up he makes damn sure no one disrupts it. That’s why I just can’t understand why, after I made him help Nadia out a little bit, that he would go and—”

“Made him help Nadia?”

A sly smile spread across her lips. “What? Did you think Blake was meddling in their love lives because he was bored?”

“Oh, my God!”

. X . x . X . x . X .

Nadia sat down on the edge of her bed in order to ease her shoes on. Her side still bothered her too much to bend down to fasten them, especially since her pain killers were beginning to wear off and it was too soon to take more.

She sighed with relief when the task was complete and stood, turning her attention on her alarm clock to see what time it was.

6:59 PM

She nodded, feeling very proud of herself for being ready with still a minute to spare. She retrieved the light jacket Blake had picked out for her and slipped it on. She got the feeling she wasn’t going to be taking it off anytime soon since the temperature had dropped significantly once the sun went down.

Just as she reached for her purse the sound of raised voices caught her attention.

Voices that sounded very familiar.

She raced for the edge of the railing that overlooked the living room and found Dean and Blake face-to-face in a rather heated conversation.

“Ah, hell,” she murmured under her breath.

Nathan opened his door at the end of the hall and rushed out. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll handle it,” she said, already on her way down the flight of stairs.

“I said what the hell are you doing here?” Dean asked, more like commanded, slamming the front door behind him.

“Easy there, lover boy. Like I said, I just came to talk to Nadia.”

“Why?” He found that he was quickly losing patience when Blake refused to give him a direct answer.

“What are you so damn jealous about?” Blake inquired, hands raised in surrender.

Every time Dean took a step forward Blake was taking a larger step back. He was quickly running out of room to move since a wall was just ten feet behind him and closing.

“Hey!” Nadia yelled from her spot at the base of the stairs. Both turned to face her. Blake looked relieved while Dean, after a double take, looked torn between anger and guilt. “What are you two arguing about? I could hear you all the way upstairs.”

At first, Dean had shown some sort of deference when Nadia appeared, taken aback to see her looking so fresh and beautiful like she had before Zach, but it wasn’t long before he was asking her the question he wanted answered desperately and was getting nowhere with the stubborn man before him. He was mighty curious to know why Blake, of all people, was there with her beautiful self. Alone.

“What is he doing here?” Dean asked, pointing to said person.

“He just came to talk,” Nadia explained calmly, backing Blake’s answer.

“That’s it? Just to talk?” Dean looked skeptical. “About what?”

“It’s really none of your business, you know,” Blake said, then almost instantly regretted opening his mouth after the scathing look he received.

“She’s my girlfriend. That makes it my business,” Dean replied, then continued in an upbraiding tone, “And if you so much as touched her—”

“Dean, he doesn’t even like me that way!”

He turned on Nadia. “He’s been practically stalking you, Nadia!”

“Just tell him, Nadia,” Blake said on a pleading note.

Dean’s suspicious eyes latched onto Nadia’s. “Tell me what?”

“Let’s go to the car, and I’ll tell you everything on the way to dinner,” she said, already moving for the door.

He wrapped his hand around her upper arm, loosely however, and turned her back around. “No, tell me now. I’m sick of all these secrets.”

“Please,” she said, tugging at his arm.

He didn’t budge.

“Nadia.”

The way he said her name with such pleading made her heart hurt.

So she told him.

. X . x . X . x . X .

“So,” Violet began, slipping her jacket back on over her shoulders. “Is everything clear?”

Kylie stood from where she had been comfortably sitting and walked her friend to the front door, her mind more than a little jumbled over the information it had just received.

“You know, to the average person this whole thing would seem pretty far fetched,” Kylie responded, feeling a dull ache brewing behind her turquoise eyes.

“And the lot of us aren’t just average people, now are we?” she pointed out, stopping and spinning on her heel in order to face Kylie once they had reached the door.

“True, but there is just something about your brother that doesn’t seem right to me,” Kylie said, crossing her arms over her chest. Afterward, she felt a little guilty for saying such a thing to his own sister, but wasn’t about to take back the truth.

“His whole life is a mystery. I live every day wondering just how my brother ticks. You would think that since we’re twins we would have some ‘special connection’,” she said, adding emphasis on ‘special connection’.

“So, you won’t mind if I still go around a little wary of him for a while?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. In fact, I’m a little wary of him at the moment, too,” Violet confessed, biting her lower lip.

“How so?”

“Well, he doesn’t do something for nothing. I thought he was going to ask me to do something for him in return for him helping Nadia but he hasn’t. I can only assume that she’s now the one who has to do a favor for him.”

“He better not screw up Nadia and Dean’s brand new relationship,” she warned.

“That’s the one thing I know he won’t do, remember? Trust me,” Violet entreated, opening the door and stepping outside.

“Yeah…” Kylie replied, bidding her friend goodnight and shutting the door behind her. She turned around in order the lean against the hard wood and closed her eyes tightly.

Just don’t expect me to trust him

. X . x . X . x . X .

When Nadia finished her explanation Dean looked completely shocked. “Are you serious?” he asked softly, looking from Nadia, to Blake, and back to Nadia.

Both nodded their heads in unison.

“Oh,” he said simply, visibly relaxing.

Blake shifted his weight from foot to foot, feeling a little out of place in the silence that followed. Finally, he turned toward Dean.

“Truce?” he asked, extending his hand.

Dean looked at it for a moment, still pondering what he was just told, and then took his hand. “Truce.”

Nadia was beaming at the sight before her and continued long after they had retracted their hands.

“So, I guess I’ll leave you two alone then,” Blake said, readjusting the collar of his jacket. “Have fun, you two,” he added, exiting the house without another word.

“Now I feel a little foolish,” Dean confessed the moment the door shut, running his fingers through his light brown hair.

Nadia rested her hands on his shoulders, stood on her toes, and gave his lips a quick peck. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Still, want to go on this date with me even though I’ve been a total ass?”

Nadia looked as if she were contemplating his question. “Well, you are a cute ass. And your actual ass is pretty nice, too.”

Dean shook his head as he tried to suppress his laughter. “Go get in the car.”

When she hesitated obeying the command on purpose he looked more than ready to abduct her. She merely smiled her infectious smile and made a break for the stairs.

With just a few quick strides he caught up to her before she could get past the second stair, spun her around, and hoisted her over his shoulder.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, trying to wiggle free of his grasp as he made a beeline for the front door. “Come on! It’s cold out! Can’t we just play monopoly or something?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?” she questioned, blowing hair out of her face. “Don’t want me to wipe the floor with you?”

“No,” he denied. “I’ve got a few hundred dollars more than a pittance in my wallet and I intend to use it.”

“Why on earth are you carrying that much money?”

“Because I am.”

“I guess that’s an answer,” she muttered.

Dean reluctantly placed her on her feet when he reached the door and took a step back, looking her up and down.

“Sweetheart, did I mention that you look stunning tonight?”

Glancing down at her rumpled dress and running fingers through her hair that was now slightly askew she replied dryly with, “Gee, thanks.”

. X . x . X . x . X .

At the sound of the door shutting securely behind the couple, Nathan took the stairs slowly, hands shoved in his pockets. Reaching the bottom floor, he turned and headed for the window, pushing back a portion of the curtains in order to peer outside. He watched with a smile as he saw them, happy and carefree, drive off down the street.

He remembered those times.

He often wished he could go back to those times.

A heart-wrenching thought crossed his mind as he let the curtain fall back in place and proceeded to the front door where he slid the bolts in place. Nadia wouldn’t need him anymore. Not that she ever did, but just the idea of being completely and utterly alone shook him.

Looking down at his hands he noticed the tremors going through them. He made a fist, extended his fingers, and then repeated the process but nothing made the shaking cease.

The light in his study, though dimmed but still on from earlier that afternoon, seem to beckon to him. When he entered the room he noticed the script he had been reviewing was still lying on his desk, a pen placed on top of it, and a half empty bottle of bourbon next to it.

He went for the bottle.

Situating himself in his leather chair he leaned back, closed his azure eyes, and took a swig.

What he would give to go back.

. X . x . X . x . X .

Nadia skimmed over the Italian menu placed before her while Dean fidgeted from across the table, focusing more on her than his dinner selection.

Finally, Nadia looked up, slightly concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you mad?”

“Do I look mad?” she asked, setting the menu aside, pushing a tress of hair over her shoulder.

“Well, no, but—”

“I told you not to worry about it. I did want it to be a surprise but things just got a little out of hand,” she said, taking a small sip of water from the cold glass. “Besides, I was getting a little tired of keeping it a secret from you.”

“So was I,” he commented, finally allowing himself to concentrate on the menu.

She smiled at him from across the table before standing, pushing her chair over until it stood next to his. He looked up at her, first with a creased brow, then with a smile matching her own as she sat down. She laid her head on his shoulder when he rested a hand on her bare knee.

“Something wrong?” he inquired, placing a tender kiss on her golden hair before glancing over the menu again.

“Not at the moment,” she answered, averting her gaze from the dim, flickering candle in the center of their table and shutting her eyes.

The only things she could hear were the sounds of other couples whispering amongst themselves, the soft, subtle music a live band was currently playing, and Dean breathing.

She relaxed against him, allowing herself to reach some sort of normalcy. Her life was definitely nowhere near banal as of late, and, quite frankly, she wished it were. So many things had happened to her in such a short amount of time that everything seemed like a dream. It was like something she would wake up from at any moment. But, honestly, she didn’t want that to happen either.

“Where are you?” Dean whispered into her ear, startling her.

She immediately snapped back to reality, lifting her head to look at Dean. “Hm?”

“I must have called your name five times,” he said with a smirk. “What were you thinking about? Me?”

Nadia elbowed him in his side at his accusation and then proceeded to say with a sigh, “I was just thinking about how much I wish my life could be normal.”

A spark of interest lit up in his turquoise eyes as he leaned back in his chair. “Now, what is your definition of this ‘normal’?”

“I don’t want the press taking any more pictures of me when my dad is in town, I don’t want to deal with creeps like Zach or drama queens like Christy.” Dean smiled, nodding in agreement when she mentioned Christy. “All I want is to wake up in the morning and be ready to start a new day, not dread it.”

“You’re world has been a little on the bumpy side lately, hasn’t it?”

She managed a tight smile that faltered when a gust of cold air brushed over her skin, making her shudder.

“Are you cold?” he asked, moving closer to her.

“No,” she denied, pulling the jacket she wore tighter around her middle.

“Here,” he said, sliding out of his jacket and slipping it over her shoulders.

Warmth surrounded her and she gladly it, not allowing herself to refuse. When she glided her cold hands into the pockets, searching for more hidden warmth, her fingers brushed against crumpled paper. She reached around the ball of paper and slipped it out into the open. Dean stared at her hand with a puzzled expression.

“What is that?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? It is your jacket.”

He took the paper from her hand and unfolded it so he could read it.

“Huh.”

She craned her neck trying to see what the paper contained but he held it just out of view.

“What is it?”

“A flyer for that Valentine’s Day dance the school is having,” he answered, flipping it around so she could see for herself.

Nadia snatched the flyer and crumpled it back up, throwing it in the center of the table. “I’m sure Kylie was behind slipping it into your pocket. I found two in my locker and one in my damn shoe,” she informed gruffly.

“Want to go?”

“How sweet,” she said, patting his cheek. “How about no?”

Dean frowned at the rejection. “Why not?”

There was a slight pause before she responded with, “Because I don’t want to have to pick out another dress, I don’t want to deal with people like Christy and Dunstan, and I don’t—”

He cut her off, “Bull shit.”

She leaned away slightly in order to stare up at him. “Excuse me?”

“The truth now, Nadia. You know you can’t lie to me.”

She sighed, rolling her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” he said, leaning in closer.

“I can’t dance, you ass,” she said louder then shoved him away.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not kidding you. I’ve never danced in my life,” she replied softly, playing with the hem of her dress.

Dean stared at her for a moment or two then stood, holding out his hand for hers.

She looked at the outstretched hand then at his serious expression. “What?”

“Come with me,” he responded, reaching for one of her hands when she didn’t move.

She let him take her hand and helped her stand, slipping his jacket off of her shoulders and hanging it on the back of the chair. Again, he grabbed her hand and headed straight for the nearly vacant dance floor located in the center of restaurant.

“No!” she said firmly, digging her heals into the floor so he couldn’t pull her any farther without a fight.

He positioned himself in front of her as he said, “I’m just going to teach you how to dance.”

“But there are people around! What if something really embarrassing happens to me, like I fall flat on my face, in front of all these witnesses?”

He motioned for her to come closer, which she did, then whispered, “I’ll catch you.”

Defeated, she said nothing, just simply stood there looking in horror at the dance floor.

“Come on,” he said, placing a hand at the small of her back and propelling her forward.

When they reached the center of the dance floor Dean turned to face her and immediately took notice to the fact that Nadia was glancing warily at the other dancers who surrounded them.

“No, no, no,” Dean said, lifting his hand and tilting her chin in his direction, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Look at me and only me.”

She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as he lifted her left hand to place on his shoulder while he enveloped the other with his own left. He slid his right hand down her side and let it rest on her lower back. Nadia felt her face flush and glanced down at her immobile feet, silently wondering if she was wearing the right kind of shoes for dancing.

“Hey, I said to look at me,” Dean said lightly.

It took her a moment before she finally met his gaze once more.

“You just managed to pick one of the only restaurants around with a damn dance floor, didn’t you?”

He could see the fear and horror dancing in the back of her eyes and frowned.

She really was nervous.

“Can you do something for me?” he asked, an idea flashing across his mind. She nodded in response. “Good. Close your eyes.”

Instant wariness.

“What? Why?”

He rested his forehead against hers, locking his gaze with hers. “Just do as I ask and stop questioning me.”

Her eyes slid closed and Dean pulled her closer until she was leaning against him. Slowly, he began to sway from side to side, making her move with him. The song that the band was currently playing was coming to an end and it took the majority of the song for some of the tension in Nadia’s body to lessen. Dean just repeatedly whispered for her to relax and she finally paid heed to his words.

“Are you ready?” he inquired once the song had ended and a new, equally slow song began.

“Ready for what?” she asked suspiciously.

“To move.”

“What if I step on your toes?” she inquired, genuinely concerned.

“I think I’ll survive. Just let me lead you. Don’t worry about anything else,” he told her.

As Dean began to move, Nadia did as she was told; she followed. As Dean made them move in small circles around the dance floor Nadia couldn’t help but occasionally glance at her feet. This action earned a light scolding out of Dean, but as the song wore on without many mishaps she gained enough confidence to rest her head on his shoulder. Dean relaxed his head against hers, breathing in the fresh scent of her.

The music came to an end and people located at nearby tables clapped for the musicians, as did the dancers.

“Not bad, right?” he asked with a grin once the applause had ended and the two has separated.

“Not bad,” she agreed. “And I only stepped on your toes once.”

Dean chuckled, pulling her against him for a moment or two, and then released her. As he walked them back to their table he slipped an arm around her waist to pull her close enough to say in a hushed tone, “So, about that Valentine’s Day dance…”

Nadia just laughed.

. X . x . X . x . X .

(After careful consideration I have made the executive decision to cut five chapters out of my final plot. So, that means, instead of having 30 chapters as originally intended, and as I have included when giving you previous notes on completion of the story, in total I will now have 25 chapters which also means that the story is now 72 percent completed. So, :gasp: seven more chapters! Muah ha ha!)

angel1357: In the next chapter a lot is revealed about Blake. No worries. I’m already working on it. And I really, honestly, tried very hard to update within three weeks but I was a few days shy. Damn.

centenarian: I just knew there was someone out there who woke up at the same time they did!

hypa to hell and back: Thanks so much for your review! I appreciate it!

EAZYADICT: No! I’m grounded? Not cool. As long as I get to keep my computer though, I’m okay. But trust me, I’m working as hard as I can on finishing it up.

SuperCUTEJensen: Well, you are just going to have to wait until the end to find out if they end up together. I refuse to spoil the ending. Mua ha ha!

xemeraldeyesx: Oh, that’s so cool! Nadia. I’m attracted to stories that have my name in them too. But I don’t know a Nadia. The name of the story came up by complete accident.

Ruh: Ha, you’re the best. Such a loyal fan. You’re reviews always make me smile. I was really off at college half the week and then working full time the other half. Throw in nonstop projects on both ends, a touch or two of writers block, and that’s where I was. I think I actually broke down once because I wanted so badly to write this story but couldn’t. I was so depressed!

miss-life: My friend! So, what do you think of your Blake theory at the moment? Ah! Don’t mention ice cream…I recently found this new thing that is ice cream and coffee…I crave it like every damn day now. I might be addicted which really isn’t good since the place that makes it is half an hour away from me. Now I’m going to have to write something about ice cream in the next chapter.

Caffeinated Poison: Oh…a skater…That’s an idea. I will ponder that idea as I write the next chapter.

hopelessromantic444: Ha, you can thank for part of the dress shopping. I asked her what she wanted to see happen and she replied with, “Dean and Nadia getting a little steamy in the dressing room.” Isn’t she funny?

little purple dinosaur: Good mushy feeling. I like it! I cannot say anything pertaining to Blake. I think I’ve already said too much. Some people have been guessing too closely…

tofuulove: Oh, well, you sounded so excited.

Tal/Kelly: My, my, Kelly. Too lazy to just sign in for me? Haha. You made me feel so happy when you said it flowed really nicely. Then it got me wondering…do the other chapters not flow nicely? Kelly!

Freakage: Aw…it would be poetic? That sounds cute!

Not Mary Jane: Yes, Blake it weird. I’ll agree. Thanks for the review!

!PLEASE REVIEW!

EoSpHoRuS