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I look around at the semi-crowded street, unsure of what he wants. “What do you mean?”
“Just come here.”
I pull my hand out of his and, still a bit confused, walk around the table. Dan grabs me by the hips, maneuvering me until I’m sitting in his lap. I land with a gasp, and his face is suddenly so close to mine that I can feel him breathing, the two of us sharing breaths, and it takes me so off guard that I forget how public this space is.
“Why are you so guarded, Miss Elise?” he asks, his voice low and rumbling in his chest. “Are you afraid that you’re falling for me?”
I don’t know what to say, but before I can take a breath to answer, Dan’s phone starts ringing. It’s sitting face up on the table, and when it becomes apparent that it is, yet again, my brother calling, Dan reaches forward around my body to silence the call without a second thought. I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“You aren’t going to answer?”
“I want an answer from you first,” he drags his knuckles down my cheek and I shiver. Being so close to him makes it hard to think…
“I need time, Dan,” I manage to tell him finally. “But yes, I wouldn’t have done it if you were just some summer fling.”
He makes a noise of contentment, lowering his hands to my hips again and pulling me forward just enough to press his lips against my forehead. Affection blooms in me, and it’s only natural for me to loop my arms around his neck and sink into his body. I tilt my face up towards his, and our lips come together with ease. I kiss him hard, putting all the emotions into it that I’m too afraid to say out loud still, and Dan takes it all happily. Once we pull apart, he brings my hand to his lips, ghosting a kiss on the back of it and gazing at me with so much naked love in his eyes that it’s hard to comprehend.
“Promise me something, El.”
“What?” I breathe.
“Promise me that you’ll let me take you on a real date before we leave Capri. Out to a fancy dinner with candles and a white tablecloth like you deserve. Not that I haven’t had fun with all the other types of meetups we’ve been having, but I want it all. The sex on the beachandthe romantic candlelit meals. What do you say?”
I’m surprised to feel a lump in my throat, as if I might cry, and I’m not even sure why exactly. There’s just something about the raw sincerity in Dan’s voice, and the overly romantic notions that he’s so invested in that makes me melt for him. His words make me think of the two of us together in the future, showing up to events together, me on his arm, and what it would feel like for our relationship to be public.
I think it would feel good. Wonderful, even.
“Yes,” I sigh, going back in for another kiss, feeling Dan’s hands skim up my back as I touch my mouth to his. “I’d love that.”
11
Elise
A significant amountof time has passed when Dan and I return, but somehow Andries is waiting for us the second we walk into the villa, leaning on the doorframe to the entrance like he knew exactly when we would be arriving.
I groan as soon as I see him, muttering under my breath to Dan. “Here we go. Why can’t he just mind his own business?”
“It’s Andries. He thinks everything is his business,” Dan points out, and I can’t help but agree with him.
There’s no escaping my brother, but to my surprise he lets Dan pass him by with just a brief greeting. I think I might also be lucky, but when I go to walk inside he grabs me by the elbow. I glare at Dan’s retreating back, knowing that he’s aware that Andries has stopped me but is continuing to flee nonetheless. Not that I can blame him. I probably would have done the same.
“Let me go Andries.”
“Nice to see you too, lil sis,” he drawls. “Have a nice afternoon out fucking around with my best friend?”
I jerk my arm out of his grasp, turning my nose up at him. “It was fabulous, if you must know. Now let me through.”
He steps in front of me, a stony expression on his face. “You need to go talk to Johan and get him to stay.”
“What is it with you and Johan!” I exclaim, throwing my arms up in exasperation. “Is this your engagement trip with Roxanne or with Johan? Because you’re obsessed.”
“I’m not obsessed. The fact of the matter is that I invited him to the villa and he’s been treated so negatively this entire time that it makes me feel like an awful host and friend. He told me he has a last minute birthday party in Ibiza to go to, but I know that he’s lying. He doesn’t even look like he believes that himself.”
“What Johan does is none of my concern, and it shouldn’t be yours, either.”
“El, can you just go talk to him? Something is clearly going on and I know it involves you.”
I search his face, and see beyond the annoyance there is genuine regret that Johan has to leave after having such a terrible time. It makes me pause, and reconsider my own intentions when it comes to making him leave. I want him to understand that I’m with Dan… we might not be in an official relationship yet, but it’s clear in every other way. On the other hand, it is nice to see him again, and I don’t have any hard feelings towards Johan knowing now that he wasn’t the one that ghosted me. Even though I don’t want to go talk to him about it––at all––I guess I at least owe it to Johan and Andries both to do so.
