All In (Firsts and Forever 2)

She grinned and shook her head. “This discussion isn’t over. I’ll see you in a few days when we have lunch. And then I’m getting you to take this ring back.” She dropped the box into her purse.

I smiled and said, “Good luck with that,” and then I impulsively leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you soon, Callie.”

“Bye, Charlie.” She gave me a look that was just the tiniest bit wistful, and then turned and left without looking back.

I sure as hell wasn’t taking that engagement ring back, not now, not ever. That ring meant she’d left the relationship with something at least. I really wanted her to sell it and use the money for something that would bring her happiness. No, that wouldn’t absolve me of my guilt, it wouldn’t in any way, shape or form make what I did to her ok. I just wanted her to be happy. I owed her that.

I sighed and got back to work.

Chapter Five

Dante picked me up for our date at five sharp. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, black cashmere sweater, and dark indigo jeans. It actually seemed odd to see him in something other than a suit, and I pointed this out to him.

He grinned and said, “The suit makes me look older. Which is normally the whole point of wearing it. But around some people, it gives them the impression that I’m practically geriatric, on the verge of breaking a hip at any moment. So I thought it would behoove me to dress down a bit on occasion.”

“If you want to remind some people that you are, in fact, still in your twenties, you might also consider dropping words like behoove from your vocabulary. Just saying,” I teased as I locked up my apartment and he took my hand. Ok, more PDA. But I could handle it. I was slowly adjusting to being out.

We reached his black BMW, which was double-parked in the street, and as he held the door open for me I asked, “Hey, how’s your grandmother?”

“She’s doing a lot better, thank you for asking. I just came from seeing her, actually. The doctors want to keep her in the hospital for another week, just to be on the safe side, which they’ll regret. The entire nursing staff will probably flee the hospital and they’ll face grave staffing shortages. My grandmother is kind of a terror.” He smiled fondly at that.

“So where are we going?” I asked as he slid behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition.

“It’s a surprise.”

As soon as he pulled onto the southbound 101 freeway, I exclaimed, “We’re going to Candlestick Park!”

“Now how the hell did you guess that so quickly?”

“There’s no other reason to go this direction.”

“There are a million other reasons to go this direction!”

“Not if you’re me.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you so much, Dante!”

He smiled happily. “You’re welcome, angel.”

“Wait, how did you know I love football?”

“I asked Dmitri about you the day I met you. He mentioned you used to play the sport, so I figured you might like to watch a game.”

“Oh man, this is going to be so great! The Niners are playing Seattle tonight.” I actually bounced up and down in my seat a little. I knew I was acting like a three year old, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Yes. The Seattle Seahawks.”

I turned to look at his profile as he wove through traffic, and grinned. “Did you have to Google that?”

He grinned too and admitted, “Maybe.”

We had the best seats in the house. Literally. Dante had gotten us a private skybox, something I’d only ever dreamt of. “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I murmured as I sunk into the plush seat and looked out over the field with a huge smile. “I feel like the king of football in here.”

Dante also had a big smile on his face. “I’ve never seen anyone so happy about anything.”

“This is just the absolute best,” I gushed. “You’re the absolute best.” I took his face between my hands and kissed him, then leapt up and explored the skybox. In addition to the comfy seating, there was a private bathroom and a stocked bar and a full buffet. “There’s no reason to ever leave,” I said happily as I picked up a little cube of cheese and popped it in my mouth.

“I agree,” Dante said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I leaned back against him and put a cheese cube in his mouth, and said, “Thank you so much for doing this for me. We didn’t have to be this fancy, though. I would have been perfectly delighted even with nosebleed seats.”

“This is far more private though,” he said as he slipped his hand up under my polo shirt and caressed my belly.