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4- Boy Meets Girl, Girl Likes Boy… It's Your Typical Story

Lulu's POV – April 9th 2012

The sandman avoided my apartment last night, leaving me tired with bags under my eyes. Thank God for make up or I would have looked like the walking dead. Dante's proposal had been weighing heavily on my mind. A year of my life was a lot to give up, but having a million dollars in return would certainly make up for the time lost. Then there was the other consequence of possibly falling for Dante. I liked him from the first time he came to town. He was handsome, charming, fun, and God he could kiss to make a girl's knees go weak. Not to mention the swoon worthy dimpled smile that couldn't help but make you wonder what your future children would look like. Being that he was only here for a week or two at a time it was easy to keep my feelings at bay. We would live in the moment, enjoy each other's company, then go back to our regular lives. This time would be extremely different. For 12 months we would be living in the same house, sharing the same space, eating together, and more than likely sleeping together. How could my feelings not grow after that? In the 2 weeks he had been back to take care of Sonny's affairs, I was already being held captive by his alluring aura. A year would surely send me into a romantic freefall.

With what seemed like the world on my shoulders I made my way to Kelly's hoping for a cup of strong coffee to give me some energy. When I opened the door, to my surprise Maxie was at the counter happily talking to Johnny. I thought she was still in the city since she did not come home last night or this morning. I guess this was confirmation of my suspicion that they were seeing each other. For two people who liked to live on the edge they were doing a very crappy job of hiding their relationship or whatever it was. Johnny would drop by Crimson unannounced, Maxie would disappear at night and come home early the next morning before I was awake to make it seem like she had been in bed most of the night, and if I walked into a room they would go from talking to practically ignoring each other.

I walked into the diner and true to form Maxie scrambled as if she had seen a ghost. "Hi Lulu." She greeted a little too cheerily.

"Hi." I told her with a suspicious smile. "I didn't hear you come home last night. When did you get back?"

"This morning actually. I was so starving I came straight here." Maxie was not a major sit down to eat breakfast person, especially this time of the morning. A latte with a muffin or croissant - basically food she could pick at or eat on the go- and she was just fine. So I found it strange that all of a sudden she was so starving. "I happened to just run into Johnny." She made a note of pointing out.

'Sure you did' I thought to myself. Maxie was slipping because I knew she could do better than that.

An awkward silence loomed between the three of us and I glanced between the two of them slightly amused at their discomfort of having me here. "I have to go… do something." Maxie finally said before making a swift exit as fast as her four inch heels could go.

Once she was gone I turned to Johnny who was avoiding my face by taking up a strange fascination with the bottom of his coffee cup. The two of them really were on the verge of pathetic. What did they think I was going to do lose my mind again because they were dating? "So how long are you two going to keep sneaking around for?"

Johnny choked on the coffee that was midway down his throat and I casually handed him a napkin, waiting for an explanation. "What do you mean?" He asked, trying to play dumb.

I was actually kind of insulted that he was seriously going to lie to my face. "I'm not blind or stupid Johnny. Do you really think I wouldn't pick-up on the fact that you and Maxie are involved?"

He sighed defeated and finally came clean. "I'm sorry, we were going to tell you but we didn't want to hurt you any more than we already did."

Johnny and I had been over for three years. When we broke up it hurt, but as time progressed I realized we were better off apart. The strangest thing was I never felt any inclination to try again or even got that nostalgic feeling of what could have been. Once I was over the break up, my life had gone on for the better. "Thank you for being considerate and I will admit it is a little strange that you're dating my best friend; but you and I don't work as a couple and we never will. Obviously you and Maxie do, so if you make each other happy I'm fine with that." I told him sincerely.

"Maxie will be really glad to hear that. You mean a lot to her and she loves you, even if she doesn't show it sometimes." Johnny incited.

"I love her too even if she is a pain sometimes." Maxie and I were an interesting pair, and proof of the fact that even the greatest enemies could work through their differences. We were more alike than either one of us was willing to admit back then, but eventually our similarities, including falling for the wrong men, brought us together as friends. If there was one good thing that came out of that dreadful Logan situation was my friendship with Maxie,

Johnny placed the money for the coffee on the counter. "I'm going to see if I can catch up with her. Thanks Lulu." He kissed me on the cheek and practically ran off to find her. Hopefully Johnny would be Maxie's price charming. She deserved some happiness in life. Spinelli came close, and she really did try to be a better person for him, but let's face it he could not handle Maxie. She was too much of a free spirit for him to keep up. If Johnny could keep up then more power to them; I would even help plan their wedding if it came to that. That would be something extra to keep me occupied during the year I was married to Dante.

I groaned out loud at the thought. Married. The word made me lose both my appetite and the taste for coffee. At this rate I was going to get an ulcer from trying to make up my mind. Dante made it clear from the start that he did not want a relationship, just friends and sex. Because I would rather have a part of him in my life than not at all I agreed. So the question now was not simply whether or not to marry him; it was if one million dollars was worth the broken heart I would have at the end of the year?

Dante's POV – That Evening

My intention was to make Lulu a fantastic dinner in hopes that my great culinary skills would help to coax into agreement, but by the time I got back from the market I was so irritated that none of the dishes I attempted to cook came out right. The pasta was too soft, the alfredo sauce was way too salty, the chicken was tough and the bread burnt. The only thing that was still intact was the salad. Therefore I resorted to ordering in from this really good Italian restaurant I had discovered on one of my visits.

It was not like me to be so on edge because of a woman. I was usually the one in control and ready to walk away once I had lost interest, or I found something better. Instead here I was making a mess of a simple meal I had learned to cook since I was a teenager, all because I saw Johnny Zacchara kiss Lulu through Kelly's window.

Earlier that day, after getting some supplies at the store, I was about to enter the diner when I caught sight of them deep in conversation at the counter. Lulu was on a stool turned towards him, hand beneath her chin and legs crossed at the knees, seemingly engrossed in whatever they were talking about. Curiosity embedded my brain wondering what they could possibly be talking about. They were too far for me to read lips so my imagination basically ran wild. It seemed like their encounter went on forever until Johnny finally stood up, kissed her on the cheek and left. I backed away from the door quickly so that he would not catch me spying, then went back to my surveillance spot to get another look at her. Now she was facing front sipping at the cup in front of her until she eventually pushed it away.

I did not know much about Johnny Zacchara: just that the family was a direct rival to the Corinthos Organization, his father was crazy and his sister was just as bad. Johnny was apparently the saving grace in that family of lunatics. In all the times I had visited, Lulu never mentioned him or being involved with anyone, but this was the second time I had seen them together in close quarters, so obviously something more was there. Maybe it was a recent thing, my mind tried to reason, but that did not make the jealousy any more manageable.

It should not have bothered me who Lulu chose to spend time with; after all we were not committed. But the thought of her body succumbing to pleasure from another man, moaning for him, and saying his name the way she said mine bugged me even beyond my comprehension.

A knock at the door made me put aside my jealous thoughts, and focus on the fact that Lulu was going to be here with me tonight and not Johnny, so that was a point for team Dante. I opened the door and greeted Lulu who was casually cute in jeans and an emerald green blouse which wonderfully accented her skin. "Hi."

"Hi." She responded with a smile, then walked past me. The sound of heels clicking on the hardwood brought my attention to her feet, which were covered in what looked to be about 3 to 4 inch strappy green sandals to match her blouse. Even her french manicured toes were cute peeping from the front of the shoes. The heels made her legs seem like they stretched for miles, and my mind instantly went to a dirty place picturing those legs wrapped around me.

Lulu walked around watching the surroundings intently and taking in all the details. I guess working for a fashion magazine made you appreciate the details more. "Your place is nice. It suits you." She complemented.

"Thanks, I think so too. Reminds me a lot of home." I was strangely glad to have her approval. When I decided to move to Port Charles after Sonny's death I could have stayed in his house, but that place had way too many memories, and it seemed like his spirit still inhabited there. So my next option was to find a place that reminded me of the apartments in my beloved Brooklyn. Even though I could not be at home, I wanted somewhere that resembled it.

I touched Lulu's shoulders to take off her leather jacket and she jumped, then whirled around as if on the defense. "Relax; I was just taking your jacket." I reassured.

She loosened up and allowed me to remove the garment from her shoulders so I could hang it up. "Sorry, too much coffee today." Her words came out in a rushed mumble, and I could not help but be amused that I was making her nervous.

Lulu sat in the single armchair, probably because she knew if she sat on the couch I would sit next to her. For some reason she was really jumpy around me tonight. "If I'm making you nervous a glass of wine might help to calm your nerves." I offered.

"I'm not nervous, but I will take the wine." If she wasn't nervous then I wasn't a Yankee fan. We had been in way more intimate situations than this, so I could not figure out what I had done to make her so uneasy. I handed her the glass filled with the deep burgundy liquid which she took gratefully. "Thanks."

Then sat adjacent from her on the couch with my own filled glass, and watched her take a huge gulp of the wine. Ok she really was on edge. "So would you like to eat first, or talk first, or we can talk while we eat." I asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Let's talk." She suggested. Her feet were crossed at the knees just like they had been earlier at Kelly's and I was so tempted to ask her again about Johnny Zacchara, but did not want to come off as jealous so I decided against it.

"Well I was thinking just to keep things as simple and clean as possible we should come up with some rules for this arrangement and put them into a contract we both will sign."

Her face clouded with apprehension and she took another mouthful of the wine. So it was the marriage that was bothering her, not exactly me I concluded studying her body language. "I'm still not sure about this yet, but what rules do you have in mind?"

"Well of course we would stay married for a year and at the end of the year the marriage is annulled and you get your one million dollars."

"And we'd live here?" She asked looking around my apartment with a frown.

Even though I did not know what she was implying, I was beginning to get a little offended. I thought she liked it here. "What's wrong with here?"

"Nothing, but there's only one bedroom. This is not a real marriage so I need my own space."

While I had no problem sharing a bedroom with her, she did have a point about needing her own space so I was willing to do that for her. "I'll work on that." I agreed, then continued with my stipulations. "Also no children."

Lulu swallowed the wine in her mouth quickly, almost choking on it. "Why would you say something like that? Do you think I'm going to get myself pregnant to trap you?" She snapped with an attitude. Clearly I had hit a major nerve and regretted the words as soon as I saw her reaction.

I was not trying to insult her character but there were women out there who did crazy things when money was involved, and if we were being honest I really did not know that much about Lulu. "I don't want to think you're that type of woman but you'd be surprised the number of women in my neighborhood who didn't seem like that type then tried once they found out who my father was."

"Well I've known who your father was since I met you, so if I haven't tried that yet you can rest assured I won't now. Besides I'm not cut out for children." The attitude dissipated and was replaced with a sullen, pensive look. Thinking that I hurt her feelings sent a pang of guilt vibrating through me. What was it about her that made me concerned and wonder so much? This was not like me at all.

"That's a shame; any guy would love to have a little girl with your blonde hair and those gorgeous eyes." I told her genuinely, trying to make her feel better. The complement had its desired effect when her lips curved into a shy smile. Seeing that smile was always a pleasure. Definitely in another lifetime, under different circumstances, Lulu might have been the woman who made me want to come home at night, but for now I just needed her to get my inheritance. "At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite; even if this isn't a real marriage, you can't cheat."

Her eyebrows raised questioningly. "Why not? It's not like we're in love or even in a relationship. I should be allowed to see whomever I want."

The thought of her with someone else - mainly Johnny - irritated me and selfishly this was a way to make sure she was not sleeping with anyone else. If she happened to be sleeping with Johnny at least this would put a stop to it. "When people find out that we're getting married it's going to be a shock. We need to at least make it look real - like we actually want to be together - and it won't look real if you're running around town with Jo…" I stopped myself quickly to correct my minor slip of the tongue. "With someone else."

"Does this rule apply to you as well?" She queried, not picking up on me almost saying Johnny, Thank God, or I never would have lived that down.

"If you want it too… sure." I agreed willingly. Lulu had quite enough moves to keep me satisfied in the bedroom so I had no problem not straying, at least for now.

Lulu shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine, but you may want to rethink that when I tell you my next rule."

"Which is…?"

"We don't have sex."

The room went eerily still and I almost dropped the glass in my hand at the words 'no sex'. "I'm s-s-sorry could you repeat that?" I asked just to make sure I was not hearing things.

"You heard me, no sex. And you can't try talking me into it or seducing me or anything like that because I know how you are."

She had to be kidding me. "Why not? We've already been doing it; I would think being married is all the more reason to."

When I agreed to no cheating it was because I thought we would be sleeping together. As much as I wanted my inheritance, a sexless marriage was not in my game plan. Maybe I needed to re think this marriage thing.

"It's one thing for us to hook up and go our separate ways after, but living in the same house, possibly sleeping in the same bed and sex are too much. You said it's like a business transaction so we need to keep this business-like. If you want me to agree to the marriage we won't be having sex." I groaned out loud and leaned back into the couch running my fingers through my hair in frustration. An entire year without sex while I lived with a woman who I knew first hand that being inside her was as close to sexual heaven as any man could get. Were an island and a few other assets really worth this? "You can feel free to change your mind about the whole no cheating thing, I won't be offended, but it has to work both ways."

She seemed all to happy and willing to get out of that no cheating rule, which made me more suspicious of her and Johnny's connection. The images of the two of them talking first in Jakes, then in Kelly's, and him kissing her on the cheek before he left just seemed too familiar. Something was there and it bothered me not knowing what it was.

My ego was not about to give her the satisfaction of being married to me and sleeping with Johnny Zacchara. I'd rather walk over hot coals barefoot first. "No, its fine, I promise no s-s-s…" I stuttered, not quite believing I was actually going to say this. "No sex, no pressure for the duration of the marriage. But if you change your mind, I would be more than willing to accommodate you." I told her with a wink.

"Not likely." Lulu answered snidely while rolling her eyes. I could not figure out if the attitude was because of my comment or was it because I still agreed to the no cheating rule? For the sake of my piece of mind and to qualm the stabs of jealousy, I chose to believe the former. "Is there anything else?"

"No I'm good. Does this mean we have a deal?" I asked outstretching my hand and feeling like I was about to sell my soul. Maybe I was going to hell for this, but somewhere deep down possibly getting to know Lulu might just make it worth it.

Lulu's –POV

This all felt like a deal with the devil, almost as if I were selling my soul; but a million dollars was a lot of money and it was hard for me to walk away from that. Hopefully the no sex thing would make living with Dante a lot easier and reduce the chances of me falling in love with him. In case it didn't, the money would be a good consolation prize. Better to be rich and heartbroken than poor and heartbroken.

"Deal" I agree shaking his hand. Dante caught me off guard by pulling me to him onto the couch, then fusing his lips with mine. My first thought was to push him away but my body had other plans. The kiss started soft, his lips barely brushing mine teasingly, and then grew more intense as his tongue sought entry into my mouth. Needing to stay in control I broke our contact, but my head was already in a thick fog. It took a few seconds for my breathing to calm so that I could actually speak. "What was that for?"

Both my knees were pressing into the couch between his legs, while his arms were around my waist holding me steady in front of him. "Just showing my appreciation for agreeing to this marriage." He said matter-of-factly. That should have been a sign for me to leave while I still had my wits, but my body and head were not in coordination at all tonight.

"A simple thank you would have been fine." I told him trying to make my voice sound like I was not even fazed by his kiss when in fact there was an intense heat slowly creeping from my lips through the rest of me.

"Thank you wouldn't have done enough justice." He flashed that sexy dimpled smile and my stomach did a back flip. It should have been a crime for someone to have such a sexy smile.

I was so entranced that I had no time to react when he gave me one of those barely there kisses again, this time on the spot below my ear that always made me quiver in delight. His grip on my waist loosened so his hands could slowly travel up my blouse. They were warm against my skin yet I shivered unconsciously. "Dante you promised." I reminded him, completely surprised I had even forged the ability to speak.

"I promised AFTER we got married. We're not married yet." He counteracted while turning his attention to unbuttoning my blouse, then kissing the exposed tops of my breasts. Thank God the couch and him were there for support because my legs quickly turned to jelly as Dante kissed and massaged each mound expertly. "Besides, it doesn't have to be sex if you don't want it to be. I just want to make you feel good." His voice seductively assured, making me just about ready to let him do anything he wanted to me. My nipples were prominent beneath his touch and he pushed aside the silky bra cups to trace his tongue around each one. "Doesn't this feel good?" He asked before covering my areola with his warm mouth. Good he asked? Try GREAT!

Without being able to stop myself, a needy moan left my mouth that I did not recognize. Who was this woman who was outwardly moaning and writhing all because of a man's touch? Where had she been all this time?

Getting caught up in Dante was not what I planned. The whole reason for the no sex idea was because I was afraid of falling under his spell, yet here I was in his arms unable to resist the temptation of his body. It had barely been 10 minutes since the agreement and I was already caving. How was I supposed to survive an entire year if I could not last 10 minutes?

His fondling of my breasts finally stopped, leaving me with a mixture of disappointment and relief. The loss of sensation gave me a moment of clarity, and I realized: this was crazy! I needed to get out of here before I wound up naked on the rug because at this rate we were not going to make it to the bed.

Just when I finally regained some control, a whole new evil began determined to take the control away. Dante kissed me again, this time with an intensity that had my heart feeling like it was about to beat right out of my chest. He flipped me onto my back so that his body was now completely pressed against mine almost making us one with the comfy couch.

Resolute to drive me insane with need, his hand went between my legs palming my most intimate place trough my jeans. Goosebumps rose all over my skin as the gesture created an inferno within my core. I was so turned on I would not be surprised if he could feel my desire seeping through the denim and onto his fingers. "We… agreed…" I started to say, trying one last time to stop this madness, but the pull was too strong and my body needed him more that it had ever needed anything else in my life.

I was so much in a daze that if not for the glorious feel of his fingers exploring my heated, saturated folds, I probably would never have realized my pants had been undone and were half way down my legs along with my panties.

"This can be whatever you want it to be Lulu." He assured grazing my ear with his teeth. The sharp nudge on my flesh made me spasm in pleasure. Finally, when his finger slipped inside of me I whimpered like a helpless child and fisted his hair. "Just say the word and I'll stop no matter what."

Stars, stripes, spots, colors, shapes - everything appeared before my eyes all at once. How could he put this all on me when his fingers were inside of me creating a friction that was making me unravel? With just his hands I was coming undone, with no choice left but to move my hips in sync with his stroke.

Giving up the fight, I spread my legs wider and curved one around his waist so that he could go deeper. His thumb alternately circled and flicked my most sensitive spot and I pulled him closer, needing something to keep me grounded while the tension built. Our foreheads touched and he looked me in the eyes as if he had just discovered something new. It always made me self conscious when he looked at me with those soulful brown eyes; almost as if my most inner most being was being exposed to him.

"Do you know you're really beautiful when you come?" He told me grinning, and I could already tell my entire face was turning heated shades of red. Our heads were still touching, and his lips were barely an inch from mine so I could feel his breath when he spoke. "Your eyes start to dilate and you take deeper breaths. Then your skin gets really warm and you kind of start to blush a little especially when I look at you."

"More." I pleaded breathless and desperate, needing the release that seemed so close yet so far way.

"When you're close you bite your lower lip and your hair is fanned around your face that makes you look incredibly cute." Dante pushed another finger in as far as it could go, then brought both fingers out and in repeatedly while his thumb stayed on that bundle of pleasure. My inner walls clenched around his fingers, and I thought I was going to black out when the room was slowly going dim and paralysis was quickly taking over. This was the kind of push-pull, masochistic-sadistic relationship you saw in trashy romance novels, yet I was now living it. "And when you finally lose it your eyes close completely, your lips gape and you make this soft feminine moan that sounds so sexy it makes me want you all over again." Not being able to stand the effects of his actions, his words, and him staring at me with that intense gaze any longer, my back arched off the couch and I held on to him tight, burying my head in the curve of his neck trying to silence the constant moans of my pleasure. "Just like that." He confirmed placing a soft kiss to my shoulder.

I had never had a man talk to me that way before. It was strangely satisfying and even more of a turn on to know that he paid that much attention to me while we were together. All that plus the smoldering looks made the orgasm all the more intense.

Dante's need for me was evident when I felt the bulge in his pants against my stomach. This might have been a good time to get out while I still could; after all I had gotten mine, but the problem was I still wanted him. After all of that my body still had that innate craving for him; to make him moan and shudder the way I did. I convinced myself this would be the last time. One last hoorah to get it out of my system, then for my heart's sake I was going cold turkey.

My fingers hooked through his chains, pulling his head closer. He tried to kiss me and I pulled back smiling devilishly then swiped my tongue against his lower lip before biting playfully. "This is our last time together so you better make it good."

Issuing a challenge like that was like adding fire to warehouse of dynamite, which is exactly what I wanted. Now all I had to do was enjoy the night of explosions. If I had to cut myself off, I was definitely going to go out with a bang.

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