The next few days were spent on cases. First, Robyn and the team had to work to clear her name after a distraught father took justice for his daughter's death into his own hands. For the entire case, it felt like every time she went into a room, she found a dead body she was then accused of killing. She understood the father's grief, but the method he was using to exact revenge was not the way to handle it. Fortunately for her, Dante had her back and helped to keep her under the radar. She had almost been caught at the second body, if he hadn't pulled up when he had, it would have been another day of being in jail. Not to mention, she found out that he's Team Sauce, the best and only team to be on. She smiled as she remembered their conversation.
"At least now that Earl Reid's been identified as the vigilante, you're back to flying below NYPD's radar," Dante said as he followed her down a ramp toward the warehouse exit.
"Exactly where I want to be," Robyn said with a smile as they stopped walking. She turned to face him.
"You still knocked out a cop, though," Marcus reminded her as he took a step closer. She looked down and off to the side with a slightly guilty look. "Cost me an expensive bottle of Scotch to smooth that over."
Robyn looked back at him and smiled. "I owe you one," she said in a low voice.
"I'm keeping a tally," came his quick response.
"Oh, yeah?" she said, taking a step forward and looking up at him. "What's the score?"
"I'd say letting me take you to dinner might make us even," he responded.
Robyn gently laughed. "You a pasta or a sauce guy?" she asked after a pause.
"That depends. I like pasta," he paused and watched her face drop a little before giving her a sexy grin and continuing. "But it's all about the sauce."
She gave a smile of victory before saying, "Good to know." She turned to leave the building.
"That a yes?" He called after her. She raised her hands in a shrug as she continued walking away without a response. The man never ceased to make her smile.
As soon as she finished clearing her name, she had taken another case protecting the singer Misty. The poor girl just wanted to retire from the music business and start a life. Instead, she had to deal with multiple stalkers, learning her manager was a slimy cheat and having two of her employees get hurt in the process. Misty had made it to her final show and was now ready to start her new life. Robyn thought back to being at Misty's final concert last night with Dante. It wasn't a date, but she still enjoyed the time with him. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel like she was the only person in the room.
The only downside of the night had been having to put Mel in her place about going over her head when it came to her daughter. Training Dee wasn't her decision to make and she was furious at Mel for butting in after she put her foot down and said no. Robyn sighed as she thought about Mel and Delilah. They've been lying to her face for weeks. Was she ready for her daughter to grow up? No, not really, but she also knew that her daughter was not ready to learn military training maneuvers. There was a lot of responsibility that came with that knowledge and Dee was still a kid. She wasn't ready for that. Aunt Vi had knowledge about the situation as well. She might have left it up to Dee to talk to her, but she had known what was happening behind her back and not told her.
"I'm furious," Robyn exclaimed. "that my best friend and my daughter would be so deceitful, would lie to me like that."
"And well you should be," Aunt Vi responded. "I'm not making excuses for her, Robyn, but you've got to understand that Dee seeing you get taken away like that," she paused, "that was a game changer! She's scared, she feels helpless." she paused for a moment before turning around. "And you know what? Frankly, neither one of us wants to be caught in that situation ever again. So, if you want her to have any kind of control over her life, you have got to stop saying no to this without giving her a good reason."
"The reason was made clear today." Robyn shot back. "She's not ready."
"She's not ready? Or you're not ready?" Aunt Vi shot back.
Aunt Vi was right though. Her being kidnapped had affected her family in a way that she had never wanted. She had always wanted them to be protected and separate from her work life. She agreed with Aunt Vi, basic self-defense classes were a valid next step. She hadn't told Dee yet though. She was still mad about the fact that she had lied to her and hurt the kid at school. From what she'd heard he deserved what he got, but it was still an excessive action to take against a spoiled rich kid.
Robyn sighed and stood up. She'd deal with what she needed to tomorrow. Right now, it was time to start the process of getting ready to see Dante tonight. She had been looking forward to it all week. She looked at the dress hanging on the back of her door and smiled. She couldn't wait to see his reaction to the one she'd settled on.
The night of his date with Robyn had finally arrived. Dante was fairly sure that he had never in his life cared as much about choosing a suit color as he seemed to right now. Most days he was a confident guy. He just reached into the closet and grabbed one. For some reason, tonight, he had been debating between charcoal and navy for almost ten minutes. Ten freaking minutes! Who even was he? He closed his eyes, reached out, and selected one. Opening his eyes he saw that he would be wearing a navy pinstripe suit tonight. Selecting the corresponding shirt, tie, and shoes, he turned to his bathroom to get ready.
What was it about this woman that seemed to regress him back to being a high schooler with no control over his thoughts or actions? Kyler and Stefon had left with their Mom almost a half hour ago and the only thing he'd accomplished since then was wondering what Robyn would be wearing. So they only had to take one car, they had updated their plans to have her meet him at the house then they'd go to the restaurant together. You know, if he could manage to get his head on straight. Both heads really.
He was just about to tie his tie when the doorbell rang. "Shit!" He rushed out of his room and absent-mindedly started to tie it on the way down the stairs. He was halfway done when he opened the front door. Every movement froze, along with his brain functions. His jaw dropped and he just stared from the middle of the doorway. "Holy shit, Robbie," he finally whispered, stepping out of the way to let her in. "You look breathtaking!"
The Robyn that stepped into the house was a version he'd never seen before. The woman standing in front of him was wearing a dramatic makeup look that only enhanced her beauty. Her eyes were highlighted by smoky black shadows and were lined to be darker and more dramatic than normal. Her lips were glossy and darker than her natural color. She was wearing a form-fitting silky white dress that flowed to the floor. Starting at her red toenails, in shimmering high heels that had to be 3 inches tall or more, his eyes followed an almost hidden slit on her left leg that traveled up the skirt and stopped at the middle of her thigh. The top of the dress was form-fitting and hugged her curves. There were narrow straps over her shoulders and the neckline dipped low to show a delicious amount of cleavage. A music note-shaped diamond necklace hung just above her breasts. Her caramel-toned hair was straight and was pulled up into a smooth half ponytail, revealing large diamond hoop earrings. The rest of her hair hung down her back. By the time he reached her smokey eyes, he realized they were level to his tonight and filled with a combination of fire and laughter. She was looking at him with one eyebrow raised.
"Well, thank you for such a flattering reaction," she said, reaching over to finish tying the tie he had completely forgotten about. "That was levels above anything that I expected."
"Geez, Robbie," was all he could breathe out. He stood there like a kid while she tightened and straightened his tie.
She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. Rubbing her thumb over his bottom lip, she said, "Here's hoping your vocabulary increases. Will you be able to drive?" He nodded as he continued to admire her. "Are you sure?" she verified. She wiggled her fingers to get his attention and redirect his eyes to hers.
"Yeah, I'm good," he said, finally able to form a sentence. "I feel like you should have informed me you were going to try to kill me tonight."
"That wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining. Now that you can understand words again, you look very handsome. I like you in a dark suit." She reached out and touched his tie again and then laid her palm against his chest. Dante's suit was tailored to his build and highlighted his physique. He had paired his navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark blue tie. Polished shiny black shoes topped off the look. As per usual, his beard and afro had a perfect lineup.
Dante focused long enough to verify in the mirror that he looked acceptable next to Robyn. "Are you ready?" he asked.
Yes," she replied, picking up her coat.
He hadn't even noticed she had brought one. He turned to help her into it, and his knees almost buckled when he saw the open scoop back that almost fell to her waist. There was a thin chain that held the top together and then draped down the middle of her back. He felt like he was getting more glimpses of her skin every time she turned. After grabbing his own coat, he opened the door for Robyn. She walked gracefully past him and waited for him to shrug into his coat and lock the door to his house. Breathing in her scent and offering his arm, they walked to his car. He helped her in, trying not to focus on the portion of her leg revealed by the slit. Once the door was closed, he took a steadying breath before walking to his side of the car. Climbing in, he noticed that she was angled in his direction. He started the car, but before he drove off, he turned to her and said, "I should warn you, I'm going to struggle with this all night." He reached over and gently dragged a fingernail from the top of the dress's slit, down her bare thigh to her knee. "I've just gotten a glimpse of parts I usually only get to think about when you're talking to me in the tub. Okay, maybe not only then."
"Happy to help," came her sultry reply. "Don't worry, I think about all the parts I've seen of you too."
Right, when she trapped him naked in the shower at the gym. She had an advantage over him though since she'd actually gotten a visual of him instead of just an idea of what could be.
