When Dante walked into Jake's, his attention immediately drew toward Lulu. The way she looked took his breath away. The lights illuminated her golden hair, like a halo. She wore a royal blue dress that flowed effortlessly down to her sun kissed knees.
"Hey, beautiful," he said to her.
"Beautiful? Wow, you're nicknames are getting better. Or, should I say, your pick up lines?"
Dante's face turned red. He hadn't really meant for that to slip out, but he also couldn't help himself. "Well, I, uh, you know, I have to practice on somebody, right?" Nice save, stupid.
Lulu laughed. "I guess you're right."
"Um, you want to go sit down?" He pointed over to Olivia, Sonny, and Lucky. She shook her head in approval.
It was karaoke night. They watched in mock horror as Max screeched out "Baby, I Need Your Lovin" to Diane. Dante looked over at Lulu, who was now doubled over with laughter. It had been a long time since he had seen her laugh like that. He was pleased to witness it and hoped that things were finally headed on the right track.
Several bad karaoke songs later, the real music started to play and everybody got up to dance. Dante looked back at Lulu, still sitting there. "Hey, aren't you coming? Don't tell me you no longer like to dance." He took her hand to pull her up on the floor.
"I don't know. I'm just not sure-" Before she knew it, she was out there dancing. She didn't know why, but she could never refuse Dante Falconeri. They danced through several fast songs and then a slow song started to play. Instinctively, he drew her into him. She hesitated. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so presumptuous," he said as he loosened his grip.
"It's okay." She wrapped her arms around his neck. They swayed together in time with the music and she laid her head on his shoulder. She couldn't remember when she had felt so secure. Not even when he stayed with her that first night or when he held her after she fainted. No, this was different than all of those times. What am I doing? He's a friend, she thought to herself. Somewhere halfway through the second slow song, she no longer cared. She leaned in even closer into him. He responded by running his hands up her back and resting his chin on the top of her head, taking in the scent of her floral perfume. They were locked together in an embrace that neither wanted to break away from. In that moment, no one or nothing else in the entire world mattered.
Back at the table, Sonny, Max, and Lucky planned out how they would find Luke. "Max, you and I will head down to South America tomorrow morning. I have already contacted some of my friends there. They have agreed to help us out."
"Look, if you're going to do something illegal, I don't want to know about it," said Lucky.
Sonny's dimples deepened with his mischievous grin. "Lucky, you know me better than that. Anyway, this family said that they have heard about Luke being in the area. They can get us into places we might not be able to get into on our own."
When they finished the discussion, Sonny got up to get another drink. He accidentally bumped into someone behind him. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you standing there."
"No worries, I didn't realize I was so close to your table."
Where have I heard that voice before?, Sonny thought to himself. "Do I know you?"
"No, I don't think so." With that, the man walked away.
The music ended. Dante and Lulu headed back to their table and sat down. A familiar man with dark hair approached them. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Hey, man, what are you doing here? I figured you'd be out on some stakeout or something."
"Well, I got the night off."
"Oh wait, you're one of the officers who watches Sonny's house, right? I think I met you the other night," said Lulu.
"Yeah, I am. I hope it didn't upset you for me to come over here."
"No, it's fine. Thanks for watching out for me."
"Sure, no problem. Well, I'm on my way out. I just wanted to come over and say 'hello'. See you Monday, Detective."
"You too, Franco."
"Uh, Dante, it's getting late. Would you mind if we left too?" asked Lulu. "Oh, I'm sorry. If you want to stay, I'll call Milo to come and get me."
"It's okay. I'm ready. You know, you really don't need to apologize. Besides, how often does a guy get to take the most gorgeous woman in the world home?"
Lulu's eyes widened. Everybody at the table just stared in amusement at the two of them. Dante noticed all eyes were on him. "What? I can't compliment my best friend?"
"No, no, no, it's fine," said Diane, with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"I don't have a problem with it," said Lucky, in a mocking tone. He looked at Sonny, "do you have a problem with it?"
"No problem here," replied Sonny, smirking back.
The pair said their goodbyes to everybody. As they walked away, Dante put his arm around Lulu . Diane elbowed Olivia and pointed to them. "I wouldn't rush right back to the house, if I were you," she said to Sonny and Olivia. Olivia watched until they walked out the door. "Yeah, I think you're probably right." She looked over at Sonny. "So, my dear, are we staying here for awhile or going somewhere else?"
Lulu and Dante sat on the couch and talked for awhile. "I'm hungry. Do you want something?" she asked. He shook his head in agreement. "Oh, wait, let me guess, vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce?"
"You know it, but you stay right there. I'll go get it."
Lulu walked over to the mirror behind Sonny's desk and smoothed her hair. She blushed a little and an uncontrollable grin spread across her face. Lesley Lu Spencer, get it together. He is your best friend. Besides, are you really ready to start a relationship with a man right now? No, I don't think this is a good idea.
They ate in silence and processed what had happened earlier on the dance floor at Jake's. Both of them wondered if the other wanted to start something or even if they should.
Dante was the first to break the uneasiness. "So, are you done or do you want some more?"
"No thanks, I'm finished."
"Here, I'll take the bowls-" they said in unison. They laughed at each other. The atmosphere suddenly felt awkward again.
"Well, I um, I guess that I should probably go. I know you're tired." Dante nervously rubbed the top of her hand.
"Yeah. I didn't sleep very well last night. So..." She looked away, a little frightened by the feelings that seemed to be coursing through her.
"So, okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
As they both rose from the couch, their gaze locked again just like it did the day before. He took a few steps toward her and put his hand on her waist with every intention of only giving a chaste kiss. His lips met her forehead. He pulled away to gauge a reaction. He leaned in again, this time on the cheek. He took another glance at what her face told him. Seeing no signs of distress, he leaned in one last time. As their lips brushed together, a jolt of electricity shot through them both. The kiss grew more passionate. She felt something against her back, too entranced to realize that they had moved toward the wall.
As the kiss became even deeper and more passionate, a memory flashed in her mind. The scene of being pushed into the warehouse raced through her head. Another kiss was followed by a flash of being pushed to the floor and her clothes ripped so angrily from her body. Yet another kiss was accompanied by another flashback until everything came back in a flood. She wrestled against him, fighting for her freedom from his hold.
He quickly pulled away. "Lulu! Lulu! It's me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She wept uncontrollably as he eased her into a loving embrace. "Shh. It's okay. I shouldn't have done that. I never want to hurt you, ever. Please forgive me." She was too upset to speak. "Come on, let's sit down." He never loosened his hold as he brought her back over to the sofa. She cried quietly in his arms until she fell asleep. Sometime later, he fell asleep with her still in his arms.