She nods sheepishly. “They sent me an email congratulating me, and I’ll be getting a certificate in the mail.”
“That’s awesome! I’m so happy for you. That’s such a huge accomplishment. Let me take you out to celebrate.”
“Aren’t we already out?” Luna teases.
“True, but what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t take you out to celebrate?”
Luna’s eyes widen, and her face is one of pure shock. “Dante, that was in the heat of the moment. You don’t have to play along anymore.”
I lean forward, licking my lips, deliberately pulling her attention to my mouth. “I meant every word I said, Luna. Do you not want me to be your boyfriend?”
“Uh–” our server arrives with our food, interrupts, and sets it in front of us. “Thank you,” she says with a smile, and they nod, quickly leaving to tend to other tables. “Well, I–it’s not that I don’t want to date you, I do, I–I’m just hesitant.”
“Would you tell me why? If I can ease any of your discomforts or insecurities, I will gladly do so.” I pick up my fork and begin to eat my food, waiting for her to explain.
Luna’s mouth hangs open, but she quickly shuts it. “WhenI told you my last relationship was not a good one, not good was an understatement. It started like any normal relationship; he pretended to be the chivalrous boyfriend, but quickly turned into a raging lunatic once I moved in with him. He was an angry man. Angry at everything, but mostly me…and then he started hitting me.” Luna stirs with her yogurt, taking a breath. “Anyways, I left him and moved here to start over. I haven’t been with anyone since, and I’m unsure if I even want to be in a relationship.”
“What’s his name?” I ask, my voice low and threatening. I’ll visit him to make sure he never hurts her again.
Luna shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter, and if you want to be with me, it won’t matter to you either. It’s in the past.”
I place my fork down gently and take a deep breath. I won’t get anywhere with her if I let my anger take over. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I hold out my hand to her, and she slips her hand into mine. “I promise you’re safe with me, Luna. I would put myself in harm's way before I ever let it touch you.”
Luna smiles softly. “I know, and that kind of scares me, too, because this feels too good to be true. I mean, have you looked at yourself in the mirror, Dante? You’re incredibly handsome, and on top of it all, you’re extremely thoughtful as well. You stuck up for me, and every woman at the gym today, with that creep when you didn’t have to. Please tell me there’s something wrong with you, because you’reabsolutelytoo good to be true.”
Would now be a good time to tell you that I’m currently stalking you?
I chuckle to myself. “That dickhead deserved to have his teeth punched down his throat, but then I wouldn’t have been able to take you to breakfast, so I let him off with a warning.”
Luna pulls her hand back, and I immediately miss her warmth, “I just need more time. I hope you understand.”
I nod, picking up my fork. “Completely. I’m a patient man, Luna. I’m willing to wait for what I want,” I smile, and go back to eating my breakfast.
A momentary setback, but it doesn’t matter.I can tell from the way she looks at me that she feels it, too. Something is pulling us together. The universe? Fate? I don’t know, but I do know Luna is meant to be mine.
We finish our breakfast in a comfortable silence until the server comes, and Luna tries to pay for it. “No, please let me cover breakfast,” she pleads.
“Absolutely not. I asked you to breakfast, I'll pay. That’s the rules.” The server rolls their eyes, takes my card, and disappears.
“Who’s rules? I can pay for breakfast.” Luna crosses her arms over her chest, giving me the perfect view of her cleavage. She tries to give me a look of intimidation, and I stop myself from smiling like an idiot over how adorable she looks while trying to be scary.
“My rules. Don’t like it, ask me on a date, and then I’ll let you pay.” I say, teasing and giving her a wink.
Luna laughs, “Okay. I’ll remember that.” Her phone buzzes, and she takes it out, her face paling for a moment as she looks at the screen. Whatever it is, it’s gone as quickly as it came, and she turns back to me, smiling. “Shoot. I have to run. I have some other stuff planned today, and I need to get going.”
“Let me walk you back to your car,” I say, standing with her from the table, and we walk together back to the parking lot. “Am I allowed to hug you?” I ask as we are about to part ways.
“Thank you for breakfast,” Luna says as she leans in to hug me.
It takes everything in me to stop myself from kissing her soft hair as I rest my cheek against it. I breathe her in, trying to burn it in my memory. Patchouli and vanilla from the incense she burns while she writes. I have to pull myself away first before I kiss her. “Have a good rest of your day, Luna. Text me when you’re home.” She nods and gets into her car.
I have to remember how to breathe as I walk away. I don’t want to walk away. I want to run to her and tell her that we are meant to be together, but I need to wait. Iampatient. I’m not a monster; I just have monstrous tendencies to murder people.
The engine of my bike roars to life, and I rev the engine afew times before taking off out of the parking lot, looking over at Luna before speeding off down the road. I pass Luna’s apartment as I make my way over to mine, and it reminds me of the mystery that is Luna Stirling.
Hours later, the question still begs to be answered as I stare at the thousands of possible names on my computer screen. I’ve scanned every name on my list, and not a single one has a seventeen-year-old daughter who was orphaned after the crash.
Over breakfast, Luna said she was abused in her last relationship. It makes me sick to think that Luna needed to run away and change her identity because some bastard couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
