“Luna?” Dante’s voice breaks my train of thought, and I turn to find him standing in my bedroom doorway.
“Good morning,” I say, trying to force a smile. “Would you like me to make you some coffee?”
“What’s wrong?” Dante asks, his brows furrowed, disregarding my question.
“Nothing–I, well, I need to talk to you about something,” I say, dropping my phone into my lap.
Here goes nothing.
Dante sits next to me, pulling my legs into his lap as he’s done many times this week, and it settles my nerves. “I told you that I write books for a living, but what I haven’t told you is that I gained success in my author career from having an online presence on an app called VidTok. Have you heard of VidTok?” Dante shakes his head and starts rubbing my foot. “Well, it’s a place where people share videos online of things they like, or they join communities in the app, and I have a decent following in the BookTok community on VidTok.”
“So you post videos about yourbooks and people read them?”
“Yes, that’s how it started for me. But recently, an opportunity has come up, and I wanted to get your opinion on it.” Dante nods again, and it makes me happy to see him actually listening to me. “There’s another creator on the app, he’s called Wolfy by his fans, and he has reached out to me to do a collab. He would like to meet in person to help create content for my book. I’ll be dressed as my main character, Vera, and he will be dressed as my male main character, Liam, and I assume we’ll record videos in character. I’ve never done this before, so it’s new to me, but I also wanted to ask you if you’d go…with me.”
Dante's hands still on my foot. He looks at me and nods, “Of course. I would love to go with you, especially if you’re meeting someone you’ve never met.”
I stare at him, waiting for him to say something about VidTok, but he doesn’t. “You don’t care that I post videos on the internet?”
Dante shakes his head, smiling at me. “No, Luna. Why would I? How you run your business is none of mine. Like I’ve said before, you’ve built a beautiful life for yourself. I am in awe of, and a bit envious of, your tenacity for life. I’m glad you told me.”
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, and the tension in my body releases. “Being online is a bit hectic at times, like right now, everyone thinks Wolfy and I are dating, and I’m trying to steal him from them. It’s not true,obviously, but they don’t know that, and he left a comment under one of mine that has fueled a bunch of those rumors, but I think he’s a bit oblivious to what his following does because he has so many of them.”
“You should send him a message, tell him to correct that. If he doesn’t, then you won’t meet with him. You don’t deserve disrespect of any kind, no matter how many followers this guy has. Rumors take a life of their own, so he should consider that the next time he leaves a comment.” Dante continues rubbing my foot. “Are you sure you want to meet him?”
“I do. I think it will be good for my business, and myfollowers would love it. I’m glad you’ll be there with me, though. I feel much better about going now.”
“Good, but speaking about going, I got a message from my boss, and I’m needed on call today, so I have to head back to my apartment. But I wanted to discuss something with you, too.” I sit up, giving him my full attention. “I want to take you away this weekend. I have an entire weekend planned for us, but I want to surprise you. I’ve already talked to Olivia about it, and she’s already given the go-ahead, but is sworn to secrecy, so don’t think about texting her.”
I bite my lip, trying to contain my joy. “What’s the occasion? Is it your birthday or something?”
Dante laughs as he stops rubbing my foot and his hand finds mine, bringing it to his lips. He leaves a small kiss on my knuckles and looks me in the eyes. “I know this week has been unexpected for both of us, and if I can be honest with you, I don’t want it to stop, but I know titles are important to you, and what we have right now is unlabeled, so I want to take you away to show you what dating me would look like for real. As much as I would like to spend forever here with you, but I don’t want to intrude on your space any more than I have without having the title of being your boyfriend.”
“Oh, Dante.” My heart swells, the sting of tears pricking my eyes. I blink, take a deep breath, and rein in my emotions. “When do we leave?”
Dante smiles, dropping my hand and leaning in closer to me, “Tomorrow morning. Be ready by six.”
“Six? In the morning? The sun is barely up at that time,” I groan.
Dante captures my chin, pulling me in for a kiss. “Trust me, you’ll want to see what I have planned.” I hum my consent, and Dante pulls me in for another kiss. “I can be late for work, too.”
I giggle against his lips, pulling away. “No, you should go. I’ve kept you locked away this week, and I’m sure you’re needed as the top cyber securer.”
Dante laughs. “I’ll get dressed then, and head out.Don’t forget to eat breakfast since I’m sure you haven’t eaten yet. You can’t write on an empty stomach.” He gives me a wink and gets up, walking to my bedroom.
I can’t believe this is my life. I bite my thumb to keep myself from squealing, because what do you mean he planned a getaway weekend for me? For me? These kinds of things don’t happen to me, but it’s happening right in front of me!
I calm myself and get up from the couch to grab my robe. I bump into Dante on the way into my room, and he catches my arms, pinning me against my bedroom wall. He kisses my neck, and I let out a breathy moan. Dante pulls back, looking me in the eyes. His green eyes search mine, and I see his gaze flick back to my lips. “Be a good girl for me while I’m gone. Write your book, drink your water, and pack your bag for the weekend, okay? Pack warmly, and bring comfortable shoes. I’ll see you in the morning, okay, angel?”
I nod, and Dante smiles, “That’s my good girl.” He kisses me softly, and it takes my breath away. He lets go of my face, his fingers trailing down my arm, holding my hand, and I follow him to the front door. He grabs his bag, shuffling it on his shoulder, and opens the door. I lean against the frame as I watch him walk down the stairs until I can’t see him anymore.
I shut the door behind me, and I feel like I’m on cloud nine. Everything is falling into place as it should, and I don’t have anything to be afraid of.
The sound of a VidTok notification breaks my happy moment when I realize I have to confront the internet today—the terrifying, ruthless internet thatcurrently hates me because they think I’m taking their man meat.
It’s fine. I can do this. I’m putting on my big girl panties, and I’ll set everyone straight.
I grab my phone and open VidTok, scrolling through my messages to get to Wolfy:
