Dino by Jaime Lewis

Chapter FOURTEEN

It was New Year’s Eve, and Arianna felt a mixture of emotions about the big celebration later that evening at Bayside. On the one hand, she was excited to see all of her friends, but on the other hand, she was nervous if they started to ask questions about her job. Over the last couple of days, she crafted some evasive maneuvers if she was backed into a corner. She knew her friends could be excellent interrogators at times.

To get her mind off the impending event and tone down her anxiousness, she had been excited yet surprised when she got a call from her good friend Alex Hardesty asking if she wanted to get together before the party. Alex had been the one friend who helped Arianna navigate the tough times when she had lost her mom. Alex had lost her dad, a Navy SEAL, when he was killed in action during a mission, so she understood the emotions getting through that time.

Sitting in a frozen yogurt shop just down the street from Alex’s charity foundation headquarters, Arianna hadn’t realized how much she had missed over the last few years until now as she talked with Alex. For the past two hours or so, they’d been exchanging stories and catching up on what had been going on in their lives. However, Arianna was careful not to divulge too much information.

“Alex, I’m so glad that you called me, and we were able to catch up a little before tonight,” Arianna told Alex as she scooped up another spoonful of her favorite—white chocolate with Oreo crumbles on top.

Alex smiled. “I was so happy when your dad said you were coming home for a visit.”

“It’s nice to be home.”

“I bet. I felt the same after I moved back home.”

“I still can’t believe you left the secret world of operatives,” Arianna admitted to Alex.

Alex grinned. “I know.  Sometimes I can’t believe it myself.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Sometimes. I think I miss the adrenaline rush more than the danger I sometimes faced.” She glanced at her engagement ring. “But I’m also content here at home with Ace. When he’s not deployed, that is.”

Arianna chuckled. “You and a Navy SEAL. Who would have thought?”

Alex had always sworn that she’d never date a military guy, let alone marry one.

Alex grinned, and by the sparkle in her eyes, Arianna could see that she was truly in love. She was happy for her.

“I guess you never know where you might find love.”

“You got that right,” Alex told her.

“How about you?”

“What about me?”

“Is there a special guy in your life? Weren’t you dating someone before you disappeared?”

“I was, but it didn’t work out. He was involved in some extracurricular activities with my next-door neighbor - if you know what I mean.” Alex nodded. “That happened right before I got sucked into the job I was doing up until a few weeks ago.” She shrugged her shoulders. “So, no boyfriend for me.”

Arianna couldn’t help feeling like she was omitting the truth because the first person who popped into her head was Dino. She hadn’t talked to him since Christmas when she fell asleep on him while watching Christmas movies. She had seen another side of him that night, and it truly touched her deep inside. He could’ve been an ass and walked away when she told him he wasn’t getting lucky. Instead, he actually listened to what she was saying and spent the evening with her doing what she wanted. He must’ve been working early mornings and late nights because she never saw or heard him either leaving or coming home the past days.  ALSO, she never called her dad when she got home.

She had used the free days to try and organize her garage that’s full of boxes. The people that the bureau instructed to pack up her apartment in Italy hadn’t known the first thing about packing. They could’ve packed all her items in half as many boxes as they had. Most of the boxes or containers were only half full. With the consolidating, she had done, she had at least made a path through the garage.

Alex stared at her, and Arianna tried her darndest to avoid eye contact, but Alex was too good of an observer.

“Okay, fess up. Who is he?”

“It’s nobody.” At least nobody that Alex knew, and it would stay that way.

When she didn’t get a response, she had figured that Alex had dropped it, but with one glance toward her friend and the incredulous look she got from her, Arianna knew Alex wasn’t going to let it go.

“Fine…he’s, my neighbor.”

Alex’s eyes widened in surprise and a slow, sly smile formed. “You slept with your neighbor?”

Arianna didn’t even respond verbally. She instead just nodded her head waiting to see what Alex’s reaction would be.

“Are you dating?”

“No!” She shot that down quickly.

“So, was it a one-night stand kind of thing?”

“Not exactly,” she answered, and Alex quirked her eyebrow. “More like neighbors with benefits.”

Alex covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laugh.

“Neighbors with benefits. That’s a new one for me. So, you’re not dating?”

“It’s complicated.”

“How so?”

“Neither one of us had wanted anything permanent.”

Alex was quiet for a moment, and Arianna started to believe that maybe Alex disapproved. Not that it mattered, because it was her decision and not Alex’s.

“You said neither of you had wanted anything. As in past tense. Have your feelings changed since you two made that agreement?”

Oh hell! It shouldn’t have surprised Arianna that Alex would take her words and analyze them. But Alex had a point. Her feelings had shifted slightly. Even though she had kept herself busy the last few days, she still found herself thinking about Dino.

“Judging from your silence, I’m going to say they have,” Alex said.

Arianna played with her napkin. “So, do you think it was a bad idea?”

Alex grinned. “Girl, obviously you enjoy what he has to offer if you keep going back. I wouldn’t say that’s bad. As long as that’s what you both want.”

Arianna shook her head, though she knew Alex was right. Now that she had taken a ride on the Italian Stallion, she wasn’t sure if she could walk away—her feelings be damned.

◆◆◆

Dino couldn’t put his mind to rest. Ever since Christmas night, which he’d admit, he enjoyed, he knew his feelings had changed significantly towards Anna. The last few nights, he had battled with himself and these new feelings he was developing. Thankfully, since there’d been an uptick in activity at work, it hadn’t left a lot of time to occupy his mind.

He wondered where she had gone off to for the night. He had seen her leave her house about an hour ago. Had she been on a date with another guy? Ugh! Why did he even care? It made him grumpy, and grumpy wasn’t how he wanted to start the new year.

Irish took a seat at the table and eyed Dino. “What has you looking down in the dumps? Tonight, should be a celebration. We made it through another year.”

“He found a lady friend and isn’t sure what to think of it.” Diego teased.

“Cool it,” Dino glared at Diego, and Diego chuckled.

Irish’s lips started to curl at the corners, and Dino knew he was in for it. He’d teased the others in the past when they were courting their women. But that was okay because he was a grown-ass man and could take the payback, though he never expected for it to happen.

“Who is she?” Irish asked, lifting his beer to his lips.

“Who’s who?” Ace asked as he, Potter, and Stitch all took the other empty chairs.

Ignoring Ace, Dino gave both Diego and Irish the evil eye, but all it did was cause them to snicker, knowing they had hit a nerve.

Thankfully, Alex appeared looking like she was filled with excitement as she bounced in place, and Dino could only wonder what the feisty former operative had up her sleeve. Alex was known to pull some pretty good pranks on the guys just because she could, and there had been some doozies.

“Oh, good.  Everyone is here. Arianna should be here any minute.”

Then her smile became bigger. “There she is now.” And she took off towards the front door.

Moments later, hearing some chatter behind him, Dino turned around, prepared to meet the woman everyone had been talking about for the last few days. As soon as his eyes locked onto the black-haired beauty walking towards him, he felt his chest tighten, and his eyes went wide. And he wasn’t the only one appearing shell shocked as Anna, who he knew her by, stopped mid-stride and stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

Alex and Tenley both got up along with Stitch and Frost and met Arianna with hugs but her eyes never abandoned his.

Diego nudged Dino’s elbow. “Do you two know each other?”

“Sort of,” Dino replied, his eyes still fixed on the woman he’d been slowly falling for.

“Sort of?” Diego questioned.

“Oh shit, Arianna is the neighbor you’ve been shacking up with, isn’t she?”  Irish chuckled.  “Can’t wait until Paul finds out about that.”

Dino tore his eyes away from Arianna to look at Irish.

“Paul?  What does he have to do with her?”

“There’s my girl!” As if on cue, Paul shouted from across the room where he stood by the bar.

“Daddy!” Arianna shouted as she started across the room, and Irish nodded for Dino to follow. When Paul came around the bar and scooped her up into his arms, Dino remembered Alex had mentioned that Arianna was Paul’s daughter.

“Damn, she is gorgeous. Now I understand why you did what you did,” Diego stated. Dino wasn’t sure why Diego’s comment bothered him. Of course, you do. Just admit you have feelings for her, his subconscious told him. But Dino then thought about it. If she lied about her name, what else had she lied about to him? Then he remembered what she told him about her job before moving here—fashion? Had she fed him a line of bullshit about that as well? And, just like that, the imaginary wall he had started to knock down started to rebuild itself.

He watched as Paul led her over to the table. Irish was still making sarcastic comments under his breath which was now beginning to piss Dino off.

“Let me introduce you to my favorite gang,” Paul said, stopping at their table with Arianna by his side.

Dino watched her, knowing his presence and his stare made her uncomfortable. He’d give her some credit; she hadn’t caved completely, but she was squirming.

“Of course, you know Stitch, Frost, Alex, and Tenley. There at the end, next to Alex, is Ace, her fiancé. The big scary guy next to Tenley is Potter, her husband. Red down there with Frost is Autumn. Next to them are Irish and his wife, Bailey. Then you got the bachelors at this end.  There’s Diego, Skittles, and Dino.”

She smiled. “It’s nice to meet everyone. Although I’ll be honest, I am horrible at remembering names—faces I can recognize, though. Her eyes met Dino’s.

“Hi, Dino,” she said, surprising Dino.

“How…” Paul started to ask, but Arianna interrupted him.

“We’re neighbors. We met about a week or so ago.”

Paul gave Dino a look as if he knew what he and she had been doing. That made Dino a little uncomfortable.

“Interesting…Well, I’ll let you spend tonight with your friends.  Go on and have fun, and we’ll catch up over breakfast tomorrow to discuss your schedule. Meet me at the old diner at nine sharp.”

“Yes, Sir.” She saluted her dad, making Paul laugh. He gave her one last hug before he went back over to join his friends near the bar.

“Well, take a seat, and welcome to our little dysfunctional family,” Alex told her with a twinkle in her eyes.

◆◆◆

Arianna wanted to run and hide under the nearest table the moment her eyes had locked with Dino’s. What were the odds that her neighbor was friends with her friends? This arrangement of theirs was going to blow up in her face.

Arianna took the lone seat at the table, which happened to be next to Dino. Before she could say anything, he leaned over and whispered, “You could’ve warned me.”

When she turned her head and met his gaze, she could see the hurt along with reservations in the piercing glare he gave her.

“How was I supposed to know you were friends with Alex, Tenley, Stitch, and Frost? And you even know my dad. It’s not like we exchanged our life history.”

He draped his arm over the back of her chair; his fingers brushed against her neck, sending tingles through her body. He was doing it on purpose to get her worked up. Though it should’ve pissed her off, his scheme was working. Anytime his hands touched her, it set off a sensation inside her body that only he could generate.

“Why did you lie about your name?” He flat out asked her.

“Technically, I didn’t lie. Anna is part of my name. My mom sometimes would call me Anna.” That wasn’t a lie. It had also been why the bureau had decided to give her that name for her undercover assignment. It was close to her name, and a name she wouldn’t have a hard time getting used to.

“And your job? Forensic Accountant or fashion industry? Which is it?”

His gaze literally made her squirm as he looked deep into her eyes. The intensity almost made her look away, but she didn’t. She swallowed hard.

“Both. Please don’t be upset with me.”

Before he could reply, Stitch shouted down to them. “What are you two whispering about over there?” It was meant to be funny, but both Arianna and Dino just stared at Stitch because neither knew what to say.

“Arianna, you said that you and Dino had met. Where was that?” Tenley asked.

“We live in the same neighborhood.”

“Wait, are you the neighbor with the dog?” Ace asked with a slight grin and gleam in his eye.

She felt the heat hit her face, and she turned toward Dino. “Oh my god!  You told them about that?” She scolded him, and then she felt her face get even hotter. Had he told them about what happened afterward?

“Oh, come on.  Even you thought it was funny as hell after the fact,” Dino told her and squeezed her thigh under the table.

It seemed as if only the guys knew about her unfortunate experience with Nigel’s bark collar, So Dino proceeded to retell the most embarrassing moment of her life to everyone else at the table. After he finished and everyone laughed at her expense, though she took it in stride, Dino leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “I only told them about the collar. I don’t kiss and tell.” He gently nipped her ear, and between that and his warm breath moving across the shell of her ear, it nearly made her insides turn to goo.

She grabbed the glass of water in front of her and guzzled half of the glass.

“Well, I think it’s great that you have someone like Dino who can watch your six,” Alex stated, looking directly at her and winked, before she took a sip of her drink. Arianna wasn’t sure if Alex had put two and two together and linked the arrangement she had with her neighbor, who she had told her about earlier in the day, to the man who was sitting next to her.

When she looked around the table, she caught Diego’s gaze and saw his subtle wink as if knowing what she was thinking. “Just fucking dandy!”

A little while later, Arianna, Tenley, and Alex all walked outside to the patio deck. With a large crowd expected, he had set up portal gas heaters out there so folks would have plenty of room. They took one of the tables and sat down.

“So, what exactly has been going on between you and Dino?”  Alex asked.

“What do you mean?” She said with a slight tilt of her head.

Tenley jumped to comment first. “Oh, don’t give us that look. First, you both looked shell-shocked the moment you saw one another. And, don’t think we didn’t see you guys down at the other end of the table whispering in each other’s ear.

Damn, Tenley had gained some investigative skills, and Arianna felt the heat to her cheeks for the second time this evening, and she picked up her pineapple and rum drink and took a big gulp. When she set it down, she looked at her two friends across the table.

“We were just surprised to see each other, that’s all.  As he said, we live in the same neighborhood.”

She looked away, hoping her friends would drop the third degree, but that was wishful thinking.

Then as if she had an epiphany, Alex blurts out, “Oh Jesus, he’s the neighbor you slept with?”

“What?” Tenley asked, looking between Alex and Arianna.

“For Christ’s sake, Alex, keep your damn voice down,” Arianna whispered, then glanced around the patio, making sure nobody had overheard her friend's loud mouth.

Alex started laughing, and then Tenley chimed in. “Damn, chica, you’re home for a week, and you already got yourself a man.  And, not any ordinary man. You nabbed yourself a SEAL.”

“It’s not like that, Tenley.”  She shook her head as Tenley’s words just registered. “Wait, what do you mean I nabbed a SEAL?”

A huge grin spread across Alex’s face. “Dino is part of Ace and Potter’s team—SEAL Team.”

“Oh shit.”

“Spill it. What have you and the Italian Stallion been up to the last week or so? Wait? How long have you been home?”

She gave them a well-edited version of the reason she was not with the bureau. They thought her contract wasn’t renewed after the project she had been assisting on had been completed.

Then she told them all about sneaking onto Dino’s dock and how their arrangement came about.

“We both had a little too much to drink, and one thing led to another.  And, then another.”  She covered her face.  “I’m so screwed.”

“From the sounds of it, you were literally screwed seven ways to Sunday.”  Tenley couldn’t stop laughing.

“So, again, you guys aren’t dating?” Alex asked for the third time today.

“No.” Arianna wondered if Alex had any insight on his background. It was apparent that she was close to all of the guys on the team.

“What’s his story?”  She asked Alex as she took in the sight of Dino as he interacted with everyone.  He seemed to be enjoying himself around his friends.

“I don’t know a lot.  Out of all of the guys on the team, he is the quietest and doesn’t share too much personal information.”

“You’ve never asked Ace?”

“Nope.  Not my business.  I don’t ask questions where it’s related to the guys unless it warrants it.  Anyways, most of them end up confiding in me, so I don’t really have to ask.  But I do sense that there’s something from his past that he keeps close to himself.”

That was fair. She half wondered why she even asked Alex. Dino’s personal life didn’t concern her. If he wanted her to know about it, he would tell her.

“So, what are your plans now that you’re back? Do you think the bureau will renew your contract?”

Arianna traced the rim of her glass with her finger. How could she honestly answer Alex’s questions when she didn’t even know the answer? “I don’t know, and even if they do, I’m not sure if I want to return. For now, I told my dad I’d help around here with some of the managerial things.”

Alex scrunched her forehead up. “I thought Victoria handled that type of stuff for your dad.”

“Ehh…I sense there’s trouble in paradise between those two.”

“Well, whatever you decide, we support you. Although we’d love to have you around here,” Alex told her.

Tenley raised her glass in the air. “Well, ladies, I say we toast to a healthy, prosperous - less drama in our lives - New Year.”

Alex raised her drink and clicked it against Tenley’s. “I second that—especially the drama.”

They looked at Arianna. She smiled and lifted her glass to theirs. “Happy New Year!”

After they finished their drinks off, they all headed back inside as it was getting close to midnight.  Arianna let her friends go in before her, and she watched as both Alex and Tenley met their men in the middle of the room to watch on the large projector screen the last seconds of the year tick down.

She stood back and glanced around. They were in the home stretch—twenty seconds to go, and now everyone had congregated into the middle of the room with their drinks and noisemakers in hand, ready for the celebration. Her eyes moved around the open space witnessing the many couples who were hugging each other in anticipation of sharing that first kiss of the new year.  She sought out the one person she’d been looking for and was hit with a jolt of jealousy as she saw Dino cuddled with another woman, his arm draped over her shoulders as he held her close. No matter how many times she said to herself that she shouldn’t care, it still stung a little.

They were just fuck-buddies. She cringed; just repeating that phrase in her head. Was that what she really wanted to be—just a booty call?”

She searched for her dad and found him near the bar in his usual spot. It made Arianna happy to see him laughing and enjoying the night with his friends. A sudden feeling of loneliness washed over her causing her to take a step backward. Taking in the atmosphere surrounding her, Arianna began to feel as if she was a stranger. Had living the life of an undercover agent with no contact with her friends and family for the last two years set her back personally?

As the clock struck midnight and the crowd erupted into cheers and singing as they welcomed in the New Year, Arianna silently slipped out the back door.

Even though it was blustery she slipped her boots and socks off then walked in the sand down towards the water. Feeling the sand squish between her toes brought a smile to her face as she remembered all of the wonderful memories she had at this beach. Once she was far enough from the light coming from the deck at the restaurant, she took a seat and closed her eyes, listening to the waves wash ashore.

Her mind was riddled with questions that only she had the answers to. But it was complicated. Being that it was New Year’s and every year, she would set goals for herself to attain by the end of the year. She wasn’t into making resolutions. Anyone could say they would start exercising, but why were they exercising? Was it to lose weight, to feel healthy? Without goals, most resolutions end up in failure.

Arianna had always been goal-oriented. She liked creating a plan of action and working through the steps to sustain her goals. Sometimes she may not complete one by the end of the year, but she was still progressing toward it and would carry it into the following year. She wasn’t a quitter.

But how could she create goals for this year when she didn’t even know what the future held for her.  Her career path was up in the air, and she didn’t even want to touch the subject of relationship goals. She honestly couldn’t say where she’d even be living.

She tilted her face upward and took in the beauty of what the heavens offered for the night—not a cloud in the black velvet sky and a waning crescent moon shining down on the earth below.

◆◆◆

At the stroke of midnight, Dino leaned down and kissed Jess on the cheek. Jess was the wife of a friend of his who was assigned to another SEAL team. Her husband was currently deployed, and she was out celebrating the new year with some of the other wives from the team. He had promised her that he would watch the count-down with her.

Jess hugged him and thanked him for keeping his promise before leaving to find her friends. Stuck in the middle of the floor with partiers surrounding him, acting wild, Dino looked for the one person with who he had wanted to share the first kiss of the new year with but she wasn’t to be found. He had seen her come back inside with Alex and Tenley and had been standing by the back hallway that led to the restrooms. He caught Bruno’s eye, and as if knowing who Dino was searching for, Bruno nodded toward the patio doors.

He walked out onto the empty deck as everyone had gone inside to watch the countdown. The sound of the ocean waves hitting the shoreline drew him toward the railing overlooking the section of the beach directly in front of the restaurant. For the most part, it was scarce, just a few people he had seen inside earlier who probably lived nearby and were walking home.

Arianna couldn’t have gone far. He knew she had driven her car to the restaurant and her house was too far to walk to, so she had to have been out there somewhere. He scanned up and down the beach. Finally, his eyes caught some movement down by the waterline. Once he focused on the object, he realized it was someone sitting out there. His instincts told him it was her.

He took the stairs down to the beach. He was still skeptical about Arianna and had a lot of questions he wanted answers to. But something inside him told him she had valid reasons for hiding her true identity from him. Nonetheless, it also made him wonder if and when she would’ve told him the truth.

As he walked closer, he got a better view of her as she sat in the sand with her knees propped up, leaning back as her arms braced her frame. She was focused on something out in the water, and he followed her line of sight and saw a ship out in the distance. He wasn’t sure which ship it was, as there were several in port at the base in Norfolk, but he knew it was definitely a Navy vessel.

He took the last few steps and sat down next to her. His company must’ve startled her because she gasped and quickly leaned away from him until she realized it was him.

He smiled at her. “Hi.”

With her hand still over her heart, she took a deep breath. “You scared the crap out of me.”

He snickered to himself. “Sorry. You must’ve seen something out there that caught your eye.”

“It’s beautiful,” she told him sitting back up, then nodding her head toward the water.

His eyes traveled back out, over the rippling sea in the direction she was looking. She had been talking about the ship sitting out there with all of its lights on.  Even on board, the men and women were most likely welcoming in the new year Navy ship style.

He scooted closer to her.

“I was looking for you.”

She stayed staring at the water. “When?”

“At midnight.”

“Didn’t look that way to me,” she told him flatly, and he knew then that she must’ve seen him with Jess.

Did he hear a tinge of jealousy in her tone?

“Why’d you disappear?”

“I can’t really explain why,” she admitted, then abruptly jumped to her feet and wiped the sand from her pants. He stood up next to her and studied her. Her face was pinched, and her eyes weren’t as bright as they were earlier. He sensed something more besides the Jess thing was bothering her.  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his body.

She tilted her head back to look up at him, and he searched her eyes, trying to see through all the emotion filtering through them. Was she calling out to him for help?

The engine of a fighter jet roared in the distance and an idea popped into Dino’s head.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

She lifted her hand and looked at her watch. “And do what? I don’t think there’s much open, considering it’s a holiday and a quarter after midnight.”

“What I have in mind is open twenty-four, seven.”

She looked unsure, but he just smiled as he slipped the palm of his other hand under her hair and cupped the back of her head, holding her in place to ensure she couldn’t look away from him. He lowered his head and touched his forehead against hers. They were eye-to-eye and nose-to-nose. Each time she blinked, he felt the brush of her long eye lashes against his, while the steady beat of her heart was felt against his chest.

“Trust me?”

Although her whispered answer was almost drowned out from the sounds of the breakers, her response was heard loud and clear by him.

“Yes.”

When her body began to relax under his hold, he lifted his head and kissed her forehead as she leaned into him, showing acceptance of his gesture.

◆◆◆

Fifteen minutes later, and a tour of Virginia Beach's back roads at night, they pulled into a grass lot, and Dino backed into a space along the fence. They both exited the vehicle, and he popped the back hatch and motioned for Arianna to have a seat.

During the car ride, Dino had explained how Jess, the woman she saw with Dino, was just a friend and the promise he had made to her. It actually made Arianna feel better, and not because Jess was just a friend, but because it showed her another side of Dino—his compassion and someone who keeps their word.

The butterfly kiss that Dino gave her on the beach was still on her mind. She had remembered an article she had read not too long ago on the real meaning of a kiss and that a butterfly kiss indicated tenderness, trust, and close emotional and physical intimacy.

Whether Dino was aware of that or not, it was still becoming obvious that they were more connected to one another than just through sexual chemistry.

She looked around, and Dino knew she wasn’t sure where they were. Seconds later, as the first F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet growled in the air above them, Dino saw her face light up. She glanced at him.

“The Air Station?”

“Yeah.”

“I haven’t been to this location. My dad always took me to the other side to watch.”

“Not many people know about this spot.” He wasn’t lying. You had to travel down an isolated dirt road and then make a couple of turns before you found the spot.  Most people gave up trying to find it. Dino loved to come out here.

They sat there watching jets take off and land.

She turned her body to face him.

“I’m sorry about not being forthcoming about who I really was.”

“Apology accepted.”

She exhaled. “What would you like to know about me?”

“You can start with telling me how you sustained that gunshot wound to your arm.”

At first, he thought she would deny it, but then her facial expression said it all.

“Arianna?”

“I can’t talk about it.”  She looked away from him.

He reached over and placed his finger under her chin and forced her to turn back.

“Can’t or won’t?”

She leveled her gaze at him. “Can’t.”

“Does it have to do with your job in the FBI or the fashion business?”

“Dino,” she said with a sigh. She sat there for a few moments staring into the darkness. Finally, she asked, “You know how you guys have your secrets?”

He nodded but also wondered where she was going with this.

“Well, I have mine. I’m sorry, but I can’t discuss it.”

“Because of your job with the FBI?” He wanted her to at least confirm what he was thinking.

When she nodded her head, he said, “Okay. That’s fair. But answer me this one question.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you in danger?”

She blinked her eyelids in rapid succession then swallowed hard. Another jet took off, catching her attention. She was silent as she followed the jet’s tail watching the afterburners glow in the night sky. When she turned back to him, her face showed no emotion, and he couldn’t gauge what her response was going to be.

“I honestly don’t know.”

He reached over and laid his hand on hers while it was resting on her leg.

“Promise me that if you are ever in any type of danger, you come to me.”

“Dino, what’s happening between us?”

He released her hand and ran it down his face. “I don’t know, Arianna. I’ll be honest, the feelings I’m experiencing are ones I haven’t encountered in many, many years, and I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with it.”

He turned his head and looked at her. “Does that even make sense?”

She gave him a soft smile and reached for his hand. “Someone hurt you, and you haven’t been able to recover from it.” She gently caressed the top of his hand, meant as a gesture to show compassion.

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

“It didn’t just involve one person, and many people were impacted by what occurred.”

“It sounds like you’ve never recovered from the aftermath of what happened.” She had hit the nail on the head. Losing both the woman he thought had loved him, and then his best friend who had blown a hole in his heart that he never thought he’d be able to repair.

He hung his head. He wasn’t sure how to respond without opening up pandora's box and telling her everything that he had never told another single person outside of his family.

As if sensing his unease, she scooted closer and placed her head against his shoulder.

“I really like you, Arianna,” he said in a low voice, and he knew she heard him because she hugged his arm.

“I like you too.”

They sat like that together for the next hour. Every once in a while, one or the other would ask a generic question like what their favorite color was or what their favorite food was. They spent the time just getting to know one another.

◆◆◆

It was close to two o’clock in the morning when they decided to call it a night. Arianna felt like she and Dino had made a little progress. It was what they both needed. She was curious about the incident he talked about vaguely that involved his past. Eventually, she would get him to open up to her.

As Dino was closing the back to the SUV, Arianna spotted someone on a bicycle riding through the grass towards the fence line. Arianna thought it was odd to see someone riding a bike out in the woods near the base at this time of the night.

When the bicyclist stopped about fifteen yards from their spot, Arianna recognized the woman.

She grabbed Dino’s arm. “That’s Grace from the shelter where I got Nigel.”

“Seriously?” He asked, looking concerned. “What is she doing out here by herself and on a bike?” He looked over at Arianna. “This isn’t the safest area, especially at night.”

“Should we go find out?”

“It couldn’t hurt.”

As Arianna and Dino approached, another fighter jet took off above them, and Grace looked straight above her head as it flew over. She had her back to them.

“Grace?”

When Grace spun around and screamed, Arianna felt awful for frightening her, but maybe this could be a lesson learned that she shouldn’t be out here alone.

Once Grace found her footing, she looked closer, and her eyes widened. “Arianna, right?”

Dino squeezed Arianna’s waist and leaned in toward her ear. “She knew your real name?” He teased.

Arianna smiled. “Yes, hi. We were getting ready to leave and noticed you over here.” Arianna gestured to Dino. “This is Dino. A friend of mine.”

Dino reached his hand out and Arianna noticed Grace’s hesitation as she looked at his hand like it was going to jump up and bite her. But she finally extended her hand and shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she greeted Dino.

Dino nodded his head. “Likewise.”

“Are you here alone?” Arianna asked as she looked around, hoping maybe there was someone else, but it seemed that she was alone.

“Yes. I come down here several times a week.”

“You like planes?”

She shrugged her shoulders and appeared to be uncomfortable with Arianna’s questioning. Just then, another plane catapulted down the runway and shot upward, and Grace watched in fascination.

Once the aircraft was long gone, she turned back toward Arianna. “They just remind me of my past.”

Arianna could see in Grace’s expression and body language that she was on edge. For some strange reason, Arianna wanted to befriend this young girl. Call it instincts, call it whatever you wanted, but Arianna knew this girl needed a friend.

“Hey, my friends and I are going to get together next week at my dad’s restaurant. Have you heard of Bayside?”

“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been.”

Arianna smiled. “Well, you should come and hang out with us. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

Grace looked down towards the ground. “I don’t know. I’m not a very social person.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve seen you at the shelter. You are great with people,” Arianna pushed.

“That’s different. It’s my job.”

“Well, Mia will be there and of course me, and now you know Dino. So that makes three people that you’d know.”

“I’ll have to see.”

Arianna wasn’t counting on her showing up, but at least she had extended an olive branch.

“Okay.”

“Well, I better get going.”

“Do you need a ride?” Dino offered, and Arianna hoped that Grace would say yes, because she would be worried if she didn’t know that she got home okay.

“No, thank you.”

Dino raised his eyebrow, and Arianna could tell that he wanted to push the issue, as did she, but she didn’t want to scare Grace off for good. She would make sure that she followed up with Mia about it.”

“Okay. Well, if you ever want to hang out, talk, or anything, Mia knows where to find me.”

“Thank you,” she said before glancing at Dino. “It was nice meeting you.”

He smiled. “You too, honey. And as Arianna said, we hope to see you around.”

Arianna watched Grace as she pedaled across the grass lot to get to the road before she disappeared into the woods.  Her gut clenched as the darkness swallowed her up.

Dino whistled low. “Damn, that girl definitely has a story to tell.”

Arianna squeezed his hand and looked up at him. “Just like someone else I know.” He squinted his eyes, and she laughed then winked at him.  “Come on. You need to drop me off so I can pick up my car.”