Steven the brother he never had.
Well, damn. The problem was, I had hoped to use the twenty-questions-style chatter to distract me from being attracted to Steven. Instead, the more I found out—the more I liked. I lost track of how many courses and wines were brought out. It was all delicious. But my head was spinning and my stomach was full. “Steven, I’ve had enough,” I announced when Jason came back with what he described as a palate-cleansing sparkling dessert wine. I was peeking at the label when Steven spoke.
“You’ve tasted your fill, huh?” Something in his inflection made me look up. I raised a brow at him.
“Are you flirting again?” I took one sip. It was liquid ambrosia, but I set it aside.
“Do you want me to?” He took one sip and set it aside as well.
I paused. He smiled. I answered him.“No. I’m stuffed. Let’s call it a night.”
He nodded.“As you wish.”
David came back out of the kitchen and we said our goodbyes. Stepping out into the night, I realized that I’d had quite a bit to drink in the last twenty-four hours and not so very much sleep. I was a little off balance but all of sudden inexplicably energetic. I took a quick step forward and teetered slightly. His hand was there to steady me.
“You okay?”
“A little light-headed but I feel great.You want to walk for a little while?”
He gave me a strange look. “I thought you were ready to get rid of me.”
I took a step back. “Are you in a hurry? Do you need to get home?”
“I’m a grown-ass man, Ti-Ti. I’ve got all night.”
Uh-oh. I shook my head at him. “Let’s just walk, S. Dub. Let’s just walk.”
So we walked. Block after block, making easy conversation along the way.We had walked for quite a ways when I heard salsa music playing. As we neared the club, I paused and did a quick step. He reached for my arm and spun me around to complete the step and fell in beside me. I smiled up at him. “You know salsa?”
He cut another step and grinned.“You tell me.You game?”
I laughed.“Oh hell, why not?”
As we walked in, he said in my ear,“Still not a date though, right?”
“Definitely not.”
“Just checking.” When I reached in my purse to pay the cover charge, he frowned and shook his head. Handing money over to the hostess, he said, “Okay, let’s see what you got, Ti-Ti.”
The song was changing as we stepped to the small dance floor, the music started, and I smiled in recognition.“Oh, it’s a Willie Colón song.”
“Tito Puente did it better though.” He slid his arm around my waist and we started moving together. “And close your mouth, Ti-Ti.A brother knows music, too.”
My last thought before he spun it out of my head was that it was a shame I wouldn’t know him for much longer. He was the most interesting guy I’d met in years.
I had no more time for stray thoughts. I had to concentrate on keeping up.This boy could move, and he had a flair for the dramatic. He spun me and dipped me and danced me backwards and in a swirl.When the music turned slow and dreamy, he pulled me close and we swayed.When it switched to a reg-gaeton beat, he stepped back and we kept moving.
They say you can tell a lot about somebody by the way they dance. If that is at all true, Steven was the smoothest brother I had ever come across. He had moves I couldn’t keep up with, and I could cut me a step. He had the nerve to look good doing it, too. Effortless. I watched him and he watched me right back. It had been ages since I danced like this. We kept it going until the band took a break. He took my hand and led me off the dance floor.We paused by the bar for a second and he ordered something.
“Whew!” I dug a lone Kleenex out of my tiny handbag and dabbed at my face.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
I nodded and gratefully accepted the bottle of water he handed me. I opened it and took a deep swig as we started walking. My head was spinning, I was hot and my feet were killing me, but I
Well, damn. The problem was, I had hoped to use the twenty-questions-style chatter to distract me from being attracted to Steven. Instead, the more I found out—the more I liked. I lost track of how many courses and wines were brought out. It was all delicious. But my head was spinning and my stomach was full. “Steven, I’ve had enough,” I announced when Jason came back with what he described as a palate-cleansing sparkling dessert wine. I was peeking at the label when Steven spoke.
“You’ve tasted your fill, huh?” Something in his inflection made me look up. I raised a brow at him.
“Are you flirting again?” I took one sip. It was liquid ambrosia, but I set it aside.
“Do you want me to?” He took one sip and set it aside as well.
I paused. He smiled. I answered him.“No. I’m stuffed. Let’s call it a night.”
He nodded.“As you wish.”
David came back out of the kitchen and we said our goodbyes. Stepping out into the night, I realized that I’d had quite a bit to drink in the last twenty-four hours and not so very much sleep. I was a little off balance but all of sudden inexplicably energetic. I took a quick step forward and teetered slightly. His hand was there to steady me.
“You okay?”
“A little light-headed but I feel great.You want to walk for a little while?”
He gave me a strange look. “I thought you were ready to get rid of me.”
I took a step back. “Are you in a hurry? Do you need to get home?”
“I’m a grown-ass man, Ti-Ti. I’ve got all night.”
Uh-oh. I shook my head at him. “Let’s just walk, S. Dub. Let’s just walk.”
So we walked. Block after block, making easy conversation along the way.We had walked for quite a ways when I heard salsa music playing. As we neared the club, I paused and did a quick step. He reached for my arm and spun me around to complete the step and fell in beside me. I smiled up at him. “You know salsa?”
He cut another step and grinned.“You tell me.You game?”
I laughed.“Oh hell, why not?”
As we walked in, he said in my ear,“Still not a date though, right?”
“Definitely not.”
“Just checking.” When I reached in my purse to pay the cover charge, he frowned and shook his head. Handing money over to the hostess, he said, “Okay, let’s see what you got, Ti-Ti.”
The song was changing as we stepped to the small dance floor, the music started, and I smiled in recognition.“Oh, it’s a Willie Colón song.”
“Tito Puente did it better though.” He slid his arm around my waist and we started moving together. “And close your mouth, Ti-Ti.A brother knows music, too.”
My last thought before he spun it out of my head was that it was a shame I wouldn’t know him for much longer. He was the most interesting guy I’d met in years.
I had no more time for stray thoughts. I had to concentrate on keeping up.This boy could move, and he had a flair for the dramatic. He spun me and dipped me and danced me backwards and in a swirl.When the music turned slow and dreamy, he pulled me close and we swayed.When it switched to a reg-gaeton beat, he stepped back and we kept moving.
They say you can tell a lot about somebody by the way they dance. If that is at all true, Steven was the smoothest brother I had ever come across. He had moves I couldn’t keep up with, and I could cut me a step. He had the nerve to look good doing it, too. Effortless. I watched him and he watched me right back. It had been ages since I danced like this. We kept it going until the band took a break. He took my hand and led me off the dance floor.We paused by the bar for a second and he ordered something.
“Whew!” I dug a lone Kleenex out of my tiny handbag and dabbed at my face.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
I nodded and gratefully accepted the bottle of water he handed me. I opened it and took a deep swig as we started walking. My head was spinning, I was hot and my feet were killing me, but I
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