Chapter 39 A good booze while you make my kitty purr

Chapter 39 A good booze while you make my kitty purr
Marilyn’s POV

I laughed as I stared at my phone.

That was easy, I thought.

I really believed they were inseparable and that nothing could pull them apart. But I guess I’ll be damned.

“You’re smiling for the first time today.”

I looked up at the voice. Dante.

We had somehow wound up at his place after everything. He offered good booze, and I was not about to reject good booze.

We sat in his living room, the quiet kind that belonged to someone who lived alone and liked it that way. I had slipped off my heels earlier and tucked my feet under me on the couch. My bag was beside me, open, with receipts and a lip gloss half sticking out.

“What do you mean for the first time today?” I asked. I tried to shift the conversation away from why I was smiling at my phone. And honestly, I was curious about what he meant. “I smiled when you took me shopping, when you got me ice cream. Made me try golf… and I still hate it… but I looked cute in the outfit so I guess that wasn’t so bad.”

“Yes. You did look cute,” he said.

The way he said it made my cheeks warm.

“But even though I did all of that for you, you still weren’t smiling the way you just did now.”

I opened my mouth to respond but paused when I heard the tone behind his words.

He wasn’t asking out of curiosity.

He sounded disappointed.

And maybe even sad that after everything he tried today, he still couldn’t put me in a good mood.

I leaned back in the chair and let my head rest against the cushion. My hand tightened around the glass before I finished the last bit inside.

I knew he expected an apology.

But I am very selfish with my apologies.

So I said instead,

“I might have not been happy, but I was at peace being with you. But hey, if you feel like you didn’t do a good job at making me happy back then, you could do something right now that might.”

He stared at me for a while. His usual gloomy expression stayed in place, calm but heavy, like he was thinking too much at once.

I dropped my gaze and set my empty glass on the table.

“I’m too drunk for any of that right now,” he said after a moment. “And I have exhausted all my ideas to try to make you happy.”

That hit me harder than I expected.

He tried so much today.

He left work. He spent the whole day following me around, carrying bags, listening to me vent, letting me drag him into stores he clearly hated. He even let me complain all through the golf course. And now he thought his effort meant nothing.

I didn’t want him thinking that.

Not even for a second.

So I shifted. I placed the glass down properly, straightened the throw pillow behind me, and scooted over to his side of the couch. I moved slowly, dragging myself across the soft cushion, not bothering to adjust my skirt that was starting to ride up too high.

I sat close enough to feel his warmth.

“Let me make you happy instead,” I said with a big smile, hoping he would smile back. Maybe even tease me. Maybe laugh.

He didn’t.

He just stared at me, steady and unreadable, like he was trying to decide what I meant… or whether he should let himself believe it.

And that stung somewhat. It almost felt like he didn’t believe I could do anything that didn’t revolve around me getting what I want. As if the only things I had to offer were jokes and trouble and whatever made life easier for me. That wasn’t true. Not tonight. Not with him.

I shifted closer and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. His eyes widened for a moment, confused by how fast I moved. When he was close enough, I slid my hand behind his neck and guided him down until his head rested on my boobs. I held him there gently, steadying him so he wouldn’t pull away too soon.

“How’s that?” I asked with way too much enthusiasm, mostly because the alcohol was running my mouth now.

He let out a soft laugh against me, a quiet one that vibrated through my chest.

And I grinned even wider.

“That’s one way to make a man instantly aroused… not happy,” he said.

My grin dropped for half a second before it came back, bigger and shameless.

“At least I’m making your little man happy. You couldn’t do that much for me. Although taking a woman shopping is a turn on. Just not me… since I’m used to taking care of myself.”

“Really now?” he asked, voice lower. Then he slowly leaned back, pulling away from my chest. The shift in his posture was instant. His shoulders tightened and his breathing changed like he regretted creating distance. His eyes stayed glued to my shirt for a moment before he looked away completely.

I thought that was the end of whatever this was. I thought the alcohol killed the moment or maybe I did. But then he surprised me.

He stood up slightly, reached behind his neck, and pulled off his shirt in one smooth motion. When he turned back to me, I was staring straight at his bare chest. Broad. Warm. Defined in all the right places. The kind of body that made you forget what you were mad about two seconds ago.

“How’s that?” he asked. His lips lifted a little like he was trying hard not to smile but failing anyway.

My gaze trailed down from his chest to his abs. Then further, to the sharp v-line disappearing under his sweatpants.

“It made her purr alright.” I said without thinking, because the drinks were fully in charge now.

He blinked. “Her?”

“My kitty,” I answered, tapping my lower stomach like that explained everything.

“And she purrs?” he said slowly, almost scared to ask.

“Loudly. And she’s loud right now.”

I don't know why I asked… but I did. “Want to see?”