Breaking Barriers - S.R.

3

"Damn, girl!"

I laughed at Dean's expression as he eyed my outfit, opening the door wider for him to come inside. "I just need to grab a coat."

I left Dean in the living room as I rummaged through my closet, picking the warmest jacket I could find. It was still winter in the D.C. area and the outfit I was wearing was definitely made for the venue we were going to, but it wasn't going to keep me warm. Sophia and I had been shopping in preparation for the club that Miles insisted we go to this weekend. With Sophia's encouragement, I had ended up in a pink satin bustier top that was covered in beading, black leather leggings that came up high enough to only show a small amount of skin around my midsection, and black leather ankle boots with a chunky heel. I was covered enough to feel comfortable, but it was definitely an eye catching ensemble.

"I'm ready." I said, sliding the jacket on as I grabbed my small purse from the table. I locked the door behind me as we made our way to the elevator. "Who's driving?"

"I called a cab, it's waiting for us." He replied, staring at his phone screen. "Oh, I meant to ask but I haven't seen you alone much lately. How was your night with Miles a couple of weekends ago?"

Honestly, I had almost forgotten about that. "It was fine. He didn't try anything and everything has been normal since then. I guess you were wrong." I shrugged.

He looked at me suspiciously as the elevator dinged, the doors opening. "Really? He didn't do anything weird?"

"I mean, there was this one second that something felt different...but it was nothing, really." I muttered.

"What was it?" He asked, holding the door to the lobby open for me. "Tell me."

"Well, he left his phone in my apartment. I chased him outside to give it back to him and when he took it, he made a point to like...touch my hand." I blushed slightly, thinking it sounded stupid when said out loud. "I wouldn't have thought anything of it if it hadn't lasted so long. I had to pull my hand away."

"Oh, God." He sighed.

"That's stupid though, right? Because nothing else happened, and nothing has happened since then." I tried to justify it.

"He definitely has a thing for you. He's just too scared you'll shoot him down." Dean admitted.

I groaned as I opened the door to the cab, saying hello to the driver as Dean slid in beside me. Once we were settled and had given the driver our destination, I turned to Dean again.

"I think he got the hint when I pulled away. That's why nothing has happened, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Hate to break it to you babe, but he's not going to give up that easily."

"What am I supposed to do? I don't want to hurt his feelings but I also can't lead him on." I sighed.

"Tell him you're madly in love with me. I can guarantee he'll leave you alone then." He smirked.

"We both know I'm a terrible liar." I replied. "It's pretty obvious I'm not in love with you."

"Okay, so then he knows you're lying to get out of dating him. Sounds like a win either way." He laughed.

I rolled my eyes this time. "Maybe if I just make it really clear that I only see him as a friend he'll get it."

"I guess we'll see how he acts tonight. I'm sure he'll be drinking a lot and you know his confidence goes up when he's drinking." Dean pointed out.

Once we arrived at the club, the majority of the night went smoothly. I spent most of the time dancing with Sophia, who had no problem turning down random guys for me when I filled her in on what was happening with Miles. Dean joined us a couple of times as well as Miles but I did my best to stick close to Dean when it was the four of us, much to his amusement. Eventually Sophia accepted an invitation to dance with someone she had been chatting with at the bar, and Dean wandered off to the bathroom, throwing me a "You'll be okay" look as he left me alone with Miles.