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CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: ZIPPER
"WHICH ONE?" Val held up two dresses, one green and one blue. Lila, who was on FaceTime, squinted her eyes and leaned closer to her phone, a concentrated look on her face.
"The blue one," she answered after a moment, leaning back.
"Really?" Val tilted her head to the side and looked down at the dresses, her brows furrowed.
"Yeah, it makes your boobs look great," she explained, taking a sip of her tea.
She had another date that night, and once again, she had no idea of what to wear. But luckily, even though she was in Miami, Lila was there to help.
"Okay." She dropped the other dress and held the blue one up, looking in the mirror. "Yeah, I guess."
"So, where are you guys going?" Lila asked, picking her cup up again.
"I don't know, he just told me to dress nice," Val answered, shimmying the dress over her hips. They were quiet for a moment, and she adjusted the dress so it wasn't bunching around her waist. She reached for the zipper, but couldn't quite reach. "Shit."
"What?" Lila asked, watching her.
"Fucking zipper," she muttered, moving her arm around. "I can't fucking reach."
Lila hummed and took another sip of her tea. Val tried for another minute, but still couldn't get it. She cursed under her breath and walked over to her phone.
"I'll call you back later," she said, giving her an apologetic smile.
"Okay, don't forget!"
"I won't."
Val ended the call and set her phone back down. She stood there, glaring at the dress, her hands on her hips. Her mind was going a mile a minute, thinking about different ways to get the zipper up, and when nothing seemed to work, she sighed, defeated.
There was one last option she could try, but she really didn't want to. The Yankees were off tonight, and Anthony was home. They were both still angry with each other, and the tension was only growing. Neither one had said a word to the other since their fight, and the apartment had become an extremely hostile environment.
But her options were limited, and even though the last thing she wanted to do was ask him, she knew she didn't have a choice.
"Anthony!" she shouted, hoping he was close enough to hear her.
It was silent for a long moment, and just as she was about to yell his name again, he came walking down the hall.
"What?" He poked his head into the room. The look on his face was slightly annoyed with another emotion that Val couldn't quite put her finger on.
"I can't get the zipper up," she explained, motioning towards her back. "Can you do it?"
He hesitated for a moment, and Val thought he was going to walk away, but then he nodded and walked over. One hand rested on her hip while the other went to the zipper. Her back tensed when his fingers grazed her back as he slowly zipped the dress up.
She could feel his breath against the back of her neck, and the heat radiating off his body was sending goosebumps up her spine. It was quiet, and the only sounds were the zipper moving and their breathing.
He didn't get very far before the zipper got stuck. He pulled harder, trying to get it to move, and his knuckles brushed against the bare skin of her back. He tried a couple more times before letting out a sigh.
She was about to ask if he thought he could fix it when she felt his hands trail down to her lower back. He let his hands rest there, his fingers rubbing circles into her skin. She inhaled sharply, and her breath got caught in her throat. He ignored her, and after a few more moments, his hands traveled up to her shoulders.
His fingers skimmed across her back, and he gently pulled her hair over her shoulder, his lips brushing against the back of her neck. She could feel her heart pounding, and her palms were getting sweaty. She wanted to scream at him to stop, but the words got caught in her throat.
"Don't go," he whispered, his mouth pressed against her skin. "Don't go with him."
Her stomach flipped, and her heart sank. Those words reminded her of the fact that she was supposed to be going out with Dean, not here with Anthony. He wasn't supposed to be touching her, and she definitely wasn't supposed to be enjoying it.
Anthony really didn't know what he was doing, but he'd been thinking about what Giancarlo had said. "If you want her, you have to tell her", and this was certainly one clear way of telling her.
He placed a kiss against her shoulder blade, his arms wrapping around her waist. His body was pressed against hers, and he was holding her so tightly that she couldn't move.
"Let go," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
She had to remind herself that this was wrong. This wasn't right. She was going out with Dean, and sure they weren't official official yet, but they were something. Something that she didn't want to screw up. Something she was screwing up right now.
"Please don't go," he repeated, his voice soft. He pressed another kiss against her back, his lips lingering on her skin.
She swallowed and tried to keep her breathing steady. Her heart was pounding, and her skin was tingling. He was making it very hard to say no, and even harder to remind herself that he wasn't Dean.
"We can't do this," she said, her voice strained.
"Says who?" His voice was low, and the tone sent a shiver down her spine. He kissed the spot right below her ear, his teeth lightly grazing her skin. She closed her eyes, trying to stay focused.
"Says me," she said, her voice wavering.
He didn't say anything, and just pulled her back against him, his hands tightening around her waist. She wanted to stop him, she really did, but it felt too good. So instead of making the responsible choice, she finally gave in.
