Chương 2: Chapter 2 - He Is Throwing Me A Line

"Look at what the cat dragged in." A voice I was surprised to hear wasn't nursing a hangover from a party or in some foreign country collecting cars.

I broke free from whatever spell I was in and watched as Dean leisurely walked in, completely ignoring the current atmosphere like this was an everyday event.

Felix pulled Sol behind him as Dean got in his face and in a clipped tone retorted "Cortez, its been a while. Seems you are still the same as always."

Dean smirked as he took a long sip of his drink before replying, "Ah my friend yes indeed its been a while but I gotta say you have changed a lot. Seems like you finally grew a pair. You have some nerve pulling shit like this."

Felix's smile turned into a thin line and his grip on Sol visibly tightened. It was unclear if he was reacting out of fear or anger. If I had to guess, maybe both. Dean was someone you didn't want to mess with. He had a habit of escalating things both good and bad.

The air that was already icy somehow managed to drop down a few degrees cooler. Despite that, Dean easily was the most relaxed person in the room.

Instantly my anxiety skyrocketed. Dean, in the time I have known him, has been an enigma. Like a wild mustang he is unrestrained and difficult to read. He had no fear or qualms doing whatever he felt like. His carefree attitude would make one assume he wasn't reliable or incapable, but the man is a genius and always manages to end up on top and get things done.

Dean took another relaxed sip of his drink before setting it aside and cracking his neck. Just when I thought he was going to attack Felix, he suddenly turned to face me. "Sorry for arriving so late princess but while I did manage to enjoy a bit of the party I was sent to collect you in regards to going over our project."

'Eh.' For a split second I was confused as to what he was talking about. But I soon realized what he was doing. 'He is throwing me a line.' I sat up from the sofa and began to grab my belongings. "Ah yes the time passed by a lot faster than I anticipated. Thank you for the reminder. My dear friend I am sorry to leave the party a lot earlier than anticipated but business calls."

Rebecca reacted quickly and just like that the mood shifted back to how it was. "Oh of course no worries I understand please send my regards to your family and expect an invitation to arrive soon!" As we leaned in for a hug I whispered in her ear, "In the group chat send me your availability so we can have lunch. We have much to discuss." I repeated this to Noemi before bidding the others farewell.

I turned to face Felix and Sol and decided to just be neutral. Not leaning one way or the other. "Felix it has been a while. You seem to be doing well. Apologies for not being able to stay longer and formally meet you Sol. Maybe some other time." I left it at that before leaving with Dean.

As we exited, I pulled out my phone to call my driver but Dean waved his hand in-front of my face to pull my attention. "Hey. I am taking you back, no need to call your driver." He guided me over to a car I haven't seen before but I assumed was some new imported vehicle he loves to collect.

"This new?" He unlocked the vehicle and opened the door for me. "Sorta, I got it a few months ago but it has been in the shop for some time getting the paint done and adding in the tint. This is the first time I have taken it out."

I nodded my head and as I entered the car he placed his hand slightly over my head to make sure I didn't hit the top of the car.

He shut the door and started to drive out to my parents home. "Last I saw you, you were blacked out at Ians' bachelor party. Anything new since then?" He glanced over and pushed his dark soft curls out of his face. It has gotten longer since I last saw him.

"In terms of new, my tattoo artist was staying abroad and had some availability so I flew over to get some touchups and new pieces added. They are just about done healing though so I removed the second skin."

"I would have thought you would be showing them off. Why all covered up?" He was wearing a cream turtleneck with a dark brown pair of slacks and hightops. This would be fine if it wasn't in the middle of the summer. He must have been boiling.

"Well the tattoos are still healing so the less sun the better for color payoff. Also our crowd is pretty conservative so I am sure a few would have something to say. Not like I care but its also not my party."

That I could believe. His tattoos that I have seen and know about covered his arms and went up as far as the sides of his neck. Not many in our crowd have any and the very few that did had small ones which were coverable to help maintain a clean public image. Dean was the only one who just didn't care that much about that.

"You don't look so good. Do you need me to turn up the AC more? There is some tissues in the glove compartment you are sweating a bit."

In the chaos I was able to forget about my pain but now in the quiet of his car, I was very quickly reminded of how I was feeling and it hit me like a truck. "Its actually not the heat. But yes please thank you."

I clutched my hands and massaged them to soothe myself and took deep breaths. "Anxiety? I am almost to your house just a few more blocks." His hands clutched the steering wheel and he picked up the speed. "No I just wasn't feeling well prior and now that I have calmed down from all the mess from earlier, it hit me again. Its ok, slow down, I want to make it home in one piece."

Dean slowed down a little but somehow he managed make it to my house in record time. He got me out and inside so fast it made my head spin.

"Hello Mrs. D'Angelo, she wasn't feeling well so I brought her back." My mom who was already surprised I came home without calling for the driver gently grabbed me and gave me a knowing look.

"Thank you Dean I appreciate it. I am going to send her to rest. Please grab some water its quite a hot day today. If you needed to run other errands feel free to do so." As my mom was taking me to my room up the long staircase, I peeked over to see Dean still standing at the edge of the stairs with a straight face. His eyes hiding his thoughts.