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Della felt the e else seeped into her And it wasn&039;t just Steve&039;s tongue It waspassion It was the feeling of being alive It was hope that her sad little life wasn&039;t over Since being a vaht she couldn&039;t feel this anyht she wouldn&039;t feel it any the fa sound came from Lee, she put a hand on Steve&039;s chest and reluctantly pulled back

She met Steve&039;s eyes briefly She knew he&039;d kissed her to save her ass, but she also knew he&039;d enjoyed it as much as she had The evidence was there in his warm brown eyes Even with one of those eyes bruised, she saw the just-been-kissed heat in his gaze

She turned to Lee Only to realize she still didn&039;t have a clue what to say to hi here?" Lee asked "Besidesout in thehis date?

As crazy as it was, Della saw so in Lee she hadn&039;t seen before Her dad Or at least his disapproving attitude Had Lee always been that way and she just now noticed? Or had he changed?

"What&039;s wrong? Can&039;t you talk?" he asked

His words ran amok around her head and she couldn&039;t decide how they made her feel or how to respond And if she did decide she wasn&039;t sure her tongue could take speaking orders, it was still in shock at having just had co dinner," Steve answered for her "Actually, we&039;re celebrating our three-aze went to Della

"Threeso soon But hell, the guy was engaged Where did he get off thinkingShe opened her ain but Steve jumped in first

"I&039;m sorry," Steve said "I didn&039;t introduce myself You must be an old friend of Della&039;s I&039;ht you were at that school"

That school? Could he not even re? "I aot tords out "Wejust slipped out"

"So you met him at school?" Lee asked and daer started to spark inside her again He had no right to be upset None!

Steve spoke up again "Love at first sight" He glanced at her and ran his warm hand around the curve of her waist and pulled her a little closer His gaze shot back to Lee "Still don&039;t kno I got so damn lucky" If so ht have sounded false For a second she wished she had listened to his heartbeat-another little vaht?

Lee&039;s fiancee rose from her chair behind them and stopped at his side Della couldn&039;t help but notice how pretty she was-pretty in a very traditional Asian way Her hair was longer, sleeker, and blacker than Della&039;s Her facial features were doll-like Beautiful and perfect-a tiny nose, a bow-like ence No doubt, Lee&039;s parents had chosen well

Or had Lee chosen her? Had he planned to break up with Della all along? He&039;d see next to her until Della showed up

Not that he looked too happy now He frohen the girl slipped her ar and introduced them "Mei, this is Della, and herfriend" The word friend ca like a four-letter word "Her friend who obviously likes to fight, if his black eye is any indication"

Della tensed, ready to tell hi she suddenly realized that Lee had never done Not even with his parents

"Actually," Steve spoke up again, "ere just wrestling around in bed and Della got htened and all Della could think was, Go Steve

Mei looked up at Lee and seeirl&039;s brow as she glanced back at Della Della recognized that tightness as plain ol&039; jealousy She&039;d felt it tug at her own brow every tiht of Lee with sory Hurt Sad But she didn&039;t feel jealous That , Della knew that, but noasn&039;t the ti up when sheswelled in her chest and she realized a better name for that e she had And she&039;d given him her all-her heart, her body, her rieved for what used to be

"Go We should go," Steve finished for her "I already took care of the bill" Steve let go of her waist and held out his hand to Lee "It was a pleasure to meet you"

Lee didn&039;t take it Which was super-aard and not like Lee He normally wasn&039;t rude Or was he? Had she missed that about him, too? Della nodded at the couple and when Steve&039;s aruide her away

They left the restaurant and it took a few seconds of the cold fall air hitting her face to realize she was still holding onto Steve Holding onto him as if the ship of her life had been capsized As if he was the only thing floating in the stors she could easily drown in, washed over her and sparked another flicker of anger A big one this tirief clung to her heart as tightly as she&039;d clung to Steve just a few er she&039;d experienced earlier returned She opened herself up to that eer she could run with So she let it roll around her, washing away the other emotions that made her feel weak and vulnerable

She looked at Steve, who appeared happy, just the opposite of how she felt "You followed ht s orders," he said "We were told to stay together at all tiive a shit about orders I don&039;t like to be followed" A heaviness filled her chest and she recognized it as guilt Guilt for

"Then don&039;t run away again," he saidto the back of the restaurant

Da like an idiot with the person who&039;d just saved her

She caught up with hi!" she seethed

He ca around "But I&039;et ain

"I said I wasn&039;t finished!" She flashed forward and shot in front of hi a hand out to stop him When her hand met his warm chest, it relanced up at hiive her hell, but she spoke first

"Thank you!" she growled

Hiscame out No doubt he was shocked at her declaration And damn it, but she kne he felt She hadn&039;t meant to say that-not that he didn&039;t deserve to hear it, he did, but

"Wow" He finally spoke "I don&039;t think I&039;ve ever heard anyone express gratitude in such a pissed off, angry tone"

"That&039;s because I ary I&039;m furious You followed ue, in front of everyone"

His brown eyes lit up with a sain He leaned in a little closer His warood, wasn&039;t it?"

She glared at him and took a step back

"Okay, if it&039;s not for the kiss, what are you thankingpuzzled and yet interested

Once again she shared his feeling, the puzzled one, that is "I don&039;t know," she seethed But then instantly the answer dawned on her He&039;d saved her froirlfriend

"You are a real piece of work, Della Tsang" He reached out as if to brush a strand of hair from her cheek

She didn&039;t know if that was a compliment or an insult, but she slapped his hand just in case

He laughed "It really wasn&039;t bad for a first kiss, you know Usually they&039;re kind of aard But thatthat wasn&039;t aard It was hot"

She thought about the kiss, the warue How he had tasted "I&039;lad you liked it, because it was your last," she snapped

She turned to fly off Her feet weren&039;t all the way off the ground when she heard his reply

"We&039;ll have to see about that"