The extra time in L.A. was helpful since Donnie and Marina had gotten to bed so late. The sun was already up when they said “goodnight.” Marina knew that she only had a few days left before she had to head back home and her usual reality. She knew that if she wanted to feel okay about being with Donnie, she had to do some things. There had to be a few changes. He had already proved that he deserved it.
Once she got up that afternoon, she called her Dad. She always felt that things weren’t real until her Dad knew about them. Her Dad told her to be careful and wear condoms at all times. She laughed. Her Dad had never understood her values, even though he had taught them to her. She made a few more calls and noticed that she had a missed call from a strange number and a voicemail. She had been damn near unconscious while she slept after the day and night she had just had. She listened to the voicemail. It was Danny calling her about fundraising. Donnie had let him know to call her. She smiled. Danny said to call him back once she was awake.
She caught him on his way to the gym. She knew Donnie had a couple of interviews and offered to go along with Danny to the gym to go over ideas. She could get a little exercise while they were there. Danny proved to be a sweetheart. He already had great ideas about fundraising for his project for him Mother. She was able to offer him some new ideas that she had encountered while doing local fundraisers at home. She planned to try some of his methods too.
He asked her if she wanted to use any of the weight training equipment that he was using. She laughed. “I have never been able to figure out how to use all that stuff. And usually when someone tries to help me, I just feel like a fool.”
“Well, this room is just for VIPs to use. So it’s just me and you. I’m a good trainer, I promise.”
She was reluctant, but he had been so nice and she was comfortable with him for some reason. “Ok. I’ll give it a shot. But we’re not doing anything that’s gonna make my legs any bigger, you hear me?” She was teasing.
“Yes, Ma’am. Upper body only.” He pointed at a machine. He sat down at the machine and demonstrated for her. Then he got up, adjusted the weights, and helped her get situated on the bench. He explained how the machine worked, what muscles it was going to exercise, and how she needed to breathe while doing the exercise. Being smart helped her grasp things pretty quick. She did the first rep. It was smooth. She did a set of 8 and he stopped her. “You’re stronger than I thought. Let me put just a little more weight on there.” Her 2nd set of 8 reps, was better. He let her see how to adjust the weight and then they moved on to another machine. Within half an hour, she knew what each machine was for and how to use it to get the best results.

“Thank you. You really are a great trainer. Donnie said you look after all of them.”
“I just help everybody have a workout schedule and know what they all need to focus on. I work with the caterers to be sure healthy food is available, but I don’t force anyone to only eat healthy foods.”
She had an idea. “Would you maybe be willing to help me with another project, Danny?”
“Sure, but we need to head back. Can we get changed and talk in the car on the way back?”
“That would be even better.”

In the car, she did a lot of explaining and Danny was totally on board with her idea. She explained that after her husband had died, she was put on antidepressants for about a year. The meds plus the lack of interest in anything, led to her gaining weight. She wanted him to help her with an exercise plan to help her lose the weight and look better so that she would feel better. She wasn’t horribly overweight, but she could definitely lose 20 pounds easily. Plus, if she and Donnie did continue to see each other, she wanted to not be gossiped about for her weight. He wasn’t crazy about keeping it a secret from Donnie, but he understood her reasoning. She wanted to surprise Donnie. And it would be good for her. She had gotten a text message from Donnie letting her know he was finally back at the hotel and wanting to know if she wanted to head to dinner with the gang. ‘Head to dinner’ meaning they were going to some private club that would have food. She was feeling pretty good after her time with Danny. Thankfully, they had both showered at the gym and all she would need to do would be to put on some makeup, change clothes, and make a little effort on her hair. She texted him back to let him know how long she would be, and hoped that would be ok and they wouldn’t be too late. Once at the hotel and out of the car, she hugged Danny and almost ran inside. She was honestly excited about something for the first time in a long time.

She had her makeup on and was putting the finishing touches on her hair when she heard her phone ring. She smiled when she saw Donnie’s number. She really needed to add him to her contacts. “Hey, I’m almost ready,” she said.

“You are female, so can you define ‘almost’ for me?” he teased.
“I just need to put on my dress and shoes. I need 5 minutes.”
“What dress are you gonna wear?”
“That red one that we got yesterday.”
“I don’t know…I may not want anyone to see you in that red dress.”
“Well, then… that leaves me with things you’ve already seen me wear. What do you want me to wear?” She was standing in the closet and heard a knock on the door.
“Open the door and I’ll show you,” he said and hung up. She opened the door and was immediately pulled into his arms for a kiss. “Hi,” he said when he finally stopped kissing her.
“Hi yourself. I think you’ve been missing me again.” He nodded.
“Close your eyes and I’ll let you see what I got you today.” She had noticed that he had a garment bag in one hand, but it was opaque and gave her no clue as to what he had inside. She had her eyes closed and he made no move to take the dress out. He just looked at her. “You are so beautiful, and you don’t even know it.”
She blushed. “Donnie!”
“You seem kind of … excited tonight. It looks good on you.”
She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I’m happy.” She closed her eyes again. “Now give me my surprise, dammit!” She couldn’t keep from laughing.
He laid the garment bag on the bed and unzipped it. He took the dress and hung it on the back of the bathroom door and then went back and led her over. He stood behind her and told her to open her eyes. He had gotten her a strapless A line dress that was teal silk with Japanese inspired markings in pink, red, and black that almost looked floral. It should fall just below her knees. It was beautiful. And it would look nice with her fair skin and brown hair. “Wow. It’s beautiful.” She turned around and kissed him. “Thank you for my dress. Now let’s see if it fits and get out of here.”
She took the dress on in the bathroom and ended up needing Donnie’s help to zip it up in the back. She saw him looking at her in the mirror. It was more than obvious that he liked the way she looked in the dress. He reached in his pocket and said “There’s one more thing,” and pulled out a necklace. It was made to be worn with the dress. He reached to help her put it on and she held her hair up out of the way. He couldn’t help himself. He started kissing the back of her neck and then over to her right shoulder. She absently let go of her hair and gave in to his touch. He continued for a few minutes and then they simultaneously said “We need to go,” and laughed.

He couldn’t stop touching her shoulders in the elevator on the way down to meet up with the rest of the group. He took a few pictures of her and of the two of them in the elevator. Danny gave her another hug once she got downstairs and pretended to steal her away. Donnie laughed at him, and he brought Marina back. They all got in the cars and headed out. Donnie kept sending Marina text messages telling her she looked beautiful. She kept telling him to stop. She sent one message thanking him again for the dress. She watched him read her thank you. He sat there for a minute just staring at her. The way he was looking at her, she felt naked. But it was hot. He could tell her had gotten to her with that look and typed a response. ’You’re welcome. It makes you look sex-rated ;-)’
She got the text and laughed. ’You will pay for that one, sir.’
She knew the club they were going to. She had been there in college. It was one of the few places she remembered that was still open after all these years. Once they arrived, they went in the back entrance. Everyone ate and then talked about all manner of silliness. Someone had the club turn some music on and some of them started dancing. Marina looked at Donnie and asked him if he wanted to dance.
“I’d love to, if you are okay with it. I know yesterday…”
“Yesterday was different. Slow dancing makes me nervous. This is dancing for fun. I can dance, Donnie.” She stood up and held out her hand. He followed her to the dance floor. They all had a great time. Donnie couldn’t believe she could dance so well. He couldn’t stop smiling. He knew he was totally and completely in love.

Danny took a picture with his phone of the two of them dancing and sent it to Donnie’s phone. He knew it was a night for memories. Donnie didn’t see the picture until they had left the club and were on the way back to the hotel. “This is gonna be my new wallpaper for my phone,” he said holding it up for her to see. She couldn’t believe they actually looked good together.
“I still have to get even with you,” she said and snatched his phone. She typed in something and pressed send. She checked to see if it had gone thru, and then handed him his phone back. “Thank you.”
“You didn’t delete my picture, did you?” She shook her head no and laughed at him.
“Go look at your twitter.”
He did. He read his latest tweet aloud. “A girl saw me at a club 2nite in L.A. & she said I was ‘sex-rated.’ Does that mean she thinks I’m hot?” He started laughing. Then he started sharing replies. They were both cracking up. He responded to a few of them. Within half an hour, ‘#sex-rated’ was the number one trending topic on twitter and it held that spot for about 3 hours.
Donnie walked Marina to her room and kissed her goodnight. He wanted to come in. She wanted him to come in. “Donnie, if I let you come in tonight, I’m scared I won’t let you leave.”
“Just knowing that you want me to stay with you…”
“This isn’t like me. I’ve never felt like this about anyone Donnie. Never. It scares me.”
“And just how do you feel about me,” he asked as he pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.
“I…” she paused and pulled away from him. “I’m not sure I’m ready to say just yet. But I definitely like you.”
“A lot,” he asked?
She laughed. “More than a lot.” She kissed his cheek and ducked into her room before he could ask her anything else. She went over and looked at herself in the mirror. She knew what she looked like. She looked like a woman in love. But it was too soon. She called her dad for advice. He was always awake…or he was for her. She only kept him on the phone for about 15 minutes, but he made her feel infinitely better.
“Mari, falling in love happens in a moment. It’s easy. Staying in love is the complicated part. You know this. Didn’t you tell me this man has kids though?”
“Yes, he has two boys. Elijah and Xavier. They mostly stay with his ex-wife. But he sees them pretty often.”
“You need to figure out how you feel about having kids around you before you tell him how you feel about him. You can’t ask him to choose between you and his kids. His kids should win. And if they don’t, I don’t want you with him. Maybe try to meet them Mari. You might like them. And it sure would be nice to have some grandkids to spoil.” They joked and laughed for a few more minutes. She updated him on what had gone on between her and Donnie. She loved the way her Dad shortened her name to Mari and it sounded like Mary. No one else ever did that. “The way you do things is just fine. But if things lead to other things, it’s not the end of the world. If you forget yourself and cross a line, at least try to enjoy yourself.”

“Dad! You are almost encouraging me to have sex with him. What kind of father are you?” she couldn’t help laughing.
“The kind that wants his baby girl to be happy.”
“Thanks Dad. I so need to get to bed.”
“Send me a picture of you and him on your phone, okay?”
“Ok…are you gonna get your secretary to open it for you?”
“Of course. I pay her for that kind of thing. Goodnight Princess.”
“Goodnight Dad. I love you.”
“Love you too.”