Winston's POV:

Jonathan was right; never have I ever felt this carefree. A rich laugh burst past my lips as he kissed me briefly before I was suddenly dipped.

"I underestimated your dance skills." I admitted, making Jonathan chuckle as he righted me and pressed me against his chest. "If you can teach even me to dance, then I guess you must be pretty good." I joked.

"Pretty good?" He questioned back with a teasing glare. "I am the best that there is. You're still underestimating me." He continued before I was unexpectedly twirled.

It made my heart pump rapidly as we moved together on the dance floor like nobody was watching. Realistically, I knew that there were multiple sets of eyes on us, but with Jonathan's comforting gaze, I couldn't care less about the outsiders. Never have I had so many worries just disappear when someone's attention was transfixed on me, and it didn't make me uncomfortable when Jonathan would just stare either. The man had no problem expressing what was on his mind when he was ogling me.

Still, I always half-heartedly complained so that he knew that he was affecting me, in a good way.

"If only you knew how sexy you look." Jonathan whispered in my ear, causing a shiver to race down my spine. "You're lucky this restaurant does not permit dirty dancing."

"Jonathan!" I gasped as my face flushed red. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Okay. I know; too much." He laughed as we stopped dancing and returned to our table. "I'll be here when you get back."

With a simple peck on my lips, Jonathan took his seat before I walked away in a daze and headed for the restroom. A chilling feeling washed over me as I suddenly felt like I was being watched. However, when I glanced behind me, all I saw were attendees enjoying their meals; so I decided to shrug it off.

Quickly, I headed inside the restaurant and asked a waiter for the nearest restroom. She pointed me towards a set of stairs and told me that the bathroom would be the second door on my left. Following her instructions, I made my way into the large, extremely clean room and entered one of the stalls.

As I was emptying my bladder, I heard the restroom door open. The person knocked on my stall door loudly, making me jump. Could that not hear that I was pissing?

"Occupied!" I called out instead of answering with an attitude like I so badly wanted to.

"Winston?" A familiar voice called out, causing me to tense. I willed myself to pee faster so that I could flush the toilet and exit the stall. Once I did, I came face to face with none other than Diego. "I had a feeling it was you, but I didn't know for sure, so I had to check."

"D-Diego?" I stuttered stupidly, unable to process that I was actually standing in front of my ex. Why? What the hell was he doing in New York; and what did he want from me?

"The one and only." Diego laughed, but I didn't find the situation funny. I was actually staring at the face of the man who tore me down for years. Not only was I scared, but now I also wanted to get as far away from this building as possible.

"Wha-why are you here?" I asked, stepping around him and walking towards the sink so that I could wash my hands, as well as put some much-needed space between us. I suddenly couldn't breathe properly.

"Well, I'm celebrating my anniversary. I made ten years with my husband today." Diego answered with a happy grin.

I paused, glancing up at him in the large mirror. What he said shouldn't have affected me; it's been years since I saw the man, and of course, he would be with someone else, but I couldn't help the gnawing feeling of betrayal. Ten years; we dated for longer than that and I wasn't even proposed to. But here he was, married; seeming to have tied the knot as soon as we broke up.

"Congratulations." I bit out, unable to help the underlying anger in my tone. I don't know why I said my next phrase, but the words were tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Is your husband the man I caught you in bed with before we broke up?"

Diego's eyes widened as I spun around to face him. Fuck masking my anger, I was completely pissed off... and hurt; let's not forget hurt.

"Winston, I-"

"Save it, Diego! I don't know why you followed me in here, and I honestly don't care. I just wish you hadn't. I was fine believing that you were back in Indiana, where I left my past. But, unfortunately, here you are. Happy fucking anniversary! Ten years is a long time. I hope your husband doesn't waste even more years enduring the pain of being with an asshole like you!"

Unable to stop my eyes from watering, I briskly stormed out of the restroom, not bothering to wait for a response.

***

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" Jonathan joked as I hurried to our table. However, his infectious smile was wiped off of his face once he saw that my own face was puffy and my eyes were rimmed red. "Winston, baby, what's the matter?"

Instead of feeling like a child in a candy store due to his term of endearment, I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't deserve to be called his baby; I didn't deserve Jonathan in general. He was too good for me. I deserved people like Diego and Charlie; people who played with you until you were broken and then disposed of you. Why was I reacting so positively to a temporary situation?

"Can you take me home, please?" I begged instead of answering Jonathan's question.

"Yeah, sure. Let me just order some dessert to go and pay the bill." He replied while assessing me, trying to find out what was going on in my head. I nodded, ignoring his look while playing with the fancy tablecloth. I could feel his eyes practically burning into my skin, and it made me fidget. However, I decided to act like I was unaware of what he was doing.

I took care of the tip while Jonathan paid the bill before we were heading out of the restaurant. On our way to the front door, I was suddenly hyper aware of Diego, and I couldn't help it as my eyes landed on his table where he sat with his husband. My eyes stung when I noticed that it was, in fact, the man I had caught him in bed with years ago.

Diego was already looking at me when my eyes fell on them, but I could only shake my head in betrayal as Jonathan placed his hand on the small of my back and ushered me out. Ouch...

***

The ride home was tensely quiet. Jonathan had tried to figure out what had caused me to suddenly shut down, and ruin our date, but I just didn't want to speak. I was too busy reeling over the information I had recently learned. Tears brimmed my eyes, but I forced them to stay and not roll down my cheeks. What the fuck did I have to cry for?

"Winston? Come on, talk to me." Jonathan tried again, but I decided not to answer as I placed my face on the cool glass to soothe my heated skin. When he realized that I wasn't going to say a word, he sighed before turning on the radio to fill the silence. It helped a bit since my mind decided to focus on the lyrics of P!nk's song, Just Give Me a Reason, instead of the Diego situation.

I'm not too sure when exactly Jonathan parked in front of my house, maybe I had dozed off, but suddenly he was shaking me to get up. I looked around confusedly before realizing that I was home and taking his hand so that he could escort me out of the car. No words were exchanged between us as he walked me to my front door. However, before I could open it, he turned me around to face him.

"It's okay if you're not ready to talk about what happened back at the restaurant. I just wanted to let you know that when you are ready, I'd be happy to listen." He said, placing a finger under my chin to lift my head up so that I wouldn't stare at the ground.

Overwhelming guilt coursed through me as I looked at the handsome man that was just too sweet for words. How could I have been such an asshole? I practically blew him off after running into Diego, and I ruined our extremely nice date for no good reason. It was an undeniable fact that I tend to ruin everything.

My lips trembled, causing Jonathan to smooth them out with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." I replied with a sigh. "I am such a fuck up. Our date was going perfectly, and then I messed it up with my emotions."

"Hey!" He snapped. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It wasn't ruined; this was the best date I've had in years. I'm more upset that something made you upset."

I smiled a bit, taking Jonathan's hand from my face and interlocking our fingers. Leaning up, I kissed him in appreciation, but he seemed to think that the simple peck wasn't enough. He stepped further into my little bubble and connected our lips again after I had pulled away. I could feel him smiling as we kissed, making my heart race.

I let go of his hands and gripped onto the sides of his jacket as he licked my lips, asking for entrance. I didn't deny him it, and I moaned when his tongue touched mine. We played with each other, not caring that the snow was beginning to fall, nor that we were standing right outside my house. It was like everything else disappeared from around us.

I didn't want this to end, and I wasn't just talking about the kissing either. I didn't want what I had with Jonathan to end, ever. He was like a ray of sunshine in my dreary world. He was so open, honest, cheesy, optimistic, caring, straightforward, and funny (all of the characteristics that I never knew I wanted, much less needed, in a man). What was I going to do when I somehow ruined this too?

"Winston, baby, are you crying?" Jonathan asked after he broke the kiss. Since all of my emotions had built up throughout the night, it was no mystery why stray tears were making their way down my face at the moment. I only wish that I had started crying when I was alone, in the comfort of my home, not in the middle of kissing the man of my dreams.

"No." I replied. "My eyes are just sweating."

"In thirty-degree weather?" He answered with a cautious smile after making a sarcastic sound of agreement. I laughed, sniffling a bit as I wiped the tears off of my cheeks.

"Yes. That's my answer and I'm sticking by it."

Jonathan laughed and shook his head at me. I found myself mesmerized by his pearly whites and the creases that formed by his mouth as he smiled. It was at that moment that I realized I was in too deep. The charming man had me hooked and lined. It was only a matter of time before I was sunken too.

"Okay, I'll let you have it. However, like I stated before, I'm always prepared to listen when you're ready to talk." He told me. I nodded before leaning in to peck him once more.

"Thank you. I really had a wonderful night, minus the emotional episode." I said quietly, still absorbing the heat from his body since we were so close.

"So did I, and don't worry too much about it. The night was still great. I should probably head home now though."

"Yeah." I agreed, but neither of us made any move to part ways. I nibbled my bottom lip as thick sexual tension filled the cold night air.

"Good night, Winston." Jonathan muttered after a few seconds.

"Good night, Jonathan." I replied a little breathlessly, looking into his dark hazel eyes.

I'm not exactly sure who made the next move, but suddenly we were making out again, and I felt like a horny teenage boy. He explored every nook and cranny of my mouth with his tongue, causing arousal to flare all through me. It felt like we were kissing for eons when realistically, it was probably only a few minutes. When we finally stopped, both of us were panting for air. A sudden thought crossed my mind, and deciding to throw caution to the wind, I said fuck it.

"Jonathan, would you like to come inside?" I questioned, still slightly gasping for air from the vigorous kiss. He stared at me, searching for what; I'm not sure. However, once he found it, he smiled and nodded.

"Sure." He answered, just as breathless as I was. "Let me just grab my keys from the car."