Dirty Little Secret

Tonight was the night. Not only was it the night of the Charity Christmas Ball but it was the night that I was going to tell Tate that I was ready to take the next step of our relationship.

The hotel that we were having the event at was an hour away so Liz and Steve left early in the morning to oversee set up. I wouldn't let Tate see me until minutes before we had to leave. I didn't want him seeing me until I was perfect.

Finally I was ready. My make-up was flawless and my hair had so much hairspray in it, it wasn't going anywhere.

"Can I come in now?" Tate asks through the wooden door.

I smile brightly, "Yeah."

Tate strolls in wearing his tux, his hair still uncombed and messy. "Wow, that dress looks amazing on you."

"It'll look even better on your floor tonight," I smirk devilish.

I watch shock fill Tate's face. "My floor?"

"Oh yes," I my smirk turns into a satisfied smile as I flirtatiously brush past him and make my way down the steps.

Tate rushes after me, opening up the back door, and then opening the door to the car he only uses for special occasions such as this. Tate climbs into the driver’s side and we head north. I could tell that Tate was deep in thought; I reached for his hand and hold it in my lap lightly, gently playing with his fingers and tracing the lines on his palms.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask curiously.

"Were you implying sex when you said that your dress was going to look better on my floor tonight?"

"Yes."

"Oh," Tate says simply. I see every muscle in his body tense.

"Tate, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, everything is fine," He says in one haste breath.

I know that everything is not fine but I wasn't going to pry. But the silence became awkward and the tension between us was becoming unbearable. I needed to know why he was acting funny. I was creating all of these ridiculous conclusions in my head and they all end with Tate not finding me attractive anymore. He has always been the one to stop when things become too heated.

"Are you not attracted to me anymore?" I start to grill him with my absurd questions.

"Don't be asinine, of course I'm attracted to you, there isn't even a word in the realm that describes how attracted I am to you."

"Then why are you acting like this? I thought you would be excited it’s been months since you've done it-" I stop then jerk my head to stare at him. "Have you been cheating on me? Did you cheat on me and get crabs?"

"What? No! Why are you always assuming that I have an STD?"

"You know how I make up ludicrous scenarios in my head, now tell me why aren't you thrilled?"

"You just sprang it on me, I haven't gotten a chance to prepare."

"What do you need to prepare?"

"Nothing, really. I just want to make sure that we're, and by we're I mean you, are one hundred percent ready."

"I've talked to Aliyah, Sophia and your mom about this. I'm on the pill."

"You talked to my mom about us doing it?" Tate laughs loudly.

"She knows about all of your wild nights, why shouldn't she know that we were."

"No, she should know, I guess. It's just weird that you felt comfortable enough to go to her."

"It was uncomfortable but I wanted advice about protection and Sophia and Aliyah don't need to worry about that stuff. There is no way they're going to get one another pregnant."

"Gross, I don't that picture in my head."

"Really? I thought guys loved girl on girl stuff," I say stunned.

"Not when it's your two closest friends that you've known since prehistoric ages."

It's my turn to laugh out loud this time. "Well Tate, I'm ready for this. I've thought about it for a while and if you don't want to do it tonight then it's fine with me."

"Oh no, we're doing it tonight. We're leaving as soon as I buy our first dance. Too bad we're not in the truck. We could do it in there."

"Tate!" I was shocked. I playfully smack his chest.

"I'm kidding," Tate smiles. He's quiet for a moment before he smiles again and he softly says, "I love you."

"I love you too," I respond.

**

The hotel ballroom is elegantly decorated and everyone is dressed to the nines in their black and white, with a periodic girl dressed in color. I was nervous about the dance raffle, I didn't want anyone else to outbid Tate but I also didn't want him to blow all the money he's saved up just to make sure I wasn't going to dance with anyone else.

We spotted Liz and Steve talking to an older couple. Liz looked stunning in her dress. I never noticed how young she really looked. They spot us too and excuse themselves from the couple to greet us.

"Cori, you look breathtaking," Liz says as we hug.

"You do as well. You look so young."

I hug Steve quickly after he and Tate exchange a firm handshake. Liz kisses her sons cheek before saying, "We're seating at table one, located in the middle of the room. I made sure there wasn't a draft and we could always see the auctioneer."

There is a table that shows a list of things that is being auctioned off. A new car, a week in Hank's beach house, a weekend spa get away, shopping sprees, someone was offering to be their lawyer for free, a private jet that will fly you to Vegas for the weekend. I noticed that Liz and Steve were donating an all-expenses paid week trip to Mexico for two.

Soon the dinners were being served, I had ordered the steak and Tate ordered the lobster, only because he knew that half way through the steak I would want the lobster. We both ordered the cheesecake for dessert and I ended up eating both of ours. But finally it was time for the auction of the first dance.

Liz introduced us, "Good evening everyone," she smiles as she talks into the microphone. "I would just like everyone for coming. Make-a-wish foundation is such a wonderful charity and it brings joy to know that because of all you, we'll be making someone's last wish come true," Liz pauses for everyone to clap.

Liz says each of our names a bit about us. I was glad that I wasn't the youngest. One of Hank's daughters was standing on stage beside me. She couldn't be any older than I was.

"Corinne Daniels. She plans to attend Yale or Princeton next year to become a doctor. Corinne enjoys cooking and spending time with her family. Can we start the bidding at five hundred?" The bidding started quickly, like every other girl. Tate wasn't bidding at first but our eyes stayed locked on each other’s and he was grinning wildly.

"Five thousand," Tate finally says as the bidding begins to slow. No one outbid him. He walked forward to help me down the stairs and kissed my hand. "I told you I wouldn't let you go to anyone else."

"But five thousand?"

"I was willing to go much higher."

Tate took one of my hands in his and placed another one on the small of my back, I put my other hand on his shoulder as the music started. We danced closely, my head finding a place on his chest. I felt Tate kiss the top of my head thoughtfully as the song ended.

"Ready to go home?" He whispered as Steve approached.

"Cori, would you like to dance?" Steve asks with his hand stretched out.

"Of course," I take Steve's hand, leaving Tate's grasp. I turn back and mouth sorry to him.

"So Yale or Princeton? Those are very ambitious schools, way to go."

"Thank you, I applied to all the colleges I wanted to go to over the summer. Has Tate applied to any colleges? That subject has never really come up."

"I think he is planning on going to a community college to get all of the required classes done while he's figuring out what he wants to do," Steve said but his face looked uncomfortable.

"Steve, are you okay?" I ask concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Steve says in heaving breaths.

"Are you sure, do you want to go sit down?"

Steve nods, unable to speak. He puts his arm over my shoulder and I help him to our table. Liz and Tate notice us and rush to my help.

"Steve honey, are you okay?"

"I think I'm having a heart attack."

"Okay, I'm going to call 911 and Tate will help you out into the lobby. There is a bottle of aspirin in my clutch on the table, Cori give him two," Liz disappeared into the crowd of surrounding people. Tate takes Steve and helps him out of the ballroom and into the lobby. I grab my clutch and Liz's from the table and take the small bottle of pills out before grabbing asking a waitress where I could get a bottle of water. She pointed to behind the DJ booth. Quickly I got one before spotting Liz talking to someone while talking speaking into her cell phone as I walked into the lobby to find Tate and Steve.

**

Tate put his jacket over my shoulders as we sat in the waiting room while tests were being ran. We knew that Steve had a heart attack but we didn't know how severe it was. I let tears slip from my eyes freely.

"Hey, he'll be okay. He's a strong and healthy guy," Tate says rubbing my back gently.

"I know but one minute we were dancing and having fun then the next your dad is having a heart attack and he's being rushed to the hospital. This proves that life can end in any minute and it's so scary."

"Everything will be okay."

"What if it was you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you smoke. You lungs could have given out or something. Your heart and lungs are connected so you could of had a heart attack. You're not invincible you know?"

"I know I'm not invincible. Are you saying that you want me to quit?"

"No, I can't make you but I just want you to know that I'd never forgive you for dying."

"I'm not going to die, I promise."

I smile but I know that Tate be sure of that promise. Liz came back with more updates. They were keeping Steve overnight for more tests and she was going to stay with him. She suggested that we went home but I didn't want to. I wanted to make sure that Steve was going to be okay. Tate decided that we would go back to the hotel and get a room so we could be close and be able to see him in the morning. I agreed to that.

The drive back to the hotel was long. I wondered if this is what I would feel like if my real father had a heart attack. Would I want to sit by his side like I wanted to for Steve? Most likely not.

"Here," Tate said throwing his dress shirt at me to sleep in as he strips into just his boxers.

"Are we not going to-"

Tate cuts me off, "Not tonight. Your mind will be on how my dad is and I don't want you to be thinking about him while we have sex for the first time."

"Good point. Are you mad?"

"Mad that my dad had a heart attack that was out of the blue that resulted in me not getting laid? No, I've waited this long, another night is not going to kill me."

I turn around for Tate to unzip my dress. I replace it with his shirt. I take out the bobby pins from my hair and shake it loose before pulling my brown locks on top of my head and securing it with a hair tie. I crawl into bed and cuddle up next to Tate's naked torso. I outline the newest tattoo that Tate has. The one that I was there for, just moments before this was done; Tate and I shared our first kiss. For no reason at all I had kissed him, right in the middle of the ocean. I had no regrets then and I didn't have any regrets now.