Danny takes me by the hand and guides us inside the building. It’s a stunning complex; warm, rich colors such as reds, browns and oranges accentuate the inside entrance. We’re greeted by a doorman and a security guard by the elevator. I can see one of the reasons why Danny chose this place. The cameras will have to wait outside.
Danny keeps hold of my hand as we hoist up the many stories. I won’t even ask him how much this place is going to cost him, however I have a feeling Danny and the others are going to get a nice chunk of money soon, if they haven’t received it already. Being top on the charts with their newest song,
Shattered
, it must have been a shock to them; it’s amazing how fast they rose to the top in such a short amount of time.
The elevator stops and opens right at the apartment entryway. Holy Moly! What a total surprise! I feel like I’m walking inside some kind of movie set!
Yeah, this place is going to cost him some megabucks!
I’m speechless as Danny guides me to the kitchen and the living room. It’s such a beautiful apartment. The light from the windows show off a certain masculinity throughout the place, I can actually see Danny living here. It will certainly need a woman's touch someday -
not by me of course - well maybe me? Hopefully me?
I am moving way too fast for my own good. I have to get back on track. Think, friendship, think - “So, what do you think?” Danny snaps me out of my bizarre thoughts. “I can totally picture this rad entertainment set right here.” He moves around the living room like a little boy in a toy shop, pointing to all the areas his stuff can be placed at. He puts a smile on my face from his enthusiasm, he’s so cute. “Huge flat screen TV, and recliner chairs, right there. It will be epic,” he exclaims.
“It’s unbelievable. I love it.”
“Thanks, yeah it’s damn perfect,” he smiles. Then he swiftly takes me by the hand again. “Let me show you the bedroom.” He leads me through a long hallway with a half bathroom on the left side and an office on the other. Straight ahead I see a balcony and other tall buildings, but what I wasn’t expecting was the amazing view that is coming from every angle of the room.
I gasp and immediately smile. “Wow!” Two enormous, ceiling to floor windows are on the left of me; straight from that view is the ballpark - Petco Park, and in the far distance is the
Coronado Bridge. In front of me is one long, sliding glass door that leads out onto the balcony, and on the right of me, another set of matching windows.
“Fucking sweet right?” I turn my head to see Danny beaming. He has every right to be, this place is incredible.
“That view!” I quickly walk out onto the balcony and experience the most amazing breeze. “Oh, my God!”
“It’s what sold me,” he leans onto the railing. “Can you imagine this at night, seeing the city lights, sunsets, Petco Park, the ocean?”
I lean onto the balcony as well. “It’s beautiful,” I say. The cool wind is blowing through my hair and the sun is beating down onto my face. I love it. I could totally live on this balcony.
As I smile and take in the stunning sight, we stand together in silence. That is until I notice Danny’s eyes burning a hole in the side of my head. “You’re beautiful,” he softly states.
My smile evaporates and suddenly I am back to feeling like a total fake and a liar. I back away from the railing and walk back inside, crossing my arms over my chest. “Danny - “ As I turn around I gasp. I am now face to face with him; so close I can see the tiny lines around his eyes.
He grabs me by the hips and pulls me straight into his chest. My arms are no longer crossed; my barrier is gone and my tits are smashed right into him. His voice is throaty, low and his eyes are intense. The room is now exploding with sexual desire. “I can picture us lying on a massive California King bed, making love all fucking night. Nothing but naked skin on top of naked skin, with our legs wrapped around each other like braided rope. Can you imagine that? Because I want it so bad, Harmony,” he cups my face. “I want you so damn bad,” he seductively whispers in my ear.
I am breathing hard and I can feel my panties becoming wet. My legs shake uncontrollably. I want him just as badly, but I can’t do this. I have to push him away…..again. “I can’t,” I squeak out.
I try to get out of his grip, but he’s too strong and keeps a hold on my hips. My arms automatically go around his waist, pressing my hands hard against his back. “You want more answers? I’ll give them to you. I’ll talk and you listen, right?” He turns the tip of my chin toward his face and plants a light kiss onto my lips. I suck in a breath because my body is betraying my head. That one simple little kiss gets me riled up. He continues, “Let me prove to you that I am who you want. Who you need.”
You are who I want and need.
He plants one more kiss on my quivering lips and I suddenly want to forget about everything and let him have his way with me.
However, I have to take a step back and refocus on why I am not allowing us to get closer. “I want to listen,” I whisper.
The air between us shifts and I am now being led over to an empty space where the bed is supposed to be. We both sit down on the dark wooden floor and lean against the wall. Danny releases my hand, brings up his knees and laces his fingers together on top. He doesn’t look at me, yet keeps his eyes facing the balcony. “I was five when my dad walked out on us. Never saw him again. Never got birthday cards, Christmas presents, no phone calls. Nothing. He just vanished, like he never existed. Like I never existed to him.” His tone is bitter, with a deep frustration and pain to follow. It’s not hard to feel it - his body gives off the vibe.
“What memories do you have with him?”
He shrugs. “I don’t remember a lot, but I remember him taking me to my first Arizona Diamondbacks game. I think I was four or….wait, I had just turned five. He took me for my birthday.”
“I’ve never been to a baseball game,” I mention.
He turns his head and grins. “Wow, okay, well we’re gonna have to get you to your first game next year,” he bumps shoulders with me. “What about you? Any special memories with your parents?”
“Yes,” I smile, remembering the past. “We used to do a lot of exploring, like camping, hiking, fishing -”
“Fishing?” Danny asks in surprise. “Never would have imagined you as someone who liked that sort of stuff.”
“Oh yeah, I loved it! I actually miss camping. After my parents passed, I never camped again. Melody hates anything to do with dirt, bugs and not taking showers,” I chuckle.
“Well, this is another thing we’ll have to do together.”
He sounds so hopeful. I’d love to do anything with Danny, and I hope one day we’ll be more than friends, but as of right now it just can’t work. “Yeah, maybe,” I shrug. I’m curious to know more about his upbringing. “Did your mom take you camping a lot?”
“Every so often, yeah, but Lucky and I used to camp several times a year.”
It’s nice to see Danny opening up to me. I really enjoy talking with him. “How’d you two meet?”
“We grew up together. Met in third grade.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.” I lean my elbow on my thigh, placing my chin on the palm of my hand. “I never stayed anywhere long enough to have a best friend. Mel and I were home schooled. Our parents were sorta like Gypsies; we never planted ourselves in one spot for too long. They loved traveling.”
Danny frowns. “Must have been hard on you.”
“Not really,” I shrug. “I didn’t know any different. It was just the way things were. But after being in San Diego all these years, I can’t see myself moving anywhere else. I believe my seed has finally been planted and watered,” I shyly chuckle.
We’re quiet for a few seconds.
“I’m glad you stayed,” Danny quietly says.
He gazes at me and my heart starts to pound a little faster. “Me too.” I smile and look down. I start to feel hot and bothered. I need to switch gears on our conversation. Every time we get quiet I start to feel things. So does he. I really hate ignoring our chemistry, but we need to remain friends. My next question is about him and his parents. I hope I don’t overstep any boundaries and make him shell up again. “So what about you? Do you have any memories with you, your mom and dad together?” I turn my body away from the wall and sit Indian style.
His body immediately stiffens. He shakes his head. “No, but I can’t get the vivid memory of him walking out on us and my mom crying.” His jaw hardens, I can see the muscles flex.
I can’t imagine what that must have been like for a little boy to witness. My heart breaks for him, so I do my best to ask the next question with care. “I know it still affects you after all this time, but…...eventually you’ll need to let it go. Holding on to this anger isn’t good and it won’t help you. Believe me I’ve been there.” My parents were hit by a drunk driver. For so many years I held such anger toward that person. I still feel angry at times, but I can’t let that define me anymore. Eventually I had to let it go. “And…..blaming Faith isn’t right.” I see him flinch, followed by the squeezing of his knuckles. I place my hand over them and immediately he releases the pressure. “It isn’t right,” I firmly repeat.
He exhales and suddenly stands up. “I’m done talking,” he holds out a hand for me and helps me up from the floor. “I need something to eat. You hungry?”
I feel defeated, yet I’m slowly opening that iron door of his. I take his hand and stand up. “Yes. What sounds good to you?”
“Mexican?” He suggests.
“Sure. I love Mexican food. One of my favorites.”
“Oh yeah? Mine too,” He winks with a smile.
My God, he’s super hot.
“Old Town has some of the best Mexican food. You wanna go down there?”
“Sure, I’ll meet you there.”
“No. We’ll go together.” I stop and stare at him. This is going to feel more like a date than going out to lunch with a friend. He sticks his hand out again, and playfully says, “Friends let friends drive. Come on,” he laughs.
I am hesitant, but take his hand anyways and agree to let him drive.
As we walk out to his car we look around us for any paparazzi. We escape without anyone bombarding us, thank goodness.
On the way to Old Town we listened to a playlist on Danny’s iPod. I was surprised to learn he loved country music. I’m not a huge fan of country, but when a Sam Hunt song started playing, I think I became an instant small fan. I also learned Danny has a great singing voice. Why he doesn’t sing as one of the leads is beyond me. I had to clench my thighs together, his voice almost had me orgasm. No matter how much he affects me in all the right places I cannot let him see it.
After we get seated we order a couple drinks, then our meal. I hadn’t had a margarita in a while so the moment the cool drink hits my mouth I sigh.
“How’s the margarita?” Danny smirks.
“Insanely good! Here, try some.” I hand him my glass after he takes a swig of his beer.
“Yeah, it’s good.” After a few tortilla chips have been munched on Danny says, “I’m sorry if I shut down on you earlier.”
I wipe my mouth with the napkin on my lap. “It’s okay, no worries.”
He looks around his surroundings, like someone might overhear us. “It’s just really hard for me to change.”
“Danny, really, it’s okay.” Without thinking, I place my hand on top of his. “It takes time to get through difficult situations, such as yours. I know it’s not easy.” He looks down at my hand. I can tell how much he wants to grab onto it. I swiftly take it away.
He then nods his head and takes another sip of his beer. He is a man of few words when he talks about himself; it’s easy for him to turn the tables and to ask me questions instead. “You mentioned your sister raising you. How much older is she than you?”
“Ten years. She was an aspiring singer, living in LA.”
“Huh. What happened? Is she not singing anymore?”
“No,” I slowly shake my head. “She sang and played the guitar, but then her hand got injured and she had to quit playing. Then quit singing. Some of our income came from her playing in night clubs.” It still makes me so sad to think how my sister gave up on everything after her injury. I wish she would at least try to sing again. She has the most beautiful voice.
“Wow. So what happened after that?”
I look down into my margarita, swirling the ice cubes around with the stirring straw. “I quit college, worked instead, and supported us both,” I say and take another drink.
“Didn’t know you went to college.” Danny is, yet again, surprised.
“Yep. I wanted to be an interior decorator.”
“I’m sorry you had to give it up.”
“Me too, but it’s okay,” I shrug. “We have managed. Plus I’ve been really happy at the hotel.”
“You haven’t been there for very long, so was this recent? The accident to her hand, I mean.”
The last thing I want Danny to know is about my job as a stripper. How do I get out of this? “No. I -” Saved by the bell, the waitress brings us our lunch. He didn’t bring up the subject again, thank God.
During lunch Danny asks me to try his fish tacos. Honestly I have never tried them before, fish in a taco does not sound good. I give him a funny look, he laughs. “Come on, silly.”
I take a bite. It actually is really good. “So good,” I reply, with a mouthful of food.
“Told ya.” He winks at me.
We had a really easy going lunch. Our conversation stayed light. We talked about random things such as: movies, favorite TV shows, books. I did mention to him I am a romance, book nerd and proud of it. He laughed over it. I can’t help it if I have read
Twilight
over ten times. I am a romantic. Danny is more of a non-fiction, history reader. History bores me.
I loved getting to see this side of Danny. He makes me laugh. He makes me want to spend more time with him. Spending more time with him means falling deeper for him.
What am I going to do?
After Danny pays for lunch we take a short walk out in the middle of Old Town’s Historic Park. I haven’t been here before. It’s lovely.
“Thank you for lunch,” I mention.
“No prob.”
We get near a big tree and stand underneath it, shoulder to shoulder. I am a little apprehensive being out in the open like this. “Are you sure we should be out here? I mean, with the paparazzi and all, you know.”