“Wow, Daniel, that’s amazing.” I squeeze him tight and grin wholeheartedly.
“This opens up new possibilities. It paves the way for entering and developing more markets and potential business with similar governments.”
“I can’t believe you waited until now to tell me.” I push his chest gently. His reply is a smile. “Now, that’s a cause for celebration,” I say with the most casual voice I can, trying hard to hide my relief. Still, I'm utterly thrilled for him.
“There’s more to celebrate.” He winks at me.
“Oh?” The dread is back … and in reply to my poorly-articulated response he hands me a navy, rectangular, velvety box.
Psycho, no!
At this point my breath is far from being stable while my heart plays catch up.
“Don’t freak out on me Hales, okay?” he says, noticing my hesitant palm when I reach for the box. There’s an iota of humor in his stare which I can’t translate.
Knowing you and your impulsive ways there’s nothing I could do to keep from freaking out. Is he serious? Is this what I think it is
? Tasha’s words ricochet around my brain, fueling my concern, frightening the hell out of me. I can’t manage to open the damn thing: my mind spaces out and doesn’t seem to be able to transfer the required action to my numb limbs.
He sets the box on the table.
“Hales,” he frames my cheeks and tips my head so my widely open, terrified eyes align with his. “You are just way too sweet.” He presses a soft, chaste kiss on my mouth, his eyes dancing with secretive, impish light.
“It’s not what you think. You're not ready for that yet. Relax, baby.” He winks at me again and his lips curve up in an adorable smile. He's laughing at me!
I blink at him and swallow hard. The only sound my mouth can form right now is, “Huh?” He shakes his head and his smile widens. I observe him for a fraction of a second, then turn to open the box. I gape at the box's contents, then up at Daniel’s anxiously waiting eyes, then back at the velvety case in my now slightly more stable hands. Inside, on a silky navy cloth, lies cradled a diamond tennis bracelet, with an engraved heart toggle at its middle. I need to force myself to pull my dropped jaw back into its natural place as I study the delicate, exquisite jewelry.
“Look at the engraving,” Daniel coaxes in his throaty, warm voice, his eyes a tender hazel of thrill on me.
I turn the heart over to read the inscription, and the little carved letters constrict my own heart with new levels of adoration.
For being you.
It’s a moment that reminds me how deeply, so-fallen-can’t-get-up in love with him I am. I gape, overwhelmed, at the bracelet for a long moment as Daniel watches me with the most satisfied, proud side pull of his lips. And the deepest, bone-shivering emotions sweep through my body.
I love you D. Can't breathe, can’t exist without you, love
.
“I love you.” I lean forward to kiss him, a kiss that tells him how I feel, powered by the emotions that now spiral within me, which he enthusiastically reciprocates. When we detach for the sake of oxygen, I move over and straddle his welcoming thighs. As Daniel secures the bracelet on my wrist, but not before he plants a soft kiss on the middle of my gratified palm, we continue where our mouths left off just a minute ago. We kiss, consumed in the trance of our connection, til the need to rip each other’s clothes off is on the verge of irrationality. We don’t even make it to the house; we fall to the closest lounger in this scene he created for…me.
When I am snuggled deep in his embrace, in his vast bed and under the soft covers, he whispers into my ear. “You know, Hales...” he says, brushing my cheekbone with his warm hand. His shining eyes in the darkened room transmit his emotions. “...it's been a while since I hit puberty.”
I can’t resist and counter with, “Has it? Your hormone-stricken libido tells me otherwise.” I blink at him and he snickers.
He kisses me with a feathery kiss. “I'm not playing Hales. I am all in, baby.” He tips my chin up so our eyes are level. “Like I said before, I found the one.” To my prolonged silence full of frantic thoughts he says, “What is it?”
I take a deep breath, trying to make some order out of the chaos that is my thoughts.
Should I just go ahead and say what’s on my mind, especially after what he just made for me, gave me?
He watches me with a profound look that only makes the ability to say what I want almost impossible.
“Hales?”
“Nothing, I’m just a bit overwhelmed.” I choose, like the coward that I am, not to tell him how insecure I feel about us.
“Now that we've gotten this out of the way, can we get down to the nitty-gritty?”
“And by nitty-gritty you mean...?”He slides his hand under my tank top.
Again? Hormone-stricken libido indeed. But hey, who am I to complain?
Chapter 10: Under the Weather
I wake alone due to Daniel’s early start, something about a meeting out of town. Still drowsy and shaking off sleep, I wait for the noisy coffee machine to do its sacred job and call Ian. Knowing full well that the fallout from his father’s heart of stone takes more than a good night's sleep to wear thin, if at all.
“Wha...” A short, annoyed mumble echoes from the other end of the line.
“Mornin’ sunshine, you sound terrific...”
“Whatevs, Hales. I’m allowed to be moody. My chakras are in complete chaos, so don’t even start with that shit,” he grumbles huskily, then sighs, sounding deflated and sleepy. Shorter than the space of a breath he adds, “Sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you, but it’s just...he really gets to me.”
“I know, dear. And it’s me, so there's no need to apologize,” I say warmly, then add, “Do you want to call in sick and have a spa day? My treat.” I’ll do whatever it takes to make him feel good.
“Gorgeous, with the amount of sick days I’ve pulled off so far I’ll have to call in dead.”
I lightly giggle, glad he's moved on to humor. “So, anything I can do to help? Want to do lunch?”
“Nah, I’ll just take it out on some hot body,” his voice becomes an octave cheerier.
Of course that’s his answer.
“I can hear you roll your eyes from here,” he says, making me chuckle.
“So what’s the real plan for the day?”
“Start with coffee. When it loses its effect continue to alcohol, and then that hot body.” We both laugh this time.
“Classic. Will you be okay?”
“You know I love you, right?”
“I know, Ian, and me you, from the roots of my natural blonde to my French-manicured toes.”
A short, hoarse laugh comes from the small device in my palm.
“I need to start the day and so do you. I’ll check up on you later. Kiss.”
As soon as we hang up I go to the web and order an absurdly expensive designer basket of chocolate cupcakes, to be delivered to Ian’s work place with the following note:
Whatevs the calories gorgeous, nothing better to align chakras than unadulterated, sinfully exquisite carbs.
Love ya tons, H
~~~
In my cubicle at work, drinking the last sip of my second cup of coffee, I go through the pile in my inbox. It's time to roll up my sleeves, a sigh of frustrated recognition falls from my lips. Lunch will have to be at my desk if I ever want to reduce this immense workload to a decent amount. I wonder whether I should get another caffeine fix before I start, but in the end go with no. Somehow jitters, nausea and vomiting from a legal stimulant overdose don’t seem like the best condition to carry at work.
As I look for my phone, the glittering chain on my wrist catches my eye and a smile reflexively pops up on my lips. I circle the bracelet around my wrist til I can see the little heart clearly. I read the inscription again, like I've done about a thousand times today, even before getting out of the house, and grin toothily with sheer contentment.
“Some bling.” Josh, standing above me, looks pointedly at the shine.
“That it is.” I smile at him.
“What’s the engraving say?”
I lift my hand and show him.
“Daniel?” he asks.
“The one and only.” My lips couldn’t stretch any further.
“I like his style. He is definitely a keeper. Guys like him are hard to find, Hayley.”
I know boss, believe me, I know.
“Anything I can do for you?” I ask, certain that having a gushing girlie chat about my new glittery ornament wasn’t the reason he dropped by.
“Yeah,” he answers, leaning his hip on my desk. He starts giving me some useful input for a project I’ve been working on.
This guy is just great at what he does. Apart from his annoying mega smile, his recent obsession with my Ian, and his exhausting tendency to fatigue me with small talk, he is the perfect mentor. Josh finally lets me continue my work after taking the better part of an hour from my busy day. When Daniel calls a quarter of an hour later telling me he will be home late tonight because of a prolonged business meeting, I decide I have a good enough excuse to stay late at work and to try to shrink my currently extensive workload.
Long after the sky out the window turns into a burned grey, I find myself shivering. I check the window, but it's shut. I put on my jacket to warm up. At the pause from my concentrated state, I realize my eyes are burning and the thudding in my head that I'd earlier dismissed as too many hours at a computer screen combined with caffeine gets more intense. I decide to call it a night, thinking about a warm bath and an early snuggle into bed.
Once at Daniel’s, which I find hard to call home even in my head, I dismiss the idea of a bath; I'm too exhausted to even consider it. My shivering doesn't stop, even under the thick comforter, so I check my fever. My temperature is so high that I'm glad the mercury didn’t burst out of the thermometer. I decide to sleep in the living room.
I’d hate for Daniel to inherit whatever malignant microorganism is colonizing me.
Tossing and turning, freezing despite my blanket, I open my eyes to the TV on mute in the darkened room. I pull the blanket even tighter around me, and absently look up to find out that my pillow is actually a lap. Daniel is slouched above me, fully clothed in a suit and tie, resting his head on the sofa’s wide back. His chest gently rises and falls in a peaceful rhythm. My plan to get away from him for his own good failed. Nevertheless, I’m more than glad that he's here. I smile, take the remote from his limp hand, and turn the power off. I take Daniel’s hand between mine and, resting my head on it, I let my fatigue do its work.
Chapter 11: Soup, Wine, Ginger, Truth or Dare and Plain Ol’ Comfort
A sound of metal jingling against some hard surface followed by a muffled clatter comes from the kitchen, brutally pulling me out of my deep sleep. Rather startled, I raise my head to look over the sofa, and find Daniel’s back. He's hunched over the kitchen counter and appears to be engaged in some culinary labor. I check the time on the entertainment center.
Noon?
Rubbing my eyes, I try to wipe away the remains of my heavy sleep.
I slept so much
.
I haven’t called in sick. Shit.
Slowly I lift myself up from the sofa that’s been my comforting convalescent
burrow for the last several hours. Pulling my sleeves over my fists, I hug myself and stretch.
“Daniel?” My voice is still a touch hoarse from sleeping so long.
“Hey baby, how do you feel?” He turns at the waist to face me, a ladle in hand, revealing two unlabeled white containers set side by side on the counter. I stare perplexed at the odd scene before me. The comforting, delicious scent of broth reaches me as I take another step.
“I think I’m a bit better. What are
you
doing home? Umm, what are you doing?” I nod toward the counter.
He smiles a thin smile. “Brought you some soup.”
I feel my heart slowly melt into a frothy puddle. Daniel blinks at me over his shoulder and I walk up to hug him tightly from behind. “If I weren't afraid of infecting you, I would kiss you so hard right now.”
He chuckles lightly.
“Are you for real? Am I dreaming you?”
“I’m very real and much yours.” He says still with his back to me.
I inhale in utter pleasure
.
“Aren’t you supposed to be dealing with a foreign country or something?”
“My girl’s sick.”
I beam; a smile erupts from all the way down, from deep inside of me.
“I need to call Josh. My god, it’s after mid-day…” I mumble distractedly, resting my head on his wide, hard back. I breathe in deeply, indulging on his smell which is mixed with the fresh linen scent of the white dress shirt he has on. I hug his waist and melt further into him, smiling serenely.
“Already called him earlier this morning.” Daniel says, looking back over his shoulder toward me. I shift my head, my chin still resting on his back, and blink at him twice, surprised. He shrugs. He then squats to check out the oven clock.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he says suddenly, and I let go to stand beside him.
Psycho?
“Sorry. It's truly tempting, but I’m definitely not in any condition for that.”
With a light chuckle, he fetches his car keys and shoves them into his front pocket.
“Eat your soup and rest,” he orders, then kisses my forehead airily, letting out a short laugh again. “I’ll try to get home early today,” he says, then mutters under his breath, “For fuck’s sake, I’m so late.”
And he is gone.
I spend the afternoon doing close to nothing except sketching and trying to watch TV. Daniel’s third call makes me snort, and I ridicule him for being just a tad too protective.
“Daniel, seriously, I’m doing better. I ate my soup, I’ve rested and I haven’t left the couch.”
“Listen Hales...” There's a short silence, which I can clearly guess is due to his inability to disconnect completely from his work. “...I’m not sure I'll be able to make it early today after all.” He ignores my comment, and his voice is a little too grave to deliver such minor info. I laugh lightly at his melodrama.