AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do…do you think the other people here think it’s weird, though?” I indicated the closed curtains. “You know, two guys in here together?”
Daniel’s eyes softened. “Does that bother you?”
I peeked through the small crack in the curtain and saw that no one was even paying attention. And, to answer his question, I didn’t think I’d care even if they were. I didn’t want to hide. Not anymore. “No. I’m not ashamed to be with you.”
“Being out is about being visible sometimes,” Daniel said. “I don’t want to live out our entire relationship in our houses. I want to be a couple in public, too.”
I looked down at the red, cloth napkin placed just at my right hand, and I blinked. He was right; since dumping Adam and putting an end to all those secrets, I was truly, fullyout. I chuckled. Damn, it felt good.
“I think by mentioning prom, and talking about Susan, all that old stuff came rushing back up. It made me forget for a second that I’m not hiding anymore.”
Daniel reached over and touched my hand, running his fingertips over my knuckles. “It’s not always easy. Sometimes it’s scary.”
“I know, but I want to be a couple in public with you, too,” I said, turning my hand over and squeezing his fingers.
He squeezed back before pulling away and opening his menu. “I’ve never been here before. So which lasagna is it that you like?”
My skin tingled where his fingers had touched my hand, and I wanted to kiss the spot, or pull him across the booth and kiss his mouth instead.
“Um, I can never remember what it’s called. Let me look.” I opened the menu and scanned the dishes. “I always get the spinach lasagna, but I think I’m going to stick with one of the lighter salads tonight instead.”
We shared a meaningful look. Daniel cleared his throat. “I think I’ll do the same.”
My heart quickened.
After the waitress took our orders and brought back our drinks, Daniel sprawled on his side of the booth and sighed, dark golden lashes lowering against his cheek. “God, it’s nice to be here. Not at that big, rambling house with no one there but me and Milky Way.” He opened his eyes fully and smiled in a relaxed, tired way. “She was excited to see Kerri, by the way. Nearly licked her face off.”
“She’s such a friendly girl,” I murmured. “So, I don’t know if this is something you’d want to talk about tonight, but how are Paul and Kennedy doing with your grandparents? Are things getting better?” We hadn’t talked about them in a while.
Daniel sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck, easing the tension that came up as soon as I’d asked the question. “They’re trying to adjust. Every time I call, Kennedy wants to know when she can come home, or when I’m moving there, too. It’s hard to tell her that I’m not, but I plan to see them at Thanksgiving. I’ve decided I’m going to fly down for that.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“But I’m going to spend Christmas here. If everything goes to plan, I’ll have closed on Bobby’s house by then, and I’ll be in the process of getting settled in there. I kind of thought…” He hesitated. “No pressure, but I thought it’d be fun to spend the holidays together. Get a tree. Decorate it. That sort of thing.”
“I’d love that.”
“One day I can have the kids up to visit. I can make up the guest room for them. But for now, I’m trying to help them understand that we’re never going to live together again. This is the new reality.”
“That’s gotta be hard for them to hear.”
“Sometimes. Paul seems happier though. My grandmother is spoiling him rotten, giving him all kinds of love and attention. I think he needed that.”
“I’m sure.”
“As for my mom…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. If she can’t stay sober, my siblings would be better off if she just stayed out of their lives. Butifshe manages it, I guess I want them to all be together.” His brows dropped low, and he added, “Away from me, preferably. Too much has happened for me to want to be around my mom on a regular basis. This is probably as good as our relationship can hope to get. But the kids? Maybe they can still have better.”
“At least they have that with your grandparents now.”
“Yeah.” Daniel leaned closer and went back to playing with my fingers before saying, “You’re a good person to care about them. You don’t even know them, and you don’t have to ask.”
“But I know you, and you love them, so of course I care. Besides, you know I haven’t always been a very good person. You make me want to be better.”
He took a shallow breath, his teeth biting into his lower lip a moment. “You too.”
I scoffed. “How could you be better than you are? You worked with ARK and only stopped to take care of your brother and your sister; you put them first. You’re there for Minty and the rest of our friends. You’re there forme. You didn’t judge me this summer when I was an idiot, and you took me back after I hurt you. Minty’s right. You’re perfect.”
Daniel shook his head. “I’m not even close.”
