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“It was,” Danny quickly reassures her.
“Then he was lying.”
All three of us laugh.
“He did say you were his favorite person in the world,” Danny adds, making Dottie smile even bigger.
“Of course I am; I’m amazing.” Dottie then turns and grabs my upper arms, pulling me down so she can kiss my cheek. “I’ll leave you two alone now,” she speaks as she drops her hands from my arms, telling Danny it was nice to meet her, before giving me a wink. “Don’t behave. I’ll make sure to call before coming over.”
“That’s not necessary!” I yell after her when she quickly walks away. But she’s already joined her bowling league on Lane 7 and wouldn’t answer me even if she heard me.
With a shake of my head, I turn back to look at Danny. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Oh my God, Ryan, could you sound like more of a dork?
“I had an interview with Dale. I shouldn’t be surprised to seeyouhere though.” She smiles at me. “Are you here every day?”
“Pretty much.” I shrug, even though I’m stuck on the interview thing she just said. “Even if I don’t have practice or a match, I still like to come up here and hang out. You had an interview?”
“I did. That Laura Bennett is a crazy woman.” She laughs. “Even in the middle of her honeymoon, she’s helping me out. She set it all up and sent me a text earlier telling me to be here at three.”
“You know you don’t have to get a job while you’re here, right? That just seems kind of pointless. I certainly don’t want you paying me for anything.”
The only job Dale is currently hiring for is someone to run the concession stand and bar. It’s an honest living, but there’s no way in hell Danny should feel the need to stoop to a job like that. Especially not when she’s spent her days working with billion-dollar property deals at the Brewster Development Company and I’m assuming will be returning to that as soon as she’s done here.
Danny frowns and looks at me in confusion.
“Um, I already have a job that I came here with. This is just something to do on the side.” She laughs awkwardly, and nowI’mconfused.
“Right, with your dad’s company. But you left that, didn’t you? Unless he’s still paying you or something…. Sorry! I’m being nosy.”
She lets out a sigh and shakes her head at me. “There’s no need to apologize. It’s just… fucking Tristan.” She sighs once more. “I will never work for my father again, so there’s no need to worry about that. I’m actually an… artist. It still sounds weird to say that out loud. Anyway, that’s what I do for a living, and that’s what I get paid for. Well, when I’m actually painting. Dale wanted a mural done on the wall behind the concession stand, so Laura suggested me for the job.”
“Wow! That’s the coolest thing ever. I’ve never met an actual artist before. I can’t wait to see your stuff. That is, if you want to show it to me.”
Danny shoves her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and stares down at her feet while she kicks the toe of one Converse against the floor.
It’s adorable that I found the one thing she might be shy about, and it makes me want to give her a hug of reassurance.
“I’m actually glad I ran into you, since that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She still won’t meet my eyes, and I suddenly don’t like this shyness anymore. I don’t want her to ever feel nervous or timid around me about anything.
“I’m going crazy being in that hotel and unable to paint. I wanted to see if I could maybe use your shed as a temporary studio. I’ll be out of your hair, and you won’t—”
“You’re not using the shed,” I quickly interrupt her.
“I promise I’ll clean everything up, if that’s what you’re worried about. I always put down drop cloths anyway.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” I laugh softly. “I don’t care at all if you get the shed dirty. But it doesn’t even have any windows. It’s old, and gross, filled with my lawn equipment and tools, and it smells like gas and oil in there. I’d feel much better if you use the garage. It’s got plenty of natural light from the windows, and it’s connected to the house, so you won’t have to keep walking back and forth outside.”
Her mouth drops open while I’m talking, and it stays that way long after I’m done. There’s also tears suddenly shining in her eyes, and my stomach drops right down into my toes, wondering if I did or said something wrong.
“Are you sure?” she asks quietly before I can ask her what’s wrong.
“Absolutely positive.”
After a few quiet seconds, she finally nods. “Then I guess you’ve got yourself a new roommate.” She smiles at me, and whatever was bothering her before seems to be gone.
“Perfect. I’ll be home around five if you want to move in later.”
“I’ve got a late checkout tonight, so I’ll pack my stuff and head over around six, if that’s okay?”
I nod, and she reaches her hand out to me. Wrapping my hand around hers, I ignore the way my heart starts beating faster as soon as I touch her again, wishing I was a different man. One who had the balls to just yank her against me and kiss her again.
“See you later then, roomie.” Danny smiles with a firm shake of my hand.
Great. Another friendly nickname. Who needs balls anyway?
