This was a true testament to how badly I wanted to go. Under normal circumstances, I would've been scared out of my wits to stay by myself at Tess and Billy's house. I had always lived with my parents or had a roommate.
"I'm fine with it," Tess said. "Just be careful driving in the dark."
"I will. I'll be fine."
"I'm not fine with it," Mom said. "What about Christmas?"
"I'll see," I said. "I might drive back tomorrow. I'll have to see what he's… I'll call you and let you know."
"Oh my goodness, are you really driving over there tonight?" Tess asked.
"Yes," I said, nodding. "Absolutely." I tilted my head at Tess. "If you're sure he's not with that girl anymore."
"He's not. I just talked to him yesterday."
I leaned over and took my sister by the face, holding her cheeks. I scrunched up my face and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you sooo much," I said, bursting with excitement. "I don’t know why that news about Daniel wasn't the first thing out of your mouth when you saw me, but I still love you." I reached up and gently slapped her cheeks after I did all that, a few tiny, little patting slaps. She laughed at my excitement.
"Who's cooking? It smells good in here!"
My aunt came around the corner, and after that, everything got loud and busy. Before I knew it, we had eaten and were talking about doing our annual gift exchange. I tried not to be obvious about it, but I was in a hurry. It was pushing it for me to leave the party at seven, but I knew I had to in order to make it to the hardware store in time.
I told my family that I loved them but I had to be going. I hugged several of them on my way out, not offering any information about where I was headed. I figured Mom and Tess could run interference for me once I left. I stopped at my apartment to throw some clothes in a bag and pick up a present I wanted to give to Daniel.
I stopped again in Beaumont to fill up my tank with gas. My car was a little MG Midget, and I had made the trip to Galveston several times in it. I knew where all the gas stations were, and I knew I could make it a long way without having to stop again.
I had left my house in such an excited haze that it took me all the way to that gas station in Beaumont to figure out that this was an extremely crazy stunt for me to pull.
First of all, I had to hope and pray that Daniel would be happy to see me.
The whole thing about him not having a girlfriend could be hearsay. My unannounced arrival could turn out to be an unwanted or awkward encounter. I figured if that happened, I could always lie and say I was in Galveston for a different reason—like picking up a Christmas present that Tess and Billy accidently left behind.
Was I really making up back-up lies? I told myself it wouldn’t come to that. But it didn't stop me from playing out all sorts of scenarios as I drove.
Secondly, and perhaps the craziest part of it all was that if things worked out with Daniel, which I obviously hoped they would, then I would be sleeping at Tess's house in Galveston. I would be spending the whole night alone, and waking up, also alone, in a huge, empty house on Christmas morning.
Several times, I thought of turning back. Daniel had no idea I was coming. It would be more than reasonable for me to turn around. My family would love that, actually, since I would make it back for Christmas. I came up with all sorts of reasons why going to Galveston was a bad idea.
But the second I would start to doubt myself, I would think of Daniel and how he was right there, just a couple hours from me.
I was pulled to him.
There was just no question that I was going.
Chapter 10
It was twenty-till-ten when I finally pulled into my parking spot on Bank Street, in front of the hardware store. Randall's truck was parked next to Daniel's, and I saw, after I parked, that Randall was sitting in it. He waited for me to get out of my car and approach the store. He rolled down his window to yell at me.
"I was wondering who that was!" he said. "What are you doing here? You lost or something?"
"No, I was coming to pick up some nails."
"Oh, well, they don't have the… it's just Daniel in there, and he doesn't even have the register…" Randall stopped talking once he saw me smiling and he realized I had been joking about the nails.
"I just came to say 'hi' to Daniel. I saw his truck."
"Oh, yeah, well, he's in there. He was back in the office when I left."
I nodded and waved at him as I walked toward the door. "Merry Christmas," I said from over my shoulder.
"Merry Christmas," he yelled.
The front of the hardware store was lined with windows, so I could easily see inside as I went through the door. The bell dinged when I opened the door, and I looked across the store, peering toward the office.
"Did you forget something?" I heard Daniel's voice yelling from the office, and I hunched over, ducking and curling my shoulders as if that would hide me from anything. I didn't want to answer him, so I just ran toward his voice. I padded silently on my toes, taking long, leaping, quiet strides across the hardware store toward the office.
The lights were low. It wasn't dark in there, but it certainly wasn't as well-lit as it was while the store was open. The office light was on, though, and I headed that way.
"Randall?" I heard Daniel's voice from way closer than I thought it would be. He must have been right at the door of the office, because as I approached, I heard his voice like it was only a few feet away.
I came to a screeching halt, stopping outside the door so that I wouldn't run right into him. I was out of breath from adrenaline and from running, and I smiled at myself as I tried to take silent, gasping breaths to get my breathing under control.
"Hello?"
Daniel's deep voice was emotionless and it projected. He didn't hear me. He stepped out of the office like he was planning on going to the door to see who had come in. I was standing to his left as he walked out, and his focus shifted toward me. His eyes landed on mine in what seemed like an instant. I saw as he recognized me and then his face shifted to one of happy surprise.
"Abby?"
I let out a breathless laugh at the way he said my name and the fact that I was breathless from jogging anyway.
I waved. "Hi."
Daniel glanced around briefly before meeting my eyes again. He had on dark jeans and a grey t-shirt that had an Army logo on it. It fit him tightly, hugging his chest, and the sight of him standing so close with that big, broad chest was too much to take in. I glanced away.
"Hi," he said as soon as I looked away. "I was just about to call you."
My eyes met his again, and I smiled. "I’m not there," I said.
"I see that," he said, seriously. "You're here."
"Yeah. I was just passing by, and I saw your truck out front. Randall said you were in the office, so I thought I'd come in."
"You were passing by?" he asked.
I nodded, staring up at him, flirting with him.
"What are you doing in my hardware store and not in Louisiana?"
I shrugged, staring into his multi-colored eyes. "I just thought maybe we could… talk in person instead of… on the telephone. You know, so no one has to pay for long distance on the bill."
"Oh, so you were just trying to save money?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding.
"Come here," he said, smiling. He reached out and took me into his arms, hugging me. It was a confident embrace like a friend or family member would give you. I didn't care. I would take what I could get.
I held him back, molding my body to him, holding on for dear life. I hugged him for several long seconds before we broke the contact and stepped back. I hadn't remembered to breathe while we were hugging, and I took a deep breath before I spoke.
"I, I just was thinking after you called. I decided I'd come stay the night at Tess and Billy's since I knew you'd be at the store with Randall. I thought maybe I could run into you. I was trying to find you so we could… talk for a minute in person." I took
another deep, unsteady breath, stretching my arms since I didn't know what to do with my hands. "Also, Tess mentioned that you weren't dating that other person anymore, so I thought, I don't know, that you wouldn't get in trouble for talking to me." I paused before adding, "Are you, though?"
"Am I what?" he asked.
"Still dating. Or broken up."
"I'm only one of those."
"Broken up?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes."
"For how long have you been?"
"Since Thanksgiving."
I had to fight a huge grin that threatened to cover my face.
"Can we go somewhere?" I said to distract him from my joy over his breakup. "Or we could sit in there for a while." I gestured to the office. "Or we could go to Billy's." I shrugged. "We'd be comfortable at Tess and Billy's. And that way, when you have to leave, I won't have to go to the house by myself. I'll already be there."
"You are way too scared to sleep in that house by yourself," Daniel said, knowing my fear of the dark.
"I know," I said. "I kind of figured that out around Beaumont, but I just… kept driving."
"You would be up all night if you stayed at that house by yourself," Daniel said.
"Yeah," I answered, nodding a little.
"And that was your plan?" he asked, staring at me seriously.
"Yeah," I said, nodding again. "I still stand by it," I added, standing up straight.
Daniel smiled at me. "What about Christmas?"
I shrugged. "I figured if you were busy, I'd just leave in the morning and go back home. It's not that far. Tess and Billy would still be there if I get an early start. Plus, most of the big stuff with my extended family and everything was done tonight."
"Did you miss it to come here?"
"I was there for most of it," I said. "But all of it, Daniel, leaving there, coming here, sleeping scared… it's all no big deal at all. I wanted to do it, and I really feel like it's worth it if you'll just… talk to me… be willing to talk to me for a minute."
Daniel crossed his arms in front of his chest as he regarded me. His arms and chest were bulging, and at first, I thought he was showing off for me, but then I realized that was just how he looked—gorgeous in his resting position. He wasn't flexing or trying to show off, his arms were just glorious and distracting on their own.
"I think I would love to sit somewhere and talk to you, Abigail."
My eyes met his when he said my name—it was more that he said that version of my name. Daniel had been the first and main one to call me Abby. He was the one who started it. I was almost sure I had never heard him call me Abigail, now that I thought about it."
"You just called me Abigail," I said.
"I did," he said.
"What made you do that?"
"I don't know. I just wanted to."
"Are you mad at me?" I asked.
He smiled and reached out to hug me again. "Why would I be mad?" he asked giving me a reassuring squeeze.
I didn't say any more about it. I just enjoyed the hug.
We decided to leave right after that. We knew we would be more comfortable at Tess and Billy's house than at his dad's office, so we locked up and headed down Bank Street. He followed me in his truck, and we both parked in their driveway. I had a painting with me, which I held, but I had also packed a bag, and Daniel carried it inside for me.
We tuned on a few lights, and he set my bag down at the foot of the stairs. I was holding the framed painting, and instead of leaving it there with my other things, I carried it with me to the living room and carefully rested it in one of the chairs, facing out.
It was a beach scene that Tess had captured the very first day we moved to Galveston. It had a depiction of me sitting on a towel on the sand. Tess had painted me in several of her paintings over the years, and most of the time, I just looked like a female in the distance. Rarely could you tell who I was. The same was true with this painting. It was a female form with all the right shapes and shadows, but if you didn't know it was me, you would just think it's a painting of some girl on the beach.
It had always been my favorite painting. Her style had developed and changed over the years. Looking at her current work with this one side-by-side, you could see where she had improved. But it was a charming scene, and it definitely had sentimental value to me.
I brought it with me so I could give it to Daniel as a Christmas present. I didn't know what would come of this night, but I knew he would like it and appreciate it as a gift.
"Come sit," I said, gesturing to the couch after I situated the painting in a chair. "Can I get you something to drink or eat?"
"I'm fine," Daniel said. He just stood there looking at me for a few seconds before he went to the couch. "What's the painting about?" he asked as he decided on a spot.
"It's me," I said. "It's the first one Tess did when we moved here."
"I know what it is, I was just wondering why it was here."
He kicked off his shoes near the coffee table and then sat in the corner of the couch. He cocked his leg up beside him, looking like he wasn't in a hurry. The sight of his relaxed demeanor absolutely delighted me. I sat beside him.
"I just had it with me," I said, not being specific about the painting quite yet. "You're not dating anyone are you? I mean I know you broke up with the girl from Georgia… but it hit me on the way over here that I should ask and make sure you weren't dating anyone. You know, anyone… else."
Daniel stared at me with an irresistible cautious smile. "Why do you want to talk about if I'm single or not?"
I was breathless and shaken, and I tried to calm my nerves and steady my voice as I spoke. I felt shy and vulnerable, humbled, like I wanted to just curl up at his feet and beg him to forgive me, to love me again.
Cautiously, I scooted slightly closer. "Because I'm trying to sit here and talk to you. I’m trying to sit kind of close to you and tell you things."
"What do you want to say?" Daniel asked. And as he asked the question, he reached out for me. It was the first time he had reached out for me in a way that felt tender, and I took full advantage of it. I went to him. I tucked my head onto his chest, curling up beside him and trying to get as close to him as possible while he was giving me an opening. He responded to me, shifting and moving in all the right ways to help me get closer and settle in next to him.
My body was alive with sensation. I so desperately wanted to be close to Daniel that the reality of it happening was electric. I was so filled with excitement and anticipation about being next to him that I felt a slight pulsing, electrical feeling in my body as we touched. I tucked my head into his chest, curling up and holding onto him tightly.
"The painting's for you," I said, without looking at him. "I brought it with me to give you for Christmas. Sorry I didn’t get to wrap it."
"You're giving me that?" he said.
"Yes."
"It's your favorite."
"You're my favorite," I said.
"What's changed with you?" he asked, still holding onto me.
I took a minute to think about my answer. "I don't know," I said, honestly. "I realized too late that you were wonderful, I think. If I could do it, I would go back to a long time ago and make myself feel then like I feel now. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know how I didn’t see it. I don't blame you at all if you can't forgive me or get close to me anymore. I would totally understand. I just want you to know I'm sorry and that I do think you're amazing. I do still want to be your friend, and of course, I wanted to give you the painting."
Daniel took a deep breath. My face was resting near his chest, and I felt it rise and fall. He reached up and rubbed his face. I wasn't looking at his face, but I could see him in my periphery and feel what he was doing.
"I heard you had your students writing letters," he said.
I pulled back just enough to stare up at him. My face was near his jaw.
"I do," I said. "We've written and sent over two hundred, and
that's just at our school. Other schools are joining us now." I smiled. "We hear back from the soldiers. That's the best part. They thank the kids and even draw them pictures. Everybody's been so nice and thankful."
"How'd you know where to send them?"
"I called the operator and asked for the United States Army office. I had to leave a message and talk to three different people, but I have an address I send them to now, and they get them to soldiers."
"You could always write me one and send it to Georgia if you get bored."
"I've already done that. I just don't mail them."
"Already done what? Written me a letter?"
"A lot of them," I said. I shrugged and squirmed, feeling shy after I said that. "I just responded to you," I said. "I had most of your old letters, and I just, responded to them all. The way they should have been responded to in the first place. I wished I had treated them with care before." I shrugged again. "It's probably silly, but it made me feel better to go back and read them and do it differently this time."
"When do I get to read what you wrote?" he asked.
I let out a little laugh. "Never."
"Why not?"
"Because I honestly didn't think I would ever even tell you I wrote them."
"Well, you did tell me, so now you have to let me read them."
I laughed silently, thinking of all the embarrassingly honest things I had written. "I actually have no idea why I told you that just now. I should've known you would want to read them, and there's just no way I can let you."
Chapter 11
"Why not?" Daniel asked, pulling back even more so that he could stare down at me.
I smiled. I had never felt so content as I did right then, sitting in his arms with him staring down at me.
"I can't let you," I said shaking my head. "Not yet, at least."
"What's that mean?"
"It means I was just far too… raw… and honest to let you… they were really… I don't know… sentimental."
I reached out and put my hand on his arm. "I don’t know why I told you about those," I said. "They're embarrassing." He shifted and put his hand on my head, holding me close. I leaned into him.
The Trouble with Crushes: A Romance (Bank Street Stories Book 2) Page 7
