by L. T. Varner
I lit right back into him and said, “What the hell, Ralph! What is going on?”
“Well, Danni, judging from the video sent to me from the plaintiff, you assaulted him and caused bodily injury. Now he is suing you for medical expenses and pain and suffering. Oh, fun fact, you’re still on probation from the last mess, so the judge wants to see you tomorrow at ten.”
“I am going to guess he wants to settle with me for a little cash,” I said, practically yelling into the phone.
Collin and Daniel were sitting on the edge of the couch staring at me by now as they listened to my humiliation.
“How much does he want?” I asked.
“A million.”
Collin jumped off the couch and grabbed my phone and said, “This is Collin Tabert, and I am obtaining different legal representation for Danni. My attorney will be in contact shortly, and you can send him all the paperwork.”
“Danni, is this what you want?” Ralph asked, sounding relieved.
“God, yes, Ralph, you suck as an attorney,” I said. Collin took my phone off speaker and left the office to finish the conversation.
“That went well,” I mumbled and Daniel laughed and said, “Don’t worry. Collin is the master of making bad things go away.”
I looked at Collin after he finally came back. “I don’t want to go to jail.”
“I will personally make sure that doesn’t happen,” Collin replied, bending over my desk to reach me. I leaned into him as we both wrapped our arms around each other.
Daniel asked with a playful grin on his face, “Dirty girl, is there anything I can do to relieve your frustration?”
Then he winked at me, and I knew he had figured out what was up, or Collin had come clean and told him. I had complained to Daniel enough that I was lonely and frustrated every time he’d tell me about his latest hookup.
I stood up, took off my hat, and walked toward Daniel. In my best sexy voice, I whispered, “What exactly do you have in mind, dirty boy?”
I was wondering how long Collin would let this go as Daniel said, “Perhaps we should turn on some music and take off our clothes.” He took off his shirt.
Not wanting to be outdone, I started taking mine off, too, when Collin grabbed me and said, “I don’t think so! What is it about the two of you and not being able to leave your clothes on?”
We both started laughing, and Collin said, “I don’t think either one of you will ever grow up.”
We started making fun of Daniel for passing out when his phone rang, and he left the room. Collin pulled me into his lap, and I quickly settled against him and put my arms around his shoulders. We fit so well together. It was easy to forget he was getting married.
“Danni, promise me something?” he asked, running his nose along my jaw softly.
“What?” I whispered as he pressed his warm lips against my ear.
“That you start keeping your clothes on around Daniel.”
I laughed and said, “That might be hard to do.”
Collin silently laughed before saying, “I think maybe I should be the only one who can see you naked.”
What would your fiancée feel about that? I wondered. But I was enjoying him too much right now to ask questions.
Late in the afternoon, Collin drove us out to the schoolhouse after they both begged me to show them the recent renovations. We walked in, and it looked amazing, nothing like the decrepit school it had looked like two months ago.
I walked them around and explained my vision to them in great detail. Next, I showed them the extra room adjacent to mine. Daniel claimed it as his. We walked into my soon-to-be-bedroom, and I saw that the fireplace was done, the closet had been put in, and the construction company had managed to save the three old floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed a perfect view of the hills behind the school. I went to look at the bathroom, and it was perfect, too. I opened the shower door, and Collin pushed me inside with him.
“I can’t wait to take a shower with you in here,” he said as we hugged each other and stole a few kisses before Daniel walked in.
“We can easily fit ten or so in here. This shower is excellent, Danni. Is that four showerheads I see?” Daniel asked, taking in all the details.
Collin said, “No more showers together. No more naked together. I will hurt you if you do.”
Daniel walked out and mumbled, “You take the fun out of everything.”
I started to walk out when Collin asked, “Are we still on for a shower later tonight?”
I knew I should say no and stop this before it got out of hand, but I just couldn’t. I was enjoying him way too much. I assured him we would by kissing him again.
We had walked downstairs and were heading toward the gym when Daniel stopped suddenly and asked, “What is this?” He ducked into the studio and turned on the lights.
I followed him and said, “This is the studio, my favorite room in the whole house.”
Collin walked past me and said, “This is great.” He looked at me and asked, “Why have you never mentioned it?”
“I don’t know. You never really asked, I guess,” I said, flipping on the mixing board. I started playing the latest piece Dad had been working on.
“Anyone use it yet?” Collin asked as he examined the high-tech equipment Dad had insisted on.
I answered, “Sometimes the house band rehearses here, but mostly Dad and I write here.”
“This is the perfect place to write and record, Danni. I would love to work with you,” Collin stated as he sat down and looked at the notepads lying around.
“Collin, is that your way of asking me to write with you?” I asked, sitting down beside him with my curiosity piqued.
“Yeah, I guess I am. You have written some great songs, and I liked the soundtrack you did last year,” he said as I laughed, knowing the movie he was referring to was a total flop at the box office. I loved writing and creating music and had only just started working at scoring movies as well.
“I got into scoring last year by accident and the movie was awful. So I probably won’t be asked to do another,” I said as Daniel began beating on the drums.
Collin got up and started walking around looking at the autographed guitars hanging on the walls. Daniel finally quit playing and joined Collin.
“Where did you get all of these?” Collin asked right before he stopped Daniel from touching one of them.
“I started collecting them when I began playing. I was around ten, I think,” I said, walking over to the one they were inspecting.
I wondered why they were so fascinated with them. I was sure they had plenty of instruments. They were, after all, currently one of the most popular rock bands.
Collin looked at Daniel and said, “You know what we need to do, don’t you?”
Daniel said, “Yeah, but which one are we going to take down to make room?”
Collin answered, “We will figure that out later. We have to represent our band here with all the great ones.”
I laughed and took off for the gym. The first thing I always looked at was the stage, hoping to see the bed there again. I shook my head and looked up at the old scoreboard I was trying to save. I walked over and started messing with the switches, but once again, it never came on.
I heard Daniel behind me as he asked, “You found one yet?”
We had talked about the scoreboard in detail, and he had even taken to trying to help me find someone to fix it or replace it, we both were at a loss.
“No, I think it’s a lost cause,” I said with a little sadness in my voice.
Daniel and I turned around when we realized Collin was playing basketball at the other end of the full-size gym. We looked at each other and knew what we wanted to do. As we walked toward Collin, we began discussing the rules.
Collin looked at us and said, “Absolutely not!”
Daniel laughed and said, “You don’t even know what we’re talking about.”
“Let me guess. You two are coming up w
ith some clever game that involves taking your clothes off.”
Chapter 22
Such Chemistry
A few weeks later, my new attorney, Nick, managed to keep me out of jail by convincing the judge that I was only protecting myself. The video posted on the internet also helped to prove that fact, as well.
I was thrilled about Nick’s determination to win his cases. I liked him so much, in fact, I asked him to handle all of my affairs. He gladly accepted and warned me that I needed to control my temper. I said I would try to make sure that it didn’t happen again. He stayed couple extra days to go through all of my papers.
Mike had come back, as well, to help with the business side of the meetings. He liked Nick, too, and quickly decided to hire him, as well. I was surprised by all the details in my life that I had ignored. I think Nick was a little overwhelmed, but he was smart, and I had a feeling he could handle it.
Three days later he left, assuring us that he would be in contact when everything was ready for us to sign. Before he left, he gave me another warning about my temper and Mike promised him that I would behave.
Collin and Daniel had gone back to Seattle a week after I got out of the hospital. They needed to get ready for some award show they were performing at in a couple of weeks. Daniel tried to get me to go with him, but I quickly shut that down. My face was still pretty black and blue, and the tabloids were still talking about my run-in with Jerry. I had even seen a few photographers around town trying to get shots of me. Funny how getting in trouble could bring paparazzi to a small town in South Dakota. They were lucky to get a few pictures of Collin, Daniel, Mike, and me around town.
I had loved having Collin around and getting his complete attention. Perhaps I had let things happen that I shouldn’t have, but I just couldn’t say no to him. I was stupidly in love with him and wasn’t thinking clearly at all.
Unfortunately, Steph had started calling him nonstop once the pictures of us together were posted online. I overheard him once telling her that the band was here writing with my Dad, it was entirely innocent, he claimed. I knew I was going to get hurt over my feelings for him.
The bed felt empty without him. He had slept in my bed the whole week he had been here. We had fallen into the pattern of a typical couple, touching, kissing, handholding, and constantly laughing and playing around in bed. Short of actually having sex, we had managed to become very intimate and familiar with each other’s body. I was still confused by his obsessive need to kiss my bare shoulders every time he saw them and the way he would run his fingers over my scars.
I started thinking about everything that had happened between us and wondered how much he has told his fiancée, or if he would continue to act like nothing happened. I thought it was odd how Collin never crossed the line. Daniel was the only one I talked to about it. He teased me and was very seldom serious, but he never judged me or told me what I was doing was wrong. We shared some pretty deep talks, and he just hoped I wasn’t being set up to be hurt again. Daniel even mentioned that he didn’t think Collin had any intentions of leaving Steph. He wondered if not sleeping together was Collin’s way of avoiding guilt. I knew he was probably right, but I did what I was good at, I ignored my hurt feelings. Daniel knew I was doing it, as well, but never badgered me to talk about it the way Mike would.
A couple more weeks passed as I sat across a table from Nick as Mike and I signed the new paperwork regarding the bar. I was getting lost in thought, and Mike grabbed my hand after I had started tapping it on the desk. He hated this tick of mine with a passion and I tried not to do it, but sometimes I just couldn’t help it. Mike brought my mind back to the conversation as Nick explained contracts for the bar. Because Mike was in the midst of all his wedding planning, I didn’t want to bring him down with my train wreck of a dating life, so I went into business mode and tried to listen.
I was suddenly a little distracted by how beautiful Nick was, and I found myself having trouble listening to him talk about vendor contracts. Nick was tall and muscular, with dark hair and dark eyes, best of all were his tattoos that appeared behind his cuffs and collar when he moved in certain ways. He was the guy who I would go for in the past. The likely bad boy. I was a little frustrated in the sex department, and that had me thinking all kinds of naughty things I could do with Nick. It was then that I noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, and I wondered what his deal was.
“Danni?” Mike said, nudging my shoulder. “Maybe you could pay attention to what is going on, so we don’t keep Nick here all day.”
I knew by his smile that Mike could tell what I was thinking, and I felt myself turning red. I suffered through the next hour of signing papers and listening to Nick. Mike kicked me under the table, and I realized I was staring at Nick again, but he was smiling at me, too.
Nick shook our hands and mentioned that he hoped to see us again. I wanted to more than just see him again. Mike just laughed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Walking out of the office, I turned around when I heard Nick call my name.
“Do you know of a good place to eat in town?” Nick asked, walking closer to me as my mouth went dry.
Mike smiled widely at me and motioned he would be in the SUV. I turned around and gave Nick my attention again.
“Well, Nick, you’re in luck. We have a restaurant by the bar if you want to try it.”
He smiled and asked, “Are you playing tonight? Or could you join me for dinner?”
I answered him, “I’m not playing tonight, and I will be at the bar if you want to pick me up for dinner.”
Looking down briefly, he smiled and said, “Only if you buy me a drink before dinner.”
I laughed and said, “I can handle that as long as you buy dinner.”
He nodded as I turned and walked out, feeling him stare at my ass.
When I got in the car, Mike was on the phone with someone laughing hysterically and talking about me. He told the person on the other line to hold on a minute and handed the phone to me.
“Hello,” I said and instantly heard Daniel laughing just as heartily as Mike. “What is so damn funny?” I asked, irritated.
“Dirty girl, I am thrilled that someone has sparked your interest. Mike said you two would have probably fucked on the table if he hadn’t been there,” Daniel said.
“And fuck you very much, Daniel,” I snapped.
“Hey now, dirty girl, no need to get pissed. It’s a good thing for you to start dating again. Maybe I won’t hear about Collin anymore,” Daniel responded with his normal bit of sarcasm.
I wondered if he was right: maybe I should move on from Collin. Daniel quit laughing long enough to tell me about the award show that I needed to watch because they were performing their latest song with my dad. I said I would watch and asked him to text me before they went on. I could hear people in the background when Daniel complained that all the girlfriends had crashed his dressing room to get ready.
I couldn’t help myself. “Is Steph there?”
After a moment of silence he answered quietly, “Yes, Danni, she’s here. Sorry.”
I hung up the phone trying not to let my tears fall as I put the phone in the console. Mike grabbed my hand and asked if I was okay. I tried to smile and say I was, but he knew better.
To change the subject I asked about my dress for the wedding and he launched into great detail about everything they had planned. He surprised me when he asked if I had started working on my best man speech. I had forgotten all about it, but I told him I was working on it so he wouldn’t get mad at me. I didn’t mind being on stage with a guitar, but this wedding would be different, and it terrified me. Getting all dressed up to stand up in front of three hundred people and talk about Mike and Mark had me completely blocked. What do I know about love? I wondered if it was too late to get out of it somehow, but quickly decided it was something I had to do for Mike.
Before heading to the bar, Mike and I turned on the television to the interviews with Daniel and the ba
nd. Knowing Daniel’s dirty mind, I guessed this could be kind of interesting. I found the channel just as the host welcomed them on stage. The four of them walked out on stage and waved to the audience. The host started asking about the video they had just shown.
Mike said, “Shit, we missed it,” while smiling at me. I knew he liked it because it embarrassed me.
The host continued saying, “In the past you have always gone the same direction with your videos. So tell us why you did something we have never seen you do before with this video.”
Daniel, Jake, and Rick all looked at Collin to answer, and I couldn’t wait to hear his response.
“Well, we met this great girl who has been a victim of sexual assault and we wanted to show the world that she is still beautiful. Also, we wanted to help bring attention to the problems of sexual assault in the world today. We are donating some of the record proceeds to charities that help sexual assault victims get the help they need.”
My heart sank, and my lunch threatened to come back up.
Mike and I just looked at each other knowing we were both pissed. The host then asked, “Who is the woman in the video?”
Daniel jumped on that and answered, “We are not going to name names so she can have some peace in her life, but I will say she is one of the greatest, most talented women I have ever met. I am thankful to have her as a friend.”
“Wow,” I said, surprised. “He can be so sweet when he isn’t making everything so dirty.” Mike quickly agreed.
The host then turned his attention back to Collin and said, “I understand you are getting married this summer. Are you excited about that?”
Collin responded with a smile, “I am very excited. Steph is a great woman, and I am excited about what the future holds for us.”
The host went on to say, “Collin, in the video you are in bed with this beautiful woman. It looks pretty steamy between the two of you. Is it hard for your fiancée to see you do that?”
Collin thought for a minute and replied, “Honestly, she wasn’t thrilled about it, but we both looked at it as me playing a character. We are bringing to light a subject that should be more recognized. She is stunning and just because something hideous happened to her, doesn’t change who she is or take away her beauty.”
