"I swear to Christ, Marky, if you don't get your ass in that car, I'll shoot you myself!" She shoved him with her foot, and Daniel held the gun out for her to take.
"Jesus, you're both fucking crazy. Think about it, Gabby. Don't write it off, it could work," he called, as he hurried out to the car.
A goomah, I had figured out what it meant over time. He would keep a whore on the side. It would never be just me. I was so stupid to think he could ever settle down. I didn't know why I expected more from him. I burst into tears.
I felt his mother wrap her arms around me tightly. "I'm so sorry, honey. I swear, I'd never let him treat you like that. You're such a good girl, Gabriella. You don't deserve this." She gave me another squeeze, as I tried not to cry my eyes out. "Don't worry, honey, I'll take care of it all. You stay here with Danny. I'll make sure the moron stays away from you." I was still struggling to keep it all under control, but I failed completely. "Oh, baby girl."
After a moment, I was pulled from her arms into Daniel's. I hid my face in his chest. I knew he would let me cry it out. I couldn't believe I had been so stupid to fall in love with Marky. I knew better. I had kept my distance from him for so long, only to fall into his damn trap, anyways.
"Jesus, you got her, Danny?" I felt him shift, nodding yes. "Shoot his ass if he comes out here again, don't kill him, but make it count," Mrs. Valente ordered.
"I was gonna aim for a hand or foot," Daniel confessed.
"The same goes for my husband. I'll make sure they both know to stay the hell away, or else. I'm sorry, honey." I felt her hand on my back and her lips in my hair. "Take care of her, Danny."
"I will."
We heard the crackle of the gravel in the driveway, signaling their departure. I didn't want to move from my spot. I didn't want what had happened to be real.
Daniel scooped me up with ease and carried me bridal-style to the couch. He tucked the throw blanket around me tightly, holding me a moment more, before he kissed the top of my head. "I'll get you some ice cream."
My eyes stayed unfocused, as I tried to push all of my foolishness away. How could I have been so stupid?
A bowl appeared in front of my face. "It's not bacon, but my sisters swear by it." There was a candy bar stuck in the ice cream and no spoon. I looked at it confused. "It's better than a spoon." He sat down next to me with his own bowl of ice cream and his candy bar spoon. He scooped some up and shoved it against my lips instead of his own. "Just try it."
I took the bite. He was right, it was good.
"It's worth the chocolate-covered fingers." His smile was huge, as he waved his chocolaty fingers at me.
"You could've left the wrappers on the end," I suggested.
He gave me that happy grin. "Always looking to make improvements, first birdhouses, then ponds, and now wrappers on candy bars, what's next? Are you going to insist on a song night around a campfire?"
I felt myself start to relax a little.
"I think I have marshmallows if you want to, but I think we might get too much of a sugar rush with the chocolate and ice cream. Marshmallows might be a little over the top. Though, if we put them in our ice cream, I'm not sure if that still counts against us." He looked to be really contemplating it.
"Rocky road."
"Rocky road?" he asked, looking out the window.
"It has marshmallows in it."
He smiled down at his bowl. "Yes, it does, we should get some of that, too."
I looked down at my chocolate-covered fingertips and smiled. I waved them at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll leave the wrappers on next time. Now eat your ice cream before it melts, chocolate and all."
And just like that, he took my mind off my broken heart. I didn't know what I would do without him.
Chapter 14 – Hanging
We filled the feeders after eating ice cream, and he said I could take a shower first. When I stepped into the bedroom, the rumpled sheets caught my eye, and the guilt hit me like a Mack truck. I was ashamed I had acted like such a clichéd hormonal teenager. I had been stupid, out of control, and desperate for Marky to have a solid plan for us to be together. I was an idiot to have confused his need to possess me with love. It was ridiculous that I had felt special, while he had behaved so badly, but that was Marky. The bastard could probably get away with anything, and it was hereditary. It had to have been, since none of them were in prison.
Daniel walked into the room, looking at me and then the bed, before he whipped off his shirt. "You okay?"
He took a few steps toward me, and I felt a little slutty. I was ogling him, because I thought he had a nice body, one I hadn't really noticed before. I didn't know what had changed now. I had seen him with his shirt off before…just not by his bed, while I was in his room, with the door shut.
"Gabby, honey, you okay?" he waved his hand in front of my face.
I cleared my throat and nodded. I was sure he would chalk it up to another one of my depressed dazes that happened now and again.
"Are you feeling dirty? You got clothes for me?"
My eyes snapped to his. He started undoing his pants, walking toward me. I thought he looked hot with his shirt off, but that didn't mean I was ready to fuck him.
"Daniel, I…" I had my hands up to stop him, but he reached out, pushing me to the side and went into his closet. There was a little stacked washer and dryer in it. He tossed his shirt in the washer and then looked over his shoulder at me. "You gonna shower first? You should pass out your clothes. I'm gonna do a load here in a minute."
"Right, yeah, of course."
"Do I need to wash my sheets?"
His question stopped me in my tracks. "I, um…no?"
He chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. "Either you did or you didn't."
"We didn't, but we were…"
"Did he juice my sheets or not?"
"Juice?" My eyes popped wide, when it finally sank in. "No, gross, he never…we didn't…though, I guess…Jesus, just kill me."
"Last I knew he was into saving people."
"What?"
"You know, Jesus saves and all."
"Oh."
"So, my sheets are good?"
"I'm sorry, I can't believe that I…"
"Gabby, you're not the first girl to act that way around a Valente, and you won't be the last. At least it wasn't my sisters," he shivered, disgusted.
"No, but it was your bed, and I'm so glad you didn't have condoms or…"
He chuckled. "What makes you think that?"
"You have condoms?"
He shrugged. "They were a housewarming gift."
"Oh."
He laughed. "So, since you didn't find the condoms, and he didn't juice, what were you doing?"
My face was such a deep red, I would swear my head was on fire.
"I'm just kidding, Gabby. Feel free to roll around naked in my bed, I'm okay with it."
"What?"
"I said feel free to use the rolled bedding to make your bed. I'm okay with it," he apparently repeated.
My mind was somehow stuck in pervert mode.
"You're too easy, don't hurt yourself. I'm sorry, my sister visiting made me remember a joke we used to play on my mom all the time, drove her nuts."
"Joke?" He had lost me there.
"Rolling naked in my bed?"
My eyes darted to the bed. "How did you know I was naked?"
His eyebrows shot up. "I didn't until now. I'm guessing Marky was, too?"
He didn't wait for me to answer. He just started pulling on the bedding. I helped him take if off. "I'm so very sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm usually a nice girl. I'm not like that. I'm not a slut."
He squeezed my shoulder. "I've lived with you for a couple of weeks now, Gabby, I know how you are. You don't need to explain yourself. Remember, I know how weird girls get around the Valente's. It'd probably be weirder if you didn't act that way. Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't have a condom on him."
"He wa
nted to get me pregnant, remember?"
"I never said the Valente's were geniuses."
"Really, I'm so…"
"Stop, Gabby, it's fine."
We made the bed, and then I went into the bathroom and undressed. I handed my dirty clothes out to him, and I noticed how his eyes ran up my arm to my shoulder and stopped where the door covered my chest. I wondered momentarily if I was hanging out, but he grabbed the clothes and walked away quickly.
My sticky tear and snot-covered face was coated in dirt. It looked like I had been crying muddy tears. It was so gross, no wonder he had insisted I shower first. I wouldn't want to look at me, either, and not only for that reason. I couldn't believe he was being so cool about the whole mess.
When I stepped out of the shower, he only had on a pair of low-slung sweatpants, and his toned muscles were on display. I couldn't believe I was only noticing them now. I was making myself feel sick. This was my sweet Daniel. I knew I shouldn't ogle him. It would probably make him uncomfortable, and then he would kick me out. I was sure he would think I was a slut. God, I really was so messed up in the head.
I tried to ignore what had happened and went to the kitchen, ready to make dinner. I noticed my trust papers on the table and moved them to the study by my bed and set them on the desk, because that really was the only place to set things.
I went back to cooking and had the table set and ready for Daniel when he came out, showered and all clean. I noticed he didn't shave, and I wondered if he had hurried to get out of the shower. He usually took his time in there.
We were unusually quiet as we ate. He finally broke the silence. "So, you must've been some hotshot queen bee cheerleader to get Marky to act so crazy."
I snorted, laughing into my soup. "Not even close."
He chuckled. "I find that hard to believe."
"Chess nerd," I pointed to myself.
"You play chess?" He sounded excited.
"Yeah, most people in the chess club do." He looked at me, scrunching one eye. "I'm a geek, Daniel. I had no friends, and the few geeks I hung out with turned their backs on me, when I broke up with my geek boyfriend."
"So how…?" I could tell he was trying to find a way to word the question, so it didn't sound offensive.
"Marky and I were assigned a history project together."
"I don't believe he'd willingly work on a history project."
"Neither did his mom, she was sure I was blackmailing him." I was sick for thinking it was awesome that she had been ready to go after me for hurting her baby. "It was after the first time I stepped in and saved him from the Feds."
"Why did you?"
"You remember that geek ex-boyfriend I mentioned? He was coming after me in the hall, about to hit me, but then he was gone, and there was Marky, looming over him. Chris never laid a hand on me or ever tried again after that. Marky saved me. It was my turn to save him."
"I'm sure he was just itching for a fight," Daniel grimaced.
"He might've been, but his need to fight caused everyone to settle down. The bullies disappeared overnight. We geeks really appreciated his presence."
His eyes softened a bit. "So, geek then, I guess that makes two of us."
We went back to eating, when something hit me. "Hey, Daniel?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you know what a queen bee is?"
His cheeks pinked. "I've got sisters, remember?"
After dinner, we played a rousing game of chess. I beat him once, but he beat me twice after that. He laughed loudly, when I chucked the rook at his head. "I can't believe they let such a sore loser play chess in the chess club."
"I can get away with it here. What are you going to do, give me detention?"
"I just might, where’s my notepad? I'll write you up right now. It'll go on your permanent record, Missy," he pointed a bishop at me, as threatening as a grandma.
I fell into a fit of giggles, hitting the board and messing it up further.
"Oh, now you've done it, that's grounds for suspension."
"Suspension?" I pretended to be appalled.
"Yup, suspending the feeders, you're on take-down duty."
"Hey!"
"Don’t worry, I've got a bee hat somewhere." He opened his couch, revealing a hidden compartment. I had always wondered why it was so hard.
"Nice hidden compartment, am I going to be protecting you from the Feds as well?"
It was his turn to snort. "You know my seed is illegal."
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Gosh, you're so easy. You were with me when I bought it, Gabby."
"Yeah, well, I didn't know if it was legal to feed the animals. It's not in some places."
"Like the zoo?" he chuckled, and I hit him with a pawn. "Oh, forget that, now you're on pond scum duty."
"Hah, a soak in the tub would be pleasant," I feigned.
"Well, the pleasure is yours," he gave me a flourished bow. "Now, help me collect the pieces, or we'll never have the joy of playing chess again."
I dove, snatching a piece out from under his foot, before he could step on it, getting my hand smashed in the process. He jumped back like his foot was on fire. "Holy crap! Gabby, are you okay?"
"Yeah, God save the queen," I held her up triumphantly.
"You're such a nut," he laughed. "I think I like you as a nerd."
"Gee thanks," I held my smile, not feeling offended at all.
A week later, I was serving my pond scum sentence. There wasn't a lot of stuff growing in the pond, so it wasn't so hard. Of course, the pond didn't look that big, until you were cleaning it out. I was knocking the algae off the sides and catching it with a little net, where I would tap it out on a rock. The water didn't look cold, but it was way colder than I thought it would be.
Daniel was busy cleaning out the deer corn trough. I was nearly done, and Daniel was dumping in his first bag of deer corn, when a gust of wind blew the dust at me. I was caught off guard and tried to swat the dust away from my face, only to get smacked with my net. I tripped over the rock in the middle of the pond and ended up falling straight into the water, lying back against the waterfall feature like I was trying to shower.
I heard the heavy thud of boots and the splash of Daniel coming to the rescue. He pulled me out of the water and checked my head. "You'll have a good knot on your head from this. Are you alright? Does anything else hurt?"
"No, just my pride."
"Don't feel bad, the drowned cat look works for you," he teased. I gave him a shove, not meaning to knock him over, but he tripped over the same damn rock I had. I was starting to think water wings would have been a better way to save animals that went for a swim.
He sat in the pond, looking up at me stunned, and I just burst out laughing. "Yup, drowned cat is a good look for you, too."
"See if I come to rescue you again."
"You will." Somehow, I was sure he always would if he could.
He smirked. "Yeah, but you can at least pretend to worry that I won't."
I reached down to help him up. "No, I can't, because then I'd doubt if I'd do the same for you, and I wouldn't ever leave you hanging."
He got up smiling. "Are you sure about that?"
"Well, I might leave you hanging laundry," I offered.
"Good thing I have a dryer." He picked me up, setting me out of the pond, before he stepped out of it himself. "Though, it may be a good idea to hang dry your delicates."
I smacked his chest. "You're such a guy."
"You noticed that?" I thought he had to be crazy thinking I hadn't noticed, but I guess in reality, I hadn't really noticed until this past week.
"Yeah, it's pretty obvious," I motioned to his soaked shirt stuck to his chest and abs.
"Good to know. So, no hanging out your delicates, then?" he asked smirking.
"Only if I get to hang yours, and keep in mind, I know where the peanut butter is."
"Peanut butter?" he asked amused.
"Oh yeah, I'd train the squirrel
s to go for your nuts."
"Oh, what happened to not leaving me hanging?"
"Just keep your hands out of my panties, and we'll be fine." I headed to the house and snatched a couple of towels out of the back cabinet, handing him one.
He caught me staring at his chest as he dried it, but he didn't call me out on it. The only indicator that he had seen me checking him out was him saying thanks with that damn cute cheesy grin of his. At least he wasn't creeped out by my looking. Unfortunately, he seemed to find it amusing. I must have come off as a slutty chess nerd with hormonal issues. Lord help me. I needed to leave this sweet boy alone!
Chapter 15 – Games
I kept looking. I knew it was wrong of me, but I kept looking, and I would swear he was finding reasons to take his shirt off just to mess with me. He had never had to shake the birdseed off of his shirt by removing it before, but now it seemed the most effective way to get it off.
He always had that damn cheeky amused smile, too. He was taunting me, and I had half a mind to walk out topless, just to see how he would react. I had noticed him checking me out, too. I thought I was going crazy at first. I could feel his eyes on me, but when I would turn around, he would be looking all over the place, like he was trying to catch a fly. After a few times, I realized there wasn't a fly, but only after I looked with him to try and kill the thing. He found my gullibility amusing. I was sure I was a bowl of candy bar ice cream laughs to him. I guess it was good that I was keeping him entertained.
He had really loosened up with me, but he felt a little distant at the same time. His beard was back in force, but I knew what was under it, so it didn't help him hide. I think he was trying to play it cool about something, and I suspected I knew what it was. I wasn't happy about it, either, but there wasn't a damn thing I could do to change the past. I think I was hoping it wasn't that, that he wasn't upset about me and Marky in his bed. I wanted to believe he was cool with it, but he played it too cool that night and had been playing it too cool since then, with his teasing and dirty word games. His awkward rambling days were over, and mister snarky dirty jokester had taken his place.
Straight Up Interfererence Page 10
