I stared at my phone for what felt like ages. Danni was a complete contradiction…last night she seemed down for just about anything I threw at her and now she was standing her ground and saying she wasn’t going to give it up to me. Surprisingly the idea of her turning me down actually made me smile. I thought I liked Danni Sharpe before but now I was definitely sure of it.
B: Consider the air cleared. I think you just became my new best friend, ;)
D: new best friend that made out with you, haha
B: hell yeah you did, and you loved it.
D: guilty, haha. So, how was your party last night?
I sat on the stool messaging Danni for what felt like forever but yet not long enough. I looked up and realized my house was completely clean, yet I never even noticed anyone there. I blinked, looking at the clock and my eyes went wide. I’d been chatting with her for over four hours. I also noticed that my headache had dulled and I was feeling better. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that talking to her was my hangover cure. I laughed and kept my phone in my hands as I stood up and started rummaging through the refrigerator to satisfy my suddenly ravenous appetite.
Now, I watched as she said her hellos to everyone and when she made it over to me my heart started pounding. “Hey Danni,” I said, leaning into her and kissing her cheek slightly. “You look beautiful.” So beautiful it hurt me to look at her.
“So do you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I mean, you clean up nice. How have you been feeling?”
I put on my best smile and said, “Taking it one day at a time. That’s all I can do, right?”
She nodded sadly at me and said, “You’ll get there, Beau. I have faith in you.” I know her words were meant to encourage me but if anything they made me feel more depressed. I had failed her miserably and broke her heart so badly that I didn’t know if I could ever put the pieces back together again no matter how hard I tried. As we walked into the restaurant to celebrate Everleigh’s birthday I had a flashback of the last time I’d held her in my arms…the last time anything in my life was good.
“Wait, you’re not coming with us?” I asked Danni, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in my hotel room and fidgeting with her hands.
“Why would I, Beau? We aren’t a couple or anything. I’m not your girlfriend so there isn’t any reason for me to follow you to New York City.”
I tossed a few shirts into my bag and sat down next to her on the bed. “Uh, Everleigh’s crazy fucking ex boyfriend is a good reason. The guy is seriously unhinged and when he finds out she’s gone he will probably try to press you for information about where she is. It’s no safer here for you than it is for her. Girlfriend or not, Danni, I don’t think it’s smart for you to stay here.”
She smiled weakly at me. “Beau, my dad is a retired SEAL and he keeps his own arsenal of weapons at the house. Scott would know better than to fuck with me. Would it make you feel better if I stayed with my parents while this thing gets worked out?”
I sighed. “I guess a little bit, but come on. Just because we aren’t dating or anything doesn’t mean I don’t care about you as a friend. We always said we’d be friends first above anything else, right?”
She nodded and hesitated before she said, “Right.”
“So why can’t you come with us as my friend that I happen to have awesome sex with?” I asked, and she laughed.
Sighing, Danni replied, “Beau, I am going to be fine here, really. I’ll call Dad in the morning and move in with them for a little bit. He’ll be happy to have me back home anyway.”
I would never, ever admit this to anyone, but in that moment I was a little heartbroken that she wasn’t coming. Danni had become one of my best friends in those few months. I had really thought that once we saw each other again and our relationship became physical it was the start of something good. Obviously that wasn’t true, at least on her part. She seemed just fine with staying behind.
Swallowing my hurt pride, I tucked a strand of honey blonde curls behind her ear and said, “You’re sure this is what you want?”
She half smiled at me and said, “Sure. We will talk every day like usual anyway, right? It’ll be like nothing’s changed.”
Nothing’s changed…except everything. “Absolutely. So,” I began, caressing her delicate cheek, “do I at least get to say goodbye to you properly?”
She smiled and bit her bottom lip, making my hormones surge. “What kind of goodbye did you have in mind?”
I grinned and pulled her face to mine. Right before I kissed her full lips, I said, “The kind that takes all night.”
“This place is so beautiful, Everleigh,” Danni said, as she sat down in the chair I’d pulled out for her without any hesitation. She didn’t seem to mind that she would be sitting next to me and I smiled at my small victory. Baby steps…
“Isn’t it? Ryder brought me here last year for my birthday and we had a great time,” Everleigh answered, grinning.
Ryder took her hand and nipped at her fingers with his teeth. “Well, we had a great time that night but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t at the restaurant,” he said, grinning at her.
Everleigh blushed while Jude said, “Too much info, dude. I want to keep my appetite tonight and I can’t do that if I keep picturing your naked ass.”
Everleigh giggled and said, “Jude, he meant that he proposed that night when we got home.”
“Yeah, after we had some of the hottest sex ever,” Ryder exclaimed and we all laughed.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough, rock star,” said Everleigh, and I grinned at her as she placed her hand on his.
Ryder was one of my best friends in the world but before he met Everleigh he was a pain in the ass. We were all so happy when she came along because even though they were both broken individually, together they made each other whole. I hated to admit it, but I was jealous of their happiness every single day of my life.
Soon we had ordered our food and while we all sat laughing and talking, I did my best not to stare at Danni for too long. She really looked sexy as fuck in her dress, which was as blue as her ocean colored eyes. It was strapless and showed off her tanned shoulders which were sprayed with just a few light freckles. Her hair was swept up off her neck, making her exposed skin look so enticing.
I quickly turned away and took a long drink of my ice water, which was about the hardest thing I was drinking these days. Quitting drinking cold turkey was almost as hard as trying to get over Danni but if it meant I was that much closer to getting her back I would do it.
Thankfully our food arrived and it was the perfect distraction for me at that moment. Sitting so close to Danni and not being able to touch her was pure torture.
As the waiter set Danni’s plate down, I reached up to take my fork out of my napkin and when I did, our fingers touched. I gritted my teeth together at the perfect feel of her fingers grazing mine and I heard her gasp. The shock of our hands touching made her jump and she almost knocked over her glass of champagne. I looked over at her and was surprised to find her already staring at me, her eyes blazing with a mix of emotions.
“I…I’m sorry about that,” she said softly, her breath increasing.
“It’s okay, don’t apologize,” I replied, trying to sound calm and cool.
Internally I was anything but calm. I moved my hand off the table and placed it on my leg to steady myself. Taking a deep breath, I counted to ten. I was about to move my hand back up to the table when suddenly I felt Danni’s hand cover mine and squeeze. I looked up and her eyes were afire, like the base of a flame. I waited for her to say something, anything, because I was completely confused. She’d fought so hard to distance herself from me and although it was painful, I was willing to back off-at least temporarily. She’d reached out and helped me when no one else could get through. The way she was looking at me right now though was completely confusing…and exciting.
“Danni?” I asked her. “Are you all right?”
&n
bsp; She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Ryder tapped his champagne glass with his fork. My eyes reluctantly left hers and I turned to face him as he stood up. “Sorry to interrupt but there is something I wanted to say before we all start eating,” he announced, placing his hand on Everleigh’s shoulder. I noticed that Danni’s hand still hadn’t left mine. In fact, she was gripping it tightly. I didn’t know how long she was going to let this go on so I took advantage and flipped my hand over, lacing her fingers with mine. Surprisingly, she squeezed my fingers and we looked at each other for a split second before turning back to Ryder.
“I’ll make this short and sweet so we can eat our food before it gets cold. I just want to take a minute to wish my gorgeous wife Evie a happy birthday and to say again, for the millionth time, how much I love her with my whole heart.”
There were a lot of “aww’s” coming from Jessie, Sadie, and Danni as he leaned in and kissed Everleigh’s cheek.
As he readied himself to sit down, he continued with, “Oh yeah, and one more thing. We’re having a baby. Everyone eat.”
I smiled in that moment as all of the girls shrieked and the guys laughed.
Danni’s delicate hand was still holding mine when she said, “Ev, you’re pregnant?”
Everleigh smiled brightly and said, “I am.”
“This is so awesome! When are you due?” asked Sadie.
Everleigh looked beautiful and was absolutely glowing as she said, “November seventh. It must have happened when we came back from the tour last month.”
Ryder was beaming with pride as he said, “And it’s a boy.”
“How do you know that? She’s not that far along man,” Kris said, chuckling. “I mean, I’m no doctor, but don’t you need to be a little farther along before you know that?”
“I know it’s a boy because it just is, and when he’s born we’re naming him Maxwell Alan,” he said, and this time I squeezed Danni’s hand.
Alan was Ryder’s father and Max was Everleigh’s. I had never gotten to meet Max but Alan was an amazing guy and the father that Kris, Jude, and I never had. I couldn’t think of a better name for their baby. I bet wherever Alan and Max were now they were both very proud.
I raised my glass of water. “Well, I’m happy for you both. Ev, happy birthday, and congratulations! I can already see this little guy coming out with a little faux hawk.”
Everyone laughed and Danni squeezed my hand again, looking at me with a smile on her face.
A few hours later, we’d all eaten a nice dinner and had a good time catching up. We walked out to our cars and hugged as we said our goodbyes. I had just said good night to Kris when Jessie came over and hugged me. “You heading home, Beau?” she asked me.
I smiled at my friend, winking at her. “Oh yeah, I have an exciting night of nothing to get to,” I said, trying to joke.
She nudged me but her face was concerned. “Seriously, Beau, are you okay? You seem to be doing a lot better but I still worry.”
I hugged her and said, “That’s because you are an amazing friend, Jess, and I would be worried if you didn’t worry about me. I’m all right, I promise.”
I felt her relax and we broke apart. “So, what about you? Do you have some baby news you want to share with everyone yet, Mrs. Engle?”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “No, not yet. I know I was feeling shitty toward the end of the tour and I wondered if that was it. Turned out I just had the stomach flu. No babies yet, I promise. You all will be the first to know anyway, you know that.”
“I do. Well, I’ll let you go so your husband can get you home and fuck the shit out of you,” I said, knowing I’d get a reaction out of her and loving every minute.
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Jesus Christ, Beau. Between you and Jude I don’t know who’s cruder.”
We both paused and said in unison as we laughed, “Jude.”
“Who said my name?” Jude asked, walking over to us. “You over here talking about how my dick’s bigger than yours, Beau?”
“You wish, asshole.”
My little sister Sadie left Jude’s side and walked to me. She wrapped her arms around me in a hug and I asked, “Are you going home, kid?”
“No, I’m actually heading to the tattoo parlor with Jude,” she said, and my head snapped back.
“You’re going where?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah, I have wanted to get my nipples pierced for a long time and Jude’s coming along for moral support.”
My eyes roamed to Jude and I glared at him.
“You are not looking at my sister’s nipples, dude.”
He held his hands up.
“Hey, she’s dragging me along. Believe me, man, I don’t want to see it. I’m going to try to stay out of the room.”
Sadie shook her head and said, “Oh no, big guy, you are coming in with me. Just shut your eyes and don’t be a pussy.”
“You weren’t this bad when you got your magic cross, man,” Ryder said to him.
“Well, for one thing, I was half buzzed when I got it done so I don’t remember if it hurt or not and the second thing is…fuck dude, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone about that,” Jude said, his face slightly red.
I rolled my eyes and answered, “We all knew you had your dick pierced, Jude. It’s nothing new.”
“Yeah, but they didn’t know that,” he said, thumbing to the girls.
Sadie’s eyes were alive with humor. “Oh now you have to let me see it.”
“Sadie!” both Jude and I said at the same time.
“I’m not showing you my dick!”
Sadie rolled her eyes and said, “And that just made you an even bigger pussy than I could have ever imagined.” She laughed and squealed as he put her in a playful headlock and rubbed her hair the way we all knew she hated.
As soon as he released her (she punched him full force in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him) they called out their goodbyes as she chased him to the parking lot.
Kris and Jessie left a short time later, then Ryder and Everleigh called it a night. At that point I decided to leave and walked to my car. I hadn’t even bothered to say goodnight to Danni, who had walked with Everleigh to Ryder’s Escalade. My car was parked one spot away from Danni’s and I gave it a quick look, sighing before I opened the driver’s side door.
I was about to get behind the wheel when I heard high heels clicking on the sidewalk behind me. I caught the light floral scent of Danni’s perfume, and I turned as she came to a stop behind me.
“Were you going to sneak away without saying goodbye?” she asked me.
I ran a hand through my hair and said, “Well, you looked pretty busy with Ev so I figured I’d just talk to you later.”
I don’t know what the hell happened in that restaurant earlier but I was too tired to try and pick it apart in the hope that Danni wanted to give us another chance. Hell, it was only holding hands, not sex.
“Listen, about earlier,” she started to say, but I stopped her.
“It’s fine, Danni, don’t worry about it. You were excited about Everleigh’s news. I understand.”
She walked closer to me and I tensed up. I didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t know how to react. She was looking at me like she wanted something and I wasn’t sure what that was.
“It’s not that, Beau. I just wanted to apologize to you.”
I blinked in surprise. “What? You want to apologize to me? What the hell for?”
“For stringing you along and not giving you enough to fight for,” she said, looking sad.
This time I took a step toward her and I placed my hand on her cheek. I didn’t care if she was mad or tried to back away.
“Danni, your being alone is enough to make any man fight for you. I meant what I said a year ago. I loved you then and I still do. I will do what I have to do for you because I am never going to give up on us.”
Her breath caught as my fingers gently trailed from her cheek to h
er collarbone. She placed a shaking hand on my forearm and whispered my name. “Beau, I don’t know what to do here. You hurt me so bad but I also miss you so much. I’m confused.”
“I’m right here, Danni. Any way you need me I’m here. What do you want?” I asked, my lips now only inches from hers.
She looked at me with those baby blues and said, “Can we maybe go back to your place and talk? Like, really talk? Get it all out? I think it might help us both and after it’s all over we will know for sure if we can make it.”
As badly as I wanted to kiss her, to taste her sweetness on my tongue, I backed away.
“I’d love for you to come with me, but at this point talking is just a waste of time. You know how I feel, Danni. I love you and it kills me every single day remembering how badly I broke your heart. Why do you think I started drinking? Knowing how hurt you were was literally killing me to the point that I had to numb the pain somehow.”
Danni blinked back tears. “Beau…”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. I’ve always been willing to do whatever it takes in order to make this work and you didn’t want that. I know I hurt you but the fact is I can’t change that. If I could go back and change anything, it would be that I would have called you when we left Muncie. I would have told you then that I wanted you and I wouldn’t have been so stubborn and let you go. None of this would have happened if I’d just been honest with myself from the beginning.”
We stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity and when it was clear that Danni wasn’t going to say anything, I sighed. “Well, I’ve said all I can say here, so the next move is yours. When you are ready to give this a real shot, Danni, you know where to find me. Good night,” I said, and I got into my car.
Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) Page 3
