by Nikki Paris
Devin poked his head back into the room to listen, and Amy walked over to lean against the wall beside me.
“Okay, this is me speaking, using all of the things my speech therapist taught me. I have to work really hard to say each word smoothly, but I can do it.” Dani let out a long slow breath. “Now, this is me just talking without thinking. H-h-hey hey, M-m-m-marshall. Do y-you like tiger sh-sh-sh-sharks or or or g-g-great white sharks b-better?”
Marshall grinned, and Dani smiled back at him. “I-I-I like t-t-tiger sharks b-b-better,” he said. “Th-th-they’re small and and and and th-th-they live a-a-alone.”
“Do you like to be alone, Marshall?” Dani’s voice was quiet.
Marshall nodded and looked down at his feet. “Y-y-y-yeah. It’s easier. Th-th-then no one c-c-c-c-can l-laugh a-a-at me.”
Amy and Devin exchanged a heartbroken look, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. It was official. I was going to find the little asshole that made fun of Marshall and toss him off a bridge.
“H-h-hey,” Dani said, reaching out to take Marshall’s hand. “The h-h-haters aren’t worth your time. They’re just j-jealous of us because our brains work so much faster than theirs. That’s something I n-need to remember, too.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “You know what else? There’s more love than hate. Look at those three grown-ups that a-a-are awkwardly standing behind us, listening to our c-conversation.” Dani glanced over her shoulder and grinned at Amy. “They love you no matter how you t-t-talk.”
Marshall and Dani sat together on the couch next and each made lists of all the people that loved them. Then they talked about all the things they could still accomplish in life.
Devin excused himself again to check on dinner. Amy wiped a few tears from her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder. “Con, she’s amazing!” she whispered. “He never talks to strangers this much! And look at him laughing his little head off!”
Dani and Marshall had moved on to an improv acting game that she learned as a kid. She said it helped her relax and that words would come out easier when you relaxed and had fun. Marshall begged her to play it with him, and now Dani was crawling around on my sister’s living room floor, pretending to be a lion.
To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I didn’t think Princess Dani had it in her to be so… not bratty. And one would think that a grown woman crawling around on the floor acting ridiculous would be a turn-off. But the shape of her ass still had my mouth watering, and the way she was making my favorite kid in the world laugh was winning her major points.
What the hell was happening? It was one thing to be sexually attracted to a woman. It was something else entirely to start liking her.
Devin wandered back into the living room from the kitchen and smiled at Dani and Marshall. “Dani,” he called over to her. “We’d love to have you stay for dinner tonight if you aren’t busy. I’m making tacos!”
Dani paused the improv game and glanced over at me with wide eyes, almost like she’d forgotten I was there. To Devin, she said, “Oh! Thanks! I-I love tacos!” And then Marshall jumped on her back. She dramatically collapsed onto the floor and cried out, “No! You’ve defeated the mighty lion!” Her golden ponytail was an adorable mess. Her laugh was big and contagious.
Marshall started his wheezing laugh — the one that I usually got out of him — and said, “I told you sharks are better than lions!”
Amy gaped at Devin, then at me. Marshall hadn’t stammered on a single word.
Twenty minutes later, we were all seated around Amy’s table, assembling tacos. “Dani,” Devin held up a bowl. “Did you get the onions yet?”
“She doesn’t like onions or your shirt,” I said without thinking.
Dani raised her eyebrows at me. “How the he—” She glanced over at Marshall and cleared her throat. “How do you know that, Connor?”
“You are really loud, Princess. I can hear everything you say out in the hallway.” I smirked at her.
“Oh, yeah? Well, m-maybe, you should go out every once in a while instead of sitting in y-your apartment and listening to my c-c-conversations!”
Devin and Amy burst out laughing. “Owned!” Devin pointed a finger in my face. I smacked it away.
Dani pasted on a polite smile and turned to Devin. “I’m good on the onions, but your shirt is awesome. You have this retro lumberjack vibe going on.”
Devin grinned and puffed out his chest, showing off his purple and red plaid. Amy groaned and covered her face with both hands. “Don’t encourage him, Dani!”
Dani laughed and bit her lip. “Sorry, Amy.”
Amy waved it away and said, “Marshall, did you have fun with that acting game? Do you think that’s something you’d like to try?”
Marshall grinned and nodded, giving Dani a shy glance.
“Hey, you know what?” Dani snapped her fingers. “My best friend helps run the Children’s Theater downtown. I bet she w-would be happy to show Marshall around sometime.”
Amy’s eyes lit up. “Yeah? What do you think, bud?” She smiled warmly at her son.
“O-okay.” Marshall looked at Dani. “W-w-will you c-c-come too?”
“Absolutely!” Dani smiled. Damn it. Her smile was cute. Maybe I should have been trying to make her smile instead of glare the last few months. But her glare was cute, too.
What. The. Hell.
“Let me get your number so we can set something up!” Amy reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone.
Wow. My sister was getting Dani’s phone number. Were they going to end up being friends? How would I keep sexy Dani at a safe distance if my sister started inviting her to family shit?
I knew this was a bad idea. I should never have knocked on Dani’s door.
After dinner, I rushed Dani out before Amy could ask her to stay any longer. Amy was already on her second glass of wine, and I knew the stories about me were going to start flowing.
On the drive home, I glanced over at Dani and said, “I thought you weren’t very good with kids.”
Dani laughed. “I’m usually not. M-marshall isn’t like other kids, though. He’s s-sweet.”
I cleared my throat as I pulled up to the apartment complex. “Well, thanks.”
Without skipping a beat, Dani said, “I didn’t do it for you.” She sighed and turned to look at me. “But Marshall’s a good kid, and I’m happy to hang out with him any time. I’ll talk to my friend about having him come check out the Children’s Theater, too.” She paused for a second and met my gaze. “Goodnight, Connor.”
I grinned at her. “That’s it? No insults tonight, Princess?”
Dani’s pretty face broke into a grin. “Whatever, jerk.” Then she climbed out of my car and pushed the door shut behind her.
I watched her walk through the parking lot, not wanting to say goodnight at all.
14
Connor
A week after I made the mistake of letting Dani meet my family, I was at a tacky and obnoxious arcade/restaurant to celebrate Devin’s thirty-fifth birthday. When I asked Amy if she was serious about the location, she’d laughed and said, “Well, we want Marshall to have a good time, too! You’ll understand someday when you’re a parent.”
But as Devin so bluntly pointed out, I needed a woman to have a kid. And that wasn’t even close to happening.
Now, I sat at a slightly sticky table with Devin and Amy, surrounded by loud strangers that looked way too happy to be in this dump. Devin’s younger brother was playing arcade games with Marshall, and Devin’s two only friends in the world were running late.
Not that I had any room to give Devin shit about how many friends he had. I couldn’t think of a single friend that I could call up if I needed something. Right after I lost Callie, I had more “love and support” than a guy could handle. It was almost suffocating. So, like the asshole I am, I pushed every single person away, one by one. Amy and Devin were the only ones who stayed.
“We think we know what
’s happening here.” Amy and Devin both grinned at me across the table like idiots.
I raised an eyebrow. “What’s happening here is that we’re having dinner for this asshole’s birthday.” I gestured toward Devin and took a bite of my pasta. The food was as terrible as the atmosphere. “I didn’t think that was a mystery that needed to be solved.”
Amy rolled her eyes and said, “No, with Dani.”
“Oh, fuck no. Nothing is happening with Princess Dani.” I shook my head.
“Con, seriously? You have a little nickname for her! And the sexual tension between you guys at dinner last week was getting me all hot and turned on!”
I choked on my water. “That’s disgusting, Aims. Don’t ever say anything like that again.”
Devin laughed and rubbed my sister’s shoulders. “Come on, dude, Dani is hot, and you want to sleep with her.”
“Okay. I’m out. Enjoy your birthday.” I made to stand up, but Amy placed her hand on my arm.
“Okay, okay! We won’t push. We just really like Dani and we—well, I think you like her, too. I know you, Con. She’s completely your type!”
I rubbed my jaw and nodded. “Dani was my type, but she’s nothing like Callie.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Amy cocked an eyebrow at me. We both got that raised eyebrow expression from our mom. “I think it would be weird and a little unhealthy if you were looking for someone just like Callie.”
“Well, in case you assholes forgot, I’m not looking for anyone.” I glared across the table at Amy and Devin. “Please, for the love of god, get off my back about finding someone!”
Amy and Devin exchanged a look, then Amy said, “Okay, well, when are you going to move out of that tiny apartment?”
I rolled my eyes. “You have a problem with my apartment now?” Callie and I bought a house when we were engaged. It was an old Tudor style home with lots of charm. Callie loved the shit out of that house and had a list of remodeling plans longer than her arm. She was halfway through painting our bedroom one night and gone the next.
After she was gone, I couldn’t stand to be there. The house was hers, and she was everywhere and nowhere, so I sold it. I meant to buy another place, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Somehow, a new house would mean I was moving on, too. Instead, I stuck myself in a small, plain one-bedroom apartment. It was like my self-assigned purgatory.
“Con, I just love you and want to see you happy. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” I looked out at the arcade and spotted Marshall playing pinball with Devin’s brother. I should have gone to play with the kid. Then I wouldn’t be stuck here with my sister forcing all of her love and good intentions on me.
I couldn’t go on a date with Dani. Dani made me feel shit that I didn’t want to feel. But Amy wasn’t going to drop this.
I let out a deep breath and met Amy’s soft brown eyes. “If I go on one date this weekend — one that I set up — will you fucking get off my back?” I could spend thirty minutes with some awful Tinder match, prove to Amy that I wasn’t ready to date, and then gain at least another few months of her leaving me alone.
Amy grinned and clapped her hands. “Yay! With Dani?”
“Hell no.”
Amy rolled her eyes and held up her hands. “Fine. Fine. She’s adorable, and you like her, but I’ll drop it.” Amy took a sip of her drink. “Oh, Marshall’s going to visit the Children’s Theater in a couple of weeks. You want to come?”
I knew what my sister was trying to do. She was pretending to drop the Dani issue but subtly pushing me to spend more time with her. “What day?”
“Sat—”
“Oh, can’t make it. Damn.” I gave Amy a pointed look to let her know I was on to her little game.
She pursed her lips at me, and Devin laughed. “I wonder who’s gonna win this little battle of the wills.” He stood and patted Amy’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go play with Marshall and Cory.”
Amy and I narrowed our eyes at each other across the table. I was going to win, because she was clearly in the wrong.
“Oh, Connor,” Devin turned over his shoulder. “If you don’t want Dani, do you mind if I set her up with Cory?”
Devin’s brother was an idiot. He wore a gold chain necklace, a backward baseball cap, and said things like “stellar” and “lit.” Dani wouldn’t like him.
I took a sip of my water and shrugged. “Go for it.”
When I looked back up at Amy, she was grinning from ear to ear.
“What?” I snapped at my sister.
Amy shrugged and kept smiling at me. “Oh, nothing. You just like Dani.”
◆◆◆
When I got home from dinner, Dani was out walking her dog. Her pretty blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail that showed off her neck, and she wore a tank top without a jacket, despite the chilly September evening. Dani had something against being warm.
I smiled to myself. I didn’t even try to stop it. Amy would be so proud and fucking smug if she could see me now, smiling at Princess Dani. I wiped the smile from my face.
Dani turned her head, saw me looking at her, and snapped, “What? Are you trying to think of another way to piss me off?”
Then I remembered that Dani hated me. It wouldn’t matter if I suddenly worked up the courage to move on from my loss. It wouldn’t matter if I admitted that I liked her. She hated me, and I’d given her every reason to.
“I’m not thinking of you at all, Princess.” I shot back. Why try to dig myself out of the hole with her?
Dani scoffed. “You’re staring right at m-me, asshole.”
Guilty as charged. I could have said, “Because you’re beautiful, and I was wrong about you.” But instead, I said, “Don’t flatter yourself. I just happened to look that way, and you just happened to be there.”
Dani rolled her eyes and turned away from me. She seemed like she was in an extra bad mood tonight. Not that she was ever happy to see me. Not that I expected things to change between us after saving her dog and introducing her to my family.
But did I hope they would change?
My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from Devin. I gave Cory Dani’s number. He is VERY excited to meet her. A string of crude emojis followed the text.
Fuck Devin.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket and headed for the stairs.
“Hey!” Dani was a few yards behind me with her dog, phone in hand. “What’s Cory like?”
Wow, the bastard was fast. “He’s a dumbass,” I said.
Dani narrowed her pretty blue eyes. “Is he really a d-d-dumbass?”
I paused for a second, then nodded.
Dani sighed. “I d-don’t have t-time for any more dumbasses.” She leaned against the railing and wrapped Lizzy’s leash around her wrist. Then she typed something into her phone.
I felt relief wash over me and turned to head up to my apartment. I wasn’t ready to date Dani, but I didn’t want to see her with someone else.
As I stood at my front door and unlocked it, I heard Dani come up behind me. “Come on, baby. Come on!” She coaxed her dog up the last stairs. To me, she said, “Goodnight, Connor.” There wasn’t even a hint of hatred in her voice.
“Night, Princess,” I said and pulled my door open. I closed it behind me without looking back at her, even though I wanted to.
My phone buzzed with another text from Devin. She just shut him down so fast! Huh… maybe she likes you, too.
I texted back. Fuck off.
Devin replied with a string of laughing emojis.
But was it possible that Dani did like me? Did she maybe not hate me as much as it seemed?
15
Connor
“How well do you know Cory?” Dani laid out her yoga mat next to me in the gym. We weren’t the only ones in there tonight, so she kept her shirt on. I was both grateful and disappointed.
“Princess, why are you in my space, talking to me? I feel like I already told you we’
re not friends.”
Dani rolled her pretty blue eyes, then scooted her mat a few inches closer. “We’re not friends, but Cory is b-blowing up my phone, a-and I need you to make it s-stop.”
Something like satisfaction settled in my chest. I grabbed a set of twenty-pound weights. “Why would I do that?”
“If you g-get him to leave me alone, I’ll stop stealing your drinks when you get d-dinner delivered.”
“The fuck? That’s you?” I stared at her with wide eyes. I was over there, giving my delivery drivers bad ratings when she was the one stealing my shit.
Dani threw her head back and laughed. “I only did it once!” Then she bit her lip. “Fine. Twice.”
I accidentally laughed. “You need therapy, Dani.”
Dani laughed and stretched out her quads. “Don’t I know it. I h-have an appointment s-scheduled for next week.” She did that sexy back-arched yoga pose shit and then smiled at me over her shoulder. “So, Cory.”
“Maybe you should give him a shot.” I was ninety-nine percent joking.
“I did.”
My eyes widened. “You did? I thought you shut him down.”
Dani smirked at me. “Are you j-jealous, jerk?”
“Not even a little bit, Princess.” I was. I was crazy stupid jealous, and it pissed me off.
Dani lay on her back and spread her legs into a V shape. She was literally in my favorite sex position. Fucking hell.
“So, he was ridiculously persistent. D-Devin's a nice guy, so I figured his brother c-couldn’t be that bad. I figured you just called him a d-dumbass because you hate everyone.”
I shrugged.
Dani laughed and sat up, shaking her head. “I agreed to a drink with the guy.”
“And how was it, Princess?” I set down my weights and sank next to Dani to do push-ups. She bit her lip while she tried to watch me subtly.
Dani sighed and said, “When I told him I had a stutter and had been in and out of s-speech therapy since I was f-five, he said, and I quote, ‘stellar.’” She wrinkled her cute little nose in disgust and then continued, “A-and someone should p-probably tell him where a woman’s eyes are. I think he was confused.”
