All I’ve ordered is a diet coke, I couldn’t eat anything even if I wanted to. My stomach is churning, and I’m just trying to remain calm. All I need to do is say what I came here to say and then leave. There will be no big discussion, this is the end of the road for us, period.
I think about how easy things were with Caleb earlier, despite the heavy topics we covered. I think about how he made me feel, how he took charge but in the right way. So different to Danny, who in contrast is a giant child who has zero ambition and just wants to coast through everything. It’s put everything in perspective for me. I want a man, not a boy. And that doesn’t necessarily mean anything will happen with Caleb again, but if things start to progress… I guess I’m not averse to it, even though I should be, and even though I promised myself that I would wash my hands of both of them. Guess it turns out that I can easily wash my hands of Danny, but Caleb? Not so much. And as bad as that is, I’m just not strong enough to fight anything right now other than what I came here to do. Break up with his son.
My leg jigs up and down as I wait, time seeming to tick by so fucking slowly.
I thought about Caleb’s version of how he looked after Danny when he was young, and I thought about Danny’s version of how his dad ‘abandoned’ him because he didn’t want him. I know which one I believe, and I’m quite glad I’ll never be meeting his mother, because she sounds like a piece of work. It’s safe to say I didn’t get much work done this afternoon, once I returned to the office, but I did enough to keep Mr Garrett off my arse, and let’s be fair, he’s going to be a little bit nicer to me anyway, what with me being appointed as the head person if Elite Enterprises sign on the dotted line. I must speak to Marcie about it actually, I wouldn’t want her to think I’d gone behind her back and tried to poach a position over everyone else. It means I’ll have to reveal that Caleb is my mystery lover from way back when, though. I’ve told her an older man broke my heart, but I never mentioned who it was, because there was no point… until now. I know that she’ll keep it quiet, she’s my closest friend and I trust her.
I didn’t tell Caleb I was meeting Danny, because as much as he was there for me earlier, it’s still just too weird to have him involved in this part of my life. And he doesn’t need to put anymore distance between them than there already is. I will not be the reason that they lose each other. I just won’t.
I told Gran where I was going, and she knows that it was Danny on our driveway last night. She’s not stupid though, she had already figured him out, but she’s not one to air her views until you realise them yourself. She’s told me that she will be waiting by the phone if I need her, but I’m hoping this will all be over pretty damn quick and then I can go home and soak in the bath before climbing into bed and getting some much-needed sleep.
With two minutes to go until seven o’clock, Danny walks through the door with a smile on his face. A smile? Really?
“Hey, babe,” he says as he comes over to where I’m sat and drops a kiss on the top of my head before sitting down opposite me. I’m quite thankful he didn’t choose to sit next to me. “You want some food?”
“No thanks.”
“You sure? I’m starving,” he says, and then he’s up and going to order. For fuck’s sake. I wait impatiently while he orders, and then he comes over with a damn number for table service. I don’t fancy being here any longer than I have to be, so I bite the bullet and begin to talk.
“Listen, Danny—”
“God I’ve missed you,” he says, cutting me off and trying to reach for my hands on the table, but I pull them back, out of his reach. I don’t want him to touch me. His brows furrow, and he looks at me questioningly. “Is something going on here?” he asks, as if he’s completely erased what happened last night.
“Actually, yeah… I just came here to—”
“Oh my God, please don’t tell me this is about me being drunk?” he interrupts, again. “I mean, it was no biggie.”
I stare at him incredulously, my mouth dropping open.
“Seriously?” I say, totally thrown by his blasé manner.
“Yeah,” he says whilst shrugging his shoulders. “You pissed me off, I got drunk, we had a tiff, end of story. I see no point in rehashing the past.”
My shock is replaced by anger as it ignites like a fire that’s been doused in petrol before being lit.
“Really? You call this nothing?” I say as I thrust my arm across the table, lifting my sleeve and showing him the bruising.
He stares at it for a beat, and then he scoffs. “Come on, Cam, this is really why you’re being off with me? This is nothing, a mishap, a mistake.”
“Damn right it’s a mistake, and one that should never have happened.” I wrench my arm back and get ready to end this and leave.
“You were ignoring me, and I got a little upset.”
“Upset? I was fucking working, Danny,” I fume quietly, but there is no mistaking the anger in my voice.
“You’re always working.”
“Because my career is important to me, and I thought you understood that.”
“I should be your top priority. Me. Not work, but just me,” he says, and I suddenly wonder what I ever found attractive about him. And even though I could see the slight resemblance of him being Caleb’s son once I found out, they couldn’t be more different. He’s learned nothing about values or respect, and instead he’s just a selfish arsehole. I’ve been so very stupid by getting involved with him in any way whatsoever, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
“Here we go,” a girl says from the side of the table as she places Danny’s food down as he smiles and winks at her before she bounces away with a giggle. Oh my God. I need to leave.
“It’s over, Danny,” I say simply, before I pick up my bag and stand, ready to walk out of here.
“What?” he says, the burger he had unwrapped pausing on the way to his mouth.
“You heard me. We’re done. Don’t contact me again.” And then I’m rushing out of there and to my car, just wanting to get home and put this whole ugly episode behind me.