Taking a sip of my drink, I wish that I could be anywhere else other than here. “You’re not enjoying this, are you?” Danny says, as if he can read my mind.
“Is it obvious?”
“Kinda, yeah,” he says with a chuckle.
“I’m just not a big fan of clubbing,” I admit. “I never really have been.”
“You know what? Neither am I,” he says as he puts his drink down and reaches over for my hand. “Let’s go.”
“What?” I say loudly as he stands and pulls me to my feet.
“We’re going.”
“But we haven’t even finished our drinks yet,” I point out.
“So?” he says with a shrug of his shoulders. “Look, I want you to have a good time, and clearly, this isn’t the place that will happen, so I’m more than happy to get out of here and do something else.” He doesn’t wait for me to answer as he pulls me through the throngs of people and out the doors to the main room.
“Wait… Danny…” He comes to a halt and turns to face me. “We don’t have to leave because I’m not into it. I want you to have a good time too.” I feel bad that he’s set up a date that he thought I might enjoy and now he feels like he has to leave because it’s not my thing.
His eyes dim a little as he looks at me and pushes me to the wall behind, his hands coming either side of my head and his body caging me in. “As long as I’m with you, I’ll have a good time no matter what,” he almost growls, and then his lips are on mine as he kisses me fiercely.
Oh.
Right.
Okay then.
I lose myself as his tongue entwines with mine, until he’s pulling away and grinning at me. “Wanna catch a late-night movie?” he asks.
“I’d love to.”
And that is how our fourth date ended up being the best one yet, because whilst we were meant to be watching a movie, all we were really interested in was each other.
* * *
Date five turned out to be a surprise as Danny rocked up to my work and knocked on my office door, brandishing a bouquet of flowers before whisking me away to the café across the road.
“This is a nice surprise,” I say as we sit at a table by the window. “Is there any reason for you showing up at my work and making all the women swoon and wish they were with you?”
“Aside from the fact that you’re my girlfriend? Nope,” he says, and his answer makes my heart do that fluttering thing.
“Good answer,” I reply as I browse the lunch menu.
We order our food and spend the remainder of my lunch hour in comfortable conversation. And when we’re finished, he walks me back across the road and gives me a kiss that I won’t be forgetting for a few hours, before he winks and tells me he’ll call me later.
I spend the rest of the afternoon sat behind my desk, with a smile on my face that can’t be erased.
* * *
We’re way past the date stages at this point, and I’m convinced that he was sent into my life at the right time. I wouldn’t have been ready for this level of commitment before, but now, I’m feeling pretty darn good about the direction my life is going.
Since having my heart broken, I’ve been a little harder to crack, keeping myself firmly hidden behind walls that have stopped me from being thrown into despair again. But with Danny, I let those walls down pretty easily, because he was obviously the right guy at the right time. And yes, we’re taking things slow, seeing where it goes, but I already know that this could be something great, and I’m desperately trying not to get ahead of myself.
I’m snuggled into Danny’s side, his arm wrapped around me as we watch a film on his sofa. It’s the first time I’ve been to his apartment, and it’s a little sparse but typical of a guy who doesn’t really bother with the little things that make a house a home. I mean, I live with my gran and things don’t come much more homely than that, what with her nick nacks dotted around the place, photos, the soft furnishings, and her preference for baking and making a house a home. In contrast, Danny’s place has no photos and literally does what it says on the tin and is a place to rest his head after a day at work. It’s not bad, it’s just different, more clinical, but I guess it doesn’t really matter where we are as long as we’re spending time together—something I’ve found I want to do more of lately.
“I was thinking that we could try that new restaurant that just opened up downtown,” Danny says, interrupting my thoughts.
“Sounds good,” I say, loving how he’s quickly deduced that meals and films are my go-to. “And don’t forget that Gran wants to meet you soon,” I add.