Sudden Hope (3 page)

“Yes
. Grace. I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed right now.” It is the truth, just not the whole truth.

“CC!” Danny yells down the stairs.

“Yep Hun?” Saved once again by Danny.

“Come up here!”

“Okay I'll be right there! Thank you, Grace. I'm fine I swear,” I say with a quick kiss to her cheek. “It was nice seeing you.”

“Alright
, CC, if you say you're fine I'll have to take your word for it. You two don’t stay out too late, okay? I know it’s Friday and all, but he needs his beauty sleep.” She giggles and nods up the stairs.

“I won't keep him out all night, I promise
,” I say as I give her the Girl Scout salute. I seem to be doing that a lot today, hope it doesn't become a habit. She giggles again and I laugh as I walk up the stairs.

Stopping
as soon as I enter Danny's bedroom, my breath catches and I feel a sudden warmth come over me. Danny is still getting dressed. He is just about to pull his shirt over his head. His overly long blond hair is still dripping wet and the water droplets are glistening off his beyond muscular back. He is wearing loose fitted jeans that just hung off his hips and you can see only the top of the gray waistband of his boxer briefs. He is so on the far side of beautiful he is simply sublime but I will never let him know I think that. So, I guess it is a good thing, that everything I say he takes as friendly flirting. If he only knew!

“Hey sexy!”
I whistle like a construction worker seeing a swimsuit model walking down the road.

“Hey yourself, look who’s calling who sexy.”

“Yea right, there’s nothing sexy about me. You almost ready?” I need to change the subject.

“Yep, just need to put my boots on.” Crap, I
think. I really have a thing for guys in work boots.

Especially when it came to the demi god that is Danny.

"I'll meet you downstairs." I have to get out of the enclosure of his room.

I have been and will be in love with Danny forever. But he is Chris's best friend and bro code says he can't go there, so here I am alone. Not wanting Danny to feel uncomfortable, I keep my big mouth shut. It has gotten me in trouble enough anyway
and I won't let it end a friendship, so like usual I'll say nothing.

Danny jumps into the passenger seat next to me and grabs a hold of my hand. Sparks fly through my arm like a bolt of lightning has just hit me.
Pulling away, I run my fingers through my hair to try my hardest to seem nonchalant.

“Hey girl, do you want to stop and get something to eat? It’s early still and I don’t want to get there while it is still light out.”

“Sure what do you want to get?”

“I think pasta
,” He says with that smirk that makes me just want to die.

“Sounds good, just the two of us?
Is the gang meeting us there?”

“Nah just the two of us
. We need to talk alone.”

“Okay, is everything alright?”
Suddenly I get a nervous feeling in my gut, the kind you get when you hear your name called over the loud speaker at school. One that you know is not going to be a good talk.

“
Ya, I think, but it is not something I want to talk to you while driving seventy down a highway.” Great! That makes me feel so much better.

“O
kay let’s listen to some music until we get there.” Then I laugh and blast the volume so I can think of nothing but the song.

We pull into Bella
Vita Italian restaurant. It is a quiet small restaurant, more of a Café than anything else. Definitely an old world feel and look to it. From the classical antiquity of the furniture to the fresh bread smell it is the most comfortable, homey restaurant in town.

A short, dark and slim Italian woman greets us at the door. “
Benvenuta,” she said to me with a smile.

“
Benvenuto,” she looks towards Danny.

“Thank you,” we both sa
y to her with a nod.

“Would you like your usual seat?”

“No, it will just be the two of us,” I answer.

“Perfe
cto.” She smiles and winks at me. Thank God for the dim lighting and the red tint to the lampshades, I am pretty sure Danny can’t see me blush.

Danny and I both eat veal
Marsala and then enjoy a piece of tiramisu with our coffees. Danny has remained quiet for most of the night. Because of this, I know something is seriously bothering him and he really needs to spit it out. The butterflies in my stomach are having a fiesta. He keeps looking at me closely. It seems like he is about to say something but then he just stops. Like whatever it is, is causing an internal battle he just doesn’t know how to fight.

“Danny
, what’s going on? Really I’ve never seen you like this. We’ve been friends forever, you can tell me anything, you know that.”

Danny looks at me his eyes turn dark, and a shiver goes up my spine. “That’s the problem
, CC, we’ve been friends forever.”

“Yea, and?” I
ask. He is looking sad, like he is afraid to speak. He looks down and takes a drink of water. “Danny, please what is it?” By now I am almost begging for him to just tell me. My mind is starting to spin. Is he about to tell me he is going away to college? He is moving? What? Then he takes a deep breath. Closes his eyes and whispers.

“I want more. CC
, I want it all.”

“What!” I spit my water across the table. “Oh my God, I'm sorry.” I jump to my feet and start cleaning up the water like a lunatic. Danny reach
es out and grabs my hand.

“CC. Stop.” I do just that, stand there frozen looking down at the table. I must look like a little lost child. “Look at me
,” he says in a whisper. I can’t look up because I am too afraid. I don’t know what I am afraid of, but I feel like if I look up it now, none of it will be real. I'll wake up from the best dream I have ever had and lately I haven’t had many. “Please, CC, look at me. Please.” Now I have no choice. The tingling through my hand is undeniable. It is there. We are meant to be together and now I know he feels the same way. Looking up, straight into his glorious blue eyes, he looks almost scared, and I’ve never seen Danny scared.

“CC
, listen, we've been through a lot together,” he starts, “Please hear me out.” He is right we have been through a lot together. I at least owe it to him to sit and listen. He looks away and takes a deep breath. “I've known you for a long time. I've loved you for even longer.” His eyes meet mine once again. “I know you feel the same way.” He tilts his head and puts on one of his famous 'Danny' smiles. "I feel it every time you touch me. See it every time you look at me. I sense it every time you're near me.” I start to speak when his head darts to the side.

“Hey, there you guys are, really, we don’t even get an invite?” No! No! No! Great! Not now, is all I can think. I close my eyes and let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Danny releases my hand and withdraws it to his side.

“Hey Chris.”
Danny is not happy, and boy could you tell it. “Perfect timing,” he mumbles under his breath just loud enough that only I can hear it.

Chris comes sauntering over. “Move over
, baby.” He sits down next to me bumping me with his hip. I glance up at Danny and for the first time I notice his eyes turn black, tilted to almost slivers. Danny is jealous. How could I have not seen this before? How could I have not known his feelings for me? We are always together, we tell each other everything. I guess I deserve this since I never told him either. We really need to finish the conversation we were having.

“Jenny and I saw your car as we were passing. You guys coming to the Hideout or not?” Chris puts his arm around me and looks at Danny, “Oh and since when are you taking my girl out on dates, huh?” I notice Danny’s hands clench into fists.

“Chill out, Chris, I’m not your girl,” I say before Danny has a chance to pummel his best friend's face into something unrecognizable. “Go with Jenny, we're on our way.”

Danny is still glaring at his best friend. “Alright, we’ll see you there.” He kiss
es me on my temple, grabs a bread stick and gets up. He looks back at me. “Oh by the way. Lea's brother is going to be there, just wanted to give a warning.” Winking at me, he then strolls off.

Danny looks at Chris with pure hatred. “Wait!”
he hollers much louder then he should be in the middle of a restaurant. “What do you mean? Matt is here?”

Chris shrugs his shoulders. “I guess he is back for a break or something. I don’t know. I was just told he will be there and I wanted to warn
ya.”

“Thanks for the heads up
, Chris. We’ll see you in a few,” I say before anything else could be mentioned. Danny looks at me again but now is not the time to finish this conversation or any other conversation for that matter.

“Do you still want to go?”
he asks.

“Yea why not, I'll be okay
,” I answer, just not excitedly. Oh I don’t need this tonight. Lea's brother Matt is my ex, and Danny’s worst enemy.

Chapter Four

The fire at the Hideout is already in full force when we get there. People are climbing out of the woodwork for this one tonight. Half of Elmont High must be here. It doesn’t matter who you are, what popularity status you hold or what grade you are in. Everyone is always welcome. That is one of the things I love about going, and one of the things I hate too. You never know what is going to happen when different clicks collide or when jealous ex's mingle with new loves or in my case ex's that just see you.

“There they are
,” I hear Jenny squeal in delight when she sees us. “I thought you two ran away together. Never to be seen again.” She laughs. If she only knew that’s what I would love to do right now. I scan the grounds to look for Matt. He won’t be hard to miss. Last year he was captain of the football team and everything you could imagine. A beyond gorgeous football player, from the square jaw line to the muscles bulging in places you wouldn’t believe muscles had ever existed. His dark hair falls just above his shoulders with the slightest curl at the ends. I used to play with his locks for hours. He is smart, funny and used to be mine. Until the day he wasn’t. The day he tore my heart in two. Danny had held me while I cried for hours the day I found Matt leaving Sondra's apartment, the captain of the cheerleading team. He was still buttoning his pants, and his shirt was just thrown over his shoulder. Sondra looked at me and waved with a smirk on her face, which told me she was happy I caught them. Matt stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say, I guess. So I helped him out

“Hi Sondra
,” I said with a grin.
“Hope you enjoyed.”
Then I walked away and never spoke to Matt again. Lea said he told her he was sorry. He called and left message after message on my phone. It got so bad I had to change the number. I've never talked to or looked at him again. I did everything to avoid seeing him and even Lea would help me. She is my friend and hate’s that her brother did that to me. I guess people assume that enough time has passed for us to be around each other again. My stomach is telling me otherwise.

“Earth to
, CC.” Danny says as he waves his hand in front of my face.

“Sorry
, Danny,” I murmur. Lately, I seem to be dazing off a lot.

“I don’t think I want to be here tonight
,” I say dejected. Jenny looks at me heavyhearted. Then grabs me by the shoulders.

“Honey
, you know I love you, so listen up good. He is a no good, selfish ass, who does not deserve to see you still torn up over the likes of him! And, so help me God if you don’t stay here and have a good time, I will personally kick your behind all the way to China! You know I can do it. Got it?”

I know the shocked look on my face has to match Danny’s and the five other people who are in a close distance to hear her.

“Well then.” Anthony has snuck up on us, again. He likes to do that.

“CC, I think she is serious and if she isn't, I'll kick your behind all the way to China.” Lea sa
ys with a wave of her fist. That is it, we all break out into laughter. Not the little girlie laugh. The holding your belly, thigh slapping, tearing up kind of laugh. Everyone does except Lea.

“What?” She asks, like she doesn’t know.

Anthony hugs her tightly, kisses her head, and giggles to her. “Honey, I don’t think you could kick a fly's ass. But I love you.”

“Gee thanks!”
She shrugs.

“All right.
All right.” I say. “I'll stay.” This night is not going as good as I hoped it would.

“Good than let’s go sit at the fire
,” Chris chimes in.

“We will be there in a minute!” Jenny
takes me by the hand and leads me away. I look back and see Danny slowly shaking his head. I nod. I know he doesn’t want me to say anything to Jenny and he is right this is not the place. We need to talk first and Chris needs to be told by Danny, not anyone else. That is going to be the hard part. I know in my heart that if Danny and I get together, Chris will be completely heart broken. Jenny leads me over to a group of people I have never met before. Two guys stand out in the crowd. They are looking at Jenny and me like we are some kind of lottery prize.