by Nia Arthurs
“Hey, man.” Raf offers his hand.
I eye it darkly before reaching out and clamping my fingers over his.
He winces and drags his hand back as soon as he can. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah.” I dismiss him and focus on Gwen. “Can I talk to you? Somewhere quiet?”
Before I can lead her off, a voice shrieks over the music. “Look! It’s Danny!”
I spin back just in time to find Winnie galloping toward me, nostrils flaring. Before I know it, she’s in the air and leaping like some kind of leopard in the jungle. Her dress floats up, revealing a glimpse of red underwear.
Gwen gasps.
Raf starts laughing.
I brace myself for impact.
Winnie collides into me. I capture her in my arms, stumbling back a couple inches. Eventually, I find my footing and hold steady. The crowd erupts into a chorus of cheers.
Winnie giggles and wraps her legs around me. The scent of alcohol emanating from her is overpowering. Her scratchy curls fall against my neck.
“Hi, Winnie. It’s nice to see you too.” I try to put her down, but she locks her ankles and refuses to budge.
“You’re so fine, Danny.” Winnie leans back, eyeing me like I’m meat on a stick.
“You’re drunk. Get down and I’ll help you sober up.”
“You can help me right now.”
Before I can puzzle through what that statement means, Winnie grabs my cheeks. Her lips collide with mine. I stiffen up, but her tongue attacks my mouth like a fish sucking on seaweed.
“Winnie!” Gwen screams.
Her voice gives me the extra boost I need to haul Winnie’s legs off. Her mouth detaches from mine with a pop and she drops to the ground, landing hard on her left foot.
Concern for her mixed with annoyance at her cheap trick flood me. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. Everyone is staring. Some in awe. Others in jealousy.
Winnie plops on the floor and flings her hands down, reminding me of a child throwing a tantrum. Gwen and Britney run to her, cooing things I can’t hear.
Gwen glances over her shoulder at me. I stare right back. I’m more pissed off by the sight of her and Rafael than of Winnie’s forceful kiss.
“Why don’t you like me?” Winnie whines, bawling over the music. “I like you so much!”
“Stop it,” Gwen hisses. She shoots another peek at me and then helps Winnie up. “Let’s go outside and cool off.”
The crowd makes way for the girls. I stand there with my hands in my pockets, wishing I never came.
“Hey, you!” a voice yells.
The moment I turn around, a fist connects with my jaw. My head flings to the side. Pain shoots through my body. I stagger to the right but find my balance quickly.
A chorus of ‘oooh’s erupt from the crowd.
“What the hell, Brock?” Rafael pushes a man in a white T-shirt and jeans.
I may not like this Rafael guy, but I appreciate his outrage on my behalf.
Brock raises his chin. He’s tall and broad with dark skin that’s almost purple. The whites of his eyes are on display as he glares at me, shoulders heaving.
He looks ready to tear me limb from limb.
“Who are you?” I ask breathlessly, wiping the blood skittering out of my busted lip.
“That’s what I should ask, Chino.” Brock sneers.
“Come on, Brock.” Rafael groans. “There’s no need to use racial slurs. This is the guy who owns the house.”
“I don’t care who you are, just stay the hell away from Winnie.”
“I didn’t want her in the first place,” I mumble. I’m getting angrier the longer I stand here. Brock must have the IQ of a vegetable. Winnie was the one coming after me.
“What you say?” Brock tilts his head.
“I said…” I lift my chin and stare him down, unflinching. “You can have her.”
Brock laughs. “You think I’m playing?”
“You punched me for nothing. Least you could do is apologize.”
Brock responds by swinging at me again. This time I’m prepared and dodge it, slamming him in the head instead. He curses and stumbles back, crashing into the wall.
Cheers break out from the crowd. Roars of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” rattle the air.
Rafael steps back, giving up on corralling us.
Brock climbs to his feet and roars. Bright white teeth clash against his dark skin. Veins pop out of his neck. I’m taller and I know my way around a fight, but something tells me Brock’s not afraid to fight dirty.
I crouch, arms up in a boxing stance when the music cuts. The silence is deafening. I’d already gotten used to the ear-shattering rhythm.
A woman climbs on a chair. When I glance over, I recognize Gwen. She’s piping mad if her dark eyes are any sign.
She cups her hand around her mouth and yells, “I want everybody out.”
No one moves.
“NOW!”
They run at once. I stay in place as the crowd disperses around me. Brock is glaring a hole in my head, but Rafael tugs on his arm and the two men disappear through the door.
Gwen climbs off the chair. I lose track of her until she pops up in front of me. The door bangs shut as the last person skitters out.
She rubs her elbow, long hair hiding her face from view. “I’m sorry about Winnie. She’s having a hard time lately.”
I say nothing.
Gwen clears her throat. “Britney’s taking her back home.”
“Good.”
“Danny, you’re bleeding.” She raises an arm toward my face. I brush her hand away. Her arm stops. Returns to her side. “I’m sorry about the party. I’ll make sure I clean everything and pay for any damages.”
My chest heaves on a sigh. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Yeah. It’s in my room. I’ll get it.”
“I’ll come with you.” From the looks of the party, there’s bound to be a few couples in the backrooms that didn’t hear Gwen’s call to action.
I move around the living room, locking the front door and then the back before I walk with Gwen down the corridor. Her head is bowed. Her bare feet brush against the tiled floors. Her skirt flows with every step.
Even now, when I’m frustrated and annoyed, I’m moved by her.
I stop in front of the bathroom and chase a few half-dressed stragglers out. Gwen looks scandalized, but I’ve seen it all before, and worse, from my own college days.
After I’ve chased everyone out and ensured she’s truly alone, I lock the doors again.
Gwen tugs on my arm. “There’s no one else here. Just leave it. You need to clean that lip up.”
“It’s fine.”
She steps in front of me, stubbornness gleaming from her dark brown eyes. “Not to me.”
Gwen drags me to her bedroom and pushes me on the bed, a first aid kit open at her knees. She climbs on the mattress with me, prompting a rush of excitement.
I swallow and focus on the changes she made to the master bedroom to keep my thoughts from veering too far into territory I can’t act on.
I told her to make the room her own and she did. There are posters on the walls and a mirror above the dresser. The closets are open and unorganized, like she pulled clothes out and then tossed them back in.
I’m amused by the sight.
“Stop smiling,” she whispers. “I need to put the antibiotic cream on that cut.”
“Sorry.” My gaze moves to her face. Brown eyes narrow in concentration. Perfect lips flatten to a thin line. I can’t help myself. My hand hovers in the air and caresses her brown cheek.
Her skin is soft. Just like I imagined.
Gwen startles. Her eyes flicker to me.
I inhale a sharp breath. All I wanna do is kiss her.
Cool it, Danny. You want her first kiss to be like this?
I lean back, pulling my hands to my knees so they behave.
Gwen scrambles off the bed and closes the medicine kit. We
avoid each other’s eyes. Awkwardness descends. This is not how I imagined tonight would go.
Instead of kissing Gwen, I kissed her best friend.
Then got plowed in the face by Winnie’s jealous boyfriend or boy toy or whatever he is.
“Danny,” Gwen’s voice is soft, “again I’m really sorry about the party—”
“I don’t care about the party,” I snap.
She flinches like she expects me to hit her or something.
I sigh and run my hand over my face.
Yeah, this is not the night I had in mind.
15 Gwen
The word ‘Embarrassed’ does not cover all I’m experiencing right now. Horrified, maybe. Mortified, definitely. I can’t believe what a train wreck tonight turned out to be.
Danny’s house is a mess.
Unspeakable acts were committed in the bathroom—not looking forward to cleaning that.
There’s puke on the wall in the living room—not looking forward to cleaning that either.
To top it all off, Winnie stuck her tongue down Danny’s throat.
Without his permission.
In front of about a hundred random strangers.
There’s nothing I can do that will make up for the crap he’s been subjected to but I try to apologize anyway.
Unfortunately, Danny’s too ticked off to accept my paltry words in exchange for all the harm done to him tonight. And who can blame him? If the shoe were on the other foot, I’d shout at me too.
A perky ringtone shatters the stillness. I’m relieved when I notice Britney’s face filling my phone screen. “Do you mind if I pick this up?”
Danny sweeps his arm.
I scramble away from the bed where I was tending Danny’s split lip and pick up. “Hey, Brit. How is she?”
“Well… her head’s stuck in the toilet, but at least she’s alive. How’s Danny? I had no idea he’d be there tonight.”
I peek at the handsome man sitting on the edge of my bed. Danny’s solid jaw is clenched tight and his eyes are two black marbles. “Um… things could have gone better.”
“She’s going to regret doing that tomorrow,” Britney whispers.
“I regret it already.” The visual of my best friend’s mouth colliding with Danny’s perfect lips is one that will replay in my mind for weeks.
“Brock was a complete jerk. He’s just angry with Danny because Win doesn’t want him. It was totally immature.”
“Look,” I shuffle my feet because if I think too deeply about what Winnie did, I won’t be able to keep my temper down, “can we talk about this tomorrow?”
“Sure. Do you need any help with the house or with Danny?”
“Just make sure Win’s okay. I’ll handle everything else.”
I hang up and massage my eyelids. A headache blazes on the edge of my mind and all I want to do is curl up in my bed and pretend tonight never happened.
Danny coughs and I jolt around. His presence is a constant reminder of my shame. As much as I adore him, I kinda wish he’d leave.
“That was Britney.” I tuck the phone back on the dresser. “She says Winnie’s throwing up a lot, but she’ll be fine. Well, as fine as she can be after… everything.”
“Yeah.” Danny clutches his stomach. I didn’t hear it growl but from the face he’s making I’m guessing it did. “Do you have anything around here to eat rather than chips and beer?”
“I have eggs.”
“That’ll work.”
I’m glad Danny can eat right now because my stomach is so tied in knots I won’t be able to keep anything down for a week.
I ignore the orange-yellowish stain by the wall and follow Danny into the kitchen. There aren’t any weird smells in here. It’s safe to assume this was a puke-free zone.
I sweep the empty beer bottles into the crates, eager for something to do so I don’t have to talk to Danny.
“Worry about that tomorrow,” he says before ducking his head into the fridge.
“It’s fine.”
Danny closes the door and sets a tray of eggs, sweet pepper, onions, and turkey meat on the counter. When he sees me flitting around and setting the kitchen in order, he stalks toward me. “Gwen…”
“This place is a mess. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have hosted the party—”
“Hey.” He captures my wrist and turns me to look at him. His thumb softly caresses my cheek like he did back in my bedroom when I tended his lip. “We’ll figure it all out tomorrow. Take a deep breath…” He breathes in as an example.
I inhale, my limbs unwinding more from the gentle pressure of his touch than from the breathing exercise.
“Good.” One corner of his mouth tilts up. “Now sit over there and tell me how you want your egg. Scrambled? Fried?”
“Whatever you make is fine.”
He arches an eyebrow. “I hope you don’t regret that.”
I smile and watch him move around the kitchen. He folds his sleeves and unbuttons the top of his shirt. My eyes make a slow perusal of his golden arms. My knees weaken.
I’m glad I’m sitting down.
Danny’s being kind to me when he has every right to be pissed. Why can’t he be a douche bag like other guys? Why does he keep doing things that make it hard to get over him?
I need an answer.
Anybody?
A few minutes later, Danny slides two plates of steaming fried eggs topped with vegetables over the counter. I grab one and then we head to the living room to watch television while we eat.
I was iffy at first, but the scent of the eggs stirs my appetite. I’m looking forward to this late night snack.
Danny kicks a beer bottle out of the way. “Wait a minute. I want to put your sofa back where it belongs.”
I hold Danny’s plate and watch him move the sofa. At first, I’m distracted by the sight of his strong shoulders in that white dress shirt. Then I start to make some calculations.
How are we both going to fit into that small chair?
The answer is… we don’t.
The moment Danny inches in beside me, my breath hitches. Every time he moves his hand to use his fork, his arm brushes mine. Butterflies erupt in my stomach. I’ve done my best not to put myself in close proximity with Daniel Kwan.
Yet here we are.
I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself tonight.
“What do you want to watch?” Danny asks, pointing the remote at the television.
“Anything.”
The TV snaps on. Heavy breathing fills the air. A flash of pale skin plays across the screen. The camera pans to a woman’s face, mouth open.
We landed on an episode of Game of Thrones—right when the main characters are getting busy.
My eyes shoot to the ground, but it’s impossible to block out the noise.
“Gwen…” Danny says, fear in his voice.
I squirm. Gosh, this is so awkward.
“It’s not working.”
“What isn’t working?” I glance up.
Danny thrusts the remote at me, Adam’s apple bobbing. “Your remote.”
“I forgot. The buttons stick sometimes.” Panic and embarrassment thickens my voice.
My plate of eggs slide off my lap. Danny rushes to catch it. His fingers brush my legs.
I shiver.
He winces.
The characters on the television grow louder.
My thumb smashes the power button. The remote cracks from the pressure. Finally, the television plops off. The silence is even more uncomfortable than the risqué soundtrack that played a moment before.
God? Now would be a good time to strike me with lightning.
I set the remote at my feet and try to act like I’m not dying from awkwardness. “How about we just talk instead?”
“Fine.” Danny chews for a bit and then he turns to me. “Who was that guy before?”
What guy? He’ll have to be more specific. There was the guy that punched him. The guy that was dancing with
me. And the guy in the bathroom who… well, I’d rather not think about that.
“Which one?” I ask.
He arches an eyebrow, dark eyes narrowed. “Rafael.”
Danny says Raf’s name like it’s some kind of ancient curse that will unleash a thousand years of bad luck on Belize.
“He’s in the Tiger’s Club with me. The one that organized the trip to Haiti after the hurricane.”
“Are you two… close?”
Where is he going with this? “I guess. We share the same experiences. Raf understands me in a way most people don’t. We’ve both been to disaster zones and felt the pain of people who have lost everything. It changes you. It changed me.”
“I see.”
I fumble with the loose thread sticking out of the couch. “What you saw when you walked in, me and Raf dancing together? It didn’t mean anything.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Just because.” I set my plate on the ground and swivel my body toward Danny. Our knees touch. I don’t pull away. “Why did you come tonight?”
“You invited me.”
“That’s it?” I don’t know what I expect Danny to say, but it feels like we’re sitting on the cusps of something great, and I want to make sure he’s feeling the same way I am before I take that plunge.
He studies me for a long time. The only sound is the overhead fan spinning in the background.
I duck my head to hide from his intense scrutiny. My heart pounds in my chest. “The first time we met, I was eight. Do you remember?”
“Yeah.” The couch moans as he shifts his weight and rests his elbows on the back of it. “You used to follow us everywhere. Drove Aiden crazy.”
I look into the darkness of the kitchen, pulled into the memories I treasure like old photographs. “There were so many moments when my brother tried to push me away, but you fought for me to stay. You always included me. You made me feel special.”
He shrugs. “Because you reminded me of my sister.”
There he goes again. That freaking ‘sister’ reference. My fingers clench into fists and I snap, “Is that all I am to you? The annoying kid who followed you and Aiden everywhere?”
Danny smirks. It’s a devilishly handsome smile, but it doesn’t fit the mood and so I don’t appreciate it.
“What’s so funny?”