Danny watched from inside the hotel as Caleb walked away. It wasn’t until he saw her break down that he knew they were through, but whether that had been her choice or his remained unanswered. Whoevers it was, Danny was certainly not able to stand there and watch her cry all alone. He exited the hotel and headed straight for her, capturing Maggie in his arms. She spun around and buried her head in his chest. Breathing deeply, as if to take him in, she said three words that made his heart melt; “I chose you.”
Chapter Forty Eight
Maggie stayed curled up into Danny outside of the hotel for what seemed like hours. He stroked her hair out of her face and brought it up to look at him. With his thumb, he dried he tearstained cheeks while she tried to catch her breath. She looked at him intensely and suddenly she pulled away. “No.” was all she said before she turned and walked away, leaving him there alone.
Maggie headed straight for Taylor’s apartment. In her “good luck” message, she let her know that Callie, along with Jake and Scott were coming over for drinks and to hang out so she knew she would find some people to tell her what to do.
When she entered the apartment, her eyes puffy from crying and still wearing her performance dress, everyone knew something was wrong. The guys excused themselves and went to hang out on the balcony, leaving the girls alone.
“Maggie?” Taylor asked cautiously.
“I chose him.”
“Who, sweetie?”
“Danny. I chose Danny. Ugh, I’m so stupid!” she cried out.
“Wait, what?” Callie asked, unaware that Maggie was developing these feelings for Danny all along.
“I’ll fill you in later.” Taylor said quietly to Callie. “Maggie, what happened?”
In response to her question, Maggie went through everything that had happened that evening, ending with her leaving Danny outside of the hotel.
“You want him though, right?” Callie asked, trying her best to catch up.
“I do.” Maggie replied quietly.
“Then why aren’t you with him right now?”
“Because!” Maggie yelled. She looked at her two friends who were urging her to continue. “I’m mad at him. He made me fall for him. He made me break up with Caleb who was so amazing. I broke his heart, you know that? I did to him what Thomas did to me and that makes me an awful person! At the beginning of everything he told me he would never do anything to hurt me. Looks like I should have been the one trying to do that!”
“Maggie, you are not a bad person. And neither is Danny. Yes, he put you in an awkward spot by admitting his feelings and everything to you knowing you were with Caleb, but he was just following his heart. And that is what you did too when you let Caleb go. Whenever there are feelings involved; be it with friends or people who are more than that, there is always going to be hurt. And sometimes you’re on the receiving end, but sometimes you’re the one doing the breaking.” Taylor said, reasoning with her. “Go to him.”
Maggie looked up at Taylor and then over to Callie. They were both offering her reassuring looks. Despite it all, she knew what she had to do. Hugging both of her friends tightly before leaving, Maggie headed straight to the place she knew she would find him. When she entered the halls of the darkened dance studio, she saw light peering out of Studio Three. She opened the door slowly and there she saw him, dancing what she recognized as the routine from earlier today. Catching her reflection in the mirrors, he stopped what he was doing and turned to face her. They stood in silence a good ten feet away from each other, neither of them sure if they should, or could, make the first step.
“I’m angry at you, you know.” She said firmly.
“I know.”
“And the idea of being with you scares me.”
“Me too.” he replied honestly. “I don’t do relationships. I mean, I’ve never done a relationship. Hell, I’ve never even really dated.”
“I hate mess and this is going to be a lot of that.” she said, pausing. “But I think I might love you and I guess that means I’ll learn to deal with it.” She said, flashing a small smile before noticing a bigger one form on Danny’s face.
The ten feet that had separated them were quickly closed as Danny came bounding towards her and picked her up in the air, spinning her around. When he finally put her down, he cupped her face with his hands, his thumb tracing along her lips. He slowly moved towards her and kissed her softly. He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers before leaning down again and capturing her lips, this time with more passion than before.
Maggie met his lips at each movement, hungry for him. She didn’t second guess anything. There was no overthinking. Her lips knew what they wanted, her tongue meeting his pass for pass before he gently closed his teeth over it, causing her to groan and her body sink further in to his with the exhale. Being here, kissing him, she knew that this choice, as hard as it was, was the one she needed right now and it felt right.
Chapter Forty Nine
“How’d you know I’d be here?” Danny asked quietly as he and Maggie sat in the studio, much like they did before when the storm hit.
“I knew where you wouldn’t be.” Maggie said, referring to Caleb’s apartment where he had been staying. Danny just nodded in agreement. “And you’re like me; when you’re stressed or something is bothering with you, you do what makes you happy. For me, that’s baking, and for you that is dance.”
“Oh really?” he asked.
“I may or may not have enough baked goods to feed an army around my apartment from the other night.” She said with a laugh.
Danny just sat there watching her, the laughter coming from her made her even more beautiful.
“So,” she started, suddenly fascinated with the tab on his pants, “when do you go back to New York?”
“Hey,” he said, pulling her face up to his, “don’t worry about that right now, okay? Besides, I’m my own boss, so it’s really an open-ended visit.” He said with a smile.
“But I thought you didn’t like Vancouver.” Maggie replied in a mocking tone.
“Ha ha.” He said sarcastically. “I don’t. But you see, there’s this girl...” he trailed off, taking her mouth with his and stopping the need for words and explanations. All they needed right now was this.
Danny didn’t know how he ended up here, with her, but his whole life was a whirlwind; going wherever the wind took him, whenever the spirit moved him. He ended up here for a reason, he was a strong believer in that and all he could do was embrace (literally and figuratively) what was right in front of him. Despite the fact that he felt like a little girl with the amount of butterflies in his stomach, the minute Maggie so much as touched him, they built up to so much more before finally disappearing and the feeling that followed he knew as comfort.
The sound of her phone’s alarm clock woke Maggie up. She was still nestled against Danny in the studio, but pulled away trying not to wake him in order to get up. When she was almost fully up, she felt an arm yank her back down to the floor.
“Too early. More sleep.” He groaned causing Maggie to laugh.
“You can sleep. I’ve got a wedding cake to deliver. Plus, I’m also a guest, so that means a busy day.”
Danny opened his eyes to look at her. “Oh yeah? Who are you going with?”
“Umm...well, Caleb was supposed to go with me.” She replied quietly, not wanting to rock the boat.
“Oh. Okay. Well, if you want to go by yourself, I totally understand. But if you want some company…”
Maggie leaned down and kissed him soundly before resting her forehead on his, letting out a sigh. “My head is still kind of spinning.”
“Understandable.” He agreed, stroking his thumb along her jawline to her chin where he tilted it up so that he lips were even with his, kissing her.
“You’re different.”
“I…am? Sorry?”
“No, no. Not bad. Sorry. I just…I like it.”
“Yeah?” Danny asked with a smile forming on his fa
ce. “It’s all new to me, but I’m really liking being here with you. I’m kind of winging everything. Doing what feels right.”
Maggie found herself leaning in to him and taking his lips with hers. “And what feels right?” she asked, her voice dropping down an octave.
All Danny could do was groan in response, pulling her on top of him and capturing her lips for as long as he could until her alarm went off again to tell her that she really had to go this time. Maggie reluctantly got up off of Danny and gathered her stuff before heading to the door.
“Hey,” Danny called behind her, “know my offer still stands.”
Sarah’s cake only required a few finishing touches that were done within an hour. Maggie made her way home to shower and change before it was almost time to head out again. She grabbed the invitation that had been held to her fridge by a magnet and the “plus one” remark was staring her straight in the face. She reached for her phone and called a number that she hadn’t used more than once before, but knew would be a frequent one in the future.
“Hello?” Danny’s voice rang through the receiver.
“Can you be ready in twenty minutes?”
“Of course. Meet you at your studio?”
“Sure, that’d be great.”
They hung up the phone and Maggie wore a smile all the while until she saw Danny in front of her at her shop. He wore black slacks, a light blue button down shirt and a darker blue tie.
“Is this alright?” he asked, referring to his outfit when Maggie let him in.
“It’s perfect.” She said, the smile still adorning her face.
Danny helped Maggie carry the cake to her car and even during set up at the reception site. Everything went off without a hitch. The ceremony was beautiful, as was Sarah. When at the reception, they were at a table with a few other young couples around their age and everyone was just having a really great time. Of course Sarah gave her a bit of a look when she was introduced to Danny, but she told her she would fill her in later. It was a fun evening that just helped bring Maggie to the present. With everything that had been going on, her world became very small and tonight allowed her to step out of that and to be her vibrant self and to experience more of Danny. Everything was so new and had happened so fast, but she had to throw caution to the wind and jump in feet first. She was starting to realize that no matter what, she’d land on them.
After the wedding, Danny walked her to her front door and subsequently followed Maggie upstairs when invited. She kicked off her shoes upon entry and Danny stood warily at the front door.
Spending the time with her at the wedding had been amazing, but it had also put a little bit of nerves back in to him. He had told her before he was kind of winging it and that was definitely the case. Noticing his uneasiness, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing his arms to find their place around her waist.
“What happened to that cool, cocky Danny that I so loved to hate?” Maggie asked jokingly.
“He’s still there. But what you’re now getting is the ‘awkward, not sure how to act around his new girlfriend, afraid of doing something wrong when all you want to do is make out with her on that couch’ Danny.”
“Girlfriend, huh?”
“Yeah, about that...wanna?”
Maggie burst out laughing, but simply nodded. She took his hand in hers and led him over the couch. They stood in front of it while Maggie leaned forward and lightly kissed his lips.
“I like whatever Danny had the part about making out on the couch in his description.” She whispered against his lips. Feeling his lips curve in to a smile, he then pressed them to hers with force as they both fell in to the couch. He eagerly ran his tongue along Maggie’s lower lip, wanting to be allowed in. She parted her lips slightly, never breaking the kiss. Soon, their tongues were tangled with each other, both fighting for more as if they could not get enough. Danny rested his lower body gently on top of Maggie’s, as he kept his upper body elevated slightly above hers, causing his arms to flex.
Maggie ran her hands along the curves of his muscular arms, reaching his hands and using them as leverage to flip them over so that she was on top. Danny looked at her with a look of surprise for this was not what he expected from her, but before he could question it their lips were once again attached.
This is how they stayed for a very long time; discovering each other in more ways than one. Maggie couldn’t help but run her hands through his hair, tousling the product filled style until it took on a life of its own. She then found her way to the hem of his shirt, her hands running up and down his torso, digging her nails in when he found the sweet spot on her neck, or when his own roaming hands ran up her thighs, slipping them under her panties, finding the curves of her butt, pulling her in to him.
“Did I mention how much I like your short dress?”
She couldn’t help but smile as she shifted herself so that she was straddling him.
“That’s a very unladylike way to sit.” Danny joked.
“Yeah?” Maggie countered as she leaned in really close to his lips, shifting her hips just enough. “Want me to move?”
“Fuck no.” he insisted, his lips reattaching to hers.
She ran her hands up under his dress shirt once again, but he made no move to take it off. Maggie leaned back to try and work on the buttons, but he stopped her and continued to concentrate on her. Maggie gave in to him before leaning back to catch her breath.
“I have a new found goal or a bet of sorts for the night. My goal is to get your shirt off before the end of the night.”
“What?” Danny asked, not able to hold a laugh in. “Why?”
“Because I get the feeling that it’s easier to get your pants off than it is to get your shirt off. Even though your dance routine outfits prove otherwise.”
“More fun stuff to do down there…”
Laughing, Maggie leaned in to his ear. “He’s back” she purred in a sing-song tune before taking the lobe between her teeth and working her way down his neck.
After awaking from one of the best sleeps she’s had, she rolled over and realized she was still on the couch. Catching herself before she fully rolled off of it, she sat up and looked around for Danny. She saw him sitting at the small dining table having a bowl of cereal. She quietly padded across the floor and came up behind him, wrapping her hands around his neck and slowly down the front of his bare chest. Victory, she thought as she chuckled to herself, thinking back about the night before.
“Hey. I hope you don’t mind.” He said referencing the cereal.
“Of course not.” She said, kissing just below his earlobe and down his neck. Her hands continued down the front of his body, taking their time on the washboards of his abs and over his smooth skin before reaching the tops of his boxers.
“You know, I’ve had a dream like this once or twice.”
“Really?” he asked with a cocky smile. “How did it end?” he asked, looking back at her.
“Why don’t I just show you.” Maggie stated as her hands continued their journey south.
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