Chapter Fifteen
Tao’s parents’ house was on a compound and flanked by two identical-looking two-story homes, both of which were occupied by his extended family. There was always someone around who claimed to be a cousin of Tao’s, but it was hard to know if they were first cousins, second cousins, or cousins in name only. Needless to say, this family rolled deep. Which meant, by the time Danny and I arrived at the house, the long driveway was filled with cars.
“They should have their own valet,”
I mused as we passed by.
Danny drove around until he found a space conveniently across the street, in another driveway.
“Danny. You can’t park here.”
“Yes, I can,”
he said as he pulled up the brake. His confidence was alarming. Who parked at strangers’ houses?
“Do you know who lives here?”
“Yeah. Me.”
Danny turned off the engine. “Why do you think I have Tao’s number? I see him every time his family has a party, which is about every other weekend.”
I peered out of the windshield. It was dark, so I couldn’t see much of the bungalow. “It’s nice. When did you move in?”
“Last year, after the divorce. I thought it would be nice to move back to Alhambra. I always liked living here.”
Danny’s voice was wistful, making me wonder if I played any part in his nostalgia. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for when I glanced over at him. Some sort of confirmation that it was good before it went bad?
With his head rested back, Danny met my eyes and held my gaze with a gentle intensity, stretching this moment. It warped my sense of time, as if it wasn’t that long ago when we used to sit this close together in the library.
Bass boomed from Tao’s, breaking our spell. “Sounds like the party’s getting started.”
I unbuckled my seat belt. “We should—”
“Wait,”
Danny covered my hand, stopping me from jumping out of the car. “Do you mind if I change really quick? Ever since the cactus incident, my suit feels itchy. I want to wash up a little.”
“Yeah, of course. It’s your house!”
I announced as if he didn’t know. It was like the light physical contact made all the blood in my body rush to my hand and left nothing for my brain.
Danny’s place was nice and cozy. The smell of a fresh coat of paint hung in the air. It must’ve been renovated recently. The finishes made it look like a new house, but the creak of the hardwood floors gave away its age.
“Have a seat,”
Danny said. “I’ll be right out.”
“Take your time,”
I said as Danny disappeared into the hallway. I took off my jacket and slung it over my arm as I browsed around.
Hanging over the fireplace were three skateboard decks without wheels, like panels to display an image of the anime Cowboy Bebop. Danny was such a fan of the show that he had burned a copy of the series for me. I’d only gotten around to watching three or four episodes before we graduated. When the live-action version came out, I wondered if he’d seen it.
Picture frames perched on the mantel. One was of his mom and his stepdad holding a big jackfruit in a Vietnamese outdoor market. In another, more recent photo, Danny was surrounded by a group of friends, all of them holding snowboards on a mountain. There were a couple more pictures with these same people—one at a group dinner and another at the wedding of one of the couples.
“What are you doing?”
Danny’s voice startled me. I was so shocked that my hand gripped the frame and I couldn’t put it down. I stood there, frozen and useless, watching Danny, who’d changed into a casual pair of slacks and a shirt that was tragically in the process of getting buttoned. “Snooping around?”
“Uh-huh,”
I said, momentarily dumbstruck with lust.
A small, amused smile appeared on Danny’s face as he crossed the room to look at the picture in my hand. “Those are my cousins. We went to Mammoth last year.”
“You guys are close,”
I stated. It was apparent by the grins on their faces.
“We grew up together before I came to California.”
Before California? “Where did you live before?”
“Houston.”
Right. He mentioned that his mom relocated there to be near family. I repeated this fact a few more times in my head before I filed it away with the other new things I was learning about Danny.
He pushed his sleeves up before he took the frame from me and placed it back at its original spot. “We try to see each other once a year, usually around the holidays.”
“That’s nice.”
I willed my eyes not to follow his forearms, though his face wasn’t helping my hormones either. “You’ve done well for yourself. You should be proud.”
“I learned from the best.”
I pointed at myself to confirm he was referring to me. Danny smirked. “Who else would I be thinking of?”
“You don’t need to flatter me while I’m complimenting you,”
I said. “Don’t lie either. You slept through most of our tutoring sessions.”
“I was listening. I liked the sound of your voice. I still do.”
My ears perked up. They were surely red by now.
“I watched how you pushed yourself to keep going, and I emulated that, except for the planner. I never remembered to write in mine.”
“All right. That was very nice to hear,”
I admitted, “but if you feel bad for me—”
Danny turned, facing me with his clear eyes. “Why would I feel bad for you? All I ever wanted was for you to notice me.”
That was the most wonderful and infuriating thing he’d ever said to me. I hit both of my hands against his chest. “Why didn’t you ever say so?”
“Because I was stupid?”
Danny grabbed both of my hands and pressed a kiss on my palms, sending heat through my body. “And I assumed if you wanted me, you’d tell me. When you wanted something, you went after it.”
That applied to assignments, not crushes. “But what about the time you kissed me and then you asked me to forget about it?”
Elevens appeared between Danny’s eyebrows as he thought. “You pushed me away and ran me out of your house, Rachel. I thought you hated me for taking your first kiss.”
I couldn’t help laughing at our tragic misunderstanding. It was stunning, really. “My parents had come home! We were about to get caught.”
Danny’s face scrunched up even more. “I don’t remember that. I was probably too worried about kissing you and not fucking things up.”
Danny slipped my jacket from my arm and draped it over the armrest of his couch. Then he placed my arms over his shoulders, bringing us together until his temple met mine. “Did I mention I’m stupid?”
“No, you’re not.”
Danny knew exactly what he was doing when he ran his hand down the nape of my neck, then followed the shiver down my spine. My skin grew hot to the touch like I’d been basking in the sun. “You didn’t fuck up the kiss either. It made my heart sick when you took it back.”
“Can I make it up to you?”
Danny asked, leaning dangerously close.
“How do you plan to do that?”
“How about ‘I’m sorry’ to start? Can you forgive me for getting tongue-tied if I tell you I had a hopeless crush on you? Because I did. And if that’s not enough”—Danny dropped a kiss on my shoulder—“I have other ideas.”
“I’m listening.”
I didn’t need to be persuaded, but Danny could have the floor. The couch or the dining table too, if he wanted.
Danny held my face as we kissed like he was making sure I never forgot how good this felt. His desire was apparent, and it was tempting to run my palm over the bulge in his pants. His arms circled around my waist as he dropped a kiss on my collarbone. His mouth traveled lower, pressing another kiss close to the lace trim of my camisole. If he was going to keep making his way down, my jelly legs weren’t going to cooperate.
“Do you want to take this somewhere else?”
Danny asked, his eyes dark and wild. “Somewhere with no pictures of my family staring at me?”
I couldn’t help belly-laughing as he dragged me into the hallway. Before I could ask which room was his bedroom, Danny had my back against a wall and was kissing me, fierce and at times impatient. I held his face to try to slow him down when his hand slipped under my camisole. I moaned as his thumb circled my nipple.
“You’ve gotten better at this,”
I said, arching into his touch.
Danny buried his head in the crook of my neck, pressing a smile into my skin. “Do I get a ‘Most Improved’ Award?”
I was happy to give him validation in other ways, but my phone rudely interrupted us.
“Ignore it.”
I reached into my pocket and haphazardly pressed buttons until the trilling stopped. I desperately kissed Danny, trying to regain the lost momentum.
“Uh, Rachel?”
It was Nat’s voice, coming from my pants pocket. I broke away from Danny, pushing him until we were an arm’s length apart. “What am I hearing?”
To Danny’s dismay, I whipped out my phone and put it under my ear. “Hey!”
I blew past Nat’s question and pretended I didn’t hear it. “What’s up?”
“I’m in front of Tao’s,”
she replied, slow and skeptical. “Are you here?”
I winced as I palmed my forehead. “I’m on my way,”
I forced myself to say. I couldn’t look Danny in the eye as his face fell. “Two minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
I ended the call and made sure to lock my screen before I slipped it back in my pocket. Danny’s head lolled back as he stared at the ceiling. “You couldn’t tell her there was a change in plans?”
“I can’t leave her hanging.”
I straightened my clothes and went back to the living room. “She’s technically my boss, and she knows when I lie.”
As much as I hated to admit it, it was probably best to pause and think about this. It was so tempting to forget everything for a second and let myself feel good (because damn, it felt good), but I had no idea what this was leading to. My life was in shambles, and I didn’t know how Danny fit in the mix.
I shuffled on my blazer as Danny fixed his clothes and hair. I grabbed his face, angling it until he looked me in the eye.
“To be continued, okay?”
I planted a kiss on his lips as a promise. “We’ll make a quick appearance.”
Danny pouted as he grabbed his jacket. “Whatever you say.”
April 2003
Danny didn’t make it easy for me to apologize. It had been a few days since we argued over our essay grades. He brushed me off at school and he wasn’t online. I thought it’d be odd if I showed up at the mall out of the blue, so I resorted to writing a note.
“Sorry for being a dick. I’m happy that you got an A. I really am. Forgive me?”
I tore the sheet from my notebook and ran my thumbnail across the creased edges, folding it into a neat rectangle. For a final touch, I drew an arrow on the pull tab with my gel pen and waited until passing period to drop it in Danny’s locker.
I turned the corner and stopped. Danny was behind his locker door, putting his books away. I couldn’t leave this note when he was there. I hid it in my backpack seconds before his locker door slammed shut.
“Rach.”
Danny stood there, totally cool. Well, I could do that too.
“Oh hey. Didn’t see you there.”
I fixed my glasses, acting natural, as one does after they’ve kissed their friend and then had a big fight.
“I was about to find you.”
“You were?”
Could my voice get any higher?
“Yeah.”
Danny waved me over. “Let’s, uh, walk and talk.”
I had no idea where we were going. Danny was leading us to the science quad by the back of the campus, but his fourth-period class was economics. “What did you want to talk about?”
I swallowed to keep down the pressure building in my chest. I still liked Danny, but I’d blown my chances when I started that fight. How would I begin to explain all of that? Maybe I should read him the note.
Danny’s head turned left, then right. “Do you trust me?”
“Yeah,”
I answered as swift as the breeze. Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but I knew that deep down Danny was a good person.
“Good. Just follow my directions.”
“O . . . kay . . . ,”
I said, as we passed the last classroom. Where was he taking me? No one ever came to this side of campus, except for the kids who smoked during lunch.
Danny grabbed my wrist. “Run!”
I tried to keep up. I was athletic, but Danny ran fast. “What the fuck, Danny? You’re making me ditch class?!”
There goes my perfect attendance record!
Danny shushed me. “Your grades are so high, Rach. You can spare a day off.”
We piled into his car. I buckled my seat belt and then ducked my head. “Where are we going?”
Danny had a mischievous smile as he turned on the engine. “Anywhere you want.”