29. Chapter 29
Dane
Thankfully, Daria slept in. I, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to calm down enough to rest. Every time I closed my eyes, the image of Laura charging toward Daria with the knife raised forced them back open.
Even now that it’s hours later and we’re headed to my parents’ for breakfast, I still can’t seem to keep my heart from racing.
Lingering fear from what happened, gratefulness that she’s okay, and shock from the events that played out afterward all mingle together, making it hard to settle down.
Not to mention the way she bared her emotions to me hours earlier.
Daria’s never been so honest, so completely forthcoming about her past before.
I just hope I didn’t push too far, too fast with all the therapy talk.
“You’re going to bust that steering wheel into tiny little pieces if you grip it any harder.” I whip my head toward Daria, who smiles softly. “Nervous?”
“No.” I purposely let go of the steering wheel and rake a hand through my grimy hair. I needed to take a shower this morning, but even that wasn’t happening. The thought of being incapacitated while Daria was in the apartment alone made me rethink every single step of my morning routine.
Skipping my necessary rituals has me feeling more out of sync than I have in years. My eye twitches just thinking about it.
“You sure?” she asks, playfulness lining her tone.
“Because you seem a little like a guitar string that’s been pulled too taut.
I feel like if I pick at you just right, you’ll snap.
” A light touch skims my forearm, and I jerk away, swerving into the middle of the road. “See? We could’ve died just then.”
“I’m fine,” I insist. “I just...haven’t quite recovered from last night’s close call.”
Silence fills the car until she says, “You sure it doesn’t have to do with bringing the girl you’re living with home to meet your mom?”
I send her a reprimanding look. “We won’t be living together come Monday. And no, it’s not that. Promise.”
She sighs. “All right. If you say so.”
The disbelief in her voice has me reaching out to grab her hand. Gently, I bring it to my lips and kiss her fingers, careful to keep my eyes on the road. “D, I’m ready to bring you home to my parents. As my girlfriend.”
I chance a quick look at her and can’t help but smile when a tinge of pink dusts the tops of her cheeks.
“Are you ready?” I ask, hoping she is. I mean, I wasn’t the one who shouted to my entire family that we’re dating, but something tells me her reasoning for doing so had more to do with the overwhelm of the moment than me.
“I think so.” The hesitation in her voice prompts me to bring her knuckles to my lips again.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, then skim my lips along her skin. “What about us being a couple worries you?” Aside from everything you told me last night .
Another long sigh drains from her. “I guess I’m just concerned that they’ll put unnecessary pressure on us, you know?” I wait, giving her space to open up more if that’s what she wants. When we turn onto my parents’ street, she shifts to face me.
“I do want to be with you, Dane. But as I’ve already told you, I’m not.
..I’m not sure getting into another serious relationship is for me.
I’m willing to take us a day at a time, but beyond that—” She lifts one shoulder.
“I just can’t say. I’m scared that your mom will be planning our wedding before I’m ready to say I do . ”
Her candidness in the light of day is refreshing. I thought that maybe after opening up last night, she’d emotionally retreat. It’s easier to confess hard things in the dark. But my confidence in her, in her feelings for me, swells along with my rapidly beating heart.
“Like, I legit just admitted I have feelings for you a week ago,” she says with a little laugh. “I’m not ready to dance down the aisle to our love song yet.”
A smile teases at the corner of my mouth. “Which one is ours?”
She shakes her head, laughing again. “You’re ridiculous.” But she doesn’t deny it, which tells me she’s already got one picked out. I’d be fist-pumping the air if she wasn’t here to witness it.
I pull into my parents’ driveway and park the car. When I lean toward Daria, the genuine worry in her eyes gives me pause.
“Listen,” I say, carefully choosing my next words. “I know you’re concerned about my family. If I’m honest, same.” She chuckles, and I smile. “But our relationship isn’t about what they want. It’s about you and me. What’s best for us .”
I press forward, and she doesn’t retreat, allowing me access to her beautiful, parted lips. I taste and tease her only long enough to make her breath catch. “We’ll take things slow,” I murmur before kissing her again. “You’ll be moved out next week, and we’ll go on a proper date.”
She grips the back of my neck and tugs me closer. “Promise?”
I nod, nudging her nose with mine. “Promise. And then we’ll go as slow as you want. No promises, no declarations. We’ll just get to know each other better and have some fun with it.” With a quick kiss to her nose, I pull back and pray she can’t read the thoughts running through my head.
I know Daria well enough to want to pursue this with all I’ve got. Sure, there are things in her past we haven’t discussed, and more things we may have to work through and address when the time comes. But I feel like we’ve already made so much progress in such a short period of time.
And I love who she is as a person. Every snarky, guarded, broken, beautiful facet of who she is. And I think if she were truly honest with herself, she could admit that she knows what makes me tick in all the right and wrong ways, too.
Living with someone brings those things to the surface way quicker than if we’d dated first. There was no putting my best foot forward with her.
It was a giant game of trial and error from day one.
Somehow, it brought us closer together, not further apart, and for that, I’ll always be grateful to God for giving me the idea to ask her to move in.
“Okay,” she breathes. “We’ll take it slow.”
“Ready to do this, then?”
She nods, prompting me to exit my car and get the door for her.
This time, she waits for me and allows me to lead her out by her hand.
It takes all my strength not to pull her closer and brush my lips down the side of her neck.
The way she’s softening to me, to us, astronomically heightens my desire for her.
Instead of dragging her close, I direct her to my parents’ front door. We don’t even get to ring the bell before Jamie whips it open with a smile.
“Good morning!” she chimes. “You guys are late.” Her eyes dart to mine and widen as if to scold me.
“Daria needed some extra sleep.”
“Sorry,” D murmurs, moving forward to wrap Jamie in a hug. “Have they been peppering you with questions?” she asks quietly.
“More like peppering Logan with questions.” When Jamie steps back, she smirks. “Apparently, all the heat has now fallen to the only single brother left.”
Satisfaction has a grin tugging at my mouth. “Hm. You don’t say.”
As soon as we’re seated around the table, Logan’s foul mood ripples off him in angry waves. “Took you long enough,” he grumbles, picking up his fork.
“I’m sorry,” I say mockingly. “Were you attacked by a knife-wielding crazy person last night?” When his dark gaze flicks to mine, I finish with “Didn’t think so,” and smile.
“That’s enough, boys,” Mom chides. “Let us pray.”
As always, each of us grabs the hand of the person next to us. I’m between Daria and Mom, while Parker, Jamie, and Logan sit across the table. Dad, of course, holds up the end of the table like he does at every meal, and says grace.
Almost as soon as the “amen” leaves his lips, Mom starts in. “So, Dane,” she croons, nonchalantly slicing into a piece of sausage. “When did you and Daria start...dating?”
Daria stiffens. As inconspicuously as possible, I rest my hand on her thigh to reassure her. “It’s only been about a week since we admitted our feelings to one another.”
Mom’s eyebrows fly up. “I see. And that came about how exactly?”
Daria rests her hand over top of mine and squeezes, silently telling me she’s got this. For the next few minutes, she fills everyone at the table in on how our relationship started. She even brings up the night we met, which I was not at all expecting.
“Looking back on it now,” she says, meeting my eyes, “I think maybe Laura hacked into his phone and deleted the text.”
A lightbulb blinks to life in my brain. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? And how did Daria find out about that? I’ve tried to black out so much from that time period with Laura, her possibly hacking my phone was a detail I’d nearly forgotten.
Daria must see the confusion on my face because she says, “Max told me about what she did when he came to pick up your car to get detailed.”
“I don’t know why, but…I hadn’t even considered that possibility.” Anger rushes in, replacing my previous fear and frustration. “I’m going to the police station after this and telling them everything. If she doesn’t get prosecuted, what’s to stop her from doing this again to someone else?”
“Or you.” Daria’s gaze holds mine. “Again.”
A shiver races down my spine at the thought of her ever being put in harm’s way again because of me. “I’ll give them all the evidence I can. Maybe this time Max will testify.”
“As he should,” Mom says before taking a sip of her orange juice. “Speaking of Max, when is that boy going to settle down? He’s handsome, charming. Pretty enough that he could've walked the runway with you last night.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Mom, not everyone wants to get married. I know this is hard for you to believe, but some people actually like being single.”
“Bah.” She waves a hand in the air, dismissing my claim. “You and your spoiled generation.”
I smirk, and Daria squeezes my hand under the table. She’s trying so hard not to laugh; I can feel it.
Parker knocks a knuckle on the table, drawing all our attention. Now that Dane’s drama is over with , he signs before pointedly looking at Logan, time to get back to Logan’s issues. He shoots me a look that’s full of mischief.
I grin, and add, “Yeah, Logan. What’s with you? You're not one of those spoiled people who enjoys your singleness, are you ?” There’s a hefty dose of mocking censure in my tone that I know he feels by the way he grinds his teeth.
“I’m sure Logan is just waiting for the right girl,” Jamie says, ever the peacemaker. My older brother sends her a small, encouraging smile.
“It takes some of us longer than others to realize we want love in our lives.” Daria’s softly spoken statement echoes loudly in my mind. I adjust to face her fully.
“And do you?” I ask. “Want love in your life?” I shamelessly put emphasis on that word. Despite the way everyone stares at us, I don’t take my eyes off her. The answer to this question means more to me than I care to admit.
“I think I’m realizing that...I do.” Her eyes sparkle with clarity and something more. Something like hope.
“ Dragoste !” Mom trills, hands the air. “My babies are falling in love!”
I shake my head and go back to my food, while Parker and Jamie stare at each other and giggle. Daria doesn’t speak, but she leans in close to my side for the rest of the meal. And that gesture alone tells me all I need to know about where we’re headed.
She said love , my heart whispers. But my brain pulls on the reins and begs me to take things slow. Who knows what could happen if I rush things before she’s ready?