Chapter 10

~ Gabrielle ~

Six Years Earlier

 

 

I ran a brush through my hair for the umpteenth time, fighting the urge to grab an elastic band and pull it away from my face. Left down for my date, it hung in rolling waves past my shoulders, the light picking up the streaks of golden and honey blonde. Always in a bun, this felt foreign and heavy, irritating me whenever loose strands floated across my face. But I was determined to stick it out. I wanted to look pretty for Danny and had a feeling he would like it; a drastic change from the every day.

Despite her less than enthusiastic opinion about the date, and the fact that she considered Danny a thug, Monica had helped pick out my outfit. I had to admit the deep blue of the boat neck sweater selected by her framed my long neck and sculpted shoulders like one of my leotards, and wasn’t too revealing. The color highlighted the soft rose of my cheeks and made the color of my eyes appear greener. I’d applied minimal makeup, more than my usual nothing, and I liked how my eyes popped. The rest of my face was simply too long and thin for me to do anything about.

The only piece of my wardrobe still in question was the dark rinse hip hugging jeans. Monica assured me they fit as they should, but, tighter and lower than anything I’d ever worn, I worried my underwear would peek out every time I bent over or sat down. After some experimental tries, however, everything stayed covered with no panty shots, much to my relief.

I stood and took a deep breath. I could do this.

A knock rapped against the bathroom door. “Gabby? You okay?” Monica’s tone was concerned.

I opened it and Monica’s gaze trailed over me. She did a little jump on her toes and clapped her hands. “Omigod! You look amazing!”

“Really?” I turned back to the mirror and tugged at the hem of the sweater.

She stood behind me and I studied our reflections. It was weird that we were almost identical in appearance, even though our personalities were so different and there were a couple years between us.

“I’m serious, Gab. You look awesome. I haven’t seen you look like this in years.”

“Thanks for telling me I look like crap all the time.”

She laughed. “Well, not crap, but definitely not like this.” Her eyes softened and became thoughtful. “You shouldn’t hide behind the bun and buttoned up clothes, Gabby.” Before I could respond, she glanced down and scowled. “What are you wearing for shoes?”

“I don’t know, actually.”

“I’ve got the perfect pair. Don’t go anywhere.” She dashed out of the bathroom and returned a split second later, thrusting brown leather ankle boots with low heels into my hands. “These will look awesome.”

I frowned at them. “I don’t need to be taller, Mon, and tower over the guy.”

“You won’t. He’ll still have a couple inches on you.” Seeing the doubt on my face, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on! They’re perfect and you have nothing else to wear, admit it.”

Running out of time to come up with another option, I sat down on the side of the worn, beige bathtub and pulled the boots on. “Fine, but if I twist my ankle in these, I’m going to kill you.”

“What’s going on in here?” Our mother appeared in the doorway.

“Putting on the final touches,” Monica answered as I stood.

“Oh my.” Her hand went to her mouth. “You look beautiful, honey. He better be a special boy to deserve someone like you.”

I caught Monica’s sneer and interrupted her before she formed a retort. “Don’t say anything. Leave him alone.”

A knock sounded from the front of the apartment, and I gave myself one last critical examination in the mirror, trying to ignore the thudding of my heart and the giant ball of fiery nerves in the pit of my stomach. I hoped he didn’t expect me to eat anything.

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered.

Wobbling in the heels, I crossed the room to the door without tripping, and yanked it open. Danny stood in his trademark stance, shoulders hunched forward as he leaned against the doorjamb, wearing a black T-shirt under his black hoodie and his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. His head lifted when the door opened.

“Hi!” I cringed when it came out like a screech.

His eyes bugged before he could stop them, as he took in my appearance and straightened. I was happy to see he still stood taller than I did, even with the stupid heels.

I stepped back and opened the door further. “Come in.”

He entered and glanced around, his sharp blue eyes landing on my mother and sister, who hovered in the back hallway. He tensed when he spotted them.

I smiled and laid a hand on his arm, trying to reassure him. “Danny, this is my mom and my sister, Monica.”

He stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Wells. Hey.” He lifted his chin toward Monica. “I didn’t know there were two of you walking around.”

“Well, if you showed up…” Monica broke off when she spotted the deadly glare I shot her from behind him.

He caught her meaning and his lips twitched. “You’re right, I probably should.”

“Do you live around here, Danny?” Mom asked.

He rubbed his hand over his hair and looked down. “Oh yeah, not too far from here. On Bonaventure.”

“With your family?”

He shrugged and shoved his hands back in his pockets. “Just me and my dad.”

“What does your father do?”

“Not much.”

She faltered when it was apparent he wasn’t going to elaborate. “Oh…”

I gritted my teeth in a tight smile, the tension in the room smothering, and picked up my purse from the table, eager to get out of there.

“Are you ready?” I reached for my gray sweatshirt hanging on the hook by the front door.

Monica made a squeak of a sound and gave a quick shake of her head. She rushed to our bedroom and returned with a jean jacket in her hand.

“You left your coat in our room, Gab.” She tossed it to me.

Once Danny and I were out in the hallway and the door shut behind us, I sighed as I sagged against the wall. “I’m sorry about that.”

He smiled. “It’s only going to get worse.”

I straightened, now happy for the added height since my eyes were almost level with his. “Wait a minute! What about my condition? You agreed to it.”

He chuckled. “Baby, I agreed I wouldn’t assume what you were thinking, not what others were.”

“That’s not fair. You—”

He stopped me by grabbing my hand and pulling me closer, touching his lips gently to mine. “You look amazing, G.”

“Thanks,” I breathed. He’d caught me off guard by the kiss—my first one—and my lips tingled from the feel of his.

“You ready?”

I nodded and let him lead me down the hallway, and out the front door of the apartment building. Once outside, I regained my senses from the surprise kiss and tugged on his hand. I smiled when his eyes met mine. “Smooth change of subject, D.”

He gave one of his rare full laughs and a burst of warmth filled me.

“I thought it was Danny?” he said.

“Oh, it is, but that was a D move.”

He jerked to a stop and stared at me, unfiltered amazement crossing over his face. “You think there’s a difference?”

“I know there is. I just need to learn where one stops and the other begins.”

Danny studied me for a moment before shaking his head and turning away. “You’d be the first,” he murmured. He walked over to an old rusted red Buick parked along the curb and opened the passenger door. “Most only want to know D.”

I stopped on the opposite side of the door from him. “I want to know both, but mostly I’m interested in Danny.”

 

~ Danny ~

 

I shut the door and shook my head again as I passed in front of the car toward the driver’s side. “You’re better off not knowing either of them,” I muttered.

I drove to the restaurant, located outside of town and picked on purpose, not wanting to go anywhere we might run into anyone. I wanted us to be able to talk without interruption and without any speculative looks. People were already talking about us, and I didn’t want to give them any more ammunition. Things with her needed to stay on the down low.

I snuck a sideways glance at her sitting across from me, watching the world pass by outside her window, and wondered what lottery I’d won. No way in a million years would I have ever imagined I’d be so lucky to have this amazing looking woman beside me. Not only was she gorgeous with an incredible body, which I’d suspected was hidden beneath the clothes she wore, but she was straight and clean. She wasn’t a fucked-up mess like most of the girls I’d grown up with, who only wanted to party hard and get laid.

Nobody had any ambition to leave this godforsaken town, just like their parents. Once out of high school—if they even graduated—they would be next in line for a job at the local factory, and soon they would become alcoholics who worked during the day, drank when they got home, and got shit-faced over the weekend, only to start the process over the next week. The tradition would continue, but not for me. I was determined—no, I was unyielding in my plan—to get out of Dodge as quick as possible, and hip-hop was my ticket.

Focused on my goal, I ignored everything around me, resolute not to let anything stand in my way. I would have continued that way if one girl hadn’t wriggled her way into my field of vision, leaving me helpless to get her out.

I wasn’t an idiot; I realized Gabrielle was too good for me. She deserved so much more than I could ever give her, even if I did manage to make it big. She was smart, gorgeous, and had goals for herself. She didn’t deserve the cynical, contemptuous bastard that was me. But no matter how much I told myself to back off and stay away, I couldn’t.

I tried to be placated with the daily walks and simply being around her, refusing to talk much, not wanting to discover anything more about her; knowing if I did, I wouldn’t be able to ignore my growing attraction toward her. I’d been hard on her at first, but the coldness had served as a means to keep some distance between us. The last thing I wanted was for her to learn about me, and laugh at the pathetic and depressing reality of my life. But when she’d told me about her dad, a glimmer of hope formed that perhaps this girl from the other side of the tracks would understand me, even if only a little bit. At that point, there was no choice. I had to have her.

And now she sat in my car, looking like an angel sent down from heaven, and I was a tongue-tied loser. I didn’t know what to say and words were rarely a struggle for me. So, I went with what was forefront in my mind.

“Hey.” I reached out and tugged a strand of her hair. “I like your hair down like that.”

Her lips twitched, and she dropped her gaze down to her hands folded in her lap. “I’ve already heard from my mom and Monica how I look like crap most of the time.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” She had a teasing glint in her eye. “I’m only giving you a hard time.”

I smiled and shook my head before glancing back at her. “I told you what one of your nicknames was.”

“G?”

“No, the other one. Double G.”

“Oh, right. What does that mean? It sounds like a bra size.”

I chuckled. “Nah, it’s not a bra size. Gorgeous G.”

She gave me a big smile as the color rose in her cheeks. I loved it when she blushed.

“So, where did you get the car?” she asked, trying to deflect the attention from her. “I didn’t know you had one.”

“I’ve been working on it at the garage and finally got it running. It’s been dead for a while, but I was able to save up the money to buy the spare parts I needed.”

“I wish I could get a car.”

“You don’t need one. I can take you wherever you need to go.”

She stared at me before shaking her head. “You can’t take me everywhere.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I don’t know. It doesn’t seem reasonable.”

“I don’t see a problem with it.”

I parked the car in a large lot and walked around to open her door. Once inside, we followed the hostess to a blood red vinyl booth in a corner of the dark Italian restaurant. The dining room was dim, with tea lights in red plastic bubble candle holders lighting each table, and the heavy scent of garlic, onions, and tomatoes filled the air. Everyone spoke in hushed tones, and quiet operatic music played in the background from speakers hung here and there around the room.

“I hope you like Italian food,” I said as we studied the menu.

“Yeah, I do. It’s great.”

“I figured you can’t go wrong, but you never know…” I stopped, aware I was chattering from nerves, which I never did. This girl had thrown me off.

“Its fine, Danny. Really.”

“Sorry.” I gave her a sheepish grin. “You got me nervous, G.”

“You? I’m sweating bullets over here.” She lifted her menu and it trembled.

I reached across the table and, taking one of her hands, threaded my fingers through hers and squeezed. “You’re perfect. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“And neither do you.”

We smiled at each other before laughing, which helped the nerves to fall away. After placing our orders with the waitress, silence fell between us, neither of us knowing where to begin.

“Tell me about your songs,” she eventually said. “What do you rap about?”

“Anything and everything.”

“Yeah, but what inspires you?”

I paused, taking a moment to formulate my answer because I was distracted by my chest expanding and filling with gratitude at her genuine interest. I couldn’t recall the last time anyone took the time to ask, or was curious about me. “Life. My life. The things I see and go through. The people I meet.” I paused, considering, and then cleared my throat. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s difficult for me to just…talk about things, but I find if I can jot down phrases, a rhyme or whatever, and put a mean mix to it, it all comes pouring out.”

“I’m impressed. There’s no way I’d be able to rap anything. My mouth and my brain don’t work that quickly.” She laughed, the soft sound doing weird things to my stomach.

“I’d never be able to dance on my toes.”

“I could teach you.”

“Hell, no. I’ll leave the dancing to you. So, that’s what you want to do, huh? Dance?”

“Yeah, I hope to make it into Juilliard.”

“What’s that? Some sort of dance school?” She nodded. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“If I don’t get a scholarship, then I won’t be able to afford it. I may not even get in.”

“Again, why wouldn’t you?”

“I may not be good enough.”

I scoffed. “I doubt that.”

“How would you know? You’ve never seen me dance.”

“I know because I know. I can see your passion for it. That’s what counts.”

She smiled at me, and at that moment, I wanted to do whatever she asked of me, give her everything she desired. “You’re going to make it big, aren’t you, D?”

I smiled at her over the steaming plate of pasta the server placed on the table between us. “That’s the plan, G.”

And right then, I hoped she might become part of it.