Wanting to Remember,Trying to Forget(9)
Despite his words, she felt his arms tighten around her, as if he was ensuring she did not take him too seriously.
“So you think all these women are just waiting to jump you?”
“Of course. Statistics don’t lie, Danny. They probably saw the one dimple and now they know what I’m packing beneath these well-tailored trousers.”
Her one eyebrow shot up and her mouth dropped slightly. “That is still the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He smiled the same way he did every time she said those words and once again, she felt her stomach tighten. Every now and then, he would look at her like that and everything would stop making sense. She didn’t want to question it, didn’t want to think too much about it. She didn’t want anything to distract from this moment, a moment of feeling sheer bliss in his arms.
Charlie pressed a button on Max’s phone to stop recording. Another asshole idea. Max now had yet another video of the two of them together that he would obsess over. He slipped the phone into his pocket when he saw Amber strolling towards him. “Hey,” he said. “You wanna get some dessert?”
“Sure.” She brushed her auburn hair out of face. “But if you try to grab my ass, I will slap the crap out of you.”
“Deal.” He moved between two tables to get to the aisle and she walked with him to the dessert trays that were laid out in the front of the room. He looked to the dance floor, where Danny and Max were still giggling as they slow danced. “He’s got it bad for that girl. He’s so deep in the friend-zone, I don’t think he knows how to get back to the mainland. The saddest part about all of it is that she is never going to feel the same way.”
Amber stopped walking to glance over at them as well. “See the way she’s looking at him?” She pulled her cell phone out and took a picture of the two of them before turning back to Charlie. “She already feels it. She just hasn’t realized it yet.”
* * *
The phone rang and there was a knock at the door at the same time. Danny set down her magazine and went to the door, while Max ceased plugging in the video game console and answered the phone.
“Hi, mom,” Max greeted.
“Oh, it’s you,” Danny said glumly. She stepped aside and allowed Charlie to enter.
“Well, it’s nice to see you, too,” Charlie replied with fake enthusiasm.
Danny walked back to the sofa and resumed reading her fashion magazine.
“So,” Charlie began, taking a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, “have you sacrificed any small children lately?”
“Just the little innocent one I found lost and alone at the grocery store yesterday. You still downloading illegal porn, Charlie?” she asked idly, not lifting her head from the magazine.
Charlie glanced at her with a look of sheer arrogance. “A guy like me doesn’t need porn when the real thing is so easily accessible.”
Danny flipped over another page. “Yes, and I’m sure the biggest turn on for any woman you date is the fact that you still live with your mother. That’s extremely sexy, by any standard, and what makes you even sexier is how old you look. Women love sugar daddies. How old are you now anyway? Forty-five?” Danny tried her hardest to hold back a smile. The worst imaginable thing anyone could say to Charlie was to make a comment about his age. He hated the fact that he was turning gray prematurely.
“I look mature,” he corrected firmly.
“You look old.”
“Mature!”
“Old!”
“Mature!”
“Break it up, guys,” Max intervened, handing Danny the portable phone. “My mom wants to speak to you.”
Danny stood up and took the phone. “Old,” she said before she lifted it to her ear. “Hey, Mommy Jess. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Max’s mom replied. “Is my boy taking care of you?”
“Yes, he’s taking really good care of me.”
“That’s good, and how’s work? Not too stressful, I hope.”
“No. Lauren and I want to branch out and we’re looking into publishing self-help books and magazines, but it’s still in the pipeline. We’ve had some meetings and it looks like the idea is finally beginning to take shape.”
“That’s great, Danny. I’m sure you’ll make it a success.”
“And how are the grandkids?”
“Keeping me busy,” Mommy Jess answered with an exhausted breath. “But five isn’t enough. Just waiting for Max’s little one now. So…” She dragged the word and Danny knew exactly what was coming next, “…will you two be engaged by the time you come up for Christmas this year?”
Danny smiled. Max’s mother was under the absurd notion that they were going to get married one day. That question was asked at least once a month. She had spent the past six Christmases at the Shepard’s and had become well acquainted with his parents, three brothers and nutty sister Jordan.
They were a loving family and were it not for the fact that she and Max were completely platonic, she would not mind at all marrying into his family. They had welcomed her and Jake so warmly into their home and being with them last year—the first year she had spent Christmas without Jake—had made all the difference in the world.
“Well, Max hasn’t proposed yet,” Danny said, casting him a playful glance.
“Is she hassling you again?” He leaned over her shoulder and shouted into the phone. “Would you give it up, Mom? Danny and I are just friends.”
Danny tilted the receiver so they could both share in the conversation.
“Oh, nonsense, Max,” his mom said. “Leo and Aries are very compatible in friendship and everything else.”
He rolled his eyes. “You gotta stop obsessing over star signs, Ma.”
“It’s the truth. I think you two are perfect for each other and besides, everyone knows how you feel—”
Max ripped the receiver out of Danny’s hand before his mother finished her sentence, leaving her staring at him in bewilderment.
“Mom,” Max said desperately from between clenched teeth, “just drop it.”
He moved to the corner of the room and lowered his voice so he could not be overheard. Danny continued watching him and she was pretty sure that by the way his lips moved he mentioned something about Richard and then this look came over his face, as though the conversation had stirred a deep-rooted sadness within him. “It’s not up to me,” she heard him say softly. He was quiet for a while before he spoke again. “Okay. I love you, too. Bye.” He ended the call and looked at her. “I’m sorry about that.” He smiled, but the sadness was still encompassed in his eyes. “She’s crazy. I don’t think she’s ever gonna let up on that idea.”
“Can we get on with it?” Charlie asked impatiently.
Max returned to the console and plugged in the controls. Charlie took a purely supervisory role in this task and Danny returned to the sofa feeling very unsettled. She had the same weird feeling she had when Richard had made that comment about Max having a crush on her. She had blamed the butterflies in her tummy on Richard but Richard wasn’t here now. And he was supposed to be. He was over an hour late for the date they had planned.
She wanted to be out with him right now, not watching two nerds battle it out without actual fists, not feeling all weird over what Mommy Jess had said. She wanted to be with the man she loved and then things would make sense again.
She lifted the magazine and tried with great difficulty to focus on the article she was reading. Her eyes swept over the words, but her brain refused to interpret what she read. It seemed to be preoccupied with other things.
She glanced up every few minutes to look at Max furiously thumbing the controls. He had a wide grin on his face—seemingly because he was kicking the crap out of Paul Phoenix using Jin Kazama—and that grin made the dimple on his left cheek more prominent. Just watching him as he nudged Charlie and watching him laugh made her feel…
She didn’t know what it was, but it definitely made her feel uncomfortable. She needed to get out of there. She stood up and looked at them. “You guys want anything from the kitchen?”
“Coke for me please,” Max said, his eyes never leaving the screen.
“Age rejuvenation spritzer for you, Charlie?” she offered with fake sweetness.
“Now what did I do to you?” Charlie tossed his controls on the floor and stood up. “I’m just trying to enjoy my Saturday, playing Tekken with my friend and you have to go and throw around comments like that.”
“Calm down, Charlie,” Max said, tugging his arm so he would sit down again.
“My friend,” Danny corrected. “He was my friend before he was yours.”
Max snickered and shook his head. This was why he generally tried to avoid them mixing company.
“Oh, that’s mature!” Charlie shouted. “That’s really mature. You know what? Why don’t you just toddle your little ass back to hell? Hitler’s missing you.”
“You wanna talk about maturity, grandpa? Video games are—”
“Grandpa? Grandpa!” Charlie’s breathing elevated and his face started turning red. “I have never sucker punched a woman in my life, but you are asking for it.”