Chapter 24

Danielle returned a few minutes later. “I’m sorry I took so long,” she said. “Someone locked me in the ladies’ room.”

I nodded and helped her with her chair, but I didn’t let on about who I suspected. If I didn’t want anyone making assumptions about me, I had to do the same.

Danielle looked at our food. “How long has the food been here?”

I shrugged and said, “A little while. I thought it would be rude to eat without you.”

She smiled. “Well, I’m here now. Dig in.”

There really wasn’t much to dig in to. The food looked more like an attempt at art than a meal, but that didn’t stop me from gobbling it down. Danielle must have been pretty hungry too because she was done about two bites after I was.

She finished her wine and I finished my tea. William stopped by to ask if we wanted dessert, but I declined. I really couldn’t afford what I’d already eaten.

Danielle said, “No thank you, I’m good too, and could you let Jana know we’re heading up to my room?”

He nodded and walked away.

We stood up and even though I had stood up for myself with Jana and her hostility, I found myself nervous with Danielle again. She reached out and took my hand and then we headed toward the main lobby of the hotel.

“Hang on a sec,” I said, spotting the cashier. I pulled out the little ticket Jana gave me along with my wallet.

“What are you doing?” Danielle asked, looking at the ticket.

“Paying my tab,” I said, handing the bill over to the cashier.

“I thought our meals were on the house,” Danielle said.

I didn’t want to look at her or answer. I also didn’t want Danielle getting mad at Jana. I finished my transaction with the cashier and turned back to Danielle, tucking my wallet into my slacks. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s taken care of.”

She studied my face for a moment. “What happened while I was gone?”

I shrugged. “Nothing much.”

She shook her head. “Huh-uh. That’s not an answer, Seth. I want to know what happened.”

I looked away from her eyes, searching for a diplomatic answer. The best I could come up with was, “Jana and I had a slight disagreement about your welfare.”

Danielle’s eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms under her breasts and her lips pressed together into a thin line. She didn’t have to say a word for me to understand that I hadn’t told her enough.

I shook my head. “It’s taken care of, really. Once she understood that I wasn’t just trying to take advantage of you, she calmed down.”

“Taking advantage of me?!?” Her eyes widened and she looked past me.

I reached out and snatched her arm when she tried to go looking for Jana. “Danielle, stop. Listen.”

She turned on me. “Don’t tell me what to do, Seth.”

“I won’t if you’ll listen.” I glanced sideways at the cashier. No one else was around but she was watching us, absorbing our every word. I was fairly certain rumor of our little talk would make it back to Jana’s ears whether she was into gossip or not.

Danielle glared at me. It hurt to see, but I knew this might happen. She looked at the cashier too. “Could you give us a moment?”

The cashier nodded and walked away. The damage was done though. I could only hope to have Danielle calmed down by the time Jana found us.

With a lowered voice, in case someone else was within earshot, I said, “Jana’s concerned for you, Danielle. She was just watching out for you. You’re her friend.” I wasn’t sure how much Danielle really knew about Jana’s past, but if they shared as much with each other as Danielle and Jordan did, then it was a safe bet. “You know how little trust she has in men. She saw me as a potential threat and I had to prove that I wasn’t.”

Danielle studied my face. “How?”

I waved at the cashier’s stand. “By paying for my own meal for starters. After that, we sat down and talked.”

“You’re leaving something out,” Danielle said.

I nodded but said, “It’s not important. What’s important is that she and I agree that Roger was bad for you and you should leave him.” I shrugged then. “And I don’t think she understands what you see in men.”

Danielle stood there and thought about it for a minute. I thought furiously too and remembered. “Jana said she’d be up later. You’ll have a chance to ask her your questions.” I didn’t know how else to put what I was about to say, so I just said it. “And I can leave for a while if you want to talk to her alone.”

Danielle shook her head. “No. Thank you though. She’ll just have to get used to the idea that I like men.”

I turned and held out my elbow for her to hook her hand through. “Then how about we go up to your room, relax a little and maybe watch TV?”

Her brows furrowed. “You don’t really want to watch TV, do you?”

I shrugged. “I’m open to suggestions.”

“Good, because TV is boring and this dress may look good but isn’t all that comfortable.” She hooked her arm through mine and we left for the elevators.

The elevator ride and walk to our room was quiet and uneventful. Once we were in the room with the door shut, Danielle turned to me and asked. “Why weren’t you mad?”

At first, I didn’t know what she was referring to, but I quickly made the connection and shrugged. “There wasn’t a reason to be mad. Jana was watching out for you and I understood that.” Of course, I didn’t say anything about my suspicions that Jana was reluctantly attracted to me and attempted to get me thrown out so she wouldn’t give in to those feelings. If it was true.

“You didn’t think the situation was the same as at home?” Danielle asked.

I thought about that for a moment. “She didn’t act holier-than-thou like everyone at home did. She was simply looking out for you. If I had shown up with Jordan instead, I don’t think she would have gone big sister on me.”

Danielle’s eyebrows rose. “Big sister?”

I nodded. “I have two older sisters, Alyssa and Faith. Anytime anything happened to Faith, Alyssa would automatically blame me, even if I wasn’t anywhere around.”

Danielle stifled a giggle. “What? Like the Butterfly Effect?”

I shrugged. “I guess. You’d have to ask Alyssa to be sure.” I thought about Jana’s attempt to have me thrown out again and remembered the detail I only noticed before she left for the kitchens. Another idea blossomed. “You know, there is one other reason Jana was so defensive of you.”

“What’s that?” Danielle asked.

I looked at her. “What’s the possibility that she’s ... jealous?”

Danielle pulled back a touch and blinked at me. “Jana? Jealous? Of what?”

I pulled Danielle to me and squeezed her waist. I didn’t need to do anything other than let her have the time to figure it out.

She smiled and hooked her arms over my shoulders. “I seriously doubt she really wants a full-fledged relationship with me.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “What about her comment about taking care of you?”

She thought some more, the small smile on her face faded away. She shook her head. “That couldn’t be it.” She continued thinking. “I’ve always known she only likes women but she’s never come onto me before.”

I stood there, not sure what to say. I remembered from high school how girls would hang out in groups and didn’t have any problems hugging or touching, no matter the reason. “Maybe it wasn’t as direct as you thought. Maybe you didn’t want to think about it and just accepted it as something a friend would say or do.”

Danielle looked up with a mixed expression of worry and confusion. “If that’s true, then what’ll I do?”

I might have been able to formulate a reasonable explanation, but I was completely at a loss for offering advice. There was one detail Danielle had to figure out before she could make a decision though. “What do you want to do?”

She pulled out of my embrace and walked over to the couch. I stood in front of the door and watched her pace for a moment. She finally dropped her hands and stopped. Her eyes were a touch wide and she licked her lips. “I don’t know what I want to do about Jana.” She met my eyes. “I’m not going to kick you out when she gets here though.”

Again, I felt that fluttery feeling in my stomach. I walked over to her. “If it came to that, I wouldn’t mind. I know she wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Besides, I seriously doubt she’d want me here if something were to happen.”

Danielle sighed and sat on the couch, thinking. She kicked off her shoes and curled her feet up under her before she said, “I don’t know if I could do anything with her.”

I pulled off my jacket, laid it on the back of an adjacent chair, and sat on the couch next to her. For a moment, I studied her face. Her mix of emotions made it difficult for me to really understand what she was thinking. Instead, I decided to try to help her relax. I sat back and patted my legs. “Gimme your feet.”

She looked at me for a second and then turned and stretched her legs out. “Have you done this before?”

I shook my head. Honesty had worked for me so far. “No, but you seem to need something to help you relax.”

Her face softened and she placed her feet in my lap. “Thank you, Seth. I think most guys would try to force me to make a decision about Jana, one way or another.”

I shook my head and rubbed away the light moistness her shoes had left. “I meant what I said before. I want you safe and happy.”

Danielle smiled and settled back against the arm of the couch. “So, you said you talked after I left. What did you talk about?”

“More of the same as when you were there,” I said, running my fingers between her dainty toes. “But I also made it clear that you were going to do what you want and the best either of us could do was support you.”

“For a boy who’s been sexually repressed most of his teenaged life, you sure are thoughtful.”

I shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about how I want to be treated. I’m sure everyone else wants the same consideration. On the flip side, no one can make your decisions for you, but they can and will judge when you make a decision. It’s not always bad, but it forms the basis of how they’ll treat you.”

Danielle sat there watching me. “And what kind of judgment will you make if I ask you to leave so Jana and I can be alone?”

I smiled and met her eyes. “Only that you’re willing to take a chance, but then, you’ve been taking a big chance with me.”

She smiled too and asked, “How so?”

“You haven’t known me very long at all and we’ve been very ... intimate.” I swallowed and rushed on before she could say anything. “But you’ve known Jana for quite a while and I’m guessing that you haven’t at least experimented with her.”

Danielle nodded and then her eyes clouded over with thought.

I let her think while I focused on her feet, rubbing her heels, arches, and the padded balls at the front. Somehow, I knew I could easily get used to rubbing her feet on a regular basis. There was something sensual about it, yet not overtly sexual, comforting without any expectations.

“Mmm ... that feels good,” she said, almost purring. I smiled but didn’t say anything. She pointed her toes, pressing her feet into my hands. “I can think of a few other places you could use those magic hands on me,” she said softly.