A/N: This is my first story ever. So, please, be kind. Constructive criticism and other reviews are appreciated. I have been stalking everyone for about two weeks now and I finally decided to give it go and write down this bit of fluff! Now that I have an account, I will go back and leave reviews for all the stories that I have loved and that inspired me.
This is set immediately after the kiss.
"When?" she breathlessly asks.
He doesn't need her to explain. He knows what she is asking. When did he know that he had feelings for her?
He looks deep into her eyes and sighs. I guess it is now or never…
What she doesn't know is the answer is far more complicated than the question. If he is honest with himself, he would admit that he has always been attracted to her. Even when he couldn't stand her, he thought she was attractive, beautiful even.
When they first met, he found her beyond annoying. Always talking about Beyonce or what happened on the latest episode of one of those Kardashian shows. And, god, there are a lot of Kardashians and they have a lot of shows! How could one family create so much drama and so much television?
But, slowly, very slowly, she grew on him. He realized that she wasn't all reality TV and rom com fantasies. She had a BIG heart. She cared about people. A little too much if you asked him. But, more importantly, she cared about him, although she had a funny way of showing it with the Castel-lamo references and the constant digs about his age.
He was only a few years older than her! Sure, he didn't know whether Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were dating or not, nor did he care. Frankly, he didn't even know who Justin and Selena were until he met Mindy. And, okay, he didn't know that there was such a thing as a browser history or that it logged all the websites that you visited. So what? That didn't make him old or out of touch – right?
He supposed he knew that his attraction for her had grown to something more at the party that he and Alex had. To say that his feelings surprised him at the party would be an understatement of gigantic proportions. He started smoking again because he was so flummoxed by it! He hadn't smoked since he started medical school and decided to give it up but Mindy drove him to it the night of his party. While he had bought the cigarettes after Christina moved out the first time and stashed them in his bedroom, he hadn't touched them until the male prostitute debacle of 2013.
Mindy had brought a prostitute to his party! A male prostitute! To His Party! But, that's when he knew. It's a strange time to fall in love with someone, but it happened and you know what they say—you don't get to pick the person you fall in love with.
"I knew at my party last year."
Mindy gave him a quizzical look.
"When you showed up with that guy, I was jealous. He was tall, good looking, and he could play the piano really well. I hated him immediately. I had Alex so I didn't think much of it."
He paused and began pacing back and forth in the galley, "That's not true. It was all I could think about, but I chalked it up at the time to being concerned about your well-being and wondering whether that guy was good enough for you.
"And then I saw you in my bedroom, riffling through my things." He began talking faster and gesturing with his hands. "My heart was beating so fast but I didn't understand why. All I knew was I wanted you out of there. You were in my personal space, and that made me nervous. What if you saw something you didn't like or something that disgusted you?
"I realized in that moment that I really cared about what you thought of me. I didn't want you to think I was some dandruff-shampoo using, sweaty guy that everyone hated. I wanted you to like me. I never cared much about what anyone thought of me until the moment you were standing in my shower, telling me about how Deslaurier hurt you. My first thought was I wanted to punch him in the face—to defend your honor, of course."
"Of course," she smirked.
"My second thought was I wanted to reach down and hug you. But I hesitated because I was scared. Scared about what it would mean. Scared about whether you would pull away from me in disgust."
"Oh, Danny," Mindy whispered. "I wouldn't have. Pulled away that is."
Danny continued. "When you left the bathroom, I was relieved. I could breathe again. I had been holding my breath the whole time and I didn't even know it until you walked away.
"I went to make myself a sandwich. I was hungry and I didn't want to think about you anymore. I'm an emotional eater. I bet you didn't know that about me. You don't get to be a fat kid without learning to dull your feelings with food.
"The next thing I knew Alex was yelling at me about my ex-wife. I knew immediately that you had told her. I was pissed off at you, which I was grateful for, because I knew how to be mad at you. That was a feeling that I was very familiar with. Not all that stuff in the bathroom.
"Then That Guy started singing that ridiculous song. It was so bad. Probably the worst song I had ever heard," he smirked as he looked towards her.
Mindy frowned a bit but nodded in agreement.
"I instantly felt better. He wasn't so perfect after all. In fact, he was pretty far from the perfect, handsome musician guy that I thought he was. Although I never bought the whole railroad money story for one second.
"He started saying something about being a male prostitute. I first I thought he was kidding. I mean, a male prostitute, even you weren't that crazy. But then I saw your face and you were mortified. I knew it was true. You HAD brought a male prostitute to my party!"
"Okay, I get it, Danny. I'm a horrible person for bringing a male prostitute to your home! You can let it go now. Geez, you would think that was the first time someone had done that."
"Well, it was," he said as he stopped and gave her a smoldering look before returning to his pacing.
"Does this story have a point, other than to make me look bad?" Mindy asked.
"I'm getting to that. Have some patience, will you. You won't be disappointed."
Mindy breathed in and smiled ever so slightly. I won't be disappointed, she thought. What did that mean? She nodded for him to continue.
"At first, I was mad. You were ruining my party in a way that only you could do – in a male prostitute and ex-wife kind of way. And then you started talking about how you were going to Pretty Woman him."
He grabbed her by the shoulders, kneeling down ever so slightly to look her dead in the eyes. "My heart broke because it was so quintessentially you. Trying to Pretty Woman someone is exactly something that you would try to do. You always see the good in people. It's one of your best qualities. That and your ass." He grinned.
She laughed. She did have a pretty good ass if she did say so herself.
His tone grew serious again. "I was standing in my living room and instead of being mad at you, which I had every right to be. All I could think about was how I wish you would Pretty Woman me. Why hadn't you tried to Pretty Woman me? Wasn't I worth Pretty Womaning?
"And that's when I knew." He gulped, "I wanted more than just your friendship, although that had become so important to me. I wanted more than for you to like me as a friend. I wanted you to love me. I wanted you to change me and make me better."
He leaned his head against hers, closing his eyes while breathing in the scent of her perfume. He whispered, "I wanted you."
"Don't you see the effect you have on me? How much I am changed because of you. I use Pretty Woman as a verb now for goodness sakes! All because of you! Don't you see how much I love you?" He pleaded, hoping that she would know everything that he was feeling and everything that he had felt for her.
"Oh, Danny, sweet, naïve, Danny," she said as she reached up to touch his face with her hands. "Don't you know that I've been Pretty Womaning you since the first day we met."
She smiled as she looked deep into his big brown eyes. Those handsome, dreamy eyes that always told her exactly what he was feeling even when he tried to be closed off and distant with her. When she looked at them today, all she saw was love. Real love.
She started to tear up. "I knew I had to be subtle because you aren't as dumb as you look."
"Hey!" He said.
"I couldn't pull my usual antics with the likes of you. I would have to take my time. It wouldn't be easy but I like a good challenge. And you, Dr. Daniel Castellano, are a real challenge! The very best challenge of my life!
"Yes, I would need to win you over not only with my rocking, hot bod but with my stunning personality and charm. Let's not forget about the brain. I am an incredibly smart, educated, doctor. Frankly, I'm out of your league, but let's not dwell on that now. It might ruin the mood." She smiled a huge grin and winked at him. "And while I did not set out to win the heart of that cranky, old man that I met in medical school, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't the luckiest girl in the world right now!"
Tears began to stream down her face as she chocked, "Because that cranky, old man became not only my colleague, my confidant, my best friend, but also the love of my life."
Danny tenderly wiped the tears off her cheek before cupping her face and kissing her more passionately than the first time around. She eager returned the favor.
When they parted several minutes later, Mindy whispered. "Best. Flight. Ever."
"I couldn't agree more, Min."
Danny took her hand and led her back to their seats and to the start of their new life together.
A/N: So, what did you think? Cute, right? At least I don't think it's horrible for my first time...