Alright, so I got a lot of reviews asking me to continue this, and after arguing with myself about it for a while I decided that while I don't want to turn it into a massive chapter story I can at least give it a few more entries. While I am not exactly happy with this chapter because I was kind of writing blind since I don't really have a storyline that lasted longer than the first chapter, I think this turned out okay. I don't know where I am going from here so it may be a while before I update again.
It was two in the afternoon by the time she finally made it home. It took almost an hour to convince Xeno that she was perfectly capable of driving herself home, he was just as stubborn as the man he worked for.
The front door squeaked as she opened it and she silently cursed herself for not getting that fixed earlier.
"Danielle Santino where have you been?" She was hoping to avoid this conversation. Jeanette walked into the front hallway, her hands on her hips.
"Well?" She said. Dani smiled sheepishly.
"Um, I went for a run?"
"In three inch heals?" Jeanette raised a finally manicured eyebrow. Dani fumbled for another answer but couldn't come up with one.
"Come on." Jeanette grabbed Dani's arm and drug her into the dining room. They both sat down at the table and Jeanette unfolded her hands in front of her as if to say, 'well, let's hear it.'
"I met a friend at the bar last night." Dani started.
"Okay, who?"
"I told you about Nico before right?" Dani sighed.
"Yeah, works security for the Hawks, tall, dark and scary, I remember."
"Right, well he was at the bar last night." Jeanette nodded.
"Look, long story short, we had a few drinks, he made a bit of a proposition we went back to his place and had a few more drinks."
"What kind of a proposition?" Jeanette interrupted.
"It doesn't really make any sense unless you know him,"
"Dani!"
"Alright! Jeez. We decided to have quite a few drinks, ask an answer some questions that we never would sober and,"
"Just forget all about it later?" Jeanette finished. Dani nodded quietly.
"Well, clearly that last part didn't work out to well." She added with a laugh.
"Yeah." Dani whispered.
"So the reason you didn't come home until two in the afternoon is because?" Dani sighed and closed her eyes.
"Because, I might have, spent the night." She covered her face with her hands.
"Okay, spent the night or spent the night?" Dani didn't answer, just peeked out through her fingers at Jeanette.
"DANI!" Jeanette wacked her in the arm.
"Jesus Jeanette, calm down." Dani said, rubbing her injured forearm. Jeanette was quiet for a few seconds.
"Alright, I have a few questions here, but I think first and foremost is, how was it?"
Dani chuckled, "God, you're such a girl."
"Come on, I wanna know!" Jeanette wiggled her eyebrows in anticipation.
Dani covered her eyes with her hands again, "Jeanette." She sighed.
"Come on!" Jeanette tapped her fingers on the table.
"It was great okay, it was really good, and I really just don't want to talk about it." Dani said quickly.
"OH! I knew it! It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for, they may not talk much but they can get down and dirty with the rest of um."
"Jeanette! No one got down and dirty okay, god. You're making this a thousand times more uncomfortable than it already is." Dani said, shaking her head. Jeanette gave her a confused look.
"Look it wasn't weird or dirty or any of that crap okay, it was, it was loving and passionate and, completely the opposite of what you're thinking."
"Dani, that's actually really romantic, in a strange, drunk kind of way."
Dani rolled her eyes, "Moving on."
"For now, you're so gonna give me a full replay later." Jeanette said, Dani shot her a look so she changed the subject.
"What about Matt?"
"I am ending it with Matt." Dani said evenly.
"Because of what happened last night?"
"No, because he wants kids and he wants to get married and I am not ready for either of those things, especially not the kids one. Look, Matt is a great guy but I just don't think he's the great guy for me." Dani explained.
"But Nico is?" Jeanette asked.
Dani was quiet for a while.
"I think so, I mean, I want him to be, I just, I don't know."
"Well take your time, figure it out, it's not like you have to rush into anything." Jeanette offered.
"Yeah I know."
"Look Dani, I know you wanna call it quits with Matt but, well, I am gonna call Augusto tonight, I want you and Matt to be there though, he's been really supportive through all of this and, I just kind of want him here."
"That's fine J, I am gonna have to talk to him anyway, better to just get it over with I guess."
"It'll be alright, and I'll be here if you need me okay?"
Dani took Jeanette's hand in her own.
"You know I am so happy you decided to come visit." She said with a smile.
"I know, now, I am gonna get you some wine and then you're gonna give me that little play by play." Jeanette said, Dani laughed and shook her head as Jeanette grabbed a wine glass off the shelf.
Dani called Matt over around six but Jeanette never worked up the nerve to call Augusto until well after eight o'clock. Eventually she got a hold of him and she curled up in the corner of the sofa as she broke the news. Dani and Matt sat across from her and Dani watched with pride at how happy Jeanette got when Augusto told her he was 'mucho' happy about the baby. She turned her eyes to Matt, and could instantly see a longing in his eyes. He wanted a moment like this so badly, Dani knew it, but she also knew she wasn't going to be able to give it to him.
"Matt, can we talk?" She whispered, Jeanette was now fully immersed in her conversation with Augusto, Dani was sure she wouldn't mind if they slipped out.
She walked them up to her bedroom and sat them down on her bed.
"Matt, look me in the eye, and tell me you're a hundred percent okay with never having an ultrasound moment."
"Dani, I am."
"So anytime we're around someone's kids, it's always gonna be the big elephant in the room, isn't it?"
Matt sighed and shook his head.
"I guess so, I had hoped you'd change your mind." Dani took a shaky breath.
"And I could see the hope in your eyes. I don't want you to sacrifice your dreams for me because you know you'd come to resent me, and I wouldn't be able to live with that."
"So this isn't going to work, is it?"
Dani could feel the tears brimming in her eyes but she shook her head.
"Matt I am so sorry." She tried to reach for him but he stood up.
"No, Dani, I am sorry, I should have realized this wasn't going to work."
"Matt you didn't do anything wrong, this isn't your fault it's,"
"Maybe that's what you think Dani but you know ever since we met I've been fighting for this I am just not sure why you keep pushing me away."
"Matt, I am not, it's just, this is something I can't do and I don't want you to give up something you really want for me."
"No, I heard that Dani, but clearly there's something you're not telling me."
"There's not." She was crying now, trying to make him understand that he'd done nothing wrong.
"We could work through this Dani, but for some reason you don't want to. You've known where I stood from the beginning, I tried to be a good friend to you, I got you a job with the Hawks, you knew I wanted a relationship with you but every time we get close to something that seems like commitment you pull away. So you can say you're sorry all you want but I don't have to hear it." And he stormed out.
Dani sat in shock for a few seconds and then the tears came even harder. How had that gone so wrong? Why didn't Matt understand that she just couldn't do the whole kid thing again, and she just wanted him to be able to have that moment, she was trying to be kind, to think of his best interests, wasn't she? She wasn't so sure anymore.
Jeanette saw Matt rush down the stairs and slam the front door as he left. Something had gone wrong. She quickly said goodbye to Augusto, promising she'd call again as soon as she could and then rushed upstairs to Dani's room.
"Dani, are you alright?" Jeanette walked carefully into her room. Dani was curled up on her side; Jeanette could tell she was crying.
"Not now Jeanette." Her voice cracked and her body shook.
"Dani you can talk to me, is everything okay?"
"I just really don't feel like talking right now okay?"
Jeanette sighed and turned to walk out of the room, then caught a glimpse of Dani's cell phone lying on the bedside table. She glanced back at Dani then scooped up the phone and walked back downstairs.
She quickly flipped through Dani's contacts till she found who she was looking for, she moved into the living room so Dani couldn't hear her and pressed send.
"Dani?"
"No, this is her friend Jeanette." Nico had to quickly re calculate, this wasn't a conversation he was planning on having.
"Jeanette, is Dani alright?"
"No, that's why I called, you have to come over." Nico was already grabbing his keys and heading out the door.
"What happened?"
"I am not so sure, she won't talk to me, something happened with Matt."
"I'll be over as soon as I can."
"Alright, I'll leave the door open for you."
Jeanette sat on the steps, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor. She kept glancing at the time but only five minutes had passed. She hadn't heard anything out of Dani and Nico still hadn't shown up. Five minutes later she saw headlights sweep across the front door. She stood up and raced over, pulling it open just before Nico got there. If Dani wouldn't talk to her, she knew she'd talk to Nico.
"She's upstairs." Jeanette said, the two of them walked in the house and Nico followed her up the stairs. She stepped aside when they got to Dani's room and Nico walked in quietly, turning to nod to Jeanette, letting her know he'd be alright. She smiled and turned to head back downstairs.
He could tell whatever had happened it had truly upset her. She was curled on her side, her shoulders tight, every now and then her body would shake on a quiet cry.
"Dani?" She flinched and sat up, her eyes filling with more tears at the sight of him.
"Did Jeanette call you?" She asked as he walked around the bed to sit next to her.
"She said you wouldn't talk to her, that something happened with Matt?"
A few tears fell from her eyes and she choked on a sob.
"Nico I really messed things up." Her voice cracked and she started crying again. Nico pulled her in close, wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her down.
"You have to tell me what happened Dani or I can't take care of it." He said quietly.
"No, no, no. I don't want anyone disappearing." She said quickly, pulling out of his embrace.
"That's not what I meant, look, I'll talk to Matt, and we'll fix this if that's what you want." He said carefully.
Dani shook her head, "I want to be done with Matt, I do, okay." She took his hand in her own and looked into his eyes. He nodded and let her continue. "But he was really mad when he left here, he said something about how he helped get me in with the Hawks, Nico what if he tells that to coach, or the new GM, I could lose my job."
"I won't let that happen."
He spoke with such conviction that Dani had no choice but to believe him.
"I am sorry Jeanette called you all the way out here." She said quietly.
"It's okay Dani, you know I am always here for you." He cupped her face in his hands and she let her forehead rest against his. She took a deep breath and felt a calm settle over her.
"It's gonna be alright, I promise." He said. She nodded and closed her eyes. He smiled at her and pushed his lips against her own gently.
"I was going to call you later." He said after a few seconds.
"You left me a note this morning." She said with a smile.
"So maybe that last step of your plan, about forgetting everything, didn't work out so well." She added.
"Did you want it to?" He asked, his voice almost a whisper.
"No." She opened her eyes to look into his hazel ones.
"Me either."
He let his lips brush hers and felt her smile before she pulled him closer.