A/N: and here's the second and final chapter. As always, I really really appreciate comments and reviews, they make my day. Enjoy!
She didn't notice his wandering touch, her weird caffeine induced high sending a million thoughts racing through her head, thoughts she'd been trying to avoid all week. She dropped her gaze, her rapidly beating heart quickening all of her typical physical reactions, embarrassment coloring her her foot nervously against the stool she mumbled something, her voice low.
"What?"
Danny was staring at her, a soft expression in his eyes that she'd come to associate with a feeling of weightlessness. Her pulse skittered out of control again, for the first time noticing his gentle touch on her skin. He tenderly slipped one hand underneath her chin and drew her eyes back to him. How could someone infuse a look with so much concern? She cleared her throat, finding a surprising thickness there. "We're sort of… on a break?"
Her voice pitched up on the last syllable, turning the statement into a shaky question. She was kind of mortified, applying such a juvenile term to her relationship. When was she going to get her shit together? Women in their thirties didn't have time for breaks.
"A break?" Danny was disgusted, unable to hide it, his lip curling up in an irritated snarl. "What did the jerk do?"
Confusion swept over her. "What? Cliff didn't do anything… not really. He said…" She stopped, unsure of whether or not she should divulge the details of such a private conversation. But this was Danny, her best friend. It's not like she had anyone else to talk this out with.
It wasn't her fault that this particular conversation had the potential to get seriously uncomfortable… well maybe it was a little her fault. "He said I wasn't 'all-in,' which, I didn't really know what he was talking about, but Google was extremely helpful, and it turns out he was using commonly used poker-slang, and apparently he didn't think I would bet on us, which now that I think about it, maybe he was right, I'm terrible at gambling."
She was rambling, the words crashing together as she spoke without breaths, but she couldn't stop, the hours of energy making it hard to focus. "And he kept referring to my 'baggage,' like he thought there was someone else, and to be honest, he was kind of right, but also really wrong."
"What?" Danny looked at her intensely, his eyes boring into with a heat she'd never experienced, silently willing her to stop speaking in riddles.
Mindy closed her eyes, breathing deeply, memories from the past few weeks filling her up. Spending so much time with Danny at the gym had been… enlightening. First of all, no one could deny Daniel Castellano filled out a t-shirt quite nicely. Sure, he wasn't a six foot tall GQ model, but damn if he didn't work with what he had. She knew it, he knew it, the girl who sold bagels down the street knew it. But it's not like that was anything new, she'd ogled Danny in a t-shirt plenty of times before, and she'd never been left feeling breathless, her skin flushed, an insatiable desire to wrap her fingers around his biceps suddenly overwhelming her.
Being physically attracted to Danny Castellano shouldn't have been enough to derail her relationship with Cliff, not by itself, and it wasn't. She spent an inordinate amount of time talking to Danny, more than ever before, in an effort to distract him from his workout plans. It rarely worked, but they'd traded dozens of stories, childhood anecdotes, rants about the state of the New York City subway system.
And she'd been a little… absent when she was actually trying to spend time with Cliff. He'd even confronted her about it, accusing her of checking out. He'd said, "I get it. I mean, I've seen it so many times with my clients. There's someone else, isn't there?"
The question had hit her like a ton of bricks, an inescapable 'yes' bubbling up from deep inside. It had shocked her. She didn't know what she felt for Danny, but she did know he was where her mind went, when she was listening to one of Cliff's boring stories. She'd been dangerously close to admitting she was developing feelings for someone else, but he'd interrupted her accusing her of still being in love with Casey, which had totally thrown her for a loop. So she'd vehemently denied everything, attempting to placate him. "No baby, of course not."
The final straw had been last week. She'd just gotten home from the gym, a quick trip after work with Danny, before hitting the subway home. She was sweaty and tired, heading straight for the shower, absolutely not in the mood to get frisky. Cliff had shown up almost immediately, striding confidently into her apartment as soon as she'd opened the door. He pressed her up against the wall, kissing as his hands slipped over her.
She hadn't feel the spark, the pulsing between her legs when his tongue darted into her mouth. She'd begged off, citing her exhaustion as a plausible cause for disinterest, and she'd genuinely believed it at the time.
But hours later, freshly showered, still exhausted and sore, she immediately drifted off to sleep, only to have the most salacious dream of her life… involving Danny. She'd woken up on the cusp of climaxing, her panting breaths harsh enough to wake Cliff sleeping beside her. He'd eagerly rolled into her, slipping his hand between her legs, his eyes had widened at her obvious arousal. Then she'd done something that set shame coursing through her every time she thought about it. She'd climbed on top of Cliff, closing her eyes and replaying the scenes from her dream over and over again until she'd shattered, squeezing her eyes shut. It hadn't been Cliff's names perched on her lips.
She'd halted things the next morning, telling Cliff she needed a break, yes like Ross and Rachel, to sort out things, all the while dreading the next time she saw Danny. She'd barely been able to look him in the when she'd strode into the gym half an hour late.
And now, she was sitting here, a hundred humming birds flapping away in her chest as he stared at her, genuine concern lining his features. This is what she'd been afraid of, bearing the full force of his gaze, her blood heating up under that scrutiny before it rushed through her body. The energy drinks had been a bad idea, something she thought would distract her, make her throw herself into her workout, but instead they just magnified every physiological reaction she had.
He waited, his mouth parted slightly, his question still hanging in the air between them. Had his lips always been that… edible? Suddenly it was all she could think about, running her tongue along her own bottom lip, comparing its texture to the feeling she'd dreamt of. Her hands still shook, a slight vibration every time her heart beat, she was incapable of sitting still.
Danny let out an anxious sigh, slowly withdrawing the heat of his hand from her skin. She whimpered, the sound coming out before she even knew it was there, his name a sigh on the tail end. She rocketed off the stool, completely overestimating the force necessary to bring herself upright. She barreled into him, her arms winding tightly around his neck as she latched onto his lips. Those damn pouty lips, yielding immediately under her enthusiasm.
He rocked on his heels, taking a moment to find his balance again before his arms banded at her waist, pulling her to him tightly. He hitched her legs up around his waist, the muscles in his arms straining with the action. She moaned into him, feeling his strong hands squeeze her ass. She gyrated against him, locking her ankles.
He thought briefly about stopping, giving her a second to realize exactly what she was doing, but he pushed away the thoughts, instead focusing on whether or not he should move this to her bedroom, or settle for tumbling on the couch. He released her lips, gulping a huge breath.
Without hesitation her unoccupied lips moved to his neck, leaving a hot trail of kisses up to the hollow beneath his ear. He groaned. The couch, decision made.
They landed with twin 'oomphs' on the loveseat, Danny resting comfortably between her legs, his weight pressing her down into the soft cushions. She impatiently fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. She was far too wound up to be of any use, grunting in frustration she resorted to just tugging at the hem fruitlessly while her mouth sought out his lips. Danny pulled back, jerking the shirt up and over his head. She sighed in contentment as her fingers traced along his rib cage. Her eyes were unfocused, the soft haze of arousal clouding them. This was the point of no return for Danny, and he frantically pulled at their clothes. It wasn't graceful or romantic, but surely there would be time for that later. If Mindy had anything to say about it, this would not be a one time thing. Hell, if she had her way, it wouldn't even be a one time thing today.
He kneaded at her through the stretchy fabric of her tank top, slipping his hands beneath the material, hooking his fingers beneath her bra, impatiently sweeping across her nipples, relishing the instantaneous transformation beneath his touch. Unexpected laughter rumbled through his chest. It was as though he just realized what was happening here. The relief he felt was overwhelming, the constant fear of losing her for good, temporarily abating.
He yanked the bra and tank over her head, static electricity crackling in her hair, he buried his nose in it, inhaling deeply as he planted kisses along her neck. She arched her back, flattening her breasts against his chest, finally getting the skin to skin contact she craved every time she saw his sweat soaked shirt clinging to him in the gym. She raked her fingernails along his back, memorizing each muscular ridge, the slight hollow at the base of his spine.
She whined impatiently when her fingers met the slick nylon material of his jogging pants. "Take off your pants." He voice was raspy with arousal, coming out breathily.
He complied almost immediately, withdrawing from her briefly to shuck off the offending garment. "And you." He peeled off her yoga pants, marveling at every inch of skin he exposed, his lips testing the texture along the way. When his hands finally found their way between her legs, a trail of fire left by his fingertips, she cried out in anticipation.
Her wait was short, his graceful fingers slipping inside of her, the wet heat making the muscles in his abdomen jump, he stifled a grunting moan. The pad of his thumb found her swollen clit, sweeping across it tentatively at first, as he curved his fingers inside of her, searching at a forty five degree angle for the right spot to set her off. There. She threw her head back against the cushions, eyes rolling back before she squeezed them shut.
Danny wanted to draw this out for her, give her every ounce of pleasure he possible could. He wanted to see her features contorted with bliss, hear the strangled animalistic growls echo deep within her throat as she was pushed over the edge. But this moment was a culmination of so many nights spent alone thinking about her, dreaming of her wrapping her arms and legs around him while he fell apart. He didn't have the patience for much more of this one sided pace.
He needn't have worried. The stimulants zipping through her veins heightened her arousal unexpectedly, every touch against her skin sending a zing of pleasure straight to her core. Within seconds she was snatching up one of her throw pillows, holding it against her face to muffle her inelegant yell.
Danny snatched the pillow away with his free hand, capturing her lips with his own, he drank in her moans, relishing the feel of her chest bumping against his as she panted out the last of her pleasure. Her eyes focused once more as she slowly regained a somewhat normal breathing pattern. She smiled at Danny, shyly looking at him through the screen of her eyelashes.
The full reality of what had just happened settled over her. Danny freaking Castellano had just sent her spiraling into an abyss of pleasure in the time it took to microwave a bag of popcorn. A giggle erupted from her, and she awkwardly wiggled out from under him, attempting to shift their positions.
She didn't have a history of being particularly graceful in the heat of the moment, and this was no different. Her legs tangled between his, and with one final shove they both tumbled off the too small loveseat into the floor. Her plush area rug offered little cushion, and Mindy landed squarely on top of Danny, her giggles erupting into full blown laughter as her legs straddled his hips.
Her gasping amusement was contagious, the laughter vibrating through her entire body. She leaned down, lighting kisses down on his face, unable to focus on any particular spot. She caught the corners of his mouth, his nose, eyelids. Her hands mimicked the motion of her lips, flitting at random across his body, skimming her fingers across his chest, stopping to lightly drag her nails across his nipples, before dipping down and tracing his navel.
Her attentions were so unfocused, Danny grunted with impatience, rolling his hips beneath her, his erection pressing eagerly up against her abdomen when she leaned down to drop kisses in the hollow of his neck. She still didn't catch his meaning.
Finally, the last of his patience slipping through his fingers, Danny reached up and bracketed her waist with his hands, swiftly reversing their positions, pinning her to the floor, her hair splayed out across the fluffy rug. Her eyes widened, the laughter leaving them, for a moment replaced by dark desire. "Danny…"
She was pleading with him, her first climax now a distant memory, the heat building in her yet again. Her hands traveled up and down his back, this time slipping down to his glutes unimpeded. She dug her fingernails into the taut flesh, biting her bottom lip as he sucked in a sharp breath. She urged him forward, lifting her hips off the floor, the earth shaking a little when he finally drove into her.
Her buzzing thoughts, for the first time all morning, suddenly coalesced, resulting in a strange clarity as Danny rose and fell over her, thrusting in at the perfect angle. She could feel it coming, thunder off in the distance, the echo of which made her impatient. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on bringing the thunder closer.
She planted the soles of her feet on the floor, rising to meet him with each thrust, gasping out his name between desperate kisses. She drank him in while she could, her erratic pants eventually becoming too much, the sounds she made turning into an inarticulate otherworldly language. Her head fell back and he buried his face in her neck, running his teeth along her jumping pulse as he ground against her, tapping out a primal rhythm against her clit.
Finally, finally, finally. The thunder enveloped her in deafening booms, the muscles in her abdomen clenching as she rose off the floor one last time, a long drawn out groan escaping her lips as she struggled to hold onto him.
Feeling her unravel beneath him, her cries fading away in his ear, the muscles surrounding him clenching and unclenching over and over, he was gone. He knew he'd crossed that point of no return, the pleasure washing over him a foregone conclusion. He thrust into her once, twice, three times more, before letting out his own involuntary yell, her name echoing against the walls of her apartment.
He floated back down to earth slowly, meandering like a feather caught on a spiraling thermal. There was a tiny part of him that thought maybe this was just another dream, one that had gone farther than any of the other, but still, a dream nonetheless.
Resting his weight on one forearm, Danny reached over, threading his fingers through her hair as he traced small circles on her cheek with his thumb. He looked at her for a moment, taking in her glowing skin and lambent eyes. He swallowed the words swimming inside of him, afraid that he might be getting caught up in something dangerous. He let out a long sigh. "So… ready to hit the gym now?"
Her mouth rounded into a shocked little 'oh.' "Are you kidding me? You still want to go to the gym?"
Laughter rumbled through his chest. "You're not getting out of it that easy, Lahiri."
She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him closer to her. "I think there are some.. cardio exercises we could do right here."
Maybe she was getting out of it that easy.