Thanks everyone for the amazing reviews! This story was started after "Sante Fe" and I've gone my own direction of where they would be 2 months later (i.e., Casey is gone; closure with Christina). I don't imagine I'll include anything from any episodes since then unless it fits into my story line.
Despite the fact that she invited him, Mindy didn't actually own a car, so Danny insisted on organizing their "travel arrangements" as he put it. He picked her up a few hours after work on Friday afternoon. With any luck, the drive would be less than 2 hours, though one could never tell with Long Island traffic.
Danny pulled up to her apartment building 10 minutes early, though this time it didn't surprise Mindy and she was ready at the door. Danny quirked an eyebrow as he saw the relatively small bag that she was bringing to the car. He grabbed it from her with a chuckle.
"What, I've learned to condense a little bit! Hold on though, I've got one more bag."
Danny shook his head with mixed amusement and aggravation as she grabbed a huge stack of hangers in a garment bag from behind the door to her apartment building. She smiled coyly as she approached the car again.
"Oh, I get it; the bag is just for your shoes. All of your clothes are on the hangers."
Mindy sputtered a bit but didn't contradict him. He was actually pretty spot-on in terms of her packing choices this time around. A high school reunion was not the place to pack light.
She noticed Danny's eyes trail from her sneakers to her jeans and t-shirt, lingering for a millisecond before connecting with her eyes. She felt a bit self-conscious since this was not a typical look for when she was around him. She couldn't help but flash back to their battle of wills so many months earlier. She had almost forgotten that Danny had first-hand experience with certain aspects of her anatomy.
She smiled at him with a slight confusion on her face when he opened the passenger door for her. Who knew Danny Castellano was such a gentleman? Danny hopped into the driver's side and got himself situated as he glanced over at Mindy buckling her seat belt.
"You look cute."
"Did Danny Castellano just use the word cute?"
Danny pretty much ignored her comment as he continued his train of thought, "Not that I don't like how you normally dress. I mean you always look good, but I like the casual look."
As Mindy caught his eye, she noticed that Danny looked a little embarrassed. She decided to not tease him further about the compliment and just enjoy the side glances from him that he thought she didn't notice. Mindy noticed a lot more than Danny thought she did. She noticed when he appreciated particular outfits she wore and if she was willing to admit it to herself, tended to wear them more often once she noticed his approval.
Danny interrupted her brief reverie. "So, what's our back story?"
"You are oddly into this, Danny."
"Well, you may not know this about me but I actually took a few acting classes in college. I'm looking forward to getting into the character."
"Seriously, Danny? That is awesome! I don't think we really need a back story though. We can just be ourselves and we'll just say we moved from co-workers to friends to something more."
"OK, so when did we start dating?"
"Two months ago, obviously. The moment of turbulence on the plane. The accidental hand-grab and I started to pull away and then you held on a few more seconds. It's such the fundamental romantic comedy plot line!"
Danny was flustered into silence and Mindy was so embarrassed at her slip-up. God, how stupid can you be, Mindy? They had this silent agreement to not talk about whatever it was that happened on that plane and she just stamped all over the unspoken guidelines to avoid this conversation.
"Yea, well, what can I say, babe, your skin is too soft to not hold on a bit longer."
Mindy choked on her sip of water as Danny winked at her and finally started the car and pulled into traffic. She had a feeling this would be an interesting weekend.
Three hours, one bathroom stop, and way too many Taylor Swift songs later, the car pulled into a long driveway that led to a large white colonial-style building.
"What is this place?"
"I'm not sure. The class treasurer has some connections and managed to rent the entire hotel for the weekend for just the class reunion."
"Well it's really nice. Are you sure I can't contribute to the cost at all?"
"Of course not, Danny! You're doing me a huge favor just being here."
"Well, it's not really a favor to be with you."
Mindy's breath caught as their eyes connected for just a couple of seconds too long.
"Sure," she said, breaking the gaze and silence, and a bit annoyed at the breathless tone in her voice. "I mean who doesn't love a free weekend in the Hamptons?"
Danny had looked away quickly when Mindy broke eye contact, but looked at her again with a small smile on his face. "Definitely."
He jumped out of the car to retrieve Mindy's bags and grabbed his own small suitcase. He caught Mindy eyeing it suspiciously. "Don't worry, Mindy, I've got plenty of nice clothing in here to impress your classmates."
"Good," she said with a teasing smirk. "I would hate for them to think my boyfriend has no style."
Danny chuckled as he slung an arm casually over her shoulder and steered them toward the entrance of the stunning building. "Ready, sweetie?"
"You're surprisingly into the pet names, Dr. Castellano…"
"You wanted a boyfriend? I'm ready to sell it."
Mindy wasn't sure exactly what she was expecting from Danny when she asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend, but she was pretty sure wasn't what she envisioned. Danny Castellano might just end up being full of surprises this weekend.