Lacey walked quickly ahead of Danny but she could hear the crunch of his boots directly behind her on the ground. She didn't know what she was doing but she was pissed at him and she wanted him to know it. When they were finally out of earshot or visual range, she turned around suddenly to face him.
Too suddenly it would seem since she didn't realize Danny was still walking and hadn't stopped when she stopped. He walked right into her and she would have fallen had he not have captured her around the waist. He even straightened out her glasses which had become lopsided due to their entanglement.
"Thank you, Danny." Lacey said a little flustered and she realized he was still holding her waist. "You can let go now," she said looking at him.
"God, I missed you," Danny uttered. "I really did. I missed you and Jo so much. I missed this face. Your face. You're so pretty, but then again you always were," Danny said still holding her waist. He slowly walked her backward towards a secluded spot near the far right bleachers and a huge oak tree. He leaned into her, taking all of her vision.
"I have a boyfriend. His name is Archie," Lacey said.
"I know," Danny simply replied. "Tell me what you want to tell me." He still hadn't let go of her waist yet and she was starting to get warm, her resolve diminishing.
"I wrote you countless letters when you were in Arizona. You never wrote back. Why?"
Danny continued to stare at her. He took his time forming his answer, his eyes slowly roaming her face.
"Stop looking at me like that," she physically squirmed a little under his close observation.
"Like what?" he replied smirking a little again.
"Like you want to kiss me," Lacey admitted. They were completely concealed by the tree and the stands now and he still hadn't answered her question. He instead reached up and untied her scarf. He touched the fabric of it as it laid against her chest.
"I thought of you every day for five years. I got every single one of your letters and I still have them. I read them often but I couldn't seem to write you back. And then you stopped. I stopped talking for two years after the incident. I…it was too much for me to take. I was in a hospital for a little while and I'm still in therapy. I'm so sorry Lace that I never wrote you but I can recite entire letters written by you to me because that's how many times I read them."
"Danny," Lacey started.
"I especially remember your last one. The one where you told me that that would be the last time that you wrote me. The one where you told me that you and Jo weren't really talking anymore."
"Why'd you come back, Danny?"
His eyes went to her mouth and he used his thumb to trace her upper and lower lips. "I came back to rebuild. To get back what I lost. I came back for Jo and for you. I came back for this."
He leaned in and took her mouth slowly, deliberately with ease. He took his time, he wanted to reacquaint himself with her. He hadn't thought that he would kiss her right away but he didn't care that her friends were wondering when they would be back or that she had a boyfriend. He wanted this moment and he took it for himself.
Lacey's mouth moved under his on their own. Her arms came up to wrap around his neck while his other arm came around her waist. He grasped her neck gently to deepen the kiss as his tongue found its way into her mouth. She couldn't think. Her brain had gone all warm and fuzzy and then his head tilted to the side and trailed kisses down her face and jaw. He was kissing on her neck when he noticed it. It was the necklace he had given her for her eleventh birthday. Lacey loved dolphins and this one had a dolphin on it with the letter L for her name.
"I never take it off," Lacey said as she saw him looking at her necklace. "I missed you so much, Danny. The way things used to be." She didn't realize that she began to cry until Danny reached up to remove a tear with his index finger.
He cupped her face into his hands. "Does Archie make you happy? Does he kiss you like you like to be kissed? Makes you laugh? Does he eat your cooking?" Danny said laughing.
Even Lacey had to laugh at that. She was a horrible cook but she was learning and she took her hand to push him in the chest but he didn't budge. Under her palm was rock hard, chiseled muscle. Her lips parted again.
"We better get back. Regina has her eye on you and I feel terrible for kissing you just now."
Danny grabbed her hand and blocked her path from sidestepping him. "I'm not interested in Regina or any other female. I want you."
Lacey's mouth fell open. He said it matter-of-factly like discussing how the sky is blue or how kangaroos have pouches.
"Danny, I have a boyfriend. I'm not available. This kiss was a…."
"Don't lie to yourself, Lace. Don't make excuses of how you feel or what's between us. What's always been between us. You're going to say it was a mistake but I felt it and I know you did too."
"Danny we….you don't want me. You just haven't seen me in a while and it's…"
Danny silenced her with his mouth. It came crashing on top of hers like a wave. The boy could kiss. She allowed herself to get a little jealous wondering who was the chick that he had been practicing with.
"Danny stop!" Lacey said pulling away. "I'm cheating on my boyfriend and this isn't right. I don't know what the hell I'm doing." She shook her head and glanced away from his beautiful face.
"Meet me at the fort tonight at 10. I'll be waiting for you."
"Danny, I can't. I have a boyfriend. I can't keep kissing you and sneaking off to rendezvous with you deep in the woods." She turned her back on him to walk away but she felt him move before he actually did. He clutched her around the waist and embraced her from the back.
"I've waited five years to see you and Jo. Five years to hold you and talk to you, to look at you and yes to even kiss you." His hands were massaging her shoulders. She found it incredibly arousing. Her eyes rolled closed as he whispered in her ear. "Meet me tonight." He captured her earlobe and Lacey gasped. She clenched her thighs together.
"Yes, I'll meet you. Oh, Danny please stop," she was almost begging him to stop before making out by the bleachers became a reality or someone was to walk up on them. He pulled her against him and smiled.