Lacey pretty much ran to her car. She needed to get away. She needed to be alone to reflect. She desperately needed to think. Nothing made sense. Somebody was clearly lying to her. And why? She didn't need this. Her money is still on Danny though. He has reason to lie to her. He has something to gain from lying to her. But what's the point? Yeah, he could just be a sleazy, scumbag teacher that wants to run through the female population of teachers at that school. That could be his angle. She didn't know anything about him. He was a mystery. He just showed up with his gorgeous hair, and his goatee, and his muscles, and his charm and charisma, and was making his rounds. And of course she now thought she was a pawn in his twisted little game because she turned him down, yet he wouldn't go away. He asked her out in 10 seconds flat. Who does that? Only him of course. He used that hair, and those muscles, and those lips, and his unbelievable good looks to his advantage. He must have smelled the desperation a mile away. Why else would he choose a town like Green Grove? He must have done his research and found out that Green Grove Middle was full of lonely, and single women. And while Lacey wasn't at all lonely, she fit the bill.
She drove home with so many thoughts running through her head. She still drove carefully, but that was the fastest she had ever gotten home from work. She wondered if she had broken the speed limit on her way home. Lacey felt like everything was happening at once, like she had opened a joke can of worms thinking it was something else. All she needed to know was why someone felt the need to lie to her. She's a fairly honest person. She didn't lie as a habit. She sometimes omitted things to spare the other person's feelings. But now, she was full on being lied to. She didn't like, appreciate, or understand that. At all.
She drove with a thousand images and scenarios in her head. The first one was her original thought that Danny wanted to be Green Grove Middle's Casanova or Romeo. That he wanted to go through as many women as possible, regardless of the women being friends. He somehow wanted to start with her, and make his way around. However, he didn't get to start with her because she turned him down, even though she was still in the running. Jo became the first "victim" and she had no idea she was being used. If he was trying to be Romeo, Lacey had no desire to be Juliet. The second scenario is something that she really didn't even want to consider. That Danny is telling the truth, and Jo lied to her to her face. Lacey didn't want to believe that. She never really pegged Jo as a liar, but she knows that human beings can become capable of just about anything. And if Jo did lie to her so easily, why would she do that? Lacey thought of many reasons why as she drove to her house. She was so lost in thought that she had no idea Danny was following her in his car. Probably because she didn't exactly know what kind of or what color car he drove. That worked to his advantage.
Lacey pulled up in front of her house and almost ran in. She needed to de-stress immediately. She walked into the house and Daisy was waiting. Lacey knew for certain that she'd share much with Daisy tonight. She walked into her kitchen and fed Daisy. She was removing her tee-shirt and walking towards her stairs when her doorbell rang steadily. She was wondering who it was. Whomever it was, wanted in immediately. Normally she would have put her tee-shirt back on, but she was wearing a sports bra and she thought it must really be one of her neighbors or one of her friends by the incessant ringing of the doorbell. She worked out in those all the time. It's really no different from a bathing suit top. She walked to her front door and opened it and couldn't believe her eyes. Danny was standing on her doorstep. This isn't happening.
"What are you doing here, Mr. Desai?" Lacey asks as she folds her arms in front of her as a way to shield herself from him.
"Mr. Desai? You can skip the formalities, Lacey. We're not at school." Danny says.
"Ok, what are you doing here, Danny?" Lacey asks and Danny doesn't like the way she said his name. Like it pained to her to say it.
"I'm here because we need to talk." Danny says.
"How did you find out where I lived?" Lacey asks in annoyance.
"I followed you. I thought that was obvious." Danny replies.
"So, you think it's ok to just follow women you work with home?" Lacey asks.
"What other choice did I have?" Danny asks.
"I can think of a few other things you could have done beside follow me home. You could have waited to talk to me at school. Or you could have left it alone and we not talk at all." Lacey says.
"That isn't an option. We need to talk. Alone. And in a space where you can't run away from me." Danny says as he tries to step into the house.
She puts her hand on his chest to stop him. She then realizes she probably shouldn't have touched his chest. It made her want to touch him more. And that can't happen. "I didn't invite you in." Lacey says defiantly.
He steps forward to invade her personal space. "Do you want me to leave?" Danny asks.
Lacey thinks for a moment. He actually went out of his way to follow her, he's bound to do it again. And now he knows where she lives. Better to get this out in the open and clear the air now. She steps aside to let him in as her answer. She immediately felt like a fool as he walked past her. And she suddenly felt self-conscious and very naked standing in front of him in just yoga pants and a sports bra. But she thought she'd be putting on a show if she put the shirt she laid on her couch back on. Daisy suddenly came out of the kitchen and went to Danny and rubbed on his leg. All Lacey could think that was that she was indeed a traitor too. She then went and sat in her normal spot on Lacey's chair as if she was chaperoning their conversation.
Lacey still had her arms folded as she sat down. "Have a seat." She says. After he's seated on the couch across from her, Lacey leans back in her chair. "So talk."
"I see that you're upset." Danny says.
Lacey grins at him. "Nope." Lacey says.
"Really?" Danny asks.
"Yes. I'm not upset at all." Lacey lies.
"If you aren't upset, then come and sit next to me." Danny challenges.
Lacey smiles again and shakes her head. "I don't think that's a good idea." Lacey says.
"Why?" Danny asks as he makes himself comfortable.
"Because I think it's best if you stay over there and I stay over here." Lacey says honestly. There isn't anything that can really stand in their way. Well, there's Jo, but Lacey isn't focusing on that. No matter what, Jo had him first and she didn't want anything to do with him after that.
Danny decides to stop trying to unravel her and just jump into the main reason he came over. "I didn't sleep with Jo, Lacey." Danny says truthfully as he waits to see what she's going to say next.
"I don't believe you." Lacey says flatly.
"Why not?" Danny asks.
"Why should I?" Lacey answers his question with a question.
"Because I'm telling you the truth, Lacey." Danny says as he locks eyes with her.
Lacey sits up straighter and leans forward. "Ok. Let's just say I believe you. Why would Jo lie to me?" Lacey asks.
"I guess to save face. She really didn't like me rejecting her. Or to keep us apart. I don't know. She's your friend. You tell me why she would lie to you." Danny says.
"There is no us." Lacey says.
"Yeah, because you keep fighting it and me." Danny says.
"I'm not fighting anything. There can never be an us." Lacey replies.
"Why?" Danny asks.
"Because I don't want to." Lacey says.
"Then why are you so upset?" Danny asks.
Lacey smiles again and shakes her head. "I'm not upset Danny."
Danny sighs. "Lacey, I've been nothing but honest with you, so I'd appreciate the same courtesy. I want to know why you're upset about thinking I slept with Jo."
"I would really rather not tell you that." Lacey says honestly. She can't tell him she wishes it was her instead of Jo.
"Well, I'm not leaving until you tell me why." Danny says.
"Are you insane?" Lacey asks Danny incredulously.
"Absolutely not. And you should already know that. I doubt they'd let me around kids if I was insane." Danny says.
"Well, you must have faked it somehow. You have to be crazy to think you're not going to leave here until I tell you what you want to hear." Lacey says.
"Well then call me crazy and get used to me staying here, because I'm not leaving." Danny says as he looks around. "I think I can get used to living here. You're going to have to get used to me walking around naked, since these are the only clothes I have."
"Ok, you don't have to go that far. I could just call the cops and have you removed." Lacey says. She isn't going to do that but maybe he'll think she will and leave.
"You're not going to do that and you know it, Lacey. The sooner you tell me the truth, the sooner I can leave. You're making this harder than it has to be." Danny says.
Lacey exhales sharply as she wonders what her telling him the truth will mean. Nothing. It will mean nothing. "I was upset because I wished it was me instead of her. And now that you have your answer, you can leave." Lacey says as she stands and walks over to the door and opens it. Danny reluctantly stands and walks over to the door. He startles Lacey by picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder and kicking the door closed with his foot. He heads straight up the stairs . "Danny! Put me down!" Lacey screams to no avail as he continues to carry her up the stairs. The way he just carried her up the stairs so easily excited and aroused her. He stopped to look around once he got to the top and went in what could only be her bedroom. He went in and placed her gently on the bed. Lacey sat up and leaned on her elbows to just look at him. "This isn't funny, Danny. I asked you to leave." Lacey says.
"You can't really expect me to leave after telling me something like that." Danny says as he starts to remove his shirt.
Lacey puts her hand up. "Don't take your shirt off!" Lacey practically yells.
His tee-shirt is already around his neck and then he pulls it completely off. "Too late." Danny says. Lacey takes in the appearance before her. He has hair on his chest and he has a treasure trail leading to his crotch. She notices that he has another tattoo on his side right near his rib cage. Wow. She watched him kick his sneakers off and watched in awe as he pulled his shorts down, although she didn't want to look. Once he removed his shorts completely, she took in the boxer briefs he had on and she could unmistakably see the outline of his semi erect penis. She knew without a doubt that he was well endowed. She did not want to look and she wanted to reach out and touch him at the same time. She shouldn't look. But she had to. It was like an automobile collision or train wreck. She wanted to look away, but her eyes forced her to watch him undress. When he climbed on top of her and she allowed her body to make complete contact with her mattress, she still hadn't fully come to her senses. His lips connected with hers in the same feverish fashion as the previous day. They continued to kiss as their lips and tongues moved languidly. He broke the kiss and smirked at her. That look only meant one thing. He raised up on his knees to remove her sneakers and more easily than he should have been able to, removed the yoga pants she was wearing. He retreated to his former position on top of her and started to kiss her again. She felt his engorged penis press against her thigh. The penis that was just inside her best friend. She had to stop. They couldn't, she shouldn't do this.
Lacey pulls away from him. "Danny, Danny stop. Please. We have to stop. I can't do this." Lacey says.
He immediately moves from on top of her to beside her and just stares at the ceiling in a daze and silence for several minutes. Lacey felt raw, naked, vulnerable, and exposed. Her mind had beaten her body in this debate. She didn't know which one to hate. Her mind for overpowering her body or her body for being too stupid to listen. She felt like a foolish and confused teenager. She was grown for crying out loud. And that still didn't make it right.
"I'm sorry, Danny." Lacey said.
"It's fine, Lacey. I get it." Danny says in a tone Lacey isn't too sure she wants to ask about.
"You do?" Lacey asks. She doesn't really want to explain that she won't sleep with him because Jo already did. There are some things that best friends shouldn't share. This is one of them.
"Yes. I get that even though I didn't sleep with your friend, she still managed to screw me." Danny says in a tone that makes her think he's actually telling the truth. He spoke of Jo with resentment and disgust in his voice.
"Please don't be mad at me. I know it sucks, but my friend is important to me." Lacey says.
He turns to face her. "I'm not mad at you. It shows me that I was right about you from the very beginning. I don't want to say anything bad about your friend, but you are a much better woman than she is." Danny says.
Lacey forces herself to swallow. "Thanks. I guess." Lacey says.
They laid there in silence for an unforeseeable amount of time. He made no effort to leave and she made no effort to ask him to leave. It felt especially nice just to lay in each other's company for the time being. Lacey's thoughts were getting the best of her. She was starting to doubt herself and her friendship with Jo. She had an eerie feeling that Danny was indeed being truthful to her, and Jo had not been. She knew that she needed to get to the bottom of things before anything occurred between her and Danny.