Chapter 6 (Daniel POV):
"We can't?" Lindsay's voice came out in little more than a whimper. She looked heartbroken, dejected.
What the fuck are you doing, man? Daniel wished he possessed the ability to step outside of himself, just so he could slap himself across the face for his ridiculousness.
Daniel quickly glanced back up at the partially opened door; he half-expected Kim to still be standing there, watching them like the crazy jealous ex that she was. Thankfully Kim had moved on and the hallway was well-lit again. Nevertheless, Daniel gently eased Lindsay off of him and made his way to his feet. He didn't want to make it too obvious that he had just seen something, but the fact that the doorway still had a wide crack in it, thus exposing them to any passersby, was creeping him out in the worst sort of way.
The two of them really needed some privacy. So Daniel crossed the room to pull on the doorknob, making sure that the door shut completely this time, before returning to the bed. He eased himself down into a sitting position a short distance away from Lindsay, who had managed to quickly put her shirt back on and was now sitting there as well. Her eyes were widened in surprise at the fact that the door had been partially open the entire time without her realizing it, nonetheless she didn't say anything; she was clearly waiting for Daniel to speak next. He wanted to reach over and put his hand on her leg, but he needed his message to be clear and not to get too distracted by her body, as difficult as that was. He tried to sound as comforting as possible as he shook his head.
"Look- I- really want to, but we can't. I'd um- I'd be doing it for all the wrong reasons." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a big part of Daniel regretted them. Why in the hell are you sabotaging the opportunity to hook up with a chick as unique (and hot) as Lindsay, doofus? Doing it for all the wrong reasons never stopped you before.
But the other part of him could answer the question immediately. Because you want to hook up with her more than just once, you idiot, it retorted, and if she feels any regrets about tonight after she sobers up then she probably won't ever let you touch her again. And because maybe you want to do even more than hook up with her. Because Lindsay is unique.
"What reasons are those?" Lindsay asked in a small, wavering, voice. Her eyes were fixed on the floor.
Inexplicably, Daniel felt like he could come totally clean with Lindsay, unburden himself. The way that Lindsay had been hanging onto his every word tonight, it felt like she actually cared about what he said. And more than anything, Daniel felt that Lindsay needed to know that the reasons that he was pulling back had nothing at all to do with him not wanting to, nothing to do with him not wanting her. Daniel didn't hesitate to confess the truth, spill his guts. "Because I'm still pissed off at Kim. Every time I see her tonight I just want to make her jealous. Because you're nothing like her. And- because you're really hot."
Lindsay gave him the feeblest attempt at a smile as she glanced up to make eye contact with him. "I think at least one of those is a right reason," she said tentatively, obviously referring to the latter of his statements. The look in her eyes, however, still registered surprise and a little bit of hurt.
"Yeah." He tried to smile back, a little incredulous. He couldn't believe he was doing this, either.
"So- are there any others?" There was hesitation in her voice. Lindsay looked anxious, almost as if she didn't want to hear his answer.
Right reasons? Those didn't take long for Daniel to come up with. He shrugged, scooting a few inches closer to her. "You're so interesting. Smart. Different than all of the girls I've been with." Daniel's grin was full-on now. "And- because you're really hot."
Lindsay blushed and gave him a little smile, but it didn't last. "So, um- so that's it?" Lindsay's voice wavered, and she looked at the floor again. Daniel could tell right then that Lindsay wasn't asking him to name more reasons why he did want to mess around with her. She was asking if anything was going to happen between them at all, considering he was putting the brakes on things for the time being.
Daniel shook his head. "No." Hell, no, he reiterated in his mind. This was not it. A lot was going to happen between them- or at least he hoped so. It was hard to be as sure of himself as he usually was when he spoke with this brilliant girl. "Definitely not."
Lindsay looked a little less apprehensive, but not much. She bit her lip. She was obviously worried, but Daniel had to suppress a smile, because her mouth was just so goddamn sexy. "What- what else did you have in mind?" she stuttered.
And just like that, Daniel felt his confidence surge again. She had been nervous all along, he could tell; yet seeing the physical manifestation of it on those pouty lips of hers- it made him really want her again. And she wanted him, too- or at least her body language and question to him just now said she did. Not to mention how upset she looked when he stopped their making out. He scooted even closer until the sides of their hips touched, putting his arm around her as he spoke next.
"I'd like to spend some more time with you. When half the school isn't around and I don't have to worry about seeing my ex-girlfriend." And I can kiss you. And touch you. And be able to actually pull your jeans the whole way down and see your underwear again and….
"You mean, like, um, a date?" Lindsay interrupted his rapidly gutter-bound train of thought. As soon as she said it, she looked vulnerable, like she was worried that she had said too much.
In all of Daniel's fantasies this evening, he hadn't really conjured up the image of taking Lindsay out in public. Most of what he thought about doing with her or to her required a hell of a lot more seclusion. Maybe it was spending all this time in her bedroom that had his thoughts all wayward. But her words prompted him to envision something completely different- sitting hand-in-hand next to her at the Laser Dome (making out with her by the end of the show, of course), or sitting across from her at Salvatore's while they ate pizza and fries, or just driving around in his Trans Am. I want to see her personality naked, too.
Daniel smiled at her again. The images actually looked nice. Not as nice as screwing around, but a date with Lindsay sounded fun. He squeezed her shoulder. "Sure. And, um- I can get to know you a little better, find out more about you." This was true. But then he also felt the need to quickly add, "And then we can do- all of this." Oh, and when they did it would be hot and wild and crazy. It wasn't like he was celibate or anything.
Lindsay turned, looked at him seriously. "What do you want to know?"
In response, Daniel suddenly leaned his torso back on the bed, pulling Lindsay with him so that they lay side-by-side, their legs below the knee dangling off the edge of the bed. His arm had stayed around her and he even managed to pull her a little closer so that she was now resting her head on his bicep. He still had plenty of freedom below his elbow so he brought his hand up to her forehead, gently brushing some of Lindsay's hair away from her face. He began stroking her hair, reveling in the softness of it on his arm.
What do you want to know, Daniel? He asked himself. Now was his chance.
Once again, he thought of Kim, their fight earlier on this evening. Her words struck him.
What makes her happy? What pisses her off? Well, those questions felt a little too personal. But maybe his ex was actually on the right track about something, for once. He found himself saying her words out loud. "I dunno. What's your favorite book? Band? Color?"
They continued to lie there peacefully as Lindsay opened her mouth and began to talk. Though he normally didn't pay attention to this type of stuff, he found himself once again enamored by what Lindsay had to say, and how passionately she said it. She liked too many books to list, she told him, but especially loved Wuthering Heights, anything by the Brontë sisters. As he listened, Daniel was sure that he would never want to read them, but based on how animatedly Lindsay was talking about them, he was sure as hell grateful that they had been written. She loved Zeppelin, Foghat- he'd heard a lot of her favorite bands and songs throughout the course of the party. It was stuff that most people their age liked; nevertheless, he was grateful that she wasn't a freak that only liked classical music or something. He could see taking her to a concert or show and having a good time. Plus, he now knew he could play some Floyd on his record player when he got her alone in his bedroom at the end of their date (assuming everyone else in his family was asleep of course) and work his magic.
When she got to her favorite color, Daniel, of course, was right all along. There was no big mystery, there could have only been one answer as far as he was concerned. Purple.
A/N: So, I struggled a bit with this story in terms of the POVs for the ending. Ultimately I decided that even though a Daniel-only chapter sort of wrecks the chronology, I didn't think that writing a separate POV for Lindsay added much here, and I knew I wanted to finish the story from Daniel's perspective. There's an off chance I may feel like writing a Lindsay POV down the road but since it's not likely, I'm marking the story as complete.
Thanks once again to GoatEatingToilet for the wonderful collaboration, and if you haven't already, go check out "And Souvenirs".