Arin let out less than dignified snort as he stared up from the text message on his cell phone. "I called it. My wife has kidnapped your girlfriend for the remainder of the day. They shopped and now they're going to that rotating sushi bar….ugh, I'm kinda jealous. I love that place."

Dan shook his head not too terribly shocked that Arin had been correct in his prediction that Suzy would more than likely disappear with Elle for the remainder of the work day. They had both figured that Suzy wasn't going to miss the chance to have some girl time. Suzy was constantly surrounded by testosterone day in and day out after all, not that she ever complained about it. Still though Holly had been so busy with her own channel lately that this left Suzy on her own stuck in an office full of men.

Suzy took being the only girl in the office well. She was the one who kept them all in line after all. Arin and Dan had the feeling though that Suzy probably appreciated escaping dick jokes and belches for a few hours even if she was more than capable of holding her own as far as dick jokes went.

Dan just hoped that Elle was enjoying herself. He had hopes that perhaps Elle and Suzy could form a friendship. Lord knows Elle could use relationships outside of her brother and himself. Suzy might be pretty good for Elle as far as maybe building up her confidence.

Suzy was sweet enough to make Elle feel welcome and perhaps reassure any anxieties Elle had about any social situations. Or at least Dan hoped Suzy would be able to make Elle feel at ease.

Dan of course had the distinct feeling that if shopping was involved Suzy might just be turning Elle into her own living Barbie doll. Or at least that was what Dan's very limited experience was when it came to being dragged along on a shopping trip with Suzy.

Dan had been reluctantly put through Suzy wanting to play stylist before.

He cringed remembering the day Suzy had taken him practically kicking and screaming to the mall the year before. Dan had been in desperate need for a decent looking suit for a mutual friend's wedding, and had been procrastinating getting the job over and done with.

He had never having been one to enjoy the process of shopping, at least shopping for clothing that is. His long lanky body made it impossible to just snatch up a suit straight off the rack. In-fact his all too tall all too angular frame made even the simplest clothing shopping a nightmare for Dan.

Shopping for T-shirts was no problem and Dan actually found that he didn't mind just buying t-shirts. It was buying jeans and pants that turned out to be a hectic affair for Dan. This was why he tended to wear his old torn jeans until they disintegrated to the point of being unwearable. Finding a good pair of well-fitting jeans was such a hassle. He wore a 34' jean after all. So when he found a comfortable pair he tended to wear them until they were absolutely wrecked.

Most of the items in Dan's closet had been gathered from gifts from family, friends, and sometimes fans. When Dan was feeling brave he allowed himself the occasional venture into online shopping.

As far as actually physically shopping for clothing though, nope Dan didn't enjoy that.

Buying a nice suit seemed to be an impossible task to Dan. It was just so much trouble to get a decent suit that he'd be happy with. He knew that buying a suit would be long drawn out process. He would be forced to go through the awkward process of being measured by a tailor if he wanted a suit that actually fit him correctly and comfortably.

There was nothing pleasant about having a half blind shaky old man hold measuring tape all too close to your business and it made Dan pale when scissors came into the picture. A few too many inches over and a snip there and it could easily turn into a bloody painful traumatic disaster.

Suzy had practically ambushed Dan taking Arin and he for a shopping trip to the tailors though, so Dan had no choice in the matter. Dan had been less than pleased with the surprise shopping trip and had been all too vocal about his displeasure.

What should have been a quick two-hour process for the group had turned into a day-long undertaking. Suzy had been all too eager for Dan to look at every fabric option the tailor shop offered. Arin of course had been all too happy to play along, though his version of playing along had been holding up the most ridiculous options insisting Dan at least give them a try despite Suzy's eye rolls and giggles.

Even if the end result had looked great, Dan had quickly learned to avoid shopping trips with Suzy. Apparently the Great Suit Adventure had taken a lot out of Suzy as well because when it had come time for Dan to once again take a trip to the mall, to add some décor to his Barry's and his rental house, Suzy had offered to take Dan's shopping list and go on a solo mission.

Dan was quickly proven correct by his assumption that Elle was currently playing Barbie doll to Suzy as Arin snickered staring back down at his cell. "Apparently Suzy has decided you're going to be picking Elle up at our place tonight. Suz has grand plans of getting Elle all made up for you. She talked Elle into picking out a new outfit."

Arin paused another laugh escaping his lips causing a snort to exit his nose. "My wife is going to make your girlfriend all hot for you. She says you're going to melt."

"My girlfriend is already hot." Dan grumbled rolling his eyes as he popped the last of his chicken strip into his mouth.

He was beginning to wish that Arin would start stuffing his own face and put the phone down for a moment. His hopes were dashed as Arin spoke up not missing a chance to throw Dan's past words into Dan's face.

"And just to think a little over a month ago you were claiming you two were just friends."

Dan bowed his head avoiding Arin's knowing look as Dan started in on his next chicken strip. "Yeah, totally, I know I'm an idiot, thanks. You aren't ever going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope, never. You have to admit it's pretty freaking funny. You've spent so long insisting that you weren't into her and that she wasn't your girlfriend. You kept insisting that you're just friends and it's just too complicated and now here you are bragging about how hot your girlfriend is…how quick you jumped from just friends to girlfriend." Arin pointed out finally tossing his cell phone down and getting started in on his own lunch.

"That's because it was complicated…I mean it's still sort of complicated." Dan replied trying his best to defend his past arguments as he savored the greasy junk food.

This wasn't the best choice in a lunch but he wasn't complaining. He was going to enjoy the fried food in front of him even though he knew the next time Arin and he hit the gym their trainer so wouldn't be pleased with Dan's indulgence into fried chicken fingers and French fries.

Not that it really mattered or at least Dan tried to tell himself that his bad lunch choice wasn't that big of a deal. Dan was only hitting the gym to attempt to add some bulk to his skinny frame. He had a feeling though that when his trainer pushed the idea of protein he didn't mean fried chicken strips.

"What's so complicated about it? Is it her brother? Because you'd be an idiot to let Jake screw things up for you again." Arin pointed out as he chewed his salad not bothering to shy away from talking with his mouth full.

Dan shook his head a small frown crossing his features. He knew Jake was going to kill him when he found out that Dan hadn't followed his orders to stay away from Elle.

Following those orders had clearly been a huge mistake though. Following Jake's orders had just ended in Elle and Dan being miserable.

"I know. He's going out of town for a month at least…I think he's visiting one of his friends out in Montana. So that gives Elle and me a month to at least relax and not have to think about breaking the news to him…I'll deal with him when the time comes…I will just have to be straight up with him about how I feel…I'm pretty sure he's going to punch me out for it…and probably do a pretty good job at it since my scrawny-ass noodle arms aren't exactly made for defending myself…I mean if middle school taught me anything it's that I can't fight off a punch to save my life…. I'll take the punch and whatever else he wants to throw at me though. Taking the punch is going to suck so hard, but I'll deal with it. No matter what I'm determined not to let Jake come between Elle and me again. If he doesn't like me being with Elle then he's just going to have to learn to deal with it. I'm not going anywhere…not again…that's not the complicated part though…I mean it's not all of it."

Arin frowned shoving more salad into his mouth as he spoke again. "Then what's so complicated about it? is she still, ya know…dealing with nightmares?"

Dan cleared his throat running a hand through his mass of chaotic curls his stomach dropping at the question. "Yeah…yeah, she is. She's just, she's dealing with a lot of crap…she's getting some help though. All I can do is stand by her and support her. It's just, it's really complicated for her right now. I just need to take my time with her and be patient with her."

Arin furrowed his brow tempted to dig at Dan for more information. He had the distinct feeling that Dan wasn't going to spill the entire story though. The only thing Arin had dragged out of Dan was that there had been some violence in Elle's life at some point and it had left some trauma behind.

Arin had the feeling that the full story wasn't Dan's story to tell anyhow. At the end of the day it was Elle's story, not Dan's. Perhaps Elle would one day feel comfortable sharing her story with everyone. Until then Arin knew he'd just have to wait it out and keep his curiosity under wraps.

Arin changed the subject getting the hint that his question about Elle's nightmares was unsettling Dan. "So where are you taking Elle tonight?"

Dan let out a heavy sigh unable to stop himself from rambling as he let all his thoughts spill from his mind. "I was going to take her to that new Sushi place, Kiriko…but ya know Suzy took her to sushi for lunch so that's out the window…I don't know if she'd want sushi twice in one day…I mean I could try, but I don't want to disappoint her. Then I thought about maybe that steak place that Brian took Rachel to for their anniversary, but ya know me and red meat don't agree…. I'll get gassy and that's the last thing I need. I could get like chicken or fish or something, but then I'll have fish breath and that kind of kills any decent kiss at the end of the date…plus it'll be weird ordering something other than a steak at a steak restaurant…also Elle probably knows good steak. She's from Texas so she definitely knows good steak, so what if it's no good? I was also maybe thinking a Chinese place, but then I'm going to want dumplings and dumplings make me all vomity…Elle loves dumplings. If she ordered dumplings I don't think I'd be able to resist and then I'll just feel like crap…what if I eat dumplings and spend the rest of the night puking?"

Arin tried not to chuckle as he watched Dan obsess over his choices. He'd never seen Dan like this not over a date, but it was a welcome change. Dan had spent so many years running anytime things got too intense, but now here he was panicking over planning the perfect date.

Dan paused taking a deep breath as he realized he'd worked himself into a frensy over something as simple as dinner. He took another deep breath attempting to calm his mind before he let himself fixate to the point of freaking out even more. "I guess I could just take her for Italian though. I mean Italian is fancy enough right?"

"Yeah man, Italian is the cuisine of romance." Arin stated giving Dan a reassuring pat on the knee.

Dan rolled his eyes at this a small snort exiting his nose as he chuckled. "I think that's French Arin."

"Nah pretty sure it's Italian. If Lady and the Tramp taught us anything it's that Elle and you need to eat a big plate of spaghetti, share a noodle." Arin insisted as he shoved more salad into his mouth.

He spoke again knowing well enough that he was about to send Dan into another freak out. "So, what are you going to wear? Because you aren't picking her up from my place in that."

Dan stared down at his NY Giants t-shirt and his ripped jeans a groan escaping his throat. "Crap I gotta wear a suit, don't I?"

Arin gave Dan's knee another reassuring pat doing his best to stop Dan before he worked himself up again. "Nah, just wear some nice pants and a dress shirt. You'll look great."

Dan let out an exasperated sigh his head falling forward. He didn't have many pairs of nice pants. He stared down at his trusty pair of athletic shoes it quickly hitting him he'd have to dig out one of his few pairs of decent dress shoes from the back of his closet.

"I'll probably have to change shoes too huh?"

His usual choice in somewhat dorky tennis shoes weren't the most attractive things but they really were his best bet most of the time. Unfortunately, one his long legs went inward farther than the other which caused a ton of discomfort not to mention he'd had back problems since his late twenties.

The tennis shoes alleviated some of that pain.

He spoke again shaking his head reminding himself that a few hours of discomfort would be worth it in the long run if it made Elle happy. "I guess I can stand dress shoes for a few hours."

"Just take your shoes off in the restaurant if it gets too bad." Arin insisted shoving the last of his salad into his mouth.

Dan snorted at this suggestion shaking his head. "I don't think the waiter would approve."

He paled as Arin nodded speaking again. "You make a reservation yet?"

Dan quickly fished his cell phone from his jeans pocket a low crap working from his lips.

Yep he was going to have a nervous breakdown before the night started.

….

Elle tried not to fidget as Suzy practically shoved her down into a chair in front of a vanity. She glanced down at her cell phone trying not to feel self-conscious as she watched Suzy arrange the make up she was apparently going to use on Elle.

They'd taken a long lunch before she'd been dragged along to a shoe outlet and a Sephora by Suzy. Once they'd reached Arin's and Suzy's house Elle had been shoved into a bedroom so that she could go ahead and change.

Now she found herself sitting down in her new dress not helping but to feel a little nervous about her date tonight.

She couldn't help but to feel even more anxious as she eyed the selection of makeup Suzy had lined up on the vanity top. Elle was usually pretty simple in her makeup routine; some foundation, some powder, mascara, and lipstick. She'd do her brows too but that was about as adventurous as she got.

She could already spot liquid eyeliner and a ton of eyeshadow along with a contour kit sitting out on the vanity. She was beginning to realize that Suzy truly was enjoying turning her into a living Barbie doll.

Elle rolled her eyes as a text from her brother poured into her phone. "Sure, you don't want to go to Montana? There's going to be horses. You've always loved horses."

Elle sighed not shocked by the text. Her brother had been planning this trip for months now. He was going to visit an old high school buddy who lived in Montana. Elle was glad for him. He could probably use the vacation as much as he worked. There was no way in hell though that Elle was going to be forced to see anyone she'd known from her hometown not even with the promise of horses.

"Haven't ridden a horse since I was sixteen. Plus, I have work. So nope. Have fun." She quickly texted back shoving her cell into her purse as she spotted Suzy looking at her.

She cringed as her cell buzzed again. She fished her cell back out rolling her eyes at the text. "Since when do you work?"

"New job. Nothing special, just office stuff. Can't talk right now." Elle texted back rather quickly not shocked to hear another buzz from her phone her brother probably once again prying at her.

He always had to get into her business even at the expense of driving her insane.

Elle spoke as she silenced the phone shoving it back into her purse and tossing it back onto the floor "My brother's trying to convince me to go to Montana with him."

"What's in Montana?" Suzy asked having only met Jake once or twice when Arin had decided to hang out with Dan and he. To be honest Suzy wasn't quite sure what to think of Jake.

Jake for the most part seemed to keep to himself almost to the point of coming across as antisocial. Suzy had done her best to play nice with Jake, but to tell the truth he always seemed so moody.

Elle shook her head a sigh escaping her lips. "Horses apparently. Haven't ridden a horse since I was a teenager though. So that's not a winning point for me."

"You've ridden a horse?" Suzy asked trying to picture it. Elle seemed so tiny that it was almost amusing to picture her attempting to mount a horse.

Elle cleared her throat averting her eyes from Suzy as she tried to explain without getting too far into her family's wealth. "Yeah, not since I was a teenager, uh, my grandparents had a horse ranch so…they mostly raised racing horses…and there's some cattle too. Part of my daily chores were to help take care of the horse stables...or at least my horse's area of the stables…I used to do equestrian sports…ya know show riding. I only did it for a few years though. I kind of hated it to tell the truth."

She spoke again before Suzy had a chance to ask any more questions. "My brother apparently thinks I'm still crazy about horses. Sometimes I think I'm still a kid in his eyes."

"I think all brothers feel that way." Suzy pointed out a small chuckle escaping her lips.

She spoke again pleased that Elle seemed to become more comfortable around her as the day went on. The conversation had seemed to flow more naturally as the day wore on. "I have five siblings so, I have three brothers to put up with."

Elle chuckled feeling bad as she cringed a bit at the thought. "I think I would lose my mind if I had three Jakes. One is bad enough."

She cringed crossing her arms as her phone buzzed within her purse. Suzy took notice of this hinting at it as she spoke. "Jake seems protective of you."

Elle closed her eyes as she allowed Suzy to begin applying foundation. "Yep. That's one way to put it. To tell the truth I'll be glad that he's out of town for the month. I kind of need the break."

She spoke again struggling to explain Jake's and her relationship. "He can be a little much at times…. hence the whole mess with Dan and me….to be honest I'm not too pleased with my brother right now because of that whole mess."

"So, I'm guessing he's not going to be pleased when he finds out about Dan and you?" Suzy blurted out not helping but to ask.

She cringed at her own question worrying that she had maybe veered the conversation to something that would unnerve Elle.

She was relieved that Elle didn't seem to be too upset to hear the question the woman opening her eyes as Suzy began to apply contour. "Nope. He's going to have to learn to deal though. I know my brother loves me, but like I said, he can be a bit much at times. I like Dan, so Jake is just going to have to learn to live with it."

Elle was surprised as she felt the words slip from her lips before she had too much of a chance to think about them. "I don't blame Jake for being an overprotective nut…. our childhood was, it was pretty rough…violent most of the time really. We were all each other had growing up. He's used to protecting me. My last relationship was…well he beat me…. and I guess Jake, he just blames himself. So, he's not ready to let me go. He's afraid I'll get hurt again."

She averted her eyes from Suzy's the woman paling at this confession. She spoke again shaking her head unsure if she was speaking more to herself than to Suzy. "I'm not going to get hurt again."

Suzy spoke quick to reassure the woman despite her shock over Elle's previous statement. "Dan wouldn't hurt you."

"I know. He won't. He's really, he's something special. I just hope Jake sees it when the truth comes out." Elle replied toying with the bracelet on her wrist.

She spoke again a small laugh escaping her lips as she attempted to lighten the mood. "One request for my hair. Leave it down for me. I don't want to ruin the mood having to ask Dan to pull bobby pins out at the end of the night."

Suzy chuckled as Elle held up her casted hand once again speaking. "I'm basically a giant toddler thanks to this mess."

"Can do. I'll just curl it." Suzy reassured her.

Elle nodded her head running a hand through her long hair. "I'm kind of tempted to cut my hair actually…my ex would never let me cut my hair…so I think it'd be kind of freeing."

She paused clearing her throat hating that she'd let the comment about Adam spill out. She already felt awkward enough after explaining just why Jake was so overprotective.

She took a deep breath refusing to let Adam or Jake or anyone ruin the night for her. "I was kind of thinking of going pretty short…maybe chin length…. or I don't know maybe shoulder length first. I don't know what Dan would think though."

Elle cleared her throat again cursing herself for this comment. Dan wasn't Adam. Dan wouldn't make decisions for her.

She was relieved that Suzy didn't read too much into her comment. She spoke making a joke. "I think Dan likes you for more than your hair."

"I'd hope so." Elle chuckled.

She paused unable to stop herself from bringing up her brother again. "My brother is a stubborn ass sometimes. I love him but he drives me nuts."

"All brothers do." Suzy insisted relieved that this worked a laugh from Elle's lips.

Suzy went back to work on Elle's face not helping but to let her mind wonder. She had to hope that Jake wouldn't screw this up.

Suzy had a feeling that if Jake screwed this up then she might have to have a few words with him herself.

….

Elle felt ridiculous at Suzy and Arin's insistence that she stay upstairs as they rushed downstairs to answer the door. She tried to stifle her laughter as Suzy called out her voice doing the perfect imitation of a sitcom mom. "Oh honey, your date is here."

As she made her way downstairs Elle quickly realized that Suzy had been right when she said Dan was going to freak over how hot she looked.

Elle had to hand it to Suzy. The woman had really made her look amazing.

She'd applied a light golden hued eyeshadow to her eyes that perfectly matched the sequined shrug Suzy had found. She had somehow managed to give Elle a sharp black cateye using liquid eyeliner with skill that Elle envied. She'd applied a dark red lipstick to her lips that Suzy had teasingly mentioned wouldn't stain when Elle kissed.

Elle's hair had been left down Suzy choosing to curl it loosely.

They had managed to find a pair of black open toed pumps that went perfectly with the velvet dress Suzy had talked her into buying. She'd even found a black clutch to match it.

Dan's eyes locked on Elle as she entered the room a familiar flash of lust entering his dark gaze. Elle couldn't deny the flash of lust in her own eyes as she took Dan's appearance in.

He'd pulled his hair back somehow managing the unruly curls with a ponytail holder. He had found a dark pair of dress pants that seemed to fit well enough with the help of a belt. The dark dress shoes he'd fetched from the back of his closet weren't too terribly uncomfortable. He'd taken Arin's advice wearing a dark and light blue ombre dress shirt that he was particularly fond of. He'd topped it off with his black leather jacket deciding that the item would be a comfort with rarely worn dress clothes.

Dan couldn't help but to feel like an awkward teen on his first date as he held forward the small bouquet of pink hydrangeas he'd purchased on the way here. "These are for you."

"Thank you." Elle exclaimed taking the bouquet from him unable to stop herself from smelling the flowers.

Dan felt his cheeks flush as Suzy spoke a squeal spilling from her lips. "You two are so cute. I'm taking a picture."

Elle chuckled rolling her eyes slightly allowing Dan to wrap his arms around her from behind as Suzy pulled out her phone snapping more than a few pics.

Arin thankfully put an end to the photo session before Suzy got too carried away. "Alright, now Daniel have Elle back home by eleven young man."

Elle chuckled playing along letting out a groan doing her best impersonation of a teen girl. "God dad, you're embarrassing me."

Suzy giggled playing into her role as well. "Now Elle show your father some respect young woman."

Dan thankfully put a stop to the joke all too happy to lead Elle towards the front door. "Leaving now."

"Yep don't want to get me grounded." Elle joked shaking her head as Arin called out.

"Have fun kids."

Elle wasn't surprised to find that Dan's radio was on an eighties station. She was even less surprised as Dan began to tap on the steering wheel and sing along.

"Foreigner?" Elle teased causing Dan to pause from his singing.

"Yeah, come one Ellie. You know you love it." Dan insisted teasing her as they pulled up to a stop light.

Elle gave in turning up the stereo slightly as she gave in and began to sing along.

"I want to know what love is, I want you to show me
I want to feel what love is, I know you can show me

I'm gonna take a little time, a little time to look around me
I've got nowhere left to hide, it looks like love has finally found me

In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far, to change this lonely life

I want to know what love is, I want you to show me
I want to feel what love is, I know you can show me"

Dan laughed taking her hand in his as the light changed to green. "That's my girl."

Elle felt her stomach churn as she stared down at the menu in front of her. This was expensive. Yes, she'd known Dan had said a fancy dinner date, but she hadn't expected over 20 dollars a plate.

Dan apparently spotted the apprehension on her face soothing her as he spoke. "Don't worry about it. This is Barry's treat remember."

Elle smiled remembering that Dan had been all too quick to demand that bet payout from Barry this morning.

Dan shifted in his seat not helping but to feel out of place here. The restaurant was beyond nice; low lighting from heavy looking expensive chandeliers, white linen table cloths at little round tables, a small candle at the center of the table, stark white folded napkins, more heavy utensils than Dan was sure what to do with, and his coat had even been checked at the door.

This was far more upscale than any of Dan's past dining experiences. As hard as he tried to ignore it he couldn't help but to feel that the waiter was judging him. He had caught the waiters slight glare when he'd jokingly asked if they had Pepsi.

Though in reality Dan knew the waiter was probably just annoyed that Elle and Dan hadn't been interested in purveying the wine menu.

Dan hoped that it wasn't obvious just out of place he felt here as he picked at his bread silently reminding himself to pop a piece of chewing gum into his mouth at the end of the night. "So, did you have fun with Suzy? She didn't overwhelm you playing dress up right?"

Elle chuckled taking her eyes from the menu as she spoke. "Yeah. She's really sweet. The shopping was okay…I think she had more fun than me. I don't think I've ever tried on so many dresses in my life."

Elle chewed at the inside of her cheek remembering the rest of the day Suzy and she had had as well as the advice Suzy had given her.

She debated bringing it up, but she knew herself enough to know that if she didn't get it out now she would procrastinate until the conversation either never happened or happened at the worst possible time.

Dan spoke nodding his head relieved that she'd had a good time. "That's good. I'm glad you had fun."

He spoke again feeling foolish for the words that left his mouth. "So, it just hit me that I don't know your birthday or your middle name…which is super embarrassing since you know my first name."

Elle chuckled amused at this comment. She guessed it had never come up. "Well Leigh, my birthday is June 28th and my middle name is embarrassing so you have to promise not to laugh."

"Uh I might laugh in revenge for the use of Leigh…. Eleanor." Dan joked shaking a bit with laughter ignoring the harsh look he gained from a nearby patron.

Elle did her best to shoot him a glare but knew that her giggle probably took power from the glare. "Well Leigh if you're playing that game….my middle name is Temperance."

She was surprised that Dan didn't laugh at her middle name only giving her small smile. "That's actually pretty cute. Eleanor Temperance Brannock."

"I don't know about that. Temperance literally just means self-restraint and abstinence from alcohol…. I've never been one for self-restraint." Elle pointed out.

She bit the inside of her cheek quickly speaking again wanting to drift the conversation from the comment about alcohol given her past behavior. "I guess I'm lucky though. My grandmother wanted to name me after her. I could have been a Dolores Theodosia."

"I would have so laughed if you were a Dolores Theodosia." Dan teased as he took another bite of his bread.

Elle shook her head at this taking a bite of her own bread. "So, when's your birthday old man?"

"I'm not going to dignify the old man comment with a response. My birthday is March 14th." Dan replied pretty sure that Elle would never let him forget the almost decade he had on her.

Elle took a deep breath taking a sip of her lemon water as she worked up her nerve to bring this up. It was now or never. "So, while Suzy and I were shopping for a dress Suzy ran into a fan."

Dan paled at this almost choking on his bite of garlic bread. He tried to pretend that he wasn't internally panicking over just what her reaction would be to the fan encounter. "That happens sometimes."

Elle took a deep breath silently repeating the advice Suzy had given her. "I know…. Suzy kind of, explained it to me."

She paused taking another drink of water as she prepared herself to get into the depth of this hoping she wasn't going to make a fool of herself. "I get it…I mean, I know that the fans are just, they're something that comes with being with you. I know it's something I'll have to learn to deal with. I'm okay with it. I mean yeah it's a little surreal, but I know it's part of your job."

Dan worked up the nerve to reach across the table his hand sliding over hers as he forced the words from his mouth hoping she didn't take his offer the wrong way. "We can keep things private between us if you want…. I mean if the fans make you uncomfortable."

"I don't want to hide it…I mean I get if you want privacy. I wouldn't like force you to wear a sign around your neck announcing that I'm your girlfriend or whatever. I don't want to keep us a secret though…unless you want to, I mean I understand if you want privacy…I'm not going to force you to make anything public if you don't want to. I don't want to be the pushy girlfriend." Elle replied trying to hide the sting that Dan's suggestion caused.

She could understand if that's how he felt though. He was probably approached by fans constantly. She could understand the desire to perhaps keep your relationships a secret from prying eyes of strangers.

Dan was fast to reply mentally kicking himself for even making the suggestion. "I don't want that…I just, I wanted you to know that you have the option if that's what made you comfortable…I don't want to hide you though."

He paused dreading the next part of his statement. He knew though that it was best to get it all out in the open. It was best they lay it out now before it came up later and they got hurt. "The fans…they're usually great, but sometimes…you know they're still people and sometimes people are jerks. I can't promise that sometimes people won't be too nosy or just flat out rude."

Elle nodded her head quick to reassure him. "I know, Suzy kind of gave me a pep talk about that. I'm not going to like scour the internet for people's opinions of me or anything like that. I like you and you like me. This is our relationship. I don't care what anyone has to say about it."

Dan let out a relieved sigh thankful that Suzy had apparently beaten him to the punch. He guessed Suzy understood just as much as anyone how cruel a fanbase could sometimes become.

He spoke the answer seeming so clear in his mind. "Then it's settled. Do you want me to make an announcement? Because I will stand on a chair right now an announce that I'm dating you to this entire restaurant."

"I'll let you get away without having to go through that degradation for now." Elle teased taking a bite of her own bread roll.

She felt her stomach roll staring down at her salad as the waiter scurried off shooting them a disapproving look as Dan apologetically admitted that no they weren't ready to order yet.

She knew that Suzy had also brought up another conversation that needed to be had. "That's not all we talked about…Suzy and me I mean."

Elle took a deep breath deciding to just jump right into it. "She kind of…she mentioned in her little pep talk that when things get serious for you…you run. She said you have commitment issues."

Dan felt his stomach drop at this panic hitting him. He guessed it would have come up eventually. He knew this had to be discussed. He couldn't escape his past forever.

Part of him wanted to be upset with Suzy for even bringing up his commitment phobia, but he guessed he should have known that he couldn't hide his issues forever. "I guess I have some explaining to do."

Elle nodded her head trying her best to soothe just how awkward this was. "Suzy said to let you explain it yourself."

Dan nodded his head relieved that Suzy had at least left the ball in his court. He kept his hand over hers relieved that she hadn't yanked it back yet despite the less than comfortable conversation choice. "I was engaged…or well I was almost engaged. It was back when I lived in Brooklyn in my mid-twenties…I'd just started a new band, Skyhill. I was poor, like rice and beans and shitty totally not up to code studio apartment poor. I, I had this girlfriend, Regina. I loved her…I really did. She was, she wasn't the nicest person though…not really. I always made excuses for her though. I looked past her faults. I ignored how badly she treated me. I thought she loved me as much as I loved her. I thought she supported me even though I was a poor struggling musician. I took a chance, sold my nicer bass and bought this shitty ring…the best I could afford. I poured my heart out to her and she, well she laughed at me. She told me I needed to grow up that music wasn't going to get me anywhere…She told me we had no future…that we were just having fun. She told me that there was no way in hell her parents would let her marry a musician. She pretty much threw me away like garbage and totally obliterated my heart."

Elle widened her eyes not helping but to hate this Regina though she'd never met her. She couldn't believe that she'd so cruelly turned down his proposal. She'd been so horrible to someone as sweet and as wonderful as Dan.

Dan apparently spotted the fire in her eyes and was quick to speak his thumb running across hers soothing the anger she felt for his heartbreak. "It's okay…I mean…in the long run it probably saved me some trouble. She was…like I said she wasn't the nicest person. She treated me like garbage and I called it love… It did kind of mess me up though…I was so crazy about her and she just she was terrible…. I kind of convinced myself that I had to be careful after that. I told myself that I couldn't risk committing to the wrong person too soon. Anytime things got too serious with a girl I would panic and run…I told you that I haven't always been sweet and, well that's kind of an example of that."

He let out a heavy sigh so thankful that she hadn't yanked her hand away yet. She was still here. She was hearing him out. "I thought I was okay being alone…I told myself I was fine with not tying myself down. I thought I was okay with just having fun and splitting when things got to be too much…then I met you. You were so sweet and gorgeous and I liked everything about you. You were so adorable, even your giggle was adorable. I got to know you and it just made me like you more. You implanted yourself in my head so easily and for the first time in a long time I didn't want to run. I don't want to run, and I won't lie it terrifies me, but I'm not running away from you."

He gave her hand a squeeze trying to get it across that he meant this. "I promised you I wasn't going to disappear from your life again and I meant it. I'm not running from us."

Elle returned the squeeze to his hand suddenly understanding just why Suzy had insisted that Dan be giving a chance to explain himself. It all made sense. She spoke up knowing he needed to hear the words too. "I'm not running either."

She couldn't stop the giggle from leaving her lips as Dan pulled her hand up to his lips pressing a kiss to it as he spoke. "There see, that giggle."

Dan wasn't running and neither was she.

Dan was relieved that he'd remembered to pop that piece of gum in his mouth on the way home because soon Elle and he found themselves sat on the sofa in Barry's and his house, Elle straddling Dan's hips her lips locked over his.

Neither were quite sure how they ended up in this situation. They'd sat down on the sofa and turned the tv on eager to rid themselves of their uncomfortable footwear.

The plan had been to just watch some tv and try not to fall asleep on the sofa. Here they were though Elle above him his hands on her hips their lips locked together.

Elle buried her hand in his curls the ponytail that he'd used to pull his hair back long gone. Dan's tongue slid along hers confident and determined always so easily dominating their kisses. Dan took a chance sliding his hand along her thigh a groan spilling from his throat as he reveled in just how soft her skin was, how silky.

He was tempted to slide his hand up higher to caress her lace covered bottom. He held back though reminding his racing hormones that he had promised to take things slow with her.

Dan quickly realized that this was easier said than done as Elle took a chance allowing her hips to grind against him. The action earned a low growl from Dan as he moved his hand back up grasping at her hips encouraging her movements. He moaned the soft velvet of her dress bunching against his fingers as she grinded causing the dress to ride up.

Elle tugged at his curls earning another growl from Dan's lips as she continued to rock against him so eager draw more of those noises out of him.

She couldn't stop herself from making some of those noises herself as she took notice of his clear excitement against her clothed center. She preened at the realization that she was getting this reaction from him. She wanted more; to feel him against her skin, to feel him inside of her.

She pushed back this desire though reminding herself that she had wanted to take things slow. She wanted to take things slow with him.

Dan and Elle parted their lips swollen their cheeks flushing pink as the overhead light suddenly flipped on a stunned Barry entering the house.

Elle buried her face against Dan's neck mortified that they'd been interrupted in their fun by poor flustered Barry.

Barry cleared his throat this being the last thing he'd expected to walk in on. "Sorry guys…didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay Barr…didn't expect you home so early. I figured you'd be pulling an all nighter." Dan replied trying not to giggle over the fact that his embarrassed girlfriend was still nuzzled against his neck hiding from the current situation.

"Nope, decided to call it a night." Barry replied the situation way beyond awkward.

He couldn't help but to poke fun at his roommate as he headed upstairs. "I'll let you two get back to it…just ya know, move upstairs before you have too much fun…no offense but I sit there too. I don't think I can hang out on the sofa knowing you two have defiled it."

"So funny. Night Barry." Dan replied chuckling as Elle let out a muffled night Barr against his neck.

Elle finally pulled from Dan's neck as he spoke. "We're going to have to start covering Barry's therapy bills."

Elle rolled her eyes sure that her cheeks were the color of a cherry tomato now. Dan soothed her his lips pressing to her forehead. "It's alright. This definitely isn't the weirdest thing Barry's walked in on since we became roommates."

"Do I want to know?" Elle asked her brain jumping to a million different possibilities.

"Nope. So, are you ready to head upstairs? Ya know just in case we get into it again and wind up scarring poor Barry for life for the millionth time." Dan teased his lips pressing to her cheeks unable to keep his lips off of her.

It was Elle's turn to tease Dan as she nodded down at his lap and the previous hardness that had been pressed against her. "I don't know…you sure you can walk?"

"I think Excalibur is down for now." Dan teased causing Elle to raise an eyebrow parroting his words.

"Excalibur?"

Dan chuckled as she reluctantly pulled from him the action rather awkward given their previous position. "Oh yeah sometimes it's Admiral Excalibur."

Elle giggled shaking her head at just how proud he was to announce this. "You are a strange man."

"And you adore it." Dan pointed out wrapping an arm around her as he yanked himself from the sofa.

Elle shook her head as she allowed him to lead her upstairs. He was strange, but he was right. She did adore him.