A/N: This chapter is a rewrite.
After hearing some buzz about the powers that be on this site deleting many overly explicit stories and possibly even removing all rated 'M' content from the site altogether (which would be rash, unreasonable, and completely unnecessary), I've decided to start covering my bases a little by eliminating the sordid details in this chapter. I've opted for the 'fade to black' tactic. Hope it's still ok. Truth be told, I personally like it better this way. Sits a little better in my conscience. I just hate what prompted me to do so. I may be making a few more changes to the story to get out of the 'grey area'.
DISCLAIMER: Usually I just cut and paste my original disclaimer here, but I don't want to ruin the mood. You get it.
There was a light knock on the door. Betty put down her toiletries bag and went to answer her door.
"Daniel! Hey, what are you doing here so late?" She stepped aside to let him into her flat.
"I'm sorry. You weren't sleeping, were you?"
"No, I'm just packing for my trip home," Betty said as she walked back to her bedroom with Daniel close behind. "Home. Wow, that feels really good to say. So what brings you by?"
Daniel held out Betty's scarf. "Oh, you left this in the cab after the Benefit Ball. Figured you would probably need it in New York."
"Thanks, but I have, like, ten other scarves to choose from. You didn't have to come all the way here to bring it." Betty folded the scarf and placed it into her suitcase.
"Then maybe I just wanted to say 'goodbye' before you left." Daniel picked up a blouse from the pile of clothes strewn haphazardly on her bed and folded it neatly, handing it to Betty to pack. He took a seat on the edge of her bed continuing to assist her with the tedious task.
"I can't thank you enough for the ticket home. It's the best birthday gift ever."
"Christmas gift. Don't get greedy now," he joked.
Betty paused to survey his face – his deep blue eyes, his crooked smirk, the smile lines next to his eyes. She had missed him looking at her like that, like he was happy to see her. Her stomach did a flip-flop.
After the rollercoaster they had been through the past few months in London, she realized there was one thing that had remained constant –Daniel. He supported her, protected her, and knew her better than anyone else. She wasn't sure what was standing in their way. Perhaps she was just afraid and her fight-or-flight response had kicked into overdrive. But she didn't want to fight with him anymore, and she needed him too much to flee. Now, she was just at a standstill. She supposed fear of giving her heart and trust away completely to someone whose track record showed she would only get hurt was a valid enough reason to stand still. Only now she didn't know if he had walked away.
"So when do you plan on going back to visit New York?" Betty asked, tossing her makeup and toothbrush into her toiletries bag.
"Funny you should ask," Daniel said as he twirled a pair of black lace panties around his finger.
"Hey, give me those!" Betty quickly grabbed it out of his hand and tucked it into her suitcase. "What? Are you flying home for the holidays too?"
"Actually…" Daniel segued. "Lindsey Dunne just proposed a new position for me." Betty stopped packing her things and took a seat across the bed to give him her undivided attention. "He really wants to expand the distribution of Dunne Publications in the U.S. He's invited me to work in the New York office to head the promotions."
"So you're going to be moving back to New York?" Betty asked worriedly.
"I don't know. I haven't given him an answer yet."
"Really? Why not? That's an incredible opportunity and it's in New York. What's to think about?" Betty pointed out.
Daniel paused thoughtfully. "Well, my rehearsed answer is that I'm a little nervous to go back to New York and work for a company besides Meade – conflict of interests and all."
"And your real answer?" Betty was silently praying that Daniel would give her the 'in' she needed to let down her guard.
Daniel busied himself with folding Betty's clothes to avoid making eye contact with her. "And the real answer is that… I'm not sure I'm ready to let you go."
There it was. There was the cue she was waiting for. Daniel looked up to check her reaction.
Betty pounced across her bed, grabbing at his shirt, pulling him in, and kissing him with every fiber of her being. He fervently returned the favor, cupping her face in his hands and turning her over onto the pillow. Betty's arms flailed at her sides as she attempted to push away the piles of clothing she was meaning to pack. She inhaled every kiss as if she needed to compensate for the time they had lost and save up for their uncertain future. Their hands grasped frantically at the other's clothes when Daniel stopped and pulled away.
"Betty…" Daniel whispered, gasping for a breath.
"Please, don't stop," Betty pulled herself up to him continuing to kiss up his neck and nipping at his earlobe.
Daniel groaned, turning his head to drink in one more kiss before he pulled away yet again. "Betty, are you sure about this? I don't want to do anything you may regret later."
Betty looked up at him with doe eyes, her chest heaving from the loss of breath. "I love you, Daniel. No regrets."
Daniel smiled down at her and tenderly brushed her hair away from her face. He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and finally back to her lips. Their pace slowed down significantly as they savored every second they had together.
"I love you, too," Daniel's ragged voice whispered before they both gave into their long-suppressed desires.
The sun streamed through Betty's bedroom window coaxing her into awake. She smiled to herself knowing that the warmth she felt behind her was the presence of the man she loved in her bed. Daniel stirred out of his own slumber and immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her bare shoulders.
"Mmmm…" Betty responded to his touch. "Good morning."
"Yes it is," Daniel said as he nuzzled the back of her ear. "What time is it?"
Betty grabbed her phone off the nightstand and checked the time. "8:15." She casually placed her phone back on the nightstand then immediately shot up in bed. "Oh, my gosh, it's 8:15!" Betty held the jumble of blanket around her as she frantically sifted through the mess of clothing she was supposed to have packed looking for something she could wear.
"What? Oh! What time is your flight?" Daniel sat up in search of his boxers.
"You should know, you bought the ticket for me! My flight leaves at 8:45!" She spotted her underwear a few feet away on the floor. Gripping the blanket around her, she quickly lunged forward to retrieve her clothing, dragging Daniel to the floor still tangled up in the other half of the blanket.
"Oww!" he yelped as his rear hit the hard wooden floor.
"Sorry!" Betty called out while she untwisted herself from the sheets. After she clumsily jumped into her pants and threw on a wrinkled sweater, she arbitrarily tossed the explosion of clothes into her suitcase and zipped it shut.
Daniel suited up as quickly as he could and followed Betty out the door. "Hold up! I'm coming with you to the airport!"
They both stepped into the cab headed for Heathrow Airport, racing to try to make it in time for Betty's flight. During the cab ride, Betty reached down for Daniel's hand and laced her fingers with his. She brought their hands to her lips and tenderly kissed the back of his hand.
"Last night was… amazing," Betty assured him.
"You were amazing," he retorted, then whispered, "Best. Night. Ever."
"Please," Betty rolled her eyes.
"You weren't kidding about those thighs of steel!" Daniel nibbled at her neck causing Betty to try and stifle her moan. "But in all seriousness, that was literally the best night."
"I think your father would be disappointed in you, Daniel Meade."
"Huh?" Daniel leaned back and looked at her as if she just killed the mood.
"There you go again, sleeping with your assistant. And he thought he hired me to be the antidote," Betty jested.
"It's been four and a half years since he hired you. I think it's safe to say the statutes of limitations have expired," Daniel reasoned. He narrowed his eyes at her and added, "Besides, I don't think he knew how freaky you could be."
"Shut up!" Betty hit him playfully on the chest.
"We're here at the airport," the cab driver announced. "Would you like me to find a place to pull in or would you like to just step out here?"
"Here's fine!" Betty called out as she was halfway out the door. Daniel tossed the driver a handful of bills and chased down Betty.
"Betty, wait!" Daniel peered at his watch. "It's already 8:50. You missed your flight."
"Well, I think it's a good thing that you missed your flight. Now we have a couple more hours to spend together." Daniel closed the copy of Sports Illustrated he was skimming. "Maybe we can join the Mile High Club," he said, wagging his eyebrows at Betty.
"Daniel, you do realize that you actually have to be on a plane and in the air to be in the Mile High Club, right?"
"Oh. Then I guess I'm already in that club," he said casually.
Betty shook her head at him. "Please don't remind me about your colorful history."
She giggled as Daniel kissed her neck and tickled her face with his lashes.
"Hey, so if you have sex in Denver, Colorado, are you technically in the Mile High Club?" Daniel asked innocently. Betty laughed as she playfully slapped his arm. "Well, I don't care at what altitude I do it, as long as it's with you."
"Then why don't we go do it in New York later? It's not too late to try and get a flight," Betty propositioned.
"I wish. Mr. Dunne has me working every day this week except Christmas. I thought Europeans were a little more laid back." Daniel found a single open seat in the crowded airport and pulled Betty to his lap.
"So have you thought any more about his job offer?" Betty asked him.
"Yup! And after last night, there's no way I'm moving back to New York. I'm going to call him later and turn it down," Daniel said decisively.
"Daniel…" She looked at him longingly. He was so close and yet felt miles away. "You have to take it. It's what you came to London for. You needed to find your own path and earn your own way. I can't take that away from you."
"I came to London for you."
Betty shook her head. "I can't carry that burden of being your sole purpose and your reason for doing things. I feel like you would resent me down the road."
"I could never resent you, Betty."
"Really? Because you just spent five of the past six months resenting me."
"Yeah. You got me there." Daniel hung his head. "Betty, I just don't see how following a job is any less detrimental than following you. In the end, I'm just following my heart."
"Daniel, you know how we only started mending our relationship after you stopped being my assistant and took that other position? I think it's because you needed to feel secure in yourself. You have a lifetime's worth of issues to overcome and I'm not the fix-all."
He examined her deep brown eyes and saw the honesty and sincerity that no one in his life, besides Betty, ever had with him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and buried his head in her chest.
"I hate that you know me better than I know myself," he said regretfully, his voice muffled by her sweater.
She kissed the top of his head then lifted his chin to meet his lips.
"So where does that leave us?" Daniel asked.
"It leaves me in London and you in New York. Back to square one."