Kiss Me Slowly/CH 6
Bobby shook his head at Hilda, feeling sorry for Daniel at this point. He pulled the man away, while the Suarez family started arguing loudly. He waved Daniel into the kitchen, "Come on, let's go get a beer! This might take a while! So, welcome to the party, pal!" he laughed.
Daniel brightened, "I love that movie! I had to watch three sappy chick flicks before I could get Betty to watch it with me. Of course, once she did, she loved it, too! So, how long do you think all that is going to take?"
He gestured towards Betty and HIlda arguing about Hilda's big mouth and both daughters arguing with their father about not letting them live their own lives.
Bobby shook his head, as he handed Daniel a beer and took one himself. He took a long swig, "Who knows? It might be a while! I wish the living room wasn't the only TV. I got them that one."
"NICE! Is that a fifty-inch?"
"Sixty!"
"Picture in picture?"
Bobby nodded, grinning with pride, "Yep! Say, don't feel bad, Daniel! Her old man accused me of stealing the damn thing! He wanted to see the receipt. My uncle works at Pro-Buy and got it for a great deal using his company discount. But I didn't want Hilda to know that. I was trying to be nice to Justin, you know, kind of butter him up since I'm sleeping with his mom!
She's always bustin' my chops, that girl! She's definitely a handful! But she's worth it! I'm sorry she opened her big mouth about the marrying thing. Hell, I'm waiting for her old man to expect me to pop the question, especially now that she blurted out about being pregnant at that crazy art show of Matt's! Boy, you sure missed an interesting night! Those pictures he did of Betty were insane!"
Daniel nodded, "Yeah, I know! I saw a few of them. I've been trying to get them all back from the art dealer so Betty can have the pleasure of destroying them. There are one or two sort of sexy ones I kind of liked, but...since HE painted them, I'd rather just get rid of them all!
Daniel took a drink of his beer, leaning against the table, as he watched the commotion in the next room, "Oh, congratulations about the baby, by the way! Do you WANT to marry Hilda? Sorry if that's too personal!"
Bobby shrugged, "No, it's fine. I don't mind. She's way too independent to say so, but I think after Santos ran out on her and Justin initially, she wouldn't say no to me. And not just because she's pregnant.
I was planning on asking her anyway before too long. I know we're not getting any younger. And Justin's a good kid. I'd really like to be his step-dad."
Daniel smiled, "Yeah, I like Justin a lot. You should see him at Mode! He's in his element there! He really is a great kid! Good luck with… um ...proposing. Did you get a ring?"
"Not yet. What about you two? You've known each other a while now, right? She's worked for you for three years? And you two never? Not once? Really? Come on! A guy with your reputation? I mean, Betty's a really cute kid! Especially now! She looks even more like her sister now. Now you're really going to have to beat off the other guys with a stick!"
Daniel nodded, "Yeah. I don't know. I mean it's been tricky since I'm her boss, you know? Honestly, I totally deserve my bad reputation with women! And okay, yeah, sure I've had lots of pretty steamy fantasies about her and I over the years, naturally! But I never crossed that line with her because I respect her too much.
We really have just been friends all this time. Nobody at Mode believes that, of course. As far as beating the other guys off...I mean, shit! You know what I mean! I don't suppose you could teach me some boxing moves or something?"
He grinned, "I'm a lover, not a fighter! This one guy that I pissed off, Connor basically wiped the floor with me in the boxing ring! Matt is the only guy I've ever been able to knock out and that's just because he was taken off guard plus he's such a damn wimp! When my sister was still my brother he used to beat me at everything!
I was thinking maybe I could try and talk Betty's dad into seeing me as a better alternative to her moving back into the city alone. You know, that I would be there to protect her."
Bobby laughed, smacking Daniel on the back, "Yeah, but who's gonna protect her from you, huh, lover boy? Sure, go ahead and come around the garage sometime after work. We can go to the boxing ring and I can show you a few moves. Good luck with Betty's old man, though! Just make sure he doesn't have any pans he can hit you with! I still got a lump!" Bobby felt his head, wincing.
Justin rushed to Daniel, "Daniel! Come on back! AB was really mad at Mom for blurting that out about you guys, and Grandpa was just sort of surprised by it, that's all! He didn't know you two were lovahs! I mean...whatever! It's all good! Nobody is mad at you. At least you didn't get Aunt Betty pregnant!" he glared at Bobby.
Daniel's eyes widened at that. Geez, he hoped not!
Bobby put up his hands, "Whoa! Sorry, Justin! I thought we worked this out, buddy!"
Justin shook his head, and held up one hand to Bobby, dismissively, "Don't 'buddy' me! Please, like I didn't know you were trying to bribe me with that TV? It's a start, but I sincerely hope you're prepared to go do some serious jewelry shopping, Mister! My mother deserves that much at least after you 'knocked her up'! I cannot believe she has to go through this whole crap again!"
Bobby leaned down to Justin, putting his hand on his shoulder as he spoke softly, "Justin, I swear, I planned to propose to your mom YEARS ago, okay? I'm completely nuts about her! I always have been! And if it were up to me, I'd have been your dad, too! I do want to be a good step-dad if you'll let me.
First, I'm just trying to get your grandpa to accept that I'm not going anywhere and ease your mom into trusting that I'm here for her for the long haul. I'm not going anywhere, I promise! I know what an amazing woman Hilda is! And I am NOT going to lose her this time! I really need your help to pick out a ring, though. Can you help me decide which one to get her? Please?" he held up his hand for Justin to high five.
Justin looked at him strangely and Daniel grinned, holding up his hand in a motion to demonstrate to him. Rolling his eyes, the young man hit Bobby's hand, "Whatever! Yes! Fine! I'll help you shop. Come back in, you two scaredy-cats! I can't believe you're both hiding out in the kitchen! What are you so afraid of? My grandpa? Well, maybe Mom! I see that!"
Daniel and Bobby exchanged looks, raising their eyebrows slightly as they both returned to see Ignacio crossing his arms and shaking his head, "So, Daniel, I understand that you and Mi...my Betty are … together now? Not that I'm necessarily all that surprised, you have known each other for a long time. Justin has been telling Hilda and I that you two were in love for quite a while now.
And truthfully, I can't say I'm shocked that Betty and Matt broke up after that...um...interesting display at the art gallery!
But now you both want to move in together? Granted, I'm honestly a little relieved that Mija won't be on her own in the city again, but you are still her boss!"
Betty walked to Daniel and put her arm around his waist, "Papi, I tried to tell you, we have both decided we aren't going to stay at Mode! Let's face it, it has never been a good fit for me! I'm no fashionista!
And now that Daniel has his money back and they bought out Cal Hartley, he's finally going to take over running the company like his father had planned for him two years ago. So he won't be my boss anymore."
Justin looked at his aunt with concern, "You're leaving Mode?"
Hilda asked, "Yeah, you're leaving Mode? You're quitting your job? Where are you gonna work? Are you going to be his…"
Betty put her hand up, "Hilda, none of your business. Just worry about your own life!"
Bobby held up his beer and smiled, as he came and stood behind Hilda, leaning down to wrap his arms around her waist, then pat her stomach, "Yeah, we got plenty of good things to look forward to, sweetie!"
Hilda rolled her eyes and headed for the table of food, "Whatever! Okay, okay, let's eat! I'm starving!"
Daniel took a deep breath he had been holding, and leaned down to whisper, as he stood beside Betty,"So, am I off the hook? Or should I be looking at rings, too?"
Betty looked at him in surprise, "Too?"
He winced, taking a swig of his beer nervously and slugging the rest of it, as he pulled her away to whisper, "Shit! SH! Look, don't say anything, but yeah, Bobby just asked Justin to help him look at engagement rings for your sister. But I didn't tell you that!"
She laughed, as she walked to the table, leading him behind her. She grabbed an apple and took a bite, "You're such a gossip, Daniel! I think it'll do you good to get out of Mode!"
"You might be right! You've got some interesting foods at this party. Corn on the cob, apples, caramel apples, popcorn, is that taffy? Oh...I get it! All the stuff you couldn't eat with your braces! Cute! Your family is pretty nice to do all this for you, Betty.
So, are you sure I'm not in the doghouse with your dad? He actually brought up the stuff about me looking out for you. I guess that's good at least. I asked Bobby to give me some boxing lessons."
She almost choked on her apple, "You what? YOU? You do know Bobby is pretty hard core! You read my article about how he scared that poor guy who yelled at me to death, grabbing him by the neck and shoving his face onto the window so hard!"
Daniel shrugged, grabbing a handful of popcorn and throwing it up to catch it in his mouth, "Yeah? So? I could do that! I can be your protector. You think I can't?"
She smiled, then kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks, Daniel. Of course, you can. There's a lot you can do. I just know you're going to have your hands full right now, trying to work with your mother to run your father's whole company."
He nodded, "I know. But my old man was right about one thing. I think after dealing with Wilhelmina and her crazy schemes for three and a half years, I can handle anything! Not to mention, all I went through with Connor, that damn Phoenix and Cal Hartley!"
He pulled away slightly when she kissed him on the lips, "Betty! Do you think we should do that here?"
"Yes! Why not? What? Are you seriously still afraid of Papi? Or Hilda? She was just giving us a hard time, opening her big mouth as usual! I think she was trying to get Papi to stop lecturing her about being pregnant out of wedlock a second time so she just decided to throw you under the bus! She likes you fine, don't worry! Where are your cajones, Daniel?" she teased.
He raised his eyebrows, "My cajones are just fine, thank you very much, Miss Suarez! And I'd like to keep them that way!"
Everyone else was either snacking, talking, or watching television. Justin picked at the food, then pulled out his old dance game, "I'll beat you at this game, AB! Let's see if you've still got your sweet moves now that your new smile is clearly melting the heart of the former bad boy! Sorry, UD... I mean, Daniel!
Oh, by the way, Grandpa and Mom, you both owe me and Marc big time! I TOLD you guys Detty was inevitable!"
Betty smiled and went to face off against her nephew, as Ignacio and Hilda stood, shaking their heads looking slightly guilty. Hilda put her arms across her chest, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, sweetie!"
As soon as they got home, Betty started unbuttoning Daniel's shirt, "Somebody's sure feisty today! I can't believe you attacked me just before we went inside your dad's house, and then were kissing me all night! I think you got a shot of sexy hormones when that doctor took off your braces!"
She shrugged, "Daniel, do you have ANY idea how long I"ve dreamt of this?"
He smirked, "Aw, cute, Betty! You really HAVE been secretly dreaming of hooking up with me all this time, huh? Yeah, ditto, baby girl! I was telling Bobby earlier how many office sex fantasies I've had of you over the past three years! We need to at least do it in my office, the copy room, the conference room and maybe the men's room before we quit!"
She made a face, rolling her eyes, "NOT happening, Mr. Meade! Well, okay, MAYBE your office...at night when no one is there and you're sure the door is locked, the drapes are drawn and the security cameras are disconnected."
"Where's the fun in that?" he teased. "And why ONLY in my office?"
"I am NOT having sex in the MEN'S room, Daniel! That's gross!"
"Fine, okay. I'll compromise. Copy room or conference room? Maybe you want to get closure with that conference room and it's mean glass door?" he teased.
She hit his chest, "Not nice!"
His eyes lit up, 'Ooh, I know, in the conference room, WEARING only your poncho! And heels. And...your necklace. But definitely no bra. Or panties. Or any other clothes."
She blushed at first, but sat him down forcefully onto the sofa, and held up her index finger, "Don't move! I'll be right back."
He laughed, "Okay. What's going on? Do you have a surprise for me, too?"
"I want my surprise as soon as we're done here. I haven't forgotten you said you got something for me. But I promised my nephew I would do something that he said you refused to do for Marc."
He raised an eyebrow, "Is this to do with the way Marc shoved me up against the wall the other day to hide from some guy he had hooked up with in The Bahamas? OH! I know! Seriously? You are conspiring with Marc about my beard? I thought you said you liked it? You said it was soft and tickly."
She came back, holding a razor and some shaving cream and a washcloth in a small bowl of warm water. She sat down next to him and placed the items on a stool. She smiled, since he saw that she was wearing her poncho and heels.
"I was being nice before! You kind of scratched me with it last night. So, what do you say?"
He was grinning from ear-to-ear when he saw what she was wearing and laughed, nodding reluctantly, "Okay, okay! You got me! Are you really naked under there?"
She flashed him briefly and he smirked, raising his eyebrows, "Wow! Now you get whatever you want, woman! Why don't you come sit on my lap while you do that? Since your hands will be busy shaving me, I can have fun with MY hands, exploring your body under that thing!"
As she took her time, enjoying both their fun as she 'rode' his lap while shaving his beard, as soon as Betty had finished with her task, she patted his cheeks, and kissed him passionately, "I admit, Marc was right! Personally, I didn't hate the beard at all. But I did miss your sexy face, Mister Meade!"
He grinned, kissing her face and nuzzling her neck, then pulling her down to the floor to finish their lovemaking, "Thank you, sweetie. God, you're so hot, Betty!"
He reached behind her to pull out a box from under the sofa and handed it to her, "I thought you might like these. Just part of your 'transformation' into the beautiful butterfly you've become, Betty. You can wear these, too. They don't cover up any of your sexy assets!"
She put her hand up to her mouth as she opened the box and saw a pair of lovely diamond butterfly earrings, "They're gorgeous! Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! I love them! And fine, I'll go along with your little fantasy. As long as you agree to the same terms I said before. The building has to be totally empty, late at night, nobody else is there, all that stuff."
He nodded, leaning down to kiss her as she put on the earrings, "You've got a deal."
She chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully, "Okay, these are so beautiful, Daniel. But before you said something about our future?"
He grinned, leaning back to admire the earrings on her, especially after she took off even the poncho so they were the only things she was wearing, "Sorry, did you say something? I was...totally distracted by your boobs...I mean your beauty, Betty!"
She grabbed the poncho, trying to place it back in front of her, but he shook his head, "Oh, no you don't, lady! No more hiding! Too bad you can't go out in public like this! But when it's just you and me, please let me enjoy your sexy curves, okay? I can't believe you've been wearing such crazy clothes and were hiding these sexy boobs and this ass, and well, just look at you, girl!"
She blushed, but smiled as she leaned up to kiss him, and said softly, "Thanks, Daniel! You always have told me I was beautiful, even when nobody else did! I appreciate that. ANYWAY! You were saying something about the future?" Her heart was beating a mile a second.
Of course, logically, Betty KNEW that what Bobby had confessed to Daniel (and probably Justin) about planning to propose to her sister was definitely NOT what Daniel had meant when he mentioned their future, but she couldn't help her mind "going there". Just like it had with her previous boyfriends. She couldn't even picture what being MARRIED to Daniel would be like, though!
He grinned, seeming almost nervous himself which got her even more flustered, as he took hold of both hands and looked into her eyes, "Betty, listen, trust me I KNOW how fast this all has been going. I can't believe you even agreed to move in with me!
I know that was really difficult for you, considering how you normally like to take a long time to make such a big decision. And I appreciate that you had to sort of 'stand up' to your sister and your dad tonight to let them know about us.
I am really glad that you acknowledge how long we've known each other and that our longstanding friendship has been the basis for… well, some INSANELY amazing sex!
And we're just getting started in a fantastic, long-term relationship! Anyway, I think you should know that I am so crazy in love with you, Betty! I know it's soon to say this and I don't want to freak you out, but…"
"OHMYGOD, Daniel, are you...asking me to…"
He smirked, rolling his eyes, "I'm NOT proposing, Betty!"
"Oh. Right. Of course not! That would be crazy! We...have only been 'dating' for a few weeks and we already moved in together and…"
He kissed her to shut her up, "NO! I don't care about all that crap! That's not why. I'm not...NOT proposing. Yet. How do I say this? I know you, Betty. Probably better than you know yourself sometimes. And I know how much me, doing what I always do and being all impulsive and jumping the gun and getting a ring and stuff right now might scare you to death!
And that's the last thing I want. I can see us, in the future, as a big, happy family, with kids and being a kick-ass power couple that everybody is so jealous of because we are still so hot for each other it's sickening. But I rushed into a stupid proposal to that manipulative witch, Sofia and got my heart handed back to me in shreds.
I didn't really get to know Renee before I jumped into things with her and almost got you killed in the process. Then, of course, things got mixed up with Molly and I ended up proposing sort of...I don't know how to say this without dishonoring her memory, but she was embarrassed because she thought I was proposing when I wasn't.
I also felt sorry for her and well, we've talked about this a little before. I think if I'm honest, although I did love her, I don't know if I would have proposed if she wasn't dying. Which makes me feel like a huge asshole. You are the one person other than maybe my mom who I can be honest to about that. I'm sure it's a huge part of why I felt so guilty when she died alone and got involved in that mess!
But when it comes to you, Betty, I don't even know how to tell you how much I love you, how good you make me feel, about myself, about my life, about everything! All I do when I'm with you is smile, because you fill me up and make me so damn happy!
So you just let me know, tell me when you are comfortable enough with this, with us and you won't be able to stop me from running to Nigel!"
She felt as if her mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, listening to his heartfelt declaration of love for her. She grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it down quickly, "Okay...I don't know what to say to all THAT, Daniel! I feel like...I should write down some 'vows' or something! You ARE extremely impulsive and that is terribly romantic and how can I begin to tell YOU how much I love you and how amazing you are?
You are so sweet and kind and okay, yes, sexy as heck and you drive me crazy when you even touch me, and especially when you kiss me but the thing that is so incredible to me is that you're right; I am having a hard time now doing something this impulsive and crazy without all my lists and yes, fine, my post-its. And Daniel, I'm so grateful that you know me that well and love ME enough to be willing to wait for me to catch up to you!
You have no idea how much a huge part of me wants to say, I love you, too, and of course I'm ready for...whatever you might be thinking you want to ask me and let's just run off and um...go to Vegas or … something. But we both know that's totally nuts! Just moving in together and both of us quitting Mode in large part so we can be together is really huge on its own! Let alone, even thinking about… a future with...um...more jewelry from...Nigel!"
He grinned, kissing her on the cheek, "Okay. So...we're both agreed that we are happy that we're leaving Mode, right? May I suggest maybe you take at least a week to consider your options before you jump into anything career-wise?
I know you have always known exactly what you want to do and that was to run your own magazine, one that really 'speaks to you' and inspires people, so I'm sure together we can get you back on your path to that and out of the fashion craziness. Who knows, maybe something perfect for you will just fall in your lap that makes you happy like you deserve to be.
And in the meantime, I'll let my mother know what my intentions are now that she had the good sense to dump that idiot! Sound good?"
She nodded, "Yes! But...can I ask you something?"
"Ask away." his smirk told her he knew exactly where her mind was.
"Um...what 'signal' are you thinking I should give you to let you know...you know...when I AM ready for...more?"
He shrugged, holding up her poncho, "Hmmm….let's see. You could always make good on that promise to show up at my office wearing only this again! That was pretty awesome!"
She thought for a moment and stuck out her hand to shake it, "Okay. I can do that, Daniel."
He rolled his eyes, pulling her to him for a long, lingering kiss, as he began running his hands over her body, "What the hell was that? Come here, you crazy girl! Don't be ridiculous! I'm not done with you!"