Danny cycled through the party, politely chatting with the cast and crew members while he watched Lacey pretend she wasn't irritated by the girl he had kissed hovering around him.
He hadn't been lying before, he was exhausted. He settled into the outside ring of a very loud group of cast-mates and pulled out his phone while everyone was otherwise engaged.
He opened his banking app and there it was, a pending deposit for $12 million dollars. Danny had never seen anything close to that many zeros. Everything felt so fake like he was looking at play money he could use for his fake life.
On one hand, he felt waves of relief and excitement when he realized he didn't have to worry about bills or working at shit jobs ever again. He was thrilled thinking about all of the ways he'd like to help his friends and those in the community. On the other hand, he knew this would change the way people treated him, the way they thought of him.
Danny worried that if people found out about this, he would lose what little peace he had. He worried about his safety, Lacey's safety. He felt uncomfortable with the whole thing. The longer he marinated in his new, scary worries, the closer and closer he crept to a full blown panic attack.
Lacey had watched Danny ignore their problems and work the room. Their eyes connected a handful of times, one or both of them seeing contempt, worry or sadness flash across one or the other's face. It shouldn't be this difficult.
Lacey couldn't take it anymore when she saw Danny withdraw and begin scrolling through his phone, surrounded by strangers instead of seeking her out to spend this night together getting through whatever this was.
"I'm invited, right?" Lacey asked after sneaking up beside Danny.
"Oh! Jesus—" Danny bobbled his phone a little, "You scared me. What did you say?"
"This weekend, this party, you want me here?" She asked again.
"Of course I want you here."
"Then what are we doing?"
"Can I talk to you?" Danny asked absently as he looked around at the others around them, it's like he wasn't hearing anything she was saying.
"Danny—"
"No, no I just mean, I need to talk to you and I don't want to do it around all of these people."
"Yeah, okay."
Lacey was done wasting time. She grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him outside for some fresh air. She watched Danny continue hesitating and begin gearing up to start pacing.
"What's going on?"
Danny looked around like he expected to see someone following him. His sudden paranoid behavior honestly scared Lacey a little and she debated going in to grab Whitney for help. Danny began properly pacing.
"Danny please—"
Danny nodded, "Okay, yeah, okay—" He rambled.
Lacey grabbed his hand again and dragged him down the alley beside the bar for more privacy. Danny's mind was on overdrive. He knew he needed to tell her but was now the time? He wished he could go back on stage and pretend to be someone else for a little while longer.
Lacey easily pinned Danny against the grimy alley wall, Danny too distracted by his own thoughts to pay attention to what was happening around them. She watched his eyes land everywhere else but on her.
"Something is going on. Is this about that girl? Did you two do more than you said?" She wondered if he was worried she'd find out now that they were in the same room together.
Danny face twisted up in irritation, "What? No! Fuck her. We already talked about that and I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know she'd be here tonight!" He almost screamed at her.
Lacey ticked her head back a little as if absorbing the blows that came from his mouth, "Watch it."
"You're asking me about shit I've already explained. You're acting like she's the enemy, we were on a break! I'm the one who kissed HER! You're the one who kissed someone right in front of me!"
"That was different—"
"We didn't talk about it first—"
"You're seriously upset that I kissed Whitney?"
Danny shoved his hands through his hair and tried to soothe himself, wanting to move around but only now realizing that Lacey had him trapped against the wall. He finally looked at her.
"No, I'm not. I'm—" Danny's face finally crumpled and he leaned forward and laid his full weight in Lacey's arms, "I'm sorry." He heaved and counted on her to hold him up.
"Aww, D. Why are you crying?" She asked him softly, doing her best to be the anchor he needed right now.
"Don't be mad at me." He sniffled.
Lacey bounced him backward a little and made him stand straight again so she could look him in the eye.
"Talk to me, please, you're scaring me."
"Something is going on, not with Whit or anyone else." Danny tried to sound reassuring while wiping his snot on his sleeve, "But I can't tell you yet, I've gotta talk to Chief first."
Lacey realized he needed some sort of parent to help him sort out whatever was going on. She was frustrated he felt she still wasn't a confidant yet.
"You can talk to me."
"I'm trying to stay honest with you since it's obvious I'm not strong enough to hide my panic attacks at the moment."
Danny broke down again, this time sliding his back down the wet, smelly concrete wall behind him. He plopped down into a patch of mystery liquid and felt the dampness seep into his pants and diffuse.
Lacey dialed Kyle herself, unwilling to watch Danny deteriorate any further.
"Hey Chief Masterson, it's Lacey. Danny needs to talk to you."
Lacey shoved her phone into Danny's hand and walked back up the alley to give him some space.
Ten minutes later, a more composed Danny appeared next to his very patient girlfriend. He handed her the phone back.
"Thanks."
Kyle had agreed with Danny that he should not disclose his new wealth to anyone for now until he got a handle on how to manage it and how to protect himself physically and otherwise. Danny didn't elaborate on just how much he was awarded.
It made Danny feel a little better to know that his instincts were still working, but still left him with a big problem.
"Are you good? What's happening?"
"I'm okay, I just needed to talk through some stuff. I've had so much on my mind. I'm sorry I scared you." Danny walked with her back up onto the sidewalk.
"We can have secrets too, you know? I can keep them."
Danny thought about that for a few steps.
"I trust you Lace. It's not a secret, really, it's more of a life changer."
"Your life or our life?"
"Both."
"So it's a bad thing." She estimated.
"I don't know yet."
Lacey wanted to know what the hell was going on, but did she think Danny's issue was about something that could ruin their relationship? No. He was allowed to have his own secrets.
"You're right about the bartender, I have no reason to dislike her—"
"I get it, I probably wouldn't be happy to hang out with some guy if I knew you kissed them either."
Lacey decided to drop it and change the subject to something lighter. This was supposed to be a fun long weekend, something rare that should be cherished and not filled with so much angst and worry.
"What are we doing for Halloween tomorrow?"
"I think tonight has been enough of a party for me for a while but we can walk around, at night everyone's dressed up and going places, it's wild."
"That sounds nice."
"And then Monday I was hoping for a favor?"
"I'm heading back pretty early Monday—"
"Can I bum a ride?" Danny asked casually.
Lacey slowed a little and looked over at him. Danny kept his eyes ahead but a tiny smile stitched into the corner of his mouth.
"You want to come back to Green Grove?" She tried to tamp down her excitement.
"I have to meet with my lawyer and sign some stuff—"
"Oh."
"—and I've been thinking about what you said and maybe we can talk more about what we're doing."
Lacey couldn't hide it anymore and the smile that crossed her face made Danny's heart swell. He didn't care what a mess he was inside, he'd do anything to make her happy.
"Okay." Lacey beamed.
Danny and Lacey made it back to the bar in time to hear Phoebe belting out show tunes in only the way she could—drunk and animated.
"Oh shit, there you are. We need to get her out of here." Whitney rushed over to Danny and Lacey the second they walked back in.
"This is her party, she's the host—" Danny shrugged a little bit.
"Please?" Whitney pouted, Phoebe's off-key volume increasing with every passing second.
"We're going to need help." Danny said cryptically and looked over at Lacey.
He paused just long enough to relay that this would mean they'd have to involve the girl he kissed to get her to help shut the party down.
"No kissing this time." Lacey giggled.
Danny smiled and gave her a nod before taking off to go find the one bartender he hoped could help him.
"Hey—" Danny said when he found her garnishing a round of drinks.
"Oh, now you're talking to me?" She didn't look at him.
"I need your help."
"Pshyeah—" Danny's coworker just laughed.
Danny's face fell, this would be harder than he thought.
"We need to get Phoebe out of here and shut this party down."
"I'm not pissing off Phoebe."
"Please?"
"I'm already covering shifts for you, pissing off the head bartender that I'm now stuck working with is not my idea of smart or fun. Besides, I already tried to get her to pay the bill and she called me an asshole. She needs to pay, I'm not working this party for free—"
"I'll make sure you get paid." Danny blurted out, knowing this party cost more than was a available in his bank account until his settlement money cleared in a few days, "Next week I can—"
"No. Someone pays tonight or the cops come, you know how it works."
Bartending in the city was no joke. They all knew how persistent and assertive they had to be in order to make the money they busted ass for.
"Danny, It's getting worse—" Whitney whined as she appeared beside him, Lacey suddenly on his other side.
Danny could hear her, the singing now a shrill, one note slurred paste. Phoebe had taken her shirt off and was now on the bar in a bra and a satin skirt. He looked back at his coworker and pleaded with everything he had, she wasn't backing down.
"The open tab gets paid, or the cops come. Those are the options."
Lacey heard this but didn't register exactly what the issue was. So they'd have to shut the party down a little early, so what? Danny knew that Phoebe was not going to go for this and would refuse to pay. If they didn't want to have the cops come, there was only one way out of this.
Danny looked at Lacey apologetically. Lacey squinted at him in confusion.
"What's up?"
Danny took a deep breath and sucked his bottom lip up in between his teeth, turning to face her and preparing to beg. He didn't say anything and hoped she'd just figure it out.
"Danny, what—" Lacey's face morphed from total confusion to a deflated realization, "Are you seriously asking me to pay for this right now?"
Danny's coworker couldn't help but smile.
"Oh god she's twirling—" Whitney took off to prepare to catch her tipsy girlfriend before she fell off the bar and broke her neck.
"We need to get out of here."
"She didn't prepay or have a card on file? She works here for Christ's sake—" Lacey tried to fix this without losing her bag.
Danny dropped his voice down lower, "Listen, my money hasn't cleared yet or else I'd pay. I'll pay you back in a few days." He wished he could just tell her that in a few days he'd have more money than he knew what to do with.
"You're sure she's going to pay YOU back though?"
"She'll pay me back—"
"But what if she doesn't?"
"Then she's not my friend anymore."
"So the plans we're supposed to discuss with this money, might as well skip that now."
"No, no—I will get this money back, okay?"
"Danny!" Whitney shouted as Phoebe hopped down and began pouring high end shots directly into people's mouths.
"Shit."
Lacey shoulder checked Danny as she forced herself closer to the coworker Danny had made out with. Neither of them had done anything wrong at the time, but Lacey's peace was sapped and knowing that this chick knew a part of Danny he rarely shared with anyone just pissed her the fuck off.
"Shut it down." Lacey and held her card out.
"The tab's at like 2k right now—"
"Sure it is." Lacey had no way to know if she was taking advantage of this but she did slide right into Danny's mouth when she could so she didn't put it past her.
"You two off your 'break' now?" The bartender asked Lacey bravely, "Because he's the sweetest guy."
"Long distance is tough sometimes." Lacey skimmed over it.
She felt no desire to add to the drama that was now Phoebe doing high-kicks in the other room. Compared to drunk Phoebe, Danny wanting love when he was starved for her was no drama at all. It was just sad.
The coworker took Lacey's card and slid it through the card reader, printing her the receipt for $1,958.45. Lacey signed and added a $300.00 tip, shoving the paper into her hand in exchange for her card back.
"Shut it down." Lacey responded, owing her not a second more of her time.
Danny's co worker scurried off to give the signal to the other people working the party that it was over. She stopped the music and open all of the doors. People began to get the idea and started to trickle out just as the bartenders began telling everyone to leave.
"Thank you." Danny offered honestly.
"This is my party!" Phoebe objected, "Excuse you, what are you doing?!" She screamed at the other bartenders.
"Time to go." Danny said firmly and grabbed Phoebe's arm to escort her out. Whitney grabbed her other arm and Lacey trailed behind.
They all worked together to wrangle Phoebe back home and into bed. Whitney disappeared into the bathroom which left Danny and Lacey in an uncomfortable silence.
Danny paced without even realizing while Lacey tried to find some peace scrolling through her phone in the corner of Danny's tiny bedroom space.
Danny looked down at her, his everything, looking completely neglected in the corner. He dropped down and sat next to her, pulling her legs over and across his lap so he could rub them.
"Not everyone got the same amount." He began, voice just above a whisper as he worked his thumbs into the bottom of Lacey's left foot.
"What are you talking about?
"The settlement."
"You didn't get $10k?
Danny shook his head no.
"How much did you get?"
"I'm not ready to share that yet. I want things to stay the same between us, at least for a little while longer."
"Why would our life have to change?"
"I just wish that sometimes I could freeze time. This summer was the best summer I've ever had. I don't want it to end." Danny admitted softly.
"This summer?!" Lacey looked around like he must be talking to someone else, "This summer?" She asked again like he was insane.
"Okay, it wasn't a good summer, but the parts with you—" He couldn't continue without completing breaking down.
"Okay." Lacey recognized Danny's need for grounding, for a center, for a way to stop things from speeding up around him, "Okay."
She watched the stress on Danny's face melt a little.
"Plans." Danny said softly as he began rubbing Lacey's other foot like it was a stress ball.
"Now?—ah!" Lacey's head rolled a little as Danny's skilled hands kneaded her tired feet.
"Now. Let's go, what have you been thinking about? What do you want?"
Lacey pulled her legs back and folded them beneath her.
"I don't want it to be all about me. I don't want you to just go along with whatever I'm saying—"
"I get it, I won't. We gotta start somewhere."
Lacey bit her lip thinking of all the scenarios she had running through her head for her own future and theirs.
"Okay, well, the city is—" Lacey struggled to find the right words.
"You haven't seen it the way I see it. Please don't give up on it yet."
"I don't want to live here."
"Okay, what else?"
"I want to travel, during school breaks and after—I wanna—I want to see places."
Danny smiled at her excitement, happy she felt comfortable enough to share all this with a loser like him.
"Then what?" He pushed.
"I would love to have a home in Green Grove some day. I haven't planned the rest, I wouldn't want to, but I do know that I'd really like to experience it all with you. I can't picture any of it without you."
"Well you're in luck because I'd like to travel and see stuff with you too." Danny tried to sound positive but his eyes fell down to watch his hands fidget with the edge of his sock.
"You don't want to live in Green Grove."
"We can live anywhere."
"Well we both know where we wouldn't want to live, that's a start I guess."
"I said, we can live anywhere. Anywhere."
"Anywhere?" Lacey giggled, "Like on a yacht somewhere near Spain?"
Danny mulled it over and nodded yes, "A smaller yacht, but yes."
Lacey's smile faded a little and her face grew serious. He wasn't joking. She leaned in closer to whisper.
"Danny—"
"I got a lot more than the $10k." He said softly, voice just as serious as hers, "We can go anywhere, do anything—"
"A life with me includes where we make a home base. Where we go to reset, to visit family and give back—"
"Can't we have more than one home base?"
Lacey could tell that Danny was trying his damndest to find a way to compromise with her. If Danny suddenly had the means to sustain more than one home base, why not?
"Maybe we could make that work." Lacey smiled, her sunshine warming him as they sat in the dim light.
"I owe you, by the way."
"You said you'd pay me back, it's fine—"
"Not the money." Danny shook his head, a sudden ferocity flooded his features making Lacey a little nervous.
"Not now—" Lacey stretched to look beyond the wall separating them from the girls.
Danny leaned over and began kissing her shoulder.
"Hey, hey—" She whisper-giggled and pushed him away gently, "They'll hear."
Danny swatted back at her playfully and latched his lips to her neck this time, "So?" He hummed just below her jaw. Danny sucking on the tender sweet spot under her ear making it difficult for her to remember what the issue was.
"Danny—"
"Let them hear." Danny said sweetly between sucks and licks.
He teased the button of her pants, some fingertips now stuffed gently below the edge of her waistband, his other hand caressing the soft skin of her cheek.
"Mmm." The sound of her own voice made her snap back into reality briefly and she froze, "I don't want them to hear—"
"Then don't make any noise." Danny's gravelly voice rumbled out and crashed into her ear, shooting goosebumps all over and sending her nipples to attention.
Danny managed to pull her pants down. He had built the tension to a rolling boil and now he prepared himself to play her body like he was the first chair in Lacey's symphony.
"Shhh." He followed up, sliding his finger between their lips and flashing her the cutest smile, damn him.
Danny slithered down her body. Lacey watched the loving, mischievous smile fade from his face as he got closer to executing the promise he made her earlier. A darker, more purposeful expression took its place sending a jolt of adrenaline through Lacey's body.
She stayed quiet, mostly. After Danny began his mission downstairs Lacey's thoughts wandered back to the girls hanging out just a few feet away. He could sense her unease and went harder, trying to show her that he gave zero fucks and so should she.
Lacey eventually flipped a blanket over them, in part to cover her bits from anyone who may walk by and in part to stuff the edge in her mouth to help stifle her pleasure noises.
And please her he did. His body shook a little against her as he giggled after her first climax. He loved torturing her like this. Danny's mind also drifted, back to their week in the shitty apartment above the diner. Back to getting Lacey to come over and over. He wanted that again.
Lacey figured out his objective pretty quick, the edge of the blanket now seated tightly between her teeth while both of her hands clenched the majority of Danny's hair.
They were both sweltering from the misuse of the blanket. Danny didn't care. He welcomed the sweat that was now built up all over his body, slick, wet and filthy, just like their actions. He ate it all, making her come, licking her clean and then teasing her all over again. He was a man of his word.
While Lacey loved the attention just as much as she knew Danny loved to give it, she wanted more. She wanted him. She tugged on his hair differently then, signaling she wanted him to stop. Danny reluctantly stopped and kissed his way up her damp body.
"I wasn't done." He whined sweetly, sharing his Lacey frosted mouth with her.
Lacey ached for him, his junk a noticeable hump between them.
"Me neither." Lacey replied and gave him a tiny kiss to his nose before reaching down and guiding him inside of her.
Danny got his ass moving, not wanting to let the pressure he knew he had built between her legs go to waste.
"Shhh—" He hummed against her lips, when he hit it exactly as anticipated and made her cry out.
They were a sweaty, writhing mess at this point. The blanket was still wrapped over top of them, the squishing and slapping of their wet bodies rutting into each other was now impossible to hide.
"Damn, Lacey." He mouthed against her chin, licking a stripe down the front of her neck, Lacey's eyes screwed shut.
Danny felt her come apart, her nails digging into his back, her legs unlocking from around his waist and falling wide open as her body succumbed to his perfect motion. He let himself go too, feeling his dick dance, flooding her, his overheated body now melted and resting on top of her.
"I'm concerned we're glued together at this point." Danny said after they had returned to normal temperature.
"Do you mind if I shower first?" Lacey rolled him off of her and kept the blanket.
"All yours." Danny squeezed her hand and pulled her over for one more kiss, "I love you."
"I love you." Lacey smiled and snuck off.
Danny pulled his boxers on and laid back to stare at the ceiling. He heard his whole heart start the shower, listened to the metal rings that held the shower curtain scrape against the shower rod. He envisioned her incredible body pulling the curtain closed behind her as she stepped under the spray of water.
His mind drifted to their time together at the apartment again, the tiny bathroom and the hot showers they enjoyed there. He knew battling about living in Green Grove was pointless, she'd win. He'd do any god damned thing she asked.
He really had needed this time away though. From the moment he had arrived on the Masterson's farm this summer the goal was to get the hell out of there. The journey to his freedom was intense, unfair and not something he wished to be reminded of every moment of his life.
Still, Green Grove was where he had found Lacey. Where complete strangers had accepted him and had offered to be his family. He really could see himself there and with his new wealth he could build a life with Lacey they could only dream of.