These Things Take Time/CH 5
"Daniel...don't you think we should get going back to the restaurant? It's...been a little while."
He smiled, as he wrapped one arm tighter around her waist and leaned his other hand up on the tree effectively 'trapping' her, "So? They can wait. I'm sorry, Betty, but it's been a really long time for me, too. One more….kiss won't hurt anybody."
She blushed, "I guess not. It definitely didn't...hurt me."
He touched her cheek with his finger softly, grinning at her, "God, you're cute, when you're all embarrassed like this, Betty! I should have kissed you a long time ago. You know that?"
She smiled, "I wouldn't have objected. I have to get used to the idea of...you know, you and me...kissing. It's different."
"Bad different or...good different?"
"Oh, good different. Very good. Just… different. It might take some time to get used to, that's all."
He smirked, leaning down to drop a few tiny kisses along her jaw down to her neck, "Take all the time you need, Betty. Believe me, I don't mind. I like holding you like this...I can't believe you haven't met anybody else when I went to Paris."
"Well I went out, of course. But none of them worked out."
He gave her a curious look, "Of course? You met…guys? Which guys were these? Where? Anybody I would know? Or guys At work?"
"Daniel...you were gone for six months and called me maybe six times, usually during working hours. I'm sorry, but yes, I went out. I had no idea you were actually...interested in me. How could I have known?"
He nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I can't blame you, Betty. I don't know why I didn't say anything. But you said...nothing serious? Was it like, blind dates? Friends of friends, or guys you met at work who asked you out? I just want to know who my competition is."
She smiled, placing her hands on his chest, "There were a few guys from my office, yes. And...one guy you know. Matt."
Daniel's eyes widened, "Matt? Hartley? The asshole I punched?"
She bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing, "Yes, Matt Hartley. He was in town last month and found out I had moved, so we went out and caught up."
"Caught up? On what? Kissing?"
She blushed, but again, tried not to laugh at his obvious jealousy. "Not really."
"Not really? What does that mean? Did he kiss you or not?"
"Yes, Daniel. He kissed me. I'm sorry, but this is beginning to sound a little like how Matt did about Henry kissing me goodbye.
Are you going to start working at Dunne now and make my life miserable, too? We didn't ...get back together or anything.
He's moved on and so have I. So, while it's kind of adorable that you're so jealous of him, you really don't need to be. And since you didn't open your mouth when you were here…"
Daniel nodded, grimacing, as he kissed her forehead, and smoothed back her hair, handing her her glasses, "Okay, I know; you're right. I get it.
I have no room to be jealous of anybody. I just...hate that guy. He was a such a jackass to you, Betty. Just like Grubstick! I can't decide which one I hate worse."
He smiled, leaning down to kiss her lips briefly, then hover over her, "You uh...really think I'm adorable, too, huh?"
She reached her arms around his neck and pulled his tie towards her for a longer kiss, "Definitely.
As they continued to get lost in the kiss, Daniel suddenly jumped, as his phone buzzed in his front pants pocket. Betty smiled, "I hope that's your phone, Daniel. Otherwise, I'd say you're kind of jumping the gun."
He grinned, as he picked up the phone and looked to see it, "Yeah...sorry, it's DJ. Hey, buddy. What's going on? Are you okay? DId you and Valerie make up?"
"Yes, but what is taking so long? Her father had to leave. Are you… busy? With Betty? Do you want me to meet you at the hotel later?"
"No, we're on our way back there right now, DJ. Sorry, we...had to...talk things out a little. I just lost track of time. We'll be there in a few minutes, okay? I'm...actually pretty hungry. I guess my food's cold by now, but that's okay."
"I'll have the waiter warm it for you and Betty. No worries. Do I hear Betty kissing you in the background? You're welcome. I told you I knew what I was doing."
"Shut up."
"This is the thanks I get?"
"Thank you, DJ. You were right. Are you happy now?"
"Yes. Was that so difficult?"
"Sort of."
"Do you have your ugly purple tie to cover your love bites?"
Daniel laughed, "Don't be stupid. I'm not you, DJ."
"No, you're not as mature."
"Bye!" He shook his head at Betty "That kid is such a pain in the ass sometimes! He really is too much like his...mom." He put his arm around her and led her back towards the restaurant.
Betty smiled, "So, he calls Alexis mom now? I noticed he called Lucy his 'first mom'? I guess that makes sense."
"Yeah, poor kid. He told me today that I'm the closest thing he had to a dad. That's pretty sad if you think about it."
"Daniel...you were a great father to DJ when you had him with you in New York. And I can see how close you two are now. It's...a good thing you went back and stayed with him now, while Alexis was dating her fiance, I think.
It seems to really have centered DJ. He does seem really mature. He reminds me so much of Justin with how wise beyond his years they both are. I'm sure Alexis was glad you were there to help out."
"I guess so. It wasn't the best thing for us, though. She even told me before she kicked me out and said I needed to come back here and work things out with you. I think she said I should get off my lazy butt and get a job here that it might have been better for her and DJ to have me there, but it wasn't the best thing for me...for us. She said she felt guilty having me there when I should have been here."
She smiled, "Well, I'm just glad you finally told me how you felt. I have to admit, I sort of gave up on you ever coming back here."
He rolled his eyes, "You really thought I came here to tell you I met some French chick and was getting married?"
"Sort of."
"You know you sounded jealous?"
"I was."
"Well, that's good to hear. So...about tonight."
"Tonight? Daniel, I have tons of work to do tonight! I've already been gone way longer than I planned. I'm sorry, but I really need to…"
He put his hand on hers, "Betty, calm down. I was going to tell you, I need to hang out with DJ tonight, see what he's been up to with this Valerie girl…"
Betty smirked at him, "She's cute."
"I guess. You're beautiful, though."
"Thank you. But you know she definitely has a crush on you, Daniel."
He rolled his eyes, "Great! I'm the object of desire for a teenager young enough to be my kid! And it probably has DJ pissed off at me. I can't help it.
I did nothing to encourage that girl. I swear to you. You should talk, though! DJ thinks the sun rises and sets in you, you know."
"I don't know about that. He was just complaining about teenage girls and their moods. I was explaining that he needed to have patience with them because the same hormones that cause young boys to think about sex non-stop, cause girls that age to be over-emotional."
He opened the door for her, placing his hand on the small of her back as he led her inside. He leaned down, grinning as he whispered, "So, Mrs. Robinson was giving my nephew a lesson in sex ed, huh?"
She shook her head, "Daniel...don't be silly. I was not. Hi, guys! Sorry, we took so long."
The waiter brought them new plates, "Your party told us you had an emergency with your baby. Hopefully, everything is alright with the little one?"
Betty's eyes widened, and she blushed, "Our...oh, yes. Right. Our baby. The baby is okay. Thanks! The sitter had us worried at first. But little Freddy was just having a teething emergency. He's doing better now. Thank you for heating our food."
"Of course, ma'am. My pleasure. I remember well how difficult it is when you have a newborn. Is this the first time you and your wife have gotten out since the baby, sir?"
Daniel blinked, trying to catch up, "Uh, yeah, sure. Right. Little...Freddy is a handful. Crying all night. Like...babies do."
DJ rolled his eyes, putting his napkin up to his mouth to hide his laughter.
The waiter smiled, placing Daniel's plate down as well, "Well, please, enjoy your dinner, daddy and mommy. And the wine is on the house."
Betty started to take a glass, and Daniel grinned, "Honey, don't you think you should lay off the booze? You are breastfeeding."
She gave him a dirty look, reaching for the glass, "The doctor said a glass or two once in a while is actually good for me."
"Really?"
"Yes, 'daddy'."
The waiter smiled and as soon as he left, DJ burst out laughing, "Sorry, guys, we were afraid they thought we were all pulling a dine and dash at first, when Valerie's father had to leave for work."
She rolled her eyes, "Typical! He says he wants to spend time with me and I'm supposed to be at his beck and call when I'm here, but then I get stuck waiting around while he gets calls for work constantly! It's no wonder mama left the man! He works constantly!"
"So, do you want to come to our hotel and hang out for a while? Could she, Daniel?"
Daniel looked nervous. "Uh...I don't know, DJ. Maybe Valerie should call her father and see what he wants her to do."
Betty thought for a minute, "Why don't you all come over to my place for a while until your dad can pick you up? It's small, but I have a TV and DVD player. We could get a movie on the way home."
Daniel smiled, putting his hand on hers, "That's sweet, Betty. But I thought you said you were swamped?"
"I am. That's why you're going to help me. I'm going to put you to work."
He nodded, "Okay. I could do that."
"Hurry up, you two. As soon as you finish your dinner, we'll go to Betty's, then. That's very nice of you to offer. Thank you. I'll get a good movie for us. Valerie, do you want to stop at the video store on the way back to
Betty's?"
"I suppose. Maybe we could go now, while they're eating. The video store is just around the corner. We can meet you there. Would that be alright, Daniel? I can call you Daniel, right?"
Daniel continued eating, rather nervously, and nodded, "Uh huh. Sure. Okay. That sounds like a good idea, guys. We'll meet you two in the video store. Thanks for waiting for us."
"No problem-o, Daniel. We figured you two had a lot of kissing to get caught up on after all this time. No love bites?"
"Get out of here, you little turkey! And no R-rated crap."
"What do you want us to watch, a child's video?"
"Yes!" Daniel threw his napkin at DJ, but he caught it and threw it back at him, laughing. "Yes, daddy!"
As soon as they left, Betty rolled her eyes, "Breastfeeding? Really, Daniel? Believe me, this 'mommy' is going to need her wine if she's going to entertain two teenagers tonight."
"And me. I feel a little like a horny teenager right now, Betty. I love my nephew, but I definitely wish it was just going to be you and me tonight."
"This is not a date, Daniel. Just us keeping an eye on DJ and Valerie till her father comes to get her. Did you text him and let him know we have his daughter this time so he doesn't threaten to beat you up for kidnapping her?"
"Yes, but this time he did leave her and DJ alone here."
She blushed, "I guess we were gone for a while. I didn't realize we were...out there for over half an hour."
He smiled, putting his hand on hers, "Me either. It seemed like no time at all. You know...after DJ leaves Sunday afternoon, maybe I could...come help you some more. I have a lot of time to make up for not being here for you over the past six months.
I know your launch is probably freaking you out. I'd really like to actually try and do something to take a little of the burden off you. Just let me know what you still need done. Do you still make your checklists? And use your post its?" he teased.
She rolled her eyes as he pulled out her chair for her, and left a handsome tip on the table, "Are you making fun of me?"
He kissed her cheek, "Only because I find your obsessive need to try and organize everything constantly incredibly sexy, Betty."
She blushed, "Right. Sexy. As they started to walk to the video store a few blocks away, Daniel grabbed her hand, holding it as they walked, "I said, incredibly sexy. To tell the truth, I missed your damn post-its, Betty. I had some pretty erotic dreams about those things."
She laughed and pulled a pink post-it out of her purse and put it on the front of his pants. "Sounds….interesting."
He laughed, pulling it off, and sticking it on her butt, "Betty! You naughty girl!"
"You're the one who just said you had...some fantasies about me. Do these involve your office back in New York?"
"Maybe. Why? Did you have fantasies about us there, too? Like...on my desk?"
She blushed, "Daniel...I'm not going to…"
He put his arm around her waist and laughed, "Betty, come on. It's been a long time. I'm...a little desperate here. Do you know I found DJ's porn stash when I was talking to you on the phone this morning?"
"Oh! I wondered why you sort of yelled out like that. Did you 'confiscate' them, Mr. 'lonely boy'?"
He rolled his eyes, "NO! I told him he'd better move them if he doesn't want Alexis to find them. He just had them under his bed! That would be the first place she'd look. If she were looking."
"That's funny. I remember you having…"
"I did not!"
"Daniel, I was your assistant for three years. And your friend for four. You forget, dear. I know where you kept...everything."
"Condoms?"
"Top right drawer of your bedside table. Come on. Give me something hard!"
He grinned, "Not right now. We have to play mom and dad to the teens first. Let's wait till we're alone."
She shoved him, "Daniel!"
He laughed, "Hey, you started it! Fine, you know all my secrets. You know where I stash my porn, where I keep my condoms, my boxers, everything. I guess I have no surprises left I can get you with, huh?"
She stopped, and stood in front of him, smoothing his lapels, "You surprised me today. I still can't believe you...wrote that letter, Daniel. That was...amazing. Very romantic. Very sweet. I wish I would have read it months ago. It came out here two months ago, I think."
He reached down to touch her face, "I'm glad you liked it. I was really touched by what you said about me in my bio, too, Betty. I hate that we wasted so much time. I guess I really do owe DJ for doing what I didn't have the guts to do. I was just so scared I was too late. So...you're really not going to tell me who these guys are you dated?"
She shrugged, smiling as she looked down, "What about them? I can tell you who they were I guess."
"Yeah, you know, just name, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers. So I can hire somebody to go rough them up a little let them know you're off limits. That's all."
She laughed, "Daniel, you're funny. And sweet, acting so jealous. But, there's absolutely no need."
He smiled, leaning his forehead against hers, and holding his lips just next to hers,
his voice gruff and low, "Because you're so hot for me?"
She smiled, "No comment."
He pulled her close, "Ah, look at that, you are, aren't you? Well, the feeling is very, very mutual, Betty.
So, do you forgive me for being such an idiot and needing my sixteen-year-old nephew to play cupid for us in order for me to get me off my ass and tell you how nuts I am for you?"
She nodded, as he continued to kiss her, "I might forgive you. Eventually."
"Are you two going to make out in front of the store all night? We already picked out a movie. Let's get a taxi. Could we order a pizza?"
"Seriously? DJ, we just ate!"
"You two just ate. Because you were making out before, as well. Jeez! Are you going to make out at Betty's, too?"
Betty pulled down her dress, and re-buttoned the top button that Daniel had 'accidentally' opened earlier, blushing. "I have lots of work to do."
"So you keep saying. But it seems you also have kissing to do, no?"
"DJ, knock it off, will you? How's it going with your date? Is she going to come to your mom's wedding with you?"
"But of course! I'm not so lame as you, Daniel."
"Don't gloat. But...thanks, buddy. You were right. I admit. I was a 'small poultry'. Now, let's go. Hey, Valerie. What did your dad say?"
She shrugged, looking sullen, "He said thank you and he's sorry he got called away. He asked me to text him the address later and he will come get me at Betty's. And he said to make sure to thank you for letting me stay with you."
"Of course, Valerie. My flat is really small, but you're definitely all welcome."
Once they all arrived inside Betty's flat, DJ and Valerie got set up watching their movie in the living room and Daniel asked, as he took off his jacket and tie, "So...let's get to work, Betty. Tell me what you need me to do."
She looked at him, so handsome, with his sleeves literally rolled up, ready to help her. She smiled, thinking if he only knew what she was thinking.