Chapter 7 – Harder to Deny

"Whoa there Montana, if you're not careful you're going to run someone over."

"Sorry Danny," she said feebly, avoiding eye contact. "I'm actually just on my way to the ladies' room."

Danny looked at her with a surprised look on his face. "Uh Monroe, you're in the entrance to the building… I don't imagine you're planning on squatting in the bushes out front, am I right?"

Lindsay blushed. "Um, no…" She couldn't think of anything better to say.

Danny just laughed. God damn that laugh. "Tell you what. You turn around, the ladies' room is that way," he pointed, "and I'll wait for you by the bar. This is supposed to be a night for relaxing, and you look, well, stressed." What the hell was that, Messer? he thought, still holding his smile firmly in place, which wasn't that hard to do when Lindsay was the one he was smiling at. You're offering her a drink? This is what you normally do before you start all your tricks in hopes of … well, you know where that normally ends up. But this is Monroe here!

"Yeah, thanks, I'll be there in a minute," she smiled, turning back around and walking in the direction Danny had pointed.

Of all the people she had to run into, why did it have to be Danny? She was having quite a difficult time sorting out her feelings… On the one hand, he was someone she worked with, someone who she had formed a solid friendship with, one of the first since she came to New York. But further than that, he just had this way of making her laugh, even at her worst of times, he had this uncanny ability to make her smile and give her a boost at the drop of a hat. And though he sometimes drove her completely crazy, he still had this aura about him, a certain something that drew him to her. But on the other hand, who knew where he was standing – she had known pretty much since day one that he had a player reputation – your typical bad boy. She couldn't exactly come out and profess her feelings for him, nor did she feel comfortable enough with Flack to ask him for any advice on the matter. Anyone who she did feel comfortable in asking didn't know Danny, and would only be able to speculate.

Unfortunately, this bad boy turned her world completely upside down… to the point where she couldn't even enjoy the attention of an extremely handsome, intellectual individual.

God, what was Danny Messer doing to her?

Danny waited at the bar, a beer in one hand and a glass in the other. He surveyed the room. Stella, Sid, and Hawkes were over at the auction table; Sid was obviously looking at the Mediterranean Cruise again. Danny cringed at the memories of the photos, and looked onwards to find Mac over with Fabrizzi chattering away. Flack was working on minimizing the distance between himself and the strappy-backed blonde he had been working on most of the night. A friendly 'hey' interrupted his thoughts, as Lindsay leaned against the bar, facing him.

"Hey yourself," he said, handing her the wine. "What happened to your friend?" Danny immediately gave himself a mental slap. Messer, you dumbass.

Lindsay broke his eye contact, looking intently at the bubbles in her wine glass. "He's nice," she said slowly, "but he was a bit … I don't know what the word is, overconfident, I suppose would be fitting."

Danny drew a shallow breath – confidence was something he was actually good at, and she didn't like it? He decided to investigate further. "Oh yeah? Care to elaborate?" He kept his eyes fixed over the dance floor.

Lindsay thought about her response, then said, "Well, he's nice and all, but he seemed too eager, like I would automatically melt at the knees just because he showed some interest in me, as if he were the only guy left on the planet." She was surprised at how easily she offered the explanation, then realized that it was because it was actually true. "I mean, it's nice that he's got some confidence because you don't want the guy to be a complete wimp, but really? I think his ego was just a bit too large; not really my kind of thing. But he just didn't seem to get the hint when I wasn't as friendly with him in return."

Danny couldn't help but feel relieved by her answer; he felt himself stand just a touch taller. Lindsay noticed the look of relief that swept across his face, and smiled as she felt him relax. She took a sip of her wine, leaning slightly into him.

"Well that's too bad that it didn't work out for you, Montana," said Danny, trying not to sound excited, but knowing he was probably doing a terrible job at covering up. "Some guys just don't get when to cut it off."

"Oh, and I suppose you're an expert in that area?" She raised her eyebrows; of course he does, he makes that painfully, blissfully obvious every single time he looks at you.

"Oh, come on Monroe, I've been perfecting my game since I was about eleven. I've got it down to a science," he laughed.

"Enlighten me, then." She gave him a wide grin, the one that he knew he couldn't resist.

"Well then, Miss Monroe, where do I start!" He couldn't believe he was about to do this. "Part of being successful in your endeavour with a new woman is to first gage if she's interested, instead of just assuming that it's a good deal. You have to play the interested one, make her laugh, maybe buy her a drink to get on her good side, compliment her… but all the while keeping a distance. If you get all over her right away, she's more than likely going to put up the defensive. You've got to be sweet, and once you break the ice, you have to let her come to you. You just put out the bait, then let her actually take it. That's the way it's got to be done!"

Lindsay was shocked – he completely had it right on. It was the manoeuver he'd been using on her, and part of why she was turned off from Vincent.

And right on cue, Vincent walked up to Lindsay.

"Hey there – you didn't come get me when you came back from the restroom!" He smiled at Lindsay, but not before sending a slightly unfriendly scowl in Danny's direction. Danny returned the expression.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," said Lindsay, taking a small step closer to Danny. "I ran into Danny on the way back and we just got to talking." She wished he hadn't spotted them.

"Well," he said, motioning towards the dance floor. "Care for another dance?"

Lindsay looked first to Danny, then out to the dance floor, realizing that the DJ had slowed down the pace yet again.

"I—"

"She had already promised me the next dance," interrupted Danny, looking intently at Lindsay. She didn't miss a step.

"Yeah, I did, sorry Vincent," she smiled. She felt bad blowing him off, but it was hard to care given what Danny had just indirectly asked her.

Danny placed his hand on the small of her back and led her towards the dance floor, leaving Vincent rejected behind them. Danny smirked. Once on the dance floor, he turned her to face him, one hand on her waist, the other delicately holding hers. He was surprised at how natural it felt, to be holding her so close, to be able to just look at her and not have it seem weird or intrusive. He resisted the urge to pull her right up against him, remembering his own advice. But oh, how he wanted to. He had been fighting what was going on inside of him for awhile, desperately trying not to admit that he, in fact, was completely crazy about Lindsay. She was so different than anyone he had ever met. While other girls seemed to be unable to resist his city boy charm, she acted like she hadn't noticed it. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had been subconsciously working rather hard to get her attention – calling her Montana, poking fun at her, never letting her just get off with anything easily. She seemed to just have this hold on him, and he couldn't shake it.

And he realized he didn't want to.

He gave a slight tug of her body towards his, slight enough that she would have felt it, but gentle enough that if she didn't want to, it would be easy to just maintain the positions currently held. He drew a breath as she stepped into him.

There's just something about dancing with someone you care so much about that gets to you on a much deeper level than simply being in the same room… the intimacy, the atmosphere, the perfect excuse to get so close to someone without anyone asking questions or giving suspicious looks. Standing in Danny's hold, slightly closer together than simply coworkers, Lindsay found herself getting completely lost in the moment. All she could think about was Danny, the world around her simply didn't exist anymore. She itched to melt into him completely, but even dancing couldn't create a believable enough façade to fulfill such a wish. She felt Danny pull her towards him, the slightest push applied on her back. She took a small step towards him, smiling as all attachments to reality disappeared.

AN: Sorry the chapter was shorter than normal, but this just seemed like the right spot to end, plus leads well into what's in store. As always, reviews are loved! Thanks for all the support.