A Whole New World/3
Ch 3
Daniel shook his head, throwing the fourth outfit he tried on back on his bed, as he stood looking at himself in the mirror in his boxers. What the hell was he doing? It wasn't as if he could go back in time and take back the past ten years. Although a huge part of him wished maybe he was just a tad younger.
Being a full decade older than the woman you realized too late was the love of your life was a hard pill to swallow. He leaned closer, squinting at the greys at his temples and in his beard and mustache. The squinting made him grab for his reading glasses, and the image of himself with those on, along with the greys just made him sigh. "Shit! Look at me! I look like a college professor in these things!"
He pulled on jeans and a white tee shirt. Simple, but with a tan, leather jacket, he finally determined this ensemble made him look less...old. Should he pick her up on the Ducati? He rolled his eyes at his own vanity (and stupidity)! Right, he thought, where the hell would she put her luggage, it's not like there was a trunk on his motorcycle, you idiot!
He reached for the keys to the Tesla he had recently purchased, smiling as he ran his hand along the smooth lines of the automobile. He found hitting the road was one of the few things that had gotten him out of the depression that threatened to send him back to pills or booze (or sex).
Besides exercise, Daniel enjoyed jumping on his motorcycle or getting behind the wheel to head out of the city to clear his head of all the "mind fucking" he found himself doing to realize what an empty life he had.
Philanthropy was the only other thing that brought him some peace of mind. Being unselfish for a change felt very good, reminding him to be grateful for his money and position and never to take it for granted.
He decided that circling the airport was not a good idea, so he determined he would park, then go meet her at the baggage claim. As he asked the third person where Betty's flight would be getting their luggage, he caught a glimpse of her, struggling with a huge suitcase. One of the wheels was wobbling and it was causing her not to be able to walk at her usual fast pace.
For a few minutes, he just watched her, overwhelmed with the feeling of complete warmth that washed over him as soon as he laid eyes on the woman. No amount of time could diminish how he felt about Betty. The way she smiled, her eyes lit up and even with the problems she seemed to be having with her bag, her smile didn't fade in the slightest.
"It looks like you could use a hand." He jokingly put up his hands to clap.
As she turned to the sound of his familiar voice, she let out a little squeal and her hand flew to her mouth, hiding the fact that her smile got even bigger when she saw him. She jumped into his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist. "DANIEL! You're here!"
The shock of her actions caused them both to fall to the floor. At first, they both lay there, stunned, Betty on top of him. After only a moment, Daniel burst out laughing, looking up at her, "God, I missed you, Betty!" he sat up and hugged her warmly, before they looked around, then got up. He brushed himself off, and held out his arm for her to hook hers through, "Shall we? Let's get you a cart. That wheel is busted, and I had to park half a mile away!"
Her eyebrow shot up, "You DROVE? Yourself? Really?"
He grinned, "Don't act so shocked! I do lots of things by myself these days I'll have you know. I'm not totally helpless without you, Miss Suarez!"
After they had gotten a cart for her broken suitcase and finally found his car, she laughed, "Wow! Nice! Blue, huh? Let me guess, because it makes your eyes pop? What, they didn't have it in purple?"
"Haha! You laugh, but...I was just trying to do my part to save the planet!"
"Right! Of course! Very posh! Is this the one that has the dancing doors?"
"Yeah, you wanna do it...I mean see what it can do?" His laughter rang out, causing something in the pit of her stomach to lurch. How could she have forgotten how sexy the man was? After all this time, that certainly hadn't changed about him. She smiled at the car, and his casual attire, wondering if he was having concerns about his age.
As they both settled into their seats, she blurted out, "So...midlife crisis, huh?"
He made a face, running his hand through his hair absently, then stopped himself, not wanting to call attention to his somewhat receding hairline. She knew him too well. "Shut up! Suarez! I am NOT old!"
"I never said you were. Perish the thought! Thank you for the ride, Daniel. I want to surprise my family."
"So I gathered. I'm more than happy to be your Uber driver. But...are you going to tell me what changed? Why the sudden decision to come back to New York? I hope your family is all doing well?"
"Oh, yeah, they're all great! Well, I mean...Papi is...you know, not getting any younger. And neither is anyone. Besides, I…" she watched him carefully, "You know, don't you? Did your mom tell you? She said she was going to let me give you the news!"
He knew he was a terrible liar. He had no Poker face. He especially had no capacity (or desire, really) to lie to this girl. His grin broadened, "Actually … Mom didn't tell me. Justin let it slip. I hear you're going to be the Maid of Honor at his wedding. Will there be free cake? You know how much I love crashing weddings and hitting on the bridesmaids!"
Betty's face fell slightly, "Wait, Justin told you? Then you told him I asked you to pick me up? Oh, man! There goes the element of surprise!"
He shook his head, placing his hand on top of hers, "Nope! I mean...yes, Justin guessed that I was picking you up, but I told him I wasn't going to tell him when you got here because I knew you wanted to surprise everyone."
She glanced down at his hand on top of hers, trying not to show how much his touch was affecting her, "OH. Okay. That's good, then. Thank you!"
"Sure. No problemo" he smirked.
"Very funny! She drew her hand away from his and rolled her eyes.
After a moment of awkward silence he asked, "So...you're going to be working for my mother, huh? Or, well, I should say WITH her? She took
over the whole twenty-seventh floor, since it had been empty for years. That magazine of hers has been doing so well, she...wait, is she going to hand over Hot Flash to YOU? But you're not old!"
Betty laughed, "Thank you! Do you want to be my consultant from an old person point-of-view?"
"HEY! Not nice! I'm not THAT damn old!"
"I know that; but do you? I was only teasing! But, seriously, Daniel, what's with...the car and the outfit and…don't tell me you're dating a bunch of Petras!"
"Pet...Wow, you really haven't changed, have you? You never let me live THAT one down! NO! I'm barely dating anybody lately. Why? Do you care?"
"No, why would I? So no...Tristas?" she teased.
He laughed, "Nope. I didn't think I could spare the brain cells!"
She leaned closer, causing his pulse to race at the feel of her breath on his neck, and the contact of her hand on his arm, "I don't know about that. I hear you're quite the writer! I've read some of...okay ALL of the articles you submitted and your column...is really good! It's witty and self-deprecating, humble and sweet, really smart!
I TOLD you years ago that all you had to do was write from your heart! Did you ever show that Letter from the Editor you wrote when Alexis first came ...out to her? It was beautiful!"
The smile on his face grew as he gripped the wheel, trying to resist the temptation to turn and look at her face. He knew it was all he could do, not to...oh, hell, he really didn't have the self control he told himself to keep!
He pulled over quickly, gripping the emergency brake tightly, to avoid grabbing her in his arms and kissing her right then and there.
"Daniel? What's wrong? Are you...okay?"
He tried taking a deep breath and let it out slowly, as he allowed his eyes to wander over to her legs. Legs he didn't remember her ever showing so much of in the past. Crap!
Okay, his eyes roamed upward, but that definitely wasn't any better in keeping his cool. He swallowed hard as he noticed her cleavage was also on display far more than he had ever imagined in his...okay, well maybe in his wildest dreams!
"Yeah! I'm...good. I just...that was really nice what you said about my writing, Betty. Your opinion always meant a lot to me! Thank you! I've been...following your career, too. Very impressive!"
She placed her hand on his, looking into his eyes, "What's most impressive to me is how you started that non-profit in Molly's honor for Pediatric Cancer! And the fundraisers have been phenomenal! I'm sure she'd be very proud, Daniel!"
"Thanks, Betty. I...was inspired. And not just because of Molly or her students. You...always...inspired me! I heard about the charitable work you were doing in London, too." He smiled, and reached up to intertwine his fingers with hers. "Great minds, huh?"
She nodded, blushing, "Uh huh. Or...hearts. Daniel...can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything." his hot breath on her neck caused chills to go up and down her spine.
"I...um...heard that besides your column, you were also writing a book. That you've been...working on it off and on for a very long time."
He backed away, wondering what she had heard exactly. Did she know he had been writing about her, about THEM? A long time? That was an understatement! He had started it less than a year after he returned to New York. He got the idea for it the first six months he was back. "Oh...you…
heard about that, huh?" He wondered if it was his mother who had ratted him out or if Justin had heard it through the grapevine.
"It's true, then? You HAVE started writing a book? Is it...fiction?"
"Not exactly."
"I see. So, it's about...YOU?"
"Yes."
"And...anyone else I might know?"
"Possibly."
"Daniel!"
"What?"
"Are we playing twenty questions?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Is it...also about me?"
"You? What makes you think that? Somebody's sure full of herself!"
Betty just smiled.
He pulled into a garage, "We're here."
"Here?"
He turned and nodded, placing one arm up over her, making her quite nervous, "This is my place. Would you like to come up for some...coffee?"