BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE CH 4
The moonlight outside lit his apartment fairly well, but it was clear from looking around at the immediate neighborhood that the blowing snow and wind had possibly knocked out the power in the area, since Christmas lights and trees all seemed to have been extinguished as well.
"Betty? Are you okay? It's just a power outage. Don't panic. I'm sure they'll have it fixed soon.
Listen, if you look in the drawer next to the stove, there should be a flashlight, I think. I have some candles by the fireplace. We can...snuggle up together if you trust me to behave myself." he teased.
"OW! Okay! I just stubbed my toe!" She found the flashlight in time to shine it right in Daniel's eyes as he suddenly appeared behind her, holding her waist.
"Hey! Be careful! I don't know if I trust a klutz like you in the dark, you'll seriously hurt yourself! Come on, I'll guide you back to the fireplace. I have some blankets and pillows I can get us so we don't get too cold.
Plus, if we cuddle, it'll keep us warm. Of course, there are other things I'm sure I could think of. IF I wasn't such a gentleman, of course!" He teased.
She rolled her eyes, "Very funny,Daniel! Here, you take the flashlight. You know where you have everything."
He led her to the fireplace and got a fire started, then motioned for her to sit next to him, practically on his lap in the wide chair, while they warmed themselves, watching the logs flame. He smiled, as they 'cuddled'. "I hope it's not too soon after...you know, the business with Renee."
She shook her head, staring absently at the fire, "I try not to think of that too much. I almost feel sorry for her."
He rolled his eyes, but smiled, "Of course you would. I'm sorry, but sometimes you're too nice for your own good, Betty! She could have killed you! How can you possibly feel anything but resentment towards the woman?
I know she wasn't in her right mind and I'm sure her own sister had a hand in it, but still...you almost died that night! I don't even want to imagine what I'd do if anything ever happened to you!"
She smiled, and touched his cheek, "Aww...Daniel. You're sweet. But, I was thinking how jealous I was of Charlie. It made me really furious. How she always had an excuse to be with Henry because of the baby.
And the more I thought about it from Renee's point of view, I could see how she might feel the same way about me and you. From her perspective, she had to share you with me.
I was the one you spent all your time with. I was the one who saw you all day and night. We were together all the time. We have our own little shorthand when we talk. We have all these shared moments. All the funny, sweet things only we understand. All the times we laughed..."
As she was talking, he merely nodded, as Betty got closer to his face, until they were only a mere inch apart. He finished her sentence as they kissed, "together."
Once again, before long, things started heating up between them and they were kissing furiously, getting totally lost in the moment. Finally, though, Betty murmured, "Daniel, we really need to...stop."
He nodded, "Uh huh. Okay." However, he kept kissing her as he mumbled, his eyes still closed as he tried to make himself respect her wishes. But in all fairness to Daniel she may have been saying no, but she didn't stop kissing him, either, her lips were still on his and her soft little moans were driving him crazy with desire at this point.
He tried his best to be 'the gentleman', however, and pushed away from her, sitting himself immediately behind her on the large chair, so that her back was to him and he couldn't see those soft lips of hers.
He merely wrapped his arms around her from behind and leaned down to whisper, "There, now I can't even see those sexy lips of yours, so I'll try to leave you alone, I promise."
She nodded, trying to even out her own breathing, since the man had seriously taken her breath away with his kisses. She admitted freely that Daniel was making her crazy with desire right now. She knew it was insane. That this was way too soon for them to be carrying on like this. This was wrong in so many ways!
Daniel was her boss, first of all. She shouldn't be making out with her boss! Second, he was her friend. What if things didn't work out between them? The last thing she wanted was to jeopardize their friendship.
Not to mention, it was way too soon for either of them to be starting a new relationship with anyone, particularly each other.
Especially her; she had just said goodbye to Henry, the man she was sure she loved not twenty-four hours ago! But now all she could think about was Daniel?
His firm chest and arms, his tight abs, those crazy sexy blue eyes, his soft, extremely kissable lips...not to mention all the incredible things he had just said to her about being her soul mate? Oh, hell!
She merely whispered his name, as he leaned down, quite innocently to hear her, but something about the way she said his name encouraged him to begin kissing her neck and massage her breasts, which led to Betty's almost complete undoing. How did the man know just what triggered her to want nothing more than to totally give herself to him?
Logically, she knew this was crazy, was way too soon, but oh my God! When he kissed her, or touched her, she felt as if she wanted to explode.
She felt her resolve crumbling as she writhed in the sheer pleasure of his touch. His hot breath in her ear, and on the pulse points of her neck, his hands, making her crazy as she tried to will herself to open her eyes and stop this now. Well, soon...
Daniel, for his part had tried to stop, but when she uttered his name like that, he couldn't resist, couldn't help himself, and the way she was clearly enjoying his light touch on her breasts, his soft kisses on her neck and little nibbles on her ear, made him want to never stop. He loved hearing Betty utter his name with such...passion, such desire. All he wanted to do was keep making her happy. And right now, she seemed very happy.
"Betty…" he moaned, feeling his own desire for her increasing with every touch. She had her hands wrapped around his neck and was now arching into him, making soft little moans that told him how close she was to finding her own release, without him even touching her anywhere but 'above the waist' as per her request.
He couldn't help but let his mind wonder just how passionate she might be as things progressed and he was allowed to work his magic on other parts of her sensuous body. He had never felt so much intensity from a woman. He felt as if the heat from her body was more scorching than from the actual fire.
"DANIEL!" She cried out and then bit her lip, as she turned around, clearly embarrassed at how carried away she had allowed herself to get. She blushed, turning around till she was facing him.
She bowed her head, "Sorry! I sort of got...carried away there. That was my fault."
He grinned, "I noticed. Please don't apologize. I liked it. Very much. In the future, feel free to moan my name like that as much as you want. It was very sexy. In fact, if you need a coat rack, just let me know. I think I've got one for you." She giggled, seeing (and feeling) what he was talking about.
"Sorry about that! I didn't mean to...tease you. Are you...okay?"
He nodded. "I will be. Just give me...a few minutes. Hey, I know. Maybe I could go sit out in the snow? That should do it."
She rolled her eyes, and started to run her hand down his chest, but he grabbed her wrist, "Uh, that is NOT helping, Betty! How about we find something kind of unsexy to do for a while until I can get back to normal here?"
She spied the Jane Austen book he had taken from his mother's library on the shelf, "I know! We can talk about how much you liked this! That kind of stuff always bores you, I know."
He nodded, "That's true. Usually, it does. But, as much as I hate to admit it, parts of that were...well, kind of hot, I guess. In a very old-fashioned, gentlemanly sort of way!" he teased. "Do you really see me as that Darcy guy? Why? Because he was rich?"
She shrugged, leaning back against the chair, but trying to keep her distance from Daniel now. "Well, sure, that's part of it, of course. But not just that. You both sort of have an aloof quality at first until you get to know someone."
"Aloof? Seriously? Uh, I don't see that, Betty! If that were true, then explain all the women in my past?"
"No, Daniel, why don't YOU explain all the women in your past? In fact, that's perhaps just one more reason why this...you and me could never work! We're just so...different."
"Could have fooled me a few minutes ago."
"Not fair! I was...you….uh distracted me. Plus, I missed Henry."
"Oh, I see. Because you were horny for him, you gave into me? Flattering! Gee, thanks, Betty! And you call me a flirt!"
"I did not!"
"Yes, you did! You implied that you could never get involved with me because my past meant I took sex too lightly. Right? Isn't that what you meant?"
"Well, sort of, I guess. What, reading one Jane Austen book makes you some kind of expert on women, now?"
"No, but having sex with...well, a lot of them does, perhaps. Give me some credit, Betty. I do know what women like a little. And I went to college. I have read more than one of her books, actually, I'll have you know. I never really got the appeal before.
She's always been sort of too...period piece for me. Her stuff is all too cerebral. I mean, there's passion, I guess, but not as much as you clearly have. You should write that stuff. You'd be great at it. I can tell." He picked up her hand and kissed it, smiling.
She blushed, "Right! You think I could write better than Jane Austen! Sure, Daniel! Thanks for your encouragement, honey, but I don't think so!" she laughed.
He grinned, "Betty, did you just call me...honey?"
She blushed again, "NO! I mean,mabye. Yes. Okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything."
He shook his head, "Don't be sorry. I liked it." He thought for a minute, then furrowed his brows, "Do you really think I'm as stuck up as he was? Do I come off that way? As entitled, snobby or something? Like I think a girl would have to 'come from money' for me to give her the time of day?"
She shook her head, "No, of course not. You do tend to run in those circles, maybe. I mean, you're around a higher tax bracket for the most part. That, or models. So, that's just who you surround yourself with. But I never saw you as snobby, really."
"I was just wondering. I mean, that time when I came to your house for the first time, and you said that about being between decorators, I sort of got the impression you were annoyed at me because of my...money, I guess."
"I was."
"Oh. I see."
"Do you? I mean, think about it, Daniel. That was right after you had just abused me all week and humiliated me in order to get rid of me. I wasn't exactly seeing your best side right then. So, yeah, maybe right then I was trying to say how 'snobby' you were. But that was before I got to know the real you."
He smiled, "I see. So you were too 'prejudice', huh? Or were you too proud, perhaps?"
She rolled her eyes, "Hilarious! Neither. Well, okay, maybe I was a little 'prejudice' against rich white guys who made fun of the chubby hispanic girl with glasses and braces. But like I said, that was before I got to know you better."
"Which is exactly my point. You were prejudice against me because I was rich and uh...not hispanic and maybe I was a little bit that way about you, too. Because I was stereotyping you. Thinking you were just the smart girl. Not realizing how sexy you really were under all the...disguises."
"Disguises?"
He nodded, touching her cheek, then her eye, "Yeah, you know, the glasses, the braces a bit, but especially the clothes. After all this time at Mode, you still don't really 'get' fashion, do you, Betty?"
"I guess not. Enlighten me, obiwan!"
He sat back, his arms crossed, "No. Not when you make fun of me, like that! You still just think anybody who is into fashion is an airhead, Betty! After all this time, I would think a girl as bright as you about everything else would 'get it'.
But you're just as prejudice against 'fashionistas' as you think everyone at Mode is about short, hispanic girls with curves! Forget it. I'm sure you're right. We're all just a bunch of silly people, not worthy of your time.
Go chasing after another egghead. See how far you get. Because God knows, they never do anything stupid like...knock up their ex-girlfriends and run off to Tombstone with them."
"Tucson."
"Whatever! You think he's safer than I am somehow? Why? Just because he wears glasses and likes Star Trek?"
"Why are you getting angry?"
"Because! You're just like that damn Elizabeth you like in this book, so much, Betty! You're making assumptions about me. About guys like me. You think I can't change?
Don't you realize you've already changed me? I'm not still the same guy who gets blow jobs under my desk anymore, Betty!
For God's sakes, don't you realize how crazy you make me? What a difference you've made in my life? But you, you still think you're safe by hiding behind your clothes that cover up your figure.
If you never subject yourself to the same standards, you don't ever act like you care what you look like, like the rest of us, then you think you can't really get hurt.
You don't allow yourself to be put on display in all your true beauty, so you don't have to risk getting rejected.
Yes, you get made fun of from idiots like Marc and Amanda. But it's not for the real you. You tell yourself how dumb they are for making fun of your bad clothes and your braces and glasses and frizzy hair. Because deep down, you know that's not really you. It can't hurt you. You're still safe.
But I know the real Betty. And she's beautiful. She's...amazing. You're amazing, babe. Not just your lips, your eyes, your skin. Your body. I'm talking about the real woman inside.
What makes you so incredible is how sweet and loving you are. But you're so scared to show yourself to the world. To share the real you with anybody."
Betty had tears in her eyes as her head was bowed, and Daniel lifted back her hair from her face. "Am I right?"
She nodded, lifting up her head, but then got a look in her eyes, that he knew meant she was angry, too. "Yes. But what about you, Daniel?
You say I'm hiding and maybe you're right. But you do the same thing! You hide behind all the parties and booze and sex.
You think if you never really open your heart up to a woman, show her your real self, you won't get hurt!"
"Yeah, well, do you blame me? Look what happens to me every time I have, Betty! I mean, that crap with Sofia? That…"
"Bitch!" she finished for him. He looked startled hearing her curse and smiled, as she touched his cheek.
"Well...yeah. She was. Thank you. I really did appreciate the support."
"Amanda's the one who beat the crap out of her. I wish I would have."
He smiled, "Yeah. I would have put money on you against her. After all. You're my tough chic from Queens."
She nodded, "That's right. Don't you forget it, Daniel. No means no." She showed him her fist.
He raised his eyebrows, then grabbed her fist in his hand, "Oh, does it? Hmm...you told me no before, but then five minutes later, I had you moaning, woman. I can wear you down.
I do have all night, after all. It's Christmas Eve. There's a snowstorm outside. It's warm and dry in here. I have this bottle of wine. I have a cozy fireplace. I have this book of girlie romance stuff you like. I have...my lips."
She pulled him closer to her by his shirt collar, "Right there. All the other stuff isn't necessary. You had me at your lips, Daniel. Bring it."
"Don't boss me around. I'm supposed to be your boss, remember?"
"Not right now."
"True. But...mmm...Betty." he smiled as she kissed him tenderly. "Okay, fine. You win."
"What do I 'win' exactly?" she murmured, against his lips, smiling as he pulled her towards him.
"Me."
"Mmm...Good prize!"
"Thanks. But you're the real prize, Betty. I love you."