Chapter 14 Girls Nights
Ain't got a care in world, but got plenty of beer
Ain't got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here
And now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger
But we kick em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger
TikTok - Ke$ha
It was surprising to Anna how quiet the bar she was now sat in was, after all it was a Friday night. It was looking as though her and Grace were the only ones with the night off work. Not that Anna minded, a quiet drink with a friend was exactly what she needed after the long couple weeks she'd had so far.
Danny had helped her move into her new apartment successfully. Yet since that day he had only been in touch briefly. Anna had to learn from Hawkes that Danny had somehow become trapped in a panic room not two days ago; she'd obviously called him when he'd gotten out but there was something distracting him. That had been the last day she'd spoken to him, to say she was growing worried would have been an understatement. It had now been 5 days since she'd seen him face to face.
Grace, knowing what was going on set about saving her friend from a night curled on the sofa with a tub of Ben and Jerry's and had instead suggested a few drinks out, not taking no for an answer. So here they both were sat at the bar, in O'Malley's, a bar mostly frequented by cops, and downing their fifth tequila shot of the night washing it down quickly with a swig of their beer.
Both girls had gotten themselves all dressed up and were in turn disappointed to find themselves in O'Malley's bar instead of out living it up. They'd hit one club but after fighting off groping hands they'd decided to leave and ended up her.
Grace had curled her hair, and it hung loosely around her shoulders, she was dressed in a gorgeous mid-night blue, halter neck dress that revealed her back, hugged her at the waist and fell mid-thigh. The look was complete with a pair of stiletto heals.
Anna wore a hot strapless olive green dress, synched at the waist with a black sash and fell a little short of mid thigh; complete with a pair of dangerous looking spiked heals. Anna's natural curls had much more of a messy bed head effect to them tonight.
Throwing back her shot Anna sighed, "You think this is his way of dumping me?" she asked Grace seriously, staring at her shot glass as the other woman turned to her and shook her head,
"Don't be silly Anna, anybody who sees you to together can see just how in love with you he is..." she trailed off and laughed when Anna choked on her drink. Covering her mouth Anna turned to Grace and scowled,
"Now you're the one who's being silly, we haven't been together long enough." She said after a few moments, shaking her head she looked down at the bar but couldn't stop the small smile from escaping. Beside her Grace laughed and nudged her playfully,
"We both know I'm speaking the truth. I mean just the way he looks at you; you should have seen him when you left for Australia, granted I'd only just been told you two were an item but I could tell immediately he was already falling for you."
"Danny's not the type of guy to fall in love, especially not so fast..." Anna sighed, twirling her Malibu with a straw. From the little things she'd heard around the lab, Danny was a player, there were a couple girls he'd obviously had a fling with working in the lab and they made no secret of their dislike for Anna.
Beside her Grace rolled her eyes, turning on her stool she pulled Anna around to face her, giving the other woman no choice but to look at her, "Okay listen up, quit sulking!" she said firmly, putting her hand over Anna's mouth when she made a move to reply, "Danny is insane about you, trust me on this. I've watched Danny jump from one girl to another, and he's never been happy. You turn up and suddenly he's wearing this smile I've never seen before, he's happier than I've ever seen him. Anna, he may not have said it but Danny's is so obviously in love with you, accept that!"
Anna smiled and nodded her head, not realising till now how much she had actually wanted to hear that, now she just wanted to hear it from Danny's own mouth. Of course this was more than a fling, she'd felt that the first time she locked eyes with him. Anna had felt herself falling for him hard, and done everything in her power to ignore it, but she wasn't going to fight it anymore.
With that in mind she smiled brightly and turned to the bar, ordering them both two tequila shots each, looking back at Grace she winked. "You know your one to talk..." off Grace's look she elaborated, "Don't deny it, you and Don...not as subtle as you think you know."
Grace smiled, running a hand through her hair she nodded, "We're not...I mean...it's just sex..."
Anna shook her head as she pushed Grace's shots in front of her, "No it's more than that don't deny it Grace, come on. Bet he's already asked you to the NYPD fundraising ball next week hasn't he..." Grace sighed and nodded her head,
"Okay it's more than that, I'm not sure how much more but..."
"Evening ladies..." Both Grace and Anna looked behind them and fought the grimace that nearly crossed their faces. There invading both their personal spaces were two guys, each one staring down at either Grace or Anna with a sickening grin,
"Not interested, sorry." Grace said, making Anna laugh softly as she turned her back on the men. It seemed however they weren't to be deterred; one of the men moved around Anna's other side, whilst the other leaned between them his attention firmly on Grace as she followed Anna in downing her shots.
"Playing hard to get I like it." He nodded, his eyes skimming the length of her body. Grace shook her head and grabbed her purse, rifling through it she pulled out her badge and held it in front of him as Anna did the same to the other man.
"I said we're not interested, so back off." She all but growled, the pair of them biting back a laugh as the men flinched visibly and scurried away. Anna looked at her badge and shook her head,
"This thing is amazing!" she exclaimed frowning when she realized just how weird she looked stroking her badge, Grace laughed as she tucked hers away,
"Put it away sweetie!" she chuckled, her head starting to buzz with the 8 tequila shots, plus 2 Malibu's they'd had in this bar alone. Neither Anna nor Grace could remember what they'd drank at the club, "Lets head out, hit another club."
Anna turned to Grace and nodded as she grabbed her purse, "Your right we're young, hot, successful women." She declared standing up making Grace laughed at her friend and quickly followed suit. As they hit the street both women stumbled, the fresh air hit them hard and the effects all the alcohol they'd drank finally hit them and with a bounce in their steps they headed down the street for what was bound to be an unforgettable night.
Anna awoke with a start; ignoring the pounding in her head she strained her ears to listen again for the noise that had awoken her so abruptly. As she heard the clattering again she pushed herself up from her pillows, and grabbed her sidearm which lay in the drawer of her bedside cabinet.
Standing up she immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting back a huge wave of nausea that washed over her. There was a persistent pounding behind her eyes, but she forced out a deep breath and clasped her Glock tightly between her hands.
Barefoot and clad in one of Danny's old navy blue NYPD t-shirts she slowly moved out of her bedroom, quietly moving through her apartment. Anna grimaced as she attempted to swallow; her mouth was dry and her throat raw. As her eyes scanned the apartment she froze, the noise came again from the kitchen.
Pressing her back against the wall, Anna forced in a deep breath, mentally counted to three and quickly moved into the doorway, her gun levelled up and trained on to the figure currently standing over her stove.
As she opened her mouth to yell at him to freeze, a scowl stretched over her features and she rolled her eyes. "Danny you idiot I could of shot you!" she exclaimed, lowering the weapon as Danny turned.
"Have to admit I'm relieved you didn't." He replied, his infamous cheeky grin appearing as his eyes fixated onto her. Anna sighed and shook her head stepping into the kitchen, placing the gun on the side she moved past Danny and reached up into the cupboard for a glass,
"What are you even doing here?" she asked, wincing as her head pounded angrily. Danny watched as she poured a glass of water before he held out two painkillers, his eyes twinkling in amusement as she took them,
"You invited me over remember?" he asked, his grin widening when Anna looked at him, a confused look spreading over her tired features, "You don't remember?"
Anna looked at him for a moment, taking another sip of the water in her hand to wash down the painkillers as she came to a horrible conclusion. Lowering the glass she ran a hand through her hair and attempted to remember anything that had happened after her and Grace stepped into O'Malley's bar, "Oh my god how much did I drink..." she gasped her hands covering her face.
Danny laughed silently, his eyes lingering on her legs for a moment before he reached out for her, pulling Anna into his arms. "Well when Don called me, both you and Grace were dancing on the bar in Murphy's, giving the guys there one hell of a show..." he bit his tongue when Anna looked up at him horrified, "Don managed after climbing up himself, to get Grace down, you all but jumped off the bar into my arms..."
Anna shook her head, burying her face into his shirt as Danny spoke, unable to believe she of all people had acted like that. Again she began to wonder just what she had been drinking, "After that I managed to get you home, you kicked your shoes off and tried to drag me into bed." When Anna looked up at him, Danny held his hands up in surrender, "Don't worry I was a gentleman, I helped you get undressed and put you to bed, but after seeing your little present I almost ignored the fact you were drunk and..."
"Present?" Anna cut him off, "What present?" she asked, her stomach going cold when she watched a sly grin slowly spread on Danny's lips. Stepping back from him, she could only watch as Danny crouched down, his fingers tracing a sensitive spot on her inner thigh.
Inhaling quickly Anna swatted his hands away, surprised at how sensitive the skin on her leg was. Danny however chuckled and leaned in, letting his lips gently brush over the soft spot, "Have to say, it's the best present I've ever gotten."
"Danny what on earth..." Anna froze, her eyes catching on the spot he'd just kissed. Pulling away from Danny she turned her leg to gain a better look and her stomach dropped.
There in black italics were the numbers 8946, and a small red heart beside them, running up near the top of her inner thigh. Looking up at Danny her eyes were wide before she looked back down. Licking her thumb she quickly began trying to rub it off, "Oh please tell me this is henna..."
Danny chuckled as he watched her, "I think it's awesome." He said with a shrug, flinching slightly when Anna's attention snapped to him,
"Danny I've branded myself with some random..." Anna trailed off, and pointed at him then down at the tattoo on her leg, "Danny, baby, what's your badge number?" she asked softly, trying not to panic. Danny bit down on his tongue before answering,
"8946..." he replied, immediately reaching for her when a horrified look crossed Anna's face. Anna though turned and walked slowly out the kitchen and into the living room,
"This is great, I branded myself with your badge number and we're not even...I may as well have gotten 'Danny's Property' tattooed on my butt. Danny I'm going to have this forever..." she turned to him, more in shock that she'd gotten something which basically tied her to Danny than the fact she'd gotten a tattoo.
Danny however could not see a problem, he smiled and stepped forward his arms wrapping around her waist, "Well I happen to love it." He told her, "I get to see how you really feel, rather than you tell me. It's like our own little secret, your mine, and now we have proof."
Anna couldn't help but smile when he said that, relieved that he wasn't freaked out. If anything it freaked her out that she'd even got it, it was so personal, even more so than a name because only her and Danny would truly understand the meaning of the numbers. The words were on her tongue, the words she so longed to say to him but for some reason she couldn't, instead all that she found herself able to say was, "Grace!"
"What about her?" Danny asked slightly amused, their small moment broken. Anna pulled out his embrace and began scurrying around searching for her purse. When she found it under the sofa Anna beamed and emptied the contents onto the cushions.
Reaching for her mobile she paused, spotting a white folded up receipt. Picking it up she carefully unfolded it to find it was a receipt from the tattoo place, about to toss it aside she stopped a giggle escaping, "What is it?" Danny asked crouching down beside her.
Instead of answering Anna handed him the receipt and grabbed her phone, dialling in Grace's number before she turned to Danny, his grin almost as big as hers, "Grace?"
"I think I'm dying..." was the reply. Stifling a laugh Anna shook her head, as she also heard, "So dramatic." Obviously Don was still there.
"Before you do sweetie I want to know what you got."
"What I got?" Grace's confused reply, echoed through the room as Anna put the phone on loud speaker. The rustling of sheets could also be heard,
"Yeah well, we've found mine I was just wondering what..."
"Grace baby I love your dedication to this relationship..." Don's voice interrupted Anna, there was another rustle as a frustrated and hung-over Grace replied
"What are you...oh my god! I have a tattoo on my ass!"
Well firstly I'd like to again thank everyone who's taken time to read and review and I also wanna thank those that have put this story on alert, all your support amazes me and gives me the kick I need to continue.
Donna, well where would I be without you! LOL big thanks to you hun x
Sch – Anna may be small, but she's small, mighty, a red head and Australian...awesome combo lmao. Danny was silly to punch him, but we all knew there was no way he was going to just let Jason get away with that, and we all know he would have done more but by some miracle he found it in him to walk away. Jason is awesome to write...dunno why I like writing bad guys, it can't be healthy lol, but yeah hopefully Jason will be making another visit sometime soon.
Lady-Buster – Glad to hear off ya hun! Well I'm afraid your goin to have to wait for more Danny and Jason interaction, but I promise you more will be coming. As for how it'll affect Anna you'll once again have to wait and see :P Made up your enjoying this story!
Donna- Donna, Donna, Donna, what am I going to do with you? Nah I'm teasing, lol thanks for reviewing hun, and don't worry you get the previews beforehand so I'm made up you still take the time to come and review. I wasn't going to have Anna break down over Jason, his forcefulness shook her up yes, but she's survived worse.
Sam – Thanks for the review hun and yes Jason did deserve that smack from Danny. I actually think he deserved a lot more but we'll save that for another time lol
shippolove844 – Danny is awesome I have to agree with you there. Ya know I love Jason too even though he is a creep...I seem to like all the baddies in my story and that fact worries me a teenie tiny bit. LOL so glad your liking this story and thanks for reviewing, love to hear from you again.