In Shining Lights, Holding You Tight
Alright guys, thanks for your reviews. This chapter is longer. Hope you enjoy it! :) I think it's sweet!
For entertainment only! :P
Chapter 3
Instead of working like he should have, Daniel made calls to Betty's family and his mother wanting to plan something special for Betty while she was here. Sure she was only going to be there for pretty much a day, he wanted to make sure she didn't miss out on all the family fun and still go with her to the reunion. When he called Hilda, they were all thrilled to get to see Betty, even if it was only for a little bit and his mom helped him set up something extra special. He really wanted to make Betty's one day in New York perfect. She deserved that.
It was now four in the afternoon and he was getting anxious because it was usually then when Betty called him, which was ten her time. He didn't understand how she could stay up so late and STILL wake up in the morning so cheerful. She was just that amazing.
Betty and Luca had a nice dinner and were taking the long walk home. Part of the reason was she was trying to delay her talk with Daniel as much as possible and second she was actually having a good time with Luca. He had gotten her flowers and took her to this really nice restaurant, and then they went dancing for a while and now they were walking through the park on the way to her flat.
When they got to her door, Betty lingered there a little longer, leaning against the door she looked at him. "Thanks for taking me out tonight" she said fiddling with her key. He smiled. "My pleasure. Thanks for coming" he said taking a step closer.
Daniel really couldn't wait any longer. He just wanted to talk to her. He knew he was a mess right now. He couldn't even sit still for one minute. He picked up his cell phone.
As Luca leaned forward, he placed his hand above her and moved his other hand around her waist pulling her close to him. Betty got swept up in his eyes, her eyes closed at his closeness. Just as his lips nearly touched hers her phone rang making both of them jump back at the sound. Betty had her hand over her chest, trying to calm her heartbeat. Luca had his hand over his eyes. They both looked at each other and laughed.
"Perfect timing, huh?" she said with a smirk taking out her phone from her purse. When she saw that it was Daniel she felt her heart race.
"Alright sweetheart, I guess that's my cue to leave for the night." He said placing his hand to her face. She smiled "I had a great time. I'll see you later."
"Good night" he kissed her and walked off. Betty went in and picked up her phone again taking a deep breath knowing what she had to do.
"Betty, heyy" he said feeling like an idiot for sounding so pathetic. "Hi Daniel" she put down her bag and went over to the couch. "Did I call you at a bad time? I told you, you need to relax at night. You work too hard"
"No Daniel, actually that is what I want to talk to you about"
Daniel felt his throat choke up "Uh...ok" He got up and started pacing behind his desk. "Um...I don't know how to really say this, but uh...there's something I haven't exactly told you."
"Alright..." he already knew this wasn't good. He could just feel it in the pit of his stomach. "Um...for the past two months I've been, uh seeing this guy, Luca."
Daniel felt like he was just stabbed in the heart. Betty felt nervous from his quietness. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I don't really have a good explanation why"
Daniel swallowed hard "okay" he choked on his speech.
"You're not mad?" she asked surprised at his calmness.
"I'm too hurt to be mad" he said feeling like he was punched in the heart. Betty felt like she got the wind knocked out of her "Daniel, I'm sorry, please don't"
Before she could say anymore he ended the call. Betty felt the tears well in her eyes. How could she do that to Daniel? She played with his heart like a guitar today and she felt horrible. Daniel sat there feeling the stinging in his eyes. He felt like crap for hanging up on Betty. She didn't deserve that. He knew he was being an absolute douche right now. If he really loved Betty he would treat her that way no matter what. She deserved that. He picked up his phone taking a deep breath and called back.
She picked up immediately. "Daniel, I'm so sorry, please-"
"Betty, Betty, stop. Look uh...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hung up on you like that. Listen um...can we just talk?"
"Oh...okay Daniel. About what?" she asked feeling her chest tighten.
"Just tell me about this uh Luca guy or whatever. Does he treat you nicely?"
Betty smiled "Yes, he does. He's so sweet to me."
Daniel smiled "That's good. I'm glad to hear that. So, tell me about him, how did you meet him? If you like him, I want to be a good friend to you and I guess I should know about him, huh?"
Betty smiled so big, feeling the tears in her eyes. How could she not love Daniel when he was so sweet and caring about her? "Yah, thank you Daniel"
"Alright, so tell me" he said laying on the chaise an arm underneath his head just enjoying hearing her voice. "Well, I met Luca"
"It's like Luke Skywalker" he said with a laugh.
"Daniel..." Betty giggled "Okay, continue" he laughed. "I met him two months ago at this big event where a lot of young professionals were invited and uh..."
"You were invited because you're awesome" he said with a grin. Betty giggled feeling her cheeks warm up "I guess so"
"Shut-up, Betty, You are! Alright, go on..." he urged her to continue. Betty smiled "Ok, so I was invited and uh...I didn't know anyone there. I had no idea what to do. Everyone was so fancy and all British."
Daniel laughed "Wow Betty...okay"
"So professional" he teased
She laughed "Ok, so I went over to the bar or whatever and got a drink and when I was turning around I bumped into him and oh my God, when I saw him I thought I saw a freaking god. He was so gorgeous."
"Oh, so did you melt into a puddle right there?" he teased her "Stop it, Daniel! Don't make fun of me! He's beautiful."
"Aw, well that sucks."
"Why, you don't think I should be with someone beautiful?"
"NO BETTY, that's not AT ALL what I meant, you silly! I was trying to say I was happy that I was the best looking guy you know" he said feeling embarrassed now. "Oh" she giggled "Daniel, you're so stupid. Well, I still think you're the best looking man I know. But Luca is by far the most gorgeous man I've ever dated." She said feeling her cheeks warm up again.
Daniel laughed "ok, I get it"
"Alright so..."
"But hey, you didn't say I was gorgeous" he said wanting to mess with her more. "DANIEL! You're gorgeous, okay? HAPPY?" she said shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
"YES, but you didn't have to say it with an attitude" he said grabbing a cushion and hugging it. She laughed "Shut-up Daniel" He laughed.
"ANYWAYS, as I was saying...so I bumped into him and he just looked so cute, but um...when he spoke I was frozen in place. I spilled my drink ALL over him."
Daniel chuckled. "Daniel, stop it!" she said wanting him to stop teasing her. "Alright go ahead. Finish your romantic story."
Betty shook her head. "Okay well I told him I was so sorry for bumping into him and that I was really out of my element in that place and he smiled and oh gosh, Daniel when he smiled, I felt like I was sucked into a fairytale or something"
Even though Daniel hated that another guy charmed Betty, he couldn't help smiling at the way she was telling her story. He was stupid for taking too long to make a move. This was his punishment for not telling Betty how he felt about her sooner. It wouldn't be fair to do it now when she was with this guy. She would probably just think he's after her because of some competition. He continued listening to her.
"He has really amazing eyes."
"Aw, he has awesome eyes too? That's not fair"
Betty giggled "Don't worry. I still think you have the most gorgeous eyes Daniel." She said, her cheeks warming up.
He smiled bright feeling his heart soar "really?"
"Yes" she said softly, feeling butterflies everywhere just thinking about his eyes. "I kind of wish you were here now" she said taking a nervous gulp for admitting that. He smiled placing his hand over his heart "I wish I was there too, Betty. I miss you"
There was a silence for a few seconds that was broken by his voice "So uh...you were saying" he said wanting her to continue. "Right, uh...ok so what was I saying?" Betty closed her eyes feeling like an absolute dummy. She couldn't even speak properly. Daniel grinned. "Uh...you were telling me about this Luke Skywalker guy" he said teasingly making Betty giggle. He LOVED her laugh. He was a real idiot.
"Right, so anyways, we started talking because he felt just as lost as I did and I don't know he was just really fun to talk to."
"What did you talk about?" he asked curiously. "We talked about where we worked. He's an engineer"
"Cool"
"And uh...I told him how I used to live in New York and I talked about how I started at MODE."
Daniel winced "God, you didn't tell him how I treated you, did you?" he said feeling crappy. Betty smirked. "Well, I did, but then I told him how amazing you are and how much you've changed."
"Really?"
"Yes, Daniel. You're my best friend. I say nothing but good things about you"
He smiled feeling like the warmth of the sun just went through his body. "You do?"
She smiled getting up and going to her room "yes" she said in a barely audible voice. "Good, Betty...because, I uh...I don't want you to think of me as that guy when we first met. I hate that guy."
"He was okay. That's why I came back, because I knew there was this guy in there" she said taking off her shoes and sitting on the edge of her bed. "I'm glad you did. I don't know where I'll be without you. My life would suck without you, Betty."
Betty lied back on her bed "I can't imagine my life without you" she said feeling those butterflies and hummingbirds again.
Daniel smiled feeling tingles "Okay, so what else did you talk about?"
Betty took a minute to gather her thoughts. It was strange how they went from talking about Luca back to them so easily. They weren't even trying. She wondered why Daniel didn't mention the whole 'I love you' thing. Maybe he just thought she was being normal weird Betty. "Betty?" she heard his voice "Oh, sorry"
"Are you okay?" he asked wondering why she got so quiet all the sudden. "Ya, sorry, I was just changing into my pajamas. Hold on a second" she put her phone on the bed and slipped out of her dress and wore some sweat pants and a t-shirt and got back on the bed picking up the phone "Kay, I'm back"
He smiled "I can't wait to see you when you come, Betty"
Betty felt butterflies. Gosh, why did he have to say such sweet things to her? It totally wasn't fair. Her heart couldn't take that much sweetness. It was always on the verge of exploding with everything he said. "I can't wait to see you either"
He smiled "so uh...go ahead.
"Right um...well, we talked about what we do, and um...we sort had fun making fun of the other fancy schmancy people there. It kind of reminded me of how we are."
Daniel smiled "really? How?"
"Well, I don't know, you and I just joke around a lot and I could totally picture you and me making fun of them and their accents and posh way of acting."
He grinned "that does sound like something we'd do."
She smiled and snapped herself back. She couldn't believe she did that again. "So um...ya, we had a good time and uh...we exchanged numbers and then a few days later we went out and then I guess we started dating."
"Ok. So how was your first date?"
"It was nice. He took me to this sushi place and then I told him how I really couldn't stand sushi, so we ended up getting McDonalds and had a blast joking around."
"Betty..."
"Ya?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" he said feeling hurt that she didn't tell him about this. They talked all the time. How could she not tell him about someone she'd been seeing?
Betty felt so bad. She turned and put her head in the pillow. "Idunnodaniel I'mmasorry" she mumbled into the pillow making Daniel unable to understand her. He laughed "What? It sounds like you have pillow over your face."
She giggled turning over again and wiping a tear away "I'm sorry, Daniel. I feel so terrible. Please don't hate me"
"I could NEVER hate you, Betty. God, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. How could I hate that?"
She felt the tears in her eyes. He smiled "look, I guess I'm a little upset you hid this from me. I have to tell you, I honestly can't stand any of the guys you've dated Betty. They were all a bunch of losers and jerks and you deserved way better. So if this guy treats you nicely and treats you like you're important to him then I'm happy for you. All I want is for you to be happy."
Betty had full on tears escaping her eyes and rolling down the sides of her cheeks. She hugged a pillow and started crying.
"Betty?" Daniel's eyes went wide in surprise "Betty, sweetie, are you crying?"
"uh-huh" she answered crying. "Betty, I'm not mad at you. Please don't cry. God" he sat up completely "Listen to me, Betty. I promise I'm not mad at you. Please stop" he said unable to hear her cry. She didn't cry often, but when she did he couldn't stand it. She controlled her cries "sorry" she said sucking in a breath.
"Why did you start crying?" he asked hoping she could calm down. "You're so sweet" she said hugging the pillow tighter. Daniel smiled and then laughed "You started crying because I'm sweet?" he said with a chuckle.
She giggled wiping her face. "God, Betty, you're so insane. You're so funny. I mean it though, Betty. I just want you to be happy. If you are, then...I am, too" he said sincerely. Even if it did eat him up that she was with someone else.
"so uh...you've said you've been seeing him for two months, huh?"
"Yes."
"That's kind of a while."
"Ya"
He could still hear her sniffles. He shook his head. "So, have you gone on a lot of dates with him?"
"Mm...I guess so. We've gone out maybe once a week and uh...he comes to my office a lot to have lunch with me. I've gone to his work a few times."
"Okay...so uh...what else?"
"Hmm...I met his family"
"Really? Already?" he asked in surprise. "Well, his sister's birthday was a few weeks ago and he invited me to come and he introduced me to his family. He just told me that his family adored me" she said with a light smile.
"Of course they would. You're amazing."
She blushed "thanks. He really wants to meet you and my family."
"Oh that's cool. He should visit New York with you"
Betty felt her heart rate quicken and she didn't know why. "Um...Daniel actually, uh he kind of wanted to come with me"
"What do you mean? Oh...you mean uh...the day you come?" he asked somewhat sadly. "Ya...is that okay?" she asked not sure if that was a good thing to do. "It's up to you, Betty."
"ok...I'll let you know."
"Alright uh...So um...Betty" he wasn't sure how to ask this without right out saying it, so he was just going to go for it "...have you uh...slept with him?"
"What? Daniel! You really have no right to ask me that?" she snapped.
"Why not? you always ask me if I slept with my dates?" he said in defense.
"And I have good reason to you. You sleep with every girl you go on a date with."
"That's not true Betty. Well, not anymore. I haven't been on any dates for a year now"
"Wow! A YEAR? That's pretty impressive Daniel. What happened? Did you lose your charms?" she said wanting to tease him.
"No, uh actually, the woman I want is well... she's kind of out of reach." He mumbled.
"What do you mean? So there is a girl?" she asked curiously suddenly feeling possessive. "No...I don't know...Hey, weren't we supposed to be talking about YOU and YOUR boyfriend? How did I get sucked into this?"
"You brought up me sleeping with my boyfriend, which is still none of your business."
There was a pause between them for a few seconds. "If you must know, I haven't"
"What?" he asked in confusion. "I haven't...slept with him yet."
"Yet? So you want to?" he said wanting to tease her. "Daniel, shut up! I kind of wonder why I'm not sometimes, but then I remember why."
"And why is that?" he asked curiously. Betty looked at her phone in silence for a minute. There was no way she could tell him that the thought of him was what kept her from getting more involved with Luca than just dates and kissing.
"Nothing, so uh...what did you ask me?"
"I asked you why you haven't uh...made a move, I guess?" he said feeling his throat choke up.
"Umm...Daniel, I don't know. It's just, it's too fast." She said not knowing what else to say.
"Fine with me. I'm not going to argue" he said feeling the tenseness in his muscles release. She giggled "are you jealous?" she didn't know why she asked that.
"Uh...well, um...I just don't want to see you get hurt, Betty." that was a lame ass excuse and he knew it.
"Fine whatever, Daniel, it's getting late. I think I should go to sleep."
"Oh, alright I guess."
She smiled "Good night. I um...I...I love you, Daniel" she knew that was such a bad idea to say that, but she loved him. Daniel felt his heart stop and start up so quick in a split second. He suddenly became speechless. "I uh...um..."
Betty was about to end the call when she heard him "I love you, too, Betty." She smiled and held the phone to her. She didn't know how he meant it, but just the fact that he said it back to her made her insides melt and she felt butterflies and tingles all over. "Good night, Betty"
"Good night" she ended the call hugging the phone to her. Daniel put his phone down unable to knock the smile off his face.
AN: cute, huh? lol :) let me know what you think. I think the next chapter will be up in a few days.