Ch. 4
When I walked in the house, my mouth instantly started watering. The smell of food wafted through the air. My stomach started growling. I followed the scent into the kitchen. Danny was just pulling meat loaf out of the oven. I couldn't help but give a small smile. That's when he noticed me, and looked up. He walked over to me, meatloaf in hand, and gave me a kiss on the lips.
"Hey, honey. I told you I'd have a surprise waiting on you. What do you think?"
That's when he pointed to the table. There were two place settings with wine glasses at the top of the plates. There was a single red rose, in a vase, sitting in the middle of the table. I could see a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of corn, a bowl of green beans, and a gravy boat. There was also a basket of rolls with some butter. I was in shock. It was like he had been planning this for quite some time. For all I knew, he could have planned it for his own time, he just didn't get a chance to until now.
"Wow! This is amazing. Everything smells so good. Thank you."
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before he finally sat the meatloaf on the table. He went to one side of the table and pulled my chair out for me. I was impressed.
I took a seat and moved the vase off to the side. I wanted to be able to completely see him while we ate. He had grabbed a bottle of wine from the counter, popped the cork, and poured us both a glass.
"Thank you." I gave him a sweet smile. Before he could sit down, he gave me a small kiss on the cheek.
"Anything for you."
We had finally started eating. I was starving. I tried not to seem like a complete pig in front of him, but I couldn't help it. He looked at me, and he chuckled some.
"Would you slow down? There's plenty to go around."
He laughed completely this time. I couldn't help the blush that crept up my face. I dabbed my mouth with a napkin before I spoke.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it. I haven't eaten all day, and everything is delicious."
It was his turn to blush now. I could tell he had spent a lot of time in the kitchen growing up. He just hadn't used his skills in a long time. He had no reason to. Not until now.
"Thank you."
We had finished dinner and cleaned up before we decided to take our glasses and head into the living room. I had put some soft music on. I didn't want the romantic mood to end. I knew it had to, though. At least for a moment. We had to finish the conversation from earlier. I just didn't want to be the one to break the silence. He would tell me whenever he was ready.
There was dim light in the living room. His arms were wrapped around me, and we just sat there in a comfortable silence. It was the perfect moment. I could feel him tense up. I knew he was getting ready to continue with his story. He was taking his time, though. I wasn't going to push him.
He pulled away, and took a sip of his wine, before setting it on the coffee table. He backed away from me some on the couch, and that's when I sat up.
"What's wrong, Danny?"
He sighed. He knew it was time. I could tell that he was trying to gather the words to start on his story again.
"I need to tell you the rest of the story. Not just for me, but for you as well. There's more to all of this than either of us realize."
I nodded. I had a feeling there was a lot more to this than anybody could realize. There was just something off about the whole situation. I mean, besides the time traveling and all that.
"Where was I with the story?"
I had to rack my brain. I knew he was in China. The plane crash!
"You had just crashed your plane, you were injured, Rafe tried to help, but the japs showed up, and tied you to that board."
He nodded. I could tell this was the hardest part for him. I knew what was in the movie. I just didn't know how he would tell it.
"So, they were going after Rafe now. I had to help him. He was going to be a father, you know."
I nodded. I did know. I knew even before Evelyn did. Evelyn. I missed her so much. I missed all the girls.
"I had to save him, so I plowed two of them with the board. They shot me square in the chest."
I started crying. I knew that was what happened, but to hear it for my own ears, from Danny himself, was different. He also had tears in his eyes. He wiped his eyes, and continued with his story.
"Rafe had come rushing over to me. He had managed to get a gun off of one of the Japs. He shot a couple on his way over to me. I heard him calling my name, but I was already on the verge of passing out. The last thought through my mind was you. Then I saw this bright white light. I knew I was going to die."
My tears were flowing freely. I could have gone the rest of my life not knowing that. Even if Danny was in my life. It hurt me to know that happened to him. He pulled me in a tight hug. He was comforting me. It should have been the other way around. I needed it, though. I needed to feel him. I needed to know he was really here. I could tell there was more to the story, though. He still hadn't gotten to the part of how he woke up here.
"If you don't want me to continue, I won't. There's still more, though."
I squeezed him tighter. I didn't want to hear anymore. Not tonight, at least. I just wanted to be held in his arms the rest of the night without a care in the world.
I gently shook my head, and he nodded. I think he felt the same way. We both knew there was a lot more to come. He had let go of me, and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"I got some dessert, if you would like some?"
I smiled and giggled at him. It seemed he always knew how to lighten the mood. It was like he knew exactly what to say to get us back to being us.
He grabbed my hands before he got up. His eyes flew up to mine in shock. I had completely forgotten about the ring on my finger. He looked down at it. He was surprised I was even wearing it.
"Y…You still have it? You're still wearing it?"
I nodded. Why would he be so surprised by this? I didn't understand.
"It came back with you?"
I nodded again.
"I never took it off. It was the only thing I had to remind me that everything I had experienced was real. I thought you were dead. I wasn't ready to let go. I'm glad I didn't."
He smiled, and pulled out the picture I had packed in his bag before he left for the mission.
"This was all I had to."
We both cried with happy tears. This was a special moment for us. We both had something to remind us of each other.
He had finally gotten up to get the ice cream. We sat there on the couch telling each other jokes and about our pasts. I could finally tell him everything without having to worry about revealing too much. It was perfect. We were completely happy.
It was getting late. It was almost midnight. I didn't want him to leave. I didn't even know if he had a place to stay.
"Danny, why don't you stay here tonight?"
He was surprised. He wasn't expecting it. By the expression on his face, I could tell he had planned on leaving. He wasn't wanting to, but I could tell.
"Alyssa. If you're worried about me having a place to stay, I can assure you I have one. But, if you want me to stay with you tonight, I will. I won't hesitate for a second to stay with you."
I smiled at that. I was glad to know he actually had a place, but I was happy to know that he would rather stay with me than go there.
"Yes, Danny, I would like that very much."
He gave me a passionate kiss. It was heated. We were both hungry for each other. We had missed each other so much.
I decided to take him back to my room. If this was going to happen, I wanted it to be somewhere more intimate.
I took his hand and led him down the hallway to my room. It was dark in there, but neither one of us cared. He kissed me with even more passion than before. It was like he was scared to let go. I gladly returned all the passion. He had laid me down in the bed.
For the second time in our relationship, we made love. It was even better than before. This time, we both knew, neither of us were going anywhere. We didn't have to rush it, either. We were in pure bliss.