He hadn't expected to see her kissing Matt. It really was too painful to talk about. He needed to get away from this – it would be torture. Dallas suddenly switched from a possibility to a solution. When his plans changed, he threw himself into the new problem, glad to have something to distract him.
Over the months that passed, she called and texted and emailed him, but he never responded. What was the point? She had made her choice, and she didn't choose him. He couldn't let himself hope again. And, if he admitted it, he was angry that she had chosen Matt, who was practically a high school boyfriend himself - he had no depth. She really was immature. He felt guilty thinking that because he knew it was unfair. It did make him feel better, though. And besides, he didn't want her anywhere near what he was involved in.
He also couldn't help but wonder if maybe she thought he was still hung up on Gabrielle, or maybe she'd heard about Vera. He NEVER second-guessed himself this way, or spent this kind of time dissecting situations. He didn't like the way it made him feel.
After a while, he'd heard stories from sources inside the Hawks. That shortly after he left, Dani and Matt had clearly broken up for good. A few weeks later, he had heard that Matt and Noelle had eloped and were expecting a baby. To his credit, he didn't feel even a hint of satisfaction. He knew she must be devastated. Sure enough, she disappeared from the Hawks around the time that Coach Parnell was let go, and she only returned to be fired by the world-class jerk who was now running the show. He picked up the phone a few times around then, and came very close to calling her. However, just because she didn't end up with Matt didn't mean that she wanted to be with him. And, to be honest, he didn't like the idea of being someone's second choice again.