Inkeri

Surprise

Saturday, she wakes up at ten in the morning to her mother's voice. "Honey, are you going to sleep all day?" her mother asks. Surprised at the time, she cannot believe she has slept that long. She continued to experience nightmares for a little over two weeks until she noticed Jeremy was not around her or her house. It has been so long since she has gotten a good night's sleep. She wants to attribute it to her peace of mind since the security equipment has been installed and the restraining order has been approved by the judge but she knows better. It has been a month and she is taking care of herself and enjoying the simple things. Their house sold within days of being on the market so she did not have to worry about Jeremy holding that over her. She is glad that part of her life is done. Business is great and she has had several wealthy clients requesting her expertise. She reminds herself she needs to get moving to get her day started. She grabs the bottle of water on her nightstand and drinks it all.

Danny has been sending her daily reminders to take care of herself and while they are annoying, she also finds them endearing. They have been several places together lately and she has found herself wondering why she has never thought of him in "that way." He refuses to kiss her but she can tell he likes her. "Why won't he kiss me?" she thinks wearily to herself. Every time she attempts, he states she is not ready. How does he know? What is he not telling me? She is determined to get answers out of him today as they are meeting for lunch. "Oh Shit!" she looks at the time and notices she has been daydreaming for almost an hour and she has to be ready by 12:30p. She hurriedly grabbed her clothes out of the closet and runs to her bathroom to get a shower.

Managing to spend only 15 minutes in the shower, she knows she is going to make it on time. She quickly blow dries her hair until it is barely dry. She mutters, "this is just going to have to do" as she straightens her unruly hair. Why does humidity exist? Even her hair is not immune to its effects. She decides to go with a natural make up look with only eyeliner, mascara, and a lip gloss. She puts on her new dress she purchased purposely for this lunch. Since her house has sold, she had decided to update her closet. She deserved and needed new clothing. It is a black sleeveless dress with silver corset backing and flared skirt. "Shit", she hits her toe hard on the leg of her bed. She is almost in tears and notices the swelling almost immediately. Well, that ends her wearing her pumps today. She hears knocking at the kitchen door and her father answers. "She is almost ready." She starts to cry from the pain when she stands up. Her mother hears her sniffle from outside of her room and decides to check on her. "Honey, everything ok?" Hesitantly, she opens the door and finds her daughter crying on her bed. "What's wrong?" she says thinking it has to be heartache. She grimaces, "my toe may be broken" as she shows her mom the now black and blue toe. "How did that happen?!" she exclaims. Danny and her father run to the room. Blushing and embarrassed, she tells them she kicked her bed when going to the closet for her shoes. Danny just shakes his head, "my darling, please be more careful." He tells her parents he will get her to the hospital to have her foot checked.

Picking her up off the bed, he is cradling her like a child, her face looking up at him. She cannot help but stare at him longingly. He glances down and sees her softened eyes. Still in silence, he puts her gently in his car and drives her to the emergency room. "Guess we are going to be late to lunch" she sheepishly says. Shaking his head, Danny says nothing and stands up. He leaves the waiting room and takes out his phone. "Oh no" she thinks wearily to herself. She has managed to irritate him again. He comes back five minutes later. "We will be dining at two" he states matter-of-factly. He must have called the restaurant to change their reservation. He states he has a surprise for her but she cannot think of what it would be. Why bring this up now? Wasn't he just irritated? She smiles, "what is it?" "Always the eager one" he states smirking and telling her she will have to wait until lunch. Time is almost at a standstill while she is waiting to be seen. Half-hour later, she is called back. Danny cannot go back with her as he is not related or married to her per hospital policy.

Danny waits in the lobby patiently. It has been two months and she has come so far. She is looking healthier and has less stress. She has been taking care of herself, minus her latest debacle, he thinks to himself while he lets a soft laugh out. Oh how she has blossomed. He has not seen her this happy in an exceptionally long time and the way she has dressed is enchanting. He knows she wants to be with him and he is ready to start pursuing her but how to start is the problem. He looks at the time, "damn" she has been back there a long time. It is almost 1:30 before she comes out with crutches and a cast. She looks down at the ground embarrassed and tells him she broke her foot and toe.

Danny picks her up off the ground looping her crutches on his arm. "Danny" she says softly, "why are you picking me up?" Danny smiles and says nothing. He places her gently on a lobby chair and gets his car so she does not have to walk far. Once she sees his car, she starts to stand up but he waves for her not to get up. He grins when she sits back down. "Darling, please don't get up right now, I want to help." He picks her up again and places her into the passenger seat and places the crutches in the rear seat. Noticing he has not closed her door, she reaches for the handle. He stands between the door and her "Darling, really?" he states in a low voice. She grins back at him, why was he so adorably hot? He closes the gap between them to buckle her in. She could feel his breath on her shoulders and it sends a shiver down her spine. Her stomach tightens as they lock eyes. Slowly, he grabs her chin and slides his finger across her soft lips. Her eyes start to close as she lets herself get lost in his touch. Softly, he places a kiss on her forehead. She opens her eyes and he gives an inquisitive look. "Please, Danny" she states. "Please what?" "Kiss me" she states softly. He gives her a soft, passionate kiss on the lips. She is wanting, no, needing him to kiss her harder. She starts to kiss him more passionately and he stops, smirking, "always with the eagerness" as he stands up and closes her door. "Time for lunch" he states grinning at her. She sits pouting while he drives to the restaurant.

"Darling, don't pout" he states gravely, parking the car. She looks at him and sticks her tongue out. He gives a wicked grin and says, "don't tempt me." They both start laughing as he gets out of the car to assist her into the restaurant. She notices the conversation is light-hearted. Smiling, she starts thinking about the kiss in the car. The waiter interrupts her thoughts when he places dessert in front of her with an envelope under the plate. "What's this?" The waiter states "a surprise" with a wink. Danny gives him a thankful look. Opening the envelope, she sees two airline tickets one for her and one for Danny to Florida. Excuse me? What? "What is this?" she asks him. "Wasabicon is in Florida next weekend, we have tickets." She sits stunned, mouth agape. What a surprise. Guessing by her reaction, he knows she is definitely going. Now, to finish getting the final touches for his outfit.

She cannot wait until next weekend with him. What will she do? She wants to cosplay Kasumi but is not sure if she will be able to get all the items shipped in enough time. She needs the sword and the belt to hold it in place. She also needs a blue wig. "It is not even close enough to Halloween to find it in a local store." She starts looking online for the items. She finds the perfect sword, wig, and belt. She purchases them with one-day shipping. "Worth it" she thinks to herself. She wonders who Danny is cosplaying. She decides to go to a clothing shop to get the perfect suit made that hugs her curves. She calls local tailors and finds one that can have it made in three days. "Come today please" the tailor insists "since there is limited time to do any adjustments." She arrives in an hour. Three days later, as promised, she has the tailored suit that fits her perfectly. Now, to pack for the trip she thinks to herself.

She has seen Danny a few times this week but has been busy trying to make sure everything is done for the weekend. She is rushing around town when she notices Jeremy following her. He is coming closer and she cannot move, paralyzed by fear. Her pulse quickens and her mouth suddenly becomes a desert. Suddenly, he is tackled by an unknown male. Who is that? She started to look where the person came from. She notices Danny in a car with the passenger side door open a "Phantom Surveillance" logo on the passenger side door. "Oh shit" he thinks, "she knows." He exits the vehicle, worried she will be mad he did not tell her. She runs to him, crying and hugging him. "Why didn't you tell me?" she says softly. Danny states sternly, "security is what I do, to protect others from people like him" he points to Jeremy. Jeremy is being held down by the security officer as they wait for police to arrive. He escorts her to her car and gets in the driver's side. How is he going to get his car back to the office? "Paul will drive my car back, it will be fine" he states before she could ask. She tries to hide her tears but he can tell. Gently, he hands her a tissue and holds her hand in silence for the remainder of the ride.