Don't You Dare

Chapter 2

Dani's cheeks hurt. Her smile hadn't slipped for the entire day but she was certain that it was appearing strained around the edges by now. As the girls chattered around her, she allowed herself temporary relief and relaxed her facial muscles while no one was looking.

Kady's bachelorette party was going off without a hitch and Julie, the ever-efficient maid-of-honour, was solely responsible for the success. And she seemed to be rewarding herself for it by picking one of the groomsmen to bag this week. Regan and Julie were making a game of the men, daring all the girls to pick one of the men. Nobody asked Dani, though. Of course not.

Dani sighed. That sounded bitter, but she didn't mean it to. She understood why no one dared her. It's not like she would've taken up the challenge. Ever. Her thoughts inadvertently wandered to the man she met this afternoon- Dexter. But it's not like he was even part of the bridal party. Unless...

"Hey, Jules." She interrupted the girls, "who's the fifth groomsman?"

"Oh, uh, Dexter Fields. Kady's college friend. Part of the..." Julie paused delicately, "Er, the army."

Of course.

Dexter was late. His short nap ended up lasting over four hours but on the plus side he was feeling refreshed and determined- ready to go, see and conquer. Conquer one thing in particular, or rather, a person. Thoughts of the petite girl had been swimming in his head ever since she'd run away from him and he couldn't get the smell of her floral perfume to leave his memory. He shook his head, this wasn't like him. He was just frustrated because he hadn't been laid in months and Dani was going to be the perfect form of sweet relief.

Dressed in a white shirt and trousers, he felt unlike himself but pleasantly so. It was a welcome change to dress as if he was a normal guy just enjoying himself at his friend's wedding. Speaking of, he still hadn't seen Kady or Colt since his arrival. Kady had been his friend since freshman year in college and she'd actually been the only one who had supported him when he decided to join the armed forces. And now she was getting married! How time flew... Dexter couldn't imagine getting hitched any time in the recent future, his lifestyle just didn't allow for such comforts. But with the right woman... A kind, beautiful, petite girl with curves that were made for his hands to clutch and toned legs that he couldn't imagine anywhere but over his shoulders... Holy shit, he had to stop thinking of Dani so much, it was positively unhealthy. He didn't even know the girl! But oh, did he want to.

As soon as he walked into Spago to join Colton and his friends- they had decided to crash the bachelorette party- he looked around for Dani. His breath almost stopped. Once again she was laughing and though he couldn't hear her, he could imagine the timbre of her lyrical laugh perfectly. Dressed in a short, red satin dress, her figure was even more accentuated than it had been in her shorts and tank in the day. Her hair was piled up onto the top of her head and he could imagine his tongue stroking a path down the back of her neck, down her spine and...

"Dexter!" A shrill voice shook him out of his reverie and he turned around smiling, recognizing Kady immediately. She jumped on him and hugged him tight and he laughingly hugged her back. It was good to see his friends again.

"Oh my goodness, Dex, I haven't seen you in ages! What has it been, almost two years? Wow! You look the same as always. Come, let me introduce you to the rest of the boys."

Dexter let Kady lead him towards the men at the bar and he immediately latched his gaze onto Colton who was smiling at him warmly and looking at his soon-to-be-wife with a mixture of amusement and affection. The rest of the men were strangers, except Tyler, Kady's brother, who he'd caught glimpses of throughout college.

As introductions were made he couldn't help stealing glances at the table to his right where all the girls were chatting animatedly. And, to his satisfaction, the glances were returned. The deer-in-the-headlights look Dani had worn earlier, just before running away, had vanished and now her looks were positively coy. Dexter beamed, and the intensity of his smile must've been a bit much because Dani hurriedly turned away and immersed herself into conversation with the bridesmaids. He reluctantly turned down the wattage of his smile. Well, shit.

He'd caught her. Dani couldn't help looking over at Dexter ever since he had walked into the bar and when he grinned at her blindingly she was taken aback, not having noticed that he'd been watching her too. Face flaming, she turned towards her girlfriends determined to put him out of her mind. But when she turned towards Regan she was smiling at her slyly. "Dexter Fields, huh?"

"Of course not!" Dani spluttered, "As if! I mean... how could you even suggest...after-" she let the sentence hang and an uncomfortable silence hung over the group. Regan looked awkward but plundered on. "Dani, don't you think- that is to say, um, isn't it-" she paused, looked to check on Dani's reaction and carried on, "It's okay to be attracted to someone, Dani. It's perfectly natural and you don't have to control your feelings so strongly. It's been some time... enough time."

Dani was feeling strangled, suffocated. Her emotions were a confusing whirl inside her and, inexplicably, she could feel tears prickling the back of her eyes. Regan had hit a nerve and she knew it. Dani didn't want to admit that Regan was right but ever since the first tingle Dani had felt on seeing Dexter Fields' steel-grey eyes, she had been denying an attraction that was clear as day.

But she had to deny her feelings. That's how she'd lived for years and one charming, handsome playboy couldn't come and chip away at the walls she'd built around herself with a few well-aimed smiles and polite words. They'd barely spoken, for God's sake! Dani took a deep breath. "If you'll excuse me."

She couldn't be there any longer, Dexter's intense gaze was scorching her from across the room and the concern on her friends' faces, though well-intended, was making her feel all sorts of emotional. She hasn't let herself cry for over a year and if a few tears escaped tonight it certainly wasn't going to be in public. She had to get out of there.

Dexter watched as Dani ran out of the restaurant, away from him- once again. Her haunted look was back, only this time it was much more intense and he felt rage build up in him towards whoever put it there. He wondered what those girls could've said to her and then felt irrationally angry at them.

He wasn't supposed to have such strong feelings for a girl he didn't even know, this was really ridiculous. But even though he knew that, he couldn't stop himself from giving the boys some bullshit excuse and hightailing it out of the restaurant, resolutely ignoring their raised eyebrows and smirks.

"Hey, Dani!" his long strides caught up with her immediately and he placed a hand on her tensed shoulder, only to have her flinch away. Her back was to him- giving him a close up view of her bare neck and the top half of her smooth back- but he didn't need to see her face to feel the tension radiating off of her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" 

Dani slowly turned towards him and his heart wrenched to see unshed tears pooling in her eyes. He felt immensely protective of this small, fragile-looking girl who he saw laughing vibrantly one second and holding back tears the next. He could chalk up his protective instincts to being an older brother and feeling like this towards all girls but, in his heart of hearts, he knew that this went beyond that. This meant something.

Dani shuddered and wrapped a strand of her brown hair around a finger. Her waves of tension had melted some under his hand and he squeezed her shoulder, massaged it.

"I-" she didn't complete her thought, just looked up at him and nibbled at her lower lip. The conflict in her face was apparent- until it wasn't. "Well, shit" Dani sighed. And the next thing Dexter knew, she was kissing him.

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AAAAANND that is a wrap! Vote please!