Any other day (Daniel Sharman)

Chapter 4

When I woke up, Daniel's arm was around me while my head was on his chest. He was still blissfully asleep. I smiled, and started caressing his chest slightly with my hand, trying not to wake him. All sorts of things were going through my mind. Where would things go from here? How would we spend the last two weeks? What would we do after that? How would he feel about us taking this step? How do I feel? He started stirring, bringing me out of my thoughts. I pretended to be asleep. No idea why, I guess I just wasn't ready to face him yet. I could feel him looking at me. He brought me closer, and kissed my forehead. God, this guy seriously made my knees weak. I opened my eyes, and met his gaze. "Stop staring at me, it's creepy" I said, chuckling. He laughed. "Also, slightly naked here if you haven't noticed. Don't need you staring more" I said with a smile. "Oh, believe me, I noticed" Daniel replied with a smug grin. I hit his chest playfully, and he pretended to be hurt. "Ouch. You're going to have to make that up to me" he said, his eyes roaming my entire body as he did. Suddenly my phone went off. Saved by the bell, I thought to myself, while Daniel sighed loudly, but with a smile. I grabbed his button-up shirt from the floor along with my panties, and quickly got dressed underneath the covers, before getting up to answer the phone. "Hey guys" I said while sitting back on the bed. Charlie and Emily were both on the line. "Hey" they said in unison. "So.. Late night?" Emily asked as they both bursted out in laughter. I blushed madly. "Oh, shut up" I said quickly. "Hanging up now, see you later" I said quickly thereafter. Why did they have to call now? I put my phone down on the night stand, and turned to face Daniel who had a smile on his face. "Again with the staring, huh?" I asked, blushing. "Well, I can't help it, you're too beautiful. And might I add that you look too damn hot in my shirt" he said as he nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck, playfully. "We aren't going to get anything else done today, are we?" He didn't answer, but simply got up from the bed, and pulled on a pair of pants. He turned to face me. "Hungry?" I nodded. "Then come here" he said, extending his hand to me. I grabbed it, got up, and followed him into the kitchen. "So, what will it be? A typical American breakfast of pancakes, or typical English breakfast of eggs and bacon?" He asked. "How about I treat you to a typical Danish breakfast?" I replied, smiling. He nodded, and smiled at me. We started fumbling around in the kitchen, when suddenly he grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me close. He was standing against the counter, and pulled me towards him, moving his hands to my hips. "Can I ask you a question? A personal one" he asked. I got a little flustered. "Daniel, we slept together, I laid naked in your arms, and right now I'm wearing nothing but panties and a shirt. I think we're beyond the point where you need my permission to ask me a simple question" I replied. "It's not a simple question, but I'll ask anyway, and if you don't want to answer, just tell me". What could possibly be so serious, I wondered. "This week I've known you, we've talked about a lot of things, everything practically, and I've told you about my family, my parents, and yet, you haven't mentioned your parents. Not even once-" He trailed off. "Daniel, what is it that you're asking exactly?" I asked in reply, as I was unsure about what he wanted to know. "I'm not sure I'm asking a specific question, I just want you to know that if you want to tell me something about them, about why you don't talk about them, whatever, you can do that. I would very much like you to, in fact, because I feel like there's this part of you that you're purposely keeping from me, and I wish you weren't, because I want to know you completely." This was getting really personal, but I still thought he was being the sweetest, showing such concern, even if it wasn't my favorite topic. "I'm really sorry you feel that way, but it's really for the best. I don't want you to see me differently because of it, and I don't like to talk about it. My parents are my parents. They've made some huge mistakes in their parenting, so now I mostly limit contact with them to short emails on special occasions. It's all really complicated, and it would take a buttload of time to explain, and I'm not even sure I could fully explain it, as I don't fully understand all of it myself yet. I don't know what else to say. I'm sorry if it isn't what you wanted to hear, or if you expected more, but I just can't get more into it now." At this point, I had tears in my eyes, and Daniel had tightened his grip on me, as if he was telling me he would never let go. His hands found their way to my cheeks, to brush off the tears that had left my eyes. He pulled me closer, and brought his arms around my neck to my back, while I placed my hands on his chest. Our foreheads connected. "Why would you think I would look at you differently?" I pulled slightly away. "Because people who say they never wish to turn out like their parents mostly do turn out just like them, and-" he cut me off putting his thumb on my lips to silence me. "You know what I see when I look at you?" He asked me. I shook my head no. "I see a woman more caring than anyone I've ever met. I see someone so open minded, that it is truly hard to understand that anyone could be so little judgmental. I see the strongest person I've ever met, who's been through so much pain but has come out on the other side, stronger than ever. I. See. You" he said. "And I see someone who was naked in my bed 10 minutes ago" he added with a smile. I laughed at his comment. "You really see all that?" I asked in a more serious tone. "Babe, I saw all that the first night we met" he replied. I blushed, and took my hands to my face, trying to hide it. He laughed at my antics. "Again, I just saw you naked, no need to hide your blush" he said as he grabbed my hands. "What do you say, we go back to bed, put on a movie, and just cuddle. Naked even, if you'd like" he said with a playful smirk, as he pulled me in the direction of his bedroom. "Okay, but I choose the movie. Something with Nicolas Cage" I replied. We ended up watching Wild At Heart. Towards the end, when Nicolas Cage sings Love Me Tender, I sat myself on Daniel's lap, straddling him. He started tracing circles with his thumbs on my thighs, as we listened to the song. "When I first watched this movie, it was with a close friend of mine, and when we saw this, we both agreed that this would be the ultimate love declaration. To have someone sing this song to us. In fact, we said we'd never marry anyone unless they did that" I told him, laughing. "Really? I'll keep that in mind" I bit my lip. He had this devilish grin on his face, but I shrugged it off. "You know, you're doing that thing again. The staring" I pointed out. Meanwhile, he was still tracing circles on my thighs with his thumbs. "I know. I must like what I see" He smirked. He moved his hands up my thighs, under my shirt, well his shirt to be exact, and started caressing my waist. He pulled me closer. I snaked my arms around his neck. "Daniel, what does this mean?" I asked him. He sighed. Obviously he knew what I was referring to. "I know we agreed not to think about this, but I just.. I can't help it, it's just in my nature to worry I guess". At this point, I was looking away, slightly annoyed at myself. "Hey, look at me." I turned my head back. "I don't want you to worry. We'll figure it out. Long-distance can work if we want it to, and I want it to. I want to do this more than anything. So that's what this means". I tried my best to keep from smiling, but I couldn't stop myself. He started slowly unbuttoning my shirt, never breaking eye contact. "What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously. He had a smirk on his face. "I don't know. What am I doing?" He asked in reply. "You know, I should probably take a shower" I said, as I grabbed his hands, stopping him from unbuttoning my shirt further. "Is that an invitation?" He asked bringing his face closer to mine, and starting to kiss my jawline. I tilted my head back, giving him full access to my neck. I managed to get out a moan in reply. "I'll take that as a yes" he said against my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. I could feel him smile. I turned my head back, facing him. He brought his lips to mine, and kissed me slowly. Sweetly. He stood up from the bed, wrapping my legs around his waist, carrying me to the bathroom. He turned on the water. Suddenly he threw me in, clothed and before the water was hot. "Daniel, oh my god! You are so dead!" I yelled playfully, as I pulled him under the cold water with me. We stood laughing with each other until the water got warmer, at which point he unbuttoned my shirt completely, throwing it to the floor. He took off his pants. I turned around, slightly embarrassed at the sight of him only in soaked boxers. He chuckled. He put his arms around me, one around my waist, and another around my chest. He brought his mouth to my ear, and bit my earlobe gently. "You know, for this to qualify as a proper shower, no clothes is kind of a requirement" he whispered. I turned my head slightly to the side, catching his eye. "I know, but can't we just stay like this for a little while? It's nice" I asked. He smiled in reply, and tightened his grip a little. "I feel really safe in your arms, Daniel." "I'm glad. I wouldn't want anything else." He replied. For the first time in a long time, I felt content. I had everything I needed. I never wanted this moment to end.

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I'm curious to know, what do you think happened between her and her parents? And how are you liking the story so far? Let me know! Xx