After ✔

10

"He woke up in the middle." Dani says. "Didn't recognize me and started crying."

He's still fazed by it.

Stifling a laugh, I hand a sleeping Mason back to Nate.

"How did your date go?" I ask. 

"Good." He takes Mason from me and cradles the little boy in his arms.

Dani leans by the door. "You and Gabriella Philips, huh?" He shakes his head. "God."

"Mhm." Nate says. "I distinctly remember you telling Val that we wouldn't make it."

Dani throws me an accusing glare. I shrug.

"Well, you never went for girls like her." he says. "Your type - and I distinctly remember - was the blonde, leggy type."

Nate is suddenly flustered by Dani's words. "That was a long time ago." He says quietly. He says goodbye to the both of us and leaves, and Dani closes the door.

"No it wasn't." Dani mutters to himself.

I settle on the couch. "Don't fight it." I tell him.

"What?" He asks, irritated.

I lean over. "You're trying to fight the situation, trying to convince yourself this is all a crazy dream."

He makes his way to the fridge and grabs a jug of cold water.

"Sí." He says. "And you know what would help?"

I wait for an answer as he takes a gulp. "Not being stuck in this crazy apartment."

I tilt my head. Amelia told me not to let him out, but I didn't want to seem so uptight.

"And where would you go?"

"Out." He says bluntly.

Right. "You can go out tomorrow. To the hospital."

He curses in Spanish. "Es el viernes." He mutters.

"I know it's Friday." I snap back. "And it's almost twelve too. Do you know how much crime happens on the streets of Madrid?"

"I've lived here my whole life." He's rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I do."

Before I can reply, my phone rings.

It's Catherine.  "Hello?"

"VALENCIA, THAT LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT LEFT!"

I yank my phone away from my ear to prevent further ear damage. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dani glances at me curiously, but doesn't say anything.

"BRIAN. HE WAS SCREWING ME BEHIND HIS GIRLFRIEND'S BACK!"

I lick my lips nervously. "I thought you knew." I say, raising an eyebrow. "Brian and Laura have been going out for ages."

"I'm the fucking new girl, ofcourse I didn't know!"

"Alright, alright, calm down. Sheesh."

She stifles a sob, and I immediately regret saying that.

"Whatever." She says. "He's such a duck!"

"Don't you mean...?"

"Don't autocorrect me." She snaps. "I'm coming over. You're going to take me to some club and waste all your savings on me. Cuz that's what friends do for each other."

I would have laughed if her tone wasn't so serious.

She cuts off the phone before I can reply.

"A friend of yours?" Dani mumbles. He's still looming by the counter, his hair unkempt and a small scar on his cheek from where Mason scratched him.

I laugh everytime I remember the events that happens two hours ago.

Around twenty minutes later, there's a knock on the door.

I get up and open it to find Catherine standing there in her usual, and her usual means dramatic makeup and dresses that cover next to nothing. 

"Why aren't you ready?" She pouts her perfectly painted lips. She has a handbag in one hand, and a shopping bag in the other.

"Look, Catherine, Dani's at home and--"

"Dani's not a kid." She crosses her arms before making her way in.

"Thank you!" His voice comes from the living room. "Finally someone smart."

A second later, he emerges, and his eyes transfix on Catherine.

"And hot too." He mutters.

Catherine flips her hair back. "Thank you." She says with a smile. "However, I don't plan on snagging any more boyfriends."

"Boyfriends?"  I manage.

"Yeah, isn't he your..." her eyes dart between the two of us. "Right. Then there's the whole memory problem."

Dani looks at me sincerely, but his eyes hold a glint of humor. "You deserve a night out, love."

"Please." I say, rolling my eyes. "Clubs aren't really my thing."

"But they're mine." Catherine says. "And luckily, I got m an extra dress for you." She smiles.

"It's not luck." I say. "You knew you would have to convince me. And I'm not wearing whatever's in there." I point at the bag.

Dani shakes his head. "Is she always a prude?"

"Pretty much." Catherine replies.

My mouth hangs open.

Prude!

With a glare, I snatch the bag from her, murmuring as I make my way to the bathroom. I shut the door as loud as I can for emphasis, and I could hear the both of them chuckling.

I take a second to catch my breath. They were joking, I get that, but it was true.

I couldn't help it, though. Truth was, I felt guilty for everything that happened two years ago.

I open the bag to find a simple maroon dress, backless and so not me. 

I took off my shirt and tried it on anyways. The straps seemed to wind around each other, and it took forever to put on.

In the bag there were also a pair of boots, and all I could think of was, "Four other pairs in my closet and she chose the ones with the heels?!"

I brushed my hair and tried to tame it as much as I could. After putting on the boots and glancing at myself in the mirror one last time, I unlocked the door and stepped out.

Catherine unfolded her arms. "You look pretty." She said. "Now let's go already."

Dani, who was tying his shoelaces glanced up, and his eyes seemed to stick to my body. "You clean up good, Morgan." He straightens up and walks over to me. "I wouldn't mind having you for dessert."

I scrunch my nose as I push him away.  "Too bad you had ice-cream already."

But I kind of like the fact that he's flirting with me, meaning there's attraction there.

Or was I imagining it?

Probably.