Chasing That Desire | Danny Amendola

Chapter 23

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. I was in Danny's bed, but Danny was nowhere in sight, and the shades were still closed.

This wasn't how I wanted to wake up on my birthday.

In fact, this was the last way I'd expect to wake up on my birthday. This had to be the first time in a while that I woke up to something other than a pair of beautiful brown eyes looking back at me.

I sighed as I slid out of bed, pulled a shirt over my head, and slid on a pair of oversized shorts. A frown found its way to my face as I moved through the living room and into the kitchen with no sign of Danny.

I moved over to the coffee maker and started up a pot.

This really wasn't what I was expecting. I thought I'd wake up to the love of my life lying next to me waiting to pull me into his arms and whisper happy birthday.

"Ugh, where the fuck are you Danny," I mumbled as I let out a sigh.

Soon enough the pot was done brewing, and I poured myself a cup. I moved over to grab my phone from its charger near the dishwasher, and looked through my notifications to see if there was anything from Danny.

Nothing.

I shook my head as I made my way to the living room. I had a few texts from coworkers wishing me a happy birthday, a few emails about games that I needed to cover, and some notifications from my NHL app.

I sat down and sipped from my mug. I decided to scroll through Twitter, see what was new. Of course, there was quite a bit from the Bruins' win the night before, and a few things about the Patriots win over the Dolphins,10-7.

Just as I moved to flick the tv on, my phone began vibrating in my lap— Danny.

"Hello," I asked as I brought it up to my ear.

"Hey Jules. Can you please come down to my car? I need help bringing the grocery bags up," he said.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute." I put my phone down and stood up.

"Oh happy birthday honey! I love you! I totally remembered," I complained and shook my head.

Like what the fuck?

I slid on a pair of shoes, then made my way out of the house. Danny was standing there, leaning back against his car with his arms crossed and a big smile on his face.

"What are you doing? Let's grab the bags and go inside! It's freaking cold out," I complained as I held my shirt close to my body.

Danny shook his head. "It's not that cold out."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. I know you play football in this weather all the time," I grumbled.

As I moved to the back of his car and lifted the truck up. "Danny! There's nothing back here! What the hell!?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Oh, the stuff I needed you to get is in the front seat," he said as he moved over so I could open the front seat.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a look. "You're an idiot, I swear," I told him as I moved forward to pull open the door.

When it was pulled open, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. "Danny!? What the hell is this?" I leaned in to grab it.

"Happy birthday, babe. I hope you like it," he said as I beamed at the little black lab in my arms.

I turned around as the puppy began to lick my face. "Hi there. You're so cute," I said in a baby voice. "Danny?! I-I..." Tears began to pull from my eyes.

Danny smiled as he moved forward and wrapped his arms around me. The Pup was squished between us and let out a bark, then began licking at Danny's stubble.

Danny chuckled as he brought a hand up and pet his head. "You like him?"

"I-I love him Danny! I love you. Oh my gosh," I mumbled as I looked down at the little guy.

When I looked back up, Danny had a huge smile on his face. He leaned in and placed a kiss on my lips. "I love you too. I'm glad you like him."

I smiled down at the puppy, who was trying to get out of my arms. "Can we go inside? It's kinda cold."

Danny nodded as he moved behind me to grab the red blanket from his front seat, and then followed me up the steps.

When we got inside I instantly moved to the couch where I sat with the puppy in my lap. He brought his front paws up and put them on my shoulders as he tried to lick at my face. "Ugh! You're so cute!"

Danny chuckled as he sat down next to me. He grabbed the pups attention, and the next thing I knew was he was crawling from my lap to his.

I placed my hand on his back as he settled down on top of Danny's thighs and looked up at me. "What's his name?"

Danny smiled and he pet the little guys head. "That's up to you, babe. He was your birthday gift," he told me with a smile. His beautiful brown eyes were looking at me.

I looked down at the puppy, who had his own pair of brown eyes looking up at me. "Okay," I sighed as I looked down at him.

Then an idea popped into my head— and I hoped Danny wouldn't catch on, because he'd probably get mad.

"How about Nelson?" I asked, the pups ears perked up. "Yep, Nelson it is!"

"Well, Nelson, you wanna go wish mommy a happy birthday," Danny asked in a baby voice as he lifted the pup a bit.

Nelson clumsily moved back onto my lap and sat down, nuzzling into my T-shirt. I beamed over at Danny. "He's just so cute! Why did you get him?"

Danny shrugged a bit. "I don't want you to feel lonely when I'm on road trips," he said as he put a hand on my thigh. "And I know you've always wanted a dog."

I smiled as I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love him so much," I mumbled as I wrapped my arms around the pup and hugged him.

I placed a kiss on his head. "You're such a cute one," I said in a baby voice. "Yeah, you are." Nelson's tongue poked out and he began licking my face. "Oh! Nel stop!"

"I think he'll fit in fine," Danny said with a smile. "But is he gonna get more attention than me now?"

I looked over at Danny, who had a big pout on his face.

I rolled my eyes. As Nelson trying crawling out of my arms to get into Danny's. "I think you'll be getting even more attention now, he wants to be back in your arms." I giggled as I let him crawl over.

Danny smiled. "Come on Bud, you're supposed to be with her right now. It's her birthday! Not mine!"

I must say, his laugh is contagious.