hard | daniel seavey

chapter twenty-six

   It was early in the morning and Daniel played the guitar softly as I laid on his bed, focused reading one of my new books from class. We were currently reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and I was instantly sucked into it. My eyes focused on the words, drowning out everything around me.

    It was moments like these I cherished the most. Daniel playing random tunes on his instruments while I sat reading, the silence between us more comfortable than ever. We didn't need to be doing anything romantic or exciting to enjoy each other, and that's what I loved most about us.

   "H-hey, Madi?" Daniel stuttered, his guitar slowly coming to a stop. I placed my finger on the page, looking up at him. He looked down nervously, biting his lip. "A-are we together?"

   "What do you mean?" I folded the corner of the page, fully closing the book. I sat up as he put the guitar on his stand.

   "Like are you my girlfriend? Am I your boyfriend? What's going on here?" Daniel sat on the edge of his bed, his back facing me. He looked stressed, as if this had been bothering him all his life. Of course I wanted Daniel to be my boyfriend. Yes, it seemed a little rushed due to the fact that I literally just broke up with Aaron last week, but my heart was with Daniel and there was no point in waiting. I crawled up behind him, rubbing his back.

   "Ask me, and I'll give you my answer." I whispered into his ear, placing a kiss below his ear. His head turnt towards me slightly, a smile growing on his face. His cheeks were their now usual shade of pink.

   "W-will you be my girlfriend?" He stuttered again. I giggled before nodding, a wide smile on my face. He smiled just as wide and leaned in for a kiss.

   "But," I said, placing my finger on his lips. "I don't want to tell people just yet. Obviously we can tell our friends and stuff, but I don't want to put it online just yet. I just think social media tends to get to the best of people in relationships and I don't want that to happen to us."

    "Your wish is my command, Baby." He licked his lips before placing them onto mine. "I can't believe I get to call you my girlfriend now. That's crazy."

     "Now I can say I have the cutest boyfriend in the entire world." I pinched his cheek, making him scrunch up his nose.

   "Stop pinching my cheeks, Grandma." He joked and laid on his back. I ran my fingers through his bedhead hair as he closed his eyes, relaxing a bit. "Wanna go get breakfast, Pretty Girl?"

     Daniel and I ticketed for a solid 10 minutes about where to go to breakfast before finally settling on going to a little cafe in Downtown LA. Jonah and Tate have talked about it before, so we decided to try it and see if it was as good as they said. It was only 9 and was already sunny and beautiful, so we decided to eat outside.

   "When we grow old and have a place of our own, we're doing this everyday." Daniel said, taking a sip of his apple juice. "There's just something about being outside early in the morning that makes me ready for the day."

    "Okay, Bob Ross." I playfully rolled my eyes. He was right though. The weather and the cute little cafe we were at made this morning perfect. "And if we're gonna grow old and get our own place, I have a few requests."

    "And what are those?" He leaned back in his seat, looking at me sincerely.

    "I want a big white house with a wrap around porch, perfect for outside breakfasts, a room where I can store all my books and write in peace. Then obviously a space for your instruments. And a big yard, so we can have birthday parties for our kids and have people over all the time," I explained each thing that I wanted in the house I've dreamt of since I was a little girl. "Oh, and a dog. Preferably a French Bulldog. Or maybe a Corgi. Or a Dalmatian. I haven't decided yet."

   Daniel leaned forward and held out his pinky. I raised my eyebrow at him confused. He laughed and said, "I promise to give you everything you'll ever ask for. Even if you change the kind of dog you want 100 times." I smiled and laced my pink with his. And somehow, I knew he would keep that promise.