Can't Get Enough | Danny Amendola

Chapter 27

"Okay," Katie said as she looked across me at the lunch table. She was munching on a fry as she did so. "You gotta tell me. What all happened with you and Danny last year? The old Jamie is back— I just kinda wanna know what lead to you being so mute last Christmas."

My eyes fell shut and I sucked in a long breath. When I opened them again, Katie was looking back at me with a concerned look. "Ugh," I grumbled. "It was no fun. So basically he freaked that Olivia was around."

I looked down at the table and shook my head. "H-He went silent on me. Wouldn't talk to me. I thought I lost him," I mumbled. When I looked up Katie was looking back at me with the same concerned look.

This wasn't something I'd ever want to live again. The thought of losing Danny at this point would break my heart beyond repair, so I didn't even want to think too much about it.

"He wouldn't talk to me... eventually I had enough," I mumbled and shook my head. "It broke my heart to break up with him— but I had to. I was driving myself crazy. And the look on his face when I did. He sounded so desperate... but I just... I slapped him that night... and left him in the pouring rain."

"Jamie! You slapped him? Your mama didn't raise you that way," Katie jumped in. Her eyes were wide. "And he still got back with you? That's so low of you!"

I ran a hand through my hair and sucked in a shaky breath. "I-I know! I just... he wouldn't talk and... then as I'm trying to leave he did. It's one of my biggest regrets. I-I was just so... hurt and broken... and... god."

"Then what happened?" Katie quickly jumped in.

"It was like a quick spiral... kinda where you saw me when I went home," I mumbled. "It hurts so much because I knew I loved him. In the short amount of time that we were together, I became accustomed to what it was like to have another person to depend on again."

Katie's eyes went wide. We both knew how independent I was. So, I knew it came as a shock to her. I was the person who went nearly 8 years without a man and didn't have a problem. It wasn't necessarily the fact that I needed him to depend on, but I depended on his acts of love (even though he hadn't said it at this point). During the time we were apart, I constantly craved his touch.

"I-I know..." I whispered and shook my head. "He kept trying to get in contact with me after that. I was so hurt... and so paranoid about Olivia that I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted to do anything to get him out of my mind."

The look on Katie's face was a sympathetic one. "Just before Christmas I'd gotten a gift that I thought was from Penny," I told her. "But she was just passing it on cuz Jules said Danny threw or away. It was my necklace." I grabbed ahold of the heart pendant that hung from the silver chain around my neck.

"Oh James," she said, just barely enough for me to hear.

I shoot my head. "I got drunk off my ass one night... Danny took me home. I didn't object... I-I guess he and Clay relaxed a bit together. I didn't realize he missed Clay, too... But I could tell Clay missed him."

Katie shook her head. "Those two are like two peas in a pod, huh?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Then... fast forward to Penny's bachelorette party. I wasn't gonna go because of Olivia... But after some convincing, I went. The guys all ended up at the same club as us... and then Olivia tried going after Danny. I couldn't stand it. So I left. The next thing I knew was Danny was running after me. He said he loved me." A smile was now on my face.

A smile made its way to Katie's face. "Ugh. That's so cute! It was four or five months and he was still chasing you!"

I rolled my eyes. "The rest is kinda history. I love that man with all my heart. And he's put so much on the line for me when he hasn't had to," I told her. "I'm happy to call him mine— ya know, especially since he brought me one of my best friends!"