Can't Get Enough | Danny Amendola

Chapter 36

"You're way too anxious to get baby Edelman baby shower gifts." I giggled as Danny and I slowly made our way down the steps. "I mean I told you we could go after I got home... and you were ready the second I walked in the door. Shoes and all."

Danny rolled his eyes as I moved ahead and pulled the car door open for him— he still wasn't allowed to drive. "Daniel junior will appreciate it! And I'm just looking forward to finally being able to walk around! Ya know... to be able to do more than just online shop," he mumbled. "You can only look at so much and sit on your ass for so long."

He slid into the seat and looked up at me with those big brown eyes. "You know you're excited. We're going to throw the best fucking baby shower ever! Our little nephew will thank you one day!"

I shook my head at him and slammed the door shut. When I walked around and slid into the driver's seat, those big brown eyes were looking back at me as he had a pout on his face. "What do you know about baby showers? I mean are you the right person to be doing this? Normally it's a woman that's close to the mom." I interrogated.

He eyed me for a second before shrugging. "I know enough to know that it'll be the best one that'll celebrate my godson! And Pen and Jules aren't exactly normal, so why should this baby shower be completely normal?" Danny's brown eyes were big once he finished his sentence. "Oh my god! We are so calling this the 'Not your average baby shower'!"

"You may wanna run that one past Jules before you make the invitations." I let out a long sigh and shook my head. I stuck the key into the ignition and shifted into drive— off we were to plan my boyfriends' godson's baby shower— or should I say my nephew's? 

***

"Take a left up here," Danny said anxiously as he pointed across my vision to the store. "That's the one that has the awesome little baby walker I wanted to get!"

I let out a soft sigh as I followed his instructions and pulled into a spot. "Is this spot close enough? Or do you want me to drop you off at the front door and I meet you there?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "I've got broken ribs, not broken legs, Jame. I can fare just fine," he mumbled. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed his door open.

I leaned over and placed a hand on his thigh before he could get out. "It's not a big deal, Danny. I was just checking. I worry about you. I don't want you doing too much," I told him, concerned. "To hurt yourself again."

Danny looked back and his face softened. "I'll be fine. If I couldn't do something I'd tell you," he said in a soft voice as he put his hand on top of mine. "A punctured lung won't stop me from anything."

I sat there for a second, looking into those eyes before finally nodding, believing him. "Okay," I whispered. "Then we should probably get inside. We need to work on getting stuff."

A smile made its way to his face and he nodded. "Yes. We do. We definitely do," he said as he moved out of the car.

I slid out and made my way up to the side of him. Once we were both walking at the same pace I reached over and grabbed ahold of his hand. The grip he had on it was tight, but as we exchanged looks, a small smile made its way to his face. I could finally relax a bit.

As we walked into the store, his grip on my hand became even tighter. "This place is even bigger than I thought," he said, his dark eyes looking back at me.

"Please don't tell me you're going to buy the whole store," I joked as I pulled from him to grab a cart.

He rolled his eyes before shaking his head. "Of course not. But there are no promises for when we have kids."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who said we were having kids?" I questioned as we made our way down one of the aisles.

Danny grabbed my hand again and pulled me back so I was looking right into those beautiful eyes. "We will," he whispered. "One day we will. And she'll be just as beautiful as you." He dipped in and placed a light kiss on my lips. "I love you."

I brought a hand up and cupped his stubbled cheek. "I love you, too, Danny."

We began walking through the store, grabbing the things Danny knew wasn't on Penny and Julian's list, but he felt that they'd need. When it came time for some of the heavier things, I was the one stuck with loading them into the cart.

By the time we reached the last aisle of the store, our cart was nearly overflowing and we had yet to get what we came for; the baby walker Danny said that his godson absolutely needed.

"Oh! There is it!" Danny said as he began to move ahead of the cart. He sounded like a little kid on Christmas.

I moved up behind him to look at the walker that he had went on endlessly about. "Danny! That's 180 dollars!"

***

Later that night, we managed to settle in at home while I made dinner. No matter how good Danny claimed he was, I could tell he was tired and in pain. It was now about two weeks after his accident and while he was progressing, it was clear that by the end of every day he was completely whipped.

"Are you sure you want to make dinner?" Danny asked as he shuffled into the kitchen with Clay hot on his heels. He sat down at the island and folded his hands on the counter top. Clay settled down next to Danny's feet.

I nodded as I continued to cut the carrots. "Yes, Danny. It's no big deal. I don't want you to overwork yourself. You wanna be back on the field by the last week of the season, right?" I asked as I carefully eyed him.

He slowly nodded.

"Then stop trying to do everything around the house. You're healing, you need to relax and not push yourself," I replied in a soft voice. I didn't want to sound condescending, but I cared about him. I didn't want him to be hurting.

"I'm not pushing myself. I'm fine, Jame. I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to," he replied, those soft brown eyes looking back at me.

I put the knife down and leaned across the island, putting my hands on top of Danny's. "That's the key to it, though. You wouldn't offer if you didn't want to. You want to, but it's clear you don't feel 100% yet... or even 90%. It's okay. You don't need to have your walls up around me."

Danny tore his eyes from mine and bowed his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He looked back up and those chocolatey eyes were beginning to get wet. "I-I just... Pen and I had a talk last week..."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him in confusion, waiting for an explanation. "Yeah?" I asked.

"I-I've been so excited for them and their little one that I never realized that I've kinda left you in the dust," he said, his voice shaky. "I'm so sorry, Jamie. I never meant to." He dipped his head again as tears began to pull from his eyes.

I took my hands off of his and walked around the counter. As I did so, he brought his hands up to his face, covering it completely. I moved up to the side of him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, careful of his ribs. "It's okay, Danny," I whispered as I placed a kiss on his temple.

"I-It's not," he whispered as he turned a bit and wrapped his arms around me. He hooked his chin over my shoulder and held me tight. "I never meant to." He sobbed.

I brought a hand up and threaded it through his dark hair, holding him to me. "I-It's okay, babe." I whispered as tears began to roll down my cheeks.

"I shouldn't be so hard on you," I cried as I held him tighter. "I just don't want to lose you."