Competing for the Dominant

Twenty-Two

Quinn

If I thought having crutches was bad, nothing prepared me for the boot. It wasn't even a boot. It barely came up to my ankle and it was heavy.

I tried to wear it as little as possible, but every time Daniel caught me without it, he'd give me a disapproving look and I'd feel forced to put it back on.

Even though I was technically free from having to stay at Daniel's house, we had come to a silent agreement that I could still stay here until I wanted to move and I hadn't had that desire to move yet.

Over the last month, I had become comfortable here, especially now that Daniel and I didn't fight as much. Since I had gotten off my cast, we had mellowed out and I think that was partly because I could start doing things by myself again.

Since Daniel had been gone to the club for paperwork, I decided to surprise him by rearranging his cabinets back to the way they had been. I had just finished putting the bowls away when I heard the door open.

"Quinn?"

"In the kitchen! With a surprise!"

Daniel walked in and raised his eyebrows, "Am I going to like this surprise?"

"Probably. Okay, open your cabinets,"

Daniel, looking skeptical, opened the cabinet closest to him and then looked back at me in confusion. It seemed to dawn on him as he faced the cabinet again with a grin, "You moved the stuff back! That is a nice surprise. I was going to do that today when I got home, though,"

"I know, but you were gone. I was bored. It made sense,"

Daniel set down his bag and hoisted me up onto the counter. I leaned down and kissed him, wrapping my legs around his waist. He pulled away a little and grinned.

"So, I have a surprise too," it was my turn to raise an eyebrow, "My parents are having their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary party this weekend and I was hoping you'd join me as my date?"

"Oh, um, sure,"

Daniel frowned and gave me his 'I don't believe you for a second' face. He pulled that face on me a lot, "What's wrong?"

Damn, he knew me too well.

"Well, are you sure that you want me to be there? I mean, I know Greg and Edna are cool with us together, but what about their friends or the rest of your family? Plus, I'm not that great at social events and . . . Why are you smiling like that? It's unnerving,"

Daniel laughed, "Nothing. It's cute when you worry. As for my parents' friends and my family, I wouldn't worry too much about them. My parents have made it very clear that if anyone wants to be homophobic, they're free to never contact them again. Besides, if anyone tries to discriminate against us, Angelina Knight will have something to say about it and she's doesn't keep her opinions quiet,"

"Who's Angelina Knight?"

"My pain in the ass sister. She will question your every move before crushing you either like a bug or into a hug. I'm sure she'll do the latter to you. I may have mentioned you a few times when we talked," Daniel chuckled nervously and shrugged. I kissed him and nodded.

"Yeah, alright. Maybe I can finally hear some embarrassing stories about you,"

Daniel made a face and I laughed, using his shoulders to help myself off the counter. Before I could head to the other room, Daniel grabbed my arm and pulled me back, "And then after the party, maybe we could head to the club. It's been over a week,"

I knew exactly what he was thinking and I pulled my arm out of his grasp, "Maybe. I'll think about it,"

🖤