Norah & Daniel

Chapter-43

I felt a sudden spurt of anger aimed at Shay as I thought about what she had said, but then taking a breath, tried my best to subdue it down.

It didn't need a genius to know that Daniel had been with a lot of girls, and my mouth felt bitter every time I thought of it. But I didn't have the right to hold it against him. I mean what should I be mad about? That why did he sleep with all those girls before I even properly knew who he was?

Great! Thank you, Shay. As if I already didn't have other issues to overthink about.

In all of the last three classes that I had that day, I kept imagining in my head that how was I going to tell about Emma to mom, dad and the most frightening was that how was I going to face Nathan when I tell him this.

I had to tell them, there wasn't much of an option here. I wasn't going to get any new starts until I had finished all the remaining endings lying loose and open.

The guys had a short practice after school mainly to discuss about the two day basketball camp they all had to leave for at six the same day for the upcoming season. After the coach cleared out any last shred of queries that anyone on the team had, they had a short practice game before leaving, and all the while Daniel had his eyes sharply on the ball and his mind completely in the game.

I shook my head over the fact that just how strangely his mind worked. When something bothered him, he paid more attention to the task in his hand.

"You know, you might like to think so but you don't look that much hot when you're sulking," I jibed as we walked over to his car in the parkway.

Daniel stopped walking and turned to me with a pout. "I am not sulking."

"Yes, you are," I replied, putting my hands on my hips, looking square in his eyes. "You are still hung up over what Shay said, aren't you?"

For a moment he didn't say anything, just stared back with the same challenging look that I had on, but then with a sigh, he hung his head low as he leaned against the hood of his own car. "I might be."

"Well, then stupid little boy," I said, taking a step towards him, "you shouldn't think about it. I don't care what she said and neither should you."

"So you're telling me you didn't even feel even a twinge of embarrassment over me right then," he asked with a sadness in his blue eyes.

I chuckled silently, running my hands down his arms and then finally finding their place in between his hands. "No, I didn't, you dummy," I said making sure I sounded as sincere as I could. "Daniel, why would you think that?"

"I don't know, I mean, it's not like I haven't thought it enough myself and Shay reminding it again didn't really help," Daniel said, hurriedly, refusing to meet my eyes. "I can't help but think that how wrong it is that you'll have to deal with this kind of shit when it's not even your fault."

"And I can take it. I'm not that weak," I tried to convince him, taking one more step towards him so that now there was barely any distance left between us.

"But I still can't change the fact that I have been with-"

Okay, as much I liked to believe that it didn't affect me, I actually didn't need him to say it out loud that there had been so many girls before me, I decided to cut him from speaking, "Gosh, I thought people who got into MIT were supposed to be smart."

Daniel gave me a deadpan look. I chuckled. "Stop thinking about something so stupid. I don't like this insecure Daniel. I want my 'I am hot and I know it' boyfriend back," I said, pushing his forehead.

He laughed. "And here I thought that it annoyed you."

"Keeping it to a limit would do," I said smiling, as he rested his hands around my lower back. "So would you be back by Sunday evening from your camp then?"