Amber & Honey ~ [DR3]

21. More Than That

"Like we're 'just friends'?" His words come quick and I can only roll my eyes at them. A laugh of disbelief leaving my lips. He cannot be serious.

"You're funny," I quip, my shoulders rolling back with tension. "I didn't know we were friends?" I counter narrowing my eyes a little in his direction. Daniel almost recoils at my words, shifting in his seat, turning his body away from me. It serves him right for talking and acting in such a way. He has absolutely no right. The wind whips around us and bites at my cheeks in the silence. "That was a dick thing to say and imply and you know it." A long fed up huff leaves me. This is so completely exhausting.

"I just want to know before I make a fool out of myself here." Daniel turns to look at me with his big brown eyes but they don't quite meet my face, instead lingering on my hands which fiddle and pull at the hem of my shorts and it makes a lump form in my throat. Why does he look so sad?

Another silence between us.

"No, not like we're friends." I eventually concede to him, I watch as his shoulders visibly unwind. "Charles is way more interested in Lilly than me. Nothing like how we're 'friends'." My words are grumbled before folding my arms over my chest in defence. Nobody here is enjoying themselves and I'm beginning to think that being alone with Daniel was a mistake.

Maybe, despite all my feelings, we can't get past this. I'm too hurt and he's too defensive for this to ever be anything more than two people who once knew eachother too well.

"I'm sorry." The words are soft out of Daniel's mouth, when I turn my head to look at him he's still not quite looking at me. His pride still a little too in the way. I've heard those two words from his mouth one too many times. "Imola was..." he trails off and I scoff to myself, it only leaves my nose as a heavy exhale.

What exactly was Imola? I would love some clarification.

"It wasn't your finest moment." I finish for him. My words are the polite version of what happened and he knows it. Daniel nods his head in agreement.

"Michael told me that he told you." He huffs scratching his head awkwardly. My heart sinks with the reminder. Michael's revelation really made Lando's celebratory dinner the dinner from hell for me. I've never fully understood what it meant when people say you can be physically in a room but mentally not. It was that day I finally got it. "I could've killed him when he said." Daniel still hasn't looked at me, so I let my eyes slide back to the view beyond us as I narrow my eyes putting together his words. It's so beautiful here.

"You can't be mad at Michael for things you've done Dan." He huffs at my honest words, not liking the truth in them. "That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard you say." The words sound nasty from my lips, Daniel only takes them with curt a nod. He must know I'm right.

"She didn't mean anything Amber, I was just so frustrated and..." I shake my head at his words, knowing that they'll never make up for the actions he's done. "I'm sorry." He repeats and from the corner of my eye I eventually see him turn to face me.

This time I don't look to him.

"It's not what you did it, it's when you did it." I state chewing down on my bottom lip. It is also what he did it but I don't know what else there is to say. The knowledge that whoever the girl he was with meant nothing is no great comfort to me. "I felt so stupid Dan." I huff to myself, remembering how dumb I felt at that table. Here was me all red cheeked and hot from kissing Daniel. Meanwhile, I wasn't even on his mind.

"I'm the stupid one." Daniel corrects and I can only nod my head at him in agreement. It still doesn't make me feel entirely better.

"I get that I could've handled things better." I acknowledge, I feel so unconfident in my words. "I should've stayed and not ran away from you and...we could've talked about all of this but you..." I huff, the disbelief of his actions hitting me all over again. "You really took it to another level." I point out, not with the intention to hurt Daniel or guilt him, but just to get him to understand where I'm at. I'm trying to acknowledge that whilst everything isn't on him, a lot of my hurt is.