Toto and the Boys III: Dannie

Chapter 26

Dannie smiled at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing her state, he suddenly pushed himself forward to lean over the table. "Come on, Danica, you can't cry now," he whispered. "They know us here and they will think that Troy Brady made a woman cry again. And it's his freaking friend this time. Come on, don't cry. I know my words were touching and all, but you've shed enough tears to give them merit."

She hastily wiped her eyes dry with the table napkin and sniffed. "I just didn't realize you are capable of thinking that deep."

His face fell with disappointment and he pushed away from the table with a sigh. "Why do people think I am that shallow?"

Dannie chuckled. "You never showed a lot of people this side of you, you know."

"Because I don't find any reason why I should let others see this side of me." His words were full of meaning that she just laughed it off. Deep inside, she was grateful she was one of the few who had the chance to see this side of Troy Brady.

Just as they were about to finish their coffees, Miguel and Lee entered the café and saw them. "Where the hell have the two of you been?" asked Lee, taking a seat beside Troy. Miguel took the one beside Dannie and called for the waiter. "Nice to bump into the two of you. This is your treat, right?" Miguel asked Troy.

"Why would I treat the two of you? No one invited you to join us in the first place," Troy rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Still, you owe us," Lee said.

"And why is that?"

"You won't tell us what happened that night we got drunk," Miguel answered.

"You pissed the hell out of me. That's answer enough."

"Well, we would say sorry if we know what we did, right?" Lee said, looking at Miguel with innocence.

"I'll treat you if you say sorry now," Troy said.

"SORRY," the two men said in unison.

Dannie observed the exchange with amusement. "Are you guys ready for the wedding?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course. Which reminds me," Miguel said, looking at Troy. "The groom asked when the pre-nuptial shoot is. The wedding's in a few days and they want it soonest."

Troy looked at Dannie and sighed. "Guess we have to stay here a bit more. I don't think I want to go back to your apartment and face this thing."

Dannie shrugged. "We can stay as long as we want."

*****

What they went home to after two more hours was not a mess, but silence.

Jackie, George, Jordan and Dean were there but they were not fighting. And they were not talking either.

But the moment Troy and Dannie entered the door they all jumped to their feet and asked if Toto was okay. Dean and Jordan walked out the door to check Toto. Jam must have heard the commotion outside and went out his own apartment to join the guys.

Troy collected everyone and forced them to face George, Jackie and Dannie.

They all awkwardly said sorry. Jam was sorrier than everyone else because he was the one who took Toto. George and Jackie just nodded their heads in acceptance of their apologies.

"But the wedding is still on, right?" Troy asked, faking enthusiasm. He was obviously tired.

"Of course," George snapped. "Everything was almost ready before you guys decided to carnap our car."