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,"
🖤
Although Daniel promised no one would say anything about us being together, it felt like everyone was whispering about us and staring at me. When I looked around, of course, no was even paying attention to me.
I took a deep breath, trying to expel the nerves. From a few tables over, where Daniel had been talking to his aunt, I could see him look up at me and smile at me. I smiled back and waved.
"So, you're the spawn that's fucked up Daniel,"
I turned and for a split second, I was staring at my father, but upon further glance, I realized it was just one of Daniel's relatives. His comment finally registered and I was taken off guard.
"I'm sorry? 'Spawn that fucked up Daniel'?"
"Don't play dumb. We all know what happened between you two,"
I was getting angry. Who the hell did this guy think he was? "I beg your pardon?"
"He was just fine with Charlie. At least Charlie came from a respectable place. You're just a tramp,"
"Oh, fuck off, Ray," a female voice said behind me. The guy, Ray, sneered at me and sauntered off. I turned to find a girl that looked like a younger Edna.
"Just ignore him. Ray has and always will be that asshole cousin that no one likes to invite. I'm Angelina, but call me Angie. Not sure if Daniel's ever talked about me,"
"Once or twice. I'm Quinn, though I'm sure you already know that,"
She smiled and sat down in the chair next to me, "He talks about you so much, it's a little annoying. But, he's happier with you than he ever was with Charlie, so you're fine in my book. Plus, my mother keeps calling you her son-in-law—" I spit out my drink a little and she giggled, "Oh, sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Here's a napkin,"
"What are you doing to him, Angie? You okay, Quinn?" Daniel's hands were on my shoulders and I waved an okay sign at him as I coughed from the drink going down my throat weirdly.
"Why do you always think it's my fault?"
"Was it?"
"Maybe. Really, though if you think about it, it's Mom's fault for already thinking you're married,"
"I—she what?"
Angelina giggled again and rolled her eyes, "Please, Danny—"
"Don't call him that," I blurted and Daniel's hands gripped my shoulders tightly as Angelina gave me a shocked expression.
"Sorry, but that nickname has been ruined for him. And me too,"
Angelina made a small noise and smiled at me warmly, "Well, Daniel, looks like Mom may be right. You've got a little fighter here and definitely a keeper," she winked at me and stood up, "I'm, uh, going to go back to mingling, but I'll see you around, Quinn,"
Daniel took her place and gaped at me, "You didn't have to say that, Quinn. It's fine,"
"You tense at the name. I've seen you do it when your mom calls you that. I just didn't want to see you tense up again,"
Daniel laughed and leaned over to kiss me, "Thank you, Kuma. I'm a big boy, though. I can take care of it myself. However, I do have to admit that it was fun to watch my sister get told off by you,"
I hit his shoulder lightly and scoffed at his sibling rivalry. As we sat in silence, I couldn't help but think about what that guy, Ray, had said. I wondered how many other people thought of me as a tramp and thought that I wasn't good enough for Daniel. Were they right?
I wasn't from a good background. I came from a family, a father, that rejected me. I spent my late teens and early twenties begging for scraps and living on the streets, doing whatever I had to do to survive.
"Why are you with me?" Daniel looked up, his mouth open.
"What?" He laughed a little, "What do you mean? What brought this about?"
"I don't know. Someone mentioned that maybe I wasn't the right person for you and I got to thinking about it and I don't know. Maybe they were right. I don't exactly fit in with this kind of crowd,"
"Who in the fuck said that? It doesn't matter. Whatever they said doesn't matter because the only thing you should know and remember is that I don't care where you're from, who you were before, or any of that. I'm not with you because of who your family is or was. I'm with you because of who you are now and I love you for that,"
We seemed to freeze as we both realized what he said. Daniel frowned for a second before nodding and smiling, "Yes. Yes, I love you, Quinn. I guess taking care of you and living with you has really made me think about it and I love you, Quinn," he was smiling until he seemed to notice my facial expression, "What's wrong,"
He reached for my hand, but I yanked it away, standing up, "I'm going to go take a breather. Okay? I'll, uh, be right back,"
I didn't even wait for a reply.
I found a closet and hid in it. My heart was moving a hundred miles an hour. To relax, I focused on things around me. The first thing that caught my attention was how big the closet was. It could've easily fit three people no problem.
I sat in the darkness, trying to calm down until a knock sounded a few minutes later.
"Please, go away!"
"Well, I personally don't think that's a nice way to talk to an old lady but I'll let it slide this time dear. You're obviously under a lot of stress,"
I opened the door and Daniel's mother was standing there with a box of tissues.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to need these but I brought them anyway." She slid into the closet and flipped the light on and shut the door.
"Now, tell me what's up, buttercup," I gave her a confused look and she grinned, "Used to say that to Daniel all the time. Now you can make fun of him for it,"
"Um, Daniel told me he loved me,"
Edna snorted, "Well, it's about time. So, why are we hiding in a closet exactly?"
I stared at her, "Because . . ." And staring at her, I realized I wasn't sure why, "Because I panicked. I don't know why I panicked,"
"Listen, dear. I've known Daniel his entire life. I've only known you personally for the course of two or three months. But I can assure you that you, whether you wish to admit it or not, are in love with Daniel as much as he is in love with you. Now, don't argue because a mother knows her child and he's happy,"
"You're okay with your son being gay and dating . . . a tramp,"
She chuckled, "A tramp? Really? Is that how you see yourself? Personally, I see a young man who has lost his way and is only just finding it again and if that means making my son happy, why should I care. You should hear the way he talks to you. You know, when you were in the hospital, we came to visit on the first day and I'll be honest, I have never seen Danny so distraught. It looked like someone had torn his heart out.
As for him being gay, he came out to me when he was twenty-two. I'd known since he was fifteen when he told me Jude Law was the still hottest man alive and not George Clooney as People magazine had labeled him. I don't agree with him, because everyone knows Tom Selleck is the hottest man alive, but anyway,"
I stared at her in shock and she smiled at me, "Take a tissue dear," I did.
"Can I . . . I mean. May I have a hug?"
"Oh, dear! You're going to make me cry. Of course, you can have a hug!"
She wrapped her arms around me and despite her small size, she squeezed the breath out of me and I cried. I wasn't ashamed to be vulnerable to this woman.
"Oh goodness. Okay, I'm going to rejoin my guests and you can stay in the closet for as long as you need and when you're ready to come out, Daniel and the rest of us will all be happy to have you,"
I took a shaky breath and nodded. She shut off the light and closed the door behind her. I'm not sure how long I sat in there for, but I finally decided it was a good idea to go back. I needed to find Daniel anyhow.
I found Daniel on the porch swing, smoking with his eyes closed.
"This seat taken?" I muttered and Daniel's eyes shot open. He immediately put the cigarette out and stood up.
"Hi. Hey, how are you feeling? Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
I cut him off by wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around my torso and lifted me off the ground.
"Don't be sorry," I breathed and kissed him again, "I don't know if I love you yet, but I do know that I have very strong feelings for you and maybe it is love, but I don't feel confident to say it just yet," I looked past him to his mom who raised her glass and winked at me.
"That's fine, Kuma. That's okay. Listen, I was going to wait until later, but I have to ask you a question,"
"You aren't going to ask me to marry you, are you?"
Daniel smiled and shook his head, "No. not yet, anyway. Maybe in the future. What I was going to ask is: Will you move in with me? Permanently. Your lease is up this month and most of your stuff in at my house anyway. Whatever you don't want, we can sell in like a garage sale or something,"
"I—Yeah. I guess I can move in with you. Like you said, my lease is almost up anyway. Better to live with you than back on the streets,"
Daniel pulled me into a searing kiss that left me a little lightheaded, "You are never living on the streets again if I can help it," he whispered and kissed me again.
Hey guys! Don't mind my crying in the background because we only have ONE chapter left! I cannot believe this book is done. I remember in February when I was just getting started and I'm really having a hard time believing that it's only been five months since this book started.
In other, much more exciting news, I had to contact my academic advisor about switching semesters and she was able to get me all online classes this semester, so I could still go to school. I have no words for how happy I am right now. Like, guys! I can still go to school!
This obviously doesn't mean I will have the same opportunity in the spring, but for now, I can still go to school. I wish you guys could have seen the smile on my face when she told me she could get all online classes.
In other good news, I have a release date for Saved by the Dominant! As of now, SBTD will be released on September 7th. It's the first Monday of the month as per usual. Speaking of SBTD, I have the synopsis finally done. Over the next month or two, it may change, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.
Zade is the last of his friends to be single. He's tried, and failed, for six years to find the right Dom. Zade is ready to give up and accept his fate when Morgan Finley comes to town and seemingly has eyes for Zade only.
But Zade's had his heart broken in the past and he's not sure if this new guy is for real or if it's just his imagination.
I think that's all the news I have for this week. So, I will see you guys next week with the last chapter!
Stay safe and have a great week!