Fly With Me

Daniel continued looking at her with those eyes and she figured she should answer.

"Umm, yeah. That's cool. I mean... I'm not really into football...ya know...but yeah. Cool."
Gabrielle silently cursed herself for sounding like such a freak. Luckily Danny just laughed.

"I know. You'd rather be doing your hair." He made a funny face and pretended to be a girl.
Gabrielle cracked up.

"This is why I love you Danny." He didn't know the half of it...

"I love you too Gab." He smiled at her with his eyes and then turned back to the game.
Gabrielle quickly fixed her hair and brushed off invisible lint from her shirt.
Two hours later and all of her mom's friends were leaving, including Danny.
They both got up as her mom called him down.

"Well....bye." Danny reached out and pulled Gab in for a hug. She melted inside and rested her head on his shoulder. He smelled so good. Always does. He has a signature smell that Gab could recognize in a heartbeat.

"Bye." Gabrielle chocked out a whispered farewell. She always felt the familiar sting of tears when she hugged Daniel because it felt so comfortable, so normal. It always took her breath away as he held her in his arms and she felt safe and protected. At that moment, nothing could harm her. Nothing could bother her.

He released his grip and held her hand for a second longer, just enough to give it a quick squeeze and flash her that adorable smile, the one that dimpled his cheeks.
He turned around and she heard him clonk down the stairs and her mom saying goodbye to them, and then the door shut. Gabrielle closed her eyes and flopped on her bed, loving the smell of Danny still lingering in her bedroom. Soon enough, she was asleep.

At 2:03am, her phone buzzed. It was Danny. She rubbed her groggy eyes and forced her hand to lift her phone and read the message. What she saw woke her up with a start.