I'm Addicted to the Thrill

Niki somehow managed to talk the three of us into trying on dresses. I let Christine go first. There was something about the atmosphere that was different now that Johnny and Niki's story had been shared. I loved it. I can't lie about that.

As I was helped into my dress by the attendant, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. White had never really been my color. I kept from laughing and walked out of the dressing room. The girls smiled at me, and I was glad I had come to the shop with them.

I looked at myself in the mirror. A smile spread itself across my lips. The low cut of the dress and the long, puffed out skirt made me think of something straight out of a fairytale. I laughed before turning back to my friends. Our attendant had left us for a moment, so Niki took a quick picture with her phone seizing the opportunity.

"I'm sending this to Patrick," laughed the girl. I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but wonder what he was going to think of it.

Minutes passed, and I changed back into my normal clothes. Madi took her turn in a wedding gown, and I grinned at the girl. Rumor had it that Corey was going to ask her to take the next step. No, not marriage, but he was going to ask her to move in. That was one of the things that Kaner had shared with me during his time at his place.

The alert song on my phone for text messages, "Runaway Baby" by Bruno Mars, went off. I ran through the list of people who would possibly text me and narrowed it down to Patrick, Mom, and my brother, Noah. There was one option I knew would likely be true, but my family members were always welcome to call or text. I brought up the text to read it.

"We're not getting married."

I passed the phone to Niki to let her read what he said. She started laughing and passed it on to Christine who passed it on to Madi. My friends giggled at the text while I tried to think of a way to reply to it. In the end, I just decided to ignore it. He didn't get a reply.

"This is your fault," I told Niki.

-x-

We met Johnny and Pat for lunch. Christine and Madi both left us, and I almost wished I could join them in leaving. The four of us sat in our booth quietly.

"So I heard you don't want to marry Dani, Kaner," said Niki.

Had he or I been drinking anything when she said that, we likely would have spat it out. Johnny looked at the three of us. His eyebrow was quirked, and the confusion was evident. Niki looked quite pleased with herself.

"Isn't it a bit early for them to talk about getting married?" asked Jonathan.

Patrick started to nod. I rolled my eyes. I agreed with the boys, but the way Patrick was acting made me feel like this was a bit ridiculous. I wasn't happy with him, but it had nothing to do with him say we weren't getting married. Part of me wanted to get up and leave. The awkwardness of the whole situation was driving me insane.

Niki and Johnny left us started to prattle on about their wedding as our food was placed in front of us. I smiled throwing my two cents in whenever it seemed to be wanted. The happy couple made me feel better about sitting there. Jonathan and Niki were just about perfect together. That was what kept me sitting at the table.

Johnny and Niki left us sitting there. They said they would be back, but I wondered if they really would be. Patrick assured me they would. He looked at me and half smiled. I didn't look back at him with any change in expression. All I did was take a fry, dip it in the bit of ketchup at the edge of my plate, and eat in.

"Are you mad at me?" asked Pat. I had been waiting for the question. I had even though of an answer, but I forgot it as soon as he had asked me.

"No." He only got an answer after a moment of hesitation. "Well, sort of."

His eyebrows furrowed. I could see that he was thinking. I let a sigh pass my lips. He looked up at me and frowned.

"Because I don't want to marry you?" he asked. "I mean, Dani, we have known each other for less than a month."

"That's not why I'm mad," I laughed. "It's not what you said. It's what you didn't say."

Patrick looked confused. I didn't care about being with him forever. We would drive each other crazy if we spent too much time together. He wasn't going to figure out what I was talking about, and I didn't plan on telling him. The boy had to figure it out when he got the chance to.

Jonathan came back to the table with his fiancée. The two sat back down and laid some papers out in front of them. The papers apparently held more information about their wedding. The pair smiled at us. I just wanted this lunch double date to end. It had gone on way too long.

-x-

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Patrick's POV

I stood outside of Dani's room. Knocking would have been my next step, but I wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to me. I still didn't know why she was mad at me. The girl's mood changed on almost a daily basis. It was ridiculous.

Danielle opened the door then shut it when she saw me there. What hadn't I said? The girl was tiresome, but I wasn't going to give up on her. Corey had mentioned that she was good. Sharpie said she was pretty. Seabs said she could do better. Well, he had meant himself, but I was sure that Dani would pick me over him. Jonathan had told me that he thought she was maybe the perfect girl for me.

I got my phone out and called Niki. She must have something to do with it. I blamed her. If she hadn't sent that picture, I wouldn't have said, or not said, whatever pissed off Dani. The phone rang, and when she was answered, I was relieved.

"Fix this," I demanded.

"What?" laughed Niki. "You fucked up."

The corners of my mouth pulled down. She was being no help. Maybe she wouldn't be the key to making this better.

"Did you ever tell her how she looked in the dress?" asked the future Mrs. Toews.

"No. Was I supposed to?" I answered.

The phone clicked; Niki had hung up on me. It was as simple as that. I had never pegged Danielle Halbrook as the type who needed to be told she looked good. She seemed like she was more sure of herself than that. I realized why she was upset. At least I knew.

I walked back to the door to her room and finally knocked. She was moving around in there. Dani opened the door and leaned into the doorway. I smiled at her. There was no smile on her face. She didn't seem like she wanted me to be at her door. Well, it was still technically my door, but I didn't care about that.

"I'm sorry," I said.

She crossed her arms and stared at me. I nodded slowly and decided that the girl in my guest room wasn't going to let me off the hook easily. I crossed my arms and mimicked her stance. That got a smile out of her.

"Danielle, you were pretty in the dress. I was just annoyed with what Niki said, and I forgot to say anything," I told her. "I thought you knew you looked good."

"Well, good thing you don't want to get married," smiled Dani. "I don't think I could marry someone like you."

She smirked and closed the door in my face. I couldn't figure out if she was being serious or not. The girl was going to drive me crazy in a good way. I could hear her laughing in the room and opened the door to continue this conversation. She wasn't going to get to leave it at that.

"What? I think I'd be a great husband. I'm already good with kids," I told her.

Dani shook her head. I walked around the bed and hugged her. She was apparently cleaning her room as though she was getting ready to leave. I wondered if she had made up with Hope yet. I wouldn't tell her this, but I wanted her to stay with me.
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