Sequel: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. ›
Goodnight, Beautiful.
10.
Bristol heard the sound of the bolt unlocking, but she didn’t bother sitting up. She was comfortably lying on the sofa with her legs dangling over the arm with a good Nora Roberts book in hand and a Reese’s Big Cup in her mouth. The night couldn’t possibly get any better.
Stepping inside, Daniel was happy to finally be back at home. His muscles immediately relaxed and head stopped hurting. Placing his bag down on the floor and peeling off his suit jacket, Bristol sat up and placed her book on the table. She eyed him carefully and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m not too happy with you right now.” She tried her best to keep the small smile from showing, but it was daunting task.
Daniel rolled his eyes, un-tucked his white shirt and flopped on the sofa next to Bristol. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and let out a breath of frustration. She grabbed his hand, examined his knuckles. They were just as she had expected; raw, scabbed and somewhat bloody.
“You promised the fight in Florida would be the only one.”
Bristol hated the fact she sounded like she was nagging. But, after much thought the night after she witnessed his fight on television in Florida, Bristol realized it somewhat worried her seeing Danny receive and deliver hard blows to the face.
“I know,” Dan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to him. He kissed her temple, savoring the scent of her coconut and orchid shampoo. “But he was really pissing me off and he asked if I wanted to fight. Daniel Carcillo does not turn the other cheek when challenged to fight.”
Sinking farther into his body, Bristol picked up his hand and placed small kisses to his sore knuckles. “I suppose Stuart had it coming. Besides, I happen to believe you had the edge. He was a bitch for pulling you down like that.”
Daniel snickered to himself. He knew her “Daniel, please don’t fight.” stage wouldn’t last long. He just wished he could show her how he use to fight in Phoenix. What he was doing in Philly, Daniel considered being bitch slapping.
“At least there wasn’t any blood.” She sighed.
When the Flyers had made an encore appearance in Chicago—and embarrassed the defending Stanley Cup team—Bristol had watched the screen from her box seat at the UC as Daniel and Jake Dowell went at it midway through the second. Although Daniel had won the fight, by her standards, he had been left with a nasty bloody nose. At the time Bristol, had been somewhat pleased to finally see the Broad Street Bully get his bully ass beat but now, she didn’t want to think about it.
Chief made his way from the bedroom to the front room where he jumped on the sofa and made himself comfortable in Daniel’s lap. He scratched at his head and the dog began to doze off…again. “How was he while I was gone?”
“Perfectly fine. I think he missed you, but, there’s no doubting I missed you more.” Bristol placed her head on his pectoral and took in a deep breath before letting it out. It had been a miserable six days for the two of them. But, with 2 out of 3 road victories, Dan considered it to be a rather successful trip.
“I missed you, too. Mike isn’t as good of a roommate as you are.”
Bristol smiled to herself and continued to play with his fingers. She kept herself from asking him if he had behaved; there was something inside telling her he had been a good boy. Looking at his watch, Daniel pushed a sleeping Chief off his lap as he squeezed Bristol’s thigh.
“It’s still early so, what do you say we get cleaned up and I take you out to one of my favorite restaurants?”
Bristol leaned up and pressed a deep, welcome home kiss to his lips. “I like that idea.”
---
Shimming her hips into a pair of light, blue jeans with small holes in the knees, Bristol buttoned them before securing a studded belt around her waist. She could smell Daniel’s body wash as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
It was hard to keep her eyes to herself as he entered the bedroom. Wet hair was tucked behind his ears and beads of hot water dripped down his chest. Bristol had begun to salivate, wishing he were her dinner instead.
He pulled a clean pair of boxers from his dresser before dropping the towel and sliding them on. Bristol’s ears began to glow a bright red.
“I feel you staring.” Daniel taunted as he liberally sprayed his chest with cologne.
She tried to come back with a smart-ass remake but, for the second time, Daniel had left her utterly speechless. Words struggled to escape her throat as she opened her mouth. Bristol smiled back when he gave her a goofy, toothless smile.
How could someone so bad ass be so adorable at the same time, she thought.
The mid-March air was warm enough to let Bristol and Dan dawn tee-shirts without hiding them under bulky sweatshirts (They each did bring one along, just incase they decided to walk around downtown after).
She sported a Guns ‘N Roses shirt, while he wore his treasured Van Halen tee. Walking down the streets of Philadelphia, they looked like a couple of former 80’s metal-heads, smitten for one another. Daniel held Bristol’s hand tight—fingers laced—while he had a pair of aviator glasses over his eyes and a Phillies ball cap over his damp head. When Bristol had asked him why he had worn the glasses and cap, Dan simply responded,
“I want to have a quiet evening out with my beautiful girl.”
Bristol swore she felt her heart melt.
She stared at him for a few moments before turning to look at the restaurant. It had been quite a far walk from where they had parked, but Bristol didn’t mind. It was nothing more than a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria.
“I know, it doesn’t look like much but—,”
“It looks fine. I’m in the mood for pizza.”
---
Bristol noted they knew him when a few of the staff members called him by name. The place may have been small and in a shady part of town, but the taunting scents circulating the air from the open kitchen told Bristol, Daniel knew a thing or two about pizza.
The couple squeezed into a booth set with the clichéd red/white checkered, plastic tablecloth and paper placemats with sketches of famous Italian landmarks.
“You want to stay away from the wine they have but, the vodka lemonades are really good.” Dan warned.
“Sounds good to me.”
Their waitress strutted over as he took off the glasses and hat, setting them aside. She had long, bleached blond hair that was tied up in a long tail and small, perky breasts. She didn’t even look old enough to order herself a vodka lemonade.
“Hey, Dan!”
“Hey, how’s it going, Tabby?”
“Same old, same old.” Her gaze fell upon Bristol and then back to Daniel. It did however last long enough for Bristol to see the look of disappointment mixed with anger. “Can I get you a drink?”
“The lady and I’ll have a vodka lemonade.”
The waitress Bristol now knew as Tabby, rested her hands on her small hips. “You want the usual?” Although they were in Philly, her Jersey accent was thick and dominate.
Dan burrowed his eyebrows. “We’ll think about it.”
It was now Bristol’s turn to cock her right eyebrow as the waitress walked away. “She’s got a crush on you.”
He leaned back, stretching an arm out on the top of the booth. She could see a day’s growth of whiskers on his jaw and his dark eyes lit with a special Carcillo humor. “What can I say? All women want my chiseled body.”
“The look in her eyes says she wants to break a bottle of Stoli over my head.”
Dan infamously dragged his top row of teeth over his bottom lip before leaning forward. “She’s only eighteen, just moved out here to Philly to peruse her dream of becoming some big-time model I think.”
Bristol nodded. “You should always have dreams at eighteen. And crushes on older men.”
“Did you have one?” He looked interested.
She nodded. “I married him. Then divorced him two and half years later after I found out he was ripping off the Chicago Board of Exchange. I may have lost thousands after my shares in Google were seized by the Feds, but, I’m happy now.”
There was no denying the small glint Bristol noticed in Daniel’s eye.
“Have you guys decided on what you want yet?” Tabby approached the table and set their drinks down. She didn’t once make eye contact with Bristol.
Daniel shook his head and Bristol asked, “What’s your usual?”
Her stomach had begun to growl and pang with hunger. “Black olives, sausage, hot peppers.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“Alright. Will you have Mario toss us a large?”
“Yep. You want me to put in an order of mozzarella sticks too?” It was the first time Bristol had noticed she had a sliver hoop in her nose. Watching Tabby brought her back to her own teenage years.
“Sure, we’ll share.”
Bristol tossed her thick mane of black, wavy hair behind her shoulders. She waited until Tabby was out of ear shot before she started speaking. “Does she get her poor heart broken every time you bring a girl here?”
Stirring his drink first, Daniel shook his head as he took a sip. “I don’t bring girls here.”
“Why’s that?” Bristol sucked the sweet drink out of the straw Tabby had tossed on the table.
“Because,” Daniel stared off for a minute as he thought about the right words to say. She didn’t know if that was a good thing.
“Most of the girls I’ve ‘dated’ would have dumped me on my ass in the street before we even walked in here. Until you, the types of girls I’ve caught are prissy and high-maintenance. Five-star kind of gals; the ones you just wanna bang and leave.”
Bristol cocked her head to the side. “I don’t know if I should be mad or—“
“No, don’t be. Bristol, you’re the best of both worlds to me. You’re perfectly comfortable with me taking you to a dump like this for pizza—without embarrassing me—but yet, I know I can take you to a fancy place and not only will you enjoy it but, you’ll be grateful. I don’t have to drop thousands of dollars to prove I’m good enough for you. You take me as I am; faults and all. It was really nice to come home this afternoon and find you on the couch, worried about my hand and kissing my knuckles.”
Bristol grabbed his hand and rubbed the rough scabs with the pad of her thumb. A few strands of hair fell across her neck as she leaned her head to the side. Her voice was low and felt an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I’ll always be here to kiss your knuckles.”
Stepping inside, Daniel was happy to finally be back at home. His muscles immediately relaxed and head stopped hurting. Placing his bag down on the floor and peeling off his suit jacket, Bristol sat up and placed her book on the table. She eyed him carefully and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m not too happy with you right now.” She tried her best to keep the small smile from showing, but it was daunting task.
Daniel rolled his eyes, un-tucked his white shirt and flopped on the sofa next to Bristol. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and let out a breath of frustration. She grabbed his hand, examined his knuckles. They were just as she had expected; raw, scabbed and somewhat bloody.
“You promised the fight in Florida would be the only one.”
Bristol hated the fact she sounded like she was nagging. But, after much thought the night after she witnessed his fight on television in Florida, Bristol realized it somewhat worried her seeing Danny receive and deliver hard blows to the face.
“I know,” Dan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to him. He kissed her temple, savoring the scent of her coconut and orchid shampoo. “But he was really pissing me off and he asked if I wanted to fight. Daniel Carcillo does not turn the other cheek when challenged to fight.”
Sinking farther into his body, Bristol picked up his hand and placed small kisses to his sore knuckles. “I suppose Stuart had it coming. Besides, I happen to believe you had the edge. He was a bitch for pulling you down like that.”
Daniel snickered to himself. He knew her “Daniel, please don’t fight.” stage wouldn’t last long. He just wished he could show her how he use to fight in Phoenix. What he was doing in Philly, Daniel considered being bitch slapping.
“At least there wasn’t any blood.” She sighed.
When the Flyers had made an encore appearance in Chicago—and embarrassed the defending Stanley Cup team—Bristol had watched the screen from her box seat at the UC as Daniel and Jake Dowell went at it midway through the second. Although Daniel had won the fight, by her standards, he had been left with a nasty bloody nose. At the time Bristol, had been somewhat pleased to finally see the Broad Street Bully get his bully ass beat but now, she didn’t want to think about it.
Chief made his way from the bedroom to the front room where he jumped on the sofa and made himself comfortable in Daniel’s lap. He scratched at his head and the dog began to doze off…again. “How was he while I was gone?”
“Perfectly fine. I think he missed you, but, there’s no doubting I missed you more.” Bristol placed her head on his pectoral and took in a deep breath before letting it out. It had been a miserable six days for the two of them. But, with 2 out of 3 road victories, Dan considered it to be a rather successful trip.
“I missed you, too. Mike isn’t as good of a roommate as you are.”
Bristol smiled to herself and continued to play with his fingers. She kept herself from asking him if he had behaved; there was something inside telling her he had been a good boy. Looking at his watch, Daniel pushed a sleeping Chief off his lap as he squeezed Bristol’s thigh.
“It’s still early so, what do you say we get cleaned up and I take you out to one of my favorite restaurants?”
Bristol leaned up and pressed a deep, welcome home kiss to his lips. “I like that idea.”
---
Shimming her hips into a pair of light, blue jeans with small holes in the knees, Bristol buttoned them before securing a studded belt around her waist. She could smell Daniel’s body wash as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
It was hard to keep her eyes to herself as he entered the bedroom. Wet hair was tucked behind his ears and beads of hot water dripped down his chest. Bristol had begun to salivate, wishing he were her dinner instead.
He pulled a clean pair of boxers from his dresser before dropping the towel and sliding them on. Bristol’s ears began to glow a bright red.
“I feel you staring.” Daniel taunted as he liberally sprayed his chest with cologne.
She tried to come back with a smart-ass remake but, for the second time, Daniel had left her utterly speechless. Words struggled to escape her throat as she opened her mouth. Bristol smiled back when he gave her a goofy, toothless smile.
How could someone so bad ass be so adorable at the same time, she thought.
The mid-March air was warm enough to let Bristol and Dan dawn tee-shirts without hiding them under bulky sweatshirts (They each did bring one along, just incase they decided to walk around downtown after).
She sported a Guns ‘N Roses shirt, while he wore his treasured Van Halen tee. Walking down the streets of Philadelphia, they looked like a couple of former 80’s metal-heads, smitten for one another. Daniel held Bristol’s hand tight—fingers laced—while he had a pair of aviator glasses over his eyes and a Phillies ball cap over his damp head. When Bristol had asked him why he had worn the glasses and cap, Dan simply responded,
“I want to have a quiet evening out with my beautiful girl.”
Bristol swore she felt her heart melt.
She stared at him for a few moments before turning to look at the restaurant. It had been quite a far walk from where they had parked, but Bristol didn’t mind. It was nothing more than a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria.
“I know, it doesn’t look like much but—,”
“It looks fine. I’m in the mood for pizza.”
---
Bristol noted they knew him when a few of the staff members called him by name. The place may have been small and in a shady part of town, but the taunting scents circulating the air from the open kitchen told Bristol, Daniel knew a thing or two about pizza.
The couple squeezed into a booth set with the clichéd red/white checkered, plastic tablecloth and paper placemats with sketches of famous Italian landmarks.
“You want to stay away from the wine they have but, the vodka lemonades are really good.” Dan warned.
“Sounds good to me.”
Their waitress strutted over as he took off the glasses and hat, setting them aside. She had long, bleached blond hair that was tied up in a long tail and small, perky breasts. She didn’t even look old enough to order herself a vodka lemonade.
“Hey, Dan!”
“Hey, how’s it going, Tabby?”
“Same old, same old.” Her gaze fell upon Bristol and then back to Daniel. It did however last long enough for Bristol to see the look of disappointment mixed with anger. “Can I get you a drink?”
“The lady and I’ll have a vodka lemonade.”
The waitress Bristol now knew as Tabby, rested her hands on her small hips. “You want the usual?” Although they were in Philly, her Jersey accent was thick and dominate.
Dan burrowed his eyebrows. “We’ll think about it.”
It was now Bristol’s turn to cock her right eyebrow as the waitress walked away. “She’s got a crush on you.”
He leaned back, stretching an arm out on the top of the booth. She could see a day’s growth of whiskers on his jaw and his dark eyes lit with a special Carcillo humor. “What can I say? All women want my chiseled body.”
“The look in her eyes says she wants to break a bottle of Stoli over my head.”
Dan infamously dragged his top row of teeth over his bottom lip before leaning forward. “She’s only eighteen, just moved out here to Philly to peruse her dream of becoming some big-time model I think.”
Bristol nodded. “You should always have dreams at eighteen. And crushes on older men.”
“Did you have one?” He looked interested.
She nodded. “I married him. Then divorced him two and half years later after I found out he was ripping off the Chicago Board of Exchange. I may have lost thousands after my shares in Google were seized by the Feds, but, I’m happy now.”
There was no denying the small glint Bristol noticed in Daniel’s eye.
“Have you guys decided on what you want yet?” Tabby approached the table and set their drinks down. She didn’t once make eye contact with Bristol.
Daniel shook his head and Bristol asked, “What’s your usual?”
Her stomach had begun to growl and pang with hunger. “Black olives, sausage, hot peppers.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“Alright. Will you have Mario toss us a large?”
“Yep. You want me to put in an order of mozzarella sticks too?” It was the first time Bristol had noticed she had a sliver hoop in her nose. Watching Tabby brought her back to her own teenage years.
“Sure, we’ll share.”
Bristol tossed her thick mane of black, wavy hair behind her shoulders. She waited until Tabby was out of ear shot before she started speaking. “Does she get her poor heart broken every time you bring a girl here?”
Stirring his drink first, Daniel shook his head as he took a sip. “I don’t bring girls here.”
“Why’s that?” Bristol sucked the sweet drink out of the straw Tabby had tossed on the table.
“Because,” Daniel stared off for a minute as he thought about the right words to say. She didn’t know if that was a good thing.
“Most of the girls I’ve ‘dated’ would have dumped me on my ass in the street before we even walked in here. Until you, the types of girls I’ve caught are prissy and high-maintenance. Five-star kind of gals; the ones you just wanna bang and leave.”
Bristol cocked her head to the side. “I don’t know if I should be mad or—“
“No, don’t be. Bristol, you’re the best of both worlds to me. You’re perfectly comfortable with me taking you to a dump like this for pizza—without embarrassing me—but yet, I know I can take you to a fancy place and not only will you enjoy it but, you’ll be grateful. I don’t have to drop thousands of dollars to prove I’m good enough for you. You take me as I am; faults and all. It was really nice to come home this afternoon and find you on the couch, worried about my hand and kissing my knuckles.”
Bristol grabbed his hand and rubbed the rough scabs with the pad of her thumb. A few strands of hair fell across her neck as she leaned her head to the side. Her voice was low and felt an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I’ll always be here to kiss your knuckles.”