Dirty Little Secrets

--John--

“John, this is getting out of hand,” my mom said from my doorway as I lied on my bed motionless. “Fine. Don’t listen to me. Just drink your life away.”

“Go...away...” I mumbled as she shut my door.

It’s been over a year since Danny and I broke up. And Daisy turned two about a week ago.

“Yes he’s here, but he’s completely intoxicated,” I heard my mom say then a few moments later, Jared and Eric burst through my door.

“John, do you want Danny back or not?” Jared asked me and punched my arm a couple of times.

“What?”

“Do you want to get her back?”

I looked at him from under my pillow. “Why? Did she say she wanted to get back together or something?”

“She wants to. But she doesn’t know it yet,” Eric chimed in. I scrunched up my eyebrows. “Some girls need to be chased, Johnny!”

I turned my head the opposite direction. “How do you suppose I go about doing that?”

“She’s at a Christmas party tonight with that Dirk guy and you’re going to find her under some mistletoe.”

“So we’re going to crash some random Christmas party?”

“Let’s just say we know some people that know some people,” Jared said slyly.

--Danny--

I got out of the car and Dirk had his arm out for me to loop mine through.

“So why didn’t Jordan come out?” I asked.

“Oh, she stayed in LA to be with her family. I mean, we don’t need to spend every waking moment with each other.”

“Doesn’t she ever worry about you being out here with me all the time?”

He looked at me like I was stupid. “Jordan loves you, Danny. Besides, she knows we’re just best friends.” We rang the doorbell and a tall, slender man with a mustache opened the door for us.

“Welcome! Make yourselves right at home,” he gave us a smile and Dirk’s friend Sean came around the corner.

“Dirk!” He exclaimed and bro-hugged him. “And this must be your plus-one, Danny?”

“It sure is. You know, I find it hilarious that you and your family are Jewish yet you throw Christmas parties.”

“Well all of our friends celebrate Christmas and... And it’s none of your business, Dirk! Sammy!” He said loudly and walked in a different direction.

“He’s quite a character,” I said to him and Dirk slightly shoved me. “John?” I said quietly.

“What?” Dirk asked.

I looked across the room at a tall, skinny guy with long, dirty blonde hair. He had his back turned to where I couldn’t see his face. He suddenly turned around and had a smile on his face that lit up the whole room.

“Danny, are you okay?” Dirk asked and waved his hand in front of my face.

“Yeah, I’m just... I thought that was someone who I know.” I ceased to take my eyes off of him. He looked directly at me and I immediately turned red and put my head down.

“Who? Oh... I see.” I looked up at Dirk’s cheeky smile. “You’re so red!”

“Shut up, he looked right at me.”

“Is there a problem? Does Danny like what she sees?” He playfully shoved my arm then I punched him hard enough to let him know I was embarrassed. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”

“He’s...seriously attractive,” I confessed.

“He must think the same about you; he keeps looking over here. He probably thinks we’re dating.”

“Wait, he keeps looking over here?!”

“Geez, Danny, I’ve never seen you like this before. You’re like a teenage girl all over again.”

“I know, I know. I’m 21 I shouldn’t be acting this way. But when he made eye contact with me, I don’t know. He made the school girl in me come out.”

“Go talk to him. You’re not gonna get him to go home with you if you keep standing over by me all night.”

“Dirk...”

“I know. Shut up.”

Regardless, I walked towards the kitchen to get myself a drink. I pulled a beer out of the cooler and looked back over to where he was standing and he was no longer there. Damn it...

“I, uh, read that in a Seventeen magazine once,” I heard behind me. I jumped a little and turned around to see his face. “After you make eye contact with someone at a party and the girl goes to get a drink, you follow her.”

“You’re spilling all your secrets. I mean, we just met; are you sure you trust me?”

“I’ll let you slide. So how do you know the Silvermans?” He asked me as I handed him a beer.

“I don’t.”

“You just wandered in here?” He smiled and leaned against the counter.

“That’s me. Just a wanderer. A whisper in the wind.”

“Sounds mysterious.”

“Quite. No, Dirk brought me. He knows them somehow.”

“Is Dirk your-”

“Boyfriend? No. I’m quite the single lady.”

“What’s your name, single lady?”

“Danielle. Danny for short.”

He shook my hand. “Hi Danielle, nice to meet you. I’m Joel.”

“Nice to meet you too, Joel. So how do you know the, uh...”

“Silvermans? I’m in a band with them.”

“A band? You’re not the singer, are you?”

“And if I was?”

I smiled and shook my head. “Predictable.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You just look like a singer. You have that attractive, frontman kind of face.”

“Wow, you think I’m attractive?” He looked at me and I shrugged. “So now there’s two attractive people in the same room.”

We looked at each other before we both broke into a smile.

****

“Danielle, where have you been?” Dirk asked me and motioned for me to come stand next to him. “Did you let that boy take advantage of you?”

“No, Mom, we were just talking in the kitchen.”

“‘Talking?’ Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

I shrugged. “He’s nice. I like him.”

“If you play your cards right, maybe he’ll be your new baby-step-daddy. Stay right here, I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Thanks for the info.”

I took a seat on a bar stool a few feet away from where I was standing.

“Oh come on, you had to have planned this,” I heard beside me and I turned to see Joel. I gave him a confused look. “Don’t play dumb, Danielle.” He nodded once in the direction above my head and I saw some mistletoe.

“Oh geez. I swear...”

“It’s okay, if you didn’t get me over here, I would have done the same for you.”

“Joel, I get the feeling you like me a little bit.”

“I don’t. I like you a lotta bit.”

I giggled and he pulled me up off the stool, placed his hands on my neck and kissed me.

--John--

There she was, sitting under the mistletoe. It’s like she was waiting for me. I started making my way over to her but this guy started talking to her. I couldn’t see his face. She looked up at the mistletoe and looked back at the guy with a twinkle in her eye. Oh God... He reached for her hand and made her stand up and he kissed her.

I walked back outside to Eric and Jared who were waiting in Jared’s car.

“That was fast,” Eric observed once I slammed the door shut.

“Wait, where’s Danny?” Jared asked.

“She doesn’t want me back. Just trust me on that.”

Jared drove away and I looked out the window. I was stupid to think she’d be sitting around waiting for me anyways.