I'll Be Okay

“Mathew, this is my date Lindsey. Lindsey, this is my manager Matt.” “Johnny, how’s it going, mate? This is my date Lindsey. Lindsey, this is Johnny. He’s in the band Johnny Rush.” “Lindsey, meet the Amazing Four; Amanda, Hope, Meredith, and Jacqueline. Girls, this is my date, Lindsey.” “Jackson, mate! This is my date, Lindsey. Lindsey, Jackson Stevens.”

“I think my head’s going to explode.” I turned toward Jenn and nodded softly, running a hand through my messy curls. We were standing in the corner of the room, glasses of wine in our hands. Gio and Emily wandered over, glasses in their hands as well. “How do you remember all of their names?” Jenn asked them, and Gio just giggled.

“We don’t. When Tom says, ‘You remember so-and-so, yeah?’ I just nod and say ‘It’s great seeing you again’ even though I don’t remember ever meeting them.” The four of us broke out into quiet giggles, catching the attention of a few people around us. Shrugging our shoulders, we took sips of our drinks. “So, I hear you’re Danny’s date.” Gio spoke softly, raising her eyebrow. I nodded slowly,

“Well, that is what I am, huh?” I said, and she just rolled her eyes. Jenn grunted from beside me and I looked over, her hands out on her waist. “I know, let whatever happens, happen.” I muttered, looking away.

“I’m just surprised he’s letting you hang out with us right now. He’s literally had his arm wrapped around you all night. You won’t be just a ‘date’ for too much longer, I reckon. Your attraction towards one another will burst eventually-” Emily spoke but my attention was elsewhere. My eyes fell on the other side of the room, the same person we were speaking of talking to the rest of the band and some older man. The four of them laughed loudly, the man towering over them as he smiled. Danny was still laughing as he looked over at me and then back at the band, before his eyes found mine once more. His smile grew and I felt a smile tug at my cheeks. Fingers snapped in my vision and I tore my eyes from Danny’s, looking over at Jenn as she raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t hear a single word we just said, did you?” She asked, and I blushed. I looked over at Danny from behind my hair and he was still looking over at me before Dougie tapped his shoulder, his attention averted. Looking back at my three friends, they shook their heads with small smiles. “Someone is seriously smitten.”

*`*

“Goodnight,” I called over my shoulder, waving to the girls as they hurried into their boyfriend’s flats. I turned and stepped into Danny’s, closing the door tight behind me. Placing my purse on the table to my left, I shrugged off my little jacket before I took a seat on the couch. Pulling off both shoes, I sat back and let out a huge sigh, my feet finally free. Danny emerged from his bedroom, and he was still wearing his suit but without the jacket. I stood up, watching as he tried to untie the tie, but he only caused a knot.

“Help?” He muttered, dropping his arms with a defeated sigh. I giggled as I walked over to him, placing my hands on the thin tie. I started to pull the knot free, keeping my eyes focused so I wouldn’t get distracted. I was standing very close to him, and my hands started to tremble slightly as he placed his hands on my waist, steadying me. “Feet hurt?” He asked, assuming that the fact that I was wobbling was because of my feet. Sure, let’s go with that. I looked up at him and instantly, I knew it was a mistake.

“Uh, yep.” I muttered. Our eyes met and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. I had to turn my head up to look at him and I felt his breath on my face instantly. My hands froze and I felt my cheeks grow warm. His left hand rose and tucked a stand of hair behind my right ear, the curls flowing effortlessly down my back. His hand ran along my cheek, down to my neck, shoulder, and my extended arm, landing on the hand placed on his chest. Our eyes never left one another’s and I felt my heart beat repeatedly into my chest. Our trance broke when someone knocked on the door, my eyes falling back to his tie. Danny dropped his hands and I quickly pulled the knot free, pulling the tie completely off of his neck. Unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt, Danny smiled down at me softly.

“Thanks, love,” he spoke quietly and I just nodded with a smile. He turned to answer the door and I quickly ran into his room, closing the door behind me as I took a deep breath. I leaned my head back on the door and shook my head, a small smile playing on my lips. I wandered over to my suitcase and pulled out a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, tossing them onto Danny’s bed. I reached behind me to unzip my dress but my arms weren’t long enough. Growing impatient, I sighed loudly and crossed my arms over my chest. “Lindsey?” I turned toward the door as Danny shouted through it, knocking lightly. I reached forward and pulled the door open, revealing a very shirt-less Danny.

“What the hell happened to you?” I giggled, raising an eyebrow. His chest was dripping some sort of liquid that was also in his hair. He just shook his head with a small smile.

“Dougie thought it’d be funny to drench me in lemonade. Don’t ask.” He chuckled and I just laughed, shaking my head. He walked toward his closet and stepped in as I pulled my hair into a ponytail, the curls still running past my shoulders. Reaching behind me again, I tried to reach for the zipper. “Need help?” Behind me, Danny reached forward and moved my hand aside, gripping the zipper in his left hand. His other hand was placed firmly on my back to make sure the dress didn’t fall. I wrapped my arms tight around my chest as he slowly pulled the zipper down, my face burning. The end of the zipper met the top of my bottom and I breathed softly, my back completely exposed. His hand lingered at the zipper, his fingertips running along my back slowly. I turned, my eyes catching his as he looked down at me. Dropping his hand, his cheeks rose in a smile. “I have to shower to get the lemonade out of my hair.” He spoke and I just nodded softly.

“Thank you.” He disappeared into the bathroom and I let out a staggered breath. I closed the bedroom door and quickly changed, the dress lying on his bed as I pulled on the shorts and tank top. I ventured out into the kitchen and pulled a glass out of his cupboard and filled it with water. I heard the shower start and I smiled softly to myself, the spot on my back where he has touched still covered in goose bumps. Another knock sounded on the front door and I raised an eyebrow before I looked through the peephole, my cousin staring back at me. “What’s up?” I asked, pulling the door open wide.

“I forgot to grab this when we got back. Danny had me switch over all of your information yesterday when he bought it.” She said, smiling wide as she handed me a black box. I looked at her questionably and she just grinned. “Have fun! But not too much fun!” She disappeared into Harry’s apartment, leaving me confused with the black box in my hands. Closing the door behind me, I ventured into Danny’s room, pulling the covers over me as I sat against the pillows. I heard the shower shut off as I pulled off the lid, a blank white box staring me in the face.

“Damn it,” I heard Danny curse from inside the bathroom, and I looked up at the door quickly before I pulled open the white box. My mouth dropped open just as Danny stepped out, a white towel hanging around his waist. I looked up and our eyes met, my cheeks pink as I realized the only thing covering him up was a towel. But when I looked back in the white box, I felt my cheeks flush all over again.

“You bought me a new cell phone?” I whispered, pulling out the beautiful, new iPhone. Our eyes met once more and I felt my smile grow. “You didn’t have to, you know. I was going to go out and buy one…eventually…” My voice trailed off and I sighed happily, looking up at him again. While I was rambling, he had pulled on a pair of sweatpants, his bare chest facing me completely.

“I wanted to, love. Now I can actually keep in touch with you when I’m out with the lads at an interview or something.” He shrugged, like it was the simplest thing in the world. That only caused me to smile even more. He’s seriously perfect. I hopped up from the bed and quickly pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight to me. His arms wrapped around me, his chest still damp from the shower. Grinning down at me, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

“Thank you, Danny. I really appreciate it.” I whispered, quickly pecking his cheek. I turned then, my cheeks growing inflamed once more. Danny chuckled before he stepped back into his closet, probably looking for a clean shirt.

“Stop thanking me, love. I would do anything for you.” He spoke softly, and I gulped. I pressed the ‘power’ button and my new phone quickly came to life. I waited for it to load and when I unlocked it, the background picture was of me and Danny… from tonight. It was when we were on the drive back from the party. His arm was around my waist and my hand was on his chest, huge smiles on our faces. My eyes were on Dougie as he told us a joke, my hair a frizzy mess; but Danny’s eyes were locked on me. Jenn must have taken it with her phone and sent it to my new phone when we got back. I felt my lips pull into a smile and that’s when my eyes caught sight of something in the white box beside me.

“Oh…my…” I felt the knot form in my throat and my eyes began to water. Placing my phone beside the box, I picked up the bracelet slowly. White and pink diamond balls wrapped around the wire and hanging in the middle was the pink breast cancer ribbon. My free hand went up to cup my mouth and a tear ran down my cheek, past my chin, down my neck, and disappeared into my tank top. “I…” I muttered, turning as Danny appeared beside me. He took the bracelet from me slowly, before he placed it on my right wrist, where the other one had sat. More tears slipped down my cheek and my hand stayed cupping my mouth.

“You were saying that you lost the one you bought for your mum, so I thought you’d want a new one. I’m not trying to replace the fact that the other one was your mums, I just thought…” he paused, his eyes still glued to the sparkling bracelet, my arm in the air, limp. “I just thought that it’d be a good idea to get you a new one. But this time, it’d be from me. Representing your mum; but from me.” He whispered, almost afraid for my reaction.

“I…” I’ve never had someone do something like this for me before; something so thought, so genuine, and just plain perfect. My heart nearly exploded and I felt my breathing pick up. More tears fell and I knew that these were happy tears, because he’s done something so special; just for me. He took time out of his day to do something for me. And I knew at this exact moment, that my friends were right. Everyone was right. I’m completely, no doubt in my mind, so unbelievably in love with Danny Jones. And it’s not just a reaction from his gifts, no. I’ve loved him all along. Ever since the day he decided in his mind to help me. Just the fact that he thought about me enough to stop what he’s doing and buy me something so unbelievably thoughtful shows that maybe, just maybe, he feels the same way. Danny’s eyes grew wide at my reaction.

“I’m so sorry, Lindsey. I didn’t mean to offend you-” he didn’t get to finish his sentence as I threw my arms around his neck, my lips finding his immediately. He wasted no time, wrapping his arms around my waist to keep my steady. His left hand rose up, wiping my stray tears, our eyes closed tight. I felt like my heart was beating out of control, goose bumps erupting all over my body. Our chests were touching, my hands placed on his upper chest, my right hand placed firmly on his erratic heart. I pulled away to catch my breath and our eyes met. Both of our breathing was heavy, trying to catch the slightest bit of breath. “Wow.” He whispered, and I smiled shyly. A huge grin appeared on his lips and he wiped away a few stray tears. “I was wondering how long it would take for us to kiss. But I never thought you’d make the first move.” He chuckled, and I just smiled happily at him.

“You were taking too long.” I smiled and then my eyes found my bracelet again. My eyes watered once more and I sighed happily, turning my head as Danny reached over and placed the boxes and my cell phone on the bedside table. He quickly roamed around his apartment to close things up and I slipped under the blankets. Lying on my back, I turned my head to watch as Danny waltzed into the room, turning off the light before he jumped on the bed, crawling over to me. He quickly crawled on top of me, the blanket the only material between us and I felt my heart beat against my chest. He leaned down and caught my lips with his.

“Does that mean I get to do this whenever I want?” he whispered, pecking my lips a few more times before leaning back, smiling down at me shyly. Unable to form words, I nodded with a smile. “Brilliant.” He kissed me a few more times before he rolled over, slipping under the blankets. He turned on his side, facing me as I turned as well, my eyes still damp from a few moments earlier. All the lights were off but I could see him perfectly because of the moonlight shining through his windows. He lifted his hand and ran his fingertips along my cheeks, wiping the rest of my tears. “You are so beautiful. Even when you cry.” He whispered and I blushed furiously. He leaned over and our lips meant once more, causing a million butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I placed my hand on the back of his neck and I pulled him closer before I pulled away, smiling shyly at him. “Goodnight,” he murmured, pecking my lips before wrapping his arms around me, burying me into his chest.

“Goodnight, Danny.” I whispered softly, closing my eyes as a grin formed on my lips.