Tumble and Fall

Ryan woke up before Danni the next morning, running a hand through his short dark hair. She was curled against his side, her leg tossed over his and his ankles hooked around hers. Her hair fanned out over his arm and he brushed a stray piece that fell over her eyes back behind her ear.

Danni groaned. “What time is it?” she asked, her voice muffled by his chest as she buried her face against him. One because it was nice to snuggle against him but two because she was slightly mortified that she had spent the night with a guy she had just met. They hadn’t been together like that, but still.

Okay, it had only been a movie but she stayed the night. And sure, he was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and she was positive he wasn’t a serial killer but they were still strangers. Her brain yelled at her for even climbing in his booth the night before but her heart overruled, shutting her brain down and fluttering when Ryan moved, squeezing his arm around her.

Yep; she was definitely going to fall in love.

“Ten thirty,” Ryan answered.

“Don’t you have practice or something?”

“That started an hour ago.”

“Are you going to be in trouble?”

“No; I can’t practice because of my shoulder anyways.”

“Oh. Well then I’m hungry.”

“I can make you breakfast.”

“Oh you can, can you?” She asked, peering up at him.

Ryan nodded and lifted his arm from around Danni. He already missed the feel of her around him as he sat up and swung his legs off the bed. He knew with certainty as his heart thumped in his chest that even though he barely knew Danni, he was going to fall in love with her. It was crazy; he had just broken up with a girl not two days ago and here he was, with a girl he barely knew in his bed, in his clothes, and all he could think about was how to keep her there.

“I’m a very good cook,” he bragged.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Stay right here; I’ll bring you breakfast in bed.”

Danni smiled and snuggled under his covers. “That doesn’t sound too bad. I’ll be waiting.”

“You can take a shower if you want,” Ryan offered. “I think Bre left some stuff behind.” He immediately began to backtrack. “I mean, there should be some body wash I got that isn’t axe...” he trailed off.

Danni threw the covers off of her and hopped from the bed to stand in front of Ryan. “Is that her name, Bre?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to -”

Danni cut him off with a kiss. She was getting good at that and Ryan didn’t mind. She pulled back from him with a smile. “It only happened two days ago. It’s okay. And we haven’t talked about our exes yet; that could be really fun.”

Ryan frowned. “Bre is my only ex. We started dating when we were like sixteen.”

“So four years together, huh?” Ryan nodded. “Well, it’s her loss then. She’s the idiot that cheated on you. I bet you remember every anniversary, first date, first kiss and I bet you sent her flowers just because. I bet you’re like the worlds best boyfriend, because you have to do everything right.”

Ryan’s heart swelled in his chest and he couldn’t help but smile. “How do you always say the right thing?” he asked.

“It’s a gift,” Danni replied. “I just say the first thing that comes to mind and say it, no filter. This gets me into trouble from time to time but mostly it works out. Now, I believe you promised me breakfast.” She pushed Ryan towards the door and he grabbed a shirt as he went. Danni snatched it back from him. “I didn’t say anything about wearing a shirt.” She shoved him through the door and closed it behind him. He heard her laugh and the lock click and he walked into the kitchen shaking his head.

Justin returned home about twenty minutes later, just as Ryan finished making his famous french toast. “I’m starving, dude,” he announced, grabbing a piece from the top of stack and shoving it into his mouth. He spoke with his mouth full and Ryan ignored him, instead returning to cutting the fruit before him.

“I asked you a question,” Justin said.

“I was ignoring you.”

“Quit trying to break my heart. I know you love me. Who was that girl last night?”

“That’s Danni.”

“And?” he prompted.

Ryan set the knife he was using aside and stared back at Justin. “And what?”

“And where did she come from? How did you meet her? Did she stay the night or did you show her out after Ebs and Hallsy left? Did you fuck her? Did you at least get a BJ?”

“You are very crass,” Danni said as she entered the room, sliding onto one of the bar stools at the kitchen island. “What kind of a girl do you think I am? Did I fuck him. I never!” she huffed. Ryan’s eyes slid to hers and she winked at him before leaning across and stealing a strawberry from the plate and popping it into her mouth and turning her attention to Justin as she chewed. Ryan took the moment to look her over, noting with a smile that she was wearing the same skirt as last night but had paired it with one of his v-neck shirts, tucked into her skirt. He couldn’t help but notice the way her breasts puckered the front of his shirt in two hard points and he turned away before he blushed again or she caught him staring. He saw Justin’s eyes dip down and Danni noticed, reaching out and tipping his face back to meet hers.

“Furthermore,” Danni told him sternly, “you can’t just ask things like did you at least get a BJ. That is seriously low class. What kind of girls do you hang around? You might want to look into raising your standards if the girls you meet just give you head as soon as you meet them. They’re certainly not take home to mom material.” She turned to Ryan. “Did you make french toast?” He nodded and she clapped. “I love french toast. Do have powdered sugar?”

“I'm one step ahead of you,” Ryan answered, pointing to a bowl on the other counter beside the syrup and butter.

“You keep playing your cards right Nugie and you might get that BJ yet.” He blushed and Justin laughed.

“Who are you and can we keep you?”

“Who are you?” Danni retorted.

“Justin Schultz. Defense, number 19. Canadian, Twenty two years old," he rattled off, sticking his hand out to Danni. She shook it as she answered him.

“Danni Reid. American, just graduated college, presently unemployed, also twenty two. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Do you have friends?”

“Do I have friends? What? I look so desperate for companionship I settled for Ryan or something?”

“No, you’re cute and I’m hoping you have cute friends too.”

“Well I certainly wouldn't set them up with you if I did. You expect sex on the first date, or at least a BJ.”

“So you two went on a date?”

“No we did not.”

“Then what was last night?” Justin asked, stealing fruit from the plate Ryan had fixed.

“Two friends hanging out.”

“You two known each other awhile? Because I can’t remember Nuge every mentioning his friend Danni,” he countered.

“We just met thankyouverymuch,” Danni answered. “And I happen to be letting him take me out on a date tonight.”

“You are?” Ryan asked in surprise.

“You are?” Justin asked in shock.

“Rematch, Ry. Remember?”

“Oh yeah,” he stuttered.

“Rematch?” Justin asked. “Rematch for what?”

“That is not your business Mr. Schultz," Danni told him as Ryan fixed two plates.

“Why are you wearing Ryan’s clothes?”

“It’s just his t-shirt; everything else is mine.”

"Why are you wearing his shirt?"

"Because its clean and I didn't want to put dirty clothes on after I showered."

"But you have on dirty underwear."

"No I don't." Ryan coughed, trying to cover as he choked on a sip of orange juice and Justin's mouth fell open.

"Come on," Ryan finally managed, balancing both plates of food as Danni stood and grabbed the two glasses of orange juice Ryan had poured.

"Nice chat, Justin," Danni called over her shoulder as Ryan led the way to his room. She sat with her legs folded under her in the middle of his bed and he set one plate in her lap before joining her, facing her and crossing his legs Indian style.

They ate in silence, Ryan contemplating how exactly to ask her out tonight when she beat him to it. “So you’ll pick me up at say six? We can grab dinner and then mini golf. Or we can mini golf first and then eat, your choice.”

“Dinner first,” Ryan replied. “Where do you want to go?”

“There is a place I heard about that I’d like to try. DaDeO?”

“I don’t know it,” Ryan admitted. “But I know someone who might.” He grabbed his phone and sent a text message to Sam Gagner.

Do you know a restaurant called DaDeO?

I do. It’s really good Cajun place down on Whyte. Why?

No reason.

Want to amend that? Hallsy wouldn’t shut up about the hot girl who was with you last night. Who is she?

Just a friend. She wants to go there but I’ve never been.

Is this a date?

I think so.

You’re not sure?

She told Schultzy it was.

First date?

Yeah.

It’ll be a fun place for a first date. It’s kinda like an old school diner, retro. Girls love that kind of shit so you’ll be golden. So, did she stay the night with you? Hallsy said she was still there when him and Ebs left....

Thanks for your help, Sam.

Ryan dropped his phone beside him, even as Sam continued to text him, choosing to ignore him. Danni looked at his buzzing phone and then at Ryan.

“Is there a reason we’re ignoring your phone?”

“Sam wants to know about you. Hallsy told everyone you were here last night and I don’t want to answer his questions.”

“What was he asking? Did he want to know if you got laid too?”

His cheeks pinked and he shook his head no. “He wanted to know if we were going out on a date tonight.”

“Did you tell him yes?”

“I told him that you told Schultzy it was,” he offered lamely.

“It’s a date if you want it be, Ryan. I know you just broke up with your girlfriend but I rather enjoyed myself last night.”

“Me too. I mean, I had fun last night and I’d like to take you out on a date also. My breakup was inevitable; It’s been over for awhile but I guess it was just comfortable, you know?”

“It must be hard to meet girls and not know whether they’re into you or your money and fame. I can assure you that I just felt bad for you; you looked so lonely and miserable. Like I said last night, you looked like you needed a friend and that’s all I was offering. Once I started getting to know you though, well, I started to like you.”

“Why?”

“Why what? Why do I like you?” Ryan nodded. “Well for starters you let me take you out of a restaurant without paying,” she teased. “But beyond that, you’re a really nice guy, we have a lot in common, I enjoyed being around you and talking and laughing and I found that I really wanted to spend more time with you, no matter what the reason. Oh, and you’re cute. That doesn’t hurt your cause.”

“We should go back today and pay,” Ryan started.

“Hell no!” Danni laughed. “That defeats the purpose of dine and dash!”

“We’re not doing that again.”

“I promise that I will never dine and dash again.”

“Let me see your hands.” Danni held them in front of her and repeated her promise and Ryan smiled. “Now I can safely take you out tonight.” She giggled and leaned across, placing her hands on his thighs and kissing him. She caught him by surprise but he reached out and held her arms in his hands to steady her.

"Just so you know,” Ryan said as he pulled back from her, “I don't like you for your money and fame either, just you.”

"Oh thank God!" Danni said, clutching her heart and sitting back. "I was really worried about that."

“So what about you?” Ryan asked, grabbing their empty plates and setting them on the nightstand beside his bed.

“What about me?”

“Your ex. You know about mine and you said we could trade stories.”

“Ah, you remembered that. Well, I’ve had two serious boyfriends in my life. One was in high school; we were together our sophomore and junior years. Total puppy love. The other was the last year and a half in college. We broke up about a month ago. We had the same major and took a lot of the same classes and one day he asked me to coffee and we started dating. We moved in together before the start of this last year.”

“What happened?”

“He had a girlfriend back home he was engaged to; happened over the summer while I was with my family and he was home with his for a few weeks. I found out when she came to visit unannounced.”

“Are you serious?”

Danni nodded. “So even though I didn't have the distance thing to deal with, I understand how much it hurts finding out that you’re not the only one when they’ve been the only one.” Ryan reached across and laced his fingers with Danni’s giving her a hand a squeeze.

“He’s an idiot,” Ryan told her. “You’re too good for him anyways.”

“Thanks, Ry,” she smiled. He smiled back and they sat in the silence until Ryan’s phone started going off again. Danni grabbed for it and slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.

“Ryan’s phone, this is Danni.”

“Hi, Danni. This is Sam.”

“Hello, Sam. What can I do for you today?”

“Are you the girl Hoppy brought home last night?”

“Hoppy?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at Ryan.

Sam chuckled. “On account of his two last names, some guys call him Hoppy, some guys call him Nuge. Which camp do you fall in?”

“I call him Nugie but if I hear that you call him that or tease him about me calling him that, well then I’ll have to kick your ass. I can do it too. I’m like a ninja; you’ll never know what hit you.”

“For you, I promise not to tell anyone or tease him.”

“That’s a good boy,” Danni said.

“But first you have to answer my question. Are you the girl Hoppy brought home last night?”

“Yes but in his defense, I invited myself so he only brought me here against his will.”

“Are you hot? Hallsy says you’re hot.”

“Ryan, Sam wants to know if I’m hot,” Danni said, locking eyes with him. He blushed and Danni giggled. “I’ll be right back, Sam. Talk to Ryan.” She passed the phone to Ryan and jumped from the bed, walking out to the living room to find Justin. He was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal and looked up when he heard Danni’s footsteps.

“I need a favor,” Danni said to him.

“Do we know each other well enough to be asking for favors?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then," he agreed quickly.

Danni grinned and pointed at his cell phone. “Take my picture.”

“Why?”

“Sam wants to know if I’m hot. Did Taylor really tell people I’m hot?”

“Yeah, he told the guys you’re hot.”

“Sam asked me if I was hot, like maybe Taylor really isn't the best judge of a woman’s looks.”

“Hallsy thinks anything with boobs and a pussy is hot, especially if it will fuck him.”

“So he’s a slut?”

“Kind of.”

Danni nodded. “Do you think I’m hot?”

“You’re not bad,” he shrugged.

“See? This is bonding, Justin.”

“Is that what it is?”

“Yep. Now take my picture and send it to Sam.”

“Are you for real?”

“Yes. But first....do you have a paper bag?”

“Uh, in the kitchen I think?”

“Perfect.” She walked into the kitchen and found one on top of the fridge. She pulled it down and opened several drawers before she came up with a sharpie. Justin got off the couch and into the kitchen,watching her as she drew on the bag before pulling it over her head. “How do I look?”

“Hot,” Justin laughed. He snapped a picture and Danni took the bag off of her head and looked over Justin’s shoulder.

“That is so perfect. Send it.”

“I'm on it.”

Danni kissed his cheek. "Thanks Justin.”

“No problem.” She headed back towards Ryan's room and stopped, turning to look back at him.

“You’re not bad either. You have great eyebrows and very nice eyes. Don’t look at me directly in the eye though; I might fall in love with you instead of Ry.”

She heard him laugh as she continued on her way, entering Ryan's room and sitting down next to him to where he had moved up the bed, leaning back against the wall.

“Hang on, Hoppy, I’m getting a text,” Sam said. He pulled his phone away from his ear, seeing the message was from Justin and clicking it open. He burst into laughter and Ryan looked to Danni.

“What did you send Sam?” Ryan asked.

“Who says I did anything?” Danni asked innocently.

“I love your new girlfriend!” Sam crowed when he came back on the line.

“She’s not-” Ryan began before Sam cut him off.

“She had Justin send me a picture of her. Tell her I said she is definitely hot.”

“Sam says you’re hot,” Ryan said to her. Danni grinned, looking up from her phone. She turned it to show him what she was doing, which was at that moment googling Sam Gagner.

“Tell him I said he's hot too,” she replied.

“Hoppy, she has a bag over her head! It’s fantastic! Is she coming with you tomorrow?”

“I, um...”

“Just ask her to come. She can sit with you in the box. It’s allowed.”

“Uhhh.”

“You are so hopeless, Hoppy. Put her on the phone.”

“No, I’ll do it.”

“Now.”

“Later.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Ryan hung up and Danni turned her attention to him. “I should probably get out of here,” she said, climbing from the bed. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“Do you need a ride?”

“No, I’ll be fine. It’s supposed to be a nice day; I could use the exercise.”

“Um...should I get your number?” he asked nervously.

“What’s your number?” she asked. He rattled it off to her and seconds later he felt it vibrate in his hands with a text message from her.

“Where should I pick you up?”

“I’m staying at a hostel on 81st.”

“I’ll find it,” he promised. She bent down and kissed his cheek.

“See you later, Nugie!” She started for the door but he called out to her and she stopped, looking back at him.

He scrambled off the bed. “I should walk you out.”

“If you insist. I’m pretty sure I won’t get lost though.”

“I want to,” he said confidently. She nodded and slipped her hand into his. “Be back in a second,” he said to Justin.

“Later, Danni. Don’t be a stranger!” Justin called out.

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” she called back before Ryan shut the door behind them. They rode the elevator down the building's lobby and Danni hugged him, kissing his cheek again. “See you later.”

“Six?”

“Six.” She waved as she headed out, turning left and disappearing from view. Ryan rode back upstairs and entered his place.

“So, you have a date tonight?” Justin asked. Ryan nodded. “Do you know where you’re taking her?”

“Yeah, we already decided.”

“Do you know what you're doing?”

“Not a clue.”