Love Is Only an Illusion

“What the hell just happened?”

“Obviously the power just went out.”

“Thank you, jackass. I meant when we- never mind.”

“When we what?”

“Drop it, Danny, and turn on your phone’s flashlight.”

Danny did as she said, shining the bright light in Sutton’s direction. She threw her hand up to shield her eyes. “Sorry,” he told her, setting the phone on the coffee table to allow the light to fill the room before returning to the arm chair.

“I’m texting Henley,” Sutton stated as her fingers quickly flew across the screen. She received a winky face from Henley in return. “Henley grosses me out sometimes. She just sent me a winky face when I told her the power went out.”

Danny’s phone vibrated. He looked at it and sighed, turning the phone back to its original position. “For whatever reason, she is obsessed with the idea that you need to have sex,” he proclaimed. The phone vibrated once more. “And Merritt thinks I need to.” He threw his head into his hands.

Sutton giggled lightly as she popped open the wine cooler can. “Jack is the only normal one out of those three.”

Danny’s shoulders stiffened slightly, but not enough for Sutton to notice. He thought back to earlier today when Sutton and Jack were laughing during their tickle battle. The flashback struck a chord in him now, and it was not one of annoyance like it once had been.

Danny took a swig of his alcoholic drink. “Why do you and Jack spend so much time together?” he blurted, quickly regretting it as he knew how stupid he sounded.

“He’s my best friend,” Sutton replied. “Didn’t we have this discussion once before?”

“Yeah, but why him? Like, you could have chosen any of us.”

Sutton shrugged as she took a drink. “I don’t know. Jack is my opposite in many cases.” Danny squinted at her. “Like, he is very outgoing and is filled with self-confidence. I, on the other hand, tend to keep to myself and am very self-conscious. I guess I like being around someone who isn’t like myself.”

Danny thought about what Sutton said for a minute. “So, you think we are a lot alike then?”

Sutton bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about it. Since the day they met, the similarities they shared had started to show themselves. “Exactly,” she smiled. “We really aren’t that much different, I suppose. Not like when we first met.”

Danny smiled, lifting the beer bottle to his lips. “You’re just lucky I share some of my control with you.”

Sutton rolled her eyes as she sipped the wine cooler. “Trust me, I would have got it sooner or later,” she declared, biting her lip.

Danny felt his jaw fall open. Watching Sutton’s beautifully imperfect teeth move across her bottom lip struck another chord within him, this one causing a deep sensation to flow throughout his body.

“You okay?” Sutton’s voice interrupted Danny’s thoughts. She lifted the wine cooler up to her lips again. Danny felt himself whimper. “Danny, seriously, are you okay? You’ve been staring at me for a good bit now which looks kind of creepy in this lighting.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Danny stuttered. “I was in a daze.” He cleared his throat as Sutton shrugged off his explanation. “Is the power ever coming back on?”

“I got an idea,” Sutton smirked. “Let’s play 20 questions.”

Danny scoffed. “What are you, 12?”

“Come on, Danny. There isn’t anything else to do.”

“Fine,” he huffed.

Sutton smiled. “So, Daniel, why have you been living on your own since you were 18?”

Danny sighed. “My senior year of high school, I told my parents that I didn’t want to go to college. I wanted to be a magician. Magic was the only thing I had throughout my life. It never left me when everything else seemed to.”

“That’s deep, Atlas,” Sutton mumbled into her drink.

Danny shrugged. Against his better judgement, he continued on with his story. “My parents weren’t happy about it. My dad always wanted me to go into criminal justice because it was what he wanted to do. He never did, though, because his dad wanted him to be a doctor.”

“That’s ironic.”

Danny chuckled. “Even though my mom begged me not to, I moved from that small town to the city. I haven’t regretted my decision since.”

Sutton sat in amazement. “Do you still talk to your mom?”

“Every now and then,” Danny confessed. “She probably won’t want much to do with me after we commit this heist.” Sutton chuckled. “Your turn. How did you and Henley get your start?”

Sutton drew in a breath. Even Henley didn’t know the truth behind Sutton’s decision to start performing with her. Could she trust Danny?

“I won’t tell,” Danny whispered, somehow reading her mind.

Sutton gave him a light smile, nodding. “Right before I planned on going to college, my parents announced that they were selling the family farm. They were selling it to my uncle, so we would have no say in what happened to it. It broke my heart to hear, and then they piled on even more by telling me that they were moving to Texas with my brother. He’s a longhorn breeder.” She looked over at Danny who stared back at her, fully inversed in her story. “When Henley called, she said that she left her job as your assistant and was going to start her own act. She asked if I would be interested. I had nothing left in Pennsylvania, so I left to become a ‘Reeves Girl.’”

Danny sucked in a breath. “Does Henley know that?”

Sutton shook her head. “You’re the only one I ever told. I never wanted her to worry.”

“Do you still talk to your parents?”

“I’m in the same boat as you,” she smiled sadly. “I miss my mom the most. That’s why I always wear this ring.” Sutton played with her rose gold jewelry, spinning it around her finger. “She gave it to me.”

Danny smiled as he watched her. Clearing his throat, he asked the next question. “Favorite animal and why?”

“Easy,” Sutton smiled, welcoming the question. “Penguin. Their exotic creatures, so I may never get to see one unless it is in captivity. They waddle, which is adorable. My favorite thing about them, though, is they mate for life. Did you know when a male penguin falls in love with a female penguin, he searches for the perfect pebble to give her as a way to say ‘I love you’?”

Although Danny heard every word that left her mouth, he wasn’t concerned with what she said. He watched the way her body composure changed and the excitement in her voice became wider as she talked about something so passionately. “That’s really interesting,” Danny told Sutton.

Sutton bit her lip as he stared at her. “Your turn.”

“I really like foxes,” he admitted. “They’re sly. They’re so quiet that their prey has a hard time hearing them. In TV shows and movies, they’re often portrayed as the “bad guy” because they’re cunning. I don’t know, I guess I can just relate to them.”

Sutton smiled as he finished. “I love that, Danny.” Danny blushed as Sutton cleared her throat. “What’s your favorite holiday?”

“Oh, I love Thanksgiving!” Danny admitted with a smile on his face. “It was the one day out of the year when my mom and dad actually came together to cook and bake.” His smile slowly faded. “It was like my life was actually normal for a change instead of constantly changing.”

“I know what you mean,” Sutton reassured him. “That was my mom and dad on Christmas. My mom actually made this French toast bake every morning. I would help her with it the night before.” Sutton sighed and gave Danny a small smile. “Would you believe that I never had a real tree for Christmas?”

“You only ever had an artificial tree?” Danny gasped.

Sutton chuckled. “My dad thought a new tree every year was a waste of money.”

“My dad thought that until my mom talked him into getting a real tree when I was seven. He never went back to the artificial ones,” Danny told her. Clearing his throat, Danny continued, “Okay, let’s get serious. How many men have you slept with?”

“1,” Sutton blurted.

“That’s such a lie,” Danny smiled, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

Sutton shook her head. “Nope. He was my boyfriend of 2 years, then a few months later cheated on me with my best friend.” Danny gave her a sympathetic look to which Sutton said, “Don’t apologize for his actions. I got over it. Your turn. How many women?”

Danny started counting on his fingers, his lips moving with no audible tone coming out of them. After ten, he restarted his count. “12,” he admitted, picking up his beer and taking a swig.

Sutton’s eyes grew. “12? Wow, I pity the girl who happens to be number 13.” Danny chuckled.

It was Sutton’s turn to ask the next question. She sat and thought about it while she sipped her wine cooler. An idea sparked her. “Have you ever felt more for a woman that a one-night stand just wouldn’t be enough?”

Danny thought about it for a long moment. Sutton watched as his jaw clenched and unclenched. She let out a long breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay,” Danny reassured her. “I’ll be honest, no, I haven’t.” He looked over at Sutton, his blue eyes meeting her green ones in the phone’s light. “I haven’t met a woman who really made me want to be with her for more than one night. I mean, women always want me to stay longer, you know? But I never wanted to because I never felt anything more than lust.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve never been in love.”

Sutton gave him a light smile as she patted his knee. “Don’t worry. After what I went through, I’m not even convinced that love exists anymore.”

“What?” Danny shrieked, surprised by her words.

Sutton leaned back into the couch and shrugged. “How can I? The person I loved took something that I can never get back, then turned right around and cheated on me. Danny, that’s something that you can’t easily come back from.”

“B-But you always sing songs about love.”

Sutton laughed. “It’s just words, Danny. I love to sing. Just because I may not believe in it doesn’t mean I can’t sing about it, right?”

Danny sighed. “Then, what do you think love is?”

“An illusion,” Sutton answered quickly. “It’s an illusion, just like your magic acts. You know how some people say they were “blinded by love”? Well, it’s like that. Love tricks two people into thinking they love one another but really they don’t. They’re in love with the idea of love and being in love.”

“So, love doesn’t exist? It’s just meant to trap two lovers?”

Sutton sipped her wine cooler. “Exactly, Daniel.” Just as she answered him, the door to the apartment rustled open.