Dangerous to Know & Love (18 page)

“Hey, good to see you again, Lisanne,” smiled Vin. “Daniel,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand.

Lisanne discreetly nudged Daniel in the ribs, and the two men shook hands, quickly doing the guy head nod thing and sizing each other up.

Vin introduced the others, who were all from his fraternity.

It was slightly awkward for a moment, then the conversation resumed more naturally.

Kirsty scooted over so Lisanne and Daniel could sit down in the booth.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on her fluctuating point of view at any given moment, Lisanne was sitting next to Daniel. It meant she could hold his hand and feel the warmth of his body next to hers, but it made it difficult for him to lip read her.

His body was stiff and he looked like he might bolt at any second. Lisanne laid her hand on his forearm, then slid her fingers down to hold his hand. He smiled down at their intertwined fingers.

When the waitress arrived to take their order, Daniel asked for a beer, as did several of the other guys. Lisanne ordered a Shirley Temple, with a smirk at Daniel.

He leaned down and whispered, “We both know you’re not really such a good girl.”

Lisanne took a sharp intake of breath, then turned her head so he could see her face. “Maybe it’s because you’re such a bad influence.”

He laughed huskily and leaned down to kiss her hair. Lisanne felt her body overheat, then became aware that Kirsty’s eyes were trained on her.

She moved away slightly but grabbed his hand under the table again. He held her fingers tightly.

“So, man,” said Vin, “I’ve seen you in Introduction to Business: what’s your major?”

Luckily, Daniel looked over in time to see the second part of Vin’s question.

With an uncomfortable jolt, Lisanne realized how truly hard this was going to be for him. She felt guilty for putting him under pressure.

“Economics. You?”

“Really? You look more like…” Vin choked back whatever he was going to say. “I’m doing a degree in Business Administration with Buddy and Rich. Eric is the black sheep of the fraternity – he’s a Psych major.”

“Yeah,” said Eric. “It comes in handy with you guys.”

Lisanne knew that Daniel had missed Eric’s retort when she saw the fleeting expression of confusion, as everyone laughed at the joke.

She squeezed his hand and, without making a sound, mouthed the words ‘elephant shoes’ to him. She cocked her head on one side, waiting for him to answer her silent question. He smiled back gratefully but gave a small shake of his head.

When the waitress came back with the drinks, Daniel drank his beer quickly. But he wasn’t alone in that – all the guys were in a drinking mood.

The waitress paused with her notebook, ready to take their food order.

Lisanne nudged Daniel’s knee and he turned to look at her.

“Do you want to eat here?”

He paused for a moment, then gave another small nod.

Lisanne was pleased, and then immediately questioned his response. Did that mean he was enjoying himself, or was he just doing it for her? She wasn’t sure, so she watched him closely. He’d gotten into a discussion with Eric about attribution theory from Psych 101 – something that he seemed to know a lot about. Lisanne was surprised – she realized she had a lot to learn about Daniel Colton. And beyond her own feelings, it was clear that Eric was impressed and respected Daniel’s point of view.

“Yeah, but we explain behaviors by assigning attributes to them,” Daniel argued. “You can’t underestimate the external factors.”

“Only if we pay more attention to the situation rather than to the individual,” said Eric.

“Well, fuck yes!” said Daniel. “If someone cuts me off on the road, I’m not going to say, ‘Gee, they must be having a rough day.’ I’ll say, ‘What a fucking jerk!’.”

Eric laughed. “I’m with you on that, man.”

Rich interrupted their discussion, and Lisanne had to nudge Daniel under the table again to redirect his attention. It made her a little tense, trying to keep track of what Daniel was saying and who he was talking to, as well as concentrating on Kirsty’s description of one of her toughest professors. She began to appreciate how stressful and tiring social settings must be for him.

“I’ve gotta ask, man,” said Rich, impatiently. “Is it true what they say about you?”

Daniel tensed immediately. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

All conversation ceased and everyone stared at Daniel’s angry face.

Rich raised his hands immediately. “Whoa! Take it easy, dude. I just meant about your, um, your piercings. Did ya really get
other
stuff pierced?”

Daniel’s angry expression disappeared and he raised an eyebrow. “Other stuff?”

“Is it, you know, good when you’re… you know? Ah hell, don’t make me say it, man!” whined Rich, making everyone laugh.

Daniel smiled down at Lisanne. “Should I tell him, baby?”

Lisanne instantly blushed beet red and the guys sniggered. Daniel leaned back, making it clear that he had no further answer to give.

Eric grinned. “We don’t cover body art in psych till next year, Rich. Looks like you’re going to have to live in ignorance.”

Daniel winked at Lisanne. She was still embarrassed and was
definitely
going to have words with Daniel about that. But she loved how relaxed and playful he was, even though 30 seconds earlier he’d looked as if he was going to pummel Rich.

They finished their meals, chatting easily. Lisanne was starting to recognize when Daniel had missed the gist of the conversation, and she automatically began to compensate.

When it came to split the check, Lisanne realized the evening was nearly over. She was desperate to ask Daniel if he was coming back to her room – assuming Kirsty was going back to the frat house with Vin.

But then all her hopes, expectations, dreams and daydreams were dashed. Kirsty yawned.

“Oh my God, I’m never going to make it to my 8:30 in the morning. Lis, you’ll have to promise to wake me up in the morning. Just keep prodding me until I move, okay?”

“Oh, I thought…?”

Kirsty shook her head quickly and whispered, “I got my period.”

Lisanne gave a weak smile, sighing with disappointment. Daniel caught her eye and pulled her into a hug, placing a gentle kiss on her hair.

It was cooler outside, and there was a breath of Fall in the air.

Lisanne shivered, and Daniel put his arm around her protectively.

“You’ll need a thicker jacket than that to ride on Sirona, baby,” he whispered. “It can get cold at night, especially in the winter.”

She smiled up at him, delighted that he seemed to be suggesting that riding on his motorcycle was going to become a regular occurrence.

Buddy was staring with envious eyes at Daniel’s bike.

“That yours, man?” he said, the envy obvious by his tone – and by the way he was almost drooling.

“Yeah.”

“Nice ride! What year?”

“Sixty nine.”

“No shit! Where’d you get her from?”

Were all motorcycles female as far as men were concerned? Lisanne was amused.

“It was pretty much scrap when I found the frame,” Daniel explained. “I did the rest of the work over two summers. I had a job in an auto repair shop.”

Lisanne could see that Daniel had climbed several notches in the guys’ estimation, and there was a newfound respect in their eyes.

She felt relieved. The evening had gone so much better than even her wildest expectations.

Kirsty grabbed her hand and dragged her away from Daniel, while they guys talked bikes.

“I’m so glad you came, Lis! That was fun. Daniel’s really nice and he’s totally into you.”

Lisanne smiled.

“Vin and the guys were great.”

“Except,” said Kirsty with a serious look on her face, “when Rich looked like he was going to get punched by Daniel.”

“It was a misunderstanding.”

“Just… just be careful.” She held up her hands as Lisanne started to argue. “I like Daniel, I really do. Just… look I’ll see you back home, okay?”

Lisanne turned without hearing another word from her friend, irritated that Kirsty had spoiled the end of a great evening.

Daniel frowned when he saw her. “Okay?”

Lisanne nodded. “Can we go now?”

“Sure, baby.”

He said goodbye to the guys, kick-started the mean machine, and helped Lisanne climb on behind him.

*     *     *

Daniel was getting used to the feeling of Lisanne’s warm body behind him, as they sped along the road on his bike. Every movement of the motorcycle brought her closer to him, or made her grip his waist more firmly.

He’d never taken a girl on the back of his bike before, only his brother or a couple of guys from the band. But the first time Lisanne had come with him, he’d been desperate to get off campus before he talked to her. Now… now it just felt good.

He’d been nervous as all fuck when she’d suggested going out for a group meal, but having her by his side, understanding, helping, interpreting, watching his back – she’d made it easier.

He hadn’t thought he’d be able to do something like that, let alone enjoy it. Yeah, the guy Rich had been a bit of a dick, but nothing Daniel couldn’t handle. He felt a looseness in his chest, a lessening of the tightness that he’d felt the first day he started college.

It had been amazing having her sitting next to him, feeling her next to him, holding her hand. Walking out of her room when she’d practically begged him to fuck her had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He wasn’t even sure he could explain it to himself, but somehow he wanted it to be
right
with her. She wasn’t someone he’d use just to get his dick wet and walk away – he didn’t want to fuck up with her. But his experience of
dating
was pretty limited: once, briefly, in his first year of high school, and then again for a few months when he was at school in Cave Spring.

Sex he could do – dating he wasn’t so sure about. But he’d try. For Lisanne, he would try.

He pulled up at the dorm rooms and cut the engine. It didn’t make any difference to him, but he knew Lisanne wouldn’t be able to hear, and he wanted to say goodnight to her properly.

He took off his helmet and waited for her to give him the spare.

She was frowning and he didn’t know why. He wanted to see her smile.

“What’s the matter, Lis?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

His temper flared instantly.

“Don’t do that! Fuck! I miss enough of what’s going on around me, without you saying ‘nothing’ when I can see by your face that you’re upset.”

Lisanne looked down. He wasn’t having that shit. He lifted her chin with his fingers, gently raising her head so she was looking at him again.

“Talk to me, Lis!”

She sighed. “It was something Kirsty said. She told me to ‘be careful’. With you. It made me mad, that’s all.”

Fucking interfering bitch.
Be careful?
What the fuck did that even mean? Maybe it was because he’d been about to punch that guy Rich.

Daniel’s latent temper snarled, wanting to lash out at someone. But he knew that Kirsty was right – Lisanne
should
be careful around him. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth that he was desperate to get rid of.

Without warning, Daniel pulled Lisanne toward him, letting his lips crash down on hers. He kissed her with an edge of desperation that he’d never experienced before. After a second of stunned surprise, she was kissing him back. Her tongue, hot and wet, was pressing into his mouth and it felt fucking amazing. His dick leapt to life, hopeful of getting in on the action. He wrapped his arms behind her and pulled her in tightly. He felt dizzy when her hands slid up his back and around his neck, locking them together.

They only stopped when a car horn made Lisanne jump.

“Get a room!” yelled Rich, as Vin parked at the curb to let Kirsty out.

Daniel saw the car and sighed. It was probably just as well they’d been interrupted because things had been about to get damn hot and heavy for outside a public building – at ten o’clock on a weekday night. Not that he cared, but he knew Lisanne would.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” said Lisanne, her face anxious.

“I’ll find you in the cafeteria at lunchtime, baby,” said Daniel, smiling at the thought. “Okay?”

She nodded contentedly. “Okay.”

He kissed her quickly, kick-started Sirona, then rode away, glancing behind him once, seeing her standing alone in a pool of light, watching him.

It wasn’t a long ride, but Daniel went slowly, not particularly eager to go home just to get into another scene with his brother.

As usual, there were bikes and cars parked up and down the road. Daniel could feel the front porch vibrating from a bass beat. It was a good thing there was an empty lot on one side, and an old deaf guy on the other. It wasn’t an irony that amused Daniel, but he knew it was a lucky break, nevertheless.

He recognized a few of the people that were hanging around – a couple were from the Blue Note. Empty cans and bottles littered the whole ground floor. He barely noticed it anymore. As long as no one bothered him, he didn’t much care. Except that now he had Lisanne to consider – he knew he couldn’t bring her back there with so many fucking potheads and speed-freaks around. The thought irritated him more than he thought it should.

Mostly, Daniel didn’t have much to do with Zef’s friends or clients or whoever the hell they were, but tonight he needed a drink.

He slumped down on the dirty couch and picked up the bottle nearest to him: his good friend and namesake – Jack Daniels.

He wiped the top of the bottle with his hand and took a long drink. It had some bite but the burn helped him to think. His head was completely spun with everything that had happened over the last 48 hours. He’d done some sexy dirty stuff with Lisanne; fought with her; gotten arrested; beaten up by Zef. Now, it seemed, he had a girlfriend and was socializing with frat boys who thought he had a cool bike.

It was hard to keep up with the emotional cartwheels.

Zef had been right about one thing – dating Lisanne was not going to be without cost. It had been so fucking painful seeing her sing that night – seeing her sing but not to be able to hear a goddamn note of it. He’d stayed until the end of the first song, but it slayed him to be there. How much harder would it be as time went by? If they were dating – and somehow they seemed to have fallen into it – then it was only fair that he support her with her music. That’s what boyfriends did, wasn’t it? Supportive shit?