Girl Gets Her Man Ch. 04

"Angry?" He practically seethed, "You don't get it, Jo. I don't care if you slept with him. How many pieces will I have to clean up, here?" 'She can tell, you're lying.'

"I'm not gonna fall apart. I won't talk to you about my sex life. That's out of bounds for you."

"So, you did sleep with him," he sighed heavily. She heard his chair creak as he sat back down. 'How could she? She's not a slut like Candy...She's not. Or, is she?'

She got up and didn't look at him as she went out of the room. She heard him turn his chair. She didn't slow her progress down to the terminals. He would have continued to ask questions if she had stayed. Jo wanted him to think it. She wanted him to think she would sleep with Gary just because he wasn't Daniel. She wanted an excuse for him to stay away from her. His attention had never felt right. Even the pretend friendship had to end. She had to be firm with him the next time he asked her to walk out to her car. She opened the door and sat down in the back corner of the quietly humming room. She'd forgotten her notebook. She couldn't go back to get it. He would be there waiting. To her growing mortification, he opened the door and positioned himself across from her. She made sure that he was within her peripheral vision but didn't look directly at him. He chewed on his lip for a moment as he stared down at her.

"Did you get what you needed out of it?"

His face was so calm. There was just the hint of curiosity in his lips and eyes to tell her that he needed an answer. At that moment, she saw something different in the set of his jaw. It had become a hard thing set on grinding his teeth together, instead of the softer amused smiling set. It wasn't curiosity, really. It was something else. Disappointment. Jo didn't want to care what he thought. They weren't together. He had no right to be upset if she slept with someone. It was none of his damn business. The disappointment changed to a frown as she tried to keep a hold of her emotions. The two squirmed in the silence. She was shocked by something wet on her cheek that streamed down to her chin. 'Why do I care what you think?'

He frowned deeper at her. He wasn't sure of why she was crying. Candace used to do this kind of thing to deflect him from her crime. 'She's guilty? She really did it.' "You did do it, didn't you?" His voice had been as cold as he could make it.

"No. I couldn't. I thought I could, but... Happy, now?" Gary had been so forceful when he spread her legs. She'd been so scared, she had forced him out without his shirt. She turned herself away toward the corner, so that Daniel wouldn't be able to see her face. She struggled to stop the warm flow, but the effort just made her breathing ragged. She knew he'd be able to hear the rattling sobs that would soon come, but she held them in anyway.

For an instant, the relief made him want to laugh out loud. He tested to see if it would be okay to comfort her. He would have to stop comparing her to Candy. She needed him to be better. He tested to see if she would allow him to give her what she needed right then.

She felt a pair of hands go around her waist and a warmth next to her ear. She felt his breath on her neck as he held her from behind. She shook in his grasp as he pulled her up to stand. It felt so good. She felt so confused. She'd spent a lot of time stopping people from touching her, but when Dan did it, she needed more.

"It's gonna be okay. I promise," he whispered as he turned her to face him. For the first time in years, she let someone hold her close.

"Look, it's okay. You should have said something. I wouldn't have pressed it if you had told me not to. How could I have thought that of you?"

He lowered his chin to the top of her head and crooned softly until her sobs melted to a more manageable series of heavy gasps. Dan held her until he was sure she'd stopped moistening his shirt. It had felt so good, she'd wrapped her arms around his back and pressed her face into his chest. His heartbeat had been more comforting than the muffled soothing that he showered her with. It seemed to beat irregularly when she snuggled in closer. He knew it was definitely the wrong time, but he was responding to her. He tried to keep his hips from contacting her warm body too often, but that wasn't helping. Every sigh that left her lips, every movement of her fingers across the fabric on his back, was torture. When she was ready, he drove her home. The brisk walk did him a world of good.

After she got to her room, she felt a bit awkward. He'd let her listen to his heartbeat and breathing for such a long time. He'd just stood there with her attached to him like a leech. She'd buried herself in his smell and the warmth of his body. Before sliding into her bed, she took a look at herself. 'Man, oh man, was that an ugly cry. He's probably planning what to do with his prize, right now.'

The next night, Daniel came in as if nothing happened. He dropped his bag and sat on the edge of her desk.

"So, how was your day? Mine was a bit busy. Pop gave me grief about the biscotti. I guess, I was a bit distracted. It was too sweet to go with coffee."

She didn't respond to his light conversation. She wasn't quite sure what to say to him.

"You're sorry you cried in front of me. I understand. It felt good to hold you. Oh, so good," he mused. "You can't convince me to be guilty about it."

"I'm the guilty one. I used you."

He focused seriously on her then laughed, "Used me? Feel free to use me anytime, if that's what you think it means. I can only hope you'll do it again."

He offered his hand and she took it. He ran his fingers over her wrist. His voice had that caressing quality that made her want to cry. "I give you permission to touch me anywhere you'd like. This doesn't mean I get the same privilege. You choose when that happens. Understood?"

She nodded and put her hand over his fingers. "Understood."

"Now that that's settled, did I tell you that you smelled really good? What was that, jasmine?"