Page 30 of Danny Hall Gets a Lawyer
Just thinking about Danny improved my mood some, and I wondered if I could persuade him to stay overnight. I pulled my phone out and my thumb hovered over the call button, but at the last minute I texted instead.
Still good for tomorrow?
The dots danced across the screen, and then:
Hell yeah
It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one looking forward to it. Before I could overthink it, I texted:
Wanna stay for breakfast this time?
There.NowI could overthink it. Danny had shit going on. He probably had to work, or go visit his grandma, or fix his truck, or clean up his yard. There were a dozen things that were more important than his date with me.
Hishookupwith me, was what I meant. Not date.
There was no dating here. None.
Before I could freak myself out any further, my phone buzzed.
Breakfast sounds good. You cooking?
The tension that had been gathering low in my gut eased.
I am if you count toast as cooking.
Danny sent back a laugh emoji. I waited to see if there was a follow-up text, but there wasn’t anything else, so I tucked my phone away and ate my lunch, and by the time I got back to the office, I was ready for whatever the afternoon might throw at me.
That turned out to be an initial divorce consult and some real estate paperwork—basic stuff that I could pretty much do with my eyes closed, but it still took most of the afternoon to plow through it.
There was a tap on my door and I looked up to find Callahan standing in the doorway with his dog sitting at his feet and his jacket over one shoulder. “You planning on staying here all weekend?”
I glanced at the clock and found it was later than I’d thought. I closed the folder and stretched, my spine cracking as I straightened all the kinks out of it. Then I stood and grabbed my jacket and keys, and we headed out.
I stopped at the store on the way home to get beer and condoms and lube as well as eggs, bacon, orange juice, and bread in preparation for Danny’s visit. When I got home, I put the groceries away and had dinner. Then I settled on the couch and scrolled through the Netflix menu, but nothing held my interest. Normally I enjoyed the peace of an empty apartment on a Friday night, but tonight the quiet had me feeling off-kilter. A restless energy crackled under my skin, anticipation and impatience battling for first place.
Tomorrow night seemed forever away. Why hadn’t I invited him for tonight?
More importantly, what was stopping me from calling him now?
I grabbed my phone and hit Danny’s number before I could talk myself out of it.
It rang twice before he picked it up and I heard, “Hello?” Danny sounded breathless and almost giggly, and I heard a man laughing in the background.
Shit. Did he have someone else with him?
Jealousy flared hot under my skin for a second, but then over the sound of more laughter and a thud that might have been someone getting shoved off a couch, Danny said, “Sorry, Miller. Wilder’s being a dick.”
Of course it was his roommate he was hanging out with. And even if it wasn’t, it wasn’t my business. Because we weren’t a thing.
In the background Wilder called, “Hey, Miller! Did you know Danny’s scared of spiders?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Danny snapped. “I am not.”
Oh, he definitely was. I found myself grinning at their bickering. “You know,” I said, “my apartment is guaranteed spider-free, if you wanted to come over tonight instead of tomorrow.”
I half-expected him to tell me he was too tired, but he said, “I’m on my way.”
“Really?” I hadn’t meant to sound as surprised as I did.
