| First Knight- continued She tilted her head and quirked one eyebrow. �Which is what everyone always says when I say that. You don�t have to pretend.� �I�m not. Drew likes you, obviously.� The way she beamed unconsciously made his throat hurt. �I don�t quite understand why, but yeah.� She picked up a gold hanger and hot-glued it to the back of her angel. �For the longest time I thought I was somehow guy-repellent. Sure, I could be a good friend, but nobody ever seemed to see me as anything else. Then he comes along, and for the first time, when I got that feeling, he didn�t turn and run or get awkward or anything else.� �Who ever did that?� �People. That�s why I never mentioned...� She paused, glanced at him, and cleared her throat. �What?� He grinned. �Who�d you have a crush on, Dani?� She laughed. �Oh, what the heck. Might as well. For a little while I thought maybe you... but it was probably just because we�ve been friends for so long.� Michael nearly dropped his angel. �What? You had a crush on me?� She shrugged, forcing an easiness into her tone. �Yeah. For a while.� She grinned wryly. �But you�ll be relieved to know I�m over that delusion.� His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard. �How come you never said anything?� How could I have missed my chance? �Because of the look on your face right now,� she said with brutal honesty. �You should see yourself; you look absolutely terrified. I didn�t want to take the risk of telling you and screwing things up with my best friend. I didn�t want to freak you out.� He took a deep breath. �When was this?� She lifted one shoulder carelessly. �Last year. Summer. But like I said, don�t worry. You don�t have to be weird around me.� He forced a laugh. �Okay. Thanks.� They went back to work in silence. Would�ve been awfully useful to hear this BEFORE she went out with Drew... They got into a sort of assembly line, he drawing the faces and sprinkling silver dust on the angels, and she adding bows and hangers. They ran out of glitter, but continued to make the ornaments without it. �These are going to be so pretty,� Danielle sighed, looking over the pile of decorations. �I almost hate to sell them.� �Don�t get pensive yet; I�ve got five more stacked up here for you to do,� he said, trying to make them faster to keep her there. She started humming a Christmas carol, and that was when he decided to break the silence for good. Might as well twist the knife a little deeper- better her best friend and confidant than nothing at all. �So what are you giving Drew for Christmas?� �I don�t know. Haven�t found the right thing yet.� �Does he know what you want?� �Oh, you know I love everything,� she said with that irrepressible grin. �Anything fuzzy, nice smelling, pretty, or interesting.� �Yeah, but does he know?� �I... sometimes I think he�ll probably not get me anything. I don�t mind,� she said quickly when he opened his mouth to protest. �You know I get embarrassed when people give me presents. I don�t know what to say.� �Just because you�re embarrassed doesn�t mean you don�t still love getting them,� he replied. �You protest all you want that I don�t have to get you anything for your birthday or whatever, but I see the look on your face when you open it.� You look like a child who isn�t used to being loved. You look completely amazed that someone thought of you. It�s the saddest and most beautiful thing. She blushed again, and he wondered how on earth he�d missed the fact that she once liked him. �I�d settle for a card. It�s enough, really. Drew�s never been all that... demonstrative about those things, anyway- PDA and all that.� He tried not to be angry. I�d get you roses. Or that ridiculous stuffed pig you�re always cooing over in the mall. And I�d hug you every chance I got, in public or not. �Why not?� Continue |