Chapter 89: Danny XI
"Hey Danny," Tangers said into the phone. "A buncha us are going to the Chophouse and maybe play some pool, wanna come?"
"Nah," Danny said into the phone. "I think I’m just gonna hang out here, relax for a change."
"OK," said Alex brightly. "Oh hey Danny.."
"Yeah?" Danny asked.
"How are ya doing? I mean after all that?" he asked in a somber tone.
A wave of revulsion swept through Danny’s body, that tongue in his mouth, like an alien, slimy worm. "I’m fine," Danny said. "Don’t worry about me."
"Good," Alex said, "I don’t know how I’d be if that happened to me..."
"Yeah, I’m OK, thanks for asking, have fun OK?" Danny said, wanting him off the line, wanting not to think about the past few days.
"Bye," Alex said.
"Bye," Danny said.
Danny sighed as he hung up the phone and he pressed his palms over his eyes until he could see flashes of red. "I yi yi yi!" he muttered. "I just need to relax!"
RING! RING!
"Aaaaaah!" Danny yelped. He looked at the phone. Smiling and shaking his head he answered it. "Yeah?"
"Hahahahaha! Mon Dieu bebe stop it!" He heard a beautifully familiar voice chime into the phone.
"Admit it mom I got you beat!" A boy’s voice barked in the background.
"Uh hello?" Danny said.
"Come on Mom! Don’t bother him!"
"I already have my love, I’m too tired to blink!"
There was an aggravated growl in the background. "Maw-um!"
"Hello?" Danny repeated.
"Oh! Daniel!" Michele’s soothing voice breezed into his ear. "So sorry! Have you been waiting long?"
"No, no," Danny said quickly. "Not long, what’s up Mimi?"
"Noooooo!" Michele squealed in a way that tickled Danny inside. "Stop it you little runt!" There was more laughing and excited yapping from Gigi. "Daniel," she gasped. "You must come over... hahahaha Jonathan has me all tied up... stop it! I cannot
get a thing done, and I have Katrina on her way over.. Would it be too much for me to ask you to keep the boy occupied... just for an hour?"
"Oh," Danny said. "Well...."
"Alex is not answering at home or on his cell, or else I would have bothered him... is there no one to save me... Eeeep! Stop it you silly puppy!"
Danny could feel a smile stretching his cheeks. "Alright," he said. "I’m on my way over... do you think you can hold on until then?"
"Perhaps," Michele sighed. "Merci you are an angel!"
"No one can save you!" Jonathan said in a deep voice and then he burst into evil laughter. "Bwahahahaha!"
As Danny hung up the phone he could already feel warmth slipping over his shoulders like basking in the sunlight.
"Ha! Finally!" Jonathan crowed as the puck disappeared into his catching glove. Danny sighed and fell to his back, his shoulder burning. "Thanks," Jonathan continued. "Now I can catch those high wristers, ehehehehe..."
"Good, I’m glad I could help," Danny said looking up into the boy’s grinning face. Michele had been so right! He barely had life left in any of his limbs. How the hell?
He had more of a workout on the bike or during a game, what was it about these kids that always left him so drained of energy?
Jonathan laughed as he shed his goalie gear, dropping it onto the carpet and then he sat down next to Danny. "Whew!" Danny sighed. He could feel the intense heat and energy emanating from the boy’s body.
"You even tired?" he asked Jonathan.
"You better be!" Michele exclaimed and both of them craned their necks to look up at her. Gigi yipped at her legs. She was leaning in the doorway, her arms crossed and a smile on her face. Obviously, she was fresh from her massage and the smell of almond oil was drifting into the room. It reminded Danny of the cookies she baked and that bothered him. "Go on Jonathan, go take a shower. And you need a nap."
Hopping to his feet, Jonathan wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Danny helped me with my wrist shot problem!" he exclaimed.
"Aw, that’s nice," Michele said, tilting her head. "You see Danny, I haven’t even the wrist shot Jana has, it was important that you were here!"
Danny smiled and picked up his hand in a salute.
"Yup!" Jonathan said, leaning over to hug her and Michele hopped away from him.
"Oooh no darling. Take a shower first sweaty sweetie!"
"Eh," Jonathan grunted as he walked away. "Whatever."
Danny watched him hobble away and then he looked at Michele. Her hands were on her hips and he noticed a flimsy, sparkling charm bracelet hanging off her wrist. It was like the kind young girls wore and it struck him as odd that a mother would wear one. He wondered how things were going for her now... He had seen how plastered Patrick had been getting last night, and how had she handled him?
Michele looked at him and Danny looked away feeling his cheeks redden.
"Come on up to the kitchen," she said. "You look like you need some energy."
"I’m not hungry!" Danny said quickly and instantly hating himself for the way he said it. "I’m trying to lose... I mean you know..."
Michele didn’t look hurt though, she just smiled. That sweet almond scent became stronger when she approached him, bending over a bit, resting her tiny hands on her knees. "I won’t hear of it," she whispered. "Come on." She held her hand out for him to grasp.
Danny looked at the smooth, peachy skin and shook his head, pressing his sweaty palms to his thighs. "Oh no," he said. "I’m just as sweaty as the boy."
"Hmm," Michele said, narrowing her eyes some.
Every muscle in Danny’s body locked as Michele ran her smooth hand up his face from the bottom of his jaw to his temple. "So you are," she whispered. Her thumb tickled his forehead. "So you are."
"Um.." Danny squeaked.
Michele giggled and ran her fingers quickly through his damp hair and then she grabbed his arm, "Get up, come on. You’ll get crampy muscles laying there."
Danny groaned as he stood up, dizzy all of a sudden.
"And what are you trying to lose!" Michele said as he followed her to the kitchen almost competing with Gigi for the floor space behind her feet. And then he sat heavily into that now familiar chair of his at the table.
"Weight!" Danny exclaimed. "I’ve been gaining so much weight!" He felt an almost mournful feeling at the bulge of his tummy under his hands.
"You?" Michele giggled. "A chubby pup? Oh no! Not because of me?"
Danny shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
"I’ll just pour you some lemonade then," she said. "No more cookies for you eh?"
Danny nodded.
The lemonade glugged loudly into the tall glass she had filled with ice cubes and it made Danny realize how painfully parched he was. His throat was burning for any liquid, almost lusting for it. His eyes fixated on it as she brought it to him, slipping the cool glass into his fingers. "Thanks," he whispered and he gulped the sweet-tart liquid, letting it smooth down his insides.
Michele was right there, pouring him some more lemonade.
"Daniel," she said quietly. "Can I ask you something... if it makes you uncomfortable I more than understand your refusal to answer.."
"Sure," Danny said.
"It’s about Patrick," she said and Danny felt a twinge in his stomach.
"Yeah?"
"Well," Michele said, she trailed her finger on the side of the lemonade pitcher. "This is something of a delicate question... and I know how you boys are with The Code but..." she looked him full in the face with shiny blue eyes. "But I found some... "marks" on Patrick..."
"Marks?" Danny asked feeling a bit helpless. Again he saw that crying prostitute, her round, red face, and Chloe’s bony arm over her shoulders. If Patrick was marked up then she must have put up something of a fight!
Michele nodded, her face flushing some on the cheeks. Danny’s heart just melted for her at that moment, and he was intensely angry with Patrick. Just look at the embarrassed state she was in... her poor fragile sensibilities! "I know I did not make those," she whispered, looking almost nervously at the kitchen doorway. Obviously she was afraid that Jonathan might hear her. "I was wondering... well if you knew anything about them."
Danny felt warm under his collar but he decided that she shouldn’t be subjected to the truth about her husband’s appetites. "No," he said, swallowing a little too hard for his taste. "I mean... I wouldn’t know anything."
"You didn’t see anything then?" she asked. "Or are you just trying to protect me? How sweet of you... but I can handle it I was just curious is all."
Danny gnawed briefly on his bottom lip, feeling like an absolute shitbird as he reached out and clasped her hand in his. "Believe me," he said. "If I saw anything, I would tell you whatever you wanted to know."
Michele leaned forward, her eyes brimming with sadness. "Daniel," she whispered, "I know about the prostitutes."
Danny’s heart crashed to explosion within his chest. "How?" he gasped.
Michele smiled sadly. "A little birdy told me."
Danny looked down and sighed. He didn’t know what to say. "There was some there," he said. "And a lot of the guys... I didn’t see Patrick with anyone. I couldn’t tell you. It was disgusting, Alex and I... well we couldn’t do anything to stop them we just tried to... well we tried to..."
"Look away?" Michele finished for him.
Danny nodded looking back up at her. What a peacefully hurting expression she had. If any woman could make sadness seem beautiful... "Alex and I just tried to ignore them."
Michele grinned slightly. "How? What did you two end up doing?"
"Playing cards with one of the girls." he said meekly.
"Cards?" Michele exclaimed. "Ooooh "cards". I understand."
"No!" Danny exclaimed. "Not that kind! Go Fish we played Go Fish!"
A beaming smile blossomed on her face and Danny suddenly realized how absurd he must have sounded. "Of course! How clever! I can see that much now, you silly boys!"
Danny smiled back. "Yeah, I guess it kinda suits us." He picked up the lemonade and took another drink. He felt a bit better seeing how she was smiling now. "Doesn’t make a good impression on the guys though, hehe to tell them that all we did is play card games with an escort." He took another drink.
"Oooh," Michele said. "You are a chubby puppy!"
Danny’s eyes widened and he put the glass down on the table, almost dropping it when she tickled the plumpness of his waist. "Mimi!" he exclaimed. That evil, delicious little warmth threatened within him at the touch.
"My apologies," she sighed stepping away. "Between you and me mon cher, I would work on losing that... at least within the next two weeks.."
"Why?" Danny asked, feeling nervous. "What’s going on?"
Michele yawned and smiled.
Danny took another sip from the lemonade, trying to imagine what she could be hinting at... and then it hit him. "Oh God!" he exclaimed. "The Better Halves poster! What is it gonna be this year?"
Michele ran her fingers over her mouth as if she were zipping something and she shook her head.
"Oh tell me!" Danny exclaimed. "You better tell me! Pleeeeeease!"
Michele shook her head, ran her fingers through her hair, and as she brought her hand back down the bracelet on her wrist slipped off and bounced on the floor. Danny pounced on it before she could get it and he jumped away. In that instinctive way that existed between the sexes he knew how to safely goad her.
"Give that back!" Michele exclaimed. She reached for the bracelet and Danny swung it away from her. Gigi clawed at his legs, barking.
"Nope!" Danny said. "Not until you tell me!"
"Oooh!" Michele growled. "That was a gift from Jana!"
Danny laughed and backed away from her, holding the bracelet away. "Then it’s really important! Worth some inside information hmmm?"
Narrowing her eyes, Michele hopped forward. "I’m not that simple!" she said and she picked up the lemonade glass taking a sip from it. When she went forward, he backed away.
"Nah uh!" Danny said swinging the bracelet around and looking at it. "Hey I bet Cecile would like this!"
"I bet she would," Michele muttered and she pressed her fragrant body against his, causing warmth to flush into him. "But it’s not hers," she whispered into his ear.
Danny inhaled sharply. He suddenly forgot what he was doing until he squeezed harder onto the bracelet. Michele closed her hand over his, prying at his fingers. They slipped in between his and when they touched the skin between his fingers it was a jolt that darted down his body and excited him in a way he knew Michele couldn’t escape feeling against her thigh. The bracelet disappeared from his hand and he saw the surprised flutter of her eyelids, her lashes falling down against the skin; he saw the blush appear on her cheeks. He didn’t know what he should do. How could he embarrass her like this?
"Oh," Michele whispered and she stepped away from him.
"Sorry! I’m so sorry!" Danny almost wailed, crouching down and falling onto the chair, hunching over.
"Non," she said sweetly, "Don’t be... it’s natural for a young man I am sure... It is my fault... I should have realized... so sorry."
"What’s natural?" Jonathan’s voice cut through the air as he pranced into the room.
"I said take a shower!" Michele exclaimed.
"I know!" Jonathan snapped looking straight at Danny. Danny looked away, blushing and holding his legs together. "I forgot I was gonna ask you if I could go over to Nick’s house for dinner, if it’s OK?"
"Ask your father when he comes home," Michele sighed.
"OK," Jonathan said. "What’s wrong Danny?"
Danny coughed, feeling the hard-on dissipate to his infinite relief. "Nothing."
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "Riiiight," he said as he left the kitchen.
"Are you feeling... better?" Michele asked quietly.
Danny just sighed
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