"Thanks, babe," he said, winking at her, yet again. "Ryan. My name isn't Jodie- it isn't babe- my name is Danielle. Say it with me; DAN-YELL." she starred at his blank face for a moment. "Can you handle that?" she asked sweetly.
"Ya, ya, sure. kinda like a Miss Jackson if you're nasty deal, huh?" he asked, laughing at his own joke. "Ya, something like that." Danielle returned to her seat next to Josh. He sat staring and smiling at her. Danielle blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, sometimes, I guess I'm a real pain in the ass," Danielle apologized. "No, no, no," Josh interrupted her. "I mean...I just thought it was cute- I mean, funny, it was funny!" he laughed at his own embarrassment and turned back to the window. The two sat in awkward silence until Ryan interrupted it. "HELLO! JOSH! Can we do this THIS century? I have a 12:00 with Mandy Moore!" Ryan yelled into the microphone.
"Ya, ya, sorry, Ryan," Josh apologized, flipping switches and pressing buttons on the control board. Ryan placed the headphones on his head, and a slow ballad began to play. Ryan began belting out sweet, loving phrases; phrases that with you wouldn't even think a man of his nature, would know.
Danielle was shocked by what she heard. She sat, silent, listening to the words. "This is a beautiful song," she whispered, almost in a daze. Josh looked up her and half smiled. "I wrote it." Danielle raised her eyebrows. "Wow, she must be special," Danielle replied, almost hurt. Josh sighed and looked back through the glass at Ryan. "She was, I mean she still is," Josh looked down at his hands. "People change though." Josh looked up happily at Danielle, and quickly changed the subject. "So, tell me about you, like, your last name would be a good start," he smiled as Danielle began summarizing her life until this point; from her childhood in Missouri to her now current college days in Orlando. "So, Mercedes must be special to you? I mean, she moved down here with you?" he asked.
"Ya, but she's more then my roommate; she's my best friend. I love her to death, and I can't imagine life without her. She wants to be a writer, and there are some pretty decent publishers down here." Danielle paused and smiled to herself. Mercedes had flown to Missouri to visit her family for a few days, but was flying back to Orlando tonight. Danielle couldn't wait to tell her about her new job..and co-worker. She knew she was going to die! "Mercedes is extremely talented. She's going to go somewhere with this."
Josh smiled and rested his head on his hand. His full attention still on Danielle hanging on to every word that came out of her mouth. "And, and, and I'm going to stop talking now. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I was just talking and talking and talking about myself. I ramble. I've been told that SO MANY times, that I ramble and ramble and ramble. Now I'm rambling ABOUT rambling. UGH! I'm so sorry, Josh." Danielle rolled her eyes at herself and lowered her head in shame. Josh laughed at the sight of Danielle's embarrassment.
"I get told that, too!" he replied jumping up. "We don't ramble..we just, have a lot to say." The two laughed. "I like that theory much more," Danielle smiled shyly at him. "What about you," she asked sitting up in her chair, " Shouldn't you be in like, Madison Square Garden, making girls weak in the knees right about now?" Josh smiled at her. "Well, we've been touring so much with No Strings Attached, we're kind of just taking a break this summer. Except we tamper with some new material for the new album now and then. Plus, for me, there's this project," he said, pointing through the glass to Ryan. "I love being in the studio. I'm in here as much as possible."
"You saw it?" he asked excited.
"Ya, a..time or two."
"Two?"
"Ya, two."
Josh smiled. "So, did you-" His question was interrupted by an angry voice
blaring throughout the studio. "YO! LOVE BIRDS! Can we discuss wedding plans later? I'm kind of BUSY here!"
Josh and Danielle giggled to each other. "Take a break, Ryan. I gotta call Bobbie before 10 anyway to see when her flight leaves." He glanced quickly over at Danielle, almost hoping she hadn't heard that. "Danielle?" Mr. Richards had reappeared. "Would you like to come work on some promotional work for a while?"Danielle glanced at Josh, then back at Mr. Richards. "Um..ya, sure!" she rose to her feet, and walked to the door. She turned back to Josh. "So, I guess I'll see you, tomorrow? I'm looking forward to it," she smiled at him, blushing once again with embarassment.
"Ya, me,too.." he smiled back and watched them exit out the door. Once the two were gone, he regrouped himself. He smiled and laid his head down on the control board. "Oh, no..." he said to himself. "This CAN'T be good!�
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