First Impressions
Parts 3-4
By Kellie
Michelle was on her way out the ER doors after her shift when she heard Lillian call her name. Michelle turned towards the admissions desk to see what Lillian needed when she spotted Danny standing at the counter with a single pink rose in his hand. She walked over to the counter while making a deliberate effort not to meet his gaze. "Lillian, is there something you needed?"
"This gentleman has been waiting for your shift to end for nearly an hour, I thought you'd like to speak with him," Lillian replied as she gestured towards Danny.
"Trust me, he's no gentleman. As for speaking with him, let me know when pigs fly!" Michelle replied before spinning on her heel and marching towards the door. She felt Danny grab her elbow and she jerked her arm away and turned to face him. "I have nothing to say to you. Leave me alone."
"Well, I have something to say to you and you're going to listen," Danny firmly stated.
Michelle looked up Danny and momentarily thought about how she could get lost looking into his deep brown eyes. She heard Rick's voice floating up the hallway and decided that she didn't want him to witness her confrontation with Danny. "Fine, I'll listen - but not in the middle of the ER waiting room. Let's go," Michelle said resolutely as she turned and headed towards the door.
Danny followed Michelle out the door and out to her car. She leaned against the side of car, crossed her arms and looked up at Danny. "You have thirty seconds, start talking."
"Michelle, I wanted to give you this peace offering," Danny began as he handed her the rose. "After you left, I felt like I had left you with the wrong impression."
"Wrong impression?" Michelle questioned. "What kind of impression does a mob prince expect to make on someone like me?" Michelle began to recite a litany of reasons why she shouldn't give Danny the time of day. She was halted when Danny suddenly pulled her into a kiss. She tried to resist at first, but soon found herself melting into his arms.
Danny finally pulled away and held the rose up. He stroked the side of Michelle's cheek with the flower as he spoke, "That was the impression I wanted to leave."
Danny stuck the stem of the rose into the open top of her purse before he turned and walked away.
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Michelle stood by the side of her car for several minutes in shock over the events of the past few minutes. Her mind was racing. She knew there were plenty of excellent reasons why she should stay away from Danny, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was definitely attracted to him. She shook her head as she said, "Okay, Michelle... pull yourself together." She took a deep breath and climbed into her car. "I really should go home to study, but I want to know more about Danny Santos." Michelle silently made the one block trip back to Company.
It was late, and Michelle saw that Buzz and Selena were beginning to clean up for closing. "Buzz, is it too late for me to get some coffee?"
"No, I just fixed a fresh pot. Frank called a minute ago and asked me to make some. He and David are coming by for a quick bite on their break. They've been out on a surveillance assignment all night," Buzz answered as he walked over and placed a mug on the bar in front of Michelle.
"Michelle, you look a little our of sorts. How was your shift tonight?" Buzz inquired as Selena walked over and started cleaning the bar beside Michelle.
"It was a pretty quiet night in ER. It's what happened when I got off that's got me flustered," she replied.
"Does Danny Santos have anything to do with it?" Buzz asked.
"How did you know, Buzz?"
"After you left for the hospital, Danny asked me about you and how he could find you. I told him to try the hospital. What happened?"
"Well, when I got off, he was standing at the admissions desk waiting for me. Being the arrogant jerk he is, he insisted on talking with me after I made it crystal clear that I wanted nothing to do with him," Michelle replied.
"Michelle, talking to a guy doesn't get you worked up like this. What else happened?" Selena asked.
"He brought me a rose to apologize for our run in earlier and...well...," Michelle stammered over the words, "he kissed me."
Selena came around and sat down on the bar stool next to Michelle, "So, what upset you more - the fact that he kissed you or the fact that you enjoyed it?"
"I..I did not enjoy... Okay, maybe I did enjoy it. I'm so confused. Even if I did run into him again, I know I need to stay far away from him. I can only imagine what people would say if I went out with a member of the Santos family," Michelle said.
Selena reached up and pushed Michelle's falling hair out of her face. "Girlfriend, I think you might be surprised if you got to know Danny."
"Selena, his family is the mob."
Buzz spoke, "Danny doesn't have anything to do with his family's business. He moved into the boarding house about a month ago. His mother cut him off when he refused to work at SanCorp."
Michelle sat in stunned silence for a moment as she realized how she had misjudged Danny based upon his name. "Buzz, what else can you tell me about Danny?"
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Buzz said as he gestured towards the door going between the boarding house and Company.
Michelle turned and saw Danny leaning against the doorframe watching her.