First Impressions
Parts 7-8
By Kellie
Michelle froze momentarily. She couldn't help thinking about the dream she had just awakened from. What am I going to do? Michelle thought to herself.
"Michelle, what should I tell him?" Rick asked from the other side of the slightly open door.
"Uh - Uh - Tell him I'll be down in a few minutes," Michelle said. Realizing that she didn't want her brother to know exactly who Danny was yet, Michelle added, "Oh - and Rick, don't play overprotective big brother and grill him."
"Would I do that?" Rick sarcastically commented.
"Rick!" Michelle began.
"Okay - I get the message. Abby's down there to hold me back anyway."
"Thank God for small miracles!" Michelle laughed as she heard Rick walk away. "Now, what the hell am I going to do?"
Michelle walked into her bathroom and began brushing her teeth. Five minutes later, she emerged dressed in a pair of snug jeans and a pink T-shirt. She stopped at her dresser and quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail. Michelle thought about her conflicting feelings regarding Danny. Her head was telling her that he's a Santos and that's nothing but trouble. As she recalled his kiss and the almost electric feeling she had whenever he was near, Michelle couldn't help wanting to know more about him. "Which side do I follow, my head or my heart?" Michelle wondered aloud as she headed for the stairs.
The sight when she entered the kitchen took her breath away. Danny was sitting at the kitchen table having coffee with Rick, Abby, and Meta. She saw a bouquet of pink roses lying on the table beside him. He was wearing a blue button down shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket. He stood as she entered the room.
"Good morning," Michelle said to everyone at the table. "I'm sorry I took so long. I wasn't expecting any visitors this morning."
"Michelle, I'm sorry to drop by unannounced, but I needed to speak with you."
Abby spoke, "Rick, let's go get ready for brunch with Phillip and Harley."
"Abby, we don't..." Rick began.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you about our brunch plans. Sorry, sweetheart. We'd better hurry or we're going to be late. Danny, it was nice to meet you," Abby interjected.
"The pleasure was mine," Danny answered.
"Michelle, I'm going for my morning walk. Danny, I hope to see you again soon." Meta added.
"I would like that Mrs. Bauer."
"Please call me Meta," she said. "I'll see you two later."
Danny and Michelle were left alone in the Bauer kitchen.
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As soon as she heard Meta close the door, Michelle went into defensive mode. As she had come down the stairs, her head had taken charge. She wanted to know everything she could about Danny Santos. Michelle was determined that wasn't going to let herself get involved with Danny until she was sure he wasn't connected to his family's business. She was determined not to give in to her attraction to him. "Danny, what are you doing here and how the hell did you find out where I live?"
"I'm here because we didn't finish our talk last night. I believe you had some questions to ask me and I thought I'd answer them over breakfast. As for finding out where you live, it wasn't that difficult," Danny remarked as he moved closer to Michelle.
Michelle backed up a step as he approached. She was suddenly uncertain of how to handle herself.
"Michelle, it's alright. I'm not going to bite," he said as he held the roses out towards her.
Michelle took the roses and held them to her face as she inhaled their sweet fragrance. "They're beautiful. You really shouldn't have."
"Their beauty pales in comparison to you," Danny remarked.
"Smooth Santos."
"Of course! Now about breakfast..." he began.
"I can't. I have plans in a little while."
"Do your plans have anything to do with work or school?"
"No, why?" Michelle inquired.
"Your plans just changed, let's go!" Danny said as he grabbed her hand.
"Hey! I didn't say I'd go with you!"
"I'm not giving you a choice," he said as he pulled Michelle towards the door.
"Danny, let me go!" Michelle gruffly said as he opened the door and started to pull her out. "At least let me grab my purse."
Danny paused but would not release his grip on her left wrist as Michelle stretched out with her right arm and grabbed her purse. As soon as she wrapped her hand around the strap, Danny was pushing her out the door as he pulled it closed.
The next thing Michelle knew, she was in Danny's black Corvette. She crossed her arms over her chest and began to tap her right index finger on her elbow. As they rode down the road in silence, Danny looked across at her. "You know, you're beautiful when you're angry."
"Well, you should know. Every time we meet, I end up angry," Michelle remarked firmly.
Danny brought the car to a stop at the park. He walked around to the passenger side and opened Michelle's door. As she got out, Michelle asked, "Why are we here? You said we were going to breakfast."
Danny popped the trunk of the car open and pulled out a thermos of coffee, a bag of doughnuts, and a couple of styrofoam cups. "Here's breakfast. Let's go," he said as he led Michelle towards a park bench.
Michelle sat and quietly watched as Danny poured coffee into the two cups. "How do you take your coffee?" he asked.
"With sugar."
Danny reached into his jacket pocket and handed Michelle a couple of packets of sugar before passing her the cup and a plastic spoon. "Buzz told me you like chocolate cream filled doughnuts, so that's what I brought," he said as he handed Michelle the doughnut wrapped in wax paper and a napkin.
"Yeah, those are my favorite. Thank you," Michelle replied.
Michelle nibbled at her doughnut for a few minutes as she watched Danny begin to eat a plain glazed doughnut. No longer able to stand the awkward silence, she spoke, "Okay, you said that you would answer all my questions over breakfast."
Danny glanced up at Michelle with a slight grin on his face as he replied, "Yeah, I did. Fire away."