Right in Time (15 page)

Maggie was sitting there, staring at him in surprise that he had opened up to her so much.  “In those moments,” he continued, “I wasn’t able to verbally express to my family what I was feeling.  What had happened just put me at a loss for words, so, I put it in to a dance.  Even though I’m an adult now and I’ve gotten better, sometimes I don’t think to use my words enough and I just float by.”  Danny shrugged at the last comment and went back to watching the candles flicker, appearing lost in a daze.

“Then why were you so nice to everyone else
last night?” Maggie asked quietly.

“Your
friends are great.  They’re really easy to talk to...” he answered in an equally quiet tone.  After a long pause, he mumbled out “You’re a really pretty girl.”

“What?”
Maggie asked, unsure if she heard him properly.

Danny
groaned, hating that he had to explain this, but knew that if they were to ever be civil to each other, it was necessary. 

“I’m a guy.  Guys sometimes get tongue tied around pretty girls.  So, add that in to the mix and...I’m sorry.”

Maggie
felt a blush creep in to her cheeks.  Just as he was still a guy, she was still a girl and getting complimented on her beauty was something she was still not used to, no matter how many times Caleb told her. 

Wait a minute.  He thinks I’m pretty? Does that mean he has a crush on me?  What?
Maggie thought to herself as these thoughts suddenly overtook her brain.  She physically shook her head to get them out and to bring herself back in to the present moment.  Seeing how Danny had opened up so much to Maggie, she only felt it was right that she extended a sign of peace as well and she suggested that they start over.  With that, Danny extended his hand and introduced himself to her again.  With a small laugh, she took his hand.

Maggie and Danny were
stuck in the studio for hours, but the time flew by.  After they got over their differences, they talked nonstop about anything and everything.  She learned about Danny’s dance troop and band “The Classics” and she filled him in on her bakery.  She wasn’t as open with him as she had been with Caleb on their first date, but she was starting to feel more and more at ease with Danny as their conversations continued. 

Even though their paths weren’t the same, she could relate on many different levels.  It was different talking to him and she got a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.  While with Caleb she was completely comfortable with him from the start, with Danny, she felt the
want
to be completely comfortable with him.  She didn’t know what to make of this sudden feeling, but tried to shrug it off to wanting to be friends with him.  This sufficed until he said something that caused her to look up at him. 

As the candle light caught his eyes, illuminating their intense blue color, she felt a pull that she couldn’t look away and in that moment, all she could do was gulp and think
Oh no.  This cannot be good.

Chapter Thirty

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" Danny yelled as he smacked his hand to his forehead in repetition.  Hey, it hurt less that if he were to bang his head against the wall.  And would leave less of a mark.  He took the few moments he had in the men’s bathroom at the studio to compose himself before he headed back to her.  Maggie was one of his good friend's girlfriends and here he was telling her she made him tongue tied and that she was pretty.  He was frustrated at himself for being both honest (under the circumstances) and for sounding like he was in middle school.

Danny wasn't a relationship type of guy and he was the first to admit this.  Why beat around the bush, he always thought.  But Maggie?  Maggie he could tell was a relationship type of girl.  He could always spot them; the girls that no matter how much liquor you gave them, they would not be going back to his place that night.  Danny didn't think it was a bad thing; like he didn't think it was a bad thing that he was the opposite. 

Actually, that's not entirely true; it was a bad thing when they were girls that Danny would give anything to bed, but knew that would never happen.  He may be seen as a Playboy, but he was above putting on a happy face and faking it for a handful of dates before he would get laid.  The thing that got him about Maggie was that she intrigued him. She was hard to read and played her cards close to her chest.  He knew that it was a dick move, but he toyed with her a bit when they first met, both to test the waters and to see if he could get a read on her.  It was never his intention to be mean or piss her off as much as he apparently did though. 

The more and more time they spent together, the more he began to be able to spot the little ticks that appeared every time he hit a nerve.  It made him chuckle and smirk at first, but when she confronted him, it honestly hurt him a bit that he knew he had dug a bit too far.  Sure, he was a smart ass, but he never wanted to truly be a jerk.

Now he found himself stuck in the awkward position of what to do.  He knew he shouldn't pursue her any further; she was dating Caleb after all, but he also knew that he couldn't put the cat back in the bag (so to speak) and keep on pushing her buttons as he had before.  Fact of the matter was that Danny needed to figure out what he wanted.  If that turned out to be Maggie then he was in completely new territory; morally and emotionally. 

C
hapter Thirty One

Once Maggie and Danny were finally ‘rescued’ from the dance studio, everyone decided to call it a night and head home.  When the power came back on, the alarm company unlocked the front door and Maggie let Caleb know that he should just stay put at home.  He already had one broken foot and she didn’t want him injuring himself anymore by coming out in this weather. 

Her and Danny parted ways at the front door.  To say it was awkward was an understatement.  After they both exchanged good-byes, they stood there unsure as to whether or not they should hug or shake hands or what.  Maggie made the decision for both of them and said one more good-bye and turned and walked away.  She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  Once she reached her apartment, she threw down her belongings on the ground and let out a dumbstruck “what?!” 

She was completely confused at what had happened that evening.  Yes, she understood that Danny had apologized and that they were starting over, but what threw her was the “You’re pretty” comment and the pull she felt from his eyes.  She didn’t know what to do.  She thought about calling her friends, but she knew that Alexis was out on a date and Taylor would just overanalyze everything and Callie wouldn’t analyze everything enough.  Instead, she sat down on the rug in the middle of her living room and talked things out.  To herself.

“’You’re pretty.’  Who the hell says that?  And to your friend’s girlfriend!  And what the hell does that mean anyways.  I mean, there are plenty of pretty girls out there.  Why am I the one that he can’t talk to?  Does that mean he likes me?  Like, he has feelings for me?  Oh shit, what if he has feelings for me?!  Oh, this could be bad.  Wait, Maggie, its fine.  You don’t have feelings for him, so even if he liked you, you don’t like him.  I mean, sure he is gorgeous.  Wait.  I didn’t say that.  No.  I mean...Yes, he is attractive.  He’s amazingly talented, I’ll give him that.  And that body... And those eyes.”

Maggie paused for a long time.  When she was stressed, she over thought everything.  Even more than Taylor. And by everything, it was literally
everything
.  She would go over everything she possibly could have done to make him like her; was she giving out mixed signals?  Or the reasons why she could be reading in to this way more than she needed to.  It was ‘fun’ to live in her mind, sometimes.   And she knew she did this, but couldn’t help it.  Ultimately, the damage had been done; her mind mulling over what she had just vocalized, as well as the thoughts that were still inside; the ones she was afraid to emit.

“Shit.”

Chapter
Thirty Two

The minute Maggie stepped inside the studio with Caleb on Tuesday, she saw him. Her mind clouded over and she instantly became nervous.

“Hey you two!” Danny greeted them both with a smile.

Wow.
Maggie thought to herself.  Sure, she had seen him smile before, but it was never directed at her and he did so genuinely and the little flutter she felt in the pit of her stomach scared her.  She managed to mutter some sort of pleasantry in return, but kept her head down and headed for the corner where she started setting her stuff down. 

Danny watched Maggie as she scurried away and busied herself.  To say that he wasn’t affected by her would be a lie and he knew it, but watching her now he knew he was getting to her as well.  When Caleb sent Danny a message online asking him to do the dance with her, he agreed but grew curious about the girl in his life and checked her out on Facebook.  The picture in Caleb’s profile had been taken when they had hung out with her friends and their boyfriends for the first time.  They were at a crowded pub and without many available seats, Caleb grabbed Maggie and pulled her on to his lap, solving the problem.  Taylor, ever the shutterbug, snapped a picture soon after, both of them wearing the biggest and cutest smiles.  “Cute” Danny thought to himself at the time, but when he walked in to the studio and actually saw her in person, he was taken aback.  The smile he saw in the picture was even brighter in person and she was just beautiful.  That evening locked in the studio with Maggie was amazing.  He wasn’t sure what had caused him to open up the way he did; maybe it was the fact that he knew if he didn’t, he would lose having her in his life, in whatever capacity that may be.

“You ready, man?” Caleb asked Danny, clamping his hand on his shoulder and waking him out of his daydream.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

Maggie and Danny came together in the center of the room.  “Hi.” He said to her in a lowered tone.  Maggie couldn’t help but break the eye contact she had with him and chose to look down at their feet instead.

“Eyes up, Maggie.” Caleb instructed from the sidelines.

Grunting in frustration and thinking to herself
well you’re not getting any tonight now, mister
, Maggie lifted her gaze back to Danny’s as they waited for the music to start.  The first lines of the song played as they started moving in rhythm.  Maggie found herself paying particular attention to the lyrics as Dave Matthews’ raspy voice sang to her.

She couldn’t help but relate to the lyrics as the song went on.  She was fully committed to Caleb, and happily so, but there was something tugging at her heart that she didn’t understand.  The swelling of the music as the song neared its conclusion only aided to the confusion she was feeling.  Emotionally committed to the piece and the song, she felt herself get wound up in her thoughts and what she was feeling.  With the swell of the music, her thoughts swelled together in her brain. 

When the song died out, her brain didn’t shut off though.  It only continued in vain to process everything, giving her a headache.  The sound of Caleb’s clapping hands jolted her and she quickly did the best she could to regain her composure.

“That was amazing you guys!”

“Thanks.” Danny responded, looking down at Maggie with a knowing grin.  It was official, he had fully gotten to her, but he knew she wanted to run.

“Thanks.” Maggie mumbled.

“Seriously, everything I’d wanted to see in this routine came out tonight.  Fantastic!  Ready to do another run through?”

“Ugh, you know what?  I’m not feeling that well.” Maggie said.

“What’s wrong?” Caleb questioned with obvious concern.

“It’s just my stomach.
I’m sure it’s nothing, but I just think it’d be best if I went home.”

“Okay, well I’ll come with you.”

“No, that’s okay.  Really, babe, I’m sure it’s nothing.  I’ll just take some Gravol and try to sleep.”