Second Time Around
CHAPTER 5 Beginnings
The kiss was soft and slow. Danny caught me off guard and it took me a couple of seconds to respond to her actions. I parted my lips a little and her tongue slowly made it's way into my mouth. Danny was now half laying on me, and I had one hand on her back and the other on her head, holding back her hair. She still had one hand on my cheek, gently holding my head as our kissing became deeper. She moved her hand over my stomach and than along my upper thigh. It had been awhile since I had been intimate with anyone, and I had almost forgotten how good another person's touch could be. Danny was gentle and I was happy knowing that this wouldn't be a one off thing. I wanted to hold her forever, kiss her lips and feel her skin on mine. There was a knock at the door. We both stopped, our lips only millimeters apart, waiting for another knock to know that we weren't hearing things. Our breathing was heavy. I felt like a teenager making out in my room whose parents had just come home early. The knock came again.
"Your sister" I said
Danny looked at me.
"It's ok. Get the door" I smiled.
She kissed me lightly on the cheek beside my lips and went to the door. I stayed on my bed trying to get a hold of what had just happened. My mind was running at a million miles an hour. I could hear her talking with her sister in the living room. I wanted her back on my bed with me, but I knew her sister had just driven 30 minutes to see Danny so I wasn't going to tell her to come back later. I composed myself and put my top back on. I also put on my boots and went out into the living room. Danny smiled when she saw me.
"This is Ashley" She said to her sister "And this is my sister Amy"
Amy put out her hand and I shook it "Danielle's told me lots about you"
Danny looked down at her feet.
"All good things I hope" I said
"Of course"
I wasn't sure what that meant and I started to think about all the things Danny could have told Amy about me.
"Are you joining us?" Danny asked me.
I shook my head "I'll leave you two to it. I might go see what Mark's up to or something"
Danny's smile faded ever so slightly. I think she was worried that she had made a wrong move by kissing me.
"When will you be back?"
I shrugged "A couple hours maybe"
Danny followed me to the door. Before I went out she stopped me.
"Don't drink, ok? I want to talk when you get back"
"Ok. I'll see you later"
I walked out the door.
After leaving the flat I decided that I wanted to spend time by myself, so skipped going over to Mark's. I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go so I just wondered around the streets. I had wanted Danny since the first time we met and now I had the chance to be with her. I was nervous about it, I must admit. I was hesitant about starting up a relationship. It had taken me so long to get over my last one, even though I was the one who broke it off. There was a time when I told myself that I would never go out with anyone again (I'm sure most people go through this stage after a breakup). I didn't want to get hurt again, but most of all, I didn't want to hurt anyone else. If things didn't work out between Danny and I there was a good chance that our friendship would be lost too. But I suppose there's always risks involved with everything. There also was a good chance that things would work out, and if I didn't take the risk I wouldn't have that chance.
I must have covered a fair distance that afternoon. I got back to my flat at 2pm, and when I tried to unlock the door I realized I had grabbed Danny's keys by mistake. She had five keys, not including her car keys, and of course, the fifth one I tried was the right one. I walked in the door and kicked over a stack of newspapers that had been put there to be taken out to the recycling bin. I mumbled to myself as I straightened them up. I walked into the kitchen and threw Danny's keys on the table.
"Have a few problems with the door?" Danny asked looking straight at me. I knew she was seeing if I was drunk.
"I took your keys by mistake, I didn't know which was the right one" I smiled at her.
The kitchen and living room are really one large room. Danny was sitting on the beanbag and Amy was on the couch that faced the TV. I poured myself some water and then went into the freezer to get some ice. When I opened the door I couldn't help but laugh. Mark's shoe was in the icebox. I took it out and changed my mind about the ice. Amy moved her legs and I sat down beside her. I couldn't help but wonder if Danny had talked about me. I knew Amy and her were close so there was a good chance that Danny had mentioned something to her about what had happened between us. I like those sorts of things to be kept private so I felt a little uncomfortable.
Amy took a sip of her coffee "Dan says you're at uni doing media studies? How's that going?"
"Yeah, it's going pretty well"
"What do you want to do once you finish?"
I thought for a second "I'm not too sure. I've changed my mind a number of times since starting the course. I originally planed to travel after finishing uni, but I guess whether I do or not depends on what else is going on in my life at the time. I've always been interested in film production, although that is a very competitive area. But like I said, I'm not too sure. I guess when the time comes I'll weigh up my options, and passions, and take it from there"
Amy nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. I was like that too. Dan, however, has wanted to be a doctor since she was four"
"Really?" I asked looking across at Danny "When I was four I wanted to be a cat. I was heart broken when my parents told me that was never going to happen"
Danny laughed.
Amy turned back to me. "Do your parents live around here?"
"Not really. They live about two hours away" I looked down at my glass "We never really got on that well"
"I didn't know that" Danny said, "You've never really talked about your parents, except for what they do"
"There's not much to tell. I was just never what they wanted. I didn't fill their expectations of what the eldest daughter should be like" I paused "Excuse me. I'm just going to get another drink"
I got up and went into the kitchen. I hadn't had the best child hood - although I'm sure not the worst either - and I didn't really like to talk or think about it. I refilled my glass and went back to the couch.
Amy looked at me "So, do you work?"
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Danny kick Amy's foot. I knew what Amy was doing. She was checking me out, making sure that I was suitable for her younger sister. It was fine with it. I was glad that Danny had someone who cared about her.
"I work at an Italian restaurant about three times a week. That suits me well with my study"
Amy went to open her mouth to speak, but Danny cut in.
"Did you end up seeing Mark?"
"No. I just wondered around"
"Oh. You could of stayed here. I hope you didn't feel like you had to leave?"
"No. I just needed some time to myself. I like to wonder around sometimes"
Amy left at 6pm. Danny asked if she wanted to have dinner with us, but Amy declined and said she would another time. I went into the kitchen and put my glass in the sink. I stared out the window. After a few moments I noticed Danny watching me out of the corner of my eye.
I smiled at her "Sorry, I was off in my own world"
"What are you thinking about?"
Danny came up behind me and put her hand on my hips. She gave me a chance to back away, but when I didn't move she brought her body up against mine, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my shoulder. I felt so safe.
"Lots of things"
"I'm sorry about Amy asking so many questions. She's a little protective over me"
I smiled and looked at her in the reflection in the glass.
"That's fine. It's good that you have someone looking out for you"
She thought for a moment "You see, my last girlfriend dropped out of uni, didn't work and I ended up supporting her, she smoked and her father ended up in prison after nearly bashing a man to death. So that's why my sister asked those questions"
"Huh" I paused "I can't really picture you with someone like that"
She lifted her head from my shoulder "I was crazy" she smiled "It was exciting at the time. When we first met she was very sweet and we got on well, but something changed. I always believed that she would go back to how she was, but things were never the same. I just didn't want to be by myself I guess"
"I can understand that"
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm sorry if Amy upset you when she asked about your parents"
"No, that was ok. She didn't"
"If you want to talk about it, you know I'll listen"
"I know"
We stayed like that at the window for a few more minutes before getting dinner ready. We made pasta. I set up the table while Danny served it up.
Over dinner we talked about this and that, but we never talked about what had happened earlier that day. After dinner Danny watched some TV while I did some study and reading that I had to do for the next day. I had my head in my books when Danny came in my room.
"Sorry to bother you. I'm going to hop into bed now. Can you come in my room once you finish here, if it's not too late?"
"Sure" I smiled.
Danny left my room.
I tried my hardest to concentrate on what I was reading, but my mind was doing its usual thing and thinking about other things, like Danny. I gave up after half an hour of her leaving my room.
Her door was open a crack. I knocked on it lightly before sticking my head through. She was reading a magazine in bed. I hoped on her bed and sat beside her crossed legged. She put down what she was reading. There was silence.
"About what happened today" Danny paused "what do you want that to mean?"
I thought for a minute "I" I cleared my throat "I want that to be the beginning of a relationship"
I waited for her response. She smiled at me.
"Me too"
She placed her hand on me knee.
I thought some more (I was a little nervous). "You know I haven't been with a women right?"
"Yeah"
"I know I'm gay though. I realized that when I was with my ex and it just took me awhile to be comfortable and except it. Oh, I'm blabbering now" I smiled "You know this already. I just want to take things slow. Not because it's my first gay relationship, I just prefer to take things slow"
Danny rubbed my knee "That's fine, sweetie"
I put my hand on hers "Also, I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to doing stuff, if you get me?"
Danny nodded, still smiling.
"I'm sorry. I just get nervous in these situations"
Danny smiled at me even more "We'll take things as slow as you want to and when it comes to doing things, I'm sure you'll be good at it"
I lay down with Danny and snuggled with her for a while before returning to my room to finishing my reading.
That night I went to bed glowing with the fact that I was no longer a single woman.
************************************** Hope you all enjoyed that. The next chapter will be up in a week or two. Please send your comments to: another_face101@hotmail.com THANK YOU!