Chapter 23: Chapter 23

My feud with Dani had lasted almost a month and though I tried to talk to her, she just gave me necessary responses which hurt me even more. Though she was mad, she still ate the dinner I made every day. At least, she didn't despise my food.

Sean asked me on a date tonight and I decided to ask Dani to help me. Maybe this could be my chance to get closer to her.

She was in the living room, watching the TV in front of her but I could tell that she wasn't interested in whatever show she was watching.

"Hey", I said leaning against the door frame.

She took a glance towards me. "Hey"

I approached her and sat on the couch beside her. "So, I have a date tonight", I said nervously. Her attention was still straight at the TV.

"And I need your help to get me ready", I continued. "Please?", I added nervously.

She still didn't say anything so I did the only thing that would get her attention. I put my puppy dog's face near her face and laid my head on her lap. "Dani, talk to me", I said with my high-pitched voice as I playfully grabbed her shirt.

She finally looked down at me and tried her best to hold her laugh. I finally got her so I kept grabbing her face with my puppy dog's face.

"Alright. I'll help you. Now stop with that face", she laughed as she pushed me away.

"Yay", I said as I dragged her to my room.

"So, who's the guy? Is it the guy from last time?", she asked curiously.

"Actually yeah", I said shyly.

"So you guys got back together?", she said as she searched my closet.

"Yeah. We had some misunderstanding but it's all good now", I said putting foundation on my face.

"So how do you know him? You need to spill this time, girl. Oh, and by the way, I think you'd look good in this dress", she said as she showed me a pastel dress with a belt.

"It's great. Thanks, Dani. And to answer your question, I met him when I was waiting for the rain to stop at one of the hotel buses and he happened to be there. He looked kind of hungry so I offered him my PB&J", I said.

"Of course you'd do that", Dani rolled her eyes. "Then?"

"Then I met him again when I worked at the cafe and that's when we started talking", I changed the storyline a little bit, didn't want her to know the true Sean.

"Damn, you're sure a lucky girl. He's freaking hot", she said dreamily while helping with my hair.

I just laughed. I was kind of proud but inside a little jealous because mostly girls react the same way as Dani did once they saw Sean. He looked like a Greek God, so of course, he'll gain females' attention.

"So, do you know where he's taking you?", she asked putting the flat iron away.

"No, he doesn't want to tell me", I sighed. I asked him earlier through text and he told me to dress nice.

"Men. They always give surprises", she said shaking her head. "I remember when I and James started dating and he'd never tell me where we're going through I kept whining", she blurted.

Dani kept babbling about her relationship with James and I gave her the responses she needed to hear. Slowly, we were back to normal again and it seemed that our feud had long gone.

After I put on my dress, I walked towards the mirror to check my appearance. I got to say, I looked good.

"You look hot. Sean's going to freak", Dani giggled.

Like a cue, the doorbell rang.

"It's gotta be the prince charming", Dani wiggled her brows and headed to the front door.

I grabbed my purse and checked myself one last time before going out. Sean was talking with Dani and his eyes turned to me when he noticed my presence. Dani followed his gaze and grinned. "There she is. Isn't she pretty?", she hit his bicep playfully.

"She's gorgeous", he smirked, his eyes never leave mine.

"Well, I guess my hard work is paid off. Now go have fun, you two", she said pushing me and Sean towards the door. "But not too fun", she added before closing the door making me blushed.

"I see you both are good now?", Sean said as we walked.

"Yeah, you can say that", I said. He knew about my feud with Dani. I talked to him about the dinner incident last month and Sean wasn't happy about it. I was glad that he cared and took my side about the situation.

"Anyway, where are you taking me?", I batted my eyelashes after we got to his car.

"I'm not telling you", he said amused with my attempt.

"Are we going to your house again?"

"No"

"A restaurant?"

"No"

"The aquarium?"

"No"

I groaned in surrender and leaned my back on the chair. He chuckled and put his hand on my thigh. It felt good so I didn't pull away.

I didn't acknowledge my surrounding that when he stopped the car, I was kind of surprised when I saw we were in some kind of forest.

"Don't worry babe, I'm not taking you here to kill you", he laughed when he saw my scared expression.

I got out of the car and looked around. There was nothing but trees. Sean grabbed some blankets and a picnic basket from the back seat. Wow, I didn't realize those things were at the back seat the whole time.

"We're doing picnic here?", I asked as he started to spread the blanket.

"You don't like it?", he sounded concerned.

"No, I didn't mean like that. I was just asking. Stop worrying so much", I giggled.

"Oh, good", he sighed in relief. "I just want us to have alone time", he said scratching his neck nervously. I could tell he rarely voiced his emotion to anyone and the way he just told me was kind of cute.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you", I said pinching his cheek and he glared at me.

We set the picnic together and when it was all done, I couldn't be more excited about what we would eat.

"I hope you're hungry", he exclaimed as he took out the eating utensils and the food from the basket. There were sandwiches, quesadillas, popcorn, fruits, and my eyes lighted up the fact that he also brought cheesecake. He chuckled at my excitement.

"Starving", I admitted. It was a lot of food he brought. He handed me a sandwich and I took it happily. I took a bite and it was freaking good.

"This is so good", I said with my mouth still full.

"I'm glad you like it", he smiled taking out a bottle of wine that I didn't notice.

"Damn, dude. Is that basket a magic pocket? How come I didn't see that", I blurted out.

"Maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings", he joked.

"Cheers", he said tapping his glass lightly against mine and drank the whole liquid. I drank mine as well and let out a sigh after a sip. That was a good wine.

"So, I'm going away in a week", he said as we ate the cheesecake.

"Go where?", feeling sad that he'd probably going away for a while.

"I have to take care of something in Chicago and I don't know how long I'd be gone", his voice was like a whisper.

"Oh, OK", I said. I can't help but curiosity filled my mind.

"Does it involve the people who want to take you down?", I asked carefully.

I saw his fist clenched and unclenched. "Yes", he said.

I put my head down and played with the material of my dress. He seemed to sense my distress than be lift my chin with his hand. "Don't worry. I'll never let them hurt you. I'll kill them if they ever lay at hand on you", he promised. His eyes spoke determination.

"But how about you? I'm worried about you being hurt too", I muttered.

"I can take care of myself. It's you that I'm worried about. I can't lose you", his eyes looked hurt.

"Well, I can't lose you too. Just promise me that you'll be careful", I hold the tears that threatened to fall.

"I promise, baby", he said kissing my temple.

"I'm serious, Sean. If something happens to you, I will never forgive you", I felt my tears flew from my eyes.

"Yes, baby. I promise you with my life. I won't leave you and you won't leave me", he said hugging me by my waist. I circled my arms around his neck and put my head against his chest, listening to this heartbeat. I couldn't help but dread his trip. He could get hurt or worse, getting killed.

"I don't want you working at the cafe anymore", he suddenly said making me looked up.

"What?"

"You've heard me. I don't want you working at the cafe anymore. It's not safe, especially when I'm gone", he said sternly. I looked for any sign of a joke but couldn't find any. He was serious.

"You can't do that. I need the money for college", I argued.

"I can afford you. I'll give anything you want just don't work anymore", he said. Was he for real? It sounded like I wanted him for money.

"No", I said crossing my arm.

I heard him growl. "This is not a discussion. You're not working and that's final"

"You can't just decide what I can and can't do", I gritted my teeth.

"Yes, I can because you'll listen to me", he shouted making me shiver. His eyes soften when he saw my state.

"Take me home", I said lowly. I didn't wait for him and sprinted to the car.