dannie and steve

Since you've been patiently waiting…

Part One

Part Two

Saturday was sneaky as Saturdays usually are.  It took forever to get there and it got there in the blink of an eye at the same time.  Dannie had carefully planned both what she would wear to work that day and what she would wear out that night.  She tried to go with cute but comfortable, and as she would find out later, it was a good thing that she did.

As the day dragged on, all Dannie could think about was the upcoming evening.  She and Steve hadn’t yet worked out the logistics of getting there; Dannie had just assumed that they would leave from work in their respective cars.  The perma-grin that was attached to Dannie’s face was a dead giveaway that something was up in her world.

“You’re awfully chipper today, “Lori observed.

“Well, yeah.  It’s Saturday and I have a date, I think.”

“What?!?!” Lori squealed.  “Were you even going to tell us?”

“Probably not,” Dannie said as she stuck out her tongue and walked away.

Chuckling to herself, Dannie’s perma-grin changed to an evil smirk without her knowing it.  As she walked towards the stairs, she saw Steve coming down.

“Hey, Dannie.”

“Hi Steve.”

“Listen, about tonight, is it okay if we stop by my place so I can change and then leave from there?  You can leave your car and I’ll drive if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure, that sounds great.  I have clothes in the car.”

“That’s my girl, always prepared.”

Were it not for her dark complexion, Dannie would have flushed a wonderful shade of red before she could mumble something about checking the bar and run upstairs.  Once at the top of the stairs, she damn near fell back down them in the excitement of the moment.  The rest of the day would fly right by, she was sure of it.

As expected, Dannie’s day ended in the blink of an eye, the shake of a tail, and every other cheesy cliché that’s out there.  She ran into Steve as she was making a last round of the store.

“Almost ready, D?”

“Just about.  Maybe fifteen more minutes.”

“Okay then.  I’m going upstairs to have a drink.  Meet me there?”

“Sure.”

Dannie finished up with all of her tasks and the butterflies started migrating south to her stomach while the rest of her migrated north to the bar.  She pulled up a spot next to Steve and ordered a drink.  They chatted a while and finished their drinks.  Noticing the empty glasses, the bartender stopped over to see if refills were needed.

“I’m good, thanks.  Do you know how far I have to drive to get home?” Dannie queried.

“No idea,” replied the bartender, but at the same time, Steve whispered “About 10 minutes.”

And the Oscar goes to…Dannie for acting like she didn’t just have a heart attack.  Was he serious with that comment?  Dannie was just plain floored, but somehow managed to laugh it off and suggest that they get going.  Steve agreed that it was time to go, so they tipped the bartender and headed over to Steve’s place.  When they arrived, Steve offered his bedroom so Dannie could change which she did as quickly as she could.  Once she was dressed and ready, Dannie watched some TV while Steve got ready.

Steve emerged from the bedroom looking more fantastic than Dannie had ever seen him.  It was just jeans and a t-shirt, but boy did he look great in them.  The dark hair, the light eyes, the tattoo creeping out of the top of his shirt, it all had Dannie aflutter.  He asked if she was ready to go and she answered in the affirmative.  As promised, Steve drove them down to the club.

It was obvious that Steve had been to this club before since he had a ‘usual’ parking spot.  Dannie wondered how he remembered, but she was soon to find out.  Steve was kind enough to pay the cover for both of them and ushered Dannie inside.

The club was a little dark and smoky but otherwise clean.  It looked like the opening band had just finished so they were right on time.  In the moment that Dannie had taken to look around, Steve had somehow snuck away to the bar and was already returning with beers for them both.  Steve handed her the beer with one hand and started dragging her to a table with the other.

“Come on, everyone’s over there.”

Everyone?!?!?  Dannie was not prepared for that.  They wound their way through the throng of people and made it to a table that was full of beer and people.  Right away, Dannie recognized the other Steve, but the rest of the people were strangers.  This was so unfair, Dannie thought to herself.  Steve never even mentioned that there would be a bunch of people there that she’d be expected to socialize with, but, always up for a good time, Dannie made the best of it.

Introductions were made and drinking commenced.  The band came on and Dannie enjoyed them a lot.  She enjoyed them enough to pick up their CD, although it would be tough to say that it was simply for the music and not a memento of the evening.  Steve’s friends took Dannie in and made her feel welcome, and by the end of the evening, she knew a little something about everyone and vise versa…..

Read and post comments

Eventually, I will put all of this together.  In the meantime, here is part one.

Here is part two.

And now, on with the story.

Dannie was more tired than she gave herself credit for since the next thing she remembered was waking up in a strange place under something heavy.  She looked around and tried to clear the fog from her head.  Ceiling.  Window.  Bed.  Four-post.  Holy crap!  I'm in Steve's bed!

The heavy thing that she was under was actually more than one thing: Steve's arm and leg.  Had they slept cuddled like this all night?  Seems impossible as Dannie just isn't the snuggling type.  The urge to relieve the pressure on her bladder struck Dannie just as hard as the realization of where she was.  She started trying to scoot out from under Steve as not to wake him, but the further she scooted away, the more he held on.

Dannie wondered if reverse psychology worked on the sleeping.  She stopped moving around to see if that would loosen his grip.  If it didn't work soon, she'd just have to power her way out because if she didn't get out of his bed soon, she was sure that she'd never be invited back.  Giving up all attempts at subtlety, Dannie slid out of the bed and into the bathroom.

After taking care of business, Dannie checked herself out in the mirror.  Her hair wasn't too badly mussed, a product of sleeping like the dead.  A few pillow lines on the face here and there, but nothing that should scare Steve to death when he wakes up and sees her there.  For lack of a toothbrush, she rinsed her mouth out and headed back to bed.

All of Dannie's efforts were for naught.  Steve woke up when she went to prevent her bladder from exploding.  When Dannie slid back into the bed, Steve was holding his arms out for her.  With no other thoughts other than going back to sleep, she cozied up in Steve's arms, letting his warmth and the faint smell of last night's cologne envelope her.

When Dannie woke again, she was alone.  She looked around the bedroom, no Steve.  The bathroom door was open and the smell of soap wafted out and tickled her nose.  Curiosity got the best of her and she ventured out into the living room.  Empty.  Now she was starting to get a little concerned.  She meekly called out Steve's name and in reply heard nothing but the chirping of the birds outside.  Completely at a loss for what to do next, Dannie decided to get dressed and head out as she did have to work later on.  She went back into the bedroom to find her pile of clothes and was stunned by what she found.  Her clothes and shoes were right where she left them, but on top of them sat a key and a note.

D,

I had to go in for the mid shift.  You were sleeping so well; I didn't want to wake you.  Take your time, hang out if you like, just use this key to lock up when you leave.  I'll still be at work when you get there.  See you soon.

S

This was just too crazy for words.  First of all, Dannie knows that she isn't that deep of a sleeper, especially in someone else's bed.  Secondly, even though it won't happen, how in the world does Steve know that she won't ransack the place and take off?  At the very least, snoop through his stuff?  It turns out that Steve knows Dannie better than Dannie knows herself.  Not quite comfortable being alone in Steve's house, Dannie quickly gathers her things, makes the bed and vacates the premises.  The less time she's there, the less time there is for something to go wrong.

As Dannie drives home, she replays the events of the last 24 or so hours in her head.  It was one thing for him to invite her over, that's innocent enough, but for a friend to "coincidentally" drop by who seems to know a lot about her, and then for him to leave her in his house?  Tread lightly, she told herself.  Don't look into things.  Take this slow.

Taking things slow was easier said than done.  There would be the constant questioning from Jen and Lori, sideways looks from some of the other females that worked there, the growing attraction between Dannie and Steve, and there was a nagging voice in the back of Dannie's head urging her to keep her distance.  The first she tried to answer as vaguely as possible, the second she ignored, the third became a focus and the last, the last never went away, it just started losing its voice.

Later that day, Dannie found a discreet way to return Steve's key to him.  He asked if she had found everything she needed and she replied that she didn't need anything so there was nothing to find.  At this, Steve smiled the smile that makes knees weak and told her that she was welcome over any time.  He also chose this moment to tell her about a band that he was going to see.  He thought that she would enjoy them also and asked if she wanted to go.  The little voice, hoarse now, tried to tell her not to go, but her heart and mouth said yes before they ever even thought it out. 

They planned it all out and things magically fell into place, almost like Steve had written their schedules.  The band played on Saturday night, both Dannie and Steve would finish work by 9 and both had Sunday off.  The fates had allowed, just this once, planetary alignment for these two and left the rest to their good buddy chance.

Read and post comments