the other girl

Chapter 19

Daniel's POV

"Let's find Courtney and go home. I hope she's not too mad at me. Tonight didn't go exactly how I planned it to."

"She's been over there talking to that guy for hours." I said glaring at them.

"Oh my goodness! She looks so happy! It didn't go how I planned but she met a guy and she won't be alone!" I didn't respond. "Are you jealous?" She asked with a laugh. "Oh my God! You are!"

I sighed. "I want to apologize. I want to make things right. But I guess it's too late."

"It's not too late. You can still apologize. But it won't end how you want it to. It's better to end on good terms than to leave it like this."

"Yeah, I guess." I mumbled.

Courtney's POV

I laughed and laughed with Holden. He was hilarious! He seems like a pretty decent guy. "Hey, lovebird. We're ready to go. Sorry to take you away from McDreamy but it's getting late." Jess said coming from behind me.

"Alright." I said with a sigh.

"When are you gonna be back?"

"I'm not sure." I said thinking. I turned around. "Jess, how do you say we come back for your going away party?" I asked with a smile.

She laughed. "Of course we can. We'll be back December 4th." She said looking at Holden.

"I'll wait four days for you." He said kissing my hand.

I laughed. "See ya then."

We walked out and I was over the moon. "Oh my goodness, I'm in love." I said pretending to faint into Jessica's arms.

She laughed. "I'm glad you found a good guy. It makes me feel better about leaving."

"You didn't have to worry in the first place." I said getting into the front seat.

She got in the back and she made Daniel sit in the front again.

"Still, it would just get to me." She said.

Daniel fake coughed. I rolled my eyes. "Yes?" I asked.

"I just wanted to say sorry. Before you cut me off, let me finish. I know the damage is done but I want to end on good terms."

I didn't say anything for a hot second. "Thank you." I said. It was silent for a second. "I guess I owe you an apology too. For everything. All the lies. And secrets."

"I mean, you said it yourself. You never lied... you were just hiding the truth."

We both let out an awkward laugh. But it was nice. I missed being with him. It's been two years but it felt like an eternity.

"Aww..." Jess started. "You two good now?" She asked.

Daniel looked at me. I grinned. "We're good."

"Yay! Great way to end the night!" Jessica said smiling.

We drove back home and Jess went upstairs. I was about to lock the doors as Daniel left but I wanted to talk to him more. "You gonna go home?" I asked before closing the door.

"No, moms outta town for the week so I'll probably go back to Mr. Miyagi's place."

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"Great actually. He's really interested in the bonsai trees so I used my college funds to open the shop across the street."

I grinned. "That's sweet. You need a ride to his place?" I asked.

"No, it's ok. It's only a 45 minute walk."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Daniel, it's 2:30 in the morning. Get in the car."

I drove him about five minutes to his place and dropped him off. "I'll see you later. Tell Mr. Miyagi I said hi."

"See ya, Court."

I felt better tonight. Something clicked. I just felt happier. Like a switch was just flicked and I was normal again. But I had a feeling it wouldn't last for long. Holden and Daniel... this is starting to seem familiar.

*Four Days Later*

I met Holden in the bar and we talked the night away again. And I felt bad about Daniel again. Daniel and Jess spent the night together and I was chit chatting all night. It got my mind off things but not for long cause as soon as I left, I was thinking about Daniel again.

Holden asked if I would come back to the bar tomorrow and I had to say yes. I really do like him. He's different. It does weird me out that he only likes to meet at the bar though.

I had an emotional goodbye to Jess the next day. We promised to call each other at least once a week and never to lose touch. And of course, we'll visit each other.

I went to the bar the next day and I waited for an hour for him to get there. He was later than usual. I was on my third sprite by the time we got there.

"Hey, doll. Sorry I'm late. I got caught up in something."

"Oh. It's ok. But I was just wondering, why do we keep coming to this bar? Don't you wanna go out to eat or something?"

"Oh sorry, doll. I just thought it was kinda special to us. Since we met here."

"I mean, it's alright. But next time we should go out to eat." I recommended.

"No, you deserve something special. I'll take you out now. Whatever you want, hun."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm ok with staying here if you want."

"Come on. I'll take you out. Let's go."

He grabbed my hand and we went out the back way. "Where are we going?"

"We're taking a stop first. A test drive, you could say."

"Huh?" I asked. He pushed me out the door and I tripped down the steps. "Woah, what the hell?" I asked. He pinned me against the wall and put his hands next to my shoulders. "Hey! What the fuck?" I asked.

"Test drive." He said flirtatiously.

Oh God, he's gonna hurt me. And Jess is gone and Daniel isn't here. No. No. No. Today is the day I die. He's gonna hurt me.

Wait...

I know karate!