"shocking" ! supertf

14. i'll take it.

i held onto daniel's arm as he helped me walk from the cab, up the stairs, and towards the party. it was well lit, extremely tidy, and especially fancy. this party made the one in dallas seem like a frat house. thankfully, i wasn't over or under dressed.

"you look great, you're gonna do great," daniel smiled at me as we reached the door. i smiled back at him.

"you look handsome, too, but you didn't hear that from me," i giggled as he opened the door for us.

i smelled alcohol as soon as we stepped foot inside, feeling a slight breeze as the air conditioner pulled towards the open door.

"want my jacket?" daniel noticed my slight shiver, which i graciously declined.

"no way, i get one from one of these crazy rich executives," i grinned as we walked towards the most familiar faces. daniel laughed at my response, as i finally let go of his arm to greet our boss.

"hey, luna, how's san francisco treating you?" he asked, placing a hand on my lower back. uncomfortable and awkward, though i didn't dare to pull away from it.

"good, thanks. i'm really liking it here so far," i reminisced on matthew, mainly. god, i just wanted to shout about it from the top of one of these fancy glass tables.

"i'm trying to get her to come to dallas," daniel joined in, standing next to me again with a drink in his hand already.

"they want you there. where are you so far with that?" i knew this question was coming, though i was still ill prepared.

"it sounds like a great deal," i responded as vaguely as possible. daniel picked up on this, gently bumping my arm with his elbow. "i don't know though, i'm starting to like it here, too, and the team's great."

"these spots aren't filling up as fast as dallas though, sweetie," my boss advised, and looking past the gross pet name from him, he was right. "can i at least tell them you're in for now? if you decide not to, just let me know before the season ends again."

i glanced at daniel, taking note of the extended deadline i've been practically begging daniel for. nodding, i gently took the full drink from daniel's hand. he breathed a laugh as i did so.

"yeah, i'm in," i decided to say, at least for now. what a relief it was to hear that i could change my mind by the end of the season. that was perfect.

"great, they'll be happy to hear it, then," he smiled as he removed his hand from my back, finally. turning away, daniel slowly followed.

"that's great sweetie, now go get me some more sponsors like a good little slut," daniel teased with a whisper, before placing a quick hand on my back, making me push him away with a laugh.

"i'm not a slut, daniel. now get away from me, so i can trick these rich fucks," i stated, adjusting the straps on my dress, letting one lazily fall to the side as a finishing touch.

•

unfortunately, the men in california seemed to be super touchy, especially when it came down to me trying to get sponsorship considerations in any possible way. it wasn't entirely on us, however, people like daniel and i were just put at these parties to maybe persuade or introduce people to our teams. next few days, they'd make a final decision. i didn't know who a lot of these guys were, or exactly which company they were representing. it was hard to keep track after talking to almost everyone there.

by the time daniel was done speaking to one, i already had spoke to four. i kept giving him knowing glances from across the room, gesturing to my newest 'friend'. further proving my point from the car, he normally grinned in pride or had to look away to contain a laugh. eventually, however, he stole me away from another representative.

"i'm tired, you coming?" he said, slightly rubbing his eye. i sighed, turning back around. finishing my drink, i said goodbye to the man i spoke to last, and took hold of daniel's arm again. he led the way towards the door, finally getting some fresh air after hours of being indoors.

we stopped near the sidewalk, waiting for a cab to show up, eventually. letting go of his arm, i finally checked my phone. it had been four hours, it was nearing midnight.

matthew - i miss you

matthew - you're so fucking fine

matthew - let me know when you get back.

"i think that went good," daniel interrupted my train of thought, slowly removing his jacket. i nodded quickly, before responding to matthew.

luna - im on my way back now

locking my phone again, daniel had been attempting to put his jacket over my shoulders. quietly thanking him, i held it close to my arms to protect myself from the slight breeze. the slit in the dress was killing me, even if it wasn't generally that cold, it still felt like a slap to the leg.

"yeah, i think we did good," i agreed, as we both watched the cab pull up to the curb. daniel opened the door for me, letting me slide all the way to the end.

daniel directed the driver to my hotel, handing him cash in exchange for the ride.

"one of these days, i'll be able to pay you back for all this."

"you can pay me back by staying in dallas."