Beauty And Her Beast

5 - Navy Pier

It took nearly two weeks for Danny and Ray to meet up again. Not because their attraction to each other had dwindled or even that their schedules were too busy, but because Ray was nursing a black eye and a bruised jaw.

While Danny spent most of her two weeks staying on top of her studies and trying not to be the stereotypical girl by over thinking Ray's reasons for not calling her -she failed by the way. All it took was three days of no message from the handsome bad boy and she was convinced it had all been some joke. She could never be good enough for him- Ray spent his time meeting with Sammy and trying to track down Frederico Ines.

Freddy had been Sammy's main man when it came to organizing deals and making sure things went smoothly between trades and trafficking. He was like Sammy's right hand man in the underworld. Posideon's trident. Zeus's lighting bolt. Long story short, the man was important to the business.

And now he was missing.

The family was on edge and Sammy's father was itching to take out his anger on someone. Whether Freddy simply got up and left the mob, was kidnapped, or was under the protection of the feds he was still missing at the end of the day which meant the information he had on Sammy and The Outfit, was missing with him.

So, he had officially become Ray's top priority. Whether Ray found him alive or dead didn't matter to Sammy or his father, he just needed to be found and handled.

Ray looked for him along with Gage and Felix, who had been promoted to Freddy's spot as underboss, and they came to a few leads but they all just led to shootouts and knuckle bruising fights. Even after all that though Ray still managed to think about Danny.

Normally he wouldn't have cared who saw the proof of a fight he'd gotten into, but, not only was it embarrassing that his opponent had managed to hit him in the first place; he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know showing up battered and bruised to a first date wasn't a smart plan.

So, to both his and Danny's dismay, the date was postponed until you could see nothing but a faint purple around the outer edges of Ray's left eye.

Frederico Ines would just have to wait a day.

Danny stood in front of the gate at Navy Pier, the sunglasses she wore blocking off some of the sun. She wore a baggy pair of ripped, denim boyfriend jeans that were rolled at the ankles and a fitted white v-neck to match her white Chuck Taylor's. It was very casual but Aubree had told her the outfit looked good; that it showed her figure well and made her hips look bigger.

Danny hoped so considering it took her an hour just to master the 'I-tried-but-I-don't-really-want-you-to-know-that-yet' look.

When Ray showed up at their agreed upon meeting place he was just as casual. Wearing a simple grey shirt and jeans, he didn't look like anything special from afar. It was when you got closer that you realized how naturally attractive he was. His shoulders were broad and sculpted, the short sleeves tight around his biceps, his designer jeans hanging just low enough to tease, and his legs and ass firm and a nice treat to look at.

Clearly, Ray had mastered the look Danny was going for.

Danny spotted Ray first and she quickly made sure she was in order before walking over to him. She reached out and touched his arm with shy and hesitant fingers. Ray felt the contact and turned around only to look down and smile politely at Danny.

"For a minute I thought you stood me up."

Like always, Ray's attractiveness was a bit much for Danny to handle and she was nervous being around him. He intimidated her. But, after what Ray said, the tension in the air disappeared quickly in the form of a hearty laugh from Danny.

"Um, if I'm not mistaken, you're the one who's late."

"What? I've been here for at least an hour Daniela."

Ray was in a good mood today which meant he was open to teasing and Danny was just too cute not to tease. He knew he was late, but he liked seeing Danny smile and hearing her laugh so he continued to play dumb.

The two walked towards the gate and Ray slipped a wad of cash from his pocket and quickly paid for the tickets, stuffing the money back into his pocket before anyone could ask how he came about so much.

"Have you ever been here before?" Ray asked as they walked through the crowd of rowdy tourist and Chicagoians. Ray, not having much intel on a proper date considering the most he'd ever done was make a girl a glass of water after fücking her dry, had let Danny pick the location. He was surprised considering she said she didn't like crowds and Navy Pier seemed to be nothing but a crowd.

"Once a long time ago," Danny answered, their shoulders brushing as she stayed close to his side. "I was with my cousins and we had fun, but I was too small to actually ride anything. I've always wanted to come back but, alas, there was no one willing to come with me."

Ray could have commented on how insane that was that no one was willing to bring Danny. He also could have commented on how insane it was that she felt the need to wait for someone else in the first place, but instead he simply shoved his hands deep into his pockets and swayed as he walked, purposely bumping Danny's smaller frame.

"Sure you aren't too small to ride still?" He asked, his face so blank it took at least ten seconds for Danny to realize he was joking.

"Jerk."

The corner of Ray's mouth twitched in a smirk.

They rode all the rides Navy peer had to offer, walked the strip of it at least twice, and then sat by the water and ate while they continued talking. By the time the sky turned purple and the sun was setting, Danny was exhausted. Her feet hurt and she was positive she looked gross from just standing in the sun and sweating all day, but the smile on her face was impossible to wipe off. She'd laughed more, talked more, and bickered more today than she ever had with anyone besides Aubree. Ray was still quiet and intimidating but there was a comfort he provided that Danny hadn't felt in a while. His smiles were small but they were genuine. His teasing was constant but funny and even sweet. All in all, though, Danny thought she liked his presence the most.

Ray was never too close but he was never far either. Whether he was walking behind her with his hand on the small of her back, their shoulders were brushing, he was waiting and watching on a nearby bench as she played a carnival game, or he simply stood next to her in line, Danny was certain she had his undivided attention. He was big and comforting and more importantly attractive as hell.

What girl wouldn't feel special having someone like that so genuinely focused on making their day good?

When their day was over Ray rode the train back home with her. She insisted he could go home and she'd be fine but Ray insisted she'd be just as fine with his company. So, she didn't fight him and instead just dropped her head against his shoulder as they rode. Danny taking up the seat closest to the window.

Ray was silent as he held her hand in his casually, tracing the lines of her palm. To the looking eye, he was completely calm and possibly bored even, but on the inside, he was the happiest he'd ever been.

For the first time in years he felt like his heart was beating. All was good. Hell, things were perfect.

Until he locked eyes with the man on the other end of the train.

He wore faded jeans, ragged tennis shoes, and a grey hoodie. His hair was grown and disheveled and his face looked almost as bad as Ray's had just a few days ago. He resembled a homeless man. But he was smiling. His eyes were bright and alive and he was smiling at Ray.

Why?

Because Frederico Ines knew Ray had been looking for him for the past two weeks. And, as he sat there, starring Charlie Brown, one of the mobs scariest hitmen in the eyes and smiling, he also knew there was absolutely nothing Ray could do about it.

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So Ray and Danny's relationship is developing but it looks like some other things are as well! What did you guys think? Any opinions? Comments? Just to clear things up Ray is played by Steven Chevrin, not Max Irons like it says in the cast. That's a mistake I plan to fix :)

edited 4/15/18