Ace of Hearts - All We Are Series [NaNoWriMo 2014] [#JustWriteIt]

Chapter Nineteen [Edited]

“Hey, Anaya, ready to go?” Daniel asked me as I opened the door to my apartment.

“One minute, feel free to come in, I just need to put in my earrings,” I told him as I rushed back over to the mirror in the bathroom.

“Alright,” he said, walking into the apartment. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”

“It was Lily’s birthday on Friday, the 17th, so Charles invited us to go on a double date with them to see an opera show.”

“Oh, I didn’t think she was into opera.”

“I didn’t realize it either, but apparently she and Charles are getting pretty close.”

“Are they dating yet?” Daniel asked. I had gossiped enough to get him mildly interested in the office politics. It was entertaining, but we didn’t usually get too involved. Daniel was pretty good about making sure we didn’t dwell on drama while I definitely felt like I needed to know everything, all the time. It was one of my many weaknesses, but thankfully Daniel didn’t seem to mind.

“I don’t think they’re officially girlfriend and boyfriend, but they’re moving away from just sleeping together and starting to like each other. They’re in that talking stage now, as the teens say now a days. Wow I sound old,” I joked.

“That relationship style seems a bit unlikely to succeed,” Daniel commented, leaning against the bathroom doorframe as he watched me touch up my lipstick and adjust my dress.

“I suppose it’s just not for you and me, but it works for them.”

“Whatever floats their boat, I guess,” he stated. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

“Thanks,” I giggled. Small comments like that still got me smiling like a schoolgirl, even though Daniel and I had been officially seriously dating for almost a month now.

“Shall we?” He asked, extending his arm to me.

“We shall,” I stated, hooking my arm with his and walking out of the apartment.

“Hey guys,” I greeted Lily and Charles when we met them at the opera house.

“How are you?” Charles asked us.

“Doing well. How about you?” Daniel responded.

“I’m so excited!” Lily said, practically bouncing up and down. “This is gonna be great!”

Charles smiled at her, obviously pleased with his selection.

“It’s your 25th birthday, right?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah,” Lily confirmed.

Just then, the doors to the opera house opened, and we all flowed in, stopping to get our tickets checked before we got our seats in the middle of the theater.

Lily cheered when the curtains finally rose, and we all sat captivated in our seats by the production.

All too soon, it ended, though I was happy that I didn’t have to hear the high voices anymore. Opera was cool, but the pitches were insane. There was only so much I could hear without feeling like my eardrums were shattering.

“That was great!” Daniel said as we walked out of the theater. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“We should do this again,” Lily said.

“The opera, or double dating?” I teased her.

“Oh, hush you,” she grinned back at me.

“Well, we’d best be on our way,” Charles said, bidding us farewell as he pulled Lily into his car.

“Three guesses as to what they’re doing tonight,” Daniel joked as we climbed into his car.

“Ugh, that’s my friend; I don’t want to think about her doing that!” I exclaimed in mock horror.

Daniel laughed, starting the car. We drove back to my place, making small talk along the way.

“Want to come in for coffee?” I asked Daniel as we got back to my apartment.

“Sure,” he responded, shrugging his coat off and draping it over the back of a chair. I went into the small kitchen and started the water.

“So, we’ve been dating almost a month now, and we’re getting pretty serious,” Daniel said, shifting in his chair.

“Okay,” I responded nervously.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about anything,” Daniel prompted me.

“T- Tell you about something?” I said, my hands shaking as I reached for coffee mugs.

“Yes.”

“W- What would I need to tell you about?”

“Well, you don’t seem to have any desire for sex.”

“Desire for sex?” I asked, upset. I could hear my voice getting higher in pitch and I tried to control it, but I was just so mad at him.

“Seriously? You’re just like every other guy out there who just wants to get into girls pants? Well, news flash for you! You don’t get entitled to having sex with someone after you’ve known them for a month! That’s not how this works!”

“We had a great night, and you’re upset about THIS?” Daniel asked, shocked. In the back of my mind, I knew he had a point, but I refused to think about that.

“A great night, where you’re expecting sex at the end? God, all guys are the same! Why can’t they accept that girls don’t have to fuck them?” I asked, throwing my hands up in the air. I was so upset about this that I was cursing. God, what the hell was this mess?

“Naya, that’s not-” Daniel tried to input, but I was having none of it. I whipped around, shaking a coffee mug at him.

“Not what? Not what you want? So sex doesn’t mean anything to you?” I challenged.

“That’s not fair!” Daniel raised his voice a little, looking extremely hurt, but I was too angry to notice.

“What, not fair that I don’t want to have sex? Forget it,” I said, disgusted. “Get out.”

“What?” Daniel asked, shocked, as he rose from his seat.

“You heard me. GET OUT!” I exploded, shouting as Daniel hastily ran towards the door.

“Fine. Go ahead and shut me out, and go running to your friends about how all guys are assholes. Maybe some time you’ll realize that the only reason your love life is a complete and utter failure is because of you. Only you. I hope you have a nice life,” he glared at me as he slammed the door.