“Is this okay?” she whispered, draping her arm over his stomach, and Danny closed his eyes as he brought his hand to her back.
“Yes,” he said, trailing his fingertips from her waist to the nape of her neck.
“I know we did this earlier, but we weren’t in your bed then, and I don’t want to…I just want to…”
She trailed off, and Danny nodded against the crown of her head before he whispered, “I know. Just this.”
Leah exhaled softly. “It just…it feels nice.”
“It does,” he said gently, pulling her into his side, and the channel changed suddenly as she rolled over the remote.
“Show me sand the floor.”
Leah gasped just as Danny pumped his fist in the air.
“Alright, Cake Boss is impressive, but it’s no match for The Karate Kid. We’re leaving this on,” he said.
“Totally,” she said emphatically as she tossed the remote behind her before snuggling closer. “This is one of the greatest movies of all time.”
Danny shifted slightly, looking down at her. “Are you being sarcastic right now?”
“Not at all,” Leah said, playing with the hem of his shirt as she kept her eyes on the TV. “When they did the remake of this with Jackie Chan, I took it personally.”
Danny laughed as he rested his head back down on the pillow. “Jacket on, jacket off!”
“What?”
“That’s how they did it in the new one. Put your jacket on, take your jacket off. That’s how he learns to fight.”
“Oh my God, I hate it even more now,” Leah said against his chest, and he smiled, running his thumb over the sliver of exposed skin on her lower back.
They watched in captivated silence as Daniel-san realized all the chores he’d been forced to do had taught him how to defend himself, and as he stared at Mr. Miyagi in awe, Danny nodded.
“There it is. Mind. Blown.”
“Right?” Leah said. “The first time I saw that scene, I’m not gonna lie, it gave me a little bit of a crush on him.”
“Yeah, well, it was good to be Ralph Macchio in the eighties.”
“I was talking about Mr. Miyagi.”
Danny burst out laughing before he pulled her a little closer.
She fit so perfectly. And not just physically, although he couldn’t deny that when she was beside him this way, it felt like she was just a natural extension of his body, as if they were two halves of the same whole.
But it was more the way she fit into his life. In a perfect world, he could see this being his existence. Spending lazy weekends cuddling with her on the couch, watching TV and cracking jokes. Wasting hours talking about things that were ridiculous and significant and sometimes both at once.
It was so easy to forget the ugliness of his reality when she was with him.
They spent the next hour watching the rest of the movie, and with absolutely no effort at all, she managed to claim another piece of his heart. The way she fiddled with the hem of his shirt without even realizing she was doing it. The way her hair smelled like spring with a little bit of coconut mixed in. The way the sound of her laugh made him laugh, even when he didn’t think anything was funny.
And by the time the credits rolled, he couldn’t resist anymore.
Danny used the tips of his fingers to brush the hair away from her forehead before he trailed them down over her cheek, and she lifted her eyes, looking up at him. He moved in slowly, and he heard her breath catch just as the end of his nose touched hers.
And then he stopped.
Her terms. It needs to be on her terms.
“Leah,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
He watched her throat bob before she murmured, “What?”
Danny lifted his chin so that their mouths were only centimeters apart before he whispered, “Can I?”
For a moment the world seemed to stop.
And then she nodded.
His mouth was on hers before she’d even finished, and she instantly leaned into him, surrendering her mouth as she allowed him to control the kiss.
He concentrated on keeping his lips gentle, parting them slightly and brushing them over hers, and she followed his lead, kissing him back with cautious reverence that made it feel like tiny flints were igniting in his veins.
It was too chaste to be dangerous, but far too sensual to be innocent.
He pulled away as soon as he felt his control slipping, and she immediately rested her head back on the pillow, exhaling shakily before she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. “You’re good at that.”
Danny smiled, blinking up at the ceiling. “I think we’re good at that.”
She ran her hands up into her hair and let out a puff of breath. “I think it’s time to take you back to your car.”
Danny nodded, raking his teeth over his bottom lip. “I think you’re right.”
They both lay there, unmoving, until Leah said, “Ten more minutes of cuddles. That’s it. And then we go.”
His lip slid out from between his teeth as he smiled. “As you wish,” he said, and she whipped her head toward him.
“Did you just quote The Princess Bride?”
“I did.”
She stared at him for a second before she curled back into his side. “Fine. Twenty minutes,” she said as she rested her head on his chest, twisting the hem of his shirt between her fingers.
Danny smiled into her hair. “Twenty minutes,” he repeated, knowing that if she asked him right now, he’d give her every single minute he had left.
“Wow,” Robyn said as she fell back against Leah’s couch.
“No shit,” Holly added.
“I know.”
“I’m excited,” Robyn beamed, and Holly sighed.
“I’m nervous.”
“Well, I’m both,” Leah said, “so I guess that works.”
Holly nibbled on the side of her thumbnail. “Slow, Leah. You need to go very, very slow.”
“She knows that,” Robyn said. “Don’t be condescending.”
“I’m not being condescending, I’m being cautious. I mean, he openly admitted he’s harboring some huge secret. That’s already starting off behind the eight ball, don’t you think?”
“Okay, but at least he told her about it, even if he’s not ready to talk about it yet. If he were some kind of shady bastard, he wouldn’t have said anything.”
“Guys, stop,” Leah interrupted. “Holly, I hear what you’re saying, and I’m gonna go slow with him. It’s just…” She shook her head. “I wish I could explain it without sounding like an idiot, but there’s something about him. He’s genuine. I can feel it in my bones.”
It was quiet for a beat before Holly said, “You also thought Scott was genuine.”
“Holly!” Robyn barked, and Leah dropped her eyes as Holly covered her face with both hands.
“I’m sorry, Leah. I just meant that—”
“No, it’s okay,” Leah said, her eyes still trained on her lap. “You’re right. I know you’re right. But this time…everything just feels different. I can’t explain it.”
And she couldn’t explain it. All she knew was that she felt oddly connected to Danny. There was something about him that spoke to a long-forgotten part of her—that awakened something dormant in her soul and made her want things again.
Ever since that first day at the Cheesecake Factory, something had changed for her. It was as if letting her guard down with him had somehow shaken her foundation, and every layer of resistance and detachment she’d built up for the past two years had crumbled in on itself. And instead of panicking—instead of scrambling to pick up the pieces and rebuild—she found herself wanting to kick the debris away and breathe in everything around her.
Every conversation, every interaction with him, freed her a little more.
It was there even in the little things, like the way her body reacted to the timbre of his voice, or the simplest of his touches. The way seeing him in pain caused a lump in her throat, like she was the one hurting. Her connection to him felt mature, as if it was something that had existed long before she had felt it or acknowledged it.