Page 46 of Guys Can’t Write Romance

Chapter thirty-three

Daisy Fields and the Intervention

Chad pulled into the parking spot at his apartment as the sunset colored the sky, Chloe’s words from that afternoon still echoing in his mind. He was halfway to his front door when he spotted her.

Daisy sat perched on his steps, wearing that little black dress from their first night out, the one that had made him blush and stammer. She stood as he approached, and his breath caught just like it had that night.

“Hey,” he said. “Were we writing tonight?”

“Nope,” she said. “Tonight, we’re un-weirding you.”

“Un-weirding me?”

“Are you denying that you’ve been acting weird lately?”

He looked at his feet for a moment and gave a slow nod. “Mostly guilty.”

“Good. Admitting your weirdness is the first step toward recovery. You ready?”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. It’s all part of ‘Operation Un-weird Chad’.”

“Did Chloe come up with that one?”

“Nope. It was all me.”

“Is this going to involve getting tattoos and questionable food?”

She grinned. “Maybe.”

“I’m in.”

“I thought you would be,” she said as they headed down the sidewalk between apartments toward the boardwalk.

“Isn’t that the dress you wore last time?” he said as they turned onto the boardwalk and headed south, a light breeze teasing her hair.

“You remembered,” she said, surprised but pleased. She doubted Ethan even knew what dresses she owned.

“It’s hard not to. Am I allowed to gawk stupidly at your legs again?”

A soft smile lit her cheeks, combined with something playful and flirtatious. “You’d better.”

He grinned, grateful for the setting sun that hid the sudden pink in his cheeks. “I’m liking this intervention already.”

They walked for a while, enjoying the evening breeze and smell of the ocean air. Around them, the boardwalk vendors and performers were packing it up for the day.

“Chloe told me about what Ava said,” Daisy said as they headed south down the boardwalk past condominiums and cafes. “That wasn’t cool.”

“I just consider the source.”

“Good. Because it wasn’t true. Ava’s protective of me, but she goes overboard sometimes, and I had a long talk with her about it when I found out.”

“Did you call her an ambulance chaser?”

“No. But I will if she butts in again.”

After several more minutes, they turned onto a pedestrian street, stopping just outside The Salty Siren.

“You’re taking me back to the scene of the crime?”

She nodded. “Yup. You ready for a night of terrible bar sports?”

“Same Daisy rules?”

“Nope. I came up with a bunch of new ones.”

“Do I want to know?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

They headed inside and squeezed their way through the crowd to the bar. Daisy ordered the first round, and when Carly brought their beers, Daisy looked at hers for a moment before raising it in a toast. “To things that scare us. And doing them anyway.”

They clinked their glasses together.

“You ready to kick off the first round of Daisy’s rules of pool?” she said.

“Ready to watch you scratch?”

“I have new rules about that, too.”

“Let’s do it.”

They grabbed their beers and headed over to an open pool table in the back. Chad racked the balls and handed Daisy the cue stick, her hand brushing lightly against his as she took it. For a moment, something unspoken and pleasant passed between them as their eyes met.

“Does the lady want to break?” he said.

“She does,” Daisy said shyly as she took the stick and walked over behind the cue ball and took the shot.

“Okay, new rule,” she said after her fifth scratch in a row. “Every time I hit the white ball off the table, you have to tell me something true.”

“Where’d that come from?” he asked.

“Up here,” she said, playfully tapping the top of her head. “I thought it would add a layer of intrigue.”

“Why do I have a feeling I’m going to be telling a whole lot of truths?”

“Because you’ve seen me play.”

He gave a light chuckle as she lined up the shot and took it. To no one’s surprise, the cue ball once again flew off the table.

“Looks like you get to fess up, McKenzie,” she said. “Tell me something true.”

He retrieved the ball, trying not to smile. “I’m secretly bad at this game.”

“The game or telling truths?”

“Both.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

Three scratches later, and he’d admitted he was afraid of spiders, couldn’t cook anything more complicated than a frozen microwave dinner, and that sometimes he worried he’d never be enough.

At hearing this last one, Daisy turned and looked at him. “Really? That’s what you think?”

“We’re being honest.”

“You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think you’re more than enough. Actually, way more than enough. And I’m going to kick Ava’s butt for ever making you doubt that. You ready for darts?”

“You’re tired already of sucking at pool?”

“I’m afraid you’ll run out of truths before I actually hit the other balls.”

He laughed as they headed over to the dartboard in the back corner. And of course, Daisy had a new set of rules for darts.

“Here’s how this works,” she said. “Every time I miss the dartboard completely, you have to tell me something that scares you.”

“That doesn’t sound scary,” he said sarcastically.

“That’s because this is the vulnerability chapter in the Chad and Daisy story.”

He swallowed. “Okay. But no missing on purpose.”

She grinned and tossed the dart, not even coming close to hitting the board.

“You did that on purpose,” he said.

“Would I do that?”

“Yes.”

She shook her head. “Rules are rules, McKenzie. What scares you? And it needs to be real.”

He took a deep gulp of beer. “I’m afraid I’m not who you think I am.”

“So, you’re not really an ax murderer?”

He smiled. “When did you figure it out?”

“When I woke up that morning and found you sleeping on the couch. No ax murderer would be caught dead with that bedhead.”

He laughed.

“I think you’re exactly who I think you are, Chad,” she said fondly.

“And who’s that?”

“The guy who makes me laugh when I’m sad. Who reads romance novels just to understand my writing better. Who drops everything and comes over to comfort me. Who makes me feel pretty every time he looks at me. Who lets me make up ridiculous rules to bar games.”

Chad swallowed as she said this, unable to look away from the warmth in her eyes.

She handed him the dart. “It’s your turn.”

“Am I allowed to miss on purpose?” he said, his hand touching hers for a moment longer than necessary as he took the dart.

“I’m sure you will.”

Chad tossed the dart, and, of course, missed on purpose. “Oops.”

“Yeah, right,” she said.

“You know the rules,” he said. “What scares you, Daisy?”

She took a deep breath and a gulp of beer. “Wow. This really is hard, isn’t it?”

“And now she notices.”

She smiled shyly, then looked at the floor for a moment before looking back up. “I’m scared I’ll wear this dress and spend an hour doing my hair and the guy I’m with won’t even notice.”

Chad looked incredulous. “How could they not?”

“Ethan never did.”

“Then he’s a bigger idiot than I thought.”

A warmth filled her chest, and she gave him a soft smile. “I like the way you look at me, Chad. It makes me feel seen.”

“It’s hard not to,” he said, giving her arm a soft rub. “Whose turn is it?”

“You can go again,” she said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Just be gentle.”

He tossed the dart, and again ‘accidentally’ missed the board. “Dang. That keeps happening.”

“I may have to reevaluate the rules,” she said, rolling her eyes and taking a big gulp of beer.

“So what is it?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m scared I’ll kiss a guy and he won’t kiss me back.”

“Ethan again?”

She nodded.

“We’re gonna need to revoke his man privileges.”

And again, that warmth filled her chest. “My turn to throw,” she said, holding out her hand. He handed her the dart, and once again, she missed the board by a mile.

“You know the drill,” she said.

He took another big gulp of beer. “I’m scared of wanting things I can’t have.”

This one caught her even more off guard than his previous admissions. She stepped up to him, close enough for her dress to brush against him. “Who says you can’t have them?”

Before he could pick up his jaw from the floor, she had grabbed his hand and was dragging him toward the door. “Come on, you,” she said playfully. “We’re not done yet.”

Daisy never let go of Chad’s hand as they walked down the block to the Shipwreck Saloon and went inside. The weekday crowd was much lighter, but the karaoke was every bit as bad as the weekend crowd.

“Beer first?” she said.

“Nope. Tequila,” he said as they headed to the bar.

“Isn’t that the stuff that makes your clothes fall off?”

He smiled at her. “Let’s hope so.”

She playfully smacked his arm as her cheeks flushed pink, but downed the shot like a champ.

“Eww,” she said, crinkling her face. “That stuff is nasty.”

“It really is,” he said, his own face crinkled. “You ready to go make some eardrums bleed?”

“Yeah,” she said, taking his hand and walking over to the sign-up sheet.

“You know what’s scarier than singing in public?” she asked as they sat down at a table and waited for their turn.

“What?”

“Letting someone else decide who you are.”

“Ethan again?”

She nodded.

“You know what would be awesome?” he said. “To see his face when you hit the best-seller lists.”

Daisy’s eyes opened wide, and at that moment, she had never wanted to kiss someone so badly in her life. And she would have, if their song hadn’t come up.

For the next two minutes, Harry Belafonte was rolling over in his grave as they completely butchered his ‘Day-O’, the Banana Boat Song.

After their performance, Daisy took his hand and led him to a quiet corner table.

“So, is weird Chad gone?” she said.

“Yup. I think we can call ‘Operation Un-weird Chad’ a huge success.”

“Good. I like loud Chad better,” she said, her eyes sparkling in the overhead track lights. She reached over and took his hand. “Want to know what else scares me?”

“What?”

“This.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. It was soft and sweet and everything a first kiss should be.

When she pulled back, her eyes met his. “Are you still scared?”

For a brief moment, he could only stare dumbly, the suddenness of the kiss short-circuiting his brain. But he was smiling.

“It’s okay, Chad. I’m scared too,” she said, lightly tracing patterns on his palm with her thumb. “But I’m glad I get to be scared with the boy I’m in love with.”

Chad didn’t hesitate in his next move. He pulled her in and kissed her, gently cupping her face in his hands as she melted into him.

When they finally broke apart, a smile lit up her face that he could have drowned in.

“Let’s go finish our books,” she said softly, “and give everyone their happy ending.”