Page 65 of Please Don’t Go (The Midnight Strike #1)

JOSEFINE

“Do you want to talk about it?” I twist on my side, resting my chin on Daniel’s bare chest.

He raises his arm behind his head, smiling down at me. “I’m fine, I promise.”

It’s the last day of March. A few months ago, that meant nothing to me—just another month passing by, but this time around, it’s different.

April is the month that Adrian passed away, and from what Penelope has told me, it’s a very hard time of year for her family, especially for Daniel.

I don’t one hundred percent understand grief.

It’s always weirdly evolving, never consistent but it’s there.

This past December was rough for me. I almost ended my life over it.

I wasn’t even close with Mom, but I struggled.

But unlike me, Daniel was close to his brother, so I know if my mom’s death anniversary was hard for me, this time of this month is difficult for him.

“Are you sure?” I don’t want to push, but I want to be a good girlfriend. I want him to know that I’m here for him, that I’m not emotionally stunted. That I can be someone he can feel comfortable sharing things with.

“I’m sure.” His voice is gentle and sweet, easy to get lost in, but something about it feels off. “We shouldn’t go. Let’s just stay here. I’ll grab takeout and we’ll go for round three afterwards.”

I force my lips to raise, not wanting to look like I’m disappointed. He’s not expected to share how he feels. He’ll talk when he’s ready.

Usually halfway through the season, the baseball team meets up at one of their teammates’ houses for a small get together.

And as of now, they’ve won all twenty-eight games since the season began, so they really want to meet up.

They’re also all kind of superstitious, or at least most of the team is.

Daniel isn’t, which is why he doesn’t care to be there.

“You’re the captain. You need to be there.” I grab the safety pin, twirling it around my finger. “And I’m pretty sure we’re past round three.”

It’s been four days since we had sex in the living room, and since then, any chance we get, we’re naked—in all the areas of the house and in all the positions we can think of.

That’s how we found ourselves in his room. Our hiking class was canceled and he didn’t have practice today, so we came straight home.

“I’m talking about today.” He grabs me and slips me over his body so I’m straddling him.

The sheets pool around his waist, leaving me naked on top of him. He raises his hand, brushing the hickey on the side of my breast.

“The next round can happen later tonight, I promise.” I drag my finger along his abs, feeling goose bumps grow beneath the pads of my thumbs. “We need to go. I don’t doubt Angel will drag your ass out of here. He seemed pretty serious.”

He blows a raspberry. “I know he will. You know, I won’t be upset if you don’t want to come. I have to put up with Bryson, but it doesn’t mean you have to.”

I thought about that and couldn’t bring myself to care. “I know but I’m not going there for him. I’m going there for you. He’s pretty forgettable. I probably won’t notice he’s there anyway.”

He chuckles, tracing designs with his finger on my thigh. “He said a lot of shitty things, Josie. If he says something to you, I won’t?—”

“You won’t do anything,” I warn. “I promise it’ll be okay. There isn’t a thing he hasn’t said about me that can hurt me. So don’t let him antagonize you. I promise it’ll be okay. Plus, he hasn’t said anything to you since the talk with your coach, right?”

Daniel told me about having to share hotel rooms with him and the other things. I hate that for him, but he said it was worth it.

He sits up, resting against the headboard. “Right. He hasn’t said or done anything since then, but I wouldn’t put it past him to do something petty today.”

“No matter what happens, it’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay, okay?”

He hauls me in for a hug, kissing the crown of my head. “Okay.”

Sometimes I don’t understand what Daniel sees in me.

He’s a social butterfly, a ray of sunshine.

I’m not. I know it’s easy for him to socialize with the people in this house because they’re his teammates, some of whom he’s been playing with for three years.

The others are either freshmen or transfers, but he treats them all the same.

But it’s not just them I’m referring to but everyone in general.

He has a way about him that makes people easily gravitate toward him.

It’s not just his talent that people are drawn to but just him in general.

So why he’s with me when I’m the complete opposite is beyond me.

I keep thinking that as he holds my hand, stays by my side, refuses to leave me alone even when I tell him I’ll be okay. I understand part of the reason is because I don’t really know anyone here except his closest friends, and the other part is because of Bryson.

He’s been around, but he’s kept his distance. Though I’ve caught him rolling his eyes and scoffing when he walks by us.

I’m not sure what he thinks that’ll accomplish, but it does nothing for me. I hate that Daniel feels so deeply about it when I couldn’t care less.

“Hey.” Gray drops on the couch next to Daniel, sipping whatever’s in his cup. “We just need to know.”

Kai sits on the armrest, Noah stands next to him, and Angel is in front of us.

“Shut up,” Daniel deadpans, the smile on his face slipping as his arm tightens around me protectively.

I look up at them then down at Daniel since I’m sitting on his lap. “Need to know what?”

“They’re stupid. Don’t listen to them.” He shakes his head, shooting murderous glares at his friends.

“I promise it’s not that bad.” Kai smirks, winking at me playfully.

“When did this”—Gray waves his index finger between Daniel and me—“become official? Exact date would be great.”

I stare at them, amused. “Why?”

“We’re big fans. We’ve been shipping Janny since day one.” Angel grins.

“Janny?” I smile a little at that but cringe too. “Don’t ever call us that.”

“I kind of like it,” Daniel says happily and slips his hand under my shirt, stroking my back. “Janny…Janny…Janny…” he says over and over again in different tones as if that’ll somehow make it sound better.

I shake my head and he chuckles. “It’s a no for me. So why do you need to know the exact date?”

“Because we placed bets,” Noah bluntly states, leaving me stunned because he usually doesn’t speak. “We knew this was going to happen. If you can tell us the date, that’d be great.”

Daniel’s hand freezes on my back. “I tried to stop them. I promise.” He aggravatedly sighs. “I swear I had nothing to do with this.”

I stoically stare at them. I don’t say anything. Just watch as their humored expressions slip.

“It wasn’t done maliciously,” Kai quickly supplies. “We were just giving Danny a hard time.”

I hum, letting the silence stretch out. They look uncomfortable, almost awkward. Except for Noah and Angel, I can’t tell what they’re feeling, but I do think they feel a little bad about it. At least Angel does; Noah looks unapologetic, apathetic.

My lips lift upward a tad. “So did you guys choose a date, or was there a time frame?”

They look relieved and laugh knowing I’m not mad about it. I actually feel a little jittery inside, knowing they were talking about me, about us. How long ago was this? Why did they think we’d become a thing? What made them believe we’d get together? I have so many questions, but I won’t ask them.

“You got a killer poker face. I genuinely thought you were mad,” Kai says.

I shrug indifferently. “I don’t care. Date, or time frame?”

Daniel’s face softens and continues caressing my back.

“It started as a time frame, but we all had the same time, so we set a date,” Gray answers. “I said March 16th.”

“March 21st,” Kai says.

“March 22nd,” Noah adds.

“March 28th,” Angel says.

“All in March? You all really believed we would?—”

“Yeah, Danny went batshit on Bryson over you,” Gray whispers because he’s a few feet away from us. He’s playing beer pong, but I swear he keeps glancing in our direction every so often. “And apparently, he has a little gem thing in his wallet that you wore? Yeah, we knew it was going to happen.”

My head swivels down at him. “The rhinestone? You still have it? I thought you threw it away?”

He looks a little bashful, his cheeks tinting pink. “I couldn’t get rid of it.”

“You guys can do that couple shit later. Tell us who got it right.” Noah interrupts the moment, looking disturbed by our interaction.

“Gray. He was the closest,” Daniel states. “It was March 17 th ,” he proudly and happily announces.

I thought he was going to say the 28 th , but the moment I took a chance on us, it was official for him. Even though we weren’t labeling our relationship yet.

“Fuck yeah, pay up, bitches.” He stands, lifts his palm upward, and curls his fingers in and out.

I watch in disbelief as they all pull their wallets out and each hand him a hundred dollars.

“They’re ridiculous. You see why I needed to move out?” He kisses my shoulder.

I stifle my chuckle as Gray makes a show of counting his money and smelling it too.

“What a glorious day. We need drinks. We need to celebrate.” He chugs the rest of his drink and waltzes off merrily into the kitchen.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. “I need to answer this.” I hold it up, showing Daniel it’s Vi. She’s on a date and said if things weren’t going well, she’d call me. “I’m going to go outside.”

The baseball players aren’t the only ones here. Their closest friends and girlfriends are here, along with their friends. So much for a small get together.

“I’m going to use the restroom and then I’ll be out there,” he says, kissing my temple before I get up.

Not too long ago, this open public display of affection would’ve made my skin crawl, but now I want to drown in whatever he’s willing to give me.

“Okay.” I flash him a smile and quickly make my way to the backyard. There are people littering the yard and pool, and it’s loud but not as loud as inside.

I answer, pressing my phone to my ear as I walk away from everyone. “How shitty is the date? One through ten? Ten being get me the fuck out of here .”

She quietly laughs. “As good as dating a frat boy will be. It’s a five-ish.”

“Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No, no. You’re with Danny, your boyfriend.” I hear her muted squeal followed by a giggle.

“Shut up.” I smile into the phone. “I don’t mind leaving.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m calling to update you and ask how low you’d think my standards were if I went home with him?”

Now I laugh. “Nothing you do will make me think your standards are low. And if you compare yourself to me, you’re like soaring up in the clouds.”

“We’ll call it a lapse of judgement because look at you now. Dating Daniel Garcia.”

My heart skips a beat. “Yeah, he’s pretty great.”

She hums in agreement. “I love it when hot and nice people date each other.” I wouldn’t say I’m nice, but I keep that to myself. “Anyway, I’m going to let you go. I’m going home with him. I can’t say what I will and won’t do, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, call me. Be safe.”

“Yes, Mom. Will do.”

My lips twitch as I hang up and make my way back. I’m busy staring at my phone, replying to Pen’s message, when I bump into someone.

“Sor—oh.” It’s Bryson. He’s standing right in front of me, and something tells me I didn’t bump into him by accident. He put himself in front of me. For fuck’s sake.

I walk around him and ignore him as he calls my name.

“Josie, wait. Please, I just want to talk.”

“What?” I turn, sucking in a large breath for patience, and hope to God, I don’t push him in the pool.

“What do you want? You’ve already called me a bitch.

A whore. A slut. Easy. I’m too much. Not enough.

I’m this and I’m that. So what now? What do you want to say that you haven’t already?

” I ask, smothering my frustration and anger down.

“You couldn’t have gotten with anyone else? It had to be him of all people?”

“What’s your problem with Daniel?”

“He thinks he’s better. He?—”

“This is about jealousy? You’re so pathetic.”

I should’ve known it was always about jealousy. I wouldn’t doubt he slept with Amanada to spite Daniel. He was always talking about him and keeping up with whatever anyone was saying about him. How lame.

“I know what I said. I know what I did. I’m sorry. I want you back. I need you back.”

I pivot, not caring what he has to say, but he grabs my arm and jerks me back. Daniel squeezes himself between us, pushing Bryson’s chest hard.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” he warns, circling an arm behind me and around my back.

“I’m fine. Let’s just go,” I urge him, gripping his arm, and thankfully he relaxes and turns to look at me. I smile up at him. “I’m okay.”

He exhales a sigh. “Okay.”

I take his hand in mine and pull him away, but Bryson pushes him. I see Angel and Noah from my periphery approach us, but everything happens too quickly. Bryson pushes him again and Daniel loses his balance and falls into the deep end of the pool.

“What the fuck did you do!” I yell at him, ready to jump in, but Angel dives in before I get the chance.

“It’s just water. He’ll be all right.”

“You stupid—” I lose it, and knee him in the balls hard.

He shrieks, falling to the ground, cupping himself. “What was that for?” he wheezes. “It’s just water,” he cries out.

I ignore him, running to the other end where Angel and Noah help Daniel out of the pool. He’s coughing out water, trembling and breathing raggedly, but then his breaths quicken, his eyes bug out, and he fists his soaked shirt, pulling it away from his chest. He’s hyperventilating.

“Daniel.” I drop to my knees. “You’re okay, baby. Breathe. You’re okay. Breathe with me.” I take his shaking hands in mine and motion for him to follow me. “Breathe in and out. Yeah, just like that. Breathe. You’re okay. In and out. Just like that. You’re doing good. Keep doing that.”

I continue to talk him through it until his breathing evens out. Once it does, I search for any bumps or scratches, making sure he didn’t hit his head or scratch himself, but he’s fine. At least for a second I think he is, until I notice the faraway look in his eyes and how empty they look.

“Hey.”

“I’m okay.” He blinks, then looks at me, swallowing hard. “I need a moment.”

He pushes up to stand, but I follow behind him. “Hey, I’m right here, remember? I’m not going anywhere. I’m here, Daniel.”

“I need a moment, Josefine. So please, not right now.” He picks up the pace and walks back inside, leaving me outside.