Page 82 of Offside Angel

He scowls. “You know how I feel about her.”

“I do. Which is why I need you to be man enough to admit it.”

He barks out a laugh. “Is that what a man is made of these days?”

“If you mean ‘emotional intelligence’ and ‘vulnerable honesty,’” I say, “then yes.”

Daniel slouches deeper in the couch, trying to ignore the holes I’m boring into the side of his head. But finally, he throws up his hands. “I’m super into Taylor, okay? Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes, it is. Thanks for sharing.”

But now that Daniel has started, he can’t stop. “When I’m not with her, I think about being with her. She’s the only person I want to talk to. I smile whenever she texts me, and the other day, she fell asleep on the phone and I stayed on the line and listened to her breathing.” He spins towards me, shaking my arm for dramatic effect. “I listened to her breathe, Mira! That’s crazy!”

“Sort of. But it’s also sweet. It’s also not surprising. You were following Taylor around like a little puppy a month ago with no shame whatsoever. It makes me wonder why you’re all clammed up about it now.”

He snaps his fingers and points at me. “Exactly. I was trailing after her like a lovesick puppy an entire month ago! And here I am, four weeks later, still trailing after her.”

It takes me a few seconds to understand what he’s saying. When I do, I grab the pillow he tossed at me and fling it back at him.

“Ow!” he complains, hugging the pillow with both arms like the pathetic manchild he is. “What was that for?”

“For not just calling me and asking if Taylor is as into you as you are her! I’m her best friend, Daniel. You don’t think I might have been able to help you out?”

He frowns for a second. Then realization dawns and Daniel sits straight up on the couch, shifting his prosthetic onto the cushion so he can face me. “Mira, is Taylor into me?”

“No. Not at all,” I drone.

His smile slips, and I hit him with the second pillow I locked and loaded without him noticing.

“Obviously, she is!” I yell while he glares at me for sucker punching him. I don’t even care; he deserved it. “Yes, Taylor is super into you. You can tell by the fact that you are the only person she’s dating, she’s sleeping over at your apartment, and you’re the only man I’ve heard her talk about for months.”

I don’t want to fully sell out my best friend to her current love interest, but if I was a recluse when it came to dating, then Taylor was a door-to-door saleswoman. She went from one guy to the next with no hesitation.

Until Daniel.

“Really?” In a second, Daniel is back to the lovesick puppy I recognize from a few weeks ago. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone. Even before my accident.” He pats his leg. “Being part cyborg isn’t exactly a turn-on for most.”

“Use it as a litmus test. If a woman is an asshole about it, she isn’t worth dating.”

We slip into a long silence. Daniel doesn’t seem to mind; he’s just grinning stupidly to himself.

But my mind wanders back to the AA meeting. To Zane talking about the accident that changed everything for him.

“I actually don’t know much about what happened.” I tip my head towards his leg. “Zane doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Before I can even get the question out, Daniel zips his lips closed. “You need to talk to your boyfriend about that.”

My stomach flips nervously. “Why? You were there, too.”

“Yeah, but my experience is a hell of a lot different than his, I’m sure. Given the fact I was drunk and then woke up days later in the hospital.”

I’ve just been assuming it was a bad car accident. Is there more to it I don’t know about? Did Zane crash on purpose? Did he?—

Daniel reaches over and pats my knee. “Zane doesn’t open up to pretty much anyone, so I don’t want to steal his chance to tell you the story himself. That’s all it is. Don’t freak out.”

I want to argue because I’m nosy, but Daniel is trying to be a good friend. So I decide to let him.

We end up turning the TV back on to watch way too many episodes of House Hunters International. With only our commentary to go off of, you’d think every couple on the show were bloody dictators who wanted five beds, four baths, and a tiled mud room with good drainage where they could string their victims from the walls.

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