Page 81 of Offside Angel

Panic gives way to annoyance, and I stomp over to the door and fling it open. “You scared the shit out of me!”

Daniel winces, his spare key still in his hand. “You know, I realized after I put the key in that maybe now isn’t the best time to let myself into Zane’s place. Even if I’ve had this spare key for years and I knew him way before you did.”

“Remember this argument when I decide to let myself into Taylor’s apartment with my spare key,” I threaten, stepping aside to wave him in. “I’ll wait until the two of you go on a date and then show up around midnight with a Jason mask and a bloody ax… y’know, since I’ve known her longer than you.”

Daniel eases by, hands raised in surrender. “Touché.”

I close and lock the door, checking the bolt twice before I can walk away. “What are you doing here?”

“Allegedly, I’m here to grab Zane’s backup car key because—” Daniel utilizes finger quotes. “—he locked his in his car. But, astute as I am, I know he actually sent me here to watch you.”

I frown. “But Evan is here to watch me.”

“No, Evan is here to make sure no creeps make it into the building.”

“He’s not doing a very good job,” I tease. “You made it into the building.”

Daniel just rolls his eyes and reaches for the remote, flicking the television on. “You should be so lucky to have my company. I’m a delight.”

Daniel is, admittedly, kind of a delight.

Especially since, thirty seconds before he gave me a mild heart attack, I was lying on the couch wondering what I was going to do with my day. Aiden is in school and I would usually go to the gym or maybe out for coffee with Taylor, but telling Zane about the note that may or may not be from Dante really did make the whole situation more real to me.

My brother might be out there. Waiting. Watching. So, it’s easier to stay inside. Where I’m safe…

And unbelievably bored.

Daniel flings a couch cushion at my face that I only barely manage to bat out of the air.

“Hey!”

“You were looking dangerously serious.” He goes back to flipping through the available streaming options. “I think that’s what I’m here to put a stop to.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

He shrugs. “You’re young and in love. Isn’t that enough of a reason to smile?”

“It’s actually kind of the problem,” I blurt before I can stop myself.

There’s a reason this arrangement with Zane was supposed to be emotion-free. There’s also a good reason I tried to leave and never look back. Everyone would be safer if I wasn’t in love with Zane.

Daniel threatens me with another pillow. “Are you going to elaborate or do I need to use this?”

“Neither. I had an emotional purge last night, and my tank is empty. If you want to stay here, you need to be a distraction.”

He gestures to himself flopped on the couch, his prosthetic stretched across the coffee table. “I’m here. I think that’s enough, don’t you?”

“Definitely not. I can watch TV by myself.” I snatch the remote out of his hand and turn the television off. Then I start to clap to a slow beat. “Dance, monkey, dance.”

“No wonder you and Taylor are friends,” he grumbles. “You’re both borderline abusive.”

I sit up. “There we go! That’s something! Tell me about you and Taylor. What’s going on there?”

I know far more than I need to about the frequency (and duration) of their overnight visits, but I’d like to hear things from Daniel’s, hopefully PG-rated, perspective.

“There’s nothing to tell. We’re dating. It’s good.”

I glare at him long enough that he finally peeks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Taylor is my best friend in the world. Up until a couple months ago, she was my only friend,” I explain. “Which means you better say something a whole lot better than that if you want to be with her.”

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