Daniel just stood there, staring. With his arms across his broad and muscled chest... The urge to prounce on him and rip his clothes off suddenly overtook me

¡Astrid para!

(Astrid stop!)

I looked away

"Well this is awkward..." I mumbled to myself quietly, but Daniel must've heard it as he raised his brow and chuckled, "You think?"

"Ok, well, what do you want me to say?" I spat, flailing my arms in the air.

"I don't know," he snapped, "Talk about the weather or something."

That's when I remembered about the lie he told me about the roads being cut. I decided to confront him about it.

"Oh yeah, it seems like it's not going to rain today!" I faced the window and then glared at him. "Good thing the roads won't be cut."

As soon as he heard the last part, his eyes widened with realisation and blush covered his tanned cheeks. He let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck, flexing his muscles. "You figured that out didn't you?"

"Yeah, with a little help from my cousin," I still glared at his direction. "I mean, seriously, why did you lie? To get into my pants?"

He dropped his arm and this time, it was his turn to glare at my direction, causing me to recoil due to the intensity of his deep forest eyes. "Did I make a move on you in bed?" he accused.

"N-no but-," I stammered.

"Exactly," he spat. "I'm not that kind of guy. I don't need to lie to a girl for sex. I'm wouldn't be that big of a dick."

"Well if it wasn't for sex," I stood up, folded my arms and took a step forward, "Why did you lie?"

"Because," he mirrored my actions, filling the space between us. "There was a storm outside and I didn't want anything to happen to you."

Once he finished his sentence, I finally understood why he lied. His mother died in a car accident when there was a storm. How didn't I realise before! Jesus Christ, what is going on with me!?

I closed my eyes and exhaled as loudly as I could, "It's ok," he assured.

"This is the second time I'm being a complete dumbass about your mother!" I exclaimed, covering my face.

"Well it's not like it's your fault that she died."

Wow. Way to be blunt.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into my hands.

"Hey," He grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me lightly. "It's ok. You are not responsible for it."

Damn, I was going to have to be more careful with that subject. I kept on forgetting about his damaged past hidden beneath his layers and carefree attitude. He just seemed so flawless, with his player attitude and incredible physique. Up close, with his hands on my shoulders I could see his furrowed brow and his concerned eyes looking into mine. Those dark green eyes. It took me a minute to realise his mouth was moving and Ihad no clue what he was saying. He snapped his fingers in my face to make me focus, "Astrid, are you even listening?"

"Sorry, what?" I blinked and blushed.

"I said that the guys and I are going out on Friday. You coming?"

"Dunno," I mumbled. "I'm going to have to check with the girls. Why? Something going on?"

"It's Mason's birthday. Big man's turning eighteen."

"Oh nice! We'll definitely be there then, especially Gigi," I laughed.

"Awesome," He chuckled as he pulled his phone out to confirm it in his group chat. Once he sent the message he looked down at me with soft features and a faint smile.

"What?"

"Nothing, you look good today," He exhaled, placing his hands on my waist and pulled me closer. I felt myself at a loss for words. I mustered a thank you, and looked up at him through my lashes. His hands were still resting on my waist and he lowered his head so that our faces were centrimetres apart. I could feel the tension between us increase as he got closer and closer...

The last bell rung.

Jesus.

I let out the breath I had been holding and Daniel frowned. He released me from his grip, adjusted his beanie and grabbed his bag. Turning to leave, Daniel stopped and faced me, and I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to read his expression.

"Something wrong?" I asked as I rubbed my arm.

"Nothing, just thinking about stuff," he answered cryptically, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. An obvious lie.

He paused, seemed to think better of it and suddenly turned and left the room, leaving me confused.

What was going on between us?

***

"Gigi for the love of god!" Lori and Stephanie exclaimed. "Stop pacing around!"

"What if he doesn't like the dress, or my hair-"

"You've had the same hair for the past three years. Why would he hate it all of a sudden?" Chelsea questioned.

"I DON'T KNOW! I MAY BE OVERTHINKING!"

"THEN STOP OVERTHINKING!" We all yelled exasperated.

The girls and I were waiting at the park for the boys to come. Whilst the girls were calming Gigi down, I tried calling the guys to see where they were. Alex and Jack's phone lead to voicemail, so I decided to call Mason, groaning with frustration when he didn't answer either. Suddenly, my phone began to buzz and I froze as I saw the caller ID.

Daniel was calling me.

I could feel my heart racing. God Astrid, get a grip!

Clearing my throat, I accepted the call and placed the phone on my ear.

"Hey, what's up."

"Oh nothing," I shrugged. That's it, be cool. "We're at the park and Gigi's having a mental breakdown for absolutely no reason. Why do you ask?"

"Why would she be having a nervous breakdown?"

"Cause she's probably going to ask Mason out tonight."

I felt him smile against the phone, "Is she? For real? Wow, they really like each other."

"Yes," I chuckled. "But if you say anything to Mason, I swear to God-"

"Astrid, relax," he chuckled. "I won't tell Mason."

"Good," I smiled. "So, where are you guys now?"

"We're near the lighthouse. We will be at the park in no time."

"Ok perfect, I'll just tell the girls now."

I hung up and reached the girls who were still trying to calm Gigi down. Holy crap she was nervous, but less than before. All of a sudden car headlights beamed in our direction, blinding us momentarily. Squinting, I tried to identify the driver, but the lights were too bright for me. The car stopped and four guys came out one by one. They were here.

Jack came out first, causing Lori to skip towards him, greeting him with a kiss. Daniel appeared later, fixing his beanie and placing the car keys into his pocket. Alex, jumped out of the car and looked around to see if we were the only ones in the park.

"Ladies, and gentlemen," he began. "Let me introduce the hottest b-day boy to ever walk the earth. Drum roll please!"

We laughed and played along, some patting our hands on our thighs, others stomping their feet on the gravel. Alex was such a clown sometimes, an adorable clown.

"Mason Gonzalez!" He boomed, cupping his hands around his mouth for effect.

We went crazy, jumping, screaming, even wolf-whistling (Alex), as Mason got out of the car with a tiara on his head and a sash that said 'birthday girl!' in bright pink. He posed for a few seconds like a supermodel as we all laughed and continued to cheer. Well, everyone except for Daniel, who was leaning against his car, arms folded and chuckled at his best friend's looks.

We all gathered around the swings, with bottles of beer. Alex had gone all out and took a joint out from his pocket. Oh my.

They tried to convince me to have a drink, but I refused, saying that I was the driver tonight, even though Stephanie was. All of them shrugged and drank their beers, except Daniel. He narrowed his eyes in my direction trying to read me.

If only he knew.

A couple of hours later, Alex, Chelsea and Stephanie were lying on the grass, high as kites. Jack and Lori had left earlier because they had a family thing the next day, as had Gigi and the birthday boy, who had disappeared with the excuse to grab something to eat (at three am, suspicious). My guess is they were celebrating their official relationship status.

That left Daniel and I alone, the only sober ones. Yay me.

"I bet Mason is getting it tonight," Daniel mused as he took a swig from his bottle.

"Couldn't agree with you more," I chuckled.

A strong breeze came along, causing me to shiver and goosebumps appeared on my skin. Daniel must've noticed, as he took off his coat and handed it to me.

"Don't worry, I'm not that cold." Be strong Astrid. You are a strong and independent woman...

He scoffed and placed the jacket over me, brushing my bare skin and leaving a hot trace behind. I quietly thanked him and glanced down. Dammit, he was too good. Glancing up at him, I caught him staring with a weird expression on his face.

"Something wrong?"

"Nah," he dismissed. "You look good with my jacket on."

I could feel my cheeks burn. "I look good in everything," winking at him, I got up and paced towards Stephanie, who seemed to be awake.

"Hey," I whispered. "Ready to head home?"

"Yeah," She got up quickly, sober. "I'm taking Chelsea and Alex, we live in the same neighbourhood."

I nodded and turned around. As I got closer to Daniel, I realised what Stephanie had said.

Oh hell no.

"Stephanie, why don't us girls leave together and Daniel can take Alex home?"

"What's the matter? I don't bite. Well, not always," Daniel smirked. Stephanie wiggled her eyebrows at me, while I envisioned multiple ways of murdering her in her sleep. I squared my shoulders, there was no way out of this, I was going to have ride with him. Alone.

"Let's go then," I snapped a little too forcefully, and marched to the car.

"As you wish my lady," Daniel mocked me, with his palms up and an innocent face.