Daniel catches my hand and laces his fingers through mine. He tugs me closer to his side as we walk through the back streets of the city. As we approach the busy strip filled with bars, clubs, and restaurants, different genres of music blare from the establishments and attract all different kinds of people. He kisses my temple, then our pace slows and his lips brush against my ear. I stop and tug him to a halt beside me.

I stare into his blue eyes, while he searches mine for something. His hand feels a little sweaty and tightly clings to mine.

"Are you nervous about me meeting your friends?" I frown.

He squints his eyes and tilts his head to the side.

"What are you scared about?" I gasp, which turns into a laugh. "Should I actually be nervous about meeting them?"

"I'm sorry, you shouldn't be nervous about meeting them. I'm just worried because they goof around and like to tease each other. Sometimes they say inappropriate things, especially when they've been drinking, but I promise they're really nice."

"I'm sure they're great. I'm also a single mother of a toddler, so I don't scare easily."

"Yeah, once you get to know them."

"And I'm excited to get to know them. I hope they like me."

"I know they will." Daniel kisses my forehead and some how it eases some of my nerves. I just have to make his friends like me. Just need to figure out how to do that.

I grab his denim jacket and tug him down so he's closer to me. I brush my nose against his and peck his lips.

"Besides, I should be the one apologising in advance about my friends. They're going to interrogate you like you're on trial for murder and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"I don't care." He shrugs. "I have nothing to hide, so they can ask away."

"You say this now." I giggle. "And I will damn well hold you to it."

Daniel continues to smile, despite having no idea what he's eventually going to get himself into. I cup his face and peck his lips. Daniel grabs the back of my neck and holds me there, deepening the kiss with his tongue. He traces my lower lip before our tongues move against each other. I nip his lower lip and grin.

He sighs, stealing one more kiss.

"Are you sure you want to meet them?" I ask.

Despite the hunger lingering in his soft blue eyes, he nods.

"Let's go."

Daniel leads me to a two-story venue with large glass windows that overlook the busy street. There's a live band and it looks busy already with people queuing up for the bar and dancing in front of the band.

Security checks our IDs and we enter the venue. Daniel scans the crowd before walking over to a table surrounded by four people who are vibrantly chatting about something.

"Hey, guys," Daniel calls out.

"Hey," they cheer.

I awkwardly wave and Daniel loops his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to the table.

"Ellie, this is Thomas, Dustan, Eric, and Mike."

Thomas, Justin, Eric, and Mike. Wait, I think it was Dustan. Oh wow, that's a few too many names to remember. If only I was good at remembering names!

Dustan rubs his forehead, then smiles.

"You're the baby mamma chick, the one from the other weekend."

"I mean, I think so?" I glance up at Daniel and laugh. Those guys laugh as well, which earns them all playful glares from Daniel.

He rubs my lower back and passes me the cocktail menu.

"What drink do you want?"

I search through the list for something that has the most amount of alcohol in it.

"Long Island, please." I grin.

"I'll be back."

I should have taken longer to decide because now I'm stranded at the table. I glance at them, the bar, then the table. He's going to be a while because the bar is so busy and he's ordering a cocktail. I should have asked for a double shot of something easier.

I should make conversation with his friends, but what do I say? Daniel hasn't said much about them so I don't know where to start other than making comments about the weather.

As time passes, my heart beats a little quicker from the nerves.

I glance at his friends again and awkwardly smile at one of them because they catch my gaze. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

Just kill me now, I probably look like a weirdo.

"How-" We say together and laugh.

"I'm sorry, you go." I blush.

"You're a mother, right? How old is your child?" Eric, I think, laughs.

"Yes, I am. Noah's three, but he acts like a sassy teenager sometimes. I'm like stop, you're a whole of three, calm down." I roll my eyes.

"Threenagers are something else." He chuckles. "I have some sassy nieces and nephews as well and I'm excited yet terrified for that phase."

"You're a parent as well?"

"I have a beautiful six-month-old baby girl called Layla. Please tell me the teething phase gets better. She screams all night, every night and I don't know what to do."

"It's a painful phase but it'll pass soon enough." I chuckle. "You just have to comfort them the best you can. It's the worst seeing your child in pain and not being able to help them."

"Yeah, I hate the helpless feeling." He frowns.

"Just when you think it'll get better, the two-year-old back teeth come in."

"Two years of teething?" He gasps.

Eric skulls the remainder of his beer before making a beeline for the bar. His other friends look in shock but laugh.

"Ops?" I bite my lip.

Daniel slides the cocktail in front of me and I take a long sip. It's a strong taste of alcohol which is perfect for calming the nerves. I'm going to need three more of these to help me warm up to these guys.

* * * * *

It's crowded and people are shouting over the music. I edge my way toward the bar by slipping between clusters of people until I'm able to secure a place in front of the bar. Despite the position, the bar staff races back and forth making drinks and washing glassware.

Somebody bumps into me and accidentally spills their drink down my leg. I grab some napkins and quickly clean my leg but it feels sticky from the Coca-Cola. He taps my shoulder and exhales a cloud of fruity smoke in my face.

"I'm sorry about that," he slurs.

"It's fine." I brush off.

"Let me buy you a drink."

"Don't worry about it." I shake my head.

He leans against the bar and shoots me a lopsided smile. His gaze travels down to my chest and I shake my hair over my shoulder to cover up a little. I regret wearing this plunging t-shirt but I just wanted to make a good impression.

"What's a beautiful lady like you doing here alone?"

"She's not alone." Daniel places his hand on my lower back.

He picks up his half-empty glass and turns straight back around. I sigh with relief and lean against Daniel's familiar chest.

"I thought you were going to the bathroom?"

I glance over my shoulder and smile innocently.

"I did, then I got thirsty and decided to come to the bar."

"What do you want?"

"Um, another Long Island."

"Another one?" He gasps. "Okay, if you're sure."

I nod and he just smiles, the cute innocent one that makes me swoon. Whatever reason led him to talk to me, I'm glad he had the courage because I certainly wouldn't.

Daniel manages to catch a bar staff's attention and order us drinks. We take the drinks and head back to the table. We take a seat on the bar stools and Daniel places his hand on my upper thigh. His thumb strokes my thigh, and I think it's supposed to be soothing but it makes my heart race.

"Who wants to come dancing?" Thomas asks, waggling his eyebrows.

Thomas looks at me, then I glance at Daniel and he smiles.

"Do you want to go dancing?"

"Um, sure." I nod.

Daniel slides off his chair and offers his hand to me. I happily accept and he leads me onto the makeshift dancefloor which is nestled between groups of tables. Thomas inserts himself between a group of girls and chats them all up. I love his confidence.

I take another sip and bop to the beat of a song I don't know. Daniel places his hand on my waist and pulls me a little closer.

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?" He grins.

"Nope." I pout.

"I'm sorry."

Promiscuous Girl comes on and I have to contain the excitement. I turn around and back it up until his chest is pressed against my back. Daniel's hand slides over my hip and his hips move with mine in time to the beat.

When the chorus comes, I drop low and sway my hips as I stand back up. He puts his hand back on my hip and his breath is warm against my neck. I turn around and place my hands against his chest and slide them down to his stomach. He licks his lips and grins. I rustle my hair and brush my hips against his.

"Fuck, that's so hot."

He grabs my face and roughly kisses me. Daniel's hands slide into my hair and he winds his fingers around my curly hair. His tongue hungrily traces my lips before moving against mine. I hook one arm around his neck and lean up. He moves to my neck and I gulp down air.

"Get a room," Thomas yells.

Daniel wickedly grins and it ignites a fire deep in my belly.

* * * * *

I finish another Long Island and discard the drink on a random table. Big Energy by Latto plays and I throw my hands up and bop to it. Daniel shakes his head as I stumble across the floor and into his arms. He smooths my hair down and kisses my head.

"We're leaving soon," Daniel comments.

"But I don't want to leave." I pout.

"You're so drunk, I need to take you home."

"Drunk? I would never. I am a responsible adult."

"We're still going home."

"Home." I wrinkle my nose.

"We can make food and I'll get you some water."

"What about dancing?" I go to spin around but despite crashing into Daniel's chest, the world around me continues to spin.

"I think it's home time now."

I take a step to leave, but he throws me over his shoulder and I land with an omph, not that you would hear it over the music. I slap his butt with my hands and he smacks me back with one firm hand. I chuckle and smack his butt again.

"Please put me down."

"I warned you," he says.

"True."

He crouches and the next minute the world spins and I'm shoved into the back of a car. Daniel hops in and tries to do the seat belt up for me. I press my head against the window but it does nothing to slow the spinning world down and that nauseous feeling rolling through my stomach.

Daniel holds my hand and I squeeze it.

When we arrive at my house, he helps me out of the car and scoops me into his arms

"You know, I can walk." I sigh.

"Hm, I'm sure." He chuckles.

He sets me down near the front door and I lean against his chest. I had him my bag and he awkwardly looks through it to find the house keys. Once the door is opened, I'm swept into his arms. I don't hate this feeling.

Daniel places me on the kitchen counter and kisses my forehead.

"You need food to soak up some of that alcohol."

"Oh, can you make popcorn?"

"I could make you a sandwich."

"Nope, popcorn. It should be in the cupboard. Help yourself to whatever's there."

Daniel rummages through the cupboard and produces a packet of popcorn and places it in the microwave. He grabs me a glass of water and I down half of it.

"Thank you so much."

"I hope you enjoyed tonight."

"I might regret some choices tomorrow."

"As long as you don't regret me."

I cup his face and kiss him.

"Never."

The microwave beeps and he returns with steaming hot, buttery popcorn which is delicious. I grab a handful and spill some on the floor.

"Oh no." I pout.

Once I'm done, Daniel helps me off the counter and to the bathroom. I give him a new toothbrush and we brush our teeth. I leave him in the bathroom brushing his teeth to strip off my clothes and change. I grab an oversized t-shirt and tug it on and somehow get stuck.

"Do you need help?" He laughs.

He helps me pull my arm through the right hole and kisses my forehead.

"Are you ready for bed?"

"I think?" I follow his gaze to the Spider-Man in my bed.

"Noah does that when he's not here. He thinks Spider-Man will protect me."

"It's cute."

I slide into bed and snuggle into his side. Daniel grabs my book and opens it to what could be a random page. He reads the book and I begin falling asleep.

"Oh, this sounds like an interesting chapter."

"Hm?" I sigh.

"Perhaps I need to read this book from the beginning."

I half-laugh, then turn to his side and fall asleep. I could easily get used to this.

* * * * *