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another question.  Very good, Danny. Before I turn off the tape recorder, is there anything
else you d like to add?
Danny thought about it. Memories flooded his mind. All he could see was Dave
touching him. Dave s smile, his blue eyes, gentle, looking at Danny with adoration. Although
being with someone and exposing his life and heart to him was frightening as well as
exciting, the fear had never come because he thought Dave might hurt him. In fact, he d
never known a person could be as affectionate and protective as Dave was with him.  Yes.
There is something. I ve never met a more protective and caring person than Dave. He
looked directly at the lawyer, as if to drive the point into the man s very being.  I trust him
with my life.
When Danny was finished giving his statement, the lawyer asked him to wait in the
seating area and sent for Dave again. Danny sat for a while in the reception area until he had
to use the bathroom. Leaving his things in the lawyer s office, he went out to the men s room
he d seen in the hallway where the elevator was. He relieved himself and washed his hands.
The door to the bathroom opened while he was drying them with a paper towel.
He looked up, his heart pounding hard when he saw Dave reflected in the mirror.
Resisting the impulse to go over to him and embrace him, he turned.
Dave stayed by the door, not advancing in to the room.  I saw your stuff back in the
office and I knew you hadn t left.
Danny leaned against the edge of the counter for support.  I wouldn t have left while
you were in there. A ray of hope lit up inside him. Dave could have just left, or waited for
him to come back to the lawyer s office. Instead, he d sought him out in a more private place.
106 Sedonia Guillone
Dave hesitated. For a moment, he looked like he was going to come closer, but then
held himself back. Danny swallowed the sharp stab of disappointment. His throat was
painfully tight.
 Listen, Danny, I just wanted to thank you. You didn t have to come here at all. I m ...
glad you did.
 Me too. He prayed Dave s next words would be something about coming back to him.
 I just wanted to tell you that. Um, I have to leave now. He opened the door and
started to turn.
Danny felt him slipping away emotionally as well as physically. The reality terrified
him.  Dave. His voice came out hoarse.
Dave stopped and looked at him.
Danny cleared his throat.  Do you have to go? Now?
Dave sighed. One large hand raked through his short hair. The bathroom light caught
the golden sheen of it and Danny s hand itched to caress it like he d done so many times over
the last month. He never grew tired of it.
 Danny, don t.
 Don t what?
 Don t make this harder than it already is.
Danny stayed rooted to his spot, certain that if he moved, Dave would bolt again, like
he had yesterday.
Dave exhaled, his shoulders drooping.  Listen, are you going to be on campus tonight?
 Yes. I have to go there now, actually. Of course, if Dave had wanted to spend time
with him, he would gladly have rearranged his entire schedule. Computer science paled in
comparison to losing the love of his life.
 I ll be there, too. I ll stop by your office when I get off duty, okay?
Danny s heart fluttered. It wasn t much, but it was something.  Yes.
Dave looked at him, his gaze lingering several moments.  See you later.
 Okay. Danny pushed back tears. For years, he d been able to control tears, to wait
until he was alone or just with Meg, but lately, perhaps since he d fallen in love, it had gotten
more difficult to do so.
Dave closed the door and Danny waited, knowing he d start to cry if he followed him.
When he was certain Dave had left, he went back to the lawyer s office and retrieved his
backpack and coat. Tonight seemed a horribly long way away, but he had no choice. He
would wait for Dave, for as long as it took.
He left the building and wandered around downtown, making his way up to the
Government Center Station. It was only a couple of stops from there to Kendall and Danny
scanned the faces around him on the sidewalks and in the station, ever-watchful for Dave s
Tao of Love 1: Danny s Dragon 107
face. He knew, however, he wouldn t see him. Dave probably had his car with him and had
taken off.
Back in his office, Danny worked. Two of his colleagues, Sandra and Rashid, both nice
people, were there at their desks. They seemed to sense Danny was troubled and greeted him
kindly, though they kept their gazes trained on their own monitors.
Danny turned on his computer, staring at it, wondering how he was possibly going to
work. In between lovemaking sessions with Dave over the last month, he d managed to write
up his most recent progress report to give to his Ph.D. committee this afternoon, but couldn t
have felt less like his heart was in his work.
After about thirty minutes, the office phone rang. His heart flipped, along with his
stomach. Rashid picked up the phone while Danny watched him, trying to determine by
Rashid s expression who it could be. Rashid turned to him, holding out the receiver.  She s
asking for you. It s your mother.
Danny swallowed, his throat suddenly parched. His mother had his number here but
rarely called him at school. Struggling not to let his hand tremble, he took the receiver.
 Thanks, he told Rashid before putting it to his ear. Rashid nodded and went back to his
work.  Hello, Mom?
 Danny. I need to talk to you.
Danny frowned.  I ll call you when I get home, he answered in English.
 No. It won t wait.
If Danny s heart had ever felt like it wanted to escape his body through his throat, it
was now.  What is it? Is Dad okay?
 You father is fine. I shouldn t have yelled at you.
Danny cleared his throat. This was the closest his mother had ever come to an apology.
 It s okay. Thanks.
 But Danny, how can you feel the way you do? What about grandchildren?
Danny looked at his colleagues. They didn t know about him, or Dave. Thankfully,
both Rashid and Sandra seemed intent on their work. Why did his mother have to insist on [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]