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Promise Me
“No. Sorry, Gabe. I can’t go.”Danny crossed his arms over his chest and tucked his hands under his armpits, hunchinghis shoulders.Gabe stared at him, blue eyes widened in surprise, his expression a little stunned. “Well,why not?”“Because I can’t. I’m busy.” All of Danny’s defenses were up, working overtime just towithstand the threat of Gabe’s charm. He couldn’t risk looking Gabe square in the face;he’d crumble under the force of just one smile and he knew it. So Danny only took quick little looks at Gabe’s slightly crooked nose, his silky red-gold hair, his soft pink lips, before staring at the ground again.“What do you mean, you’re busy? It’s Friday night. What could you possibly bedoing?”“Stuff.” He knew it sounded lame, but it was the stunned disbelief in Gabe’s blue eyes ashe stood just inside Danny’s doorway that pushed Danny over the edge. As if Dannycouldn’t possibly be doing anything on a date night--nothing except waiting for Gabe’scall, that is. “I’ve got things to do. Surprise. So find someone else to hit up at the lastminute to go to the movies with you.”“But, what…” Gabe’s exasperated little huff of disbelief made Danny want to hitsomething.Made Danny want hit Gabe, and how crazy was that? He loved Gabe. Loved himhopelessly, and had done from practically the minute they’d met. “What could be moreimportant than dropping it to spend time with you, you mean?”Gabe stopped twirling his key ring around the fingers of one hand to peer into Danny’sface. “Dude, what is
up
with you? What are you so pissed about? Geez, all I did wasask if you wanted to go to the movies.”“At the last minute. Just like every time.” Shoving his hands in his pockets to keep fromsmacking the shit out of Gabe, Danny tried to hold the words in, but they wouldn’t bestopped. “Just like every other goddamned time. After I asked you on Monday if youwanted to do something on Friday and you said you didn’t know. Like it’s got to be sospur-of-the-moment spontaneous that you can’t possibly plan that far ahead. Like you’reso fucking special that I’ll drop everything just to spend time with you.”“Jesus, Valdez, what is your problem? What are you, my
 girlfriend 
? I have to call youthree days in advance or you’re busy? What the fuck.” It was Gabe’s turn to stuff his
 
hands in his pockets and—shit—it wasn’t fair how even the curl of his lip when hesnarled was attractive.Gabe was funny and charming and breathtakingly beautiful—and he was Danny’s bestfriend. He was also infuriatingly oblivious to the fact that his best friend was in love withhim. Normally Danny didn’t let himself get this angry with Gabe. One look in Gabe’s blueeyes, one smart-assed grin from Gabe’s mobile, expressive mouth and Danny melted. Hewas helpless in the face of Gabe’s personality and had been from the minute they’d metin freshman comp, back in college.“My problem is…” Danny stopped. He was about to say something he couldn’t take back. He took a good, hard look at Gabe and every one of the dozens of times Gabe haddone this exact same thing flashed through Danny’s head “My problem is that my bestfriend is a one-way.”“A one-way?” Mouth falling open, Gabe stared. “You’re calling
me
a one-way?”“I thought I was pretty clear, yeah.” It was a surprise how freeing the truth was.Danny’d said the words and the world hadn’t stopped. His heart was pounding like he’d just run five miles, but he was still standing and Gabe was still gaping at him.“You think… ” Gabe’s jaw worked, but all that came out were incoherent sputters of incredulity.“Okay, I guess there could be some confusion over the best friend part. But, yeah, I wastalking about you.” Now that he was rolling, the words just kept coming. All of theresentment and frustration he’d let build up came pouring out. “You’re a one-way, Gabe.You’re selfish and self-centered and it’s always all about you. Like it never occurs toyou that other people might have another idea or different plans. It’s always what youwant, when you want it.”“That’s bullshit. That is such bullshit.”“Yeah? So what was the last thing you and I did together?”“I don’t know.” Gabe shrugged and Danny’s gaze was immediately drawn to thehunching of Gabe’s shoulders under the thin material of his t-shirt. From there it was aneasy thing to skim down to the tanned forearms showing beneath the long sleeves Gabehad shoved up to just below his elbows. The fine golden hairs that showed there glintedin the late afternoon sun. “Okay, I remember. We went to the mall last week.”Danny’s answering smile was small and bitter. “Saturday afternoon. I was homewashing my car. You called from two blocks away and said you needed help finding a present for your mom.”
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