Finding My Way Chapter 13: Valerie's P.O.V The next day after

Finding My Way
Chapter 13: Valerie's P.O.V

The next day after I showered, I slipped on my striped dress with matching navy toms and braided my hair to the side in a fish tail. I put on my necklace and some mascara and I was ready to go. I heard a knock at the door and got up from the couch to answer it.
“Hey.” I smiled.
“Hey, you look beautiful. Ready to go?” Danny gestured for me to go before him and I blushed at his compliment.
We sat down in the car and easy conversation flowed between us. I had only ever thought of Danny as a friend, and that’s all that we were: friends. He was the best guy friend that I had. In mid-conversation, Dirty Little Secret blasted and I apologized as I pulled my phone out of my bag to look at the caller ID. Ben. I ignored the call and dropped my phone back into my bag.
He had probably just wanted to rehearse or something, but I was on a date and he could wait.
“You could’ve answered that, you know. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. It was no one important. And we’re on a date that would be rude.” I smiled at him and he returned his attention to the road.
We ate dinner at a casual restaurant and it was one of the nicest dates I’d ever had. It wasn’t awkward like I’d thought it would be. Danny was really sweet, funny, and he was a real gentleman.
“So how’s the whole ‘getting along with Ben’ thing going?” He smirked at me and I groaned.
“Fabulous.” He laughed at my unenthused tone.
“That bad?” He asked as he took a bite of his pasta.
“He’s just so…ugh. You know?” I asked, not sure how else to explain it.
“The kid can be a total douche, but he means well.”
I snorted. “Yeah, like the time in ninth grade when he ‘accidentally’ spilt my lunch all over me and then told me it was okay because I didn’t need the extra calories anyways? Yeah, I’m sure he meant well.” I said sarcastically.
“And which handsome, oh-so-dreamy guy was there to stick up for young Val who couldn’t stand up for herself yet?”
I paused, pretending to try and summon the memory. “Oh, Brett!” I nodded my head and winked.
Danny narrowed his eyes at me and I sighed deeply, “Danny was.”
“And what did Danny say?” He pressed, smiling widely.
“He told Ben that I was skinny and beautiful, and that he was a jerk, and that he should actually try and gain a few pounds because he was very lanky and most girls found that unattractive.” I said, a smile pricking the corners of my lips as I recited it.
“Good girl.” He winked and I rolled my eyes. He took a bite of his food and swallowed before saying, “You are though.”
Confused, I asked, “I am what?”
“Beautiful.” He said without any hesitation and I smiled bashfully as I took a sip of my water.
“Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.” I said as I set my glass back on the table and he grinned.
“You know, some have even gone so far as to say I look like Chad Michael Murray.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I laughed.
“You know, the one from that Cinderella movie?” He asked and I nodded knowingly.
“A Cinderella Story. Yeah, I know. It’s one of my favorite movies.” I smiled and he did, too.
“Yeah, I know. I gave you the DVD for your birthday in seventh grade, remember?”
“Oh, yeah! And then I made you watch it with me because Brooke was busy and Ben didn’t want to watch ‘a sappy chick flick’.” I smiled, recalling the memory. “How did you remember that though? That was five years ago!”
“Easy. That was the year we became friends. We were partnered up in gym and we were playing football, and when I threw the ball at you, you didn’t know how to catch it an--”
“And it hit me in the face and gave me a bloody nose.” I finished for him as I laughed, remembering. “And then when you were walking me to the nurse’s office you fell and scraped your knee and we just kind of bonded through our accident proneness.” I smirked.
“Yeah, football is just not you sport.”
“And walking is just not your thing.” I retorted and he laughed.
“It’s a good thing we can both act then, huh? Wow, I can’t believe we’ve been friends for that long and I only just now worked up the courage to ask you out.” He smiled at me and I bit my lip, smiling.
I wasn’t used to this side of him. The romantic and kind side that he was showing me tonight on our date. He didn’t try and make any moves on me until we went for a walk after dinner and he held my hand. I was surprised by his shyness to intertwine our fingers together, and I found it really cute. It was refreshing to go on a date with a guy that didn’t try and kiss me right away.
It felt nice and warm; it was comforting. The way he talked to me and listened to everything I had to say made me feel special, and I felt like we had some sort of connection. I loved the way he made me feel. I couldn’t believe I never realized we could be something more.
After the drive home, he walked me to my door.
“Thanks for tonight, Danny. I had a really great time.” I smiled at him.
“I did too. So, uh, I was wondering if you’d want to do this again sometime. Maybe Friday night?”
 “Yeah, that’d be nice.” I responded immediately.
“Okay, cool. Night, Val.” He leaned closer to me, and I thought he was going to kiss me, and I was going to let him, but he surprised me by leaving a light kiss on my cheek and smiling at me before getting back in his car and driving away. 

Val's outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/fmw_valerie_ch_13/set?id=56408223