A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity - Victorine E. Lieske Page 0,45
And another sensation he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was one that made him kind of weak in the knees, and yet gave him energy. Maybe it was simply infatuation. He had a massive crush on Dani.
She was a good dancer. She followed his movements with grace and ease as he stepped in time with the music. The sway of the ship added to the euphoric feeling of dancing with her, giving him butterflies in his stomach.
How had he ended up at this place? It was strange. He was with someone he thought was a spoiled princess just a few days before, but now saw her as a completely different person. She was a lot stronger than he had thought. She had tenacity and spunk, and yet she’d shown how much of a kind-hearted person she was.
Even though he knew she wasn’t into him, he couldn’t help but like her. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. How had he fallen for Danica Jordan? He couldn’t like her. It wouldn’t ever work. She hated the limelight, and he was now smack-dab in the middle of it. Heck, he’d probably already stirred up rumors about them just having been photographed together at the resort. It wouldn’t take a detective to figure out they’d been sharing a room. Who was going to believe their relationship was platonic?
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Dani said suddenly, forcing him away from his thoughts. “I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories.”
Guilt surged in him for making her feel like she shouldn’t have asked about his stutter. He didn’t mean to make her feel bad. “No, you were fine. I shouldn’t be so sensitive about it.”
Dani glanced out at the ocean. “You have a right to keep things private.”
It wasn’t that he wanted to keep it private. It was just embarrassing, and he wasn’t used to talking about it. All of his growing up years were laced with memories of being mercilessly teased because of his speech impediment. He knew what he wanted to say, but for some reason, it got stuck coming out. The kids his age didn’t understand he couldn’t help it.
It was a hard time in his life he’d much rather forget than talk about, but for some reason, he wanted Dani to know that part of him. It was painful, but he wanted to tell her. He took in a breath and let it out.
“When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Donovan Michaels, the running back for the Demons. I wanted his jersey so badly, but it was expensive and my mom worked two jobs just to pay our bills. Extra money was unheard of. We barely had enough to survive.
“But as a young child, I was still convinced that Christmas was magic and Santa would bring me what I really wanted. I must have written him a dozen letters, begging for that jersey. Had I known it was my mother reading those messages, I never would have done it. I knew we had no money. But I had total faith in Santa. So I kept writing, and my mother kept mailing them for me.”
Compassion filled Dani’s features. “That’s so sweet.”
“On Christmas day, when I opened my gift from Santa, there it was. Donovan Michaels’ jersey. I was so excited. I wore that thing for an entire week, day and night, even though it was a little too large on me. I didn’t care. It was my favorite thing in the world.”
“Aw,” Dani said, her lips pulling up into a smile. “How did she manage to do that?”
“I still don’t quite know to this day. She won’t tell me, but I suspect she donated plasma or got a third job. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I fully realized what that gift had meant.”
Dani blinked, emotion showing on her features. “Your mother must be very special.”
He nodded. “She is.” He swallowed, a lump rising in his throat. “I wanted to wear it to school after winter break, but the school had rules about what you could wear, and I wasn’t allowed. I begged my mother to let me take it to school in my backpack. I wanted to show it to all the kids who made fun of me. I thought it would make them like me.”
She smoothed out the fabric on his shoulder. “These were the kids making fun of your stutter?”
“Yes.” He lowered his head. “They were pretty mean.”