Afraid to love

Chapter 2

Phil wasn't joking when he said we wouldn't be seeing much of him or Daniel when we move in. I've only spoken to Phil a few times since we came, and I only saw Daniel twice, both times in passing. They tend to come home late, when Nina and I are already in bed, so all we end up hearing is the occasional shower running, opening and closing of bedroom doors and sometimes their quiet voices. In the mornings, both Nina and I leave. We're usually out for most of the day.

Right now, I'm all alone. Nina spent the night at George's place, he lives about three hours from us. Phil left this morning, I saw him through my window. And I don't think Daniel even came home last night. I stretch, feeling great. The morning is nice and warm, I have class starting in an hour. Since no one else is home, I find a tune on my phone and turn it on. I place the phone on the kitchen counter and dance my way to the bathroom.

I love music. It makes me feel alive. After a quick shower, I get dressed, comb my long brown hair into a French braid and walk out, still in a dancey mood I swirl my way to the kitchen. I gasp loudly when I almost run straight into Daniel, who's standing in the kitchen with a large glass of water in his hand, he's watching me with a playful smile on his lips. I take a surprised step back,

"Always this happy in the morning?" he asks,

"I'm so sorry! I had no idea you were home!" I say, then quickly grab my phone off the counter and fumble to turn the music off,

"Nothing to be sorry about,"

"Oh god!" I gasp, "that's embarrassing! And the music was so loud, you should have turned it off!"

"Relax, I'm not some old grandpa that can't stand loud music" he turns his back to me to place his glass in the sink. My eyes roam over his broad back, he's wearing a white hoodie with black trackies,

"Did I wake you up?" I ask, he shakes his head,

"No, I just came in"

"You were out all night?"

"I was" he says, turning back around,

I thought the crazy effect he had on me would wine down once we moved in, but nope, it's still there. I don't want him to know how he makes me feel by keeping my distance, so I square my shoulders and walk into the kitchen, grabbing some fruit from the pantry. He turns slightly to face me, I pretend not to notice even though my whole body feels the heat of his eyes.

"Don't see you around much" he says. Now that he's standing so close to me, I feel the vibration of his voice in my veins,

"I could say the same for you" I say, opening the overhead cupboard I grab a plate and knife. Usually, I'd cut the fruit up in the kitchen, but I can't do that with him standing so close. I go to the dining table to make my fruit salad,

"You said you were a dancer?" he asks,

"I dance, yeah... but I promise, what you saw this morning wasn't a reflection of my skill"

"I liked what I saw this morning" he protests, I look down at my fruit to hide a rising blush,

"Then you're not hard to please" I mumble,

"Maybe not" he responds cryptically. The front door opens and Nina walks in,

"Morning!" she chirps at me, when she sees Daniel leaning against a kitchen counter, her eyes jump from him to me and back to him. Like she's trying to decipher what we're doing there together,

"Hi Daniel," she says, he nods his greeting, she walks over to me and leans over the chair to give me a hug and kiss on the cheek, "what are you two up to?" she asks and picks a piece of apple from my plate dropping it into her mouth,