Hollywood Princess (17 page)

CHAPTER
34 - ELIZABETH

Danny knelt beside me. My heart fluttered seeing his bare chest.
Kindness, or maybe it was love, filled his eyes. Then he clasped my hand and kissed my cheek. 

“I thought you
had gone,” I whispered, my voice cracking from dryness.

“No, never Eli. I promised. I was cleaning up. Then
Rachel came home. How are you?”

“My head is killing me.”
Danny reached for the bottle of Tylenol from my desk. He shook out three caplets and grabbed a glass of water.

“How’s your stomach?”

“Better.” I smiled as Danny helped me sit and handed me the glass and the Tylenol. It was nice to beloved.

“E, you look awful,” Danny
smiled and he kissed my forehead, “But beautiful.”

“Danny, my head i
s pounding like jackhammers at a construction trade show.”

“I know. I’ve been there.
” Danny kissed me again. “I’ll get a cold compress.”

Danny
was back from the bathroom in what seemed an eternity but was probably only moments with a cold, damp washcloth covering a Petrossian ice pack. He applied it to my forehead, and then took my small hands in his strong ones. 

The cold felt good.
Danny’s hands felt better. 

“I want to change into sweats. Are you okay if I leave Rachel in charge for a few minutes? I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” I smiled weakly, and with a kiss to my cheek, Danny left.

I had never been hung over before.
It felt completely gross.

Slowly, I rose to my feet. Unexpected wetness between my thighs made me blush. Danny! I grinned and stumbled to the bathroom where I
brushed my teeth and washed my face. Despite Danny’s reassurance, I was embarrassed. This would either become one of those stories you share a good laugh over or it would mark the end for us. 

It wasn’t
long before Danny returned. My headache was subsiding and Rachel was by my side. Now that she knew I’d enjoyed the evening, she felt free to discuss the formal. 

“Rach, how’s my girl
?” Danny asked as he entered.

“I think she’s on the mend
.”

“Hello! I can speak,” I teased them.

“Right. How are you doing, princess?”

“Better. The Tylenol
kicked in.” Danny smiled. Rachel thoughtfully rose to leave. 

“
Great necklace. Danny, you certainly know how to treat your girlfriend.” Rachel glared at him and left the room.

I
lifted an eyebrow, confused. Had Danny and Rachel been fighting while I slept?

Danny locked the door
, turned off the light and slid into bed. Wrapping his arms around me, Danny kissed my hair and whispered, “You smell nice. Let’s get some sleep.” 

My earlier vulnerabilities vanished.
I loved how secure he made me feel.

“They’re gone,” Danny whispered the next morning, waking me. 

I blinked hard.
The cold sun filtered through the border of the window shade was glaring in contrast to the warmth of Danny’s limbs tangled around mine. 

“What
?” Huh?

“Chloe and Rachel.
We’re alone.” 

It took my sleepy brain
a moment to digest this news. Then I understood exactly what Danny meant. My heart started thumping wildly and I grinned. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Good as new,” I assured Danny.

“How about if I make you feel better than new?”

“Oh, yes!” I giggled and Danny’s lips devoured me as he climbed on top.

This was even better than last night.
I knew what to expect and I wasn’t frightened or in a champagne-induced fog.  

After, we lay in each other’s arms silently reveling in the pleasure of being
together, enjoying gentle kisses and caresses.

“I want everyone to know you’re mine,” Danny
said as he fingered the gold heart. 

“Last night changes everything, doesn’t it?”

“That it does,” Danny replied.

Our fingers entwined and we made love again. Yesterday I had been alone and cranky. Today I was with the man I loved. 

CHAPTER 35 - ELIZABETH

The first
substantial snow storm came during study week. There had previously been a few dustings but this time nearly a foot was predicted!

O
vernight the snow began falling. When I woke, I peeked under the window shade. My eyes danced in delight, thrilled to see the clean white blanket below and more thick flakes coming down. My first real snow storm!

I threw
my old ski bib on over long underwear and a turtleneck. Then I shoved my feet into snow boots, grabbed my parka and flew down the stairs to Danny. I had seen snow before, but only in Aspen. This was different.

A sleepy-eyed Shane responded to my urgent knocking.

“Where’s Danny?” I asked breathlessly. 

“Asleep.
Like me,” he snarled.

“Sorry.”
In my excitement I had ignored the fact that it was only just past seven. I dashed into Danny’s bedroom, letting my jacket drop to the floor and approached his sleeping body. I shook his arm.

“Danny
, wake up!” I urged, and I sat down on the bed. One eye slowly opened and attempted to focus.

“
Eli? Are you going skiing?” Danny asked in a sleepy haze.

“No! It’s snowing!
A lot. Danny, we need to make a snowman!” 

“
Thanks for the weather report. By the way, I finished my history paper.”

Oops! Awkward. In my excitement over the snow, I forgot the reason I had slept alone was Danny’s need to complete this paper. 

“When did you get to bed?” I asked with new concern.

“I don’t know.
About four.”

“Oh.” I was disappointed.
“I wanted to play,” I pouted.

“Is it still snowing?”

“Yes. A lot,” I brimmed with excitement.

“The snow will still be here later.”
Danny closed his eyes again. “Take off that snow bunny costume and get into bed,” he ordered while moving over to make room. 

I should have
known Danny wouldn’t find the snowstorm as exciting as I did. He had gone to prep school in New Hampshire. Snow wasn’t new to him. 

I sighed and pulled off my boots
followed by the bib, the turtleneck and the long underwear. Then I unhooked my bra, flung it onto the pile of clothes, and climbed into bed.  Danny swiftly removed my bikini and folded his arms around me. Comforted by my closeness, he fell back to sleep. I merely dozed.

By ten o’clock I was
restless. Listening to Danny’s steady breathing against my neck as he continued in a deep sleep was not all that interesting.

I
gazed at his perfect face. Danny’s disheveled hair was completely sexy. I gently moved a lock away from his eye. Danny needed to get it cut, but I did like its longer, shaggy length. I smiled. Danny was so beautiful.

I
spotted a dribble of drool on his chin and carefully blotted it with the top sheet. What was he dreaming about? Danny was smiling. Me, I hoped. 

Contentment
filled me as I watched him. I thought of the girls I always saw starring at Danny and how I was the only one he wanted beside him as he slept. I felt at peace in the security of our love.

My resistanc
e finally wore down. Danny’s allure was too powerful. I pressed my lips to his sleeping ones and kissed him. He immediately responded by devouring mine.

“Elizabeth, this better be you,” Danny murmured.
He hadn’t even opened his eyes. Did Danny think some other girl was naked in his bed kissing him?

“If it isn’t me, you’re in big trouble with both me and whoever it is that you just called Elizabeth.”

“It’s you all right. If it wasn’t, I’d have been slapped in my face by now.”

“I could do that if you’d like,” I teased.

“And ruin my wake-up?”

Danny
opened his eyes and cradled my face in his hand. “I knew it was you all along. Nobody tastes as sweet.”

“Right answer,” I murmured.
“Can we play in the snow now?”

“No.”

“No? Don’t you want to fulfill my childhood fantasy?”

“I thought I already had,” Danny grinned, sapphires twinkling full strength.

I blushed. “My other childhood fantasy.”

“
Oh, that.” Danny pulled me even closer than we already were and kissed me hard. “Let’s fulfill my fantasy now and we’ll fulfill yours this afternoon.”

By the time we rose and made ourselves decent, it was mid-afternoon and we were hungry. A
fter a bowl of soup, I was ready to tackle my books. Playing in the snow would wait. I spent the remainder of the day drafting my political science take-home final.

Danny and I made
a date to go traying that evening. Traying was a tradition at New England schools where snow was plentiful, hills were commonplace and nobody had enough room for sleds, but everyone had access to old dining hall trays. 

At ten o’clock Chloe, Rachel and I
bundled up and met the guys at their suite. Giddy, we walked across the quiet campus to the hill. The steepest hill at Donnelly led to a crystal-clear lake on the distant end of the campus.

What a magnificent setting
! The clean, virgin snow blanketed the smooth, tree-less expanse. The remaining sides of the lake were surrounded by majestic pines and firs stretched tall against the horizon. Scattered among them were leafless maples and oaks that would have shared incredible displays in October. The natural beauty made me tingle. I squeezed Danny’s hand. His smile told me he understood and felt similarly.

Already other students
were careening down the hill. I carefully studied their technique, noting how they did a planned fall off their trays just in time to avoid landing in the icy lake. I made a mental note to bail even earlier; sunbelt risk management.

“Ready to give it a try?” Danny asked. 

“Definitely,” I answered, and I flashed a big grin. 

The walking path had
left us off at the top of the hill. We dropped our trays to the snow, seated ourselves with bent knees, and pushed off. My cheeks stung from the cold breeze. Soft powder flew up around me and I barreled down the hill. I glanced at Danny. He was grinning like a kid. What fun!

T
he lake was rapidly approaching, and I bailed to my right. Danny bailed to his left at the identical moment and our trays went flying, landing nearby with soft thuds. Danny and I fell into each other, a playful collision of lovers on the soft snow. Our arms and legs splayed out in all directions and we burst into laughter. 

I lay back on the snow, swishing my out-stretched arms and legs, making an impromptu snow angel.
Danny reached over and grabbed me in a bear hug.

“Daniel,” I squealed in delight and he laughed. Then Danny’s gloved hand reached for my face and we
kissed.

“I love you snow angel,” he whispered, and we kissed again.

Danny stood first and extended his hand to me. I took it, but as I went to stand Danny let go and I landed back on my rear.

“Danny!” I exclaimed, and he chuckled.

“I couldn’t resist. I’ll be a good boy this time.” But Danny was laughing as he extended his hand. Did I trust him?

Reluctantly I gave Danny my hand. This time he helped
me to my feet and dusted me off as we righted ourselves for the trek back to the top of the hill. 

At the
peak, a party atmosphere prevailed. Cam and Shane were passing around a thermos bottle filled with rum and coke. I passed. Danny didn’t take the thermos either.

I was proud. During the last two weeks, when studying and paper writing had become intense, Danny had barely consumed more than a couple of beers and had stayed away from getting wasted. Maybe he was changing.

The wind picked up, making it colder. 

“I can’t stay much longer,” Rachel complained. Her arms were tightly folded across her chest in an attempt to stave off the shivers.

“It’s not that bad,” I replied. Danny’s arms were securely wrapped around me.

“You have Danny keeping you warm.”

Danny was the best blanket. Soon Rachel and Chloe left for the warmth of Berkeley Hall.

Traying was the release we needed f
rom the pressures of studying. Laughter filled the hillside. Impromptu snowball fights broke out. 

Danny held me between runs and I gazed into his molten eyes, full of love. I smiled, at peace.

Later, when everyone else had gone, it was magical standing on the snow under the moon light, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“I love you, Elizabeth,” Danny whispered.

I reached my hands around his neck. “I love you, Daniel.”

Against a backdrop of a cloudless, starlit evening we kissed.