Saved By The Pirate (Book One)

41. A Pirate's Kiss

I felt my confidence come back, but I was barely holding on. I felt tears gather in my eyes as I looked at Daniel, and I couldn't make it them stop. A tear fell from my eye and dangerously rolled down my cheek, but I still didn't turn away.

Feeling my throat beginning to tighten, I mumbled, "I do love you, Daniel. I always have, and I always will. I've told you all my dreams. I've told you about my life. You're my best friend, Daniel, but that's all I'll ever love you as. A best friend."

I felt a weight lifted off my chest, saying that. I was a feeling I longed to have.

Daniel didn't say anything and didn't move. He stayed stiff and tense, and the air around him grew cold. I was scared of what he was going to do or think next, but I felt more confident knowing I hadn't lied to him.

At least I was honest.

After a moment of nothing but silence, Daniel finally spoke. "Oh, don't lie to yourself, Anne. I've known you long enough, and I've seen how you looked at me when we were children. There is no denying it."

I opened my mouth to argue, tears rolling down my cheeks, but he continued. "I'm so tired, Anne. You want to know why?" He chuckled lightly. "Because Christopher always wins. Did you know that? Ever since we were children."

His blue eyes flashed something different this time, and for a split second, Daniel looked scared, vulnerable, and my heart hurt because of it.

"Now look what he's done - he took you. He took the only thing I had to myself. He stole you, Anne. Did you know that? He took you away from me."

"You're crazy!" I cried.

"Maybe I am," Daniel said. "But I know what my true feelings are."

"And so do I, Daniel! Bloody hell, why can't you see that? I love you. I do, but not in the way you think I do."

He lowered his mouth to my ear. "Liar," he whispered angrily.

I had enough at that moment, so I pushed Daniel off of me and stormed away toward the ballroom, only looking back at him once. He stood tense, staring at me almost threateningly, daring me to go back into that room.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and sighed, looking at him before stepping back into the ballroom and back into character.

One. I stepped into the ballroom and looked around for Christopher.

Two. I saw Christopher, and Christopher saw me.

Three. I was back to playing pretend.

***

Christopher

Christopher felt his heart-strings tug when he was dancing with Anne, and he just knew she felt the same way, so why did she run away? Didn't she feel the same way he felt for her?

He didn't want to tell himself she didn't love him, because if he said that, then it meant that that was it. All hope would be lost, and that walking on air feeling would leave him. And Christopher didn't want that to happen.

He worried when Anne hadn't returned yet. Things raced through his mind about what he had done and how he could fix it. Maybe there was another way for him to show his feelings towards her. Maybe.

It was good to hang on to something, he decided. If not, then how could he keep going?

He waited near the food table for her to return. Occasionally, he'd glance over to where the Wheat's and Mr. Connelly were to see if they wanted an update on Anne.

He'd told them she had to run to powder her nose, and they'd seemed to have accepted it, even though he hadn't. He knew that this was no bathroom incident, and he was about to investigate when he spotted her all of a sudden.