forum One for Camie

Started March 02, 2022 by Deleted user

tune

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Anna nearly spat out her wine at his remark, and once she swallowed, she laughed with a hand covering her lips. It was a wild and beautiful sound. "Oh God, I wasn't going to, but now I'm curious!"

Daniel snickers at Anna's reaction. "It goes elsewhere."

That only made Anna laugh harder. "I don't even want to think about it!" she cried, taking a healthy drink from her glass. It was only halfway empty, but she refilled it again. The woman seemed to be intent on getting drunk.

Daniel giggles. "Then don't."

He carefully refills his cup, this time taking sips of the rich wine. "Slow down there. You'll wake up and regret it tomorrow."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Please, I've done worse things that I regret. Like marrying a gambler." She set her glass down to toy with the wedding ring on her finger.

Daniel shrugs. "One is a little more immediate and a lot more unpleasant. At least you can divorce a gambler."

"He lost so much of our money," Anna blurted, saying things she'd never reveal if she'd been sober. "I had to leave him. I couldn't deal with it anymore… but he's a detective, and I'm an attorney, so we still see each other sometimes, and it's so terribly odd because we still love each other, but I simply can't afford to be with him anymore."

Daniel nods. He didn't understand, exactly, but he knew pain when he heard it. He hugs Anna gently, surprising himself. Normally, he couldn't touch people. Hell, normally he wouldn't touch people.

"It's going to be fine. I promise you, it will work out." he murmurs.

Anna gasped, surprised as well, but she gently moved to hug him back, surprised to find that he was solid enough that she could. "I hope so," she whispered. "I'm not so sure about that anymore."

Gently, Daniel releases Anna. "Now, since you have the day off, I don't suppose you'll just drink it all away, will you?"

Anna laughed again, leaning on the counter. "I think it's too late to stop now." She drained the rest of the wine in her glass. "How's yours? Can ghosts taste?"

Daniel laughs, and it's a real one, not the short, acerbic ones he'd been using before. "Fair enough."

He shrugs. "It's good. And yes, I can taste. I don't know how."

Anna grinned and began to pour yet another glassful. "That's odd. I like your laugh. It's fun."

Daniel chuckles lightly. "That's weird. Most people don't like it, for whatever reason."

He places one hand under his chin, the back of it touching his jaw. "That's me: fun."

Anna shrugged. "I like it." She giggled and began to drink again. "Mmm!" she exclaimed, setting the wine down. "I want to call Harry. Ask him about the bailiff. Where did I put my phone?" She walked around, looking for the device.

Daniel smiles. "Well, thank you."

He freezes Anna where she is. "Don't. It'll only piss you off."

Anna blinked hazily when he stopped her. "No, I want to know if he's in trouble. Where is my damn phone?!" She located her purse and walked – a nice word for how she was moving – toward it. She stumbled and swayed, but she made it and began to dig through the bag.

"Look, it most definitely has something to do with his gambling. It's not your problem, Anna." Daniel says.

He sighs and holds up the phone. "Look, if you want this back, promise you won't call him."

Anna finished scouring the bag and finally turned to him. Her eyes lit up when she saw her phone in his hands. "Oooh! I need that," she said and reached for it. "Please! I have to make sure he's okay."

"You'll get it when you promise not to call him. He'll make the excuses all men like him give to try and get you two back together, and then you'll end up going back to him because you're too kind, and then the next thing you know you two are broke, living on the streets." Daniel retorts.

Anna shook her head. "He knows I don't want to get back together with him. It's fine. I just need to make sure he's okayyyyy." She stumbled forward, reaching for the phone and leaned against his chest. "Oh! Hi!"

Daniel sighs. "Fine."

He jumps slightly when Anna leans against him, his face turning a peculiar shade of blue as he gently picked Anna up and took her into the bedroom. "You need to sit down."

He also hands Anna her phone.

"Ooooh!" Anna gasped as Daniel picked her up. "Where are we going?" He opened the door to her bedroom, and the woman's face instantly became serious. "Please, um, please take me somewhere else," she whispered, holding her breath and hiding her face.

The room still looked like a shared couples' room, having Anna's side of the bed and Harry's side. It smells of the man's cologne, and a few of his clothes were even littered on the floor. It was clear the room had been neglected for a while.

Daniel looks surprised, but nods.

"Okay." he says, not questioning it. Probably something to do with her ex-husband. He glances around the room as they leave, kicking the door shut.

He finds what looks like a study/living space, and sets her down gently on the futon.

"Thank you." Anna cleared her throat, clutching her phone tightly in her hand. "Sorry, I… I don't sleep in there anymore. I haven't since the divorce."

Daniel nods, not wanting to pry. "Mm-hmm."

He looks around the study. "So you sleep and work in here, huh?"

Anna nodded, looking around the room, her gaze landing on her desk. "Uh-huh… I need more wine!" She stood up and staggered toward the door.

Daniel chuckles, and pushes Anna gently back down onto the bed. "You stay here. I'll go get the wine."

He walks through the door and grabs the wine, his cup and Anna's glass, bringing them all up. He pours them each a liberal ammount, then hands Anna hers.

Anna fell back and tilted her head as she watched him. She took her wine glass from him, nearly splashing wine on herself as she sipped urgently from it.

Daniel watches Anna with some ammount of curiosity, prepared to catch the glass should it fall. He sits down next to her and sips his own wine slowly.

"So. . . what next?" he asks.