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"What the hell?!" JT wailed in surprise, causing his friends to jump apart. When he opened the door to the file storage room, the last thing he expected to find was Powell and Bright sucking face. Completely confounded, he looked to Dani and, pointing at Malcolm, asked bluntly, "Are you dating him?"
The blushing pair who now had a good two feet of space between them shared a glance, then, as Malcolm swiped some lipstick off of his lip, Dani spoke up, "Sort of." She paused to push some curly locks out of her face then added, "It's a long story."
JT crossed his arms stoically and retorted, "How long?"
Malcolm chimed, answering, "I first kissed her three weeks ago, and things evolved from there."
"We decided it was best to keep it quiet though until we figured out exactly what this was." Dani went on to explain.
"So, you've been lying to me?" JT asked, looking between the two. "All this time?"
"Yeah." They replied in unison, both sounding sheepish.
"I can't believe you guys. We're supposed to friends, we're supposed to be teammates." JT scolded. "How can I trust either of you after this?"
"Look, JT, we are really sorry." Dani apologized, hating that she hurt her friend. "We just--
"Wait a minute." Malcolm interrupted, taking a step forward and looking at JT with a meticulous glance. After a brief moment of reading his body language, he sighed, "He's messing with us."
"What?" Dani tossed back exasperatedly.
"He already knew about us." Malcolm clarified, shaking his head. He couldn't believe he fell for his act.
"You knew?" Dani repeated, shifting her gaze to JT. "For how long?"
JT cracked a smile as he answered, "About three weeks."
"Seriously? You knew the entire time?" Dani queried, feeling both surprised and annoyed.
Malcolm wondered aloud next, "What gave it away?"
"Let's just say that subtlety has never been your strong suit, Bright." JT told him as he leaned a shoulder against the doorway and crossed his arms.
"So, you're not really mad?" Dani question for clarification. "You're okay with this?" She probed, moving closer to Malcolm and waving her index finger between them.
"Of course, I mean, I was a little weirded out at first, but the more I watched you together, the more sense it made." JT admitted. "Now, I can honestly say that I think you two really are good for each other."
The couple shared a shy smile, then Malcolm asked, "Does that mean we have your blessing?" It wasn't that he needed it, but he knew how close JT was with Dani and that JT wasn't always his biggest fan. So, if he did approve, it would really mean a lot.
"Totally." JT nodded, then after standing up straight once more, he added pointedly to Malcolm, "That being said, Dani isn't just my friend or partner, she's like a little sister to me. So, you would do well to remember that if you hurt her, I hurt you."
Malcolm stifled a smirk as he retorted, "Noted."
"Uh, hello?" Dani interjected. "You guys do know that I am standing right here, and that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself?"
"Yeah, you are." JT agreed. "But you know that I always got your back." He winked.
Dani rolled her eyes then relented, "Thanks, JT." before giving him an appreciative nod. Sometimes he was too much, but his heart was always in the right place.
He grinned back briefly then cleared his throat and said, "All right, enough of this mushy gushy crap. We better get back before Gil starts to wonder where we are."
"Does he know too?" Malcolm blurted, suddenly worried.
"Nah, I don't think so. After all, you two are like the son and daughter he never had, and parents don't really picture their kids making out." JT teased. "In all seriousness though, if this thing is real between you two, then you need to let him know sooner rather than later."
"Yeah, we know." Dani asserted, starting to feel guilty about their little secret.
"And we will." Malcolm noted, putting a comforting arm around her.
"All right, come on, love birds." JT tossed out, eager to leave before witnessing any more kissing. "Let's get back to work." With that, he turned and made his way out of the file room.
Dani followed with Malcolm a few steps behind. However, instead of exiting the room like JT had, she closed the door and turned to face her secret boyfriend.
Furrowing his brow, Malcolm inquired, "What are you doing?"
Dani bit her lip then moved closer as she responded, "I'm not quite done with you yet." Stopping in front of him to wrap her arms around his neck, she looked at Malcolm affectionately and told him, "That was sweet of you to ask for JT's blessing. Don't get me wrong, the feminist in me was annoyed, but the romantic in me was very impressed. No one I've dated has ever done anything like that before."
Malcolm's hands that had rested automatically on her waist wound further around Dani, pulling her in closer as he replied with flushed cheeks, "Yeah, well, the thing is... I know we agreed to keep our relationship on the down-low until we figured out exactly what it is, but I know what it is now. It's amazing and incredible and probably--no-- definitely the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I want more. I want to take the next step. Most importantly, I want to do it right. I want to make us public and get approval from our friends and family and do whatever else couples do in normal relationships. I want you, totally and completely, in the most real way possible..." He trailed off, finally letting himself take a breath before finishing, "I love you, Dani." Her eyes widened and hands slid down to his chest as she found herself speechless, which was a hard feat that not many were able to accomplish. However, it seemed this guy had quite the knack for it. Malcolm took the silence as his cue to continue and found himself rambling on, "I know that's a lot to take in right now, especially since we've only been dating a few weeks, but it's how I feel, and I want you to know. You don't have to say it back. I don't expect--
He was quickly cut off from his rant when Dani reached up to grab his face with both hands and pulled his head downward, crashing his lips into hers. She kissed him long and hard. Then, after a long moment, she pulled back just enough to look into his steel blue eyes with her twinkling auburn ones and say, "I love you too, Malcolm."
Malcolm felt a wave of tension release from his body as he confessed, "Good... because I don't want to pretend anymore. I'm done pretending and hiding and having one foot out the door. I'm. All. In."
Catching her breath from his kiss and his words, she beamed, "Me too. Let's do this. For real."
Returning her smile, Malcolm eagerly sealed the deal with another kiss. This one longer and even more passionate than the last. Their kissing continued for a few more minutes until Dani pushed him away by the shoulders and said unenthusiastically, "Okay, we really need to go now. I have paperwork to finish, and you have the most difficult task of all."
Malcolm sighed and spoke reluctantly, "Telling Gil about us?"
"Telling your mother." She retorted cheekily.
"Come again?" Malcolm blurted.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Gil." She stated matter-of-factly. "Then we'll meet up later."
"But--" Malcolm began to argue. However, Dani interrupted with a swift peck on the lips.
Pulling back, she gave him two quick pats on his left shoulder and said, "Good luck." then hastily scooted from the room.
"Dani, wait... let's talk about this." He called after her as he followed from behind. "I'll trade you! Please? Dani?!"
Dani Powell always did have a way of keeping him on his toes. That was for sure. So was the way he felt about her. Malcolm loved her, truly and deeply. So, at the end of the day, it didn't really matter whose approval they did or didn't get. If the worst happened, and Gil fired him, or his mother disowned him, Malcolm would deal with it and accept it. He meant what he told Dani. He was all in, and he was all hers. No matter the consequences.