Chapter Text
There were plenty of eligible men to choose from tonight, just like they’d promised her. Plenty. Mindy quickly determined with one sweeping look around the densely packed living room that Colin and Anna had a large, unusually attractive group of friends. Where were all these men when the couple threw parties in the past? Only a handful of them were adorned with a wedding band or a clinging date. This looked promising. She’d make sure to thank them later.
The script she’d developed long ago was fairly solid. Once she determined her target, she’d quietly saddle up next to them, wait a few moments, then lean in gently and sweetly observe how “the music’s always so loud at these things.” From there she’d paint the portrait of a moderately shy girl from Boston who was a self-proclaimed homebody, out for the first time in God knows how long. The men would respond one of two ways: by agreeing and offering to step outside with her to get a little peace and quiet, or by gifting her with their own social expertise and remaining by her side to help her navigate the big, scary party. Either way, they’d play savior for the night. From her experience, nothing got a man’s motor going like a stroked ego.
It was a game. She knew it. They knew it. Her ability to pull off any sort of ruse at all used to bother a much more romantic version of herself. After a while, however, she began to appreciate the simplicity of it all. There was no pressure there, no delusions that this encounter would lead to anything lifelong. They’d go to her place with the tacit understanding that this was merely a means of satisfying a temporary need. If they were particularly fun, maybe they’d stick around for a week or two. There had only been one guy who managed to leave such an impression on her that she convinced him to try and defy fate. An entire year passed before they managed to come to terms with the fact that their destinies just did not include each other. It was devastating. She still misses Sam sometimes.
Things were different now. Mindy could live with the idea of having fun one night at a time until she met Mr. Forever. And she was going to have fun tonight with the help of a few flips of her hair and a script that hadn’t failed her yet. She immediately noticed an attractive man by the makeshift bar - tall, adorably shaggy blond hair, a lavender collared shirt peaking from underneath a slate gray sweater, and a boyishly dazzling smile. There was also the added bonus of him staring at her keenly from the moment she had arrived. A worthy target, indeed. Mindy steeled herself for an introduction while wondering if his long limbs would dangle over the edges of her tiny bed. She mentally noted that the music wasn’t terribly loud at that particular moment, but it was fine. She was good at thinking quickly on her feet.
Mindy sipped her drink and took two steps in his direction before another man caught her eye. It was almost comical how he was just about the exact opposite of her intended target: short, dark hair, navy blue dress shirt under a dark blazer, and an awkwardly pained grimace as he stood alone near the snack table. She’d never seen a party guest look so unhappy by their surroundings. It was a little pathetic. A part of her wanted to open the door and set him free like a freshly rehabilitated bird.
Another part of her wanted to ask him how he managed to get his lips to look that full and tantalizing.
He was beautiful. It wasn’t often that Mindy got to describe a man in such a way. There was always an abundance of handsome, some that were striking, and the occasional “fine as hell.” But beautiful…that was rare. Even now – as he popped a cracker and cheese into his mouth and managed to look just a hint less tense – she had an overwhelming desire to just know his deal, from his chiseled bone structure that was seemingly carved out of marble to warm brown eyes that possessed a certain doe-like quality. Before she could help herself, her feet were carrying her farther from the blond and closer to the mildly cantankerous guest. Maybe the music genuinely was too loud for a man like him. Perhaps he was the one that could use some saving this time around.
Mindy neared him cautiously, silently reviewing her lines. Gosh, it’s so loud in here. Colin didn’t tell me there’d be so many people here. I’m not a big partier. I’m Mindy, by the way. The fact that it wasn’t all that loud didn’t matter, nor did he need to know that she actually lived for parties and came because Colin told her this one would be a rager. None of it made a difference. This was just a formality.
She reached him as he was wiping the residual salt off of his fingertips on a napkin. When he looked at her expectantly she noticed a tiny crumb hanging just at the corner of his mouth. Quelling the desire to lick it off, she attempted to don her well-rehearsed subtly flirtatious smile as she prepared to launch her spiel. Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke.
“I have a very visceral urge to lick off that crumb on your bottom lip.”
A chill washed over her body as the horror set in. NO! That is not at all what she meant to say.
“Wow! Uh – I,” she stuttered, her eyes bulging as she almost crushed the cup in her hand. “I mean, you seem like a you could be a huge grump, but you’re also unnaturally gorgeous and I’m just kind of hoping that you’re secretly very sweet and a dynamo in the bedroom.”
She’d never felt a betrayal like the one of her own mouth deciding to act as a free agent. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and she had no idea how to fix it. Dare she open her mouth and try again? As she went for another attempt to save face, he spoke.
“You were one of Anna’s bridesmaids,” he informed her with a hint of a detectable accent. She guessed he was from Staten. “I saw you in a photo on her desk and she told me that your name was Mindy. She also said that you were a nice girl who could be a basket case sometimes. You’re really beautiful…and so far, a little bit of a basket case.”
“I’m not crazy!” Mindy defended ardently. “I swear I don’t know what’s happening!”
“Man, I was really hoping that we wouldn’t talk tonight,” he sighed while running his fingers through his thick hair. When he saw her mouth drop open in disgust, he realized how offensive his comment had been. “No, not like that! Shit, I didn’t mean to say that. I just mean that I honestly hate most of the people here and something in me just really, really didn’t want to discover that you were just as annoying as everyone else. With all the bright colors you’re wearing, I wasn’t sure.”
“Yeah, still offended, buddy.”
“I know,” he groaned. “God, I got really bad at this all of a sudden! I’m not usually so bad at this!”
“Neither am I!” Mindy cried in solidarity. “It’s almost like I can’t…”
Her voice trailed at the dawning realization of her reality in that very moment. Nothing had prepared her for this – not her parents, her aunt, her girlfriends, nor the decades of movies that promised her that this would be a flowery, glittering experience. This was horrific. Speaking from her head had always been her safe place where she had the most control. Speaking from her heart was terrifying.
Mindy felt faint and the chances of her throwing up all over this beautiful stranger’s shoes were growing increasingly likely, so she dropped her cup, ducked her head rushed to the glass doors leading to the balcony. The snappish evening air did nothing to cool down her overheated face and railing she clutch didn’t steady her out-of-focus world even a little.
This was not the time nor place for The Tell. She was supposed to find a hot cuddle buddy for the night and movie on with waffles in the morning, not “start the first day of the rest of her life” or anything that dramatic. Mindy wished she could write this off as drunken shenanigans, but her heart knew that wasn’t the case. She needed to get home with the tattered remains of her dignity.
Mindy was too engrossed in plotting her escape to hear the door slide open behind her. She didn’t even register him standing next to her until his spicy smelling cologne reached her nose. Her head snapped in his direction to find him looking similarly stressed.
“I figured I should follow you out here, considering the circumstances,” he offered lamely.
Mindy nodded numbly. “I mean, I want to thank you, but I’m still trying to figure out if this is real life, so…”
“No, I totally get that. I’m freaking out, too.” They both looked out towards the twinkling view of the city. A few silent moments passed before he added, “But in case this is, I want you to know…I didn’t mean to tell you all those things. I’m not some rude asshole, I promise. I mean, my ex-wife might say differently –”
“Woah, ex-wife?” Mindy interjected disbelievingly. She didn’t miss the twinge of jealously in the pit of her stomach at the mention of another woman in this man’s life – a man whose name she had yet to learn - but there was too much going on for that to be the weirdest happenstance. “How, with The Tell-”
“We were young knuckleheads. We thought we knew better than the universe. Clearly we got it wrong.”
The honesty eased her a little bit. Not that he really had a choice.
“Anyway,” he muttered. “I just don’t want you thinking that you’re cosmically linked to some bumbling jerk. I may stick my foot in it sometimes, but overall, I’m a decent guy.”
Mindy chanced a look into his eyes. She didn’t necessarily need proof that he was telling the truth, but she did find a sincere desperation for her to believe him nonetheless. She didn’t think he could look any more beautiful than he did in that moment. Of course, her mouth told him so.
“Fuck, I’ve gotta get used to that,” she hissed into the night sky. They both had a laugh at that.
“This is so weird!”
“I know! Damn that Emily Blunt. Her last flick assured me this moment would be beautiful and seamless. I trusted her.”
“I’m not sure who that is, but I’ll write an awful review of the movie online on your behalf, if you’d like.”
Mindy smiled warmly at him. “No, it’s still a decent film. But thanks.”
“Hey, it’s officially my job to have your back,” he replied in a low voice. He settled in closer to her, still leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. “So…how did your family teach you about The Tell?”
Mindy smirked reflectively. “Well, my parents kind of glazed over the whole concept of being physically unable to lie to your, um…your, uh, soul mate,” she finally uttered, feeling strangely about saying those words in front of the man who was the proven real deal, “by saying ‘It’s wrong to lie in the first place. You shouldn’t lie, ever.’ It was actually my cousin who explained it to me. She’d say ‘Tell a lie, he’s just for fun. Tell the truth, then he’s the one.’ Whimsical, but got the point across. You?”
He shrugged. “Eh, Ma just kinda said ‘I’m your one true love and that’s it. God and me. No girls.’ She insisted that was the case until I was 25.” Mindy couldn’t help but laugh, which made him smile broadly. “I’m glad the root of some possibly repressed mommy issues is hilarious to you.”
“What can I do?! C’mon, that’s funny.”
“It is,” he shrugged. “You have a really adorable laugh.”
The compliment was simple, but it stole her breath for a moment. It hit her then that she had a lifetime of these cute moments with him to look forward to. They stood there, turned towards each other and simply staring.
“This is really not what I imagined,” Mindy admitted softly. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I’m just in shock right now, that’s all.”
“Me too,” he agreed. “This is all going a lot differently for me, as well. I definitely didn’t think I’d be telling my soul mate that I thought she was a basket case and that her bright clothes were a red flag.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t think ‘dynamo in the bedroom’ would be words included in my initial declaration. If our kids ever ask, let’s come up with a much more romantic version of this moment.”
There was a brief, electric jolt of anxiety at the mention of an actual future with children. Then she remembered who she was talking to. No, it wasn’t weird. This was their reality.
If the man was at all freaked out by the notion of a family this early, he hid it well. He just gave a simple nod. “Agreed. Also when we tell Ma,” he added. “She’s intense, but she really a lovely woman. She’ll love you.”
“Deal.”
“Great. Umm…” He looked down at his shoes, one hand still gripping the railing tightly. “Mindy…I’m gonna follow your lead on all this. I really don’t know how we proceed from here. The world is telling me that you’re my destiny and that’s thrilling and scary and nuts and I’m not sure how to get us to our new normal. I…I didn’t expect to find you.”
Mindy felt her heart clench. She suddenly wanted to cling to him, but she didn’t know how appropriate that was, even with all of the cosmic confirmation that he was, in fact, her One. Boundaries still applied, right?
“I didn’t expect you, either,” she replied, then cautiously added, “…but I’m really glad it’s you, if that means anything.”
He glanced up at her once more, and the look in his eyes reflected so much unearned adoration that she could feel her heart melting at her feet.
“It means everything to me already,” he replied earnestly.
There was a beat of silence before the dam in Mindy broke. She took a step forward and threw her arms around the neck of her Mr. Forever, planting her lips on his firmly. He answered immediately by snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him as he tilted his head and kissed her deeply. She could already smell her perfume mingle with his cologne and the scent made her feel like she was half of a couple, a true partnership. It thrilled her almost as much as the feeling of him softly licking into her mouth just before gently tugging on her bottom lip with his teeth. Mindy gasped just before claiming his lips more decisively. There was no questioning in her heart that this was it for her. She was certain better didn’t exist, fore this was heaven.
They parted, leaning into each other as Mindy placed a few kisses as his jaw line. He clutched her as he turned his head until his mouth was right next to her ear.
“I’m Danny, by the way,” he introduced himself softly. “Danny Castellano. I’m really excited to spend forever with you.”
“Danny,” Mindy whispered giddily, letting the name ruminate in her mind for a while as she committed it to her memory and spirit. This was it. This was everything she wanted and best of all, it was real. “It’s so nice to meet you.”