3

Daphnie

"Are you okay?" Amber looked concerned as she drove

"Yeah... I'm fine." I continued to look out the window.

"Daphnie, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone. I should've done something when I saw those guys move toward the door."

"Amber, it's not your fault; you had no idea what they were doing. For all you know, they could've been two stupid kids roaming around. The second one could've tried to hurt you; we'd both be screwed. Just thank God Adam was there."

"So that's his name? It suits him."

"Yeah, it does." I smiled. Amber looked at me again.

"I hope he gives those idiots what they deserve; he looks like he could easily beat the crap out of them."

"I need to find a way to thank him."

"You could ask him out." Amber smiled and looked at me, raising her eyebrows.

"No way," I said as my eyes grew wide. "I don't want to sound desperate."

Amber shouted, "he rescued you from being assaulted! How would asking him out sound desperate?"

My heart stopped as Amber swerved out of the lane. Thank God there weren't many people on the street.

"Calm down!" I said firmly. "I can't ask him out if I'm dead."

"Stop being so dramatic! You're going to lose him; you CAN NOT lose him. When you two talked, I saw a smile I haven't seen in years."

Amber scared me a little as she slammed her hands on the wheel. I checked if my seatbelt was buckled, and I let out a frustrated groan. I hated when Amber was right. A man like Adam is very hard to find; I needed to figure out how to thank him.

Meanwhile

Adam

It just so happened that a police car drove by as Daphnie and her friend left. They abruptly stopped when they saw the two unconscious idiots on the ground. I quickly approached the security guard and explained what had happened. Once the idiots regained consciousness, they yelled that they wanted me arrested for assault. Thanks to security footage and videos taken by a few bystanders, the police were on my side. The boys were arrested, and the officer said they would be kept in jail until Monday, when the courthouse was open. Bail would be set, and it was up to Daphnie if she wanted to press charges. Honestly, I didn't see the arrest as necessary. Instead, I would have taken the two idiots into an alley and beat the shit out of them the old-fashioned way, but I couldn't risk scaring Daphnie.

The officers said goodbye while shoving the two boys into the back of their car.

"Adam!" Ben said as he ran up to me. "What happened?"

"Where have you been?"

"Trying to get that girl's number, but she wouldn't give it to me. I went looking for you and came running out when I saw the squad car lights."

"You assumed I would have something to do with the police being here?"

I was hurt, but I kept my voice neutral. Ben had a guilty look on his face as he looked down.

"I'm sorry. What happened?"

"No thanks to you; I gathered the courage to talk to that girl I was following. We talked for a decent amount of time."

"Really? That's great! How is that related to the cops being here?"

"As she was leaving, two boys tried to assault her, and I intervened."

"Damn. That's messed up, but you're a hero!"

"I guess," I shrugged.

"Did you get her number?"

"Yes."

"I'm so happy for you," Ben said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me."

"Sorry." Ben quickly removed his hand. "I'm happy for you, and I hope this works out between you both."

Me too.

"Let's go home," I said.

Ben nodded, and we walked toward my car.

Daphnie

Amber looked annoyed as she drove in circles, looking for parking.

"Hey, isn't there a parking lot by the playground?" I asked.

"Yeah, but that's four blocks from the park," Amber wined.

"Well, it's either walk four blocks or spend the entire night looking for a parking spot that doesn't exist," I said.

Amber just rolled her eyes.

"Fine! But you're paying for the parking."

When we pulled into the parking lot, I got out of the car to get a ticket. Thank God there were hardly any other cars; Amber was horrible at parking. I looked at the machine and saw that prices had gone up again, and I had to pay $20 for two hours.

This better be worth it.

I walked over to the car and put the ticket on the dashboard. Amber and I started walking toward the park. Two blocks in, Amber began to complain.

"Why did I agree to walk? My feet are killing me!"

"I don't know why you decided to wear heels. It's an outdoor rock concert, and there aren't any seats."

"WHAT?"

"I told you to look up the details."

"Uhh... Yeah. I forgot!"

I rolled my eyes. Amber was always so irresponsible.

"Well, maybe someone brought foldable chairs."

"I hope so."

Few people were in the park; I guess not many wanted to watch mediocre bands. Amber put on a distressed face that caused one group of teenage boys to sacrifice his seat, claiming he didn't mind standing. Honestly, he was flirting a little. Another teen from the group offered me his seat, but I politely declined his offer.

Once the concert began, more people started coming. Some of the bands were pretty good, and I believed they would have successful careers. One of the performers decided to be sexy and took his shirt off. Underneath that tight shirt were a toned chest, six-pack abs, and a v-line. Of course, all the girls, including Amber, were cheering at seeing his sweaty, muscular body. After a few minutes, he used his shirt to wipe off the sweat on his abs and chest and threw it into the audience. I have never seen so many girls fight one another. Unsurprisingly, Amber was the one who caught the shirt. So many girls looked at her with a fire of hate and envy. I suggested that we leave. I wasn't interested in seeing my best friend get attacked, and I wasn't in the mood to get into a fistfight with any psychos, especially after what happened at the mall.

We ran as fast as we could to the car. I was surprised by Amber's speed; I didn't know she could run in heels. Once we were safely in the car, with the doors locked, I looked at her and said, "You owe me twenty bucks."

"What?" She looked at me, shocked. "We agreed that you would pay because you made me walk!"

"That was before we had to leave because you caught that guy's shirt!"

"It's not my fault. I have good luck!"

"Just give me half. I paid twenty dollars so we could stay for the whole concert. You owe me since we're going to miss half of it."

Amber rolled her eyes as she tried backing out of the parking spot.

"Fine!"

Amber successfully got out of the parking lot and back onto the road. The drive was silent, so Amber turned on the radio.

"What do you want to listen to?"

"It doesn't matter. You pick," I said as I looked out the window; I was exhausted.

"I think tonight was a good night," Amber said as we merged onto the expressway.

"Yeah, it was." I smiled.

"Are you smiling because you had fun, or are you smiling because you met someone?"

I laughed a little, and I could feel myself blush.

"Maybe both."

"He seems like a great guy Daphnie. He already cares about you."

"I know. I'll mention hanging out sometime when I talk to him."

"Can you see yourself possibly marrying him?"

"Amber!" I glanced over at her in shock.

"I know, I know. I'm getting ahead of myself. It's just you two looked so great together, and the look on your face when you were talking to each other. I haven't seen that look in a long time."

Amber looked content with what she saw between Adam and me. She wasn't teasing me with those words; she meant what she was saying.

"Can you see yourself dating him, at least?"

"Yeah. I can see it."

"Good. Because you two are going to date. Then, in a year or two, you'll be married."

"Amber!"

"I'm just stating the facts." She looked over at me while I just rolled my eyes.

"How about you?" Can you see yourself marrying that guy from school?" I said in a sarcastic voice, already knowing the answer.

"Honestly, yeah. He's great. We'll see; I gotta know more about him, and I'll let you know after our lunch date."

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You have to get to know your guy before envisioning marrying him, but I automatically have a future with Adam?"

"Ugh! I wish you could've seen what I saw. Didn't you feel anything while you two were together?"

"No, not really," I said in a straight tone.

"Daphnie! Stop lying to yourself and me. I know you felt something. Now spill!"

Amber was right. I denied what I felt, and I couldn't hold it back. I let out a sigh and kept my eyes on the road.

"Okay, okay. I saw him before he walked up to us; he was perfect already. I automatically thought, 'Where have you been all my life?'

Amber smiled in excitement.

"Then, I enjoyed talking to him. I was a little upset that we had to leave.

"Awwwww. Daphnie, that is so sweet! Honestly, you two should get married now. You two are meant to be."

"Very funny." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm serious! Daphnie, you can't be afraid of taking risks. If you keep being so cautious, you'll be forever alone."

"We'll see," I sighed. "I don't want to get hurt again."

"Daphnie, that's a risk you'll need to take. Adam seems like a good guy. If you get to know him, he might be Mr. Right. Not all men interested in you have bad intentions."

It was only a short time before we reached my neighborhood. I wished the ride was longer. When Amber pulled up to my house, I let out a sigh.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Amber asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I can't wait to get a stable job to get out of here."

"Do you have to wait until then? Why don't you leave now?"

"I just... I just can't right now. I'll see you."

"Alright."

I exited the car and looked at Amber through the open window.

"Let me know when you get home."

"I will. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I walked into a quiet house.

Dad must be asleep. Good.

I had a good time tonight and didn't want that to be ruined. I slowly walked upstairs and down the hall. I opened my bedroom door and turned on the light. I was startled when I saw my father sitting in a chair, staring at me angrily.

I was tempted to start crying, as I knew what was coming. My father never failed to beat down my self-esteem when I finally felt happy.

After an hour of yelling at me about how worthless I was, my father left my room. I tried not to let his words get to me, but they never failed to bring a few insecurities. I had no right to cry or be mopey, though. It was just verbal abuse. Things could always be worse; some girls suffer worse from their fathers. Sure, it looked like my father would hit or kill me, but he never did. I shouldn't be crying or complaining.

I changed into my pajamas and lay down in bed. I looked at my phone and saw that Amber had texted me forty-five minutes ago that she was home safe and sound. I put my phone back on my nightstand and covered myself with the blanket.

I was about to fall asleep when I heard my phone buzz again. When I looked at it, I saw that I got a text message from a number I didn't recognize.

"Are you okay?"

I was confused at first until a second message came.

"This is Adam."

I smiled at Adam checking on me; it was charming.

"Yeah... I'm good. Thanks!"

"How did the rest of your evening go?"

"It went well. I had a lot of fun. How about yours?"

"It went well."

"What happened after I left the mall?"

"The police were nearby, so they stopped when they saw the two unconscious bodies. I explained everything that happened, and the two idiots were arrested."

"Okay. I hope they get beat up in jail. Lol."

My eyes grew wide as I realized what I had said. I quickly began typing.

"I'm sorry; that wasn't very ladylike. Sometimes I think things like that when something bothers me."

"It's okay. How was the concert? Who was the performer?"

"It was a lot of fun. It was a bunch of amateur bands at this park downtown. All the bands were good, and some have a bright future ahead of them.

"Really? Hopefully, some recruiters were there."

"I'm sure they were. The concert was promoted as new artists."

"Okay, cool, so when some of them make it big, you can say you saw them during their rookie days."

"I never thought of that. That will be cool."

"Why do I feel like something else happened?"

I began laughing at Adam's text.

"Lol. Something interesting did happen."

"What?"

"One of the performers took off his shirt. All the girls were going nuts because of how fit he was."

"Did any of the girls do anything crazy?"

"Not really. He, however, threw his shirt into the crowd, and my friend caught it."

"Oh... Wow."

"Yeah. All these girls were staring at her, so I decided we should leave before anyone tried to attack her."

"Wise decision. Did you do anything fun after that?"

"No, we just headed home."

Not wanting the conversation to end, I quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, Adam..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"Saving me. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't stepped in."

"I'm just relieved that you're okay."

"How can I repay you?"

"There's no need to repay me."

"I insist! Not many people would stand up like that."

"Well, since you insist... How about you let me take you out to brunch tomorrow?"

"I don't think that's how repayment works."

"It's repayment if I see you again."

I blushed and smiled as I read Adam's message.

"You have me blushing right now."

:-) Send me your address, and I'll pick you up at 11:00 sharp tomorrow."

"Okay :-) Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I put my phone to charge and smiled. I was looking forward to seeing Adam again.