The Forgotten Night

I looked up at him and my breath stopped. I didn't know if it was from the drinks or not, but he looked amazing. "Do you know how beautiful you are right now?" He asked me and I giggled, wow I was tispy. "I look beautiful because you're drunk," I slurred and he shook his head. "No, I've always that you were beautiful, I was just too scared to tell you," He defended. "You're scared of me?" I asked him still giggling and slurring my words. "No, I'm scared that you'll laugh at me when I tell you I love you." "You love me?" I asked him, getting serious. "Of course I do, more than anything," He whispered to me and he didn't sound drunk at all. "I love you too," I told him and sobered up, "kiss me." He smiled and leaned down to collide my lips with his. I put one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his cheek to keep his lips on mine. It was perfect, I don't care if most people wouldn't remember this in the morning, but I'll remember this. Our lips were in sync and our bodies fit perfectly together. "We're drunk, we have to stop," He mumbled agianst my lips, but I didn't care. "I've wanted you for too long. I'm sober enough to know that I won't regret any of this," I told him and he smiled again. "Let's go back to my place, my parents aren't home," He told me. "Wait, are you just gonna sleep with me and then throw me aside like you do with every other girl?" I asked him and he shook his head. I was so niave. I went back to his place and we slept together that night. However, he did throw me aside like every other girl. I didn't shed any tears as far as anyone else knew, in fact, all they knew was that I slept with him when I was drunk and I didn't care. He ignored me and whenever he looked at me all I could read was that I was just another girl that he got in bed. I told him to shove it and moved to New York City at the end of senior year. I was so happy to get out of that small town.


Now I'm 25 years old and perfectly fine. I have a boyfriend that I love, the job of my dreams, and a perfect life. "Hey, honey, I'm home," My boyfriend called and I smiled. "Hey, honey, how was work?" I asked him and he came in a hugged me from behind. "Great, I got that premotion and now I can leave," He told me and I looked at him, confused, "did you honestly think I'd stay here with you for life? Please, I got better things to do than to hang out around here in the crumy apartment with you. Bye!" He yelled and grabbed his suitcase and he went out the door. I stared at the door of my LOFT, it was not an apartment much less a crumy one! But I've grown up a lot since high school, I've gotten used to guys using me, and as far as I was concerned he was just another guy that lost me. I ate my dinner in the table, alone, and then spent the rest of the night staring at the white ceiling. "Am I jerk magnet or something?" I asked my room and I swear I saw something nod. "Yeah, pretty much," Someone said and I screamed. "Who are you?" I asked and grabbed a baseball bat from the corner. "I doubt you remember me, but... I've always thought you were beautiful," He said. "I know that voice," I said and turned on the light, only to scream again. "I was hoping for a less loud reaction, but I'll take it." "What are you doing here?!" I yelled and grabbed my robe. "Please, I've seen all of you, no use hiding it." "Get out you perv!" I ordered him and he laughed. "No, I need some help." "What you run out of girls to sleep with and came back for round two?" I asked vemonously and he flinched. "No, actually, I need you to help me find our daughter," He told me and I froze. "How'd you find out about Dani?" I asked him in a low voice. "Someone came to my house a few weeks ago and told me I had a daughter, he didn't tell me who was the mom but you're the only one that could possibly have my kid." "Please it could've been almost any girl in senior class that year!" "I only slept with you that year, I was a virgin before that night!" He yelled and I didn't believe him. "All those other girls wanted me and when I said no they told everyone that I slept with them as payback. You have to believe me and I don't care what you think, I want to meet my daughter." "I only met her once and that was when I held her before they took her away for adoption. I didn't have a choice about giving her up, my parents were hounding me about who's it was and the press would've been if I kept her. You have to understand that when you're me, you can't afford to mess up," I told him and he looked defeated. "I still want to meet her, I want to here her call me dad, I want to.... I just want her to know she's my daughter." "It's been six years, we don't know if she knows that she's adopted and if we just drop by and ask for her back, if her family loves her, then they'll fight for her," I told him and he gave me a pleading look. "I just want to see her, meet her, let her know that I'm her dad, please, just do me that and I'll be out of your life forever." I sighed and walked into the office. I pulled out her adoption papers and gave them to him. "Those are the people that took her in, I'll go with you cause I doubt they'll believe that you're her dad," I said and he thanked me. "So..." He asked eyeing the bed and me. "Couch," I pointed and locked my door. I mumbled incomprehenable things and I went to sleep. How on gods green earth did he find out about Danielle? No one at school knew, only my parents and me... My parents!!!! Oh, shit! I banged my head against the bed frame as I relized what my dad did. "For one time in my life, the only time he tries to help, he does this of all things!" I thought to myself and slipped into an uneasy sleep.


In the morning I got ready and grimly remembered what happened the night and day before. "Who's the guy?" He asked me refering to a picture of my ex and I. "Ex-boyfriend of a day," I told him and he gave me a sad face. "What?" "It's just that, I thought you haven't had a boyfriend after me," He said and I scoffed. "I hardly call our drunk one night stand a relationship." "But we used to be friends, what happened to that?" "You ignored me, you looked at me like I was a stain on your perfect life, the only thing you did do that helped me was you made me stronger and now I know how to take it when a guy leaves, like they always do," I told him and he looked at me. "Well, it's true, I haven't had one boyfriend that hasn't run off with his secretary or said so long because he got a better job." "So all your boyfriends have run off on you, wow, I haven't had a girlfriend since high school. How do you take it?" "Easy, I just tell myself it's his loss and I'm better off without him," I told him and we pulled into the driveway of the couple that adopted Dani. I walked with him up to the door and rang the doorbell. A guy in a suit answered and I reconzed him as the husband. "Hey, Creg. I wanted to see if I could visit Dani. Her dad wants to meet her," I asked him and he nodded. "Sure, she's right in here. Rebecca will take you to her, Rebecca!" "Yes? Oh, hello! He came back?" She asked refering to Dani's dad. "Yeah, I'm shocked too," I told her and she smiled. Creg left and Rebecca led us into her house. "Dani, there's someone here to see you," Rebecca called sweetly and Dani came out. "Who are you?" She asked and I laughed at how much her voice was like mine, she looked like me too. "Dani," I leaned down to meet her eye to eye, "I'm your mom and this is your dad." He nodded and leaned down next to me. "Really? Rebecca said that my mommy had to leave me." "I know honey, I couldn't keep you then, but now that daddy is here, if you want, you can come stay with us or visit," I told her softly. "Really!? I can come with you? Rebecca can I, can I go with my mommy and daddy?" She asked looking up at Rebecca. "Dani, do you really want to go with them?" Rebecca asked her, no tears, nothing, just a blank face. Dani nodded and smiled widely. Rebecca nodded and she squealed. "What are your names?" Dani asked us and I smiled at her outgoingness. "I'm Mina and this is Zeke," I told her and she smiled even wider. "Let me get my stuff! I want to go to your house tonight!" Dani told us and led us upstairs to her room. It was all blue and purple and I laughed at how pink and yellow it was not, I was doing a lot of laughing today. She got her stuff all packed and Rebecca seemed to have disappeared. I drove to my loft and Zeke set up her room in what used to be the guest bedroom. By the time it was all said and done I was tired and started heading to my room, "Where are you going?" I heard Zeke ask me after he finished putting Dani to bed. "I'm going to bed, you are going to the couch," I told him, but he sighed. "What's Dani gonna think when she sees me on the couch in the morning?" "What she should see, we aren't together, Zeke, we never were. There is no way that I am letting you near my room much less my bed. The press it going to be all over this by the end of the week when they find out but I can't let Dani get involved with that. The fact of the matter is that you have to take her, away from me and my life. I hate to do this to her, but as soon as either of you step out in the daylight with me, all privicy and life goes out the window for either of you. I am not going to let Dani get bombarded with reporters when she's only six, I've seen what that does with kids and a lot of adults. So please, just go and save her from what I am, please," I told him and he looked at me, shocked. "We just got our daughter back and you want me to take her off to never-never land so we don't get mixed up with your life?" "I know what happens when a girl her age and a guy that's never been outside the small town news paper turn into once they get a glimpse of the cover up perfection of being famous, but once it has you reeled in, there is no escaping. Then it goes to reporting all kinds of pointless mistakes you make just for the heck of it, it never stops. Once they have you in that camera shot, there isn't any way to get out," I explained to him and sat down in the floor. "You want to protect her by taking her away?" He asked me and I nodded. "It's the only way to protect her," I said and he sighed. He walked back into Dani's room and came out carrying her in his arms. I got her stuff and took it out to the car, I tried to control the tears that were threatening to spill over as I kissed her sleeping head. I watched them drive off and I cried for the rest of the night, this was one of the many times I wish I wasn't the Govener’s Daughter.


The next morning I woke up with dried tears on my face, I never though the this would be so hard, giving up the people I loved for a future I couldn’t risk them having. I went to my job and worked all day, but the bad part of knowning exactly what you’re doing all the time, is that my mind continues to wander to Zeke and Dani. How could I have let them go, there were my family, well at least they kind of are. The press had stopped following me around the city a few years ago, but they were always there, looking for a day that I slip up and they have a chance to get me in the tobloids again. I knew that if they found out I got knocked up at 17, gave the baby away, and now the dad came back so we could have her, that would be a not so good press confrence for my father to explain. He never noticed anyway, my mom died a long time ago, after I first ran away to come here, so I didn’t have her to worry about. The whole day was a drag really, nothing new or exciting went on, just normal stuff. I walked back into my loft, he head hung, and sad. It was now beginning to hit me how stupid I really was for giving Zeke and Dani up. I closed to door, raised my head, and just about died right there and then. He was here, Zeke, and Dani. Dani ran to me, hugging my knees and a little bit of my waist. Zeke came slower, but he got there soon enough. I didn't see him as the player jerk I knew in high school, he was the father of my daughter, and I loved him. He kissed me gently, giving me a chance to back away if I wanted to, but I didn't. I loved them both, and I shouldn't care about what other people thought of me. I was happy with them, so what if it was a mistake at the time? It was okay now, I was fine, we were together, everything was perfect. "I just keep coming back don't I?" He asked me and I laughed, nodding, finally realizing that I was streaming out tears. "Yeah, yeah, you do," I replied and kissed him again. And to think, all this happened because of one almost forgotten night.