Present day...
My entire body trembled and Luke had noticed. Since the day I met him, little escaped his attention. So shook up by what just happened, I was unaware that Danny entered the room until he spoke.
"Are you okay, Machala?"
He was my best friend and I owed him honesty. "No, Danny, I don't think I'm okay."
His arms came around my shoulders, offering comfort as they always had. He didn't understand my sexual preferences, but he didn't judge them either. His girlfriend was a little bit of a thing and he treated her like a precious jewel. I didn't believe there was a man out there who could fulfill my craving for pain on one hand and treat me as Danny did Becky on the other.
I managed to hold back tears, which made me realize things were slightly better than they were the first few months post-Luke Isaak. I gently shifted out of Danny's arms. "He asked me for a date."