Love is Like a Playing Card (J. Daniel Atlas) Chapter XII
It had been about a week since Lula had joined the team. They were putting the finishing touches on their plan to destroy OCTA. Sutton was still skeptical of the new addition to the team, not sure whether it was safe to get too close to Lula just yet.
On quite a few occasions, Sutton saw Lula hitting on Jack. He would give her his signature heart-melting smile and brush her off. If only Jack knew what that was doing to Lula. Merritt, on the other hand, was doing the opposite. Much like he always did to Henley, Merritt threw little compliments and weird comments her way. Sutton would roll her eyes, laughing to herself, remembering Merritt had been out of practice for some time now. Dylan seemed to be enjoying his newest addition. He constantly had side conversations with her. It seemed Lula’s role in the heist grew each day.
Then, there was Danny. Her Danny. Sutton watched Danny closely every day, seeing as his eyes lit up every time he spoke about the heist. His lips seemed to have a permanent curl to them now. However, every night, Danny went back to their apartment, and Sutton went to Merritt and Jack’s. The feeling of not knowing what he was doing there haunted Sutton every night. Was he hurting too? Was he with someone else? Was he thinking about how to get Sutton back?
“Sut!” Jack’s voice knocked her out of her trance. “What do you think?” Sutton stared at him blankly, praying no one else would notice. Jack did and quickly saved her. “You think you can take Henley’s place in the flirting department?”
Sutton let out a heavy sigh. “Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. I’m not sure if my flirting skills will fool anyone.”
“They always fooled me,” Danny murmured, looking up at her and giving her a side smirk. Sutton blushed, wanting so badly to kiss the smirk off his face as they held their gaze.
Lula cleared her throat, dragging Danny and Sutton’s attention from each other. “So, we’re all set, right?”
“I think we’re ready,” Dylan nodded. “Meet here bright and early tomorrow morning.” The five groaned as they left Dylan and walked out of the Horsemen Hideout.
“Hey, Sutton,” Lula peeped up, grabbing hold of her arm. Sutton spun around to face her. “It’s still early. Want to get something to eat?”
Sutton looked back at the others. “Go have a guys night. Talk about what you did before…” She trailed off, realizing what she was about to say.
Danny cleared his throat. “Yeah, okay. Have fun, Sut.” They gave her a smile, then the three of them walked off as Sutton watched.
“So, what’s your poison?” Lula asked, rubbing her hands together. “Sushi? Chinese? Italian?”
Sutton smiled. “Nah, I’m a burger and fries type of girl.”
Lula looked at her in shock. “Really? You don’t seem like it.”
Sutton sighed. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Lula.”
Lula smiled. “That’s why I want to hang out with you. I know you aren’t comfortable with me quite yet, and I get it. Danny told me it takes a bit for you to let your guard down.”
Sutton chuckled. “Danny told you that?” She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling her face heat up.
“He did,” Lula stated, taking note of how Sutton acted at the mention of Danny.
The pair went to a nearby restaurant and called their order in. Lula went and retrieved it, the two walking a short distance to Lula’s apartment. By the time they sat down, Sutton’s walls had started to crumble. Lula wasn’t that bad, just a little crazier than Sutton was used to.
“So, what happened with you and Danny?” Lula asked as she ate a fry.
“W-What do you mean? Sutton stuttered as she squirted ketchup in her to-go container.
“Oh, come on!” Lula laughed. “It’s pretty obvious something happened between the two of you. I mean, every time Danny talks to you, you get this look in your eyes and a goofy smile. Hell, I catch Danny full on staring at you whenever you’re doing something, especially if you’re helping Jack. He looks like he wants to tackle you and tie you down.”
Sutton bit her lip as she dipped a fry in the ketchup. “It’s… complicated.”
“Complicated how?” Lula asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she bit her burger.
Sutton contemplated her options- to tell Lula or keep her in the dark. She took a bite of her burger and decided it wasn’t fair not to tell her. “After our first show in Vegas, we slept together,” Sutton blushed, Lula’s eyes growing. “I had been falling for him for almost a year before that. Apparently, he had been too. We hid it from the others, until after our last show, when Jack and I met the others in Central Park at the-”
“Lionel Shrike Tree,” Lula stated. “Jack mentioned how it led you all into hiding.”
Sutton chuckled. “Right. Well, after we went into hiding, Danny and I were officially dating. I was living with Henley and he was living with Merritt and Jack. He would visit just about every other day, and I would visit him. When Henley left, he moved in with me.” Sutton let out a sigh. “It was amazing, to be living with him, to wake up beside him every morning.”
Lula giggled. “You were living a fairytale. You know, if thieves had such luxuries.”
Sutton smiled. “Yeah, I guess we were.”
They ate in silence for a moment, Sutton reliving the beautiful moments she had with Danny. Suddenly, Lula asked the question Sutton had been dreading.
“So, what changed between you two?”
Sutton sighed. “Let’s just say Danny did something that made me not trust him.”
“Damn,” Lula groaned. “That’s awful. You have no choice but to see him every day now. Break-ups suck.”
“It’s not really a break-up, just a break,” Sutton clarified.
“Look, Ross,” Lula joked, “it sounds to me like Danny fucked up. How can you forgive him?”
Sutton sighed. “It’s hard to understand, I know. Jack and Merritt are still confused. But, I just have this feeling that Danny is going to fix everything. He’s going to fix us.”
Lula scoffed. “Danny’s one lucky guy for you to just wait for him to somehow fix things.”
Sutton chuckled. “You just don’t know Danny like I do. No one does.” She smiled, feeling as though her heart was in the right place with her decision.
Lula shrugged. “So, tell me- Is he a control freak in the bedroom?” Sutton snorted. “Did he tie you up? I can totally see him having a kink for that!”