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Chapter 3 - Sweet Lies

Author: Billie Patsy
last update publish date: 2026-07-07 12:08:07

HAZEL

I stood outside Danny’s apartment building early the next evening, my bag slung over one shoulder and my mind made up.

I wasn’t here to smile and pretend everything was fine. I had questions about the two hours of waiting, about Miles showing up instead of him, about the diner Lina had seen him at, about all the little lies and half‑truths that had been piling up for weeks.

I rehearsed every line in my head, ready to be firm, ready to hear the truth no matter how hard it was.

But the second he opened the door, all that preparation felt like it slipped right through my fingers.

“Hey, there you are!” Danny said, grinning wide and easy, like he hadn’t broken a promise or disappeared for hours the night before.

He pulled me inside and shut the door behind us, wrapping an arm around my shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I was just thinking about you. Come in, I ordered your favorite, lemon pasta and that strawberry soda you like. Figured you’d be hungry after practice.”

I froze under his touch. That was it, no apology, no explanation, no mention of last night at all.

Just charm, just warmth, like nothing had happened. And that was exactly what made my stomach twist.

“Danny,” I said, pulling gently away so I could look him in the eye. “We need to talk. Really talk.”

He walked over to the small dining table, pulling out a chair for me like I was here for a casual dinner, not a confrontation.

“Of course we do. What’s on your mind? Something about the competition? Or did you just miss me that much?”

His tone was light, teasing, and it made my frustration rise faster. I sat down, but I didn’t relax. I folded my hands on the table and kept my voice steady.

“It’s not about ballet,” I said.

“It’s about you. Last night, you promised you’d pick me up right after practice. I waited two hours. Two hours, Danny. Then Miles showed up in your car, wearing your jacket, because you called him and asked him to come instead.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I meant to text you, but things got crazy. Coach called me in for a last‑minute team meeting, and by the time I got out, I knew you’d be waiting. Miles was just around, so I asked him to cover. No big deal, right? He’s family.”

“No big deal?” I repeated, my voice sharper now.

“You left me standing in the dark for two hours without a single message. And that’s not all. Lina said she saw you yesterday evening, before you even claimed you had a meeting. She said you were at the diner on Main Street, sitting with two girls.”

He leaned back in his chair and shook his head, looking almost disappointed, like I was the one doing something wrong.

“Again with that?” he said, sighing like it was such a burden.

“Hazel, how many times do we have to go over this? People see what they want to see. Half the guys on the team wear the same jacket, same shoes, same everything. And Lina… she’s always been a little too quick to judge people, hasn’t she?”

“It wasn’t just her,” I pushed on.

“Your phone has been buzzing nonstop lately, and every time I ask who it is, you say it’s team business. You cancel plans more often than you keep them. You act like you’re here, but half the time your mind is somewhere else. And last night… when Miles showed up, he told me you weren’t even going to mention where you’d really been.”

Danny reached across the table and covered my hands with his own.

His touch was warm, familiar, and he looked at me with those big, earnest eyes that had always melted my heart before.

“Baby, listen to me,” he said, his voice dropping to that soft, soothing tone he used whenever he wanted to calm me down.

“You’re working so hard right now. You’re up at dawn, practicing until your feet bleed, worrying about every step, every note, every judge. Of course you’re stressed. When you’re this tired, your mind starts playing tricks on you. You start seeing problems where there aren’t any.”

“I’m not imagining this,” I insisted, though my resolve was already starting to waver.

“I feel it, Danny. Something is different between us.”

“Different?” He squeezed my hands gently.

“Of course it feels different. We’re growing up, Hazel. We have responsibilities now, school, sports, your competition. Life isn’t always going to be the easy, carefree days we had when we were kids. But that doesn’t mean anything bad has changed between us. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

He stood up and walked around the table, pulling me up to stand in front of him.

His arms wrapped around my waist, and he rested his chin on top of my head, holding me close.

It felt safe, like coming home, but now there was a voice in the back of my head, the same voice that had started speaking yesterday, telling me something isn’t right.

“Then why do you lie?” I whispered against his chest.

“I don’t lie,” he said softly, his fingers brushing through my hair.

“I just don’t always tell you every little thing because I don’t want you to worry. If I told you every silly thing that happens in my day, you’d have even more on your mind. I’m trying to protect you, Hazel, not hurt you.”

“Protect me from what?” I asked. “From the truth? Because if I can’t handle the truth, then what are we even doing?”

He sighed, as if my words were just more proof of how overworked I was.

“You’re too hard on yourself, you know that? now you’re turning every little thing into a big drama. Why can’t you just trust me? Isn’t that what love is supposed to be?”

“I do want to trust you,” I said, my voice trembling a little. “But trust works both ways, Danny. You have to give me reasons to trust you.”

“And I have,” he said, leaning down until his face was only inches from mine.

“I’ve been here for three years. I’ve cheered at every recital, I’ve brought you flowers, I’ve waited for you when practice ran late. Why is one busy night suddenly enough to make you doubt everything?”

He was right, in a way or at least, he made it sound right.

The more he spoke, the more my own doubts started to feel like mistakes, like I was just being difficult.

Maybe I was too stressed.

Maybe the competition was making me paranoid.

Maybe Lina had seen someone else.

Maybe Miles, feeling something for me, had made

Danny sound worse than he really was.

“I don’t want to doubt you,” I admitted, my eyes stinging. “I just… I don’t want to get hurt.”

“Never,” Danny murmured, his thumb brushing gently over my cheek.

“I would never hurt you, Hazel. You’re my girl. You always have been.”

Then he leaned in and kissed me.

It was the same kiss he’d given me a hundred times before, familiar, comfortable, easy.

But tonight, even though he kissed me like he meant it, even though his arms were tight around me, even though everything looked and sounded just like it always had… something felt missing.

When he finally pulled back, he smiled that perfect, charming smile again.

“See? Nothing to worry about. Now let’s eat before the food gets cold. And tonight, I’ll drive you home myself, no sending anyone else to do it. I promise.”

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