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"Babe, we gotta go."

"I'm still getting ready," Danielle called back loud enough for her voice to travel out of the room and down the stairs to where JC was waiting. She heard him let out a huff of frustration and mutter something under his breath, but she continued to stare at her reflection evenly in the mirror as she continued to curl her hair with her heated tongs.

He was just going to have to wait.

There was a short silence before Danielle heard him let out another huff and she rolled her eyes at the sound. She could picture him standing at the bottom of the stairs, presumably checking his watch and working out how late they already were. He always did this, even though past experiences had proved to him that it’d do no good.

Rushing her didn't work. Danielle didn't care if they were late or not. She never did. It was never her idea to attend these stupid gatherings, and JC knew that. She was only going as his plus one for a favour. She'd already made her plans for the evening—vegging out at home—and she'd been frustrated at having been forced to go out instead.

The least Josh could do was allow her a bit of time to get ready. It wasn't as if she'd spent hours in the bathroom. She was only curling her hair and applying a bit of makeup for goodness sake.

"We're gonna be late!" JC shouted moodily up the stairs and once again Danielle rolled her eyes.

"We're already late," she called back evenly as she leaned towards the mirror to take a closer look at her makeup. Although she'd been careful, Danielle still wasn't sure if her eyeliner was even. She could never seem to get her left eye the same as the right...

"Then we should get going!" JC said dryly from the doorway making Danielle jump in alarm and twist her head around to look at him. She momentarily pressed her hand to her chest and sucked in a deep breath.

"You scared me," she chided as she felt her heart hammer away in her chest.

JC gave her a sheepish, sideways glance and suddenly it wasn't just the fright that was making her heart race. Danielle struggled to keep the answering grin off her face and she attempted to scowl at him.

"I'm not ready yet," she said moodily and turned back to the mirror. She placed the heated tongs onto the bathroom counter and picked up her lipstick. Leaning forward once again, Danielle flicked her eyes over to JC in the mirror as she began applying the deep coral shade to her lips.

He continued to stand in the doorway, watching her with an intense stare. Danielle could read in his expression and the tension in his jaw that he was losing patience, but she refused to be hurried. She pulled the lipstick away from her mouth and turned around to face him. "May I remind you that this was your idea. And you've given me no notice—"

JC groaned, both at her tone and at the fact she'd stalled her preparations in order to speak to him. At this rate they would not only be late, but rudely so.

"You could have called me, but no. You decide to come home late and then just spring on me the fact that you wanna go out—"

"Oh, God, here we go."

"I mean it, Joshua. You give me no warning and then get snarky when I'm not ready."

"Okay, okay. But are you nearly ready now?" He asked encouragingly and Danielle once again narrowed her eyes.

"You can go on your own you know. I don't have to go with you. If it's taking too long..." she said, letting the suggestion linger in the air as her voice trailed off.

JC huffed once again and folded his arms across his chest. "I don't want to do that," he said petulantly.

"Then just be patient. If you stop bugging me I'll be quicker."

JC was silent for about three minutes as he stood leaning against the doorframe, watching Danielle apply her makeup in the mirror. She was determined not to become flustered by his presence but it wasn't easy. Eventually, after sticking the top of her lipstick back on and giving her hair one final fluff in front of the mirror, Danielle turned to him with a satisfied smile.

"Ready now?" JC asked sarcastically as he raised an eyebrow.

Danielle hesitated. Watching him attempt to conceal his impatience was almost amusing and she didn't want to give in too soon. She glanced back at the mirror and chewed down thoughtfully on her bottom lip as her eyes flicked appraisingly over her reflection. "Hmm...."

JC groaned and rolled his head back, his blue eyes staring at the ceiling for a moment before meeting her eyes once again in the mirror. When he spoke, JC’s voice displayed all of the frustration that he was trying to hide from her. "Dani—"

"I'm joking!" Danielle chuckled as she crossed the room to swat him playfully on the shoulder. JC chuckled and quickly reached out to grasp her hand in his before pulling her gently towards his chest.

"Yes, I'm ready," she said dryly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Danielle giggled as he released hold of her hand and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. She leaned into his embrace and he nuzzled into her neck, pressing kisses against her warm skin.

JC lifted his head and found her lips, kissing her briefly before pressing his forehead against hers. All Danielle could see was deep blue eyes, and she could tell by the glint that appeared in them what he was about to say before he’d even opened his mouth to speak.

He grinned and whispered against her lips, “You sure?”

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