“This Daniella person,” Weston said, yanking Daniel’s attention away from James and back to the present. “Though that isn’t her real name, given the fact that Daniella isn’t actually a woman.”
A gasp and few stray snickers went through the crowd. Weston gloated and stayed quiet for effect. James launched himself across the dining room, landing right near Weston, who ended up on the floor. The microphone rang loudly, and then silence reigned until James got back to his feet. “You son of a bitch.” He pulled Weston to his feet.
“I saw his driver’s license,” Weston said.
“And how did you do that?” James glared at Weston, and Daniel knew the only possible way was if Weston had gotten into his bag. “Spying, snooping, going through bags. Did you steal anything?” James asked. Daniel had to give James a whole hell of a lot of credit for keeping the attention, at least for the moment, on Weston. “Maybe all the ladies in the room should check their purses just to make sure you haven’t been stealing from them.”
It was a brilliant ploy, and sure enough all the women pulled out their bags. “You need to go,” Holly pronounced as she stood up. “This is in poor taste and the weirdest stunt you’ve ever pulled.”
Daniel stood. “Holly,” he said softly. “It’s all right.” He saw the instant that Holly saw through the makeup and the clothing to the man he was underneath. Her hand went to her mouth, and she then sat back down. Daniel picked up his bag, turned, and left the dining room without another word. He sure as hell wasn’t going to explain anything to a room full of strangers.
“Well, Weston, how much did you steal?” James snapped, and Daniel was able to get out of the room with most everyone’s attention on James and Weston.
Another scuffle reached Daniel’s ears as he stepped out of the private room and into the main restaurant dining area, which had largely cleared out. He found a seat near the front of the restaurant, slightly away from the door, and wondered what he should do. This hadn’t been in any of their plans, and Daniel had no idea if he should stay or simply try to disappear. He could go to a hotel for the next few days and then fly home. He had his ticket, and lord knew James was going to have enough trouble as it was.
“You!” Weston growled as he and two of Howard’s other friends stomped their way out of the room and through the restaurant toward where he sat. “You’ve caused enough trouble already. Why are you still here?”
Daniel ignored Weston. “Where’s James?” he asked one of the other guys.
“Still in there,” he answered softly.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you some freak who likes playing with people?”
Daniel turned back to Weston. “I sure as hell got a laugh out of you. Making a pass at me every time you had the chance.”
“I certainly didn’t know,” Weston answered, pulling himself upward. “I never…”
Daniel snorted softly. “Maybe thou doth protest too much.” Weston paled. “Get out of here and watch who you’re calling names, pig boy.”
“Let’s go,” one of the other guys said and practically dragged a still-sputtering Weston out of the restaurant. Daniel slumped back in the chair, wondering what was going on. Had James thrown him under the bus and not told his family that he knew Daniella was really a guy? That seemed like the most obvious explanation, which meant Daniel needed to get the hell out of here before he found a pack of James’s family members all gunning for him. Maybe if he was lucky, he could get back to the house, grab his things, and get a ride out of there before everyone else got home.
“Can I help you?” the hostess asked.
“No thanks. I’m just going to call a ride.” Daniel brought out his phone, ordered an Uber, and thankfully there was a car only a few minutes away. He didn’t see James again by the time the car arrived, and he hurried out to meet it.
* * *
“Thank you,” Daniel said and got out of the Uber, entering the house using the key that James had given him earlier. He placed it on the polished wood coffee table and hustled down to the bedroom he and James had shared.
The first thing he did was pull off his wig and then remove his makeup, cleaning his face, and stripping away the clothes, removing the last vestiges of Daniella, dressing himself in jeans and a T-shirt. It had been so long since he’d worn his boy clothes that they almost felt uncomfortable…almost.
He needed to pack. Daniel didn’t know how much time he had, and he needed to get busy. After pulling his suitcases from under the bed, he slapped them onto the mattress and started the packing process. Haphazardly throwing things into suitcases wasn’t usually his style, but Daniel figured he could repack everything once he got safely to the hotel.