Three days later, it was Dani's birthday. And unsurprisingly, Christian didn't even call and wish her a happy birthday. But Dani no longer cared for Christian anymore. It was something she'd grown to accept. Right as Dani was about to make a cup of coffee to drink (she was trying to cut back on drinking coffee to reduce her anxiety and decided to just have one small cup a day), she got a text notification on her phone. It was from David. The text said, "Happy Birthday Dani! ☺ Mind if I come over to pick you up, and we can begin your birthday festivities?" Dani smiled happily. At least somebody remembered. She texted back, "sure. Just let me eat breakfast, okay?" David then texted back, "no problemo. 😉👍" This caused Dani to giggle. After having her morning breakfast and cleaning up, Dani put on some clothes. She wore a jade green tank top, blue jean shorts that went to her knees, and white flats with no socks. When it came to summer, Dani was pretty much an anti-socks kind of lady.

Five minutes after Dani got dressed, there was a knock outside her door. She opened the door and saw that it was David outside. This time he was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt, blue shorts, and his usual long socks and Nikes. "Hey David, glad you could make it," said Dani as she smiled at the gentle giant. "Of course," replied David, "I'd be crazy to let you spend your birthday alone. What do you want to start with first? For today I am your free Uber driver." He playfully winked at her. "Well, you wouldn't be bothered if I asked you to take me to my parents' graves would you?" Dani asked in a hesitant manner. Of course David knew how Dani's parents and her sister died. The family murder-suicide was all over the local newspapers for a brief period of time, and David had read the papers. After all, word of mouth travels fast. "I wouldn't mind that at all," said a sympathetic David as he gently placed his hand around Dani's shoulder as a gesture of compassion, a gesture Dani welcomed. David guided Dani to his car, and they got in and drove all the way to the graveyard where Dani's parents and her sister Terri were buried. Although Dani and her family were from Minnesota, Dani was able to get her parents and Terri buried closer to where Dani was attending college. For a few silent minutes, Dani and David looked around for their graves until they found the graves of Dani's deceased family. Dani looked at the graves of her parents and sadly said, "hey Mom... hey Dad... I know I haven't visited your graves in a long time... I honestly feel horrible for not visiting you often. The pain just really hurts, because seeing your graves is a painful reminder of that day... I just... Miss you all so much..." Dani started to breathe heavily again and then she broke down crying. Ever since her family died, Dani was always going to a private corner and would cry alone because not even Christian would comfort her during her grief. But David hugged Dani as they both got down on their knees. Dani held on to David tightly as she continued to cry her eyes out. David looked sadly and said softly, "I'm so sorry to know you lost your family." Dani continued to cry, but David's kindness made her feel a little bit better. "It's okay, I got you..." David said, "I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere... it's okay to cry and it's okay to grieve... I still got you..."

Dani continued to cry until she couldn't cry anymore. She sniffled, looking into David's hazel green eyes that were kind, gentle, and full of love and compassion. David gently wiped Dani's teary brown eyes. She blushed a little. She looked at the graves of her parents and sister and said, "I promise... I'll try and visit you guys more often... I love you all..." David helped Dani stand up, and for the first time, Dani started to feel peace. They left the cemetery, getting back into David's car. David was in the driver's seat and Dani called shotgun. "Thanks for being there for me when I broke down," said Dani as she smiled a little at David, "I think my parents would have liked you." David nodded and said, "it's no problem. Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on when they're at their most vulnerable. You don't need to be alone. And I am sure there is no doubt your parents loved you." Dani was moved by David's kind words. After a few minutes of silence, Dani asked, "can we go to the store and see if we can get a yellow cake with chocolate frosting? That's my favorite kind of birthday cake." David smiled and said, "sure. How about I show you the supermarket where I get my meat?"

"You a regular there?" Dani asked curiously. "You could say that," said David as they drove to the local grocery store. As they walked on over to the entrance to the store, the grocery store's butcher Mr. Brooker was coming in. David saw the butcher and said, "oh hey Mr Brooker!" The butcher saw David and said, "ello David! How's my favorite customer doing today?" David smiled and said, "I'm doing well. I'm definitely looking forward to that chuck steak at the end of the month." Mr. Brooker smiled and said, "well when it comes to meat, you're my best customer. What brings you here?" David placed his arm around Dani's shoulder and said, "this is my friend Dani Ardor, and today is her birthday and we're gonna buy her a cake." Dani smiled and said, "hi. Nice to meet you, sir." Mr. Brooker smiled and said, "nice ta meet you as well Miss Ardor. Happy birthday. Baking section is a couple aisles down to your left. Are you going to treat this beautiful lass like a princess on her birthday, Mr. Chaney?" David smiled and said, "you bet, Mr. Brooker. Hope your family's doing well." Mr. Brooker nodded and said, "they certainly are. See you around David. If ya see your father, tell him I said 'ello." David happily nodded and said, "will do Mr. Brooker." As Dani and David went inside the grocery store, Dani asked, "so you and your dad are Mr. Brooker's best customers?"

"Oh yeah," said David, "whenever we need good meat, Mr. Brooker usually is the butcher we turn to. My dad has known Brooker for a long time since before he met my mom. Brooker's practically a family friend." Dani looked at David and asked, "so I guess you're close with your parents?" Normally Dani would've broken down just hearing the word family, but David made her feel more secure. "We sure are," said David, "I'm the middle kid, got an older brother and an older sister, younger sister and a younger brother. We're definitely close." They walked over to the bakery section, looking to find a cake. By a great coincidence, Dani and David found a yellow cake covered in chocolate frosting, which was Dani's favorite kind of cake. "This is perfect." Dani said in jovial observance. "Alright, let's get it for ya," said David as he picked up the cake. David bought the chocolate frosted yellow cake for Dani, and they stopped back at Dani's dorm to drop the cake off for the time being. For the rest of the day, David spent time with Dani, making her feel happy. At 6 p.m., David took Dani to a bar and bought her a drink. They rose their glasses and David said, "here's to your birthday, Dani." After having their drink, Dani feeling a little tipsy, David took Dani back to her dorm room, and David lit some candles on Dani's birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to her. After Dani blew the birthday candles, she and David had two slices of her birthday cake. Dani hadn't had a yellow cake with chocolate frosting in a long time, so the cake was delicious. After they were finished with their cake, Dani and David sat on her couch. Dani playfully put her legs on David's lap and said, "you said you'd give me a foot rub on my birthday. I'm holding you to that offer, D.C." David smirked and said, "well you are the birthday girl and a promise is a promise." David then took Dani's white flats off, her feet bare. David then proceeded to massage Dani's bare feet. Dani closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure as David rubbed her feet. The way David's big hands touched her size eight feet felt good to Dani. David was firm when pressing her soles, and Dani loved the way he stroked her toes and arches. She got closer to David, brown eyes looking into hazel green eyes. There was a lot of intimate tension between them, the intimate tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Dani got closer to David, they both slowly closed their eyes, and then Dani kissed David on the lips. But then Dani stopped and turned away. "I... I'm sorry..." she awkwardly said, a blushing mess, "I don't know what came over me!" Part of Dani felt guilty because she knew deep down that she was cheating on Christian if she allowed this to continue. "No I get it, it's okay," said David, "I wouldn't want to sabotage anything between you and Christian..." Mentioning Christian's name immediately made Dani realize that Christian never did any of this for her. And the part of Dani that felt guilty for cheating on Christian ceased, for she no longer gave a damn. "Ah fuck..." Dani said, "I love you David..." David looked at Dani and said, "I love you too Dani." And they kissed on the lips again, this time without feeling any hesitation or guilt. Dani loved David more than Christian, she wanted him, she needed him, and it was something she could accept. And David loved Dani too.