Tessa had invited Daniel over for breakfast this weekend. Bustling about her kitchen to try and set up everything she had prepared, wanting to impress him for some reason and set the mood for when she introduces him to Ryle.

Yes, she was going to introduce her boyfriend to her best friend today and hoped everything went well, because she was in love with him and hoped that maybe...she would marry him.

But the thought of spending the rest of her life with Ryle made her rather anxious about their unforeseeable future, it made her nervous and she didn't think that was a good thing, but maybe a little anxiety was expected...or not.

She shook the thought away as she put everything into place and took a step back, surveying her handiwork.

"Yay," She clapped for herself before her doorbell rang.

Taking off the apron, she fixed the front of her pastel yellow sundress before pulling on the white cardigan over it and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Smiling, she opened the door as her eyes twinkled to see Daniel standing before her in a grey button-up with black jeans, holding a box of cookies in his hand.

"Hey," She smiled and stepped to the side to allow him to enter, his large frame dwarfing her petite figure as he stepped inside, holding out the box to her.

"For you,"

"Oh, thanks!" Tessa grinned and took them, putting them on her kitchen counter.

"I remembered you had been craving cookies the last time we met so I decided to get you some this time around,"

"Aw, that's so sweet of you," Her heart fluttered in her chest as she kissed his cheek, someone clearing their throat having her pull away to see Ryle standing in the doorway in faded denim jeans with a light grey sweatshirt. "Ryle," She smiled and went over to him, giving him a quick peck as Daniel regarded him with a cordial stance.

"You must be Ryle," The FBI Agent stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "I'm Daniel, a friend of Tessa's,"

"Daniel?" The younger man asked as he knew he'd heard the name before. "Robertson?"

"That would be me,"

"Oh! Wow! It's so awesome to meet you man, Tessa never stops talking about you," He laughed and hugged the taller man, Daniel momentarily taken off guard before he pulled away. "Tess, you never told me he was coming over for breakfast," Ryle turned back to look at his girlfriend.

"I thought I'd surprise you," She grinned and bounced on the balls of her feet, noticing the scrutiny across Daniel's face and watched as he looked like he had eaten something sour, her smile falling off to realize that there was something wrong.

"I am!" Ryle laughed and turned back to the other man whose face instantly transformed into a polite smile from the scrutiny it had taken just seconds ago. "I know so much about you!" He gushed and ushered him to the dining table.

"Should I be concerned?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow as he sat down, Ryle instantly gesturing for him to dig in.

"No, no! It's just that Tess is always telling me about you," He chuckled. "Worships you, she does," He laughed as Daniel gave a glance to the girl, who shyly looked away and blushed at the words.

"I do not," She muttered under her breath and played around with the waffles on her plate, watching as Ryle chattered on about how much Tessa talks about him and all that he knows, Daniel listening politely as he helped himself to a breakfast muffin.

"Bambi, could you pass me the salt?" He asked her as she reached across the table for it, Ryle's words suddenly dying down.

"Bambi?" He repeated to Daniel who ate his food while looking up at him. "Is that a nickname?"

"Yes," The older man nodded, looking at him in momentary confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you knew that I call her bambi and she calls me Casanova since we lived together?"

"I-it must have slipped my mind," He muttered as Daniel looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it that you do, Ryle?" He asked in return.

"Oh, I'm studying to become a vet,"

"Huh,"

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I just feel like I've seen you before," He shrugged and resumed eating, the couple giving each other a glance before they finished their food as well.

Ryle sat with them a while after breakfast, before he received a call and had to leave due to some matters.

"I would have told you to take care of her but I already know you're very capable of that feat," Ryle called over his shoulder at Daniel jokingly as Tessa walked him to the door. "See you later," He turned to her as he gave her a kiss.

Tessa pulling away first with a smile.

"Have a good day,"

"I will now that I have seen you," He chuckled and squeezed her rear, Tessa blushing a bright red as he chuckled and she looked towards Daniel in concern who wasn't in her sight.

"Stop it," She giggled at him, burying her face into his chest as a sudden discomfort welled in her stomach, causing her to squirm.

"I'll see you tonight?"

"Mhm," She nodded and waved to him before closing the door.

Putting her back to the wooden structure, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself as she wondered why she reacted with unease when he did that, passing it off to Daniel being there.

Walking into her apartment, she was momentarily confused to see it vacant of his presence but sat down when she realized that he was in the washroom.

"So?" Tessa asked once he came back and settled down on the other end of the couch creating as much distance possible between them.

"So what?" He inquired and stretched his arms.

"So what do you think about Ryle?" She inquired eagerly, sitting up to look at him. "We're thinking about moving in together and I wanted to know what you think about that,"

Daniel's heart squeezed in his chest at the words as he did his best to mask the hurt, swallowing thickly before clearing his throat.

"Wait,"

"Wait?" Tessa repeated incredulously. "What do you mean wait, we've been together almost a year-"

"-I've seen him somewhere before," Daniel stated. "I know I have seen him somewhere before and I want you to wait until I figure out from where,"

"But, Daniel-"

"-Do you trust me?" He cut her off as she stared at him incredulously, scoffing at the fact that he was seriously asking her this question.

"Of course, I do,"

"Then you'll wait,"

"And if I don't?" She demanded haughtily.

"It just proves that you don't trust my judgment," Daniel shrugged as Tessa opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish and watched him stand up from the couch, suddenly realizing that he was leaving.

"Why do you think that I should wait?" She finally managed to say as Daniel stopped in the center of the kitchen. "So what if you have seen him somewhere before? For all you know maybe you've seen him in some grocery store,"

"That's the thing, Tessa," He hissed in irritation. "I live in New York, I shop there, and he's here, in Brooklyn, so my question is why would he come to New York for grocery shopping when he can just as well buy the same things from the department store at the end of the block?"

"You're being paranoid, Daniel," Tessa shook her head.

"So what if I am? I am being paranoid over your safety and health," He retaliated. "For all I know he's not as good for you as you think,"

"If you're wrong, Daniel," Tessa shook her head at him. "Then I won't forgive you,"

"And if I'm right," He responded, opening the door. "I don't even want to think of those implications, so you better hope I'm wrong," He stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Tessa groaning in infuriation before putting the pillow over her face.

For the past four days every time they would talk on the phone, Tessa would ask him if he figured out where he had seen Ryle from, Daniel telling her he hadn't to which she'd urge him to hurry up and figure it out since he has been inquiring about them moving in together.

He had received just another such call from Tessa as he drove into his neighborhood, rubbing his forehead as he made his way to his house, the headlights of his car illuminating the taxi on the curb with a guy paying his fare. Daniel's eyebrows scrunched in confusion as the light caught the person in the face, his throat running dry.

Parking the car, he stepped out and turned around to watch the man walk up the stairs to the brownstone opposite his, ringing the doorbell before a girl opened the door and threw her arms around him, kissing him as his hands wandered down to her waist before she pulled him inside. The man standing beneath the hallway light and closing the door, Daniel's breathe stopping short to realize why he had thought he looked familiar.

Running a hand over his forehead, he pulled out his phone and speed dialed a number.

"Tessa," He called once she picked up. "If I ever faced myself in a situation where I knew the truth would hurt you, would you still want me to tell you honestly or leave you be?"

"I'd want you to be honest, of course," Tessa sat up at his words. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I need you to come to my place,"

"Is everything alright, Daniel?" She swallowed. "You're scaring me,"

"Please just come here," He hung up the call, running a hand through his hair as he wondered if what he was doing was right, because he didn't want to hurt her. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, he loved her too much to bring her pain.

Daniel had been sitting on his front steps when Tessa arrived, a glass of scotch in his hands with another one placed beside him, knowing that she would need it.

"What? What's wrong?" She stood before him, looking at him in bewilderment when he handed her the second scotch glass and patted the space beside him on the stairs. "Daniel, what the f-?"

"-Just sit down and watch that house," He pointed to the brownstone behind her, Tessa looking over her shoulder before turning back to him, settling down and taking the drink.

"Are we stalking someone?"

"Show me your phone,"

Tessa's confusion just grew as she watched him type away on her phone, before staring at the "I know what you've been doing behind my back," message with scrunched eyebrows.

"What has he been doing?" Tessa looked up at Daniel who silently pointed across the street, both of them hearing a sudden commotion coming from inside the house. Momentarily looking back at him as he took a sip of his drink, not tearing his gaze away.

Swallowing thickly, she took a sip of the drink to calm her nerves before nearly chocking when she found a half-naked figure jump out of the house, struggling with his jeans as a disheveled girl followed after him.

"What's wrong?" She yelled at the guy on the sidewalk. "Ryle!"

Tessa's heart sank as she watched the scene before her, Daniel swallowing the lump in his throat as he placed a hand on her shoulder, hating himself for all the hurt he was causing her.

"She knows!" The boy, Ryle yelled back to the girl. "She knows about you and me!"

"She can't," The girl scoffed. "We've been careful about everything!"

"I got a message telling me she knows we're fucking!" He hissed at her as Daniel watched Tessa down the whole drink in one go before pushing herself off the stairs, thrusting the glass to him as he watched her hastily wipe away the tears that spilled down her cheek and swallowed the sob bubbling inside her.

"Tessa," Daniel called out to her softly as he watched her pull away from him and make her way across the street and to the bickering couple on the sidewalk.

Tessa tapped Ryle on the shoulder as he instantly whirled around, his words dying out to see his girlfriend standing before him.

"Baby..." He choked out before she whirled her hand and slapped him across the face, her hand leaving his cheek flared up as she glared at the girl over his shoulder who looked down in shame.

Ryle's eyes widened to see her walk into the house across from him, and his throat dried even more to see Daniel sitting on the steps of the brownstone, giving him a cold glare before standing up from his place and making his way inside after Tessa.