Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

fine. She would remember that she loved Daniel, and why. Remember all the sweet things he had done for her

in their year together.

And there had been so many. As she worked her coconut-scented shampoo through her tangled hair, she

smiled at the memory of her birthday last spring. Daniel had shown up at her door in jeans and a T-shirt,

holding a bottle of Clos du Mesnil. They'd taken a car to Manhattan, where he'd surprised her with a private

literary tour of the West Village. They roamed the quaint streets together, exploring her favorite American

authors' haunts. Shared a bottle of red wine in a tiny, poorly lit bar overlooking Washington Square, where

Henry James was said to have struggled through The Wings of the Dove. Downed a tall mug of dark beer at

Chumley's, where she could almost feel the ghosts of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in the next booth over. For

an entire afternoon, she'd been transported to a place where she didn't have to worry about her family, or

making good grades, or keeping Paige Ryan happy so she would get a bid at Billings. She could lose herself

in another time, in the stories she loved so much. And Daniel had done it all for her. Because he loved her.

He showed it every day, in the way he was so protective of her. Like that thing with Sergei the other night.

Like ...

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Suddenly the memory of that awful night back in August came rushing back to Ariana and her eyes popped

open. She didn't want to remember what Daniel had done that night, but the images came back in full color

nonetheless. All the Billings Girls and their boyfriends had been hanging out in the woods, a last gathering

before classes started. Ariana was snuggled against Daniel in front of the fire, sipping a beer, when she felt his

body tense beside her. He'd accused one of Dash's buddies from home of staring at Ariana, and just like that,

Daniel had snapped.

Ariana squeezed her eyes closed again and braced her hand against the wall, trying to block it out, bu

t she

couldn't. She heard the crack as the guy was slammed back against a tree. The sick, dull thud of Daniel's fists

as they hit him again and again. The pathetic pleading, over and over and over again.

Please, man... I didn't mean anything... please stop....Finally, Dash had dragged Daniel off and helped his

friend back to his car, but everyone else had acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Paige had

shrugged it off with a roll of her eyes and a "That's my brother." Even Noelle had seemed impressed that

Daniel would go so far to protect his territory.

His territory. Me, Ariana thought.