"It is way too damn cold for September in LA," Emily commented to Cheryl as they walked off the elevator. They'd run into each other in the parking garage, and cursed to cold together riding up in the elevator. It wasn't freezing, but the mercury barely hitting sixty wasn't normal for an LA September. Of course, it was late September, but still.
"Tell me about it. How can we go from heat waves in late August to this in barely a month?" Cheryl shook her head, as she picked her way through the cubicles. She stopped at Matt and Emily's, and nudged her friend and coworker, who hadn't yet noticed.
Emily looked up startled, she'd been fishing for something in her bag. The first thing she noticed was that Matt wasn't there, but then she saw the delicate white vase filled with red roses. She struggled to hide a smile. Matt had actually remembered their anniversary. One year ago today, they'd discussed ninjas, and he'd taken her for beer and fajitas. Of course, it probably helped that they'd planned a date for tonight. Biting her lip, Emily dropped her stuff, and reached for the card.
Best year of my life. I love you.
Short, simple, and straight-forward, that was definitely Matt's style. It was even in his handwriting, which means he'd actually walked into a store and bought the flowers, not ordered them by the phone or internet.
"No birthdays today…anniversary?" Cheryl asked, amused at the grin Emily was trying real hard to keep off her face.
"Yeah, a year today." Emily played with the card, still trying not to smile as much as she wanted to right then, and risk looking completely dopey or worse, lovesick.
"Really? Wow. A whole year, and he actually remembered the day? That's impressive for Matt." That was impressive for most guys, but especially for Matt.
"Thanks for the confidence, Cheryl." Matt shot her a half-serious scowl, joining them.
"Anytime." She shot him a grin, and left the couple alone.
"I love you too," Emily whispered moving closer to him. Matt decided Cheryl would forgive them for PDA in the office once, and breached the gap between them. He pressed his lips softly against hers in the sweetest of kisses.
Then the CNU erupted in wolf whistles and catcalls, and the two jumped apart like they'd been burned. Emily was already starting to color slightly.
"Oh hush, all of you," Lia scolded, rolling her eyes. It was mostly HRT making all the noise, and embarrassing their friends.
"So, what are the roses for, Flannery?" Frank called, not ready to let up yet.
"Anniversary," he mumbled. Why did he choose work to give her flowers? Oh yeah, that's right, he didn't want to wait. Sappy dumbass.
"Really? So, then it's been about a year now, hasn't it?" Frank was partially amused, but genuinely impressed.
"Yep, when was the last time you were with a woman that long, Frank?" Emily asked, teasing him back. Frank grinned.
"College, and damn proud of it." Cheryl popped out of her office, and looked around at them all standing, no one working. She wasn't surprised, she'd heard the commotion.
"Why isn't anybody working?"
"We were just congratulating Flannery and Lehman on a year."
"Well, then congratulate them, and get to work everyone. I know you all have plenty to do." She was smiling as she commanded them though, they knew she didn't mind them not working every second of the day.
"You heard the woman, let's congratulate them. God knows they've earned it after a year." Frank grinned and started a round of clapping. It was both a nice thing to do, and would embarrass the hell out of them.
Emily was feeling nervous as she slid her earrings through the teeny holes in her ears. She was in the ladies room in the CNU, getting ready for her date with Matt. Knowing they might get called in, they both agreed to bring their date clothes to work with them. Sure enough, they'd gotten called in early in the afternoon. It was a domestic disturbance, a blissfully quick one, so far as negotiations go. They still had thirty minutes to get to the restaurant, which was about a twenty-minute drive away.
When was the last time she'd been with a guy for a whole year, and felt no animosity toward him? That's always how it seemed to go for her. If they made it passed six months, which was rare enough, it always fell apart before, or shortly after the one-year mark. Either she wanted out by then, or he'd had enough, sometimes both. It was never pleasant by then, and it never ended well, someone was always hurt, and someone else was usually so fed up they didn't care.
She had a problem with feeling smothered, with them wanting too much of her. And, she had no patience for soothing bruised egos. So she was higher ranked in her job than they were in theirs—learn to deal with it. Most guys had a problem with her job, that she carried a gun, that it wasn't a woman's job. Or they thought she was distant, or too independent, that she wasn't around enough, or didn't open up enough.
But, there she was getting ready to celebrate a year with Matt, and she found herself still in love with him. He didn't push her too fast, or try to smother or control her. They shared a job and rank, so he never judged her on that, and he never got insecure. He liked that she was an equal, to Matt that was sexy. But, at the same time, he still treated her special, like she was someone very important to him. And, she tried her best to show him, that he was very important to her too.
What was really making her nervous though, was the idea in her head, that a year with him wasn't enough, she wanted more than that. She wanted another year to start.
"Hey, how's it going?" Lia pushed the door open, and stood watching her nervous friend.
"I haven't been this nervous on a date, since, oh god, I don't even know." Emily rested her hand on her abdomen, trying to calm herself.
"I know you have this paranoia about the one-year mark, but Matt's different. He loves you." Lia stepped closer to her, squeezing her friend's hand.
"It wouldn't be the first time I've thought this one was different, and been wrong."
"Emily, you need to relax, and stop obsessing about this. You aren't marrying him tonight, it's just a dinner," Lia instructed. Emily nodded, still nervous.
"Alright, how do I look?" She'd left her hair down, letting it sit in curls. Her dress was a dark wine color—almost the same shade as the roses Matt gave her—fell just below her knees, and showed just enough cleavage. Her earrings were silver that dangled just a bit, and a silver chain sat around her throat with a pendant of silver and onyx.
"If you looked any better, Matt wouldn't be able to make it through dinner," Lia promised her, as Cheryl came through the door.
"Are you ready yet? Matt's getting fidgety, and the guys are starting to tease him about it." Emily nodded, and followed them out, back toward her cubicle, where the guys were waiting with Matt, who looked yummy in a black suit, with a dark, almost shiny gray shirt. Of course, Frank and Duff couldn't resist whistling at Emily, and earned a glare from Matt.
"Easy man, you don't have to tell us the lady is taken." Frank was laughing as he held his hands up defensively. Matt rolled his eyes, and turned back to Emily.
"We all set?" She grabbed her purse and nodded. He took her hand, and they exchanged good nights with their friends. Emily laughed and had to comment.
"Why does it feel like you all got us ready for the prom?" They walked out with their friends giggling behind them.
They'd decided to take a walk around the city after dinner, at least the nice, safest part of the city. It had warmed a bit since the morning, but was still on the chilly side, so Matt had draped his jacket over Emily's shoulders. She was wearing the necklace he'd given her: a small silver and sapphire heart on a delicate silver chain. The sapphire was a deep, vibrant blue. It didn't really go with her dress, but she wanted to wear it anyway. Her other necklace was in the box for the new one.
Matt wouldn't get his gift tonight. Emily had negotiated the weekend off with Cheryl, and that was part of it. She couldn't exactly give it to him in public, because it involved some naughty lingerie and much naughtier behavior. She'd flashed him a garter under the table at dinner, just for a taste. Matt was very, very excited for the weekend.
Matt was in a good place in his life, he knew that, and knew a lot of that had to be attributed to Emily. He was happy with her in a way he hadn't really been with any other girlfriends. He felt comfortable telling her he loved her, and did it because he wanted to, not because she expected to hear it. It took him a while to get her to trust him, and he didn't take that lightly. Usually, he was the one in the relationship with trust issues, so he respected her need to go slow.
He hadn't grown bored with her; often enough, she still left him guessing. Like her gift tonight, he hadn't expected her to have planned a kinky weekend, even getting them off the on call list. He wondered what she told Cheryl, but figured their friend was smart enough not to ask. Emily wasn't clingy, which any guy will tell you, the importance of it can't be underestimated. She didn't get insecure often, and when she did, it was very endearing, like the first time she told him she loved him.
Emily was his equal in so many ways, and he knew that's a big part of why it worked so well with them. She didn't need to be fawned over, taken care of, or have her hand held. Of course, that didn't mean Matt wouldn't take a bullet to protect her, but she didn't need to know that unless that situation presented itself. And, she understood that as a man, he couldn't help himself if he tried to protect her. It was ingrained into his DNA, even if it did annoy her.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close to him. Emily leaned her head on his shoulder, and wrapped and arm around his waist. They had made a few strategic turns in their walk, and were only a few blocks from the car now, and out of the commercial district, so there were fewer people on the streets. They were laughing at something when the man appeared out of nowhere.
"Stop. Give me your wallets, purse and jewelry," he instructed aiming a black forty-four at them. He was tall, over six feet, with a lot of muscle to back it up. He wore baggy jeans, and a dark hooded sweatshirt; tattoos were visible on his neck and knuckles.
They stood still in shock for a few seconds too long.
"Damn it now!" He yelled, waving the gun at them.
"Alright, alright. Relax man, we're getting it." Matt held up his hands, trying to speak soothingly to the guy. Neither of them were armed, they were going to have to give him what he wanted.
"Your necklace, give it to me!" He yelled at Emily, who moved quickly to do what he asked. She'd just gotten the beautiful necklace, but she wouldn't risk their lives over it. She dropped it in her purse and handed the little bag to him. He grabbed it roughly.
"Now you, wallet. Come on!" He shouted to Matt.
Matt turned to Emily, who was still wearing his jacket, and reached for his wallet, and got his badge instead. But, their mugger had seen it, and it scared him. Every street thug knows messing with cops was a good way to get yourself killed.
He came at them, now holding the barrel of the gun, the butt of the massive weapon aimed at them. He didn't want to kill them so much as he wanted to knock them out, so they couldn't come after him. Besides, he was just a kid, and actually killing with a gun was much different than threatening with one.
Matt barely pushed Emily out of the way, before the gun came crashing down on his head. She stumbled on her heels and fell. The guy didn't let up, but hit him again and again, in only a matter of seconds. Matt fell to his knees just as Emily was picking herself off the ground.
The gunman kicked Matt in the gut, and sent him falling completely to the ground. He kicked him in the gut couple more times before aiming again for his head. A force slammed against him, and intervened.
"Matt! No! No! Stop!" Emily was shouting, as she threw all her body wait into the armed man. Instead of falling he slammed the gun against her head, leaving her stumbling for a minute. He went back to Matt, kicking his head only twice, before Emily got her bearings back enough to throw herself against him again.
She was half on his back, the skirt of her dress riding up, and making it difficult for her to fight him. He forced the gun into her skull again, sending stars in front of her eyes, and pushing her to the ground, now weakened again. He kicked her in the gut several times, ignoring her cries, and yanked Matt's wallet from the jacket she still wore. Then he ran off quickly, leaving them to die on the street.
Obviously, there's more coming. I started this one months ago, and decided to post it, hoping more would come to me. Thanks for reading, and please review!