An evening in Georgetown
by L.M.Fritz
Sarah Mackenzie plopped down on the sofa in her Georgetown apartment. She glanced at the clock on her v.c.r.and sighed.
"8:00 on a friday night and here you are, ready to put your p.j.'s on and go to bed" she thought outloud. She spied herself in the mirror and took a long look.
"Get a life Colonel!"
She was well on her way to feeling depressed and sorry for herself when she heard a knock at the door. She frowned ' Who in the world could that be?'
She looked though the peephole to find it was her long time friend and partner, Harmon Rabb Jr. She couldn't have thought of anyone she'd rather have standing on the other side of her door.
She looked down at herself to make sure she looked o.k.; straightened her shirt and her hair with her fingers and quickly opened the door.
"Harm" she was glad to see him but she didn't want him to know how glad.
"Hi" he replied.
She could tell something wasn't right. He seemed nervous and unsure of himself, which was definitely not Harm. She moved from the door motioning for him to enter.
"What's up?"
" Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop by." he lied. He flashed his big flyboy grin.
"Sit, can I get you anything to drink?"
" Gingerale?"
"I'll see what I can do" she grinned.
As she made her way to the kitchen he flipped on the t.v. hoping to find a movie or something they could watch, any excuse that would keep him there for awhile. He was successful.
Mac walked back into the livingroom with a couple of glasses. She looked at Harm curiously as she saw what he had turned on. Harm looked at her excitedly.
"Hey, you want to watch this?"
"Runaway Bride?" she raised one brow.
"Yeah" he said shrugging.
"You want to watch this?" She sounded skeptical and was trying desperately to hide a grin.
"Hey, anything with Julia Roberts is o.k. in my book."
Giving in, Mac replied " Well, I guess I'd better make some popcorn."
"Great."
This was definitely not Harm's type of movie but it did the trick. Harm settled back on the sofa and watched Mac, once again, retreat into the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile.
"Did I miss anything?" she asked as she walked back into the livingroom.
"Nope, it's just starting."
She plopped down next to Harm. Not too close, but close enough to share the big bowl of popcorn she made.
"Be careful, it's hot" she warned.
"Have you seen this before?"
"No" she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You?"
He looked at her and shook his head. As the movie began Mac's attention was focused on the t.v.; Harm, on the other hand, still had his eyes on her. That is until she glanced over and caught him. Embarrassed, he turned and focused all of his attention on the movie. They finally relaxed, munching on popcorn and enjoying the film until it's conclusion. Afterwords, they talked. They talked about work, they talked about goals, they talked about alot of things and they talked about nothing.
Time seemed to fly by. Mac couldn't believe her eyes when she finally glanced up at the clock. Harm followed her gaze.
"2:26, wow, I didn't think it was that late."
"2:26, really?" she acted as though she, too, was surprised by the fact. Harm knew better, she knew what time it was, she always does.
He looked up at her and paused " I'd better get going."
"Yeah" there was just a slight hint of disappointment in her voice.
Harm got up and started for the door. Mac's eyes followed him.
"H...Harm?" There was a desperation in her voice that surprized her even more than it did him.
"Yeah?" He turned to find her walking carefully toward him.
"What was the real reason you came over tonight? And don't say because you were in the neighborhood."
Harm opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He looked down thinking ' she knows me so well, better than anyone ever has.' Contemplating carefully his next words, he looked back up at her.
"I...I wanted to spend one last time together...as friends."
"What, tomorrow we won't be friends anymore?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She frowned, clearly confused.
"Maybe not ... after you hear what I have to tell you." His voice was barely a whisper.
"Harm, you're scaring me." Her voice was shaky; worry prominent in her eyes.
"I can't do this anymore, Mac." His eyes were locked on hers.
"Do what?" she asked as her heart began to sink.
Harm slowly took a step toward her.
"Stand here...and pretend I'm not in love with you." he whispered.
Harm was out of breath; his heart, beating so fast he thought his chest would explode. His happiness, his future, his life, depended on what that look in her eyes meant.
Sarah's eyes began to well up with tears. Then she smiled and flung her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep embrase. Her lips found his ear and whispered " I love you, too."
They parted enough to look into each others eyes. Now it was his turn to smile. He leaned in and brushed her lips with his. As their lips parted, Mac grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back, not wanting it to end.
All of the emotions that had been bottled up inside of them for so long were released at that moment. With every second that passed the kiss grew deeper and more passionate, more needy. Harm, pulling her ever closer, as if he were holding onto a dream. Believing that if he were to let go he would awaken and this would all disappear.
The only thing that could have ended a kiss so intent was lack of oxygen. When they finally did come up for air, they once again gazed into each others eyes; breathing heavily. Both longing for the next step.
Harm ran his hands down her sides and landed them on her hips. She was giddy with anticipation, although, somewhere in the back of her head, a voice was screaming 'Don't do this now. Take it slow. Save some of this treasure for later.' She swallowed hard and held her breath as she saw the look of realization that came over her friend's face. He pulled his hands away from her.
"Mac" he looked down at his feet then back up at her. "I know it's taken us a long time to get to this point...I...I think we should take this slow. I don't want this to be just about tonight. It means so much more to me."
" I agree, in fact, I was just thinking the same thing."
A smile of relief washed over both of their gleeming faces.
"How about work?" she questioned.
"Buisiness as usual. I think it would be best, for now, to keep this to ourselves. I mean, I'm sure they'll figure it out by the time they get the wedding invitations. Harms eyes popped open like beachballs. 'Did I just say that?'
"Wedding?" Mac whispered questioningly.
Harm shrugged his shoulders and smiled his killer smile.
"I...should...probably get going. It's getting late."
She smiled "We past late hours ago, actually, it's early."
Harm chuckled and opened the door as Mac followed. He leaned down for a goodbye kiss. So soft and sweet, at first, then so hard it made her knees weak. He looked at her one last time, savoring the picture.
" I'll call you when I get home."
"Good" she breathed.
"See ya." And with that, he turned and walked away, unable to wipe the grin off of his face.
Mac watched as he walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner. A part of her wanted to chase after him, bring him back, and never let him go. The other part of her did want to take things slow. She respected the gentlemanly qualities he possessed.
She allowed a small smile to escape her as she softly closed the door. Her usually dull friday evening turned out to be more wonderful than she could have ever imagined. The one she'd been waiting for for so long.
As she got ready for bed her thoughts drifted towards the past evening and the man she was so deeply in love with.
'I can't wait to hear his voice again.'
"Geez, how old are you?" she scolded herself.
'You see him everyday, just about, and it's not like you just fell for the man. You were in love with him yesterday and the day before and the day before that. You never acted like this before. So why act this way now?' she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
"Because now I know that he loves me , too."
by L.M.Fritz
Sarah Mackenzie plopped down on the sofa in her Georgetown apartment. She glanced at the clock on her v.c.r.and sighed.
"8:00 on a friday night and here you are, ready to put your p.j.'s on and go to bed" she thought outloud. She spied herself in the mirror and took a long look.
"Get a life Colonel!"
She was well on her way to feeling depressed and sorry for herself when she heard a knock at the door. She frowned ' Who in the world could that be?'
She looked though the peephole to find it was her long time friend and partner, Harmon Rabb Jr. She couldn't have thought of anyone she'd rather have standing on the other side of her door.
She looked down at herself to make sure she looked o.k.; straightened her shirt and her hair with her fingers and quickly opened the door.
"Harm" she was glad to see him but she didn't want him to know how glad.
"Hi" he replied.
She could tell something wasn't right. He seemed nervous and unsure of himself, which was definitely not Harm. She moved from the door motioning for him to enter.
"What's up?"
" Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop by." he lied. He flashed his big flyboy grin.
"Sit, can I get you anything to drink?"
" Gingerale?"
"I'll see what I can do" she grinned.
As she made her way to the kitchen he flipped on the t.v. hoping to find a movie or something they could watch, any excuse that would keep him there for awhile. He was successful.
Mac walked back into the livingroom with a couple of glasses. She looked at Harm curiously as she saw what he had turned on. Harm looked at her excitedly.
"Hey, you want to watch this?"
"Runaway Bride?" she raised one brow.
"Yeah" he said shrugging.
"You want to watch this?" She sounded skeptical and was trying desperately to hide a grin.
"Hey, anything with Julia Roberts is o.k. in my book."
Giving in, Mac replied " Well, I guess I'd better make some popcorn."
"Great."
This was definitely not Harm's type of movie but it did the trick. Harm settled back on the sofa and watched Mac, once again, retreat into the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile.
"Did I miss anything?" she asked as she walked back into the livingroom.
"Nope, it's just starting."
She plopped down next to Harm. Not too close, but close enough to share the big bowl of popcorn she made.
"Be careful, it's hot" she warned.
"Have you seen this before?"
"No" she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You?"
He looked at her and shook his head. As the movie began Mac's attention was focused on the t.v.; Harm, on the other hand, still had his eyes on her. That is until she glanced over and caught him. Embarrassed, he turned and focused all of his attention on the movie. They finally relaxed, munching on popcorn and enjoying the film until it's conclusion. Afterwords, they talked. They talked about work, they talked about goals, they talked about alot of things and they talked about nothing.
Time seemed to fly by. Mac couldn't believe her eyes when she finally glanced up at the clock. Harm followed her gaze.
"2:26, wow, I didn't think it was that late."
"2:26, really?" she acted as though she, too, was surprised by the fact. Harm knew better, she knew what time it was, she always does.
He looked up at her and paused " I'd better get going."
"Yeah" there was just a slight hint of disappointment in her voice.
Harm got up and started for the door. Mac's eyes followed him.
"H...Harm?" There was a desperation in her voice that surprized her even more than it did him.
"Yeah?" He turned to find her walking carefully toward him.
"What was the real reason you came over tonight? And don't say because you were in the neighborhood."
Harm opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He looked down thinking ' she knows me so well, better than anyone ever has.' Contemplating carefully his next words, he looked back up at her.
"I...I wanted to spend one last time together...as friends."
"What, tomorrow we won't be friends anymore?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She frowned, clearly confused.
"Maybe not ... after you hear what I have to tell you." His voice was barely a whisper.
"Harm, you're scaring me." Her voice was shaky; worry prominent in her eyes.
"I can't do this anymore, Mac." His eyes were locked on hers.
"Do what?" she asked as her heart began to sink.
Harm slowly took a step toward her.
"Stand here...and pretend I'm not in love with you." he whispered.
Harm was out of breath; his heart, beating so fast he thought his chest would explode. His happiness, his future, his life, depended on what that look in her eyes meant.
Sarah's eyes began to well up with tears. Then she smiled and flung her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep embrase. Her lips found his ear and whispered " I love you, too."
They parted enough to look into each others eyes. Now it was his turn to smile. He leaned in and brushed her lips with his. As their lips parted, Mac grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back, not wanting it to end.
All of the emotions that had been bottled up inside of them for so long were released at that moment. With every second that passed the kiss grew deeper and more passionate, more needy. Harm, pulling her ever closer, as if he were holding onto a dream. Believing that if he were to let go he would awaken and this would all disappear.
The only thing that could have ended a kiss so intent was lack of oxygen. When they finally did come up for air, they once again gazed into each others eyes; breathing heavily. Both longing for the next step.
Harm ran his hands down her sides and landed them on her hips. She was giddy with anticipation, although, somewhere in the back of her head, a voice was screaming 'Don't do this now. Take it slow. Save some of this treasure for later.' She swallowed hard and held her breath as she saw the look of realization that came over her friend's face. He pulled his hands away from her.
"Mac" he looked down at his feet then back up at her. "I know it's taken us a long time to get to this point...I...I think we should take this slow. I don't want this to be just about tonight. It means so much more to me."
" I agree, in fact, I was just thinking the same thing."
A smile of relief washed over both of their gleeming faces.
"How about work?" she questioned.
"Buisiness as usual. I think it would be best, for now, to keep this to ourselves. I mean, I'm sure they'll figure it out by the time they get the wedding invitations. Harms eyes popped open like beachballs. 'Did I just say that?'
"Wedding?" Mac whispered questioningly.
Harm shrugged his shoulders and smiled his killer smile.
"I...should...probably get going. It's getting late."
She smiled "We past late hours ago, actually, it's early."
Harm chuckled and opened the door as Mac followed. He leaned down for a goodbye kiss. So soft and sweet, at first, then so hard it made her knees weak. He looked at her one last time, savoring the picture.
" I'll call you when I get home."
"Good" she breathed.
"See ya." And with that, he turned and walked away, unable to wipe the grin off of his face.
Mac watched as he walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner. A part of her wanted to chase after him, bring him back, and never let him go. The other part of her did want to take things slow. She respected the gentlemanly qualities he possessed.
She allowed a small smile to escape her as she softly closed the door. Her usually dull friday evening turned out to be more wonderful than she could have ever imagined. The one she'd been waiting for for so long.
As she got ready for bed her thoughts drifted towards the past evening and the man she was so deeply in love with.
'I can't wait to hear his voice again.'
"Geez, how old are you?" she scolded herself.
'You see him everyday, just about, and it's not like you just fell for the man. You were in love with him yesterday and the day before and the day before that. You never acted like this before. So why act this way now?' she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
"Because now I know that he loves me , too."