Stella moved quickly though the crowd, all the while trying to look casual. She knew that they were still behind her, watching her, following her. And she also knew that there was a very real chance that they would kill her if she gave them even the slightest of reasons.
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"Oh!"
Danny groaned as Flack made another three-pointer. They had been playing basketball for a couple hours now, and Don was starting to pull ahead. Evenly matched in the beginning, Danny was now starting to feel winded. He knew that his friend took better care of himself physically, and he cursed the fact that he had gone to the bar more times in the past month than the gym.
"Gettin' tired, Messer?" Don teased.
"Shut up."
"You could always conceded," he suggested, a smirk on his face.
Danny opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Don's phone started to ring. Both men frowned - they hadn't had a day off in ages, and neither was looking forward to getting called in to work. Finally, Flack sighed and answered it.
"Flack."
"Don, it's Mac." The older man's voice sounded tense. "Where are you right now?"
"Playin' ball with Messer on West 98th. What's up?"
"Okay, I need you to listen to me. Stella is on her way to you. She was doing some recon on the Sandino brothers, and they got suspicious. We don't have enough to arrest them, but I sure as hell don't want them catching up with her."
Flack frowned, his stomach knotting at the thought of Stella being chased by those two scumbags. "So whaddya want me to do?"
"I'm going to tell her where you are. Act like you were supposed to meet up, that she's your girlfriend, whatever. I just don't want these guys making her for a cop."
"Understood."
"Good. She'll be there in a few minutes."
Flack hung up and turned to fill Danny in.
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"Stella?"
She heard Mac's voice crackle in her ear, and it made her relax just a little. He would do whatever he had to to get her out of this mess.
"Yeah, Mac. I'm here."
"Okay. Danny and Flack are at a basketball court a couple blocks away on 98th. I want you to go there and pretend you're anything but a cop."
"Got it. Thanks, Mac."
"Be careful."
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She wanted to cry in relief when she caught sight of Flack. He was idly shooting hoops with Danny, but Stella could see the way he glanced around, keeping an eye out for her. When he saw her walking toward them, his face lit up and he came closer, tossing the ball to Danny.
"Hey, babe!" he called.
Stella didn't even have time to process what he had called her. As soon as he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground until she was eye-level with him. She opened her mouth to say something, but Flack leaned in and kissed her firmly. It wasn't a deep kiss, but Stella felt her head spin as Don turned, effectively putting himself between her and the Sandino brothers. Then he set her down and pulled back, grinning at her.
"Glad you could make it."
Stella was still a little breathless as she smiled up at him. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Danny rolled his eyes and threw her the ball. "Alright, you two. Enough googley eyes."
"Jealous, Messer?" Flack asked.
"Ha ha. Just play, okay?"
"Stella?"
She held up a hand when she heard Mac's voice in her ear again. "Yeah?
"We're all clear. Can one of them bring you back to the lab?"
"Sure."
"See you there."
Stella smiled at the two men in front of her. "We're good."
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Stella leaned against a locker, watching as Flack exchanged his sweaty t-shirt for a cleaner one. He had saved her from a sticky situation at best, and now all she could think about was the way his lips felt against hers. She hadn't expected the kiss, but it had confirmed something she had suspected over the past year - she had a definite crush on Donald Flack, Jr.
"You were quite the hero today," she finally said.
Flack jumped slightly, but smiled at her as he slid his shirt over his head, covering his torso. "Anytime you need savin' by kissin', Stell, you just let me know. I'm more than happy to oblige."
She shook her head, moving closer. "I was talking about the way you turned me around. If the Sandino brothers had decided to take a shot, you would have been hit."
He shrugged. "I wasn't gonna let them hurt you."
Stella stepped closer, until she was standing right in front of him. "Why did you kiss me?" she asked quietly.
He shrugged again, not meeting her eyes. "Mac said to pretend you were my girlfriend -"
"You didn't have to kiss me to do that," she pointed out gently. "So why did you kiss me, Don?"
Flack sighed, finally looking at her. "'Cause I thought it was the only chance I was gonna get."
Stella smiled - that was all she needed to hear. Reaching up, she kissed him softly, inwardly chuckling at the way his eyes widened. But then he was kissing her back, his mouth insistent against her own. But just as he went to take it deeper, Stella pulled back, caressing his face with her hand.
"All you had to do was ask," she whispered.
She turned and headed for the door, leaving a bewildered Flack in her wake. Shaking himself slightly, he called out, stopping her at the door.
"Have dinner with me tonight?"
Stella smirked at him over her shoulder. "I'll be waiting in my office."