"Parker. Put it back."
There was silence, but then: "Damn it."
The blonde plopped down on the end of my mattress and folded her legs like a pretzel. "Why do you have such nice things? You're the only person I hate to steal from, but I just...I can't stop myself!"
"Because I have a nice job that helped decorate my nice apartment in a nice manner, so when I have guests over, they don't complain about the lack of nice stuff!" I burrowed my face in my pillow. "Now, if you don't mind, keep your griping and growling to a minimum so that I can sleep? And leave my nice stuff alone!"
When I rolled back over fifteen minutes later, Parker still hadn't moved from her spot; she was, however, sitting on her hands. Her eyes flitted around my bedroom. She flashed a smile at me, and I merely shook my head. Why, oh, why, am I friends with this woman?, I thought before shoving back my blanket and climbing out of bed. She watched me pull on a pair of faded blue jeans and swap out my nightshirt for a pale gold tank. I pulled my hair into a messy bun, and she grinned widely when I faced her.
"Ready?"
"Yea. Sure."
I grabbed my keys off the nightstand, locked my apartment door, and led her down to my car. She gave me a look that begged for my keys; I laughed dryly and slid into the driver's seat. As we passed through the streets, she gave me directions and told me all about the security measures of each major department store and bank along the way. I shook my head after ten minutes. This did nothing to stem the steady flow of details pouring from her mouth. Finally, we reached our destination; I sighed, locked the car doors, and followed her into the building. She gave me a grin as she knocked. My jaw dropped when I saw the scene inside: An entire wall was covered in large monitors, and a glass-top table and white leather chairs were positioned in front of the screens. A half-wall separated the room from a kitchen-cum-dining room. There was a hallway on the opposite side of the entry room that apparently led to more rooms. Parker shut the door and sat down on the couch that was pashed against the wall in which the front door was set. She dropped her feet onto the coffee table, flipping on the television set. The sound of heels against the hardwood floors alerted me of someone else's presence.
"Hi, Sophie!"
I smiled at the dark-haired woman on whose face was a slightly shocked expression. "Hello. I'm Sasha."
"Um, Parker…?"
"She's not a client; don't worry. She's a friend! Sasha, this is Sophie. Sophie, Sasha. Who else is here?"
"Hardison is in his office, wrapped up in that doctor show. Nate is in his flat. Are you hungry, Sasha?"
"Oh, no, thanks. But may I use the bathroom?"
"Of course. Down the hall all the way, and then to the right."
After doing what I needed, I decided to take my time going back, to look at the pictures on the wall. I couldn't stop the smile at the photograph of Parker on the back of a tall, slim man. I could hear the dramatic music of a very familiar TV show coming from my left. I headed down the shorter hallway that lead to four different doors, and peeked in the only open one. The same man from the snapshot was laying on a couch, his eyes trained on the television. Suddenly…
"Oh, Hell! Who are you? Girl, don't you know not to just walk up on someone like that?"
"Sorry. Um, I'm Sasha, a friend of Parker's. You must be Hardison."
"Yea, I'm also in the middle of a heart attack, thank you very much."
"Sorry about that."
"It's fine. What are you doin' back here?"
"I was using the bathroom, and then I wanted to look at these pictures. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of Dr Who."
"You watch it?"
"Hell yea! Mind if I join you for a bit?"
He put his feet on the floor, and I sat beside him. Once I saw which episode was on, I cringed. The man laughed.
"What's wrong? You act afraid of it."
"After this first aired, I couldn't look at stone angels the same way. If I saw one, I wouldn't close my eyes until I was at least a hundred yards away. Stop laughing!"
"Sorry, but that's kinda funny."
I stuck my tongue out at him. "No, it's really not. So are you trying to tell me Blink never freaked you out?"
"Oh, it did, but it never stopped me from looking at statues."
"Sasha? Oh, there you are. Having fun?"
"Yea."
"Aren't you glad I dragged you from your house?"
"I suppose I am," I replied jokingly.
Parker grinned and walked away. From the corner of my eye, I saw Hardison leaning forward to watch her departure. A smile graced my lips.
"You like her?"
"I don't know what you're walking about," he denied swiftly, sitting upright and staring at the TV.
I shook my head, amused, but let the subject drop, focusing on the show.