A/N: This is veeeeeery belated birthday fic for Kristen. Blame writer's block! Anyway, this will only be a few chapters long and this first one may not make much sense but it's more or less a continuation of "Monday, Monday", an earlier fic of mine. And since it dealt with birthdays, I think this is a good starting off point. Enjoy!
She could feel herself swaying.
Side to side, side to side, side to side.
Was she fainting? No, her movements were rhythmic; almost as if she was...dancing? Yes, that was it! She was dancing in her seat—a stool of some sort—with her eyes closed. But where was that melody coming from?
She stopped moving for a second and listened closely. It was her favorite Gershwin composition being played on the piano; flawlessly, no less. Slowly, she opened her eyes but kept them low. A pair of hands, masculine, moved seemlessly across the ivory keys; caressing them with long, elegant fingers. She smiled. But then a sense of familiarity swept over her and that smile faded.
A little dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, then jumped onto her lap, startling her.
"Eddy!" she yelped when he started licking her face. It tickled. "What's gotten into you, silly dog?" It was not easy but when she managed to pry him off she looked at his little face and saw...frosting on his nose?
"I believe he's realized he missed a spot."
She froze. Her companion had spoken. "Oh?" she managed. The music stopped and her heart started racing.
"Yes." Out of the corner of her eye she could see him reaching inside his expensive suit jacket for—what else?—his trusty handkerchief. "Allow me...Daphne. He didn't get it all off."
Before she could protest, his hand was on her jaw, gently turning her face, and slowly wiping the remaining frosting off her cheek. She was hesitant about looking up; about looking at his face; looking at his handsome features.
Terrified of what she might feel.
"There, all done," he announced after a few eternal seconds. "As beautiful as ever."
All apprehension forgotten, Daphne's eyes shot up and met his. That fluttering in her chest and stomach—they were becoming all too familiar reactions in his presence. "T-thank you, Dr..." She found she couldn't finish her sentence. Not while his warm hand remained on her chin. But she didn't pull away...nor did he. If anything, his close proximity seemed to embolden Daphne's actions.
Her gaze drifted downward to his lips. She'd never realized how perfectly shaped they were, how much she'd wanted to kiss them. Slowly, very slowly, she drifted closer to Niles until she could feel his breath on her chin.
Why wasn't he stopping her though? He was a married man, wasn't he? Weren't they just friends? Or could it be that maybe, just maybe, he also wanted to kiss her?
Before she could continue to ponder all these questions, their lips met.
And it was glorious.
TBC...