"I heard a rumor you had test results for me."
Lanie looked up with a smile. "I do."
She handed him the report, but as he looked through it, Ryan's face fell. "There's nothing here."
"I didn't say there was."
He sighed. "We need to get this guy."
"We always do. And we will. Just not with the tox results."
She was right, and it wasn't her fault that there were no leads in the victim's system. Nodding, he gave her a small smile.
"Thanks, Lain."
He was almost to the door when she cleared her throat loudly. Ryan turned around immediately, knowing it was foolish to ignore Lanie Parish when she wanted something.
"You forgettin' something?"
He frowned, obviously not catching on. "No?"
She cocked an eyebrow at him and then pointed one finger above her head. His gaze followed, and his eyes widened when he saw the mistletoe hanging there.
"Really?" he choked out, suddenly nervous.
"It's tradition," she said firmly, folding her arms across her chest. "And you don't snub Christmas by messin' with tradition."
His mouth was dry, and his hands fiddled with the report he was holding. "You want me to kiss you? Here?"
"You're single now, right?" He just nodded, and she shrugged. "Then no harm. Now get over here."
It wasn't just that Lanie intimidated him more than a little bit. As he walked over to her, he acknowledged to himself that it had been a long time since he'd kissed anyone. Even longer since he'd kissed anyone other than Jenny. But Lanie was giving him that look, so he set the report down on her desk and stepped completely into her space. He nearly panicked when he saw her eyes widen in surprise, but he told himself to man up, and he leaned in to brush his lips against hers gently. It was brief – barely a touch – but he still felt breathless as he pulled away.
Lanie stared up at him in disbelief. "You kissed me."
Ryan frowned, completely confused now. "Wasn't that the point?"
"You kissed me on the mouth," she clarified.
"And I wasn't supposed to?"
"I totally expected you to go for the cheek."
He swallowed hard, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, Lanie. I didn't –"
She stepped forward and pressed her mouth to his, effectively cutting him off. Ryan froze, his mind practically exploding as he tried to make sense of what was happening. But when she didn't pull back, and he realized that he really liked her being this close, he let himself relax and kiss her back.
They stayed like that for a long time, but neither made any move to take it deeper. They just kissed, arms wrapped loosely around each other. When they finally pulled back, Lanie tugged gently on his bottom lip before letting him go.
"You better get that report upstairs," she said.
Ryan nodded, his head spinning. Turning, he picked the file back up and headed for the door. At the last second, though, he turned back.
"Hey Lain?"
She looked up in surprise. "Yeah?"
"You wanna go see the tree tonight?"
A warm smile spread across her face. "Yeah."
He nodded and disappeared through the door, leaving her to stand there, fingers pressed against her mouth.
