February 11, 2000 ~ Washington, DC

Brenda felt like she was flying. She was climbing higher and higher. Another minute and she would be pushed over the edge. She was so close she could taste it.

"Almost, almost..." she chanted, but then he let go. She felt him shudder above her, and then it was over. Her body was humming, begging for release, but he didn't seem to notice. He was already seated on the side of the bed with his pants pulled on and tying his shoes. She stared at his back, gleaning with sweat. She could detect faint red scratches that she'd put there. She took deep breaths and willed her body to calm.

He used to wait for her. He used to be so considerate. But lately, it seemed like he couldn't get off of her and out the door fast enough. Did he even love her anymore? Had he ever, really? She used to think so, but lately she wasn't sure of anything.

She was growing tired of his lies. He had her convinced his marriage was over. It was just a matter of time, he said, and then he and Brenda could be together. They could get married and start their life. She had been waiting for over a year now.

"Will?" she whispered. She hated the way her voice sounded so small. When had she become one of those meek, submissive women?

"Yeah?" he answered quickly, not bothering to turn around.

"Are you doing anything this weekend?"

He turned his head in her direction, but didn't meet her eyes. "I'm taking Mary up to Shadow Mountain. I thought I had told you."

He hadn't. Of course he had plans with his wife for Valentine's Day weekend. Brenda was such an idiot. She didn't know why she was making a big deal about it anyway. It was just a day after all, like any other day.

One weekend last summer, they had driven over to Chesapeake Beach and gotten to spend some time as a normal couple. They were far enough away that they didn't have to worry about running into anyone they knew. It was so nice spending entire days and nights together and being able to wake up in his arms each morning. It was there that he had first told her he loved her and that he wanted a future with her. She had never been so happy. But it was just a weekend, and she hadn't felt that way since. Now all that Brenda had to remind herself that it had even happened were the photos that she kept in a special box in her closet.

"I'll call you," he said as he kissed her cheek and headed for the door.

Brenda blinked back tears. Suddenly her once warm bed felt cold and lonely.

The next day was the Friday before Valentine's weekend, and all the roses and chocolate in the building were making Brenda sick. She was happy to be able to close her office door and eat her lunch in peace, even if was just a soggy egg salad sandwich and a Diet Coke. She decided to put the crime scene photos away for a bit. Normally they wouldn't bother her, but she just didn't have the stomach for them today. She didn't have the stomach for much of anything lately. She hadn't been eating much. Her skirts were getting loose and she'd been having to safety pin them to keep them from sliding down. How had she gotten here? She always thought that by age 35 she would have her life in order, but she was far from it. Her job was great. She loved it and was good at it, but she felt an emptiness inside. She was tired of going to an empty apartment each night. She didn't like sharing Will. She was tired of waiting for things to change, but she felt stuck.

A knock at her door jolted her out of her head. She looked up to see the friendly face of Fritz Howard smiling back at her. She waved him in. She couldn't help but smile back. He was such a good friend to her.

"Has anyone given you a kiss today?"He asked.

Brenda's cheeks reddened and her eyes grew wide in response. "Excuse me?"

With an air of flourish, he pulled a handful of red and silver Hershey's Kisses out of his pocket and sprinkled them onto her desk.

Brenda's face relaxed into a smile. "What's all this for?"

"Oh, I always carry an extra supply of chocolate for the lovely ladies at Metro PD. You wouldn't believe how much easier it makes my job," he said with a wink. He glanced at her lunch. "Sorry, am I interrupting your break?"

"Are you kiddin'?" she grinned. "I can never say 'no' to a man with chocolate." Was she flirting? God, it had been a long time since she'd done that. She hoped that she wasn't sending the wrong message. Oh, who the hell cared anyway?

"So, Brenda, how's it going? I haven't seen ya around in awhile."

"I'm always here. You know where to find me."

"Touché."

"I bet you love this holiday. How will you be spoiling your lady this year?"

Fritz's face fell slightly. "Actually, I don't have anyone special this year. Cindy and I are over."

"For real this time?" The side of Brenda's mouth turned up in a wry grin. She couldn't keep track of the two of them. It seemed like their status changed every other week. Brenda had met Cindy once at a work holiday party. She seemed nice enough, she guessed, but not quite right for Fritz. She couldn't put her finger on it, though. Who was she to be saying who was right for whom anyway? Her "love life," if you could even call it that, was certainly a mess.

"Yes, it's definitely over. Valentine's Day for me this year will probably mean beer and pizza in my apartment. Or Chinese. I eat way too much takeout."

"I know what you mean. They know my order by heart over at Ming Garden."

"I love that place! The little old lady there always gives me extra hot mustard."

Brenda smiled. Fritz was so easy to talk to, and pretty easy on the eyes as well. "Sounds like a good plan. I think I might just steal your idea. Takeout sounds good, but I'll go with some Merlot instead of beer. And maybe a bad comedy."

"What, no hot date for you either?" Fritz tried to remain vague. Brenda had confided in him a few months earlier about her relationship with Will Pope, but they hadn't discussed it since.

"Nope," Brenda kept her voice low. "He has other plans."

"Well, there's no reason that we both should be alone. Why don't you come and hang out at my place? We can eat takeout and watch bad movies together. Does 7:00 work for you?"

Why not? Brenda thought. If Will can make other plans, then I can too. "That sounds great."

Brenda threw yet another shirt onto the growing pile on her bed in frustration. Why was it so hard to decide what to wear? It was just dinner with a friend, not an actual date.

She had settled on a pair of jeans, but she couldn't decide what kind of shirt to wear. Her sweaters were all too tight, too frumpy, or not the right color. Should she wear red? It is Valentine's Day, after all, but this wasn't an actual Valentine's Day celebration. Her head was spinning. She sat down on the bed to catch her breath. She couldn't understand why this was so hard. She pictured the handsome face of Fritz Howard. She pictured the rest of him too. What would he be wearing tonight? She wondered what his ass would look like in a nice pair of jeans. Did her mind just go there? She needed to pull herself together. She looked at the clock. It was 6:15. There was not much time left.

She settled on a pink tee and her brown sweater. Her hair looked pretty good today, so she just pulled the sides back, but left the rest loose. She put on a little bit of makeup, but not too much, just some concealer, blush, mascara, and a sheer lip gloss.

She surveyed herself in the mirror. Not bad, she thought. Her jeans were a little baggy, but all her pants were loose these days. She glanced at the clock again. It was 6:40. She slipped on a pair of flats, grabbed the merlot, a bag of candy she had picked up at the drugstore earlier, and her purse, and headed out to her car.

Fritz considered the bottle of cologne in his hand. He had gone back and forth for almost 15 minutes trying to decide if he should put any on. The last time he'd been this nervous about a girl coming over was in high school. He felt like a teenager again. Deciding to just dab a little on, he turned the bottle slightly, but it slipped from his shaking hand and spilled down the front of his shirt.

"Shit!" he yelled as he righted the bottle and tried to clean up his mess with a nearby towel. After sopping up the liquid, he removed his clothing and threw it in the washing machine along with the towel. He looked at the clock. It was 6:40. He put on new jeans and a t-shirt and sweater, but he still reeked of the cologne. He scrubbed his hands for several minutes, but it was no use. He would need to shower in order to get rid of the smell. He hoped he had time. The food would be arriving any minute. He cracked a window to let out some of the odor and headed for the shower.

532, 533, 534… Brenda was looking for Fritz's apartment, which was number 537. As she headed down the dimly lit hallway, she spotted a young kid banging on Fritz's door and holding two brown bags.

"Hello! Anyone in there?" he shouted

"Can I help you?" Brenda asked.

"Oh, pardon me, Ma'am, but I'm trying to deliver this order and no one seems to be home."

Brenda's face fell. Not home? Maybe he had to run out and get something at the last minute. She plastered on a smile. "I'm meeting Mr. Howard." She reached into her purse to pull out her wallet. "Here," she handed the boy cash, including a generous tip. "So you can head on out to your next delivery."

"Thank you, Ma'am," the boy replied and ran to the stairs.

Brenda was left alone with the takeout, the smell of which made her mouth water. She'd been far too nervous to eat much of anything today. For heaven's sake, it's just Fritz, she tried to convince herself as she moved to rap on the door. Before her knuckles could make contact with the wood, however, the door flew open. Standing before her, dripping wet and clad in only a towel was nearly naked Fritz Howard. Brenda's breath caught. She took in his muscled arms and chiseled torso before she quickly looked away. Fritz moved to shield himself partially behind the door.

"Brenda, sorry," he sputtered. "I thought you were the delivery kid. Come in, please," he motioned. "I'll be right back." He sprinted to his bedroom and shut the door behind him.

She set the bag down on Fritz's coffee table, and plopped onto his couch with a deep sigh. She felt a warmth creep onto her cheeks as well as through her belly. She needed to cool down. Rising and stepping over to Fritz's partially opened window, she pushed the frame up and stuck her head outside. Taking big gulps of cool air, she barely heard Fritz come back out into the living room.

"Brenda, are you okay?" He startled her with his question and she bumped her head on the window frame.

"Ow, son of a..." she yelled as she rubbed the back of her head. This was not going well. She wasn't sure what she wanted to happen this evening, but she knew that this certainly wasn't it.

"Do you need ice?" Fritz asked with a look of concern.

"No, let's just eat."

The tension left the room as the two dug into the food and began chatting. Having no idea what Brenda liked, Fritz had ordered a wide variety. Not being very picky herself, Brenda sampled a bit of everything, and the two of them ate until they were stuffed.

It was so easy with Fritz, Brenda thought. She never felt like she had to be someone else or try at all to impress him. It felt comfortable, but not boring. She felt like she'd always known him.

After they'd had their fill, Fritz pulled a movie off of his shelf and presented it to Brenda.

"Have you seen this one?" He asked.

Brenda looked at the cover. "Office Space? No, I haven't, but I've heard it's funny. Hey, have you got one of those DVD players?"

"Yup." Fritz smiled proudly. "I decided to treat myself for Christmas. Have you watched one yet?"

"Nope."

"Well, you're in for a treat. It's so much better than watching videos. You'll never go back," he added with a wink. He popped in the movie and joined her back on the couch.

Brenda wasn't sure how it happened, but she eventually found herself leaning on Fritz's shoulder. Part of her felt that she should move and apologize, but she couldn't bring herself to lift her head. Fritz smelled like home to her. She detected faint traces of laundry detergent, shampoo, shaving cream, and something else—something she couldn't only describe as uniquely Fritz Howard.

Slowly he snaked an arm around her back and she instantly felt safe and protected, like nothing could harm her. She was so relaxed and warm. She wanted to crawl inside of him and stay there forever.

Brenda was momentarily shaken out of her revelry when Fritz took a deep breath and began laughing. She looked up at his face, and was taken with his smile, which reached all the way to his eyes. He turned toward her.

"What?" he asked. "That was funny, wasn't it?"

"Sorry, I wasn't payin' attention, I guess." But she was, just not to the movie. For the first time since she'd met him, she was taking a chance to really study his face. He had a strong chin and deep, dimple-like lines on his face, which only succeeded in making his smile all the more bright and charming. She felt like his sparkling brown eyes could see right through the walls she so carefully erected to keep others at a distance, but she wasn't afraid. Her eyes fell on his soft, inviting lips. She wondered what it would be like to taste them.

She blinked once and he was closer. Had she moved in or had he? She could feel his warm breath on her face. Only a few millimeters separated them. At the last second, she pulled away.

"Ooh, I forgot!" she shouted, thanking God for her razor sharp mind.

"Forgot what?" Fritz asked, disappointment clearly crossing his face.

"The chocolate. I brought some candy. It's in my bag."

"Well, thank goodness you remembered," Fritz smiled as she furiously dug through her purse. Brenda was grateful for his willingness to play along and ignore their second awkward moment of the evening.

She dumped out the wrapped, chocolate truffles on the couch between them, and they each popped a few into their mouths as the rest of the movie progressed.

When the credits began to roll, Brenda glanced at her watch. "Well, it's after 10. I should probably get goin'." She turned toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for a lovely, evenin', Fritz. It was nice not having to spend it alone."

As she turned to rise, Fritz clasped her hand to hold her back. "You shouldn't have to be alone." He gently rubbed the back of her hand in small circles with his thumb. "Why do you stay with him?" He asked, looking up to catch her gaze. Brenda was taken aback.

"What do you mean? Will's a good man."

Fritz snorted. "Compared to what?" He became serious once more. "He's a snake, Brenda. You deserve so much better."

"Maybe I don't," she mumbled under her breath.

"What did you say?" He turned her face back toward his own. Brenda plastered on a smile and moved her other hand to squeeze his.

"Thank you for everythin' tonight. I'll see you around at work." She quickly grabbed her coat and purse and let herself out. When the door latched behind her, she leaned against it, took a deep breath, and began to cry.

February 14, 2013 ~ Los Angeles, CA

Fritz pulled into his driveway and glanced at the clock on his dashboard:

7:32

Damnit! He couldn't believe he was late. Brenda had been telling him all week that she had a special Valentine's Day evening planned for him. All she asked was that he be home by 7:00, and he couldn't even get that right. He only hoped that she wasn't angry and that they wouldn't miss a reservation somewhere. He glanced at his phone as he approached the door. Fritzy, where r u? She had texted him almost 20 minutes ago.

As he turned the knob to enter the kitchen, he spotted her out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't look up to meet her gaze. He couldn't bear to see the disappointment on her face. Brenda rarely planned anything romantic, so he knew this was a big deal, and he might have just ruined everything by being late.

"I'm so sorry, Honey. Just give me two minutes, and I'll be ready," he sputtered out as he made his way to their bedroom.

"Fritzy," she called in a voice so sweet he had no choice but to turn and look in her direction. He was surprised at what he saw. She was dressed simply in jeans and her brown sweater, and her hair was down in loose waves. She looked beautiful, of course, just not in the way he expected.

"Why aren't you dressed for dinner? Did we miss our reservation?"

She took slow steps toward him, and he was slightly afraid. Her expression was blank, and he had no idea what she was thinking. Was he in trouble?

"Brenda, please say something. Are you angry with me? Did I ruin everything?"

She took his hands in hers. "Thank you for the roses and chocolate covered strawberries that you had sent to my office today. They were lovely... and delicious." She smiled and leaned in to claim his lips. Now Fritz was confused, but he didn't want to distract her from her task. As he savored her soft lips, he thought about how he could never tire of kissing this woman.

When she finally pulled away, he summoned up the courage to ask, "So what's the big surprise, Brenda? Are we going somewhere?"

"Nope," she answered mysteriously. "Change into something comfortable and meet me in the livin' room." Flashing him a sexy grin, she walked toward the living room with a little extra swing in her hips.

Fritz rushed toward the bedroom. He didn't need to be told twice.

After slipping on a pair of jeans and his FBI tee, Fritz made his way toward the living room. It took his eyes awhile to adjust to the candlelight, but when they did, he noticed the Chinese takeout boxes on the coffee table.

"This is your surprise, Brenda? Chinese takeout?" He didn't want to sound ungrateful, but he couldn't understand what all her fuss had been about if this was all she had planned.

"Have a seat, please." She gestured toward the couch, and he reluctantly complied.

"We will be having a quiet evenin' in, with Chinese from our favorite restaurant, Merlot for me, soda for you, and these." She handed him a bag of chocolate truffles.

"Um, thanks," he replied, still not understanding.

"Oh, and we'll also be watching this," she explained as she handed him a DVD. He read the cover: Office Space.

"Wow, I haven't seen this movie since..." He couldn't believe it. He looked up at her and she nodded, acknowledging his realization.

"DC. Our first Valentine's Day together." She sat next to him on the couch and took his hand.

"I can't believe you remembered that! I haven't thought about that day in years."

"I'll always remember, Fritzy. You were there for me when I needed someone. You were my rock. You still are."

"It was so hard for me to see you like that," Fritz confessed as pushed her hair behind her ear. "I knew I loved you even then." A light bulb went on in Fritz's mind, and he put up one finger. "Wait one minute. Don't move. I'll be right back." He ran toward the bedroom and Brenda could hear him shuffling through drawers and then searching through their closet. He returned a minute later with a tiny box.

"What's this?" she asked. Opening it, she found a small slip of paper like one would find in a fortune cookie with the words Someday everything will make perfect sense.

"We never opened our fortune cookies that night at dinner," he explained, "But I did after you left, and this was it. I thought it was some kind of cruel joke, but for some reason I kept it. Now I understand. It just wasn't our time yet."

Brenda smiled and traced his lips with her finger. "I wanted to kiss you so badly that night, Fritz, and I almost did."

Fritz cupped her right cheek in his hand and leaned toward her. Just when he was about to kiss her lips, he changed his course and moved his mouth to her ear.

"I wanted to undress you slowly that night, Brenda," he whispered as he moved her hair aside and kissed her neck softly. "I wanted to make love to you and show you how a beautiful woman should be treasured. Then I wanted to fall asleep holding you close and wake up with you in my arms the next morning."

Brenda rotated her face slightly to capture his lips. Her tongue begged for entrance into his mouth, and he gladly granted it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he scooped her up and stood in one fluid motion.

He reluctantly pulled away from her mouth for a second to ask, "Brenda, I know you went to a lot of trouble, but would you mind if I changed our plans a bit?"

"Bedroom, Howard," she commanded.

"As you wish," he replied with a smile as he reclaimed her lips and carried her down the hallway.

They had a lot of Valentine's Days to make up for, and the two of them weren't about to waste a single more.