The headlights of his truck shone through the snow as he shifted in gear and headed forward on the road ahead.
Andy watched the feathery flakes drift down and melt into watery droplets on the windscreen.
The day and how it ended kept eerily replaying itself in her mind. At this moment she felt truly relieved and vindicated to be sitting beside Sam. Going with him on the road to who knew where?
But she really needed to clear her mind of the previous twenty four hours, and the wave of emotions that had pounded her. They had left her feeling completely gutted and as worn down as Sam looked.
Today she had experienced a seething kind of fear that cut her right to the deep. She had been riddled with guilt, overwhelmingly so! She had wavered from determined to insecure; terrified to sad; bereft to relieved; confused to disappointed.
Finally a few minutes ago the sight of Sam and the impact of his words had her feeling just exhilarated. Exhilarated in spite of her current flux in professional status!
Through the gamut of emotions today her mind had to be there, sharp and alert. She had to be focussed, professional, responsive and even unemotional. She had had to give it her all because Sam's life desperately depended on it.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the backrest, allowing the soft purr of the truck and the blurry lights all around her to calm her raggedness. It gave her a sweet sense of comfort to know she was experiencing this calmness with Sam.
When Andy finally opened her eyes she turned her head and looked at his profile. She recalled how she had similarly watched him a few nights ago as he drove her to his cover apartment. Good grief how a few days had dramatically changed… well everything!
She could just make out the cuts and bruises on his face, and the tip of the gauze over the gash on his left temple. Andy was certain he could feel her penetrating look, but his eyes remained steadfastly concentrated on the road ahead.
Her eyes slipped to his hands on the steering wheel, they were nicked and scratched. She noticed how his left arm looked stiff and uncomfortable. Then she saw him silently wince and catch his breath a few times as he turned the wheel.
"Sam. Pull over." She instructed leaning forward with a jolt. He looked at her perplexed.
"Just pull over right now," she demanded demonstratively undoing her seat belt.
He steered to the side of the road and turned the engine off.
"What's going on?" Sam sounded insecure and nervous, quite unlike his usual self. The doubts crept into his eyes. What if Andy was questioning her previous decision?
Perhaps she didn't want to go this route with him after all and had only needed a moment to realize it. Hell, he didn't think he could take another punch just yet.
"You can't drive like that. You'll get us into an accident, or worse maybe you'll get us arrested." She winked at him before her face broke into a broad smile. It was the first whole and real smile he had seen on her face since she left him a morning ago.
"Get out. I'm driving."
"What?" He asked, his face suddenly crinkling into a smile of his own.
"You heard me. Get out. We're switching."
He chuckled and opened his door. They met in front of his truck. The headlights shone boldly on their bodies as they moved past each other. Andy let her hand tangle briefly with his as she walked by him.
He smiled as he got in the passenger seat. Despite everything he had been through today, letting her get behind the wheel of his prized truck rankled him somewhat.
She turned the ignition and pulled out. "Straight to your place?" She asked, not really caring what he answered, so long as they were going there together.
"Yes." He looked at her. "If you prefer to go back to Traci's and get some rest, you can just drop me off, on the way. You could bring the truck back tomorrow." He continued with a surly tone, keeping his eyes on the road.
"You would trust me alone with your truck?" She countered quickly, a touch of humour finally coming to her voice.
It was odd the concern for his truck just moments ago had vanished. His heart sank for something else. He really wanted and needed her to come home with him tonight. What if she didn't?
"I'm actually not worried about my truck at all." He answered quietly.
"Good. I will come home with you though." She replied softly looking at him full on for a moment.
He smiled. "Sounds normal to me," he snorted and held her eyes for a moment, before he looked away from her to the view of passing vehicles and buildings.
She giggled and the lightness of that sound eradicated the last of his prior fears. She pulled in at his house twenty minutes later, after she stopped at the store to pick up a few things. Surprisingly, they found his place was actually clean and in decent shape.
"At least Boyd kept up this end of his deal if nothing else," Sam mocked reading her mind as he looked around.
She moved to stand right in front of him then. "Sam. You don't… you don't blame me for what happened do you?" She asked tentatively searching his eyes.
He understood her doubts, but his mind was just so mashed up and it hurt like hell. He couldn't do the whole serious talk tonight. Not tonight.
He found the few simple words he needed to reassure her. "Andy if I thought you were responsible, do you think I would be here with you now?" He replied in a gentle whisper.
At this she smiled and brought her hand to the gauze-covered gash. Her touch was ever so gentle, loving even. It felt so intensely opposite from the brutality he had suffered at the hands of Brennan earlier.
"Did you see a doctor?" She asked as she let her hand graze his cheek before it fell away from him.
"No. Just the paramedics."
"You might need x-rays. You could have a concussion. You-"
"Andy, I asked you here to forget about all of that, not relive it." Sam gestured putting his hands up in front of him, urging her to stop.
"Okay. I'm sorry," she smiled, stepping closer.
"Be anything but sorry," Sam whispered, looking so intently into her eyes, that she felt her skin begin to tingle.
She leaned in and kissed him softly. He felt her new tentativeness and hesitation. She was afraid of causing him some kind of pain.
In response Sam reached out and brought his hand behind her neck firmly bringing her face back to his. This time he kissed her with a sense of urgency. She could taste sweat and even blood from a small cut on his lips, yet in that one moment a new kind of heat and magic was ignited between them.
When she did finally take a deep breath and open her eyes, she was looking directly at the playful glint in Sam's eyes.
But a moment later she noticed something else! It was the flashing red light on the base of his home phone. Sam had messages. Its incessant flickering quickly snapped her out of her romantic reverie.
Its incessant flickering quickly snapped her back to reality. She marveled at how the smallest light from the coffee maker could be so disruptive to her quiet thoughts.
Andy reached for a mug and poured some of the spicy, hot brew. She added a fair amount of milk and stirred. It was 8am and Sam was still sleeping upstairs.
Just ten minutes earlier, she had managed to disentangle herself from his hold, as delicately as possible, and tiptoe down the stairs. She wanted to stay pressed up against his firm body, but she was too wired up about everything to sleep.
After she put on a pot of coffee, she took her phone from her purse and checked her messages and emails. She grimaced slightly as she read her mail; then plopped her phone nonchalantly down.
She allowed her mind to drift to how magical it had felt to sleep beside Sam, wrapped up in his warmth and assurance. After everything, he still really only wanted her. That realization made her feel sparkly, silly, excited and girlish.
She wound her arm around her waist bringing the soft cottony texture of Sam's shirt closer to her body. He had given it to her to sleep in last night. She smiled as she remembered his words as he handed it to her.
They hadn't spoken or done much since they arrived at his place last night. She had unpacked the few groceries and prepared some soup with a fresh baguette. They barely touched the food.
As she took his half empty bowl away, she regarded his haggard look. "I don't mean to sound like a nurse, but you probably should get some rest you know."
He reached for her hand. "Come to bed with me." He said gruffly.
She smiled at him playfully. "McNally I'm not suggesting anything but sleep tonight." His dimples showed and she had an urge to throw her arms around him and hold him close.
"I'm really tired too actually," she mused in reply. She followed him up the stairs remembering the way things had been between them the only other time she was there.
She barely remembered the stairs at all from that occasion. They had somehow staggered and tripped their way up them in the shadows, clinging to each other frantically, as they kissed and groped in the darkness.
Tonight she stepped carefully and softly up each stair behind him. He gave her a new toothbrush and she headed for the bathroom.
When she came out he was sitting on his bed with his shirt off. She glanced down at the vicious purple bruises looming from his abdomen and caught her breath. "Sam!" She exclaimed unable to help herself.
"It's just some bruising McNally." He said dismissing her concern. He made his way to her. "Don't start nagging about hospitals and x-rays okay. If it makes you feel better, Oliver is taking me to the clinic tomorrow afternoon. It's standard procedure that I have to go so..."
His voice drifted off as he took in her fresh-faced loveliness. She had taken off her sweater and wore only a tight tank top with her jeans. It revealed and accentuated the slightest parts of her luscious breasts.
Being close and intimate with her was still so wondrous and new. It struck him how far he had come personally and emotionally with her in the past week alone.
He really wanted her right now too. He had felt the hot rush of desire in him the instant he caught sight of her coming into the room.
But his body was just too weathered, wounded and exhausted. He was overwhelmingly aware of what he wanted, but he knew what he needed more than anything was to hold her while he fell asleep.
It was at that moment that he retrieved one of his shirts and handed it to her. "You really need to wear something less revealing to bed tonight Andy." He said half comically, half desperately.
Andy took a few more sips of the coffee as she thought about the way he had held her firmly curved into him most of the night.
If he woke and she had rolled away in her sleep, he instinctively reached for her again cradling her deep against his chest.
He had even whispered her name a few times as he breathed deeply into her hair. It intrigued, alarmed and thrilled her just how much he really seemed to need her now.
She shuddered then realizing just what he must have been through with Brennan. He was most likely still under some form of stress and trauma.
"Hey," she suddenly heard his soft gruff voice from behind her.
He had startled her. She hadn't been expecting him to creep up on her. She thought he would sleep for a few more hours actually. His voice interrupted her quiet daydreaming
"Hi," she replied, turning to look at him. The gash below the gauze still looked angry, but he appeared so many moons younger this morning.
She wanted to hug him; she wanted to kiss him. Yet, all she did was simply stand and smile at him. This was a new dynamic and situation for them. It was their first morning together in his home with no kind of pretense or secret to keep.
"Coffee?" she asked uneasily, holding up her own mug.
"Sure," he replied.
"How do you feel?" She asked as she poured.
"Like I took the beating of my life yesterday," he sniggered taking the mug.
"Ha, that sounds about right," she retorted lazily.
"Sam. I got an email from the higher ups. I have to go in for a formal meeting about the length and terms of the suspension." She looked at him from beneath her flickering lashes.
"It's normal protocol Andy. Don't let it get you freaked out."
"Okay. Will they do the same for you? I mean with you being a senior officer and all?"
"That doesn't mean anything. In their eyes I screwed up too. They'll probably give me a few days grace."
"Yeah of course. Hey I can make you some eggs before I get ready to go."
"I thought you weren't much into cooking."
"Well anyone can manage scrambled eggs. You can't really mess those up."
He laughed.
"There is also grapefruit juice, cranberry juice and orange juice, which would you prefer?" She raised her brows teasingly as she asked.
He laughed again, drinking in her youth and energy, allowing it to infuse him with a whole new vitality of his own. Christ he thought he was way too old, cynical and decrepit to feel this way again. Yet she managed to draw it out of him simply because she wanted to make him some scrambled eggs!
Andy felt purely happy right now too. It was odd considering what a complete mess her life was again and her tendency to over think everything.
An hour later she had taken a shower, was fully dressed and ready to face the panel deciding her fate. Sam walked with her to the door.
He watched her quietly as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and pulled her jacket on.
"You know after the meeting I can just go back to Traci's, grab a few things and then come back here. What time do you expect to be done at the clinic?"
He paused for a moment another silly boyish grin on his face. Damn, it wasn't just breakfast; she was really going to do this "normal" thing with him. She really wanted to.
He had reached a new deliriously happy state. He honestly didn't care about any of this procedural work crap. He just wanted to be with her. He just wanted her that was all.
"About five." He replied.
"Okay. I'll come back then."
"Andy."
"Yes."
"Don't let them get to you okay."
"Okay," she whispered.
He stood right before her.
"You're one hell of a cop McNally. Don't forget it."
She nodded.
"I'm glad we get to do this suspension thing together Sam." Andy dropped her voice to a whisper.
He chuckled and looked away for a moment, then he reached out and gently pushed her against the wall. His hands came up on either side of her neck as he pressed into her.
She could feel his heart pumping fast, solid and hard. It was so feverishly exciting to be close to him physically.
Her arms came instinctively to his waist. They kissed with an intensity and chemistry of new lovers finally free to actually be lovers. It was their first really deep and sensual kiss for the day and it felt amazing.
Her arms tightened around him as she gulped for a deep breath of air. A soft groan escaped her before she plunged her mouth back to his.
She kissed him again and again, thinking she would never get tired of the way it felt. Finally she had him. Finally mysterious, elusive and risky Sam was in her life in this profound and insane new way.
"I've got to go," she giggled at last, as his lips found their way to her neck and attempted to ease her scarf aside. She pushed him away playfully.
"I'll be back after five okay." There was no rush or urgency for them anymore. After today they were going to have long, lazy languid days ahead together to really explore everything there was to explore about each other.
"Okay." His voice was needy and raspy.
"Andy," he said again as she was about to open the door.
She turned. "Don't bring too many clothes. You won't need them." His eyes were smoldering with a raw sexuality, his voice was a brash, throaty promise.
She paused for a moment then giggled playfully. "I know," she quipped then turned to open the door and leave.
The sun was already shining brightly outside. It shone so brightly it hurt her eyes.
The sun shone so brightly it hurt her eyes. She fiddled agitatedly through her purse to find her sunglasses. Where the hell were they dammit? Why did they always slip out of reach when she needed them most?
Christ the sun was so bright, and her eyes were threatening to start pooling over with tears in just a second. Inside the precinct, Traci had called after her imploring her to wait up, but she had whisked by hardly acknowledging her.
God why was her life steam rolling from one freaking screw up to another? If they had to deny her the job she loved for three damn months, why in the heck did they also have to deny her of the one person she wanted to be with the most right now?
This was cruel and unusual punishment in the extreme. Damn it. She didn't know if she was angrier at them or herself for simply sitting there and taking it like a kid in detention.
Their stern eyes and condescending expressions melted her former confidence and radiance. She felt suddenly cold to her core. It was all surreal as though she was a witness at her own trial.
Wordlessly and guiltily she had signed the damn papers acknowledging and agreeing to her conduct unbecoming, the three month suspension and all the ridiculous conditions that came with it.
What stupid clause was it that stated that after today there was to be no contact of any kind with her complicit colleague Officer Samuel Swarek? Failing to comply with this regulation could result in further suspension or worse.
Worse, what could be worse than losing her job? She loved being a cop. She had worked selflessly hard for this and she was proving herself to be one hell of an officer.
She couldn't be dismissed from the force before she even had the chance to prove herself completely. There was already some tarnish on her name after her father retired under dubious circumstances. She needed to make good on her commitment and restore their name in this force.
Andy continued walking aimlessly down the street, frustrated, flustered, agitated and bothered.
How would Sam react to all of this? Instinctively she knew he would tell her to screw it and not allow one more road block to get in their way.
Hadn't he said to her just over an hour before: 'Don't let them get to you.'?
But how could she stop them and their words from getting to her? She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. She couldn't give up everything she wanted in her life. She couldn't risk everything she had worked for, just to steal some time with Sam now. He mattered so damn much to her, but this was her future she was risking and it had to trump everything else.
Dammit what a shambles. She turned and absently took in the window display of the travel specialist she was breezing by. A poster of a pristine wilderness landscape caught her eye. "Get away up North. Temagami Awaits!" the banner boasted boldly.
Andy quietly repeated the words a few times. She stared at the picture a moment longer. "Why the hell not?" She asked herself out loud, then she whisked two doors down to an internet café.
Half an hour later after she got on line in the café, she had reservations and bookings for a flight leaving at 6pm tonight. She was working on auto pilot, not thinking about any repercussions or Sam for now.
She wouldn't even get the chance to see him today before she left. It was for the best. She couldn't face him to tell him that she was leaving. She couldn't explain how she was running away to protect both of them and their jobs.
She would take the easy way out. She would call and leave a message on his home phone when he was out with Oliver.
Please dear Lord let him understand that she was doing this for him as much as herself. She couldn't put his status and career in jeopardy either. If she stayed here in Toronto she would cave in and rush to see him.
He would get to her somehow. She needed to be as far from him as possible to really stick to the conditions of the suspension. She would blow the rest of her savings on this flaming trip. She would stay at youth hostels and cheap hotels whatever it took.
She wouldn't be back till the whole damn thing was over. She would arrange her entire condo purchase via conference calls or whatever. Her father could arrange to have all her stuff moved in while she was away.
She would have a brand new home to come back to and maybe, just maybe Sam too. Maybe they could start their normal then. She shed a tear.
She desperately wanted to stay with him. She wanted to help him through the stress and emotional fallout of being taken and tortured by Brennan. But she couldn't, too much was at stake.
Andy recalled the way he had looked at her when she left him today. The laughter in his voice; the gentleness in the way he handled her; the promises in his face; the unmistakable flicker of desire in his eyes, it was all as real could be.
God, please let him still want her like this three months from now.
After she left him she had a silly smile pinned on her face all the way to the precinct. Her head was buzzing with thoughts of the steamy and exciting stuff they would do with each other later.
Thinking about her and Sam all tangled up, hot sweaty, naked, wild, wet and satiated, had given her an extra spark all morning. It was like a guilty pleasure she kept thinking about. Then she walked into the room of gloom at the precinct.
She took a sip of her now tepid jasmine tea. Even though she was indoors, she replaced her sunglasses to hide the tears that she began to shed. She needed to leave now. She had to get to Traci's and take whatever she needed then hightail it to the Toronto Island airport.
She couldn't let Sam get to her. If he did, he would change her mind. She needed to run now. If she paused for a minute and he steered her in a different direction, it could be devastating for them.
Two hours later she was at the airport harried and anxious. She again grappled for her phone and swiped her fingers agitatedly to compose an email. She had decided to tell him via email. She didn't trust her voice not to crumble on a voice message. Dammit how was she to explain this to him? How could she ask him to wait for her? How?
Sam,
As much as I really want to be with you tonight, I can't. As much as I really want to start something normal with you, I can't tonight.
Today I was instructed to have no contact with you under any circumstances for the length of my three-month suspension. If I don't comply, we both risk serious professional repercussions.
You know we've both worked too hard to let this happen.
So I've decided to leave. I'm going away up north for three months. This way I know I won't lose my resolve and run to see you.
Can I please take a rain check for three months?
I'm so sorry.
Andy.
The tears blurred her vision as she hastily sent the email. It was ten minutes to boarding. Was it enough? Should she have said more?
He would still be with Oliver. She owed him more. She had to leave a voice message too. She called his home number and took a deep breath willing herself to speak resolutely and not crack into a sob.
"Hey, it's me. Listen I sent you an email explaining why I have to go away for the three months of my suspension. I don't want to leave Sam. I want things to work for us, but I don't know what else to do. I guess if we really want this, we just need to wait some more. I'll see you in three months. I'll miss you Sam."
She hung up abruptly they were calling her flight. She needed to board now. She impatiently looked up at the departure board one last time as if convincing herself that this flight and destination really and truly existed.
She started to feel nauseous and dizzy as the board flashed with ever changing lights.
The ever changing flashing lights on the arrivals board all seemed like a blur to Sam.
All, except that one particular flight. That one chartered plane that had just touched down.
It was coming from Temagami and it was bringing Andy back. It was bringing her back where she belonged. It was bringing her back to him. Or was it?
He tapped the paper notice against his thigh as he made his way to the gate.
He wanted her to see him holding that sign. He wanted her to know in a split second exactly how ludicrous and silly he thought she had been.
It didn't begin to describe the wellspring of emotion and pain he felt over the past three months. It was a pain even more acute than the beating Brennan had given him.
He felt uneasy the minute Shaw had dropped him at home that evening three months ago. He had expected to find Andy waiting on his doorstep. She wasn't there.
It was after five and he thought she would be there with a backpack full of things, even though he told her she had little need for clothes. But, she was a woman after all and not just any woman. She was Andy McNally.
He had tried calling her once but her phone was turned off. There were no calls from her either. What the hell was going on? She may be unpredictable, but he was pretty certain she meant to keep her word about coming over tonight.
"Okay buddy?" Oliver asked carefully. He could see obvious agitation on Sam's face.
"Yup. Thanks brother."
He absently said goodbye and got out the car, waving distractedly as Oliver drove off. He had only gone to the clinic because Frank had insisted, citing protocol, liable and whatever the hell else.
Of course Olly had stepped up and promised to make sure he made the appointment. Yeah he was a real champ of a brother that one.
He found out that he had no concussion or broken bones, and was given the green light to go home and heal.
He was looking forward to healing in a whole new way that night. It was going to be all about him, Andy and frenzied passion… the usual for them.
He knew something was really off when he stepped inside the house and saw his machine flashing again. He had erased the full quota of 20 silly messages filling it up this morning.
Still, he knew there was something pertinent and relevant to Andy in this new message. Her voice sounded strained and unsure. She was genuinely sad, he could hear it in her voice. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed in frustration.
Just what the hell was McNally up to now? God help him! She was going to be the death of him with all of her ridiculous spur-of-the-moment behaviour. What the hell had they told her today? He had practically instructed her not to let them get to her dammit.
A jolt of hurt hit him full on a moment later. Whatever had happened, it had been enough to make her run away from him. Was his hold over her that flimsy and inconsequential?
He let out another frustrated groan before he flipped through his emails. He wasn't really a techie person and she knew he hated checking his emails in general.
Most of it was spam or mass emails, or information he had already received first hand from someone anyway. But not this time!
He read her words slowly. He read the message three times before he allowed his mind to actually deal with it.
"I was instructed to have no contact with you under any circumstances for the length of my three-month suspension. If I don't comply, we both risk serious professional repercussions."
He read the words under his breath.
"Bullshit," he countered in agitation. "McNally do you have to let everyone else always make the most important decisions in your life."
He sat down and slapped his knees. Christ did she think they were going to follow them with surveillance cameras? Did she think they would rig their phones to make sure they didn't speak?
Didn't she know this was just boring pre-printed, century-old rhetoric that nobody, not even they took seriously. She really was still a rookie in every way.
He was going to tell them exactly where to get off if they came at him with this garbage. His personal life was his personal life period. She was his personal life dammit.
Not anymore apparently she had just removed herself from it. He felt that indecently painful pang in his heart again.
"Andy you're killing me here." He frowned and dropped his head on the sofa behind him. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the email again.
"I really want to be with you tonight…. As much as I really want to start something normal with you, I can't tonight."
He snorted in resignation. Was she really just hiding behind a smoke screen of excuses and anxieties? Was she really actually just plain terrified of being with him?
He represented everything that was risky, irresponsible, unstructured and unplanned. He was everything Luke wasn't. Was she worrying that he couldn't offer her that kind of solidity and security?
It was ironic really because he was here ready to do this thing with her, his feet firmly planted on the ground. Yet she was the one who had taken flight in haste and panic, without slowing down for a minute to think it through.
Right now his heart and soul craved her and she was gone. She was gone into the night, somewhere up north.
Can I please take a rain check for three months?
"For Christ's sake McNally!" He yelled out loud, standing up and flinging his phone down on the sofa.
Three months! What about all the hours and minutes in between when he really needed her. What about this time right now when he wanted to cling to her to forget about the hazards of his job and what he had been through this week alone?
He had held on to her last night unconcerned about how it illustrated his extreme need for her. How could she be so blind to that? What was he supposed to do for three months? How was he supposed to spend his time as she whiled hers away up north?
She figured she was nice and safe there in a place where she wouldn't succumb to the damn temptation to be with him. But what about him for Christ Sake? Where was the nice and safe place for his heart?
For three months he waited. He thought about her every single day. He missed her every single day. He gave himself hope that there would be pieces to pick up when she got back.
He felt bitter and discarded, mistreated and mishandled. He didn't know if he was justified to feel this way, but that was how it went.
He got back to work a month ago. It was a relief really. It filled up his time and kept his mind charged and busy. The danger on the job reinforced his commitment to it, but still he missed her.
He had dreamed of her. A lot actually. He had relived some of their most fun, frivolous, carefree and even sensuous moments in his head.
It all made him angrier than hell at her. It all made him miss her more desperately. It made him want her more than ever again. Dammit.
He even was there protecting her at his own damn hearing. "Have you had any contact with Officer Andrea McNally?"
"That would be impossible considering she's thirteen hundred miles away with no contact details available to me," he practically sneered at them.
The defiance in his voice could not be misconstrued, but he also wanted them to know that she had not broken any of their precious rules.
Then in the politest fashion possible for him, he had informed them that his personal life was none of their damned business and that he had every intention of dating whoever the hell he wanted to.
He smirked to himself now as he approached the escalators.
He didn't even know why the hell he was here. He just felt he had to be. This was where it was all going to start for Andy again. He wanted to be a part of that beginning.
There were things he needed and wanted to tell her. Things about how he felt and what her flight had done to him. He was still bitter and angry with her. He felt so slighted that he didn't know if there was any chance of navigating their way back to anything normal.
He noticed her instantaneously. She was making her way down, brushing past people, phone to ear babbling away. Her eyes were darting everywhere. She looked animated and excited. He wondered if he had anything to do with it, or if it was all about the job.
He held the sign up straight, so there could be no mistaking that she would see it.
Christ she looked beautiful. She looked lean and tanned. She had cut and darkened her hair and sported new bangs. His heart began to pound frantically. This was the effect she had on him.
She noticed him suddenly. She stopped talking and as she met his eyes through his shades. A slight blush came to her face. She stared at him straight faced.
Her eyes drifted to the notice. She looked back up and a smile broke onto her face. She did a quick excited shimmy of her body, then walked confidently towards him. She looked relieved and happy. So she was happy to see him. Interesting.
"Hi," she said with laughter in her voice. She took the sign from his hand and kept smiling at him.
Honestly he couldn't decide. Either she was a whirlwind hurricane of uncertainty in his world; Or… or she was the brightest and most radiant light to ever shine in his life and future!
Whatever it was he knew she came with baggage though. A lot of it, after all she was Andy McNally. No need to avoid it, he might as well get right to it.
"Any baggage," he called out to her as she strode to walk ahead.