Jack kisses my shoulder. The weight of his body feels great over mine. "Are you happy, Renee?"

"Show me a woman who wouldn't be after that, and I'll show you a cold fish." He laughs into my shoulder. I love making him laugh. He rolls off of me and I follow him, laying my head against his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm happy, Jack," I say. Pause. "And you?"

He nuzzles the top of my head with his nose. "Very happy," he says.

I look behind me to the clock on the nightstand. 4:53 p.m. We have more than two hours before we're supposed to meet Kim. I lay my head back against his shoulder, decidedly nervous again.

Jack wriggles an arm from under me, and then puts it around my shoulder, stroking my hair. He doesn't say anything at all. He just holds me, and this is the most cherished I've ever felt in my life.

Ten minutes later, I press a kiss to his neck and sit up. His hand travels down my back and he watches me. "I just want to grab a shower before we meet Kim," I say.

He gives me a half-smile. "Okay. Do you want some company?"

Although my unreasonable side rears its ugly head and screams "no!" I smile back and say, "Sure. You can keep me from wallowing in nervousness."

He sits up and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. "You don't have to be nervous."

"I know. I'm trying not to be." I must be a negative field to his positive, because I can't seem to help leaning into him again. I kiss him, and his arms come up around me.

"Maybe I should relax you…"

"Mmm…maybe you should."


We wash in the shower, and then make love, and then end up having to soap up ourselves all over again.

"The water's gone cold," Jack says. He's got his back to the showerhead, shielding me from the water.

My lips turn up in a smile. "Maybe that's a good thing," I say. I rub my hands over the goose-bumped skin of his chest. "We could easily be late for dinner if it didn't."

"I suppose you're right." He grins back at me and reaches behind himself for the knob.

I pull back the curtain and we step out. The hotel's towels are thin and cheap, like those of most hotels. We've only got one each and we thoroughly soak them – and I haven't even touched my hair. I frown. I wish I had a hair dryer. I can't remember the last time I used one.

"Where are we meeting them?" I ask as Jack leaves the bathroom to get dressed.

"A place called La Casita Mexicana. It's about half an hour outside L.A."

"Great," I say. I really do love Mexican. "Then we should leave around 6:30?"

"Yeah."

I smile and then notice a hairdryer hanging in a charger on the wall. Perfect. I tie the towel around me and get to work.


La Casita Mexicana is a small building in an old part of town, orange-painted and with a large sign in bold letters. We walk in. Yellow lamps give the place a soft, warm glow. Pictures of southwestern scenes line the walls in perfect integers. The man at the podium gives us a beaming smile. Ever since I was a little girl, maitre d's always made me suspicious. They're always giving you a beaming smile or looking somberly and snobbishly at you – they're great actors; they make you want to know what's beneath that beaming façade. I've seen maitre d's that I considered offering F.B.I. positions to, based on their acting skills alone.

Kim and her family aren't here yet, so the man seats us at an empty booth. I slide in first and Jack sits next to me. After a minute, Jack asks, "Still nervous?"

I smile, and the smile wavers. "A little." My hands are on my lap. He covers them with one of his. I can't get over how supportive he's being…

"Hey guys!"

Kim, Steven, and little Teri walk over to us, and Jack stands to hug his daughter. It takes me half a second to follow.

"Hey sweetheart," Jack says.

"Dad. Mmm. I missed you."

"Missed you too, sweetheart."

Kim opens her eyes and sees me, and wriggles out of her father's grasp. "A-…Renee, it's good to see you again." She winces as stumbles over my name a little, and I remember that the last time she saw me, it was Agent Walker. But she's smiling and gives me an apologetic grimace before shaking my hand.

"It's good to see you, too, Kim."

"Grandpa Jack! Grandpa Jack!" Jack's granddaughter launches herself into his arms. He picks her up and swings her around.

"Teri! Teri!" he says, laughing. "How's my favorite granddaughter?"

"Look, I made a picture!" Teri waves a scribbled child's drawing up for Jack to see. He praises it like it's the Mona Lisa, and the little girl's smile couldn't be broader.

"Hi, I'm Steven," Kim's husband says. He shakes my hand, too.

"Renee Walker," I say.

"Could we get a child's seat? Thanks. So, Renee, this is your first time in California?" Kim says to me as the waiter goes to find a booster seat for little Teri.

"Yes."

"How do you like it so far?" Steven asks.

"I like it. Ah, well, I mean, I haven't seen much of it yet, but I like what I've seen." Which includes the airport, random buildings through the window of a taxi, the hotel, and Jack. Oh shit, I'm sleeping with her father. My cheeks start to burn. I don't know which irritates me more – the fact that I'm embarrassed or the fact they can tell I'm embarrassed.

But Kim is neither psychic nor a mind-reader, because she nods and is probably attributing the blushing to my nervous stumbling. She takes this moment to say to Teri, "Sweetie? I want you to meet someone." Jack turns sideways so that Teri can see me. "This is Renee," Kim continues, rubbing Teri's back. "She's a friend from your grandpa's work."

Teri gives me the sweetest little smile, and I feel my embarrassment waning. "Hi," the little girl says shyly, with a wave of her little hand.

That little girl's smile pierces me somewhere deep, and I know in an instant I'd die for this child, regardless of who her grandfather is. "Hi, Teri," I say. I'm used to having to force a smile to stay on, to show my emotions, but this smile has taken my lips hostage, and I'm fairly certain that I'm beaming like an idiot.

The waiter comes back with the booster seat, and we all slide back into the booth. I force my grin to settle down into a pleasant expression. Teri begs to sit next to "Grandpa Jack" and so Jack puts the booster seat between us, and Kim and her husband sit on the other side of the table.

We order our food, and the conversation stays thankfully light. I don't know if Jack phoned Kim to discuss safe topics, but we've successfully avoided conversations about my work, family, and questionable actions.

About halfway through dinner Teri tugs on my sleeve. I bend over and she whispers, "I gots to use the bathroom."

Oh! "Oh, okay." I look up and over her. "Jack?" I nod, and he leans over. I whisper in his ear, "Teri needs the bathroom."

"Okay," he says. His eyes hold mine for a heartbeat, and then he looks over to Kim as he stands. Teri scrambles out of the booster seat and he says simply, "Bathroom."

But Kim's staring between the two of us. She blinks, and seems to snap out of a trance. "Oh! Right." She, too, stands up, takes her daughter by the hand, and walks her to the restroom.

Jack sits back down, and Steven strikes up a conversation about sports. All I can think about, though, is…shit. Kim knows.


Writer's Note: :) Hee-hee-hee.