Chapter 7: Conversations
A/N: Hey, sorry for the delay on this. I was waiting for the right time to post this, and it got crowded out with bad sinus headaches. I kind of have one now, but I'm posting this anyway because I'm in the mood to do so. I want to thank those who have read, reviewed, added this story to their favorites list, and those who have added this to their alerts list. It means a lot to me that you're enjoying this story. I have a good idea of where it's going and how it's going to end, so you may not have to wait too long for that. It'll just depend on my mood and when I can post. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: The TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon Studios. I only own the OCs.
I really wasn't in a good mood when I went to work the next day. I knew Ben would tell me to report the text to Chief, and I didn't want to do that. It just irked me that everyone I talked to thought they had my best interests at heart. Why couldn't they accept that I was a grown woman and that I could handle my own business?
"Hey, Aubree, I heard you have a hot date tonight," Luis said. "You nervous?"
I glared at Ben and couldn't believe he'd said anything. "Thanks a lot, Benjamin!" I snapped. "Some brother you are!"
"I only told Luis!" Ben protested.
"The point is you weren't supposed to tell anyone," I informed him. I really didn't know how much more of this I could take. Between Ben and Leo I was lucky I was even going to have any privacy. Then again, knowing Ben or Leo, they'd probably have spies watching my every move. After all, I couldn't be trusted to handle anything on my own.
Ben and I rode in silence for our shift. I had half a mind to tell Chief to switch partners, but I knew he wouldn't listen to me. He never did. Ben tried to apologize, but I ignored him. This was our first fight in at least sixteen years. I hated fighting with Ben, but I was pissed off, and I was famous for holding grudges when I was pissed off.
After our shift was over, Chief asked to speak with me. My heart started beating rapidly. Had Ben told him about the texts? Was he going to lecture me about them? Trying to put on a brave face, I went into Chief's office and took a seat.
Chief smiled at me. "I just want to commend you on handling your partnership with your brother," he said. "I was worried you would rebel and whine, but you've taken your medicine, and I'm proud of you. Now, make sure you don't mess this up. I'm counting on you to do things right, Hennigan. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," I replied. "I promise I won't screw this up." Yeah, right, I was already screwing it up by not coming clean about a text message.
"Good," Chief said. "I'll hold you to that. You're dismissed."
I left his office and headed home to prepare for my date with Carson the lawyer. I wasn't looking forward to it by any means, but I knew I couldn't back out of it if I tried. I just hoped this guy didn't get any ideas that this would be a long-term thing. If he did, I would make sure to set him straight right away.
"Relax, Aubree, you can do this," I coached myself as I got ready for my date. "It's just one little date. Nothing is going to happen to you. If you can handle taking down drug dealers, you can handle this."
There was a knock at my door, and my heart started beating like a drum. I gave myself one last look and then hurried to open the door to reveal my date. Carson Donnelly was dressed in a suit and looked like he had just come from the office. I was dressed in slacks (No dresses for me, thank you very much) and a white dress sweater.
He smiled as he took in my dress attire. "You look nice," he said. "I'm Carson Donnelly." He held out his hand for me to shake.
"Aubree Hennigan," I replied as I shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Aubree," he said. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah, sure," I answered. I followed him out and locked my door. He led me to his car and opened the door for me so I could get in. I thanked him and got in the car. It was actually pretty nice for a Mercedes.
"I would have gotten changed into something more casual, but I had to stay at the office a little later than normal," he said apologetically. "I should have told your mother what you should wear, but I didn't think of it."
"That's fine," I replied. "So, why were you at the office so late?"
"We're working on a very important case right now," he answered.
"Oh, I see," I responded. "I'm pretty busy myself."
"What's it like being a police officer?" he asked me.
"Hectic," I answered. "There's always something happening as far as crime is concerned. What's it like being a lawyer?"
"Very stressful," he responded. "I didn't want to be a lawyer at first. I actually wanted to play football, but Dad has his heart set on me being a lawyer. So, I decided to respect his wishes and went to law school."
"Why didn't you stick with football?" I asked him. "That was your dream."
"Yes, but it was unrealistic," he replied. "I know that football players make a lot of money in the NFL, but in reality they aren't happy with what they have."
"That's bullshit," I scoffed. "Any NFL player who wins the Super Bowl seems pretty damn happy to me."
"Well, they may look happy, but I can guarantee you that they wish they were doing something else," he answered.
I shook my head but said nothing more. I just couldn't agree with how he viewed football players or any other athletes. "So, you don't like football?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'm a die- hard Giants fan," he answered. "What about you?"
"I watch the Giants, but that's it for football," I told him. "I really like professional wrestling."
He burst out laughing. "Are you serious?" he laughed.
I nodded. "Yeah, I am."
"I can't believe you watch that garbage," he scoffed. "No respectable human being watches something like that. Only mindless idiots get sucked into that."
I glared at him. "So, I'm just a mindless idiot?" I asked him.
"You are if you like that stuff," he said. "It's all fake."
"No, it isn't," I insisted. "Wrestlers train just as hard as basketball players and football players. They dedicate their lives to it, and they enjoy it."
He rolled his eyes. "Spoken like a true mindless idiot," he remarked.
"Really?" I countered. "Well, you're a pompous asshole."
Instead of getting angry, he laughed at my remark. "Touche," he said. "I guess I do come off that way, but at least I'm honest with my opinions. Most people aren't honest, and they like to sugarcoat things to make them sound better, but that's not realistic. People these days are constantly living in a fantasy world and think that dreams will just pop out of thin air. In reality, if you want to achieve something, you have to work for it."
Although I could understand what he was saying, it sounded pretty conceited. Then he changed the subject to his cases ad how many he'd won. I pretended to listen but ended up tuning him out because I just didn't care. While most people would think Carson was a really nice person, I just thought he was a pompous asshole who was stuck on himself.
The restaurant he'd picked out was really nice, and the food was really good. He asked me a little bit about my background and then proceeded to talk about himself some more. Once again, I tuned him out while maintaining a façade that I was listening to him. Thankfully, the date ended, and I hoped that he wouldn't take me to his home. Luckily, that wasn't the plan, and I felt relieved until he took a detour to a spot by the Hudson River.
I was a bit confused. "Why are we stopping here?" I asked.
"Because this is one of my favorite places," he answered. "I often come here to wind down after a hard day. Isn't it beautiful?"
I nodded. "Yeah, it is," I agreed.
"Of course, it's not as beautiful as you," Carson said as he looked into my eyes.
Before I could respond with a smart comment, he leaned over and kissed me. I pushed against him, and he broke the kiss, looking confused.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
I wiped my lips with the back of my hand. "What the hell did you do that for?" I demanded.
He looked baffled by my question. "I thought this was a good moment to tell you how I feel," he answered. "I really like you, Aubree." He leaned forward for another kiss, but I managed to find my pepper spray and nailed him in the face. He yelled and covered his eyes.
"What's your problem?" he yelled as he rubbed at his eyes, thinking that would make the burning go away. Instead, it made the burning worse, which was my plan.
"My problem is that you kissed me without my permission," I replied.
"Well, you didn't have to pepper spray me!" he snapped. "And why is this burning not going away?"
"Because you have to put water on it and let it settle without rubbing it," I explained. I knew it was wrong of me to enjoy his plight, but I couldn't help but feel happy about what I did to him.
He growled and fumbled for the door handle to let himself out of the car. Then he stumbled blindly, trying to find his way to the river. Once he managed to find it, he put the water in his eyes, disregarding the fact that the water in the Hudson River wasn't very clean. When he was done, he pointed a finger at me, though it wasn't in the right direction.
"You'll pay for this!" he snarled. "You're nothing but a horrible bitch! I'll make sure no one goes out with you again!"
"Whatever," I replied as I began walking away.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
"Home," I replied. "You're in no condition to drive and even if you were, I wouldn't go home with you after that sickening display."
"You won't make it on your own," he predicted.
I turned around and smirked at him even though he couldn't see it. "Watch me," I answered. "Oh, wait, you can't watch me, so just listen instead." And with that, I left him to wipe the mace and snot out of his eyes and nose.
As I walked I took out the Shell Cell Don had made for me and pressed the blue button. If there was ever a time I needed Leo, it was now. I braced myself as it rang two times before he picked up.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hey, Leo," I said. "Nice night, isn't it?"
"Hi, Aubree," he replied. "How was your date?" I had told him what my mom had done, and he had told me to just go for it like Ben had.
"Oh, it was fine until the asshole tried to put the moves on me," I replied.
"He WHAT?" Leo demanded. I could tell by his tone of voice that he wanted to do something drastic to Carson. While that would be funny to me, I knew I couldn't risk that.
"Easy there, Tiger," I soothed him. "I retaliated with some pepper spray, and he backed off."
"What did he do to you?" Leo asked me.
"He kissed me without my consent," I answered. "But I took care of it. I'm on my way home now."
"You're by yourself?"
"Yeah, I left Carson," I answered.
Leo sighed. "Where are you?" he asked. "I'll come pick you up."
I gave him the street names, and he told me he'd be there soon. As I waited I couldn't help but think about what I would tell my mom when she asked me about the date. I couldn't lie to her, but I wasn't sure how she'd react to my story. Would she panic and insist I report Carson, or would she be disappointed and try to set up another date?
Before I could ponder this further, Leo arrived in the alley by where I was. I smiled as he revealed himself. He was definitely a better sight to behold than Carson had been.
"Are you okay?" he asked me.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'll live," I answered. "So, did you rent a limo to take me home?"
Leo laughed. "No, I didn't," he said. "We'll have to settle for going home via the rooftops."
I was confused. "The rooftops?" I repeated.
"Yeah, we'll go roof hopping," he replied.
I was a little worried about that. "I don't think that's a good idea, Leo," I said. "Maybe we should just stick with the alleys, or we could call Don and ask him to bring the Battle Shell."
Leo smiled at my discomfort. "Why don't you want to go roof hopping, Aubree?"
I sighed. "Okay, if I tell you why, do you promise not to laugh at me?"
He nodded. "I promise," he said.
"I'm afraid of heights," I confessed.
Despite his promise, Leo burst out laughing. I glared at him, and he immediately stopped. "Sorry, but I don't think it's that bad," he said. "I was afraid of heights when I was younger. Master Splinter taught me to overcome my fear. I sometimes get scared but usually when I'm alone. When I'm with my brothers, I don't think about it that much." Then he looked at me with such a sympathetic look that caused my anger at him to fade away. "Aubree, how did you survive the police academy if you were scared of heights?" he asked. "Didn't you have to climb a wall?"
"Yeah, but what motivated me was my co-workers yelling at me to move it," I answered. "Well, they weren't my co-workers yet, but you get my drift."
"I see," Leo mused. "Well, we'd better get you home. It's getting late, and I don't want Master Splinter to get worried about me." He took me over to the fire escape and gestured for me to scale it. "After you," he said.
I took a deep breath and scaled the fire escape to the roof. I gulped as I stared at the building across from me. I was really high up. How could I even do this?
Leo, sensing my fear, took my hand and squeezed it. "Easy, Aubree," he soothed. "I'm right here. Just close your eyes and take deep breaths."
I did as he said, and it relaxed me. I could feel the fear leaving my body, but I attributed it more to Leo being there than to anything else. I opened my eyes and smiled at him. "Thanks," I whispered.
"You're welcome," he whispered back. "Now, let's go."
I nodded and took his hand, holding it as tight as I dared to. I was probably going to sever his fingers, but he didn't indicate that I was hurting him. He looked at me and told me to start running with him. I did so and jumped when he said to. It felt different, and I almost made it to the roof, but my heel slipped, and I almost fell. Luckily, Leo had a firm grip on me and pulled me up before I could fall. I sat there for a minute, trying to curb the fear that I'd felt as I almost fell.
"Are you okay?" he asked me as he looked at me in a concerned way.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm good," I managed to say.
"Do you want me to carry you instead?" he offered.
I shook my head. "No, I have to master this," I said. "My dad always taught me to get back up after I fell. I know he'd want me to do that now, too." There was a determined look on my face as I said this.
"Okay," he said. He took my hand, and we jumped another rooftop. This time it was easier, and I managed to land perfectly without slipping. We continued that way until we reached my apartment. I went down the fire escape and went into my apartment building to open the window for Leo. I felt a rush of adrenaline at what I'd just done, but I was also pretty tired. The only sound in the apartment was the sound of our breathing as we tried to catch our breath.
"So, some night, huh?" Leo teased.
"Yeah, it was just great," I teased back. "Though I have to admit, seeing you more than made up for my lousy date."
"Do you think he'll retaliate for what you did?" Leo asked me.
"Nah, I doubt he'd do anything," I replied. "There's not much he can do anyway."
"I guess not," Leo agreed. He continued to stare at me as though he was thinking of something. Then he asked, "Aubree, would you let me do something?"
I smiled. "Sure," I said. "If you want to kill Carson in cold blood, I'd let you do that."
"No, it's not that," he answered. He took a deep breath as though he was nervous. "Would you let me kiss you?"
"Why do you want to do that?" I inquired.
"I'm just curious," he said. "I've never kissed a woman before."
I was a bit hesitant about it, considering what had just happened with Carson. But then again, Leo was actually asking permission to kiss me, not forcing himself on me like Carson had. I figured it couldn't hurt to let him at least have the experience. "Well, okay," I finally said.
He leaned over cautiously and touched his lips to mine. It was a quick kiss, not a steamy one like in the movies. I felt a shock go through me, and I realized that he was a good kisser. He broke the kiss before I could even finish processing my feelings and looked away. I could tell he was embarrassed by what had just happened.
"Uh, thanks, Aubree," he said. "I-I should go now. I'll see you later. Good night."
"Good night, Leo," I responded. "You're welcome." I watched until he disappeared from my sight. Then I closed the window and got ready for bed. My cheeks were flushed as I thought about Leo's kiss. My lips tingled, and I knew that I wanted more. But why was that? I hadn't known him for very long. Was I really in love already?
No, that couldn't be, I decided. I was just delirious from the kiss. Yeah, that had to be it. I wasn't in love with Leo, but I had to admit to myself that I did like him a lot. He was so understanding and nice, two things I had hoped I'd find with the guy I fell in love with. Maybe I wasn't in love just yet, but that didn't mean I wouldn't fall in love with him. I felt that the more time I spent with him, the more my feelings for him would grow. And maybe that would be a good thing. And if they didn't turn into something more, then I would just have to be friends with him. I decided to cross that bridge when I got there. With that last thought in my head, I fell asleep and replayed our kiss in my dreams.
A/N: Wow. I can't believe this is thirteen pages long! And as for Leo asking permission, I can see him doing that. I know that my BF didn't kiss me until I was ready, and he asked me first if he could, so it can happen that way. And you will be seeing Carson again, but not in this story. I'm planning on having him in the sequel though, so look out for that coming soon. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.
