I'm not sure how long we have been there together on the couch but we must have both fallen asleep. I can't remember when I last felt this relaxed. I glance down at the woman tucked in against me. She has rolled onto her side pulling her knees and feet close into her up onto the couch. I rub her back softly in awe that she is here with me, like this. She releases a big sigh and snuggles in closer as if it is even possible to be closer to me than she already is. I feel the need to stretch out my body but I don't want to disturb her.
"Walt, how many more condoms are there?"
She's spoken so softly I'm not sure I heard her right. I swallow in an attempt to ease the dryness in my throat, "What?"
"The condoms, You didn't know about the one in your pocket yet you knew it was from Henry. He must have given you some directly that he didn't hide, that you did know about. So, the others...how many are there?
"Why?"
"I want to make sure we have enough."
"Vic...uh...I don't think...I'm not really..."
Her body starts to shake and I can hear her giggling.
"What's so funny?"
"You really are too easy." She eases herself up and looks at me with a full blown smile on her face, "Is it always going to be this simple to make you squirm? Doesn't seem fair really. You won't stand a chance if you don't toughen up a little."
She leans in rubbing my nose with hers and then slips in for a slow deep kiss before pulling back, "Wow, I could get used to waking up like this."
"Yup, me too. Although, I think I'm getting too old to sleep exactly like this."
I lift my arms over my head and stretch my legs out in front of me letting out a big yawn before shifting myself back into a more comfortable position.
"Damn, do you know how sexy you are?"
"Me?"
"Yes you!" She straddles my legs and places her hands on either side of my face, "Who else would I be talking to right now?"
I smile slowly, "Just checking." My body is waking up in more ways than one with her weight on my lap and I'm afraid I might get embarrassed again if this goes too much further.
"You said a lot of things tonight and now it's my turn."
"Okay."
"First I want to apologize."
"For what?"
She tilts her head to the side, "You came completely out of your comfort zone tonight, stuck around when I know all you really wanted to do was leave, and then tested your limits even further by sharing your heart with me. What did I do in return?"
I rub my hands gently up and down her sides, "Gave me one hell of a kiss?"
Her smile lights her face, "Well yes, but before that. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't say anything to you. No wonder you wanted to get the hell out of here. You thought none of it meant anything to me. You took a risk and jumped over the cliff without a safety net and I didn't catch you. So, I'm sorry."
She leans down to give me a soft warm kiss before continuing.
"Can you forgive me?"
"Gee Vic, I don't know, I may take some convincing."
"Oh, I'm willing to work for it Walt, it's the least I can do, " She waggles her eyebrows at me, "But first, at the risk of sounding like the weekly feature on the Hallmark Channel, I have a few things I need to say to you myself."
"Some things about your interest in my law enforcement capabilities, or something else?" I can't help but to tease her back a little now that I know I haven't run her off with my declaration of love earlier this evening.
"Oh, my interest in you definitely goes way beyond that."
She takes my hands in hers.
"Walt, I felt a connection to you from the moment we met. You are unlike any man I have ever known. Your honesty and drive to do what's right at all costs. Your devotion to your family and friends. Your respect for others. All these are things that have drawn me to you. I first realized the depth of my feelings for you that night you went off into the mountains chasing those prisoners. I begged you not to go, to wait, all the while knowing you had no other choice. Your commitment to people you didn't even know, that was the manifestation of all that is good and admirable in you. If it had been anyone else in the world that FBI prick was refusing to go find in that storm I would have been able to let my rational side take over and let it go. But I couldn't because it was you. That's why I punched the guy. Thank God Henry and Branch found you when they did. Ever since then I've tried to keep myself in check. I was married after all and you were my boss. Things weren't perfect with Shaun but I wanted him to give as much to that relationship as I could. I didn't want someone else to be the reason it ended."
"I didn't want to be the reason it ended."
"I know and you weren't. Besides, you were seeing Lizzie. You cannot possible know how much I hated that. I don't think she was ever quite right for you and the idea of the two of you...together was hard to take. Even so, I'm sorry for the trouble I caused for you in your relationship with her. You were being who you are, offering protection by letting me stay at your cabin, and you had to pay for it."
"Being with Lizzie was a mistake. I needed a reminder that I was a man and she gave it to me. I wasn't being fair to her or to myself. I never should have slept with her when I had feelings for someone else, even if that person was unattainable."
"Walt, I need you to know that I did everything I could to make things work with Shaun but in the end, it just wasn't enough. So we went our separate ways and it was after that I made the conscious decision to wait for you."
"What if I had never come around?"
"Then I would have stayed single. I didn't wait because I had to Walt. I waited because I chose to. I've been asked out on plenty of dates."
"I'm sure you have."
"But I didn't accept any. I had already made some poor choices in my adult relationships and have no desire to make another. Maybe it was naive of me but I knew you were the only man for me. There didn't seem any point in trying to make a go of something with someone else because whenever I looked into my future I could only see you."
"I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long Vic. I had to make sure this was right, that it wasn't rushed and that we were both ready for something more."
"Well, I'm thinking I need to send Henry a fruit basket or something."
"Why's that?"
"Two reasons. First, as thank you gift for caring enough about you and believing enough in us to push you in the direction he thought you needed to go."
"And the second reason?"
"To say thank you for the condoms and beer of course!" She smiles and winks at me as she comes in for another kiss.
