CHAPTER 9

"You took life by the horns and tried to hold on tight, for fear of being ripped to shreds, left bloodied and battered."
-Holly Hood

I was glad to be at his place again. My apartment was small and I had felt embarrassed with him around. His apartment on the hand was a house. Two bathrooms, an enormous bedroom, a big kitchen with tons of spices and cooking utensils.
He put my bag on the kitchen table, took the rose, which he had given me at the airport, out of my hands and put it in a small vase. "May I ask what it was for?" I asked carefully.
"Happy 3 week anniversary" He sang and pulled a small cake out of the fridge. "Well, technically, it was yesterday but I had trouble giving you the cake through the phone."
He was just too good to be true. How many relationships had I had until then? More than one lasted over a year and I never even got a box of chocolate. And here I stood, in a detective's kitchen, with a frosted cake that said '3 weeks'. I felt like crying, I was so overwhelmed with the situation. This wasn't just some quick flirt after all. If there was an anniversary, it meant that there was something and that something seemed more than enough for a start.
There were a million words I could have said, some of them really trashy, others seemed too simple to express my feelings. Instead, I just said "thank you".
"You're very welcome."

We ate the cake on the couch, watching some lame movie someone had given him for his birthday. It bored us so much, we hardly focused on it, being too distracted with each other. On the occasions we did watch it, we made jokes about the bad actors and nasty dialogues. The sound of my grumbling tummy interrupted the 'epic final scene' Will had just made fun of.
"Sorry, I haven't eaten anything since this morning" I apologized.
"What? Why?"
"Well, I worked through my lunch break at work and then I had to hurry home, get my stuff and drive to the airport. Of course there was no food on the plane and the piece of cake was my lunch substitute."
"I'm just glad you explained it to me in such great detail. I wouldn't know what to do without this information." He said sarcastically. I hit him with my elbow. Since we had gotten over the awkwardness of being a new couple, things were even easier with him. It felt light as a feather.
"Let's get you something to eat" he turned the TV off and grabbed his keys.
We went to a small Italian restaurant across the park that was still open at such a late hour, having pizza and wine. "You like Italy as well?" He asked. I was surprised he had listened to me last week when I told him I'd always wanted to see France, let alone remember it.
"I like to eat and I was told Italy is the place to go" I admitted. Going to Italy or France always seemed like a far dream to me. Europe in general. I travel so much, I don't really feel like spending hours on a plane when I have a week off. Which I never do, anyway. It was enough that I had a far distance relationship now which forced me to travel even more. Totally worth it, of course.
"I was in Italy once. During college. It's not a cliché, you know! They really do eat pizza and pasta all day, drive around on their Vespas and yell at each other in public, only to make out again the next second. Don't know if they carry a baguette under their armpits in France all day, though."
I laughed at the image in my head. "Sounds wonderful. Sunny weather, olive trees, old cathedrals. It must be really magical." Without being able to control it, images flooded my mind, of Will and I walking through old alleys, holding hands, sunglasses, dark haired people wherever we looked.
It was Will who brought me back to reality, I swear he even snapped his fingers at me.
"If you want anything else?" he asked, seeming annoyed. But not in an annoyed way. It was more like he was fascinated at how absent I had been or something like that.
"No, I'm fine, thank you" I told him, my cheeks burning as I looked up at the waitress.

Since we were one big cheesy cliché, it started to rain as we walked home. My wet feet hurt in the heels. I had walked all week and didn't get a lot of sleep, due to two cases in a row.
"Damn." He sighed and pulled me off the path, so we could rest under a tree. "I'm sorry, I didn't see the rain coming. I would have brought an umbrella for you." He apologized but I shook my head.
"Don't worry, I'm not made of sugar." I took off my shoes and hid under the jacket Will had covered my hair with. "Let's go" I said and took his hand.
Soaking wet, we arrived at his place only a few minutes later. He handed me a towel to dry my hair. "You want to get changed first?" I nodded and went upstairs.
When I came down again, he already wore dry clothes. Where the hell did he hide them? Perhaps he snuck into the bedroom while I was in the bathroom.
"Do you want a drink? Or are you tired, I always forget how exhausted you must be."
"No, I don't wanna drink" I said in a calm voice and stepped closer.
"Well, what do you want to do then?" He said in a rough voice.

As an answer, I got on the tips of my toes and kissed him, slowly at first but it became more passionate. He instantly knew where I was heading and joined the kiss. His hands moved from my neck, down my spine, to the small of my back. I tightened my grip on his hair when he lifted me off my feet and carried me upstairs, our lips remaining locked the entire time.
He put me down on his bed and leaned over me to look at me again. He softly stroked my cheek and removed the hair from my face. I unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his abs. Like it was made out of marble.
He pulled my shirt over my head and kissed my neck, my breast, my belly. His lips were gentle and soft when he pressed them onto mine again.
Time stood still that night and no memory of sadistic UnSubs and tough weeks at work mattered anymore. It was just us two. Will and I against the world...