ELEVEN

Hot Chocolate

Three days later, Rick sat in a small café alone at a two-seater table. He faced the front of the shop, though with it being so crowded it was a little difficult for him to get a clear view of the door. He could see it open and close, but the faces of those passing through were a bit more difficult to discern, so he found himself rising up out of his seat each time the door moved to check to see if the person he was there to meet had finally arrived.

When Kate called him the day after they ran into each other at her precinct, Rick could tell she was a little hesitant to meet up with him. She started out by saying it was a busy time of year, which he completely understood; it was for everyone. He promised her that he would meet on her schedule as he was extremely flexible, so she agreed to an early afternoon coffee meet-up, which would be before her 3 p.m. shift.

Rick arrived atypically early to the shop, wanting to make sure he wasn't late, and also to give himself a few moments to prepare and collect his thoughts. He'd wanted to meet up with Kate for so long he needed to make sure he grounded his expectations in case the connection he'd felt between them that Christmas Eve night had been more of a fluke—or if, in the many years that past, he'd romanticized it a bit too much in his mind.

The most interesting thing for Rick was the fact that his interest in seeing her again did not really have anything to do with physical attraction. Of course, he found her physically attractive; she was exceptionally beautiful, but the connection he felt with her was more than that. The way they talked with ease and somehow the perfect amount of humor and seriousness was something he had rarely experienced. Even though it had just been a few hours on one night, his gut told him there was more to their connection. He wasn't sure at that point if it would be romantic or platonic friendship, but he wanted to speak with her again to find out.

After about ten minutes, he finally saw Kate step through the door of the café. Her eyes immediately began scanning the crowd, so he stood and raised his hand above his head so she would see him. After a moment he saw the recognition on her face and smiled as she sidled her way through the tightly packed tables on her way to his spot on the far side of the café, which had been the only available two-seater table when he arrived.

"Hey, thanks for coming," he greeted her.

"Sure, no problem."

"What can I get you to drink? My treat."

"Oh, um…hot chocolate? Please."

"You got it."

He walked up to the counter, ordered hot chocolate for her and a flat white for himself, and then waited patiently for their drinks, trying not to make it too obvious that he was observing Kate from where he stood. He watched her ritual of removing her coat, hanging it on the back of her chair, and then sitting down with her handbag in her lap. If anything, the prior five years had made her more beautiful. Where her chestnut toned hair had been in a ponytail during their first interactions, now it hung long and framed her face in a lovely way. Her face had certainly lost the youthful edge he remembered, but maturity looked good on her.

Their drinks in hand, Rick returned to the table and slid into the petite chair clearly made for someone of a much smaller stature, but he made it work. She thanked him for the beverage and pulled it close, cradling the cup with her hands. "Not much of a coffee drinker?" he asked conversationally.

She laughed. "Oh no—I love coffee. I just…well, I was really trying to power through something at work yesterday and had two or three cups too many."

He chuckled. "So, you're detoxing."

"Something like that. Plus, I really only have hot chocolate in the winter."

"Fair enough. I, ah, really appreciate you meeting with me."

She took a gentle sip of her drink and nodded. "Sure. I guess it was kind of crazy that we ran into each other again."

"Crazy? I'd call it fate," he said with a simple smile.

A skeptical expression crossed her face. "Fate?"

"Sure. Seems like the stars have aligned for us twice now. So…how've you been?"

She shrugged and said, "Can't complain. How about you?"

"I'm doing very well, thank you."

Kate danced her fingers across the edge of her mug as she gazed at him. "It was, um, nice to meet Alexis. She seems like a really great kid."

"Thank you. She really enjoyed the experience from figuring out what decorations to make, making them, and then hanging them all up. I think it's so important for her to learn to give back early on."

"Definitely." Kate agreed. "Are you guys doing anything else like that for the holidays?"

Rick hummed as he took a ginger sip of his drink, but it was still quite hot, so he set the cup down and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, we usually take a few bags full of toys to the less fortunate kids in the city. We'll be doing that next week, so they have them in time for Christmas. What about you? What kind of celebrating are you—oh, hey," he interrupted his question when a memory surfaced, "how'd your dad doing?"

Kate appeared slightly surprised. "Oh, um, he's…yeah he's doing pretty good. He's been back to teaching now for a few years and, though I know he has some difficult times, I know he finds it very rewarding."

Smiling at her he said, "That's great; so glad to hear it."

"But otherwise, um, I guess I don't have any special plans. I'm working the days around Christmas, but the weekend after I'm getting together with my boyfriends' family."

"That's nice. How long have you guys been together?"

"Ah a little over a year," she said.

Rick nodded. Seeing as he and Gina were technically still engaged but not exactly speaking at the moment, he couldn't say he was disappointed. Nor was he surprised; someone as amazing as Kate seemed to be would be a lucky addition to any man's life. "Well, good for you."

After another sip of hot chocolate, she cleared her throat and said, "So you had some questions about the NYPD?"

"Yes…well, actually, I had a thought. Would it be possible—rather, would you be okay with me shadowing you for a little while?"

Her eyes grew wide. "Shadowing?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can ask a bunch of questions and you can answer, but it's so much better for my research if I can actually see you in action, so to speak. I've done it before," he added quickly when he could see her lips melting into a frown. "Not with the NYPD but…but with other law enforcement agencies."

"Well…I'd definitely have to run it by my captain."

He nodded. "Of course, of course; I don't want to get you in any sort of trouble. Oh! I'm friends with the mayor if you think that would help smooth things over."

"You're friends with the mayor?!"

"Sure; we play poker together."

She tilted her head to the side and concluded, "You must have a very interesting life, Rick."

He laughed. "I certainly have no room to complain."

She was quite for a few moments but then said, "Ah…yeah, okay. I guess you could shadow me for a day."

"I…was thinking more like a week." He suggested before plastering an innocent smile on his face.

She gave him a look. "Three days."

"Done."

"Assuming my captain agrees."

"Of course."

She took another sip of her drink and then leaned back in her seat, considering. "You really think it will be helpful?"

He nodded. "Absolutely. I really pride myself on my books being authentic and there's no better way."

Again, she considered him for several moments. "So…if Derrick Storm is CIA…does that mean that's the other law enforcement agency you shadowed?"

Rick opened his mouth, but no sound came out at first. His brain had stuttered to a stop when debating on whether or not to react to how smart she was or how familiar with his works she was. Or both. "I, um, can neither confirm nor deny…" he said a bit cheekily.

Much to his pleasant surprise, she appeared rather impressed. "Well, I don't see how shadowing me will be nearly as interesting as that but…I hope it helps you."

Grinning at her he said, "I'm positive it will." Then, he sipped his coffee again and leaned back in his seat, excited to follow the path of his relationship with Kate wherever it took him.

Thank you all so much for following this 12 prompts journey - it was really fun

the last one will be up tomorrow :) Merry Christmas everyone!