CHAPTER 7 - SURPRISE!
*1 week later*
The loud ringing of his phone startled Vaughn, who was half asleep on the couch watching an old game of hockey he had taped a while ago. After letting it ring a few times, he finally stumbled off the couch, reached the phone and answered, "Hello?" "Joey's Pizza?" a hopeful, familiar voice asked. Vaughn's heart skipped a beat and he paused for a second - there were no missions, why was Syd calling? (Not that he minded hearing her voice of course)
"Are you ok?" He quickly asked; his voice instantly full of concern. "I mean.er.you have the wrong number," he added, realising they shouldn't actually start a conversation.
Vaughn put the phone down and stood there for a minute, thoughts racing through his head as to why she might have called. "At least she didn't sound upset," he concluded as he walked into his bedroom to get changed from his current attire - an old kings shirt and navy boxers. He decided to go with the simple and wear some jeans and a black sweater. Next he combed his extremely tousled hair, which even after combing, seemed to stay somewhat dishevelled. Vaughn then left the house, not forgetting to pat Donovan on the head before he left, and drove to the warehouse as fast as possible.
Syd meanwhile was already at the warehouse, pleased with herself for getting there before Vaughn, which never really happened. She paced up and down the caged, crate-filled 'room', pondering how she was going to deal with Vaughn and the villa thing. Syd hoped he would hurry up a bit, cause she was getting more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by and if he didn't show up any minute, she might lose her nerve.
Luckily for Sydney, the sound of gentle, Vaughn-footsteps soon made its way to her ears. She turned around and looked at him, almost going weak at the knees looking at his gorgeous smile. "Hey," she whispered, flashing him her nicest smile and discretely checking him out. The jeans were just right, not to tight, not too baggy and the sweater fit him like a second skin, accentuating his well toned body. (God, she hoped she wasn't drooling) "Hey yourself," answered Vaughn, stepping closer to her to take a seat on the crate next to her. "What's up? There aren't any missions, well at least not from the CIA - is SD-6 sending you on one? Is there a problem?" Vaughn knew he was rambling like an idiot but he was really worried about her. Granted, that beautiful, dimpled smile she had given him had calmed him down a bit, well, his worrying side anyway. His little ramble was interrupted by Syd saying, "Vaughn, calm down. The reason I called you has nothing to do with work, I have a surprise for you" she paused, thinking how to phrase the next part what she was going to say and waiting for any kind of reaction. Sydney was delighted when she saw his eyes instantly light up and the lines disappear from his head. "A surprise?" Vaughn asked, a hint of disbelief traceable in his voice. "Yes, a surprise which means I can't tell you where we're going -"We?" he interrupted again. "Vaughn please, let me say this." He nodded, allowing her to continue, his excitement building by the minute. "Ok, so, the place is 70 miles away, up at Morro Bay - I'll show you on a map in a second, I have one with me. We'd have to go completely different ways but, if you could be there at around eight?" Sydney explained, hoping that he didn't already know what was there and also that he would agree to come, cause he hadn't said yes yet and she was already telling him what time she wanted them to meet. Vaughn hesitated slightly, obviously processing the information, and then replied, "Sure, I'm in, I trust you" with a smile. In his head he added, "Anything for you Syd." Sydney grinned widely, for the second time that night. "I only have a couple questions. You said what time but when is this 'surprise' supposed to be happening? Also, how am I meant to be dressing?" "Its tonight, and semi-formal will be fine" answered Sydney, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice. "Tonight?!" Vaughn exclaimed loudly, as more of a statement then a question. Great, that didn't exactly give him much time. He could see Syd tense up, possible thinking that he was having doubts so he decided to ease the tension by adding with a grin, "It's nice to see that we're not rushing this, Syd." Sydney chuckled a bit. It was unbelievable how fast he could take all her doubts and worries away.
They talked for another few minutes, discussing which routes each would take. Vaughn kept asking questions about everything, but Sydney understood that she wasn't exactly telling him a whole lot and that he was probably just worried about their safety. She was too but had decided last week that this was worth the risk - which wasn't actually that big cause the villa was in the middle of no where, no one was gonna disturb them. Still, she had felt the need at the time to say, "Thanks Vaughn, for trusting me about tonight. I promise you won't be disappointed" He had nodded in response and it was settled.
Finally, half an hour later, Syd said her goodbyes to Vaughn, immensely glad that she would be seeing him again that night, and the two headed their separate ways to get ready for the big night.
*1 week later*
The loud ringing of his phone startled Vaughn, who was half asleep on the couch watching an old game of hockey he had taped a while ago. After letting it ring a few times, he finally stumbled off the couch, reached the phone and answered, "Hello?" "Joey's Pizza?" a hopeful, familiar voice asked. Vaughn's heart skipped a beat and he paused for a second - there were no missions, why was Syd calling? (Not that he minded hearing her voice of course)
"Are you ok?" He quickly asked; his voice instantly full of concern. "I mean.er.you have the wrong number," he added, realising they shouldn't actually start a conversation.
Vaughn put the phone down and stood there for a minute, thoughts racing through his head as to why she might have called. "At least she didn't sound upset," he concluded as he walked into his bedroom to get changed from his current attire - an old kings shirt and navy boxers. He decided to go with the simple and wear some jeans and a black sweater. Next he combed his extremely tousled hair, which even after combing, seemed to stay somewhat dishevelled. Vaughn then left the house, not forgetting to pat Donovan on the head before he left, and drove to the warehouse as fast as possible.
Syd meanwhile was already at the warehouse, pleased with herself for getting there before Vaughn, which never really happened. She paced up and down the caged, crate-filled 'room', pondering how she was going to deal with Vaughn and the villa thing. Syd hoped he would hurry up a bit, cause she was getting more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by and if he didn't show up any minute, she might lose her nerve.
Luckily for Sydney, the sound of gentle, Vaughn-footsteps soon made its way to her ears. She turned around and looked at him, almost going weak at the knees looking at his gorgeous smile. "Hey," she whispered, flashing him her nicest smile and discretely checking him out. The jeans were just right, not to tight, not too baggy and the sweater fit him like a second skin, accentuating his well toned body. (God, she hoped she wasn't drooling) "Hey yourself," answered Vaughn, stepping closer to her to take a seat on the crate next to her. "What's up? There aren't any missions, well at least not from the CIA - is SD-6 sending you on one? Is there a problem?" Vaughn knew he was rambling like an idiot but he was really worried about her. Granted, that beautiful, dimpled smile she had given him had calmed him down a bit, well, his worrying side anyway. His little ramble was interrupted by Syd saying, "Vaughn, calm down. The reason I called you has nothing to do with work, I have a surprise for you" she paused, thinking how to phrase the next part what she was going to say and waiting for any kind of reaction. Sydney was delighted when she saw his eyes instantly light up and the lines disappear from his head. "A surprise?" Vaughn asked, a hint of disbelief traceable in his voice. "Yes, a surprise which means I can't tell you where we're going -"We?" he interrupted again. "Vaughn please, let me say this." He nodded, allowing her to continue, his excitement building by the minute. "Ok, so, the place is 70 miles away, up at Morro Bay - I'll show you on a map in a second, I have one with me. We'd have to go completely different ways but, if you could be there at around eight?" Sydney explained, hoping that he didn't already know what was there and also that he would agree to come, cause he hadn't said yes yet and she was already telling him what time she wanted them to meet. Vaughn hesitated slightly, obviously processing the information, and then replied, "Sure, I'm in, I trust you" with a smile. In his head he added, "Anything for you Syd." Sydney grinned widely, for the second time that night. "I only have a couple questions. You said what time but when is this 'surprise' supposed to be happening? Also, how am I meant to be dressing?" "Its tonight, and semi-formal will be fine" answered Sydney, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice. "Tonight?!" Vaughn exclaimed loudly, as more of a statement then a question. Great, that didn't exactly give him much time. He could see Syd tense up, possible thinking that he was having doubts so he decided to ease the tension by adding with a grin, "It's nice to see that we're not rushing this, Syd." Sydney chuckled a bit. It was unbelievable how fast he could take all her doubts and worries away.
They talked for another few minutes, discussing which routes each would take. Vaughn kept asking questions about everything, but Sydney understood that she wasn't exactly telling him a whole lot and that he was probably just worried about their safety. She was too but had decided last week that this was worth the risk - which wasn't actually that big cause the villa was in the middle of no where, no one was gonna disturb them. Still, she had felt the need at the time to say, "Thanks Vaughn, for trusting me about tonight. I promise you won't be disappointed" He had nodded in response and it was settled.
Finally, half an hour later, Syd said her goodbyes to Vaughn, immensely glad that she would be seeing him again that night, and the two headed their separate ways to get ready for the big night.