AN: Oh my gosh, I didn't know that Beth was Brian Krause's ex wife's name! shivers That was an accident. Anyhoodles, for those who are looking forward to the Piper Leo fluff—it's here! And, I know that Jeff would've been a great place to introduce a Dan type person, but Jeff is actually not a bad guy. Not that Dan was, really, but you know. Yes, Beth will come back and to cause problems. By the way, the whole line about love making you vulnerable was not meant to discourage anybody, it's just kind of Piper's philosophy at the time. Now that you've good-naturedly listened to my psycho-babble, the story must go on!

Piper sighed and licked her lips. Good thing the lipstick was long-lasting. She didn't realize how much she was looking forward to her date with Leo. After she thought about it for a while, she realized she was being silly. Nobody had ever said anything about loving Leo, for heaven's sake it was just one date! And the more she thought about, the more she found she was alone. She had Jeff and some of the girls at her job, but otherwise...

She really wanted someone. Not to love, she needed a friend. She checked herself out in the mirror. Short, scoop-neck black dress and black strapy stilettos. She debated whether to wear her hair up or down. Piper decided on up, with two hair sticks and a few strands down around her face. "Hey!" she said to her reflection, "Looking good!" she smiled. "Look at me, talking to myself. I need a dog. The doorbell rang, making her jump. She went to the door, grabbing her purse a shawl on the way. She opened the door. "Oh my God, you look..." Leo gave a sheepish smile, tapping the single read rose to his chest.

"Like and idiot, right?" Piper shook her head as she stared up at him.

"No, no..." Leo looked far from any form of idiocy. He had on a classy black suit, Armani if she wasn't mistaken. He finished the look with some nice shoes and a black tie.

"I look like I'm going to a funeral." He rambled nervously. She touched his arm.

"I don't bite." She laughed.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, raising a suggestive eyebrow. A moment later, he touched his hand to his face embarrassedly. "That was stupid." He said, a stain of pink creeping onto his cheeks. Piper smiled.

"No, that was incredibly sexy and cute and in an odd way, charming." They stood there and smiled at each other for a full minute before she spoke. "So...would that pretty flower be for me?"

"Oh!" he shoved the rose into her hand, whereupon she smelled it. A smile crossed her face. "My favorite." She put it on the kitchen counter.

Piper didn't know much about cars, as far as which companies made which kinds, but she could tell that Leo's sleek black one was nice. He opened the door for her. Leo was determined to have everything go right. He climbed in and pulled down the street. "So," he said with a knowing smile, "who is Piper Halliwell when she's not shaking obvious scumbags down for money." She gave him a strange look.

"How do you know I'm any different than what you've seen?" He gave her a look. "Sorry, I guess that's just me over-compensating for a lot of things. So who am I? I love chocolate and bubble baths and 'Thelma and Louise' is the best. Anymore questions?"

"Of course!" he said, stopping at a red light, "I just can't think of them, ask me something." She tapped her finger on the door handle.

"Well, you know what I do, but what do you do for a living?" Leo smiled.

"I, uh, am part of the law department at an agency." Piper made a humming sound, telling him to go on. "We, you know, set things up for actors, musicians, models...that type of thing. It works really well for us, them and the companies that end up employing them."

Piper would've hated to admit she only vaguely heard him. It would take her longer to process the information. She loved to here him speak, the rise and all of his voice, the way he moved his hands when he spoke, all while keeping his pretty eyes on the road. Oh, geez, was she falling for him? No, no, love was a weakness.

He stopped the car about 4 blocks short of the restaurant. "What are we doing, why re we stopped, is the engine busted?" This happened with her Jeep so she wouldn't have been surprised. Leo chuckled.

"No, no, I just love this city, I thought a walk would be, you know..." she grinned.

"Nice?" Piper supplied slyly. He blushed.

"Yes." They stepped out of the car. She started to put her shawl around her shoulders. In a gentlemanly way, Leo started to tie it in a knot in front. In the process, his hand brushed her chest. When that moment came, she closed her eyes and bit her lip. When they finally did start the stroll down the street, it was in silence. "Would it be too," Leo began, "forward of me to ask to hold hands?" She smiled.

"Not at all Mr. Wyatt." He knew she was calling him that to be coy and he'd play along, besides, it was pretty fun. He took her hand. "So, Ms. Halliwell, do you have any dreams, aspirations for life? That is assuming you don't want to be a showgirl forever." For a brief moment, she frowned. Was that an insult or a compliment? Piper decided to take it as neither. Leo meant it as neither, but she didn't know that.

"If you really want to know," she said, putting the hand that wasn't clinging to his to her chin, "I went to college and studied Culinary Arts. My dream is to open up a restaurant, but you know it's hard to get dreams off the ground when you've got no money to lift them up." He was about to apologize for her situation, when she opened her mouth. "But that doesn't mean I need a whole lot of pity. I'm making things work, even without any help and even though my rich lawyer sister won't get of my damn back!"

Leo sensed that there was a lot of resentment there, but he wouldn't push. "I'm sorry." She apologized a few minutes later.

"That's alright." They resumed silence.

Not to much later, they reached the restaurant. Leo hadn't been able to get the best table in the place, but it was a nice table, at a god angle to the band and with a nice view of the Vegas skyline. The restaurant was exploding with romance and intimacy, lit only by candle light. Piper was taken aback as they were lead to their table.

"It's beautiful in here." Piper said as they opened their menus. Leo smiled.

"It is nice isn't it? I thought you'd like it." She smiled teasingly.

"Oh and you know me so well, Mr. Wyatt?" Leo smiled and took her hand in his, stroking her knuckles suggestively.

"I know your type. Pretty, sweet, mysterious. Misunderstood." Piper's eyes lingered in his for a moment. He's so perfect, she thought, so sweet and very, very hot—Oh, no! Was she falling for him? She snatched her hand out of his grasp.

"Let's order shall we?"

-----

Piper's high heels clicked on the concrete as she and Leo walked back to his car in the midst of Vegas nightlife. The dinner had gone over well, despite the whole hand thing earlier. Cautiously, Leo reached his hand for hers. Which he then bumped into her thigh. He began to blush. "You're not very smooth, Mr. Wyatt." His blush deepened. She crossed her arms.

"But you are awfully sexy." They passed an empty building. Leo didn't give a second thought to the somewhat shabby structure, but Piper stopped dead in her tracks.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, following her dreamy eyes to the dusty windows. She didn't respond, to wrapped up in her thoughts. In a pensive stupor, she asked him if he had a pen and paper. Notwithstanding his bewildered state, he gave her the items. She copied the number painted in white block letters. All of a sudden, the sky opened up and rain feel down on the couple, as well as all the other passer-by. Leo grabbed her arm pulled her into the doorway.

It was cramped quarters and their bodies pressed together, creating instant heat. They giggled and laughed for a bit, happy and giddy. "We're out of the rain." He said, stating the obvious. She laughed again.

"You sure are cute when you're wet." She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a sweet, passionate, rainy kiss.

-----

Piper sighed wistfully as she shut the door to her apartment behind her. Leo was more...more, that she expected. She sat her keys on the counter and the rose caught her eye. She leaned over the stand, flipping the rose back and forth through the air. He really was sweet and thoughtful and she was almost sure he'd planned that cute, romantic kiss. After moment, she laughed at the idea. Yeah, like he could control the rain.

But she did have to give him credit. From the sound of things, at his office, Leo made things happen. And he made a lot of money, but that wasn't as important, though it was a nice thing to think about. She stopped flicking the rose and put it to her nose. Maybe he was pretty smooth after all.

AN: Well, that was the chapter. I hoped you liked it, please review, because, that is why I keep writing!