Thanks so much for all the prompts I'm getting for this. I can hardly keep up! I will get to them all, I promise :-)
X
He smiled to himself as he nudged the front door open with his shoulder, precariously balancing an overfilled grocery bag in his arms. The smell of something good and hearty hit his nostrils and he smiled to himself. 'How long has she been here?' he wondered as he unceremoniously dropped his briefcase in the hall.
Standing a while at the entrance to the kitchen, he watched her move around his space with confidence and ease and his heart swelled while his smile widened. She came to a stop at the end of the counter nearest him, looked up and gave a smile in return, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head with a silent question.
"Think we've done enough to throw them off?" he asked as he took the few steps he needed to come up behind her and slide his arms around her waist.
"I think so" she smiled, letting her head loll back as he kissed and nibbled at the bare skin at her collar.
"Looks good" he said lifting his head briefly to look at the plates set out in front if her. "Smells good too" he mumbled in between a couple of light kisses. "What is it?"
"You don't need to butter me up, Melendez. I'm a sure thing" she said as she turned to face him. She draped her arms over his shoulders and looked at him with a smirk. A look he would never her tired of seeing.
The look he gave her in return gave her no doubt that dinner was the last thing on his mind but as he pressed her up against the counter, he felt a hand firmly plant in the centre if his chest.
She could feel his heart pounding but kept her resolve and gave him a little push. "Let's eat before it gets cold" she said before extracting herself from his hold and quickly picking up the plates. She nodded to the outdoor seating area and he nodded right back, before grabbing a couple of beers from the refrigerator and following her dutifully.
The heater had been on for sometime, warming the space by the small table nicely. Springtime in San Jose could be mixed, the days were warming up but the evenings could still be cool. After they finished dinner, they would usually move to a more comfortable spot and settle in under a couple of blankets to keep the chill away. It had become a little ritual of theirs. With their range outside their homes limited by the secret nature of the relationship, these moments they spent each evening outside on his porch felt like a little bit of freedom.
This evening was a little different. They needed to talk about something so after clearing up the plates and getting another drink they made themselves comfortable on his sofa. Music playing softly in the background so they could hear the gentle tune but it was not quite loud enough to make out the words.
"About the complaint..." she started apprehensively after a few minutes.
"It's all sorted right?" he asked, to which she nodded the affirmative. "Do we have to get into that tonight?" he sighed.
"We can't too much but think we should say something. Like how we know it's garbage but it has to go through the correct channels" she said. "It'll be good for us? Right? Good for this?" she asked gesturing between them.
"There's been a lot of talking going on over the last couple of weeks" he said, taking a long drink from the bottle he had been resting on his thigh.
"I thought that was just your thing" she teased, moving in closer and resting her head on his shoulder.
"It usually is. But all the deep and meaningful conversations at the track has kinda tapped me out" he said. "I'm ready for a bit less taking and a bit more action" he said with a laugh.
"You get why we have to keep this quiet right?" she said, sitting up to look at him.
"Subordinate relationships are not approved by the board" he said with a mocking tone. "It's bullshit!"
"I know that, and you know that" she said with a sigh. "Personally, I'm with you but professionally we need to be careful. I need to be careful."
"I get it, I get it" he said, gently pushing some of her beautiful dark hair back behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. His light touch made her shiver and her eyes drifted closed. "Doesn't mean I have to like it" he smiled before leaning in and kissing her.
They didn't talk a whole lot more, they sat exchanging light kisses and touches until she laughed at him stifling a yawn.
"It's been a long day" he shrugged nonchalantly, playing it cool despite feeling bone tired.
"I was there" she smiled, smoothing down his unruly hair, sticking up in every direction thanks to her fingers which had been buried in it. She thought he looked particularly cute in these moments when he wasn't perfectly coiffed and looked so relaxed.
"Yeah, you were" he said, taking her hand and holding it in his. "You always will be" he smiled softly.
"I should get going" she laughed. "You're starting to get delusional, a little sleep deprived maybe?!"
"You could stay" he suggested with a cheeky smile.
"I could" she replied. "But..."
"Just to sleep" he interrupted.
"I have an early start in the morning" she argued.
"I'll set my alarm" he countered, not wanting to take no for an answer.
"Neil..."
"Come on" he said, getting to his feet and holding out his hand. "Come to bed."
She looked back and forth from his hand to his face a couple of times before reaching up and grasping it tightly.
He helped her to her feet and gently pulled her hand to follow him as he turned towards the stairs. Walking a step or two behind, she loosely held on to his fingers as they climbed the staircase and headed straight towards the bedroom.
"Comfortable?" he quipped with an amused look seeing her quite at home underneath the covers as he emerged from the bathroom.
"Very" she grinned back. "Come on" she said before pulling back the covers.
He slid gently in next to her, moving in close and propping himself up on his elbow to look down on her.
"I love you" he said, leaning down and kissing her.
"I love you back" she said smiling up at him. "Now go to sleep. Goodnight Neil" she said, settling into the pillows and pulling the comforter up to her chin.
"Goodnight Audrey" he replied, draping his arm over her waist and pulling her close.
X
Keeping their relationship secret had been one of the biggest challenges they'd faced. There had been such a brief period for them to show how they felt in public, but they'd had a taste of what could have been and had not been ready to give it up.
Their break up had been staged, as suspected by HR so they pushed it further and broke up a little more thoroughly. Arguing in public and being confrontational helped sell the whole charade.
The relationship had continued, although their contact had inadvertently become more sparse. He had been spending a lot of time with Claire which turned out to be the best cover of all and pretty good therapy for the both of them. She would talk about her upbringing, her mother and her hopes for the future. He would talk about Audrey, continuing to sew the seeds of a breakup and sharing in her wallowing.
'Misery really does live company' she laughed one evening at the track after a particularly hard run. He knew she had bought into it. Once Reznick lodged that formal complaint, they were home and free.
It was now obvious that there was no suspicion of their relationship so they continued covertly. They were quite sure that Aaron knew, but he wouldn't say anything in public and unless he asked them directly, they agreed to keep quiet. They were most concerned about Dr Murphy but they soon realised that they weren't even on his radar, especially after he burst in on them in the elevator the week before with no acknowledgment, begging to do an autopsy on a Jane Doe.
How long they could carry on like this, they couldn't guess. But they would take what they could for now and hope that things would change. Maybe, after a while, they could show that their relationship hadn't been affecting them at work, they'd have a good case for the board to make an exception to their rule. After all, Glassman had Debbie working for him so there was precedent to be used.
Whatever happened next, they knew that if they got through this, they would get through anything. The future was Lim and Melendez; Audrey and Neil and the future was bright.