Chapter 44-We Could Go to Dinner

"Vigilante Mothers"

Le was perusing the file Billy had just handed him, saying, "Leonard Fletcher, huh. Says here he lives on Braden Avenue in Arlington."

"So?" Billy said wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, that's about a block away from where Amanda lives." He reviewed the file for a moment longer and after a beat, added, "Which gives me a great idea."

While Lee opened the door to Billy's office and called for Amanda, Francine gave Billy and now-what-is-he-up-to look to which Billy just smiled knowingly with raised eyebrows to which Francine just scowled as she'd seen the interaction between Lee and Amanda in the bullpen just before they'd been called into Billy's office. She couldn't believe how Lee had let Amanda ramble on about her expense voucher when he'd always been irritated that that before and when she'd tried to interject with a joke about claiming her gas mileage so she could add to her wardrobe, he's made a biting comment about her expensive tastes, shutting her out and turning his attention solely on Amanda. She's watched, silently seething as he listened with rapt attention while Amanda had yammered on about her environmental group and had even seemed interested in her blather.

When Amanda entered the room, Lee tossed the file aside and asked, "Amanda, is that house at the end of your street still up for rent?"

"You mean the Cooperman house? I think so, why?"She inquired.

"Well, I know someone who wants to rent it for a while," Lee answered.

"Who?"

"Me," Lee replied. "I wanna' get closer to someone who lives there."

Amanda's eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe that he would say something like that in front of Billy and Francine. She glanced at each of them as she shifted nervously and finally, when Lee looked at her expectantly with a "What?" she said in a somewhat hushed tone, "We could go to dinner. You don't have to move down the street."

Lee's face broke out in a bright grin at her misunderstanding, but couldn't help being happy that she'd suggested it even if it wasn't what he meant. That meant she was not entirely closed-off to the idea of them having a real date. He did need to explain to her what was really going on, though he couldn't stop his smile as he did so.

That night after Amanda had shooed her children upstairs to go to bed, her mother wasted no time in pumping her for information. "Amanda?"

"Mm-hmm," Amanda replied as she continued with her task of wrapping up leftovers from dinner not turning around.

"Tell me about our new neighbor."

At that, a look of alarm crossed Amanda's features as she turned her attention to her mother for a moment and answered evasively, "What neighbor?"

"Oh, that nice-looking man who rented Mrs. Cooperman's house. I saw him this morning when I was jogging. He was picking up his newspaper." She couldn't be one-hundred percent sure, but she had a feeling that he was the same man that she'd seen lurking in the back yard from time to time, the same man who was the owner of the beautiful silver sports car as well as being the owner of her daughter's heart.

Amanda turned from her mother so she wouldn't see the flush that had crept into her cheeks and said nonchalantly, "Oh, you mean...uh...Mr. Sampson?"

"Oh, yes, that's a good strong name," Dotty said as she carried two teacups into the den, Amanda following behind her with a nervous chuckle. "He's not married."

"Oh, he's not," Amanda replied as if that were the most fascinating bit of information in the world, but knowing all too well where her mother was going with it.

"I checked."

"Mm," Amanda nodded.

"I didn't get a very good look at him, but he has a very strong profile..."

"Good."

"...And very good posture."

"Good posture's very important." Amanda focused her attention on her teabag while she waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Amanda, why don't you invite him over for dinner?" Here it comes, Amanda thought. "I mean, you know, uh, just kind of welcome him to the neighborhood."

"He's probably very busy, Mother," Amanda reasoned as a way to get out of it while she sipped at her tea. The last thing she needed was her mother meeting Lee and trying to play matchmaker with him when their pseudo-relationship was already tentative at best. She knew that would only serve to make Lee uncomfortable, especially after her faux pas at the office when she'd misunderstood his intentions.

"He has to eat, doesn't he?" Dotty retorted with a bit of an edge in her voice at her daughter's ambiguous replies.

"Yeah, but he probably is the kind of man who just grabs a sandwich and runs out the door," Amanda argued. "You kn-"

"All the more reason that he would like a home-cooked meal," Dotty but her daughter off before she could argue any further. She was dying to see them together so she could know for sure if this was the same man that her daughter had been having her torrid love affair with for months and months. She knew if she could just see how her daughter interacted with him, she'd know in an instant if he were the same person.

"Okay, Mother," Amanda nodded again.

"The next time you see him, why don't you just ask him over for dinner," Dotty suggested.

"I will," Amanda answered, but knowing she'd do no such thing. Inviting Lee over for dinner to be grilled by her mother had disaster written all over it.

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"Amanda, Get ready to get out and get out fast," Lee warned Amanda in a panic at her having told him that she'd seen Robert Castille messing around with the car they were in. He quickly pulled the car to a stop, flying out of the car and watching worriedly as Amanda did the same, reaching for her hand, pulling her along with him, not wanting to let go until he knew she was safe. As they tumbled to the ground together, rocked by the force of the explosion, he wrapped his arms around her protectively, breathing heavily until he looked at her only to find her looking back at him. He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that she was okay.

They stared at the flames for a moment, before they turned back toward each other, Lee give her a questioning look to which she gave a slight I'm-okay nod as she turned in his arms to face him. Lee gazed at her, his heart pounding at yet another near-death experience shared with her. He slid his arms down her back and lightly brushed her lips against his when they were interrupted by the squealing of tires as a beat up pick-up abruptly pulled to a stop, the driver climbing out hurriedly and rushing toward them, saying, "Are you folks okay?"

That night, Lee just about jumped out of his skin at Amanda appearing behind him out of nowhere. "Ahh!' he yelped.

"Hi," Amanda greeted him, amusement showing on her face at his reaction.

Lee let out a breath and said in irritation, "Amanda, you just about scared the hell out of me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Now, you know what it feels like," she pointed out, her tone and her amused expression telling him that she was anything but sorry.

"Yeah." Lee shoved his hands in his pockets. He had to admit that she was right, but that didn't lessen his agitation. "Just what are you doing in my shrubs?"

"What are you doing in your shrubs," Amanda fired back, knowing that he hated it when she answered a question by repeating the same question back at him, thoroughly loving that she'd gotten one over on him after her embarrassment in the office the other day.

"What am-" Lee stopped abruptly as it hit him what she was doing. Deciding that he wasn't going to let her goad him, he explained about the sprinklers.

A while later, sprinklers turned off, he let himself into the house with the key that Amanda had helped him find. One thing he could say about this particular case, he was learning a whole lot more about Amanda and the ins and outs of her everyday life and found, much to his surprise, that the idea of life in the suburbs wasn't as abhorrent to him as he'd once thought it would be.

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After Castille had been caught and the case almost wrapped up, Lee sighed as he packed his personal things to take back to his own place a little saddened by the fact that he would no longer be so close to Amanda. Those thoughts plagued his mind as he haphazardly tossed items from the dresser into the open suitcase on the bed until he was surprised by a knock on the door.

Lee quickly trotted down the stairs and opened the door to find Amanda on the other side of it. He couldn't resist the wide grin that spread across his face at seeing her with one of her famous poppyseed cakes in her hands. "Hi," he said warmly.

"Hi," she replied in kind as he admitted her into the house. "So...uh...now, that this case is done, I imagine you'll be going back to your apartment, so I...um...I just wanted to say goodbye." She held up the cake in her hands.

He took the cake from her hands, set it down on the coffee table and turned back toward her. "Thanks, but you know...this...uh...was just for this case...and it's not really necessary. It's not like I'm a real neighbor moving out."

"Oh, I know, but it's...you know...the neighborly thing to do anyway." She paused for a moment, unsure if she should say what was really on her mind. She took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "I...um...I'm going to miss having you just down the street."

"Well, we do still work together," Lee pointed out as he reached for her fidgeting hands to still them. "So, it's not like we're never going to see each other again." He paused for a beat and then said, "In fact, I was thinking about what you said at the office the other day...you know...about...um...going to dinner?"

Amanda blushed and replied, "You know, that...um...that was just a misunderstanding because I thought...um...you know, since we've..." she trailed off and looked down in embarrassment.

"I know," Lee said as he released one of her hands to tilt her chin up, looked into her eyes and continued, "But that doesn't mean that it was a bad idea."

"You mean...:" her heart leapt at the thought, but before she could fully process it, Lee's lips were on hers, his arm, sliding around her waist to pull her closer as his tongue delved into her mouth.

"Mmm," Amanda moaned into his mouth as she tugged at the buttons of his partially open shirt until she'd given herself enough room to caress his chest, loving the feeling of his taut muscles beneath her fingertips. She then broke their heated kiss and replaced her hands with her lips as she moved her hands downward to free him from his pants, pushing them down to his ankles, then began caressing him while she flicked her tongued against one nipple.

"God, Amanda," Lee groaned at the dual sensations. He slipped his hands under her skirt, yanking her panties down roughly, needing this one last moment with her before he moved back across town and left her suburban life.

"Lee," Amanda hissed against his skin when he touched her center, stroking her, stirring her endless passion for him as they toppled to the floor locked in each other's arms, much like they had when escaping certain death. "Lee, I need you," she pleaded.

"Me too," he whispered to her as he guided himself into her warmth, wishing like hell that he didn't have to leave the hominess he'd found in her neighborhood and go back to his lonely, empty apartment.

They moved together, locked in each other's embrace kissing fervently and whispering heated words against each other about how good they made each other feel, culminating in an explosion hotter than the one they'd escaped as they cried out one another's names, holding onto each other tightly.

When his heart rate had slowed a bit and his rapid breathing had subsided enough to allow him to form a coherent thought, he said, "So...dinner?"

Amanda laughed and replied with a seductive grin, "As long as it includes dessert too."