Chapter One Hundred and Three: Experience

May not have the fancy things

But I'll give you everything

You could ever want, it's in my arms

Lady Gaga - The Cure

The cool evening air was surprisingly warm for springtime in Chicago and Kim relished the sensation as she strode along side Gabe O'Neill as they ambled leisurely through the pop up multicultural food market in Lincoln Park. The dulcet scent of food was heavenly as they perused each of the stalls, lingering to sample the bitesized tasters the vendors had left out on silver, foil trays. Kim had lost track of the amount of food she had eaten since they had gotten here. Much like her no article of food was out of the question for Gabe, he sampled everything, no matter how outlandish it seemed.

It was one of the many things that Kim liked about him, he was open to new experiences and was willing to explore all avenues. She wondered if he had always been like this or if it was his time as a chaplain in the army that had ignited this aspect of him. As always she wanted to know more about him, but she filed that question away for another time. Whenever Gabe talked about his time in the army his cobalt blue eyes would darken, his expression twisted into a grimace. She had no idea what he had seen in Afghanistan but she was glad that his faith had managed to get him through it. She hoped that one day he would tell her but until then she was happy to just be right here with him.

Their hands nudged lightly as they walked along side each other. Gabe was always respectful whenever that happened, drawing away slightly so that he wasn't lingering within her personal space. She didn't want him to pull away but she understood more than anyone that a relationship between the two of them was not on the cards despite the fact he had temporarily left the priesthood. Kim harbored no illusions, she knew he was still a practicing Catholic, that the only reason he had left his calling was to accommodate the changes in Maggie's life. She assumed that once Maggie was back at full strength that he would go back to it, the thought of that saddened her a little. However if that made him happy then she was happy too.

Their hands brushed once more, her cool one against his warm. His fingers flexed out, clasping her hand with his and engulfing it into his heat. Kim tilted her head towards him questioningly, she could see a small smile curving across Gabe's perfect lips as she studied the profile of his clean-cut features.

"You have cold hands." he teased, changing direction and tugging her along with him towards one of the stalls.

Like all of the other stalls it was made of wood in a bid to blend in to the plush green recesses of the park the event was hosted in. The sign on top of the booth was in French, alongside a small French flag, indicating the country of origin. She knew more than a little French from her time before the Chicago PD when she flight attendant, the words crepes flashed instantly in her mind and she knew instantly from the delicious scent of chocolate floating in the air that she was in for a treat.

"These are my favorite." Gabe informed her, holding up two fingers to indicate the amount he wanted. Kim slipped her hand out of his to delve into her wallet before Gabe placed a gentle hand on her arm to stop her. "The guy's supposed to pay on the first date."

A light blush crept across her beauteous features as she tilted her head to meet his sparkling cobalt eyes.

"So this is a date?" Kim questioned, her tone half hopeful. Gabriel reached out for her hand again, his calloused fingers catching hers before he entwined them.

"I'm not very good at this kind of thing." Gabe explained, his thumb lightly caressing the crook of her hand. "I don't have much experience with women so I didn't know how to ask you out, then you mentioned this food fair and I thought beautiful woman, good food, great first date."

"Definitely a great first date." Kim agreed, squeezing his hand tenderly.

She leaned in close to his firm body, snuggling into his heated form, her cheek coming to rest on his broad shoulder. Gabe's soft lips brushed her forehead in a butterfly kiss before he diverted his attention back to the vendor and signaled to all of the toppings. The vendor complied before both Kim and Gabe took their crepes and proceeded to walk to the nearby bench before taking a seat upon it. Their hips bumped against each other and instead of leaning away this time Gabe shuffled even closer.

"This is definitely the highlight of the evening." Kim said, gesturing at the crepe in her hand before she ate the last few bites. She balled up her napkin and aimed at the trash can a couple of meters away before successfully dunking it.

"Good shot." Gabe complimented before balling up his own napkin and following suit.

He punched the air in victory before cheering out loud.

"I see basketball practice with Atwater has been paying off." Kim told him, leaning back against the bench.

Gabe shrugged his shoulders as he tilted his head to look at her. That attractive smile of his causing the curve of his mouth to hike up as he cupped Kim's cheek delicately. His thumb brushed across the contour of her rose colored lower lip, removing a smudge of chocolate that resided here. His gaze lowered to the ellipse of her mouth as he leaned in, his nose trailing along the length of hers until their lips were barely touching.

"Kim..." he whispered. "I..."

She silenced him with a kiss, her soft lips brushing over his chastely. He tasted like chocolate, strawberries and that delicious essence that made up every inch of Gabriel O'Neill. That rush of heat coursed through Kim as she felt Gabe's control snap. His fingers plunging into her silky hair as he devoured her mouth sinfully, his tongue teasing along the parting of her lips before she granted him access. She pressed flush against him, her supple form against his hard planes as Gabe growled into her mouth.

All too soon it was all over. Gabe was the first to draw away, he pressed his forehead lightly against hers as his thumb grazed the apple of her cheek.

"And here I was, worried that the two of us didn't have chemistry." Gabe smiled as he spoke, his handsome features blissful as he stared into those stunning whiskey colored eyes.

"We could try again." Kim teased, arching her eyebrows. "Make sure it's not a one time thing."

"We could do it again." Gabe agreed, before pressing his lips to Kim's once more.

Hey guys, it's my week off before I start my job so fingers crossed for loads of writing getting done!

Amber: I love writing texting chapters so much, I have no idea how I ever wrote stories without them! I always think Mike is this person that once he gets something in his teeth he will never let it go and you will see further examples of that as the story continues. It's time for Antonio and Maggie to move on and it was the only thing I could think of that would make them start talking again.

Lauren: I firmly believe that Roman is one of Maggie's biggest advocates. I adore writing their partnership, they would do anything for each other and they have the best platonic relationship that I've ever written. He's one of the few people that Maggie doesn't have chemistry with and trust me that is a blessing. I'm in the UK too!

Soccer: Let's hope it leads somewhere good, I would hate for these two to kilter off track again :)

Anime: I think they could have done so much more with Roman in the series, I absolutely adore him and any opportunity to write him is a blessing. LMAO at this point I think Antonio is about ready to shake her. He is so very uninterested. I am going to keep my lips sealed on the Mike thing until it comes to it which I think is in the next few chapters.

Nat: I think she may have got the message now, saying that poor Antonio if she hasn't! One of them had to finally take the step and I look forward to seeing what you think of Antonio and Maggie's conversation.