Work was a real bitch today. Not only did I want it to be 7pm already, but shit just wasn't coming together today. We had to film a few scenes several time, and I got another fuckin black eye from a punch that wasn't pulled in time. During our down times, Andy had grilled me on what happened this morning with Anna.
I couldn't get a certain question off my mind. Andy had asked me what I thought about Anna's children. I told him I had only met one, but he said that wasn't what he meant. I knew that getting into a relationship with Anna meant I would be having one with her kids as well. Hell, I've been through the same thing with Mingus, but 3 kids was a little different story. Liza seemed sweet, but I'd yet to meet the boys. I was curious as to how they would take their mother dating someone. Liza liked me now, but she may hate me soon. And there was always the chance that Anna wouldn't introduce me to her kids for a while; I'd done the same thing with a few women I've dated. Shit, this was going to be complicated.
"Norman, damnit, snap out of it. I'm ready to get this day from hell over." Andy shouted over to me. I'd missed my cue.
"Fuck, sorry man. I'm ready." I said grabbing my crossbow.
Once we'd finished that scene, we had to wait around about 30 minutes until our next one, so Andy and I took a seat in one of the empty rooms.
"You're thinking about what we talked about earlier aren't you?" Andy asked.
"Yeah I am. I'm a little insecure in thinking that she might not want to introduce me to her kids. Mingus is in town next week and I'm already planning to bring him in to meet Anna. Maybe I'm jumping too fast into all this." I said while lighting up a cigarette.
"I think you're doing fine. You're being conscious of Anna's situation, but you're thinking ahead. That's good." he said talking slow and patting my head like a child. "You're working on a grown up relationship."
"Pfft." I said pushing his hand away. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Anna.
"I figured maybe we could graduate to actual text messaging. Hope you're not as tired as I am. Just wondering how I should dress for tonight?" she wrote.
"I don't know...there's something that sneaky about writing in DM's. :) I'm beat, and today has been a bitch. I'm thinking casual. I'll be in jeans and t-shirt." I wrote back.
"Sounds perfect. I'll let you get back to work. See you later." she replied.
"Great. Be there at 7. Bye." I responded.
"I'm guessing by your smile that you were talking to Ms Baker." Andy said. "I like seeing you happy, man." Andy said.
"You're such a chick." I said with a smile.
"If anyone's the bitch in this bromance, it's you mate." Andy said.
"Excuse me, Mr. Reedus. There's a woman here to see you. Said you'd want her to be cleared." one of the guards said to me.
"Huh, maybe it's Anna." I said looking to Andy while getting to my feet. Andy followed me to the barricades.
"Why the hell aren't I on the clearance list?" I recognized that voice.
"Son of a.." I said.
"Bitch." Andy finished. "What the fuck is she doing here?" Andy said. Ever since Cecelia said something snotty to his daughter, Andy's had no patience for her.
"I shrugged my shoulders. Guess I should have called her back yesterday." I said over my shoulder.
"Well, tell her to piss off. I'll see ya back at the house." Andy said walking away.
Cecelia had a huge smile on her face and was dressed as if she was shopping in L.A. I gave her a tight lipped smile and walked up to her.
"There you are baby. Would you please tell security that I'm allowed on set." she said linking her arm in mine.
"What are you doing in Senoia, Cecelia?" I asked while removing my arm from hers.
"Well if you would have called me back, Silly, you would have known that I was going to be in Atlanta for a few days, and I wanted to see you." She said giving me a flirty smile.
"Well I didn't call you back, so maybe that should have been your answer." I replied. "Look, I have to get back to filming, and I'm not even sure why you're here. You effectively ended things when you tweeted and DM'd all that jealous bullshit." I told her.
She frowned. "But Norman, I was just a little insecure. I kept seeing all these pics of you with co-stars and fans." she said trying to wrap her hands around my waist."
"No." I said stopping her hands before the touched me. "We're done. I don't have time for that shit. Sorry you wasted your time driving down. Have a safe trip back, Cecelia." I said and turned around.
"Norman!" she called, but I didn't turn around.
"Do not put her on the cleared list," I told the guard who had gotten me. He nodded his head. Well acting irritated won't be hard to do, I thought walking up the steps into the house.
"She gone?" Andy asked from the couch.
"Yep." I said letting make-up touch me up.
He nodded and stood up.
"Let's do this," I said.
I really just wanted to sit on my deck, eat a steak and have a few beers. I wonder if Anna would be up for that? I could stop by the store on my way home to clean up. But then she might feel trapped at my house since I was supposed to be picking her up. I ran my hands through my hair, "Stop over thinking this, Norman." I said to myself. I decided to call her. After a few rings she picked up.
"Hello." she answered. Her voice sounded so warm.
"Hey, Anna. So I wanted to give you few options. I was thinking we could either go to Kobe's or Thai in Peachtree or we could grill out at my house." I suggested.
She didn't say anything.
"I was just thinking that after last night and this morning we could use an evening on my deck with a few drinks." I explained.
"I...I wouldn't want you to have to drive me back into town." she said. "I could just meet you at your house."
"I don't mind. I have an early call time, so I could just crash at Andy's if I don't want to drive back. He wouldn't care. Plus, I was going to pick you up on my bike. I know you said you wanted to go for a ride sometime." I offered.
"Hmm...that does sound like fun. Guess I need to change out of my sundress," she said with a laugh. My mind went to all kinds of bad places. "Ok, you can pick me up."
"Cool. Oh, are you a steak, chicken or veggie kind of girl?" I asked.
"Steak." she said.
"My kinda girl. See ya in a bit." I said. Cecelia didn't it any meat. Fucking drove me crazy.
"Bye," Anna said.
I headed to the store to grab a few steaks, some veggie kabobs, stuff for baked potatoes, some wine and beer. I talked with a few fans, took some pictures with them, headed to the checkout, and took a picture of all the stuff in my cart. Good thing my backpack was almost empty today, I thought walking out to my bike.
The ride home gave me time to think about my plan for tonight. I just wanted to spend some time getting to know her. What did she like to do in her free time? What kind of movies and music did she like? More than anything I wanted her to be comfortable; make sure she knew I had no expectations of tonight. Before I knew it, I was pulling into my drive.
I took a second to send out a tweet with my shopping cart picture attached. 'Guess who's manning the grill tonight? Hope you're hungry.'
I threw all the food in the refrigerator and headed to my bathroom for a quick shower. I stood in front of my closest looking for what to wear. I had so many t-shirts. Mostly bands, movies or fan gifts. I decided on my STP shirt, grabbed some black jeans, and threw on some boots. I opened my TL on my laptop. Well that comment had gotten some fun responses. I had some funny fans.
I had a reply notification from bakersdoitbest. 'Starving. How'd you know I liked red? ;)' 5 mins ago.
I decided to DM her. 'Lucky guess?' I wrote.
'Works for me. Would you mind coming to the front door to my apartment? It's around the back of the bakery.' she wrote.
'Yeah, that might be best. Good thinkin, Slugger. Be there in a bit' I responded. No doubt that if people saw me and Anna walk out of her bakery, we'd be posted all over Twitter and the net.
'I'll be here.' she wrote.
I grabbed my spare helmet and headed out the door. I wanted to get Anna some flowers. Luckily there was a florist a few shops down from the bakery, so they wouldn't get destroyed on my bike.
I parked behind Anna's Traverse and walked around the corner just in time to see a woman was locking the door.
"Excuse me. Would you mind if I just ran in a grabbed some flowers really quick?" I asked, hoping she would show me mercy.
"I'm sorry. I'm all closed up." she said and then turned around. "Oh!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't know what time you closed." I said.
"It's ok!" she said unlocking the door. "Do you know what kind of flowers you want?"
"Umm...I think, but I thought I'd check out what you have also." I said checking out the cases.
"Sure, let me know if you need any help." she said and stepped aside.
I didn't want to get roses. They're nice, but common. Lilies were pretty; my mom always liked those. I was looking to see if she had and Gerber daisies. There is something beautiful yet simple about them. She had orange and some red ones.
"I think I'll take a dozen of the daisies. Half and half." I said turning to look at her. I laughed when I saw her typing away on her phone.
She laughed guiltily, "I'm sorry. I'm just so surprised and excited to be standing here with you. The daisies are lovely. I'll get them ready for you." she said walking towards the flower case.
I watched her arrange and wrap them and handed her a card. When she handed me it back with my flowers, she asked, "I'm sorry. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't ask. Would you mind taking a picture with me?" She asked.
"Sure. It's the least I can do since I made you reopen your shop." I said taking her phone. I turned around so I could capture a picture of both of us.
"Thank you! My friends will be so jealous." she said taking her phone back.
"Welcome. What was your name?" I asked.
"Danielle." she said with a big smile.
"Thanks, Danielle. Have a good night." I said walking towards the door.
I checked my watch. 10 till. That seemed good. I walked around to her apartment door and rang the bell. Anna opened the door few minutes later.
"Look at you being all early." she said with a smile. "Oh! What happened to your eye?" she asked bringing her hand up to lightly brush the bruise under my right eye.
I smiled at her concern. "It's no big deal. Some guy didn't pull his punch in time. I get a few every season." I said with a shrug.
"Oh." Her eyes lit up when she noticed the flowers in my hand. "For me?"
"Nope, someone gave them to me." I said joking with her. I handed her the flowers.
"Thanks, Norman. They're beautiful. Let me put these in some water. I'll be right back." she said turning around.
I walked over to my bike and grabbed the spare helmet. When she walked out, I handed it to her. "Oh, I'm going to have great first date hair," she said smirking at me.
"Me too." I said putting my helmet on and straddling the bike. She put her hand on my shoulder to steady herself as she got on behind me. I felt her thighs rest against mine; probably a good think she didn't wear that dress. She wrapped her hands and around my waist and I started the bike up.
When we drove out of town she said loudly, "This is so much fun. I see why you drive it a lot."
I nodded, "I don't have one in New York, so I have to get it all out of my system down here."
Feeling Anna pressed against me was amazing and torturous at the same time. I couldn't help but let my mind wander to what it would be like to have her legs wrapped around me in a completely different situation. Oh God, I'd better calm down before we get to my place.
We pulled up, and I waited for her top hop off before I moved.
"Wow, this place is great. Very private." she said looking around.
"Yeah, I like it. I've been here since season 2. It's my home away from home. Come on, I'll show you around." I said taking her helmet.
"It's pretty simply. Like me. I like a more laid back home." I said opening the door. "Living room. Kitchen and dining room is right over there. My bedroom and bathroom down that hall. And Mingus' room and my office over there. The basement is finished too. This is my favorite," I said pointing towards the sliding glass doors.
"I spend a lot of time out here." I said walking out onto the deck. "Nice view of a little lake, lots of trees and my hot tub. I like to unwind and listen to nature. I don't get to do that much in New York." I said with a laugh.
"I see why you like it so much. You have a great place. Ever thought about living out here full time?" Anna asked.
I rubbed my chin, "I mean it's crossed my mind, but New York is home. Mingus is there and I like the loud, busy, crazy atmosphere of the city. I kinda live away from it in a sense, but it's been working it's way to my neighborhood for a while. Ever been?" I asked while walking over to light the grill.
"No, I've always meant to go. Just never had the chance." she replied.
"Well, if you ever get the chance to go, I'll show you around." I said. I didn't want to just ask her to go with me someday. Not yet anyways.
"Yeah, that would be fun." she replied.
"Let's grab the food and grab something to drink." I said nodding to the door.
Then I heard a voice I thought I wouldn't have to hear again.
"Who the fuck is she?!" Cecelia shouted!
Hey friends! Sorry for the cliffy. I'll be MIA for the next 2 weeks on vacation, but I'm hoping to get some time to write while I'm away. If I do I'll try to get a chapter up for you guys while I'm gone. Until then!
Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!
