ROOKIE BLUE [isn't mine]

A DAY AT THE BEACH

Set after "Serve or Protect". Just a quick ficlet. More to come. Thanks for the great support! You guys totally rock ^_^

-o-

PART 5

Obviously, she got stuck in traffic going back to her place. That reminded her what was great about not having a car. You never get stuck in traffic. It was probably the first time in her life that she had packed a travel bag so fast. Not that she was a hurry to be on the road with Sam Swarek. No. She wanted to get this over with. You're in such denial, she thought. It's still time to call it off. It was a mistake, Traci was right. But she could not do it. It seemed more urgent at the time to secure her pink bikini, her training pants and a pair of runners. She threw in some sports underwear, and just to be on the safe side, the evening micro-dress she bought on sales when she was in New York with Traci, -and her sling back pumps. She was all set. She ran to her car. When she pulled over in front of Sam's apartment building, he was closing the door, bags in hand. He shot her a dimpled grin and she waved from the car. She watched him open the trunk and shove his stuff inside in the rear mirror. Then he went directly to her door and swung it open. "Move over," he said. His voice was gentle and carefree, "I'm driving."

"It's my car!"

"Told you, it's a surprise. You wouldn't want to spoil my surprise, huh?"

She chuckled and scooted over to the passenger's seat.

"Buckle up. It's only a 90 minutes drive if we're lucky."

"You won't tell me, even if I beg?" she teased him.

"Nope. You can do whatever you want, you won't get anything from me," he said, his eyes intent.

She looked away, her cheeks burning. It was going be a long two days. They turned on Lakeshore Boulevard to Gardiner Expressway and left Toronto behind them.

"I brought this," he said, handing her a memory card. "Aren't you glad that my guy installed a state of the arts stereo on this piece of junk?"

She fumbled in the dark and finally managed to insert the card. She pressed randomly. "Let me do this," he said briskly. A long guitar solo blasted in the car. The lead singer voice was hoarse and curiously high pitched. It was some blues-inspired heavy metal that sounded awfully outdated to her twenty something ears. "What's that?" she giggled. "Led Zeppelin?"

"Rush. Told you I was a big Rush fan, didn't I?"

"I thought you were kidding. Never heard of that band before in my life."

"That's their debut album, 1974."

"1974? Man, how old are you?"

"Are you trying to hurt my feelings?"

"I mean, … -it didn't come out right, I meant…"

"Would shut up now and listen to the band… friend?"

She crossed her arms on her chest and looked ahead. It was dark already. The traffic was light, which was very odd for a Friday night. Her mind started spinning again. Luke had not even bothered to ask her what she planned to do this week end, let alone with whom. Typical Luke. Why wasn't he with her right now on a trip to a surprise location? She chewed on her lower lip, glancing subrepticely to Sam's strong profile. He was tapping his fingers on the wheel along with the music. Was he singing along too? Wow, that was quite a different side of Sam. He started to nod to the beat. She could not take her eyes off of him. He turned to her abruptly.

"Pretty good, huh?" he beamed. She smiled back, tilting her head. "You okay? Come here," he said, putting his arm on the back of her seat. "You look tired." She laid her head on his shoulder. He did not seem to mind.

Before she knew it, "we're here…" he said. He gave her a gentle nudge. "McNally, we're here, wake up…" he said again softly. She squinted and turned her head in his direction, totally disoriented. No music, no lights. He was smiling at her, and she was nestled in the crook of his neck. Too close, she thought, she was engulfed in his body heat. He nuzzled her nose and his breath brushed her mouth. She shivered. "You cold? Come on, let's get you inside."

"We're here already?" she stretched her arms above her head, doing her best impersonation of casual. He moved him arm away from her and clenching the wheel, "Hey," he chuckled, "you've been sleeping the whole way."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I like silence," he smirked.

"Silence? Is that what you call silence?" she pointed an accusing finger to the stereo.

"It didn't stop you from sleeping. At least, I didn't have to listen to your snoring."

She punched him. "I don't snore!"

"Yes you do. Nobody told you? Come on, I'm getting cold too. Take your things and let's get inside."

"Wait, where's here?"

"Told you it was a surprise," he winked.

She smiled back and got out of the car. It was a quiet neighbourhood. She opened the trunk and realized that Sam had stuffed her trunk with a bundle of bags.

"Did you plan to go away for more than two days? And they say that girls can't pack light! What's all that?"

"That would be gifts, McNally."

"Gifts?"

"Yep. That's my nephew's birthday. He turned 15 last week."

"Wait, you didn't, Sam, you…"

"We're in Sainte Catharines, at my sister's Sarah. Come on in, she expected us earlier. Don't worry, I'll have your back."