A/N: Blah blah blah
The last chapter was devoted to Sam and Jack. Now I bring you Daniel and Tara:
Chapter Seven:
"And this painting was done in the early 18th century…" Tara continued with the tour. They had a lot of extra people coming into the Met because of the holidays. She had been working over time, but it was good money, so she couldn't complain.
"Is this a picture of one of the Pyramids of Giza?" A male voice asked from the group.
"Yes, This is by Frank Duet, 1932." She smiled and sought out who the question came from as she turned to move the group on to the next section of the museum. Her foot stumbled when she saw who it was, and she stood still for a moment, staring.
"Daniel?" She hadn't seen the man since their blind date- there had been no phone calls, letters or e-mails. She couldn't believe he had come from Colorado to New York.
He came up to her so they could talk more easily. "Hey, I came to New York to visit some friends and thought I'd drop in. I remembered that you worked here." He told her.
"Wow. That's really cool, I'm glad you did." Tara noticed the crowd was getting a little antsy.
"Listen, I have to finish this tour, but we could talk later…if you have time." She suggested.
"Oh yeah, definitely. Actually, I was wondering if you might like to go out to dinner with me tonight. Catch up a little." He laughed. He made it sound like they were old friends when they had barely gotten to know each other on their blind date.
"You know, that sounds nice. I'd like that." She accepted.
"The next part is our medieval selection." She announced to the crowd to keep it moving.
They were able to talk in bits and pieces while the people looked at the remnants, and then Tara closed the tour, and invited Daniel into the staff lounge so they could talk.
"What time do you get off work?" He asked.
"Now, actually." She looked at the clock and saw that it was four.
"Perfect. Do you want to walk around and then grab something to eat?"
"Sounds fun." She grabbed her white down jacket, black gloves and pink scarf. Taking her purse, she followed Daniel out of the museum.
A light snow was falling, and they decided to window shop. He told her little things about what was going on in Colorado, that Will and Sadie were still dating, and Will kept talking about a big Christmas get together with his family.
"I feel like there isn't much to tell you, because I'm mostly at work." He confessed.
"And we all know that work can't be talked about." Tara teased. "But no worries, I have no trouble keeping a conversation going. And I haven't had much company lately; I've been swamped with work and school."
"Are you on Christmas break now?" He asked.
"Yup. It started on Tuesday." She told him.
Around 7:00 they got in line for Serendipity; a place that Tara had told him she loved to eat at– especially since Serendipity was one of her favorite movies. After dinner they strolled to Times Square to see the tree.
"I've never seen this in person." Daniel told her.
"Neither had I before I moved here." Tara replied. "It's pretty cool though. I wish it were right outside my apartment. Oh! Do you want to see my art studio?" She asked.
He agreed and she hailed a taxi for them.
Her art studio was right next to her apartment, they were part of a suite, but Tara didn't tell him that. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea by inviting him inside, which was why she had though that the art studio would be a safe place to make the night last a little longer.
She had framed some of her pictures, and ones of lesser value to her had been tacked to cork boards. Her favorite feature of the room was that it had cool track lights on the ceiling that shone onto her works.
"Want some coffee?" She asked. She turned to find him staring at her copy of Waterhouse's The Lady of Shallot.
"This is really good." He told her, sounding almost surprised. She laughed.
"Thank you. I have more of an interpretation of the picture over here. I added more of my own twist." She pointed.
"Awesome. And yes, coffee sounds good." She nodded and went over the electric coffee pot that she kept in the studio to stay awake.
They were both quiet while the coffee brewed – he because he was looking at her work, and she was lost in thought. She had noticed almost right away that Daniel looked a lot different than the last time she had seen him. He no longer had a beard, and his hair had been cut nicely. It seemed that he was wearing contacts too. She had also noticed that his arms were noticeably muscular. Perhaps he had taken to working out more like her brother.
They spent the rest of the evening talking until the coffee pot had been empty for a long time.
"Well, maybe I'll see you back in Colorado when I go home for Christmas." Tara told him, cheeks flushed from laughing and enjoying the conversation.
"I'd like that. I had a good time tonight." Daniel told her.
"So did I." She shifted under his gaze, and then watched as he walked down the hall.
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