Auggie shouldered open the door to his shop, Annie's old CPU cradled in his arms. The place was quiet, and he shouted out to Carl to give him a hand. The young man's head popped up behind a display, and he walked up to him.

"About time you got back. I was about to put out a missing persons report," Carl said, taking the CPU from his boss' arms.

"It's only been a few hours, Carl," Auggie replied. "Help me bring in the rest of the stuff, and then you can head out."

Carl sat the CPU on the back table and then trotted back through the store and out the front door to take the monitor out of the back of Auggie's car. "Never had an installation last that long. Something go wrong with the setup?"

"Nope, standard stuff," Auggie said.

"Then it took three hours because –"

"Because it took three hours, Carl. What are you inferring?" Auggie asked.

Carl smirked as he walked through the store and set the monitor beside the CPU. Auggie brought in the rest of the components and laid them alongside. Carl had worked in the office for a couple of years now – full-time during the summer and part-time during college – but never had he seen his boss smile as much as he had in the last week. He had a hunch he knew why, but the length of time he was gone today during the install proved it.

"Not inferring anything," he said with a shrug. "Just glad to see you out there, you know?"

"What are you talking about?" Auggie said, leveling his gaze at the young man.

Carl rolled his eyes. "Come on, Aug. For the past week, something's been off about you. I didn't ask about it, 'cause I figured if it were important, you'd tell me. Then that blonde came in yesterday –"

"Her name is Annie."

"Then Annie came in yesterday," Carl corrected, "and you haven't stopped smiling since. And before you tell me nothing's going on, since when do you take care of walk-in customers?"

Auggie was about to answer when Carl interrupted.

"And since when do you close up the shop like you did last week to do in-house calls? And since when does an on-site installations take three hours? It's almost time to close up."

Auggie wanted to disagree, but given that everything Carl said was the truth, he didn't know how. "Okay, Carl. Put your investigative hat back in the drawer. Yes, I'm attracted to Annie Walker. Yes, I believe she likes me, too. We've already had one date, kind-of, and I plan on Skyping with her tonight."

"Wow, don't move too fast there, buddy," Carl joked, but when Auggie took a step toward him, he backed off, raising his hands in defense. "Only kidding, boss. All I'm saying is, it's about time. If you didn't go out on a date by Labor Day, I was going to set you up with a girl I know."

Auggie shook his head at the man. "I'm good, Carl. Thanks for your interest in my sexual well-being, but believe me, I'm good. No need to set me up."

"Well, I know that now. Listen, it's about time to close up. You want me to catalog this, or –"

"I'll take care of it. Why don't you head on out? I'll see you later."

"Okay. Bye, Aug."

With Carl out of the way, Auggie settled himself at the table. He'd planned to wipe the hard drive of the computer clean and make it reusable again, but usually it's a task he let Carl handle, considering how menial it was.

But he found himself now with hours to go before he planned on seeing Annie again, and he knew he needed something to take his mind off that fact. A sudden thought came to him, and he pulled out his cell. He told Annie he'd contact her on Skype later, but never gave her a time.

He pulled up her contact info – patting himself on the back that he actually remembered this time to get her number – and sent a quick text.

9p okay tonight?

A few minutes later, his cell beeped back with a reply.

Can't wait. You'll be my first

Auggie's fingers shook as he read her answer. Was she intentionally engaging in double entendres, or was she unaware of how her answer sounded? He decided to find out.

I'll be gentle

Her reply answered his question.

Auggie, that's not what I meant

I know, couldn't resist. 'til then, Princess Anne

Then, with a permanent smile plastered on his face, he set about working on her old computer.

Annie sat before her computer at 8:55pm, waiting expectantly for Auggie to Skype her. She giggled at the thought. Is that even the phrase? She didn't know, but figured Auggie would clue her in once he came online. She'd opened Skype and logged in and waited. Her own face stared back at her from the monitor, and she took a moment to check her appearance.

Not sure of Skype protocol, she wanted to look her best. Not going-out-on-a-date best, but she was sure Auggie didn't want to see her as she usually looked when she was home alone. Hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, no makeup and faded t-shirt. She'd even taken a shower a half hour ago, if only for her own comfort.

So she sat, combination earpiece and microphone hooked over her ear and mug of tea in her hands, waiting for Auggie to give her a call. As the minutes ticked by, she wondered if her actions this afternoon had maybe put him off her. After all, she did make the first move by grabbing him and kissing him. But, she remembered with a smile, he didn't seem to mind too much. He'd kissed her back with almost as much fervor, and she knew if he didn't have to return to work, they might have continued.

Slow down, Annie, she thought to herself. After all, she'd only met Auggie a little over a week ago, and altogether, they'd only spent a handful of hours together. She knew a few things about him, and he knew a few things about her. But other than the fact that she knew he was attracted to her as she was to him, and that he was a great kisser, she knew little else.

A ding from her computer drew her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see that A-Squared was giving her a call. She accepted it, and within a few seconds, the smiling face she'd been thinking about appeared on her monitor.

"Good evening."

"Hey, Auggie."

"Congratulations on making your first Skype call."

"Thanks. I don't feel so innocent anymore."

Auggie laughed, "Not going to touch that one. So, how was your day? After I left – what was it, four hours ago?"

Now it was Annie's turn to laugh. "Good. I set up my workspace and started working on my next project."

While she talked to him, Annie took in what she saw on the screen. "Where are you?"

"In my living room, why?"

"It looks like you're on a couch or something."

"That's because I am. I've got my laptop here," Auggie said, lifting it up to show her how it moved.

"Oh, okay. I was thinking of getting one, but I'm comfortable here."

"If you did get a laptop, we could do this in other areas."

Annie blinked, "Like what?"

Auggie shrugged, then smiled, "Oh, you know, other places in the house."

Annie shook her head at his obvious teasing. "Auggie."

"What?" he said, laughing.

"You're such a flirt."

"Not really. Guess you bring it out of me."

Taking a drink from her mug, Annie sat back in her chair and propped her foot up on the seat. "I was thinking, you know, if we're going to do this, I'd like to know a few things first."

"If by 'this' you mean going out, talking, kissing, then by all means, ask whatever you want."

Annie blushed a bit at his mention of their kiss, but smiled to cover it. "Well, don't you think we should know more about each other? I mean, all I know is that you're a computer geek, and all you know about me is that I'm a translator and a world traveler."

Auggie grinned, "I'd like to think we know a little bit more than that, but you're right. How about I start?"