Chapter 3: Getting Even
Her partner arrived 30 minutes later, bearing hot coffee and a warm blanket. Touched that he would go to even this much trouble after she ditched him without so much as a word of explanation, she accepted both with a quiet thank you and climbed into the heated SUV, settling into the passenger seat.
She watched as he got back behind the wheel, put the car in drive & set a course back towards Albuquerque. She waited for the questions she knew would come, but her partner remained uncharacteristically silent, focused on the road ahead.
"Marshall?"
He didn't respond, didn't so much as acknowledge he had heard her.
"Marshall," she tried again, determined to clear the air, "we need to talk about-"
"No, we don't," he replied, his tone flat and emotionless. "I get it. It won't happen again."
She looked at him, confused. She wasn't quite sure what she'd expected would happen when he showed up, but this wasn't it.
"I don't understand-"
"What is there to understand? I made a mistake. End of story."
"A mistake?" she repeated, increasingly confused. She was obviously missing something here, but she didn't have a clue as to what that something might be. She was the one who'd acted like a hormone-crazed teenager just because of one stupid little kiss, so why-"
Oh...
"Kissing me was a mistake," she said softly, wondering how she could have missed that.
"Great. Now that we both agree, could we just forget about it and move on?"
She stared at him, mentally kicking herself for making such a mess of things. She'd been so busy obsessing over how what had happened might affect her that she'd failed to think about how her just taking off would affect her partner.
"Marshall, stop the car."
He shot her a quick glance, obviously confused by her request.
"Stop the car," she repeated. "Now."
"Why?"
Unwilling to spend time arguing, and more than a little afraid she'd chicken out if given enough time to think about it, she made a grab for the wheel, trying to steer them off the road.
"What are you doing?!" he yelped, hitting the brakes.
Not even waiting for the SUV to come to a full stop, she shoved open the door and jumped out, quickly making her way to the driver's side.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked as she yanked open his door.
"Get out of the car."
"What is wrong with you?" he demanded, making no move to get out.
"Trying to fix things."
"Uh?"
Not sure she could explain it – and not willing to waste any time even trying to - she leaned in, unbuckled his seatbelt, and dragged him out of his seat.
He just stared at her, bewildered by her behavior.
"Have you totally lost your mind?!"
Not an unreasonable question, she thought, but one she chose not to answer.
At least not just yet.
Not really thinking about what she was doing, just knowing she had to get them back on even footing somehow, she backed him up against the truck, cutting off any possible escape routes.
"What are you doing?" he asked, more than just a hint of worry in his voice. Judging by the look on his face, her partner was now having serious doubts about her sanity.
"Stop being such a worry-wart, will you? Just... Trust me..."
He nodded, though he didn't look at all reassured.
Quickly closing the remaining gap between them, she did the only thing she could think of.
She kissed him.
Seconds passed, feeling like an eternity, without any kind of reaction from him. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, given what she had put him through over the last few hours, but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment.
At least he's not fighting me, she thought. That's something...
Just as she was about to admit defeat and pull away, he looped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, returning the kiss.
After allowing herself a few moments to enjoy the newfound closeness, she reluctantly broke the kiss, eliciting a soft groan from her partner.
"We're even," she said softly, taking a shaky step back.
He stared at her, looking stunned. Not to mention confused, and more than just a little hurt...
"You said kissing me was a mistake," she tried to explain, fighting the urge to step back into his arms and finish what they had started. "If you truly believe that, then this makes us even..."
He still said nothing, making her wonder if this would turn out to be another monumental mistake on her part. Still, she pressed on, unwilling to give up just yet.
"Since we've both made the same mistake, can we talk now?"
She held her breath, waiting for an answer. Please, Marshall, she silently begged, give me a chance to try and fix this...
"OK," he replied after what seemed like forever, a resigned expression on his face.
"Thank you," she said, letting out a sigh of relief.
Now came the hard part, she knew. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and asked the one question that had been haunting her all day.
"Why did you kiss me?"