Sarah rolled over in her bed and reached for her ringing cell. She grinned when the picture of Steve displayed.
"Hello," she said still a little groggy.
"Just calling to say hi," he said right off the bat, not wanting to alarm her.
Sarah laughed, looking at the digital clock display by her bed that read two-sixteen a.m. "You are too liberal with those rules. Where are you?"
"Danny and I are watching a house over by Lanikai."
"Is he in the car with you?" she asked, wondering if he told him about the two of them.
"No, he stepped out to find a bush."
Sarah chuckled, lying back on the bed. "Thank you again for the flowers. They're beautiful." She looked over at the bouquet of roses that consisted of yellow, pink and white ones and in the middle was a single red one. They were sitting outside her doorstep that morning. She was pleased that he hadn't sent them to her work, not wanting the interrogation from the others over them or who they came from. Besides, the idea of him taking the time to bring them there himself was so much more flattering. The note attached had the four rules written on it and the word 'flowers' had a single line through it. She knew of course who had left them.
"I can mark off two of those rules now. This whole boyfriend thing really isn't that hard." He looked over as Danny opened the door to the Camaro and got in the passenger seat. "Gotta go."
"Okay, you two be safe."
"We will," he smiled, liking the sound of that for some reason. "Bye." He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Who was that?"
"No one," he replied, keeping Sarah's wish.
Danny stared at him. "What do you mean no one? You said 'bye' you were smiling like you just got good news. Who are you talking to at two-thirty in the morning if it doesn't involve the case?"
"Just never mind. Do you have to know everything?"
He held his hands up defensively, "Excuse me! I didn't know you had a secret relationship that you had to keep under wraps."
Steve ignored him, replaying the call with Sarah in his head and her pleasure over the roses. It was the first time he'd ever given anyone flowers before, pleased at the outcome. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel humming a song that had got stuck in his head from earlier.
Danny shifted in his seat, staring at him as if a stranger had just appeared in Steve's place. "What is with you all of a sudden? I go out to take a leak and I come back and you hang up some mysterious call and then start humming, and what is with that goofy grin? Who was that?"
Steve glanced over at him, "I told you, it's none of your business and when the time comes for you to know I'll tell you. Maybe."
"Who is she? I know it's a girl."
Steve shook his head, informing him he wasn't talking.
"Shit," Danny said nervously. "It's not Rachel is it?"
Steve mirrored the same look he had just given him. "What?! Seriously? You think I would do that?"
"Well what am I supposed to think?" he fired back. "Who else would you be trying to keep hidden from me?"
"Just let it go."
"It must be someone we both know or you wouldn't be keeping it so secretive."
"God you're a pain in my ass."
"Let me see…" Danny thought out loud. "I can rule out at least three people. Kono, Sarah and I'm hoping Rachel." He reached over and hit his arm. "Katie right, from Sarah's department? You turned her? Convinced her to play on our team."
Steve laughed, "Believe me, if I had the power to turn a woman who likes other women, I wouldn't be hiding it. I'd have a sign on my back bragging about it."
Danny chuckled, "Then who is it?"
"Will you please concentrate on the job?" He motioned toward the house they were watching.
"Fine," he pouted, "I don't want to know."
"Good."
"Did you ever make up with Sarah from the other night?"
"Yes," he tried to act nonchalant about it. "I followed her home and apologized."
"What was that all about anyway?"
Steve shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know. I think it was just the stress of the day."
Danny scoffed, "You were acting like a jealous boyfriend." He went to say something else and looked over at him, pointing a finger at him in shock. "Is it Sarah?!"
Steve gave him the best 'are you serious' look he could possibly muster up under the circumstance, but knew it would only be a matter of time before Danny figured it out but he wanted to keep Sarah's wish and denied it anyway. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked toward the house. "Here we go. We're on the move."
Danny put on his seat belt as Steve started the car. "Don't follow too close."
"Don't tell me how to tail someone. I know how to tail someone." He pulled away from the curb and let them turn the corner before he turned the lights on.
"What are you doing?! Let's go!"
"Will you shut up and let me drive."
They turned the corner on their pursuit and the subject of Sarah was forgotten.
Sarah laid the little black dress on her bed and stared at it. "I can't do it. I can't wear that."
She backed up and caught a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror. She had on a black push up bra and a pair of black silk bikini underwear. That alone was an adventure for her. She put her hand over her flat stomach, sucking it in so her chest stood out. "Maybe if I stood like this all night I could get away with it." She let out the breath she was holding in and her body went back to its normal self. She looked back at the dress and sighed.
Steve parked next to Sarah's car and began to walk up the path to her stairs when he looked up into her apartment and saw her standing by the sliding glass door wearing the black dress and black pumps. He stopped in his tracks, taken back by the sight of her.
"Holy smokes," he mumbled, admiring the woman in the window. If he hadn't known it was her apartment he never would have guessed that was Sarah. He was also flattered that she had gone the extra mile and dressed up for him, never seeing her in a dress before. She moved out of sight and he suddenly felt panicked over the night he had planned. When he mentioned dinner, she obviously thought nice dinner. He on the other hand assuming he knew her, thought dinner at Li Lings, a sushi and noodle place they often went too. He looked down at his casual shirt and jeans, cursing his attire. "Shit," he grumbled. He glanced down at his watch, knowing it was too late to run home and change. He pulled out his cell phone trying to find another place, hoping to get reservations.
Sarah heard him knock and came out of the bedroom slipping the black V-neck shirt over her head and pulling her hair out the back. She stopped halfway down the hall and adjusted the sandals on her feet and then smoothed down the white pants she had changed in to. She stopped and checked her hair one last time in the reflection of the TV before she opened the door. "Hi," she smiled brightly. "Leave it to a Navy Seal to be punctual."
He smiled but it quickly faded over the change of clothes as he did a once over of her body.
"What's wrong?" She looked down at her attire, wishing now she would have put on jeans, knowing that's what he was used too. She was trying too hard and she sensed that he knew that. Thank god she had at least changed out of the dress.
"Nothing, I just," he said, trying to cover his disappointment, "You look good. I look like a bum."
Sarah rolled her eyes as she turned to grab her purse. "You do not. You always look good no matter what."
Her compliment caught him off guard, but then he realized she was always complimenting him that way. He always took it with a grain of salt, it was just Sarah, but suddenly the whole knowledge of her true feelings toward him took center stage. His actions from that moment on meant something. He had to keep that in mind. "I like those pants," he said, not really knowing anything about them, except they were white and they fit her quite well.
She looked over her shoulder at him, "You do?"
He was amazed at how quickly her face lit up just over that simple little statement. 'Geez,' he thought, 'that was easy,' trying to go one better. "Yeah, I've never seen you dress up like that before."
She looked at him oddly. "Dress up like a woman you mean? So you only see me as what then? A little girl, or maybe a guy?"
He felt his stomach turn. 'Shit! Should have quit while you were ahead.' "No, I mean you always wear your hair up in a pony tail or in that tight," he twirled his finger around his head, not being able to recall the word as he tried to back peddle his way out of it. "You know, thing, but it looks good down and you look really pretty. I mean you always look nice, but…" He had no idea where he was going with this, feeling the beginning of a frightful night until he saw the teasing smile on her face over his dilemma.
"You are so gullible Steve."
"Jesus!" he said lunging toward her in that playful way they always had, grabbing her around the waist from behind and shaking her. "Don't do that to me!"
Sarah laughed, "You're certainly not the sweet talker are you?"
He held onto her and shifted so he could see her face. "Is that going to be another rule I have to live up to?"
"No." she patted his hand that held her around the waist. "What you said was very nice. I just couldn't help giving you a hard time. You should have quit while you were ahead."
He let go of her. "I was thinking the same thing. So what I did say kind of strike a nerve with you?"
She shrugged, "I know what I look like. I don't think I'm ugly but I also know that I'm not what guys normally take a second look at as I walk by. I'm ok with that if you are?"
"Sarah," he said, shocked over the way she viewed herself. She had been one of the few women he knew that could feel natural in their own skin, or so he thought. He loved that about her more than anything else. But hearing her now, he wished that he had showered her with the same compliments she had always given him. "Hey," he said wanting her to hear him, "you are very pretty."
She tilted her head, giving him a look as if she knew he was lying. "You really think I'm attractive in that way?" she asked, as if daring him to admit it.
"Yes." He held her by the arm as she tried to walk away. "I've always seen you as this strong, independent, willful, funny, intelligent woman. To me, that has always been what attracted me to you. That's why were friends, that's why this has become what it is. You could very easily be the type of girl who men looked over their shoulder at, but you've never strived to be that girl, so I don't know why you hold that against us, but the more I got to know YOU, the real you," he smiled, "believe me, I've got whip-lash from looking so many times." He let go of her arm and reached up, moving a piece of hair off her shoulder. "I think your stunning."
She was wrong about him; he was quite charming, even when he wasn't trying to be. "Thank you," she replied sincerely.
"You're welcome." Not realizing for a second the impact he had actually made on her, instead he simply pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Can we go now, because I'm starving?"
"Yes, we can go."
She walked next to him to his truck and for the first time she truly felt like she belonged there.
Sarah sighed as she unlocked her apartment door to go inside. "I can't believe you lied to Danny."
"Well, you didn't want me to say anything to anyone about us, so I had to."
"But still," she turned around facing him. "Do you feel bad about it?" She hoped not. She didn't think about him actually having to physically lie about them, she just thought that not saying anything would cover it.
He shrugged, "Not really. I like stringing him along." He pointed toward his lower neck. "Danny gets this little vein right here that pulsates when he gets really frustrated with me. I make it my mission to get that thing pumping."
Sarah laughed. "Please don't lie for me anymore though. If he asks, I don't want you to lie to your partner."
"Don't worry about him. Our little secret is safe."
She leaned back against the door frame, not sure what his next move was going to be. Was he going to kiss her? Her heart began to race over the thought of that. The whole night had been easy with him because she was just having dinner with Steve like she had done countless times before, but now as they stood there, he wasn't Steve her friend he was Steve her date and even though she had wanted this moment to happen for as long as she'd known him, she couldn't believe how nervous she felt now that it was actually happening.
The break in the conversation left a dead silence that was his cue to make the next move, knowing she was waiting for him. He suddenly felt like he did that night in bed with her, the expectations were there he just wasn't sure how to deliver them. It's not like it would be their first kiss he thought, but even so, it wasn't just some girl he was standing there with. It was Sarah.
She felt the moment slipping away, guessing he wasn't going to so she decided to let him off the hook. She opened the door, keeping her hand on the doorknob. "I think I owe you the next dinner, but you know I'm not much of a cook, so it might be pizza or spaghetti."
"I've had your spaghetti, it's pretty good." He could feel his palms sweating completely wrecked over this moment. 'Just kiss her.' But he couldn't get himself to move.
She smiled, looking down at her feet, "Okay then." She glanced back up at him. "I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow." She understood now that the physical attraction obviously wasn't there for him. It was what she had feared the most, but also what she had prepared herself for too. They were perfect in all other aspects but she couldn't blame him if it wasn't there.
He nodded, feeling like he was sixteen years old, standing on the porch with a girl and scared shitless of what to do. She went to close the door when he reached out, putting his hand on it. "Sarah." After her earlier confession he didn't want to leave and have her thinking that it was physically because of her, to him it was completely psychological.
She looked up at him. "What?"
He could sense the disappointment. "I have to confess that…I don't know what I'm supposed to do." He corrected that last statement, "I mean I do know, but…" he ran his hand over his mouth nervously, not sure how to say it.
"It's ok," she shrugged, "we said we were going to take it for what it was and it's ok Steve. Maybe we're better off as just friends. Attraction between two people is the number one thing you have to have and it's no ones fault if…"
He slid his hand behind her neck and kissed her before she could finish that sentence. It was the exact thing he didn't want her thinking because it wasn't true, and the only way to convince her of that was to show her.
Her hand slipped off the doorknob and fell to her side, mirroring the other one. She stood there and felt like the only thing holding her up was his hand that cupped the back of her neck. She literally couldn't feel her legs anymore. The moment was so unsuspecting she didn't even have time to respond.
He pulled away from her lips just far enough to see her face and watched as her eyes slowly opened, looking right at him. He smiled at her expression, "Its always that first one that has to break the ice," he whispered, and then kissed her again.
It was like that night all over again, only better. He kissed her first this time. He was right that they just had to get that first one out of the way because once they did, they fell right back into place.
He felt her hand glide up his arm, which only encouraged him.
His body pin her against the door frame as she gripped the back of his neck, tilting her head as the kiss deepened.
'Damn!' he thought but it came out as a low growl as her exceptional talent took over. She knew how to kiss, but what he found most intriguing was that she knew how to kiss him. The image of her beneath him flashed in his head and he wanted to guide her back to her room that was only a few feet away and relive that night again. He broke from the kiss and was about to make that move when he hesitated and then stopped altogether.
Sarah opened her eyes, falling in love with him all over again.
He recognized that look in her eyes as she stared at him, seeing it only once before, on that same night he was trying to emulate, and just like then it gave him a feeling of security knowing that she loved him. He didn't want to do anything to harm the woman who looked at him like that. He wanted to be with her, but not tonight. She deserved to be looked upon in the same way before they went that far again, and even though he loved her, he couldn't bring himself to risk hurting her knowing she wasn't seeing the same expression from him.
"I'm going to go," he said stepping back, not wanting to get involved in another one of her kisses or he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"Ok," she said breathless but couldn't hide her regret over it.
"When you make that spaghetti I want those little meatballs that you made last time too," he requested, assuring her that just because he was leaving, this little secret affair they had going wasn't over.
She smiled over that. "All right."
He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow Sarah."
"Bye." She waved as he looked over his shoulder making his way down the steps.
"Go inside," he ordered, as he stood on the last one, "and make sure you lock up."
She knew that was his way of telling her he loved her, even though he didn't say it out right, she knew. She rolled her eyes with a wide grin and went inside, locking the door.