Together with You
Chapter Summary: Rick gets lost on the way to the coffee shop where he and Kate would be meeting.
Rick had crossed several streets, at times nearly getting run over by a passing taxi (the drivers of whom gladly honked their horns to audibly reprimand the novelist. When had he forgotten his road crossing etiquette? And then he remembered as he was stopped by a red crossing light. He was too eager to see her; too eager to see Kate; too excited like the little school boy he was that she was back from the other part of the world.
What would they talk about? How would the conversation even lift off? Did she look any different? Still beautiful for sure, but would her hair be short like the first time they met? Or would it be long as he last remembered? He was anxious; so anxious he had mindlessly attempted to cross again.
Thankfully one of the pedestrians pulled him back in time before his foot got run over. 'I'm an absolute mess,' he thought to himself with a silly grin plastered on his face. Luckily he didn't seem to care. He was going to see Kate. And that was what was important; and the only thing that mattered to Rick at this point.
When the pedestrian light had turned to green, Rick crossed and walked briskly. Living in Manhattan for most of his life, it was child's play to know where he was going.
"What should we talk about?" he thought out loud, striking a thinking pose as he stroked his chin. And without realizing it, he spawned a dual-personality and started debating inwardly with himself.
Should I mention how much I missed her? That just makes me sound cheesy and needy. That I'm done with my third Nikki Heat novel? She's secretly a follower of my works anyway and probably already reserved a copy. Will I pull a tantrum and complain that she never called? Well, she said she needed time to herself. I didn't want to push her. Yeah right. You were bitter and moped for days until you got an email from her saying she was in France with her father. Yeah, but that didn't last long!
In the midst of his inner debate, Rick realized that he had veered out of the path he had told his feet to go to and found himself just a little lost. He frowned. "Well... That's fun," he said sardonically, laughing nervously and tried to regain his bearings and figure out where he was.
'Should I call her and tell her the news?' he wondered to himself, fishing out his iPhone and looked at the screen for a while as soon as he swiped to wake it up from its sleep mode. Rick considered it. He really did. But he suddenly spotted a building that he recognized to be near the coffee shop and bustled towards it. He was back on track. He quickly stuffed his phone back into his pocket and navigated his way around using some street cues before finally seeing the coffee shop in the distance.
'Time for that much awaited reunion, Kate Beckett,' he thought firmly, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it and look his best for her.
TBC
