Sly She's in Love With A Thief .:~:. Because He Stole Her Heart Cooper Heist 22

A few days went by and Bill, Tia and I were relaxing at home after an interesting time at our last job. I had told them all about what happened with Sly Cooper. Bill confirmed that the jewels had never really been stolen. They were just hidden so that I would go after Sly to get them back. Needless to say, we came back empty handed.

While at home one day, we heard the doorbell ring. I was in the kitchen with Tia while she was cooking so she sent me to answer the door. I opened it to find Sly, dressed in casual jeans and a light jacket with his hands in his pockets. I was surprised to see him so soon… And at Bill's doorstep no less.

"Sly?" I said. "What on Earth…"

Bill came to see who it was at the door.

"Ah, Sly," he greeted him. "It's good to see you. Please, come in."

I turned to Bill. "You knew he was coming?"

"Maybe," he answered sheepishly.

Sly stepped inside. As soon as he did, Tia came out of the kitchen to see what was going on. She was just as surprised as I was.

"I see you're keeping secrets, Bill," she said. She went back to the kitchen.

Bill looked at us then to where she stood. "I need to explain…"

"Don't mind us," I told him. "I'm sure I'll get my answers in a minute."

Bill took his leave to talk to Tia. I turned to Sly.

"I'm going to safely assume that Bill called you," I said.

He chuckled. "Actually, no. I called him." He knew what question I was going to ask next. "He gave it to me at the Interpol Ball. He didn't tell you that I had chased after you, did he?"

This surprised me a little. "You came after me?"

"Of course I did. In fact, I had called him to ask permission to take you out on a date."

"A date?" I asked in disbelief. "Like, a real date? A date date? Like, two regular people going out to dinner, that kind of date?"

He chuckled at me. "Yes, a real date, Annika. Just you and me. No thievery, no craziness. Just us having wholesome, good time fun out in town."

I looked into his eyes. "You're not lying… You're really asking me out on a date."

"You make it sound like it's impossible to ask you out on a date. I promise you, I'm not lying. So, do you want to go or not?"

I tried to make sense of it. He was really here, in Bill's house, asking me out for a date. On the inside, I was ecstatic. He went through all of this just to be with me. How could I possibly tell him no?

I sighed and nodded to him.

"I would love to go out on a date with you, Sly. Let me check on Bill and Tia and I'll get dressed."

He smiled. "I'll be here."

I went into the kitchen where I heard Bill and Tia quietly arguing. They stopped as soon as I walked in.

'What is it Scarlett?" Bill asked calmly.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going out," I said. "You two should also go have some fun. We haven't had any calls for another job so… Go let loose for a night. You two deserve it."

They both exchanged glances. Tia sighed.

"She's right, I suppose. Let's go out and have some fun. Scarlett will be gone anyway."

Bill agreed. "Sure. Why not?"

"It's settled then. I have to go clean up real quick. Sly is waiting for me."

I quickly ran upstairs, got cleaned up a bit then met Sly at the front door. He offered his arm to me.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"We shall. Lead the way."

It was a full afternoon. Sly had this whole date planned to a "T". He never missed a beat whenever I asked him "where to next". He always had something up his sleeve and it warmed me to my core. He was the perfect gentlemen, besides the regular joking jabs and sarcastic remarks. I didn't mind though. It was all worth it.

We didn't stay out too late. After enjoying some of the nightlife, he brought me home. He followed me inside the house. The place was still empty.

"Bill and Tia must still be out," I told him. "Would you like to hang out with me for a little bit?"

"Tia won't kill me if she finds me still here will she?"

I chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll protect you." A thought struck me. "You know, Bill has some old photos of my mom and your dad hidden in the library. You want to see them?"

He lit up at that offer. "He has pictures of my father?"

I nodded. "Yep. Lots."

"I would love to see them."

I led him up the stairs to the library. He wandered around the room as I rummaged through the old photo albums. I brought them to the giant window seat and turned on the lamp. Sly came over and sat close to me. The first one I opened was chock full of newspaper clippings of my mother's heists. Black and white pictures of her leaping into the night or winking at the camera. Some of the clippings even had some of Sly's father. The next album I pulled out had actual pictures that Bill and the others had taken. The cover picture had everyone. My mother, Sly's father, Bill, Tia, Tyga, Dr. M and McSweeney huddled together, all smiles.

"This is the only group picture with all of them together," I said. "It was the first and last. This is also one of the few that Tyga was in."

Sly looked to the picture then back to me. "It's uncanny isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"How much we look like our parents."

I looked at his the picture of his father then to him and smiled. "You're right. It is pretty uncanny isn't it?"

I turned the page to show just a picture of my mother smiling and Bill rubbing her tummy. She was starting to show a baby bump.

"She was pregnant with you in this one," Sly said.

I nodded. "Yes. She was probably in her second trimester. In all of the pictures she's pregnant with me, she looks like she's never been happier. It's amazing…"

"I'm not surprised," he said as he looked at me. "You were everything to her."

I smiled at him then continued to flip through the albums.

We went through all the pictures and sat quietly for a few moments.

"You sure Bill and Tia won't mind me being here, alone with you?" he asked.

"I'm sure. In fact, they should be home soon. Want to go downstairs and wait for them?"

He nodded and we headed downstairs. As soon as we get to the Foyer, Bill opens the door and walks in with Tia on his back completely passed out.

"Oh my gosh…" I said. "Is she okay?"

Bill chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. She's fine. We just had a little too much fun is all."

I giggled. "As long as she's alright. You should put her to bed. If you carry her up there, I can dress her."

Bill agreed and went to the stairs. I looked to Sly. "I'll be right back."

"Do what you need to do. I'll be here."

I went back up the stairs to dress Tia for bed and left her a glass of water for when she woke up. Bill and Sly had gone to Bill's study to wait for me and to talk about man things. As soon as I walked in, Sly rose from his seat.

"Tia is tucked into bed," I said. "She'll be feeling all that 'fun' in the morning for sure."

"That's good. Thank you Scarlett," Bill said.

"Well, with that said," Sly said as he came to me. "I'll be heading out."

"You're leaving?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yep. I'm off to the old safehouse."

"By yourself?"

"No silly. I have the dust bunnies to keep me company."

I smiled at his dry humor.

"Stay here tonight then," I said quickly.

"Scarlett," Bill said in a hard tone. "Shouldn't you ask him and me first?"

"Oh come on Bill," I begged. "He can stay in one of the guest rooms for the night. Just one night. Please?"

Sly looked to Bill for an answer. When Bill looked to me, he sighed.

"Alright. Sly, if you want to stay the night, you are welcome to. I have no problem with it."

Sly shot a wicked grin. "I would love to."

"No shenanigans you two," Bill said.

"Of course not," I said. "You know me better than that, Bill. I respect you and your home."

"I feel the same way," Sly said.

"Good. Now, goodnight. I have some paperwork to do."

We bid Bill goodnight then went back upstairs. I showed Sly to the guest room right next to my bedroom. He walked in and looked around.

"He certainly isn't in short supply of giant rooms, is he?" he joked quietly.

I giggled. "Not at all. My room is next door if you need anything. I'll bring you some clothes to change into in the morning."

As I turned to leave, he quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. My heart began to pound. It was surprising that he hadn't noticed…

"Thank you for going out with me tonight," he said quietly. "I really enjoyed every minute of it."

The way he was looking at me… I could barely think… He was here, in Bill's house. And he was going to sleep in the room next to mine…

I swallowed hard. "Me too. Thank you for taking me out and being with me. I… I'm glad you came to see me…"

I wanted so much to pour my heart to him right now. Everything that I had in my heart, I wanted to lay it all on the table. But I thought otherwise…

I cleared my throat and pulled away from him.

"I should be getting to bed… I'll see you in the morning."

I went to the door and cracked it. I went into my own bedroom and got dressed in my thin, short nightgown and crawled into bed, hoping to catch some sleep even though the guy I was completely in love with was in the next room over…