So this is kind of off to a slow start but next chapter is where things start getting exciting!

Keep the reviews coming! :)

This City Is On Fire

I go back to the coffee shop three times that week, but Emma is never there. Mikes been getting pissed because I have a hard time focusing on jobs and when I screw up our only chance to stop a robbery he's had enough.

"What the hell was that?" he's fuming and stalking towards me with his gun clutched in his hand. I shrug and send up a silent prayer, begging he doesn't shoot me becuase I don't have my weapon on me.

"We had one shot at this Jesse. One. Now Sanchez has nothing left to his name and he was counting on us to make sure that didn't happen." Mike keeps pacing back and forth, his teeth gritted. I open my mouth and start apologizing but he's already cutting me off.

"I don't wanna hear it Jesse, you've screwed up every job we've had this week. Just go back to my moms and hang some curtains or something." He practically spits the last words at me and I have the strongest urge to hit him. In the end I decide against it because he has Sam standing beside him and he packs one hell of a punch.

Instead I turn around and walk down the sidewalk, I left my car at Maddy's and hitched a ride with Fi. I look back and she's consoling Michael, her eyes telling me to keep going. She doesn't look mad, just worried about Mike.

I pass by that same coffee shop and decide I have nothing more to lose so I step inside. The cool air is a relief as I feel the sweat dripping down the back of my neck. I sprawl out in a booth and glance up at the counter.

There's a girl ordering her drink, her hair is pulled into a bun and she's wearing running gear. I look away and drop my head in my hands. I'm so damn tired. When I look back up the girl's walking towards me and my heart practically stops in my chest.

"Jesse right?," Emma's sweet voice floats around me while she waves. I wave back and ask her to sit down. She does and all of a sudden I forget why I'm mad.

"I was hoping I'd see you here again." She's smiling at me and I can't seem to form words. Instead I nod and agree until she asks me a question.

"How have you been?" I clear my throat and force the words out.

"Pretty good. Been kind of a rough day though." Her eyes soften and become sympathetic. We sit in silence for a minute until she pulls out a piece of paper and scribbles something on it.

"I have to go home and shower before my shift but here's my number. Call me sometime." I look at the paper like it's magic and manage to spit out a goodbye before she walks out the door.

Two days later Mike still isn't talking to me so I call Emma. She's free that night and we make plans to go out to dinner. Maddy is estatic when I tell her I have a date and she busies herself with making a plate of cookies for me to take.

At six thirty I'm dressed in a dark blue button up and my nicest jeans. Maddy fusses over me before handing me the cookies and sending me on my way. Emma lives fairly close, ten minutes at the most.

I'm nervous as I walk up her steps and ring the doorbell. She answers and I can't help it when my jaw drops. She's wearing a flowing white top and a skin tight black skirt that hits just above her knees.

"You look amazing," I tell her. She blushes slightly and I hold out the plate of cookies towards her. I pray that Maddie didn't make them from scratch and wait for Emma to put them in the kitchen before we walk to my car.

I open the car door for her just like Fi told me to do whenever I was with a woman and her face lights up automatically. During the ride she asks me about myself and I try not to panic when she asks about work.

"So what do you do?" I rack my brain for the best lie I can think of.

"Accountant. How about you?" She looks down at her hands and back at me.

"Legal work." I don't push for more information and before I know it we're pulling up to the restaraunt, right in front of the beach. She compliments my taste when we walk through the door and my confidence grows a little more.

We're sitting at our table and placing our orders when I knock over my glass of water and it runs onto her skirt. I feel like the biggest idiot as I help her and the waiter clean the mess.

"I'm sorry," I say for probably the tenth time. She's doing her best to smile and lays a hand on top of mine.

"Really it's fine. It's just a little water." We get the mess cleaned up and our food is brought out to us. We make small talk while we eat and she starts opening up a little more.

"You were cheer captain?" I ask with an impressed laugh. She nods and sips her wine, eyes sparkling in the candelight.

"Yep, still got the uniform too." I raise my eyebrow and she laughs with me. I insist on paying the bill and we leave before the sun is finished setting.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" I ask her. She nods and her fingers lace through mine. I smile to myself and we walk down the beach together.

When we get back to her house she kisses me on the cheek and I wait until she's inside before I head back to Maddy's. She's all over me before I can get through the door.

"So how was it?" she's grinning ear to ear. We sat down at the kitchen table with the coffee she made.

"It was great." I say. For the next hour we talk about Emma and if I'm going to see her again. By the end of the conversation I'm exhausted and tell Maddy I'm heading to bed.

Over the next three weeks Emma and I go on four more dates. I've even started working with Michael again and things are great. Fiona started asking if I had a girlfriend because I was acting 'different.'

I tell her no because I don't want to hear the riot act from Michael. According to him we can't trust anyone but I feel safe around Emma. One night she and I are on her couch and her head is resting in my lap. She looks up at me with shining green eyes. Her next words seem to punch me in the face.

"When can I meet your friends?" I feel a sense of panic rise up, I don't know what to tell her. My fingers are still running through her hair and she's becoming impatient.

"Uh, it's kind of complicated," I say. "But we'll work it out," I promise her, kissing her forehead. She seems satisfied with my answer and we go back to watching T.V.

I managed to keep her away from Maddies house, telling her I have a roommate that's picky about company. She's understanding and she never nags me about things. I've learned all kinds of things about her, like her favorite foods and what she was like as a kid. I tell her about my childhood and my family, but I skip around the part about me being Counterintelligence. She never suspects and sometimes I feel guilty about lying to her.

"You know," she says, stretching out across the couch, "I'm gonna be really busy with work this week. We've got a new case and it's gonna take up alot of time." She sits herself up and straddles my lap. Her lips brush against mine and I can taste her chapstick.

Hungrily I kiss her back, pulling her closer. Her hands work their way under my shirt and mine tangle in her hair. We break apart and start gasping for breath. She's smiling and rests her head on my chest as we lay down on the couch again.

We fall asleep like this and for once I'm actually dreading work tomorrow.