I'm sorry you've had to wait, but I'm hoping this chapter will be worth that wait. Enjoy!

Based on characters created by JE!

18. Seeing the Light

The next few weeks seemed to fly by. I got into a routine with work and I managed to visit with Molly and Christie a few times. Once they came and stayed with me for a weekend and we had a really good ladies night in. We originally planned on going out, but we lost track of time and were having so much fun, we just stayed in.

The other two times we got together were in New Brunswick. Carlos went to visit the guys, so I tagged along. Jimmy's family was having their big annual summer BBQ, and we were all invited. It was a really fun evening and it was great to see both Molly and Christie so happy.

Every time we were alone, whether it was me and Christie, or me and Molly, or all three of us, they'd ask me about Carlos. Each time I answered the same way.

"Carlos and I are friends. Good friends mind you, but I'm not ready for anything other than that."

Both Molly and Christie accepted this answer, but they always looked at me as if they didn't believe me. They also kept a very close eye on me and Carlos when we around each other. It was if they expected us to look across the room at each other and jump each other. I laughed at this and pushed it from my mind so I could enjoy the little time left with my friends. Soon enough, Carlos would be driving me back to Newark and who knew when I'd be back.

I was now in Newark, sitting at my desk on a Wednesday morning. Carlos was working at the gym today, and I have come to realise that I missed looking up and seeing him across from me. I tried not to dwell on that because I had work to do, but I found myself distracted for some reason.

I looked at the clock and realised that it was nearing lunch time. I was thinking about what to do for lunch when my phone rang. I looked down to see that it was Detective Carter. I hadn't heard from him for a few weeks, so I answered.

"Miss Plum, I was wondering if I could stop by your office. I have some information that I need to share with you, but I think it would be best to do that in person. I am in Newark and can be at your office in 10 minutes. Would that be OK with you?"

I agreed to meet him in the lobby and then called Amanda to explain my visitor. She told me that the conference room off the lobby was not booked so I could use that room. She also asked if I wanted somebody to come and sit with me. I declined her offer thinking that I could easily deal with whatever the detective had to say. I promised to let her know if I needed anything and walked down to the lobby to meet the detective.

A few minutes later, Carter walked in the front doors of the building. He signed in with reception and then I showed him into the conference room. We took seats on opposite sides of the table. When we were both comfortable, Detective Carter looked up at me and started talking.

"Miss Plum, I wanted to let you know that we have found the person who broke into your apartment. This same person is also responsible for the Molotov cocktail and the false police reports that were faxed to the Millers.

"It turns out that Ryan was seeing another girl name Megan Platkowski. She has been working part-time at Mr Preston's law firm in Trenton. Apparently she has been monitoring the police network and seeking out clients for the firm. She must have seen the charges you filed and she had what seems to be a psychotic break of some sort.

"Whenever she and Ryan spent time together, that spent their time experimenting with various different drugs. That is how we discovered who she was. She broke into your apartment when your double went out for the day. We watched her plant some drugs before she called the police. She told them that you had just mugged her and were in withdrawal. She said that you would head home to where you had hidden your stash.

"We had men follow her and that led us back to Trenton. She went into her apartment building an hour later, Ryan Preston turned up. We waited to see if they would come out, but they never did. We decided to go up and arrest the girl."

Detective Carter paused at this time and looked at me as if he was trying to figure out the best way to tell me what came next. He took a few deep breaths and found his voice again.

He finished telling me the story, and I listed patiently, the shock of his words was evident on my face. We sat silent for a few minutes so I could absorb everything he told me. I thanked him for his candour and his efforts on my behalf. I was truly grateful for everything he had done for me.

"I have spoken to the Millers and now that we're out, they are going to do some work on your apartment before September. You can stay in Newark until that new school year starts."

He stood, shook my hand and told me to call him if I had any questions. My mind was reeling with the news, but I wasn't able to process it adequately. I needed to talk to Carlos but he wasn't here today. I walked back to my desk and picked up my phone. I could call Carlos and see if he could meet me somewhere after work. I could make it through a day without him.

"Carlos, are you free after work?"

"I can be Babe, what's wrong? You sound upset."

"Detective Carter just stopped by to tell me that they found the person responsible for breaking into my apartment."

My voice cracked at that moment and tears started to fill my eyes.

"Babe, I'm going to swap a few things around this afternoon with Tom. I'll be at the diner in 15 minutes. Meet me there."

I protested at first but Carlos insisted. I thanked him and hung up. I looked at the clock and figured that I might as well leave now for the diner and save us a table. I walked into the diner a few minutes later and sat in a booth near the back. I sat facing the door so I could see when Carlos walked in, but I could also see the waitresses gathered behind the counter.

For some reason, they didn't seem to like me much, and based on the facial expression of the girl walking towards me, she was going to make her feelings known.

"I'm sorry miss, but you can't take up an entire table if you are alone. We get very busy during the lunch rush, so I'm going to have to ask you to move over to the counter with all of the other losers."

I looked at her in shock.

"I'm not alone, I'm meeting somebody. I'd like a Coke while I wait."

The girl turned her nose up at me and said, "If your lunch partner doesn't arrive within the next 5 minutes, I'll have to insist that you move."

She walked away, leaving me wondering if she would actually bring my drink, and if she did, should I worry about what might have been added to it. Luckily, I didn't ever find out. Carlos walked into the diner a few minutes later, and as soon as I saw him, I stood and waited for him to walk to the table. He took one look at me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly to his chest.

I was trying to keep it together, and Carlos could sense that I was struggling. He rubbed his hand on my shoulder and said, "Why don't we go back to your place Babe. It looks like you might prefer some privacy when we talk."

I nodded and smiled at him, relief washing over me at the calmness I felt in his presence. He placed his arm around my shoulder, and as we passed the counter, the waitress said, "Hey, what about your Coke?"

I didn't get a chance to say anything because Carlos reached into his pocket and threw a dollar at her. "We have decided to spend our lunch hour in a more private setting. And for the record, if I ever come back in this diner, I expect you and the rest of the waiting staff to treat me and Stephanie with respect. I don't know what she ever did to you, but she doesn't deserve your attitude."

The waitress and the other girls behind the counter were staring at Carlos as if he had two heads. I was so grateful for his words that I placed my right hand on his chest, reached up on my tip toes and kissed him full on the lips. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but as soon as my lips touched his, the world fell away. Carlos brought me back to reality when he squeezed the hand on his chest and pulled me out the door.

Neither of us spoke as we walked the short distance to my apartment. Once inside and seated on the sofa, Carlos turned to face me, waiting for me to explain what the detective told me.

"I was right about Ryan. He wasn't the one who broke into my apartment. The police don't know if he put her up to it, or if she did it herself. His other girlfriend was the one who destroyed my clothes, left the Molotov cocktail and faxed those phony police reports to the Miller's. She works in his father's office, so she had access to all sorts of things.

"She got Ryan involved with drugs, and that's how they found her. She broke into my apartment again last night in an attempt to frame me for drug possession. The police followed her back to her apartment and stayed to watch if anyone else approached her. Ryan showed up not long afterward. When the police were granted a search warrant two hours later, they went into the apartment and found both Ryan and the girl on the floor. The bowl that Ryan broke in to get from my apartment was sitting beside them, its secret compartment was open and a little baggie of drugs was falling out.

"The paramedics were called, but it was too late for the girl. She died of an overdose and her body was cold. Ryan was still alive, but barely. He's now in the hospital but he is in a coma. The doctor's are not sure he's going to make it."

Carlos moved closer to me and hugged me. His closeness made me relax and let out some of the emotions that I was feeling. I was relieved that I was no longer in danger from a crazy person. I was ashamed that I could date a man for so long and not even know him. I was sad that Ryan was in danger of losing his life and I felt guilty that I was relieved in the first place. Lastly, I was elated to be in Carlos' arms.

I looked up at Carlos with tears in my eyes and then excused myself so I could go to the bathroom and clean up. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that my mascara had run, so I started to try and salvage it. After a minute, I realised that it would be easier to just wash it off completely.

I was drying my face when I heard Carlos talking in the other room. I didn't hear the doorbell, so I assumed that he was talking on the phone. I finished up in the bathroom and walked back into the living room. Carlos was nowhere in sight. I looked around and heard noises coming from the kitchen. I followed the noise and found Carlos digging through my refrigerator, pulling out all sorts of things in an attempt to find something for lunch.

When I walked in, he looked up and smiled at me. "I just talked to my dad and filled him in on a few of the details you just shared with me. He wants you to take the rest of the day off."

I was about to protest when Carlos stopped me. "I also spoke to Tom. He has agreed to take my afternoon class today and I will take one of his less pleasant clients tomorrow morning. I can stay with you as long as you like. Now, let's find something for lunch."

Carlos and I rummaged through the contents of my fridge and cupboards, eventually settling on tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We talked about work, friends and school while we ate, carefully avoiding the subject of the wreck my love life and my ex-boyfriend.

We stood side by side cleaning up our dishes after lunch. We could have put the plates and bowls in the dishwasher, but I found that it took too long for me to fill the dishwasher, so I preferred to wash the dishes by hand. With Carlos' help, we were done in no time, and after we both dried our hands, we went into the living room.

Since I didn't have to go back to the office today, I excused myself for a few moments so I could change. I contemplated a pair of shorts and a shirt because it was quite warm outside. On an impulse, I put on a bikini under my shorts because some time up on the deck would be welcome on a day like today.

I walked back out to the living room and smiled at Carlos, truly appreciating his physical form for the first time. He was wearing a sleeveless white t-shirt that showed off his perfectly sculpted arms. He was also wearing a pair of medium-length gym shorts that showed off his muscular thighs. I must not have been very discreet with my scans of his body because he laughed and asked, "See something you like Babe?"

I blushed at his comment, but couldn't disagree with him. Something had changed with me, and I don't know when it happened, or why it happened. I was looking at Carlos differently. Before now, Carlos was a friend, but I never really felt any pressing chemistry between us. When I kissed him earlier, something happened. The electricity that seemed to flow through our lips seared something on my brain. Now, every time I looked at Carlos, I no longer saw my friend. Instead, I saw an extremely sexy man that I wanted to jump and ride like a fine pedigree stallion.

"Is that a bathing suit I see under your t-shirt?"

Carlos' words brought me out of my day dreams, and I looked at him and nodded.

"Let's grab some sun block and head up to the pool Babe."

I nodded and took Carlos' offered hand. He led me to the bathroom so I could get some sun block, then he guided me up the stairs to the deck. Once outside, we set out two sun loungers beside the pool and worked together to roll back the solar cover from the pool.

Carlos was happily chatting away about his day and telling me about some of Tom's more amusing clients. I was listening to a particular story about a woman who kept pinching Tom's ass, when Carlos suddenly stopped speaking.

I turned to look at him to find out what had caused his silence, but got tangled in the t-shirt I was trying to pull over my head. I lost my balance and fell back on the nearest sun lounger. I finished struggling with my t-shirt, throwing it angrily to the side.

"Are you OK Babe? You didn't hurt anything when you fell did you?" Carlos was kneeling right beside me as he spoke, his hand on my knee. He must have moved pretty fast because he was standing over by the pool filter moments before.

"I'm fine Carlos, just a bit of a klutz," I laughed. Carlos shook his head at my blushing and held up the bottle of sun block.

"Lie down Babe, I need to put some sun block on your back."

I lay down on the sun lounger and closed my eyes in anticipation of feeling Carlos' hands on my body. I was also dreading the coldness of the sun block. I was pleasantly surprised when Carlos squirted the sun block on his hands to warm it up before applying it to my lower back.

When he got to the fastening of the bikini top, he hesitated for a moment. I was going to ask him if he could just unfasten it temporarily, but he took the initiative and did it himself. When he was done with my back, he took what was left on his hands and covered the backs of my thighs and calves, leaving my bikini top unfastened.

"I have sun block all over my hands. Can you do your bikini back up? I don't want to stain it."

I lifted my torso off the bench and slipped the straps back over my shoulders. I then reached behind me and refastened the top. I sat up, thanked Carlos and took the sun block from his hand.

"Your turn, roll over."

Carlos did as he was told. I spent the next few minutes rubbing sun block across his broad shoulders, down his back, and finishing at the waistband of his shorts.

"All done."

Carlos rolled over so he was on his back on the lounger and I was sitting beside him. He bent his left arm behind his head and placed his right arm at his side, near where I was sitting. He looked at me intently. It was like he was searching for something in my expression.

My eyes kept wandering over his torso and every time I looked back up at his eyes, I blushed.

"Babe, you'll be playing with fire if you keep looking at me like that."

I shook my head and grabbed the sun block, smearing it on my neck, chest, arms and the fronts of my legs. Carlos watched me intently as I was sitting

"There, now I can't get burned."

Carlos laughed and rubbed some sun block on his torso. I watched as he worked the cream into the ridges of his abs and unconsciously licked my lips when his hand neared the top of his shorts.

Carlos placed the sun block on the deck and leaned back down onto his lounger. I was still sitting beside him, enjoying the proximity, but I knew I needed to move before my Hungarian hormones got the better of me.

Carlos chuckled as he reached out and pulled my lounger so it was right beside his. "I don't think I'd object to your Hungarian hormone's Babe, but I think we should talk first."

I shuffled onto my own lounger and lay on my stomach, looking at Carlos. "Oh man, I must have said that out loud. I really need to work on that. What do you want to talk about?"

"The kiss from earlier. When your lips touched mine, there was something different this time. We've kissed before, but I'd never felt a real connection until today."

"Carlos, from the time we first met, I've had nothing but platonic feelings for you. I'm a woman and I'm not blind, so I know how attractive you are, but I never really explored my feelings beyond that. We were friends, and I was happy with that.

"When I called you today, and you did everything you could to be with me and comfort me, it was like a switch went off in my brain. Something changed, and on an impulse, I kissed you. When my lips touched yours, my problems and the rest of the world seemed to disappear, if only for a moment. When the world came rushing back, I was different. You have made me different."

Carlos turned to face me and rested on his right elbow. He reached out and touched my face with his left hand, caressing my jaw line with the tips of his fingers. His touch was tender and loving, and I found myself closing my eyes and leaning into his hand.

"Open your eyes Babe, I want to see you."

I opened my eyes to comply with Carlos' request and looked into his eyes for a long time. We each adjusted our positions on our loungers to get more comfortable, but we never lost eye contact.

Eventually, the sun had moved so it was directly shining on us and we were both getting hot. I lifted my head and looked longingly over at the pool. Carlos noticed my glance and sat up. He studied me for a moment, nodded toward the pool and held out his hand.

I took hold of his hand and let Carlos help me to my feet. Once I was standing, Carlos startled me by picking me up and carrying me to the edge of the pool.

"You aren't going to do what I think you're going to do Carlos?"

Carlos laughed but didn't reply, so I tried another tactic to encourage him to move away from the pool. I shifted my position in his arms so I could reach his neck with my mouth. When my lips touched his skin I felt like I was hit with an electric shock. Carlos must have felt it too because he gasped and set me down on my feet.

He looked into my eyes, leaned in and was about to kiss me when I twisted myself and pushed him into the pool. He came up for air moments later, looking up at me with an evil grin. "You've played with fire long enough Babe, you're about to get burned."

Carlos climbed out of the pool and stalked towards me. I slowly backed away, a little apprehensive of what he might do, but I couldn't help but smile. I wasn't able to go any further when the back of my calves ran into the sun loungers, and Carlos was gaining on me.

I assumed that Carlos was going to throw me in the pool when he reached me, so I braced myself for being picked up. When he did get close to me, instead of picking me up, he stood very close to me and spoke quietly in my ear.

"I think after your little stunt with the pool that your Hungarian hormones need a bit of a challenge." I looked up at him with raised eyebrows, not really sure what he meant, but I didn't have long to wait to find out.

Carlos sat down on his lounger and pulled me down beside him. He leaned back, placing his left arm behind his head and pulling me down on top of him with his right arm. I was lying on his stomach facing him, revelling in the nearness of our bodies. Once again, I closed my eyes, trying to take in the full effect.

"Babe, look at me."

My eyes shot open and looked deeply into the eyes that were only inches from mine. I wanted nothing more than to lean down and place my lips on his, but I never got the chance. He reached up, pulled me closer to him and kissed me with a tenderness and passion that I'd never experienced before.

More to follow.

Here's a head's up that my postings will slow down for the next few weeks. I have to travel for work and will not have much free time. I will do my best. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. :)