I Pretend You're Mine

12. A Hell Of A Good Start

He swallowed hard and nodded.

The look in his eyes was not one of annoyance at the fact that she was not ready but instead barely concealed desire.

Just as she planned, Tim stood close behind her, breathing down her neck, and swept her hair away from her back. Then, he pulled the zipper up, remembering the last time he helped her with a dress, but that time, he tugged it down for her to undress after Amy and Dave's wedding and this time, Tim was assisting her with putting ON her clothes, which should not be even sexier and yet somehow it was. Once she was zipped into her dress, he put his hand on her back, spanning the space between her shoulder blades as the rest of his body remained motionless, not even his lungs expanded to breathe.

Lucy looked back to find his eyes searching her face. She angled her head to bring her mouth closer to his. One quick little kiss would not be the end of the world, right?

"Don't even think about it," he whispered his warning as if reading her mind.

"I'm not thinking about anything. What are you thinking about?" Her voice a playful challenge.

"Date first, and if it goes well, I'll kiss you goodnight."

"You're such a gentleman."

"You make it hard to be one."

"Is that a compliment?"

"I'm not sure, but I do know you drive me crazy."

She smirked. "That's definitely a compliment." Bursting with happiness, Lucy stood up tall and kissed his cheek. "I should put these in water."

Tim watched her sashay over to the kitchenette where she filled a vase with water but he did not move, just taking in the sight of her; with the dress zipped up, the material wrapped tighter around her gorgeous curves. His hands itched to trace every single inch of her skin, but it was a first date, and he is a gentleman no matter what thoughts Lucy inspires in him.

"I'm ready now," she grinned and started walking towards the door then stopped, twisted around, walked over to Kojo and dropped a kiss on his head. "Bye, buddy," she cooed. The sweet look in Tim's eyes made her squirm under his gaze. How was she supposed to sit across from him for an entire meal if he kept staring at her like THAT?

The short car ride was mostly quiet but charged- neither knew what to expect of their date, but they were both thrilled at the idea and too preoccupied with their own thoughts to really carry a conversation. Tim opened her car door for her and the restaurant door to guide her inside. They were seated at a cozy booth in a small, dimly lit restaurant with only a few patrons.

After ordering wine and being brought breadsticks, Tim realized he still had not said anything to her, but he could not will his mouth to form words.

Lucy was struggling, too; she ordered her meal, nibbled at a breadstick, and said something awkwardly about the bread that did not exactly strike up a sparkling conversation.

After trading far too many glances, Tim asked, "Why is this so weird? We've eaten together literally hundreds of times?"

"Because, you know, our other meals only ever held the promise of being shot at afterwards, you know? And now..." Lucy swallowed hard, searched the room for an answer she would not find anywhere else, and raked a hand through her hair to stall further before admitting, "I'm really scared about this."

She expected a neutral expression or maybe a nod, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear Tim say, "Me, too."

In the face of his vulnerability, Lucy wanted to assure him even if she was still worried about where they were- right at the razor thin edge of redefining their relationship yet again. First, they were Training Officer and Rookie, then they were partners, then friends, then friends AND partners, until they kissed, stirring up feelings for each other and throwing their whole dynamic off balance. Before coming to Carmel, they were barely friends who had hardly spoken in weeks. Both of them were too uncomfortable coming to terms with how they felt for each other plus the added complication of having other partners (something they tended to forget when they locked eyes with the other from across the room and feelings rushed to the surface at the sight). Now, they were letting their guards down, allowing their hearts to guide them into this new phase of their relationship. Something truly frightening and dangerous. "We've been through some pretty scary situations together and come out alive right? So, we have nothing to be scared of." Lucy had not truly even convinced herself by saying so, but she tried.