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She looks back at me, amused that I’m trying to be considerate. “It’s fine. I can be around alcohol, you know. Go ahead, old man,” she replies teasingly. I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at her sassiness. Another new side to her I haven’t seen before. She continues to surprise me with all her different layers.
“A soda and a beer. Do you know what you want to eat?” the waitress questions.
I nod my head at Elle. “It’s your pick.”
“Hmm, how about a pepperoni with extra cheese?”
Even though I should be keeping my carbs down, I nod in agreement. “Sounds good.”
“So, do you think we’re on the right track with the assignment?” I ask, trying to keep the conversation light and not overtly personal.
“Yeah I think we’ll ace it,” she says with a smile.
“Great. I couldn’t have done it without your help, that’s for sure. You seem like a natural at that kind of stuff.”
Her eyes widen at my praise, like she’s not used to hearing compliments. She stutters through a reply, “T-Thank you, but don’t underestimate yourself. I mean, you had some great ideas too.”
I can’t help but grin at her now. Cute and sweet, a gorgeous combination. I don’t know what it is about her tonight, but she seems a lot more relaxed in my company. I’m relieved and I’m finding myself thankful for more personal reasons than professional.
Eyes on the prize, Brax.
Our drinks arrive and I take a swig of the ice cold beer which goes down way too nicely. Sipping her cola, I catch her looking up at me through her lashes.
Damn, that’s hot. My mind wanders as I think about the way she could look while doing other things.
Removing her lips from her straw, she lifts her head. “Got any plans for the weekend?”
That breaks my train of thought and I can’t stop the grin creeping up my face. “Not really. Are you looking for something to do?” I hear her breath catch in her throat. She is so cute when she’s flustered. I know I’ve put her on the spot, but I really want her to make the next move.
“Um…I mean, I wasn’t…. uh, maybe,” she replies with a shy smile. “I mean, I don’t have any plans, but if you wanted to catch up, you know, to go over the assignment or something... I’m game.”
I can tell she’s in uncharted waters now, so I’m going to be gentle on her. I don’t want her pulling back, especially when she’s come so far in the last week. “Yeah, we could do that, or we could just hang out.” I can’t stop smiling at her reaction to this whole conversation.
“Yeah, okay. Sounds good,” she replies quietly. I swear I hear a sigh of relief when the pizza is placed on the table in front of us. Catching the aroma from the pizza, I realize how hungry I am. With everything going on, I haven’t eaten since this morning.
“Dig in, Elise, before I demolish this whole pizza and disgust you with my huge manly appetite,” I say, rubbing my stomach. The giggle she gives me is adorable, and I’d do anything to hear that again. I look up from my half-eaten slice and notice that her eyes have a new sparkle to them. They’re so unlike her file photo, her green eyes appear even more striking in person. I frown at myself. I’m in trouble here.
Rule of operations #1: Don’t get too close to the target.
Well that rule has been seriously broken and trampled on. So glad Gibbons and the boss are back in Georgia, that’s for sure.
She notices me frowning and asks, “Hey, are you all right?”
“Of course, babe. Sorry, just thinking that this pizza isn’t going to be big enough for the both of us.” I laugh but realize she’s not laughing with me. She’s staring at me. What did I say? Then I realize that I slipped and called her babe.
Shit!
He called me babe?
I tense up and peek up through my lashes at him. The look on his face is telling me that he just realized what he said.
He caught me off guard with his quick comeback about spending time with him on the weekend. I seriously wasn’t trying to push him into seeing me again and I was horrified that I could be so careless with my comment, but relaxed a bit when he said we should hang out. I’ve felt so comfortable tonight, a big change from this afternoon when I was so on edge around him. It still feels like I’m in uncharted waters, though. I’ve been shut off for so long and keeping away from people, especially males.
It’s not like it’s the best conversation starter. “By the way, my parents were murdered three years ago so I have no family. But don’t worry, I have a lot of money that I don’t know what to do with.”
Brax seems different, though. I can’t pinpoint what it is exactly, but he is making it so easy to let my guard down, it’s almost like he’s trying to knock it out with a sledge hammer. I wonder if it is a good thing because letting my guard down leaves me open to getting hurt again. What happens if we get close, but when he finds out about me and my past he can’t disappear fast enough?
I’d be alone and broken again.
But hearing him call me babe, I kind of like it. I could never admit that to him, though.
“Elle, are you okay?” Brax asks, snapping me out of my self-pitying monologue.
“Oh. Yeah, sorry, just thinking about something. It’s all good. Hey, we should get going. It’s late, and I don’t want to keep you.” I want to go back to my apartment now. Thinking about getting hurt again makes me feel like the walls are closing in again. I need the sanctuary that my home provides.
Brax seems taken aback by my need to leave. “Yeah, sure. Let me take care of the bill, and I’ll walk you home.” He stands and makes his way to the counter to pay for our meal. I breathe out a sigh of relief, knowing that I’ll be in back in my sanctuary soon. Back where I won’t have to watch what I say or do.
Brax comes back to the table and holds out his hand to me. I look up at him, and his returning smile melts away any uncertainty I have. I smile back at him as I grab my purse and put my hand in his. He laces our fingers together and leads me outside. We turn in the direction of my building and walk hand in hand down the sidewalk. The warm feeling is back and my unease has all but disappeared again.
It’s like his touch is my salve and to be completely honest, I’m liking it.
Stepping out of the restaurant, I do a quick check of the street. Nothing seems out of place or suspicious, but I can’t relax just yet. I’ll feel a lot better when we’re off the street and she’s back in the safety of her building. We’ve got a bug in her apartment now, for security in case Shay and I are engaged elsewhere. If anything out of the ordinary happens, it will raise an alarm back at headquarters and we’ll be paged or the police will be called immediately. I hated invading her privacy when we swept her apartment earlier in the week, but it is a necessary requirement of the job.
