|
Post by Jen on Jul 31, 2005 23:10:49 GMT -5
“Gus, are you sleeping at our house again tonight?” Zach asked later when they were all at Company having lunch.
“No, I have to go to Chicago pretty soon and I’ll be there for awhile,” Gus answered.
“What’s Chicago?” Zach asked.
“It’s a city that’s a little far away. After I leave here, I’ll have to drive until about dinner time to get there. That’s where I work sometimes. When I’m not in Chicago, I work in Washington, DC. Do you know where that is?” Gus asked him and he shook his head. “Buzz! You got a map?” he yelled towards the bar where Buzz was pouring coffee for someone and nodded back at Gus.
A few minutes later, Buzz tossed an folded up map in front of Gus and slid into the seat beside Harley while Gus pointed out Chicago to Zach.
“And this little dot all the way over here is Washington DC,” he explained.
“That’s far away!” Zach replied.
“Yeah, it is. Too far,” Gus sighed and looked over at Harley who smiled at him.
“How long are you going to be there?” Zach asked.
“A few months. But I’m going to be here on the weekends as much as I can to spend time with you and your brother and your mom, does that sound good?”
“Yeah!” Zach nodded enthusiastically. “I like your dinosaur voices,” he added.
“Harley said you got a job at the station,” Buzz said.
“Yeah, we’re going to be partners again,” Gus nodded.
“And Franklin is okay with the two of you being uh…together too?” he asked.
“He is as long as we don’t remind him that we are,” Harley answered. “Don’t ask, don’t tell, you know.”
“I didn’t ask and I got told,” Buzz shrugged and Harley elbowed him while Gus laughed.
“Look Buzz, I get that you don’t like me, and I understand why that is. I usually don’t care if people like me or not, but I do hope that someday in the future you and I can figure out a way to get along. For Harley. You might even start to like me,” he teased.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Buzz muttered and left the table.
Harley sighed, “I’m sorry. He’ll come around.”
“I meant what I said,” he replied.
“I know you did,” she nodded, “Thank you,” she added as she looked at her watch reluctantly.
“I guess I better get going,” Gus said.
“I know,” Harley nodded as she wiped Jude’s mouth with his napkin. “Let me get someone to watch the boys and I’ll walk you out,” she said as she motioned Marina over and got her to sit with Zach and Jude for a few minutes.
Gus took Harley’s hand in his and they walked over to his rental car. He leaned up against it and pulled Harley close to him.
“I’ll try to get back this weekend, but I can’t promise anything,” he said, brushing his lips over her cheek and she nodded.
“Okay. Hey, I went my whole life without you, what’s a few weeks, right?” she said lightly but it came out as sad.
“Too long,” he said. “My flight leaves at five tomorrow. I should be in DC by nine, so I’ll call you when I get to my apartment. I’m gonna miss you,” he said as he took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.
“Me too,” she replied and they kissed again, deeper and longer this time.
“Harley?” Blake’s voice broke their kiss and they both turned to see Blake and Ross getting out of their car. “When did you get back?” she asked slowly, surprised to see her friend in such a compromising position with a man she claimed to hate.
“Yesterday, I meant to call you, but…” Harley answered. “We’ll talk inside, okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” Blake replied. “Hi Gus.”
“Hi Blake, Ross,” he gave them a nod.
“Come on honey,” Ross said, pulling Blake away by the arm.
“Nice time to ditch me! Before the interrogation,” Harley joked as she playfully hit his chest.
“Sorry. You gonna be okay?” he asked.
“Oh yeah. You know, I’ll get all the usual questions: ‘Did you sleep with him? Was he good? Are you in love?’” Harley rolled her eyes.
“And?”
“Yes, yes and yes,” she smiled and kissed him.
“I was good, huh?”
“You were amazing,” she replied. “Don’t stay away from me too long,” she added.
“I’ll do my best, I promise. I gotta go. I’ll call you when I get to the station, okay?” he asked.
“Okay, please be careful. Driving and working, got it?”
“I got it. I love you.”
“I love you too, Gus,” she replied and he opened up her hand and kissed her palm then pulled her into a tight embrace that ended in a kiss.
She stepped away so he could get in his car, then watched him drive away before going back inside and facing the firing squad known as her family and friends.
When she got back inside, Blake was waiting for her at the bar and pulled her over onto the stool beside her.
“Alright, spill it, what is going on?” she asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Harley said seriously, trying to make Blake mad.
“Are you kidding me? You know exactly what I’m talking about!”
“Oh…you mean my hair? Do you like it? I wasn’t sure if I liked it up like this, but I think it’s growing on me, but it’s kind of messy because Gus was playing with it,” Harley rambled until Blake punched her playfully in her arm and she giggled. “I’m kidding! Come on.”
“You come on, what the hell is going on with you and Aitoro?” Blake asked. “I thought you hated him. Or at least you did before you want to Paris with him.”
“No, I never hated him. Well, maybe the first day I met him, but I haven’t hated him for a long time,” Harley answered and Blake looked at her doubtfully. “I didn’t! Look, I spent a lot of time making it appear that I hated him because I hated my feelings for him. I have been attracted to him for so long, Blake, even since before Jude was born, and I’ve finally dealt with those feelings.”
“So what are we talking about here? A weekend fling in Paris? A real, serious couple? What?”
“A real, serious couple,” Harley answered. “A real, serious, in love couple.”
“I don’t believe it,” Blake said and turned away from Harley.
“What do you mean you don’t believe it?”
“I don’t believe that you’re in love with Gus Aitoro. I can buy that you’re attracted to him, I can even buy that you could sleep with him and enjoy it, but love? Come on.”
“Well, I am attracted to him, and I did enjoy it, and I do love him,” Harley insisted.
“You slept with him?” Blake asked, looking back at Harley, ready for the dirt.
“You don’t believe me, you don’t get the good stuff,” Harley replied stubbornly.
“Oh come on! You have to tell me. Did you sleep with him?”
“Yes,” she answered simply.
“Harley! You have to tell me more than that! I can’t believe you go over a year without having sex and then you decide to sleep with Gus Aitoro! How was it?”
“It was…amazing.”
“Amazing?” Blake repeated, cringing. “Best sex ever?”
“Ever,” Harley nodded and Blake scoffed again.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Okay, you ask me questions and I answer them but you say you don’t believe me!” Harley replied, exasperated.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that your first time with Gus Aitoro was better than all of the times with Phillip or Mallet or Josh or…”
“Okay, okay, I know the names of all of my exes, thank you. Blake, I am telling you – the best. Ever.”
“Alright fine, I believe you. Now how did it happen?” she asked.
“You’re married, I think you know how it happens,” Harley teased and Blake rolled her eyes.
“You know what I mean. How did you get from dreading this trip to being…in love,” she choked out.
“Well, it started…well, a long time ago, you already know about our first kiss. And we kissed at Marina’s welcome home party but Rick caught us and Gus left and that’s when he moved back to Washington. Anyway, the first day I was in DC last week, we were working on the case all day, I was getting caught up on everything and this case is…horrible, just really horrible and I was having a hard time with it and Gus and I shared a cab to my hotel and we talked about the case and I don’t know what happened, but we were kissing and then I asked him to come up to my room and he did, but nothing happened that night, we just slept. And the next day we had a huge fight and had a rough couple of days. But one night, we went out to dinner and he took me to this bar where they served American food and I swear Blake, I felt like I was in Texas. Anyway, we danced a little and kissed again and I freaked out because that’s what I do and then we went back to our hotel and later that night we talked and fought and kissed and then we got interrupted and had to go take care of something about the case and before we went in, I told him that I was sorry for what almost happened and that I was glad we got interrupted before we did something we would both regret.”
“Ouch,” Blake cringed.
“Yeah, he was mad, and then we got separated and Gus got shot and I went crazy, I mean, like when I saw him laying there bleeding, everything just got so clear to me. No matter how angry I was at him for whatever reason, I just wanted him to be okay, I wanted to have the chance to tell him how I really felt about him,” she continued until Blake interrupted her.
“He was shot? My god, were you okay?”
“Yeah, I was fine, I mean physically. But emotionally, I was a mess. Gus was unconscious for hours and I just was going crazy. I was so relieved when he woke up. Thank god he was fine.”
“So then what happened?” Blake asked, finally getting into the story.
“Then…we went out for dinner, which was the first time other than the bar and we talk about us and some stuff that was between us and by the time we got back to the hotel, I was telling him that I loved him!”
“Were you drunk?”
“No! Well, I had a few glasses of wine, but that’s now why I said it. I said it because I meant it. I don’t know if it’s ‘this is going to last forever’ love or even ‘let’s get married’ love but it’s something and I’m ready to find out what it is. But Gus is going to DC for a month or two to finish up some cases there then he’s moving back here,” Harley explained.
“This is crazy, I mean you realize that, right?”
“I know. It’s fast and I’m jumping head first, but I don’t care because the past few days have been amazing Blake.”
“Well, that’s great sweetie, but what about all the other stuff? Like his obsession with the Santos family? His arrogance, his rudeness, his messiness, shall I go on?”
“No, you’ve said enough. The messiness, I can deal with. I’m not exactly the world’s best housekeeper either. And I know he’s rude and arrogant, but he’s not like that wit me.”
“Maybe that’s because he’s trying to get you into bed,” Blake suggested.
“Blake, he could have any woman that he wants to sleep with him, but he’s different with me, I’m the only one who sees the real Gus.”
“Are you sure it’s the real one?”
“Yes. Being arrogant and rude is his defense so that people can’t get too close. Every one in his life that he has loved has been taken from him. First, his mom when he was so young and then his dad and since then, he hasn’t let anyone into his life until now.”
“So why you?” Blake asked.
“Why not me?” Harley asked, a bit offended.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I just have a hard time believeing that the Gus you know is really Gus, you know?”
“Fine. But will you just trust me? I mean it’s not like I gave into his first advance. I’ve been rejecting him for months and I finally let myself deal with my feelings for him. I didn’t fall in love with the Gus that you all know. I fell in love with the Gus who sat on my couch and told me how it felt to watch his father die. And the man who recited a poem to Jude to get him to stop crying. Although the Gus who talks back to people who irritate him and says exactly what’s on his mind is very refreshing compared to most of the men in this town.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, like Phillip who is so worried about the Spaulding name and the company and always has to look perfect and attend perfect dinner parties with a perfect wife on his Armani-clad arm. Everyone in this town is so worried about what other people say and Gus doesn’t care. If you don’t like him, that’s your problem. If you don’t like what he has to say, maybe it’s because it rings a little too true for you, you know?”
“And the Santos thing?”
“We’re working on it. Together. He has made a lot of progress with that. You have no idea.”
“And how are the boys handling his?”
“You mean the baby and toddler or the father and brother?” Harley laughed.
“All of them,” Blake shrugged.
“Zach and Jude adore him. Zach loves that he has someone new to play with and they get along great. Frank and Dad aren’t exactly thrilled. Dad’s trying, Frank really isn’t though. I’m hoping those two work it out for themselves.”
“So he’s going to be gone for two months? How is that going to work?”
“He’s going to come back as much as possible and I’ll probably go out there some. We’ll make it work,” Harley shrugged.
“And while you’re here and he’s there, is there an understanding about seeing other people?” Blake asked.
“No. Why would there be? We don’t want to see other people.”
“Oh, alright. There’s just this guy that works with Ross that I was going to see if you want to go out with.”
“No, I don’t,” Harley shook her head, annoyed.
“Okay, well if you change your mind, he’s available.”
“I have to go,” Harley said and got off her stool to go say goodbye to the boys.
“Harley, I didn’t mean anything…” Blake started but Harley ignored her and kissed her boys before she left and went back to work.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Do you want another beer?” Frank asked as he got up and started into the kitchen after he had dinner with Harley and the boys that night.
“No thanks,” she replied and he left the room.
“So what’s up? You’re quiet tonight,” he said when he came back and sat beside her on the couch.
“It’s nothing,” she answered.
“Sis, I know when you’re lying to me. What’s wrong?” he asked again.
“Why don’t you like Gus?” she finally asked.
Frank sighed, “Do we really have to talk about him?”
“Yes, Frank. He’s in my life so we have to talk about him.”
“He’s…he’s Aitoro, Harley. I’m afraid that he is going to hurt you and he’s rude and inconsiderate and…”
“Okay. I’ve heard all of that before. But do you think that I’m stupid? Do you think I’m some teenage girl who is blinded by lust?”
“Of course not, but he’s not right for you,” Frank argued.
“Why not? What is it about him that makes him not right for me? Because he treats me good and loves me and my children?”
“Because he has a lot of baggage.”
“So do I, who do you know that doesn’t, Frank? I know about Gus’s baggage, we’re dealing with it and we’re dealing with my baggage, that’s what couples do. They make it work in spite of their pasts. That’s all I want. I just want a chance to make this work without dealing with criticism from my family and friends.”
“Blake doesn’t like him either, huh?” he asked and Harley glared at him as they heard the doorbell ring.
She got up to answer it, and saw Blake on the other side when she opened the door.
“Hi,” Blake said sheepishly. “Got a minute?”
“That depends,” Harley shrugged and Blake stepped into the house.
“I just wanted to apologize for earlier today. I was really hard on you and I’m sorry. I’m glad that you’re happy with Gus, really. Because you deserve to be happy,” she apologized.
“Do you really mean that?” Harley asked.
“I really do,” she nodded.
“Thank you,” Harley replied and Blake pulled her into a hug.
“You know I’ll kill him if he hurts you though, right?”
“I know,” Harley smiled.
“Are we okay?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, we’re okay.”
“Good. I’m sorry I interrupted.”
“No, it’s fine. I was just going though round two of our conversation earlier with Frank,” Harley sighed as the phone rang.
“You’re popular tonight,” Frank said as he reached over and answered the phone.
“Hold on,” he said and passed the phone to Harley. “It’s Gus.”
“Thanks,” Harley said and took the phone with her over to the steps where she sat down to talk to Gus. “Hey,” she finally answered.
“Hi. Sorry I interrupted your night with Frank,” he apologized.
“No, it’s fine. I’m glad you called. What are you up to?”
“Just got back to my hotel. No word on who the Americans were working for yet,” he replied.
“We’ll find them,” she assured him. “Can I call you back later? Blake is here too.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Go spend the evening with them, I’ll call you tomorrow when I get to DC.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I’ve had you all week. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”
“I love you too. Good night,” she replied and hung up.
“Alright, stop talking about me now,” she said as she went back into the living room.
“We were just talking about how happy we are that you are happy,” Blake said.
“Yeah right.”
“We mean it,” she assured her.
“Well, I hope that you do. Look, I don’t want to be rude, but could we do this some other time? I’m really tired and I’m not in the mood to fight about this anymore.”
“Sure, we’ll leave you alone,” Blake said and motioned for Frank to leave with her.
“Are you okay?” Frank asked Harley.
“Yes, I’m just tired,” she replied and kissed his cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Alright. Good night,” he said and followed Blake out of the house.
Harley locked the door behind them and climbed up the stairs. She checked on the boys, then went into her own bedroom and got ready for bed. As she crawled into the bed, her hand ran over a piece of paper and she pulled back the covers to reveal a t-shirt Gus left behind and a note addressed to her. She smiled as she opened up the note and read it.
Just something to remind you of me while I’m gone. I can’t wait to be back in your arms. I miss you already.
Love, Gus
“I miss you too,” she said quietly and buried herself under the covers, clinging to his shirt.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Aug 7, 2005 22:36:28 GMT -5
“Harley Cooper,” she answered her phone as she sat back down at her desk later that week.
“My, that’s a sexy voice for a police officer,” she heard Gus say on the other end.
“Hey you,” she couldn’t hold back a smile.
“Hi. I wanted to tell you that I’m not going to be able to make it back this weekend. Boss-man acted fine when I gave my notice but decided he should bury me in paperwork for the weekend,” Gus said.
“Oh. Okay,” Harley replied, disappointed. “Maybe next weekend.”
“I hope so I’ll be going crazy by then though,” he said.
“I know, but we can do it.”
“How are things going there? Are Frank and Buzz still giving you a hard time?” Gus asked, changing the subject.
“Dad pretends you don’t exist and Frank can’t stop sighing around me,” she answered, sighing herself.
“I’m sorry. I knew they didn’t like me, but I had no idea it was going to be like this,” he apologized. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, there’s nothing you need to do, it’s their problem,” she replied.
“Well, they may be the ones who have a problem with us, but it’s affecting you and I don’t want that. I know how important your family is to you and I don’t want to come between you.”
“You’re not! What, do you really think I’m going to break up with you because my family has some reservations about you?” Harley asked.
“Reservations? Honey, please, they hate me.”
“They don’t hate you. They just don’t know you,” she argued.
“Well, they really haven’t had a chance.”
“I know, which is why I can’t wait for you to come back so they can get to know you better.”
“I don’t really do well with people, honey. I mean, I’m not a big fan of family game night,” he said.
“Well, then you’ll just have to learn how to be a fan, because if you’re going to be in my life, you’re going to be in their lives so you have to at least try to get along. And I do want you in my life,” she added.
“So do I,” he replied. “Alright, when I get back, I’ll bond with your family, deal?”
“Deal, thank you,” she smiled. “So what’s up? Anything new on the case?”
“Well, the girls are all safe, so that’s the important thing. I talked to Alicia’s father this morning and she’s doing okay. She remembered a few more details about where they kept her, but we still don’t know who was calling the shots,” Gus explained.
“Is that what you’re working so hard on?”
“That and about ten other cases,” he sighed. “I’m keeping busy, which is probably a good thing because it keeps my mind off of how much I want to be there with you. Well, most of the time it works at least.”
“Is there anything I can do to help you with this case?” Harley asked.
“I don’t know, maybe. I’ll let you know though,” he answered.
“Well, you do that. Anything to get you here faster I will do. I miss you. I mean, we just got started and we already have to do this long distance thing. I hate it.”
“I hate it too, but we gotta suffer for a little bit. Just think how much better it will be when we finally do get to see each other,” Gus said.
“When will that be?”
“As soon as possible,” he sighed. “I have to go, the Boss-man cometh.”
“Okay, call me later. Bye,” she said and after he said goodbye, they hung up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“So what are you up to this weekend? Is Gus coming?” Marina asked Harley the next Friday as she ate dinner at the counter at Company.
“No,” Harley shook her head. “He has too much work to do.”
“He couldn’t come last weekend either. I thought you guys were going to be together at least on the weekends.”
“We thought so too, but Gus’s boss had a different idea.”
“Is he really mad that Gus is quitting?” Marina asked.
“Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, he really stuck his neck out to get Gus the job again in the first place and now Gus is leaving, so he’s being a little tough on him,” Harley answered. “Marina…do you like Gus?”
“I don’t really know him,” she shrugged. “But he makes you happy.”
“Yes, he does,” Harley smiled.
“And he’s good with the boys and he’s funny and he’s…very good looking,” Marina teased and Harley laughed, shaking her head.
“Yes, he is,” she replied. “Your father and grandfather don’t like him.”
“Yeah, why is that?” Marina asked.
“If I knew why, I would fix it, believe me,” Harley sighed.
“I think they’re just worried about you. They don’t want to see you get hurt again,” she suggested.
“Well, I don’t want to get hurt either, but I can’t be so afraid of getting hurt that I miss out on really great things, you know? And Gus and I are one of those really great things.”
“I’m not the one you have to convince, Aunt Harley,” Marina replied as she refilled Harley’s coffee.
“Then could you help me out with the other two?”
“I’ll put in a good word for you,” Marina winked as she went to go wait on a table and Harley got her stuff together and went to pick up the boys from the Bauer house.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Harley rushed out of the kitchen when she heard her cell phone ringing later that night. She was just about to get a glass of wine, but she knew only one person would be calling her this late.
“Hey sexy,” she answered, without even looking at the caller ID and when she didn’t get a response right away, she was afraid someone other than Gus was calling.
“Hey yourself,” he finally replied and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry for calling your cell, but I didn’t want to wake up the boys.”
“That’s okay. What’s up?” she asked.
“Why don’t you open your front door and see,” he suggested and Harley looked across the living room at the door then started walking over to it slowly.
She opened the door and saw Gus standing there holding a bouquet of flowers- daisies, her favorite- with a duffel bag over his shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she shut her phone and jumped in his arms.
“I have a meeting in Chicago in the morning, so I thought I’d fly here and spend the night with you while I was at it. But I have to leave at like 4,” he said as he lifted her off the ground and carried her into the house.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she smiled and kissed him. “You have to leave at 4?” she asked.
“I have to. The meeting’s at eight and that’s already cutting it close. But I couldn’t be this close and not come see you.”
“Then let’s go to bed so you can get some sleep,” she said as she took his hand and started into the living room.
“I didn’t come here to sleep,” he replied, pulling her back towards him.
“I meant after,” she laughed.
“That’s more like it,” he said and grabbed the bottom of her shirt. “I can’t wait until we get upstairs though. I need you now,” he finished and pulled her shirt over her head when she lifted her arms and pushed her back against the wall right inside the door.
“Right here?” she asked breathlessly between kisses.
Gus didn’t respond but helped her take his shirt off then pushed her jeans down her legs. “Will we be okay here with the boys?”
“Yes. I have a feeling this won’t take too long,” she replied and Gus pulled back.
“Hey!” he laughed.
“Well, honey, it has been two weeks. And I’m almost done just looking at you,” she added and kissed his neck.
“Really? It’s kinda nice to know that I have that effect on you,” he murmured into her hair.
“You have no idea what kind of effect you have on me, but if we stop talking, I’ll show you,” she teased, her hot breath rushing over the skin of his neck, still wet from her kisses.
Gus went to respond, but decided against it and instead fell to his knees and kissed Harley’s bare stomach and he trailed his fingers up the back of her thighs to the top of her underwear, which quickly joined the rest of her clothes on the floor. Harley grabbed his arms and pulled him back up to his feet into a deep kiss. As her tongue explored his mouth, her hands traveled to the waist of his pants and pushed them off of him, followed by his underwear, leaving their only obstacle in the form of Harley’s bra which Gus expertly slid off in a matter of seconds.
He picked her up off the floor and their bodies joined as she wrapped her legs around him. He held her with one hand as the other cupped her breast and his mouth tortured her hard nipple before he pushed her up against the wall in a deep kiss, his tongue stroking hers in rhythm with his thrusts.
“God, Gus…” Harley moaned as she tightened the grip around his waist and buried her face in his neck as she climaxed.
Gus soon followed and released inside of her with one final, deep thrust and a passionate kiss. He held her in his arms, kissing her lovingly before he lowered her to her feet and she pulled him over to the couch where they wrapped themselves in a blanket and cuddled.
“I missed you so much,” Harley said as she snuggled into his chest. “And it’s only been two weeks.”
“I know. I’ve been going crazy without you. I don’t like this long distance stuff,” he replied, kissing the side of her head.
“Me neither. But I thought we decided this was going to make it so much better when you finally did get here,” Harley reminded him.
“That’s crap,” he laughed. “I just want to be here with you.”
“I know,” she nodded and a comfortable silence overcame them as they laid in each other’s arms.
“I’ve been thinking about something and I want to run it by you,” Gus began, a few minutes later.
“Okay.”
“I think I want to build a house here,” he continued.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s really nice of your dad to give me a room at the boarding house, and I’ll probably stay there for a while, but I want a house, I want a yard, I want someplace to call home, you know?” he asked and she nodded.
“I think if that’s what you want, you should do it,” she replied.
“Yeah? Will you help me?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, whatever. Looking at property, paint colors, furniture…” he suggested and Harley smiled as she leaned against him.
“I think I can do that,” she nodded, knowing that he was pushing for a commitment without actually saying so, and surprisingly, she was responding in kind. “Anything you need, I’ll help you with.”
“Good, because I really want you to be a part of this, you know?”
“I know,” she nodded and turned her head to kiss him. “And I want to be.”
“Good,” he smiled and squeezed her tightly.
“Do you want to go up to bed now?” she asked and he nodded before they went upstairs and crawled into bed together.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I’ll have an egg white omelet with swiss cheese and broccoli. And wheat toast, please,” Blake ordered the next morning at breakfast with Harley who had spent their first ten minutes together yawning.
“I’ll just have a cup of coffee,” Harley told the waitress, “And keep ‘em coming.”
“What is with you? Jude keep you up all night?” Blake asked.
“No, it wasn’t Jude,” Harley answered.
“Zach?”
“Nope.”
“Good movie on TV?” Blake asked, running out of options.
Harley shook her head, “Gus,” she finally answered. “He had a meeting in Chicago this morning, so he flew here and came to the house. Except he didn’t get here until midnight and he had to leave at four, so we slept maybe two hours before he had to get up and shower. And I ended up in the shower with him…and then I couldn’t fall back asleep after he left.”
“Now, was this your first booty call?” Blake teased.
“Shut up,” Harley laughed. “Booty calls don’t spend the night.”
“He didn’t spend the night, he took a nap after you had sex!”
“Well, I don’t care. It was the only chance I had to see him until he comes back to Chicago,” Harley said.
“When’s that?”
“I have no idea. Soon, hopefully.”
“Oh, a long-distance booty call,” Blake winked.
“Blake, I know you think our relationship is nothing more than sex, but that’s not true. It began a long time before we made love in Paris, I just didn’t realize it until then,” Harley explained.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Blake replied as she reached across the table and put her hand on Harley’s arm.
“I know you don’t. I don’t either, but I don’t think that’s going to happen this time. Gus is a good guy, and he loves me.”
“So did the other ones, Harley.”
“I know,” she nodded, “But Gus is different. You don’t know him like I do.”
“Okay,” Blake replied. “How about the next time Gus is in town, we all go out to dinner? You guys and me and Ross, sound good?”
“That sounds great. Thank you, Blake,” Harley replied
“Sure. Now tell me more about this midnight booty call,” Blake teased and Harley laughed as she downed another cup of coffee.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Aug 14, 2005 12:04:09 GMT -5
“Mommy, can I watch a movie?” Zach asked as he crawled up into her lap after his bath one night.
“Sure. If you tell Grandpa which one, I bet he’d put it in for you,” she answered.
“What do you want to watch bud?” Buzz asked as he got off the couch and went over to the entertainment center.
“Hmmm….Cinderella! I wanna see Gus-Gus!” Zach giggle and snuggled up in Harley’s arms as Buzz popped in the video.
“Mommy?” Zach began a little ways into the movie.
“What sweetie?”
“When is the real Gus coming back?” he finished and Harley kissed the top of his head.
“Hopefully soon, because I miss him,” she answered.
“Me too. I like playing with him,” Zach added.
“I know you do. He likes playing with you too.”
“He does?” he asked with a huge smile on his face.
“He sure does,” she nodded and Zach settled into her chest with a proud grin on his face while he watched the rest of the movie.
He almost made it to the end when Harley heard his studying breathing in her arms. She thought about taking him up to bed, but decided to snuggle with her little boy while he still liked to sit in her lap.
“You can shut this off,” she told Buzz who quickly reached for the remote and put on a baseball game as the phone rang.
Harley reached over and picked it up, answering quietly, “Hello?”
“Hi. Did I wake you?” Gus asked in response.
“No, Zach’s sleeping in my lap though. Hi,” she smiled and Buzz knew right away who she was talking to.
“Oh. Do you want me to call you back later?” he asked.
“No, I want to talk to you,” she replied. “Actually, I’ve been waiting impatiently to hear about your meeting this afternoon. Did you get a lead on the case?”
She heard Gus sigh on the other end, “No, not a lead. That little meeting was to inform me that I’ve been taken off the case.”
“What? Why?”
“Apparently I have too many other cases to work on,” he answered, clearly annoyed.
“Hmm…that’s weird. I would have thought this case was more important,” she thought out loud.
“Yeah me too, but oh well. Besides, that just means I have one less case to finish before I get out of here, and that’s definitely a good thing,” he replied.
“Yes it is,” she nodded. “So what else is going on?”
“Well, do you remember what we talked about last weekend?”
“I remember not talking a whole lot,” she teased and Buzz groaned. “Yes, I remember, why?”
“Well, I was looking online today and I found two properties that are for sale in the area that sound promising. They just went up today and since I can’t come to see them, I was hoping you could check them out for me and if they’re good make a bid,” he suggested.
“Well, I can do that, but don’t you want to see them for yourself before you make a decision?” she asked.
“I trust you,” he replied. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to…”
“No, it’s not that, I just don’t want to make a bad decision for you. That’s a lot of pressure!” she laughed.
“Honey, I trust you. I’m just looking for something big, flat, and cheap with a nice view.”
“Alright. Give me the info, I’ll call tomorrow and make appointments,” she agreed.
“Thank you babe, you got a pen and paper?” he asked.
“Daddy, can you write this down for me?” Harley asked and Buzz wrote down what she told him from Gus.
“Lakeview is a nice road, I wonder where that property is,” she said as she looked at the addresses. “I know where the one on Crocker is though and I think it’s in a pretty wooded area.”
“Well, that could be nice. If you want, give me a call while you’re there so you won’t feel like you’re making a decision by yourself,” he replied.
“I think I will do that. I’ll call in the morning and get there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you. So what exciting is going on there?” he asked.
“Nothing much. Just movie night with Zach and Dad. Zach wanted to watch Cinderella to see Gus-Gus. And then he asked me when the real Gus was coming back,” she told him.
“Ouch,” Gus sighed. “Not soon enough. I thought this was Phillip’s weekend?”
“It was, but he had some business meeting, so we switched,” she explained.
“Oh. Well, I’ll let you go and you can put him to bed or whatever. Call me tomorrow okay?”
“I will,” she replied. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Good night,” he said before they hung up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
By eleven o’clock the next morning, Harley was driving down Crocker Road to the first of the two properties she was going to look at for Gus.
“This might be moving a little too fast, Gus…” she muttered as she pulled along side the road of an empty lot behind another car.
“Hi, you must be Ms. Cooper. I’m Diane Ward,” the woman standing beside the car introduced herself.
“Yes, hello,” Harley replied.
“Well, this is it, feel free to look around or ask me any questions you have. It is one acre, you can see the line markers at the boundaries,” she pointed out
“Thanks. I’m just going to call my boyfriend, if you could give me a few minutes,” Harley suggested.
“Absolutely, take your time,” Diane said and went back to the car while Harley dialed Gus’s number.
“Hey babe,” he answered.
“Hi. I’m on Crocker Road,” he said.
“And?”
“And…it’s not too bad. It’s an acre. It’s nice and big. About one third of it is flat though, which looks like it would be a side yard. The front has a bit of a hill and the back has a pretty big slope down to the woods,” she told him.
“Oh, well I really wanted something completely flat. But what do you think of it besides the slopes?”
“It’s not bad. I mean, there are the woods and it’s quiet out here. It’s nice if you don’t mind the…non-flatness,” she answered.
“When are you going to see the other?” he asked.
“An hour.”
“Okay. Tell her we’ll think about it and get back to her. Hopefully the other place is better,” he said. “That okay with you?”
“It’s your property,” she replied.
“Harley…” he began, but decided not to continue his thought. “Alright. Call me when you get to the other place.”
“I will, bye,” she replied before she hung up and went to talk to Diane.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Oh my god Gus, you should see this place. It is beautiful!” Harley exclaimed when Gus picked up his phone an hour later when she got to the other property.
“It is? Tell me about it,” he replied, getting excited too.
“It’s flat, completely. It’s huge. It has a few trees, but nothing too dense. And it has an amazing view of the lake,” she described.
“Okay, go to wherever on the property the back porch would be,” he instructed and she walked forward a little before she told him she was there.
“What do you see from there?”
“The lake. There’s a trail that leads down to a beachy type area beyond the property.”
“Can you see yourself sitting on the back porch with a glass of wine watching the sunset?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she smiled. “Gus, if you’re really serious about this, I don’t think you’ll find anything better than this for the price. And the realtor said she has three other people interested who are all seeing it today too.”
“I am serious about it,” he replied. “Make a bid.”
“Okay, I’ll give her your bid and then your number so she can call you directly. And I brought my camera so I’ll send you pictures as soon as I can,” Harley said.
“Oh wait…no, don’t send me anything until I know if I get it or not. I’d hate to fall in love with it then be outbid,” he replied.
“Alright, I’m going to go, call me later,” she said then hung up and went to talk to the realtor.
Harley sat at her desk late that afternoon, tapping her pencil, staring at the phone. Earlier that morning, she was freaked out about picking out property for a house that she knew Gus had planned on living in with her someday, but when she saw the lot at the lake, she got excited and couldn’t wait to hear back from Gus.
Her impatience finally got the best of her and she dialed Gus’s cell phone.
“Hello?” he answered anxiously.
“Hi, have you heard anything?” she asked.
“Oh. No, I thought maybe this would be the realtor,” he replied.
“Sorry. I was getting impatient,” she said.
“Tell me about it. And I haven’t even seen the place yet.”
“Honey, you’ll love it. It’s beautiful,” she gushed.
“Just wait until it has a big house on it,” he replied.
“Now…exactly how are you affording this land and big house?” she asked.
“Honey, I’ve been alone for the past twenty years. I’ve lived in a studio apartment or a motel since I was eighteen. I’ve saved a lot,” he explained. “And I have a trust fund from my dad that I haven’t touched yet. I planned on never using it, but I think he would want me to use it for something important like a house.”
“Well, I had no idea my boyfriend was independently wealthy,” she teased.
“Oh, so now you just want me for my money.”
“And the sex,” she added quietly and he laughed.
“Yeah, but there’s too little of that.”
“Tell me about it. But the faster I get you back here, the faster we can take care of that part.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” he smiled as he heard a beep in his ear. “Honey, I have another call. I’ll call you back, hopefully with good news!”
Harley hung up the phone and tried to keep herself busy. She was just about to go talk to Franklin about something fifteen minutes later when her phone rang.
“It’s mine! I got it!” Gus exclaimed when she picked up the phone.
“Oh, I’m so happy for you,” she replied with a smile on her face.
“Okay, I have to call the bank and take care of some other things, I just wanted to let you know. Thank you, baby. I love you,” he added.
“I love you too,” she replied, laughing at his excitement. “Bye,” she said and they hung up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Cooper, phone for you," the desk sergeant called out to Harley as she poured a cup of coffee. "Line three."
"Thanks Patrick," she said then picked up her phone and pressed a button, "Detective Cooper."
"No need to be so formal, I have seen you naked," she heard Gus's voice on the other end of the line.
Harley laughed and sat down, "Hey, you," she smiled, trying not to be too obvious. "What are you up to?"
"I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork," he answered, "but I wanted to hear your voice. And I wanted to see if you could meet me in Chicago this weekend."
"I thought you said you wouldn't have time?"
"I wouldn't except I just got an email that I'm expected at meetings in Chicago this weekend to get my replacement caught up," he replied.
"Well, I have the boys this weekend, I'm not going to be able to get away," she sighed.
"Can't Phillip and Rick take the boys?"
"Well, yeah they could if I would have had a little more notice."
"I'm sorry, I called you as soon as I found out."
"I know you did, but that doesn't mean that I can get someone to keep the boys on this short of notice," she argued.
"Fine, then I'll come down Saturday for the night. Excuse me for wanting to spend more than a few hours with you," he replied shortly.
"Stop…"
"Well, what do you want me to do, Harley? I'm already working 80 hours a week so I'm back there in two months instead of six. I'm doing the best that I can."
"I know...look, I'm sorry. I know you're trying to squeeze everything in so you can come back here and be with me. This is just a lot harder than I thought it was going to be," Harley replied.
"Tell me about it. I miss you," he said. "I don't know how I stayed away for all those months."
"Well I did a pretty good job pushing you away," she sighed regretfully.
"Are you still pushing me away?" he asked quietly. "Are you having any doubts about us?"
"No," she answered quickly. "Look, if I could get someone to keep the boys, I'd hop on the interstate as soon as possible, but there's a good chance I'm not going to be able to and we won't get to see each other again this weekend."
"No, I'm not going to be that close to you and not see you. I can come down Saturday night, but if my meetings run into Sunday, I'd have to leave early again. Unless…could you bring the boys with you?" Gus asked.
"Well, I guess I could, but that won't give us a very romantic weekend with two little kids crawling all over us," she replied. "Let me call Phillip and Rick, I'll see what I can do and I'll call you back."
"Okay," he replied. "Hey, was that our first fight as a couple?" he asked.
"Oh, honey, that wasn't a fight," Harley laughed.
"Well whatever it was, I didn't like it, so let's not do that again, okay?"
"Alright. I'll call you back in a little bit. Are you at your desk?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm not going anywhere for awhile. At least not until I dig my way out of this paperwork," he answered. "I'll talk to you later. Bye," he added and they hung up.
His phone rang a half hour later and Harley told him she got Phillip to switch weekends with her, and Rick was happy to get his son for another weekend. He was on call, but assured Harley that someone would be around to watch Jude if he had to go to work.
"So, that means I get you this weekend?" Gus asked.
"That's what it means," she smiled.
"Good, because I miss you so much.”
"I miss you too," she replied. "When do you have meetings?"
"Well, I'm flying in early Friday morning, I have meetings all day and then I have meetings at least Saturday morning. Maybe longer," he answered.
"I'll come up Friday night, what time do you think you will be done?"
"We'll be done by seven Friday. How soon can you be here?"
"I can leave here around three and be there by seven," she answered.
"Good, do you want to get dinner then or we could just get room service later," he suggested and Harley laughed.
"Let's go to dinner. Somewhere nice so you can wine and dine me before I give in to your advances," she teased.
"Sounds good. There's an Italian restaurant across the street from the station. I'll get us reservations for seven fifteen and I will be out of that station by seven, I promise."
"Okay, just let me know what hotel you'll be at and I will go there first and drop off my stuff. Oh and spring for a nice hotel room, huh? I want to share the bed with you, not cockroaches," she said.
"Only the best for you," he replied. "I'll get us reservations and call you with the details. I gotta go though, my boss is on his way out here with a determined look on his face. I'll talk to you tonight, I love you."
"You too," was all Harley could reply as Franklin walked by her desk. "Bye."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Whoa, Cooper, looking good. Got a hot date tonight?" Patrick asked as he and Frank passed Harley in the hall on her way out of the ladies room that Friday.
"I sure do," she smiled, "I'll see you guys Monday," she added and kissed Frank's cheek before heading out of the station.
"Who's she so happy over?" Patrick asked and Frank sighed.
"I’ve been sworn to secrecy. And even if I could tell you, trust me, you don't want to know..."
“I figured it wouldn’t be too long before some lucky guy got her,” Patrick replied.
“What does you mean?” Frank asked.
“Well, she’s smart and funny and beautiful…he’s a lucky guy.”
“Is there anyone in this place that doesn’t have a crush on my sister?” Frank asked and Patrick shook his head ‘no’ before he walked out of the station.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Aug 27, 2005 22:43:16 GMT -5
Harley got to the hotel at a quarter to seven and had to rush to get her stuff to their room and make it to the restaurant by seven. Luckily, it was just a short cab ride away and she was glad she changed her clothes back in Springfield.
She looked at her reflection in the window of the restaurant while she waited outside for Gus. She was in a simple red, low-cut cocktail dress, but thought she looked pretty good. She was usually more modest, and rarely wore red dresses, but something about the way Gus looked at her, and the way she knew he would look at her when they met made her feel beautiful and sexy. And it had been so long since she felt that way.
She was still lost in her thoughts when he crossed the street. He had just pulled out a cigarette but put it back in his pocket when he saw she was there waiting for him. He knew she wouldn't kiss him while he smoked and seeing the dress she was wearing, he knew not even his first cigarette since lunchtime would be worth waiting for her lips on his.
"Hey beautiful," he said as he approached her and she finally turned around.
She flew into his waiting arms and he lifted her off the ground in a tight embrace before they kissed in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Hi," Harley breathed when he put her down and their lips parted.
"God, I missed you," he replied and kissed her again. "You look gorgeous."
Harley smiled and relished the feel of his eyes upon her. She reached up and stroked his cheek, "You forgot to shave this morning."
"Yeah, sorry, I was going to shave before I came over here, but didn't have time," he apologized.
"It's okay. I like you with some stubble," she replied and he buried his face in her neck. "We should tell the hostess we're here," she reminded him and he pulled himself away from her and led her into the restaurant.
“I have something for you,” Harley began after they ordered and Gus took a sip of his wine. “Well, actually, I have a few things for you.”
“Oh good. But I have something for you first,” Gus replied and leaned over and kissed her deeply.
“Was that it?” she asked and he nodded.
“What more do you want?” he laughed.
“Hmmm…how about another one of those,” she suggested and Gus complied with her request.
“Okay, now what do you have for me?” he asked.
“I brought the pictures of the property that you are now the proud owner of,” she answered as she took a few snapshots out of her purse and slid them across the table too him.
“Oh, good! These are great. Wow, the view is beautiful,” he said as he flipped through the pictures. “I told you that you would pick out something great.”
“Well, you picked it out, I was just the middleman,” she replied.
“No, you’re more than that. Thank you, it really means a lot to me that you’re helping me with this,” he smiled and she returned his smile, which she had to admit to herself that she had to force a bit. When he first mentioned the house, she was freaked out, then she was excited, then freaked out, then excited and now she was teetering somewhere in the middle. “What else did you bring me?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, Zach was so upset that he couldn’t come with me to see you, so he drew you some pictures,” she answered and pulled out two folded up pieces of construction paper from her purse.
“He’s too cute,” Gus smiled as he unfolded them and looked at the artwork.
One picture was a crayon drawing of what appeared to be a dinosaur with spiky hair. With what looked like a lot of help from Harley, Zach had written on the top of the paper, ‘Dino-Gus’. The other was a drawing of Harley, Zach and Jude.
“He wanted to give you this one so that when you miss us, you have a picture to look at so it feels like we’re with you,” Harley explained.
“Well, he’s right, I do need one of these,” Gus replied quietly after he surprised himself by getting choked up.
“What?” Harley asked as she put her hand on his arm.
“Nothing, I just…this kid is a killer, you know that? He just breaks my heart.”
“I know, I already cried when he showed it to me,” she smiled and squeezed his arm as she laid her head on his shoulder.
He kissed her forehead and sighed as he folded up the papers and put then in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. “How’s everything else in Springfield?”
“Nothing too unusual, except that I called your boss a few days ago to see if I could get any information about the case but he was giving me the run-around,” she began.
“No big surprise there,” Gus interrupted.
“Well, yeah I was kind of expecting that, so then I called Captain Lumiere in Paris to see if I could get anything out of him,” she continued. “And I did. Well, nothing too great, but he did say the last he heard, they were making progress with finding out the Americans who kidnapped Alicia.”
“How have I not heard anything about this?” Gus asked.
“I don’t know. That’s what is so weird. Why did they take you off the case? And why can’t I find anything out? Is it because you’re off of it? Because I’m not FBI, even though I was told I would be kept informed about it?”
“I honestly don’t know, honey. Can we not talk about the case or work or anything though?” he asked.
“Why? Every time I bring it up, you don’t want to talk about it, why is that?” she asked.
“Because it doesn’t matter. And when I’m with you like this, which is so rare as it is, I don’t want to waste time talking about it,” he answered, kissing her neck.
“Hmmm, it’s more than that, but if you keep kissing me like that, I’ll forget about it for now,” she teased.
“How about if I kiss you like this?” he asked as he held her face in his hands and kissed her lips softly.
“Even better,” she said whispered. “What case?” she added and he smiled before he kissed her again, deeply.
“I realized something a few days ago…” he began when they broke the kiss and he took her hand in his. “We’ve been together for what, five weeks? We’ve only been in the same city for about three days of those five weeks and we’ve never been on a date.”
“Well, this is a date,” she argued.
“No it’s not, not really. I mean a real date, where I come to pick you up and bring you flowers. We had months and months of flirting and then boom, we’re together. No dinners, no movies, no awkward first kisses at your front door…”
“No, we didn’t really have any of that, but would you really trade what we do have now for that?” Harley asked.
“Of course not, but I wish I would have gotten to spoil you a little bit.”
“So, spoil me now,” she teased. “Come on, it’s not a big deal. You didn’t have to spoil me, you got me.”
“And I’m not letting you go either,” he replied as he kissed the top of her hand.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They stepped out of the restaurant into the cool night air and Harley shivered so Gus took off his suit jacket and helped her slide her arms into it.
“Thank you,” she said as he hailed a cab and pulled her close.
“So where to?” he asked.
“Well, I was thinking…” she replied quietly and she ran her finger down the center of his chest and tugged on his belt.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he growled as he kissed her as a cab pulled up to the curb for them.
After he opened her door for her, got in the other side, and told the driver where to take them, he slid into the middle of the seat and put his arm around her.
“So what time do you have to be at work tomorrow?” she asked as he kissed her neck.
“Too early,” he mumbled. “But we have all night,” he added and kissed her deeply.
“I have really missed you,” she breathed when they broke the kiss.
“Me too,” he nodded. “I missed your smile…and your laugh. I missed talking to you and holding your hand. And kissing you and touching you…” he continued as he slid his hand up her thigh under her dress, “and making love to you…” he added and stroked her over the lacy thong she was wearing.
“Gus…” she gasped and he covered her mouth in a kiss as his fingers continued torturing her. “We’re almost to the hotel, can’t you wait?” she asked, laughing as she pushed his hand away.
“Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?”
“Another ten minutes won’t kill you,” she teased.
“Oh I think it might…” he replied with a nip to her earlobe. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear.
“I love you too,” she replied softly as their cab pulled up in front of the hotel.
Gus got out and opened Harley’s door before he took her hand and rushed inside.
“Hey, hey,” she said as they speed-walked through the lobby. “I have heels on here, slow down.”
“Sorry,” he said as he stopped and swept her into his arms and carried her to the elevator.
“Gus! Put me down!” she laughed and he obliged when the elevator doors opened and he carried her inside and pinned her up against the wall in a kiss.
Harley moaned as she continued the kiss while the doors closed and started untying his tie.
“God, how do you do this to me?” he moaned breathlessly.
“What?”
“Drive me absolutely crazy. You do, I can’t stop thinking about you, you know that?”
“Gus…” Harley moaned as the elevator doors opened on their floor and they composed themselves enough to walk down the hall.
“Okay, let’s slow things down a little, huh?” he suggested after he shut the door and left her standing in the entryway while he went over to the stereo on turn it on. “Will you dance with me?” he asked, holding out his hand. “Finish out our date.”
Harley kicked off her shoes as she put her hand in his and he pulled her into his arms. He pulled their entwined hands to his chest and ran his other hand down her back. Harley settled her chin into his shoulder and nuzzled her face against his.
“You’re a good dancer,” she said quietly. “As good as I remember from the bar.”
“You won’t pull away from me this time, will you?” he asked.
“Actually yes, but only to get rid of your clothes,” she teased as she took a step back and started unbuttoning his shirt.
“I guess that’s okay then,” he smiled as his jacket and shirt hit the floor behind him and Harley’s hands went for his belt.
She could feel Gus’s breath grow ragged as she slowly lowered his zipper and pushed his pants to the floor. Gus stepped out of them and pulled Harley’s body against his. She could feel him grow hard at the contact and his hands impatiently traveled down her back to the zipper of her dress. He pushed the straps off of her shoulders and took in her naked body as her dress joined his clothes on the floor. He gathered her into his arms again and walked her back to the bed. As he lowered her down onto it, his lips traveled down her neck to her chest. Harley gasped as he caught one of her nipples between his teeth and she let out a soft moan that drove Gus crazy, causing him to practically tear off her lacy thong so he could be as close to her as possible. When he finally removed it and his underwear, he joined her back on the bed and she rolled him over so she was on top of him.
Gus sat up so she was sitting in his lap and he ran his hands through her hair and kissed her deeply before running his hands down her back, settling them on her hips as she guided him into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his lips open with her tongue as she started moving against him.
“God, Harley,” he moaned as he buried his face into her neck. She threw her head back and ran her hands through his thick hair as they moved together towards a passionate climax.
“Wow,” Harley breathed as Gus eased her down beside him and nuzzled her neck. “I hate that we’re hardly together, but when we are together…wow.”
“I know,” he sighed. “We are good, we’re very good.”
“Very good,” Harley repeated with a smile.
“I love you, Harley,” he said as he stroked her lips with his finger.
She kissed it softly and snuggled in closer to him, “I love you too. And I’m glad you’re not going to let me go.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Aug 30, 2005 19:13:37 GMT -5
"So what do I have to do to get you to stay here with me?" Harley asked as she rolled onto her side when Gus came out of the bathroom the next morning.
"Stop time," he answered as he wrapped a towel around his waist.
"Oh, is that all?" she said, crawling to the end of the bed and she pulled his towel off. "Come back to bed and I'll make you forgot all about the rest of the world."
"Harley, baby, please don't tempt me. I have to go," he said, "I promise I will be back as soon as I can."
"Alright," Harley sighed, "I'll just stay here in this big bed all by myself," she pouted.
"Keep it warm for me," he said as he pulled on a pair of pants. He grabbed the dress shirt she tore off of him the night before and walked over to the bed, sitting beside her. "Put this on."
"Why? Do you have some weird fantasy about me wearing your clothes?" she laughed as he helped her pull the shirt on.
"No," he laughed, "But I don't want you laying here naked if any male housekeepers come by."
Harley smiled, "And it smells like you. I guess that will have to do until you come back," she said as she grabbed him around his waist and pulled him into a kiss.
"I have to go," he said as he pulled himself off of the bed and Harley fell back against the pillows and watched him finish getting dressed.
"Order anything you want from room service and charge it to the room. I will get out of there as soon as I can and then I am all yours," he promised as he leaned down and kissed her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Alright, we have thirty minutes," Gus said as he walked into their hotel room but found it empty.
"Harley?" he called out as he looked in the bathroom and out on the balcony.
He thought maybe she was at the pool, so he ran downstairs, but found the pool area empty. He asked the lady at the front desk if she had seen a blonde woman leave the hotel and her response was a look that told him what a ridiculous question it was, so he gave up and went back upstairs.
He called her cell phone and she picked up on the fourth ring.
"Hey sweetie," she answered.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm shopping," she replied and he sighed. "Why? Where are you?"
"I'm in our hotel room. We broke for lunch, so I came back so we could…you know."
"You know…?" she laughed, "You can't even say it?" she teased and he sighed.
"Fine. I came back so we could make wild passionate love before I had to go back to the station. Better?"
"It would be if we were in the same place! How much time do you have?" she asked.
"Only twenty minutes now. Can you get here in the next thirty seconds?"
"Not even if I could fly, honey," she replied. "How's your meeting going?"
"Good, I should be done by four," he answered as she went back to the elevator. He figured he might as well go get something to eat.
"Can we go to the zoo?" she asked.
"The zoo?"
"Yeah. I haven't been to the zoo in a long time."
"Why don't we save the zoo for Springfield and we'll take the boys? I have something else in mind for this evening," he replied.
"What?"
"It's a surprise."
"Well, how do I know what to wear if you don't tell me what we're doing?" she argued.
"Don't wear anything. After I get back, I'll let you know what you can wear."
"After you get back and we…you know?" she teased.
"You're merciless," he laughed. "Hold on baby," he said and placed his order at the deli next to the station. "What are you shopping for?" he asked when he got back on the phone with her.
"That's my surprise," she replied smartly. "Eat your lunch, finish your meeting and I will be back to our room by four."
"Alright. Bye," he said and they hung up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Who is it?” Harley asked when she heard a knock on the door a little after three that afternoon.
“Room service,” she heard through the door and knew it was Gus.
“One second, I’m not decent,” she teased.
“Well then hurry up and open the door!” he replied and she
"What are you doing back so early?" Harley asked as she opened the door. "And hey, isn't room service supposed to deliver food? I'm starved,” she teased.
"I couldn't wait to make love to you," Gus said, as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, deep kiss. "How is that instead of food?" he asked in a low voice, momentarily breaking off the kiss.
"Mmmm…even better," Harley replied, nuzzling on his neck. "I was even hungrier for that."
That was all the encouragement Gus needed. Her new openness always drove him wild and this time was no exception. He took her face with one hand, his other hand still around Harley's waist as he touched her mouth. He felt his heart slamming wildly against his chest. He wanted to make the afternoon last - to give her as much pleasure as she always gave him, but one look at her and he felt like he was an impatient teenager all over again. As he lowered his mouth to claim hers he fought the urge to throw her onto the bed and take every inch of her right away. Slow down, he told himself.
He broke the kiss, needing to collect himself and wanting to see her. "You look stunning," she whispered, seeing her standing there in nothing but a wine-colored sheer babydoll on top of a tiny matching sting bikini.
"You like it?" she said happily, doing a silly little spin for him. "I just got it today".
"I love it. But I do think you are greatly overdressed for the occasion," he added as he moved towards her and slipped the straps off her shoulders.
"I've missed you," Harley whispered, touching his chest with her hand, feeling his strong heartbeat.
"Really?” Gus asked softly, as he tilted her chin and their eyes met. He saw love in her eyes. Clear and strong. Unwavering.
"Yes. I always miss you when you are away. You know what’s weird? I can’t even remember life the way it was before you…and I can’t imagine how I could ever live it without you," she whispered so quietly he barely heard her.
But he did hear her. And his elation at seeing and being with the woman of his dreams became even stronger and turned into a mindless excitement. He pulled her back into his arms, kissing her, tasting her with urgency so stunning she could feel it in every muscle in his body. She felt his touch turn every inch of her body to fire. Mere seconds later, as she was holding on to him and running her fingers through his hair, Gus pulled away so he could pull the babydoll over her head. He touched her hard nipples and began to rub them. As he bent down and laid his tongue over the tip of one and sucked on her hard, Harley felt waves of pleasure engulfing her. She moaned, filled with desire, driving him crazy. The bed was only a few feet away yet Gus knew they would never make it there. He didn't trust himself to walk that far. Instead, he gently lowered her on the carpet, his hands continuing to caress her breasts. They moved to her abdomen and lower still, removing the silky bikini she was wearing. As he pulled it off her, he ran his tongue from her ankles up to her thighs. He felt her wiggle in anticipation, craving his touch.
"Gus, I need you…", she started to say, but her words were cut off by a deep moan coming from somewhere inside her as he moved his lips and started caressing her most sensitive spot with his tongue.
He ran his hand over her stomach and rubbed the sensitive areas inside her hips, never ceasing pleasuring her. Within moments, Harley spiraled out of control and her body climaxed.
She felt him stand up, finally take his clothes off, and then lie down beside her and take her back into his arms. He found her mouth and kissed her slowly and deeply for what seemed like an eternity. His hands moved down her back to her butt. He slid his fingers between her thighs and as he caressed her from behind, Harley felt his hardness against her body. "Gus?" she said, in a voice so strained she could barely recognize it as her own.
"Mhmm?" he mumbled, too busy nuzzling on her neck.
"You know how you said you wanted to make love to me? Well now would be a really good time for that," Harley added impatiently.
She heard him chuckle. "Your wish is my command, love," he said, instantly turning her onto her stomach. He kissed the nape of her neck, and slowly lowering his lips down her spine, kissing and gently biting every inch of her. As he moved down to her lower back he straddled her and she felt him, hard as steel, against her butt. No longer able to control himself, Gus moved in between her thighs. She felt him inside her and the pleasure was more intense than ever. Every time they made love it only became better and better. They both climaxed together, holding on to each other and feeling each other’s pulse. Moments later, he was laying next to her, holding her in his arms again.
"That was…amazing," Harley whispered looking up at him.
"Yes it was," Gus nodded, "because you are pretty damn amazing".
Harley laughed. "I think it's us. We are amazing together."
She lowered her head and licked his nipples playfully. She felt him instantly harden against her thighs in response.
"Mhmm…already? You are insatiable," she said teasingly.
"We need to move to the bed," Gus murmured in a low voice, "because I am hardly through with you my love".
Harley smiled at him, feeling her stomach quiver again. "Well, let's not waste any time then," she laughed and she stood up, took his hand and led him towards the bed
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Please, please tell me that your surprise for tonight is that we’re going to stay in bed all night,” Harley asked as she kissed Gus’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry to say it is not,” he replied and pulled her against his body. “But I think you’ll like what’s after dinner.”
“I won’t like dinner?” she asked curiously.
“It’s not that, it’s just that we won’t be alone,” he answered. “We’re meeting with an architect.”
“Oh,” Harley replied, surprised. “Umm, you’re doing that already?”
“Well sure, I have the property, but now I need the house. And since we’re here and I know an architect, I figured we could both meet with him tonight. Why, is that not okay? I should have asked you first, I’m sorry,” he apologized as she sat up beside him.
“No, it’s fine, I guess I was just expecting to have you all to myself,” she covered.
“Harley…are you not okay with me building this house? I mean, sometimes you are excited with me and other times, you’re not, like right now. What’s going on?” he asked.
“Of course I’m okay with it. You’re so excited about it and I want you to do what makes you happy,” she answered.
“But…?”
“But…it’s just…I get the feeling that you are building it for us. And that’s sweet, it’s so sweet, but it’s so fast too, Gus…”
“Yeah, you’re right. I am building it for us and it is fast. But I know that I want you and the boys to move in with me someday. It doesn’t have to be the day it’s built, or a month or a year after that. Harley, I would never pressure you into something like that, but I know where I see this going and when we get there, I want us to have a home that is ours. And when you’re ready, I want you there. That’s why I want you to be a part of this, but if you’re uncomfortable, that’s okay. I just wish you would have said something sooner, no, I wish I would have realized it sooner. I’m just so excited about it.”
“I’m glad that you are,” Harley replied, stroking his cheek. “And I like helping, I want to help you, I think I just needed things to be clear between us. I’m sorry that I’m not there yet. I want to be, and it’s not you, I just have such a hard time letting myself get into things like this. I’m so afraid, Gus,” she added quietly.
“Of what?”
“Giving you all of me and then getting my heart broken again,” she admitted. “I don’t think I could survive that again.”
“Do you really think that about me? That I would hurt you the way that Phillip did? Harley, I love you. And I’m not perfect and I’m going to mess up, we both will, but I would never do that to you.”
“It’s not you Gus, not really. It’s me and it’s my problem and I have to get through it myself,” she said.
“No,” he argued. “We will get through it, together. Do you think that you’re the reason those guys cheated on you?”
“Well, why else would they unless they weren’t happy?” she asked quietly.
“Because they had no idea how lucky they were to have someone like you in their lives,” he answered as he kissed her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. “And because they are idiots,” he added and Harley laughed.
“I wish I could believe that,” she replied.
“Someday you will. Someday you’ll realize how amazing you are, and I am going to do everything I can to make that happen soon.”
“Are you sure you want this? I am so messed up, Gus.”
“Look who you’re talking to. I am more than sure about us, okay?” he asked and prodded her until she nodded along. “Let me call Doug and I’ll cancel the meeting.”
“No, no. I want to go, really. I just needed to get it out,” she assured him.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” she replied and kissed him deeply. “Thank you.”
“Thank you. For trusting me and giving me a chance. I promise that you will not regret it,” he said.
“You are amazing. You’re so…unlike what I imagined,” Harley began after a few minutes of silence.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you know, you were always so…rude, I’m sorry, but you were rude,” she laughed. “And arrogant with other people, you don’t care what they think, but you were always different with me, but I never thought you would be like this with me. You’re so sweet and romantic, and you’re so great with my kids, I just…well, to be honest, I never thought that we could really have anything more than a physical relationship, because I couldn’t picture you as the kind of guy who could be what I need. But you are, you are exactly what I need and want and I’m so glad I was wrong.”
“Oh. Well, I have to say I surprised myself. But, you’ll be happy to know that I’m still a smartass with everyone else,” he teased.
“Good,” she laughed, “Because I kind of like that side of you too. It’s sexy.”
“Really? How sexy?” he asked as he stroked her arm lightly with his finger.
“So sexy that we just might miss our reservations,” she answered as she turned her head and kissed his cheek.
“He can wait,” Gus said in a low voice as he wrapped his arm around Harley’s waist and pulled her back down to the bed beside him in a deep kiss.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Sept 12, 2005 22:11:32 GMT -5
“Uhh…oh, there he is,” Gus said to Harley when they walked into the restaurant and he spotted the architect they were meeting with already seated at a table. “Ready?” he asked and when she nodded, he brought their intertwined hands up and kissed hers softly before he led her over to the table.
“Gus, hi, good to see you,” the man said as he stood up to greet them and shook Gus’s free hand.
“Hi Doug, sorry we’re a little late, we uh…uh, this is my girlfriend, Harley Cooper,” Gus introduced them.
“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you. Gus didn’t stop talking about you on the phone,” Doug said as Harley let go of Gus’s hand so she could shake his.
“Oh no,” Harley laughed nervously.
“All good, of course,” Doug assured her as they all sat down.
“He exaggerates,” she replied as Gus put his arm around her.
“No, I don’t,” Gus argued and Doug laughed.
“I thought we would order first and then get down to business,” he suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Gus replied as he and Harley opened their menus.
Ten minutes later, they had placed their orders and Doug was pulling out some drawings he had prepared.
“Going by what we talked about on the phone, these are what I came up with,” he explained and laid the papers out in front of Gus and Harley.
He showed them four blueprints of large houses with four bedrooms like Gus requested, a large living room, a den, an open kitchen and dining room and various shapes and sizes of decks and porches.
“These are amazing, Doug. I’m in love with all of them,” Gus said after he looked over them all.
“Well, there’s no rush. Take them with you, think them over and we can make whatever changes you want,” he replied.
“What do you think?” Gus asked Harley.
“They are all beautiful. All of them would look great on the property. I just didn’t know you wanted something so big,” she answered.
“Well, why not,” he shrugged with a smile and kissed her quickly before turning his attention back to the blueprints, one of which he hoped would be his future home with Harley and the boys.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“So how do you guys know each other? You never told me,” Harley asked as the waitress brought another round of beers for them and cleared their plates off the table.
“I went to law school with Doug’s brother and now we work together here in Chicago. Whenever I’m out here, the three of us get together and hang out,” Gus explained.
“Oh, well I’m sorry I butted in this weekend then,” she replied.
“That’s okay. I don’t blame him, you’re a lot prettier than we are,” Doug teased.
“She kisses better than you too,” Gus added and they all laughed as Doug’s cell phone rang.
“Excuse me,” he said and answered it.
“I like this, meeting your friends,” Harley said quietly to Gus while Doug talked on the phone. “I didn’t even know you really had any, you never talk about them.”
“Well, we’re not friends the way you and your friends are. I mean, we want to school together and then we only saw each other when we were in the same city, which wasn’t often. But his brother, Dave, was so great when I came back here. I wasn’t very popular for what I did with the Santos case and a lot of people resented that I was back, but Dave was very nice to me and he kicked my butt a little bit, but really helped me out. He’s a big reason I even got my job back,” Gus explained.
“That’s great,” Harley smiled. “Is he mad that you’re leaving?”
“Well, he’s a little ticked off that he worked so hard to get me this job and I’m leaving after five months, but once he found out why I was leaving, he understood,” he answered and kissed the side of her face.
“Oh really?”
“Really,” Gus nodded as Doug hung up and turned his attention back to them.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “My wife.”
“No problem. How’s she doing?”
“Umm, she’s good. Actually, she was just calling to make sure I could make her doctor’s appointment next week. We just found out that she’s pregnant and our first sonogram is next week,” he answered.
“Doug, that’s great! Congratulations,” Gus replied. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, we wanted to keep it quiet for awhile, you know, just in case.”
“Is this your first?” Harley asked.
“Oh no, we have a three year old daughter,” he answered.
“Man, I can’t believe you guys are having another one, and Dave is getting married…” Gus began.
“I know, isn’t that crazy? Dave and Karen have been dating for like five years and he finally got the balls to ask her to marry him,” Doug explained to Harley. “There are a lot of things changing with all of us, huh?” he added as the waitress brought their check.
“I guess we’re all growing up,” Gus replied as he ran his hand through Harley’s hair and she smiled over at him.
“Why don’t you guys come over? Maria would love to see you and I can show you that blueprint I forgot,” Doug suggested.
“Uh…we actually have plans…” Gus started to answer.
“What, we can go, we’re not doing anything specific,” Harley argued.
“Yes we are, you just don’t know it,” Gus laughed. “Umm, okay, no we can stop over for a little bit. Your place is actually on the way. We’ll have to drive though.”
“That’s okay, I took a taxi in, mind if I ride with you?” Doug asked.
“As long as you don’t mind squeezing in with two car seats,” Harley laughed.
“Not at all, I should probably get used to it,” he replied and they all got up to leave.
Twenty minutes later, they were at Doug’s house in a suburb outside the city. His wife Maria hugged Gus and welcomed him and Harley into their living room while Doug went to get the last blueprint.
“How long are you in town?” Maria asked Gus.
“Just until tomorrow. Have to be at work early Monday morning. My boss is having way too much fun punishing me,” he teased.
“When do you think you’ll be moving?”
“Hopefully by the middle of July. It’s ridiculous, I started in February, quit in April and I’m stuck there until July. I’m doing more work since I quit than I did before,” he complained.
“Wait until you have a house to get together,” Maria laughed.
“I can’t wait,” he replied as Doug came and stood at the entryway of the room.
“Hey Gus,” he motioned Gus to follow him.
“You going to be okay?” Gus asked Harley as he stood up.
“She’ll be fine, get out of here so we can talk about you!” Maria teased.
“Don’t believe a word she says,” Gus told Harley as he kissed her quickly then followed Doug out of the room.
“Your daughter is beautiful,” Harley said as she touched a picture on the end table after Gus left the room.
“Thank you, she’s the center of our universe, but I’m sure you know the feeling,” Maria replied.
“Yes, and the universe just gets bigger when the second one comes along,” Harley added.
“I can’t wait,” Maria grinned. “How old are your kids?”
“Well, my oldest, Susan, is almost fifteen. Zach is almost three and Jude is eight months. Gus actually delivered Jude.”
“What? Dr. Gus?” Maria laughed.
“It’s a really long story. God, he was so great, I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t there with me,” Harley replied with a sigh.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you two had been together that long.”
“No, we haven’t. We’ve only been together like…six weeks,” Harley laughed. “It seems longer,” she added.
“You know, I have to tell you, you’ve made quite an impression on him. You’re the first woman he’s called his girlfriend since…well, ever since I met him, and I’ve known him since they were in college. I think you’re the first person who’s ever received, hell maybe even the first who deserved, a place in his heart. And I don’t know if you realize how huge that is, but it is a big deal.”
Harley smiled, “I know it is. Umm, Gus and I didn’t just meet and fall in love. We’ve been through a lot together. You seem very protective of him, that’s so nice, but I…uh, I know him, I know what a big deal this is.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“It’s fine,” Harley assured her as Doug and Gus came back into the room.
“Hon, we gotta go, you ready?” Gus asked.
“Yeah,” she answered and Gus shook Doug’s hand and thanked him, then hugged Maria before they started out to the car.
“What do you think?” Doug asked Maria as they drove away.
“I think our boy is in love,” she teased.
“Love doesn’t even begin to describe it I think…” he added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Honey, where are we going?” Harley asked as Gus drove up a dark, wooded road.
“Just wait and see,” he winked and squeezed her hand as he continued driving.
He finally came to a stop at the top of a hill and put the car in park. “One second,” he said and got out of the car, going around the back to the trunk. He grabbed a blanket and two flashlights out of it and went to open Harley’s door.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she grabbed his arm and snuggled up against it as they walked over to a cliff that overlooked the city.
“Sit down, and I’ll be right back to fill you in,” he said as he kissed her before he went back to the car with the second flashlight.
He returned a few minutes later carrying a picnic basket and sat down beside Harley on the blanket. She went to ask him again what was going on, but he stopped her by placing his finger on her lips.
“I thought,” he began as he pulled some candles out of the basket and lit them, “that since we were, for some reason I cannot explain anymore, not together for Valentine’s Day, that we would celebrate it a little late,” he finished as he pulled out a single red rose and ran the soft petals across Harley’s cheek.
“Valentine’s Day, really?” she asked quietly. “Had I known, I would have dressed for the occasion,” she teased.
“You look beautiful,” he replied and she rolled her eyes.
“Stop that or you won’t get your gift,” he teased and she ran her hand down his arm.
“I’m sorry,” she pouted. “What did you get me?” she laughed.
“First, a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Corny, but a Valentine’s Day necessity,” he said as he handed her the red box.
“Where on earth did you get this?” she asked.
“Trust me, it was not easy. Second, a teddy bear,” he continued and handed her a small white teddy bear that was holding a red stuffed heart with ‘I love you’ embroidered on it.
“Wow…this is so not what I would have expected from you,” she replied.
“A few more things…” he interrupted and handed her a square box that was all wrapped up. “Open the card first.”
Harley took the white envelope off of the boxes and opened it, pulling out the card. She looked at it and busted out laughing. “This is so adorable, where did you get this?” she laughed.
“Doug searched the house for some of Madison’s old valentines. I thought this one was appropriate,” he answered and she held it up in front of her again.
“You light my fire, hot stuff, complete with a fire breathing dragon,” she read the card, laughing. “Sweetie, I am never throwing this away.”
“Alright, alright, open the box,” he laughed and ripped the card out of her hands.
“This is much more what I expected,” she said as she pulled a red lace, see-through babydoll from the box.
Gus laughed, “Do you like it?” he asked.
“I love it, I can’t wait to wear it,” she replied as she laid it back in the box and wrapped her arms around Gus’s neck, crawling into his lap. “This is wonderful, thank you,” she said and kissed him deeply, pushing him down against the blanket.
“Watch the candles,” he warned and moved a few out of their way before he ran his hands up and down her back while she laid on top of him, kissing his neck. “Baby, you know, I was planning on waiting until we got back to the hotel, but if you keep doing that to my neck, we won’t make it,” he moaned, sliding her tank top up her back and letting his fingers create patterns on her bare skin.
“How alone are we up here?” she asked as she sat up, pulling him up with her so she was sitting in his lap.
“Pretty much all alone,” he replied, not being able to resist the desire he saw in her eyes.
“Good,” she said and pulled his shirt over his head before he did the same with her top and pulled her against him, kissing her chest.
“I have something else for you before we get too distracted,” he said, pulling his lips away from her skin and he reached over into the basket and took out one last small box. “Open it before you think or say anything though, okay?” he asked and placed the box in her hand.
She took the lid of the box to reveal an even smaller black ring box. She fought not to react and opened the small box, revealing a gold ring with five ruby stones.
“Gus…” she began.
“This was my mother’s ring. My dad bought it for her for their tenth anniversary. She died a month later and my dad gave it to me and told me to give it to a woman that I loved as much as he loved my mom,” he explained. “Until I met you, I didn’t think I would ever give it to anyone. I love you, Harley, more than anything in this world and I never want you to doubt that. And if you ever do doubt it, I want you to look at this ring and know that with it comes a commitment that is sacred to me. It doesn’t have to mean the same thing from you, as long as you agree to wear it and believe what I tell you,” he smiled and placed his forehead against hers.
“I do,” she nodded against his forehead. “I love you too, Gus,” she replied and kissed him deeply.
“This a good finger for it?” he asked as he took her right hand and slid it onto her ring finger.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered as he wiped a tear off of her cheek.
She ran her fingers through his hair and looked deep into his eyes before she covered his lips with hers and pushed him back down onto the blanket.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Oct 8, 2005 19:55:24 GMT -5
“Harley, where have you been?” Blake asked as she and Cassie walked into Company Monday morning.
“We’ve been trying to get ahold of you all weekend,” Cassie added as they slid into the booth across from Harley and Jude.
“I was in Chicago with Gus. You guys knew that,” she answered.
“Yeah, but you didn’t even answer your phone,” Blake argued.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t plan on it unless it was about the boys. You guys know I never get to see Gus, I see you two all the time. Even when I don’t want to,” Harley teased.
“Ha ha,” Cassie said dryly.
“So what was the big emergency?” Harley asked.
“What?” Blake asked.
“Why were you trying to call me?” she repeated.
“Oh. We wanted to see if you could take the third off. We want to have a girls’ day at the spa,” Blake answered.
“July third?” Harley asked and Cassie nodded. “I can’t,” she answered, disappointed. “Susan is coming for the weekend that day and Gus is coming up that day too. I’m sorry, it’s just not a good day for me.”
“Well, what about the second then?” Cassie asked.
“That, I can probably do. Provided the house is ready for my guests,” she replied.
“Gus and Susan finally meet huh? And they’re both staying with you?” Blake asked.
“That’s the plan, yes. Susan will be fine – she’ll like Gus,” Harley assured them.
“Does she know he’s going to be there?” Cassie asked.
“Yes, and she’s looking forward to meeting him,” she answered.
“If you say so…” Blake replied then changed the subject. “So how was Chicago?”
“It was great,” Harley said simply.
“That’s all we get?” Cassie asked.
“Well…” Harley laughed. “We had a great weekend. It was the most time we’ve spent together since Paris and it was just great.”
“Well, this is new,” Blake said, reaching for Harley’s right hand where the ring Gus gave her sat.
“Yes, it is,” she nodded.
“From Gus, I assume?”
“You assume correctly. Saturday night, we have Valentine’s Day.”
“You do know that it’s June, right?” Cassie asked.
“Yes, but since we weren’t together for Valentine’s Day this year, we celebrated it a little late. Anyway, this was his mother’s ring and it means so much that he gave it to me,” Harley smiled with a sigh. She already missed him like crazy.
“Wow. So when will he be moving back here?” Blake asked.
“Right now, it should be a few weeks after the Fourth of July. In other words, not soon enough,” she answered.
“Harley, don’t you think you’re moving a little fast here? I mean, you guys have only been together for a few weeks and you’ve barely seen each other. And he’s Gus…and you’re acting like you want to marry him or something,” Blake said.
“Maybe I do,” Harley replied and Blake and Cassie looked at each other, surprised. “I’m not saying I do right now, but why should I not put myself completely into this relationship? I’ve spent the past year or more afraid to let myself feel anything about anyone, and I’m sick of that. I have this great guy who loves me and I love him and I don’t want to ruin this.”
“We just want you to be happy, that’s all, Harley,” Cassie said.
“I am happy,” she smiled as her cell phone rang and she excused herself as she answered.
“Hey you,” Gus said on the other end of the line.
“Hi,” she replied. “What’s up?”
“Well, I just talked to my boss and I got a final, absolute last day. July 2nd, so when I come to Springfield for the Fourth, I will be back for good.”
“Oh…”
“Umm, you could sound happier,” he laughed.
“No, I’m sorry, it’s just that I wanted to come down and help you pack and then ride back with you. It’s a long drive, I didn’t want you to do it alone. And will you even be ready to move for good by the third?” she asked.
“I can be,” he answered.
“Why don’t you finish up on the 2nd, come here on the 3rd, and on Monday, I’ll fly back with you, we’ll get you all packed up and drive back together.”
“You’ll have to take like three days off,” Gus argued.
“I have the time, don’t worry,” she assured him.
“Alright, if you insist.”
“I do,” she said. “And I have to go. Blake and Cassie are giving me dirty looks because you’ve had me all weekend and it’s their turn now,” she teased.
“I don’t blame them. I’ll call you later,” he said.
“Bye sweetie,” she replied then hung up and turned her attention back to her friends. “Alright, so the 2nd would be great – that way I am all primped and relaxed for my daughter and my man,” she teased.
Cassie sighed, “I miss those first few months when you can’t get enough of each other.”
“Me too,” Blake added.
“Well, we are definitely in that stage…” Harley replied with a sly smile. “Two more weeks! Then this horrible long distance thing will be over.”
“Did he decide on a house yet?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, his architect is coming whenever he moves back here to meet with Josh. They’re going to start construction soon I guess,” Harley answered. “It’s a gorgeous house. I can’t wait to see it finished.”
“So what’s going on there? Are you like moving in together?” Cassie asked.
“No…not yet. I mean, yeah, he’s building the house for us, but not now. We’re not there yet, and that’s fine, we both know that,” Harley explained. “We’re just taking this thing wherever it goes.”
“Do you think it will go ‘there’? Living together?” Blake asked.
“Well, I hope that it does. I want this to work out, I want us to be happy and together, I want a man that I love and that loves me, I want someone to grow old with and I want that to be Gus.”
“And what if you get hurt? What if it doesn’t work out?” Cassie asked.
“What if it does work out? Isn’t that so much better than worrying about it falling apart?” Harley asked.
“Of course it is,” Cassie replied as she covered Harley’s hand with hers.
“It’s just so…unlike you,” Blake cringed. “I mean, it’s great, don’t get me wrong…”
“I know, but god, you guys, we are so good together. And I don’t even mean just the sex, although that is really good too, I just feel like he really gets me. He knows all about my messed up love life past, but he still wants to be with me. We both know each other’s bad stuff, we’ve been through some really bad stuff together and were still here. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“Of course it does, honey. We just want you to be happy, you know?” Blake asked.
“Yeah I know, and that’s what I hear from everyone. I am happy. We are happy. At least you guys don’t give me that look like Frank does.”
“What look?”
“That, ‘oh sis, you could do so much better’ look. I don’t know why people think they know what is better for me than I do,” she complained.
“But it’s Frank, he just wants you…”
“To be happy,” Harley finished for Cassie. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, go back to what you were saying about the sex,” Blake changed the subject.
“Blake,” Harley shook her head, laughing.
“Come on! You were with him all weekend with nothing to do, I know you had sex!”
“We had stuff to do! Gus worked most of the day Saturday and we met with an architect Saturday night…”
“And what about Friday night? And all day Sunday?” Cassie asked.
“You guys! I have already told you that it is very good,” Harley said, pointing at Blake.
“Details…?” Blake urged.
“I bet he can get a little wild, right? I mean, he doesn’t seem to be the type that would be boring in bed,” Cassie remarked.
“You mean like Richard?” Blake asked and Cassie shot her a dirty look.
“I told you that was not for repeating Blake!” she hissed and Harley raised her eyebrows.
“Umm…” Harley began.
“Richard is not boring, we’re just in this…” Cassie tried to explain.
“Rut,” Blake finished for her.
“Well, you know, you’ve been married for a few years. It happens,” Harley shrugged. “Gus and I just started dating.”
“Forget it, we’re fine. Just don’t tell me how many times you had sex this weekend,” Cassie replied and Harley bit her lip, silent. “Ugh, you’re counting, aren’t you?” she groaned.
“I didn’t say anything!” Harley exclaimed.
“Less than five, tell me it was less than five,” Cassie pleaded.
“Ummm,” Harley wrinkled her brow.
“Oh god,” Cassie sighed.
“Well, if you think about it, we hadn’t seen each other for three weeks, so really, it was only like having sex…umm three times a week,” Harley cringed as her phone rang.
“I hate you,” Cassie sighed as Harley digged through her purse.
“I have to get this,” she said and answered it, “Detective Cooper.”
“You owe me big-time!” the voice on the other end said. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get the phone number of the Mayor of Chicago? Damn near impossible.”
“I know, that’s why I asked you to do it for me. How about I take you and Jenna out to dinner? What do you think? What’s the number?” she asked.
“Dinner, drinks and dessert!” Brad Newman corrected after he gave her the phone number which she wrote down on a piece of paper. Brad used to be on the SFPD before he moved to a Homicide Detective position in Chicago. He had connections and had helped Harley on more than one occasion.
“Thanks Brad. Give me a call next time you guys are in town,” Harley said before they hung up.
“Who’s Brad?” Cassie asked.
“A guy I used to work with. He was doing me a favor,” Harley explained.
“Uh huh,” Blake nodded and Harley rolled her eyes.
“I have to go make a phone call. It might take me awhile, so if you guys have to leave before I’m back, have a good day,” she said as she stood up.
“Hey, we want to all go out Friday night, Ross wants to try that new place by Towers,” Blake said. “Are you free?”
“Umm, yeah, but I’m going to pass. Gus will be in DC and I don’t feel like being a fifth wheel. But you guys enjoy,” she answered.
“You should bring Frank,” Cassie suggested.
“No, you guys go and have fun,” Harley replied and took her stuff over to the bar to make her phone call.
“We should wait until Gus is back, huh?” Blake asked and Cassie nodded.
“Charles Davis’s office,” a perky woman answered the number that Harley dialed.
“Hello, this is Detective Harley Cooper from Springfield, could I please speak to Mayor Davis?” Harley asked politely.
“One moment please, I will see if he’s available,” the woman said before Harley heard cheesy music in her ear while she was on hold.
“Detective Cooper, it’s nice to hear from you,” the Mayor said as he picked up the line.
“Hello Mr. Mayor,” she replied.
“Please, call me Charlie,” he said. “How are things in Springfield.”
“They’re fine, thank you. I was just calling to see how Alicia is doing,” Harley said.
“She’s doing okay. She has good days and bad ones. Thankfully, the good are beginning to outnumber the bad.”
“That’s great. She’s a sweet girl. She has her whole life ahead of her.”
“Yes, and thanks to you and Agent Aitoro, she’s safe and back here where she belongs. I know I never got a chance to formally thank the two of you for what you did. For Alicia and all of those girls.”
“No need to thank us, it’s our job. We’re just glad everyone is safe again,” Harley said.
“And how is Agent Aitoro? His gunshot wound, I mean?”
“He’s completely healed.”
“Good. Do you have any updates about the case?”
“No, sir, I’m sorry to say I don’t. Actually, Agent Aitoro was taken off the case, so I was too it seems,” Harley explained.
“That’s crazy? Why would you be taken off, you both are heroes,” the Mayor said, getting angry.
“Well, I honestly couldn’t tell you. And that’s another reason that I called, it’s hard to get invested in a case and never hear the results of it. I was hoping you had some good news,” Harley replied.
“I wish I did. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard anything new for awhile. You would think my being the Mayor would grant me some kind of authority, but it doesn’t. If you and Agent Aitoro aren’t on the case, who is?” he asked.
“I would assume the other agent who was in Paris with us is, Agent Sampson, but I’m not sure. I’m sorry I don’t have any news for you,” she answered.
“I just don’t understand any of this…”
“Neither do I, Sir,” she added. “Anyway, I just wanted to call and check on Alicia. Tell her I said hello.”
“I will, thank you. If you hear anything, you’ll call?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“And I’ll do the same,” he added.
“I would appreciate that Sir. Have a good day,” she replied.
“You too Detective Cooper,” he said before they both hung up.
Harley put her phone away and made some notes about the call. She couldn’t believe that either the FBI was making zero progress on the case or they weren’t keeping the Mayor informed. She still couldn’t figure out why Gus was taken off the case, and that in combination with the phone call she just had put up a warning flag in her head. Something was strange about this case, and she was damn sure going to find out what it was.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Oct 29, 2005 23:00:27 GMT -5
“So, are you excited about Susan coming for the weekend?” Frank asked as he sat on the edge of Harley’s desk at the station on the day before the Fourth of July.
“Of course. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. I can’t wait for her to meet Jude,” she answered.
“What about Gus? Does she know about him? Does she know he’s coming?”
“Of course she does. Do you think I would just spring this on her?” Harley asked, a bit insulted.
“I was just wondering…” he held up his hands in surrender. “I guess this is my cue to go,” he added as he saw Gus walk into the station.
“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t getting in until tonight?” Harley asked as he took Frank’s place on her desk after he left.
“Well, I have some paperwork to fill out here, so I caught an earlier flight. Disappointed?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she smiled. “How long are you going to be with the paperwork?”
“Shouldn’t take too long, why?”
“Well, I’m going to be finished up soon and then I need to go shopping, if you want to come with me,” she suggested.
“What are you shopping for?”
“A swimsuit for tomorrow.”
“Hmm…so I could wander aimlessly around town all afternoon or I can watch my gorgeous girlfriend try on bikinis, they would be bikinis, right?” he asked and she nodded, laughing. “Then I think I’ll be going shopping with you. And literally because I didn’t rent a car.”
“That’s fine, where’s your stuff?” she asked, noticing he didn’t have any luggage with him.
“At the boarding house, I dropped it off on my way over.”
“Why? I thought you would stay with us?”
“Well, Susan’s going to be there and I thought maybe I shouldn’t stay there too,” he answered.
“No, come on, it will be fine.”
“Hey, you were the one who was all about me not staying at your place, but every time I’ve been here, you’ve insisted.”
“No, I said I didn’t think we should live together. This isn’t living together, it’s you staying at my house for the weekend.”
“Ah, you want to play the semantics game when what it really is, is you using me for sex but not wanting to actually be a position where I can pay half of your bills,” he teased.
“I’m going to choose to ignore that and you’re going to go into Franklin’s office and fill out your paperwork and then we’re going to get lunch and forget you even mentioned that, okay?” Harley asked.
“I was kidding. I’m just a little confused as to what is appropriate and what isn’t. I guess I missed the memo outlining all of the rules,” Gus replied.
Harley fought not to roll her eyes, “I asked Susan if she minded if you stayed with us, and she doesn’t. Living together is a lot different than spending the weekend there. Plus, she already likes you better than Phillip.”
“Well, that’s not really saying much in my opinion,” he said as he walked past her desk into Franklin’s office.
Harley shook her head and smiled. He had this amazing way of driving her crazy to the point of her wanting to rip off all his clothes and tackle him right there in the middle of the station. She sighed, knowing that would have to wait until they were in a more private place.
“Hey Aitoro,” Sam Avery said as he passed Gus on his way out of Franklin’s office. “I hear you’re taking over my place.”
“Well, I’m going to do my best,” Gus replied.
“I hear you’re good, but a little wild. I think Cooper will be able to keep you under control though.”
“You think so? Coop and I work well together. She’s one of the best.”
“She sure is. Listen, sorry it’s going to be a couple more months, but I need the extra year to get a better pension,” Avery said.
“Uh, yeah it’s fine,” Gus answered. A couple more months? he asked himself as Avery walked away. “Uh, Chief? You said you had some paperwork for me?” he asked as he stepped into Franklin’s office.
“Hey Aitoro, yeah, come on in,” Franklin replied and Gus sat across from him. “It turns out that Avery won’t be retiring until October, so I can’t put you on full time until then. What I can do is hire you as a consultant part time, so at least you’ll have some money coming in.”
“Okay, what exactly does that mean?”
“Well, you’ll just be helping out on whatever cases we need you on. It could be research, stake-outs, interrogations, paperwork…”
“So basically I’m at your mercy for minimum wage?” Gus asked.
“Well, only if you want. I just thought you’d like to be employed. If you don’t want to start until October, that’s fine with me.”
“I’m building a house, so of course any extra money would be nice, but I’d also like to have the freedom of being between jobs.”
“Well, do you want to give me two days a week? Or sixteen hours a week? Two days, three, four, whatever.”
“Yeah, okay, I can do that,” Gus agreed and Franklin slid the paperwork across his desk.
“Great. You can start whenever.”
“Well, I’ll be back in DC most of this week, so maybe the week after that?” Gus suggested.
“That’s fine,” Franklin replied and Gus got up and left the office.
“Hey, you got days off to go to DC right?” Gus asked as he got back to Harley’s desk.
“Yeah, why?”
“Franklin didn’t say anything about it, I thought he would have.”
“I think he’d like to ignore us,” she replied. “I’m done here. You want to get lunch?”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” he nodded and followed her out to her car.
“You want to drive?” she asked, holding the keys out and sticking her bottom lip out.
“You tired?” he asked as he took them and got in the driver’s side.
“I’m exhausted. I had no idea a relaxing day at the spa was so tiring. And Jude didn’t sleep well last night,” she explained, getting in beside him.
“Well, we can sleep in tomorrow if the kids cooperate,” he replied.
“Ha! Give me a kiss,” she said and leaned over to kiss him. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” he replied, kissing her. “Hey,” he said as he pulled back suddenly. “We don’t have to miss each other anymore!”
“You’re right!” Harley smiled and grabbed his shirt by the collar pulling him back to her in a deep kiss.
“God, I really like knowing that you’re only going to be five minutes away from me instead of hours,” she added as he pressed his forehead against hers and ran his fingers through her hair.
“Me too,” he replied before he started the car and drove to Company.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I know I should eat, but I’m so tired that I’m not even hungry,” Harley whined as she and Gus walked into Company hand in hand.
“Want to work up an appetite?” Gus asked as he leaned in closer to her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked warily.
“Well, there aren’t any free booths and we need to get my stuff from upstairs…” he answered, pulling her with him up the stairs to the boarding house.
“Gus, there are a ton of people downstairs,” Harley argued.
“And we’re upstairs,” he replied as he led her into the room where his stuff was. “Alone. And I’ve missed you like crazy,” he added as he back her against the door and kissed her softly.
“Oh, you know I can’t resist it when you sweet talk me,” Harley let out a little laugh and her fingers teased Gus’s stomach under his shirt before she pulled it up over his head and tossed it away.
“I can’t believe I’m finally here. With you,” he whispered as his lips brushed her cheek and he ran his fingers over her skin. “I just…I can’t believe that you’re mine.”
“Believe it,” she replied quietly and pulled his face to hers in a deep kiss as they shed the rest of their clothes.
Gus sighed contently as he kissed Harley’s forehead and pulled her closer to his chest. “I can’t believe we just did that in your father’s restaurant,” he chuckled, but received no response from Harley. He looked down and saw that she was fast asleep. “That’s okay, I can handle taking a nap with you in my arms. “I love you Harley,” he added quietly before he fell asleep beside her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Where’s Gus?” Susan asked as she and Harley walked to the baggage claim later that night after Harley picked her up.
“He’s at the house with the boys. It’s a lot easier than dragging them around here. Plus he wanted to give us some time together,” Harley smiled.
“Well, I can’t wait to meet him, he sounds great. And I can’t wait to see Zach and Jude.”
“You won’t recognize them at all. Jude has grown so much since the last picture I sent you and Zach changes every day, I swear. Did you get the pictures I emailed you?” Harley asked.
“No, when was that?”
“Just yesterday. One was a picture of the boys and the other was a picture of me and Gus. I sent them to your school account.”
“Oh, I haven’t checked that in a few days. But I’ll get to see them all in person pretty soon anyway,” Susan replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“We’re back!” Harley announced as she opened the door for Susan and Gus shushed them with a finger to his lips.
“He just fell asleep,” he replied, with Jude asleep on his chest.
“Did you wear him out?” Harley asked.
“I guess so,” he shrugged and smiled up at Susan. “Hi.”
“Oh sorry, Susan, this is Gus. Gus, Susan,” Harley finally introduced them. “And he’s holding Jude and Zach is…?”
“He went upstairs to get a coloring book,” Gus finished for her.
“Oh, I was hoping you got them both to sleep,” Harley teased.
“I tried,” he said as Susan sat next to him to look at Jude. His head was facing the other direction, so Gus stroked his cheek until he woke up. He lifted his head, looked up at Gus, then put his head back down on his chest facing Susan this time.
“Wow, he has changed a lot. His hair is so blonde, where did that come from? Dylan has blonde hair and my hair isn’t even that light,” she asked.
“I have no idea, I’m sure it will get darker as he gets older though,” Harley replied as she came up behind the couch and ran her hand through Gus’s hair. “Hi,” she said as he looked up at her.
“Hi,” he replied and she leaned down and kissed him quickly. “So no plane problems? It was on time?” he asked Susan.
“Yep, everything was fine,” she answered.
“Do you like flying alone?” he asked.
“I don’t hate it,” she shrugged.
“Well that’s good, because I hate it and I have to do it all the time. I can’t sit still that long without at least having someone to keep my attention,” Gus said. “Are you hungry? I was going to make something or order something, but I didn’t know what you liked…”
“That’s fine, I’m starving though. What are we having?”
“Well, it is up to you. We can order pizza or Chinese if that’s what you want. Or we can make something, spaghetti, tacos, hamburgers, whatever you want. I have no idea what is in the freezer,” Harley replied.
“I looked, there’s chicken, steak, some pork chops, lots of hot dogs,” Gus teased.
“Well, that’s all Zach ever wants to eat,” she replied as Zach came bounding down the stairs.
“Mommy! When did you get home?” he asked as he flew into her arms.
“A few minutes ago,” she answered as she kissed him. “Do you remember your sister Susan?” Harley asked and Zach nodded.
“Hey Zach, you’ve gotten so big since the last time I was here. What are you coloring?” Susan asked him as Gus got up and laid Jude in his playpen.
“Simba,” Zach answered. “Wanna help me?”
“I sure do,” she nodded and he crawled into her lap.
“How about fajitas for dinner?” Gus suggested.
“Oh, that sounds good,” Susan nodded.
“Yeah, Zach will eat those,” Harley added.
“Chicken or steak?” he asked.
“Chicken,” Susan answered.
“Okay, I’ll get them started. Honey, you want chicken, right?” he asked Harley.
“Yeah, I’ll help you,” she replied.
“Why don’t we color in the kitchen, Zach?” Susan said and they followed Gus and Harley into the kitchen where they started getting dinner ready.
“Wanna see my room?” Zach asked Susan a few minutes later.
“Sure,” she replied and he pulled her out of her chair and upstairs to his room.
Gus came up behind Harley and pushed her hair off his neck so he could kiss it. “She is beautiful, she looks so much like you,” he said.
Harley smiled and leaned back against his chest, “I’m so glad she’s here. I’m so glad you’re here. I’m just very happy today,” she said.
“I’m happy you’re happy,” he replied and kissed her cheek. “Why don’t you go change into something more comfortable? Aren’t those heels killing your feet?”
“I guess,” she shrugged and turned around in his arms as she kicked off her shoes. “If I change, then I have to take everything off.”
“Again,” he teased and pushed the jean jacket she was wearing off of her shoulders, tossing it over a chair at the table.
“Are you going to undress me right here?” she asked, laughing.
“Maybe after all the kids are asleep I will,” he replied and stroked her cheek before he kissed her softly.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said as he stepped away and she turned towards the stove to turn the chicken over.
She heard music from the radio on the counter and Gus grabbed her hand and pulled her into a dance in the middle of the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” she laughed.
“Dancing with my sexy lady,” he growled into her neck, then pulled back, still holding her hand and she twirled around back into his chest.
He did some exaggerated dance moves around the kitchen then dipped her in his arms, ending with a deep kiss.
“Hmm, we should dance in the kitchen more often,” Harley smiled.
“Anytime babe,” Gus replied with another kiss.
“They kiss like that all the time,” Zach sighed as he and Susan made their presence known to the oblivious couple.
“Yuck!” Susan exaggerated for Zach’s benefit.
“He thinks it’s gross now, but wait until he’s sixteen and we have to deal with him chasing girls down for kisses,” Gus teased.
“We?” Harley asked.
“Yes, ‘we’. Don’t chicken out on me,” he said as he went back to the food on the stove.
“Okay,” she replied as she hugged him from behind before she got out plates and started setting the table.
“Jude was fussing when we came down, so I figured I would bring him in,” Susan said as she sat down at the table with the boys.
“That’s fine. Do you want me to take him?” Harley asked.
“Nah, we’re gonna bond,” she replied and Harley kissed the top of her head as the phone rang.
“Hello?” Harley answered after she picked it up off the table. “Yeah, hold on,” she added and handed the phone to Gus. “It’s Josh.”
“Hey Josh,” Gus greeted as he turned the heat on the stove down.
“Hey Gus, sorry to call you on the weekend, but Buzz said you were staying with harley, so I figured I would call you tonight,” Josh said.
“No problem. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to double check on the day your architect was coming to town.”
“Well, we’re going to be in DC until Thursday, and Doug is coming out Saturday morning,” Gus answered.
“Okay, I thought we had decided on Saturday, but I wanted to make sure. I wanted to give Bill a definite date and time. He’s going to help me out, so I wanted him to come too.”
“That’s fine. How about we meet for lunch at Towers?” Gus asked and finished his conversation with Josh.
“You’re going to DC?” Susan asked Harley.
“Yeah, we’re flying there Monday night and driving back Wednesday. We’re bring all of Gus’s stuff back here,” she replied.
“Well, you know my flight was changed, right?”
“No…”
“It’s Monday night, with a layover in DC. What time is yours?” Susan asked.
“Five thirty, I think.”
“Then we’ll be on the same flight,” Susan smiled.
“Well, that works out nicely. But that will get you to New Haven so late,” Harley said, worried.
“I know, but one of my teachers is picking me up. I’ll be fine,” Susan assured her.
“Dinner is served,” Gus said as he came over to the table with a plate of warm tortillas.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Dec 21, 2005 23:18:01 GMT -5
“Gus is really good with the boys,” Susan said later that evening as she and Harley sat on the couch talking while Gus gave the boys a bath.
“Yeah, he is,” Harley nodded.
“I like him a lot. And he’s a great cook.”
“I know. Thank god, because you know I’m no chef,” Harley joked and Susan laughed.
“So why isn’t he moving in with you again? I mean, this seems like the real deal,” Susan wondered.
“Yeah, it is, but moving in together is a big thing, Susan and we don’t want to rush things. We’re really good with where we are now. And we’ve only been together a few months.”
“And you’re sure that’s the reason? Or are you just scared?”
“Of course I’m scared. I don’t want to mess this up by moving too fast.”
“Just don’t mess it up by not moving at all,” Susan replied and Harley narrowed her eyes at her daughter.
“Hey, I’m supposed to be giving you advice about love, remember?” she laughed.
“Do you love him?”
“Yes, I do. Very much.”
“I can tell,” Susan smiled. “And I can tell he loves you. Do you see the way he looks at you?” Susan sighed. “I’m jealous,” she teased.
“Your time will come,” Harley replied. “But yeah, he’s amazing.”
“And you trust him?” Susan asked cautiously.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve had some bad luck in the marriage department. And, well…Marina told me about his thing with the Santos family.”
“Oh. Yes, I trust him. About everything. And the Santos thing…it’s complicated and he has worked very hard to make things right there.”
“She also told me about his dad. I know how he feels. What happened to his mom?” Susan asked.
“She died when he was really young. She was sick for a long time,” Harley explained.
“Wow. Then I really do know how he feels,” she replied quietly.
“Yeah. You know, if you ever need to talk about Jim or what happened, you can talk to Gus. I mean, if you want to talk to someone who knows what you’ve been through. I think it would be good for him too.”
“Maybe I will,” Susan smiled sadly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“What are you reading that’s so interesting?” Gus asked as he switched off the TV and curled up beside Harley later that night after all the kids were in bed and asleep.
“The Natashas. It’s a book about sex trafficking,” she answered.
“Baby, why are you reading that?”
“Because…I just feel like I have to. You know, for those girls. Even though all of the ones we went over for are safe now, there are so many more who aren’t. I just feel like I need to be informed.”
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she shrugged and he kissed her cheek before he settled into the bed beside her.
“I called Alicia’s dad, did I tell you?” Harley began a few minutes later.
“You called the Mayor of Chicago?”
“Yep.”
“Why? And how did you even get through?” Gus laughed.
“I guess he remembered me. But I was on hold for awhile.”
“What did you call him for?”
“I wanted to check on Alicia. And I was hoping he would have some info about the case, but he hasn’t heard anything either. He couldn’t believe you were taken off of it though.”
“Well, neither can I, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” he shrugged.
“I can’t believe they’re not telling him anything. They’re either keeping him in the dark or making no progress. I don’t know which one would be worse.”
“Well, I’d say either one is likely.”
“How can they have nothing though? I mean, they have three of the families involved, and four eye witnesses. You’re telling me that the FBI has no clue who the American family is that abducted Alicia?” Harley asked unbelievably.
“Yeah, it’s possible, or…”
“Or what?” she asked.
“Baby, sex trafficking is a business. A very profitable and pleasurable business. There are a lot of very powerful people wrapped up in it and if they don’t want names and locations to get out, then they won’t,” Gus answered.
“What does that mean? You think it’s a cover up?”
“Happens all the time.”
“So you’re saying that maybe your boss does know who the family is, but since he’s got a prostitute of his own on the side, he doesn’t want the case solved?” she asked.
“I didn’t say that and no, I don’t think that, but whoever this family is, they’re not stupid and they have a lot invested in this ring, so they’re going to do everything in their power to not get caught. I’m personally surprised that Kozlovic or one of the other families haven’t given up the name yet, which means a few things. Either the American family is very close to one of those families, and if I had to pick, it would be Kozlovic, because he’s the most powerful of the three. Or the American family on their own is powerful. Maybe even more powerful than Kozlovic,” Gus suggested.
“Do you really think that your guys don’t know anything more about this case than we did three months ago?”
“Well, first of all, they’re not my guys anymore. And second of all, no I don’t. I think they’re making progress but are keeping Mr. Mayor out of the loop,” he answered.
“Why would they do that? More importantly, why is he letting them do it? If that were my daughter, I would be camped outside of the J. Edgar Hoover building until I got the name of the monsters that kidnapped and sold my little girl.”
“Maybe they’re afraid of what he’d do if he knew. Maybe they don’t want him to blow their case. Maybe he’s not so worried about it since Alicia is home and safe. I don’t know, sweetie.”
“It doesn’t bother you at all that this case isn’t solved and you can’t do a damn thing about it, even though it was your case?”
“Of course it does. I guess I’m just used to having to focus on other things. I’m off the case. I can’t do anything else, so right now, I am going to focus on you, and the kids, and you, and the house, and you, and my new job, and one more thing that I’m forgetting…oh, you,” Gus teased as he kissed her palm. “And whatever else life decides to throw at us. You with me?”
“I’m with you,” she nodded and he smiled as he took her book away and set it on the nightstand, turning of the lamp before he pulled her into his arms for the night.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Harley, come on, we’re all ready,” Gus yelled from the doorway with Zach and Jude both in his arms the next afternoon, waiting to head to the Bauer BBQ.
“I’m coming, I’m just checking my email!” she called back.
“We’ll be in the car,” he replied and she heard the door shut as she clicked on the newest message in her inbox.
Detective Cooper, Wanted to let you know that I heard from Director Hanson from the DC Bureau. He didn’t have much of an update for me, but they’re pretty sure the family is from the Chicago area. I’m looking into the powerful families we have around here. I would appreciate it if you could do the same for Springfield and any other families that you are suspicious of. I’ll be in touch – Mayor Davis
“Powerful families from the Chicago area?” Harley said out loud. “Yeah, I know of a couple! The Sandovals and Santoses for example,” she added, annoyed and closed out her inbox before joining everyone else in the car.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey Buzz, do you have any small burgers for the kids?” Gus asked as he came over to the grill with a plate for Zach.
“Yeah, I need one for Robbie too,” Danny said as he joined them.
“I have one done and I just put another one on,” Buzz said, holding the one up and looking at the two men.
“Go ahead,” Gus offered.
“No, it’s okay, you take it,” Danny replied.
“No, it’s fine. Zach can wait a few minutes. Looks like you better feed him soon,” Gus joked as he looked over at Robbie who was throwing a tantrum.
“Yeah, he needs a nap more than he needs this burger though. Thanks, thanks Buzz,” Danny said before he took the burger over to Robbie.
“Wow, that was…nice of you,” Buzz commented to Gus after they were alone.
“Well, what do you know? I’m not a monster,” Gus teased.
“So how’s it going with Susan?” Buzz asked.
“It’s good. She’s a great kid.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“And Harley is thrilled to have her here. You know, I see her with the boys, but she’s different with Susan. I don’t know if it’s because she’s older or because she’s a girl…” Gus commented.
“I think it’s a combination of both of those and the fact that she can finally be a mother to her,” Buzz answered.
“I guess so. And Susan’s very receptive of it. I guess I wasn’t expecting that since she’s been kind of on her own, but she lets Harley take care of her and fuss over her, and I think that’s good for both of them,” Gus said.
“I think Harley would love to have Susan back here full time, but she also knows that this school is good for Susan. Burger’s ready,” Buzz said and slid it onto the bun Gus had ready for Zach.
“Thanks Buzz,” he said and took it over to the table where Harley was sitting with the boys.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey Danny,” Harley said as she came up beside him at the coolers to get some more beers for her and Gus.
“Harley,” he acknowledged.
“How’s the legit life going?” she asked.
“It’s going good.”
“Yeah, you staying clean?”
“Of course,” Danny nodded.
“What about Carmen and Tony?”
“Well, I can’t speak for them, but they tell me they’re clean, so they are,” he answered, starting to get annoyed.
“I hope so.”
“What’s with all the questions, Harley?” Danny finally asked. “Does Aitoro have something he wants to pin on us and has you doing his dirty work?”
“This has nothing to do with Gus, Danny. I just want to make sure you’re keeping you word to this town and your family.”
“Don’t worry about my family, Detective. You should be more worried about who you let interact with yours.”
“My family is just fine,” Harley assured him. “But, I saw you and Michelle fighting earlier, I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything I needed to worry about.”
“Like I said, you have bigger things to worry about,” he repeated before he walked away from her.
“What was that about?” Gus asked Harley when she came back with their beers.
“Nothing, just talking,” she shrugged. “I’m gonna go talk to Blake,” she added and kissed him before she went off to the other end of the backyard.
Gus took a sip of his beer and looked around. He saw all of the teenagers hanging out by the pool except for Susan. He looked around the rest of the backyard and finally saw her walking towards the front yard by herself. He grabbed a popsicle from the cooler and followed her.
When he got to the front yard, he found her sitting on the bench by the front door, so he slid onto the bench next to her.
“Popsicle?” he asked and broke it in half, handing her part of it.
“Grape. That’s my favorite. How did you know?” she asked as she took it from him.
“Didn’t,” he shrugged, “but it’s my favorite too.”
Susan smiled and started the popsicle while they sat in silence for a few minutes.
“What’s on your mind?” he finally asked.
“Nothing, just needed to get away from the crowd,” she answered. “I love being here, I love seeing everyone, but they all want to fuss over me, especially Grandpa and Uncle Frank. Harley does at home, but she’s not too bad in public,” she added and Gus laughed.
“Well, they just want you to feel comfortable.”
“Yeah, I know, but sometimes I just need some room to breathe.”
“I hear ya,” Gus nodded.
“Yeah? I don’t really see too many people fussing over you besides Harley and the boys,” she replied.
Gus turned and looked at her, trying to figure out what she was trying to say.
“I just mean, umm, you know, I know you’re not really popular around here,” she clarified.
“Oh, well, you’re right. I didn’t mean room to breathe the same way you did though, I guess. I just know what it feels like to think you’re suffocating. In people or your own feelings, whatever,” he shrugged.
“Yeah…” Susan trailed off. “Umm, I’m sorry about your dad. That must have been horrible for you to go through.”
“Thanks, it was. But, you know what that’s like. Harley told me about Jim, I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. We’re kind of like…the same. I mean, at least as far as our parents go.”
“Yeah, kind of. You know, if you ever need to talk about any of it, I’m here, I’m a good listener,” Gus smiled.
“Thanks, but I’m doing okay with it.”
“Does being away at school help?” he asked.
“Yeah, it does. It keeps me busy, and everywhere I look I’m not reminded of him, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. It’s why I got out of Chicago as soon as possible after my dad died. Everyone runs from things that haunt them, but I’m glad you come back here sometimes. I know it means a lot to Harley.”
“I know, and I’m getting better at being here. I like being here now.”
“Well, good. I hope that you come back more often. I’m looking forward to getting to know you,” Gus said.
“Yeah, me too. I feel like I should tell you, that I, uh…well, I approve,” Susan finally said.
“You approve of…?”
“You and Harley. You’re really good to her and the boys. And I, I just wanted you to know that I don’t hate you. And I think that you are like a million times better for her than Phillip was.”
“Well, thank you, so do I,” he laughed. “Seriously, I love your mother very much. And I love Zach and Jude, and I’m not going to do anything to hurt them.”
“I believe you,” she smiled.
“You gonna come back to the party?” he asked.
“Yeah, in a little bit,” she nodded as he stood up and took her popsicle stick. “Thanks for listening.”
“Anytime,” he replied and kissed the top of her head before he headed back to the backyard.
“Hey,” Harley said as she met him in the side yard. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.”
“Susan and I were just taking a breather,” he motion towards the front yard.
“Susan? She’s still back there?” Harley asked and started towards her but Gus grabbed her arm.
“Hmm, why don’t you come back with me? She’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said and pulled her close to him.
“Is she okay?” Harley asked, worried.
“Yes, she’s fine, just wants a few minutes of quiet. And I want a few minutes of you,” he teased and held her face in his hands.
“Oh, well, in that case,” she replied as she leaned up and covered his lips with hers in a deep kiss. “I am so glad that you’re here,” she added when they broke the kiss.
“Me too,” he replied, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.
“Hey, hey, what are you guys doing out here alone when there’s a party going on in the backyard?” Susan asked as she came around the side of the house.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Harley said as she pulled away from Gus. “Are you okay?”
“I am great,” Susan nodded, “And I’m going swimming. See ya!” she added then disappeared into the crowd in the backyard.
Harley looked up at Gus and he kissed the side of her head.
“Well, what do you think? Should we go back there or spend some more time alone?” he asked.
“The boys are with their fathers, so my vote is alone time with you,” she answered.
“That’s my girl,” he replied and took her hand as they started towards the empty front yard.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Dec 21, 2005 23:18:30 GMT -5
“You guys can go, I’ll probably be boarding soon,” Susan said as Gus and Harley walked her to her gate after their plane landed in D.C.
“That’s okay, we’ll stay until you get on the plane,” Gus replied, knowing that Harley didn’t want to leave her alone at the airport.
“Who’s picking you up?” Harley asked after they all sat down.
“Mrs. Russell, my history teacher,” she answered.
“Oh right. Well, you’ll call me when you get to the dorm, right?”
“I will,” Susan nodded.
“Now Boarding Flight 726 from Washington, D.C. to New Haven, Connecticut, rows nine through fifteen,” the man at the gate said into the intercom.
“That’s me. Row eleven,” Susan said as she stood up. “I’ll call you as soon as I get home, I promise,” she repeated as she hugged Harley.
“Be careful,” Gus warned as she gave him a hug and slung her bookbag over her shoulder.
“I will. Have fun packing,” she teased and waved to them before she went up to the gate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“So, are you ready to see my humble abode? And believe me, I do mean humble,” Gus said as he and Harley got off the elevator in his apartment building.
“I can’t wait,” she replied as he unlocked the door and opened it for her.
“Wow,” she said as she stepped into the studio apartment. “Gus, this is a great space! The way you talked about it, I though the two of us would barely fit in it. It’s pretty big.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just don’t like the one room thing,” he shrugged.
“Well, I think it’s great. A little empty…”
“Yeah, I’m basically all packed up, so we could leave in the morning. Why are we staying here for three days anyway?” Gus asked.
“Because, I want three days alone with you.”
“Well, we could be alone in Springfield in your nice house instead of here in my tiny studio apartment.”
“But in Springfield, we’d have to deal with the Chief and my dad and Frank and the boys and Phillip and Ricky and the rest of the town. We don’t have any of that here, it’s just us and I think we need some time alone together. I wasn’t to go out to dinner with you and stay up all night drinking wine and talking, followed by hours of…not talking,” Harley winked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Oh…okay then,” he agreed. “Hey, one of the guys is turning forty and there’s a party for him tomorrow night. Since we’re going to be here, maybe we could stop by for a bit?”
“Yeah absolutely. Is it a formal thing, because I didn’t bring anything really dressy with me…”
“No, no, it’s at a bar. Jeans and stuff,” he answered.
“Oh good. Yeah, it sounds like fun.”
“Cool,” he smiled. “Sorry about the bed, I already sold the frame and headboard.”
“That’s okay,” she replied as she looked at the mattress on the floor. “I think it’s kind of…sexy.”
“Oh really?” he asked as he backed her up towards the bed and slid her shirt up over her head.
“Uh huh, and it’s getting sexier,” she moaned when he took his own shirt off and tossed it behind him.
“You know, we haven’t made love since Friday at Company,” Gus said as he took off her bra.
“That’s the longest we’ve gone when we’re in the same town,” she replied and unbuttoned his jeans.
“Too long,” he nodded as they finished undressing each other and fell to the bed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I have to get that, it’s probably Susan,” Harley said as they heard her phone ring.
“Alright,” Gus replied as she crawled over him to her bag to answer her phone.
“Okay sweetie, I’ll call you next weekend. Good night,” she said before she hung up and joined Gus again. “She’s back at her dorm.”
“Good.”
“Honey,” Harley began after a few minutes. “Why do you have a king sized bed?”
“Umm, I move around a lot at night,” he answered.
“You are such a liar,” Harley laughed.
“I don’t think you want to know,” he said and kissed the top of her head as he pulled her close.
“So where’s all your stuff?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I sold most of it, the rest will stay here. The only thing I’m taking besides the boxes is my chair, and that’s being shipped on Wednesday,” he answered.
“What chair? That chair?” she asked, pointing towards an old, brown recliner in the corner by the TV.
“Yeah, that chair.”
“You’re having it shipped to Springfield?”
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“Why don’t you just buy another one? A new one?” she asked.
“Sweetheart, that chair has been with me since college. That would be like me asking why you don’t just buy a new child if you would move instead of taking Zach or Jude with you,” he said.
“You’re talking about my children, not a smelly old chair,” she laughed. “You don’t want that thing in your new house.”
“Umm, yeah, I do,” he insisted.
“Alright,” she sighed.
“You don’t like my chair?”
“Well, no, I don’t. It looks like you could get a disease just by sitting on it and it’s …well…honey, it’s ugly.”
“It’s not ugly! It was the coolest thing around in 1989,” he argued.
“Umm…yeah, I’m sure it was. It’s 2002 though, you know that, right?”
“Yes, smartass,” he teased as he attacked her under the covers, tickling her and making her shriek.
“Shh, stop it, we’re going to wake up your neighbors!” she cried.
“You’re the one who’s screaming,” he laughed. “You know, I was planning on making you noisy in bed tonight, but this isn’t what I meant!”
“Oh yeah?” she asked as she grabbed his wrists and held them behind his back. “What did you mean?”
“What do you think I meant?” he asked as she let him pin their arms above her head.
“Why don’t you show me?” she whispered into his ear and trailed her tongue down his neck.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I love these tubs,” Harley said as she settled against Gus’s chest in the warm water late the next morning when they finally woke up.
“Hmm?” he mumbled into her neck.
“These claw foot tubs. I love them. I wanted one so bad in the house, but Phillip insisted on a whirlpool instead,” she explained.
“Well, if I remember correctly, the whirlpool is pretty nice too,” he teased as he pulled a sponge out of the water and squeezed it so the water cascaded down Harley’s arms.
“Yeah, it is,” she laughed and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek as the phone rang.
“Machine will get it,” he said and she turned her head up and kissed him.
“Good,” she replied as the machine beeped.
Hey Aitoro, it’s Sampson. I don’t know if you’re still in town or what, but a bunch of us are meeting down at the school this afternoon around three to shoot some hoops before the party. So if you’re around, come on down.
“Are you going to go?” Harley asked as she threaded her fingers through his under the water.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged.
“You should.”
“Will you come with me?”
“No, I think I’ll stay here and make myself beautiful for the party,” she answered.
“Well, what are you going to do the rest of the time that I’m gone?” he asked. “I mean, cause you’re already beautiful, so it won’t take you any time at all…that didn’t come out right,” he laughed.
“I understood what you were trying to say,” she assured him with a kiss. “I mean it, you should go, don’t worry about me, I’ll find something to do.”
Gus gave Harley a kiss before he left the apartment later that afternoon to go play basketball and as he pulled away she pulled him closer and held the kiss.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in shorts. Nice legs,” she teased and gave him a little smack on the butt.
“You better watch it, I’ll be back soon and we’ll put that bed to good use again,” he said, running his hands all over her body.
“We will not, because I will be showered and dressed before you get back,” she pushed his hands away. “Score big for me, baby,” she added in a sexy voice and kissed him one more time before he left.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey, look who showed up!” Sampson called out when Gus joined them on the basketball court.
“Better late than never, right?” Gus said as he caught the ball that was thrown at him.
“Didn’t know if you would be in town or not,” Sampson said.
“We got in last night,” he replied as he did a lay-up.
“We? You brought her down here?” another agent asked. “You guys coming tonight?”
“Yep, we’ll be there. Eight o’clock right?”
“Right,” Sampson nodded as he got the ball from Gus and stood there holding it.
“What?” Gus asked.
“This is serious, huh?” he asked.
“Basketball?” Gus asked innocently as he tried to grab the ball.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“The girl,” someone else added.
“Her name is Harley and are we playing basketball or talking about our girlfriends?” Gus replied.
“We’re playing basketball…after we talk about your girlfriend,” Sampson said.
“Fine. Yeah, it’s serious,” Gus finally answered.
“It must be since you’re leaving the FBI and moving halfway across the country for her,” Sampson said.
“Yeah, why didn’t you just get transferred to Chicago?” another guy asked.
“Because that’s still three hours away from her. You can’t have a relationship like that,” Gus said.
“She hot?”
“Yeah, you didn’t see her when she was here on the Kozlovic case?” Sampson asked and he shook his head. “She’s cute.”
“She’s beautiful and she’s no longer the topic of conversation. Let’s shoot some hoops,” Gus said as he finally got the ball away from Sampson and they fell into a friendly game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Lover! Come and give your man some sugar!” Gus yelled as he walked into his apartment and Harley came out of the bathroom.
“My man is all sweaty. He’ll get sugar after he gets a shower,” she teased.
“Meanie,” Gus pouted. “Is that what you’re wearing?” he asked.
“No, well, I’m wearing the jeans, but I have a different top,” she answered, tugging at her t-shirt. “Will you go get a shower please?”
“Why?”
“Because…I want some sugar too,” she replied.
“Then come over here,” he motioned with his finger.
“No, I’m all clean and you’re not.”
“If you come give me a kiss, we can shower together,” he suggested.
“My hair’s already done. You know, if you would stop arguing with me and get in the shower, we could get to the sugar a lot faster!”
“Fine. I’ll be back in two minutes,” he yelled from the bathroom before he turned the water on and she followed him into the bathroom and put on her makeup.
“Hey, how am I supposed to sing in the shower with you right there?” he asked.
“You can still sing. It’s not like I can’t hear you when I’m in the other room,” she rolled her eyes.
“Great, now I can never sing in the shower again.”
“Oh come on, I think it’s sexy. I especially liked your version of ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby’ yesterday. Susan enjoyed it too,” she teased and he reached out of the curtain and flicked some water and suds at her. “So how was basketball, did you have fun?”
“Yeah, I made some good shots and it was nice, you know, one last game with the guys.”
Harley looked up in the mirror and smiled then turned around and opened the shower curtain, “I’m glad you had fun.”
“Do you mind? A little privacy please,” he teased.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too.”
“No, I mean, I love you for moving to Springfield. I know you love your jobs and living here and it means a lot to me that you would give all of that up for me.”
“Honey, we’ve discussed this. I’m not really giving anything up compared to what I’m getting. Now, if you’re not going to get in here with me, would you please go back to what you were doing so I can finish?” he teased.
“Yeah, yeah,” she smirked and kissed him before she shut the curtain again.
“Wow…” Gus said when he came out of the bathroom in a towel and saw Harley, dressed for the party.
“You like it?”
“Oh yeah,” he nodded as he came up to her and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him. “Give me that sugar now,” he added then kissed her deeply.
“Mmm, let me look at you again,” he said when they broke the kiss and Harley took a step back, holding his hand. “That is absolutely…it’s an amazing top.”
“You don’t think it’s too young for me?”
“What? You look gorgeous,” he scoffed.
“I’m glad you like it, it cost way too much money and I never should have bought it, but I figured what the hell?”
“Well, I will gladly pay you for it, because damn, it is worth it,” he said as he pulled her close again and kissed her.
“You better get dressed or we will never make it to dinner before the party and I am starving,” she finally said as she pulled away from him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey, Aitoro’s here!” the group of agents that Gus played basketball with greeted as he and Harley walked into the bar for the party.
“Hey, you guys remember Harley, right?” Gus asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and kissed her hair.
“Yeah,” Sampson stepped forward, “How’s it going?”
“Great,” she replied.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the birthday boy,” Gus said and took her hand, leading her to the bar.
“Hey, Aitoro! Didn’t think you were still in town,” another suited man greeted.
“Just until tomorrow. Jim, this is Harley Cooper. Harley, this is Jim Geller, Mr. Big 4-0,” Gus teased.
“Happy Birthday,” Harley said as they shook hands.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you. You guys go get some food and drinks. Go dance, have fun!” Jim said before someone else pulled him away.
“Do you want something to drink?” Gus asked.
“Not right now. Can I convince you to dance with me in front of everyone here?” Harley asked.
“What, you think I’m a bad dancer?” he asked, feigning offense.
“No,” she laughed, “but you wouldn’t even sing in the shower in front of me.”
“Let’s dance,” he said and pulled her out into the crowd.
They danced until the fast song was finished, then the music turned slow and Gus pulled Harley up against him.
“Wow, slow dancing in front of your friends. You really must love me,” she teased.
“I really do,” he replied as he buried his face into her neck.
“I love you too,” she said as she lifted his head up and kissed him deeply.
“I want to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me, okay?” Gus began as a new song started.
“Okay,” Harley smiled, a little confused as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“Why do you love me?” he finally asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you know, just being at the barbeque the other day and being here tonight, I keep hearing things like…well, we both know how the people in Springfield feel about me. They don’t think I’m good enough for you and they think you’re making a huge mistake. And the people here can’t really believe that I found someone who could get to me like you do, because it’s never happened before. And I guess, considering all of that, considering everything and everyone that’s against us, I’m just wondering why you love me, why you’re willing to go against all of that and be with me.”
“Oh Gus,” she sighed as she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. “I do love you, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks. There are so many reasons why I love you…would you like a list?” she teased and he gave her a half smile.
“I guess I just needed to hear that,” he shrugged.
“Well, you’re going to hear more. I love you because you make me laugh,” she began, “and because you can make me so angry at you-”
“That’s a good thing?” he interrupted.
“Yes,” she laughed, “because the reason I can get so mad at you is because you are so passionate about the things you believe in, whatever it is. You’re passionate about everything, you don’t do anything half way. When you love someone or believe in something, you do it completely. I love you because you don’t care what other people think. And you’re good with my children, amazing actually. You’re a good man, Gus. Despite what you did in the past, you’re a good cop and you’re a good person, but you’re not perfect and I love that. I don’t want a perfect man, I want someone who has flaws, because god knows I have them. I want someone who complements my flaws and I want to be able to do the same for them.”
“You do,” he said. “I mean, I think you do. I can get a little hotheaded sometimes, but you can always calm me down and you keep my feet on the ground when they need to be, but other times you make me feel like I’m flying. I’m serious. My god, Harley, you…”
“Shh…I know, believe me, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’m about ten miles in the air right now myself,” she said as he ran his fingers through her hair before he kissed her softly on the lips.
“Aitoro!” an agent called out, interrupting them. “Pool?” he asked holding up a pool cue.
“Go,” Harley urged him, “I’ll amuse myself at the bar,” she teased before he kissed her and went over to the pool table.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Sampson asked when Harley sat down beside him at the bar.
“Sure,” she nodded and he motioned over the bartender. “I’ll have what he’s having,” she told him, pointing to Sampson’s beer.
“So how do you like D.C.?” Sampson asked as she took her first sip. “I mean, not being here on business.”
“I like it. I like being here with Gus, you know, in his world,” she answered.
“Well, not anymore.”
“No, I guess not,” she smiled. “So how’s that case going?”
“It’s going,” he shrugged.
“That’s obscure.”
“Sorry, but it’s not really good conversation.”
“Well…look, I want to know, okay? I got invested in this case and then I get to hear nothing about it,” Harley said.
“It’s a sensitive case and there really isn’t much to say about it.”
“Are you close at all to finding out who kidnapped Alicia?” she asked.
“We have some leads, but nothing really solid,” he shrugged.
“That doesn’t say a whole lot for your department if almost three months later you’ve made no progress. Or it says that you know how to keep your mouth shut,” she added and he smiled at her. “I think we could help you. Gus and I, our whole department. I think the people who took Alicia are close to Springfield. I want to know if the people who kidnapped her are a part of our town.”
“I really can’t say Harley,” Sampson replied. “And if you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about, don’t your breath on hearing any news, alright? If they have anything to do with it, Aitoro will be the last person to know about it.”
“You don’t have to worry about Gus doing anything stupid. He’s changed,” Harley assured him. “So that’s why he was taken off the case – because you think it’s possible that the Santos family was involved.”
“I think…that this is something we shouldn’t be discussing here,” Sampson said.
“Then when would you like to discuss it? You name the time and place and I’ll be there.”
“You don’t give up, do you?” he laughed.
“No, not usually. And I won’t give up on this,” she told him as Gus came over and joined them at the bar.
“How’s it going over here?” Gus asked, “You’re not trying to steal my girl away from me, are you?”
“I don’t think she would let me,” Sampson replied. “She’s a tough one.”
“She sure is,” Gus nodded before he kissed Harley. “You ready to go?” he asked.
“If you are.”
Gus nodded and shook Sampson’s hand, “Good luck man,” he said.
“You too,” Sampson replied, “Don’t be a stranger.”
“We’ll see ya,” Gus said as he put his arm around Harley and they left the bar.
“So, where to?” he asked as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, hand in hand.
“Home,” she answered. “Well, you know, your home here,” she laughed.
“Sounds good. I’m hungry, you hungry?”
“There was a ton of food at the party, why didn’t you eat?” she asked.
“Eh, I’m in the mood for Chinese. Mind if we stop somewhere and get some?”
“Whatever you want,” she shrugged and he turned down a block that led to Chinatown.
“You want anything?” he asked when they got to the restaurant.
“What are you getting?”
“Hmm…General Tso’s Chicken, white rice and a couple of egg rolls,” he answered.
“Are you going to eat all of that?”
“I might share with you if you ask nicely,” he teased.
“You better. I at least want an egg roll.”
“You got it,” he said and kissed her as they stepped up to the counter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“You are a wiz with those chopsticks. I can’t even pick up a grain of rice, let alone an entire mouthful,” Harley laughed as they sat in Gus’s recliner watching TV and eating their Chinese after they got back.
“It’s not really that hard,” he shrugged.
“I prefer a fork, I guess,” she said as she stuck her fork into his container and got a piece of chicken.
“I like this. Sitting here watching TV, eating some good Chinese food with you in my lap wearing nothing but one of my t-shirts. I like it a lot,” he said as he kissed her neck.
“I like it a lot too. I like everything about the past two days. If my kids were here, this would be perfect. I almost don’t want to leave tomorrow,” she sighed.
“I do. I’m ready to start a new life in Springfield with you and the kids. It’s gonna be a good life, Harley,” he promised.
“I know,” she nodded and kissed him deeply.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Jan 7, 2006 23:39:06 GMT -5
Harley sighed as Gus pulled the comforter up over them and she settled into his arms.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“This is our last morning to wake up together for a while. At least for two more weeks until Phillip and Rick have the boys again,” she explained.
“Well, then we should take full advantage of today, shouldn’t we?” he teased as he slid his hand over her bare stomach and kissed her chest.
Harley laughed and squirmed as he moved his kisses down her stomach, “Your beard is scratchy.”
“I’m sorry. Would you like me to stop and go shave?” he asked, peeking up from under the covers.
“Don’t you dare stop,” she shook her head and he disappeared again.
He moved his kisses back up her stomach and covered her lips with his as he rolled on top of her body. She wrapped her arms around him and rolled so that she was on top of him, their lips never parting.
“Now, this is what I call a good morning,” he moaned and kissed her again.
They broke their kiss when they heard the front door slam.
“What was that?” Gus asked, breathless.
“Mommy!” they heard Zach call up the steps.
“Zach,” Harley groaned as she rolled out of the bed and threw a pair of track pants at Gus and struggled into her robe.
Gus had just got back into bed, semi-dressed when Zach burst through the bedroom door.
“Mommy, you’re back! Hi Gus!” he exclaimed and jumped into Harley’s arms.
“Hi sweetie. Where’s Daddy?” she asked.
“Downstairs,” he answered and jumped from her arms onto the bed where he gave Gus a high five.
“I’ll be back,” Harley said as she started downstairs and met Phillip who was on his way up. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“We were on our way to the Country Club and Zach forgot his swim trunks here,” he explained. “I didn’t think you’d be here,” he explained.
“This isn’t your house, Phillip, you can’t just barge in whenever you want!”
“Harley, I didn’t know you would be here and Zach needed his swim suit. I don’t see what the big deal is,” Phillip argued.
“Got ‘em Daddy!” Zach exclaimed as he came down the stairs tucked under Gus’s arm like a football.
“Oh, now I see what the big deal is,” Phillip added.
Gus came the rest of the way down the stairs and stood between Phillip and Harley. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Uh huh,” she nodded and kissed him quickly. “Did you get your suit, sweetie?” she asked Zach and he nodded.
“Okay,” Gus said and sat on the couch with Zach while Harley and Phillip continued talking.
“Look, I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect you to be stopping by this morning,” Harley apologized.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“We got back late last night.”
“Is this something we need to discuss? You told me he wasn’t living with you,” Phillip asked.
“He’s not. He’s staying at the boarding house until his house is done, but when the boys aren’t here, he probably will be. This is something we’ll just have to deal with I guess.”
“Harley?” Blake peeked her head in the door and Cassie followed her into the house. “We were hoping you would be back. Oh hi,” she waved to everyone else in the room.
“Come on Zach, we better go,” Phillip said.
“Mommy, can I stay here with you and Gus instead?” Zach asked from Gus’s lap.
Harley looked at Phillip who bit his lip but shrugged as a response, “Alright,” Harley sighed, then turned to Blake and Cassie. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked.
“Just wanted to see if you could spare a few hours with us this morning and if you guys were free tomorrow night. What do you have on under there?” Blake asked as she reached over to the hem of Harley’s robe.
“Blake!” Harley swatted her hand away and Blake turned and mouthed ‘nothing’ to Cassie who raised her eyebrows and Gus laughed.
“Alright, I’m leaving,” Phillip said and kissed Zach before he left.
“See why I wanted to go to D.C.?” Harley asked as she sat on the couch next to Gus and Zach. “Well, obviously, this morning won’t work, but I think we’re free tomorrow night, right honey?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked.
“We wanted to try that new place by Towers out,” Cassie answered.
“I thought you all went there a few weeks ago,” Harley said as she tried to smooth down Gus’s wild bed-head hair.
“Well, we were going to, but decided to wait until Gus got back so we could all go,” Blake explained.
“Sounds good,” Gus nodded and Harley wrapped her hand around his.
“Great!” Cassie replied and elbowed Blake.
“Oh right. Well, I guess we’ll be going. What time tomorrow night?” Blake asked.
“The boys will be in bed between seven-thirty and eight, so how about eight-thirty so I can put them to bed first?” Harley suggested.
“Works for me,” Cassie agreed.
“Good, then we’ll see you guys there at eight-thirty,” Blake said as they waved and left the house.
“Sounds like we have a date tomorrow night,” Gus teased and he kissed Harley’s cheek.
“That would be like what, our second, third?” she asked.
“I guess that depends on what you would call a date. I’ve never come and picked you up, brought you flowers, and gave you a goodnight kiss when I brought you home before, so I think this would be our first date.”
“Our first date with six other people,” Harley groaned and laid her head against his shoulder.
“Maybe we should have our first date tonight then,” he said. “We can just go get a drink somewhere after the boys are asleep if someone could stay with them. If not, we can just stay here and watch a movie or something. Unless you’re sick of me,” he teased.
“Never, never, never,” she said, punctuated with kisses. “I’ll call Marina and see if she can come over for a few hours. You gonna stick around until then?”
“Nope. I’m gonna take some stuff to the boarding house and then take the rest to storage, then check out the property and do some various other things. I’ll pick you up tonight, or whatever,” he replied.
“Alright. Will you stay for a little while though? For lunch? I’m going to call Rick and see when he’s bringing Jude home.”
“We can have a picnic outside!” Zach exclaimed. “Can we Mommy?”
“I think we can do that,” she nodded. “I’m going to call Rick and then get a shower. You okay with him for a little bit?”
“Absolutely,” Gus said and Harley kissed him before she went upstairs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey Cooper, I thought you weren’t going to be back until tomorrow?” Franklin asked as Harley came into the station holding Zach’s hand. “Hey Zach,” he greeted.
“Hi,” Zach waved and climbed into Harley’s chair.
“Just wanted to come in and check on some things, we won’t be here long,” Harley replied.
“Mommy, where did Gus go?” Zach asked as Harley moved him to the desk across from hers with some coloring books.
“He had to go home,” Harley answered.
“Where’s his home?”
“Well, for now, it’s upstairs at Company.”
“How come he doesn’t live with us?” he asked innocently.
Harley bit her lip and tried to think of an answer for her young son, “Because he doesn’t. But he’ll be at our house a lot. Is that okay?”
“Yeah!” Zach nodded enthusiastically, “I like when Gus is there!”
“Me too,” Harley agreed and kissed the top of his head. “Sit here and color, okay?” she added before she went and sat at her own desk and got to work.
Between the email from Charles Davis the week before and the conversation she had with Agent Sampson at the party, Harley was more sure than ever that whoever kidnapped Alicia was close to Springfield. And as much as she hated to admit it, she was really starting to be convinced that it was the Santos family.
On her way to the station, she had called Mayor Davis and got him to have his head of security forward all of the security records from the Davis home and the Mayor’s office. He promised phone records, visitor logs, everything he had. He had explained that the FBI had also looked at them and it wasn’t long after that they told him they were making progress on the case. She called the number Davis had given her and contacted the head of security so he could fax her the records.
“Zach, come on sweetie, bring your truck,” she said as she got up and he followed her back to the room where the copy machine and fax were.
They got there as soon as the first page came through and Zach played on the floor with his truck while Harley looked over the pages as they came out. She decided to make a backup copy so she ran the copy machine at the same time.
“Hey sis,” Frank said as he came into the room. “Hey Z-man!” he greeted Zach with a high five.
“Hey Frank,” she kissed his cheek.
“Gees, you have every machine in this room taken over,” he teased.
“Sorry, shouldn’t be too long.”
“That’s okay. I wasn’t expecting you to be here. I thought you were still on the road.”
“We got home late last night and I thought I would come in and work on some stuff while Gus is out doing house stuff,” she shrugged.
“What case is this?” Frank asked as he grabbed a paper off of the copy machine. “It doesn’t look like any of ours.”
“Uh, it’s not. It’s something else I’m working on,” she replied and took the paper from him.
“What?” he asked, starting to get a little anxious.
“Get that look off of your face. It’s the case Gus and I worked on in Paris,” she finally answered.
“Oh, he’s still on that case?”
“Well, not exactly. He was taken off of it a few months ago, but no one is making any progress on it, or at least they’re not telling anyone if they are. I want to know what’s going on, so I’m looking into myself,” she shrugged.
“These are FBI files? Where did you get these? Do you know how much trouble you could be in?” he asked, worried.
“Calm down Frank. These aren’t FBI files,” she sighed. “If you promise to keep quiet, I will tell you, okay?”
“Yeah, of course,” he nodded and she told him about the case, leaving out the possible Santos connection.
“So, Charles Davis sent me these to go through and see if I can come up with anything. I’m not doing anything illegal,” she assured him and Frank sighed disapprovingly. “Frank, I want to find the people who kidnapped that girl and I don’t think the FBI is really doing all they could do it themselves.”
“Harley come on, you don’t really believe that,” he replied.
“I really do, Frank. And even if they are, I want to know that I didn’t give this case up. I want to know who took Alicia, I think her family deserves to know and they’re in the dark too. That’s not right, because the longer those people are out there, the greater the chance that they will do it again, maybe not with Alicia, but with some other young girl. I can’t let that happen, not without doing everything that I can,” she finished as she took the last page from the fax machine.
Frank let out another heavy sigh and hugged Harley tightly, “If you need anything, let me know. And be careful, alright? It sounds like you’re dealing with more than small-time criminals here.”
“I’m always careful, Frank,” she assured him as the copier spit out its last copy and they broke their embrace. “Come on buddy,” she motioned for Zach to follow her and they went back to her desk to get to work.
Harley spent the next hour pouring through phone and visitor records, making a list of people or phone calls she wanted to double check on with the Mayor or his officials.
“Mommy, are you done working yet?” Zach sighed from his coloring book.
“Almost sweetie,” she replied as she capped the highlighter in her hand and jotted down a few notes on a legal pad. “Are you hungry? Uncle Rick’s bringing your brother to Company, want to have dinner there?” she asked him.
“Yeah! I want chicken nuggets!” he answered.
“You and your chicken nuggets,” she shook her head. “Put your books in your bag, please.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey, there are two of my favorite people in the whole world,” Buzz greeted as Harley and Zach walked into Company.
“Hey Daddy,” Harley kissed his cheek.
“Are you guys eating?” he asked and Harley nodded as she helped Zach into a booth. “When did you get back?”
“Last night. Have you seen Gus today?” Harley asked.
“No, but we’ve been crazy all day. Is he joining you?”
“I don’t know,” Harley shrugged and got out her phone, dialing Gus.
“Aitoro,” he answered.
“Cooper,” she teased in reply.
“Hey you,” he replied.
“Where are you?”
“Sitting at the bank waiting to sign papers for my loan,” he sighed. “Where are you?”
“At Company having dinner with my boys. I was hoping the big boy could join us,” she suggested.
“You mean me?” he laughed.
“Yes, you.”
“If I get out of here anytime soon, I will. They just don’t seem to be in any hurry. Can Marina watch the boys tonight?” he asked.
“Oh, yes. I told her that you would just bring her over. Around nine?”
“Nine is perfect. She’ll be at Company?”
“Yep.”
“Good. Baby, I have to go, someone’s on their way to the office. I’ll do my best to make dinner. If not, I’ll see you tonight,” he said.
“Alright. Bye sweetie,” she replied before they hung up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Harley smiled as she covered Jude with his blanket and ran her hand through his blonde curls. She loved her little boys more than anything in the world, but she was so glad they were finally asleep. Jude had been fussy all night, and Zach was wound up. She looked at her watch and realized she only had a few minutes until Gus and Marina came, so she went down the hall to her bathroom to finish getting ready.
She heard a faint knocking sound and then heard the front door open and close as she put one last dab of perfume behind her ear.
“Our first date,” she smiled into the mirror then rolled her eyes at herself. “Fine, I admit it. I’m a romantic and I like that he’s picking me up and taking me out on a date. Do you have a problem with that?” she asked herself and got no response. “Good. Me neither,” she added as she walked through the bedroom and ran her hand over a picture of her and Gus that was on her dresser before she went downstairs.
“Hey, where’s Gus?” she asked when she saw Marina alone in the living room.
“Oh, he let me in, but he’s at the door waiting for you to open it,” Marina replied as she turned around. “You look hot.”
“Thank you. Is he out there with flowers?” Harley asked.
“Afraid so,” Marina grimaced. “I mean, it’s sweet and all, but you guys have practically been married for three months. What’s the deal?”
“It’s our first date,” Harley answered as she playfully tugged on Marina’s ponytail. “You’ll understand when you find a guy like him.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she replied as Harley went to get the door.
“We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Harley said as she opened the door revealing Gus holding a bouquet of daisies, smiling at her.
“Hey baby,” he said and she stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind her.
“They’re beautiful,” she said, sticking her nose in them, inhaling their subtle scent. “You’re beautiful,” she added and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his neck.
“Me?” he asked laughing. “You mean you.”
“No. You,” she replied. “You are beautiful. And sexy. And very sweet,” she added as she ran her finger across his lips.
“And very much in need of a kiss,” he teased and she finally kissed him. “Thank you,” he said when they broke the kiss. “We going back in there?” he asked and she nodded before she pulled him back into the house.
“Okay, we’re going to go. We shouldn’t be long. Jude might wake up, he was fussy all night, so if you can’t get him to settle down, call me and we’ll come home. Hopefully he’s out for the night though,” Harley explained.
“Alright, alright, get out of here, I’m trying to watch this,” Marina said, pointing to the movie that was on the television.
“Sorry,” Harley laughed. “We’ll see you,” she added and then she and Gus left.
“I was thinking about getting coffee. It would be quieter,” Gus suggested as he opened the car door for her.
“That’s fine with me,” she replied and he shut it when she was in.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“So, is your loan stuff done?” Harley asked as they sat down on a small couch with their coffees and a muffin.
“Yes, finally,” he answered. “I was at the bank forever, but now I can actually afford this house I’m building,” he laughed. “I guess I should have thought about that before I hired the architect and contractor, huh?”
Harley smiled, “I’m glad you’re so excited about this. So what’s next? You’re meeting with Josh and Doug Saturday, right?”
“Yeah, but Josh is coming over tomorrow and we’re going to check out the property. He’s going to have his people do whatever it is that his people do and I’m going to write the checks,” he shrugged.
“Well, Josh is a good guy, he’ll be good to you.”
“Yeah, I know,” he replied as he put his arm around her and pulled her back into the cushions of the couch. “You’re working tomorrow, huh?”
“Yep, back to the grind,” she nodded.
“Well, since you’re the only one who is employed, I’ll let you buy dinner tomorrow night. I can’t wait, I am in the mood for a big, buttery lobster!” he teased.
Harley laughed and tugged at his shirt, “I suppose I could spring for dinner.”
“I was kidding,” he replied.
“I know you were, but I can still pay for dinner.”
“What’s up with Jude? You said he was fussy.”
“Oh yeah. I think he’s fine, but I think being shuffled around is hard on him. You know, he’s at Rick’s one night, mine the next and lately there hasn’t been much of a routine. Hopefully getting things back to normal will settle him down,” she replied.
“Sorry,” Gus said, guiltily.
“For what?”
“Because I’m the reason his routine has been interrupted. I mean, first Paris and then Chicago and D.C…”
“Honey, stop,” she said and kissed him.
“So what’s this place like we’re going to tomorrow night?” he asked. “What should I wear?”
“Something sexy so I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you,” she said as she slid her hand up his thigh.
“Well, what do you suggest?” he asked, running his hand through her hair.
“I don’t know, black pants, a nice shirt,” she suggested. “Not too formal, but more than casual.”
“A button-down shirt?”
“Doesn’t have to be,” she shrugged.
“So do I get a say in what you’re wearing?” he asked.
“Perhaps…” she answered hesitantly.
“Well, to start with, I am requesting that you wear that purple thing…that bra with the black lace on top and the tie? You know which one I’m talking about?” he asked.
“Yeah, I know which one. I’ve never worn that before, how did you come up with that?” she asked.
“Well, I kind of went through that Victoria’s Secret bag you had in your room,” he confessed.
“Oh you did, huh? Well, did you also happen to see what goes with the bra?” she asked and he shook his head. “Well, good, then you should be pleasantly surprised tomorrow night,” she teased into his ear. “So what should I wear over all of that?”
“Baby, you could wear a plastic bag if you want, as long as when I take it off of you later, you’re wearing that underneath.”
“I think I might have a plastic bag hanging in my closet,” she laughed and Gus took her hand and kissed it.
“I like this ring on you,” he said as he ran his finger over his mother’s ring.
“Me too,” she nodded. “So are you going to come back after you take Marina home?”
“No,” he shook his head. “The boys are home, you need to work in the morning and I’m meeting Josh early.”
“Alright,” Harley sighed.
“I love you,” he added.
“I love you too,” she smiled and kissed him deeply before he took her home and gave her their first goodnight kiss at her door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Feb 13, 2006 21:35:56 GMT -5
“Hi, you must be Gus,” a pretty young blonde said as she answered Harley’s door and let him into the house. “I’m Kelly, Harley’s sitter.”
“Oh hi, it’s nice to meet you. Hey, thanks for being able to stay with the boys. It’s Friday night, you should be out having fun,” he replied.
“Well, I’m taking some summer classes, so sitting for them gives me motivation to study on the weekends. Especially if they’re sleeping the whole time. Harley’s upstairs still getting ready, I guess Zach didn’t want to go to sleep,” Kelly said.
“That’s okay, I’m a little early. I’ll just go up,” Gus said and started up the stairs. He stood outside of Harley’s open door and watched her decide on which shoes to wear. She was wearing a knee-length, mint green slipdress overlayed by sheer beige chiffon, with a mint and forest green floral pattern. He finally made his presence known with a sexy whistle and she turned towards him, still shoeless.
“Hey you,” she smiled as he walked over to her and kissed her gently.
“You look beautiful,” he noted as he ran his hands down her body. “Your strap is showing,” he said as he slid the strap of her dress off her shoulder, revealing the purple strap of her bra and kissed around it.
“It won’t be if you don’t do that,” she laughed.
“You look amazing,” he nodded and put her dress strap back in place. “How do I look?”
“Very sexy,” she answered with approval as she smoothed out the deep red fabric against his stomach and pushed him backwards to the bed.
“Ms. Cooper, we are going to be late,” he teased as she kissed his neck and they heard the phone ring.
“So what?” she asked as she supported herself on her hands above him and he reached up and took her face in his hands, kissing her deeply.
He had just rolled over so he was on top of her when they heard Kelly calling Harley’s name from the stairs and he got off the bed and pulled her into a sitting position.
“Harley? Your dad’s on the phone,” Kelly said as she approached Harley’s open door.
“Thanks,” Harley said as she got up to get the phone from her, “Pick me a pair of shoes, hon,” she told Gus before she turned her attention to the phone. “Hey Daddy,” she greeted.
“These?” Gus asked, holding up a pair of white sandals and she shook her head. “I don’t know why you want me to do this, I only have two colors of shoes. Black and brown. Who needs sixty pairs of shoes in thirty different colors?” he asked himself quietly.
“I do,” she snapped as she bent down and grabbed a pair of beige strappy sandals. “No, I wasn’t talking to you Daddy, I was talking to Gus. We’re going out to dinner. No, Kelly’s here with the boys, they’re already asleep,” she explained as she sat on the bed to put the shoes on. “Alright, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, I have to work in the morning, so we’ll probably be over in the afternoon or later. Okay, bye,” she added before hanging up and tossing the phone behind her on the bed.
“You’re working tomorrow?” Gus asked when he sat down next to her.
“Yeah, I have to go through some cases I didn’t get to today,” she answered and kissed him before she stood up for one last mirror check.
“Oh, I was hoping you would come with me to meet Josh and Doug tomorrow morning,” he said, disappointed.
“Gotta work,” she shrugged. “Besides, that’s your thing…”
“Yeah, but I want it to be our thing,” he interrupted.
“Gus, we’ve talked about this,” she sighed.
“I know, I know,” he nodded, trying not to show his frustration. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Gus…” she began, wanting to explain but he cut her off with a hard kiss. “Yeah, I’m ready,” she nodded and followed him downstairs. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“How was your day?” Gus asked after they were on the road.
“Busy. Yours?”
“It was good,” he answered and Harley looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
When he remained silent, she reached over and ran her fingers through the hair at the top of his neck. “I’m sorry, I do want to hear about the house.”
Gus finally looked over at her and answered. “It was good. Josh had some really good ideas to combine with Doug’s plans. I think it’s going to be great. You know that bank that leads down to the lake?” he asked and Harley nodded. “Josh thinks we should do a fence around the backyard and then make stairs down to the beach with a gate.”
“That’s a good idea, are you allowed to do that? I mean, is any of the beach your property or does it all belong to the city?” she asked.
“Josh is going to look into it, but he said he can probably convince the town to let me if there’s a problem. It’s really a safety issue.”
“Well, Josh has a lot of pull in this town, I’m sure he’ll make it work if that’s what you want,” she replied.
They talked some more about the house and then about some cases Harley was working on for the rest of the drive to the restaurant and the tension between them finally disappeared. As Gus opened her car door and took her hand to help her out of the car, she sighed, hoping that one day soon she would finally get rid of the walls she still had around her. But for tonight, she was just going to concentrate on having a good time with her boyfriend and friends.
“Wow,” Gus said as they walked into the restaurant into the crowd of people waiting for tables. “Long wait.”
“Blake said she made a reservation, I’ll go ask the hostess,” Harley said and started up to the hostess stand but Gus grabbed her arm and stopped her.
“I see them,” he said, pointing to a table where Blake and Ross were sitting and they joined them, hand in hand.
“Hey guys,” Blake greeted and hugged Harley before they sat down. “Boys asleep?”
“Yes, they were both very cooperative tonight and went right to sleep for me,” Harley answered as the waiter came to get their drink orders.
“I see a couple of empty places out on the dance floor. Dance with me until the other show up,” Gus said as he leaned over and kissed Harley’s cheek.
“Gus, that would be rude,” she said, though the offer was tempting.
“Oh please, go dance. We’ll keep an eye out for the rest,” Blake insisted.
“See?” Gus said as he stood up, holding his hand out for hers.
“One dance,” she agreed and took his hand.
“You know why I like to dance with you every chance I get?” he asked after a few minutes.
“Because you like showing off your moves?” she teased.
“No, but I like showing off my girl,” he replied as he kissed the top of her hand and she smiled at him. “And because when I put my arms around you and you put your arms around me, I feel complete. Like when we’re together like this, no one can touch us.”
“No one can,” she assured him and they kissed deeply. “Have I told you lately how glad I am that you’re here with me?” she asked.
“Not in the past few hours,” he teased and she smiled as she settled into his arms for the rest of the dance.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“So Gus, are you starting back at the station next week?” Ross asked after everyone was there and they had ordered their dinners.
“Uh, no, not really. I’ll be working on a few cases, but I won’t be full time until October when Harley’s partner retires,” he answered.
“Oh, you’ll be working together?” Reva asked. “I figured there was a ‘no fraternizing’ policy.”
“Well, there is. But I guess for us, Chief Franklin is tolerating a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” Harley replied.
“He just knows he could never get a better partner for you than me,” Gus said.
“Or a more modest one,” Cassie teased.
“Or sexier,” he added, looking at Harley.
“Never,” she shook her head and kissed him.
“You guys are kind of cute together,” Blake said.
“Kind of,” Harley shrugged and laughed.
“No, you know what I mean. I never really thought of you as a real couple until now,” she explained.
“We are very real,” Harley assured her and Gus smiled, thrilled that she wasn’t downplaying her feelings in front of her friends.
“Good,” Cassie interjected, “great, actually!”
“Thank you, we think so too,” Gus replied.
“Zach thinks it’s great too. I swear, he is like our biggest supporter,” Harley laughed. “He adores Gus and love having another person to play with.”
“Is he ready for his birthday?” Blake asked.
“Oh yes, he’s driving me nuts. We have a countdown on the calendar and every morning we have to count the number of days left.”
“I wish our kids still got excited about their birthdays,” Reva sighed.
“Face it honey, we’re the oldsters of the group with no young kids – and don’t get any ideas!” Josh warned.
“Well, wait a minute, I think it’s obvious that I’m the oldster of the group,” Ross argued. “And Dinah and Dylan are the same age.”
“Yes, and the same age as Harley!” Reva added.
“You’re right,” he sighed. “Okay, now I feel really old!”
“Oh come on, you’re only as old as you feel!” Harley said.
“Yeah, well, the older you get, the more your body disputes that belief, trust me!” Reva argued. “I mean, I feel sixteen sometimes, but do I look sixteen?”
“None of us look sixteen,” Harley laughed.
“I’m glad you don’t look sixteen,” Gus said. “It would be illegal for me to lust after you,” he teased and kissed her cheek.
“No, it would be illegal if I was sixteen. But nice try,” she teased and he shrugged.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Buzz’s baklava is better than the richest cheesecake that restaurant could have served,” Blake said as she savored her dessert.
“You won’t get any arguments from me,” Harley agreed as she took another sip of wine and sighed, feeling too full to finish the piece on her own plate.
She pushed her plate over towards Gus and ran her hand through his hair as he finished it for her. He leaned over to kiss her and she could taste a bit of honey on his lips. She laughed to herself as she thought of all the silly nicknames she could embarrass him with about that alone.
“I’m shutting down the kitchen, anyone want anything else?” Buzz asked as he stuck his head into the dining room and everyone shook their heads.
“No thanks, Daddy. Do you need any help?” Harley asked.
“Nope, Lynn and I have it covered,” he called back and disappeared.
“Let’s take these dishes out for him at least,” Cassie said and she and Blake cleared everyone’s plates and glasses.
“Are you going to stay here for awhile?” Gus asked Harley quietly while the rest of the group continued their conversation.
“Definitely,” she nodded as Cassie and Blake came back into the dining room.
“Honey, are you ready to go? We need to relieve Tammy,” Cassie said and Richard nodded.
“We better get going too,” Blake sighed. “Grown up time was fun though!”
“It sure was,” Harley agreed and hugged her friend.
Ross helped Gus put the tables back in their normal spots while the girls said goodbye.
“Thank you guys for being so nice to Gus. I know you all aren’t crazy about him, but I am, so it means a lot to me,” Harley said quietly.
“You mean a lot to us, and if you love him, I’m sure we’ll all love him too,” Cassie replied. “Besides, from what I can see, there’s nothing to complain about other than the Santos thing.”
“Well…” Blake began but shut up when Cassie shot her a dirty look. “Tonight was nice,” she covered. “I think everything will be fine,” she told Harley.
“Everything is fine as far as I’m concerned,” Harley assured her and Cassie put her arm around Blake’s neck and clamped her mouth shut. “Ow, ow! I didn’t mean anything by it!” Blake protested until Cassie let go of her. “Harley, really.”
“It’s okay Blake,” Harley sighed. “I’m through trying to fix other people’s opinions. If you like him, great, if not, then that’s your problem. Good night guys, it was fun,” she added before she pulled Gus away from the guys and led him upstairs.
“You okay?” he asked after she shut the door to his bedroom.
“I am wonderful. You are wonderful. Let’s be wonderful together,” she replied and pulled him into a deep kiss.
Gus reached for the zipper at the back of Harley’s dress but she stopped him by stepping away and turning around to face him. She slid his shirt up his torso and pulled it off over his head when he raised his arms. She ran her hands down his bare back and kissed him deeply before she pushed him backwards towards the bed and urged him to lie down. He moved up so his head was against a pillow while Harley stood at the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing down there?” he asked.
Harley turned her back to Gus and slide down the zipper at the back of her dress. She let the dress fall to the floor and Gus whistled from his spot on the bed.
“I definitely did not see that in the bag,” he said of the black thong she had on.
She smiled as she turned around and climbed onto the bed, straddling Gus’s legs. She kissed his stomach down to the waist of his pants before she undid his belt and zipper. He lifted himself off the bed so she could slide the pants down over his hip. She pulled them all the way off and tossed them on the floor behind her. She laid on top of him and kissed him deeply as he ran his hands over her body.
“Do you have a lighter?” she asked quietly in his ear.
“What do you want it for?” he asked, a little worried.
“I want to light some candles.”
“Oh thank god, I thought you were getting kinky on me,” he teased. “There’s one in the nightstand,” he added and groaned when Harley got off the bed.
She got the lighter out and lit some candles on the nightstand then moved to other one before she shut the light off. As she put the lighter away, Gus reached over and ran a finger softly over the curve of her hip, beckoning her back to the bed in the romantic glow the candles created.
She ran her hands down his chest and into his briefs, preparing to get rid of them while Gus reached out and pulled down the straps of her bra. She pulled away and put them back into place.
“I didn’t buy this just for you to take if off,” she protested and he smiled.
“I would say the same for my underwear, but I like where you were going with them,” he replied.
“You mean where they were going? As in on the floor?”
“Oh yeah,” he nodded as she slid the tight fabric down his legs.
She ran his fingernails gently up his legs and teased the inside of his thighs.
“Is it my birthday?” he grinned as she followed her fingernails with her lips.
“Something like that,” she laughed as he settled back against the pillows and enjoyed her fingers and mouth all over his body.
Gus finally managed to clear his head enough for him to get a grip on Harley’s arms, urging her up the bed. She traced an imaginary line up the center of his body with her tongue and covered his mouth with hers in a deep kiss.
“Can I please take this off now?” he asked as he tugged impatiently at the straps of her bra and nibbled at her neck.
“God, yes,” she moaned as he sat up on the bed with her in his lap.
He reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra before it landed on the floor with the rest of their clothes. As he tossed it away, he buried his face in her bare chest and she tangled her fingers in his hair.
He laid her down on the bed and took one of her nipples into his mouth. She threw her head back as his tongue swirled around her hardened peaks. He trailed his fingernails down her sides as she arched her back and he kissed down her stomach.
“Gus…” she begged, almost inaudibly and he responded by covering her body with his, joining the two of them together.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“What time do we have to go?” Gus asked quietly as he ran his fingers up and down Harley’s arm.
“No more than an hour,” she answered after she looked at his watch.
“Good, because I’m not sure I can walk yet. I’m a little weak in the knees,” he sighed.
Harley laughed, “You too, huh?”
“Oh yeah, definitely,” he replied and kissed her cheek and she snuggled closer into his chest.
“I wanted to ask you about Zach’s birthday gift,” he began a few minutes later.
“Alright.”
“I was thinking about getting him one of those trucks he could drive around, you know what I’m talking about?” he asked and she nodded so he continued. “Well, I found a police jeep, so I was thinking about getting it or him. From me or from us, whatever you’re comfortable with. Unless you don’t want him to have one, because I can find something else if you don’t.”
“It’s not that I don’t want him to have one, but it’s too much Gus, it’s too expensive,” she argued.
“Well, I’m not trying to bribe him or spoil him…”
“I know.”
“I just thought he would like it.”
“He would love it, I just don’t want you to think that you have to buy my kids extravagant gifts because you’re with me,” she explained.
“I don’t think I have to, but I want to. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give it to him, and if we break up, he doesn’t have to give it back,” he teased.
“You think we’ll break up?” she asked as she sat up.
“Don’t start,” he rolled his eyes and pulled her back against the bed, rolling on top of her in a deep kiss.
“I was just kidding,” she laughed between kisses.
“So was I. If we break up, I want the jeep back because I -”
“Oh shut up and kiss me,” she interrupted him and he obliged.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Gus…” Harley whispered into his ear. “Sweetie, we have to go.”
Gus moaned as he rolled over to face her and struggled to open his eyes. “Alright, I’m up,” he said as he forced himself to sit up in the bed.
“Next time, I’ll make sure I have my car here so you don’t have to take me home. I know you like to sleep after we make love,” Harley said as she kissed his back.
“I like to make more love after we make love,” he teased.
“Well, we already did that,” she laughed.
“So, let’s do it again,” he replied, turning his head and kissing her.
“I would love to, really, but we have to go. It’s already so late. Next weekend we can spend the night together,” she said and kissed him again before she rolled out of bed and got dressed.
“Promises, promises,” he teased and sat on the edge of the bed. “By the way, I wanted to tell you something,” he added and grabbed her hand, pulling her over so she was standing in front of him. “I’m glad you don’t look sixteen. Your body is better than a sixteen year-old’s.”
“Yeah, I have hips,” she scoffed.
“I love your hips,” he said as he kissed her stomach and ran his hands over her curves.
“What would you change about my body if you could?” she asked.
“Not a thing,” he answered. “And I’m not just saying that because it was a loaded question.”
“Nothing? Not even my hair color?”
“Well, without acknowledging your roots, no, I love your hair color,” he teased. “But there is one thing I’ll probably want to change in the future.”
“And that would be…?” she asked, intrigued and a little annoyed.
“I’m sure I’ll want your waistline to grow a little for nine months or so…” he answered and she smiled.
“Sweetie, you saw me pregnant with Jude. My waistline does not grow a little. It grows a lot.”
“That’s okay, I think you’re beautiful when you’re pregnant,” he said.
“Really?”
“What, did you think I was after you for your mind?”
“You have a pregnancy fetish? That’s sick, Aitoro,” she laughed.
“It’s not a fetish! It just so happens that you were pregnant with another man’s child when I fell in love with you.”
“Yeah…wow is my life a mess,” she sighed.
“I hope it’s not anymore. Or at least I hope I don’t make it more of a mess…” he began.
“No, you make it better,” she assured him as she slid her arms around his neck and sat in his lap. “You ground me.”
“I ground you?”
“Weird, huh?” she laughed.
“Very weird!” he nodded. “What do you…what do you mean by that?”
“I think…you make me happy with where my life is. You make me feel like I’m in the right place with my life. And I haven’t felt like that in a long time,” she answered and kissed his cheek.
“Wow…that’s really nice to hear. Thank you,” he replied and nuzzled into her neck.
“Thank you,” she shook her head and kissed him.
“We better go,” he sighed a few minutes later and got up to get dressed. “You know, I truly did enjoy that bra,” he added.
“I’m glad, because I bought it just for you,” she replied as she sat on the bed and put her shoes on.
“I’m starting to enjoy this relationship thing,” he said as he slipped into a pair of flip-flops.
“Starting?” she teased and got a kiss in response before Gus lead her out of the room and took her home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Uh yeah, hi, this is Detective Harley Cooper from the Springfield Police Department. Mayor Davis is expecting my call,” she said after being on hold for fifteen minutes the next morning.
“Hold please,” another bored voice said before she heard more elevator music in her ear.
“Hey baby,” Gus said quietly as he snuck up behind her.
“Gus, god, you scared me!” she sighed. “What are you doing here, don’t you have to pick up Doug?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way, I just had to drop off some paperwork and get a kiss from you,” he teased and knelt down beside her chair.
“Not in here,” she protested and scooted her chair away but he grabbed the arm of it and pulled it closer to him.
“Then come out to the car with me,” he urged.
“I’m on hold,” she shrugged.
“Fine,” he said as he stood up. He started to walk away, but turned back and gave her a hard kiss. “I love you,” he smiled and ran his hands through her hair.
“I’m going to kill you,” she shook her head.
“Say it.”
“I love you too,” she finally said and he kissed her one last time before he left.
“Detective Cooper? I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” she heard Mayor Davis apologize when he got on the pone.
“Not a problem. Thank you for making time to speak to me,” she said as she made sure Gus was gone.
“Of course, you said there was something you wanted to double-check with me?”
“Yes, I was going through these visitation records and everyone on the list checks out from your family or staff or from the other list you gave me, except one,” Harley began.
“Oh really?” he asked, interested.
“Yes, this person signed in as the initial, M., last name Armazio. Now, you do have someone on your staff named Michelle Armazio, so I could see why your security staff didn’t notice, but the signature is definitely not from Michelle. It’s signed ‘Michael Armazio’, and there is no one by that name on any of your lists,” Harley explained.
“Hmm, you’re sure it says Michael?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s very clear. Do you know anyone by that name?”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t,” he sighed. “But you can be sure I will look into it and find out who this person is and why he was allowed through in the first place.”
“Good, I will also look into it. I have some contacts who might be able to get information about this person.”
“Thank you. Are you going to contact Chicago PD and the FBI or should I?” he asked.
“Actually, I would prefer we didn’t involve them yet. Let’s see what you and I can find out and then if necessary, we can contact them,” she urged.
“If you’re sure,” he agreed.
“I think it would be best for now. I will look into this and get back to you,” she replied.
“Thank you for letting me know. Have a good weekend,” Davis said.
“You too, goodbye,” Harley said before they hung up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Mar 26, 2006 1:18:18 GMT -5
“Wow…this place looks great!” Harley said as Gus walked her though his house. The frame was up and Josh promised it would be done by mid-October.
“I know! I can’t believe how fast it’s all coming together. Another month and I can move in here and out of that boarding house!” Gus said, excitedly. “Not that I don’t appreciate Buzz letting me stay there, but I’m ready for my own kitchen and a couch and a big screen TV. Hop on,” he added and Harley jumped onto his back.
“You gotta go to work?” he asked as he carried her out to her car.
“I gotta,” she sighed and kissed his neck. “Just think, next month you’ll be there with me,” she reminded him. “What are you doing today?”
“Following Josh around and driving him nuts,” he laughed. “A bunch of random things that need to be done, that’s all. We still on for dinner?”
“Absolutely. I’ll meet you at Company around six?” she asked.
“I’ll be counting the minutes until then,” he said after he kissed her through the open window of her car.
“What, not the seconds?” she teased before she stifled a yawn.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I just didn’t sleep well last night,” she answered.
“Are you getting sick or did you just miss me?” he asked.
“Both,” she smiled. “You’re staying this weekend, right?”
“You couldn’t keep me away,” he nodded and kissed her. “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?” Gus asked.
“I’m taking the boys to Phillip and Rick’s after dinner, so I guess we’ll play the morning and afternoon by ear, why?” she answered.
“Well, I thought maybe if you didn’t have any plans that we could take the boys fishing. I mean, obviously Jude wouldn’t be able to fish, but Zach would and I think he would love it,” Gus suggested. “We could drive up to Clear Lake and rent a little boat to fish off of. Or we could fish from the shore, what do you think? Buzz and Frank and Marina can come, it’s so warm out still you and Marina can work on your tans while we fish.”
“I think…I’m not touching any dirty worms,” she replied with a smile. “But Zach would love it, set it up and call me later. I gotta run, I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replied and kissed her one last time. “Feel better.”
“Bye,” she waved before she drove off.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey sis, what’s this I hear about us going fishing tomorrow?” Frank asked as he sat on the edge of her desk at the station.
“Oh did Gus call you?” she asked and he nodded. “Are you off tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I told him we would all be there. Was this your idea?”
“No, it was Gus’s. He knew you and Dad like to fish, so he thought it would be nice. I agree,” Harley answered. “I’m glad you guys are coming.”
“Well, it should be interesting if nothing else,” Frank finally replied. “So, any news on that Chicago case?” he asked, changing the subject.
“You mean with the Mayor’s daughter? No, nothing,” Harley sighed. “I found a name on the visitation records that doesn’t belong there, but no one on Davis’s staff knows or remembers the person. So…I don’t know what to do next. Davis is sending me over some security tapes to go over. Well, I asked him too, I don’t trust anyone else to do this.”
“Sounds like you,” Frank smiled.
“So hopefully, I can see this guy on the video and maybe that will give me some new clues? I don’t know, this all feels so hopeless. And Davis told me that the FBI has basically closed the case, unsolved. Well, partially unsolved, at least.”
“Why would they close it when the people who they haven’t caught are the ones who kidnapped an American girl?” Frank asked.
“Good question. But, the Chicago PD is on it, the Mayor has pursuaded them to involve me in the investigation.”
“Have you talked to Gus about this?”
“Well, he’s busy with the house and stuff…” Harley began.
“So, no, you haven’t. Why not? He’s the one who just left the FBI, he probably has more contacts than you do.”
“I know, I know, it’s just…when we were in DC, I talked to one of the agents on the case and he basically told me that Gus wouldn’t get anywhere on the case because of his past with the Santos family. So I’m trying to keep this all away from him just in case,” she explained.
“Do you think it has anything to do with the Santos’s?” Frank asked.
“I don’t know one way or the other, but that’s what I’m trying to figure out, Frank,” she answered as a messenger came up to her desk.
“Detective Harley Cooper?” he asked.
“That’s me,” she nodded and signed for the box marked confidential. “Thank you,” she added before he left. “My surveillance videos. If you need me, I’ll be in the conference room, but try to dissuade any visitors.”
“Aren’t you on duty?”
“Yes, but I’m all caught up on my paperwork, so until we get a call, I’ll be keeping busy with this,” she replied and disappeared down the hall.
“Okay, first visit from Michael Armazio was March 26th…thank you very much whoever labeled these tapes,” she said as she pulled out the tape labeled 3/24/02-3/30/02 and popped it in the VCR.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Gus! Gus! Are we really going fishing?” Zach asked as he ran to greet Gus when he pulled into the driveway early the next morning.
“We sure are, sound like fun?” Gus asked.
“Yeah! But I don’t have anything to fish with.”
“Well, I think I have something you can use in my trunk,” Gus replied.
“What is it?” Zach asked.
“Let’s go see,” he replied as Zach followed him around his car. “Where’s your mom?”
“She’s inside packing our lunch.”
“Yum! What would we do without your mom, huh?”
“Me and Jude wouldn’t be here, silly!” Zach laughed.
“See what a good thing it is to have her around?” Gus said as he tousled Zach’s hair. “Look at this,” he added as he opened the trunk.
“Wow! This is my size!” Zach said as he pulled a small fishing pole out.
“Yep, it’s perfect for you,” Gus replied smiling as Zach’s excitement.
“And it has Spongebob! Mommy, look at what Gus got me!” Zach exclaimed as he ran towards Harley who just came out of the house carrying Jude, a picnic basket and a bag.
“Be careful running with that Zach,” Gus called as he followed behind him.
“Wow, that’s perfect for you, huh? Did you thank Gus?” Harley asked.
“Thank you Gus!” Zach said and hugged Gus around his waist.
“You’re welcome, buddy. Go put it back in the trunk while I help your mom,” Gus said.
“Okay!” Zach replied as he ran back to the car.
“Hi Mom,” Gus smiled when they were alone. “What do you want me to take?”
“The blonde lead weight, please,” she answered and Gus took Jude from her arms.
“Is your momma talking about you?” Gus teased as he tossed Jude in the air, causing the baby to giggle.
“Are we taking Gus’s car? Can we?” Zach asked.
“Fine with me,” Gus shrugged.
“We have to move the car seats then. Let me put this stuff in the trunk and I’ll get Jude’s,” Harley said and went to the car.
Buzz, Frank and Marina showed up a few minutes later just as Harley and Gus got both boys into their car seats.
“You guys ready?” Buzz asked.
“Yeah, almost,” Harley answered as she put a baseball cap on Jude, hoping it would shield his face from some wind as they drove.
“We’ll follow you,” Buzz said as he got back into his car with Frank and Marina.
Gus and Harley both went around the back of the car to make sure they had everything they needed in the trunk. While Gus was pushing the fishing poles back to make room for the picnic basket and bags Harley brought, she ran her hand up his back. He stood back up and turned towards her.
“I haven’t kissed you in like…twelve hours,” she whined as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I can’t believe we lasted this long,” he teased and kissed her softly and quickly on the lips.
“That’s all I get?”
“Your entire family is sitting right behind us,” he laughed.
“Well, they’re not the ones kissing you. I am, so lay one on me,” she replied.
“How romantic,” he said and kissed her again, deeper and longer this time.
“That was more like it,” Harley smiled. “Are you sure you want to spend the whole day with my crazy family?”
“Every single one of them,” he nodded and she kissed him again before they shut the trunk and got into the car.
“Finally,” Frank said rolling his eyes and within minutes, they were all on the road to the lake.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Wow, this is so cool!” Zach said as Gus helped him into the pontoon boat they had rented.
“Get his lifejacket on please,” Harley said as she stepped onboard carrying Jude in his lifejacket.
“It’s on,” Gus said as he snapped the last belt around Zach’s little body shut.
“Do I have to wear this?” Zach asked, tugging on it.
“You do if you want to ride on the boat,” Harley replied.
“Buzz, you got the wheel?” Gus called to the back of the boat.
“Yep!” Buzzed yelled back.
“Alright, Zach, do you want to sit up in these chairs with me for a little while?” Gus asked pointing to two fishing chairs at the front of the boat.
“Yeah!” he nodded and Gus helped him up into the seat and buckled him in while Harley, Marina and Jude sat on the bench seats against the sides of the boat.
“Everyone in?” Buzz asked and after he counted heads he started up the engine and pulled away from the dock.
“When are we going to fish?” Zach asked Gus.
“In a little bit, we’re going to ride around for awhile and then we’ll stop and all the guys will fish,” he answered.
“What are you and Marina going to do Mommy?” Zach asked.
“Work on our tans,” she replied.
“Oh,” Zach said, turning his attention back to the water.
About fifteen minutes after they pulled away from the dock, Harley started feeling sick, even thought the boat wasn’t going fast enough or rocking enough for it to be motion sickness.
“Will you watch Jude? I need to throw up,” she said to Marina as she got up and went to the other side of the boat, leaning over the edge.
“What?” Gus asked, confused as he watched her.
“What’s wrong with Mommy?” Zach asked.
“The boat just makes her tummy hurt, she’ll be okay,” Gus assured him and Harley eventually made her way back over to them. “You really are sick, huh?” he asked and felt her forehead. “Do you want to go home?”
“No, no, I’m fine,” she replied and got herself a can of ginger ale out of the cooler they brought.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him as she took Jude from Marina and snuggled him close.
“Harley…” Marina began and Harley looked over at her. “Are you pregnant?” she mouthed.
Harley hesitated, then shook her head and Marina slid over closer to her, “Are you sure?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Harley sighed.
“Wow!”
“Marina, please don’t say anything,” she pleaded.
“Well, are you going to find out?”
“Of course. I bought a test yesterday, I just haven’t taken it yet,” Harley answered.
“Oooh I hope you are!” Marina exclaimed in a whisper.
“Please, can we change the subject?”
“Yeah, sure,” Marina said with a huge smile on her face.
A half an hour later, Zach was getting restless, so Buzz stopped the boat so they could fish for awhile. None of them caught anything other than some tiny bluegill, but Zach ended up catching the most out of all of them – a fact he was very proud of.
After they all got cleaned up thanks to the box of wet wipes Harley brought, they dug into the lunch that Harley had packed for them.
“I think I got burnt,” Marina said as she cringed when she put a t-shirt on over her bikini.
“Did you use sunscreen?” Frank asked.
“No.”
“Well, then you deserve it,” he replied.
“How come we put the fish back in the water?” Zach asked Gus while he munched on some pretzels.
“Because that’s where they live and besides, what would we do with them if we kept them?” Gus asked.
“Take them home – they can be pets!”
“I don’t think they would like living in a small tank very much,” Gus laughed. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah. We should go fishing all the time,” Zach nodded.
“Well, I think we’ll have to wait until next summer to go again, it’s going to be too cold to fish soon.”
“Okay,” Zach replied, satisfied.
“Want to ride around a little longer?” Buzz asked after they were done eating and went back to the wheel when everyone agreed that they did.
Frank was holding Jude who was sleeping back by Buzz and Marina was entertaining Zach with a game on her cell phone, so Gus pulled Harley into his lap and kissed her shoulder.
“Did you have fun?” he asked as he ran his hand up her bare thigh.
“I did. This was a great idea. Thank you,” she said and kissed him.
“I’m glad it went well, I was a little worried about being in such a small space with your dad and brother, but it was good.”
“Yeah, it was,” she nodded as she ran her hand down his bare back. “And it’s such a beautiful day.”
“And a good excuse to get you in a bikini,” he teased, sliding his finger between her skin and the fabric of her swim suit at her hip.
“You can get me in a lot less at home tonight,” she whispered, her lips close to his ear.
“I’m counting on it,” he nodded.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“You’re late,” Phillip said when Harley and Gus walked into the Spaulding study with Zach after dinner.
“Sorry, we lost track of time,” Harley said and Phillip sighed when he saw Zach asleep on Gus’s shoulder.
“Couldn’t you at least have given him a bath before you brought him?” he asked.
“Gee, I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would have a problem bathing your son,” Harley replied.
“What was he doing?”
“We went fishing,” Gus answered and Phillip made a face.
“Fine,” he replied. “Hilda?” he called out when he saw one of the maids passing in the hallway and she stepped into the room. “Could you take Zach upstairs and give him a bath?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about it Hilda, I’ll do it,” Harley said, angry at Phillip.
“Whatever,” Phillip waved her off with his hand.
“That guy is a piece of work,” Gus said as he followed Harley up the stairs.
“Welcome to my life as an ex-Spaulding,” she sighed in response.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Mar 26, 2006 1:18:35 GMT -5
“Harley? Baby, are you sick again?” Gus called out when he woke up alone in the middle of the night and saw the bathroom light on.
“I’m okay,” she answered as she stuck her head out of the bathroom. “I’ll be right out.”
Two more minutes, she said to herself, trying to avoid the stick sitting on the sink. She couldn’t say she was hoping she was pregnant. She knew that she and Gus weren’t ready to have a baby together, she didn’t even know if she wanted to have any more children and even if she did, she wanted to be married before she did. And she and Gus weren’t even close to taking that step. No, it was definitely for the best if the test wasn’t positive. The slowest two minutes of her life finally passed and she took a deep breath before she look at the test.
“Not pregnant,” she whispered, sighing. “Gees, they just tell you straight out now, they don’t even get your hopes up with a color until you read the directions,” she scoffed quietly and looked up into the mirror to see her eyes full of tears. “It wouldn’t have been so bad to be pregnant,” she added and let the tears fall quietly, surprised at her quick change of opinion on the matter.
“Okay, pull yourself together, Harley,” she said and washed her face.
She finally came out of the bathroom and saw Gus with his back to the bathroom door. She took a deep breath and sighed before she crawled into bed over top of him and snuggled into his arms after kissing his cheek.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she nodded and looked up at him, touching his lips and face. “You’re so beautiful,” she sighed. “Your lips kill me.”
“Good or bad?”
“Very good. Great, in fact. Things are great between us, right?” she asked.
“I think so,” he nodded.
“Good. Me too,” she smiled and kissed him deeply before she fell asleep in his arms.
A few minutes after Harley had fallen asleep, Gus kissed her forehead softly before he rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom.
As he leaned over, trying to wipe his hands on a towel after he washed his hands, his chain fell from his neck and into the wastebasket.
“Great, now I’ll have to get this fixed,” he mumbled as he reached down to get it.
As he looked down, he saw a blue box at the bottom. He pulled it out and looked at it.
“A pregnancy test?” he asked quietly and looked into the bedroom where Harley was sleeping soundly.
He opened the box and saw the negative stick, “Not pregnant. Gees, no colors or anything,” he added as he looked absently through the directions. “She just took this, why didn’t she tell me?” he asked himself. “She was happy when she came back to bed,” he remembered. “She was happy she wasn’t pregnant,” he added sadly then laughed at himself. “Be serious Aitoro, she doesn’t even want to help you pick out paint colors for your house let alone have a baby with you.”
He let out a heavy sigh and put the box back into the garbage, “I guess it’s not really the right time for a baby anyway. Still…” he trailed off as he crawled back into bed beside Harley. “How could she not tell me?” he thought to himself before he rolled over and tried to sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Harley woke up the next morning alone in the bed. “Gus?” she called out, but got no answer. She rolled over and saw that the clock read a little after nine. She got out of bed and put her on before she went downstairs to find Gus. He wasn’t in the living room or the kitchen, so she looked out into the backyard where she saw him fixing the Jeep he bough Zach for his birthday – Zach thought it was a good idea to drive it over a tree limb that had fallen during a big storm the week before and two of the wheels were loose.
“Hey, whatcha doing?” she asked as she came up behind him.
“Just tightening up these wheels so Zach can ride it again,” he answered.
“Thank you,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the top of his head. “What time did you get up?”
“Five, maybe,” he shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“How come?” she asked and he shrugged again. “So what have you been doing?”
“I went for a run, then I came out here.”
“Oh. Well, Dad’s having brunch at ten, do you want to go?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Okay, we better get moving thought. We can save some time if we shower together,” she suggested as she ran her hands down his chest.
“Alright. Why don’t you go ahead and I’ll be up in a few minutes,” he replied.
“Don’t be too long,” she said with a kiss.
“I won’t,” he replied and she went back into the house.
Gus tightened the last screw on the second wheel as he remembered the look on Zach’s face the first time he drove the police jeep. He sighed as he realized that morning had come and Harley still hadn’t told him about the pregnancy test – and she was still in a good mood. He couldn’t out why he was so upset about all of this. He was disappointed that she wasn’t pregnant, and that she didn’t tell him about it. Although he couldn’t figure out why he mad at her – it wasn’t her fault she wasn’t pregnant, she was on birth control and they had decided that together. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pregnant, it was that she seemed so happy that she wasn’t. Gus sighed as he turned the jeep back over and headed upstairs to join Harley.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“What’s wrong?” Harley asked at Company a few hours later, noticing that Gus had been quiet all morning.
“Nothing,” he answered quickly. “You okay? Do you want me to get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine. Dad’s got me on plenty of fluids,” she laughed.
“Alright. Let me know if you need anything,” he said before he kissed the side of her head quickly then got up from the booth and went into the kitchen.
“He’s acting so weird today,” Harley said to Blake who was sitting across from them after he left.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.
“I’m just a little queasy. I think I’m getting the flu or something.”
“Harley, it’s September, no one gets the flu in September. The only reason anyone throws up in September is if they’re hung-over or pregnant. Oh my god, are you pregnant?” Blake asked, her eyes big.
“No, Blake.”
“Well, come on it’s possible. Even if you’re on the pill, that’s not foolproof, trust me. We should go get a test. Wow, have you told Gus? Do you think he would want it?”
“Blake, I’m not pregnant.”
“How do you know? I really think we should get a test…”
“I already took one.” Harley interrupted. “It was negative.”
“Oh. How do you feel about that?”
Harley shrugged. “Good, I guess. I mean, it’s obviously not a good time to be pregnant. Gus and I aren’t even engaged yet and like you said, I don’t even know if he wants to have kids…”
“But?”
“Just but, Blake. I mean, you know what it’s like to think your pregnant and then find out you’re not. It may not be the best time, but still…I’m upset,” she replied then got quiet when Gus came back over to the booth.
“Hey, can you get a ride home? I’m going to go pick out kitchen stuff,” he asked.
“Well, can’t I go with you?” she asked.
“If you want,” he shrugged.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Nothing, I just know you’re not into the house stuff,” he answered.
“Cut me some slack, I’m getting better,” she teased and he appeased her with a slight smile.
“You can come if you want,” he said as he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket and left the table again.
“Oh boy, I have no idea what is going on with him,” Harley told Blake.
“Did something happen last night?” Blake asked.
“No, we had a great day. We had a nice dinner and we went for a walk, watched a movie, we made love – it was great, nothing wrong there – and we slept. Then this morning he’s acting like this. I don’t know,” she shrugged.
“And you took a pregnancy test,” Blake reminded her.
“Well, yeah, but he doesn’t know that.”
“Maybe he’s just stressing about the house,” Blake suggested.
“Maybe…” Harley said quietly as she watched him on the phone over by the bar, still confused about what was going on with him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“This is exciting! Your kitchen will be done after today, well, on paper at least,” Harley said as they walked into the home store.
“Yeah. We don’t have to do this if you don’t feel good,” Gus said.
“No, I’m feeling better. I think the fluids are helping. And I want to do this, I want to help you and I just want to spend the day with you. Don’t you want to spend the day with me?” she asked.
“Of course I do,” he answered unemotionally.
“Well, you’re not acting like it.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just tired,” he said and squeezed her hand as they got to the kitchen section and they were approached by a salesman asking if he could help them.
“Hi, my name is Brad, how can I help you today?” he asked.
“Uh, I’m here to pick out the floor and counters and stuff for my kitchen,” Gus shrugged.
“Great! Did you register your blueprints with us?” Brad asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“Alright. And what’s your name?” Brad asked as he stuck his hand out.
“Gus Aitoro,” Gus said, shaking his hand. “This is Harley.”
“Nice to meet you. How did you spell your last name?” he asked as he led them over to his desk.
“A-i-t-o-r-o,” Gus spelled out for him while he typed it into his computer.
“Okay, here we go. Let me just take a few notes and then we can look around,” he said and after a few minutes, he stood up. “Gwen? I’m going to be helping the Aitoros here, but you call if you need anything, okay?” he told the woman at the other desk.
“Uh…” Gus began, about to tell him that they weren’t married, but Brad kept talking.
“She’s kind of new,” he explained. “So how would you like to do this? I could point out a few things that will work for you or you could just look around and pick out a few things and then we can see if they work.”
“Yeah, I think we’ll just look around first.”
“Alright, what are you thinking about as far as an island goes? Do you want one maybe for your sink or stove or counter space? Or do you want everything against the walls?” “Well, I guess I hadn’t really thought about that.”
“The kitchen’s big, so you could have an island without losing a lot of space,” Harley said.
“Absolutely, it could also be used as seating if you put a couple of stools there,” Brad added.
“That might be good. Maybe an island with the sink and dishwasher and some seating?” Gus suggested and Brad led them over to some islands.
“This is a nice one, it has a lot of cabinet space too. It’s one of our larger islands, but it will fit into your kitchen well, even with cabinets against the walls.”
“Yeah, do you have paper and a pen? I kind of had an idea that I can modify with an island,” Gus asked and Brad handed him his clipboard and pen.
“Thanks,” Gus said and spent a few minutes sketching on the paper before he showed up it to Harley who nodded.
“I like that,” she said and he handed it back to Brad.
“That’s a nice set-up,” he nodded. “Let me sow you what we have for that,” he added and led them over to some wall and base cabinets.
The drawing Gus had given him had the stove and counter space on the right wall, with more cabinets the back wall. Also on the back wall was a pantry and the refrigerator. The island with the sink and dishwasher sat in the middle of the drawing.
“You know what, let’s go back to my computer and put in some dimensions and you can see the floor plan. We only have a few things that will work, it’s mainly picking out the wood and countertops, so let’s make sure this is what you want,” Brad said and they all went back to his desk where he played around with a software program. After about ten minutes, he printed out a floor plan and showed it to Gus.
“Yeah, I like this,” Gus replied. “This will be the dining room,” he said, pointing to the left hand side of the drawing, “and this will be the entrance from the hallway that connects to the foyer,” he added pointing to the area in front of the island.
“Now what kind of countertops were you interested in? We have a large selection of marble and…” Brad began and led them over to some samples.
“Actually, I was thinking about tile,” Gus interrupted.
“Tile?” Harley asked with a face.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, it’s hard to keep clean. You probably want a smooth surface,” she replied.
“I want tile,” he said to Brad, ignoring her.
“Alright, let me go get those samples,” Brad said, eager to get away from them by the fuming look on Harley’s face.
“Why are you being such a jerk?” she asked when they were alone.
“Me?” Gus scoffed. “I wish you would make up your mind. One day you want nothing to do with this house and today you’re telling me what kind of countertops to get.”
“I’m not telling you what to get, I’m just pointing out the disadvantages to tile. I thought you wanted my help, that’s what I’m trying to do,” she replied quietly. “What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t want to fight about this here,” he said.
“I don’t want to fight about it anywhere. I don’t even know what we’re fighting about!” she corrected.
“I guess I’m just a little overwhelmed by your mixed signals,” he finally said.
“My what?”
“Are you happy?” he asked. “With me? Are you happy with me, with us? Do you want to be with me?”
“Of course I do,” she said. “Why are you asking me this? Have I done something to make you think otherwise?” she asked but he remained silent. “Gus, I love you. I do and I’m happy. I know that I’m a little jumpy about the house stuff, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you.”
“I know, I understand, I…I don’t know,” he shook his head. “It’s not the house, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was a jerk. I’m just tired. Do you forgive me?” he asked.
“Of course. I’m just a little worried, you’re acting so weird. I guess I’ll have to make you go to bed early tonight,” she teased. “You are still staying tonight, right?”
“Yeah of course,” he nodded and pulled her close. “I’m sorry,” he said again and kissed her softly. “If I ever treat you like that again, would you just kick my butt?”
“With pleasure,” she smiled as Brad came back over to them.
“Here are some tile samples,” he said.
“Actually…I think we’ll go with something else,” Gus said.
“Okay then,” Brad said as he tossed the samples onto the nearest counter. “Those samples are over here,” he added and led them over to a bunch of little squares of marble.
“I don’t like any of these,” Gus sighed after a few minutes. “What do you think?” he asked Harley.
She shrugged, “Nothing catches my eye.”
“What do you have besides marble?” he asked.
“We have some solid surface counters, we don’t have any samples of those, but we have a couple of models here,” Brad said as he got up and led them over to a few more fake kitchen cabinets.
“Oh,” Harley said, running her hand over a green tile countertop.
“What?” Gus asked.
“Well, against my better judgment, I like this,” she said. The tiles were each about six inches square, all of them were basically the same color of an olive green with some white and green speckles in them, but some were lighter and some were darker than the middle shade of the rest.
“You do?” Gus asked and she nodded. “I do too, but it’s tile.”
“I know…”
“You know, we have a Corian solid surface that you might like. It’s almost in the same color scheme, let me show you that,” Brad suggested and showed them a sandstone colored, flecked countertop.
“What do you think?” Harley asked him.
“It’s my second favorite,” Gus replied.
“Well, okay here’s something else. Tile is hard to write on,” she said and he looked at her strangely.
“What?”
“You know, you put a piece of paper down on tile and try to write something, you end up with a hole in your paper,” she explained. “And it’s frustrating for a little kids who are trying to color while they’re sitting at the island watching adults make dinner,” she continued.
“Oh. That’s true,” he replied with a smile. “And it should be easy to coordinate other colors with. I like it, I’ll take it,” he decided.
“Great, now do you need any appliances?” Brad asked as he punched some numbers into his computer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“I feel like we were very productive today,” Gus said as he put his arm around Harley on the couch later that evening after they had gotten home.
“We were. Your kitchen is done!” she replied.
“Yes, now that’s three rooms that are done – the three hardest too. The rest should be just picking out paint and furniture,” he said.
“Three? What else is done?” she asked.
“The master bedroom and bath,” he answered.
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“That’s because I wanted to surprise you,” he grinned.
“I hate surprises,” she teased.
“You’ll see soon enough,” he replied kissed her softly. “You’ll like them, I promise. For the rest of the rooms, I think I’ll just wait until the house is done to figure them out. I have all of the really big furniture stuff taken care of, the rest should be easy.”
“Good,” she said as she leaned against his chest. “Are you ready to go to bed?” she asked, “We can watch TV up there.”
“Yeah,” he nodded and took her hand as they walked upstairs to her bedroom.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They were both shaken out of a deep sleep when the phone rang in the middle of the night.
“Who could that be?” she groaned.
“I’ll get it,” Gus said and answered the phone, half asleep. “Hold on,” he said and passed her the phone. “Tell your brother it could have waited until morning,” he said and Harley took it from him.
“Frank, what’s going on?” she asked.
“Well, I just got a call from a friend of mine that works for the Chicago PD, they have a lead on Michael Armazio, that guy you’ve been looking for. Apparently Mayor Davis said he doesn’t want them to do anything until you’re in Chicago to help them. He called here and asked for Detective Cooper and he got me. I told him I would call you, but you have a plane to catch in less than two hours,” Frank said.
“What? Right now?”
“You want this guy? Then right now,” he replied.
“Uh, alright. What airline?” she asked.
“ExTran,” he answered. “Call me when you get there and if you need anything, okay? And make sure you call the Chief and explain all of this to him in the morning.”
“Yeah, alright, I will. Bye Frank,” she said and hung up.
“What’s up?” Gus asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist and tried to pull her back down beside him.
“I need to go to Chicago,” she answered and got out of bed.
“What? Why?” he asked.
“This case I’m working on, it’s with the Chicago PD and they got a lead. I’ll only be gone a few days,” she said before she jumped in the shower.
“You have to leave right now?” Gus asked when she came out of the bathroom five minutes later.
“Yeah, I do. I’m sorry. Stay here as long as you want, okay?” she said as she kissed him before she threw some clothes into her carry-on suitcase.
“What case is this?” he asked.
“I don’t think you’re familiar with it, it’s the uh, Carey case,” she replied, saying the first old, closed-case name that came to her mind.
“Oh. Well, do you want me to take you to the airport?” he asked.
“No, no, stay here and sleep, please. I’m fine,” she replied and went back into the bathroom.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” she said a half hour later before she left. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said. “Be careful,” he added and she kissed him deeply before leaving the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|
|
Post by Jen on Mar 26, 2006 1:19:00 GMT -5
“Detective Cooper?” a tall man in a dark suit asked Harley as she come out of the gate when she landed in Chicago.
“Yes, that’s me,” she nodded and he took her carry-on from her.
“Do you work for the Chicago PD?” she asked after a few minutes while they walked.
“No, I’m Mayor Davis’s driver,” he answered.
“He sent his driver to pick me up? I could have taken a cab.”
“He wanted to greet you himself,” the man said.
“He’s here?” Harley asked.
“He’s waiting in the car,” he nodded and Harley raised her eyebrows as they stepped outside and she saw a black limo waiting at the curb with a man, standing outside the back door.
“Detective Cooper,” the second man said as he opened the door for her and she slid into the back door and joined Mayor Davis in the car.
“Harley, thank you for coming,” Davis said as he shook her hand.
“Mister Mayor, this was not necessary, really,” she said.
“Well, I wanted to talk to you and apologize for dragging you up here in the middle of the night. I am sorry, your brother called you, I assume?” he asked.
“Yes, he did. It’s fine, we’re just not used to calls in the middle of the night, usually if we get them it means a kid is sick, so…” she replied.
“We?”
“Oh, umm, my boyfriend,” she answered.
“Oh yes, Agent Aitoro,” Davis said.
“Former agent,” Harley corrected.
“Right. Well, apologize to him for me as well. I was thrilled to hear from the Chicago chief that they had a lead on this mysterious visitor of mine, but I know how hard you have been working and I wanted you to be a part of it,” he explained.
“Thank you, I’ve been waiting for the conclusion to this case for a long time. I just hope it ends today as safely as possible,” Harley said. “What kind of lead is it they have?”
“An alias for Michael Armazio, I can’t recall the name at the moment, but his alias has a criminal record. They’re in the process of tracking him down right now.”
“Any clues that he is tied to a mob family?” she asked.
“Not yet, but they suspect that he has more than one alias so time will tell,” he sighed. “They want to bring Alicia in to see if she can identify the man. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“She’s the only witness. If she can testify that he was involved in her kidnapping, the case is closed. I know you’re concerned for Alicia, putting her through this, but I do think it is necessary. If you want, I can talk to her, be with her when she does it,” Harley offered.
“We would like that, that’s another reason I wanted you here. Thank you,” he replied and they spent the rest of the ride making small talk.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Detective Cooper, it’s nice to meet you,” the Chief of the Chicago PD greeted Harley when she walked into the station with the mayor.
“You too, can I talk to you?” she asked and they stepped into is office alone. “I know you probably don’t appreciate the Mayor’s insistence at my being involved in this case, so I want to thank you for putting up with me.”
“As long as you don’t hinder my investigation, I don’t care what you do,” the Chief replied. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes, what’s going on?” she asked.
The Chief hesitated before he answered her, “We’re looking into any other aliases this Armazio guy has. We’ve run whatever fingerprints we have through the system and nothing. We need to have Alicia Davis identify him before we can make an arrest. If we can even find him. Michael Armazio and his alias, Carlos Mentoza, do not exist in the city of Chicago, or anywhere else for that matter,” he sighed. “I have all of the men, and women, I can spare on finding this guy, so…maybe you can talk to the girl, convince her to ID this guy.”
“I can do that, but I want to be told of any leads. Anything,” she said firmly.
“Fine,” he agreed and led her out of his office.
“We need Alicia to identify this guy. We’ll show her a bunch of pictures, one of them will be his and we’ll see which one she picks out. What time could she be here?” Harley asked, explaining the situation with the Mayor.
“She usually leaves for school at seven, I can have her brought here,” he answered.
“Why don’t we go get her? I want her to be as comfortable as possible,” Harley suggested and he nodded. “Okay, give me a few minutes,” she added then went over to the Chief and gave him her cell phone number and reminded him to call her with any updates.
“Let’s go,” she said as she came back and left the station with the Mayor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Alicia should be down for breakfast soon, please, help yourself,” the Mayor’s wife, Jan, insisted as the three of them sat down at the dining room table.
“No thank you, I’m fine,” Harley declined.
“Come on, I know they didn’t feed you on that plane, and you have a long day ahead of you, have a bagel, at least,” Mayor Davis urged and Harley finally took a bagel.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your coming up here, Detective Cooper,” Jan said.
“Please, call me Harley.”
“You were so wonderful with Alicia in Paris, she told us that you really helped her at the hospital, thank you so much,” she continued.
“It was my pleasure, well…” Harley cringed. “I’m glad I could help,” she corrected herself. “She’s a great girl, I’m glad things worked out so well.”
“She told me that you have a daughter her age. You must have been so young when you had her,” Jan said.
“I was,” Harley nodded. “I gave her up for adoption and she had a wonderful childhood. She turned out to be pretty fantastic,” she added proudly.
“Do you have any other children?”
“I do, I have two little boys. Zach is three and Jude is almost a year old,” Harley answered.
“Oh, very little. They’re so much fun at that age.”
“Yes, but two of them can be quite a handful,” Harley laughed. “But, they’re my whole world,” she smiled.
“That never changes,” Jan replied with a smile as Alicia came down the stairs.
“Good morning,” she said as she came into the dining room. “Harley, what are you doing here?” she asked, surprised to see her.
“Hi Alicia,” Harley greeted.
“Alicia, sweetheart, sit down,” her dad said and she sat down across from Harley.
“What’s going on? Did you find them?” she asked, looking at Harley.
“We hope so,” Harley replied. “But we need you to come down to the station and identify anyone that you can.”
“Do I have to do that?” she asked.
“I know it’s the last thing that you want to do, I know that you just want your normal life back, but yes, you have to do whatever you can to catch the people who did this to you. And I’ll be with you the whole time if you want to, we’re just going to show you some pictures and see if you recognize anyone,” Harley explained.
“Okay,” Alicia nodded. “When?”
“Whenever you are ready,” Harley answered.
“Then let’s go and get this over with,” she replied as she stood up and everyone followed her out of the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Alright Alicia, we’re going to be in this room right here. Do you want something to drink? Water, a soda?” Harley asked and Alicia shook her head ‘no’. “Okay then, let’s go in here,” Harley continued and opened the door for Alicia before she turned to her parents. “We’ll let you know when we’re finished.”
“I want to be with her when she does this,” the Mayor protested as he tried to move past Harley into the room.
She stepped in front of him, “I realize that, but you know what our suspect looks like and I can’t have you influencing Alicia’s decision in any way,” she said firmly. “We won’t be long,” she added before she went into the room with Alicia and shut the door.
They both returned to the hallway ten minutes later after Alicia had identified the man they only knew of as Carlos Mentoza. Just as Harley was about to tell the mayor that he could take Alicia home, one of the Chicago officers caught up to them and whispered something in Harley’s ear.
“Uh. On second thought, could you guys stick around for a little while longer? I need to go right now, but I will get back to you as soon as I can,” she said before she touched Alicia’s shoulder and followed the officer down the hall to the Chief’s office.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey Frank,” Gus said as he walked into the station and saw Frank at the coffee maker.
“Uh, hey Gus,” Frank replied. “Did you uh, hear from Harley?”
“She called this morning, she got there fine,” he answered and sat down at Harley’s desk to do some work.
“Good,” Frank said and walked away.
“So what’s this Carey case about that you’re working on babe?” Gus said to himself after about a half an hour as he started a search on Harley’s computer.
“Domestic disturbance from ninety-nine?” he said when he saw the only relevant hit that came up for him. “This case is closed and has nothing to do with Chicago. What is going on?”
He closed down the search program and went over to Frank’s desk. “Hey, what was the name of that case that Harley was working on? I found this folder on her desk and I wondered if she needs it.”
“Uh, I think it’s the Benson case,” Frank answered, avoiding Gus’s eyes.
“Oh, alright, she doesn’t need this then. Thanks, Frank,” Gus replied and went back to Harley’s desk.
“Honey, if you’re going to lie to me, you better get your story straight with your brother,” he said quietly and left the station.
As he was getting in his car, his phone rang, “Aitoro,” he answered.
“Gus, it’s me,” he heard Harley on the other end.
“Hi,” he said cautiously.
“Gus, you need to come to Chicago,” she said quietly.
“Oh yeah, which case do you need me for? The Carey domestic disturbance that’s been closed for a year or the Benson case, which your brother claims is what you’re doing in Chicago?” he asked, annoyed.
“Gus, please, I’ll explain everything when you get here,” she replied.
“I don’t think I even want to know, Harley. I don’t know why you think you had to lie to me, but you obviously did, so what do you want from me?”
“This has nothing to do with me, Gus, please. Will you come here?”
“If you have something to say, just tell me now.”
“You don’t need to hear this over the phone. Call me when you get close to the city and I’ll tell you where to meet me. I’m sorry, Gus,” she said before she hung up, leaving him shocked and annoyed as he got in his car.
He sat there with the engine running for a few minutes before he finally put it in drive and started towards Chicago.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He called Harley when he got to the outskirts of the city and she asked him to meet her at the police station and she would be waiting for him outside.
She had just stepped outside when he pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car. “Here goes nothing,” she mumbled as he walked up the steps to the entrance and almost walked past her, but she grabbed his shirt and pulled him back to her.
“Gus, please, I know you’re upset that I lied to you, but you need to listen to me,” she pleaded.
“What am I doing here, Harley? What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Inside, please,” she said and he followed her into an empty interrogation room inside the station.
“Alright, I’m not here working on the Carey case. Or the Benson case, or any other case anyone would tell you about. I’m here working on the Davis case,” she began when they were alone.
“What Davis case?” he asked.
“Alicia Davis.”
“The girl from Paris? I thought you were just following that unofficially,” he said, confused.
“I was, at first, then Mayor Davis asked for my help and eventually, I was working with the Chicago PD on it. And last night, they got a big lead on someone that I found on the visitation records that didn’t belong there and that’s why they called me.”
“So they found the people that kidnapped her?” he asked.
“Well, the name on the records was Michael Armazio, who didn’t exist, basically. And then they found one of his aliases, Carlos Mentoza. Mentoza had a criminal record, gambling, tax fraud, prostitution, and with some very hard digging, they found out the true identify of Mentoza,” she explained, but stopped.
“Okay…”
“Carlos Mentoza is an alias of Miguel Santos,” she added and Gus’s head snapped up at the mention of his name.
“What did you say?”
“Miguel Santos is the one who was in contact with Kozlovic and arranged for Alicia to be bought by him,” she continued.
“Miguel Santos is dead,” Gus said.
“He’s not, Gus. He’s very much alive,” she said as she reached across the table and took his hand.
He pulled away from her, “How do you know it’s him?”
“Alicia identified him.”
“So you have the right guy, that doesn’t prove that he’s Miguel Santos.”
“She ID’d him from a picture of Miguel. An old picture.”
“You’re telling me that Miguel Santos, the former head of a major Chicago mob family faked his death but looks exactly the same, and no one has noticed in the past fifteen years?” he asked, unbelieving.
“He dyed his hair, let it grow long, grew a beard, gained some weight, but he still looks the same Gus. It’s him, I wouldn’t be telling you this otherwise,” she assured.
“I don’t understand this…wait, have you seen him?” he asked and she nodded.
“He’s being interrogated right now,” she added.
“He’s here?”
“They just brought him in a couple of minutes before you got here,” she replied.
“How long have you known that it was him? That he was alive?” he asked, glaring at her.
“I found out right before I called you this morning. Gus, I swear to you that this is the first I have heard about it, and I never thought it was possible. When they told me, you were the first thing that I thought of and I knew I needed to tell you.”
“I want to see him,” Gus said.
“Gus…”
“I want to see him,” he insisted and stormed out of the room.
“Alright, alright, just wait here for a second, please?” she asked and went into the next interrogation room after he agreed.
Harley stepped inside and pulled the Chief aside and whispered to him that Gus wanted to see Miguel. He knew who Gus was and was reluctant, but Harley promised to stay with Gus with another officer while they were with Miguel.
“Give us a few minutes,” he finally agreed and Harley went back into the hallway.
“They need a few more minutes,” she told Gus and he sighed in frustration.
“I can’t believe this…” he muttered and leaned his forehead against the wall, the cold brick calming him a bit.
“Gus…” Harley said as she stood behind him and ran her hands over his back but he pulled away so they spent an uncomfortable couple of silent minutes until the Chief came out and motioned them into the interrogation room.
Gus stopped right outside the door while Harley stepped in to talk to the Chief. Miguel hadn’t confessed to anything and the Chief wanted to be sure that Gus wouldn’t do anything that would negatively affect the case.
“He won’t,” Harley assured him and Gus finally entered the small room as Miguel looked up at him.
“Do you know who I am?” Gus asked quietly.
“Of course,” Miguel answered. “You’re the man who tried to destroy my son.”
“I am the man who watched his father bleed to death in the street after being shot by you,” Gus corrected.
“I’m sorry, you must be thinking of someone else,” Miguel sneered and Gus clenched his fists to keep from lunging across the table at him.
“I’ve waited my entire life to be in the same room with you. To hurt you the way you hurt my father. I’ve had dreams about making you and your family suffer. But now that I am here and I see you sitting there with that smug look on your face…it’s over. No more. I’m not going to lunge across this table and strangle you with my bare hands. I’m not going to go after your son anymore. I’m not going to give anything or anyone that has anything to do with the Santos family the time of day. You are not worth my energy. I am better than you. My father was better than you and he was killed for it. I’ve spent every day of the last twenty years hating you and I’m here right now to tell you that I’ll never forgive you. That day when you shot my father, you destroyed my whole world and I’ll never forget that. But you did not win and you never will. You deserve to rot in prison for the rest of your life and I hope that you do, but I won’t be around to see it,” he finished.
“Then why are you here?” Miguel asked with a smirk.
“Not for you,” was all Gus said before he turned and walked out of the room with Harley following him.
“Can I just have a few minutes, please?” he asked without looking at her before he disappeared into the men’s room.
Harley sighed and wiped her wet eyes. She didn’t know what to expect from Gus when he saw Miguel, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t it. She never expected him to be able to be in the same room with Miguel Santos and not do everything in his power to hurt him in some way.
She was still in shock a few minutes later when Gus came out of the bathroom and stood in the hallway in front of her, silent.
“Are you okay?” she asked
“Yeah, I just need some time…” Gus answered. “Do you have a flight home?”
“No,” she shook her head, “I mean, I’ll get one,” she added, sadly.
“Do you want to ride home with me?” he asked and she smiled.
“I would love to, but I don’t think I can go yet.”
“That’s okay, I want to go to the cemetery, so why don’t you just call me whenever you’re done,” he suggested.
“It might be awhile.”
“I might need awhile,” he said with a slight smile.
“Okay, I’ll call you,” she nodded and he turned to leave. “Hey Gus,” she said and he turned around. “Are we okay?”
“Yeah, yes,” he said as he came back and pulled her close to him and kissed her softly.
“I’m sorry,” Harley said, leaning her forehead against his.
“Shhh,” he quieted her with another kiss. “Call me, okay?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Can I help you?” the gray-haired man in the office of the cemetery asked Harley when she walked into the building.
“Yeah, I’m looking for a grave, but I don’t know where it is, could you help me?” she asked.
“Sure, what’s the name?”
“Augustino, Joseph and Angela.”
“Relatives?”
“My boyfriend’s parents. He’s already here,” she said pointing to his car.
“Alright,” he said and typed the names into the computer. “Oh, they’re not too far, would you like me to show you?”
“Please,” she nodded and she followed him out into the cemetery.
“Is that him?”
“Yes, thank you. Hey you,” Harley said as she came up behind Gus and slide her arms around his neck.
“Hi. You’re done already?”
“Eh, I ditched them. We caught the guy and Alicia is safe. That’s all I care about. I’ll let them to the paperwork. I just wanted to let you know I was here. Give me your keys and I’ll go wait in the car.”
“I don’t want you to go,” he said and pulled her down beside him.
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
“I’m just sitting here, so sit with me. Meet my parents.”
“Hello parents,” she said.
“Joe, Angela, this is Harley, my…everything,” he finished and Harley smiled as she laid her head against his shoulder.
“You don’t talk about your mom much. Do you remember her?”
“Not really. She was sick for so long that my dad did everything, so mostly if I remember her, she’s lying in bed.”
“I’m sorry,” she said as she turned to face him. “I’m sorry that you didn’t have more time with her, with both of them, it’s so unfair.”
“Yeah, it is, but it happens and I’m okay,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” she said as she slid her hand over his knee. “Gus, I’m sorry that I didn’t…”
“Don’t,” he interrupted. “It’s okay. I know why you didn’t tell me. It’s the same reason I was taken off the case to begin with – I can’t be trusted in a case that might involve the Santos family.”
“Well, that’s not completely the reason…”
“But it’s the reason I was taken off the case, wasn’t it? I’m a liability.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I know. I get that now. I got it then, even. I tried to tell myself that it was because I had so many cases to finish before I left, but in the back of my mind, I knew that wasn’t it. I just didn’t want to admit it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And that’s why you didn’t tell me, right? You were afraid that I would go back into revenge mode?”
Harley lowered her eyes, “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m already hurt. I’ve been hurt by it since I was ten.”
“You had come so far in putting that part of your life behind you – at least I thought so – and I didn’t want to bring it all back.”
“It was behind me, it really was.”
“I know. Today when you were face to face with him…I was so proud of you. I mean that,” she said, raising his lowered chin until he looked into her eyes. “You were amazing. You were standing in the same room as your father’s murderer and you looked him in the eye and told him that you are better than he is.”
Gus nodded, “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. To see him and walk away.”
“I know. I am so proud of you and they would be proud of you too,” she said as she ran her hand through his hair and turned his head towards the gravestones.
“I know,” he nodded. “That’s why I did it. I mean, you and my dad are the reasons I do anything. I never would have been able to do that if you weren’t in my life.”
“Gus…” Harley said after a few minutes of silence as she raised her head off of his shoulder. “I need to tell you something and it’s important.”
“It doesn’t matter Harley…”
“No, this does matter. Until today, there was always a part of me that was afraid.”
“Of?”
“You. I mean, not you, but your…thing with the Santoses. Not even just them, it was revenge in general. And it’s the reason I’ve held you off at a distance. It’s the reason I was so scared to let myself be with you, and give myself completely to you. But today, after seeing what you did, I know that I don’t have to be afraid anymore. I know that when you tell me you’re over the revenge, that you mean it, that I can trust that. I didn’t realize until today that it’s what was keeping me from really committing myself to you. I have a lot of excuses, a lot of them, but the real reason was that I was afraid. And I am ashamed of that and I’m sorry.”
“Wow,” he exhaled. “I mean, I’m surprised you’ve finally admitted it.”
“What?”
“Harley, I knew that was why. I never bought any of your lame excuses about why you wouldn’t go out with me or why you didn’t want to have anything to do with the house,” he laughed.
“Oh.”
“It’s okay. I understand why you feel that way, and I hope someday I’ll be able to prove to you that you don’t have to be afraid of me, but until then, I’m happy with whatever you’re willing to give me.”
“Gus. I’m not worried anymore. I’m willing now to give you everything. I love you. And I want to spend the foreseeable future with you. I want to help you with the house. I want to move in with you some day. I want to prove to you that I love you.”
“You just did,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. “You are my whole world Harley. I love you too.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
|