New Friend New City For Kensiblye

[encom_flynn]

It was purely luck that put these two in the same city at the same time. Sam thought he’d wait till he knew Kensi was nearby and send her a message from his phone. It was a great day to get the bikes out. Sam had just parked his up by the edge of the city and was currently leaning on the rail that separated the sidewalk from the sand. He loved it

Comments

[kensiblye]

They teased her about everything they could. It was like having brothers, which had it's positives and it's negatives. Brothers who sometimes edged around flirting, but the whole team was fairly cohesive, even Marty Deeks, who was still getting into the dynamic.

If any of them had known that she was going to meet someone who was a big name, she'd never have heard the end of it. Information like that would feed their imaginations for weeks, months, even. Kensi knew from their on-line conversation that Motorbike Sam was some kind of executive for a large corporation, but she didn't have any more information than that, which was probably just as well.

Besides, guys tended to talk bigger than their assets warranted. Who knew if he was telling the truth? Her gut told her he had no reason to lie, but...

She didn't live too far from the office and knew all the short cuts home. The car was parked, the leather jacket and black helmet went on and, backpack strapped to her back, Kensi got the Triumph on the road. She could have paused to 'freshen up', but if they were going riding, what was the point?

Knowing Sam's location from previous beach visits in the area also helped shave some time, but her estimate of twenty minutes was a little off, despite her best efforts. At twenty-two minutes, she was pulling up beside a black Ducati. A man was approaching, holding two coffees. Kensi turned her helmeted head toward him as she came to a stop.

[encom_flynn]

“Nice bike.” Sam wasn’t just saying that either, she had told him what she had but it still it was nothing like seeing it for real. He waited for her to take off her helmet and get off and then handed her the coffee. “I had some time to kill, thought I’d get us something. Who’d have thought they don’t tell beer.” He smiled and moved closer to his bike. Hers was beautiful but his still made him proud. Probably because it had something to do with his dad, it’s funny how the little things that remind of you or family you still hold on to.

“So here’s the plan.” He warmed his hands around the cup as he spoke. “I thought I’d kidnap you, we’d go for a walk and you could tell me more about yourself. At some point there will be a question and answer round where you can ask me anything you like and I’ll give you the honest answer that I can.” Sam used that smile everyone seemed to like and waited for her to respond. The last time they spoke she opened up to him as a stranger so he hoped becoming a friend would mean it would continue.

“That’s as far as I got. I don’t have a backup plan yet.”

[kensiblye]

Kensi placed her helmet between her handlebars and her body and gratefully accepted the coffee. The aroma was wonderful and she'd drink it, even though it was black.

"Thanks," she said, opening the drinking flap on the plastic lid and blowing lightly on the hot beverage. "About the bike and for the coffee. As for beer? Drinking and driving is never a good combo."

Listening to his proposal, she glanced between him and his bike, which were both very nice to look at, and sighed a little at that smile of his. He seemed to be one of those nice guys and a potential charmer. It was a good thing this wasn't a date or it would ruin everything.

"That sounds like a good plan. So, we leave our bikes... here? And walk along for a bit? For the next step, how about we go for a drive somewhere? You know." She smirked a little. "Let them make some noise."

[encom_flynn]

Sam nodded and started them off walking on the sidewalk that separated them from the sand. He came here that often he felt he knew every rock and wave for at least five miles either way. “I’m good for taking the bikes out later; first I’m on a mission to get to know you better.” It was actually coming across like a date, the whole getting to know you thing and the coffee. Sam just liked the idea of knowing Kensi, she was interesting on first impression and somewhere he felt that had both level heads and common ground.

“Did you want to go first with the question or should I?” He smiled and drank some more of his coffee. The sidewalk was pretty much empty of people and the air was warm. Great conditions for a walk with no wind from the sea. Looks like Sam had picked a good day for this.

[kensiblye]

She locked her bike down and walked beside him, sipping her black coffee and looking from Sam to the sunset across the water. It was twilight time and the stars were starting to burn brighter in the sky. Kensi laughed a little when he mentioned his mission. A part of her almost wanted this to be a date, because then it would mean more, but she tended to do poorly on the second date and there was never a third and lately, she just hadn't bothered.

Sam was interesting, though, and he wasn't putting any pressure on her, other than being curious. That was fine. She was curious, too.

"You go first." She'd let him set the tone.

[encom_flynn]

Sam nodded and thought about starting with the basic of questions. The usual ones you get on dates or general chatting with friends. “Alright, first question.” It was kind of a two parted question but it was start at getting to know one another further. “What’s the longest relationship you’ve ever had?”

He would be curious what her answer was, usually if you said you had short relationships it meant you were a player and if you said long term you were either a hopeless romantic or clearly still in love.

“If you don’t want to answer the questions you don’t have to. I’m not spot lighting you here.”

[kensiblye]

He may not be putting her in the spot light, but he was putting her on the spot. Still, she'd been asked this question before, or a variation of it. She answered as honestly as she could. "About four years." It depended on whether she counted the time he didn't remember who she was or not. It was an estimate.

Kensi sighed and had another sip of her coffee. "I don't mind the questions, Sam. I know I don't have to answer." It said something about him that she was answering at all and doing her best not to lie. She had to lie when it came to undercover work and she'd have to lie or deflect if he asked about things pertaining to national security, but otherwise, she was trying to truthful.

[encom_flynn]

“Married?” Sam asked, curiously. She hadn’t asked him anything back so he thought he’d keep the conversation flowing. He was still trying to do his best getting to know people. The sad fact was Sam was always the loner type, even as a kid and now he was man that didn’t change. He might be on the cover of magazines and treated like fame for the job title he has but that didn’t make his out of business social skills any better.

“Can’t say I’ve had a relationship over four months.” He laughed at that. “Never been married and I don’t have kids.”

[kensiblye]

Right. She was supposed to ask a question, too. Kensi sighed, but replied, "No. Engaged."

He told her his answer to that question, though she hadn't asked it, so she thought of a different one. "Why not?" It was related to the topic. Someone like Sam, who seemed to have enough money that he didn't have to worry about how to provide for a family, would be able to settle down, wouldn't he? Or maybe there were too many 'gold diggers' in his social circle. Or maybe he just hadn't found the right person.

She wasn't one to judge.

[encom_flynn]

“Hard to find someone who doesn’t want you for your money.” Sam wasn’t sure if he believed that or not. “Maybe because no one wants to stick around after a couple of months. I work crazy hours and after a month or so most women get all needy.” He thought about the relationship thing a lot in his spare time. His job was that busy he didn’t feel he could commit and keeping one night stands meant fun without the attachment. But did he want attachment?

He smiled over at her. “I’m not good at this stuff. Relationships confuse me I’m not used to them. I’m not used to talking to many people outside of work either.” He didn’t want to bore Kensi but Sam was lacking in the social skills department lately. Quorra told him it was stress related.

[kensiblye]

"The money. Right. At least I don't have that worry." Her income wasn't paltry, but she wasn't what you'd call 'rich' and certainly not on the circuit as a party girl or a 'catch'. "I understand about crazy hours. I'm on call as we speak, just not officially... 'on shift'." Duty was duty. When her phone rang, she went to work, even if it was three in the morning.

Kensi laughed when he said that relationships confused him. "I don't seem to get them, either. I think I've found the right guy and it turns out..." She shrugged. "I don't seem to be the best judge when it comes to my personal life. Funny that." She sighed. It wasn't really funny. It was just the way things were.

[encom_flynn]

“Come on.” Sam laughed and playfully nudged her a little as they continued to walk. “You probably have loads of guys after you, look at you.” That was Sam’s way of giving her a compliment. It wasn’t like she was unattractive. All the women Sam was used to meeting were very confident of themselves, knew how attractive they were and how to use it to their advantage. Sam sometimes hated that. He liked the ones that were hot, beautiful inside and out and didn’t see it. They always ended up having a better personality.

“List me your perfect man. Give me details.”

[kensiblye]

Kensi knew she was considered attractive, though she didn't really bother playing up on that aspect unless she was undercover. Then she could be the pretty thing that lulled someone into a false sense of security or the distraction - though shooting at someone also made for a good distraction, and she was very good at that. She took good care of herself and stayed in top form, but if she dressed up all the time, she might actually garner attention that she'd have to deal with, and she hadn't felt ready for that kind of attention in... years.

"Thanks," she said softly to the compliment, recognizing it as such. She pursed her lips a little as she tried not to laugh at his request.

"Wow. You really make it easy on a girl, don't you? Coffee, the beach and a quiz." She nudged him back, to emphasize her tone. She was joking. Mostly. "The perfect man would be... someone who didn't mind my crazy hours or that... I can't always talk about what I do. He'd be independent, not looking to me to make all the decisions, but we could make them together..." Putting this into words wasn't easy. "He would... be smart, funny, strong. Definitely into sports." She had another sip of coffee, wondering if she should stop. "And not afraid of me being strong, too."

[encom_flynn]

Sam liked the list she gave. Most women put the same things in their top five most wanted folder, you know the whole they have to be tall dark and handsome, rich and played sports. A lot of what Kensi had put was more on the personality than the looks. It said a lot about her.

Sam laughed when she nudged him. “I’m trying to make this easy for you. I said I want to get to know you so here I am.” It was nice. Sam walked the beach a lot in his spare time and every once in a while it felt different with someone else being there. Like he was exploring some place new. “I think your perfect guy is easy to find.” He replied once he took in all the qualities she had mentioned. “You didn’t say much on your type appearance wise?”

[kensiblye]

He had a nice laugh. That said something about a person. Kensi smiled. "Here you are. And I don't know about that. I haven't found him yet, have I? Maybe I need to put a bolo out, using my description, and see who gets arrested." She could see the police line-up now and tapped her chin with the forefinger of her free hand as she played it out for Sam. "Can suspect number four turn to the right, please? Yep, that's him."

Kensi sighed. "You know, appearance doesn't really matter. I mean, healthy, fit, cute, but I have no preference about hair color, eye color, racial background. If they're comfortable and happy in their own skin, then I should be able to accept that."

[encom_flynn]

Sam turned playing along with her suspect game and pulled a funny face. “I think everyone is a shallow to a certain point. There has to be some attraction there.” He started to laugh while they continued to walk along the coast. “I mean look at us. Both of us right now are the height of the human race. Both hot, both have good personalities, both single. The only difference is I have better hair than you.” It was joke, he really didn’t have better hair but Sam had to tease. He liked the fact she had a good sense of humor.