15 : Heartbeat (RP for agentdoggett)
Stark was pretty sure that she had no idea what she was doing.
Logically, she knew what she was physically doing: she was heading home after a long day at work, and her partner was coming over. The same thing they'd done a dozen times over the last three years, hanging out and having a couple of drinks while talking about anything from work to whatever else happened to cross their minds.
Except this wasn't like any other time. Not after she'd kissed him and he'd asked her out. Now they were dating...she thought...and that was a whole other rulebook. One she hadn't used in, oh, years.
Her original plan had been to come home, get changed, and maybe make a light dinner while she watched the late edition of Baseball Tonight for Orioles highlights. Then she'd planned on curling up in bed with a book off the stack of unread ones in her bedroom. Somehow, she didn't think that was the plan anymore. She didn't know what the plan was, but she knew it was different now.
Especially when she was more interested in picking up where they'd left off at the office, even if she'd have a hard time admitting it.
Her heart was pounding a little as she walked in the front door of the house and to the answering machine, stopping only to hang up her jacket and set her bag down. Two messages: one from Kevin telling her there wasn't any activity for the Orioles at the trade deadline, and another from the captain of her paintball team reminding her they had a game the next day. Her gun belt came off and she secured it in the locked drawer of the table by the front door, and she opened her collar a little to give her some breathing space. Just like normal.
But this wasn't a normal night. This was...better than normal.
What did she do now? She had no idea.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked, flustered and fluttery at the same time. "I think I just restocked the fridge."
Logically, she knew what she was physically doing: she was heading home after a long day at work, and her partner was coming over. The same thing they'd done a dozen times over the last three years, hanging out and having a couple of drinks while talking about anything from work to whatever else happened to cross their minds.
Except this wasn't like any other time. Not after she'd kissed him and he'd asked her out. Now they were dating...she thought...and that was a whole other rulebook. One she hadn't used in, oh, years.
Her original plan had been to come home, get changed, and maybe make a light dinner while she watched the late edition of Baseball Tonight for Orioles highlights. Then she'd planned on curling up in bed with a book off the stack of unread ones in her bedroom. Somehow, she didn't think that was the plan anymore. She didn't know what the plan was, but she knew it was different now.
Especially when she was more interested in picking up where they'd left off at the office, even if she'd have a hard time admitting it.
Her heart was pounding a little as she walked in the front door of the house and to the answering machine, stopping only to hang up her jacket and set her bag down. Two messages: one from Kevin telling her there wasn't any activity for the Orioles at the trade deadline, and another from the captain of her paintball team reminding her they had a game the next day. Her gun belt came off and she secured it in the locked drawer of the table by the front door, and she opened her collar a little to give her some breathing space. Just like normal.
But this wasn't a normal night. This was...better than normal.
What did she do now? She had no idea.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked, flustered and fluttery at the same time. "I think I just restocked the fridge."