TasLin
Location: Best Exotic Hotel: Tasha's Room
Interacting With: Each Other
The doctor carefully maneuvered herself and Lincoln up the rickety stairs, avoiding the break on the steps between the first and second floor. She didn't want him to get anymore injured than he already was because of some broken down old hotel. Once they were in her room she kicked the door shut behind her and grumbled a bit under her breath, she wished right then she had cleaned up before bringing him up there but there was nothing she could do about it now. Her room was a disaster, which was completely unlike Natasha. She usually kept everything in a strict order, a place for everything and everything in its place. This wasn't like her at all. There were beer bottles everywhere, remains from the night before that she had shared with Dominic. The other remains were four dvd's that had been broken into pieces and left in the garbage can. Apparently she had done some venting on what Dominic had left in her room after she found out he left. Then there was something else, on the dressed next to her bed was a small felt box; one that had seen better days but it was all too familiar even though it looked like hands had run over it time and time again until it started balding.
Looking around the room she tried to figure out where to put him down. The chair was taken with books, the only other choices were the floor and the bed. Bed it was. Leading him over to her bed she gently helped him to rest down on the mattress. It sunk a bit under his weight, the thing was old and worn but there was nothing she could do about it. Straightening herself she reached out and touched his chin lightly, looking over the damage to his face. There was obvious concern in his eyes. As mad as she could get, as cold as she could be, when she saw someone she cared for injured, when she saw most any injured that all faded away and the doctor in her came out. She couldn't help it, it was just how she was. Healing was as second nature to her as breathing or even screaming her head off when she was angry. Thing was though, this seemed to be more than just Dr. Brinne coming out. The doctor in her didn't show concern or worry. She was a cool as ice under any situation, and yet right then unease in those icy eyes.
Lincoln stared at Tasha as she examined him over and he did all he could not to say anything dumb or give her anything but a simple look. He wanted to touch her face, stroke her skin, brush her hair back... He wanted to tell her not to worry and that he was fine and had deserved the beating he'd received. If he'd had the energy at that moment he'd have laughed but instead he just lay there, catching his breath as Tasha worked her Doctor magic.
Stepping over, a slight limp in her step she grabbed her medical bag, her lips thinning a bit as she knelt down and started to rummage through it to find everything she needed. When she had seen him in the fight, with Murphy on top of him and pummeling Lincoln with his fists, she had lost it. She had seen red. That wasn't unusual for her but she hadn't expect to get so worked up over him; not after all this time. She felt a rage build up towards her friend that she hadn't remembered feeling before. Why? She tried not to think about it but it was there, in her mind even as she gathered what she needed to take care of him.
"Okay Tasha, get him fixed up and get him the fuck out of your room before you do or stay something stupid," she thought to herself
Not looking back over to him as she did she finally spoke up.
"Can you remove your shirt? Or do I need to cut it up so you don't have to lift your arms?" she asked as she came across the scissors in her bag, cupping them in one hand as she continued to pull out what else she needed in the other.
Lincoln half turned his head as he heard her speaking. He groaned as he sat himself up and yanked his stained t-shirt over his head and threw it down at his feet where it caught on his left shoe. His muscles tensed as he moved and he could practically feel them starting to bruise. He glanced down at his torso he saw the odd tiny scar here and there where he'd be hit so hard in a bar fight it had caused a wound that he just wouldn't stop picking at. Disgusting habit of course, but that was just what habits were like. All of his bumps and lumps would be familiar to Tasha if not all that memorable. There was one slightly newer scar that would catch her attention. On the right side of his torso, right below his rib cage there was a scar line no longer than three inches but looking fresher than the rest. It was a scar he'd received the month following his and Tasha's break up.
Glancing over her shoulder when she didn't get a response, she watched as he removed his shirt before looking away quickly. It had been a long time since she had seen him like this, topless and all. It wasn't that she had forgotten how attractive he was, she just tried not to think about it. Grabbing a towel she walked over to the shower and dampened it before gathering the rest of the things she needed and heading over to him. Tossing everything but the towel on the bed next to Lincoln she got to work on cleaning off the blood and sweat from his exposed skin, careful with her touch. Lincoln bit down on his tongue, stopping himself from saying anything stupid to her as she helped him out. He never had forgotten her touch but he couldn't exactly tell her that...
It was odd, with as much damage as she could do with her hands, when she was taking care of someone she had a feathers touch. As she reached the newer scar her brow arched deeply, pulling her hand free of the towel as her fingers lightly traced it. Her eyes coming up to his slowly as the concern grew. His eyes caught hers and he frowned slightly, worry clear in his eyes as he watched the concern in hers.
"What happened?" He knew the question was coming and he gave a light shrug and rolled his eyes as he looked towards the open windowless area of her room.
"Just a dumb bar fight. Tried to break it up and got caught on the sharp end of the guy's concealed weapon." He said it so matter of factly that he had expected the injury. It genuinely was nothing to him, he was used to bumps and bruises. Hell he liked to ring fight just for shits and giggles. The only difference with this one was that the fight wasn't for shits and giggles and he knew it. He'd been drunk, really drunk, when shit started to go down in the bar where he was drowning his sorrows over Tasha dumping his ass. He was alone and should not have stepped in, but he did. He'd half wanted the guy to do some serious damage to him, just to give him something to focus on that wasn't the pain within his own chest.
Not that he'd ever tell Tasha that. He wasn't lying but he didn't need to give her all the brutal details either. Maybe one day, but not now. Sighing slightly she looked back down at the scar, her fingers still running along the length of it. Rolling her lips together she had to take a deep breath to keep from doing what she would have all those years ago; placing a soft kiss to his scar. When they were together, anytime a new injury would come about, she would dote over him about it and then kiss it; granted that was after bitching him out for getting hurt again and causing her to worry. Lincoln's eyes never left her face, his skin prickled under her touch and he felt himself begging her in his mind to just look at him, to stare into his eyes and know everything that he was feeling, that he had always felt, for her.
Shaking off the feeling she placed the towel to the side and got to work on the broken skin. Picking up a Q-Tip and dipping it into a bottle of hydrogen peroxide as she climbed up onto the bed next to him, resting on her knees as she faced him from his left side. He had several on his face from the fight and she wanted to get to those first.
"This is going to sting a bit," she said as she got closer and dabbed the wet cotton to a cut above his eye. She didn't wait for the hiss or him trying not to, she just leaned closer and puckered her lips, blowing softly over the cut as it bubbled up with her warm breath.
"I know the drill, but thankssss..." The hiss left his lips before he could stop it but it didn't matter, she was already helping the sting. The heat from her breath actually didn't bother him, despite the weather outside and the temperature
everywhere. He braced himself for the rest that were to come and tried to let out verbal pain less each time she dabbed at his open wounds.
"Never get used to thissss..." There was one particularly painful cut on his lip that caused his left hand to shoot up and grab her wrist as he let the pain subside. He quickly let go of her arm and looked away from her.
"Sorry, didn't mean to... it just hurt, that's all." Freezing in her spot as he grabbed her she looked at him a bit shocked until he explained. Sighing she reached out and placed her fingers beneath his chin, turning his head back towards her.
"It's okay Moya zhi...," she started to say before cutting herself off and looking away as she dabbed the Q-tip back into the bottle and finding herself swallowing hard. Clearing her throat she took a deep breath and went back to work.
"I'll try to be more gentle." Lincoln wasn't sure what to say, she'd nearly called him it again, her pet name she used to call him. Third time was a charm? His mouth had went dry and he felt himself willing for it to pass so he could speak. By the time the moisture refilled his mouth he'd already lost his nerve and just glanced away, his head resting on her pillow as he looked at the windows again.
"Please tell me it gets colder here at night and that your windows don't have glass because of aesthetic choices by the owner..." Setting the bottle down once she placed the cap back on it she smirked a bit.
"I could but it would be a lie," she said as she picked up the large roll of cotton bandage and stood up, holding her hand out to him.
"I doubt you are going to let me take you to the Er to get your ribs X-rayed, so I'm going to wrap them just in case. Come on, time to stand up," she said as she snapped her fingers a few time before extending them again towards him.
Chuckling slightly, Lincoln took Tasha's hand and used her strength to help hoist himself onto his feet. He was more battered than broken it seemed but she was right, better safe than sorry.
"Some things you never forget. Like when not to argue with the doctor's orders." He smirked at her and held his arms up at his sides like chicken wings and let her do her thing.
Rolling her eyes a bit she undid the end of the bandage and started to wrap it around his chest, carefully working to keep it straight and work it around his back as her arms encircled him.
"And yet you still would," she chuckled a bit remembering many a time he had come home hurt because of some ass at work and telling her he was fine; the usual fight would ensue and she wouldn't shut up until he just let her do her thing. Her fingers worked quickly as her head tucked beneath his chin, the subtle smell of her perfume in the air around her. When they started dating she had worn
Blue Grass but he had bought her a little bottle of
Liliana, Tocca, she fell in love with it and still wore the same scent to this day.
Lincoln's brow raised as the scent hit his nostrils. Before, all he could smell was blood and sweat but now, with Tasha this close and his face more cleaned up, he knew that scent. He glanced down at her and a soft, gentle smile played on his face. She did still care, even if she wouldn't admit it. He wasn't going to push his luck so, as much as he wanted to, he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything. He stopped staring and glanced around the room some, enjoying the proximity of Tasha and her scent. That's when his eyes landed on the worn, velvet box. His mouth gaped open a little and he just stared at it, transfixed.
Reaching behind him, her body pressed to his lightly as she brought the last bit of bandage to his back side before slipping under his arm and securing it with a couple of pieces of medical tape. Tossing the rest of the tape on the bed, she made a few quick adjustments before resting her hands on his shoulders. Running her fingers lightly over a few of the scars as she checked to make sure that she had taken care of his wounds as best as she could.
"It's not too tight is it?" she asked as her eyes stayed on his skin, still examining him carefully.
He didn't register her speaking to him, he was too mesmerised by the fact that she had kept it for all this time. She still wore the perfume he had bought her and she still cared! Honestly, if he wasn't so bruised and beaten, he'd have swept her off her feet, spun her around and then danced the god damn remigold. But instead he stood there, enjoying her touch and the closeness of her and let a sheepish grin spread across his face. He looked down to her and saw her lips just stopping moving and he realised she was done binding his ribs. Uh oh, she was waiting for a response and he didn't know what to say... likelihood was she was checking he was comfortable. Let's go with that.
"It's perfectly comfortable. Thanks Tash." Nodding slightly she let her fingers fall from his skin slowly as she stepped away and gathered up what remained of her supplied to put back in her bag. Stepping over to it she knelt down as she started to put things away and then glanced over to him out of the corner of her eye.
"Ready to discuss payment for my services?" Oh yeah, money. He forgot he didn't get free healthcare now that they weren't dating...
"Uhhh, do you accept cheque?" He let out a light laugh and scratched the underside of his chin lightly. He didn't exactly bring his wallet with him when he decided to go to the dining room in the hotel.
"No, and I don't want your money for this either," she said as she zipped up her bag and stood up fully. Turning she looked at him as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Payment for this will be telling me what the fuck you and Murphy were fighting over." He looked at the floor and scuffed it a little with his shoe, he figured the question was coming but he didn't expect it so damn soon.
"Honestly, I barely remember. I just remember seeing red and then needing to hit something. He just so happened to be there and willing so I took advantage of the opportunity." He wasn't lying, he couldn't remember exactly why the fight had started but he could remember why it went on for so long, he'd been goading him about Tasha. She most likely heard him yelling and screaming, especially considering her bedroom didn't have actual windows in it.
"Riiighhhhtttt," she said, drawing out the word a bit longer than was comfortable as she stepped over to him, swinging her arms by her side a bit as her lips thinned. It was obvious she wasn't buying it, her motions were the same anytime she felt he was holding something back. This time she knew it. She had heard the yelling from her window and while she couldn't pick out all of it, she knew the fight was about her.
"So, had nothing to do with me?" He raised his left brow and looked her dead in the eye, his eyes flickering from one of hers to the other, unable to look away now that he placed his gaze back to them. He knew that she knew, she must know that he knew that she knew. He held her gaze and then held his hands behind his back to stop himself from reaching out to her as he spoke softly, no accusation present in his voice.
"Is there really any reason for me to answer a question that you already know the answer to?" It was matter of fact and said gently.
Nodding slowly she stepped even closer to him, her own hands coming behind her back as she mimicked his own body posture. Stopping just shy of pressing her body against his she tilted her head back a little to better look up at him.
"Yes there is. I want to hear it from you Lincoln. Not the words or actions but the why. What's going through that head of yours. And I want the whole truth, not your usual way of answering me without lying but without revealing all the details. Remember, I know you. If I was blind I would still know if you were holding something back." Her voice wasn't cold but it wasn't kind as she spoke. It was a firm but there was a hint of nervousness in it. She had her suspicions but she wanted to know for sure.
She always knew how to get the full story out of him if she really wanted it.
"Fine." He moved away from her and decided to sit on the windowsill. He kept his eyes on the ground and held his hands together in front of himself, his elbows resting on his knees as they spread apart before him.
"I knew you were in the city, working somewhere because of the programme. I didn't know where exactly, I had no idea you lived here, in this hotel. It was all just one massive coincidence. Although, it is not one I am really going to complain about." He let his words hang there for a moment, gathering the strength to continue with this honesty that had weighted on his heart for so long.
Watching him move over to the window she knew he was finally going to tell her what was going on. Taking a deep breath as she listened to him she pulled her arms out from behind her and wrapped them around herself. Maybe she shouldn't have asked. She was curious to know what was going on but perhaps it would have been better not to know. Rolling her bottom lip in she found herself biting it as he spoke, the break in the words made her nervous, nearly blurting out for him to stop and to just leave; that she didn't want to hear it. But she did so she stood there, waiting to hear the rest.
He realised this wasn't something that had even been asked, but it was coming and so there was no use in holding back.
"I never intended to put this all on you, at least not now, perhaps even never. It was all going to depend on if I could even find you and if you even wanted to see me, nevermind talk to me." He looked up, his head still slightly downcast before he looked away again.
"I've never stopped loving you, Tasha. That doesn't mean anything you don't want it to mean but, because of these feelings, I had to at least make an attempt to contact you." Finding her breath catch she looked away from him as her grip around herself tightened. So there it was. He was here because of her, looking for her. She had suspected as much but was trying to chalk it up as just one of those weird things; not that he had actually traveled half way around the world just to speak to her and perhaps more. She didn't know what to say as she tried to remember how to breath. Her hand coming to her chest as she felt a tug on her heart. The words that came out of her mouth came without thinking, they just slipped passed her lips before she could say anything.
"Could have called, my number still is 911," she finally was able to squeak out as she stood there, still unable to look back over to him. Remembering when she finally gave him her number all those years ago. She hadn't been lying when she said her number was 911, it was the last three digits of her number.
He looked up to her, his face brightened with joy as he heard the adorable little squeak he had missed so much. Calming himself down some, he smirked and stood up from his perch on the sill.
"It was more of a gentleman's move to show up to your door and take you out to dinner and a show, seems I missed the dinner part..." He grinned as he referenced their first date.
The First Date
Lincoln was nervous, really damn nervous, as he walked up to the door of the building that held Natasha's apartment. He glanced at the intercom system and found Dr. N Brinne and pushed down on the buzzer. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, his right hand holding a bunch of white and pink lillies and a box of coffee liquer dark chocolates under his arm. Now he just had to hope to god that she had given him the right address.
Running the tip of her finger over her bottom lip she smoothed out the color of her lipstick as she heard the buzzer ring, her eyes widening a bit. Rushing over to her bedroom window she peeked down and saw that the security officer she had met earlier that day was standing there. This was it. She was beyond nervous for this date for some reason, she half expected to be stood up that evening and to have gotten ready to go out for nothing. Swallowing slightly she adjusted a few strands of hair before grabbing her purse and heading over to the intercom.
"Be right down," she said into the com before grabbing her keys and locking her apartment up tight.
Bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly, Lincoln swallowed down the bile that was bubbling up into his throat from the sheer excitement and nerves. He noticed the flowers and became really worried that he'd picked the wrong kind of flowers. Maybe he should have just stuck with the "dating fail safe" of red roses but he thought they were too cliche and wanted to get something that reminded him of her instead. He had no clue how the chocolates would go down.
Moving quickly down the stairs, her hand on the railing as she came into sight through the clear glass windowed front off of her apartment building. Her hair was down now instead of in the ponytail she wore for work, a pair of jeans and tennis shoes with a light soft off the
shoulder sweater. Looking up as she hit the bottom step she smiled nervously as she saw him standing there with flowers, her favorites in fact. Opening the door she stepped out and bit her bottom lip lightly.
"Hey," was all she could manage to say while the door shut behind her as she placed the strap of her purse on her shoulder, running her hand along it slowly.
His jaw went slack but he didn't let it drop, he thought that would be pretty rude so he just gave her his crooked smile and bowed his head lightly towards her in greeting.
"Hey." He tugged at the bottom of his
shirt with his empty hand and smoothed the fabric down before he moved forward with a start, a quick step towards her as he handed her the flowers.
"I hope you like them, but if you ain't a flower kind of girl I won't judge if you toss them in the rubbish." He smiled and then handed her the box of chocolates as well.
"I know they're not the best thing for your health but figured they'd be a nice treat once in a while. That is if you like them. They're dark chocolate covered coffee liquers. Wait, do you drink? I didn't think about that... damn. Thought I'd covered all bases..." Tasha beamed with a genuine smile as she took the flowers and the chocolates as he handed them to her. Sure it was a standard thing for a guy to do but not many did anymore; much less hit the nail on the head and bring her not only her favorite flowers but her favorite chocolates. It was all perfect and the way he seemed to be worried about that he had just messed up was beyond adorable. Biting her bottom lip she wanted to try to tell him it was alright but then he went into a ramble.
He rambled when he was nervous. He knew he was doing it. He hated that he was doing it. There was no stopping the flow now.
"Hell you might even have hayfever and my getting you lillies is the worst damn thing that I could have done. Shoot, I've fucked this up already right? I swear I won't blame you if you just turn around and go right back up those stair. Swear I won't ever darken your door step again if you tell me to bolt." He held his hands up as if swearing to the powers that be that he wouldn't bother her again if she didn't want him to. He really needed to learn to shut the hell up when he was like this.
Eyes widening a bit she looked down at the flowers and then the chocolates before looking back up at him. How in the world was she going to shut him up? Sighing she leaned up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, giggling lightly as she did. He blinked as he felt the warmth of her lips and breath on his cheek, his face turning slightly pink.
"It's perfect," she said as she stepped back and looked back down at everything.
"Well almost, I hate pink," she added as she started pulling out the pink flowers from the bouquet. Gathering the pinks ones together she pulled out a hair ribbon from her purse and tied them together quickly.
"Hold this," she said before handing him back the white flowers and the candies. He took his gifts from her and held onto them as asked, watching her with a curious look on his face. Turning she unlocked the door and rushed over to the closest apartment on the first floor. What was she doing? Tying the pinks ones to the apartments door knob and then running back out to him.
"Mrs. Baritoli. She loves pink and her family is all gone, so hopefully that will brighten her night when she finds them," Tasha said quickly explaining her action before taking back the remaining white flowers and the chocolates as well.
Well, it was official. He'd lucked out and won the god damn life lottery. He couldn't stop the smile from taking over his face and he just stared at her for a few seconds as she explained what she had been doing. He was of half a mind to just drop everything, grab her, kiss her as hard as he could and then literally sweep her off her feet and kick the goddamn door in right then. But that wouldn't be polite. Might not have been polite but right then Tasha most likely would have welcomed it, smiling nervously as she stood there holding his gifts.
"That is amazingly kind of you." He realised he was staring again and cleared his throat before continuing.
"Ahem, sorry. So! I have a choice for you on where we can have dinner. Your options are; Italian Bistro not too far from my place, Steakhouse which is not too far from work - I know but it does the most amazing kobe beef - and finally, an Indian restaurant that just so happens to be not too far from here." He'd made reservations in each place as he had been to them before and knew they served amazing food, had amazing service and the atmosphere was something that would make a first date extremely comfortable. It had just been luck that they were so spread out and let her decide how far from home she wanted to be, just in case she had to make a mad dash for the exit. He never liked forcing people to go where he wanted to go.
Perking a brow she bit her bottom lip, she hadn't exactly expected a slew of choices. Granted she hadn't been out on many dates, most of her love life consisted of a quick one night stand with someone she picked up at work or a bar. An actual date was a rare thing for her and she hadn't had a lot of luck with them; one of the reasons she avoided them like the plague. That was until now, there was just something about him that she wanted to get to know beyond just what lay beneath his clothing; granted she wanted to know that too and she blushed at the thought as she placed her hand to her cheek.
Taking a moment she thought about her choices. Sure one was close, she could make a quick dash if things went down hill. The one near work she knew and had been to. It was good and she could also run if she felt like it. Something though suddenly gave her a bit of a craving for drippy candles and violin music. So what if it was close to his place? Maybe that was a plus.
"Italian sounds perfect," she finally said as she made her decision. Taking a deep breath she cleared her throat a bit.
Smiling brightly, Lincoln turned to walk towards to where he'd parked, he hadn't expected her to choose this one since it was so far out from her place but that was a pretty good vote of confidence. He was quite excited to take her to such a romantic, yet comfortable place. He even knew the owner. He whipped out his phone and made to cancel the other reservations and then stopped as he heard Tasha speaking.
"Um, but before we go.... Ever heard of Schrodinger's cat?" Lincoln paused and turned towards her with a confused look.
"Is it dead? Is it alive? Is it both? Is this your way of telling me you keep a possibly alive, possibly dead cat in a box in your house? I really can pick them." He grinned at her playfully.
Tasha couldn't help but smirk a bit at his response. She had to admit she was slightly impressed he knew what she was referring to even if he wasn't catching on to why she had brought it up. Figuring actions speak louder than words she shook her head slightly as she stepped closer to him. Cradling his gifts in one hand as her other reached out and and rested against his chest, her head tilting back as she gazed up into those eyes that caught her attention from the first moment she had seen them. Rising up slowly on her toes, her lips but a feathers touch away from his.
"I just want to know if the cat is alive is all," she whispered as her warm breath washed over his lips. She could feel her breath catching after she spoke, waiting to see if he would catch on.
He couldn't move as she came in closer. She smelt so damn good and the warmth from her was more comforting than an ice cold beer at the peak of summer. He licked his lips, the tip of his tongue just slightly touching her lips, god they were so close, and he swallowed the nerves down into the pit of his stomach willing himself to just
do something. His brain caught up with him and he realised what she was saying. He slipped his phone into his back pocket and then slid his other hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him but not letting their lips touch his as he craned his neck back a little as he looked down to her, a glint in his eyes as he spoke softly.
"The cat is most definitely alive." His tongue lightly tickled her lips before he moved.
Tasha felt her heart skip a beat as her tongue ran slowly over her bottom lip, savoring the subtle taste he left there. That was not what she was expecting in the slightest. Feeling his hand still on her waist she let out a shaky breath.
"And about to claw its way out of the box," she muttered to herself as she bit her bottom lip and looked away for a minute as she tried to compose herself. It was real damn tempting to say she had already eaten and just wanted desert at that point.
A quick half step back and his hand resting on her hip, Lincoln smirked at her and looked at her with a raised brow.
"You don't want to spoil your appetite just yet, do you? C'mon, I'm parked just around the corner." He chuckled and walked off, pulling his phone out again and quickly making some calls to cancel the other reservations so that the tables could be opened up for someone else. He glanced back to see if Tasha was following him or standing in, what he hoped would be, happily stunned silence. God this woman was interesting, he had barely just been able to pull himself away. He wanted this to be more than physical, he was sick of those baseless relationships. He was ready for something more adult.
"Spoil it? Fuck, I'm starving," she said coming out of her daze and shooting him a smirk as she gathered her wits about her and stepped over to him finally. The man surely was different than others she had met. Most would have jumped at the chance of a quick kiss before dinner, but not him. He was managing to put her on edge and that normally scared her but something about him intrigued her and she wanted to learn more.
"So, which one is yours?" "The practical beauty over this way." He was done making the cancellations and put his cell back in his pocket. He glanced back before taking her hand in his and led her towards his
car, her fingers lacing with his as he lead the way.
"She's not much but I love her. Here, let me..." He let go of her hand as he unlocked his car. He walked forward and held the door open for her.
"Don't worry, I'll hold doors open but I won't go crazy and pull your chair out for you when we get to the restaurant." He chuckled and nodded towards the open car door.
Stepping over to the passenger side of the car she rested her hand on the top of the door as she glanced towards him, perking a brow slightly.
"Oh, so you're not actually perfect?" she teased before slipping into the car and sitting down. Resting back in her seat she waited for him to shut the door before placing her seat belt on and resting his gift in her lap on top of her purse. Taking a slowly breath she wondered what would happen on the date, maybe Italian wasn't a good idea; garlic breath and all. She hoped she had remembered to put some mints in her purse because if things kept going the way they were, she was going to be very much looking forward to the goodnight kiss.
Grinning, Lincoln chuckled and leaned in towards her before shutting the door.
"I gotta let you down at some point, right? Figure I best start earlier in the evening that way it takes the pressure off." He grinned then swooped in with a peck to her cheek before he pulled away and closed the car door over. He ran around the front of the car, smiling away happily to himself as he got to the driver's side and slipped in. He buckled himself up and looked over to Tasha as he spoke.
"You all buckled up?" Looking over at him, her eyes drifted down to the seat belt secured over her and then back at him.
"Not sure, might want to check to make sure I did it right," she teased before shaking her head and rolling her eyes a bit. Resting her head back she propped up her elbow against the door and rested her fingers against her temple, looking out the window. She smiled to herself as she reached out and rested her hand between the seats, letting him have the option if he wanted to take it or not as they drove to the restaurant.
Glancing over to her, he let the smile play on his lips and didn't try to hide it. He saw the movement of her hand and felt a sheepish grin split his face. Just before making the obviously wanted move, Lincoln hit the radio and let the
music play quietly in the background. He slipped his hand down into hers and smiled over to her and that's when the most hilarious line in the song began to play.
"Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe..." His eyebrows shot up as he looked at the radio with an amused look on his face.
"Well, that was awkward." Tasha cocked a brow as she looked over at the radio, sitting there in utter silence for a time and then busted out laughing. It was all too funny for her and perfect. She figured, what the hell, go with it right? There wasn't much that made the doctor feel self-conscious. Turning her hand over she laced her fingers with his. Then she broke out in song, singing along with it. She didn't have a bad voice, rather nice and sultry to be honest. Reaching into her purse she pulled out a business card and held it up between two fingers before shoving it back in her purse and sticking her tongue out at him.
"Maybe. If the date ends on a high note," she taunted.
His eyes glanced back over to her and he laughed with her, enjoying the sound of her voice and swaying his head from side to side. God, if the guys at work heard about this he would never hear the end of it. He gave her hand a quick squeeze as he drove them to their destination. He wiggled his eyebrows at her teasing and smiled wide.
"You mean high like thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis?" He sang it in a high note that wasn't overly kind on the ears but he didn't hold it for long before he burst out laughing.
Fifteen minutes later and they were pulling up to the front of Lincoln's apartment, not that Tasha knew that just yet. He figured he may as well use the parking space he paid for and then they could walk the five minutes together to the restaurant. The car journey had been a ridiculous mess of fun with them both singing along to the dumb radio songs together and for each other. They got a good five songs in after the first and it had been a nice way to break the nerves of the evening. Getting out of the car, Lincoln darted around to the passenger side and opened the door for Tasha, bowing his head slightly and dramatically flourishing his hand for her to exit the car.
"We have arrived, my fair lady. Would you care to take an arm?" He held the crook of his arm out for her to take if she so wished and smiled warmly at her. He could not get enough of her and wanted more.
Tasha couldn't help but giggle over the entire ordeal. Sighing happily she sat in her seat as he parked the car and as he exited she checked her makeup in the vanity mirror before he opened the door for her. Leaving the flowers and the chocolates there, she reached out and curled her arm around his as she stood up.
"For now, the rest I'll take later," she said coyly as she stepped next to him and waited for him to lead the way. Walking down the street she glanced around, it was a nice night out; a bit of chill in the air but nothing bad. Resting her head on his shoulder as they walked she smiled a bit to herself.
This was really nice. Lincoln kept a comfortable grip with his arm on her and pulled her a little closer to him. As she rested her head on his shoulder he lightly pressed his cheek against the top of her head as they made the fairly short walk to the restaurant. The place was small, quiet but entirely comfortable. If you were walking by on the street and didn't know it was there you would miss it entirely. It looked like the kind of restaurant that you'd find
in Italy. It had the striped, rounded canopies over the windows and the lovely flowerboxes along the sills. Ornate iron gratings covered the lower halves of the windows but the bay windows themselves opened up into the inside and were letting the delicious aromas of Italian cooking seep out into the street.
"Hey Marco!" Lincoln gave a wave over to one of the
guys standing behind the bar. Marco looked up from cleaning the bar and grinned as he saw Lincoln.
"Hey Linc, my man! Your table is ready and waiting as requested. Is this the lucky lady?"He smiled and gave a polite nod towards Tasha. "It's right this way, please follow me."
Lincoln smiled at Tasha and gave her a wink before grinning, Tasha looking up at him and smirking a bit.
"C'mon, this way." He took her hand and led her towards the stairway that Marco was standing at the bottom of. They climbed two flights of stairs before they were stopped at a door. Marco opened it up and led them outside again. The balcony was garnished in string lights and ivy that had crept around the iron ballustrade that encircled the entire roof area. The roof was paved with mosaic tiles and there were little tea light candle holders tied onto the fencing at random points. There was a single table for two with a red checkered tablecloth draped over it. An empty wine bottle held a well used candle that basqued the entire scene in a warm glow. Two settings had been placed and there was a trolley with an ice bucket complete with two glasses an the options of champagne, white wine, red wine and rose wine on hand.
"I'll just let you two get settled and then I'll be up to take your orders. Enjoy!" Marco slipped back out and closed the door over quietly.
Tasha stopped and looked around, a little flabbergasted over everything. She was figuring by Italian he had actually meant a sport bar and some hot slices of pizza, if he had known her a deep dish since she was from Chicago and eating anything else was blasphemous. Swallowing lightly she looked over towards Lincoln, not sure what she should say. She half wanted to asked him,
"what the shit? Proposing already?", but she didn't. As much as it shocked her to see so much effort put into a first date, it was a welcome change from what she was used to. He was definitely full of surprises.
Lincoln chanced a glance at Tasha and beamed at her.
"Too much?" "Did someone make you out of a romance novel?" she blurted out without thinking and then cupped her hand over her mouth.
Way to go Tasha, speaking without thinking. Sighing she ran her hand up and pushed back her hair. Lincoln just laughed and shrugged.
"Who knows? Science can do wonderful and crazy things nowadays." His eyes lingered over her face and he chuckled under his breath as he moved forward and took his seat.
"I mean, it's perfect," she squeaked out.
"Krasivyy dazhe." His brows rose and his smile faded a little, not in any bad way but more in fascination.
"I've never been able to speak anything but English. That's impressive, which language is that? Better yet, what did you say?" He was smiling again, softer this time and grabbed a pitcher of iced water, pouring himself a glass and taking a sip.
"What would you like to drink?" "Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley if they carry it please," she said as she stepped over to the table and hooked her purse over the back of the chair. Looking over to him she smiled a bit.
"Russian and I said beautiful even." Stepping over to him she draped an arm over his shoulder and with her free hand fiddled with his shirt slightly.
"My mother vas from Russia, some time's vhen I get bored I go down to little Moscow and pretend I am home sick," she said in a rather convincing thick accent as her eyes traveled up from where they were looking to gaze up into his.
Gulping, Lincoln placed a hand on hers as she fiddled with her shirt.
"Convincing act. I'd buy it." His eyes widened and then he doubled back on himself.
"I mean I'd buy the story! Not you, I mean you're not a Russian bride or anything, you're a person! Wait I mean, they're people too of course it's just that..." His words trailed off as he looked into her eyes. Tasha's lips rolled in for a minute as she had to bit down on them to keep from laughing over the way he was stumbling over his words. He wasn't perfect but his little imperfections just made him that much more goddamn adorable and right then he was ranking above kittens on the internet. Taking a breath she smiled up at him, wanting to interject in some way to get him to calm down and stop rambling.
"Oh screw it." He lifted his hands until they cupped her face and pulled her face into his and kissed her. Hard. Tasha hadn't expected the sudden shift, feeling his hands against her cheeks the doctors eyes widened slightly as he pulled her close and kissed her. Curling her fingers against his shoulder as Tasha gripped his shirt with the other hand, eyes drifting closed as she returned the kiss and feeling her heart begin to race. His hands held her face, his thumbs lightly stroking her skin - god it was soft - and his fingers slipping into her hair slightly. A soft moan escaped from Tasha into the kiss before she pulled away slowly, her lips peeling from his as she let out a shaky breath. He licked his lips as she pulled away and his eyes remained closed for just a second longer as he savoured the moment that had just happened.
"Thought you didn't want us to ruin our appetites," she whispered against his lips before her eyes opened and gazed gently into his.
"Or were you just saving that for my appetizer?" He leaned his forehead against hers and smiled.
"Just figured I'd save us some calories. Make up for the chocolates I got you and the amount of food I plan to eat tonight..." The smile was just permanently etched onto his face and not a single thing could take it away from him tonight.
Lincoln slid his hands down to the sides of her neck, his fingers brushing the back of her neck slightly before they smoothed down onto her shoulders where he then turned her around and guided her towards her seat.
"If I don't turn you away now we'll never eat." He laughed as he pulled her chair out and let her sit down.
"And here I thought you said you wouldn't do that," she teased as she sat down. He gave her a knowing wink as he pushed it in behind her and he let out a chesty laugh while he found his own seat again. Tasha leaned back in her seat and placed the napkin across her lap as her eyes followed him, she had to let out a calming breath, if he hadn't turned her away right then, she probably wouldn't have let him eat either. At least not Italian.
"I know, I know, I said I wouldn't but I just couldn't help myself." He held his hands up as if in surrender and grabbed the cloth that covered the trolley before pulling out a bottle of Sweet Riesling. He held it out to her to check.
"I don't think it's exact but it might do the trick?" Looking over to the bottle she nodded slightly.
"Seems you are on a winning streak tonight Mr. Roberts. That will do wonderfully," she said and waited for him to pour a glass for her. She wasn't even going to bother to try pouring her own. He came with flowers and chocolates, opened doors for her, pulled out her seat; the complete gentleman. Cocking a brow she just had to ask, she had already blurted out once tonight; it was just who she was.
"No man is this perfect, so fess up. What's wrong with you?" Grinning was all he seemed to be doing tonight, Lincoln poured her drink and then corked the bottle before placing it into the ice bucket. Tasha took the glass of wine and leaned back in her seat, shuffling her head a bit so her hair fell over the back of the chair.
"Well for one, I was born in England so I'm never going to be President one day." He took a drink from his glass of water before licking the moisture from his lips and placing the glass down in front of him, his fingers playing with the condensation on the glass as he continued.
"I'm not a particularly driven individual when it comes to work. I enjoy being a security guard and have no plans to further myself up the chain of command. A lot of women usually find that to be a negative." He leaned back in his chair and watched her reaction to this part. It was usually where things would fall apart for him so he figured, at least with Tasha, that it was best to get it out of the way quickly so she could decide what she wanted to do from there. He wasn't playing games anymore, he was getting too old for them. Cocking a brow, she waited for him to continue, when he fell silent her brows came down a bit, a little look of confusion on her features that could have easily been mistaken for disappointment.
"No, seriously. What's wrong with you? I mean, not the little shit that doesn't matter. I mean the big stuff. Like what has kept you single to be able to even take me on a date?" she asked before her eyes widened a bit as a thought came to mind.
"Oh fuck me, you're married aren't you?" His brow came down into a frown and he wasn't sure if she was just being sarcastic or not.
"I am not now, nor have I ever been married. Hell, I've never even been engaged." He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table and his arms folding over each other as he looked at her.
"Honestly I'm not sure what's wrong with me. My last two relationships ended with them finding someone else while they were still with me so after those I had to take a break from dating. In fact, you're the first woman I've considered dating since moving here." Tasha looked at him perplexed for a moment before she took a long drink from her wine glass and then set it down on the table. Pushing her seat back rather roughly she stood up, rolling her shoulders back in the process. Uncertainty washed over Lincoln's face for a second as he saw her stand up and walk towards him. Taking a breath she moved over to him and knelt down next to his chair, resting her hand over the arm over it. She looked like she was ready to knock the hell out of him.
"Well one, if someone cheats on a person that is just low. You can always just break up with them first. There is no call for it. It's just... Trashy. And two. Those cunts did me a huge favor. Their loss, my gain. Remind me to send them a thank you basket." As she spoke it was obvious that she was ebbing on pissed to hear he had been cheated on like that, that type of behavior never sat right with her; her voice though, passed the obvious anger, was serious. She meant what she had just said. He lifted his hands and placed them over hers, cupping them gently in his own and lifting them up to his lips where he kissed them lightly. He looked up from where he had placed his lips a moment before and looked into her beautiful, blue eyes.
"Thank you." He leaned in and gave her a gentle, light lingering kiss before he pulled back and kissed her gently on the forehead.
"Really." Shrugging slightly she stood back up, reaching up and running her fingers through his hair lightly before she turned and walked back over to her seat. She didn't think what she said deserved a thank you, in her mind it was just a simple truth. That was how she was, what she had said was nothing special to her, just like she had thought nothing of giving the flowers to her neighbor earlier that night. Each thing was just the right thing to do. To do the right thing shouldn't be a praisable thing, it should be the norm. Sitting down she picked up her wine and smirked a bit as she raised it.
"A toast, to two morons who made this night possible," she chuckled before taking a small sip, her eyes never leaving his as she looked over the top of her glass.
A satisfied smile curled the corners of his lips and Lincoln raised his oh so boring glass of water and toasted with her. He kept his eyes on her and then tilted his head.
"So, you know some more about me. Do you care to share some more about you or shall we wait until after dinner has been ordered?" He placed his left hand on the table at the side, his palm facing into the centre of the table and his hand completely relaxed as he held his glass in the other. Smirking slightly she lowered her glassed and shrugged a bit, running her finger along the rim of it slowly as she looked towards him.
A knock on the door to the roof sounded and the door opened quietly. Marco had returned with some menus for them both.
"Well that's pretty much decided the answer to that question." He chuckled as he looked over to his friend. Taking the menu Tasha thanked the man and flipped through it slowly.
"I hope you're enjoying your time here so far! Please take a look at the menu and let us know what you like." He turned to Tasha and smiled. "We do meals to order so if there is anything you would like just let me know. I will give you both ten minutes to decide and then I will return for your order." He bowed to Tasha and then glanced at Lincoln and winked before heading back downstairs. Closing the menu she placed it on the table and leaned forward as she rested her arms on the table.
"Well I already know what I'm having, call me a creature of habit. Please take your time, I can give you twenty-one questions after." He rubbed the ends of his fingertips as his hand continued to rest on the tabletop.
"You know, you are on a roll tonight, order for both of us. You seem to already know what I like," she said in a light hearted voice as her hand fell over his and she smiled softly. Lincoln raised a questioning eyebrow and laughed aloud.
"Alright, I'll just text the order down to Marco and we'll only be interrupted next with dinner." He quickly pulled his phone out and fired away a text before putting it straight back in his pocket, his eyes returning their full attention to Tasha.
"So, what do you want to know? The real deep stuff? Like my favorite color?" "Well the way this night seems to have been going I think we might as well play a game of Guess. So on your last question, my guess of your favourite colour is... a lighter shade of purple but not lilac?" Tasha chuckled slightly and shook her head, tilting her head to the side.
"Sorry Casanova, that answer is incorrect," she said with a lilt in her voice.
"Now, I will give you this, that is one of my more favored colors but no. Blue actually," she said as her fingers lightly circled over his palm idly,
"But not any blue, like ice. You know if you look at a picture of a glacier? How it goes from white to blue the closer it gets to the water? That blue that sets in just at the change from white, piercing and yet nearly pure." Her voice was a bit dreamy speaking about the color, it just had always been her favorite; a color so close to the color of her eyes.
Lincoln grinned and felt the tickle on his skin as she played with his hand. His fingers curled in and straightened out with each motion by her hand. He liked her description and he smiled warmly as he next spoke.
"See? I told you I wasn't perfect." A cheeky looking grin lit up his face and he gave a little wink towards her before leaning back in his chair and taking another sip of water.
She was about to ask him what else he wanted to know when she heard a bit of a commotion coming from down stairs; yelling and then there was a crash. Her eyes widened as she turned in her chair and pushed it back slightly.
"Well that didn't sound good." Lincoln stood up quickly and made his way towards the door to the stairway. He turned to look at Tasha with an apologetic look on his face.
"Excuse me a moment, have to check on my friends." He opened up the door and quickly, but quietly, made his way down to the ground floor. He spotted a particularly large
man flailing his arms towards Marco as Marco held his hands up in submission.
Tasha sighed as she rose from her place and followed Lincoln downstairs, like hell she was just going to sit around and wait there like a little damsel in a tower. Rounding the bottom of the stairs and stopped in her tracks as she watched the scene start to unfold.
"What fucking kind of place doesn't have deep dish pizza?! You said you do shit to order and that's what I order!" The guy kicked a chair and Marco jumped back, his face growing whiter.
"We simply don't have the ability to make that kind of pizza, sir! Please calm down or we will need to call the police!"
"Come here, I'll give you a fucking reason to call the police!" He lunged at Marco and Lincoln moved fast.
Grabbing the guy's shirt from behind, Lincoln pulled him back from getting to Marco with his fists. The man absolutely stank of booze and he noticed an empty bottle of wine at a table, one that didn't have a candle within it. Lincoln threw the man backwards, making him stumble over a chair and land into a table where he managed to steady himself with his hands on the tabletop.
Perking a brow, Tasha stepped around over and out of the way for now. This wasn't exactly how she had expected to spend her evening but she had to admit it wasn't a horrible way to. The man seemed to be able to handle himself and well she couldn't deny there was some little part of her that found seeing Lincoln tossing a man around like a rag doll... Hot as fuck.
He turned and saw Lincoln, sheer rage in his eyes as he picked up one of the candle bottles and threw it at Lincoln's head. The glass bottle hit off the edge of the bar and shattered. The few patrons that were within the restaurant were now gathering towards the doorway and watching in horror as the fight continued. Marco was ducked behind the bar with the rest of his staff, the phone on the wall in hand as he spoke to the police.
Glancing over at Marco she crossed her arms over her chest and chuckled a bit. Reaching over she picked up a full shot glass of something and downed it real quick before placing it down spent and cracking her knuckles. People just loved to jump into fights whether it involved them or not and coming up behind Lincoln was another; fists balled up. She wasn't having none of that. She was on a date after all and while seeing her date lay into someone was one thing, an extended fight was another. She wanted him still able to you know, function, by the end of the night.
Stepping over to the man she tapped him on his shoulder, his head whipping around as he looked at her wide eyed.
"I wouldn't if I were you," she said calmly. She was rather matter of fact about the entire thing, hoping that just the distraction would be enough to stop him. It wasn't.
"Fuck you," he said and turned back, drawing his fist back. Shaking her head, her eyes narrowed a bit. Tasha tapped him again and then man turned and swung at her. Well shit... Ducking down low she let the fist fly wildly over the top of her head before landing a jab to his mid section, bending him over slightly. His other fist coming in and catching her in the ribs.
"Oh hell no," she spat as coming up her heel spun around and caught him in the jaw, sending him stumbling back a bit but enough to get her out of his fist range for now.
Lincoln let the man come at him before, allowing the guy's shoulder to ram into his stomach. Lincoln tensed his muscles and felt the pain of the hit but could handle it. He wrapped his arms around the man's neck and held him steady as he kneed up into his gut and then spun him over onto his back causing him to land on the ground unceremoniously. The guy was winded from the force of the throw and was gasping for air. Lincoln didn't stop there and grabbed his wrists before spinning him over onto his stomach and holding his hands together behind his back. He knelt on his wrists as one hand held them together and his other undid his belt and he used it to keep the man's wrists tied together.
Coming back to a fighting stance Tasha rolled her neck back and bobbed on the balls of her toes a bit. The mans eyes flashing as he grunted and then lunged at her. What was it when people just trying to pin another to the ground? Sure it was fun but not right then. Sliding to the side and against a table she brought her foot up behind her, kicking him in the side of his jaw before she spun around and back fisted him across the other side.
Lincoln leaned down and spoke to the man.
"I'm sorry about this, I am, but you cannot attack people like that without repercussions." The guy had caught his breath back and headed up back wards at Lincoln which sent him flying backwards. Blood trickled down his face from the bust nose that he had just been given. One of the other patrons didn't take kindly to the attack on the man that had just stopped everyone from being damaged by a lunatic and walked over before kicking the assailant in the face and knocking him out.
Spinning around she wasn't going to let it last any longer. Balling up her fists she pummeled into his abs before throwing a hell of a right hook that sent him spilling out onto the ground unconscious. He just lay there on his stomach as a trickle of blood came from the side of his mouth. Taking a deep breath she wiped her face with the back of her hand. That was not how she intended on spending the evening. Looking over at Lincoln she dropped down and took a seat on the back of the man she had knocked out, placing her foot against his throat just in case he decided to cause anymore trouble. She really wanted to be able to get to their meal soon. Shaking out her fist some she checked the mans pulse and breathing. He would be fine but would be out for a bit.
"Think you are about done here? I would really like to eat now," she asked chuckling a bit as she glanced back over to her date. A bit of blood splattered on her sweater but it wasn't hers thankfully.
Glancing over to Tasha, he gave a smirk and nodded. Lincoln then looked to the man that had just tried to defend him with surprise.
"Thank you... You better get out of here before the police come. I can't lie to them and what you just did was assault, warranted or not." The man's face fell and he nodded quickly before darting out of the door of the restaurant, dragging his girlfriend with him. She could be heard complaining at him for getting involved as they left.
Lincoln knelt down and looked at the man he'd restricted, checking that his breathing was fine. Standing up Tasha walked over to Marco and glanced over the top of the bar.
"Hint for next time, you know the pans you use for Lasagna? Well that's what we use in Chicago for Deep Dish, trust me, works wonders. Just use your standard crust, we don't like thick crust, we like it deep," she said as if nothing had happened, a small smile on her lips as she gave Marco a bit of a wink. Marco just stood there, nodding absently as he watched Tasha and heard her advice. His jaw was pretty slacka at that point from all that he had just witnessed.
Turning and stepping back over to Lincoln she knelt down next to him and pushed back his hair lightly with the tips of her fingers.
"Guess it's a good thing I am a doctor," she said with a playful smirk on her lips as she pointed to his nose. Lincoln looked to her and smiled, he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled wider.
"This is nothing, it's just part of the job. I've dealt with much, much worse." He let out a light laugh as he stood up and yanked the big guy up with him. He glanced over at the guy that Tasha had taken out and raised a brow.
"I do hope that was in self defence..." He grinned and grabbed the other guy by the shirt collar. He threw them both down in a chair each and then looked them both over before folding his arms across his chest.
"Sort of. He tried to attack you while you were dealing with the other one. He didn't seem to like I tried to stop him. I didn't like he was trying to mess with you. I simply won the argument." "Now if I have to come back down here to make you two idiots behave again, I will not be happy. And neither will my date." He glanced over his shoulder at Tasha and smiled whilst beaming with pride. He glowered back at the two men.
"The police are on their way and you will probably be let of with a fine but do not think for one second that you can get away with acting like an animal just because you can't damn well get what you want. Now... behave." He dropped his arms to his sides and walked back over to Tasha. He stroked the side of her face a little, wiping a few spots of blood that had sprayed on her and his face showed concern.
"For a second there I thought this blood was yours, glad it isn't." Smiling Tasha shook her head a bit as she placed her hand over his.
"No, I'm fine. He only landed a few punches to my ribs," she said idly as she looked down and shrugged a bit.
He grabbed a napkin that Marco handed to him from over the bar and Lincoln began to dab his nose.
"C'mon, let's go back upstairs. Our food might be a little delayed and I think I may require some medical attention." He laughed and grabbed her right hand with his left, his fingers slipping between hers as he led her back up the stairs.
Once they were upstairs, Tasha closed the door and looked over to Lincoln, her hand coming up slowly as she pushed his hair back; smoothing out a displaced curl. He cocked his left brow and gave her a cheeky smile. Her face seemed to fall as her finger trailed over his ear and along the line of his jaw.
"Well you're going to be no use to me tonight in this condition," she said quietly as her hand fell to her side. Lincoln was confused, he had thought things were going well! Looking down she sighed a bit before turning and grabbing her purse, pulling her phone out as she did. It looked like she was about to call a cab to leave.
A frown creased his brow as he watched her pulling her phone out. He raised his hand to check his ear and jawline and felt nothing there but the memory of her touch and now his own. His face was crestfallen as she looked as if she was about to call a cab.
"Hold on..." His voice trailed off as he watched her.
Turning over her phone she pulled out a card and held it up, tapping her finger next to the number on it; 791-1911. Lincoln looked at the number and realisation dawned on his face.
"...911. Smart girl." He let out a low chuckle as he reached out to take the card before realising she wasn't going to hand him it. He watched her with curiousity etched across his face.
"So, you'll need my number so you can schedule a second date." Smiling softly she stepped closer and reached around him before slipping it into his back pocket as she placed the most gentle of kisses to his lips. He slipped his left hand over her right hip and curled his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. He was not just settling for a small kiss.
He held her comfortably against him as he kissed her with as much emotion as she was causing him to feel. Tasha's fingers curled against his pocket as she fell into the kiss, a supple sigh flowing into it as it deepened. She hadn't expected such a kiss, trying to be gentle because of the fight; not wanting to cause him pain. Yet as her body pressed against his, she followed his lead; her tongue flicking out along his as the kiss broke. He pulled away, his lips moist from the kiss and from his tongue savouring her taste. His steely blue eyes bore into her iceberg-esque eyes and he knew he didn't want to let her go but also knew he didn't want to force her to stay. Gazing up at him she found herself lost in his eyes, as if she was trying to memorize every hill and streak of detail in his iris.
"You know... I can always ask for our meal to be boxed as take out..." He let the offer linger in the air as he released his arm from around her body. Blinking, she cocked a brow in surprise and then smiled in such a caring fashion, her hand coming up and following the same path around his ear as from before.
"I have no intention of leaving," she assured him as she stepped back and slipped her phone back into purse.
"I'm just making sure I don't forget to give you my number later," she clarified before pulling out a small pouch from her purse and motioning for him to sit down in the chair.
"Now, let's get you fixed up before our dinner comes." Smooth move, Lincoln. He let out a nervous laugh and shook his head at his stupidity in that moment. He did as she bade and sat down in his chair before turning himself to face her, allowing her full motion around his body for his minor injuries.
"There we go. I am ready and waiting, Doctor." He opened one eye and smirked before dropping his face back into the "serious" mode.
Grabbing the pitcher of water she dampened a napkin and went to work. Cleaning the blood away carefully, pulling from her bag some alcohol swabs she stopped for a second. She was used patients on tables, easy to get close to but with him sitting in a chair she was finding it difficult to get a good angle to make sure she could be as gentle as possible. Sighing she looked at him and shrugged.
"Okay Casanova, this might sting a bit," she said as she straddled her legs on either side of his and pressed her body against his chest as she stood over him and tilted his head back before she started to dab the broken skin.
His hands instinctively moved up and held the back of her thighs, high enough that he wasn't tickling the back of her knees but low enough where he wasn't trying to cop a feel. Even if he really would have liked to just then. He was doing it to help steady her as she did her work and wasn't even thinking about what he was doing until he realised how close she was and then the stinging started and he winced slightly.
"Never do get used to that... At least I know I'm still alive." He let out a low laugh and felt his thumbs stroking at the outer sides of her thighs as she continued cleaning him up.
Stopping as she saw him wince she nodded.
"Well, I can at least take the edge off," she said in a soft voice. Feeling his hands against her thighs cause her bottom lip to curl in as she slowly slid down and sat in his lap. Dabbing another cut she pursed her lips slightly and let her warm breath flow over it as she cupped the back of his head in her free hand.
His eyes were shut and his cuts were stinging some, but overall he was definitely enjoying himself. He moved his hands to stroke her lower back as she sat in his lap and he could feel himself smiling idly. He opened his eyes when he felt her breath stop blowing on his wound and he glanced up to her face that was so close to his own.
"You really sure you don't want to get our food as take out it's not too late you kn--" Just as the word late left his lips the door to the roof was opened and up came Marco and one of the other waiters, Daniel, with their meal. Marco stopped as he took a step onto the roof and smirked at Lincoln. "Apologies, but your food is ready to be served. Or is this a bad time...?" Marco snickered as he watched his friend being straddled by the very attractive date he had brought to his establishment.
Tilting her head back and looking up at the ceiling, Tasha let out a rather frustrated huff as her hands fell limp at her side's.
"I knew I should have locked the fucking door," she muttered under her breath.
Lincoln glanced over Tasha's shoulder and threw daggers at Marco for his poor timing. He cleared his throat and looked back at Tasha.
"I guess it is too late now." He looked over her shoulder again and nodded to Marco, his face very unamused.
"Now is okay, can you please bring it in? As you can imagine, we're pretty hungry from our workout downstairs. Have the police stated when they'll send a car out?" Marco let Daniel in with the food and they began to set it on the table. Lincoln gently tapped Tasha's legs and let her slip off of him as he stood up to move his chair back to the table. Standing up she slipped her supplies back into her little pouch as she took a long breath, waiting for Marco to finish up and leave.
Marco cleared his throat and nodded his head. "They'll be here shortly, your food was actually ready before all hell broke loose but we thought we'd give you some time to get patched up." Marco wiggled his eyebrows at Lincoln and grinned. Lincoln punched him on the arm and pointed to the door out of sight of Tasha.
"Thank you. I'll give you a call if we need anything. If the police arrive while we're still eating please just call my cell, okay?" He gave Marco a stern glare and Marco snorted with laughter before holding his hands up and giving a mocking bow.
"Yes sir, right away sir. Enjoy your meal, sir." It really was clear that these two were good friends. Marco ushered himself and Daniel back downstairs and closed the door behind them.
Lincoln motioned Tasha to the table and smiled as two calzones were laid on a plate for each of them as well as a large bowl of crispy leaved salad.
"Care to guess the filling?" "Not yet, deep breath," she said as she stepped over to him. Reaching up she quickly set his nose without giving him a chance to stop her.
"There, now you don't look like you went five rounds with Joe Fraiser." He grinned, even if there were some water brimming in his eyes from his nose, as he helped her into her seat and then took his own.
"I wish I could have went five rounds with Smokin' Joe. That'd be something else." He grabbed his water and downed the glass. He closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of the food and smiled wide as he looked at it.
"Honestly, you'll love this even if you have had it a million times. Which..." He patted his stomach and smirked.
"...I have definitely proven." Tasha chuckled a bit as she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her wine. He wasn't large by any means, in fact he was very toned but it was hard to tell under all of the clothing. Granted Tasha had been quite close all night so she most likely knew what lay beneath the top layer. Granted being a doctor didn't hurt and she had painted a rather nice picture in her mind from what she had felt.
Grabbing his knife and fork he waved his hand in a displaying gesture towards the food.
"Shall we dig in?" Nodding she placed her wine glass down. Lincoln cut open his calzone and grinned as he saw the spaghetti and meatballs within along with the moarella cheese that was melted to perfection and all the onions and peppers that were oozing from between each broken meatball. Now, for Tasha food is glorious and it is everything. Though she was very slender one wouldn't think she would be by the amount she could put away. She ran daily, long hours at work, and multiple times a week at the gym kept her body in check. Then there was how quickly she was able to inhale food while still being neat about it. Being as busy as she was, she rarely had time to savor a meal. Within a couple of minutes half her food was gone.
"Well damn, have to remind myself I don't have to finish this meal before the next patient is rolled in," she said laughing at herself a bit. Lincoln was in the middle of pouring himself a glass of water while he watched her eating and he had been so distracted by the spectacle it had began to overflow onto the table top.
"Oh shoot!" Tasha perked a brow as she wiped her mouth and then rested the napkin in her lap. He grabbed his napkin and began to soak up the water and took a handless sip from the glass as he cleaned up his mess. He glanced up to Tasha with an amused look on his face.
"I have never seen a woman put food away like that before. It's refreshing. Please just eat it in whatever way you will enjoy it. No judgements here." Smirking she leaned forward a little as she looked at him.
"Honestly if you did judge me for eating that water would be over your head instead of on the table," she said with a wink before righting herself.
Satisfied with his clean up efforts, Lincoln got stuck into his own food and wolfed down a good third of it before stopping for a drink of water. He wanted to keep sober for when she needed a ride home tonight. He glanced up to his date and considered her for a moment before speaking.
"So where are you from originally? You don't strike me as a home grown SanFran." "Chicago actually, born and raised, moved out here for college. And what about you? What brings you here?" she asked, genuinely interested to why in the world a security guard born outside the U.S. would come here to work in a university run medical center.
"That explains the deep dish knowledge. Good to know." He smiled and played with his knife, spinning it in his fingers as he considered her question. It wasn't a hard one, not really, but it was hard to explain in a way that made sense to people.
"I worked all over the UK and had nothing to tie me down to any of the countries anymore. I had always loved coming to the States on family holidays and I figured, why the hell not? Try something new and see where it takes me. Well here I am. I think it's worked out pretty well so far..." He took a sip from his glass and winked over it at Tasha before placing it down and grinning at her. Smiling as she tapped her fork against her plate a few times she couldn't disagree. It seemed his move was working out rather well for her as well.
"So have you always wanted to be a Doctor or was it something that you found yourself being pushed towards?" He wasn't sure if that was too personal, but he was interested and talking work was pretty safe usually for a first date. Usually.
As he asked why she became a doctor it seemed like all the happiness and light went out of her eyes as she looked away quickly, the fork dropping from her hand. This was never an easy subject for her, even after all this time. Every doctor had their own personal reason, a moment when everything changed and they began down the path of medicine. It was nearly a religous thing, like a Priest feels the call to God; Doctors felt the call to heal.
Sighing she avoided the question, closing up and withdrawing. They may have only met that day but the dramatic change in atmosphere was a good indicator that Lincoln had crossed some unseen line with his question and he felt entirely awful about it. Looking over to him she forced a smile before she answered trying to put a bit of humor into what was for her a very tense situation.
"So I could land a hot security guard. What can I say, sucker for a man in uniform." Knowing full well where she was going with this, he decided not to push on his previous question. He gave a small, gentle smile and reached out to stroke the back of her hand as he retorted back.
"Sorry to disappoint you but those uniforms only look good from a distance. Get close enough and you can feel the starch spray we use to keep them looking as crisp as an iceberg lettuce." He chuckled and then sat back in his seat, leaving his hand on hers, his thumb idly rubbing here and there.
Turning her hand over the carressed his palm with the tips of her fingers, a bit of twinkle returning to her eyes as they changed subjects.
"You forget I had my face buried in your uniform when we met, still enjoyed it," she teased in a coy voice. She actually couldn't remember what his uniform felt like, all she noticed where his eyes.
"Don't understand why you didn't run for the hills earlier when I walked into you." His eyes glinted slightly and he gave her hand a light squeeze.
"Other than the fact your heel stomped on my foot, which makes it difficult to run?" she asked rolling her eyes a bit before looking back at him and proceeded to give him a very straight forward answer.
"Your eyes." He was a little taken aback at the blunt and honest answer. He hadn't expected a proper one, never really wanted it either, was just trying to put her at ease and change the subject. It was... nice. His cheeks grew warmer and he gave her a crooked smile.
"Thanks, I inherited them from my father." Smooth...
"So, what did they look like before the inheritance?" she fired back with a smirk on her lips; not missing a beat in her retort.
"Blood shot and yellow." He grinned at her. She was fast, he definitely would give her that much.
"Well then I lucked out to see you post upgrade." He scratched the underside of his chin, feeling the beginnings of a shadow forming. He took another drink of water and a forkful of calzone while keeping hold of her hand. Her skin was delicate yet held the strength of hard work within it. He had most definitely lucked out. Smart, attractive, funny, quick witted, can handle herself in a fight... He most definitely wasn't going to be letting this one go.
Running her fingers slowly along his hand she went back to eating. Idly exchanging chit chat as they finished. Placing her fork down she stood up, the soft sound of the music coming in around them. Lacing her fingers with his she smiled to him.
"Dance with me?" "Only if you're prepared to lose your other foot." He laughed and stood up, leading his lady to a clear spot on the roof. The sun was long gone and the candlelight was romantic if a little dim, the music was soft and very atmospheric for the mood. He spun her lightly as he guided her to a spot where they could dance together. He drew her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"It's not too late to back out now." Draping an arm over his shoulder she rested her other in his, stepping closer to him as she smiled gently; her fingers already dancing over the back of his neck.
"If it means I get to be this close, I'll risk it," she said without thinking but she was sincere in her words. Blushing as she realized how sappy it sounded she looked away from him as she started dancing, her temple pressed against his cheek as her bare shoulder tucked against his chest beneath his chin.
Lincoln rested his head against hers and smiled to himself, although she would feel his cheek muscles moving, and let out a happy sigh as they danced. The song changed once, twice... and they were still dancing. A knock on the door sounded but no one entered. Lincoln raised a questioning brow and reluctantly let Tasha go. He quickly gave her a peck on the cheek and grinned.
"I'll be right back." Groaning inwardly, Tasha harnessed her inner Yzma as they were disturbed; again.
"This had better be good," she grumbled to herself as she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a sudden chill now that she was no longer pressed against the warmth of his body.
He opened the door and there stood Marco with an ice cream sundae in hand. "Thought I would thank you both for helping earlier. The police came and went, I told them you had to go and that they could get you at work for questioning tomorrow. Figure you'd look better being in uniform with the credentials when being questioned." He gave a curt nod of the head and then disappeared downstairs.
Perking a brow she smirked to herself, well there went one ass reaming she had been planning to give tonight.
Turning around, Lincoln smiled and showed the sundae to Tasha.
"Think we danced enough to deserve this beauty?" It was laiden with whipped cream, berries, syrup and ice cream and looked utterly delicious. Lincoln placed it on the table and held a spoon out for Tasha.
"Ladies first." "Who said I'd share?" she teased as she stepped over and took the spoon from Lincoln as it was offered to her. The dessert looked nice but she still found herself not wanting to be away from him. Waiting for him to sit down she pulled her chair over yet instead of sitting in it, she plopped down in Lincoln's lap and propped her feet up in said chair instead.
Not missing a beat, he wrapped his free arm around her, Lincoln held her close and filled his spoon with some ice cream. He took a mouthful and groaned happily. Shit was
good. He scooped up another lot and then decided it was too much for what crossed his mind. He dropped the spoonful off and took only some cream on it. He moved it up as if it were coming towards his mouth but instead he dotted Tasha's nose with the stuff and he chuckled at the immaturity of it before shoving the rest of the cream in his mouth and smiling with his messy mouthful.
Tasha's eyes crossed a bit as she looked at the spot on her nose, her brows furrowing slightly as she wiped it away. Standing up as she held her spoonful of ice cream she moved over to her chair and sat down staring at him in silence. Suddenly the spoon flicked and splattered its contents over his face as she burst out laughing.
"Game on," she laughed as she slid her chair back and taunted him with a
bring it look.
His eyes widened and he burst out laughing as the ice cream hit his face. Oooooooh, it. was. on. Lincoln flicked spoonful after spoonful, hitting her exposed shoulder, getting some in her hair and other bits down her top. Lincoln missed a few shots but those were his most proud target locks. He was laughing so hard that his ribs were starting to hurt and he couldn't wipe the smile from his face. She was giving as good as she got and he could feel the ice cream congealing in his eyebrows and running down the side of his neck.
Tasha squealed and laughed as she flung spoonful after spoonful at him, darting around and trying to avoid what he shot back at her. What the hell where they doing? A food fight in the middle of a romantic dinner? Didn't matter to her. Even as a bit slid down her neck and her back, causing her to yelp from the cold she couldn't stop smiling. Gasping for air between the laughs she held her hands up in defeat as they ran out of ice cream to fling.
Stepping over to him, she kept giggling through the breaths as she reached over and pulled a bit of berry from his hair. Tossing it on the plate she found his eyes, her laughter slowly ebbing away as her chest rose and fell with each breath she drew. Suddenly her hands came up, cupping along the line of his jaw as she pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply; savoring the taste of him through the desserts flavor that still clung to his lips.
Lincoln was all too happy to reciprocate and he wrapped his sticky arms around her and gently lifted her from the ground as he spun her around and walked her backwards towards the door of the stairway down. He wasn't aiming for the door however, more the wall beside the door as he pressed her against it and held her hips with his hands. Hey, if it was right, it was right. He moved his lips from hers and began to kiss down the side of her cheek, then trailed kisses down her ice cream covered neck and down to her exposed shoulder before kissing back up to her neck and burying his face there. His warm breath flooded over her skin and his lips enjoyed the taste of her for a moment longer before he pulled back and then kissed her hard and full on the lips once more.
Moments passed as they just enjoyed one another when the music from downstairs began to wrap up. He pulled away from their kiss and rested his forehead against hers.
"I think things are wrapping up downstairs. Music usually plays until 11pm. We may be interrupted soon and asked to vacate..." His eyes stared into hers and he found himself growing lost in them, all he wanted to do was keep this night going for as long as possible but he knew it had to end at some point.
Nodding, Tasha knew he was right as much as she didn't want him to be. The night had been more than she could have hoped for and her heart was racing in her chest still as she gazed into his eyes, fluttering within her. Letting out a slow breath to try to calm herself she leaned up and brushed her lips lightly against his before slipping away from him to grab her purse.
Pulling out her phone she darted back over to him and pressed her messy cheek to his.
"Can't not get a shot of this," she laughed.
"One, two, three, smile," she said before snapping a picture of them together. Turning her phone over she chortled seeing just how messy they were but it didn't matter, it was an adorable picture to remember a great evening with.
Lincoln grinned wide as she took the shot and he chuckled.
"Gonna have to send me a copy of that. So... shall I give you a ride home?" He swallowed the lump in his throat and chewed on his lower lip a little as he watched her under his brow, his head slightly downcast as if waiting to be kicked like a whining puppy.
"After you call me to set up a second date I will," she said as she smiled to herself and slipped her phone back into her purse. Taking a deep breath she reached down and laced her fingers with his, nodding slightly as she bit her bottom lip.
"I'd love if you would, I still need that goodnight kiss you know." He answered with a firm and enthusiastic nod.
"You can count on that second date, don't worry about that." HE curled his fingers around hers and led her out into the stairway and down into the restaurant. Marco just raised a brow at the mess of them and shook his head. He wondered what was left upstairs for him to clean up and waved them on and Lincoln gave him a wink before waving goodbye and leading Tasha out into the night.
He wasn't fussed about making conversation at this point, he just wanted to enjoy the short walk to his car in the twinkling of the stars that could kind of be seen through all the light pollution. As they made it to the car, Lincoln held the door open for Tasha with a smile and a light bow of the head.
Leaning into the car she picked up her flowers and chocolates before she sat down and rested them in her lap. The night had been amazing and now that it was coming to an end she felt a little sad, she didn't want it to; which for her was odd. She usually couldn't to be done with a first date. They were usually so awkward. Resting back in her seat she slipped her seatbelt on and waited for Lincoln to drive her home.
Reaching out she laced her fingers with his during the drive, just smiling to herself along the way and waiting for him to escort her to the front door; figuring with how he had acted all evening he wasn't just going to drop her off on the curb.
"Right go on, get out." He tried to hold in the laughter but snorted and shook his head.
"I know, I know, bad joke. Hang on." He jumped out the car and ran around the front, opening the passenger side door for her and holding a hand to let her out with help if she required. Smirking she took his hand, she may not have required it but she wanted it.
Gathering her things she walked with him to the front door of her apartment, stopping at the step before glancing around and then looking over to him a bit nervously as she bit her bottom lip.
"Frankly, normally this is the point where'd I'd invite you up, tear your clothes off and then kick you out when we're done and that would be the end of it," she stated rather directly. He blinked and then just slowly nodded his head, not out of wanting that to happen - well except for the tear his clothes off part - but because it was so suddenly explained.
"You want to know something? I'm tired of normal," she said as she shrugged and looked away shyly, she hadn't been shy all evening. Pushing her sticky ice cream coated hair back. Her loss of confidence in that moment was both adorable and unusual. Sure he hardly knew her yet but he felt like he'd known her forever and this change in demeanour had him yearning to reach out and hug her tight.
"So, yeah, I'd like to see if this goes anywhere," she added as she gestured between the two of them before she finally looked back over to him slowly. He simply nodded, unable to get the words out. He'd heard a few things from the other guards in the hospital, they'd said she could be real cold but honestly he didn't see it. Especially not now.
"If I don't hear from you no worries, but I hope I do." Leaning up she gave him a soft kiss; just a simple one but ever so sweet. Gazing up into his eyes she whispered goodnight before making a quick retreat through the door; afraid if she lingered she'd end up throwing every thing away on a one night stand. Stopping on the stairs, she looked back through the glass and gave him an innocent wave before moving up and out of sight.
Staring back as he watched her go home for the night, his hand waved from his hip level as he didn't have the strength in him to lift it higher for fear of jumping into the sky, fist pumping the air and screaming YES at the top of his lungs. As she moved up the stairs and out of sight he took a few steps back before spinning around in the spot and giving himself a little mini-fist pump as he walked towards his car again. He touched a finger to his lips and grinned before sliding back into the driver's seat. He looked up and watched the lights turning on in one of the apartments, knowing that she was home safe and smiled as he drove back home.
Closing the door behind her she locked it up and smiled to herself before breaking out in a nervous giggle. She couldn't believe how well the night went or how at ease she felt around him. Stepping over to her window she peaked outside just in time to see him driving off. Taking a deep breath she went to get cleaned up and ready for bed but not before taking the flowers he had given her and pulling one flower off its stem. Walking over to her desk she went about pressing the flower between two sheets of wax paper. The night had been memorable and even if nothing came from it she wanted to have something to remember it by for years to come.
Rubbing his hands together, Lincoln glanced over to Tasha and bit his bottom lip as he waited for her to respond. God this was nerve wracking, there was a 50/50 chance of what could happen here. He would either get his ass kicked again and thrown out or she might just hear him out and things wouldn't be so awkward. He knew the chances of her taking him back were slim to none but he would be content just to know he could be there for her, even as a friend. Even if it would break his heart in a whole new way, she was worth it.
"Yeah..., well you forgot the flowers," she said as she placed her hands on her hips and looked around the room, refusing to look at him right then. She wanted to, those eyes always drew her in, but she knew if she did she would probably turn to putty in his hands. He was there because of her, he still loved her... Sighing deeply she kicked at the ground slightly as she looked towards her stack of books, peeking out from one of them was a worn homemade book mark, it looked to be made from a white lily.
"Lincoln, yes or no... Did you come here hoping we'd get back together?" she asked nervously. She figured she knew the answer but she wanted to know, she wanted to hear it from his lips.
