Hot & Cold: An Ignited Romance

by Amy Briggs

  Dani answered the door wearing jeans and a white t-shirt that hugged her chest and accentuated her waist. She always looks so fucking cute. “You ready?” He asked without coming in.

  “Do you want to come in?” She asked.

  “Nope, we have someplace to be. Chop chop woman, let’s go,” he clapped lightly causing her to laugh.

  “Uh, ok, let me grab my bag Mr. Impatient,” she teased.

  “I am impatient. You’re correct. I have plans. So let’s go,” he waved toward his car as she walked by, then smacked her on the ass as she passed him. Letting out a little squeal and a giggle, she picked up the pace, trotting to the car quickly.

  “Sheesh Scott, you’d think there was a fire or something,” she laughed, enjoying her own pun.

  “Oh, funny girl are ya? Shush. Get in,” he opened the door for her, then jogged around to his side. He was thoroughly enjoying the fact that he had the little surprise planned, and couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when they got there. Clayton definitely hooked him up with the inside scoop.

  “So, you gonna tell me where we’re going?” She asked as she put some sunglasses on. The summer sun was shining brightly, and Scott already has his on.

  “Nope.”

  “Just nope? No explanation? Seriously?” She pretended to get huffy, even though she loved that he plotted some mystery date for them that afternoon.

  “Nope,” he glanced over at her as he drove, flashing a grin. That smile of his made Dani forget about caring where they were going and reminded her what an amazing guy Scott was. He constantly surprised her with the things he said of course, but also in ways like this. She had expected to spend her afternoon with her nose buried in a book like usual, or on her laptop, and here she was, enjoying a beautiful day with a great guy.

  “Hmph,” she huffed out, pretending to be annoyed, but letting a grin cross her face.

  They drove for about twenty minutes, small talking, but not discussing where they were headed. Not much had happened since she saw him earlier that morning, so there wasn’t much to report. He mentioned that Clayton would probably be in touch later after he went and interviewed some expert in rails or something; she didn’t really understand, nor did she really care about the investigation. All Clayton ever did was confuse a conversation by telling her half of what was going on, so she stopped asking a long time ago.

  “Ok, we’re here!” Scott exclaimed as he parked in front of the aquarium. He looked over at her enthusiastically, to see that her jaw had dropped in shock; his intended outcome.

  “Oh my God! The aquarium?! I love this place! How did you know?” Her hand flew over her gaping mouth to hide her shock. “Clay told you, didn’t he?”

  Laughing, and pleased with her reaction, he reached over to take her hand. “I’ll admit, he did tell me this was a place you loved. Are you happy?”

  Slowly dropping her hand, she placed it on his, “Scott, this is amazing and so thoughtful. I’ve always loved it here since I was little. I can’t believe you brought me!” She was getting excited, and Scott sensed it was time to go enjoy the afternoon with his girl.

  “Let’s go then,” he hopped out of the car and opened her door as well to escort her in.

  Immediately, Scott noticed her demeanor change, and her expressions were almost child-like. She was looking around at everything with wonder, and dragging him along by his hand to the entrance. He pulled his phone out for the girl at the ticket counter to scan; he had purchased the tickets on his way out of the precinct that morning, so they didn’t need to do anything but go in and enjoy the fish.

  “What do you want to see first?” She asked excitedly, tugging on his arm.

  “It’s your day babe, whatever you want to see is what I want to see,” he replied, giggling at her.

  “Okay, well I want to see the penguins.”

  “Penguins it is. Let’s do it,” he smiled, pleased with how happy she looked.

  Dani had an enthusiastic bounce in her step all through the penguin hut as they learned about the different types of penguins, where they were from, how they lived. Apparently, penguins mated for life, which Scott didn’t know, and the Emperor Penguin in particular commits suicide by starvation if it’s mate dies. It was not lost on him that Dani already knew most of these fun facts, and she seemed to be enjoying teaching him about things she loved.

  “I’m not sure why it never occurred to me that there was so much to learn here,” Scott mentioned.

  “Yea, I think that’s why our parents brought us here so much. They were really into our day trips and outings being educational in some way.”

  “Oh really? Where else did you go?” He asked.

  “Well, one year, for Christmas, we all went to Gettysburg because it was historical,” she rolled her eyes.

  “No fun?” He laughed at her expression.

  “Um, no. Do you know how fucking cold it is in Pennsylvania in late December? These penguins would think it’s too cold,” she huffed.

  Laughing, he replied, “You’re definitely a southern girl.”

  “I sure am. I’m an anywhere it’s not cold girl. Pale skin and all, I gotta be where it’s sunny and warm. I’ll just hang in the shade is all,” she smiled.

  Next, they were off to see a bunch of tropical fish. Dani had a love of fish, she found them peaceful to watch, and as they stared at one of the ceiling to floor tanks, she leaned backwards into Scott as he wrapped his arms around her. She let out a long sigh, relaxing her shoulders and enjoying the moment, watching the clownfish, angelfish and some other fish she wasn’t quite sure the name of lazily swim past in their schools.

  “Is that Nemo?” Scott asked, only half joking. It was the only one that he sort of recognized.

  Giggling, Dani replied, “Yes, that’s Nemo. He’s a clownfish silly.” She wrapped his arms around herself tighter, enjoying their closeness.

  “See? I’m paying attention,” he chuckled. “You should be proud. I’ve never been here before.”

  Swinging around to face him, she had a shocked expression. “What? You’ve never been to the aquarium? Like ever?” She couldn’t fathom how any kid survived without a trip there.

  “I know, I know. Hard to believe, right?”

  “It’s impossible to believe. You’ve missed out Scott Walker. Seriously. This is a big day for you,” she grinned.

  “Oh a big day is it?” He couldn’t help but laugh, she was cracking him up.

  “Oh yea. It’s a big day. I’ve saved the best for last my friend.”

  “Oh, pre tell, what would that be m’lady?”

  “That, good sir, would be the otters. They’re the best thing ever. And this aquarium will let you pet them, so let’s move along.”

  “Otters are the best thing ever?” He repeated.

  “Yes. Yes, they are,” she said seriously.

  “I can think of at least one thing better than otters,” he said as he pulled her toward him, leaning down for a kiss. Reciprocating, and relaxing into him, she thought how perfect this random day had become.

  As she pulled away, she replied, “Okay, that might be better than otters, but it’s close. Come on now.” She took his hand and dragged him toward the otter pen which was more crowded than he would have expected.

  “Why is this attraction so much more crowded?” He asked.

  “I’m pretty sure I just told you that otters were the best thing ever,” she raised an eyebrow at him sarcastically. “It wasn’t an opinion, look around. It’s a fact.” She giggled at him again. He loved hearing her laugh. When they’d first met she was so quiet, and now here she was teasing him about her otter knowledge and he was about to pet what he considered a wild animal, just to hear her giggle again.

  As they lined up to pet the otters, Dani bounced up and down in excitement like the children around them. In that moment, Scott realized that he’d do whatever it took to garner that enthusiasm from her. The sheer joy she expressed washed over him and he couldn’t remember a
time that he’d smiled that much in a single day.

  As Dani put her hand out to rub the belly of an otter floating by on his back, she concluded that it was one of the most perfect days of her life. Scott didn’t know anything about aquariums, other than that she loved them. He brought her there to make her happy, and no one had ever made her feel so looked after, so cared for. She caught his watching her, and as he pulled his phone out to snap her picture with the otter, she realized that she was into him in a way she didn’t even think was possible after all she’d been through. He brought her liveliness back.

  She finally convinced Scott to feed an otter against his will, and even managed to catch a picture of him cavorting with the little mongrels, he called them. Even though he pretended he didn’t like them, she caught him give one a little belly scratch; he was hooked too.

  They walked to the car hand in hand as they left the aquarium after a full day of seeing every single exhibit they had to offer. When they got back to the car, Dani stopped in front of the passenger door while Scott opened it for her. She turned to him, reaching her arms around his waist and pulling him in gently. “Thank you so much for today Scott. You have no idea how wonderful this afternoon was.”

  Smiling down at her, he replied, “Dani, I’d rub otter bellies every day to see you smile like that.”

  23

  The next morning, Scott received a text from Clayton asking him to come down to the precinct to talk about his interview with Dean Reyes. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he rolled over to hug on Dani before getting up. He’s always considered himself a morning person, but lately he’d give just about anything to sleep in with her all morning. Squeezing her tight enough to elicit a small moan, she scooted herself into him, making herself a little spoon to him. With a sigh, he begrudgingly rolled out of bed to get dressed.

  “Where you off to so early? Work again?” She muttered to him, still half asleep.

  While dragging his shirt over his head, his attention turned to her, taking in how radiant she was, laying in the bed, barely covered by the blankets. “Yes, unfortunately, your brother would like me to come in.” He felt a tickle in his stubble, and rubbed his face only to find that one of Dani’s long auburn hairs was stuck to his face making him chuckle. Even though it was just a hair stuck to his face, he thought it was cute, and mused to himself about it.

  “Eww, tell him no and come back to bed,” she lazily patted the spot on the bed next to her, enticing him.

  Laughing, Scott said, “Yea, I wish. He interviewed some weird gun expert yesterday, so I need to get up to speed.”

  “Boring,” she teased, starting to sit up.

  “Don’t get up babe. It’s early as fuck,” he held his hand up.

  “Eh, I could get up and start my day,” she said with a bit of whine in her voice. “I have five reviews to post today,” she said yawning.

  Sitting down on the bed next to her to put his shoes on, he said, “well don’t get up on my account. I was hoping to have slept in with you today since it’s Saturday. I guess cops don’t give a shit.”

  “Well I know one cop in particular that doesn’t give a shit,” she joked.

  “Ugh, ok, I have to go,” he leaned back on her, letting out a big sigh. She ran her hands through his hair, and pushed herself forward to kiss his head.

  “Ok, get out. I’m gonna go back to sleep,” she laughed.

  “Damn girl,” he shook his head.

  “Scoot. Go. I’ll talk to you later,” she let him go. As he stood up, she gave him a nice whack on the ass.

  “What the fuck woman! What was that for?” He yelped at her.

  “Payback for yesterday,” she giggled. “Now kiss me and go because I’m sleepy and you’re responsible.” She gave him a big smile awaiting her kiss.

  Happy to oblige her, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her. “You’re pretty awesome Dani,” he whispered.

  “That’s a fact, Jack,” she grinned at him. “I’ll talk to you later, I’ll be around.”

  “Okay sounds good. Enjoy the sleep,” he said sarcastically as he made his way out. Still unable to believe how cool Dani was, Scott chuckled all the way out to his car over their morning exchange.

  Not wanting to go all the way home to shower and shave on a Saturday, and then come back across town, Scott decided to pick up the customary coffee for he and Clayton and just go to the precinct.

  It was early enough that most of downtown wasn’t open yet, so there was very little traffic or activity on the way to the precinct. In fact, it seemed like the only thing open was the coffee shop and the police station at that hour. Balancing two coffees, Scott made his way in, and noticed how much more quiet it was that morning. He knew where to find Clayton, so he walked past the desk straight to his office.

  “Hey man, I’m here,” he announced his presence.

  “Took you long enough,” Clayton smirked, accepting the coffee that Scott handed him.

  Knowing that Clayton needed to put cream and sugar in his coffee, Scott didn’t bother to sit down. He waited for Clayton to get up and followed him to the coffee station. “Dude. It’s Saturday. I was sleeping peacefully.”

  “With my sister I presume?” Clayton asked matter of factly.

  Choking on his coffee, Scott struggled to speak, “Uh… I… uh…”

  “I’m just giving you shit. I know what’s up. You forget, I’m a cop,” Clayton offered. “Plus, you look like you just rolled out of bed if I’m being totally honest.”

  “That I did detective,” Scott took a sip of his coffee to avoid laughing.

  “Alright, anyway scruffy, I have some interesting information for you,” Clayton teased. Scott rubbed his face, noticing that he did have quite a bit of stubble having not shaved since the morning before. Whatever, totally worth it, he thought.

  “Okay, let’s have it,” Scott said as they walked back to his office.

  “Have a seat,” Clayton waved to the chair across from his desk, and Scott made himself comfortable. “I talked to that Reyes guy yesterday, and he explained this whole railgun system to me. It looks very likely to be our weapon.”

  “Okay, you want to explain it to me? I looked it up briefly, but truthfully I didn’t quite understand it, or how it worked,” Scott admitted.

  “At first I didn’t either, but after talking to Reyes, and doing some research on my own - YouTube will show you a video of just about everything on Earth - I’ve got a pretty clear understanding.”

  “Show me the way, sir,” Scott waved his hand in front of him.

  “Okay, so the whole system essentially works with magnets and an electrical current. So, there’s two magnetic rods sitting next to each other, but contained inside of the makeshift barrel. These are called the rails. When you pull the trigger, an electric current runs down the rods, basically creating magnetic pull which ultimately forces the projectile out the barrel,” he began.

  “Okay, so how does the pull force the projectile out? Is it like when you have a north and south pole magnet, and they are forced apart and won’t stick to each other?” Scott asked.

  “That’s exactly it. The electrical current makes it so both rods have the same polarity, creating enough magnetic push to force the projectile out like a bullet,” Clayton stated.

  “I remember being a kid and playing with little magnets, trying to get them to shoot off each other. It’s just a grown up version of the same thing with more force. So, let me ask you this. Do you think that the added Iron found in the blood had something to do with this? It would theoretically create more polarity, or more push to get the blood bullet out of the gun, right?”

  “That’s exactly what I think,” Clayton agreed. “So, I have the lab guys coming in, they should be here by now, to test the theory. I’m fairly certain we have a confirmed murder weapon at this point. Since there’s already Iron in the body, I believe our suspect would have presumed it would be lost once the victim was shot.”

  “That’s fantastic. Ar
e we any closer to finding a suspect?” Scott asked.

  “That’s the shit part of this. We are not. We have a weapon, but no motive, and no suspects,” Clayton grumbled.

  “Shit man. Is there anything I can do?” Scott asked.

  “I was thinking that maybe I missed something when I interviewed this gun expert. He says anyone could technically make one of these things. I thought I might go see him again today and see if he can think of anything else. You want to join me?” Clayton offered.

  “Yea, sure. That would be cool. Maybe there’s something simple we’re missing and talking to him couldn’t hurt,” Scott replied.

  “Alright, it’s still kind of early, and I like my experts to be cooperative, so let’s go in a little bit. Why don’t you go shave that shit off your face and meet me back here in like two hours and we’ll head out?” Clayton taunted him casually.

  Rubbing his chin over his stubble again, Scott replied, “Fuck off man. You’re the one that called me at the fucking crack of dawn.”

  Laughing, Clayton agreed, “Yes, yes I am. Go clean yourself up. My sister clearly ran you through the ringer last night.”

  Flipping Clayton the middle finger, Scott laughed back. “I’ll see you in a couple hours.” Still laughing all the way down the hallway, Scott made his exit.

  Scott made the trip home to get cleaned up still amused by the events of the morning. Between Dani teasing him to leave but not really wanting him to leave, and the innuendo from her brother, it had already been a weird morning. It had been a strange twist of fate how they’d all come to meet in the first place.

  As terrible as it was that two heinous crimes had been committed, he was also grateful that he’d had the opportunity to meet Dani; he was even happy to have met Clayton. The last week had been a game changer for him career wise, working on a major crime investigation like this was bound to be good for him. And then there was Dani. He was completely enamored with her. Of course the sex was fantastic, but their banter was just as adorable, and he felt like a teenager falling for a girl.

  Falling for a girl... I guess I am falling for her. You can’t control when people come in and out of your life, and when they make a positive impact on you, you keep them. I never set out to get so attached, but I was already looking forward to talking to her, texting with her, and of course seeing her.