Just Hold Me Tight, Lay By My Side

I stared at my choice of clothes. A gold and white striped shirt with skinny jeans and gold flats. My tired, stressed face looked back at me. I sighed and turned around grabbing my purse. As soon as I did, there was a knock on my door. Quickly, I turned around to check my makeup one last time before rushing to my door. Opening it, I saw Seeley there with his back to me. I cleared my throat slightly, causing him to turn around.

Simply put, he looked amazing. He had changed out of his wrinkled dress shirt into some jeans, green shirt, and a leather jacket. He smiled at me and asked, “You ready?” Quickly I nodded sending a small smile back at him. He held out a hand for me to take and surprised, I looked back up at him questioningly. “Well are you coming or not?” He chuckled deeply at the look on my face. I blushed and looked down, before placing my hand softly in his.

He pulled me along to the elevator, me trailing slightly behind so he wouldn’t see the blush that was creeping up onto my face. He turned to look back at me and smile and I quickly ducked my head and smiled. I couldn’t help it, I felt happy; much happier than I had been lately, and it felt great. However I still couldn’t get the whole idea of him hovering over me 24/7 out of my mind. It was just going to complicate life.

When we got to the parking lot, I was surprised when we headed for a large, black Suburban. “Wow, this is your car? It’s huge!” I exclaimed before I realized it.

“Yep, standard issued from the FBI.” I nodded in reply, choosing silence again.

The car ride was also spent in silence, even though I could tell Seeley was itching for conversation. He knew not to push me too much yet though. I looked out my window, my mind blank until the car stopped. I hadn’t realized we had been driving for so long. Looking out the window, I saw a red awning that said “The Royal Diner.” “Well here we are!” He said cheerfully.

We crossed the street quickly and walked into the diner. Seeley apparently spotted someone at a table towards the back that was next to a window. He walked over calling out, “Angela! Bones!”

The brunette that had her back to me turned around with a smile. Dr. Brennan just looked over with a roll of her eyes. I followed Seeley as he approached the table. The hostile woman sent me a glare, while the unnamed lady looked at me with a face that looked confused.

“Hello ladies. Angela, this is Lizzy Hunter,” Seeley said as an introduction, “She’s my new neighbor.”

“Oh… Oh! Uhm, hi.” She sent me a cautious smile before looking over at Dr. Brennan quickly.

Well that was subtle. They had obviously been talking about me. Well, this was an awkward situation. I squirmed under Angela’s calculating stare. Seeley obviously realized my predicament so he spoke up, “Alright then, we’re just gonna head over to the counter to grab some lunch and talk. See you two later.”

Once again, I followed him, this time to the counter in the diner. We each took a seat on one of the stools. A waitress walked over with two menus and handed them to us with a smile. “Hello, my name is Carol and I’ll be your waitress today. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Can I get a coffee please? Black.” She nodded and turned to me.

“Oh, uhm can I just get ice water please? Thank you.” With a smile she turned around and headed to the kitchen.

“So, what’s up Miss Hunter?” Seeley turned to me, a smirk plastered on his face. I just raised an eyebrow at him, but otherwise stayed silent.

After a moment of tense silence, I replied with a simple ‘nothing really.’ I avoided looking him in the eye. I really didn’t like meeting new people. I didn’t trust people very easily and honestly, he was a little intimidating. He was a large built man with muscles.

“Well, I think we should get to know each other. Simple stuff, nothing too heavy yet, until you trust me.” I looked at him surprised. “Yes, I can tell you don’t really trust me, but don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you,” he smiled at me softly.

“Thanks,” I breathed out. “So, what do you want to know?” I finally gained the courage to look him in the eye, though only briefly.

“Well,” he paused looking up and thinking, “What about your favorite color?”

“Purple, definitely,” I responded immediately, “You?”

“Green,” He said with a grin.

I began to relax after that and began to get into the conversation. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Oh, pie. Absolutely!” He said with a chuckle. I couldn’t help but giggle with him.

After that the waitress came back with our beverages and asked up what we would like. I ordered a salad and Seeley asked for a slice of apple pie with a wink in my direction. I smiled and laughed lightly as the waitress walked away.

We continued to ask simple questions back and forth for a while before our food came. Our conversation became broken up as we ate, but didn’t end. We kept talking and before I knew it an hour and a half had passed by.

“Maybe we should head back?” I asked more than stated.

“Yeah, sounds good to me, we’ve been here for a while,” Seeley replied. We headed for the door and then we crossed the street to the car. Seeley, being quite the gentleman, opened my door for me and let me slide into the car. After making sure my door was securely closed, he made his way to the driver’s side and started the car. The drive back to the apartment building wasn’t as quiet as we talked about how I liked my new ‘home.’

We arrived back at our building and before I knew it, we were at our doors. We stalled not knowing what we were going to do considering our situation with him watching me.

“Maybe I should go grab some stuff and I’ll come back and stay the night,” he suggested, breaking the awkward silence. I opened my mouth to object a few times but always wound up closing it again. I didn’t like the idea, but I had a feeling that he wouldn’t let it go until I agreed so I just nodded my head. With a sigh, I turned around and entered my apartment, closing the door behind me. I just hoped that this whole concept of him playing concerned mother hen would end soon.

This is going to be a long couple of days…