Welcome To L.A.

I still can't believe the outburst of joy that I had over her suggestion that I can sleep at her house for the night. I feel like a complete fool and usually, I can hold my own. But what interests me the most is the way that she replied when I asked her if she is sure. She made a point to look into my eyes and let me know how she feels about it.

There is a moment of awkward silence and none of us knows what to say to be normal again, we just stare at each other. It is she that breaks the staring first and then she takes a sip of her drink. I then also reach for mine and we mirror each other's actions. Our eyes meet while we drink at the same time and we can not help but smile at each other. Then the waiter interrupts our little game that we are playing and puts our food on the table. I see him bringing Woodi's food and then ask him;

"Can you please give us a doggy bag for his food"

"Sure, no problem"

We start to eat our food and then I break the silence;

"So, how's your food?"

"I love it, tastes good, and how is yours?"

"I like it, the food is great but it is the company that makes it the place special..."

MADISON

Did I just hear him say that he is enjoying my company? Damn, he just knows how to make me fall even harder for him. He has this subtle way of letting me know how he feels but then doesn't come out and act on it. He must be a very good Detective if he can make someone feel like I do now.

I can't afford to fall for this guy. I need to get my head on straight.

I just give him a shy smile and then continue eating. He then breaks my chain of thoughts, saying;

"I still want to ask you something?'

I can't help but feel like he can ask me anything and my curiosity gets the best of me. I try to answer as normally as possible.

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"On my way here, I stopped at a garage and then..."

He explains to me how he caught two robbers at a gas station and how the Sheriff didn't want him there. Then the Sheriff just let the robbers go.

TOM

"So, can the Sheriff just do things like that? He didn't even have a conversation with the girl behind the counter. He just released the guys that I arrested and asked his deputy to escort me out of the town"

"Well, as you know if there is no witness, there's no crime..."

"But I'm a witness? I'm the arresting officer"

"Okay. But where did it happen?"

"At the station in the shop"

"Is anything missing or anyone hurt?"

"No, I stopped the crime before anything happened"

"Now, look at it this way. If the owner doesn't want to press charges and the girl also won't be a witness to whom the crime was committed. There is no way to prosecute the case"

"But that can't be? Should I have let them shoot the girl so that then they can be sent away? The girl also said that it wasn't the first time that they robbed the shop"

"Look, it's not that simple. The Sheriff knows when to take people to jail, he probably checked out the situation and knew he couldn't do anything and therefore let them go"

"But it can't be like that. Even if she doesn't want to testify, it doesn't matter if the owner doesn't want to press charges. They committed an offense and they should be punished. How is it possible that they get to roam free to do it again? Next time I won't be there to stop them, and what then?"

"That's a problem for another day. No attorney would take that case, because they know that they would lose in court. But if you said that it happens a lot, maybe someone will come forward. It will take some investigating but if you find something that we can take before a judge, I'll be happy to look at it"

"I understand what you are saying. But I think I should just focus on one case at a time. Then I will see if I can't find the evidence that you need to put those robbers behind bars."

The waiter hands us the check and starts to clear the table. I pick up the check and say;

"I'll get this one, seeing that you were so kind to offer me a place to stay tonight"

"I really don't mind you sleeping at my place tonight. You don't have to repay me but thank you for paying for dinner."

MADISON

I see him holding out his hand to help me out of the booth and can't help feeling all kinds of emotions. I give him my hand and as we touch the familiar current runs through my being again. I see his arm muscles flexing in the candlelight as he pulls me up from my seat. We walk to the car and he opens the door for me again. I can't help smiling at him, saying;

"Do you do it for everyone or just for me?"

TOM

I just smile without saying a word, making her wonder. She just stares at me and gets into the car and then I close the door.

"Can you put in the address on the GPS"

While she's trying to figure out the GPS, I say;

"Let me help you...you have to press this button..."

Our hands touch again and I realize how much I have missed holding her soft hands just a little while ago but then she says;

"I can figure this out, Detective. Why don't you focus on turning the key in the ignition..."

I like how she has a sharp sense of humor. She figures it out and types in the address. Then I pull away. The ride to her house is quiet. You would think that it would feel awkward but for some reason, it is comfortable as if we just needed to be in each other's presence.

"You can pull in here, park next to the car"

I look at her car, it's a Mercedes-Benz sports Coupe.

"Do you like cars that goes fast?"

"Not really, it was a gift from my old company."

"Heck, a gift? What did you do to get that car?"

"I became a partner at my old firm and that was the gift for making partner. But then I got an offer to become the District Attorney because of my history of prosecuting so many cases so, I decided to take it."

"You really had it made and then you got an even better offer. You must be good at your job then"

We laugh together and walk around the garage. We come to the front of the house and then I just stop and stand there looking.

"It's beautiful, was this also a gift?"

"Nope, this one is all mine"

She opens the door and says;

"House, Lights On"

She looks at me and says;

"The house is voice-operated. If you give the house specific commands, it would follow them. Like this "House, kitchen lights On", see and there's the kitchen. Why don't you give it a try."

I look at her with amazement and try;

"House, Hall Lights On"

"See, you got it. Let me give you the tour. "House All Lights Economy"

"And what does that do?"

"Walk with me and see for yourself. The lights will go on automatically and goes off once you leave the room. So, no need to switch it off or to give the house a command"

"It is a state of the art system you are running here"

"Welcome to L.A."

We walk through the house and get to the guest bedroom.

"You can sleep here for the night"