Topic: A is for All I Wanted

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-05-01 09:11 EST
I could follow you to the beginning
Just to relive the start
Maybe then we'd remember to slow down
At all of our favorite parts - All I wanted, by Paramore

~April 2009~

The Stars End was never busy during the day and it was a good place to be if you needed to meet someone fast. That day had been no exception, she?d had the place to herself, other than the serv bots, and she was enjoying the solitude. Her attention had been focused on her tablet, the implant was new and being able to interface with the technology with thought was novel and utterly awesome, and that was probably why she hadn?t realized she was no longer alone.

Eventually she felt the eyes on her and lifted her chin to see what was causing it. He had taken a seat across from her in the booth and was holding a mug of something steaming while he just stared at her; stared at her with eyes so green that they looked photoshopped. Dark hair was a casual mess of curls that framed an angular face, something truly masculine and rough with a five o?clock shadow that appeared an hour after shaving.

It took her a moment to recover herself, drawing a breath she?d been holding to speak. ?I have something in my hair or something? You move too quiet, you ain?t one of those supernatural types, are you?? Her normal polite demeanor nowhere to be found as he had startled her and she was feeling uncomfortable beneath that stare of his.

?No, on both counts. Human as human can be.? His voice was deep and went well with the masculine look of him. That was all he said and silence fell. He did not even respond when she stared at him, long and hard. They were both stubborn it seemed as the minutes ticked by with nothing being said, nothing being done other than hard stares.

Finally she spoke. ?What is it that you wanted??

His answer was, once more, brief. ?You.? When all she did was blink at him he followed up. ?I?m with P.B.I., Port Bureau of Investigation, and I decided we should meet.? When she went stiff and began to gather her things up he quickly added. ?I?ve been investigating you and I find you fascinating. I wanted to meet you for me, not as the P.B.I. Agent version of me, just me.? He reached out a hand and almost touched her but didn?t.

When she looked at him his green eyes were pleading and that caused her to pause. ?So...what you?re trying to say is you want to buy me a drink??

The worry in his expression melted away as he chuckled. ?Yes, I?m not good at the whole dating thing, that?s what I should have started with. I?m Joshua, or just Josh if you prefer.?

?Didn?t say nothing about a date, Joshua. But you can buy me a drink and we can go from there.?

His hands lifted in a ?I give up? fashion, palms facing her as he spoke. ?Gotcha. Drink then maybe the date.? He said it with enough confidence that Summer somehow doubted he wasn?t good at the whole dating thing but.. well, he had the prettiest eyes, and free drinks were free drinks.

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-05-05 09:04 EST
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation You're living in the past, it's a new generation A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do.

May 2009

They talked, she wasn?t rude to him or anything, her momma had raised her right, but she also wasn?t really receptive to him either. He was a part of the P.B.I. and she worked for a company that paid her to hack into corporations and steal stuff, that just didn?t seem like a match made in heaven.

The day was going well, she?d finished her work up early, some smaller company with walls so weak they felt like a wet paper bag to her programs, and now she was at one of the local arcades. There was a small crowd of men, mostly around her age, so young not yet twenty, around her in a semicircle as she crushed spacers with extreme prejudice with a phaser. The game was one of the immersive ones, and her game was viewable on a big screen on the wall. What she was seeing was much more intense but it was obvious that she was owning, indeed her initials were all over the top scores of this one, she loved it.

There was a few sounds of appreciation when she completed the feint to draw the flagship into an area too narrow for it to be able to maneuver and then proceeded to decimate it by inches with a ship much smaller with guns that shouldn?t have been able to destroy the dreadnaught and yet did. Her arms went up in a V and the men were all smiling at her, mostly, there were a few that immediately averted their eyes not used to making eye contact with an actual living female. There were stereotypical gamers no matter where you went and a girl gamer was a rarity even here in a spaceport that serviced dozens of worlds; she tried not to let that make her feel as lost and alone as it did back home.

?Nicely done, you ever consider applying for the Bureau? They need a few sharpshooters and tacticians.? The crowd melted away when he stepped forward, they knew the badge on his jacket even if they didn?t know his face. He looked like he was on lunch break or something, his attire was all business and she could see guns holstered at his waist... which made her suffer a mini-heart attack that he was here on some official business. Had that job today been deliberately easy to catch her in a trap? That would be bad for business if she was stupid enough to fall for something like that, maybe even destroy her reputation, which was very important to Summer -- very important.

Steeling herself she took off the goggles and gun that were attached to the game and stepped down from the platform. ?You here to play Ms.Pacman or something, Josh? I wouldn?t have pegged you for even stepping foot in a place like this but... if you?re here that?s the only game I can see you playing.? It was mean, and part of her wanted to lay off a bit but she was swinging toward being angry at him. This was one of her havens and being seen here with a P.B.I. agent would mean that people would shy away from her, even more than usual.

For a moment she saw something in his green eyes that was unidentifiable but she thought might have been pain and that eased the ire from her spine and she softened her stance. He must have noted it because when he spoke it was in that casually confident tone she?d come to associate with him since their first meeting. ?You have been avoiding me. There are only a few places I could think of that I might run into you so I?ve been...? He paused, a hint of uncertainty. ?Look, I?m sorry but I?ve had you tailed.? He threw up his hands in a signal that begged her to hold off yelling at him a moment. ?You haven?t answered my calls, you won?t even give me a chance or a reason why. I?m not trying to get you in trouble, although you have made that hard for me. I?m pretty sure I?d have a hell of a time getting evidence that could be used in court but your reputation...?

?My reputation is how I make my living.? Her hands went on her hips and all bets were off. ?You ain?t got no right to tail me. You can?t just harass any random citizen jes because you have a badge. And if you want some easy conquest, or some bedfellow jes go to the Inn and take off your shirt. They?ll be a line. So you want to know why? It ain?t like I?m the type to get a guy like you.? Those old insecurities were hard to let go of even now. All throughout school she?d been, politely put, slightly overweight, a nerd to the nth degree and so out of place in a small southern town it had hurt. If you asked her about her computer skills her pride bordered on arrogance, she knew she was good at it but despite the fact her body had changed over the past few years and that there were men that clearly wanted her attention she still just saw that overweight girl in the corner with a laptop trying to be invisible. ?So you tell me why. Why are you so intent on me going on a date with you??

He stared at her a long moment and she was about to storm off when he smiled at her, it was soft and sad. ?Summer, you can?t tell me you don?t know?? There was a pause and a slow, disbelieving shake of his head. ?I know you must listen to Nine Inch Nails, you know that song, Fragile?? He didn?t wait for her to answer, he knew it was her favorite group, he?d seen the faded NIN t-shirt a few times when he was watching her from afar. ?Fragile, she doesn?t see her beauty, she tries to run away.? He sung it, and he sung it well. ?You?re trying to run from me Summer but I can?t watch you slip away.?

It was a good play, she had to admit that. He appealed to her using something he had to know she liked and the thought of him sitting and listening to NIN, something she felt that he?d done specifically to get to know because of her, meant more than a dozen other gestures that other men had made trying to get her on a date. Flowers, chocolates, cards, balloons... what the hell did she need with those things? They were easy, they were expedient and generic. But listening to NIN and actually remembering the lyrics? That was specific, that was ... ?Fine.? Her arms moving to cross over her chest. ?One date. This Friday. You mess it up you leave me alone, deal??

She almost took it back when she saw the coc ky smile that appeared but thought better of it because she didn?t want him to go back to trailing her and showing up at places it was best not to be seen with a P.B.I. agent. ?Friday, mind starting early? If I only get one shot I want to make sure I have enough time to convince you.?

Her nose wrinkled. ?Fine, six o?clock, pick me up at my place. Dress??

He noted she assumed he knew where she lived, he did. He deliberately hadn?t gone there because that seemed extremely stalker-ish. ?Casual, I don?t want you to change for me and I know you?re more comfortable in your jeans. Six o?clock it is, Ms. Daniels. I will see you then.? And with that he turned and left her standing there, dazed and confused.

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-05-07 10:36 EST
Oh I watch you there through the window and I stare at you
You wear nothing but you wear it so well tied up and twisted the way I'd like to be
For you, for me, come crash into me - Crash into me, Dave Matthews

It was closing in on midnight and they were still out and about. He had picked her up in a sleek, black mustang, a car she could appreciate and taken her to a pizza place. Somehow the thought of him eating pizza hadn?t occurred to her as a possibility. The vision of him in some black and white detective movie with a smoke hanging out of his mouth and the only food he took in was scotch had stuck in her head; she thought it might have been the cheekbones and jawline, he had a face that was meant to be in the movies.

They had gone from there to a comedy show at the local ale house, it was small, cozy and the three performers had been funny. When the last had finished up their set she assumed he?d take her home and that would be that, instead they were at a club on the lowest level of the spaceport and the DJ kept up a steady thrum of industrial beats that aligned nicely with her taste in music.

Summer had never been much of a dancer but this didn?t require much in the ways of coordination, you just had to be able to shake body parts to the beat and not crash into anyone that might take offense...which was no one as far as she could tell. It wasn?t like some dance clubs, an implicit contract with the other strangers on the floor that physical contact was expected and of a sexual nature; it was more a sharing of something loved, something instinctual and base without the impending expectation of taking someone home at the end of the night.

Josh was wearing a button down shirt, it could have been business ready except that it was of a dark, smooth cotton/silk blend that showed the definition of the man beneath too well, at work it would have been a distraction. The shirt was loose over his black jeans that fell straight with a slight flair at the bottom to allow for the boots he wore, something else she wouldn?t have pictured him owning. Her own attire had been very, very casual; blue jeans, a faded t-shirt with a Thundercats logo, and Doc Marten boots. Despite that she had caught him checking her out once or twice when he thought her attention was elsewhere and that had felt... nice.

The music was loud and conversation wasn?t really possible but they had been talking all night and it was nice just to be there and not worry about what to say. When someone moved up against her from behind it didn?t phase her, not really, she figured the person would stay a beat or two and then move on. Josh had gone to get a drink and she had stayed, the music creating a need to be there on the floor and moving.

When she felt hands on her hips, fingers wrapping possessively, was when she turned around to see who it was that was getting that familiar with her body. Josh had returned, without a drink in hand because currently both of his were full of Summer. One hand stayed on her hip as she turned, the other slid around to the small of her back and pulled her hard against his body, the action causing a gasp to be expelled, not that it could be heard over the music. Once there she was at a loss for what to do, her body kept trying to shimmy to the sounds of the music but now that was being done up close and very personal with Josh, the lines of his body clearly defined by proximity.

This close she couldn?t help but breath in his scent, it was a blend of something subtle, aftershave she thought, and something distinctly masculine, something natural; it was heady and between that and the feel of his body she felt consumed by his presence and her body was reacting in a very positive fashion, it was positive that she wanted more. Her heart was beating like a hammer and her breath was hard to catch, her hands -- of their own volition - moved, one hand clutched at his chest and the other moved to his waist, pawing and pulling.

Her mind was telling her to stop, he was P.B.I. and she was someone they might get around to investigating... if she ever slipped up. It couldn?t work. And yet when he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers she returned the kiss with a hunger that she couldn?t ever remember feeling before that moment. When he pulled away, her soft noise of protest lost to the music he put his lips next to her ear to be heard. ?I?m going to take you home now, my home.?

He didn?t bend to hear her reply, he didn?t have to, she supposed. He lived in the Spaceport so it was only a few minutes of riding elevators to get there. The entire way was a blur of touch and taste. His hands exploring her body while she bit the flesh of his neck, more than one gawking stranger on an elevator to somewhere else... fumbling their way to his door in a mass of moving, seeking limbs and in, his shirt already unbuttoned.

It couldn?t work... but in that moment they worked, and in the next hours that followed they certainly worked well.