"And Then I Fall For You"

Lindsay disembarked from her plane and was struck by the strangest sensation. She hadn't been back in a while, but she'd always assumed that it would forever feel like home. Not so. Actually, she had never felt further from home. 'Interesting' she thought. She walked to the service counter and gave them her baggage claim tickets and the name of the hotel she was staying at so that they would be waiting for her when she arrived. The less she had to carry the better in her opinion. She'd decided not to stay with her family for a myriad of reasons, the biggest one being that she didn't want the media hounding her family and more than necessary. An added bonus was that her parents wouldn't feel obligated to offer him a room at the ranch. Which not only meant more time with him for her, it also meant that he wouldn't have to be quite as subjected to the questions, threats and otherwise caveman-esque actions her sweet but overly protective brothers were prone to. They were lunkheads sometimes, but they meant well.

After finding out Danny's arrival gate and time she snagged a seat in a secluded part of the waiting area and settled in to wait. She still was slightly baffled at the fact that he'd shown up at all. But then, that was Danny. Expect the unexpected. Just when you thought you had him figured out he'd do something completely out of left field and throw you off. Truth be told it was one of the things that had both attracted her to him and scared her about him. Her mind immediately flashed back to their first official 'date'. Up until that point she'd had him pegged as the player who flirted with everything with breasts. Sure, they'd had some conversations, and at times she'd felt a connection, but he'd never acted on it. So, she'd figured it was a won way thing. Standard reaction to piercing blue eyes and an Island accent. He'd shocked her speechless when he offered to take her out for her birthday. It was the last thing she would have expected from him, which she now knew meant it should have been the first so unpredictable was his character.

As far as first dates went it had been one for the books. He'd been ten minutes late, which, in her opinion, was right on time for a date. How he'd known white tulips were her favorite she still didn't know, and truth be told she didn't want to know. He'd handed her the most gorgeous bouquet of white tulips and calla lilies when she'd opened the door to him. The restaurant had been perfect. Classy but not stuffy. Conversations had flowed easily and she'd laughed more during those two hours than she had on all her other dates combined. There was something about him that was completely alluring. Deeper than his looks and it was more than his charisma. He was the textbook definition of NYC male at first glance. There was seriously no doubt in her mind that if you looked up New Yorker in the dictionary you'd find a picture of Danny Messer. But it was the light in his eyes, the way it shone right through to her core that made her believe him when he said he'd be there for her. His sheer knowledge of trivial facts rivaled her own, and she enjoyed the challenge of one-upping him. Banter was a sport the way Danny played, but again that undercurrent of what could only be described as mischievousness gave her the mental picture of an incorrigible little boy just looking for someone to pay attention to him.

The show had been phenomenal, and he only groaned once, claiming he could've gone his whole life without seeing two grown men kiss live and in person. Over coffee she had made a decision to trust him explicitly and poured out her heart and soul to him. She'd half expected him to go running in the opposite direction but he'd again surprised her by listening and accepting with only the occasional insightful question or snort of disapproval. And afterwards they'd walked back to her apartment hand in hand, something she hadn't done since high school. It was nice to remember the simple pleasures in life. A perfect gentleman, he walked her to her door, kissed her softly with his hand brushing through her hair and then he'd gone home. No pressure, no expectations. Just the perfect end to the perfect first date that would forever be cemented in her memory.

A blush crept into her cheeks when she remembered the first time she'd let him stay over. Their first time. She'd been so infuriated and jealous that the girl had had the balls to hit on someone who was accusing her of murder. Of course, Danny'd just brushed her off, but still. So, she'd done the only thing she'd known to do. She'd marched up to their office but before she could rant, she stopped short and immediately softened when she saw him drop into his chair. Exhausted. Then she had walked up to him invaded his space and searched his eyes- what she had been looking for she still didn't know. It had been the hope in his eyes that had broken her resistance. She kissed him. The way that she'd always wanted to. In a way that she hoped left him with no doubt as to how much she wanted him. How completely she was his. When those words had slipped out of his mouth she knew. The panicked look on his face was priceless and so she had played it off with a snarky comment, but she been disturbed by the feeling of something vital clicking into place. He'd given her a ride home after work that night so she invited him up for dinner. Take out- Thai if she remembered correctly- and after dinner, after drinks, she'd slowly led him back to her bedroom where he proceeded to surpass any fantasy past or present and possibly future with his gentle, almost reverent explorations of her body and ultimately her soul. It was only after that connection had been established that she'd let herself open up completely That very same night on the couch in her living room with her head in his lap she'd told him that she loved him. Completing the bond that still cemented them together. The look in his eyes that night was etched in the memory of her soul, never to be erased.

A loud group of teenagers walked by, bringing Lindsay back to the present. A quick glance at her watch told her that Danny's plane should have arrived ten minutes ago. She wiped her palms on her jeans and stood to look for him. To wait for him to come around the corner. Back to her life, back to their future.