[chapter eleven]
Disclaimer: If you've heard of them, I don't own them. Everything else is mine, so no stealing, pretty please. ;-)
A/N: Whee! Denise, this is all for you. ;-)
**
(The Following Evening)
"Here, let me help." Jimmie said, hustling to his front door to help Denise with the grocery bags she was struggling with.
"Thanks." Denise said gratefully. "How are we doing? Where are we on the plan?"
"I called Junior, and he's going to come over around 7 for a beer. I figure he and I will crash in the basement, then you'll 'call' me for an emergency meeting, and I'll tell him to make himself at home, watch a movie, whatever. He'll hear Casey come in, come upstairs, and they'll figure out that we set them up."
"Casey is the tougher one." Denise said. "It's all about timing here."
"I know." Jimmie said. "Right before you call me, I'll go upstairs and call Casey and tell her about my 'late' meeting and ask her to run over here and grab all those contracts and where the 'folder' will be - and you'll be home to know when I call, so you can time it right with Junior. She'll walk in the front door here to get the contracts, Junior will come up the stairs and the rest, hopefully, will be history."
"I hope this works." Denise breathed. "If not, I'm blaming you."
"I'm okay with that." Jimmie smiled. "Okay, should we get started?"
Eager as children, Jimmie and Denise ripped open the grocery sacks to reveal flowers, hundred of tea light candles, a bottle of Casey's favorite wine, and pans of Italian food that just needed to be warmed in the oven. "I hope they appreciate all this effort." Jimmie said as he threw away the empty bags.
"I just hope they make up so my roommate will stop sulking around." Denise said lightly. "But you have to admit, this is sorta fun, in a sneaky way."
"I'm having a good time." Jimmie said, tickling Denise slightly to get her to hand over the bag of candles. She giggled and handed him the huge bag she had picked up at the store.
"God, I hope we don't ignite your house with all those candles. I'd feel sort of bad." Denise teased as she tossed a lighter to Jimmie for safekeeping.
"Eh, that's what insurance is for." Jimmie said flippantly, winking at her.
"Oh, I see. A month or two as a hotshot driver, and you're already okay with replacing perfectly good houses and spending way too much money on jeans." Denise shot back, admiring his backside as he bent over to move the coffee table.
"De?"
"Hrm?" She said distractedly, still staring at his form.
"Are you looking at my ass?" Jimmie teased, raising an eyebrow as he stood up and looked at her.
"No!" She said defensively. "I was looking at the big Tommy tag on the back. No more $20 jeans for you, huh? Now you're all about expensive, fancy designer jeans?" She raised an eyebrow in response.
Jimmie reddened slightly. "The salesperson said they looked good."
"Oh, they do." Denise breathed, before realizing she had spoken out loud. "You know, in a famous racecar driver sort of way."
"Gee. Thanks." Jimmie said sarcastically. "What about you? You always look good, and I'm sure you didn't just pick those clothes up at Goodwill."
"Shuddup." She shot back. "You know girl clothes are different. Okay, why are we talking about this?"
"I have no idea." Jimmie laughed. "Okay, flowers."
Denise carried several large bouquets of roses into the family room, inhaling deeply as she walked. "I love the smell of roses."
Jimmie smiled as she scattered several vases throughout the room, and inspected his handiwork at setting out candles. "Okay?" He asked.
"I think it will be great. Actually, it's probably going to get hot once we light all these bad boys. Should we throw open a door for a few minutes, get some air in here?" Denise asked, trying to be practical.
"Good idea." Jimmie said. "Let's take a quick break while the food heats up." He grabbed two bottles of water from the kitchen, then threw open the back patio door. Denise and Jimmie stepped out onto the patio and into the cool night air. He handed Denise one of the bottles, and she took it gratefully.
They leaned against the railing, both silent and looking out into the night sky. "Penny for your thoughts." Denise said finally, breaking the quiet.
"Just something I've been thinking about for a while." Jimmie said quietly. "Been on my mind a lot lately."
"What's that?" Denise asked, looking over at him. She rarely heard Jimmie so serious.
"You." Jimmie whispered, leaning over and kissing her softly.
Denise gasped slightly at the suddenness of his movement, before closing her eyes and kissing him in return. Slowly, they turned to face each other, tentatively wrapping their arms around each other. Jimmie's kisses morphed from gentle and soft to more insistent, more passionate. His hands wrapped around her face, as though he could pull her any closer. Denise's hands roved up and down his strong back before snaking into his hair.
After several minutes, Denise finally pulled back slightly, and Jimmie laid his forehead against hers. "Huh." She said softly.
"Yeah." Jimmie whispered.
"You kissed me." Denise said shakily.
"You noticed." He said, smiling slightly.
"I've been on your mind lately?" She asked.
Jimmie tilted his head slightly until their eyes met. He said nothing but stared at Denise steadily. She reddened again and smiled by way of response. "You are so adorable when you blush." Jimmie whispered, brushing back a strand of hair that had escaped its tiny clip. "With that sexy red hair."
Denise chuckled. "Well, you seem to always find ways to make me blush."
"Mind if I try again?" Jimmie teased, lowering his lips to hers slowly.
"Well … no. I guess not." Denise smiled as they kissed again.
(20 minutes later)
Denise's eyes flew open and she pulled away from Jimmie hastily. "Shit. It's going to be 7 soon!" She squealed pushing Jimmie away playfully.
"Okay, we know the plan, right? I'll bring Junior in, you light my house on fire, then sneak out. We get Casey over here, and they make up while we go out on our first date." Jimmie said quickly.
"Date?" Denise said, eyeing him closely.
"Uh, well, yeah. You know, if that's okay." Jimmie said, shoving his hands in his pockets, embarrassed. "I was going to ask you earlier, while we were planning, but I sorta chickened out. I was afraid you would say no."
"So you took the safer approach by throwing yourself on me?" Denise teased.
"I don't think that was throwing, really." Jimmie said seriously. "Besides, you were staring at my ass, and don't think I didn't notice."
"You've been staring at my chest all day, so I guess it's only fair." Denise shot back, then laughed. "Ooh! A blush from Jimmie Johnson!"
Jimmie ducked his head to hide his cheeks. "So, is it okay?" He repeated his earlier question.
"Yeah, that's okay." Denise smiled and he grinned like a little boy. "But you're paying, mister."
"You're wish is my command, milady." Jimmie bowed slightly. "Okay, should we synchronize watches or anything?" He asked.
"Shut up, Johnson." Denise called over her shoulder as she hustled back into the house to make any last minute preparations.
"Whatever you say, milady."