Chapter 13

It wasn’t until she got back to her desk that the last two hours hit Raegan.  Her legs started shaking and she sat down hard on her chair.  Her hand came up to her lips as they still tingled from his kiss.  Only through force of habit did she manage to check her voice mail for her messages.  There were a few messages from people trying to contact her attorneys and one from Nancy demanding that Raegan call her the moment she got back.  Raegan picked up the phone and punched the intercom button, then dialed Nancy’s intercom number and waited while it rang.

“This better be you, Rae,” Nancy answered on the second ring.

Raegan laughed.  “Yeah, I’m back.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Nancy said and hung up.

Raegan sat at her desk and stared at a picture of Oded as Ardeth Bay that she had tacked to her cubicle wall.  Nancy showed up a few minutes later and dropped into an empty chair on the other side of Raegan’s typewriter.  “Details.  I want details.”  Nancy grinned.

Raegan turned and faced her with a smile.  “He is simply the most wonderful man, Nancy.  He’s polite; he’s friendly, witty and a gentleman.  I’m sure there is something wrong with him, but I haven’t found it yet.”

“Mmmm Hmmmm.”  Nancy’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Raegan.  She seemed to be staring at Raegan’s chin and Raegan was beginning to wonder if she had a zit or something.  Oh great, Reagan thought, wouldn’t that just be peachy.  “Come closer,” Nancy commanded as she leaned closer, still staring at Raegan’s chin.

“What?”  Raegan asked as she complied and leaned forward for Nancy’s examination.

Nancy’s eyes grew big and they shot up to meet Raegan’s.  “He kissed you!”  Nancy exclaimed suddenly.  Raegan blinked several times, confused, before she grinned.  “God damn it, Raegan, those are whisker burns around your mouth, he kissed you!”  Nancy fell back in her chair and put her hands over her face with a groan.  Then just as suddenly she dropped her hands and jerked forward again.  “Is he a good kisser?” she asked with a grin.

Raegan grinned back. “He’s a terrific kisser.”

“Tongue?”  Nancy asked.  Raegan nodded.  Nancy groaned again and fell back in her chair.  “Oh I hate you!” she grumbled.

Raegan laughed.  “We are having lunch again tomorrow.”

“Really?  So when do I get to join you two for lunch?”  Nancy teased.

“Not tomorrow,” Raegan said, trying not to smile.

“Bitch,” Nancy hissed, but her eyes twinkled playfully at her best friend.  “So are you two going out this weekend?”

“No, actually Oded is leaving Friday morning to fly to New York.  He won’t be back until Sunday morning most likely,” Raegan answered.

“Really?  What’s he doing in New York?”

“He’s going to appear on that VH1 show called The List,” Raegan answered.

“Cool!  More Ded on TV.  I’m digging it!”  Nancy replied, excited.  “So you’ll see him after he gets back?”

“I don’t know,” Raegan answered truthfully.  “We didn’t talk any further than tomorrow as far as a date is concerned.  He did give me his home and cell phone numbers, though.”

Nancy nearly fell out of her chair as she shot forward.  “You have Oded’s phone number?” she nearly yelled.

“Sh-sh-sh-sh!”  Raegan looked around to see if anyone was listening.  “Keep it down, Nance.  I don’t want the whole office knowing my business.”

“Sorry.  Damn, girlfriend.”  Nancy smiled.  “This is so unreal.  I can’t believe my best friend is dating Oded Fehr.”

Raegan frowned. “I’m not dating him, Nance.  We’ve only gone to lunch once, for pete sakes.”

“Oh brother!”  Nancy sat back in her chair and rolled her eyes.  “I saw that look he gave you, Rae, when he came to pick you up.  That was no ‘I just want to be friends’ look he was giving you.  It was more like the ‘I want to jump your bones’ look.”  Nancy gave an unladylike snort.  “Not dating, my ass.”  Raegan glared at Nancy, but didn’t respond.  “And another thing,” Nancy continued.  “He sure as hell wouldn’t be leaving whisker burns on your face after one lunch date if he didn’t want to date you.”

“Oh shut up!”  Raegan finally managed, blushing.  Raegan’s phone rang and she jumped, her heart racing.  “U.S. Attorney’s Office, this is Raegan,” she answered.

“Hey beautiful,” came the deep familiar accented voice.

“Hi,” Raegan answered, her voice suddenly sounding dreamy.

Nancy blinked, then groaned.  “Good god!  You two just spent a two hour lunch together!” she said loud enough for Oded to hear.

Raegan flipped Nancy the finger as Oded laughed on the other end.  “Am I disturbing something?” he asked, amused.

“No,” Raegan answered.  “Nancy was JUST LEAVING!”  Raegan emphasized the last two words so that Nancy would get the hint.  Nancy ignored the hint and sat there with a smirk on her face, trying to listen in.

“I just wanted to find out if you can go to lunch earlier than 1 o’clock tomorrow?”  Oded asked.

“Yeah, I can usually go whenever I want.  Any time is fine,” Raegan answered.

“Okay, then I’ll pick you up at 11:30.  I have a meeting at 2 in West Hollywood,” he explained.

“No problem.  11:30 will be fine,” Raegan replied.  "Oh, let me go ahead and give you my home number while I got you on the phone."

"Wait, let me find a pen."  She could here him shuffling around then he finaly came back.  "Okay."

"Area code 909-555-7259."

“Great!  Alright, sweetness, I’ll see you at 11:30 tomorrow,” Oded said softly.

“See you then.”  Raegan felt warmth spread throughout her body.  She liked it when he called her “sweetness”.

The next two hours went by quickly.  At 5 o’clock Nancy swung by Raegan’s desk to pick her up so they could head home.  When they walked in the door an hour later, the phone was ringing.  “I got it,” Nancy called out as she headed over and picked up the receiver.  “Hello.”

“Hello Nancy.”

Nancy felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of Oded’s deep voice.  She smiled then as she glanced over at Raegan who had gone into the kitchen to grab a Dr. Pepper from the fridge.  “Hey Ded.  You missin’ me already?” she teased as she watched Raegan’s head whip around at the mention of “Ded” and started toward her, the Dr. Pepper forgotten.

Oded laughed. “Weeeeellll. . .”

“Oh god, don’t tell me you want to talk to HER again?”  Nancy pretended to be indignant.  “You’re breaking my heart!”

“Give me that!”  Raegan grabbed at the phone, but Nancy danced away from her.

“Oh I’m sorry Ded, but Rae can’t talk to you right now,” Nancy informed him.  “Her brain is still fried from that whisker burn you gave her earlier today.”

“NANCY!”  Raegan laughed.

“Whisker burn?”  Oded asked, confused.

“Yeah, you know. . .”  Nancy ducked Raegan’s grabbing hands.  “The kiss?  She had whisker burns around her mouth from the kiss?”  Nancy laughed as Raegan finally managed to grab the receiver.

“Get lost, twit!”  Raegan said, embarrassed.  “Ignore her, Oded,” Raegan spoke into the mouthpiece.

Oded chuckled.  “Did I really leave a whisker burn around your mouth?”

Raegan blushed, glad that Oded couldn’t see her right then.  “Yeah, just a little.”

“Well, I wish I could say I was sorry, but I’m not.  I would just end up doing it again.”  He laughed.  “Are you just getting home?”

Raegan was glad for the change of subject.  She was red clear down to her toes.  “Yes.  We were walking in the door when the phone rang.”

“Hmmm, well I won’t keep you.  I just wanted to make sure you got home okay and to let you know that I was thinking of you,” Oded said, all humor gone from his voice.  It came across soft and deep and sent a shiver down Raegan’s spine.

Her heart was suddenly pounding and she had to swallow several times before she could speak.  “You’re so sweet.”  Her voice shook slightly.  Raegan took a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to get a grip on herself.

“If you only knew what I was really thinking, sweetness, you wouldn’t say that.”  Oded chuckled softly.  He hesitated for a moment, then sighed.  “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”  Raegan swallowed again, thinking that she would really like to know what he had been thinking but too chicken to ask.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Oded,” Raegan answered and hung up.

Raegan turned around to find Nancy standing there with her eyebrows raised.  “That was truly the most sickening conversation I have ever heard.”  Nancy paused, then, “Tell me what he said.”

Raegan smiled and just shook her head.  “He called to make sure I’d gotten home okay and to let me know he was thinking of me.”

“Really?  He said that?”  Nancy asked.  Raegan nodded her head.  “God, what a sap!”  Nancy laughed.  “Oh Rae, he’s got it bad for you!”

Raegan’s eyes grew big.  “He is not a sap!  That was very sweet and thoughtful,” she defended him.

“Right,” Nancy agreed.  “A sap!”

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                                                       What If - Chapters 14 - 15