Danny stepped into the room and went to the waiter. They exchanged a few
words in Flemish and Danny paid him. C.J. could tell from his expression
that Danny handed over a generous tip. The waiter gave C.J. a smile, bowed
and left, closing the door.
She was still amazed by the appearance of the food and Danny. C.J. looked at
the offerings. "What's all this?"
He stepped to the table to give a tour of the goodies. "Looks to me like a
loaf of bread, a jug of wine and..." Danny gave her a wink. "I won't fall
into the trite and say 'thou'. I'll say Brie and me. Plus some fruit and
chocolates."
"No, what's THIS about?"
"It's about doing something nice for you because you've been working your
tail off, and a nice tail it is. You left all the official things early. I
wasn't sure you had anything to eat. Besides you missed the fireworks."
"I heard them. I love fireworks. But you can't see them from this side of
the hotel. I kept working." C.J.'s tone was wistful. She was touched by
Danny's gesture. It didn't, however, stop her from feeling rattled at having
him in her hotel room. "You are right, I did skip dinner." She paused,
"Thank you."
"No problem." They locked eyes and tension grew in the room. Danny had left
his suit coat in his room but the temperature was suddenly much warmer. He
started to loosen his tie and undo his top shirt button so he could catch
his breath. C.J. bit her lip and watched his hands move.
Her lap top beeped again breaking the mood. She murmured, "Excuse me." The
table was doubling as a desk. She pressed a couple of keys with her back to
Danny. Then she began to laugh, that rich deep laugh.
Danny groaned inwardly as he listened. He wanted to drown in that laugh. It
was one of the things that had drawn him to C.J. Then she called out,
"Danny, get over here and look at this."
He moved to stand beside her to see the computer screen. Danny joined in her
laughter. The screen held a digital picture of Gail in her fish bowl. The
Goldfish swam next to the china figure of Big Ben that Danny had brought
back from a pre-Summit trip. There was a caption under the picture. It read:
"I'm fed, I'm fine, I'm waiting for you to get back and so is Bonnie. Stop
worrying."
C.J. admitted, "I deserve this. I've been making Bonnie crazy asking
everyone to remind her to feed my fish."
"My fish."
"Whatever."
"At least Bonnie's a good sport about it." Danny's honorable intentions
started to evaporate as he caught a whiff of C.J.'s perfume. She was still
looking at the screen when he moved a hand to her hair. Danny pushed it
aside and bent his head to run his lips across her neck.
C.J. stiffened and then sighed when he began to kiss her and move his lips
towards her throat. "Should my fish see this?"
"My fish. I hope she gets more of an education than this as time goes by."
Danny was about to turn C.J. around to take her in his arms and properly
kiss her, instead he stopped. He stepped away from her side.
A surprised C.J. opened her eyes and in a puzzled tone asked. "Something
wrong?"
"Sort of. I promised you I wouldn't hassle you on this trip, that I wouldn't
get in your way. Sorry, I was out of bounds."
"Don't be.", C.J. said in a resigned tone. "You're right. We agreed. So the
food was just acting out one of the Beatitudes, you know 'Feed the hungry.'"
"Sure, we'll call it that. I can use as many check marks in the Big Book in
Heaven as possible." Danny was ready to say more when C.J. turned toward
him. The coat fell open and he saw what she was wearing or what she was not
wearing. He gulped hard. "C.J." Her name came out sounding strangled.
"What's wrong Danny?" He just silently stared and she realized it was
because of the chemise. "I told you I usually wore this kind of stuff. Don't
you think the coat goes with it?"
"As always, you're perfectly attired. I'd better go or I'll use up all those
check marks I just earned. I think I need a cold shower, several of them."
C.J. nodded but felt strangely powerful with her effect on Danny. "I
understand." She indicated the food. "Thanks, I'll enjoy this."
He stood next to the wheeled trolley. "How about this C.J.? On the last
night here, there's nothing official planned. I found a great place. Please,
go out with me. It'll be discreet."
"Danny, it's not wise."
"C.J., wise isn't always the smartest way to be. Let me know. Good night."
Danny leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He turned to go and
was at the door.
"Wait." C.J. moved swiftly across the room. She got to Danny before he
turned the doorknob. She pulled his hand away from it and put it at her
waist. C.J. moved her arms around his waist. She kissed him on the lips and
whispered, "You're right. Wise isn't always smart. Please don't go."
Danny looked into her eyes and saw certainty. He pulled her close and began
to kiss her. She moved back to shed her coat. Then C.J. took Danny by the
hand and led him to the bedroom.
(TO BE CONTINUED)