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“Not interested,” You shook your head, cutting off Amanda’s spiel about setting you up with a friend of a friend. You had to give her credit -it was smart of her to bring it up in an elevator when you had no possible means to escape unless you wanted to re-enact a scene from Die Hard.
“I think you would like him,” Amanda continued, ignoring you. “He’s a firefighter and has a really cute dog.”
“While the cute dog is definitely tempting, I’m still gonna pass,” You told her, silently willing the elevator to hurry up, so that the conversation would come to an end.
You appreciated what Amanda was trying to do. It wasn’t as if you were opposed to dating. You just wanted to date a specific person. A specific person who was addicted to coffee, wore expensive suits (and had a penchant for suspenders), and always had a sassy remark at the ready.
Except that you worked with this person and therefore had decided to keep these feelings to yourself.
“Just one date?” Amanda persisted.
“If you think he’s so great, why don’t you date him?”
“He’s not my type.”
“Ah, he must not be an Italian-American with a Staten Island accent,” You smirked at her.
“You know, I’m starting to see why you’re single,” Amanda joked, making you laugh.
The elevator doors pinged open, and you and Amanda walked down the hall to Rafael’s office. Unfortunately for you, Amanda had decided to continue the conversation about your non-existent love life.
“I’m just saying you should give him a chance. You haven’t been on a date since I’ve met you.”
“Wow, harsh. True, but harsh,” You replied, feigning offence. You had met Amanda and the rest of the squad nine months ago when you had transferred from Homicide. It wasn’t as if you never had opportunities to date, it’s just that you hadn’t met anyone that could compare to Rafael.
Amanda remained silent and you could feel her stare. “You like someone, don’t you?”
You quickly glanced at her and sighed. Judging by the look in her eyes, she would not let this go.
“Yeah, fine, I like someone,” You grudgingly admitted.
Thankfully, you reached Carmen’s desk before Amanda could interrogate you.
“Hi Carmen! Barba in?” You asked.
Carmen smiled in greeting and nodded. “He’s swamped today, though. I’d be quick if I were you.”
“Thanks, we won’t take long,” You told her before lightly knocking on the ADA’s door.
“Hmm?” Rafael’s familiar voice sounded through the door.
A subtle smile appeared on your lips when you saw him. Rafael was seated behind his desk, focused on the file in front of him. His suit jacket was off, but he was still wearing his tie and vest. Papers were scattered around him, his white porcelain mug sat empty on the edge of his desk, and you noticed at least two empty coffee cups in the trash.
Unfortunately, your smile didn’t escape Amanda’s notice. You saw the realization dawn on her face. With wide eyes, she turned to you and mouthed ‘You like Barba?!’
You gave a quick, almost imperceptible, shake of the head, but you could tell that the slight delay in your movement had confirmed Amanda’s suspicion.
God, sometimes it sucked working with detectives.
Rafael looked up. “Are you two going to talk or do I have to figure out why you’re here through a game of charades?”
You mimed using binoculars, causing Rafael to laugh.
“Search warrant?”
“Good job, Counsellor,” You smiled, a warm feeling spreading throughout your chest when you heard his laugh.
“It’s for the McClane case. One of his texts mentioned a storage unit and we think he’s hiding objects from the victims there,” Amanda explained.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Rafael reached for his mug, groaning when he discovered it was empty. He got up from his desk and headed towards the cart where he kept his emergency coffee supply, French press, and electric kettle.
“Coffee?” Rafael asked, his back towards you and Amanda, as he spooned coffee into the French press.
You were about to decline, wanting to get out of his office before Amanda could hint to him that you were in love with him, when Amanda spoke up.
“Coffee would be great.”
'I will kill you’ You mouthed at Amanda, but she only smiled in response.
“I have to go get some water; I’ll be right back,” Rafael said, leaving the office with the electric kettle in his hand.
As soon as he was out of earshot, you turned to Amanda. “What was that?”
“What? I just want some coffee,” She feigned innocence, while you glared at her. “Besides, I didn’t think you’d mind since you love him,” she added, drawing out the first syllable of love.
“Amanda,” You warned.
“Oh, you’re using your bad cop voice. You must have it bad!” Amanda teased as she leaned against Rafael’s desk.
You rolled your eyes, but didn’t deny it.
“How long have you liked him?”
“Since I first met him,” You told Amanda, feeling some relief at finally being able to talk to someone about this.
“Didn’t you call him an insensitive guttersnipe the first time you met?” Amanda raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I’m not good at dealing with feelings,” You said dryly.
“You should tell him.”
“And say what? I love you, Rafael?”
The moment the words left your lips, you noticed Amanda’s posture straighten.
And then a cough sounded from behind you.
“Nadal,” You ploughed on attempting to salvage what was left of your dignity even though you were pretty sure your heart had stopped. “I love Rafael Nadal. He, uh, looks good in white tennis shorts.”
You turned towards the door, keeping your eyes on the ground. You saw Rafael’s expensive leather shoes, but you couldn’t work up the nerve to look at his face.
“Well, uh, we need to get going. Enjoy your coffee, Counsellor,” You quickly mumbled as you brushed past Rafael and headed towards the elevator with Amanda in tow, leaving Rafael stunned in his office doorway.
The elevator doors opened almost immediately after you had pressed the button. At least one thing was going right today. You stepped in, barely waiting for Amanda to get in as well before you were pressing the button to close the door.
“Please tell me that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was,” You groaned when the elevator doors closed, leaning your forehead against the elevator wall.
“It could’ve been worse…” Amanda tried to console you.
“The only way that would have been worse was if an asteroid had hit Rafael’s office. No, wait, that would have actually been an improvement.”
“At least now he knows how you feel, hon,” She said gently.
You turned your head slightly so that you could look her in the eyes. “Can you drop me off at the airport? I’m going to change my name and start a new life in Australia. We can’t contact each other once I leave, but I want you to know that you’ve been a good friend, Amanda”
“Or we could go get lunch,” Amanda offered through her laughter.
“That also works,” You conceded as the elevator doors opened. “But I’m keeping Australia as Plan B.”
You were halfway across the lobby when you heard your name. Turning, you saw Rafael rushing to you, the door to the stairwell behind him was ajar. Rafael’s hair was slightly dishevelled and his tie was askew. The electric kettle was still in his hand.
“Rafael?” You walked towards him. You were unsure of what he was going to say, but the fact that he had run down ten floors in a few minutes had to be a good sign, right?
“I wanted to…”
He paused, handed you the kettle and then slightly bent down to place his hands on his thighs. “Dios mío, I need to start going to the gym more,” he panted.
“Raf, are you all right?”
“Fine, I just need a minute.”
You held up the electric kettle and shot a confused glance at Amanda who was still in the middle of the lobby before turning back to Rafael.
“I wanted to tell you,” Rafael continued a few moments later when he caught his breath. “That I love you, too. I didn’t want you to leave without telling you.”
“I…You…” A slow smile spread across your lips as what Rafael told you was starting to sink in. “Really?”
Rafael nodded before gesturing to one of his eyes, his heart, and then to you.
“For how long?”
“Ever since you called me an insensitive guttersnipe,” Rafael smirked. “And since we’ve both wasted so much time, I don’t want to waste anymore. Dinner tonight?”
“Yes, absolutely,” You grinned.
“I’ll see you tonight, then. Oh, and cariño,” Rafael took a step closer to you and leaned down to whisper in your ear. “I also happen to look good in white tennis shorts.”