Locked In Amber Ch. 09

Amber gazed out the small window at the leaves falling from the oak tree in the parking strip. Despite the unusually mild weather, the trees knew that autumn was well underway. She was supposed to be filing some binders in the back room but kept finding her mind wandering back to that morning.

AL: Good morning! I hope your call goes well.

AL: I really enjoyed last night. Did you?

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.

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She'd had a wonderfully restful night's sleep, despite it being shorter than was probably healthy. But as the morning had progressed, she'd found herself going through a cycle of thoughts. On one hand, she was excited about her confidence with Spencer the night before, the physical and emotional aspects of their time together, his willingness to participate. On the other, some of the nagging doubts had started to rear their ugly heads. Did I go too far? Why hasn't he responded? He seemed to like it, but what if he was just caught up in the moment and now feels really embarrassed? Was I too forward? Did we jump the gun? How many dates is normal for having some kind of sexual activity? Maybe he's just busy and I'm overthinking and questioning everything as usual...

A large part of her worry stemmed from the fact that she hadn't heard from him at all. She had texted Spencer earlier that morning around 6:00 AM when she was getting ready for work. She knew he had a call at 5:00 AM and hadn't expected his typically quick response, but figured that he would have been able to respond at some point in the intervening five hours. It was now almost 10:15 and she was wondering if it would be appropriate to reach out again. She decided to see what Katelyn thought.

AL: Hey, do you have a sec? Have a question for you.

Amber waited, but Katelyn didn't respond. There wasn't even a read receipt. Kat was usually pretty fast in her responses unless she was involved in something. Being a police officer, that wasn't unusual. Amber went back to filing and tried to put it out of her mind.

It was a bit after 10:40 before her nerves got to her. She was halfway through typing a text to Spencer to ask if everything was okay when her phone rang in her hand, startling her to the point she almost dropped it. "Spencer?" she asked, nervous after seeing the Caller ID.

"Hey. Sorry," he said, "I don't have a lot of time, but I want to apologize."

Her heart seized up a little. "For?"

"Well, last night I was so relaxed after our call, I fell asleep before plugging in my phone. This morning it was dead, which was a problem because it's also my alarm. I woke up late and had to rush to my video call in the office. Right about when I was finishing that up, I had an urgent call come in on my office phone from another client who's had a major data loss. I've been spending the entire morning trying to remote in and assist him with a data recovery. He's absolutely frantic. Anyway, I realized the time and wanted to text you a 'good morning' but had left my phone in the bedroom and had to wait until I got to a point where I could step away. We're waiting on a scan at the moment, so I have a few minutes.

"I grabbed my phone and saw your message. Given what you shared with me on Sunday... I don't know, maybe I'm being over-sensitive... and if I am please tell me. But I started thinking about how you might be feeling—we definitely pushed our boundries last night, you wrote me a message this morning asking if I liked it, and then I didn't respond. Yikes! I was worried you might think I was ghosting you or something. So, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you—I wasn't. It's just been a crazy-ass morning."

Amber's heart warmed at his thoughtfulness. "Ahh, thanks. I knew you had a call and I wasn't expecting something right away, but I will admit I was starting to get nervous as time passed wondering if maybe I had been too forward or something. You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I tried to talk myself out of those thoughts, but, like you said, considering past issues..."

"Yeah, I understand. I really want to be cognizant of that and understand your needs... Hold on..." Amber could hear him typing on his computer and clicking the mouse. "Damn! Lousy timing. I need to get back to my client. I don't know how long this is going to take, but I definitely want to talk about this more later, 'kay? It's important."

"No problem. I understand that you're at work. Keep me posted about later. I want to talk about it too."

"Sure thing! Oh," he interjected at the last second, "and just so we're clear, you be you. Don't feel like you have to change or hide anything about yourself for me. For the record, you aren't going to scare me away or turn me off by expressing yourself. We can talk more about what I mean later, but just know that last night was great."

Amber felt a tension release that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "Thanks. That means a lot. Bye." After disconnecting the call, Amber continued her filing with renewed purpose until her phone quacked a short while later.

KM: Sorry, I was taking my test. What's up?

Her test? Oh, crap! Her detective's exam! I forgot that was today. Amber dialed Kat's number.

"Hey, so I just lost major friend points. I forgot your test was today! How did it go?"

"No worries, you've had a lot on your mind and I've just been hunkered down studying. I think it's going well. Have the second part later, but I finished Part 1 early and so am out getting some fresh air before lunch. What was your question?"

"That's awesome! My question? Oh, it's kind of moot now. I was wondering if I should text or call Spencer since he hadn't responded all morning after what happened last night. But he just called. Apparently, his phone died and he's in the middle of a major tech emergency with a client."

"Oh, okay. That sucks. Wait... what happened last night?" Kat asked, her voice tinged with alarm.

Amber heard the concern in Katelyn's voice. "Oh, no, sorry. Nothing bad." She then grinned, thinking back on the evening. "Nothing bad at all. Well, maybe 'bad', but not bad 'bad'."

Hearing Amber's teasing tone, Katelyn's curiosity was instantly piqued. "Okay, spill the beans," she commanded.

Just then, Cindy walked into the file room, looking through some papers. "Amber, I was wondering if you happened to grab the Greenberg account by mistake. I can't find it and I swear I left it on the corner of my desk." She looked up to see Amber was on the phone. "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on a call."

Amber glanced up. Whew! That was close! Amber wasn't about to fess up to last night at this point. "Oh, it's okay," she said to Cindy. "It's just a friend who's taking a major exam today. She and I can chat later." Turning back to the phone, she told Katelyn, "Hey, I have to get back to work. Want to meet up later and share stories?"

"We damn well better! It's bad enough that you leave me hanging like this," Katelyn scolded her teasingly before continuing in a more serious voice, "Hey, what if we have dinner tonight? Aaron has to work late and I'll be too tired to cook for just myself. You can make up your egregious loss in friend points by having me over and giving me the scoop."

Amber brightened up. "Yeah! My place after work. Bring a salad—I still have some of Ms. Carlucci's lasagna."

After confirming, Amber hung up her phone and turned to Cindy. "So, let's see if we can find that file."

******

Amber was finishing up her sandwich while watching some kids play with their dog. It had been a warm, sunny day and she didn't want to be cooped up in the breakroom. She was looking forward to dinner tonight with Kat and hearing about her test as well as seeing the look on her face when she heard the news. Amber grinned to herself. A moment later, her phone buzzed. It was Spencer.

"Hey! He lives! Did you save the day... ta?"

Spencer groaned. "I take her to a comedy club one time... One time! Suddenly she's a comedian."

"Your burden is real."

Spencer laughed. "I'll gladly carry it. So how's your day going? Eating lunch?"

"Yeah, actually. Sitting here in the park watching some kids and a dog. How about you?"

"Good, I was hoping to catch you before you went back on the clock. I was just about to grab a bite myself. Hardly had any breakfast—today has been a whirlwind. I'm pooped now that things have finally calmed down."

Amber started putting her containers back in her bag. "Well, that's what you get for staying up late."

"I'll gladly carry that burden too given the reason I was up late."

Amber laughed. "So, while you may not appreciate my pun and wit, the question still stands. Did you come through and save Mr. Data Loss?"

Spencer pursed his lips and exhaled. "Sort of. We were able to rebuild some of his data structure, but not all of it. Maybe this time he'll consider my advice when it comes to not skimping on a UPS and hard drive backups. He's going to be in for a long few days of reentering everything he had on the paper copies. But enough about my client. That's probably not very exciting for you."

"I don't mind. I like talking to you about all sorts of things."

Well, speaking of talking, I was wondering if you'd like to get together tonight. We could maybe expand that conversation we started earlier? It doesn't have to be a late night or anything. Actually, I'd prefer it wasn't—too many these past few days!"

"Oh." Amber felt torn. "Sorry. I'd love to, but Kat and I are having dinner tonight. She's taking her detective exam today. Plus, I've been spending so much time with you the past couple of days, I need to catch up with her."

"Oh, okay." Amber thought she detected a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Sorry, I hope that didn't sound like it's been too much time with you. It definitely hasn't. But I just haven't seen or talked with her much. I'd suggest you and I meet up later, but I don't know how long dinner will last and you said you didn't want a late night."

"No, you're right," Spencer replied, the disappointment no longer in his voice. "It's important you two see each other. And I am seriously tired, so I probably wouldn't be much fun anyway. The smart thing to do would be to go to bed early and meet up with you another time." There was a brief pause as he let out a loud yawn as if to prove the point. "See? I wouldn't be able to keep up with your witty repartee."

"Well I definitely want to get together again soon. We said we would talk. Plus you're kind of fun. And cute." Amber looked at the time and realized she had to start heading back to work. The kids and their dog had disappeared.

"Only kind of fun? Hmm, I need to work on my game. Cute can only take me so far." Spencer paused for a moment and then asked, "Wait, did you say Kat's going to be a detective? That's awesome! Tell her congratulations for me."

"Well, she has to pass the exam first."

"And do you think she'll fail?"

"No. She's good at what she does."

"Then my point still stands."

"Fair enough. I'll let her know," Amber said as she made her way out of the park.

"Good." Spencer switched to his super-villain voice. "It'll also be good for me to have a contact in the police force. Helps me stay one step ahead of the law."

Amber chuckled. "I'll be sure to pass that along as well. I'm sure she'll appreciate being a toady for an evil villain bent on world domination."

"No, no, not a toady," he fawned. "A well-respected member of civil service. Toadies are just pawns meant for menial tasks. Barely a step above a minion. I have far too much respect for her for that. She'll be more like my knight maneuvering across the chessboard."

"Mmm-hmm."

"You seem unconvinced," Spencer said in his normal voice before yawning loudly. "Jesus! Sorry 'bout that. Right into the phone! I should go take a power nap."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Anyway, I'm very excited for her."

"Thanks."

Spencer switched back to villain mode. "I'll just speak to her directly about being employed in my service. Do you know if she's easily bribed? Or, perhaps, susceptible to blackmail?"

"As her closest friend for many years, I cannot divulge her weaknesses to you, regardless of your charms. Her dirtiest secrets are for me alone to know."

Spencer sighed in an exaggerated fashion. "Ahh, well, it was worth a try. I can play the long game."

"How about you play me instead?" Amber teased. There was the briefest of pauses and Amber knew she'd caught him off-guard. Yes!

"Hehe," he chuckled. Then switching to a more husky tone, "Hmm, maybe I'll play you for the long game."

"Gladly." Her mind started to wander on what sorts of long games they could play. She readily came up with several.

Actually, speaking of plans, don't you have a different schedule on Fridays? At work I mean."

"Yeah, we're only open every other Friday for a half-day. This Friday we are closed completely."

"Okay, good. I tried to stop in one time when I was in the neighborhood a few weeks back, but everything was locked up."

"Oh? Why were you stopping by? Needed to fix something?"

"Naw. I was going to make up some excuse, but really I just wanted to stop and see this cute girl who works there."

"Oh yeah? What's she like?" Amber teased as she stopped at the edge of the parking lot in front of her office.

"Well, she's got this lovely chocolate brown hair that she sometimes puts into these awesome braids. She's wicked smart and funny, and has the most beautiful voice and laugh. I know I said this already, but I think she's really cute too."

Amber blushed. "Well, she sounds pretty awesome the way you talk about her. Maybe you should ask her out sometime."

"Good idea. Maybe I will."

"I bet she'd say yes. Just a hunch. But back to this Friday—why did you want to know if we're closed?"

"Well, I was thinking of asking you out. A girl I know suggested I should."

Amber laughed again. "Sounds like she had a good idea. I accept. What are you thinking?"

"Well, Thursday is a full moon and this beautiful weather is supposed to hold out. I want to take advantage of it before it gets rainy and cold. I was thinking I could pick you up, we could have dinner here, and then take that walk on the property we discussed the other day. You know, just be outside and see where the night takes us. I just wanted to know about Friday to see if I needed to get you home early."

Amber's heart felt light and quivery as she reached the door to the office. Or maybe not go home at all? "That sounds perfect."

"Great!" Amber could hear him grinning. "All right, I'll see you then. Now, I have to grab something to eat before I pass out. I'm famished. Have fun tonight."

It wasn't until after they disconnected that Amber realized that today was Tuesday and she wondered if Wednesday might be an option to hang out. Or maybe that's too much. I mean, that's pretty much every day of the week, so maybe I shouldn't suggest it. On the other hand, I really like spending time with him and I think the feeling is mutual. I'll have to ask Kat tonight to see what she thinks. With that, Amber got settled back to work.

******

Amber hadn't been home long when there was a knock at the door. She checked through the peephole and saw Katelyn standing with a foil-covered mixing bowl in her hands. She opened the door and took the bowl as Kat came in.

"Hey! You got here early—I haven't even changed out of my work clothes." She made her way into the kitchen and put the salad on the counter as Kat began taking off her coat and hat. Kat came in and sat down at the table just as Amber bent over to check on the lasagna in the oven, her back to her friend.

"That smells delicious! Sorry about being early—hope it isn't a problem. I finished up and was just sitting around the house antsy about the day. I think I did well, but you know how it is. Figured I'd come over here as the company would do me some good."

"No, no problem at all," Amber said into the oven as she poked a fork into the cheese. "You're always welcome any time. You know that." Amber turned around as she closed the oven door, glad to have her face out of the heat. She looked up and her eyes opened wide. "Holy crap! You changed your hair!"

Katelyn grinned. Her blond hair was now about chin length and the right side had been tightly braided back behind her ear. "Sure did! Longer hair can be a detriment in police work, so I opted to try something new. What do you think?"

Amber stared for a second, her eyes flickering around the details. "I love it! But it's so radically different! You've had long hair ever since I can remember."

"I know, right? It'll take me a while to get used to it."

Amber stepped in close and touched the braid along her temple. "This is a nice touch. It kind of gives you an edgy, don't-fuck-with-me vibe. But it's also kind of urban sexy. What does Aaron think?"

"He likes it. Though I think he'll probably miss me dragging my long hair across his body," she said with a wink. "He loves that."

Amber grinned. "I bet! Well, you'll just have to figure out something else to tease him with." She reached up again and briefly brushed her fingers across her friend's hair, nodding before stepping back. "Hey, I'm going to run up and change. Be right back."

"Don't change! We like you just the way you are!" Katelyn called out as Amber dashed up the stairs.

A few minutes later, Amber came back down in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Katelyn was getting out some plates and serving up the salad. Amber joined her and took the lasagna out. As they prepped dinner, Katelyn asked, "Hey, where's your dad?"

"Oh, he's out on some big repair job. Been gone since the night of the party. Said he wouldn't be back until next weekend. Had to go to a bunch of sites, I guess."

"That sounds like it sucks. But at least you have the house to yourself."

The two sat down to dinner and talked about what the tests were like, how the interview went, and what Katelyn thought her odds were.

"I think you'll get it," Amber said confidently after Kat finished recounting the studying and testing ordeal. "You've always been good at figuring things out. And Spencer passes along his good wishes too. He also says he looks forward to having a cop on his payroll."

Katelyn gave Amber a quizzical look.

"It's this little inside joke thing we have going on. He's a super-villian working on world domination."

Katelyn smiled. "Ahh, well you certainly set your sights high! Not going to just settle for a local kingpin?"

"Nope. Nothing but the best for me, baby!"

Katelyn laughed. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence from you both. I have a good feeling about it. It's just the typical nerves. Normally, I'd grab Aaron and have him help me focus on something else, but, alas, tonight he isn't home."

"Well, I'll do what I can to help you focus on something else," Amber teased.

Katelyn glanced up, her fork halfway to her mouth. She gave Amber a sly grin and a raised eyebrow. "Oh, you will, will you?" she purred. "I didn't know you were into girls. Color me intrigued."

Amber chuckled coquettishly and reached a hand out to touch Katelyn's. "Well, if I ever pursue that, you'll be at the top of my list."

Katelyn's grin widened. "Well, I'd be honored to be on top."

The two girls stared at each other for a moment across the table and then both burst out laughing before continuing their meal.

After an additional bite, Katelyn inquired, "So, if you're not going to distract me with a delicious tongue lashing, what are we going to focus on? I've been talking all through dinner about my last few days of studying and tests. What about you? What have you been up to? Obviously, you went out..."