All I need is you

Chapter 3: First date

The next few days, every time Tim comes into the shop, Lucy has to focus on not getting too distracted because she absolutely cannot get fired. Even though Genny is a very friendly boss and more of a friend to Lucy than an employer really, Lucy doesn't want to take her for granted. That doesn't mean she can't look at Tim in admiration.

Tim and Lucy have a flirty thing going on, him smirking at her and her blushing and smiling. After a week, Tim takes his usual order, but this time instead of just smiling at Lucy and then going to work, he starts a longer conversation. "So, how has your first week in LA been for you?" he asks. "It has been good, and this job is a big part of that," Lucy answers. "That's good," he says, smiling at her. Tim opens his mouth to speak again, but he closes it again, suddenly feeling a little nervous. But when Lucy raises her eyebrow at him and chuckles lightly, Tim tries again: "I- I was wondering if you would let me take you to dinner tonight?" Lucy lets out a small gasp at his question. "You want to take me out to dinner?" she smiles, and he nods. "Yeah, I do," Tim replies with a smile back at her. "You don't have to say yes," he quickly adds.

 -Why am I so nervous? God, get it together, Tim-he thinks to himself. Lucy notices his nervousness and puts her hand on top of his before she says, "I would love to go to dinner with you tonight," which makes Tim smile at her. "Great, I will pick you up at 7?" he asks. "7's perfect," she answers. She gives him a smile and then goes to another customer to take his order, but not before taking another peek at Tim.

Afternoon comes around quickly, and Lucy has about an hour until Tim will pick her up from her apartment (Genny had helped her find a small but decent apartment no too far away from the coffee shop). Lucy puts on a green dress with little flowers on it, does her makeup and puts on her heels. She's just putting on her earrings when there is a knock on her door. Lucy smiles to herself, looks at herself in the mirror once more, and then walks to the door to greet Tim. He has on a dark blue dress shirt, and Lucy has to suck in a breath because how does he look even better than in a police uniform? Tim notices her staring and chuckles but can't say he blames her, as he also can't keep his eyes off of her. "You look stunning," he says, and Lucy blushes. Tim notices that when she is smiling at him, her eyes sparkle, and he finds himself lost in her brown eyes.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Bradford," Lucy replies, getting a soft chuckle from Tim in return. "Thanks," he smiles, and then holds out his hand for Lucy, which she gladly takes. They walk to his truck in silence, and when they arrive at the truck, Tim opens up the door for Lucy, and she smiles at him once more before climbing in.

Both of them are silent on the way to the restaurant, but they give each other small glances occasionally. When they arrive, Lucy and Tim climb out of the truck, and Tim holds out his hand for Lucy again. They go inside, holding hands, and Lucy can't help but smile, and she thinks about how she has smiled more in the week she has been here in LA than in her entire life before.

Tim and Lucy get seated at their table and sit so close to each other that Lucy's knee touches Tim's. He doesn't seem to mind, and neither does she. They order wine and their food, with Tim having the lasagna and Lucy having the chicken Alfredo. "So, why did you decide to come here to LA?" Tim asks after a while. "Uhm-", Lucy answers, but she can't seem to find the right words to continue. "You don't have to tell me," he assures her, but she speaks anyway. "My ex-boyfriend, uhm, he was abusive." Lucy starts saying, looking at her lap. Tim sighs and wants to put his hand on her knee in a comforting movement, but he doesn't know if she wants him to touch her. "He isn't a bad person, but when he drinks, he becomes this other person." Lucy continues, now looking up at Tim, her eyes becoming teary. "I told him that if he wouldn't stop drinking, that I would be gone, and a week ago, he, um, he..." Lucy tries to say, but the word gets stuck in her throat. After a while, she continues, more tears falling from her eyes. "Last week he got drunk again, but this time it was even worse than the other times. I tried to get him to sleep it off, but he didn't want to, so he grabbed me. And I really tried to get him off of me; I really did, but he was so much stronger than me, and he-" she lets out a shaky breath before continuing, "he raped me." Lucy breathes out, and she can't bring herself to look up at Tim." "I'm sorry, I didn't want to ruin our dinner," Lucy adds, wiping her tears away and looking at her lap again. 

She expects him to tell her that he doesn't want a second date or something of the sort, but Tim shakes his head and lays his hand on her chin to make her look up at him again. "Lucy, you didn't ruin anything," he assures her. "You got away from an abusive relationship; that takes a lot of courage. You were so brave, Luce. I'm so, so sorry you had to go through all of that, and I wish I could arrest this guy." Lucy lets her tears fall as she listens to Tim tell her how brave she was. She thinks she should feel embarrassed that she's crying in a restaurant on a first date, but all she feels is safe. "Thank you for telling me; thank you for confiding in me," he adds while he lightly wipes her tears away. "Thanks for listening and not running away," Lucy replies, which earns her a slight chuckle from Tim. "I would never run away from you". Lucy smiles at him, and she looks at his lips, wanting to kiss him, but before she can, the waitress comes with their food.