Law and Order

Chapter 7

The next morning, Nat woke feeling refreshed and ready for the day. She was free from Bruce and was beginning to heal after her pep talk with Steve. The thought of Steve made her glance over to where she had left him last night, but he was gone. She saw the now liquid ice on the table and figured he must've slipped out last night. She really did appreciate him and she knew just the way to show him.

Nat hopped out of bed and brushed her teeth. She took a quick shower before throwing on a jumpsuit and making her way next door.

Knock Knock Knock

"Good Morning Sleepyhead" she beamed as he opened the door

"Morning Nat." He said still running his eyes

"Sorry for waking you but I wanted to thank you for yesterday by making you dinner." She grinned widely proud of the gesture.

"You don't have to, it—"

"I know but I want to. I won't take no for an answer." She said cutting him off.

"Alright, what night?"

"Tonight."

" Oh i can't do tonight. I have to go in to the office and sort some stuff it with a case."

"Oh" Her face dropped and Steve could see the disappointment on her face. "But tomorrow night I am free if you're still up for it then."

"Yea that's perfect." Her normal smile returning to her face again.. "Say around 7?"

"Yea that's good. I'll see you then." Nat replies. "Oh wait. Do you mind if I cook it at your place? It's just I don't have a table anymore and I don't want us to have to eat without one properly." She said warily.

"Yea that's fine. You can come over and get started around 6 if you want."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you." They smiled at each other before Nat spoke up. "Ok well I'm gonna leave you be now. See you." She smiled hard and went back to her apartment.

Steve closed his door and got ready for his day. He had a few errands to run and work on some briefings for a few cases. His excitement for the "date" took over his thoughts as he went through the motions of getting ready.

Nat, on the other hand, was a ball of nerves. She didn't cook often but when she did it, it was pretty good. Her dad and her used to make dishes together all the time, ironically her mother was never one to be in the kitchen. Daddy made majority of the meals, while mom stuck to teaching ettiequte and sophistication. Nat made a list of the things she needed to do and one of them included grocery shopping. She needed to go to Food Bazaar which was only a few blocks away. As she walked to the store, she felt nervous and a little scared. It had only been a day since she kicked out Bruce and she never knew where he was. Logically, she knew he should be at work, but she also knew that he could've called out and run into her. Soon Nat found herself glancing over her shoulder every 6 minutes. Her heart raced and she pulled out her AirPods to listen to the smooth sounds of Frank Sinatra. His calming voice caused her to relax and focus on the task at hand.

The rest of the day went uneventful,  Nat rested focusing on healing more and thinking about tomorrow.

.................

The clock struck 6 and Nat stood in front of Steve's door with a small package of raw T-bone steak, a bag of potatoes and fresh broccoli all bagged up.

"Welcome to my humble abode once again." Steve gestured as he curtsied towards her.

"Thank you kind sir." She laughed giving him a quick one in return.