Téa put the key in the ignition and started the car. She drove off thinking of Todd. How incredibly sexy he was! And it was as if he wasn’t aware of it… She bit her lip and smiled just thinking about the way he had touched her last night…the way he had kissed her…God, he was sexy! She had been on cloud nine last night…and today…well, today reality had sunk in. Hank was giving her a light workload because of the stress of having her brother in the hospital. José. She only wished things could have been different for him…
As she continued to drive down the street, she got lost in a memory…

**********************************************************************

New York City…

Seven year old Téa Delgado raced down the steps of her apartment building chasing after her brother, “José! I’m going to get you!” But José was too quick and he bolted into their basement apartment. Téa ran inside after him.
“José!” she yelled.
She heard her nine year old brother giggling from behind the couch. She tiptoe’d to the couch and peered over the top. José was laughing at her! She attacked him and they began to try and tickle each other, their giggles growing loud.
They heard a door slam and looked up. It was Del.
“Uh-oh…” whispered Téa.
“We’re in trouble now…” said José.

Téa checked her rear view mirror. A black BMW was riding awfully close to her rear bumper. She braked in an attempt to get the car to stop tailgating. The car backed off. She turned into Angel Square, again, getting lost in her thoughts…

The hospital, An hour ago…

“Damn you Téa! Our brother almost died last night!” rattled Del in her face outside José’s room, “And you where nowhere to be found!”
Téa was not about to show Del that despite her inability to be found, she did feel some remorse…
“Del…don’t you think I love José? Think about it Del - even if you did find me - what good would I have been? I’m a lawyer - not a doctor!” retorted Téa.
“I need you Téa! José needs you!” exclaimed Del. They were having this conversation in the hallway outside José’s room.
“And my husband? He doesn’t? He doesn’t need me?” replied Téa crossing her arms.
“Your husband is…” started Del. He stopped abruptly.
“My husband is what?” goaded Téa.
“I refuse to say something I know I’ll come to regret. You were with Todd last night,” said Del calming down.
“Yeah, I was with Todd last night. And I’m going to spend tonight with him too,” said Téa.
“I just don’t want to see you hurt. Just like I don’t want to see José hurt,” said Del.
“I know,” said Téa softening.
“Look, I’ve done some investigation. Paulo Hesser is suspected of laundering money to the tune of 10 million dollars. The FBI has him under surveillance, but… come to find out, Paulo’s been involved in a little gang war with a rival named Miguel Conando. Ring a bell?” asked Del.
“Yeah. José was trying to say his name to me last week - just like he tried to tell you last night, that’s what you said right? He’d tried to speak…” said Téa, trying to hold back the tears.
Del handed Téa some mugshots, “Do me a favor and run these by your files. See if you get any names to match these faces.”
“All right Del. Tomorrow morning. Tonight…I’m going to be with Todd,” said Téa.
“Where?” asked Del.
“I don’t want to say. It’s kind of special between us right now. And I want to keep it that way for a bit… I want to keep this a secret that only Todd and I share right now…” said Téa.
“What if I need you?” asked Del exasperated.
“Page me. I’ll have my pager with me from now on,” said Téa turning around, “Adios.”
“Yeah. Adios,” said Del watching her leave.

Téa pulled up to Carlotta’s Diner, parked the car, and got out. She went inside. Carlotta was behind the counter and a dinner crowd was inside the diner.
“Téa - it’s good to see you,” said Carlotta giving her a hug, “I was worried.”
“I’m all right,” said Téa, “I’m here to pick up dinner. Can I get two orders of your steak fajitas to go?”
Carlotta wrinkled her brow, “You’re not dining alone?”
“No. It’s for me…and Todd…” said Téa.
“Todd? You’re back with him?” questioned Carlotta.
“Yeah…” whispered Téa.
“Ah, hey, can I get a cup of coffee?” came a voice.
Téa and Carlotta looked over. A tall man, light in complexion wearing a black overcoat stared back.
“Please?” he asked.
“Sure,” said Carlotta. She attended to Téa’s order and poured the man a cup of coffee.
Téa noticed a scar above the man’s right eye. It reminded her of Todd’s scar. She waited patiently for her dinner, once again, her thoughts returning to how sexy…her husband…was…

Llantano Mountain,
The Manning Estate…

“Honey! I’m home!” exclaimed Téa walking in the door. She grinned at how nice those words sounded to her.
Todd bolted down the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks as their eyes met.
Téa put the take out down on an adjacent table. Todd walked over to her and helped to remove her winter jacket. He threw it on a chair.
Téa smiled at his gesture. He grabbed the take out and waltzed into the living room. She followed him. They sat down at the coffee table and Todd laid the containers in front of them.
“Drinks?” asked Téa.
Todd smiled and got up. He went into the kitchen and returned with two beers.
He sat down in front of her swigging his beer, “Ok - this is a first for me - you know I’m not a Spanish food kinda guy but I’m willing to try… so, do I need the knife and fork?”
She laughed, “Actually, fajitas are perfect for your manual delivery. How was therapy?”
“I’m working on Anger Management,” he said following her example - putting the meat in the tortilla and rolling it up. He took a bite, “Not bad.”
“Well, I’m glad you like it,” said Téa taking a bite of hers.
“Want some music?” asked Todd.
“Sure,” said Téa.
He got up and turned on the stereo. Erikah Badu softly played.
“Remember when she sang at Club Indigo?” asked Téa.
“Yeah,” said Todd, “You looked…pretty…hot that night.”
She smiled at his compliment, “You looked…pretty…fine yourself that night.”
He put his meal aside and wiped his hands on a napkin, “I wanted… to touch you that night…”
“You did?” asked Téa, “Really?”
“Really,” he replied.
She put her dinner aside as well, “Todd, when did you - first notice me?”
“Ah, I think it was the night bird took your watch. You looked…great…in that red thing…” replied Todd. He got up, moved the table aside and sat down beside her. She didn’t say anything.
“What’s the grin for? Why are you grinning at me?” asked Todd.
Téa laughed as she suddenly assaulted Todd with tickles - from his chest, to his arms, to his waist…
Todd fell on his back and tried to pin her down in an attempt to get her to stop, “You’re devious Delgado!” he exclaimed between tickles.
“I’m a lot of things Todd...” she replied. His shirt became untucked from his pants and her hands began to roam underneath it as she tickled his chest. It was her moment of weakness. Her eyes found his and she paused, giving Todd the advantage. His hands quickly went to her arms and he rolled them so he was on top of her, she let out another giggle as her hands came out from underneath his shirt, trying to push him away…He pined her back to the floor and took her arms, positioning them above her head, his weight braced by his knees on top of her, his lips inches from hers…
“What turns you on Téa?” he asked roughly, caught up in the moment.
“The way you look at me. You are so sexy,” she replied, “What turns you on, Todd?”
“I dunno. Want to find out together?” he asked between his heavy breaths, clearly aroused by her vulnerable position.
“Sure,” she replied. With her hands pinned above her, he teased her lips with sensuous kisses and his other hand began to explore underneath her untucked shirt. He aggressively pushed her bra aside and began to massage her in a roughly intimate way, closing his eyes, enjoying his heightening sensations…
And as the Mannings began to test the boundaries of their newly discovered sexual relationship, a black BMW waited a block from the house.