People have turned off the TV to check out this place
Part One: Baltimore. It was a beautiful spring day in Baltimore. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud to be found in the sky. The temperature was in the low 20's (Celsius. We Canadians don't use Fahrenheit all that much). Olga had been having a nice walk along the docks. She was in Baltimore visiting her friends Alice and Tim Bayliss. Today, she decided she would do some exploring on her own while Tim took Alice to their Lamaze class. Olga had been walking along and admiring the boats. She stopped nearby one called "Case Closed" and leaned against the rail, looking out at the water. It was so wonderful to be in Baltimore because she loved being near the water. The breeze on her face and her hair slightly blowing felt wonderful. Her outfit consisted of a NYPD sweatshirt (courtesy of an ex-cop/boyfriend from New York. Guess who? :).), a pair of shorts, her white socks, her black boots. She also had a pair of shades on and her hair was tucked up underneath a hat, worn backwards. Olga closed her eyes and just savored the sensation of the air and the sounds at the dock. Meanwhile, a slightly drowsy figure stumbled out of the inner hold of the "Case Closed". He was tall (about six feet), thin but well built with reddish-blond hair and the bluest of eyes. Last night, had been quite the night with the wind howling and the boat rocking along in time with the wind. This man had not got a lot of sleep and was really suffering from it once he stepped out onto the deck of his boat. The man who owned this man was Mike Kellerman, a detective with the Baltimore Homicide Squad. Recently, he had been put on desk duty because he had been implicated in a bribery scandal from the arson department that he worked for before he arrived at Homicide. He was getting mighty ticked that he couldn't work on the streets and was anxious to get his grand jury hearing done and over so that everyone could see that he was innocent and then he could get away from the desk. Today, his boss, Lieutenant Giardello had phoned him and told him to take a day off. G had told him that he was really getting on everybody else's nerves and that he should take some time to cool down. For once, Mike tended to be agreement with G. So, there was Mike on the upper deck of his boat with a coffee mug in one hand and the paper in the other. He had decided to sit on the deck, enjoy his coffee, browse through the paper and just relax. However, that plan soon went out the window when he seen the woman standing at the railing near his boat. She was wearing a sweatshirt, shorts, and boots. She also had on her shades and a cap placed backwards on her head. Mike couldn't help noticing her legs. It was only May and they were slightly tanned. They were also muscular but not like a bodybuilders. Those muscles belonged there and made her legs seem even more attractive. The boots she wore further emphasized this. Then he looked upward and took in the rest of her. She looked like she had lost weight because the shorts looked a bit baggy. The sweatshirt also looked a bit baggy too. However, he couldn't help noticing both her shades (Black Ray-Bans) and her 'backwards' cap. She looked cute, enticing, sexy, and unique all at the same time. He was about to toss his newspaper back into the cabin and just check this woman out a bit more when she got wise to him and pushed her glasses down. For the last few minutes, Olga had felt a pair of eyes on her but she decided to play it cool. However, it was getting increasingly difficult because she could sense that these pair of eyes were checking her out. Finally, just to confirm her thoughts, she turned her head to the left, pulled down her glasses only to come face to face with the most beautiful pair of eyes she had seen in the longest time. It was very hard to get past his eyes but she forced herself to do it. She noticed his hair, a reddish-blond and it was slightly wavy. He was tall and slim but well-built. He had on a blue jacket, a black T-shirt, and a pair of gray sweats. The sweats partly obscured the shape of his legs but she could tell that his legs were strong and muscular like the rest of him. Damn, he looked so sweet, cute, and sexy. It was all she could do to stop herself from accidentally falling into the water. For what seemed an eternity, Olga and Mike just stared and smiled at one another. Finally, Olga's impatience was getting the better of her and she decided to make the first move. Moving away from the railing, she walked over to the boat and took her glasses off. Once she did that, she noticed that this man almost dropped his coffee cup because he was staring so hard at her. Realizing this was the perfect opening, Olga said, "Hi. Do you happen to have enough for another cup?" There was silence for a few seconds until Mike finally got his mouth to work and said, "Uh, yeah, sure. How do you take it?" "With some milk and a couple of teaspoons of sugar.", Olga replied. "Sure, right away.", Mike answered and then he offered his hand to Olga. She grabbed his hand and he helped her onto the boat. Once she was on the boat, Olga looked around her at the boat. It was beautiful but not as beautiful as the man standing in front of her. He let go of her hand and said, "Hi, my name is Mike. What's yours?" "It's Olga. How do you do, Mike?", Olga asked. "Um, I'm okay. I just have to say this and you can hit me, if you want but you are a sight for sore eyes.", Mike said. Olga's face started to go red and Mike couldn't help but grin at how he made her react. Actually, he thought it was very sweet as she was the first woman he had ever seen blush when she was given a compliment. Still, he would not get off so easy because Olga looked directly at him and said, "Well, you're pretty easy on the eyes, yourself. Why did I ever wear my shades in the first place?". After she said this, she smiled the most beautiful smile Mike had ever seen. Then he looked into her eyes. They were gorgeous. It was hard to tell what color they were but he decided that they were gray and blue and green, all mixed. He made a mental note to himself to get a *closer* look. "Uh, about that coffee, Mike...?", Olga asked. "Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, totally forgot. I was kinda preoccupied. I'll go get it right now.", he replied. "Thanks and you know I could never tell you were preoccupied or anything like that.", Olga retorted. It was Mike's turn to blush. While Mike went down below to get the coffee, Olga walked over to one of the boat railings and looked out at the water. This was turning out to be quite the day and just wait until she told Tim and Alice about this. While she was looking out at the water, she put her glasses, which she had been holding in her hand, into one of the pockets of her shorts. Then she started to visualize Mike's face. It was so handsome and sweet. She could gaze into his eyes forever and still never get enough. She would have kept daydreaming a little more but then she heard Mike coming up the stairs with the coffee. When Mike got out onto the deck, he looked up to find Olga looking at him, again. He thought to himself, "I'm so glad that I decided to take the day off and relax at my boat. It was well worth it." Once that thought was finished, he walked over to Olga and handed her her coffee. She took and said thanks. Then she raised it to her lips and blew on it. Mike got a thrill seeing her lips and he wondered what it would be like to kiss her. For her part, Olga managed to stay calm, cool, and collected. She had felt a shiver go up her arm when her hand touched Mike's as he handed her the coffee cup. After she took her first sip, she lowered the cup and said, "Mmm, skipper, you sure make good coffee." "There are a lot of other things I'm good at, too.", Mike replied. "I'm sure you are.", Olga retorted. "Hey, why don't we sit down and enjoy the morning. I want to find out who you are.", Mike said. "Sounds like a plan to me.", Olga replied. So, for the next few hours, Mike and Olga sat on the deck of the boat and talked and drank coffee. He was surprised to hear that she was one of Tim and Alice's friends and she was shocked to finally meet one of Tim's co-workers. They then went on to talk about what was going on in their lives. It seemed like the day would never end. However, around lunchtime, Olga announced that she better get back to Alice and Tim's place because they were taking her out to lunch. Mike was disappointed but said he understood. "Say, wait a minute. Do you have a phone on board?", Olga asked. "Why do you ask?", Mike asked in return. "Well, maybe if I can *convince* Alice and Tim to let you join us for lunch. What do you think?", Olga asked. "Sounds great. The phone is on the counter by the kitchen. Watch your step going down.", Mike replied. Olga went down and made the call and a few minutes later came up again to tell Mike that it was all set. "Okay, why don't I just change my clothes and then we can get out of here.", Mike said. "Alright. I'll be waiting up here for you.", Olga said. "You do that.", Mike said as he winked at her. This just caused her to blush again. As he was heading towards the stairs, Mike turned around again and asked, "By the way, what are you hiding under that cap of yours?" "You really want to know?", Olga asked. "Yes, I really do.", Mike said. "Okay, here goes.", Olga said as she pulled off her cap. Mike gasped inwardly as he seen Olga's hair spilling out from underneath the cap. It was medium brown with gingery and blondish highlights. There was a slight wave at the bottom of her hair and it was thick and shiny. Mike knew that if he run his fingers through it, it would be soft and silky. Still, he managed to restrain himself even though it was killing him. "Like what you see?", Olga asked. "Oh, yes, very definitely. It was well worth the wait.", he teased. "Funny, that's what many of my exes told me, as well.", Olga teased in return. Knowing he was lost, Mike willed himself to turn around and go down the stairs to get changed in a *quick* hurry. Olga couldn’t help giggling to herself as she watched Mike practically race down the stairs. "He's the one.", she thought to herself and felt herself blush all over again. *************************************************************************** Author's Notes Okay, the next part takes place in New York. You can guess what happens there, can't you, Mare. Happy reading and please let me know what you think. ***************************************************************************Go forward to part 2.