There was no line at that time. The breakfast rush was over, and Pietro had apparently stopped the free sandwich promotion after he’d run out of product and almost gone broke in the process. “It was a dumb idea in the first place,” Riley said. He’d gotten there at 11:45 am and decided to make some small take since the place was dead. 

“It was a brilliant idea,” Pietro countered. “But I didn’t think it all the way through.”

“Like having enough stuff to feed everyone. Yeah, that’s an important detail.”

“Live and learn, right?”

“Count and learn,” Riley joked. “Did it help business when it was going on?”

“Nope,” he said. “In fact, it did the complete opposite. People bought the cheapest possible coffee to get the free sandwich. Live and learn.”

“Live and learn,” Riley repeated. 

He didn’t see Samantha walk in behind him. All Riley saw was the look of recognition on Pietro’s face when he looked over Riley’s shoulder. From over his shoulder he heard her voice. “Quad, please, Pietro.” He turned around and saw her, only she wasn’t looking at him. He still felt like shit for being dismissive of her the other day when she was only trying to help. He could tell that she was going to make him work a little for her forgiveness. 

“Yeah, I’ll have the same,” he said, turning to her. “That’s a lot of caffeine.”

“I know. It’s how I need to start my day. Sometimes my boyfriend is a bit of an asshole. I need to be alert to navigate it.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with that,” Riley joked.

“Me, too.”

“I have a question, one stranger to another, since we like the same kind of drink and all.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s say a boyfriend, like yours, had acted like. . .”

“A complete tool.”

“Right,” Riley said. “Complete tool. So let’s say a boyfriend is being a complete tool. What could he do to make up for it?”

“Well, the first thing he could do is apologize.”

“Got it. And the second?”

“The second thing would be reassuring his girlfriend that he wasn’t going to act like that again, and telling her that he doesn’t get to hold everything in just because he feels like it.”

“I’m sure a boyfriend who acted like an asshole could do both of those things, and that he was very sorry for how he behaved.”

“That’s good to know,” she said. “And thanks for the quad, Pietro.” She took the coffee from behind the counter, and Riley did the same. “What are you doing right now?”

“Besides talking to you, nothing. Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Yeah,” she said. “That sounds nice. Let’s drink and walk.”

Outside the breeze was cool, but the sun was out, which made up for it. After all, they had their coffees to keep them warm. Riley took a big sip as they stood outside of Pietro’s, and they chose a direction and started walking. Samantha looked beautiful as she always did. Riley never got used to it. Every time he laid eyes on her his heart skipped a few beats, and he realized that she was the one good thing going on in his life. He wasn’t about to screw it up because he didn’t feel like talking. All else aside, he was falling for Samantha, and he was smart enough to know how important that was. 

“I really am sorry, you know.”

“I know,” she said, looking him in the eye and smiling. “I can see it in your face. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I get it, you’re allowed to have a bad day, especially with what you do for a living, but keeping things inside becomes a pattern. Trust me, I saw the problems it caused in my house growing up between my parents. I’m not doing that, do you understand? I’m not going to just be the supportive girl for the guy who can’t talk.”

“I understand. And you’re right. To tell you the truth I’m not even like that most times, but this case has been hard to talk about. It’s taken some weird turns and it’s not even done yet. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you about it, it’s just for your own good.”

“I don’t need to know all the ins and outs of your cases, Riley. That’s not what I’m saying. That’s for you and the other cops. I’m not talking about being your partner at your job, I’m talking about being your partner in life.”

Her words rung true and he finally understood what she was saying. “You’re pretty amazing, do you know that?”

“I know,” she joked. “I’m a little bit awesome.”

“You sure are.” He stopped right where they were and kissed her. “And no more fighting, okay?”

“I can’t promise that, any more than you can promise to be 100% open with me at all times. But let’s agree that we’ll work on it together, every single day.”

“Agreed.”

They walked, drank, and talked for a while. In reality it was probably twenty minutes in total, but time melted away around them, and they were left with only the perception of each other’s company. Nothing else mattered. Even though Riley had been preoccupied, Samantha’s presence was all that he could feel at that moment. “I have a question for you,” he said, feeling a little devious. “It’s a little blunt.”

“Those are the best types of questions.”

“You wanna come back to my place?” It was a bold and out of nowhere question, but he wanted her badly at that moment, and he decided that being open and honest shouldn’t just pertain to his job. 

“You mean, like, to watch a movie?”

“We could definitely film it,” he joked. “I think for professional reasons we shouldn’t upload it anywhere, but you’re pretty hot, we could make enough to retire on, I’m sure.”

She fake punched him and started laughing. “Let’s go,” she said, giving him that look from the other night. 

It was the best thing he’d heard out of someone’s mouth in days.