It's now 9:34pm, and the lateness interferes with my technicalities. I found my way to the break room. It's small for the amount of people that work here. Yet, I have never seen anyone here take a break. People walk in and either get food from the fridge and then walk back out.
The two things keeping me company is my flip phone, which must be on even when I'm here. The other is my iPod that holds all the songs that help me escape and relax.
"Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield is always on repeat. The song has such good lyrics and an amazing beat. Sometimes when I can relate to a song, it shows me a different perspective in my life. With this song, I just want to enjoy it and not think about anything. I start bopping my head when I see a familiar face sit down next to me.
"Hey, I'm sorry I got out late." I take the earbuds out of my ears and smile at McGee. I guess it's the end of the day. "Our suspect wasn't answering any questions and never asked for a lawyer. There was no way I was going to get to him, so I had to get Gibbs. Well, that doesn't matter now. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"What do you mean?"
He freezes. "I kept you waiting and I feel bad. That's why I said earlier-"
My laughing cut him off. I love that he never knows what I am talking about. It is my fault because I don't make myself clear enough.
"No," I reach for his arm. When I touch it we both freeze. I let go quickly before... before what I don't know. "I mean why would you not be able to get to him?"
I can see McGee get lost while he looks for an answer. "It's just Gibbs can do anything, and I knew he could get to him."
"I bet you could."
His body sits up straight and a smile starts to form. "Why do you think so?"
"I don't know. I just have a feeling." We smile at each other, grab our stuff, and head towards the elevator.
We tell each other about our day all the way to the elevator. I hope he couldn't tell I was doing this on purpose. I want the car ride to include getting to know him. I don't want to know Special Agent McGee, I want to know Tim.
We finally make it to my Cherokee in the garage.
"Nice car." He is the second person, after my father to see my car. Though, he is the first one to compliment it.
"Thanks."
McGee looks around as if he's lost something.
"You don't have a GPS?"
No, Tim I don't have a GPS. I just got his car a week ago because I finally got a job worth my while. If I say that you will ask questions that I don't want to answer, and you won't want to talk to me again.
"No, I don't." I look at the dash board to distract myself from saying anything else.
McGee reaches into his bag and takes out, no way, a GPS?
"Okay do you carry that wherever you go? If so I will give you a ride any day." I laugh while talking because I'm just so shocked that he just pulled that out of his bag.
"No, I don't always carry this. I grabbed one from the garage, so you know where to go. This way we can talk instead of me constantly interrupting you." He starts to mount it onto the dashboard and I'm speechless. We were thinking the same thing while walking to my car. He does want to get to know me like I want to know him.
"That's cool of you." Is all I manage to say. I start the car and put it in drive. I feel his eyes on me. I like that he's looking at me but part of me is getting nervous.
"How long have you been at NCIS?" I start off with the most basic question. It's lame but it will have to do for now.
"About six years. What got you interested in it?" He is looking out the window now. Good thing because my smile is gone. I forgot that talking meant he would ask me questions too.
"You know, how about we don't talk about work? Let's talk about anything else."
McGee smirks and I almost melt. "Okay. Boss, what would you like to talk about?" My smile is wider than ever, and he laughs because he knows I liked him calling me boss. It was very sexy.
"Have you always had good reflexes?" He looks at me confused and we start to laugh. I feel like laughing is going to consume most of the car ride.
"What reflexes are you talking about? There is no way you are talking about mine."
"Yes, I am! Yesterday, you caught me from falling and it was in the matter of seconds." I had to bring it up. I haven't shared it with anyone and it has been eating at me.
He is blushing and looking at his feet. I didn't know I could make someone blush. This is another moment I won't be able to get out of my head.
"No, I just, I-I couldn't let you fall." We look at each other as we come to a red light. I slam a little hard on the breaks because his face is distracting.
"Oh, sorry!" I cringe and take my hands off the wheels. I'm glad he thinks crashing into the car in front of us funny. I laugh with him because his laugh is contagious.
"What, um, music were you listening to in the break room?" He's catching his breath from our near death experience.
"The good kind." I smirk, and he looks down again. I know I'm trying to be cute, but if it's working then that's all that matters.
"You want to elaborate on that?"
"Jessie's Girl."
He smiles and shakes his head up and down. "Nice, and I agree that, that is good music."
"I knew I would like you." I'm so shocked in what I just said I don't even look at him. I just keep driving.
"What music do you listen to?"
McGee shrugs his shoulders. "I don't really listen to music."
I almost swerve into another lane when he answers. Is this man serious? I would lose it if I lost my iPod. How does one function with no music?
"I don't think I can talk to you anymore. I'll drop you off at the next light."
"Ha, ha."
I shake my head in disapproval while biting my lip. He looks over at me and he's staring at my lips. My heart falls in my stomach and I slowly release my lip. I press my lips together and try not to show that I know he is staring. He faces forward and fixes his posture.
"Why do you listen to music."
"Why?"
"Yeah," He adjusts his entire body to face me. He really wants to know what I have to say. I like it. "Why do you listen to music and care about it so much?"
I shrug. No one has ever asked me that before. "Music is everything to me. It has always been there with me." I can't believe I'm about to tell him why I love it, but I feel comfortable around him. "It helps me escape here and takes me somewhere else."
"What are you trying to escape?" He looks attentive more than he did before.
"Why are you scared to escape?" I couldn't stop the words from coming out of my mouth. I think we were at the same level of personal. He asked me a personal question and I asked him one. I don't think I did anything wrong, but I would hate if I messed this up.
"I have my own ways of escaping." He sounds nervous, now I must hear this.
"And that is?"
He is acting like he didn't hear me. He's being all cute by nodding his head and looking at everything besides me. You can't just say that and then end it there.
"McGee!"
"Alright, alright. I p-play video games." He hides his head like he is embarrassed. I don't want him to feel that way, not in front of me.
"That is escaping, but they are completely different types of escaping."
His head is up and now he is curious. I pull over on the right side of the road and put the car in park. We're next to a cute apartment building. From the outside it looks like you can fit maybe 2-3 people in a room. I can be wrong. Never judge anything by its size, I have learned from that.
"How so?" He leans against the door waiting for my answer. Little does he know, I know how to play my cards right.
"We will continue this conversation tomorrow when I drive you home again." I can't believe I had the guts to say that. I'm better off saying what I did instead of offering to take him to work in the morning. That would involve me getting up hours earlier than I do. As much as I would love it, I don't want to deal with the confrontation at home.
"What if my cars fixed by then?" Now he is the one trying to be cute.
Right when I was about to give him an answer, our phones ring simultaneously. We look at each other scared to answer them.
When I look at my phone it reads "Abby" and I can't help but think that even when we are alone, we are still getting interrupted.
"Timothy McGee." His face went from playful to serious in the matter of seconds. I should answer mine to see what this is about.
"Hey Abby." I try to sound as happy as possible. The truth is I couldn't be more disappointed.
"Melissa! Can I just say I'm proud that you left your phone on? Because I am proud, it means a lot. Anyway, you need to get McGee back here immediately! Or drive him to Ziva and Tony! Or I-I don't know!" She is yelling so loud that I have to put my phone inches away from my ear to understand her. I was relaxed for once and now I'm tense and nervous.
"Abby. Abby! What's going on?"
McGee takes my phone out of my hand before she can answer. "Thanks Abs I got it." He closes my phone and hands it back to me.
"That was Tony, he says our murderer is on the run heading for North Carolina." I look at him so confused on how he got the information so quick. "Ziva figured it out, it was the step brother he murdered her. I didn't get the details."
I start my car again and put it in drive. "Alright Tim, tell me where to go."
"I already put it in the GPS. You just have to get us there and fast." I feel the adrenaline running through my body. Going on a high-speed chase is giving me a high. I can tell he feels the same way. I don't even want to question how he is so good at technology.
There is no time for that. I look at the road and slam my foot on the accelerator. My tires screech and I feel them create marks on the road. Our night isn't over yet, and I can't be more thankful.