Danny barely had time to register hearing the tense female voice before he felt himself hitting the floor of the arrivals terminal.
Seconds later he realised he was tangled in bags and legs that seemed to go on for days.
"Do you always read while you walk?"
He looked up and found himself staring into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.
The next thing he felt was the wind being knocked out of his sails.
"I... uh... do you always plough through people like you're a linebacker for the---"
"Oh ho," she laughed dryly. "Funny boy."
"Man."
"Well, you're certainly not a gentleman," she said as she shoved him out of the way.
Danny almost laughed. But, he quickly curbed that impulse and he arched an eyebrow in her direction. "I would help you up, but I'm weighed down by several very heavy suitcases," he pointed out, gesturing at the bags that had fallen on the leg that wasn't covered by her legs. "And, besides, you are no lady. I thought ladies fell with more grace. Swooning."
"Ha. Swooning is for teenaged girls who wear too-tight, low-rider jeans and who watch MTV and who don't eat because they're afraid they'll get fat."
They worked together to move some of the suitcases as she spoke. He rose to his feet first, and then he hesitantly offered her one of his hands.
"You sure?" she asked, picking up on his caution.
He smiled. "Hey, I'm trying to decide if you'd rather bite my hand off or take it to help yourself up."
"I don't bite."
"That's disappointing," he shot back, grinning at her.
She grinned, too, and then she took his hand and pulled herself up. She put her bags on the cart again; when she turned to look at him, he was pocketing his notebook and trying to smother his smile.
"Do you have a name, funny boy?"
"Danny."
She smiled and offered him a hand. "CJ."
"What's that short for?"
"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
Danny chuckled. "Alright. It was nice to meet you."
"Are you from around here?" she asked.
"No," he replied. "I'm just... visiting. You?"
"I'm moving," she said, gesturing at the large quantity of luggage she was toting.
"Either that or you're the world's worst packer for a weekend vacation," he joked.
She smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Danny. If we run into each other again, though, I might take it personally."
"If there's a next time," he said, already hoping that he would meet her again. "I will swerve to miss a collision---or at least make sure the landing's softer."
"A softer landing would be nice," she admitted, her voice dropping as her eyes darkened slightly. "Have a good weekend, Danny."
He waved, feeling a little bit lame, as he watched her walk away.
Two minutes later, Katie Witt walked up to him, suitcase in hand. "My gate is a hundred feet in the other direction," she pointed out as she nudged him. "At least tell me she gave you something useful?"
"Huh?"
The blonde motioned towards the tall woman who was almost out of the airport terminal. "That's Claudia Cregg. Leo brought her in as spokesperson. Rumour has it, she'll end up Press Secretary if they win."
"That's Claudia Cregg?"
"Uh, duh. She worked for EMILY's List, remember?"
"That was... Oh. CJ," he mumbled, putting two and two together.
"She didn't give you anything?"
"It wasn't that sort of conversation," he replied. He steered her towards the exit as he started to think about their next of many meetings, and how lucky he was that the woman of his dreams would be a permanent fixture in his life.
