Two Way Street
Two Way Street
Chapter 4- The Main Course
Callie/Arizona
PG-13
Standard Disclaimer: Don't own, Don't profit
There are two sides to every story. This story just happens to be about a first date
A/N- unbetad, all spelling/grammar goofs are my own
Callie-----
Dinner continued without anything major happening. The talk flowed easily and freely, I still couldn't get over how comfortable she made me feel. Self confidence has never been something I struggle with, but I'm only human. A human who gets reasonably nervous before and during dates but, not so with Arizona. She left her foot tangled with mine throughout the whole meal and even that minimal contact had me buzzing. That, or maybe the third bottle of wine, I'm not sure at this point. The food was delicious, like guilty pleasure good. I couldn't believe I had never heard of this place, although it was kind of out in the sticks. As the night went on though I couldn't help but feel a little out of place in our casual attire.
"Arizona, I've been meaning to ask you something." She looks at me with a tinge of nervousness but more curiosity so she nods her permission for me to continue. "This place is pretty swanky...why am I wearing converse and not a cocktail dress?" She's sipping her wine and my whiny question has her laughing into her glass, causing the red liquid to splash up to the rim. I stiffle my laughter for her sake as she clears her throat and uses her napkin to dab at her mouth.
"I'm sorry about that." She apologizes, allowing a shallow blush to creep up her cheeks. "Well, after dinner I have something planned and I figured a cocktail dress might not be such a great idea. Plus look around, the place is nice, but no one else is dressed up. So we fit right in." She finishes by swigging back the rest of her glass of wine. Her eyes are downcast to her meal before she nonchelantly adds, "The only thing that makes us stand out is that everyone in here hates me." She shrugs her shoulders as if what she said is no big deal.
Her eyes have yet to look up from her plate and I'm so baffled by that seemingly random statement that I just stare at her. I begin to flounder looking for an explanation, "I uhh...huh...why..?" I mumble, not knowing how to respond.
I watch as she stabs a mushroom with her fork and raises it in front of her lips. "Because I'm with the most beautiful woman in Seattle." She says it casually as if shes commenting on the gentle rain that's begun to fall outside. Her eyes focus on mine and she places the bite into her mouth, dragging it off of the utensil with her teeth. Never in my life have I ever imagined mushrooms to be sexy...until right now. I feel my cheeks heat up and as hard as I try, I can't stop the grin that stretches across my lips.
A small drip of sauce has stuck to the corner of her mouth unknown to her. I cautiosly reach across and swipe the spot with my thumb and bring it to my own lips to lick away the drop. She has been statue still since my hand had begun traveling across our table and as I teasingly clean my thumb I catch the whisper of a gasp that escapes her. "Considering you're here, I think that title is debatable." I inform her before returning my attention to the food in front of me.
She continues her frozen posture for a few more beats before shaking her head and returning back to Earth. I can only guess what she was just thinking about. The remainder of our meal contained smooth conversation, one more bottle of wine, an embarassing bought of hiccups for myself, and a few minutes of trashy hospital gossip. All laced with cheeky flirting and stolen lingering glances. When the check came she lunged for it before I could even lift a finger. I fought her on it but realized that when Arizona has her mind set on something, she doesn't budge.
After she's paid and I've thanked her repeatedly, she laces our fingers together almost on instinct alone and leads me back downstairs. I asume we're returning to her car to go home but after she reaches in and grabs our coats from the backseat she locks it and tugs me down the sidewalk. We stroll along for a few minutes before curiousity gets the best of me and I turn towards her and break the silence, "Are you going to tell me where we're headed?"
Her lips pull at the corners and her trademark dimples appear as if by magic. She brings my hand to her lips and presses a tender kiss to the back of my hand before shaking her head to me. "Nope. You're just going to have to wait and see. You'll like it, I promise."
Seriously, what is it about this woman that has the butterflies in my stomach going crazy? I realize how absurd that question is because the answer is pretty simple. Everything. Everything about her has makes me crazy.
Arizona-----
Well, I just made an ass of myself. She asked about why I made her dress down for this nice of a resterant and the question took me so much by surprise that I almost spill my wine everywhere. Dinner has been great so far, perfect even, and then I go and do something so assanine. I clear my throat to control myself and clean my lips of the wine that had sprayed up onto them. I shyly apologize and clear my throat again. "Well, after dinner I have something planned and I figured a cocktail dress might not be such a great idea. Plus look around," I wave my fork around in the air, "the place is nice, but no one else is dressed up. So we fit right in." I throw back the rest of my wine and add with as much casualness as I can manage, "The only thing that makes us stand out is that everyone in here hates me."
She looks at me like I've sprouted a second head and tries to stutter out a reply. I stab a mushroom with purpose and answer her unfinished question, "Because I'm with the most beautiful woman in Seattle." Trying to make a mushroom seductive, I slide it into my mouth and teasingly take it off the fork. Somehow that act worked because it's left her blushing and grinning in the most adorable way possible.
Suddenly her hand is traveling across the table and I freeze in anticipation of any skin contact that is about to happen. Her thumb gently wipes across my lower lip and I thank god I'm sitting down since my legs feel very week right now. She returns her hand to her side of the table and licks the drop of food off of her finger. Thank you god for chairs, thank you god for tables, thank you god for mushrooms, thank you god for sloppy eating, and thank you god for the woman across from me. I'm thanking god for every single part of this night when she breaks my focus, "Considering you're here, I think that title is debatable."
My mind fills with thoughts of tanned olive skin, whispered names, fingers tangling in long black locks, tearing of clothes, silky black lace...Eventually I shake myself out of my stuppor and the meal continues easily. We share our fourth bottle of wine, she gets the most adorable case of hiccups I have ever witnessed in my entire life, and that's saying something since I work with children. Of course we talk some trash about fellow hospital staff and shamelessly flirt. When the check comes I snatch it and ignore her constant debate about her getting it. Pssh, please...princess/princess rule here. As we're on our way out I realize that our hands are clasped together, in the back of my mind I recall reaching for hers. I smile inwardly at how easy it is to be in her presence.
After I grab our coats, I lead her down the sidewalk and we walk in a comfortable silence for a few blocks. Both of us are talkers, like we talk...a lot. So the fact that we can remain silent and there's not a bit of awkwardness, doesn't pass unnoticed by me. She finally breaks the quiet, "Are you going to tell me where we're headed?" she asks.
I can't get over how crazy this woman makes me feel. I bring her hand to my mouth to brush a kiss along the back of her palm and answer her, "Nope. You're just going to have to wait and see. You'll like it, I promise." As we keep walking the streets grow darker with less street lights and more dark alleys. I can sense her getting more nervous with each step. I unlace our fingers and reach my arm around her shoulders and pull her in close to my side. Her hand latches on around my waist and I feel her sigh with comfort. I lean over and press a kiss into her hair and marvel at the silky softness of it. We continue linked like this until I point us down a seemingly desserted alley. I feel her hesitate but just squeeze her shoulders tighter and she keeps walking.
The alley opens up into a quaint little grassy park. It's very secluded due to the odd location, but that's why it's my favorite place in all of Seattle. I had considered bringing her here but after seeing her reaction to the view at the restaurant I knew I just had to. The park only takes up the space of an empty lot and there are a handful of maple trees bordering it. The best part of the entire place is the lone wooden bench at the edge of a steep drop off. I pull her towards it and as the edge of the hill drops away ahead of us she stops dead in her tracks.