The Mech and the 'Billy (Ch. 4)
Title: The Mech and the 'Billy
Author: clanket
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: T
Summary: A/U. Callie and Arizona meet in a dive bar and hit it off.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libellous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: Sorry this took so long! Some of you might have noticed that I've been updating A Conspicuous Conspiracy a lot and that has caused me to neglect this fic. After that hiatus, however, I have an idea of where I want to take the next few chapters so I'm hoping to update both stories more frequently ☺
Ch. 4
"But I would definitely take a rain check. Don't be afraid to use that number," she finished, referring to her phone number on Callie's hand.
…
Callie smiled then reluctantly removed her arms from the blonde's waist, letting them drop back to her sides. With a quick wave Arizona said her goodbyes to Callie's friends and disappeared behind the van's sliding door.
xxx
"Hey, Cristina, have you heard from Hunt?" Callie called into the office from the front shop.
"Yeah, his first race is in an hour," she yelled back from her place in front of the computer.
"Alright, get me his stats and the video as soon as you can," Callie told her as she shrugged off her black leather jacket. Nice weather or not, that thing hugged all her curves in all the right ways and she knew it.
Making her way through the heavy red door into the garage, ensuring she held it open long enough for her dog to follow along, Callie pushed her tribal and flower-printed shirt sleeves up to her elbows. The smell of the oil and metal and solder comforted her like nothing else; it had been the only constant in her life for nearly the last decade. She smiled at her mechanics as she passed them, saying brief good mornings here and there. When she reached the metal desk at the far end of the garage she stopped to peek over the shoulder of the blonde drawing there. She took in the sketches of the Skyline GT-R from multiple angles, each showcasing a different piece of the artwork. On one of the scattered sheets Callie saw a detailed layout of the work to be placed on the left side of the car and was immediately impressed. It showed multiple rap artists depicted with Day of the Dead skulls replacing their normal features.
One had Biggie Smalls in a fedora with swirls of small flowers playing across his large chin and making up his single visible eyebrow. Small sharp leaves encircled his eyes which were the only things giving away his true identity.
That portrait flowed into the one beside it, this one with a bandana wrapped around its forehead and tied at the front, made to look like a wilting rose. Tupac. His eyes were outlined with a bold star, small flower petals lining its edges. The next had thin dreadlocks and a joint in its mouth, smoke billowing from its eye sockets. Its beard and connecting goatee were made up of delicate, intricate lines and swirls that were balanced with masculine cobwebs at its temples. Snoop Dogg.
The entire car was going to have these portraits wrapped around its centre horizontally, one flowing into the next with wisps of smoke and gun barrels.
Attached to the paper with the detailed drawings were the paint chips denoting the colour scheme for the car: deep maroon base to be decorated with a murky pink made by lightening the base colour and a golden yellow to highlight. Amazing.
"Holy crap, Teddy," Callie breathed as she reached over to the papers lining the back of the table for a closer look, causing the blonde to jump. "I knew there was a reason I hired you," she finished with a smirk and a light slap to the woman's back.
"Hey, thanks. I didn't realise you were there."
"Is this for the Rodrigues kid?" Callie asked as she flipped through the sketches.
"Yup. He wants to showcase both his inner gangster and Mexican roots on his car. Gave me free reign as long as I don't give him back a 'chick car'. His words, not mine," she added at Callie's raised eyebrow.
"He does realise that a bunch of 'chicks' are working on his car, right?"
Teddy merely lifted her shoulders and held her hands up in a sign of defeat.
"What do you think he'll say about the pink?" Callie inquired with amusement, still poring over the drawings.
"Hey, he gave me free-reign. And that's not a girly pink, especially on that dark maroon."
"And what are these?" Callie asked, holding up a sketch of 'Rodrigues' drawn out in an elegant scrawl, underlined by two smoking pistols pointing outward.
"Hey, I just do what the client tells me. He said he wanted his name painted between the tail lights so I drew it up.
"The rappers are going to go on either side of the car, wide at the back and shrinking toward the front; his name on the back and 'mi Vida' on the hood."
Callie looked at Teddy disbelievingly. "You're serious?"
"Yup," she said as she twirled back and forth on her stool. "I liked the Day of the Dead theme but the front and back ends threw me. Oh well, it's his car and he's paying."
"Yeah, I just can't believe he's willing to pay our rates for this," Callie replied as she held up the sketch of the decal for the hood.
"Hey, that's still my work you're talking about, Torres," Teddy scolded.
"I know, and it's great work but the script is basic. He could have any body shop print him up a sticker with this on it for a fraction of having you paint it on there. The portraits though? He'd be an idiot to go anywhere else for those," she praised.
Callie took a nervous breath and lowered herself onto the extra stool resting beside her designer as she placed the papers back onto the workbench before turning her attention to the dog quietly sitting by her feet. She ran her hand along his head then scratched behind his ears.
"Hey Teddy?"
"Yeah? You alright, you seem uneasy?" Teddy said, taking in the sight of a pondering Callie who refused to take her eyes off the dog in front of her.
"Yeah, um, just…I was just wondering if your friend Arizona likes dogs," Callie asked quietly.
Teddy smiled knowingly, liking that Callie felt nervous about her childhood friend.
"Well, it's been a while since we really spoke but I think her family had a dog back in the day. Some kind of retriever, I think. Why?" she asked but already knew the answer.
"I was thinking of calling her. I mean I haven't taken Ando on a nice walk in a while and it would be an easy way to get to know each other a bit without all the pressure. Plus it'd be nice to see how he feels about her, too. What do you think; would she be up for it?" Callie finished, finally looking up from the dog.
Teddy's smile grew wider. "Introducing her to your dog already? You're really serious about her, huh?"
"Come on Teddy, I'm not kidding. I don't want to scare her off by calling too soon or taking her somewhere too intense."
"Fine, fine. Yeah, I think she'll love it. Just make sure you tell her to dress casually or she might show up in a poodle skirt and heels," she joked. "And I don't think you could call too soon. Judging by how close you guys got last night, I'd say she's probably waiting by the phone for your call."
Callie threw her friend a genuine smile. "Thanks Teddy."
She played with Ando's jowls for a few moments before looking back to the woman beside her, who had gotten back to drawing on the large table.
"Hey, do you think you guys could handle the shop on your own today? It looks like everyone knows what they're doing."
"Why, you planning on going on that date right now?" the blonde teased.
Callie smirked through the blush flooding her cheeks and shrugged slightly, still petting her dog.
"We'll be fine. Besides, you deserve a day off. It's going to get busy soon enough, anyway."
"Thanks, Teddy," Callie said standing up, patting her leg for Ando to follow. "I have my cell if you need me."
Callie made her way back through the red door, passing the office and Cristina, and entered the lunch room next to it. She took a seat on the broken-in black leather couch sitting against the left wall. She flipped her phone open to locate the number she had saved in its phonebook when she got home the previous night then pressed the green call button. After three rings a voice sounded through the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hi Arizona, it's me, Callie. We, uh, we met at the bar last night after your set?"
Callie's hands had begun to sweat, her usual bravado replaced with a tingling in her abdomen.
"Callie, hi!" The voice squeaked. Arizona berated herself on the other end of the line. Why couldn't she stop from sounding so eager?
Callie let out a breath she'd been holding, relieved that Arizona remembered her and even sounded happy that she called.
"Hi."
"You said that already," Arizona pointed out and giggled.
"Oh, right, sorry. Well," Callie started as she got off the couch to pace in front of it, "I was just wondering what you were doing today? I was going to take my dog out for a walk in the foothills and then maybe reward him with a trip to the dog park and I wanted to know if you wanted to come along?
"I mean, I'll understand if you're busy seeing as it's completely last minute but I was thinking about last night and I thought you might be up for it but if you're not just say the word and-"
Arizona was chewing on her thumbnail as she listened to the brunette rant through the phone. Even if she had made plans she was sure she would have cancelled them to see the gorgeous woman from last night. She couldn't hold back the giggle that bubbled forth as she listened to the person on the other end of the line begin to doubt herself.
Callie stopped talking and pacing at the sound of the snigger.
"Arizona, are you laughing at me?" she asked pointedly.
"No, I'm laughing…with you?" she tried.
Callie chuckled. "Well that's all fine and dandy but I wasn't laughing."
"You just did; you were just a little behind the group," Arizona teased.
Callie smiled and rubbed her temples with the thumb and middle fingers of her free hand.
"I'll let that slide. So what do you say to a walk? You can meet my special guy," she tried again nervously.
Arizona smiled to herself across town, letting the silence build between them and knowing it must have been killing the brunette.
"Is this like a date?" she said finally.
Callie smiled. "If you want it to be."
"And for our first date you're introducing me to your 'special guy'?"
"Well he makes the final decision; either we both stay or you go," she jested.
Arizona laughed into the phone, setting off a brand new wave of butterflies in Callie's stomach lining. "Sure, that sounds great. What breed is he, anyway? I hope it's not some kind of lapdog because you would look silly with a little poodle all shaved down to have those pompoms on its feet and ears next to you."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with poodles. What do you have against small dogs, anyway? I love my little Chihuahua," she exclaimed.
Arizona's face dropped. She had only been kidding but now she seemed to have dug herself into a hole. She stood up from her desk and walked around to the front of it, nervously chewing on her nail once more.
"Nothing, I was just joking. It was a bad joke - I love animals," she rambled before hearing a muffled laugh come through.
"Wait, are you serious?" she asked earnestly as she removed her hand from her mouth and placed it on her hip.
"No, I'm totally messing with you," Callie teased. "He's a Doberman. Small dogs aren't really my style," she finished with a smile.
"You're so mean," Arizona exclaimed but relaxed immediately.
"I was just getting you back for laughing at me. What goes around comes around," Callie replied lightly. "So are you still coming with us or did I just ruin my chances of seeing you again?"
Arizona smiled. "You're evil, you know. But no, you're still going to see me. You did just get yourself a few points against getting a kiss goodnight, though," she flirted.
Callie sat back down on the couch, glad that their easy banter had resumed. She reached out with her left hand to rub down Ando's back.
"That's too bad. I guess I'll just have to work extra hard to make up for them."
Just then Cristina came into the room and sat down next to her, mouthing 'video'. Callie nodded before returning to her phone conversation.
"Alright, so how about I pick you up at one?"
"That sounds perfect. I'll text you my address," Arizona giddily replied.
"Okay, see you soon. Remember to wear something comfortable," Callie added quickly, remembering Teddy's warning.
"Bye, Callie."
"Was that your new girlfriend?" Cristina smirked.
"Not yet," Callie said as she stood up. "Soon though, I hope." She smiled at her friend and jerked her head toward the door.
"Let's go check out that video."
Once in the next room the two women sat down at the computer to watch the video sent over e-mail by one of their apprentice mechanics.
The clip showed Owen's pearl grey Supra beating out a white Civic hatchback. Good thing, too. Everyone knows that only newbies and wannabes race Civics.
"Shit," Callie swore under her breath as she scrubbed back through the video. "He needs to shift later, how many times do I have to tell him that? He won't make it past the third heat if he doesn't step it up and all the work I put in on his engine will have been a waste.
"Call him and tell him to shift half a second later, right as his tachometer redlines or I'll kick his ass."
Cristina nodded, knowing when to stay quiet, and closed the video window to get back to work. She opened the program she used to design the engines and chassis.
Callie glanced over at the work and recognized the model. Furrowing her brow she asked, "Is that Hunt's car?"
Cristina turned around in surprise, not having expected her boss to be checking on her work.
"Uh, yeah. I thought I could tweak it a little to lower the wind resistance. I thought it might help him win some races," she mumbled, slightly unsure of herself. She knew that being on the clock meant working on client's cars but Owen is part of their team and he deserved their support when he was struggling.
Callie nodded at her in understanding. "Good job. Let me know if it works out and we can work on it afterhours a bit."
Cristina nodded back before turning to the computer. "Have fun on your date, Torres. And tell Rockabilly Barbie she owes me five bucks for last night."
Callie smiled while she rolled her eyes. Of course she would remember the cover charge.
"I have my phone if you guys need me, but try not to need me," Callie said as she rolled her sleeves back down and slid her arms into her jacket.
"And don't let Sloan call me, I know he'll just want to pull my leg."
With that Callie made her way back out of the shop to her awaiting chariot. She grinned as she opened the back door.
"Up," she commanded. The Doberman quickly obeyed, jumping onto the back seat and promptly laying down on it.
Callie shut the door only to open the one right in front of it, slipping into her own seat behind the wheel. Just as she was about put her key in the ignition she received a text. When she opened it she realized that it was Arizona's address. Callie smiled widely before closing the text and returning to the task of starting her car.
Once the engine roared to life, Callie grabbed her sporty sunglasses and placed them on her face before revving the engine. Putting the car into reverse, she turned around to see where she was going. Her foot on the brake, Callie looked at Ando and reached her right hand back to scratch under his chin.
"We're going on a date, Fernando baby. And you better behave," she finished with a playful glower behind her glasses then finally backed out of the spot.
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