Fic: Mailed, Chapter 3 (CSI Miami, Eric Delko / Ryan Wolfe)
Title: Mailed, Chapter 3
Pairing: Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
CSI Miami Main List
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Interlude Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
Eric didn’t expect Ryan to contact him in the middle of his morning after, but when he checked Speed’s e-mails a new mail was waiting for him. It was sent just before six. Eric checked his watch, it wasn’t even six thirty. He clicked the message open.
I’m sorry about last night. I don’t have a problem with drinking, I promise. I just let the nerves get the better of me. Hope I wasn’t too much of a burden.
Lunch today? I’ll pay, as a little apology. Write to me if you’re free between twelve and one.
Eric grinned and opened a new message space. He wrote a quick message and hit send. The response came before he could finish his coffee.
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“Well?”
“Well what?”
“How did it go?” Calleigh asked, peeking from behind the door of her locker. “Did you tell him?”
“I… I told him. Some of it.” Eric stammered. He pulled his shirt of and grabbed new one from his locker. “You know… he didn’t really need to hear all the gruesome details.”
“How did he react?”
“He was… emotional. Had wine with dinner and got really drunk. I drove him back to his place.”
“Do you think it was serious for him? I mean was he serious about Speed?”
“I don’t think he even knows the meaning of casual.”
“That makes it even sadder.” She nodded. “Maybe when you spill your guts out to someone for months, he feels close even though you’ve never really met him.” She closer her locker and picked up her wallet from the bench. “Do you want to go out for lunch? I’m going with Valera and Anna, you could-”
“No thanks. I already go plans.”
“Too bad, I’ll have to listen to one of Anna’s rants again about how depressing it is to lunch with all female company. See you later.” She walked out of the locker-room and headed down the hallway to the lobby. He was greeted by a familiar squeal, and she recognised the source even before she saw the person in question.
Valera standing in the middle of the lobby with her arms around a man’s neck, jumping up and down in sync with her enthusiastic squeals. Valera spotted Calleigh and waved for her to come closer.
“Come here, I wanna introduce you to someone.” She let go off the man, but was still grinning like a lunatic. “Calleigh meet Ryan, Ryan meet Calleigh.”
“Nice to meet you.” Ryan nodded and gave her a polite smile.
“Ryan used to work in the PD, now he’s… I have no idea where you’re now. Where are you?”
“Right here, I haven’t moved.”
“And he does stand-up too… Seriously, what do you do now?”
“I’m at the Carradene Cosmetics, I work in their research lab.”
“Do you get any free samples?”
“You don’t need wrinkle creams.”
“That’s what I love about you.” Valera giggled like a teenager. “You can make white lies sound so sincere.”
“I’m always sincere.” Ryan laughed. “I’ll see what I can do about some samples if you promise you won’t spread them between bagels.”
“I did that once!” She giggled and smacked him lightly on the head. “And I didn’t eat them myself, I fed them to ex`s new girlfriend. That chick needed all the inner beauty she can get, maybe that stuff helped her.”
Anna marched into the lobby pulling off her lab coat and dumped the coat behind the reception desk.
“I’m ready to go and-” She paused to eye the man between the two women. “Oh, you already started from the desert…”
“Don’t even think about. it” Valera growled. “Let’s go, I’m starving.” she turned to Ryan poked him on the chest with her index finger. “And you… I haven’t heard from you for a year, so we got some catching up. Call me or I’ll hunt you down.” She grabbed Anna by her handback, almost strangling her with the strap that was going across he upper body. Valera guided her outside like proud dog owner would walk her poodle and Calleigh followed, trying to suppress a laughter.
“Can I help you?” The receptionist inquired. “And sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve know Val for years, she was always like that.”
“Are you here to meet somebody? I can call-”
“No need, Sherry.” Eric rushed down the hallway. “I’m here. I run into Cooper and I couldn’t shake him. He just kept talking and talking.”
“That’s okay, I was well entertained.” Ryan smiled. “I met someone I haven’t seen for a long time.”
“Who?”
“Maxine Valera. I didn’t even know she was working here, we kinda lost touch.”
“That’s… interesting.” Eric forced his face cheerful. “Let’s go I’m hungry.”
“Your car or mine?”
“You got your car from Milo’s?”
“Yeah, I got it in the morning on my way to work.” Ryan followed him out of the lab. When they stepped into the bright midday sunlight, Ryan stopped in the middle of the stairs.
“Ryan?”
“Wait a minute.” Ryan tilted his head back and closed his eyes, basking in the warm sun. “I’ve lived here for years, and I still get surprised at least couple times a week.”
“Surprised?”
“The sunshine. When I was growing up we had sunshine three months of a year, and rain and clouds and snow the rest of the time.”
“Yeah, you grew up in Boston.” Eric remembered. “Pretty different from Miami.”
“I hated cold… I could never get warm enough.” Ryan smirked. He opened his eyes and walked the rest of the stairs, following Eric to the staff parking lot. Eric unlocked his car and got on the drivers seat.
“So… I meant what I said last night.” Ryan started carefully.
“What part of it?”
“That I really had fun.”
“That’s good to hear. I wasn’t sure if you even remember the whole night in the morning.”
“I wasn’t that drunk. I remember when you brought me home.” He leaned closer. “The Good Night Kiss.”
“Did you have a good night?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t get a Good Morning Kiss.” Ryan pressed his lips against Eric and kissed him. Eric grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.
“Little late for that, but perfect timing for a Good Midday Kiss.” He chuckled into the kiss, making sure they didn’t loose the lips contact for too long. “And then a Good Afternoon Kiss.”
“I…” Ryan dived in for another kiss before he continued. “I almost forgot how much I like kissing…”
“Are we still going for lunch or are we staying here?”
“Right…” Ryan pulled back and hooked his seatbelt. “Sorry, I just got into it-”
“I wasn’t complaining.” Eric interrupted. “Just wondering, that’s all.”
“Sorry. When you’re out of the game for a while… You get going over one kiss and then-”
“Hey.” Eric interrupted him again. “That kiss last night got me going too, so you weren’t the only one. I wouldn’t mind staying here my whole lunch hour making out like teenagers, but my break is kinda short and I’m hungry. But we can do this again when we come back.”
“You got a deal.” Ryan agreed. “Let’s roll.”
Chapter 4