Jolly Mood - Part 1
Title: Jolly Mood
Status: Three-part short story. 1/3 (~ 6950 words for this part)
Rated: PG-13 for language - Mature content in the next two parts
Characters: House and Cuddy + Wilson and Sam
Summary: House and Cuddy are at Sam and Wilson's, finishing dinner. But House doesn't want to leave just yet, because... he's in a playful mood. So he suggests a game. The rule is simple: first one to blush, loses! A Silly - Just For Fun... thing. A little bit AU, since Wilson and Sam are still a couple, although I guess the timeline should be the current one (6-7 months after "Now What").
A/N: I wanted to call it "Playful Mood" at first, but then I chose Jolly, cuz it reminds me of the French word "JOLI", which means beautiful. And both kinda fit the mood... I think.
Disclaimer: OK. Fine! it's not (all) mine. It belongs to David Shore, the lucky b... * sigh*
comments are... and more... :)
** JOLLY MOOD **
It starts innocently, just as any kind of stupid, and of course kinky idea that crosses House's mind in these after-dinner usually floating moments nobody really knows how to fill, ending up leaving hastily to get back home instead. Except House doesn't want to get home, at least not yet. They had a very enjoyable dinner, all homemade of course, and House is even inclined to admit Wilson's cuisine was competitive enough to have given him the desire to return the invitation, maybe up the ante with another dinner, at his place this time.
Sam, for once, has been… bearable, or maybe it is Cuddy's presence, amazing and perfect as ever which has made those hours passed so fast, but the truth is House wants to stay a little longer. And, if there is anything to expect from Cuddy's current unquenchable thirst that would promise him a wild, uncensored after, even maybe ride home, House is definitely willing to make sure her glass of wine isn't going to empty anytime soon.
But it feels like the end of the evening approaches nonetheless. Wilson stands up and starts piling up the dishes ready to take them out of the table. Sam stands up as well and begins gathering items too. Her hand comes dangerously close to the bottle of wine in the process and House promptly snatches it out of her reach before she gets the chance to take it away from his grasp. She raises an eyebrow, amused, and House cautiously puts the bottle back on the table.
"Game time!" He exclaims, while Wilson who has walked in the kitchen, is putting the plates down into the sink.
He turns around and eyes House suspiciously over the counter. He knows that intonation too well to be completely relaxed by his friend's suggestion and the semi-suspicious gaze he sends back House's way is undeniable proof of his instinctive hesitation to feel excited at the moment.
"Come on!" House challenges with a mischievous smile, "It's not even late. And I'm sure the ladies are in a playful mood right now!" He adds a theatrical waggling movement of his eyebrows for emphasis as he turns to Cuddy who just looks back at him with a blank face.
"Didn't you once tell me some of House's sentences should be read as signals to run as fast as you can?" Sam asks with a slight pout, turning to Wilson who is now coming back from the kitchen. "Isn't that one, one of them?"
"If you wanna run when I'm suggesting games, then I wonder what you're gonna do when you'll have serious reasons to run away from me," House declares, with a little smirk, "teleportation, maybe?"
"Why would I have serious reasons to run away from you?" Sam asks, playing dangerously with fire, and being aware of it, as the little sparkle of defy in her eyes tends to demonstrate.
House opens his mouth to answer but the soft touch of Cuddy's hand on his forearm diverts his attention just in time. He turns his head to the side and she smiles at him, one of her devastating smiles she knows he is completely unable to resist.
"My glass is empty." She pouts, and puts out the crystal cup practically under his nose for him to see.
House beams triumphantly and grabs the bottle of wine. But instead of pouring some ruby nectar in her glass right away, he stands up and nonchalantly walks in the living room with the bottle in his hand. Every one stares at him, a bit perplexed. After carefully putting the bottle down on the coffee table in front of him, House awkwardly slides on the floor, and sits, his back resting against the couch, wincing for a second when he has to bend his bad leg in the process, but quickly stretching it into a more comfortable position.
"What are you doing?" Wilson is the first to ask.
Cuddy swivels on her chair and looks at him with a coy smile, indicating she already knows his answers.
"I'm making myself comfy for the game," House replies, "The yuppie chairs your decorator sold you may look very… trendy, but at some point, they're just becoming ill-fitting for my thigh. We'll be better here to play… Honey buns!" He then calls out playfully, without actually looking in Cuddy's direction but bending over to take the bottle on the table, "Didn't you say you needed a refill?"
She instantly stands up, ready to join him, taking her glass with her. Wilson rolls his eyes, and puffs visibly annoyed, which upsets Cuddy a little.
"Wilson, come on!" She whispers to him, so low she's almost just mouthing the words, while looking him intensely in the eyes, purposely triggering his sense of guilt with an imploring gaze.
She's a little tipsy but she feels good. The evening's been nice until then and House seems in such a relaxed mood. Why can't they just enjoy the moment and have fun? A little voice inside her, which has been shut down for too long, wants to protest. Wilson catches her look, and all his resistance melts down in a second. This is stupid, indeed. They sure can use some carefree moments, just between friends, after all the drama they've lived through in the past months, laugh, and even maybe create bonds, he thinks looking in Sam's direction.
Wilson sighs, surrendering and grabs the glasses on the table.
"Okay." He says, and walks in House's direction, carrying three extra glasses with him.
An immense grateful smile flickers on Cuddy's lips and she exchanges a look with Sam, who smirks back at her suspiciously, not really ready to jump in excitement just yet, but still willing to give it a try. They all leave the dining open space towards the living room. Wilson plops down into the club armchair in front of House, quickly followed by Sam who sits down on the large arm of the chair next to him, while Cuddy, across the table, seductively walks over House's stretched legs and bends over to give him a quick but sexy peck on the lips, before taking a seat in the couch behind him.
"Gimme your glass." House says to her, self-confidently as she wiggles to adjust herself, and drops her high-heeled shoes on the floor, bending her legs and sliding her now bare feet under her butt. Her knees touch House's shoulders. She hands him out her glass then and he promptly seizes it to pour her a generous volume of wine, filling it almost to the rim.
"House! Stop, that's too much!" Cuddy protests, unconvincingly, giggling a little.
He turns around and gives the full glass back to her, without a comment, just a beguiling smile, which irresistibly radiates male pheromones and sends a little warm tickling shiver down the small of her back, imperceptibly causing her to arch forward, as she accepts the glass from his hand and stares intensely into his eyes as if they were both alone in the room.
"So!" Wilson exclaimed with an oddly high-pitched voice, betraying his discomfort at the obvious rising sexual tension between his friends and fearing, if he doesn't stop them, they might start taking clothes off next, "What's that game you have in mind that you want to play?"
House instantly turns his focus back on Wilson and smiles widely, visibly already thrilled by the prospect of his game.
"Quite easy," He explains "We ask each other questions and the first one of us who manages to make someone blush wins!"
Wilson's eyes widen out, as he stiffens in his armchair, alarmed.
"That's it? That's your game? You want people to ask each other questions until they embarrass someone enough to make them blush?" The look on Wilson's face conveys nothing other than pure incredulous dismay.
"Come on, it'll be fun!" House counters, with a slightly wicked grin.
"Fun? Yeah, sure, maybe this is your definition of fun, but seriously…" Wilson shifts uncomfortably in his armchair, barely daring to look up at Sam who, though he would probably refuse to admit it, is the primary source of his concern right now. The truth being that he desperately wants to avoid throwing his girlfriend into House's claws and watch him shred her into pieces with his perfectly inappropriate questions.
"What's the price?" Sam then asks challengingly, literally catching Wilson off guard, just when he was about to decline House's offer politely and try to talk everyone into playing whatever board games he could think of instead.
"So you're playing?" House challenges.
"No, we're not…" Wilson replies, unsure.
"Oh please, James!" Cuddy suddenly groans, "House is right: this is just for fun! What kind of bad things do you fear can happen?"
"Huh? Do you know House at all?" Wilson asks, with a bemused face.
"Certainly as much as you do... If not more…" She says in a teasing voice, sliding her hand over House's shoulder and beginning to slowly fondle the round shape of his bicep. House tilts his head back to meet her gaze and sends her a cocky smile.
But Sam's deliberate cough draws his attention back to her.
"I thought we were just going to play, you know, just to entertain ourselves." He tells her. "I was not necessarily thinking about any price."
Wilson shakes his head, unconvinced, as if saying: 'yeah sure, you willing to play without any counterpart… that's a concept I'm gonna believe!' But, the one thing he doesn't know though is that there is indeed a counterpart; only that it has nothing to do with the game itself, really. Right now, the game's only become a pretext. What House furiously wants is just to see Cuddy loosen up, for his sole further benefit. This, is foreplay now. Wilson and Sam are just convenient presences to spice up the game a little in the process. He knows Cuddy's competitive nature and he knows she'll enjoy playing the game for him, and that she'll take it seriously too, to prove Wilson a point. What kind of point, he's not sure, but he's witnessed her putting Wilson back in place with a remark full of territory possessiveness more than once in the past and, he has to confess, this is the kind of things which undeniably turns him on. So there is no way the combination of wine, naughty games and an extra dose of that odd, little grain of irrational jealousy Cuddy displays when it comes to claim House as hers over Wilson, become anything other than pure delight for him. And House is ready to make any kind of concession to reach that goal, if needed.
"This is less fun when there's no price." Sam objects.
"Ok, how about a bottle of champagne?" House declares offhandedly, hoping his suggestion will be enough to motivate Sam and Wilson to finally enter the game.
"You have no bottle of champagne with you." Wilson feels the need to remind him.
"Yeah, but you have."
"Alright! So, to sum up, the price is a bottle of champagne I am providing?"
"Yes, but this is purely a question of convenience." House argues, smiling.
"What if I win?"
"I'll make sure to have a case delivered on your desk at PPTH first thing tomorrow morning."
"Can we start to play?" Cuddy demands impatiently, as she bends over House and grips his shoulder for leverage, not to topple over him while she's putting her now empty glass of wine on the coffee table.
"I agree." Sam says leaning to the side slightly and wrapping Wilson's shoulders with her arm. "Let's start to play!"
"Cool." House says, rubbing his palms against each other with eagerness.
"How do we determine who asks the questions and to whom?" Wilson enquires, resignedly, knowing that his only chance of salvation at this point is only guaranteed by the level of rules he's going to ensure.
"We're four, so…"
"Oh, we don't pair up by couples" Cuddy exclaimed, sounding disappointed.
"No," Sam quickly replies keenly, not giving House enough time to think of a suitable disagreeing answer himself, "Every man for himself!"
The mere idea of having Sam as an ally, without her even knowing she is, makes House inwardly smile. Beam to be more precise.
"Are you sure honey?" Wilson asks, looking already defeated.
"Yes." Sam replies assertively and it leaves no doubt about whether she really means it or not.
"We could use dice," House starts to suggest, though not really sounding very enthusiastic, "two dice combined would allow scoring a maximum of twelve. Since we're four, we could each pick three numbers between one and twelve, and then if we throw the dice and one of our numbers is out, it'll be our turn so…"
"Oh please!" Cuddy puffs, cutting him short, "That rule is totally boring! Who cares about whose turn it is and I don't know what else? That's a game! We just throw questions and that's all!" And before anyone has time to react or protest, she sits up straight a little and stares at Wilson with a coy smile, "Wilson!," she calls challengingly, "Why are you afraid to play that game?"
Wilson stares at her with his mouth agape for a few seconds and then he swallows uneasily.
"I… uh… I'm not afraid!" He protests stuttering a little in the process.
"Has the game already started?" Sam asks for clarification.
"Uhmm," House pouts, "maybe we should call it a warm-up for now, cuz, judging by the color of Wonder Boy's cheeks, I'm not sure he's completely ready yet!"
"Wha…WHAT?" Wilson exclaimed, vexed. "I'm as ready as everyone else!"
"Don't get angry," Sam whispers, as she leans down a little to come closer to his face and speak into his ear, patting affectionately on his shoulder, "You're always reddening when you're angry."
The look of complete disbelief and possible consternation which spreads on Wilson's face speaks volume about how much support he's now aware he'll be getting from his girlfriend in this situation. "Every man for himself, indeed!" he thinks. Well, in that case…
"What are you doing?" House asks, incredulous as Wilson suddenly stands up and walks away towards the kitchen. "You're giving up? Already?"
"On the contrary!" Wilson replies, opening the fridge and bending over to take something in the bottle compartment. A second later, he straightens up and waves a bottle of champagne triumphantly in the air, "Just getting the price, so we can finally get this game started!"
"That a boy!" House guffaws with a groan.
Wilson comes back and sits back in the leather club armchair. He lays the bottle in the middle of the table, solemnly, like a trophy waiting to be claimed. Taking advantage of this floating moment, House grabs the bottle of wine and, not losing track of his own secret goal, starts pouring a dose of dark burgundy liquid in the glasses in front of him.
"Not for me, thanks." Sam declines, putting out her hand to stop him.
House squints at her interrogatively.
"Afraid of losing control?" He tantalizes.
"Nope!" She answers a bit too quickly.
House's eyebrows arch in mock surprise. Sam stares at him, visibly challenged, and raises her chin up.
"Only half a glass then." She finally yields.
House tilts his head down, faking to concentrate on his gesture, to hide his victorious smile. A minute later, he hands every one out a glass of wine. When he's about to turn around to give Cuddy hers, he's surprised to see her slowly slide at his side and sit down next to him on the floor, her back against the couch as well. She sends him a killing smile and puts out her hand to take her glass.
"Let the best man win!" She purrs, tinkling her glass against his, planting her sparkling eyes into his.
Not really aware of it, House licks his lower lips with his tongue, narrows his eyes and stares intensely at her. He feels drawn to her face, irresistibly, and he leans down slowly, imperceptibly even, just a few inches forwards, mesmerized by the power of her gaze, the rosy pulp of her lips, the perfect softness of her skin...
"Ahem!" Wilson coughs, clearing his throat conspicuously.
House readjusts himself and turns in his direction with an innocent smile.
"Sorry!" He says, not in the least bit looking like he is, "Cuddy's just wishing me luck."
"Yeah, you'll need some for sure!" Wilson teases, in a tone that's supposed to sound a little provoking, "So House! Why don't you tell us… where were you today, around three?" He then asks with a self-satisfied smile, looking proud of himself for throwing his little bomb.
"He was in the clinic." Cuddy answers assertively.
"Ha! Yeah, but…" Wilson begins, his smile widening, but soon fading out when Cuddy adds:
"In exam room two, taking a nap." She completes calmly, taking Wilson aback.
"What? You mean you knew he was… sleeping?" He says, aghast.
Cuddy shakes her head and looks at him with a sorry look.
"Duh! Wilson… Come on…" She brings her glass to her mouth and slowly drinks a sip of wine before carrying on, keeping her voice unthreatening and neutral, "By the way House! I think you know what that means, right? You're gonna make up twice your skipped clinic hours tomorrow which, if I'm not mistaken, brings it to… hmm" She looks up for a second and frowns… "Twenty… two... four... no, si…! Forget it! You'd need at least two days to make up…"
House shoots her a coy glance, not feeling embarrassed for one second when he realizes she actually knew he wasn't working, not really surprised she actually does, since he can't even remember when the last time she didn't know exactly what he was doing or where he was hiding was. He almost wants to take her in his arms suddenly, but instead just looks at her fondly for a short moment before turning back to Wilson.
"Wow! Is that your game strategy to make me blush?" He exclaims with a wide beam, "I think you really gotta get tougher or that bottle of champagne is not going back in your fridge!"
Wilson opens his mouth to protest but House is more prompt than him and speaks before he can.
"Sam!" He hails playfully, "Where's the wildest place you and Wilson ever did it?"
"House, you are not going to make this about sex!" Wilson instantly protests angrily.
"Why? Do you know a more perfect subject to blush over?"
"Your jerkiness? But of course, that would require for you to have a conscience!" Wilson scowls grumpily.
"So, you pass?" House asks Sam quietly, conspicuously ignoring Wilson, who's occupied with checking on his girlfriend with a panicked gaze.
Sam readjusts herself on the arm of the chair and smiles.
"We did it once… in the MRI room."
Cuddy practically chokes on her wine upon hearing Sam's confession but, as soon as she recovers, she shoots both Sam and Wilson a deathly administrative glare from across the table.
"You had sex in an MRI machine that costs half a million dollar?" She blusters.
Wilson gulps and looks down, contrite, unable to sustain her gaze. Sam, however unmoved, clarifies serenely.
"Not in the machine per se. We did it on a chair in the monitoring room."
"Wow!" House can't help chuckling, "While a patient was undergoing an exam?" He asks, fascinated.
Sam rolls her eyes and puffs.
"Yeah sure!" She replies sarcastically. "Of course not! We were alone…"
"You mobilized the MRI room to frolic during work hours?" Cuddy enquires surprising herself with how much calm she's actually welcoming the news, even finding it oddly funny, in a way.
"I'm sure it didn't last long enough to prevent too many patients from accessing the exam room." House says in an exaggeratedly reassuring tone, "Maybe just half the usual duration of the…"
"Can we drop this now?" Wilson huffs, sounding utterly upset.
"See?" House tells him grinning, "It's not about sex. Your sense of guilt is gonna make you blush long before you'll have to handle any more of my embarrassing questions."
Cuddy narrows her eyes and leans forward putting her hand on House's thigh to steady her.
"He's not blushing." She declares, with an official tone, as if she was speaking as some sort of referee in the game.
House's eyes fall on her hand on his thigh and although Wilson's cheeks undeniably flushed in embarrassment, even just for a second, he keeps his focus on the warm sensation of her touch on his leg, and most of all, the fact that she seems unaware of having her hand on him, even less it ever so slightly beginning to stroke him a little, just above the kneecap, almost innocently…
"You're safe." House states decisively. "At least, Cuddy says so..."
"Hmm, yeah. But we'll talk about that later!" She threatens, half-seriously, half-smiling, with a cute wrinkle of the nose.
"And you?" Sam suddenly asks nonchalantly.
"What?" Cuddy says, taken off guard.
"I mean, where was your guys' wildest place?"
"You're asking that to me?" House says with a gruff voice. Sam nods silently. "Well… it was…" He turns to Cuddy's and interrogates her with a questioning gaze.
"It was… uh… it was on the hood of Wilson's car." She glances at House and flickers a swift side-smile to him. "Last week… Tuesday, I think."
"WHAT?" Wilson exclaims indignant, and then he shakes his head vigorously, closing his eyes shut, as if to prevent any image from forming in his mind.
"Yeah, we'd love to do it on my bike," House explains, with a serious face turning to Cuddy for approval, "But we fear it might not be steady enough, you know... Right baby?" Cuddy holds back her smile and nods solemnly.
"Right. And my car was dirty cuz I didn't have time to get it washed so… we arrived in the parking garage and your car was there… all shiny…" She stops and sighs, looking at Wilson, as she bites her lips with a look of mischief on her face.
Wilson puffs and stares at her, then at House, appalled.
"You're lying."
"Nooo." Cuddy protests, holding back a giggle.
"You never did it on the hood of my car! Or anyone's car for that matter!" He states assertively. "Even less, in the hospital's parking garaget!"
"So what?" Cuddy concedes, "The goal of the game is to NOT blush. Am I blushing?"
"No, but you don't answer the question either."
"Where does it say I have to?"
Wilson's mouth drops open in astonishment.
"So you can say whatever you want, and… that's it!"
"Yeah, deal with it." House answers with a grin.
"And Sam just confessed you and her did it in the MRI room, so don't push this too far." Cuddy warns.
"You go, girl!" House exclaims proudly, sitting up straight and challenging the "other couple" across the table with a victorious gaze.
"Uh… Who said we really did it in the MRI room?" Wilson attempts a self-confident reply to confuse Cuddy.
But her reaction is immediate and final. She bursts into laughter and shakes her face, bouncing her curls off her forehead.
"Wilson, nice try, but you can't lie. You did it in the MRI room. That's all."
Wilson hangs his head in shame, defeated, and Cuddy wiggles triumphantly for a second, looking absolutely content with herself. House's lungs inflate with an irresistible feeling of pride, which he can't really explain but which, at the same time, undeniably makes him feel good. And right. As if things were beginning to fall back in place in his life. Finally. He wants to kiss her in that moment; make love to her. He wants her. Damn! He wants her every minute of the day and every second of the night, when he can't sleep and he just lies there, beside her, watching her chest going up and down and counting her breathings, cradled by the soft sound of her quiet, almost inaudible snores. He didn't even tell her she snores. She'd get pissed, but the truth is he finds it adorable.
He looks at her, and instead of kissing her like he wants to, he leans down to grab the bottle of wine.
"Want some more wine?"
"Sure!"
Her smile is bewitching. He pours the alcohol into her glass and gives it to her. She brings it to her lips, sipping several gulps elegantly before putting it back on the table. House sighs voluptuously. God, she's sexy!
"How many times a week do you guys do it?" House asks then, the question suddenly popping in his head having probably a lot to do with how intense his desire for Cuddy is right now.
"I'm NOT answering that question!" Wilson protests outraged.
"Really? Wow, so that must not be very often…" House teases.
"I can lie!" Wilson hits back, with his chin up.
"Yeah, even better! So now, whatever number you're gonna answer, we'll know it's an overestimation…" House chuckles gleefully, and Cuddy giggles too, with her head down, trying to hide her amusement. Damn, that game is really enjoyable, House thinks, staring at Wilson, who's just realized he's been trapped at his own game.
"Oh please!" Sam huffs, rolling her eyes, "We don't need to lie." She peers at House daringly. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Wilson and I do it three or four times a week." She declares, with a slight edge of pride in her tone.
"WHAT?" Cuddy exclaims all of a sudden, looking totally stunned. "How is that possible? You don't even work in the same hospital!" She purses her lips and swings her head to the side to look at House with sorry eyes.
House frowns, incredulous, not sure he understands where the problem is.
"How is that even relevant to the question?" He asks carefully, still intrigued by her reaction.
"Yeah, I mean, how many times do you…" Wilson starts, taking advantage of the situation to bounce back the question.
Cuddy pouts sulkily and shrugs.
"Well, it depends… once, or sometimes twice but…"
"You and House only do it once a week?" Sam repeats, visibly surprised by the revelation. "Wow, I'd never thought you…"
"Now, wait, wait, wait!" Cuddy interrupts, seizing her glass of wine. "What's the question again?"
House suddenly realizes where this is going and he beams, turning to the side to look at her.
"The question is," he clarifies, still smiling, "'how many times a week do we do the crazy sexy mambo?"
"Oh my god! You meant a week?" Cuddy giggles ingenuously "I thought the question was 'how many times a day?' silly me…" She takes a deep breath and brings the glass to her mouth to drink another sip of wine, while looking at Wilson and Sam's stunned faces over the rim.
"Once a day…" Sam mumbles.
"Or twice…" Cuddy corrects, matter-of-factly.
"Wow!" Wilson's mouth stays open for a second and he stares at Cuddy with a blank face. "You've been together for what? like, six, or seven months and you still…"
"What can I say?" House declares, solemnly, "She's insatiable and, I aim to serve…"
"And he serves well…" Cuddy adds coyly, with a low voice.
"You're tipsy," House whispers into Cuddy's ear leaning down to her, so that she's the only one to hear what he says, "but please don't change a thing…"
Cuddy throws her head back and let out a brief throaty laugh. Wilson gulps, uneasy, and his Adam's apple looks like it's going to tear open his trachea on its way down his throat. But he coughs, to chase away his discomfort, and sets his lips, taking in a long puff of air through his nostrils, remaining as imperturbable as ever.
"Damn!" Cuddy grumbles, "I thought that would be it! But I must admit you do know how to control yourself…"
Wilson can't help laughing when he hears such a spontaneous confession.
"We do our best!" He answers, accompanying his words with a chivalrous bowing nod of the head.
"Why don't you kiss him now?" Sam suggests suddenly, interrupting the civilities.
"Who, me?" Wilson asks, panicked.
"Watch out…" House instantly groans, stiffening.
Sam notices his alpha male reaction and smiles, amused.
"No, I meant you. Cuddy, why don't you kiss House?"
"This is not 'truth or dare'" House replies, with a definite tone.
"Yeah, but the goal is to make someone blush, right?"
Cuddy slowly puts her glass back on the coffee table in front of her and then she looks Sam right in the eyes with a female bitchy faint smile.
"Sure! But the ones who may end up blushing aren't probably the ones you think about…"
"How would I know that? We never saw you two share a real kiss." Sam replies tit for tat, with the same smile.
Cuddy turns to the side, and then starts leaning towards House's face, resolute to prove to Sam she's dangerously playing with fire if she wants to challenge her in that department! Damn, she's a hot kisser and she's gonna show them… But just as her slightly parted lips are about to connect with House's, he firmly grips her by the wrists and draws her apart determinedly.
"Hey girls! What the hell?" Wilson harrumphs, quite simultaneously. He shifts into the armchair to turn in Sam's direction and stares disapprovingly at her. "Sam! Seriously, this is getting a bit sick, here… What are you thinking about?"
"Yeah, Sam, what are you thinking about?" House repeats, mimicking Wilson's tone and adding a bit of emphasis to it, frowning in fake shock. "If you need a porn demonstration, you know, we're not the right persons…"
"House!" Wilson demurs with a furious glare.
Sam's eyes widen out and Wilson instantly lifts his hand to cover her knee reassuringly.
"He's a jerk. It's a bad joke. Forget it." He sends a cold-hearted glower in House's direction, promising him a slow, painful death if he dares say one more word.
House is undoubtedly in a jolly mood tonight, so he just smiles back and nods, indicating he's got the message and will keep the juicy details for himself. But, by the way Sam glances from Wilson to him then back to Wilson with a perplexed frown, and a look of perfect incredulity, it seems he won't even need to be the one bringing the answers anyway, as he's now sure there'll be some clarification in the Wilson-Carr's residence once Cuddy and him will be gone.
"I could have handled kissing you." Cuddy confesses in a low whisper against the skin of his neck, as she bends to the side and rests her head atop his shoulder for a short while, rubbing her cheek against the cotton of his creased shirt.
"Yeah, I know." He tells her, grabbing her by the arm to straighten her up and pull her aside. Reluctantly. But that's not something he'll admit.
Sam, who hasn't said a word, studies them attentively from across the table, looking intrigued and almost fascinated at the same time. If Cuddy was paying attention, she'd say she maybe even looks jealous a little. But that, of course, is not something Sam will admit either.
"Ok, back to questions then!" She says, shifting to the side and slithering ever so slightly towards Wilson into the armchair, and then, just nonchalantly enough, sliding her hand in the back of his head and combing his hair with her fingers. "What happened after the crane collapsed that got you two to get together?"
"That's none of your business." House replies in a groan.
"Ohh? Is that an embarrassing question?" Sam teases.
"Nope!" House narrows his eyes and stares at her with a poker face.
"Maybe you'd prefer to go back to the kissing option then?" Sam proposes, with an undeniable glitter of revenge in her eyes, saying that she didn't quite appreciate the confusing, incomprehensible porn allusion he just did a few moments before. No, she didn't like being left without a clue, at all.
"Neither. It's just that it's private." House objects, adamant.
"Sure and the wildest place where James and I did it isn't!" She retorts, hardly managing to hide her annoyance.
"Not my fault if you answered the question!" House scoffs. "Nobody put a gun to your head and forced you."
"So you're not answering?" Sam insists, "Wow, what's that dirty secret you can't share that makes it look so mysterious?"
Cuddy notices the tension, and she straightens her back against the couch, just enough to look Sam directly in the eyes over the table without lifting her head up.
"I went to his place," She says in a very calm voice. "And I told him I love him. Luckily for me," she stresses the words deliberately, while her hand reaches for House's along his thigh and starts stroking it lightly with her fingertips, "he didn't throw me out. We made love. Twice… I mean, in a row, because otherwise, we did it four times that day."
Silence falls in the room; the kind of silence that could easily be cut in slices with a knife.
"Does that answer your question?" Cuddy then adds with a neutral voice, which sounds more icy than a thousand threats could have.
Sam keeps her face unaffected and she nods slightly. Wilson and House lock eyes and exchange a faint, helpless look. Wilson's gaze seems to be saying 'sorry' and House's quiet, almost smug smile seems to answer 'that's fine!' Cuddy's hand has now slid inside his and he squeezes it gently. Heedless of Wilson's previous objection to display any physical signs of affection in front of each other, House then slowly lifts Cuddy's hand to his mouth and, delicately twisting it around so that her palm faces up, he leans down and lays a soft kiss in the hollow of her wrist.
"You're right," he adds teasingly, looking up to meet her eyes over her hand, "you are one lucky girl."
"Oh and by the way, Wilson" Cuddy suddenly adds, offhandedly "I was really there when you broke into his apartment through the kitchen's window to check on House. Five minutes earlier and you would even have interrupted our third time, right?" She smiles contentedly and turns her head towards House, searching for his eyes.
"Absolutely! A wild third time, if I recall it correctly."
"One of many wild ones…" She adds, her smile widening. She licks her bottom lip a bit, and takes her hand back from his.
House gulps but there's no uneasiness in his reaction. It's just that, they have to get out of here now, he thinks. The desire inside him is almost burning. The game was fun, and he truly enjoyed every second of it, but there is nothing like what he's feeling in that precise moment, looking at her, and wanting nothing other than to be with her, alone, and caress every inch of her naked body, surrendered to him, unreservedly. But he's a proud jerk and he doesn't like to lose though. So while he's already thinking about the moment when he will slowly undress her, he needs to win that damn game first. For the sake of it!
"We should probably go." He says, hiding his strategy behind a very polite smile, and very conveniently taking Wilson and Sam's defenses down at the same time.
Wilson's shoulders instantly fall down at least three inches, and Sam, probably not seeing any reason for it anymore removes her hand from Wilson's hair and sighs heavily. Relief? House smiles inwardly, before he can reap the fruit of his victory with one last question.
"I was wondering if you would accept a foursome one of these days? You know, Jimmy, I never dared to tell you but… Sam turns me on a little."
Wilson's eyes almost pop out of his head and his face instantly flushes with anger.
"Are you completely out of your mind?" He rants, furious. "Sam, I'm… I'm sorry" He adds, turning to the side to look at her with imploring eyes, hoping she didn't take offense.
Curiously, she looks back at him almost angry herself but… at him.
"That's… fine, James," She puffs, upset, "House's not serious anyway." She sighs, defeated, when she acknowledges the reason of House's beaming face in front of them.
"What would you say this color is now?" He queries with a bit of sarcasm in his voice, "Magenta? Crimson red? Burgundy?"
Wilson suddenly realizing that it was just a strategic - and stupid - move to win the game, just stares at him with more fury.
"You're not serious, are you?" He grouses.
House can't help the chuckle. "Good Lord, Wilson!" He exclaims, victoriously, "I just asked permission to do your girlfriend in front of mine, how serious do you think I am, really?" He turns to Cuddy who's remained silent, "This is fun, right?"
She smiles fondly at him.
"Give me that bottle of champagne." House claims, "I think we can all agree to say that I just won! It was so easy by the way, and very entertaining!"
"But… but…" Wilson stutters in disbelief, not sure if he still needs to be angry or just appalled by what's just happened.
Sam pats him gently on the shoulder. "James… that's ok."
"You should have known I wasn't serious" House says to rub his triumph in his friend's face, grabbing the bottle of champagne, "because Cuddy didn't even flinch. I mean, do you seriously think that this lioness woman here would have let me suggest that without jumping at my throat and suck my blood to death if I'd meant it, just even remotely?"
Cuddy turns to face him slowly and sends him a lustful, hot, confusing gaze.
"Or…" She says with a low, throaty voice, "maybe the reason why I didn't say anything is because I'm not against the idea myself… Truth is, I wonder what it'd be like to do it with Sam…"
House stares at her, taken aback, and looking completely astonished.
"Wha… WHAT?" He slammers, while flush rapidly spreads to his cheeks.
"Or with Wilson... while you watch..." she continues, her smile widening. "or you... with Wil..."
House starts to cringe and a grimace contorts his face!
"Don't say it!" He warns, while a cold shudder runs down his spine.
Cuddy observes his reaction with delight and suddenly bursts into spontaneous laughter.
"Hah! that bottle is SO mine!" She yells triumphantly, snatching the champagne from House's hand.
Wilson starts to laugh as well.
"Hahaha, she got you, House! You should see your face…"
"Shut up!" House groans, through clenched teeth.
"Oh My God, this is priceless!" Wilson continues, incapable of hiding his bliss to see his friend trapped at his own game.
"Yeah, but at least I did Cuddy on your car hood."
"Oh come on House," Cuddy says still giggling, "that's not even true!"
House glares at her and it makes her laugh even more.
"You're such a bad loser!" She teases "but if it makes you feel any better, here," She turns to face Wilson and Sam and confesses, "we did it on the kitchen counter, at Briganti's."
"Briganti? The Italian restaurant?" Wilson asks, baffled.
Cuddy smiles mischievously and puts her hand on House's forearm, possessively.
"Yes. And don't look at me with that face, we were alone you dummy! Despite what House says, we're not some kind of exhibitionist pervs. We were just…" She stops and turns to look at House with an intense gaze, full of words she's said to him so many times already. Words she knows, after the doubts, the fears, the mistrust, she can now say to him and be sure he'll believe her.
"Well, all I can say," She adds with a smile, "is that House is a great cook. And he knows how to spice things up!"
House, despite losing the game, can't help but sticking out his chest proudly. Wilson drops his face into his palms and Sam nods appreciatively.
Squeezing the bottle of champagne, against her chest, Cuddy then pushes herself up off the floor and stands up.
"Come on stud!" she says, putting out her hand to House to help him stand up too. "Let's go home, drink that bottle of champagne and… do naughty things! I'm completely horny now!" She adds, giggling shamelessly and enjoying Wilson exaggeratedly embarassed reaction.
"You're completely drunk!" House rectifies, frowning disapprovingly.
They both take their coats and put them on, saying their goodbyes to Wilson and Sam, who look as if they still aren't completely over the total strangeness, albeit amusing, atmosphere of their evening together.
A short while later, after they left the loft, and their friends, House and Cuddy stand in the elevator, going down to the building garage where their car is parked. Cuddy turns to House and looks at him with mischief.
"You know, I know you set that stupid game up just to find a pretext to stay and make me drink a little more than I would have if we'd come home just after dinner." She says, with her chin up, daring him to deny.
"Me? Duh! Why would I do that?"
"Because you know you're lucky when I'm tipsy!" She replies, not in the least embarrassed, laughing throatily.
He wants to laugh too but just for one more second, he looks at her with gravity.
"I'm lucky all the same when you're not." He tells her, and finally he can kiss her the way he's dreamed to kiss her all night long.
PART 2