(no subject)
Title: All Out Of Options
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Characters/Pairings: Mark/Callie.
Word Count: 796
Rating: PG-13
Summary: He finally gets it through his head: "She doesn't like me."
He finally gets it through his head.
“She doesn’t like me.”
Callie looks at him over the rim of her glass and, surprised that he’s finally put it all together, nods. “No she doesn’t. She thinks you’re attractive, but she doesn’t want to start anything with someone she works with.”
There’s silence for a moment while he processes this. “That’s unfortunate.”
---
“I don’t get turned down.”
“Never?” She doesn’t believe that.
He confirms it. “Never.”
“Come on, don’t be shy, I’m sure some girl out there wasn’t charmed by the infamous Mark Sloane.”
He shakes his head in response.
“I find that hard to believe.” Callie tells him. “She can’t be the only one not to fall for your act.”
“It’s not an act,” he protests and, in response to her raised eyebrow, amends, “not completely. And you fell for it.”
“I was rebounding.” She reminds him, using it as an excuse. Yes, she was rebounding but that didn’t mean she wasn’t attracted to him in some way. In theory.
“You’re rebounding now.” He points out. “Want to go for round two.”
“Not likely.”
He seems put off but especially determined now. She’s fairly sure he’s horny as hell and more than a little frustrated. “Why not?”
“Because the last time turned out horribly.”
“It’s better if you’re not completely hung-over in the morning.”
There’s a possibility that he’s right. That too much liquor and too much guilt would be coloring her memories. But she ignores that for now. “Look I like you right now. And since we have to work together I’d rather keep it that way.”
“I’m not asking for a relationship; I’m asking for sex.”
Well, when he puts it that way. “You really are horny aren’t you?”
He really, really tries not to sound desperate. “Extremely.”
Callie takes a moment to think of all the ways this could possibly go wrong and deciding that she could deal with all of them, she shrugs, “Just let me grab my purse.”
---
Callie decides it’s been far too long since she’s had good sex. With George it had been going downhill since their relationship had, and then after they broke up there was nothing. Mark pushes her back down against the mattress, pinning her with his own weight, and her sigh almost sounds like one of relief.
She hadn’t realized how bad she herself needed this until it was actually happening.
They find their rhythm quicker this time. They’ve done this before; they know what not to do. It makes it a lot better than the last time if memory serves.
Then again her not feeling guilty the entire time also helps with that.
---
“I really don’t do this all the time.” For some reason she feels the need to advertise that. Callie does not do one night stands. She’s too old for college games. So is Mark, but no one told him that.
“Don’t you wish you did?” He’s still in bed, satisfied, watching her re-dress in last night’s clothes.
“No.” And she means it.
Her answer surprises him, not for the first time. “Why not?”
He still doesn’t get it. Sometimes she wonders how he can be so smart when it comes to surgery, and yet so dense when it comes to other matters. “You know the other reason why she won’t sleep with you?”
“You do? Because help would be greatly appreciated.”
Callie rolls her eyes. “Because you wouldn’t know what to do with a relationship if you had one.”
“That is not true.” He has the nerve to sound offended.
“Don’t even bring up Addison.”
“I wasn’t going to but now that you say it - “
“That was because she was married. And even if it wasn’t in the end that’s certainly how it started.” She’s surprised he hasn’t interrupted yet. “It’s all about the chase, whether you want to believe it or not.”
“Someday you will.” She tells him.
“And you know how to have a relationship? After O’Malley you can honestly say that?” He’s not trying to be an asshole, he’s just coming off as one.
“I never said that.” She puts her earrings back on in the mirror, puts on the ring she wears on her right hand, briefly glancing at her bare left hand. “I’ve always been better at figuring out other people’s problems than my own.”
“Isn’t everyone?”
In that case, she sure wishes someone would tell her what hers was. In the meantime she decides there’s this. And though it’s not a relationship it’s also not a one night stand. It’s two horny, fucked-up people who have a friends-with-benefits situation and she’s never tried it so she can’t say it doesn’t work.
She’ll try anything once, until she finds out what works.