The Miami Sofitel (6/?)
Title: The Miami Sofitel (6/?)
Author: SomewhereApart
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Characters: Eric/Calleigh
Rating: PG13. Eventually NC-17.
Summary: After the events of "The Deluca Motel," Calliegh gives Eric an upgrade.
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five
The ritual made this easier, made it more comfortable. Sure, the combination of anxious nerves and extra pepperoni would probably give her heartburn, but the tradition of pizza and beer with Eric was familiar. Nice. Reassuring.
Eric had burned the roof of his mouth, as always; he was ahead of her by one beer, as always. The only deviation from the norm was the lack of a movie, and the slight tension. She’d told him they’d talk tonight, about them, but so far all they’d talked about was the case they were working on, and - lord, help them - the weather lately. In their defense, the weather was sudden and intense - rain had swept in during the late afternoon, building to a thunderstorm that kept illuminating the room like flash bulbs. Rain drove in sheets against the windows of their suite, and the lack of visibility outside the glass made Calleigh feel like they were in some kind of suspended isolation. Like their hotel room existed in the ether somewhere, outside of time. It was… nice. Especially considering the topic they’d have to get around to eventually.
“I love storms like this,” he told her. “The older I get, the more I like them.”
She wiped any remnants of sauce from her mouth then shifted on the couch until she was facing him, feet tucked against herself, hands still fiddling almost absently with the beer bottle cradled in her lap. “Me too. I think they’re sexy,” she admitted with a smirk.
“Mm. I agree.” He swigged his beer and angled his body more toward hers as well. “Cal, are we going to talk about the weather all night?”
“No.”
“Then can we… move on to the topic we’re avoiding? I’m going crazy over here.”
As always, his ability to just own up and speak his piece was something she envied. This would be a much easier conversation for him than for her. “Yeah, we… Yes. Let’s.”
“Okay.” He sipped his beer. She peeled the label on hers, and tried to think of what to say. Too many things to articulate, no clear place to start. Silence hung between them for a few long minutes. “Now?”
She chuckled a little at that, nodding. “I’m sorry, I… I was trying to figure out where to… I don’t really know what to say first. I’ve never had this conversation.”
Okay. Let’s start with this: I’m in love with you.”
Heat and nerves seared into Calleigh’s gut, and she lifted the bottle to her lips, hoping cool beer would soothe the burn. It didn’t really. “Yeah, I… I knew that. I’ve known that for a while now. I did read your file that day.”
“I figured.” He reached for her, snagged her ankle and drew her foot into his lap. It was a little more intimate than she’d have liked for this particular conversation, but then he began to knead his thumbs along her arch and she decided it felt too good to make him stop. It wasn’t as if this conversation wouldn’t be intimate anyway. “You didn’t know before then?”
“No, I did.” She shifted, scooted down a little bit and shut her eyes. And then she wondered if that was why he’d done it - so she could shut her eyes, shut him out just a little while she finally let him in. “You were so jealous of Jake; it was obvious. We’d always been attracted to each other, but I’d never seen you like that before. Not about me. It hurt. It was like…” She sighed, tried to gather her thoughts. She hadn’t meant to talk about this. “It was like I’d lost my best friend. All of a sudden, I couldn’t talk to you. And there were so many times I wanted to talk to you, which is… new. But I was afraid it would hurt you, or that what was said would hurt me. So I couldn’t.”
“I never knew you felt that way.” His voice had gone softer, sympathetic. Sweet.
“I tend to play it close to the chest. You know that.”
“Yeah. You do.” He stroked his palm over the top of her foot, toes to ankle, then back, before continuing his massage. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“No,” she insisted, shaking her head and meeting his gaze then. “No, I’m sorry. I just… I had to live my life. But it killed me that it hurt you. That it hurt us. You’ve always been one of the few people that I always knew I could count on, and when things are strained between us… it shakes my foundation.” He pressed just right with his thumbs and her eyes fell shut again on a soft moan. The firm pressure persisted for another minute, silence descending between them again until Calleigh couldn’t take it any more. “Say something.”
“Me too.”
“What?”
“When things are strained, its hard for me too. And I just want to be with you, but… I don’t ever know where we stand. I know I love you. And I know we’re perfect for each other. But I don’t know anything about how you feel. One minute, I think you’re right here with me, and the next… you pull back.”
“Yeah, I’m, uh… distant. And moody.” Her mouth drew into a frown, the rough echo of Jake’s voice, of John’s voice, sounding in her head. “Or so I’ve been told.”
“Nothing wrong with moody.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Shocked and relieved and incredibly touched, she laughed, mortified by the tearful hitch at the end. “You’d think.”
He sighed, and she couldn’t read the emotion behind it with her eyes shut, but she was afraid if she opened them, those tears that were aching behind them would take their chance and spill. Then he found her hand and murmured a soft, “Come here,” tugging her up and into his arms, hugging her tight. Calleigh buried her face against his neck and let herself cling - just for a minute, she told herself. She’d just stay here breathing him in for a minute, and then she’d feel less raw. “You’re brilliant.” Well, fuck. Her chin quivered and she swallowed hard. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t going to cry, but why did he have to say things like that? Why did he have to be that guy? The good guy? The understanding guy?
“God, I love you.” She froze, dread pouring over her like wax, until she was cold and still. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. She pulled back, tucked her hair nervously behind her ear and was about to fumble an apology or excuse or something hideously embarrassing when his lips silenced hers. The kiss was brief, but firm, reassuring.
“Shh. Don’t. Don’t take it back yet, just let me have it for a minute.”
Her head fell to his shoulder again, arms winding up to band tightly around his shoulders. God, they were fucked up now, weren’t they? When had that happened? They used to be so simple. He shouldn’t have to ask her not to take back something that was true. Swallowing down her apprehension, and busting through a few of her walls, Calleigh let him have it again. “I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. So now… I’d rather have you stay my friend and be in my life than date you and have you leave.”
“What makes you think I’ll leave?”
“I just mean… If we try this, if we date and see where it goes, and it ends badly… I’d really lose you.”
She felt his quiet scoff more than heard it. “You’ve doomed this before it even begins.”
Calleigh sighed, shook her head and pulled back. “You’re just so open. And I’m… not. I don’t know if I can be what you need me to be.”
“I just need you to be Calleigh.”
“Yeah, you say that now…”
“Hey.” He caught her chin with his finger, tipped her head up to look at him. “I know you better than any of the guys you’ve dated lately. And I love everything about you.”
And there were the tears, spilling over silent and wet. “How did I manage to get you?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” He cupped her cheeks, brushed her tears away with his thumbs. Calleigh closed her eyes and half-smiled, leaning into his touch. “Will you just give me a chance, Calleigh? We could be really great together.”
She hated that she was crying. It was embarrassing. “I’m sorry.” He deflated, his hands falling away, and she realized suddenly how that must have sounded. “No, I mean I’m sorry about the waterworks. Yes to the other.”
His lips curved up then, and the way his eyes went light and hopeful gave her heart a little much-needed thrill. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Blinking her tears under control, she reached for his hands and threaded their fingers. “I suppose we can’t feel this way and keep trying to pretend we don’t. That we don’t… both know how we feel. It’ll be Jake all over again, all the time.”
He kissed her again, warm and sweet and soothing. She let herself sink into it, leaned in for a second press, then rested her forehead against his. “Don’t worry about it, Cal. This is us. Let’s just be us.”
She nodded, pulled back, looked up at the ceiling and took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay. I’m sorry I got so… worked up.”
“Don’t be.” He pressed his lips to her chin, skated kisses along her jaw, and she got the feeling he was just indulging in the newfound privilege. “You’re allowed.” He eased one hand from hers, cupping the back of her neck and insisting softly, “No more tears tonight, though, okay?” His lips brushed hers, feather-light, and she nodded before pressing into him in earnest.
The kiss deepened, his tongue teasing out against her lip, urging her to open for him. She did, finally indulging in the taste of Eric with a hint of beer. His hand tightened against her neck, and he changed the angle of the kiss just slightly. His other hand found her thigh, skating along the outside, up to grip her hip as she moaned softly into his mouth.
She couldn’t say exactly when the shift happened or what caused it, but their kisses grew suddenly eager, more insistent, and Calleigh felt a heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment or dread start to spread through her. She was panting softly when she turned her head to break the kiss, and found herself grinning when, undeterred, he sucked eager kisses down the column of her neck. “Eric,” she chuckled, pushing him away just slightly.
“Hmm?” Oh, but he looked so yummy all kiss-swollen and full of anticipation.
“I know a way you can… cheer me up.” Her gaze slid across the room, through the double-doors to that big, comfy bed in the next room.
His slightly-stunned look of comprehension made her grin almost as must as his, “Now? Right now? Tonight?”
“You want to wait another seven years?” she teased, ducking in for another kiss.
“Definitely not.”
They chuckled against each other’s mouths, and Calleigh somehow managed to untangle herself and get to her feet without breaking the kiss. Eric followed suit, settling his hands on her hips and backing her toward the bedroom - very nearly tripping them over the coffee table in the process. Calleigh laughed in earnest, rerouting them and praying that their stumbling momentum would hold out all the way to the bedroom. She was still giggling softly into his kisses when her legs bumped into the mattress. She couldn’t say yet that she was entirely sure things would work out for them in the long run, but for now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
Author: SomewhereApart
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Characters: Eric/Calleigh
Rating: PG13. Eventually NC-17.
Summary: After the events of "The Deluca Motel," Calliegh gives Eric an upgrade.
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five
The ritual made this easier, made it more comfortable. Sure, the combination of anxious nerves and extra pepperoni would probably give her heartburn, but the tradition of pizza and beer with Eric was familiar. Nice. Reassuring.
Eric had burned the roof of his mouth, as always; he was ahead of her by one beer, as always. The only deviation from the norm was the lack of a movie, and the slight tension. She’d told him they’d talk tonight, about them, but so far all they’d talked about was the case they were working on, and - lord, help them - the weather lately. In their defense, the weather was sudden and intense - rain had swept in during the late afternoon, building to a thunderstorm that kept illuminating the room like flash bulbs. Rain drove in sheets against the windows of their suite, and the lack of visibility outside the glass made Calleigh feel like they were in some kind of suspended isolation. Like their hotel room existed in the ether somewhere, outside of time. It was… nice. Especially considering the topic they’d have to get around to eventually.
“I love storms like this,” he told her. “The older I get, the more I like them.”
She wiped any remnants of sauce from her mouth then shifted on the couch until she was facing him, feet tucked against herself, hands still fiddling almost absently with the beer bottle cradled in her lap. “Me too. I think they’re sexy,” she admitted with a smirk.
“Mm. I agree.” He swigged his beer and angled his body more toward hers as well. “Cal, are we going to talk about the weather all night?”
“No.”
“Then can we… move on to the topic we’re avoiding? I’m going crazy over here.”
As always, his ability to just own up and speak his piece was something she envied. This would be a much easier conversation for him than for her. “Yeah, we… Yes. Let’s.”
“Okay.” He sipped his beer. She peeled the label on hers, and tried to think of what to say. Too many things to articulate, no clear place to start. Silence hung between them for a few long minutes. “Now?”
She chuckled a little at that, nodding. “I’m sorry, I… I was trying to figure out where to… I don’t really know what to say first. I’ve never had this conversation.”
Okay. Let’s start with this: I’m in love with you.”
Heat and nerves seared into Calleigh’s gut, and she lifted the bottle to her lips, hoping cool beer would soothe the burn. It didn’t really. “Yeah, I… I knew that. I’ve known that for a while now. I did read your file that day.”
“I figured.” He reached for her, snagged her ankle and drew her foot into his lap. It was a little more intimate than she’d have liked for this particular conversation, but then he began to knead his thumbs along her arch and she decided it felt too good to make him stop. It wasn’t as if this conversation wouldn’t be intimate anyway. “You didn’t know before then?”
“No, I did.” She shifted, scooted down a little bit and shut her eyes. And then she wondered if that was why he’d done it - so she could shut her eyes, shut him out just a little while she finally let him in. “You were so jealous of Jake; it was obvious. We’d always been attracted to each other, but I’d never seen you like that before. Not about me. It hurt. It was like…” She sighed, tried to gather her thoughts. She hadn’t meant to talk about this. “It was like I’d lost my best friend. All of a sudden, I couldn’t talk to you. And there were so many times I wanted to talk to you, which is… new. But I was afraid it would hurt you, or that what was said would hurt me. So I couldn’t.”
“I never knew you felt that way.” His voice had gone softer, sympathetic. Sweet.
“I tend to play it close to the chest. You know that.”
“Yeah. You do.” He stroked his palm over the top of her foot, toes to ankle, then back, before continuing his massage. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“No,” she insisted, shaking her head and meeting his gaze then. “No, I’m sorry. I just… I had to live my life. But it killed me that it hurt you. That it hurt us. You’ve always been one of the few people that I always knew I could count on, and when things are strained between us… it shakes my foundation.” He pressed just right with his thumbs and her eyes fell shut again on a soft moan. The firm pressure persisted for another minute, silence descending between them again until Calleigh couldn’t take it any more. “Say something.”
“Me too.”
“What?”
“When things are strained, its hard for me too. And I just want to be with you, but… I don’t ever know where we stand. I know I love you. And I know we’re perfect for each other. But I don’t know anything about how you feel. One minute, I think you’re right here with me, and the next… you pull back.”
“Yeah, I’m, uh… distant. And moody.” Her mouth drew into a frown, the rough echo of Jake’s voice, of John’s voice, sounding in her head. “Or so I’ve been told.”
“Nothing wrong with moody.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Shocked and relieved and incredibly touched, she laughed, mortified by the tearful hitch at the end. “You’d think.”
He sighed, and she couldn’t read the emotion behind it with her eyes shut, but she was afraid if she opened them, those tears that were aching behind them would take their chance and spill. Then he found her hand and murmured a soft, “Come here,” tugging her up and into his arms, hugging her tight. Calleigh buried her face against his neck and let herself cling - just for a minute, she told herself. She’d just stay here breathing him in for a minute, and then she’d feel less raw. “You’re brilliant.” Well, fuck. Her chin quivered and she swallowed hard. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t going to cry, but why did he have to say things like that? Why did he have to be that guy? The good guy? The understanding guy?
“God, I love you.” She froze, dread pouring over her like wax, until she was cold and still. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. She pulled back, tucked her hair nervously behind her ear and was about to fumble an apology or excuse or something hideously embarrassing when his lips silenced hers. The kiss was brief, but firm, reassuring.
“Shh. Don’t. Don’t take it back yet, just let me have it for a minute.”
Her head fell to his shoulder again, arms winding up to band tightly around his shoulders. God, they were fucked up now, weren’t they? When had that happened? They used to be so simple. He shouldn’t have to ask her not to take back something that was true. Swallowing down her apprehension, and busting through a few of her walls, Calleigh let him have it again. “I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. So now… I’d rather have you stay my friend and be in my life than date you and have you leave.”
“What makes you think I’ll leave?”
“I just mean… If we try this, if we date and see where it goes, and it ends badly… I’d really lose you.”
She felt his quiet scoff more than heard it. “You’ve doomed this before it even begins.”
Calleigh sighed, shook her head and pulled back. “You’re just so open. And I’m… not. I don’t know if I can be what you need me to be.”
“I just need you to be Calleigh.”
“Yeah, you say that now…”
“Hey.” He caught her chin with his finger, tipped her head up to look at him. “I know you better than any of the guys you’ve dated lately. And I love everything about you.”
And there were the tears, spilling over silent and wet. “How did I manage to get you?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” He cupped her cheeks, brushed her tears away with his thumbs. Calleigh closed her eyes and half-smiled, leaning into his touch. “Will you just give me a chance, Calleigh? We could be really great together.”
She hated that she was crying. It was embarrassing. “I’m sorry.” He deflated, his hands falling away, and she realized suddenly how that must have sounded. “No, I mean I’m sorry about the waterworks. Yes to the other.”
His lips curved up then, and the way his eyes went light and hopeful gave her heart a little much-needed thrill. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Blinking her tears under control, she reached for his hands and threaded their fingers. “I suppose we can’t feel this way and keep trying to pretend we don’t. That we don’t… both know how we feel. It’ll be Jake all over again, all the time.”
He kissed her again, warm and sweet and soothing. She let herself sink into it, leaned in for a second press, then rested her forehead against his. “Don’t worry about it, Cal. This is us. Let’s just be us.”
She nodded, pulled back, looked up at the ceiling and took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay. I’m sorry I got so… worked up.”
“Don’t be.” He pressed his lips to her chin, skated kisses along her jaw, and she got the feeling he was just indulging in the newfound privilege. “You’re allowed.” He eased one hand from hers, cupping the back of her neck and insisting softly, “No more tears tonight, though, okay?” His lips brushed hers, feather-light, and she nodded before pressing into him in earnest.
The kiss deepened, his tongue teasing out against her lip, urging her to open for him. She did, finally indulging in the taste of Eric with a hint of beer. His hand tightened against her neck, and he changed the angle of the kiss just slightly. His other hand found her thigh, skating along the outside, up to grip her hip as she moaned softly into his mouth.
She couldn’t say exactly when the shift happened or what caused it, but their kisses grew suddenly eager, more insistent, and Calleigh felt a heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment or dread start to spread through her. She was panting softly when she turned her head to break the kiss, and found herself grinning when, undeterred, he sucked eager kisses down the column of her neck. “Eric,” she chuckled, pushing him away just slightly.
“Hmm?” Oh, but he looked so yummy all kiss-swollen and full of anticipation.
“I know a way you can… cheer me up.” Her gaze slid across the room, through the double-doors to that big, comfy bed in the next room.
His slightly-stunned look of comprehension made her grin almost as must as his, “Now? Right now? Tonight?”
“You want to wait another seven years?” she teased, ducking in for another kiss.
“Definitely not.”
They chuckled against each other’s mouths, and Calleigh somehow managed to untangle herself and get to her feet without breaking the kiss. Eric followed suit, settling his hands on her hips and backing her toward the bedroom - very nearly tripping them over the coffee table in the process. Calleigh laughed in earnest, rerouting them and praying that their stumbling momentum would hold out all the way to the bedroom. She was still giggling softly into his kisses when her legs bumped into the mattress. She couldn’t say yet that she was entirely sure things would work out for them in the long run, but for now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.