Natalia walked up the sidewalk and found Calleigh getting out of her car. Odd, I thought she would be with Eric, Natalia thought. He had just gotten out of the hospital and she assumed Calleigh would spend time with Eric, as usual. She couldn't understand why Calleigh continued to run back to Eric. If only she could tell Calleigh how she felt, maybe Calleigh would run to her instead. Natalia let out a sigh as she caught up with her blonde friend.
"Hey Cal, whatcha doing here? I thought you would take a personal day." Natalia asked. Calleigh snapped shut her purse and took a quick glance at her beautiful friend. She and Natalia used to be close until she began dating Eric again. Then, Natalia took a backseat. Calleigh deeply regretted that the two of them have withdrawn. Calleigh only clung to Eric because she couldn't force herself to accept her feelings of her friend. They were beyond the feelings of just a friend, but Calleigh knew Natalia wouldn't and couldn't return the feelings. Instead, it just made sense to play it safe with Eric. Safe, Calleigh huffed in her mind. Safe would include being happy and not chasing my boyfriend into an armed robbery!
"I decided to come to work. I'm not supposed to see Eric, so I have nothing else to do." Calleigh answered. Natalia's face seemed to drop with Calleigh's response. Calleigh knew Natalia didn't like how she was back with Eric, but she couldn't tell Natalia the truth.
The day continued to only get worse. A man took five hostages into firearms and the team was forced to investigate various crimes the hostage-taker pointed them to. He wanted justice. Naturally, Horatio sought to give the man justice. By the end of the day all parties guilty of something was arrested, including the hostage-taker. All returned to being "right" in Miami, for now. The team met up at a local restaurant for drinks with their new team member, Jessie Cardoza. Calleigh joined the team and gratefully took a drink that Natalia had offered her. They laughed and drank until everyone left except for Calleigh and Natalia.
They had decided to get a table and catch dinner together. They sat a table sipping on a drink in awkward silence. The two avoided making eye contact with each other until Calleigh broke the silence.
"Natalia, I'm sorry we haven't gotten to hang out recently." She apologized. Natalia shrugged, but refused to make eye contact with her friend. While Natalia was looking away Calleigh took this chance to admire the beauty of her friend. She only wished the sadness on Natalia's face would disappear.
"It's fine." Natalia answered. Calleigh's heart sank as Natalia continued to look away and sip on her drink. Calleigh decided to try again.
"No, it's not. I really enjoy being your friend, Nat. I was stupid to go back to Eric after everything he's put me through." Calleigh responded. This caught Natalia's attention. She faced Calleigh again with a curious, but still sad look in her eyes.
"It's your choice." She replied softly. She watched her blonde friend battle with something in her mind as she watched the emotions play out in her face. Natalia softened a little and sat her drink on the table before reaching out and placing her hand on Calleigh's. This brought Calleigh's mind to a halt as she glanced into the caramel eyes looking at her.
"I don't want to see you get hurt more than you already have." Natalia added. Calleigh glanced down for a second and nodded.
"I would really like if we hung out more, just us." Calleigh responded. "I… I think I'm done with Eric. I'm sorry if I've hurt you." The words came out of her mouth before she thought about them. Hurt her? When did I hurt her? Did I really? Calleigh thought as she saw her friend register what she said.
"I would like that very much." Natalia replied without responding to the last comment. She wasn't sure what to say. She saw a flash of disappointment on Calleigh's face. Calleigh expected a response to the last comment. Just as Natalia was about to speak, a fast-pace song began to play. A devilish grin spread across Natalia's face as she stood up and pulled her friend up.
"I say we dance." Natalia giggled as she pulled Calleigh onto the floor. All cares and emotions disappeared as the two lost themselves on the dance floor. Before long, a slow-paced song began to play. Without thinking, Calleigh pulled Natalia to her and held her close. The two danced closely together with Natalia's head leaning on Calleigh's. Both had their eyes closed as they danced around the floor slowly. Calleigh felt as Natalia kissed her forehead lightly as they continued dancing. Calleigh gave out a soft moan. Maybe Natalia feels the same way, she thought as she gave in to Natalia's warmth and pulled her closer. Where can this go? Her last thought was as Natalia took Calleigh's hand and led her off the dance floor.
They returned to the table and sat down in silence. Both tried to wrap their heads around what happened on the dance floor. Calleigh took a gulp of her drink as she tried to slow down her libido and cool herself off as she took quick glimpses at her friend. Natalia made a mental decision to just jump off the cliff. She instantly turns in her seat and looks at Calleigh with determined eyes.
"Calleigh, this thing with Eric is completely off the wall. Go out on a date with me." She blurted out. As soon as she did, she felt her face blush and she quickly looked away. She waited in silence for a response from her friend. After a few moments of hearing nothing, the hurt began to overwhelm her. Trying to fight back tears she grabbed her purse and jumped out of her chair. Calleigh didn't stop her as she walked out the door. Calleigh sat in her chair in shock. Natalia likes me and I let her walk right out the door! Stupid! Stupid! Calleigh chided herself as she grabbed her own purse. Although she had feelings for Natalia the fear took over her. She couldn't let her fear ruin this chance to make her dreams come true. She rushed out the door after Natalia.
Her car was nowhere in the parking lot. She's driving home, Calleigh told herself as she got into her own car and started the engine. She was furious with herself for not speaking when Natalia let her feelings known. She was always running away from good things and running to the bad things, like Eric.
"Damn it, Calleigh!" She yelled at herself as she drove off towards Natalia's home. She hoped she could explain to Natalia and make everything alright. She arrived at Natalia's house to feel relieved that Natalia was home. She got out of her car and walked up the walkway to Natalia's front door. She took a deep breath as she knocked on the door. Natalia heard the knock on the door from her bedroom upstairs.
As soon as she got home she laid in her bed and began crying. Calleigh had rejected her. The pain was overwhelming. At the sound of the knock she rose from the bed and slipped on her slippers. She walked down the stairs while she rubbed her face to erase the tears still falling from her eyes. She peeked into the peep hole to see Calleigh standing at her doorstep. Should I open it? Natalia asked herself. Despite her better judgment she opened the door.
As the door opened Calleigh instantly noticed how red Natalia's eyes were. She was crying. Calleigh's heart broke at the sight of her friend crying because of her. Natalia wouldn't meet her eyes, so Calleigh cleared her throat and decided to be the first to talk.
"Natalia, can we talk? Please?" Calleigh asked quietly. Natalia shrugged and let Calleigh inside before closing the door behind them. She followed Calleigh to the couch and dropped down on the far end opposite to where Calleigh sat. Noticing the distant the brunette put between them, Calleigh scooted over next to Natalia.
"Natalia?" Calleigh said, but Natalia wouldn't look at her. She placed her hand on Natalia's shoulder. This act caught Natalia's attention. Calleigh placed her hand on Natalia's cheek and wiped away a lone tear falling down her cheek.
"Natalia, I'm sorry I didn't say anything right away." Calleigh began. "I was… I was surprised. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It's a… it's a dream come… true."
"What?" Natalia said with wide eyes. Could Calleigh really be saying she likes me?
"I was afraid. I always seem to mess things up by running away, but I don't want to run away from this. I don't want to run away from you." Calleigh added. Her thumb caressed Natalia's cheek. Calleigh watched as Natalia broke down in front of her. The tears poured from her eyes as Calleigh pulled Natalia into a tight hug. She held onto the brunette as the tears slowed down. Calleigh gently kissed Natalia's head before Natalia pulled back and looked into Calleigh's blue eyes.
"You love me?" Natalia asked weakly. She was completely vulnerable and Calleigh knew it.
"Yes." Calleigh answered. Both women smiled before Calleigh leaned in to give Natalia a soft kiss on the lips. Natalia closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of Calleigh's lips on her own. Soon, Natalia pulled back to look at her new love and smile.
"Honey, you look tired." Calleigh informed Natalia. This sparked a yawn from the brunette and a devilish grin.
"Take me to bed, then." Natalia replied with a seductive stare in her eyes. This sparked a devilish grin from the blonde who pulled Natalia up and led her to the bedroom.