"Does somebody need some help?" Gail smirked, holding her hands out to Holly who was still standing frozen like a statue inside the shower, clothes drenched, much like her own.
Holly nodded, accepted Gail's hands and stepped over the edge of the bathtub and onto the bath mat below where she came to stand in front of her beautiful friend. A friend that she for the better part of twenty minutes had been kissing passionately and desperately holding onto under a thankfully and eventually, steaming hot shower head.
"You're shivering," Gail pointed out quietly, carefully removing the fogged up glasses from Holly's nose and placing them on the sink behind her as she eyed the lopped off ponytail of hair hanging over the edge of the basin.
Holly hadn't really noticed her body's actions because she was too busy being distracted by the deafening thoughts that were clanging around her head and the soft but chilly hands that had slowly made their way up her arms and onto her shoulders under the soaked, short sleeves of her t-shirt.
"I am?" Holly looked down at her hands and found that they were in fact noticeably shaking, though she was fairly certain it wasn't just from being cold.
Gail quirked her eyebrow, thoroughly amused at Holly's lack of self-awareness. It was obvious she was still processing what had just happened between them in the small confines of the now steam filled bathroom and knowing Holly and her analytical mind she had most likely already dissected every play very carefully with a fine tooth comb, probably twice. Gail wanted to tease her but instead simply smiled at her adoringly and answered, "Yes."
When Holly eventually looked back up, Gail's smile had widened, her pale inquisitive eyes were scanning Holly's face. Holly returned the smile as she tucked Gail's newly shorn damp cowlick in behind her ear. "I meant it, you know?" She sucked in her bottom lip wondering if Gail was going to want to hear the same sentiment again.
Gail slid her hands down to Holly's biceps and began moving them up and down in quick succession in hopes of warming the doctor up. She stared down at nothing in particular but felt everything before her. She felt the warmth of Holly's gaze as her own eyes began their exploration, starting at what used to be the comfy socks on Holly's feet. At this moment she didn't care if Holly noticed that she was admiring her body, something she had surprisingly caught herself doing numerous times over the past month. Granted before it wasn't in such a blatantly obvious way as she was right now. She could no longer deny it though; the woman standing before her was one incredibly sexy nerd. Her nerd.
"You meant what?" Gail allowed her admiration to slowly venture north until she was met with a pair of brown narrowing eyes, now darkened to something far more contemplative. Holly had always done good serious face and this one was no exception, so not wanting to rush her, she waited patiently for Holly to gather her thoughts.
Holly's gaze eventually began to soften, the tension in her shoulders falling the moment she realized that this was Gail, they told each other stuff. That was their thing. Sure, right now she could be met with a sarcastic comment or two, or that unrelenting pouty face she had become so accustomed to, or who knows? There could even be a cat shaped hole in her bathroom door in a matter of seconds because that was the thing with Gail, you never quite knew how she was going to react in these kind of moments, especially when it came to Holly's words. But nothing was going stop Holly now, as she was intent on making Gail hear her no matter what.
She placed her hand gently over one of Gail's that had firmly set up shop on her forearms, taking in every inch of Gail's face, marveling at the piercing blues eyes staring back at her and the silky porcelain skin that now gleaned from the errant mist that hovered all around them. And then there were those lips. Gail's perfectly symmetrical and sensuous lips, now plump and flushed red from the intensity of each and every one of their deep and slow kisses. "That you're still beautiful," Holly said thoughtfully, giving Gail's hand a comforting squeeze.
As much as she wanted to acknowledge the sweet gesture, the moment Gail heard the words leave Holly's mouth she released her grip on Holly's forearms to run her fingers self-consciously through what was left of her blonde locks which were now short and jagged from Holly's amateur hand. Gail was convinced she must have looked like a ten-year-old boy.
Afraid to look in the mirror she tried to focus on anything else, her eyes landing on that lone freckle perfectly situated on the delicious olive skin of Holly's collarbone.
It was the beginning of the end for Gail when she had drunkenly named that freckle at the Penny the previous night. After five Jack and Cokes and many excruciatingly painful eyefuls of Holly laughing with her date later, Gail had found herself up at the bar again and it just so happened to be at the very same time that Holly was there getting some refills. She had sauntered up to the bar like she had done an hour earlier and plopped herself down onto the barstool next to Holly who was still waiting for someone to serve her. Gail didn't make a peep. She wasn't even sure if Holly had noticed her existence, but that didn't seem to bother her because she had soon found herself admiring Holly's casual but sexy buttoned up shirt from the corner of her eye, however, Gail was interrupted moments later when Holly lifted her arm up to brush the dark brown waves of hair over her shoulder.
And that was the moment Gail saw it.
Holly had scratched at her neck, pushing her collar to the side, exposing the light brown spot that was about four millimetres wide (or so Gail calculated). Gail was transfixed; she was drunk. She had to be. She was staring longingly at a freckle for fucks sake, something her mother would call a blemish, not that Gail would ever dream of calling it that since a blemish marred someone's features and this little speck only proved to enhance Holly's beauty and was shaped astonishingly like Vancouver Island.
With that thought inspiration struck and Gail decided from hence forth Holly's freckle shall be known as Victoria; Vicky for short.
Gail was brought out of her momentary Vicky-induced haze when her own fingers reached the end of her cowlick.
Fuck! Her hair! It was so damn short! She couldn't believe that she had done this to herself or that she had let Holly see her in such a vulnerable state.
Okay, she was rather prone to rash decisions when under emotional distress, not to the extent of almost scalping herself, but downing a bottle of the nearest bottle of liquor that had happened on several occasions. But letting other people see her like this…that almost never happened.
Gail was reeling, and despite of what she might say, Holly knew that she had loved her long hair and to see it cut was just one more twist to an already screwed up day. It didn't look too bad, at least in her opinion considering the only hair Holly had ever cut was dead peoples and that was only to make examining head wounds or taking the skull cap off easier (an amusing little factoid that Gail probably wouldn't appreciate hearing as of this moment, you know, given her precarious mental state and all; maybe later when they could both laugh over this.)
It had been particularly surprising to Holly when Gail hadn't even asked her if she had any previous haircutting experience, instead, the moment Holly had picked up the scissors and settled onto the edge of the bathtub above her, Gail had looked up at her with such innocent eyes and told her that she trusted her and she didn't mean with just her hair.
Those three powerful words had made Holly nervous and even though she had only known Gail a few months, from what she had learned about her in that short amount of time was that these words were not ones that had escaped Gail's mouth that often, if at all, and they were definitely not ones to be taken lightly. But more than anything, Holly wanted to be worthy of that trust, needed to be deserving of it, so despite the nervous tension in her hands she had willed herself on. She was a doctor after all, generally known for having steady hands. Well that's what she had hoped for in that instance but at that point she really couldn't mess it up any more than Gail already had. In the end though Holly was quietly pleased with the results and she had to admit, Gail looked pretty damn good rocking a pixie cut.
Unsure if Gail had heard her or not, Holly decided that repetition was in order. She gently lifted Gail's chin up with her index finger only to find that tears had welled up in Gail's eyes. "You are so, so, beautiful, Gail," Holly emphasized in an attempt to reassure her. "I mean it."
If Gail's current blank expression was anything to go by she definitely doubted it. This was hardly a revelation though; Holly had never met someone so unsure of herself when it came to self-love. Holly knew better though, she had just wished Gail could see herself the way she did; which was incredibly witty, kind, brave, generous, not to mention insanely fucking hot. The list could go on and on, and if whatever was going to happen between them was to work out, she'd make a point of reminding her of these things each and everyday.
As her own words echoed around the small room a warmth passed through Holly's entire body and settled around her heart as she realized how much she wanted this somewhat peculiar creature to stay in her life for as long as humanly possible. Stepping a bit closer, she reached for Gail's now shaking hands that were still clutching at her hair and brought them down to settle in between their chests where she then covered them with her own.
"You know?" Holly questioned trying to gauge a reaction from the steely-eyed woman who looked back at her somewhat solemnly.
"Holly..." Gail uttered breathlessly. The tiredness in her voice was undeniable, as the stress of the past twenty-four hours had finally caught up with her. Gail's entire being felt heavy and it wasn't just from the soaked clothing that currently weighed down her body. It was so much more than that, but she didn't want to think about all that right now, all she wanted to do was try and concentrate on what was right in front of her. Holly. That and the fact that she had no hair.
Gail broke eye contact again, this time her eyes wandered to the pulse emanating through the luminous skin of Holly's long neck. It's not that Gail hadn't heard these words before; she had, many times in fact, it's just they had never carried as much weight as they had now.
Gail knew that others found her attractive…men found her attractive at least until she opened her mouth and a flood of biting words flowed out in a steady stream of sarcasm and snark. Whenever someone told her that she was beautiful she was always waiting for the but at the end of the comment.
How many times had she heard Nick comment that she was beautiful but cold? Even Chris had said that she was a beautiful frost queen, police royalty with a heart of ice. Maybe that's why it felt so different when Holly said it there was no but at the end; it was a strange yet wonderful feeling that didn't seem real. What did Holly see that no one else could? Whatever it was that she saw, Gail was happy that Holly saw it and it had to be true if Holly said it, Gail thought as her eyes slowly found brown ones again.
Holly removed one of her hands that Gail had been clutching onto and placed it directly above her friend's fragile heart.
Gail eyes slowly closed as the warmth of Holly's palm began to permeate through the cold material of her sweater and when she opened them again she found Holly was still studying her closely, eyes glowing with concern, or was it admiration? Gail couldn't really tell.
Holly leaned in further, bridging that final gap between one another and rested their foreheads together.
Now breathing in the same air they both cast their gaze down to the solitary hand that was covering Gail's heart. If it was frozen before it definitely wasn't now; Holly had definitely made sure of that yesterday afternoon. It had only taken a few mindless seconds for Gail's heart to thaw as all those words came spilling out of her friend's mouth, all of which had come from an indisputable place of concern for her safety. Her life meant something to Holly and that had meant even more to Gail.
"Here," Holly gently whispered as she lightly tapped a finger against Gail's chest, directly above her heart. "Beautiful." Gail felt her heart briefly flutter at Holly's kind words, the warmth of them spreading and encapsulating the one thing she thought would be forever broken.
At this point Holly was expecting some sort of verbal response. Anything would do; an audible sound, even a grunt would be acceptable. "You don't believe me?" she said quietly lowering her chin to her chest.
It was a question but the drop in Holly's inflection made it sound like a statement and a somewhat deflated one at that and it hadn't gone unnoticed.
Gail released her hands from the jumbled mess between their chests and Holly's arms dropped down to her sides in dejection before Gail wrapped her arms tightly around Holly's shoulders and pulled her into her chest.
"I heard you the first time," Gail assured her, nestling her face into Holly's neck, seeking the warmth of her skin, and it was only a few seconds later when she felt Holly's long arms snake their way up and around her back and pull her in even closer.
"You did?" Holly began to stoke Gail's back soothingly in slow steady circles.
"Mmm," Gail hummed, not only in answer to Holly's question but because of the gentle hands that were now massaging her tired and tense muscles. "I felt it."
"You did?" Holly looked over Gail's shoulder and into the mirror rather surprised at Gail's sudden admission.
"Mmm," Gail hummed again, both hands finding their way down Holly's spine. "When you kissed me." She traced her fingers along the hem of Holly's t-shirt, just above the waistband of Holly's jeans, edging it up until her fingers, desperately needing more contact, found the slippery skin beneath as she favorably recounted the moment Holly's all-encompassing soft lips had met with her own. It was like nothing she had ever felt before and she couldn't wait to do it again, not only on those soft lips but also on every inch of Holly's body.
"You make me feel..." Gail paused, tilting her head slightly to rest her cheek on Holly's shoulder while trying to think of an appropriate word that would sufficiently convey everything she wanted to say in this moment, but her chain of thought was soon interrupted when Holly sighed heavily into Gail's body, her body going somewhat limp in Gail's arms.
Holly smiled to herself, content and squeezed Gail tighter. "Good."
It was as good an admission as any and of course it was one hundred percent true, Holly made Gail feel so many things and in such a short amount of time too and strangely enough this hadn't freaked her out, well not yet at least. Gail knew herself well enough by now that there was always plenty of time to do that later, perhaps when all the chaos died down and her inner voice had a chance to take over and play on all her insecurities. But not today. Today Gail planned on being present.
"You know what?" Gail released Holly from their embrace and brushed the loose hairs away from Holly's eyes.
"Yes, yes, I know, I know. I am beautiful too," Holly bobbed her head from side to side grinning like the Cheshire cat. She was such an idiot but a charming idiot nonetheless, Gail thought.
"That totally goes without saying, but- I should probably get you out of these clothes," Gail suggested absentmindedly.
"Huh?"
Gail looked straight down at her feet as the words left her mouth, her face a blaze with a blush as red as a her Aunt Mildred's roses. "Wait, no, that sounded… No, what I meant was, we should get out of these wet clothes before we catch pneumonia.
Acutely aware that there was probably a pair of big brown eyes burning holes into her forehead, Gail lifted her head up sheepishly and found a familiar omniscient expression spilling across Holly's face.
"You know, you can't actually catch pneu-"
Gail stopped Holly mid-sentence when she hastily pressed their still moist and swollen lips together. She lingered for a moment, just long enough for the taste of Holly to pass over her own lips.
Holly's eyes were still closed when their lips finally parted. "-monia" she breathed out trying to catch the breath which Gail had just stolen from her.
"I know you big nerd." Gail brushed their noses together before pulling away. "It's an expression?"
The corner of Holly's lips curled upwards as she opened her eyes and was met with a goofily grinning Gail, innocuously shaking her head at her. "Well it's kinda stupid and misleading."
"Oh really." Gail rolled her eyes. "Shit! Somebody alert the expression police!"
Holly laughed loving how easy it was for them to go from such an intense moment to a carefree one. It was in these moments that Holly knew that whatever happened between them that they would be alright.
"But seriously, not that I don't love your bathroom but we are both standing here like a couple of idiots freezing our asses off and I really need a change of clothes." Gail could feel all her limbs going numb. "Can I borrow something of yours?"
"Of course. Will fleece do?" Holly teased, nudging at Gail's shoulder with her own. Gail poked her tongue out petulantly, pulling the sticky, wet sweater outwards off of the skin her chest and stomach so the air could pass through.
"Sure, why not," she shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to try something new, right?"
Gail backed away from Holly and removed her sweater in one swift motion and Holly felt her jaw drop. "Oh, um, I'll just go-" Holly stammered and quickly turned towards the bathroom door acting as if the purple lace bra Gail was wearing was suddenly radioactive.
Gail found it somewhat humorous watching the normally calm and collected woman fumble with the doorknob.
"Wait, where are you going?" Gail asked, appearing curious as she threw her sweater into the bathtub and placed her hands on her hips all while trying to conceal her amusement at Holly's sudden plummeting comfort level. She didn't think Holly was the type to get embarrassed, she was a doctor after all and had seen countless people in various states of undress; okay most of those people were dead but still. Surely she wouldn't be disarmed by a simple bra, though, it was a pretty awesome bra if she said so herself.
Holly looked back at the half naked Gail. "I was just-"
"Holly, you are cold and I'm not about to let you traipse through your house and ruin your perfectly fine carpet." Gail waved her back in.
Holly scoffed. "Its just water, Gail. It'll survive." Had Gail really cared that much about her carpet? She wondered.
"That being said, I am pretty sure you're gonna need help pulling those jeans off. They look awfully tight." Gail laughed leaning back against the sink, her porcelain skin only slightly darker than the white of the sink.
"Oh, I get it." Holly let go of the doorknob, turned and fell backwards against the back of the door. If Gail was going to tease then she could and would tease her right back. "You just want to see me half naked," Holly wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Gail blushed, admittedly getting a bit embarrassed herself. She wasn't used to feeling so exposed and it wasn't because of the lack of clothing she was currently wearing. "Yes, I mean, no, well, it's fine, you're fine, I mean... hot even, I don't. Um? What was I saying?" She faltered. When had she become such a blithering idiot? "Whoa! That was bad!" Gail laughed at herself waving her hand in front of her now warm face for some relief. "Never mind me." She looked back up at Holly whose smile was growing wider by the second. "Oh shut up! You're such an asshole!" Gail told her wanting to wipe the smug look off of her face. "You know, if you are uncomfortable, you don't have to-"
Gail stopped talking momentarily when Holly pulled her T-shirt quickly over her head. "Take your shirt off…" she continued, mouth agape as Holly reached for the button and zipper on her jeans.
Gail's hands gripped the sink tightly and watched on as Holly undid them both and proceeded to wriggle her way out of them. "Yup, and there goes your pants," Gail acknowledged mostly to herself as Holly stepped out of the wet pile of material on the floor, not needing any help after all. Then there were her socks, each teasingly removed one by one while Holly looked her square in the eye. Gail tried her very hardest to focus on them and not let her eyes wander any more than they already had. Yeah, she can't say it was working so well, very hard not to focus on the red lace that barely covered Holly's tantalizing body or the flawless skin that was just begging to be touched.
Holly turned towards the cupboard in the corner and picked out two towels, enjoying the fact that she could make Gail this flustered which could only mean good things in her book.
"Towel?" Holly tilted her head as she held out a big fluffy blue towel towards her new bathroom buddy.
"What?" Gail was confused. "No, Vicky," she said, still brazenly stealing glances at Holly's body, her focus mainly falling on the matching red underwear that she was now imagining herself removing. Fuck! Gail blinked her eyes frantically as she tried to snap herself out of her current train of thought.
Holly was surprised at Gail's slip of the tongue; who the hell was Vicki? Was Gail thinking of other woman already? She let Gail's words sink in for a moment and then shook her head at the stupidity of such a thought. "Gail," she drawled out, her voice impossibly low, a tiny smirk appearing on her face. "Who is Vicky?"
Gail wasn't sure if she had heard right. Surely she didn't say what she just think she said?
Gail looked towards the door and fought her first compulsion to run right through it. "Vicky? Um, Vicky is..." she drifted off taking a very long pause so she could panic some more, tucking her arms in around her sides. Holly already thought she was insane; she really didn't need to give her any more proof of that.
Holly watched as Gail's face turn red, unsure of whether the beads of water that trickled down her face were from the shower they just took together or if in fact she was sweating. Holly laughed for a second and took a few more steps toward the seemingly hot but shivering cold woman and wrapped a towel around her shoulders before doing the same to herself. This creature was hilarious she had thought. "I'll go get you some clothes, you goose. You can tell me more about this Vicky later," she teased.
As soon as Holly had left the bathroom and the door clicked shut, Gail's hands immediately made their way to the cheeks of her very flushed face and finally she turned to face herself in the mirror. "What the fuck did I just say?" She said to her reflection.
Knowing she had to get a grip of all these intense feelings, she breathed in deeply and looked long and hard at her reflection as her complexion changed back to its regular ghost like appearance, turning her head to different angles so she could assess the damage of her new haircut.
Seriously though, what the fuck was she thinking? She leaned forward bracing the edge of the sink tightly as she tried to get her head around it all. How was she going to walk out the front door in the morning looking like this? Despite the pretty reasonable job Holly had done, how was she going to explain this to everyone let alone a hairdresser?
Gail closed her eyes tightly and sighed; how could she be thinking about her hair of all things while her friends were probably dying in their hospital beds? It wasn't that she was a vain person, she really wasn't; but her hair was part of her identity and it was difficult to reconcile how this person staring back at her was Gail Peck.
She was interrupted when the bathroom door suddenly opened. Gail turned to Holly and realized she should probably just cut herself a break, it had been a tough day for everyone, Holly included, so she took one last deep breath in and composed herself.
Thankfully Holly was now fully clothed in a loose grey hoodie, her bottom half donned in a baggy pair of navy sweatpants that hugged nicely at her hips. As much as Gail had enjoyed seeing Holly in her underwear, she thought her raging hormones could probably do with a break.
They smiled at each other warmly as Holly placed Gail's change of clothes on top of the hamper and headed back towards the door.
"Hey, may I borrow a tooth brush?" The taste of bourbon was still quite prominent in Gail's mouth even though she had nearly fully sobered.
Holly turned around and slid her hand up the doorframe and then leaned against it. "Yeah, the pink one is yours," Holly pointed towards the glass on the sink and Gail's eyes automatically followed their direction.
And there it was; the spare toothbrush Holly had given Gail the night she had spent the night in the guest bedroom after Holly had picked her up from the hospital with a burnt wrist.
Gail smiled widely. Holly had kept it. Funny how much that simple gesture lifted her spirits.
"What?" Holly said acting innocent, backing out the door and pulling it slowly with her. "I had a feeling you would be back," she added and the door clicked shut half a second later.
"Oh, did you now," Gail said to herself, grinning at Holly's smugness.
"Yep!" Holly giggled through the door though Gail hadn't realized Holly never left the vicinity of the bathroom.
"Okay, you can get lost now you all-knowing Lunchbox," Gail ordered and she listened to Holly as she laughed her way down the hallway.
She dried off and removed all her remaining wet clothes and was in the middle of puling on the dry raggedy Metallica T-shirt Holly had given her when she heard a voice on the other side of the door. "Gail?"
"Um...Yep?" She called back, quickly pulling the t-shirt down over her waist.
"Did you need boob support?"
Gail scrunched up her nose. "What?" Gail looked at her expression in the mirror and chuckled.
"A bra, Gail. Did you need a bra?" Holly giggled pressing her cheek up against the door.
"No offence, Hol, but I'm pretty sure your bras would swallow me whole."
Holly tapped her fingers against the door and bit the corner of her mouth. "So I take it that's a no then?"
"Yeah, that's a no, Hol, But thanks for the offer," she smiled and shook her head.
Gail was stepping away from the mirror when she noticed something she hadn't before. "Um, Hol?"
"Yep, still here."
"I'm wearing Hulk underwear," Gail pointed out very matter-of-factly as she took in the image of green giant who astonishingly had the same hair cut as her own.
"Cute, right? Thought you could do with the extra strength." Holly had thought Gail would get a kick out of them. Or at least she did knowing Gail was wearing them.
"I thought I had you for that," Gail called out.
"You're sweet."
"And you're a huge dork," Gail protested almost instantly, her defenses going up like a rapid fire at Holly's sickening description of her.
"Thank you," Holly smiled. She was so smitten that she almost hugged the door before disappearing back down the hallway and once more into her bedroom.
When Gail had finished getting dressed she cleaned up the mess she had left in the bathroom as best she could, it was the least she could do after creating it.
After looking at her mop one last time in the mirror she collected all the wet clothes and what was left of the bottle of bourbon and made her way downstairs, leaving the bottle on the kitchen island as she passed it on her way to the laundry where she threw Holly's wet clothes into the washing machine and her own into the dryer above before making her way back upstairs with a couple of much needed glasses of water.
"Hol?" She tentatively nudged open Holly's bedroom door with her foot and found Holly laying on her back across the bed with her phone to her ear. Her legs were bent over the end of the mattress and her feet were touching the floor.
"Thanks for this, see you in a few," Holly said into the handset before dropping it onto her chest and waving Gail to come in. "Hey you, you comfy?" Holly stretched her arms back and put them behind her head for support.
Gail placed the glasses of water on top of the dresser and walked over to the bed, her now warmed sock clad feet touching Holly's.
"Do you have to go to work? Have you been called in?" Gail ignored the initial question. She wasn't ready for Holly to be gone just yet.
"No, no, that was... I have decided I won't go in today." Holly wanted to be there for Gail as long as she would let her. They still hadn't heard any significant news regarding Gail's injured colleagues so she wanted to be around for that, just in case.
"You're not?"
Holly was pretty sure Gail was going to protest, she was probably sick of the attention. "No, and before you say anything, it-"
Gail reached down and squished Holly's lips together with her fingers to stop her from explaining. "Thank you," Gail smiled genuinely. Spending the day together was just what Gail needed, assuming that was what Holly had intended.
Gail dropped down onto the mattress beside Holly; her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her. She turned onto her side and propped her elbow against the mattress and rested her head on the palm of her hand and started to casually tease the drawstrings of Holly's sweatpants. "So who could you possibly be on the phone with at 4am in the morning and should I be jealous?"
"I -" Holly paused as she thought of all the ways that the outcome of this particular phone call could consequently blow up in her face. "I have someone coming over in a few minutes," Holly turned over and mimicked Gail's exact position. She took Gail's free hand and laced their fingers together, suspending their hands in the air in the space between them initiating a gentle game of push/pull.
"Oh, okay," Gail's heart sank as she focused on her fingers that were playing softly against Holly's. "Did you want me to get out of your hair?"
Holly shook her head vigorously; that was the last thing she wanted. "Actually," she waited while her stomach stopped churning, "this person is coming here for you."
Holly curled her fingers tightly around Gail's and pulled both their hands closer into her own chest.
"For me?" Holly watched as a devilish smirk began to slowly appear on Gail's face. "Hol," Gail said low and soft, "did you get me a hooker?"
Holly threw her head back and laughed freely and her hood fell off in the process. It was ridiculous questions like that that were the reason why she had fallen for this woman in the first place.
"I know I am new to this," Gail admitted softly as she crawled over the top of Holly, the body beneath her rolling over onto their back automatically in response.
Gail slowly lowered herself down onto Holly's hips and leaned forward, positioning her hands on either side of Holly's head, letting her fingers getting lost in the mass of damp hair that was sprawled across the bedspread. "But I don't need anyone showing me the ropes," Gail said coyly, eyes twinkling.
Gail lightly teased her own lips with a sweep of her tongue and subtly rocked her hips forward causing Holly to inhale quickly; Gail's unwavering confidence was driving her crazy.
"Funny," Holly scoffed, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible even though her hormones were threatening to go warp speed. She bit her bottom lip as her hands wantonly pushed up Gail's thighs. "You do trust me, don't you?" Holly asked, though weary of Gail answer, hers eyes betraying a lack of confidence. She needed reassurance.
"If I remember correctly," Gail pondered, sinking that tiny bit lower into Holly's lap purposely applying more pressure. She leaned down even further so her face hovered closely over the one beneath her, until they were basically rubbing noses and breathing in the same air, their chests pressed against each other. "My mind is a little hazy after all that intense... you know..." She whispered raising her eyebrows evocatively up and down.
Holly's mouth fell slightly open and Gail couldn't help but notice Holly glaring intensely at her lips.
"Kissing, Gail. It's called kissing," Holly said dryly before lifting her head off the mattress and capturing Gail's lips in what was to be a chaste kiss, but it soon became deeper when Gail pushed Holly's head back into the mattress with the sheer force of hungry lips and an incessant tongue that licked languidly inside Holly's mouth.
Gail finally relented her attack in preference of oxygen, sitting up slowly, still straddling Holly's lap who looked considerably out of breath. Holly was such a smart-ass Gail thought as open hands found their way onto Holly's torso. "Anyway, I did just let you take a pair a scissors to my hair, so yes, I trust you," she paused, "only with my hair that is." Gail finished while struggling to keep a straight face.
Eyebrows knitting, Holly pouted and squeezed Gail's thighs tightly in retaliation but Gail responded by slowly sliding her hands up Holly's ribcage letting her knuckles brush ever so lightly against the underside of Holly's breasts and Holly immediately relented. Gail had only wished there was less material between her hands and Holly's skin.
"Okay, well I hope you don't hate me," Holly confessed, biting the corner of her mouth as Gail slowly slid her hands back down to her waist. She was now convinced Gail was trying to kill her slowly with all the touching and god, was she enjoying all the touching.
"Unless you invited another girl or my mother over for breakfast, I am pretty sure I won't hate you," Gail told her with a gentle smile that eventually morphed into a frown. "Hol, what's going on? You look worried. You didn't invite my mother did you?"
Holly was about to open her mouth when the doorbell buzzed downstairs and they both immediately looked towards the bedroom door. Holly sat up quickly and Gail slid off her lap. Holly stood up and looked back down at Gail who had now scooted up to the end of her bed. "Come with me," she insisted.
Holly held her hand out urging Gail to take it but Gail's hands had already made their way up to her hair when she realized they were about to be in the company of somebody else. "Hol, my hair..."
Holly cocked her head to the side sympathetically. "Honey, I know... but... it looks fine. It'll be fine. Trust me, okay? Just come." Holly nodded trying express that it really was okay.
Gail pouted, and despite her reservations, she took Holly's hand and followed her downstairs and into the kitchen.
Holly pulled out a stool from under the kitchen island and guided Gail gently towards it. "Here, just sit. I'll be back in a sec." Gail nodded while Holly took a moment to run her hand through what was left of Gail's hair before disappearing around the corner to the front door and out of Gail's immediate sight.
Gail leaned over the bench on her elbows and sighed, self-consciously covering as much hair as she could with her hands while trying to eaves drop on Holly and what sounded like another woman, though she didn't recognize the voice.
Moments later when Holly walked back into kitchen she was accompanied by a short blonde woman who was wearing a very smart looking grey pant suit and carrying a gigantic toolbox that looked bigger than her own body. The woman carefully placed the box on the kitchen island opposite from where Gail was sitting and smiled at her.
"Stacey, this is my friend Gail," Holly introduced her.
"Hi Gail, nice to meet you." Gail smiled weakly in response, not making a sound. She was a little unsure of what to make of a woman that shows up at someone's house at 4am in the morning. She didn't look like a hooker at least.
Holly wasn't surprised at how reluctant Gail was to communicate with a stranger, so she made sure to quickly continue with her introduction to ease the obvious tension. "Stacey lives a few doors down. She is married to Rodney. You know, my intern? I have probably talked about him before."
Holly had. Gail had also seen him a few times on the days she had found herself venturing into the lab with very little excuse, but still, nothing as transparent as a sick courier.
"The incessant hummer," Gail nodded.
"Gail!" Holly scolded her, Holly's face turning slightly red as she looked apologetically towards their new houseguest. Gail just casually shrugged her shoulders while Stacey grinned at their exchange.
"Don't worry Holly, he hums while he does a lot of other things too," Stacey admitted willingly with a brief chuckle.
Holly wrinkled her nose on hearing this new and slightly disturbing information. "Stace, that is way too much information for this time of morning; in fact there is never a good time to hear that, especially since you are talking about my underling whom I have to work with and look in the eye every day," Holly laughed, and Stacey shortly followed.
Holly made her way around to the other side of the island to where Gail was sitting and placed her hand on Gail's opposite shoulder and gave it a tentative squeeze. "Gail, Stacey is a hair stylist, she works for CTV news and she is here to do your hair."
She slipped her hand down to Gail's lower back and leaned down to Gail's ear. "I hope this is okay?" She whispered. Given all that was happening at the hospital right now and how helpless Gail had been feeling, she had thought Gail it could at least take back just an ounce of control.
Holly was a little anxious when she didn't get an answer, however breathed a sigh of relief when Gail finally found she had vocal chords and the innate ability to talk, even joke.
"I think I gathered that from her lunchbox of tools there," Gail said quietly, pointing her nose towards the box that Stacey had opened, and was now lining up some of the hair dressing tools onto the bench. Gail was no stranger to hairdressers, having had very frequent visits over the past… however many years to keep her hair this pristinely blonde. She had probably killed her hair anyway, so perhaps chopping it off was a blessing in disguise. Maybe she was due for a change.
"Don't be nervous, Gail, okay? You just stay right where you are and I will fix you right up, though Holly here did a pretty good job, it won't take much. Five minutes tops."
Gail felt Holly's thumb stop moving on her back. Holly had obviously told Stacey what had happened or had at least she had told her something. She didn't mind particularly, it could be much worse; she could just as easily be in the hospital with a bullet in her gut.
"Have you done this many times before?" Gail asked, hoping she wasn't the only crazy person who drunkenly cuts off their own hair.
"You'd be very surprised how often this happens," Stacey replied with an affirmative nod. Gail could tell she was telling the truth.
"Well I am sorry to get you up so early. I don't usually run around like crazy person wielding scissors," Gail quipped, only she purposely left out the drunken part as she stared directly at the half empty bottle of bourbon still sitting on the table next to her. Though on second thought maybe that would have sounded better. It was an excuse at least. Blame the alcohol; always blame the alcohol, she thought.
"I get up at 4am every day, Gail. I promise you, it's not a problem. At least you didn't try and give yourself a mohawk," she joked which Gail appreciated. "Besides, I obviously owe Holly a favor for all my husband's incessant humming."
Holly laughed shaking her head as she made her way over to one of the kitchen cupboards in search of cups and a plate.
"Then I guess now I'm the one who owes Holly the favor," Gail admitted barely above a whisper and more so to herself than anybody else. She could think of a number of ways to return the favor, however, most were not so innocent.
Gail smirked, before a cheeky grin plastered across her face as she observed Holly who continued to potter around her kitchen, totally unaware of the leering blue eyes that were raking up and down her body. It was only when Holly placed a plate with muffin on it down in front of her that Gail realized she had been caught staring as Holly was smirking at her in a self-satisfied way.
"You should eat something," Holly suggested and quite forcefully too while Stacey went to work on Gail's hair. She was just glad the woman was none the wiser of what was currently going on between Gail and herself.
"Only one muffin?" Gail raised one eyebrow as she broke the muffin apart. She slowly placed a small portion on the tip of her tongue and seductively sucked it back into her mouth along with a dainty finger, sliding it back out again as the sweet chocolate dissolved on her tongue.
Aware of what Gail was obviously insinuating, Holly opened her mouth slightly and slid her tongue out across her bottom lip. She bit down, hard and as she dropped her elbows onto the cool marble surface between them, she thought about just how much deep, deep, trouble she was imminently in for.
Without another seconds thought and disregard for own safety, she reached across, intent on taking Gail's muffin and as she successfully dragged the plate back towards her she replied with what would be her most honest answer to a question ever, "Just for starters."
It was exactly seven minutes and twenty five seconds later when Holly first learned who Vicki was, as hurricane Gail had swept through her house making yet another mess.
Clothes had been shed at lightning speed (well Gail's had at least because later she would take her sweet time removing Holly's) and dropped onto the staircase. They had barely even made into Holly's bedroom before Gail was pushing her up against the closest wall and latching onto Vicky, worshiping her as she bit and then soothed the precious freckle with her hot tongue. It wouldn't take long for Gail to discover Winni and Reggie (her two new favorite freckles along the small of Holly's back) and to her surprise Holly discovered and christened Bob the little pizza slice shaped freckle right between her breasts.