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Chase clawed zealously at his neck tie as he walked into his apartment. The Jersey humidity was getting to him. The entire state was beginning to feel like one big gigantic sauna. For a brief moment, he longed for home where although it was still hot, it was dry. And he'd take a dry heat over humidity any day.
He was halfway to the living room when he stopped and listened for a moment. He could hear Abbie singing in the next room, but he knew by the sound of her voice and her apathy to pitch that she wasn't rehearsing; she was having fun.
He unceremoniously dropped his things where he stood in the middle of the foyer before he finished removing his tie and un-tucking his shirt. He walked into the living room with a broad smile on his face, knowing that she would run into his arms the moment she saw him.
But she didn't.
Her back was turned to him, her iPod in hand with the volume loud enough that he could make out the bass line. She was singing along to some ridiculous song about someone not stealing whoever's boyfriend.
She was in one of his shirts that brushed against her mid thigh and the thin cotton did little to hide the outline of the black undergarments that she was wearing.
Her long chestnut colored hair flew about as she tossed her head and continued to dance without inhibition, completely oblivious to his presence.
His smile faltered as the sight of her in so little sank in, but broadened once more mischievously. He quickly took off his shoes and socks to complement her bare feet and crept up behind her as close as he could without her noticing him. Once he was certain that she hadn't noticed him, he began to mimic her movements, hair tosses and all. He was so going to get smacked for this, but he knew that she'd laugh eventually.
Abbie spun around and came face to face with him. Her jaw dropped and a deep blush spread across her fair cheeks.
"Robert!" she shrieked, hastily pulling the earphones out of her ears.
"Abigail!" he mocked while he continued to dance erratically.
"Knock it off!" she chided, smacking him hard on the shoulder. He took the opportunity to pull her close and give her a loud kiss before continuing to dance. Abbie scoffed at him and put her hands on her hips. She glared at him a moment before stalking over to the couch and sitting down in a huff.
Chase stopped dancing and looked over at her. Her arms were folded across her chest. Her legs were crossed and the foot that hung in the air twitched irritably. Her face was turned away from him, but he could tell that her expression was stern, and if he looked close enough he could even see that she was just barely sticking out her lower lip for an added effect. She was so adorable when she pouted.
"Hey," he said softly, walking over and crouching down in front of her. "You know that I was just messing around, right?"
He grinned when he noticed the corners of her mouth twitching up into a smile.
"Yeah," she agreed, meeting his gaze out of the corner of her eyes.
Without another word, he pried the iPod out of her hand and disconnected the headphones before he began searching through her playlists. His nose wrinkled in disgust with each passing artist; Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, Nick Lachey—he paused for a moment before going back to John Mayer.
He would work.
Chase quickly scanned through the songs; deciding that "Your Body is a Wonderland" was too cliché, he settled on "Come Back to Bed" instead.
Chase stood up and walked over to the entertainment unit and plugged the iPod into its stereo adaptor. By the time the opening drum riff had given way to John's electric guitar, he had Abbie in his arms and he swayed with her gently in the middle of his living room.
"This is really kind of cheesy, you know that, right?" she teased.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed, "but I also know that you like it anyway."
She looked down to their barely moving feet and back up to where the iPod was connected to the stereo. She looked back to Chase with an expression that he couldn't quite read.
"You are aware that this is a 'take me back, I'm an idiot' song, right?" she asked, though she was slightly amused at his mistake.
All he could do was look at her for a moment before he tried to laugh it off.
"Oh, yeah, I knew that," he lied.
Abbie looked at him skeptically.
"All right, so I picked it because it sounded sexy," he admitted.
She rolled her eyes and smiled before pressing her lips to his and resting her head on his shoulder.
Chase's intention, however, didn't include keeping this as chaste as she probably thought. He slipped a hand underneath her shirt and rested it on the curve of her lower back and running the tips of his fingers along the waistline of her low rise panties. Abbie looked up at him with a smirk; vivacity was dancing in her eyes.
"Are you trying to feel me up, doctor?" she asked in mock indignation.
He looked back at her with a serious expression, his brow furrowed as if he were working on a particularly difficult case.
"Routine exam," he told her.
"I see," was all that she was allowed to utter before his lips were on hers.
Her lips were supple beneath his as she opened to him allowing him further exploration. Her arms were draped over his shoulders while she ran her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck.
He slipped his other hand beneath her shirt, joining it with its mate in running up along the soft skin of her back. Her sighs and moans became more audible as he teased and nibbled on her bottom lip. He soon abandoned her lips for the soft skin of her neck and shoulders as he undid the top few buttons of her shirt exposing more of her to him. He began to kiss and lick along her collarbone before pulling back and blowing lightly on her damp skin. She pulled herself closer to him, encouraging him to continue his ministrations as he undid the final buttons to her shirt and swept it from her shoulders, allowing it to flutter to the floor.
"Please don't stop," she pleaded.
He reattached his mouth to hers as Abbie began working on the buttons to his shirt. He ran one hand down to her thigh and wrapped it around his hip. She took his hint and jumped into his arms wrapping her other leg tightly around him as he began to move them both towards the bedroom. She had his shirt off before they fell onto his bed and the last chord to "Come Back to Bed" resonated through the vacant living room.