Staring Disorder
"You know, you have a staring disorder. You should go talk to her already." Speed suggested. "It's hard to concentrate when you're sitting there staring..."
"I'm not staring. And I do not have a staring disorder" Eric rolled his eyes. "I may, may, happen to glance over there every so often... but I'm so not staring."
"Yes you do. And you are staring." Speed told his friend. "And staring, it's not polite. And when people aren't being polite, I get distracted."
"You," Eric laughed, "Are not polite." Speed smirked and went back to photographing the piece of evidence he had been photographing.
"What are y'all up to?" Calleigh smiled brightly entering the room.
"We're just discussing whether or not Eric was..." Speed began.
"Going to crack the case." Eric cut in, shooting his friend a glare.
"Oh!" Calleigh exclaimed, her smile getting, if possible, bigger than it previously had been. "What do you guys have?"
"Oh, nothing yet." Eric answered. "We're just you know..."
"Betting." Speed shrugged. Eric was, after all, his friend, and despite the fact that he loved to tease him, well, he was his friend. Calleigh just shook her head in amusement. Before anyone could say anything else, Eric's pager went off.
"That's Sam." He announced, reading the message. "He's got something for us."
"I'll come with you." Calleigh suggested as he got up to leave the room.
"Sure." Eric tried to contain his smile.
"Have fun." Speed smiled as they left. Finally, he could get back to work. Delko was his best friend, Calleigh a close second, and he loved them both... but how neither of them could see the way they felt was beyond him. It was obvious to anyone. They'd realize it... sometime. He hoped.
--&
"Eric, Calleigh," Sam smiled as they made their way into his lab.
"Hi Sam," Calleigh smiled brightly. Eric forced a smile. He'd never been a Sam fan.
"What do you have for us?" Eric wanted to get this over and done with.
"It should be done in a minute." Sam told him. Eric narrowed his eyes at the man. Not only was he not a fan of Sam, but he also didn't like the way he was looking at Calleigh.
"Why did you page us if it wasn't done yet?" Eric asked, annoyed.
"It's alright Eric." Calleigh smiled trying to prevent an argument from ensuing between the two men.
"Yeah Eric. It'll just be a minute." Sam was mocking him. Eric did not like to be mocked.
"Fine." Eric muttered.
"So Calleigh," Sam began. "You look lovely today."
"Thank you Sam." Calleigh accepted the compliment.
"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out later, for a drink?" Sam asked. Eric was getting increasingly impatient as he began to pace about the room. Not only did he have to stand here and wait for results that should have been ready when he was paged, and not only was he wasting time he could be spending analyzing evidence, but he also had to stand here and listen to a man he didn't like hit on Calleigh. He didn't like to think about other men hitting on Calleigh, because well, when he thought about it, he figured that should be his job. But, he supposed, he didn't want to hit on Calleigh, because to him, that sounded slightly demeaning. He wanted to date Calleigh. So he didn't like to think about other men dating Calleigh.
"Eric?" Sam asked.
"What?" Eric snapped, turning around.
"Results." Calleigh told him, heading for the door. Dammit. He had zoned out and missed the rest of the conversation. Now he didn't know whether or not Calleigh was going out for drinks with Sam. "Robert didn't do it." Calleigh deducted after reading over what Sam had printed off for them.
"It must have been Parker." Eric sighed, going over the case in his head and naming their second best suspect. "I'll go tell Speed if you call Tripp?"
"Sounds like a plan." She smiled flirtatiously, and he smiled back, forgetting his anger at Sam.
"Alright, see you later." He told her as they parted ways.
--&
"What now?" Speed asked as Eric entered the lab.
"What?" Eric asked.
"You walked in here with a look of... disdain on your face." Speed commented. Eric sat down in the chair beside his friend.
"I'm screwed." He complained.
"What now?" Speed repeated. "Really Eric, next time, just answer the question."
"Sam asked Calleigh out tonight, and I zoned out into an angry rant about Sam in my head and missed her reply. And I was going to ask her out tonight."
"Right." Speed remarked sarcastically.
"I was! I realized that I have... feelings, for her." Eric admitted, embarrassedly.
"Well, congratulations." Speed remarked dryly.
"But this sucks!" Eric continued. "Because she knows I could hear her conversation with Sam, so if I ask her out tonight, and she said yes to Sam, then I'll look like an idiot."
"No." Speed answered before Eric could ask.
"Please?" Eric pleaded.
"No. I am not asking Calleigh if she's going out with Sam tonight." Speed said firmly.
"Why not? I'd owe you big time." Eric pointed out.
"Because. When Calleigh first started working here, I asked her out. Like, within the first month. And we went out once, and decided we were better off as friends, well, she decided. So if I ask her then she'll know I'm not interested in her and assume I'm interested in Sam. And I don't want her to think that. Besides, she'll know you talked to me." Speed told him.
"That's embarrassing." Eric laughed. "Fine. I'm on my own."
"Indeed you are." Speed nodded. Eric sat there in silence, a plan forming in his mind as Speed continued doing the work that needed to be done.
--&
That night, at six o'clock, specifically, Calleigh left the ballistics lab. This, Eric decided, did not look promising. Calleigh hardly ever left on time. Maybe she was going out with Sam. She made her way to her car, and Eric followed behind, trying his best to look inconspicuous. He could be stealth, if he tried. He got in his car as she pulled out of her parking space, and followed her. By some miracle, the roads of Miami were not in their usual chaotic state and he was able to follow her home. By this point, he felt like a stalker. It then crossed his mind that she may get worried that she was being stalked. She could shoot him! Or do women shoot harmless stalkers? He didn't want to find out, either way. He parked outside on the street as he pulled up to her building. He'd been there on a few occasions to hang out, as they were friends. Good friends. Good friends, he figured, didn't usually stalk each other. But this was a ... special circumstance. Yes. And it wasn't stalking. It wasn't. Really. He had, once again, zoned out of his thoughts and Calleigh had now, he assumed, gone into her building. Now he was stuck with a dilemma. Was she going home to get ready for a date with Sam, or was she just going home? His thoughts, however, were put to an end when he heard a knock on the window of his car. Busted. He unlocked the doors, and she got in the passenger seat.
"Eric," She had a weird look on her face. A sort of smile that could be interpreted as amused, annoyed, or maybe just completely devious... he wasn't sure. But he liked it.
"Calleigh." He decided that was a safe thing to say.
"Why were you stalking me?" She asked. Amused. Definitely amused. This was a good thing.
"I... it wasn't stalking." He told her. She giggled a bit. Not the reaction he had been expecting.
"Well, why were you following me home then?" She asked. Honesty. This would be the time for honest.
"Well, see, I wanted to... I wanted to see if you could... well, go out or something tonight. But Sam asked you out, but then I zoned out in an angry rant in my mind about Sam and I didn't hear whether or not you said you'd go out with him... and then I wanted to know, because I was..."
"You were what?" She was trying to repress her smile, and he didn't think she'd ever looked cuter. All rational thought escaping his mind, he leaned over and pressed his lips gently to hers. She automatically, and completely without thought, responded to the kiss. When they pulled apart, eyes closed and breathless, she asked again, "You were what?"
"I was jealous." He admitted, embarrassedly.
"Aw," She smiled, pressing another quick kiss to his lips. "You know what Eric? You're cute."
"Is that a... good thing?" He asked, not sure what to think. In fact, he was sure that he wasn't thinking much of anything at this point and time. He was surprised he was not struck by illiteracy.
"It is." She nodded. "Now let's go inside for a minute. This isn't the most comfortable thing in the world."
"Sounds like a plan to me." He nodded, getting out of the car. He quickly made his way over to her side and opened her door for him.
"I always imagined you to be a gentleman," She winked exaggeratedly.
"Well, anything for you, Ms. Duquesne." He smiled.
"Also, do you by chance have a swimsuit with you?" She asked.
"A swimsuit?" He repeated, slightly confused.
"Yes. I assume, as you are a diving expert, you know what one is." She laughed.
"Actually, we wear wet suits." He laughed, "But yes, I do keep a swimsuit with me... just in case."
"Wonderful. Bring that too." She told him. They made their way into her building and into the elevator where there may have occurred some... innocent exploration on their way up to her floor. Finally, they were inside of her apartment. "You can change in the bathroom, and then make yourself comfortable. I'll be a minute." She told him as she disappeared down the hallway. He wandered down the hallway after her, finding the bathroom and quickly changing. Making his way back out, he placed his clothes on the sofa in her living room and sat down, turning on the TV. There was nothing really exciting on at six o'clock except for the News which he began to watch. He watched headlines float across the screen for several minutes before he heard Calleigh making her way back down the hallway towards the living room.
"Okay, I'm ready to go." She told him. He turned around to find her standing before him in nothing but a pair of shorts and a bikini top.
"Where... exactly are we going?" He gulped. If she didn't look delectable and gorgeous at any time on any day... he didn't know how to describe her now.
"Swimming, silly." She smiled. He could really get used to this cute, playful side of her.
"Right. Bathing suits. Let's go." He nodded. Back to the elevator and down to the pool at the bottom of the building. As soon as they reached the pool level, Eric dived in, but Calleigh was not so quick.
"Come on, it's warm!" Eric encouraged her. "Heated, indoors..."
"I know. I just... like to take my time." She told him. So he pretended to swim while he stared at her getting into the pool.
"Eric, you're staring." She laughed.
"I have an, um, staring disorder." He told her. Swimming over to the stairs where she was getting into the pool, he stood up and she looked at him warily.
"Eric..." She began, knowing exactly what he was planning.
"Calleigh..." He teased. Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her with him into the pool. She shrieked.
"Eric!" He silenced her with a kiss. Half swimming, half walking, as they were in the shallow end, he continued to kiss her until her back was against the side of the pool and the water didn't seem cold or intimidating at all anymore.
"See? Getting into the water quickly isn't all that bad." He teased, giving her another quick kiss which she eagerly returned.
"So I'm beginning to." She smiled against his lips. "But you know, there are security cameras in this pool room... "
"I don't think the security guards would mind." He smirked.
"Don't flatter yourself," She laughed, pulling away from him slightly. He pouted, and she gave him the perfect mixture cute and sultry all in one look.
"You know where there aren't security cameras?" She asked, the look still on her face, "In my apartment."
"Well, Ms. Duquesne, lead the way." He laughed as they hurriedly made their way out of the pool area. And that is when Eric fell in love with Calleigh Duquesne.