Horatio studied Rhonda as she stood on the threshold of his condo. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the sight she presented all rumpled and sticky.
"Go ahead," she said in tired resignation.
"Excuse me?"
"I know you are dying to laugh," she explained. "So, go ahead. Get it out of your system."
Horatio smiled and surmised, "You lost the coin toss, didn't you?"
Rhonda nodded.
&/&/&
To take his mind off of Rhonda "borrowing" his shower, since she practically tossed him out of the bathroom, Horatio wandered into the kitchen and searched the cabinets for a snack. He found the package of unopened Double Stuff Oreo cookies Rhonda had stashed away the week before.
Seeing them gave him an evil idea.
&/&/&
Horatio was quietly munching on an Oreo when Rhonda walked into the kitchen. Her damp hair was pulled up into a ponytail and Horatio smiled at the prospect of nibbling on her neck instead of the cookie in his hand.
Rhonda spotted the package of cookies and decided that she could have some fun at Horatio's expense. She thought it was amusing how food had become an integral part of their relationship. She grabbed a glass from the dish drain and poured herself a glass of milk.
"Do you feel human again?" Horatio asked with a wry grin. He watched her pull out a chair and draped herself in it as if she were boneless. Her physical flexibility always amazed him.
"Somewhat," Rhonda replied with a wry grin of her own. "Speed is going to pay for letting me fall face first into that dumpster." She blew a strand of her hair off her forehead before taking a large sip from her glass. "Nice of you to have saved me some, mister."
Horatio shrugged. He dunked the cookie he had been holding into his glass of milk and then took a bite out of it. "Possession is nine-tenths of the law," he quipped before finishing off the cookie and snagging another one. "And you have a mustache."
"Not anymore," she remarked as she licked the top of her lip clean.
"Tease."
"And your point is?"
"Just a casual observation."
"I see."
Horatio gave her a crooked smile.
Rhonda watched him eat a couple more while she formulated her plan to try and get one over him. "You're doing it wrong," she informed him.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"I don't believe so."
"Yes, you most certainly are."
"What makes you an expert?" Horatio inquired.
"Three siblings, a houseful of cousins and a handful of nieces and nephews," Rhonda retorted, stating her qualifications.
"All right," Horatio conceded, catching onto what Rhonda was plotting. "Show me how you do it." He handed her a cookie and gave her his undivided attention.
Rhonda took the cookie making certain that her fingers didn't brush Horatio's or she would be lost. When he was touching her, she had a terrible time concentrating on the littlest of things let alone setting a trap.
She opened the cookie and slowly licked the crème filling from each half. She put the cookie back together again before leaning forward and dunking it in Horatio's glass of milk. She finished it off in two bites. She licked the crumbs off her lips and smirked at him.
Horatio smirked back. "Your way certainly has merit," he remarked as he pulled another cookie from the package. He held it out. "Show me again?"
Rhonda gawked at him in mute surprise.
Horatio chuckled.
"You dirty old man," she breathed.
"You started it," he pointed out.
Rhonda shook her head and started to chuckle. He had once again managed to beat her at her own game.
"What?" Horatio asked, uncertain that he wanted to know Rhonda's answer.
Rhonda pulled herself out of her chair and made herself at home in Horatio's lap. She slipped her hands into his hair and pulled his head down. Before she kissed him she whispered, "I didn't start it, but I'll certainly finish it."
The End