A/N: For Tonyandzivafan and all the other YoBling! soldiers at
"No! No! You cannot be serious! You can't do that!"
Catherine halted in the doorway stunned at the anger and bitterness she heard in Warrick's voice. She'd seen him lose his temper before, dozens of times, she'd heard him shout before too but never had she heard him speak with such spite in his words.
Should she stay or leave and give him some privacy to finish his phone call? She eyed him cautiously and apart from the anger that was already present when she entered, he didn't seem to be bothered by her presence, and she really wanted to get out of work as soon as possible so she silently proceeded to her locker.
"Fine! …Fine! You do that!"
Warrick yelled slamming his phone shut, he growled as he threw it into his locker, slamming the door shut he punched it hard. Then, as though all the anger had suddenly drained from him, he sank down onto the bench behind him burying his face in his hands.
Peeking out from behind her locker, she looked at him; he looked broken.
"You ok?" She asked, concerned about him.
"What?" He'd seen Catherine come into use her locker; he'd just been too busy to acknowledge it. "Oh! Yeah! It's just… that was Tina" He raised his eyebrows in a you-know-yourself kind of way. His voice rising slightly towards the end of the sentence as though he was trying to control his temper.
"She's filing for divorce and apparently she'll be keeping the apartment" He shook his head, how did it all end up like this?
She felt sorry for him, Warrick was a great guy; he didn't deserve this. She sat down beside him on the bench and pulled him into her chest. "Oh Warrick!" She sighed, "Sometimes these things just…happen." She shook her head slightly, unable to think of anything better to say to comfort him.
"I know! I tell you if I had known this side of her a year and a half ago, I never would have married her."
"Well you barely knew her when you married her." Catherine couldn't stop herself, the words came out before she'd realised she was saying them. "I'm so sorry!" She apologised immediately.
"Nah…it's ok!" He interrupted her, "You have a point. I mean you're right I had only known her for 5 months when I married her, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly was I? How long can you expect a drive-thru marriage to last anyway?" He joked, forcing a smile.
"But still…" She frowned, "I shouldn't have said that."
"It's OK!" He said to her, looking her in the eye. She saw the pain and hurt in his gorgeous green eyes and remembered what she had gone through when she and Eddie split up. Standing up, she reached into her locker and removed her black jacket, pulling it on she turned to face him again.
"Come on!" She said; it was more of a command than a request. "We're going out! I'm taking you out! Drown your sorrows, cheer you up…keep me company, pick your reason, just come one!" She waited impatiently in the doorway. Afraid of what might happen if he had to be told twice he got up, got his own jacket from his locker and followed her out of the building.
They flagged down a cab and Catherine told the driver where to take them. The two co-workers spent the rest of the journey in silence, each stealing glances at the other when they thought he or she wasn't looking. It was when Catherine looked down and noticed there was no wedding band on Warrick's finger that the thought occurred to her.
Warrick is single.
She knew he and Tina were having problems and she knew they were separated and that they were getting divorced but it wasn't until now that she realised that all that meant that Warrick was single again. Suddenly she couldn't wait to get to the club.
After a few more stolen glances, and what felt like forever to Catherine, they arrived at their destination. Some club; could have been any club in Vegas for all they knew, neither of them really cared where they were. Warrick, being the perfect gentleman, paid and tipped the cab driver, much to Catherine's complaint. She was mouthing something about how she was taking him out and it was supposed to be her treat, so in an effort to appease the grumbling red head he agreed to let her buy him a drink. A somewhat sinister smile crept over her face and she smiled at him, "You're on!" Why did it seem like a threat? He worried about what she was planning. After entering the club, Catherine headed straight for the bar, whispering something to the bar man who's eyes widened a little. He nodded at her and she turned back to Warrick, "You wanna grab a table?" She wasn't asking, she was telling. Her forcefulness stirred something inside Warrick, to him not being afraid to take control was one of the sexiest features in a woman, so he was happy to oblige.
Sitting across from each other conversation flowed effortlessly between them, so much so that they almost didn't notice a waitress coming over with a tray full of alcohol. Warrick's eyes widened as she proceeded to unload all of it onto their table.
Does she really expect me to drink all that? Is she crazy?
"Enjoy!" Said the young, blonde waitress as she walked away with her empty tray, privately wishing the couple good luck with being able to walk out of the club after drinking all that booze.
"When Eddie and I split up, I went out to a club and polished of this exact combination of alcohol. When I woke up the next morning with the hangover from hell, I attributed it to the hideousness of the marriage and never looked back." She smiled, he still felt apprehensive of the amount of alcohol that sat on the table before him. She pushed a shot glass full of colourless liquid towards him and took one for herself. "Cheers!" She smiled at him as he timidly picked up the tiny glass. "Cheers!" He toasted her and they downed the liquid, which turned out to be tequila.
They sat there for over an hour, laughing and talking together. They discussed their co-workers and old cases, their families and their divorces, their likes and dislikes, the whole time working on getting rid of all the alcohol before them. There was definite chemistry between them, but then there always had been. It occurred to Warrick somewhere around the 3rd round of tequila shots that he was single again. He was a single man out at a club with a very beautiful, very sexy, also single woman; a woman who he had always been attracted to. There was no denying it, before he met Tina Warrick had a thing for Catherine; truth be told he still had a thing for Catherine even when he was with Tina. And now, they were out at a club together.
He cracked some stupid joke about Greg and she fell about laughing, maybe she was feeling the effects of the alcohol but whatever it was her laughter filled the air; it was infectious. Within seconds they were both in hysterics. Calming down, there was a lull in the conversation, they looked at each other. Their eye contact sparked some serious heat between them; they both could feel it, they just didn't know what to do about it.
Shaking her head slightly, she passed him another shot
"Drink up!" she instructed and he obediently drank the shot.
"Great! Now..." She began as she rose from her seat, "Let's dance!" Grabbing his large, surprisingly soft hands she attempted to pull him from his seat. He resisted.
"Nah...No way! I don't dance!" He informed her, shaking his head in protest. She rolled her eyes at him and pulled him even harder in the direction of the dancefloor.
"Now I know that is a lie! I've seen you dance before."
"When?" He asked, indignantly.
"In the locker room, with your headphones on dancing in your locker thinking no one could see you. So I know you can dance!" She informed him. He hung his head a little, embarrassed that she had witnessed that.
"Now come on!" She gave one last firm pull on his hands and offered him a flirty smile. He finally caved in, partly because he knew she wouldn't quit until she got him on the floor but also partly because he realised it would be a great excuse to be close to her.
Catherine led him to the dance floor, putting a little extra sway in her hips as she did so. It did not go unnoticed. Holding hands, they began to spin and sway to the beat of the music. Their motions mirroring each other in perfect timing. As the tempo of the next song sped up so did their movements not to mention their pulses. Their bodies moved closer and closer as the beat pounded on.
Her hands found their place on his muscular shoulders, his found their way to the small of her back, pulling each other in closer as they moved. Losing themselves in the music, in each other, it was as though they were the only two people in the club, in the world even. Watching the way she moved as he spun her out, he asked himself
Why am I fighting this?
Catching her from the spin and pulling her so close to him he could almost feel her heartbeat against his chest. She could feel it too. Neither of them could explain what it was that was going on between them, all they knew was it felt right. The song came to an end, much sooner than either of them wanted it to.
Leaning into her he spoke gently in her ear. "You know, I'm glad I came out tonight!" He smiled, his voice was smooth; like honey it trickled down her spine making her insides go crazy.
"You welcome!" She said, her voice sounded husky and seductive, gazing deep into those sparkling green eyes, those eyes that filled her dreams more nights than she would care to admit. He stared back at her, the tension was becoming unbearable, the heat between them was rising to boiling point. This was it, they both knew it; they both wanted it and after years of flirting and tension they finally leaned in for their first kiss.
It was soft and sweet but also passionate and intense. His lips felt soft and warm against her own. His tongue rhythmically massaging hers, his arms pulling her as close to him as was physically possible; he never wanted to let her go, and she didn't want him to either. It had taken them almost 8 years to finally get together and right now they were making up for lost time.