There were so many people at this party. Anyone who had ever worked on the show, from PAs to actors to set designers, had showed up for this event. He was schmoozing around the room, taking selfies with anyone who wanted one. He was good at that - working a crowd, making smalltalk or talking about how much he loved this show, this city or this character. What he wasn't good at, however, was dealing with his emotions about Connie; How he felt about her departure, her return, and just her in general really. Because what he felt was an undeniably strong attraction to her. She was beautiful, obviously. Anyone could tell you that. But she was also selfless, hilariously funny, witty, insanely talented and she had a heart of gold. Her empathy and her desire to help others overwhelmed him. She was a good person. He had tarnished that, and he felt guilty about it. It wasn't supposed to go down this way, him and her. None of this was ever supposed to happen. But sometimes, faith steps in and fucks everything up. They had tried to fight it for as long as they possibly could, they truly had. But once their jobs consisted of making out on set, there was nothing else left to do besides be together. Once they had gotten a taste of what it felt like, there was absolutely no turning back. It was terrifying, like diving into the deepest part of the ocean without knowing if you will ever be able to make it back out again. As it turned out though, neither of them wanted to resurface.

He was laughing with a producer when he suddenly spotted her from across the room. No matter how many people were in a room, they always managed to find each other. They could have conversations with just one look, much like their characters.

He smiled at her, one of his crooked smiles. She smiled back at him. He nudged his head towards a storage closet, never taking his eyes off her. He gazed at her, suddenly serious. It was almost imperceptible, but she nodded at him. He apologized to whoever he was talking to and made his way to the closet first. He entered, turned on the light and waited. It had been months since they had seen each other and he couldn't wait to pick up where they left off. He was craving her so badly: her lips, the way she tasted, his fingers buried in her hair, her smell...But first, they needed to talk. They had argued last time they had seen each other. It was always about the same things: how they couldn't keep falling back into old habits every time she came to town, how they both agreed he couldn't leave his wife for her - he had to do it for himself...but then they also talked about how difficult it had been to be away from each and then somehow, they would end up in bed together or in the back of his truck. It just kind of always happened. So, he knew they needed to have a serious conversation, possibly an argument, but he knew it would probably end with him finally being inside her again.

Connie walked in the closet and shut the door, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself. It's good to see you. How are things?" He asked.

"...How are things? Things are not great, Chip. I miss you." She replied, her brow furrowed.

"I know, I know. I miss you too. So much. I dream about you almost every night, baby. I was so happy when you said you would be here for this."

"When are you going to leave her, Chip? Your kids are grown. You're as unhappy as ever. I know you've been in this marriage for most of your adult life but damnit, it ended a long time ago. When are you going to face that and finally do what you wanna do?"

He wasn't expecting her to go straight for this.

"Babe..." He pleaded with her.

"No. I've had a lot of time to think while we have been apart and I came in here to tell you that I just can't do this anymore. I may be in town for the next few days and we might have a few scenes to shoot, but you and me are through. We are not having sex in any closets this time."

He looked at her, his face covered in shock. This wasn't the first time she said these kinds of things to him. And yet...

Suddenly, he smirked at her. The closet was small enough as it is and there wasn't much room between them to begin with. He took a small step towards her, tucked her hair behind her earlobe and moved in towards her, slowly. Once his mouth reached her ear, he gently whispered

"Well then...I guess we'll see about that later, won't we."

She closed her eyes and shivered. He placed a hand on her hip as he moved to give her a light kiss on her cheek.

She had rehearsed that entire speech on the plane over there. She thought she had done a good job with it, but why on earth did she agree to meet him in a closet, of all places? That was just dangerous.

She didn't want to do this. The truth was, she never wanted to be away from him. But she was sick and tired of waiting for him to do the right thing. As much as she craved his touch and his mouth on her, she was also plagued with guilt.

Then, he slowly moved his hand from her hip up to her right breast. He gently passed his hand over it. Connie gasped.

Chip moved his head back towards her ear and whispered to her once again.

"Baby...you can't resist me - the same way I can't resist you. I'll see you later." He said, brushing passed her closely to make sure she knew just how much he couldn't resist her.

Damnit. She was fucked. Quite literally