Fisher had needed to swing past his actual office to pick up some files related to their latest stitch, but the detour meant that he was late arriving at the lab. Finding the staging area practically deserted, Fisher reasoned that the rest of the group must already be gathered in the conference room, and therefore headed in that direction. Stepping quickly down the back walkway, Fisher was just about to open the conference room door when he heard Linus ask a very pointed question.
"So what exactly is the deal with you and Fisher?" the communications expert asked.
"What do you mean, deal?" Camille's response was nonchalant, and Fisher imagined her raising an eyebrow expectantly.
"Don't act like you don't know what he's talking about," Cameron chimed in, his chair creaking as he adjusted his position. "Tall, dark and broody has been staring you down all week."
"Don't be ridiculous," Camille drawled snidely, and Fisher grinned to himself as he pictured the sneer on her face. Cameron was right of course; Fisher had been unable to keep himself from watching Camille whenever she was around, and he knew it wasn't subtle, but he didn't even care. He'd even taken to getting as close to her as possible when he could; dragging his hand along the back of any chair she occupied, and leaning over her shoulder to read from her tablet when the opportunity arose. If Fisher didn't know her any better, he'd have sworn he wasn't getting a reaction, but he'd learned all of her little idiosyncrasies, so he could now pick when something was out of the ordinary. He'd caught her sharp intake of breath the first time his face had come inches from her own, and he'd watched with satisfaction as a blush had settled on her cheeks when their eyes had met across the room. They'd barely said a word to each other since that night at his house, but the silence between them spoke volumes.
"You're the ridiculous one," Kirsten spoke up, her mouth obviously full of food. "Get off the denial train."
"That's rich, coming from you," Camille shot back.
"Waiting for someone?"
Fisher jumped a mile at the sound of Maggie's voice, and he turned with a sheepish look on his face to find her staring at him with an expectant expression on her face.
"Thought you might want the door opened for you," he murmured vaguely, and Maggie rolled her eyes at him as she strode past him and into the conference room. Fisher quickly followed, and as the group of four already in the room rearranged themselves into more attentive positions, Fisher sank into the vacant chair closest to Camille, and watched her out of the corner of his eye until he saw her glance his way. No one else saw it, but her upper lip twitched in the beginnings of an amused smile. Sliding his files across the table to Maggie as she started to launch into her analysis, Fisher took the opportunity to move his chair closer to Camille's, so his knee pressed up against hers. Camille straightened her back slightly at the move, but made no attempt to break their contact. Fisher barely heard the rest of the conversation, concentrating only on the warmth of her leg against his, and the only reason he knew the meeting had come to an end was when Kirsten, Linus and Cameron suddenly rose from the table and left the room while Maggie called out a warning as she brought up the rear. Fisher caught the tail end of an argument about hydroponic plants as he glanced towards Camille, who wrinkled her nose at him as she gave him a shy smile.
"You catch any of that at all, Fishy?" she murmured teasingly, and Fisher felt the corner of his mouth curl into a bashful grin as he hung his head for a moment.
"Maybe you can bring me up to speed tonight," he offered, looking up into her liquid chocolate eyes. "Workout at my place?"
Camille blew out a soft breath as she grimaced.
"I don't really feel like working out tonight," she said slowly, and Fisher felt his heart sink a little as he pushed his chair back slightly.
"Oh... well," he murmured, making to stand up as he avoided her gaze.
"I could handle dinner though," Camille stated. Fisher stopped short, and he blinked at her slowly as he rose to his feet.
"Right," he finally managed to spit out. Camille grinned lazily as she stood up.
"I'll bring the food, if you have the beer waiting," she smiled. "I'll see you at eight?"
"Eight," Fisher confirmed, swallowing hard as he tried to bring his heartbeat back under control. Camille grinned at him again, and Fisher swore he heard a little laugh under her breath as she left the room. Shaking his head in attempt to clear the sudden buzzing in his ears, Fisher had to admit to himself that he'd just been bested at his own game, and damn it to hell if it didn't make him want her even more than he already did.
