So
complicated, I'm so frustrated.
I wanna hold you close, I wanna
push you away,
I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.
Should I say it.
Should I tell you how I feel.
Oh, I want
you to know.
But then again I don't. It's so complicated.
Opening the door to her apartment, Calleigh sighed. When did life get so complicated? It seems like a theme lately. She set down her bag and kicked off her black stiletto boots, ready to keep thinking about the newest case at hand, rather than the dark-eyed Cuban currently residing in her mind. Calleigh buried herself in the files for a few hours, distracting herself from the very topic that made her pulse quicken. Jumping as her phone buzzed, she glanced at the caller ID, smiling as she answered.
"Hey Eric," Calleigh answered a little breathlessly
"Hey cal, you busy?"
Calleigh smiled a little wider at his plain question. Well, the case isn't going to get solved in one night. She leaned back on her couch cradling the phone between her shoulder and cheek. "I was working on a case, but I'm not getting anywhere," she replied, neglecting to tell him exactly why she wasn't getting anywhere, "what'd you have in mind?"
"Well," Eric started to respond as a knock sounded from Calleigh's front door.
"Hang on one sec," Calleigh interrupted him as she walked to the foyer of her apartment. Opening her crème colored door, she was surprised to see the very reason for her smile standing in the hallway balancing Chinese food and a Blockbuster bag while wearing a grin on his ridiculously handsome face. Hanging up his phone, he gave Calleigh a more sheepish look.
"Today seemed a little awkward. I wanted to make sure things were ok between us and I thought that Chinese food and a comedy was a good way to start," he quickly answered her unasked question. Calleigh hesitated. She was torn between letting him in and telling him she was actually busy.
"Did you bring the wontons?" Calleigh asked, her face serious. Eric warily nodded his head. As Calleigh smiled and ushered him in, his own grin put the sun to shame.
Eric set the food down on her granite countertop, taking in the changes Calleigh had made since the last time he'd visited. He was unaware, however, that the blonde behind him was drinking in her own sight. The blue polo he had carelessly put on before showing up, defined his muscles perfectly and made Calleigh smirk at the display before her.
"So, you've changed it around a bit," Eric awkwardly stated, gesturing to the green paint covering the walls previously bare.
"Uh yea," Calleigh stammered back. Eric looked at her pink cheeks a moment. Striding over purposefully, he pulled the wide-eyed woman into a hug. Calleigh stiffened just slightly in his embrace before wrapping her own arms around his torso. Wow, we really fit together. Calleigh thought before reacting in alarm to her own thoughts. What am I thinking? He's my best friend!
Feeling Calleigh stiffen again, Eric bit back a sigh and teased, "I'm glad we're okay and everything, but the lemon chicken is getting cold," before releasing her. Calleigh just smiled before a wave of unexplained sadness enveloped her in the absence of his warmth. The pair loaded their plates with the eastern sustenance, chose a movie, and settled in for a night of laughs.
Trapped with her own conflicting thoughts, Calleigh ignored the antics on screen, as Eric sat engrossed in the scenes unfolding. He's my best friend. She kept repeating to herself. I can't do that to our friendship, to our careers, to our hearts. Besides who's to say he even feels the same? Not that I feel anything. But if I hypothetically did, how would I tell him? They say the honesty is the best policy, but maybe not.
"Cal? Yoohoo? You in there?" Eric asked, drawing a still perplexed Calleigh from her thoughts.
"Uh, yea," Calleigh stated eloquently for the second time that night.
"Okay," Eric replied skeptically, "I'm going to head out, work tomorrow and all. See you later?"
Calleigh stood up and smiled at her guest. "Of course, see you tomorrow." Exhausted from thinking, Calleigh retired to her room, deciding to sort it all out later.