"Yo, Torres"
Of course Mark was home. Mark was my oldest and best friend as well as my flatmate. He was supposed to be hitting the library in preparation for his impending third year at med school.
"Hey Mark" I replied, casually throwing my keys onto the coffee table, decorated with various take out boxes and empty beer bottles. "Clearly you've been hard at work" I teased as I sat myself down on the sofa.
"How was your first day? Get drunk? Pulled yet? Won a wet t-shirt contest?"
"Jesus Mark, no wet t-shirts, no alcohol and no pulling!"
"Ah Torres, you disappoint me, call yourself my best friend!"
"No but seriously, how was your first lecture?"
"Yeah it was fine" I replied. It was then I had no idea how that first lecture went. I can't remember a thing Professor…Professor….crap, I can't even remember his name. I couldn't stop thinking about her. Arizona Robbins. I've never been like this, getting this distracted over someone, it's cliché, the kind of soppy stuff that happens in movies. Girl meets boy, girl gets stupidly mushy over boy, girl answers boy's every beckoned call. Movie stuff. Not Callie stuff.
"Torres?" Mark's tone was gruff. "Jesus, Torres. You better snap out of whatever bubble you're in. We're going out tonight!"
"Out? Don't you start your third year at med school tomorrow morning?"
"Yes. And?"
"You heard what Mumma Sloan told you" I replied. "No more late nights, pulling the ladies, the people of Seattle Grace need you make them beautiful again" I mocked, giving him a fake maternal stare.
Mark stifled back a laugh, "Do one, Torres". "Look we're going out, I need to release some…tension….you –"
He was interrupted by the sound the shower turning on in the adjacent room.
"Mark! Who the fuck is that?!"
He shifted suspiciously in his seat. "Her? Oh yeah….terrible woman, makes chipmunk noises as she eats, never again."
"Mark! Get rid of her! You clearly do not need to release any tension – "
"But – "
"No – "
Mark sat forward in his seat and put his arm around me.
"Torres! It's your first time at college, we're going out, getting absolutely wasted, I'm going to show at least 3 girls how the Sloan method really works and you are going to get out and have fun. You've had a rough year Callie and this is the start of something new, for you and for me. I'm starting my internship, you're starting college, finding yourself and – "
"Stop with the speech, I will go out with you tonight, just please, no more heartfelt speeches".
"Damn. I can't believe I got you with that."
"Ha! Don't flatter yourself! Just don't bring any of your trampy women back here" I scoffed.
"Back atcha, Torres!" retorted Mark as he got up from sofa, scratching his head, "I'm gonna go shower" he said with a playful wink.
"Ugh, ugh, gross!"
And with that, I headed into my bedroom, now faced with the seemingly massive task of finding an outfit for tonight. Mark didn't have this trouble; he could wear anything and still charm every single girl out of a club and into his bed. He also didn't have the issue of making a complete idiot of himself in front of a girl who's now asked him out to a bar. 'Bring your friends with you' Clearly it's not a date, although she thinks I have friends, as in plural' even though it's my first week of college. Come on Callie, let's do this.
Two hours later, with the tightest little black dress you have ever seen paired with a leather jacket and ridiculous heels, I was ready to meet Arizona. This time I was going to be the hot, sexy, smoking Callie my bedroom mirror knows only too well!
"Ready, Torres?" Mark called, the familiar overbearing smell of aftershave wafting through the flat.
"Ready" I replied, standing in the doorway. "What do you think?"
Mark spun around, "Woah, Torres, you look amazing. What's this in aid of? I haven't seen you dressed up like this since you were crushing on me in 9th grade"
"Oh come on, do I have to dress up for someone? Can't I do it just for me?"
"In a word, no, I know you Torres" Mark is onto me, he knows straight away when I like someone – usually before I do.
I grinned sheepishly at him – "Come on, let's go.