Chapter 3
It was ten til eight and Cameron had been circling the block for the last half hour, working up the courage to knock on his door. He hadn't said anything about it throughout the day. He hadn't treated her any different than usual while they were working on the case Cuddy brought them. If he didn't want her to come, surely he would have said something?
Finally, at about five til, she got out of the car. She smoother her skirt, then quickly knocked on the door before her nerves failed her. A minute passed before House opened the door.
"Oh. Hey," he said.
"Hey," she responded automatically.
"I wasn't sure you were going to- never mind. Come in, I guess," he said, stepping aside.
He was dressed in the jeans and t-shirt he'd worn to work. She had gone home, showered and changed before coming over. Now she was worried that maybe she shouldn't have. He probably noticed - yep, there was the smirk and now she was blushing. Damned fair skin.
"Have a seat," he said, flopping down on the couch and picking up the remote. The opening credits began almost immediately and they both turned their attention to the show.
Cameron was having trouble keeping her mind on the show, however. He had been right earlier - she only watched it because he liked it. Usually she just sat there, trying to figure out how someone like him could like the show and developing her opinion of him. But now she was with him, in his apartment!
She had been there before, of course, but she'd never had the chance to observe him in his natural habitat. She looked around curiously while trying not to look like she was looking around curiously. There was a half-eaten bowl of cereal on the coffee table, amongst several open medical texts, papers, a bottle of bourbon and an empty glass. There were dirty clothes on the floor, his jacket lay on the piano bench. He hadn't cleaned up at all for her arrival. But of course, that was House, she knew that. He probably hadn't thought she would actually come. But he had let her in. He must want her there. Or at the very least, didn't mind her being there. Probably he was sizing her up, the same as she was sizing him up. The only question now was what she should do next. If she pushed it, she might push too hard and he would kick her out, maybe even fire her. But if not… Well, it would change everything, wouldn't it?