They meet, they greet and they get a drink?

BATTLE OF THE SEXES

Chapter 4

-The Weigh In-

Tony sat on the upholstered chair in the lobby of the Embassy Suites Hotel. He had already checked in and put his stuff up in the room. Nice room. Bed was very comfy. He'd tried bouncing up and down on it a few times to make sure. He looked at his nails. He nibbled the corner of one of them that looked a little rough. He straightened his tie. He checked his watch. 3:30. Where was she? Surely if she'd chickened out she would call. He felt his stomach clench at that thought. Did he want her to chicken out? Where the hell did that thought come from?

Shaking his head, he pulled out his cell to call and then he saw her come in the revolving doors. He held the phone halfway to his ear, forgetting to disconnect. She had her dark hair up in some kind of twist thing leaving her long, slender neck exposed. Her dress was turquoise blue, low cut at the chest and tight across the hips. She had on very high heels, black and stiletto. He noticed other men in the lobby looking at her. She seemed to be posed there so everyone could see just how perfect she was. Then he realized she was digging in her bag for her phone. He saw her put it to her head and he heard her say "David" faintly as he belatedly brought his phone up all the way.

Ziva had stood outside the hotel for long minutes before getting the courage to walk in. What was wrong with her? She'd faced physical torture with less trepidation than she was feeling right this minute. It was just a stupid contest, she thought. The sex ought to be great and truly it had been quite a while since she'd had sex, great or not. She set her jaw, resolved to enjoy coming events and walked through the revolving doors. Tony didn't know what was about to hit him. Ziva David never could stand to lose to a man, at anything, at anytime.

The minute she got into the lobby her phone started ringing. She set her overnight bag down and began to dig through the tiny black purse she carried. Dammit. She missed her backpack. She finally got the phone out and flipped it open. She said "David" into without even seeing who was calling.

Then she saw him sitting in a chair about 15 feet away from her. He had his phone open, held about 6 inches away from his ear. He had a strange look on his face. It reminded her of the way he looked when she got to drive; a little exhilarated and a little frightened and maybe a little sick to his stomach, all at the same time. But then he stood up and held his hand out to her and she just stood and admired him for a moment.

He truly was a gorgeous man. She'd seen a couple of pictures of him in his college days but he'd been a pretty boy back then. Now he was definitely a man. His blue eyes looked her up and down and she was glad she'd worn the dress. She'd hesitated but decided it was a special occasion and so why not dress for it? She noted he was wearing his Firado suit, his favorite.

He smiled that smile at her. The one that made women from 18 to 80 fall all over themselves vying for his attention. She smiled back; she couldn't help herself. He came over and took her arm, picking up her overnight bag from the floor.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she said.

And he led her to the elevator.

# # #

He opened the door of the room for her. They'd both been silent on the elevator keeping a well defined space between them. She walked in ahead of him and then casually toured the living area of the suite. Dark leather and teakwood furniture with red and cream colored accessories. A large flat screen TV in a beautiful teak cabinet with intricate geometric designs on the doors. A wet bar with a small kitchenette attached with a full refrigerator. She ran her fingers over the marble top of the bar. Then she walked into the bedroom.

He followed her in. She bent over the bed and pushed on it.

"Soft," she said, and smiled at him.

She held out her hand to him. He stood there. He wasn't sure what she wanted. She wriggled her fingers at him and pointed to her bag he still held.

"Oh, yeah," he smiled, and walked over to the bed handing her the bag as he got within easy reach.

"Toda, Tony."

She went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Tony looked at the bathroom door and then he looked at the bed. Wow, he thought. Wow. He went back out into the living area and found the remote, turned on the TV.

Closing the door behind her, Ziva leaned back against it and looked around the spacious bath. Gray marble tops with streaks of white and gold covered the double vanities. A huge walk-in tub with lots of big, soft-looking towels and jet spray nozzles. She saw Tony had already put out his toiletries by one of the sinks. She laughed softly as she saw they used the same hair styling mousse. She walked to the other sink and started unloading her bag. As she set her brush out she felt the cold marble touch the side of her hand and suddenly had a vision of Tony picking up her naked body and setting it down on that cold marble and laughing as she gasped at the icy feel of it …

Stop it, Ziva, she thought. That may not happen. You don't know what's going to happen. She looked at her face in the mirror. She seemed a little pale. She pinched her cheeks and wet her lips and left the bathroom.

Tony was on the couch watching a movie, of course. He patted the couch next to him. She took her bag to the kitchenette and emptied out energy bars, apples and a packet of microwaveable popcorn. She rezipped the bag and set it down behind the bar. She walked around and opened the refrigerator. Three bottles of white wine and a 12-pack of water were all she saw. Tony called to her.

"Look, Ziva, it's a Mel Brooks film festival! This is BLAZING SADDLES and then after that it's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Great flicks."

She sat down beside him, crossing her legs carefully, smoothing her skirt. He was so childlike in his enthusiasm for movies. It sometimes drove her up and down the wall but it could also be very endearing. She tried to pay attention to the screen but she couldn't. She felt as jumpy as if she were about to go into a firefight. She began to jiggle her foot in time to the song the red-haired woman was singing.

"Always coming and going, and going and coming, and always too soon."

She heard a click. The TV went dark. Tony sat looking at the blank screen.

"Ziva," he stopped. She looked at him. He looked at her and then looked away.

"Ziva," he started again, turning toward her.

"Yes, Tony."

He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She couldn't help it. She stiffened up a little under his touch but then she put her face up to his for another kiss. She closed her eyes and waited. When no kiss was forthcoming she opened her eyes. Tony was just staring at her.

Tony felt awkward which was weird. He never felt awkward when making the first move. And Ziva had felt stiff when he'd touched her shoulders. Ziva who strode through life like a tigress on the prowl had felt stiff.

He looked at her eyes and made up his mind. Time to change up the plans for now. They both needed to loosen up if this was going to be as much fun as he thought it should be.

Ziva asked again, "What is it, Tony?"

"I'm not quite sure, I mean I don't…You know what? I think I need a drink. You wanna go down to the bar and have a drink with me, Ziva?"

She smiled. That was exactly what she wanted, a drink. She wanted a drink more than anything else right now.

She stood up and offered him her hand up.

"C'mon, Tony, you're buying the first round."