HOW TO BE A PECK
Hi everyone :'D So sorry for the delay... this chapter took me more time than I thought at first. I was blocked and I didn't know how to continue... a lot of party, the lack of sleep = goodbye neurons!
Anyway i finally managed to finish it, so it's all yours.
CHAPTER 7
BEST CASE SCENARIO
THE blonde was rubbing the jacket with a kleenex, trying to wipe the coffee stains out of the doctor's clothes, when Holly caught her hand, gentling pulling her towards her.
"Gail, it's okay.." The pathologist said not letting go her hand. "It's a simple jacket.. with a full side zipper detailing, placket collar and belted waist in a structured, soft cotton" She said, chuckling..
The sound of her laughter made her stop for a second to look up.. Her eyes grew wide, when her gaze was settled on those lovely brown eyes.. Gail Peck froze when she realized how close the doctor's face was from her but she couldn't help herself..
"Are you kidding me?" The blonde gave her an interrogation look and blinked, feeling confused..
Holly only held her glare with a smile, teasing her without trying to hide it..
Gail needed to say something clever but a lot of thoughts were flitting through her head in that moment, and she wasn't able to focus on a single one.. It wasn't the first time that they were in a similar situation.. so close than Gail could feel her warm breath on her cheeks.. but still, being just a few inches from her made her feel different and a bit nervous, in the good way.
A word made its way into her mind among the brainstorming.. 'Nervousness?' She thought with disbelief.
It wasn't a emotion she was used to. She never used to have sweaty hands, always had a snarky comment ready to spit it out at everybody and her heart rate was increased only in rare occasions... but all those things were happening more frequently since she met Holly.. For much she tried, she couldn't deny it anymore to herself.
The blonde stared down at her, watching every feature of her face like she was trying to memorize it.. There wasn't much light in the hallway because there was just one window behind them and a couple of lamps which were activated by movement..
Conclusion: they didn't see pretty well..
But it was enough for Gail to distinguish the arch of the brunette's eyebrows, the shinning of her eyes and how her lips moved slightly, forming a gleaming smile.
She was watching those lips when Holly decided to say something to break the silence.
"You're allowed to talk, y'know.. I don't bite." She leaned in to whisper in her ear.
A shiver ran through the blonde's spine when she felt Holly's lips moving in her earlobe and then showed a twisted smiled when the perfect comment started to form in her head.
The brunette stepped back, wondering what she was up to.. what that smile meant.. and she didn't have to wait too long to find out.
"Well, that's too bad for you.." The policewoman said, bitting her lower lip suggestively before leaning in to her ear. "Because I do.." She said the words slowly, giving her time to understand what she meant..
Then she brushed her neck, using her lips and noticed that she wasn't the only one in that hall with an increased heart rate. She smiled to herself.. she felt proud and relieve for knowing that she also could get Holly nervous if she wanted to.
Gail pulled away from her neck and one more time their eyes met.. but there was understanding and complicity this time, like if they were talking through their eyes and their bodies.
They were so quiet that suddenly the lights went out due to the lack of movement, and it was like the output signal..
Automatically they approximated to each other, and their lips met halfway in order to melt into a kiss.
Gail noticed that her hands began to move on their own.. With one of them she stroked Holly's cheek, while she was searching for the keys in her jeans pocket with the other one.
She felt the doctor's tongue playing with her lips, teasing her.. which made her loss control for a second and break the kiss, tilting her head to one side in an attempt to catch her breath.
The brunette seized the moment and she slid her lips from underneath the blonde's ear to the beginning of her collarbone, leaving a trail of wet kisses on their way.
Gail threw her head back, to give her more space.. And finally she managed to grab the keychain of her back pocket but the brunette was still totally focused on her, and she didn't want her to stop.
Holly was licking her earlobe now, drawing patterns with her tongue..
The blonde opened her mouth unwittingly and what it was gonna be a relief sigh for finding the keys, became a moan of pleasure when the sensation overtook her.. She tried to repress it but the moan came out of her mouth anyways.
Holly heard it, and the blonde knew it because she felt her warm lips smiling over her skin.
The blonde decided to strike back and with a fast move, she changed their positions and pushed Holly against the wall.. She heard a metallic sound when the keys slipped through her fingers and landed on the floor but she didn't care..
"Keys.." Was the only word that the pathologist could whisper before the blonde attacked her lips and engulfed them in a passionate kiss. The sudden change of roles took Holly by surprise but she didn't complain either. She was too busy, trying to keep pace with the blonde.
The brunette moaned against her mouth when Gail bit her lower lip and pulled it out towards her, before she finally ended the kiss, leaving the doctor gasping and craving for more.
Gail bent down to reach the keys and the lights were activated, illuminating the hall. Her hands trembled lightly but she fitted the key in the lock and opened the door.
She turned to look at Holly.. her hair was tousled and her eyes were shiny but half closed by the light.. She noticed that she wasn't wearing her glasses.. although she could have sworn that she had them a few minutes ago.
Then she stared at her lips... they were slightly swollen and that made them even more attractive if that was possible.. But despite everything, she looked gorgeous, even wearing a jacket with coffee stains. She thought..
"So.. do you want to go inside? or you just wanted to come here to bump into me in the corridor of my building?" Gail asked, holding the door for her with a mischievous smile.
HOLLY who was still standing in the hall, took a deep gulp of air... Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to regain her breath and bring her heart rate back to normal..
She knew that Gail Peck was a complicated woman, her moods went up and down at breakneck speed.. going from funny to sarcastic, from sarcastic to honest, from honest to hot and finally from hot to cold.. all in the same hour.. Holly knew it but she hadn't got used to it yet... she didn't know how someone could ever get used to that..
"No.. I have just done all the way here to make out with you for a while and then leave.." She said as she entered the apartment; She took off her jacket and left it over a table, then she sat on the couch, threw her head back and closed her eyes in silent.
The pathologist heard how the door was closed and the sound of footsteps walking around the room, after a while, the sounds stopped and after several seconds the blonde spoke.
"I owe you an apology, Holly." She heard how the blonde said in a low voice.
The brunette opened her eyes slowly to find her sitting on the coffee table just in front of her. She was rubbing her hands, and was looking at the ground nervous, but she continued talking.
"I told you the first day we met, I'm like a cat.. i'm very good at climbing trees and now I have climbed a new tree and. I have used the shooting like an excuse, like an emergency situation.." She whispered.
Holly was unable of being mad at her right now, she looked so vulnerable that it would be like stab her in the back.. Gail wasn't the apology kind of girl, it was obvious.. so she decided to go easy on her. The metaphor of the tree apparently was working for her, so she decided to go that way.. If talking about their relation meant talking about cats, trees and firefighters.. so be it.
"Do you wanna get down of the tree this time?" Holly asked, looking at her.. her eyes were shinning, waiting for an answer.
The blonde shook her head before raising her eyes. "No.. the view is pretty awesome from up here." She admitted, showing a little smile. "I'm just afraid of falling to the ground.. that's why I do the one step forward, two steps back thing.. but i'm quite comfortable up here."
Holly couldn't take her eyes away from her.. Gail Peck who used to be the ice queen, right now was the cutest thing she had ever seen, absolutely adorable.. but she had to stop staring and say something comforting.. She didn't want her to be afraid.
"Gail, i'm not gonna let you fall; I'll be your firefighter if you ever want to get down of this..tree. You don't need excuses or metaphors about relationships.. you just have to talk to me, i'm listening now.. I will always do." She explained, grabbing her chin kindly. "I'm here for you."
The blonde's eyes were glowing like if she was about to cry, that's why the doctor approached to hug her.. She wasn't sure that Gail was a hug person but she did it anyways because the doctor could see that she needed it.. it was quite clear.
"I know I've been sending mixed signals.. I want to explain why." Gail sighed and remained in silent for some minutes, then she started telling her the whole story about her relationship with Nick and Andy's betrayal..
Holly just listened, nodded and every now and then she caressed the blonde's hand, trying to support her. She didn't opened her mouth to say anything or interrupted her somehow.. If Gail wanted to get all those things out of her system, out of her head.. if she needed to share them with her, Holly would let her.
For the pathologist, some of the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place as she was listening the story. Suddenly she understood one of the reason for which Gail behave like she used to, why she looked so angry sometimes and why she was always wearing that shield to keep people out of her way. A lot of things had sense now...
Once she had finished, Holly looked at her, trying to order her thoughts before talking. "Look Gail, relationships are never white or black.. there's always a big, grey area around them.." She said, not taking her eyes away from her. "I know that letting someone to know you can be scary, now that I know all those things about you, I understand you a bit better, and I know how you feel but it's okay, it's normal.. I used to feel like that too."
Gail nodded in silent, she didn't need to say anything because her eyes were speaking for her. "I like you.." Holly dropped the words all of the sudden. "I do and you know it.. I can't tell you that I won't ever hurt you, because you know, sometimes bad things just happens..but I will never do it on purpose.." She whispered, trying to smile.
"What I can promise is that I will be there for you as long as you want me to be.. I'm not the kind of girl who run away when the situation gets ugly.." She made a pause to take a deep breath.. "What I mean is that you can trust on me, I'm not going anywhere." The brunette assured.. her words were honest and her expression was 100% sincere.
YEAH.. Gail could tell her words were honest and that scared the hell out of her. She had an internal battle within her..
On the one hand her head told her to take the door and get out of there as fast as her legs would let her. But on the other hand, those words which scared her, were the thing that she had been expecting for so long.. Someone who really cared about her, who understood her, who listened her.
After a moment of hesitation, Gail jumped up from the coffee table..
..
...
She placed her hands on the couch where Holly was sitting and leaned over to plant a kiss on her mouth. Her lips were trembling a bit but she still managed to say something. "I do.." She whispered, just a few inches away from the other's woman face.
Holly stared at her, puzzled.. trying to find out what she was talking about.
"I count on you, I do.. trust you." The blonde clarified, while she withdrawn a blond lock from her eyes. "You have to accept it because you are one of the few people who can actually stand me." She said giggling.
It was Holly's turn to leaned over, looking for the blonde's lips.. and they were about to kiss again when someone put the key in the door lock to enter in the apartment.
Gail stopped, paralyzed.. there was a dark shadow of panic in her blue eyes.. Dating a woman was one thing.. but be caught red handed by one of her roommates was a completely different one..
Gail Peck used to do things in a correct way.. and what was about to happen wasn't her definition of doing things right...
DOV Epstein came home after a long day of work, he was exhausted and tired but he was aware that her roommate was going through a bad time, so he tried to put the best smile he afforded to do...
But the smile turned into a look of surprise when he succeeded in opening the door. "Hi.." He only managed to pronounce.
Gail was lying on the couch and he noticed that she wasn't alone.. Holly, the forensic pathologist was sitting next to her, apparently watching a documentary on TV.
He left the Thai food he had bought in the kitchen and then went back to the living room with the two women. "Now I get it." He blurted out after a few seconds..
The blonde turned her head and stared at him from the couch with a suspicious glance. "What are you getting, king of the dorks?" The blonde asked, clearly on the defensive
Dov raised a hand in which he was holding something, Gail recognized Holly's glasses. "I found these in the hall, outside the door.. Are you watching TV without them?" He asked, turning to Holly.
The woman smiled slightly, a little nervous.. "I didn't know where I left them.. Thank you for bring them back." He handed her the glasses, and the pathologist put them over her eyes. "Yes, this is better.."
"No problem." He blurted but he had a suspicious look on his face. "Gail, I've invited Tracy to come and have dinner.. I thought that you could use some company.. and definitely some wine." He said chuckling.
When Holly heard those words, she stood up from the couch like a spring. "Then I think I should get going.. She's all yours." She said the last three words looking directly at Gail with a impish grin, before taking her jacket.
"I'll walk you out." The blonde exclaimed, jumping off the couch and racing to meet her but Dov got to the brunette before her.
"Hey, It's Holly, right? Sorry, my memories about the shooting, are a bit fuzzy." He asked, grabbing her wrist before she opened the door.. Holly just nodded.
"Do you wanna join us?" He said in a voice friendly and cheerful.. then he leaned over and whispered in her ear. "If she grab the bottle of wine, believe me... the more people, the better." He spoke in a low voice, but not low enough for Gail not to hear him.
The blonde gave him a nudge, and if that wasn't clear enough, she showed him a killer look.
Holly watched the scene with interest, trying not to laugh. "I know.. I've had to deal with her in that mental state before.." She recognized, and because of that, Gail started to alternate her killer look between them.
"Is that a yes then?.. I don't know that story, so you will have to tell me all about it after dinner." Dov said, staring at Gail shamelessly with a mocking grin.
The blonde let out a loud and deep sigh, revealing her lack of patience in all that concerns Dov.. but then someone knocked at the door... it had to be Tracy, so she ran toward the entrance, trying to escape from that awkward conversation..
"Thanks God you're here." Gail whispered at the moment she saw Tracy Nash, standing in the hall. "I need someone on my side tonight.."
"Hello for you too." Nash murmured, laughing.. "What are you talking about, Peck? Did you take your medication today?" She joked, looking over the blonde's shoulder. "Is that Holly?" She asked when she recognized her figure.
Gail didn't say a word.. she just nodded frenetically.
"You don't look nervous at all..y'know?." She said to her, her tone filled with sarcasm.
"And you're not helping, even a bit." Gail replied with accusing eyes.
"Okay, why don't we start again? Hi! Wouhh Holly's here.. that's a great thing." Tracy reasoned, looking at her friend and raising her thumbs as a sign of approval. She was being friendly, trying to calm her friend down. "If you're worried about Dov's questions.. i'm sure you can handle him, you always do..And besides, I'm here to help." She assured, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"That's better, the need of punching him in the face is decreasing to normal levels right now." Gail admitted as she took a deep breath.
"You see!? And now let's go inside before Holly starts to think that you only have weird friends." Nash said, leading the way to the living room with a pair of bottles of wine in a bag.
"You're damn right.." The blonde whispered to herself, closing the door.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to pull herself together..
In the best case scenario, that night could be a good chance to get to know Holly better..
And in the worst case scenario, well.. she preferred not to think about that..
I hope you liked it guys! if any of you have some idea about the next chapter, I accept suggestions ;'D
Have a good one!
AHA
