Thanks everyone for your continuing support and leaving such wonderful feedback! Your Huddy moment has come! :D
Enjoy :)
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After lunch, Cuddy went to the boutique to pick out her dress. House didn't with her, naturally. He went back upstairs to the stateroom. It didn't take her very long to pick out the dress. She instantly fell in love with a no straps simple black dress that came up several inches above the knee. It was hanging in the window on display and she just had to have it. Later that day, when it was time for dinner, Cuddy took her hair down and straightened it as planned. Her beautiful curls vanished just like that. Her hair transformed into a straight, smooth mass of silk. She put makeup on and then donned the dress. She didn't look bad. In fact, any guy that noticed her would be falling on their knees for her. She transformed into a runway model without hardly having to do anything. Cuddy was definitely blessed with beauty. Too bad she wasn't blessed in the love department also.
She left the bathroom after that. House didn't say much the closer dinner hour came. She knew how he felt about this, but she couldn't wait around for him forever, right? Something had to give. If that something was Bryce Holden, so be it.
Cuddy needed spark in her life. Some romance every now and then wasn't too much to ask for. She's been patient long enough. House let her down twice already in one day. Four total including the kiss after she lost Joy and their one-night stand many years ago. She couldn't handle it anymore. She would not wait for him. She was moving onto someone who was not afraid to admit they like her.
House pretended not to notice Cuddy coming out of the bathroom, looking more gorgeous than ever. She slipped her feet into a pair of silver heels and buckled them up at the ankles, then grabbed her nylon shawl scarf and draped it over her shoulders.
"Looks like you're dressed for a funeral," he muttered, glancing over for a moment without turning his head away from the wresting match on TV.
"Promise me right now, House, that you're not going to mess this up for me."
"Whatever. What time should I expect you back tomorrow?"
"I'm not coming back tomorrow. I don't plan on sleeping with him! How many times do I—Oh, forget it, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have to justify myself to you anyway. If I want to sleep with Bryce, I will. There's nothing holding me back, is there?"
"No, I guess not. Go off and play doctor to some rich designer, Cuddy. It's all you're ever good for anyway."
Cuddy's jaw dropped. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that it's almost six and if you keep lover boy waiting, he might find someone else. Better hurry," he said, using a hint of sarcasm.
Cuddy didn't know if she wanted to cry or strangle him. Since she's cried enough over him the past couple of days, she settled with wanting to tear his limbs out of their sockets. Now he's calling her a slut? Mr. Hookers-at-my-apartment-every-other-night. Does he have no limits?
"You know something; you have every reason to be jealous of Bryce. Unlike you, he's a decent person, kind and thoughtful. He knows how to make a woman feel beautiful instead of calling them names. He's mature and acts his own age. You know what's sad about that? I've only known him for a half an hour and already I know these things. I've known you for twenty years and I still can't find one nice thing to say about you. I hate you, House. You make everyone around you miserable. The only reason I'll thank you for this cruise is because you allowed me to meet someone who makes me feel good about myself, not someone who calls me hurtful names just because I'm going out to dinner with a friend."
House grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the TV so loud that the wrestling matches could probably be heard on the next deck. It was useless to continue to fight. Cuddy grabbed her little silver jeweled purse and left, body heat rising with anger. She slammed the door behind her and walked angrily to the Romeo and Juliet dining room.
She refused to cry this time. She was stupid to have loved House this long, knowing he would never amount to anything. She kept hoping he'd change, but he never would. She hated herself so much right now that if she did cry, it would be because she pitied herself, not because of anything he said about her.
Cuddy had hoped that dinner with Bryce would make everything okay again. Seeing the smile on his face would immediately lift the weight off anyone's shoulders.
Reaching the Romeo and Juliet dining room, she approached the host, saying that Bryce was expecting her. Instead of it going further, Cuddy heard her name being called out from behind. She turned around. There was Bryce, dressed in an extremely handsome black and white tuxedo bringing out his vibrant green eyes nicely. In his hand, he held a small clear box with a beautiful pink and white corsage inside.
"You look exquisite," he said, handing her the box. She accepted it graciously, thanking him.
He tied the corsage onto her left wrist once she opened the box and then allowed her to slip her arm through his to be escorted to his private table that overlooked the ocean. It was similar to the Windjammer view, only there was one table in here, away from the other passengers completely and even had a controlled light setting and soft music in the background of a piano playing. Cuddy found it difficult to stop smiling all of a sudden. Bryce lit up her life like all the richest, shimmering diamonds in the world behind the same casing in a jewelry store.
"I bet you take a lot of women here," she said as he pushed her chair in.
"Actually, not at all. Believe it or not, I only use this table to work at because of the view. I haven't had a date in years. I guess I was trying to find the right woman and didn't settle for second best, so I stopped for a while…until now."
Cuddy felt her cheeks burn at the compliment.
"So, Lisa Cuddy, this night is yours. What should we order for wine?"
Cuddy had to look at a wine menu. She had no wine knowledge, but had a feeling that the harder they were to pronounce, the fancier they were. She decided to keep it simple and order them a Cabernet Sauvignon red wine. That was fine with Bryce and he told their personal waiter to get it for them. It came promptly, like he had his own kitchen and staff working for him. The waiter poured the wine into Cuddy's glass first, and then his. He left the red wine at the end of the table and left.
Bryce raised his glass. "Let's toast."
"To what?" she asked, reaching for her glass.
"A good friendship and maybe more."
The glasses clanged and they simultaneously sipped the wine.
"Before we start, I want to apologize for this morning. I just wanted to see you. I didn't know your guest wouldn't like it."
Cuddy waved her hand. "Oh, no, believe me, you did nothing wrong at all. House is an immature jerk to everyone."
"Even you?"
"Especially me. If he comes to you again, ignore him. He doesn't want a relationship with me, but doesn't want anyone else to have one with me either."
"Why did you come on the cruise with him then?" he asked.
Cuddy rolled her eyes. "It's complicated."
"No it's not. He likes you, Lisa. I can see why. And you like him."
Cuddy shook her head. "I could never like him. I mean, actually, I do, I do, but it's not good to feel that way. It's like something I can't control, you know? It's like…the little lost puppy you want to nurture and find his home, or a wounded animal you want to nurse back to health. He's so complicating, but if he were to be normal, I wouldn't know how to react, or how I would feel. We had an argument just before I left, and…" Cuddy caught herself and her voice trailed off. "Oh god, I'm sorry, you don't want to hear this."
Bryce continued to smile warmly. "As I said, this is your night, Lisa. Let's talk about anything you want. I'll listen."
"I just want to get away from House. Far away. Tell me about you."
"Are you sure?"
"Completely."
As Bryce started talking about himself, Cuddy listened. She listened for a little while, but House ended up popping into her mind anyway. Her eyes were on Bryce, but her mind was elsewhere. A part of her wished that it was House sitting in front of her. She really liked Bryce and his wonderful gestures, but he wasn't House. Even if he suddenly started being a jerk, he still wouldn't be. No matter what, that ass was always on her mind, for better or for worse.
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Back at the stateroom, House's phone rang. It was Wilson.
"Hey, honey. Miss me?" House quipped.
"How's it going?"
"What?"
"The cruise. How's the cruise going?"
"Shitty."
"Naturally from your point of view. How's Cuddy?"
"The reason it's shitty."
Wilson hummed. "So…Cuddy has a date."
"Yeah, just with the master designer of the ship, no one of any actual importance," he said sarcastically.
"Wow, really? That's nice."
"No, it isn't."
"Cuddy found someone. Why is that not good?"
"You know why. Don't be such a dense idiot."
"Oooh, meaning that you like her and you still haven't told her yet. When do you plan to tell her? When the master designer sweeps her off her feet and proposes marriage?"
"No, I thought I'd wait until the wedding. It's so much cooler to do it when the priest or whatever asks if anyone objects."
"House, you like her."
"Debatable."
"No, it isn't. And if I know your idiocy, you drove her right into his arms, didn't you?"
House just grunted.
"Go to wherever it is she's having dinner with this guy and tell her how you feel before it's too late."
"It won't be too late. Cuddy's not that stupid. She's not going to quit her job and live on a cruise ship."
"She will if she loves him enough. Love makes people do funny things and right now Lisa is looking for someone. She has her baby, now she wants someone to share her life with. That someone is you for some crazy, odd reason or the other."
"She doesn't want me."
"Yes she does! Why do you think she's there?"
"For the single men."
"For you, you moron!"
"She'd never be happy with me. I can't make her happy."
"You could if you tried and stopped being such a jerk to her all the time. You might actually come to find that it works."
"Did you call me just to tell me what I already know or is there actually a point to this conversation?"
Wilson sighed. He was trying to get through to House, really. House understood what he was saying, but was being extra stubborn about it.
"Fine, don't listen to me, but if the master designer had her at hello, you've got a problem."
"No kidding, which is why it's a waste of time. This jackoff is telling her what she wants to hear, making her fall head over heels for him. I can't compete. I'll never tell her what she wants to hear."
They bounced back and forth for the next hour.
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After dinner, which consisted of a three-course meal and an after dinner drink, Cuddy felt her dress suddenly become two sizes too small. On the plus side, she knew just about all there was to know about Bryce Holden and she liked him very much. She was able to push House to the side and just focus on Bryce. She felt a twinge of sorrow that their dinner was over and that they could be parting ways.
Little did she know that Bryce had another event planned for her.
"Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked, reaching for her hand and enlacing their fingers together.
Cuddy was a little worried by that question when it followed him holding her hand. "In an hour, I'm supposed to meet a few girls in the lounge for drinks, but other than that, no."
"Are you sure House isn't staring at the clock, awaiting your return?"
Cuddy chuckled. "No, I'm sure he's not. Why?"
She really hoped he didn't plan to invite her back to his stateroom. The way he was holding onto her pretty tightly, he was nervous about something. Seeing him nervous made Cuddy nervous.
"In about five minutes, there's a show starting in the theater. It's a jazz performance. Most of the guests take their dates there after dinner and I was hoping I could take you there too."
Cuddy agreed and was blown away by this cheerful grin when she gave him the okay. Walking across deck 4 from the stern to the bow where the theater was, their hands stayed connected the entire time. Cuddy felt comfortable with him. It was nice to have such a well-respected date. Bryce acknowledged each and every one of his staff politely and even some of the passengers he knew as well. The smile never left his face. He also introduced Cuddy to certain people, never neglecting to add the word 'beautiful' before her name. Cuddy was always known as his date, not just a friend.
It's been so long since Cuddy held hands with someone that she wasn't sure if she was doing it right. Since when do you enlace fingers? Wasn't it just a hand in hand thing? Since Bryce took the initiative, she went along with it. She came to learn that Bryce also liked to tell jokes. Whereas some of the ones Cuddy's heard in passing were rather stale, Bryce's weren't. He kept her laughing and smiling, which is something she hasn't been doing lately.
A little more than half way there, Cuddy spotted House just outside the Schooner bar, leaning up against the wall, apparently just standing there for no particular reason. Bryce didn't see him and kept walking and talking. House spotted Cuddy easily and kept his eyes on her the entire time, looking surprised to have seen her passing by, but then hatred like she had never seen before from him was directed upon Bryce and the hand holding. But she paid no mind and kept walking, knowing she'd hear about it plenty later on. She half expected him to chase them down, but he didn't. She looked over her shoulder and he was gone, probably slipped into the bar to get hammered. She groaned inwardly. Maybe a night at Bryce's stateroom wasn't such a bad idea, given that he had either two beds or a bed and a couch in different rooms. She didn't want to face a drunken House. She'd just end up waiting until later to return to her suite when House has already fallen asleep.
Bryce had his own balcony in the theater. He certainly did keep himself in mind when he designed the ship. Cuddy wasn't complaining. It was a very comfortable two-seater up in the far right corner of the room. He surprised her with champaign upon arrival. There he went again, surprising her.
"This is all so wonderful; I don't really know what to say."
"Don't say anything," he said, clanging her glass with his. "I'm glad you like it."
The jazz playing was absolutely stunning. Cuddy had never been to a show before. Was she on Broadway, or on a cruise? She wasn't sure at the moment. The performance was spectacular. It relaxed her. Some of the music made her tear up a little, for it sounded sad. And then there were some love and romantic ones she easily pointed out. There was an event booklet she was given and snuck a peek to see who was performing next. It wasn't anyone she's ever heard of before, naturally. All this was rather new to her.
She set it aside and leaned back into the chair. That's when she felt Bryce's warm hand place itself over her knee and froze. It was just casually resting there either. His fingertips gently kneaded her knee and rose a few inches up her thigh. Cuddy's heart skipped a beat. When she turned her head to look at Bryce, he leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't rough, or violating. In fact, it was gentle and caring, just like him. Question disappeared from Cuddy's eyes as her eyelids fluttered closed and returned the kiss. He used his free hand to cup her cheek and deepen the kiss, using his tongue to claim every inch of her mouth as his own.
Cuddy's mind was hazy. She couldn't remember the last time she was kissed like this. She couldn't remember much of anything right now, except for how wonderful this man could kiss. She found herself wanting more from this perfect man.
"I want you, Lisa," he whispered, lips inches away from hers. His warm breath tickled her lips.
Cuddy opened her eyes to be sucked in by emerald green pools. Her heart unexpectedly lurched. Did she expect to see something different? Whose hand was really on her thigh, so very close to its destination? Whose lips were kissing hers? Whose hand was slowly caressing her cheek? Whose fingers were delving through her hair?
Cuddy thought she knew who she was kissing until she saw his eyes. Her mind tricked her.
House. She was feeling House, not Bryce. It was House giving her this pleasure. When she saw his eyes staring back at her, she felt so disillusioned.
"Come back to my room with me."
Cuddy's lips parted in surprise. She couldn't even make out with someone without thinking it was House! But god it felt so real. Even their voices sound similar in her mind.
"I can't, Bryce, I'm sorry." She stood and collected her things.
Bryce stood also, wondering what happened.
"It's not working out."
He held his hands out to stop her from leaving. "Whoa, Lisa, what happened? You kissed back."
Cuddy sighed heavily. "I know, I'm just—I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. You're a wonderful man, Bryce, and I thank you for the dinner and the show, but…"
"House?"
At the sound of his name, Cuddy's heart skipped a beat. She bit her lower lip for a moment before responding. "I think I'm in love with him."
"Lisa, he'll never reciprocate those feelings. Let me make you happy. I can treat you the way you should be treated. You shouldn't waste away the days, waiting for a man that will never see you for anything more than a piece of eye candy."
"Bryce, we'll see each other for the next five days, and then what? I'll go back to Jersey and you'll be circling the Caribbean again. It'll be a five-day fling and that's it. I couldn't handle that. I don't want just a roll in the hay; I want a relationship with someone."
"Oh, sure, and House is willing to give that to you? You told me you were tired of waiting for him. And I don't plan for this to be a five-day fling, Lisa. I would move to Jersey with you. I could give you that life you've always wanted."
Cuddy chuckled and lowered her head. "As flattering as that is, that's moving too fast."
"I'm not giving up on us, I promise you."
Cuddy shook her head slowly. "Please don't do that. Let me go."
"Let me take you to dinner again tomorrow night, or maybe just a drink in the piano bar."
Now he was sounding desperate. Cuddy was trying to sound as polite as she could with letting him down easy, but it wasn't working. He still wanted more and became persistent.
"Bryce, I can't. I can't see you anymore."
"You're leaving me for someone who will never love you?"
"I know House would never admit to loving me. You're not telling me something I don't already know and reminding me of that won't change the fact that I want to leave right now. You can point out every flaw House has ever concretely given and it still won't change my mind, nor will it make you better than him. Goodbye, Bryce. Thank you."
Bryce said nothing more, just looked at her with dagger eyes, as if he was two seconds from making a move and shoving her off the balcony. Cuddy slipped out of there, heart pounding in her ears. That was so scary. Who knew that he could possess a look like that after being such a sweet man the entire time? Evidently, he wasn't used to rejection.
Cuddy kept her head turned over her shoulder, as if expecting to see him coming after her. She hated that she had to let him down like this, but the way he acted as a reaction was frightening. His emerald eyes turned so grey, as if possessed.
She wanted to push that all out of her mind and possibly meet her friends in the lounge a little earlier. Some were already there and were glad to see her. She already had wine and champaign in her system, but a couple martinis won't hurt. Her grey goose martini straight up and extra dirty didn't seem so bad right now.
When everyone was back again for night two, Cuddy talked about anything, except Bryce. She didn't even want to hear her mind speak that name. Maybe she was overreacting a bit by what she saw. After all, she did hurt him by kissing back and then jumping up to leave because she had feelings for some idiot named House. If she were Bryce and someone did that to her, it would hurt her, too. It was the fact that he got desperate that made her nervous. If he ended the night then and there, it was possible that she would've considered another dinner and a drink. But maybe not. Life was too short. She had to do something about her relationship with House, or lack thereof. She needed to know where they stood.
She told her friends about House yesterday and they cheered for her to go for it. The majority of them were drunk off their rockers, so she didn't think they really understood the severity of what was going on behind the curtain.
After the girls split up after night two, they made plans for a night three tomorrow after Labadee. It was a little after ten and Cuddy figured that House drank so much that he passed out somewhere, hopefully in the stateroom. She arrived back to the royal suite with no problem and slipped into the room. The lights were off, which was a first. Blindly, Cuddy set her purse down on the end table and felt around for the lamp. She found it. The room was empty, as expected. Maybe House was sleeping. She took off her shoes and went to check.
Nope. His room was empty. She was about to shut the door when she noticed that his private balcony door was open a crack. She walked through his room and peeked out. He was standing out there, elbows resting on the balcony balustrade, hunching over a bit. There was more than enough light out there to see what was going on. She saw him perfectly, as if it were day.
"House?" she said carefully so she wouldn't scare him.
She didn't startle him. He didn't move, as if he knew she was there the entire time.
"Why are you out here?" she asked, stepping out with him.
Her hair blew gently in the wind, as did the hem of her dress.
"No reason. Why aren't you with Mr. Perfect?"
Cuddy mimicked his position on the balustrade. "Turns out he wasn't so perfect."
"Oh really? Do tell. You looked rather cozy holding hands on the way to the theater. What he did to you must've really been one for the records."
"He wanted more than a kiss. I told him I wasn't ready. He didn't accept that answer and kept wanting to see me. It's over, just like that."
House chuckled, staring downward into blackness. "So much for what he looks like on the outside. He can be just as ugly in the inside, even if he appears all loving and sweet."
Cuddy just nodded. She stepped closer to House and snaked her arm around his lower back while resting her head up against his shoulder, closing her eyes. No words were spoken, no actions were taken. Cuddy stood like that for minutes, just happy to be sharing his warmth on the chilly night. House drove her crazy to the point where she wanted to tear her hair out, but right now, she was living in the moment. She didn't want it any other way.
"House," she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"What were you playing yesterday on the piano? The one that sounded so sad."
House hesitated before speaking. "Something I made up when I stupidly walked out of your life twenty years ago."
Cuddy glanced up at him, eyes full of question. "House…"
"I'm a screw up, Cuddy. There's no nice way to put that. I make you miserable and you know it. And you hate it."
Cuddy placed her hand over his bare arm. "No, House, I don't," she offered softly.
"I've been screwing up since day one and even more so on this cruise. This is our second night and already we fought twice."
Cuddy chuckled. "It wouldn't be time together if we didn't fight."
"I've said some things—"
"House." She took his hand in hers, stopping him. "Look at me." He did so, reluctantly. "I don't care. Call me crazy, but with you, it just goes right over my head. I never wanted Bryce. Granted, he was cute and sweet, but I couldn't see myself with him."
"Why?"
Cuddy wavered a bit before answering. "Well…the way I see it…one of the reasons…you can't love someone if you're already in love with someone else."
These were the eyes she wanted to see earlier. The big, baby blues that replaced emerald green in her mind. Her lower lip quivered as they shared the look again for the third time this day. Third time's the charm, right?
She cupped his cheek with her hand. She still wanted him to make the first move. It would mean so much more to him if he did. It would practically be a breakthrough for him.
"I can never make you happy. You're wishing upon the wrong star, Cuddy," he whispered, eyes penetrating hers.
"You already make me happy, House. I'm not out for perfection."
He reached out to brush his fingers through her hair at the side of her face. Cuddy's heartbeat quickened in her chest at the feeling that overwhelmed her by that simple action alone. The pad of his thumb grazed over her bottom lip, barely touching the surface. Cuddy let out a tiny breath she was holding as her body started to feel tingly. This was something she couldn't experience with Bryce. He wasn't the one. There's a reason Cuddy never found her soul mate, even though she searched and searched for years. She never thought to look for it in the man that drove her insane day by day. It didn't make sense to look there.
"House…" she breathed through slightly parted lips, not moving her mouth.
"I've always been bad with words. Let me show you how I feel."
His head leaned forward and his lips connected with hers, sending immediate electrifying chills up her spine. There, he made the first move, now she would make the second. She threw her arms around the back of his neck and deepened the kiss.
This wasn't anything like their last kiss. House wasn't pitying her and there was definitely no pity in this kiss. This was actual love that poured out in the form of passion that would make anyone weaken at the knees.
Cuddy needed no words.
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I'm not sure if that's a cliffy or not, but I'm still debating Huddy smut. Should there be some following this kiss? I leave it up to you to decide :)))) Thanks for reading!