Getting two chapters in one week! Hope you like this one! And I love reading all of your reviews, really makes me want to write more and write better. Thanks guys.
Arizona's breath caught in her throat and at first she was at a loss for words. She had said those words before, and had heard hear people say them to her but nothing compared to how it felt when she heard those three words fall from Callie's beautiful lips.
"You...you love me?"
They stood there silently in the dimly lit room and Callie started to worry that maybe she did say it too soon. Maybe Arizona wasn't ready, maybe she had freaked her out by saying it. But it didn't matter because Callie meant it, she did love Arizona. And if she had too, she would say in a million more times to make sure the blonde knew.
"I-I do, I really do," Callie said.
"Calliope," Arizona said. The brunette swallowed the lump in her throat and braced herself for what Arizona was going to say, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle anything that wasn't good. Arizona took Callie's hands in her own and ran her thumb across her soft skin. "I love you too."
"You...you don't have to say it just because I said it. If you don't mean it, I-I understand..."
"Stop. I mean it Calliope. Of course I mean it. It would be impossible for me to not mean it."
Tears started to well up in Callie's eyes and she did her best to blink them back. "Really?"
"You don't realize how incredible you are. Ever since I met you, I've just been so hooked. The day we met in the coffee shop, the first time I ever looked into those big beautiful brown eyes of yours, I needed to always be able to look into those eyes, no matter what. I remember seeing you sitting there in the rain that morning, seeing how hurt and how broken you looked. All I wanted to do was be the person who would make everything better because I couldn't stand seeing you look so dejected."
She couldn't hold them back any more and tears started to lightly fall down Callie's cheek. Arizona lifted her hand to Callie's face and started to wipe the tears softly as they came.
"Don't cry," Arizona said. "I hate seeing you cry."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be crying."
"Pretty girl, don't be sorry. I only want to see you be happy, I love your smile."
Callie laughed a little bit and the corners of her mouth curled up.
"There it is," Arizona said and brushed some hair behind Callie's ear. "Did you know that the first time you smiled at me, I almost died? Really, I don't think i've ever seen a smile as beautiful as yours."
"This turned into quite the conversation," Callie said and chuckled a bit once her tears had finally stopped falling.
"I know, but we've always been a little emotional haven't we?"
"I really do love you Arizona, and I'm glad I finally said it."
"I'm glad you said it too. This has been quite the Christmas eve."
"This has been the best Christmas eve."
Arizona inched even closer to Callie and rested her hands on Callie's lower back. "Well...it's not over yet."
"Oh no?" Callie asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "What else do you have planned?"
The blonde slipped her hands under Callie's shirt and ran her hands up the soft toned skin of her back until they reached her bra clasp. She deftly undid Callie's bra and slid her hands around to her front.
"Bedroom. Right now." Arizona said as she kissed across Callie's jawline until their lips met.
"Why not right here?" Callie asked as she pushed Arizona backwards towards the couch until she fell down and Callie straddled her.
"Have I mentioned that I love you lately?" Arizona asked as Callie kissed her.
"You have, and the feeling is mutual."
"I think this is going to be a christmas gift I'll enjoy."
"Oh trust me," Callie said as she pulled her shirt up over her head and her bra straps fell down her arms. "This will be a gift we both enjoy."
Hours later Callie and Arizona were curled up beside each other under the comforter in Arizona's bed. The snow was still falling outside and the room was silent aside from the calm breathing of both women. Callie was stroking the soft skin on Arizona's arm and Arizona was tracing patterns lazily on Callie's abdomen. They had both been brought to a sweet release multiple times until they were too spent to go again so they collapsed and contently cuddled up with Callie's arms around Arizona.
"What time is it?" Callie asked quietly and interrupted the silence.
"Hmm? What?"
"I'm wondering what the time is."
Arizona glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "It's 1:15 a.m"
"Merry Christmas Arizona," Callie said and kissed her blonde hair.
"Best Christmas ever."
Callie laughed. "I definitely have no complaints."
"Guess that means I did something right."
"You did everything right Arizona, and you did it three times."
This time Arizona laughed and sat up so her back was against the headboard. She pulled the comforter up to cover her chest and images of her exploring every inch of Callie;s body flashed through her mind. She learned that there was a cluster of freckles on the back of Callie's thigh, and a scar from her childhood on her elbow. She had traced all of her curves and memorized all of her beautiful tan skin.
"What are you thinking about?" Callie asked.
"How quickly my life has changed."
"How do you mean?"
"I moved across the country to work at Seattle Grace, it was all very sudden and I thought it would take a lot for me to adjust. Then you walked into my life, or technically I guess I walked into yours and there was another change. I told myself I wasn't going to get attached to anything, because it had only led to failure in the past. I wanted to come here and work and just focus on being a surgeon but then we became friends and I knew there was no way in hell I would be able to stay away from you. I remember being so angry with myself for falling for you, and I decided that it didn't matter if we were just friends or something more. I just knew I needed you in my life."
"You never really told me why you came out here," Callie asked.
"Yeah," Arizona said. "I guess we never really talked about it."
"And we still don't have to if you don't want to, you're allowed to keep some things to yourself."
"No, no you're my girlfriend. People in relationships talk about stuff like this. Arizona took a deep breath and continued. "There was a person in my life, a woman, and at the time I thought we were meant for each other. She worked at the hospital with me and at first was just someone to have fun with but then things started getting pretty serious and I was in way over my head. I was faithful the whole time we were together but she wasn't, not even a little bit. It was pretty rough for me. We split up and she started making things tough at work, I didn't have many colleagues at the hospital to begin with and a lot of bridges were burned. She stripped away a lot of my self-confidence and it took some time to build myself back up. I finally decided that there was just too much baggage and I heard about the opening at the hospital here. A few weeks after applying for the position I was in a car full of boxes and was headed to Seattle."
"Wow," Callie said. "She was an idiot for cheating on you. Honestly, I don't know how someone could act that way when they had you in their life."
"I used to ask myself how anyone could treat another person that poorly, but it's all the past now. Choosing to come out here was the best decision I've ever made."
"What was her name?"
"Lauren," Arizona said quietly. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just so I know i'm hitting the right person if I ever meet her."
"Hah, I don't usually condone violence but I wouldn't mind seeing that. Plus, you all angry over me? That would be incredibly hot."
"I would like to do more incredibly hot things with you right now but i'm still so tired from the last time," Callie said with a grin as she slid down deeper into the bed. Arizona did the same and resumed the position she was in before, with her head resting on Callie's shoulder.
"Me too, you wore me out. Besides, we have lots of time for that. We have a whole day off tomorrow."
"I have some other surprises for you tomorrow."
"You do?" Arizona asked and glanced up at Callie.
"Yup, but you'll have to wait until morning."
"Fine, but only because i'm so tired."
"Then sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Good." Arizona yawned and moved even closer to Callie and drifted off to sleep. Callie started to stoke Arizona's arm again and just like the sleeping blonde who was against her, she drifted off to sleep too.
Callie woke up at about 6 a.m. Arizona was still sound asleep beside her. She was now laying on her stomach, not on Callie, but close enough that their skin was still touching. It was christmas morning and Callie wanted to slip some of the presents she had gotten Arizona under the tree so they would be there when she woke up. She slipped out of bed as quietly as she could so she didn't wake her. She pulled on a robe that hung on the back of Arizona's door and made her way out into the living room. She noticed a few small wrapped boxes under the tree that she couldn't remember seeing last night, not that she paid much attention to anything besides Arizona. She found her bag on the floor by the door and pulled out a couple of small wrapped boxes of her own. She didn't get Arizona much because they talked about not wanting to spend a lot of money on each other but she couldn't help herself when she saw the beautiful heart pendent necklace that she could picture hanging around the blonde's neck.
She put the small gifts under the tree beside the others and made her way back into the bedroom. She stood by the door and watched Arizona for a moment. Her blonde hair was spilled across the pillow and the comforter was pulled down enough to expose some of her back's creamy peach skin. Callie hung the robe on the hook that hung from the back of the door and slipped back into bed beside Arizona. She could hear the soft inhale and exhale of breath coming from the woman beside her and it lulled her back into sleep.
The next time one of them woke up it was 9:30. Arizona blinked open her eyes and moved her hair out of her face. She turned over so she was on her back and felt something tickle her arm. She looked over to see dark brown hair beside her and she smiled.
"I can feel you watching me," Callie mumbled and turned over so she was facing Arizona.
"I'm sorry, just can't help myself."
"You're always so chipper in the morning, I don't know how you do it."
"I've just always been a morning person," Arizona said. "And plus, it's Christmas!"
Callie pulled herself up into a sitting position and Arizona followed suit. "How does french toast sound for breakfast?"
"Mmm, sounds delicious."
"I thought you'd say that. Let's get our lazy butt's out of bed then."
"Aww," Arizona said with a pout and snuggled into Callie's side. "But it's so warm here, you're so warm."
"Well the presents won't open themselves."
"Presents? What presents?"
"You'll have to get out of bed to find out."
"I'm up!" Arizona jumped out of bed and pulled on some pyjama pants and a tank top. "Let's go!"
They both walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Arizona looked at their perfect little tree and then at Callie. It really had been an amazing christmas so far, and she couldn't remember feeling so much love in one place all at once.
"So," Callie said. "Some of those under that tree are for you."
"And some of them are for you too."
"I want you to open yours first."
"Are you sure?" Arizona asked. Callie nodded and she reached down and picked one up. She looked at Callie again who nudged her arm and she started to tear off the paper. Once the wrapping was taken off she was holding a long black box in her hands. She opened it and a wide smile broke out on her face. In the box was a silver chain necklace with a small silver heart with 3 little diamonds in a row on one half of it.
"Oh Calliope, this is beautiful. I don't really even know what to say."
"Can I...uh...put it on you?"
"Yes, please."
Callie took the box from Arizona's hands and took the necklace out of it. She placed it around Arizona's neck and did the clasp. She was right when she saw it, it did look perfect on the blonde. It made Arizona look even more beautiful then she already was, which was a pretty hard thing to do.
"It's so lovely." Arizona looked down at the heart and ran her fingers over the diamonds.
"Just like you."
"Here," Arizona said as she reached down and grabbed one of her gifts for Callie. "This is for you."
The box was fairly small and square and didn't weigh much. Callie unwrapped it then took of the lid. Inside was a silver bracelet with her name engraved on the inside. The box also had a key.
"It's for here..." Arizona said. "For my apartment. I thought that since we spend so much time together you should be able to let yourself in whenever you want. And the bracelet is well, just because. I never see you wearing much jewellery so I figured any you would wear would be simple but elegant."
Callie took the key out of the box and placed it in her palm. She looked around the room then beside her at a beaming Arizona. "It's perfect, really Arizona. It's perfect."
"I'm really glad that you think so," Arizona said.
After opening the rest of their smalls gifts and eating breakfast, they were now sitting together on Arizona's couch. Christmas carols played quietly through a stereo in the background and they both had cups of steaming hot chocolate sitting on the table beside them. Callie played with her new bracelet on her wrist and Arizona was humming along to one of the songs that was playing.
"So you said you had a surprise for me today, what is it?" Arizona asked.
"Excuse me, but it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it?"
"Can I have just a little hint?"
Callie sighed. "You're unbelievable but fine. You're going to want to dress warmly."
"That's it, really? That's a terrible hint."
"No it's not! If I were in your position I'd think it was a great hint!"
"That's because you're the one who gave the hint."
"Just take it, because it's the only one you're going to get."
Arizona looked up at Callie and closed the distance between them and pressed her lips agains't Callie's. She slipped her tongue into her mouth and gave her a steaming kiss. When she pulled back Callie's eyes were still closed and there a slight look of shock on her face.
"I can't have another hint, even after that?" Arizona asked playfully.
"Nice try," Callie said as she blinked open her eyes. Arizona was batting her eyelashes innocently and looked so indescribably adorable. "But you did a pretty good job at trying to change my mind."
"Ugh fine," Arizona huffed and fell back against the couch. "Can I least know when this is happening?"
"Yes." Callie smiled and kissed Arizona's cheek. "We're going to leave as soon as it gets dark."
"Well what are we going to do in the meantime?"
"I'm not really sure, what do you want to do?"
"Oh Calliope, that is a dangerous question."
"And why is that?"
"Because you might not be able to handle any of my ideas."
"Try me."
"I was thinking i'd start with a shower," Arizona said. She stood up and headed towards the bathroom, taking clothes off along the way. "Are you going to join me?" she called from down the hall.
Callie jumped up off the couch and followed the trail of Arizona's clothes that led her into the bathroom. She stopped in the doorway when she saw Arizona standing in the shower completely naked. She gulped and raked her eyes over the toned slim body that belonged to her girlfriend. "I'm so going to join you."
"Where are we going Callie?" Arizona had a piece of cloth tied around her head so it covered her eyes and she was trying her best to find away to peak out from under it so she would have some sort of idea as to what was happening. Callie held Arizona's hand as she led them down a pathway covered in fresh snow.
"Stop worrying about it, we're almost there."
"I'm cold, it's snowing and i'm cold."
"You love snow."
"I know, but i'm freezing my butt off."
"It'll be worth it, I promise. And you have a cute butt, I don't want it to freeze."
"Well it feels like it's taking forever."
"Arizona if you keep complaining, i'll turn us around and take you home."
"Ughhh fine, i'm sorry."
Callie laughed at her girlfriend, she really was like a child sometimes and it was a quality Callie really liked about her. "Okay, we're here."
"Are we really...?"
"Yes, really." Callie let go of Arizona's hand and undid the blindfold. Arizona gasped when she saw what was in front of them. It was a small private skating rink illuminated only by white twinkly lights that were strung from wooden posts around the rink. Two pairs of skates sat on a bench to the left of the rink and a man approached them from a small house that was set back a bit in the clearing where the rink was.
"Callie, nice to see you again," the man said as he stopped in front of them.
"Hi Hank, Merry Christmas. How are you?" Callie asked.
"Merry Christmas to you too. and I'm fine, how are you ladies doing?"
"We're good, this is Arizona by the way."
Hank extended his hand and Arizona shook it. "Nice to meet you Arizona, Callie has told me a lot about you."
"Oh she has, has she?" Arizona asked and glanced at Callie.
Hank laughed. "All good things, I promise. Now Callie told me your skate sizes so i've already brought them out for you. I've got a stereo system hooked up so that you can hear music on the rink. I've got some nice holiday tunes I can play. Let me know if you need anything else, and i'll leave you ladies to it. Please enjoy the ice, she's fresh and ready to go. Hasn't got a lot of use so far this season. Not a lot of renters."
"Thank you so much Hank," Callie said. "This is great."
"No problem at all, enjoy your skating."
"How did you even arrange this?" Arizona asked Callie after Hank had left.
"Well I was looking for fun wintery things to do and I came across an ad in the paper for this little ice rink. He rents them out to small groups in the winter time."
"And he was willing to rent it out on one of the biggest holidays of the year?"
"Yeah, his daughter lives across the country so he visits her before the holiday, that way he can be here if anyone wants to skate on Christmas. I was surprised that it wasn't already rented. I was lucky."
"This is so cool, I've never skated on a private rink before."
"Neither have I, but you and me have this whole thing to ourselves for two hours."
"Well then what are we waiting for?!" Arizona ran off towards the bench and immediately took off her shoes and started putting on her pair of skates. Callie watched her and felt an overwhelming sense of calm and happiness. She couldn't believe how lucky she had gotten. The blonde had cautiously stepped out onto the ice and wobbled for a minute until she steadied herself and glided into the centre of the rink.
"Are you just going to stand there all night or are you going to skate with me?"
Arizona pulled Callie from her thoughts and she went and put on her own skates. "I'm warning you though, i've never been that great of a skater," Callie said as she slowly skated out into the middle of the ice where Arizona was.
"Don't worry," Arizona said as she spun around and took Callie's hand. "If you fall, i'll be right here to pick you back up."