11. Good Night

Addison smiled when Pete wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer as they walked. She hadn't been too thrilled to hear him say they were walking to the restaurant, she was wearing high heels and walking didn't sound like a good plan, but now she had to admit it had been a good idea. This wasn't as easy as she thought it'd be, though. It wasn't a normal first date. They knew each other, they were friends, so they couldn't make small talk asking about their jobs, or other little things. She didn't know what to say to break the ice, and that was worrying her. Wasn't this supposed to be easy?

She tried to think of things they talked about when they were alone, but she realized flirting was pretty much all they did in those situations, and she needed some actual conversation right now. "So..." She looked at him when he spoke, and she chuckled when she realized he was also trying to come up with something to talk about. "Should we be worried about this not being easier?" He smiled down at her, relieved to see he wasn't the only one having trouble. "Well, it's not a normal situation. It's like starting on the 20th date." She nodded at his words. "What do people talk about on their 20th date?" He took a moment to think before answering her question. "How was your day?"

It took her a moment to make sure he was serious, and then she started talking about her patients, what she'd had for lunch, and everything else that had happened on her uneventful day. "...and Mr. and Mrs. Conrad asked for me, so I'm stopping by tomorrow to see how the baby's doing. I hope Charlotte will cooperate." Pete smirked at her. "I'm only worried about her convincing you to stay at St. Ambrose and go back to your hotshot surgeon days." Addison laughed as she spoke again. "Don't worry, you quacks have successfully brainwashed me into thinking one patient a day is a good idea." It was his turn to laugh. "You're one of us, Montgomery." She smiled warmly at him. "I really am."

It hadn't been easy for her to get used to this new way of practicing medicine, but she really felt part of the group now. She still wasn't completely comfortable with some things, like not having her own staff, or having to take the patient to St. Ambrose if she needed an OR, but she was getting there. And she was definitely a part of the group when it came to the personal area. Sam and Naomi were still her best friends, and the three of them were as close as they'd ever been. Cooper was someone you just couldn't help but love, and you could always count on him if you needed to have some fun. And Violet was slowly becoming a good friend of hers, even though they still were testing the waters and hadn't opened up to each other yet. And then there was Pete. Yes, she definitely was part of the group.

Addison came back to earth when they stopped in front of a small restaurant. He placed his hand on the small of his back as they walked inside, and she smiled as she saw the inside of the room. It was a traditional Italian restaurant, and that was obvious just by looking around. It was hard to believe a place like this could be across the street from the busy Santa Monica Boulevard. They were lead to one of the tables on the deck, overlooking the beach, and she thought she'd underestimated Pete's taste when she assumed he'd take her to whatever restaurant was the hottest in town that week. She really was pleasantly surprised.

She looked up from the menu and smiled at Pete, who looked slightly more relaxed than before. "I love this place. I can't believe I'd never heard about it before, it's just amazing." Pete beamed at her words. He was worried about her thinking it wasn't good enough. "Well, I'd love to say it's very exclusive and I have connections, but both things would be lies." She chuckled at his words. "I'm glad you didn't try to woo me with an exclusive restaurant." He smirked at her and leaned closer to reply. "I don't need to woo you, Montgomery, you're already on a date with me." She laughed at his cockiness and waited for the kiss that she just knew was coming, but the waiter interrupted them and she went back to looking at the menu, trying to hide her disappointment.

"I've never been good at choosing what to eat. I like everything." He smiled when he saw her frustrated look. "Do you trust me with the choosing?" She chuckled and cocked her eyebrow at him. "Should I trust you with the choosing?" He shoot her a cocky smirk. "I'm the best at choosing. We'll have the ravioli di brasato su salsa di porcini and the scaloppine al prosciutto e parmigiano." She looked at him with an incredulous look on her face. "Since when do you speak Italian?" His smirk widened at her question. "I'm good at many things, Montgomery." The waiter asked what they wanted to drink, and Pete's smirk slowly fell from his face, and Addison decided to take the choosing in her own hands. "We'll have a bottle of Dolcetto di Dogliani, please." It was his turn to look incredulous. "Since when do you speak Italian?" She smirked at him. "I don't. I do speak Wine, though."

"Who taught you how to speak Wine?" He was looking playfully at her, with a glint of admiration in his eyes. He had to admit Addison fascinated him. "My grandfather." He watched her face for a hint of her not wanting to talk about this. She never talked about her family, and he didn't really know if it was a touchy subject or it just had never come up. "My grandfather taught me how to fish. It's really not as useful as knowing how to choose a wine." She chuckled at his words, relieved that he wasn't pushing the family subject. "Say that again if we ever get lost in a deserted island." He nodded in agreement. "Very good point. I should teach you how to fish sometime, and you can teach me all about the wine." She shook her head as she replied. "I don't play well with the Great Outdoors."

Pete was still laughing when the waiter brought them their food. "So you don't like nature?" She took a sip of her wine before answering. "I love nature, I just don't mingle with it. I don't mind nature in small quantities and indoors, I have a plant in my office." He laughed again. She was such a New Yorker. "We're going camping." Addison laughed and shook her head. "Ohh, I don't think so." He smirked at her. "Come camping with me, and I'll go shopping with you." She shook her head again. "Not good enough." His smirk didn't leave his face as he spoke again. "We're going camping. Maybe not next week, or next month, or next year. But someday, Montgomery, I'm taking you camping." His cocky smirk never failed to make her laugh.

After they ordered their desserts, Pete broke the silence again. "Tell me something I don't know about you." She smiled at him. "There are many things you don't know about me." He nodded in agreement. "I know. Tell me something about your family, or about your life in Connecticut. Dates are supposed to be about getting to know each other." She chuckled and sat back on her chair, looking at him. "Show me yours and I'll show you mine." He smiled at her as he spoke. "I have an older sister, Sally. I was born and raised in Pasadena, and my parents still live there. I have five nieces and a sixth on the way, although Sal and her husband are hoping for a boy this time. Your turn."

She shifted uncomfortably on her chair. She didn't like talking about her family. "I'm an only child. I was born and raised in Connecticut, and I obviously don't have any nieces or nephews, except for Derek's sisters' kids. Which I guess aren't my nieces and nephews anymore." He instantly regretted having brought up the family topic. "I'm sorry." She shook her head. "It's okay. I just don't like talking about my family." He nodded slightly and smiled when she forced a smile on her face. The mood was ruined, and they hadn't even finished their dessert yet.

They were still silent when they walked out of the restaurant and started walking back to Addison's house. It was one of the first uncomfortable silences they'd shared, and both of them wanted to find a way to fix it. "Pete?" He looked at her and waited for her to talk, but he noticed she was pointing to her feet, and smiled as he answered her silent question. "Jimmy Choo." She smiled back at him. "Your favorite." He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her as they walked, happy to see she was back to her normal self. "It's just so much fun to say."

They kept talking about meaningless things as they walked towards her house, but they fell silent again when they reached her front door. "I had an amazing time." He nodded and smiled as he replied. "So did I. We should make it a regular thing." She chuckled at his answer, leaning slightly closer to him. "Sounds good to me." She waited patiently for his kiss, but it never came. "Good night." She stared in disbelief as he walked down the steps. "Where are you going?" He shrugged before answering. "Home."

She shoot him an evil glare and spoke in her best scary voice. "Come back here and kiss me right now." He turned around and smirked at her. "You begging for a kiss pretty much means I win, right?" She couldn't help but laugh at his cocky smirk. "Good night, Pete." She was already opening the door when he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. He took a second to look at her, knowing this was the moment when everything changed. It was time to give her her fireworks. He wasn't expecting her to take advantage of that and kiss him instead.

She kissed him slowly, almost painfully so. He resisted the urge to grab her and push her up against the door, and decided to let her take the lead. She was taking her time, kissing him carefully, and she subconsciously moved her hands to the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, as if she was afraid he'd run away. She pulled her lips slightly away from him when she ran out of air, and smiled at his face, his eyes still closed and his mouth slightly open, as if he hadn't noticed she wasn't kissing him anymore. "Pete?" He opened his eyes and looked into hers, his voice barely audible. "Fireworks."

She nodded and kissed him again, but this time he didn't let her get away with it. He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her in a way that let her know all the games, and the pretending, and the self-control were gone for good. She was pressed up against the door, fiddling with her keys and trying to unlock it. He pulled away when he heard the sound of the door opening, gasping for air, and she shoot him a flirty smile. "Wanna come in for a cup of coffee?" He chuckled and pulled her inside with him, closing the door behind them. "Coffee sounds perfect." And, as she started to undo his tie, she thought she'd never been so happy to pass on a cup of coffee.

Thank you agentaddek, hopelessromantic28, Effi, melanie, ciaobella06, raes, AddielovesMen, CaliWriter, Carolina 1986 and jb916 for taking the time to review! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the last one :)

Another fluffy chapter. I hope you guys like it, somehow it always sounds better in my head than it does when I write it down. Anyway, let me know what you think:)