July 17

Taking a sip of her morning coffee, she inhaled and smiled. God, she needed this wakeup.

Sleep was becoming somewhat of a thing of the past on many of these days. But she'd be lying if she was ever going to start complaining about it, considering much of it was due to the fact that she had an amazing girlfriend. Since working at the bar a few years ago, her sleeping schedule had been completely readjusted with the late nights, but then she would compensate the late nights by being dead to the world until the afternoon of the next day.

But since being with Callie… Callie changed things, even without meaning to. They had nights together that were even later than what she was used to because there never seemed to be enough time, and typically, neither of them wanted to just go to sleep right after the bar was closed. They talked and ate and had mind blowing sex, which pushed sleeping back even later.

And by some miracle, her girlfriend always managed to wake up in a mere few hours to go about her day. She asked her about it a few weeks ago, one morning when she was particularly sleepy and a little cranky from said lack of sleep, how did she do – waking up and spending the entire day busy on so few hours of sleep. Was she some sort of magical creature? A big, bright smile had gone onto her face as her laugh rang out, all low and cute, as she told Arizona that she often took a nap for a few hours between her time off from her appointments and going to the bar.

Regardless, when she got up in the mornings, Arizona always woke up as well, due to the fact that the main source of warmth in her bed, that glorious body that was like a personal heater, was no longer there. No longer there, holding onto her. And then they'd say goodbye, and she'd have to go back to sleep without Callie in bed with her.

Tim's arm swinging up around her startled her almost enough to spill her coffee, cutting off her train of thoughts, as he started by saying, "Arizonaaa?"

With a sigh, she couldn't help but smile just a little bit because this was the way he'd started saying her name when he wanted something since they were kids, "Timothyyy?"

Letting her go, he made a face at her for using his full name before he shifted into a pout, fluttering his eyelashes ridiculously, "So, little sister, I have a huge favor to ask of you."

Putting her cup down on the counter, she let her mouth fall open with mock surprise, "You don't say!"

His eyes flashed with a smile as he turned around to jump up onto the counter, "Alex scored two tickets to the Marlin's game in a few hours. But the problem is that I was supposed to do that final consult walkthrough at the Torres' for Callie's parents' anniversary party in an hour, and I don't think I'd be back in time."

Now her hand froze as it was on it's way to push up her glasses, running through her mind, thinking of everything she and Callie had talked about recently, before saying slowly, "I didn't know that there was an event at Callie's. Did Mrs. Torres come in?"

She asked the question, but she already knew the answer. Callie was working as her mom's party planner; when they needed to find caterers and florists and locations, it was her girlfriend's job to find them.

He lifted his eyebrows, grin rapidly fading, "Uh, no… Callie did. She asked me a few weeks ago if we would do it. We've been planning for a while, there was an initial consult at the house last week…" he trailed off, shaking his head, as if to ask if any of this ringing a bell.

But it wasn't, "Callie didn't mention anything to me."

Which made a bad feeling settle in her stomach, and lodge there, and she could tell that Tim was regretting this already, as he reached a hand up to scratch at the back of his head, "Listen, it's probably nothing. Forget I asked, I can –"

Cutting him off, she grabbed her coffee cup, "Don't worry about it; go to the game. I can do the consult."

Holy. Crap.

For a second, Arizona simply stood, with her hands on her hips, looking up at the house in front of her. She was back in Callie's neighborhood, in front of her house, for the second time. However, this time it wasn't to pick her girlfriend up for a date, it was because she was here for a final consultation on the liquor order and setup of a party that was being hosted in a few days by the Torres family.

Kicking the tip of her sneaker at the ground, she sighed, holding a hand up to her eyes to block the sun, so she could look at the house for another moment. It seemed so… grand, she decided was the word. Elegant, painted a pale yellow that seemed to be somewhat radiant in the sunlight, with white pillars on either side of the double front doors.

This was where Callie went home to every day, and where she always proclaimed she liked far less than Arizona's house. But damn. Shaking her head, she pulled her bag up more on her shoulder, and started up the styled brick walkway.

She had been in a weird mood since earlier today, since talking to Tim.

Maybe it was because she felt like Callie was deliberately trying to keep something from her? Maybe it was because she couldn't help but feel like… like Callie didn't want her to come to her house.

But it was a foreign feeling, which made it even more upsetting.

And it was stupid, probably, and it wasn't like she had ever expressed interest in spending time here to Callie, either. Moods like this were unnatural for her to be in and even more unnatural for her to stay in. Especially when Callie was concerned, she blew out a breath once she reached the side door entrance – where Tim had told her to enter – about to ring the doorbell.

Then, before she could ring it, the door swung open, and she came face to face with a woman who looked maybe a few years younger than she was, and very much like Callie, except… glamor was the first word that came to her mind when she saw her. It was still early in the afternoon, and she had her hair perfectly styled, and she had a short red dress on like she was ready to go to the club.

She didn't know for sure, but she was willing to make a guess that this was the infamous Aria that she'd heard of several times from Callie.

Fixing a smile on her face, she stuck her hand out, "Hi, I'm Arizona Robbins. Nice to meet you."

A perfectly shaped eyebrow, much like her girlfriend's, lifted, as she took her hand slowly, "Aria Torres. You too." Her eyebrow remained up, as she looked Arizona up and down, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being judged, but she couldn't tell whether the verdict was good or bad.

And usually, she would brush this kind of thing off, as she did when she was working at the Montgomery-Forbes party a while back. But she couldn't just brush it off right now, because this was her girlfriend's sister. With a slight frown, she shrugged off the voice in her head that told her it didn't matter because her girlfriend's sister didn't know that her sister was Arizona's girlfriend.

When Aria finally let go of her hand, she, "hmm"d for a moment before stepping back, "I mean, this is the entrance for consults and caterers, the chefs and the maids… if you're here to see Callie, your best bet is to go to the front door."

As soon as she mentioned her name, Arizona couldn't help but look over her shoulder, but she saw nothing but an empty hallway. When she looked back at Aria, her heart started to beat a bit faster, because if Aria thought that she was looking for Callie, did that mean that her girlfriend had mentioned her? Why else would she assume she was here to see her gorgeous older sister? She loved knowing that Callie had mentioned her to her sister despite the fact that she'd told her that she hardly spent any time with Aria.

Even though she could feel herself flush, she shook her head, "What? No, I'm not –" she took a deep breath to get herself under control, because as much as Callie had told her about her sister, she didn't expect her to have such an astute, knowing look. Then she continued, "I'm here to consult with the caterer and your – Mrs. Torres about an anniversary party."

She gave her a slight nod, "Ah… well, since you're not planning the party and you're not Roman – the caterer," she added on to address Arizona's confused look, "Then you're here for…?"

"Liquor," she supplied, opening the bag on her shoulder, and digging around, "Catering for the bar, and bartending at the party." She finally found what she'd been looking for, pulling out the business card.

She'd had to fight with Tim about these, too, a few months ago. She viewed the bar as something they could expand and make thrive beyond what their father had made it into, with the catering business. And if they were going to be catering, they had to also have a way to market. Which meant business cards.

A perfectly manicured hand reached out to take the card, "The Just Cause… maybe I'll check it out."

She felt a more genuine smile pull at her lips now, as she encouraged, "You should." Arizona wasn't entirely sure the Just Cause was a scene that Aria was used to – judging by the stories she'd heard and the way she looked, probably not. But she'd been around more than enough people to know that a bar was a bar by the time it got late enough. And aside from all of that, Aria and Callie were cut from the same cloth, and Callie seemed to like it.

Then again, Callie and Aria may have been cut from the same cloth, but… the differences between the two of them were obvious.

Aria stepped back to invite her in as she put the card in her purse, "Well, Roman is already here, in the kitchen, waiting for the run through. The kitchen is the first door on the left. And if it's all good with you, don't mention that you saw me to mother superior."

And with that, she… well, Arizona could only describe the way she strut away as flouncing. The first time she'd ever been in Callie's house, she thought, as she closed the door behind her, and Callie wasn't even with her.

The realization didn't serve to make her mood any better. But maybe it was kind of nice this way; she was going to see everything from a different perspective than she would get if she was experiencing this with Callie.

She was walking in from the entrance that, from Aria's description she could gather, was the worker's entrance. Not even the main one. And above her was high, elegant ceilings and archways that had a way of making her feel oddly small.

As she entered through the instructed door, she came into a kitchen that was all clean lines and stainless steel. A young guy, with a chef's jacket on gave her a polite smile, that also revealed the question in his expression, and in response, she reached a hand out, "I'm Arizona Robbins. I'm here to meet with Mrs. Torres."

With a nod, he inclined his head toward where she saw another man standing a few feet away, "I'm Thomas, I'm the chef here. And that's Roman, who is also waiting for your meeting. And, I would shake your hand, but…" he trailed off, and they both looked to where his hands were covered in some sort of dough he was kneading.

Sending him a dimpled grin, she shook her head, "Oh, it's no problem."

He frowned, just for a moment, before asking "When did you arrive? I didn't even hear the bell ring."

With a shrug, she leaned against the counter next to him, her mind already wondering. Mostly to Callie, and she wondered if she would see her today. Here, in this environment. She'd seen her earlier, very early this morning, and the memory did serve to make her feel better than the way she was currently feeling.

Because she just imagined the way she'd rolled over in bed when she felt her girlfriend moving, and seen those sleepy dark eyes smile at her, before full lips pressed against hers. Then she'd whispered goodbye, with her voice all low… it was one of her favorite things.

Then she caught his questioning look, "Oh," right, he was waiting for her to answer, "Um, Aria Torres – she was leaving while I was on my way in."

She caught the way his expression flickered, for just a moment, before becoming imperceptible again, his eyes going back to being focused on the dough, "Oh, Aria. Interesting that she'd be down toward this end of the house. She's something else," he murmured, his tone discernable. Not rude, but more… admiring, she decided, and her senses went off a bit.

"Yeah, she seemed interesting. Not my type," she joked, placing her bag up on the counter as the binder was weighing her down a bit.

He gave her a sly look, "Aria is everyone's type. Look at her."

She could picture Aria as she just had been – short dress, high heels, everything, and she was very attractive. But, "Mine's more…"

She let the words slip from her lips just as the voice that she knew all too well came from the doorway of the kitchen, ringing out, "Thomas, the coffee you made this morning was absolutely incredible. Did you add –"

Callie's words stopped midsentence as Arizona's own sentence finished in her head. This was her type; Callie was wearing an understated black suit with a white button up shirt under the top, that was unbuttoned enough to still be professional, but… god, it showed off just enough. Her hair was pulled up to the back of her head in a clip, and big, wide brown eyes were staring at her in surprise, even as a small smile played at her lips, "Arizona… what are you doing here?"

Before she could respond, Callie held open the kitchen door, nodding for Arizona to come to where she was. And even though that weird, bad mood was still here, she hauled her bag back over her shoulder, because despite whatever it was that she was feeling, she owed her girlfriend the benefit of the doubt.

But as soon as they were out of the doors, Arizona turned to face her, biting her lip as blue eyes ran over Callie's face, "Why do you seem so surprised to see me here, I think is the bigger question." Confusion and… she was sure that this other feeling was insult battled inside of her, as she put her hands on her hips, "Calliope, it's my bar, too; did you think I wouldn't find out about this party? Why did you ask Tim and not me? Did I… I don't know, not do a good job the first time you hired us?"

The small smile that had been hinting on that mouth disappeared as Callie bit down on her lip, and as much as Arizona tried to search those dark eyes that seemed to always be so open to her, as if she could read her mind, her gaze was avoided.

And that made this hurt feeling in her feel worse, "I feel like maybe I'm making too big of a deal about this, but I just… I can't help feeling that there's something else."

Long fingered, tan hands clasped each other before falling to her sides, and the expression on her face was so defeated that Arizona couldn't stop herself from reaching out and taking her hand, immediately feeling Callie turn hers, so their palms met, and fingers interlocked, while Callie sighed, "There is something else. Two things, I guess."

Blue eyes just widened waiting for an answer, as she stared at her girlfriend's face, and she felt immensely relieved when those dark chocolate eyes met hers, shoulders shrugging under her suit jacket, "The first it's just that – having you here, like you're working for me? It just feels… weird. You're my girlfriend, and I don't want you to feel. I don't know," she cut herself off, shrugging and looking at the ground.

"Oh," she muttered, understanding dawning on her of what Callie was saying. That bad feeling in her stomach melted away as soon as this emotion was all over her face, and it was so strange to see Callie acting insecure. Unlike the way she usually saw Callie – as she was laughing or chatting or… basically doing anything else. Taking a deep breath, she shrugged her shoulders, her voice matter of fact, "Callie. The fact of the matter is that your family has more money than mine does. It is what it is, and I've clearly known that since before we started this, it's just a part of who you are. And me, the bar – working parties like this – is who I am."

She felt much more settled now, as she watched Callie bite on her bottom one, "I know. It's just I don't want you to feel… uncomfortable, I guess."

Blonde hair that she had pulled the top back to clip up swayed as she shook her head, honesty dripping from her words, "The fact that you have more money than mine doesn't make me uncomfortable, the fact that I felt like you were going behind my back does."

Callie nodded, "I'm sorry. I am, I didn't mean for this to be a – a thing. A fight. I didn't mean to deliberately keep secrets from you."

Blowing a sigh out, she weighed her words, and she didn't really feel like her girlfriend had bad intentions toward her, and she finally settled on, "I know. And we're good."

A small smile started to play on those perfectly plump lips, "Yeah? Are you sure?"

A returning one slid onto her own face, and she felt immensely relieved to have this behind them, because this feeling of being angry, upset with Callie? It wasn't something that she wanted to repeat anytime soon; it gave her that awful feeling in her stomach, "I'm sure. As long as that's it, then I'm sure."

Her eyes trailed down Callie's face, before they reached her lips, and she focused on them. It was their customary greeting now, that when they saw each other, they always kissed. Usually, Callie would come into the bar before closing when Arizona was working, and she would lean over the bar top, feeling a brush of those lips on hers. Hardly more than a second, but it was great because it had become a habit.

And she loved that her girlfriend's thoughts seemed to think the same thing as she leaned down, brushing her lips over Arizona's, making blue eyes close as the gentle touch. Callie's soft, sweet lips stayed on hers, lingering for a few seconds, before she pulled back, and she sighed lightly, when Callie was concerned lifting her hands to run them over Callie's shoulders, feeling the soft, rich fabric under them, as she whispered, "If I didn't have other things on my mind at first, I would have told you that I really like you like this."

A sculpted eyebrow lifted, and the taller woman stepped back so she could look down at her own outfit, "This?"

Biting her lip, she scanned her eyes down, too, a heavy exhale of appreciation coming out, "Yep, it makes you look very classy. Kind of makes me really want to get you out of it." Hmm, or have her with her still in it.

The visual in her head was enough to confirm. Uhhh, yes. Definitely have Callie remain in it while she made her come undone, maybe a few buttons undone…

Laughter was in Callie's voice as she interrupted her mental picture, "Arizona Robbins, are you having dirty thoughts about me while we're both in a professional setting? While we're waiting for my mother to come down for a walkthrough?"

"Mhmm," she hummed for a moment, before pulling herself out of it, "You shouldn't change before you come to the bar later," she added on with a grin, before clearing her throat, "So… what's your mother like?"

Callie opened her mouth to answer before, she tilted her head to the side, "Are you nervous?"

Quietly groaning, she leaned her head back against the wall, "Maybe. A little." She usually didn't get nervous, especially around parents of girlfriend's in the past. Parents loved her. It was just a thing.

But… Callie's weren't really a kind of parent she'd met before. And, honestly, Callie meant more to her than her girlfriend's of the past did, as much as she didn't like to focus on that fact.

The small smile that quirked up on that very talented mouth made her blush a bit, "My mom is…" she trailed off, weighing the options of how exactly to describe her, "Demanding. She has very high expectations, and she wants things to be done exactly the way she wants them. She's a good person, just particular."

That didn't make her feel much better, and she looked down at herself. She was meeting her girlfriend's mother – her girlfriend's demanding, with high expectations, and particular mother – and even though she'd been a little upset when she was coming here, she'd been mindful of that. When she dressed for work at the bar, it was super casual. Cutoffs, sneakers, t-shirts, flannels… it didn't really matter.

But when she went on consults with anyone, she broke out her dress pants, skirts, nice tops. And today, she opted for a sundress. It was a powder blue color halter top, and a sweetheart neckline. It was one of her favorite items in her closet and she only broke it out on special occasions. Such as meeting Callie's mother.

Apparently, her girlfriend noticed the way she was looking at herself, and she felt Callie's soft hand cup her jaw, "Arizona, you look gorgeous. Not a single flaw."

"It's not every day you're meeting your girlfriend's mother," she mumbled, tugging on the bottom hem of the dress. As she looked into those dark eyes, she felt herself melt against the feeling of her hand. But then the more she stared into Callie's with her own eyes, the more she was getting that other feeling from before… like something wasn't quite right.

And just after a moment, she knew that the feeling was based on something real, because those dark eyes dropped her gaze, and she bit her lip, before her voice, low and husky, responded, "Arizona –"

But before she could say what she had been going to say, they heard heels clacking down the polished floor, nearing to them, and whatever she was going to say completely died on her lips. Right before Mrs. Torres turned the corner to the hall they were in, Callie took a step back, and the smile she fixed on her face was as superficial as one Arizona had seen in the last few months.

She didn't have the chance to wonder what Callie meant by this, because before she knew it, she was faced with her girlfriend's mother. She was slightly taller than Arizona herself, just about an inch, and in an understatedly rich suit… everything about her screamed elegance.

Wearing a smile that Arizona wouldn't say was cold, but polite and definitely distant, she glanced between the two women in confusion, before offering her hand to her, "Hello, I'm Lucia Torres."

Flickering her eyes toward Callie for just a second, which wasn't long enough to decipher what she was feeling, she took the hand offered to her, shaking it, "Arizona Robbins."

Recognition came moved over her features, and she nodded, her dark eyes that were so, so much like Callie's scanned over her face, "Robbins, right."

That nervousness was back and in full swing. What was she thinking? Did she think that she was good enough for her daughter? Did she measure up to those high standards? Her mouth opened to say something about how nice it was to finally meet her, until Mrs. Torres spoke again, the words leaving her mouth making Arizona feel somewhat like she'd been punched in the stomach.

"Robbins, the liquor caterer. Yes, your brother had called me to inform me that you would be here in his place today. I assume you're up to date on what we've planned?" shrewd eyes watched her for an answer, but all she could do for a few moments was stare.

Because the person Callie was apparently closest to and spent the most time with in her family, had no idea who she was. Mrs. Torres had no clue that Arizona was dating her daughter, or that they had been for a few months, let alone officially together for a month. Though Callie hadn't mentioned it much, she had mentioned that her parents had known about the girl she'd been with unofficially for a while.

But they didn't know of her.

Insult and injury pierced together inside of her, and for a moment, she looked up at Callie to see if she would add anything. Instead, wide brown eyes stared at her in apology, before breaking away to look at the ground.

Hollowly, she looked away, still realizing that Mrs. Torres was waiting for an answer. Gesturing at her bag, she had to clear her throat before saying, "I – yes. Tim's been detailed in keeping all of your plans together."

Her voice was dull even to her own ears.

She knew that Alex was deliberately giving her a wide birth as they started to set up the bar for the night shift that would be starting soon. It was good, because she was still in a horrible fucking mood from earlier today.

Callie had been called away to do something elsewhere in the house involving the florist, and she'd stared at Arizona apologetically, though she'd pointedly avoided her gaze. She saw her briefly on her way out, and had known that the brunette was coming after her, which made her deliberately walk faster. And she hadn't stopped.

She didn't know exactly how to be mad at Callie, because it had never happened before. She hadn't known it would feel so bad. Like one part of her wanted to forget about it and just try to move on, but the majority of her couldn't do that. She couldn't pretend that she wasn't feeling this way, because – god, it hurt.

It hurt that she'd opened her life up to Callie, opened everything up to her, and in response, she didn't get that from Callie.

Unintentionally, she put down a glass onto the bar hard enough to make a noise loud enough to startle Alex, who then gave the bar one more swipe, and then took down the stool that was flipped up in front of her, so he was standing right there.

"That's enough. Tell me what's up with you," he braced both hands on the bar, leaning forward, as he grabbed the cloth out of her hands.

She didn't want to tell him. It was… it made her feel embarrassed. And she couldn't believe she still had the ability to feel this embarrassed, and she just muttered, "Nothing."

He rolled his eyes at her, "Yeah, okay. Nothing is the matter you've had steam coming out of your ears since you got home – from Callie's. Something happen between you and Callie?"

It was phrased as a question, but they both knew it was undeniably a statement.

Even though she didn't want to have to say it, she mirrored his pose against the bar, huffing out a breath before saying quietly, "Callie's embarrassed by me."

The incredulous look on his face said what his reaction was even before he spoke, "What? Come on, Z, that's crazy. Callie loves it here and at the house – we can't get her to leave most days."

"Yeah, we spend all of our time here or at home or with you and Tim or –" she rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling to try to calm this awful storm of a feeling inside of her, "Or anywhere else that doesn't involve meeting her friends or family or being at her house." Her bottom lip poked out in a pout that she couldn't stop, and because she was with Alex, her anger deflated a bit, and instead, she felt even more miserable. Her voice was quiet as she reached out and pulled the cloth she'd been cleaning with from his hands, just tossing it back and forth in her own, her voice quiet, "I met her mom today. And she had no idea who I was, at all. Like I was nothing."

And it was a feeling she hadn't had since high school. Not one that she had ever missed, either.

As Alex had been her best friend back then, he knew exactly what she was talking about, and he nodded, "Listen. I don't know exactly what's up with Callie and this, and it was shitty of her. But you're not nothing. And you never have been. It's a feeling you used to get because you felt like Callie was above you, not because she actually was."

His words actually brought a smile to her face, small as it was, because he was so Alex, in the gruff way he spoke, and in the slightly embarrassed was he ducked his head after he said something that was insightful. Before she could even lightly punch him in the shoulder, much the way they'd shown each other affection since awkward teenagers, the door to the bar opened, and the smile dropped off of her face.

Because there was Callie, stepping into the bar, slowly, unsure of her presence here. Sighing, she looked back down at the glasses she had to polish, and she reached for one, calling out, "Sorry, the bar is closed."

She really just couldn't deal with feeling like this more. Not when the emotions Callie brought out in her were all clashing. Like the inherent need to forgive her, but then the overwhelming damn awful feeling that made her stomach feel tied up in knots.

Callie froze where she was, and the hurt expression on her face made Arizona want to soften, as she said, "Arizona, please can I just explain?"

But then just by saying her name, all she could think of was what her mom had said, and the words fell off her tongue quickly, "Sorry, I prefer to be known as simply the liquor caterer."

Alex slung the cloth he had been using over his shoulder, "That's my cue to leave," he muttered, before quickly walking behind the bar and out back.

The way Callie walked in, in such a non-confident way that Arizona didn't recognize at all, still dressed in her suit – Arizona knew that Callie had probably cut time off from the end of her appointments to come here – was so foreign.

She took a deep breath, before those dark eyes sought out hers, "Arizona, please listen. I didn't mean for earlier today to go the way it did. I don't want you take it the way you did."

Despite those dark eyes staring into hers, she shook her head against them, blowing out a breath, "I get it, I'm good enough to be your girlfriend here but not in front of people like your mom," just saying the words hurt, and she plowed on, "It never even occurred to me until today how we never do anything that's at your house or with your family – only at mine. It never occurred to me, because just being with you feels so good."

A completely confused and nearly horrified look came onto Callie's face as she shook her head, "What? No, Arizona, that's not it."

Lifting an eyebrow, the backs of her eyes stung, "Really, because it feels like you're ashamed. That's what it feels like to me, like you… like you shut me out of every part of your life, when I let you in to every part of mine," her cheeks felt like they were stained red, and it was hard for her to say the words, but she needed to because she was still hurt, and embarrassed, "You're not better than me, Callie."

Saying the words out loud, as they sat there, big and heavy, made her realize they were something she'd needed to say more for herself than for Callie.

The brunette stared at her with those big, clear brown eyes that now reflected the hurt that Arizona's had, as she shook her head vehemently, "I never thought that I was." The words and her pleading tone made Arizona freeze, but she didn't say anything, as Callie continued, "I'm sorry. I am, and I didn't mean to hurt you. That's the last thing I wanted to do. Today, or in general."

Reaching down, she picked up a glass and put her attention on it, "Well, you did." And somehow she could still perfectly remember the way Callie had stepped away from her and avoided her gaze earlier. It just made her stomach sink even lower, even though it should be impossible because it felt like it was on the floor at this point.

Those elegant hands reached out to tap the edge of the bar lightly, "I know I did. And I can't take back that I handled the situation badly. But I… if you can possibly get tomorrow off, I would really like for you to come to the anniversary party."

Lifting her gaze, she asked quietly, "As the liquor caterer?" But she squeezed her eyes shut, and shook her head, "I'm sorry. Callie, I'm in an awful mood, okay? And I have to finish getting all of this done before the bar opens and then deal with customers all night, which I don't want to do after today." And even though the words felt like they were something she would never, ever want to say to Callie, she asked, "Can you just go?"

Callie's mouth had been poised open to speak before she did, and she looked deflated at Arizona's words, her voice glum, "I – sure. If that's what you want, I'll go. Just, think about tomorrow? And I don't want you to come as the caterer; I want you to come as my date."

Please let me know what you think! Thank you so much for reading and especially for everyone who commented their thoughts on the last chapter. You guys are great.