Title: Skinny Love
Author: MysteriousSwaggerOfScrubs
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: M
Summary: A haunting tale of wealth and power, love and loss. Are one night stands ever meant to last for longer than just one night?
Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, songs, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
AN1: Sorry for taking so long to post. I was on vacation, and it took me a while to get back into the swing. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!
Fourteen
Stepping out of Callie's bedroom and gently pulling the door shut behind her, Arizona moved about the incomparable penthouse apartment in search of her missing girlfriend.
Arizona had awakened in The Big Apple for the past three days, but not one of those mornings had she awakened as she would have liked - wrapped in the arms of the woman she loved. The first morning, she had been roused from her slumber to find herself alone in Callie's enormous bed and, for the past two mornings, she had awakened with not Callie, but Lillian sprawled out next to her - the little girl's extremities shooting out in all directions, a wayward leg resting on Arizona's abdomen as a childlike palm arbitrarily lay propped against her face.
Barbara had offered to take Lillian back to the hotel with her to give Callie and Arizona some time alone but, since their first night in New York, Lillian had been experiencing more than a little bit of separation anxiety, the transition to a new city and environment certainly not going as well as Arizona had hoped by completely sending the little girl's entire routine into a tailspin.
With a sigh at the thought that she was perhaps irrevocably scarring her daughter, combined with the disheartening absence of her girlfriend, Arizona continued her search of the unique and grand loft, its impressive proportions and breathtaking view of Central Park and the city below never ceasing to amaze her.
Stepping outside onto one of the multiple outdoor spaces, hoping to find Callie there, the blonde was saddened to find that area devoid of life, as well.
Taking a seat at the large al fresco dining area, Arizona looked to the sky, allowing the beaming sunlight a moment to warm her skin. She would be lying if she said she wasn't worried by Callie's absence; the first morning, Callie and Lillian had made her breakfast in bed and, yesterday morning, Callie had asked Jackson to pick up Barbara from the hotel so that the four of them could have a lovely breakfast together.
Today, though. . .nothing. Callie was nowhere to be found with no indication of where she had gone or when she would return.
No note. No nothing.
Arizona once again exhaled a breath and, shaking her head at her own feelings of unattractive neediness, she stood from her seat before making her way back into the apartment. It wasn't that she had to know where Callie was at all times - it wasn't that at all. No, her disquieted concern stemmed more from the fact that she had noticed a slight change in Callie over the past three days and, because of that, she couldn't help but worry that the stunning brunette had changed her mind.
Because, unfortunately, Lillian had interrupted their lovemaking, not just last night, but the night before that, as well. In fact, they hadn't made love during this entire trip and, as Arizona reached the kitchen and went about brewing a pot of coffee, she couldn't help but worry that this - the reality of being in a brand new relationship with the mother of a four year old - had finally sunk in and simply become way too much.
Arizona had hoped to remedy their lack of sexy time at some point this morning, with a seductive bout of shower sex while Lillian slept but, with Callie nowhere to be found, that clearly wasn't going to happen. Not today and, most likely, not before she, Lillian, and Barbara had to be at the airport for their return flight to Seattle later that afternoon.
Reaching into the cabinet for a coffee mug, Arizona's spirits suddenly lifted at the sound of the opening front door but, spinning around, her exuberant dimpled grin quickly faltered at the sight of Meredith Grey instead of Calliope Torres.
"Hey, Arizona," Meredith greeted, taking a seat in the breakfast nook and sipping from her to-go cup of coffee.
"Good morning," Arizona softly replied with a sigh as she added just the right amount of cream and sugar to her coffee.
"Callie still out for her run?"
With her brow furrowing at the question, Arizona took a seat across from the other woman, her thoughts a jumbled mess as she considered her response to Meredith's inquiry. "Calliope. . .runs?" she finally asked, unsure of what else to say.
Glancing at the other woman in surprise, Meredith gave a slight nod of her head. "Umm. . .yeah. Every morning before 7am," she skeptically offered with a glance at her watch. "Actually, I'm surprised she's not back by now."
To say Arizona was surprised by this revelation would be an understatement. Not that she thought Callie couldn't run - that wasn't it at all. Callie had an amazing body - soft, yet toned and strong in all the right places - but, the fact remained. . .Callie hadn't run in the past two days, nor had she done so during her surprise week-long visit to Seattle.
Witnessing the wheels of uneasy concern and careful consideration begin to spin in the other woman's head, Meredith began to worry that she had said too much but, quickly brushing that fear to the side, she decided to elaborate, sure that Callie wouldn't purposely hide something as simple and mundane as a morning jog from her brand new girlfriend.
"Callie is the most regimented person I've ever known," Meredith began to explain, taking another sip from her cup. "She usually jogs or walks about four miles, starting at the Central Park Boathouse, traveling counterclockwise, taking the 102nd Street Transverse and then taking the 72nd Street Transverse back to the Boathouse where she gets coffee to go before buying The Times at the newsstand on 65th and coming home," she expertly reported, knowing Callie's routine like the back of her hand. "Once she's here, she works that damn New York Times Sudoku until it's finished, showers, dresses, and is at work at or before 10am. Every morning. When she's in New York, she works until the store closes at seven, sometimes has dinner with a client but, usually, she just eats alone either at home or at the hotel and then spends the rest of her night playing the piano."
Arizona stared in stunned silence at her girlfriend's personal assistant and best friend. Of course Meredith knew all of the inner workings of Callie's day to day schedule - they had been best friends and worked together for years - but, Arizona couldn't help the sudden and irrational surge of jealousy that began to consume her at the fact that she wanted to be that person. She wanted to be the one who knew where Callie was and what she was doing. She wanted to be the person who knew if Callie ran clockwise or counterclockwise around Central Park, just as much as she wanted to know how her girlfriend took her coffee and where she bought it. Arizona wanted to be there every single morning to work the Sudoku puzzle with Callie, and she certainly wanted to be the person Callie dined with every night.
But, she couldn't just ask, and she certainly didn't want to assume that Callie felt the same - that Callie wanted her to live with her in her home. Because, this was just that. This was Callie's home and, after listening to Meredith speak, Arizona realized that with that home came what seemed to be a very strict routine that she certainly didn't want to interrupt.
And, besides, how could she even think about living with Callie when their relationship was so new and when she had Lillian to think about. Lillian needed her own place - her own things.
A place to call home.
But, Arizona had to admit that all of the apartments they had toured with the realtor really did pale in comparison to this one. And, it wasn't just because this place was amazingly lavish and awesome and simply a sight to behold, but more because. . .
This felt like a home.
Not just a house or an apartment, but an actual home that she could totally see herself coming to after a long shift at the hospital. A place where she wanted to spend her evenings cooking meals with Callie and having family dinner. A home where she could see herself falling asleep next to Callie every night and waking up wrapped in her arms every morning. A place where she could completely envision raising Lillian with Callie by her side.
Visibly shaking herself from the cascade of fragmented thoughts that were now filtering through her mind, Arizona mentally chastised herself for allowing her thoughts and feelings to get so ahead of her. Yes, she and Callie had admitted their love for one another - they had established themselves as girlfriends - but, unfortunately, in Arizona's mind, something had changed. Callie seemed to be withdrawing - pulling away - from not just her but, Lillian, as well
Sheepishly glancing up from where her gaze had settled on the hot liquid in her mug to meet the concerned face of her girlfriend's best friend, Arizona gently shook her head. "I. . .I didn't know that," Arizona timidly replied, feeling quite inadequate in the face of this woman who seemed to know every last - and intimate - detail about the woman she loved. "She, umm. . .Callie hasn't done those things since I've been here."
Smiling slightly in response, Meredith took a drink of her coffee before setting the cup down on the breakfast table. "Well, maybe she's making some changes. Maybe. . ."
"But, I don't want her to change. Not because of me. Or-or-or because she thinks she has to be different when I'm around - when Lillian is here," Arizona quickly interrupted, the overwhelming thoughts in her head continuing to swirl about at a mile a minute.
Considering her options, Meredith cleared her throat before carefully choosing her words. "Change isn't necessarily unwelcome," she knowingly offered, sensing the other woman's unease at the depth of information she had just disclosed about her friend. "Callie's been like this for years, Arizona. She doesn't change for anything or anyone. Not for me, not for her family, and certainly not any past girlfriend or lover. . ."
"But, I. . ."
Shaking her head, Meredith refused to allow Arizona a moment of further unease or doubt. "But, you. . ." she interceded, repeating the other woman's words. "You just might be the person Callie is willing to change everything for, Arizona. And, trust me. That's definitely not a bad thing."
Stepping into her apartment ten minutes later, a tall to-go coffee cup in her left hand and The New York Times stuffed under her right arm, Callie toed off her Asics running shoes before making her way through the apartment and into the kitchen. Stopping short when she saw Arizona and Meredith engaged in what appeared to be some sort of deep conversation, Callie's brow furrowed when Arizona glanced up in her direction, some sort of distress clearly written across her alabaster face.
"Hey. Good morning," Callie said as she made her way across the kitchen to slide into the breakfast nook next to Arizona. "I was going to bring you coffee, but I thought you'd still be asleep," she happily continued as she gently pressed a lingering kiss against the side of Arizona's face.
Arizona gently smiled in reply, her eyes flicking downward to take in the sight of the woman now seated next to her and, as she glanced over the parts of Callie's body not hidden beneath the table, she knew she had never seen someone look so absolutely stunning after a four mile run.
Callie's hair was thrown up into a messy bun, a purple sports headband, perfectly matching her long sleeve form fitting running top, holding back dark brunette bangs from her forehead. Her face was completely devoid of makeup, though a slight flush from exercise and the outdoor air left her cheeks a glowing pink.
Clearing her throat and awkwardly shifting in her seat, Arizona managed to give Callie a slight wink as she subconsciously filed away this Callie Torres look as her new favorite. Then, opening her mouth to speak - to appropriately welcome her girlfriend home - Arizona was interrupted by Meredith before she could even say one word.
"It's 8:30 now. I assume you'll be at work by ten, if not before. Your day is light, other than a meeting with the board at two. . ." the personal assistant informed, causing Callie to roll her eyes.
Callie was certainly more interested in what Arizona had just been about to say, and it was more than a little obvious that her girlfriend was now trying her damnedest to mask the disdain she felt at being interrupted by the monotony of a schedule that continued to be spewed from her often overwhelming and overpowering best friend.
"I'm not working today," Callie decidedly informed.
Halting in her usual, every day scheduling tirade, Meredith was clearly shocked. "What?"
"I'm not working today," Callie simply repeated, opening the newspaper to the exact page of the Sudoku and reaching across the table to snatch a pen from Meredith's hand.
"But, the meeting, Callie. They want to talk about. . ."
"I know what they want to talk about, Meredith," Callie adamantly interrupted, giving her friend a hard glare. "But, today is Arizona's last day in the city, and I want to spend as much time with her as I possibly can. I plan to take her to the airport at one, so the meeting will need rescheduled."
"But. . ."
"Reschedule the meeting, Mer," Callie sternly spoke with an air of finality.
Arizona couldn't help but note Callie's mention of wanting to spend time with her, but not Lillian and, sensing the rising tension between her girlfriend and her girlfriend's best friend, Arizona finally spoke up. "You really don't have to do that, Calliope. There's no need for you to miss a meeting when it's no problem for us to take a cab."
Callie shook her head, smiling at Arizona's apparent concern. "I'm not letting you take a cab."
Arizona shook her head, her feelings of inadequacy and disquietude once again rising - unbidden - in her chest. "I don't want you changing everything - umm, your work schedule - for me."
And, with that, Arizona slid off the bench she was seated upon before quietly excusing herself from the room.
Upon Arizona's hasty retreat, Callie and Meredith stared at each other in confusion before the brunette closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath. "What did you say to her?"
Meredith appeared shocked at the accusatory tone in Callie's voice. "I didn't say anything, Callie. I just explained your routine. I. . ."
With a worried shake of her head, Callie carefully rose from the bench and, cautiously crossing the kitchen, she warily turned back around to regard her clearly befuddled best friend. "Can you please - for once - not argue with me and just reschedule the damn meeting?"
Meredith remained silent, totally baffled by events of the past two minutes. "Of course, Callie. Whatever you need."
Standing outside her bedroom, Callie's right hand moved to the doorknob but, pausing before she entered, she took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts.
This visit with Arizona certainly hadn't gone as she had hoped. Not that she didn't absolutely adore spending as much time as humanly possible with the other woman and her little girl, but something just seemed. . .amiss. Sure, she had admitted her love for her girlfriend with the sentiment being wholeheartedly returned, but there was just something - some feeling of complex and complicated unease - that had crept up from somewhere in the deepest recesses of her soul and managed to take hold of her every thought, her every action, her every interaction with Arizona and her child.
She couldn't quite explain it; she wasn't even sure of the exact moment it had begun or what the catalyst had been. There was just something there. Something she couldn't quite shake and something she certainly wasn't ready to admit even if she had managed to successfully compartmentalize her jumbled thoughts and feelings into coherent phrases and words.
Everything was just so up in the air. Arizona had to return to Seattle for a month to work out her resignation, they still weren't positive where she and Lillian were going to live, and Arizona hadn't yet heard back after her interview. Not that Arizona needed to work and not that she needed a place to live other than Callie's apartment, but the brunette knew deep down that those things were still weighing on her girlfriend. All of that, and something more that she just couldn't quite put her finger on.
With a heavy sigh, Callie turned the knob on the door, her eyes first landing on the beautiful little girl who lay sprawled in the middle of her bed before scanning across the room to find Arizona bent over her suitcase as she hastily filled it to the brim.
"You okay?" Callie cautiously asked, stepping up behind Arizona to help her in whatever way she could.
Feeling the warmth of Callie's body against her back, Arizona straightened up but, adamantly resisting the urge she felt to lean back and melt into the protection of Callie's loving embrace, she folded the blouse in her hands before turning to face the other woman.
"I'm fine," she softly replied with a half-smile. "I just. . .I know you're busy, Calliope. So, we'll. . .we'll be out of your way very soon. I promise."
Shaking her head, Callie's forehead scrunched in concern. "You aren't in my way, Arizona. Not at all. In fact. . ."
"I should have known. I mean, I just showed up here - unannounced - with Lillian and, since then, she and I have just kind of just taken over. Your home and your life," Arizona hurriedly spoke, careless of what Callie was about to say. "The apartment I'm renting until I find something to buy will hopefully be ready by the time we leave Seattle. So, I. . .we won't be here. You won't have to worry about me taking over your space, or Lillian ending up in your bed."
Callie could sense the anxiety and apprehension rolling off her girlfriend in waves and, taking one step closer, she gently placed her palms against Arizona's satin pajama pant clad hips. "I love you, Arizona," she earnestly began, hoping the completely heartfelt sentiment would help to calm the other woman's racing nerves. "It's not a problem that you're here. This place is huge, so you certainly aren't taking over my space, and I definitely don't mind cuddly Lillian snuggles," she earnestly admitted with a slight chuckle. "So, there's no rush. Okay? You and Lillian are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like. As long as you need."
Seeing nothing but profound honesty and ardent care and concern sparkling in Callie's magical brown eyes, Arizona immediately softened, her arms moving of their own accord to wrap around the taller woman's neck. "I'm just. . .I'm really sorry about last night, Calliope. And the night before that. And the night before that," she admitted with a comical roll of her eyes.
Callie chuckled softly at Arizona's antics, her heart instantly melting as she watched a genuine dimpled smile reach her girlfriend's eyes for the first time that day. And, glancing behind her to where Lillian still slept, she then looked back down into darkening cerulean eyes. "Yeah, umm. . .about that," she seductively drawled, leaning forward to nip at an ivory earlobe. "I think you should definitely make that up to me. Like. . .now."
Forcing Callie into the ensuite bathroom, Arizona momentarily struggled to rid her girlfriend of the tight fitting top that covered her torso but, finally succeeding, she quickly tossed the pesky item to the floor as she trapped the taller woman against the bathroom wall.
"I'm gonna miss you so much," Arizona haltingly husked, her lips trailing down to the sensitive flesh covering Callie's clavicle as she blindly reached to her side to turn on the faucet.
Callie's top teeth dug into Arizona's bottom lip, her neck arching and the back of her head colliding with the etched glass of the shower door. "God, me too," she managed to get out as Arizona hastily tugged the running tights down her legs.
Within moments they were both completely naked and, moving so that the water from the shower head was streaming over both their bodies, Arizona pressed Callie's front against the travertine tiles, her own aroused breasts firmly pressing into the long muscles of a tanned back.
"Arizona?" Callie whispered, her sex hungry brain suddenly realizing that she hadn't seen her girlfriend remove her prosthesis before entering the shower. "Sweetie, you're leg," she breathed out, attempting to turn to face the other woman.
Kissing along the bony prominences of Callie's neck, Arizona moved her mouth over the droplets of water that gathered there and, with deliberate swipes of her tongue against the damp flesh covering the brunette's spine, her insistent fingers tweaked already pebbled nipples into even tighter peaks. "Shh, Calliope. It's okay," she earnestly insisted, hoping to ease the other woman's clearly heartfelt concerns. "No more talking."
Callie bit her own bottom lip at the provocative sensations Arizona was causing against her skin and within her body but, when her valiant attempts to remain silent became too much to contain, her moans began to echo throughout the luxurious shower and off the tiled bathroom walls. There was just something so seductively overwhelming about the way the water and Arizona's deft hands stimulated her heaving breasts, causing her back to arch when moist lips, assertive teeth, and a questing tongue teased her neck and scapulae.
Arizona was deliberately being gentle; she desperately wanted to prove to Callie how very much she appreciated everything she had done for her during her stay in New York. She wanted to show her girlfriend how much she was going to miss her during their final month apart but, more importantly, she felt a deeply seated need to prove to Callie that she was all in - that no matter what, and in spite of any reservations Callie might have, she was going to do anything and everything in her power to make this thing work.
"God, Arizona. Please," Callie begged, loving the gentle way with which Arizona was handling her, but honestly having none of it. "I need you, baby. Please."
Needing no further encouragement, Arizona turned her panting girlfriend around to face her and, briefly holding her lusty gaze, she then pushed the other woman up against the shower wall, pink lips soon on Callie's in a strong, crushing kiss. Forcing her tongue into Callie's mouth, Arizona then moved it in and out, thrusting roughly to emulate what she was about to do to her body further south.
Callie groaned and grunted into Arizona's mouth, her hips starting - of their own accord - to move forward and backward, her center desperately and anxiously seeking her girlfriend's touch.
"Yes!" Callie breathed out as Arizona pushed her left thigh against her wet mound while grabbing both of her breasts and hungrily fondling the plump flesh in her hands.
Pinching dark nipples between her thumb and forefinger and squeezing tightly, Arizona assaulted Callie's lips with alternating nips and bites as the taller woman let out a series of harsh breaths into her mouth.
Furiously grinding her throbbing core down against Arizona's thigh, Callie's orgasm came suddenly - fast and hard - and, screaming into her girlfriend's mouth, caramel fingers dug into alabaster shoulders, causing the blonde to moan aloud in pleasured pain.
Pulling back ever so slightly, Arizona then held her girlfriend steady as Callie desperately worked to catch her breath and gather her senses from the harsh suddenness of her orgasm.
"I love you," Arizona whispered, lusty blue eyes staring into the depths of hazy obsidian ones.
Callie weakly nodded, not yet able to find her voice and, before she had fully recovered, she watched in aroused surprise as Arizona cautiously went to her knees before her.
Lifting Callie's right leg and resting it on her shoulder, Arizona voraciously ogled her prize before burying her tongue into the delicious center she had desperately wanted to taste since the moment she'd arrived in New York three days before.
Callie cried out at the abruptness of the incredibly welcome intrusion, trembling fingers tangling in saturated blonde locks as Arizona sucked at her labia while licking her sensitive bundle of nerves.
Arizona's tongue then probed Callie's perfect little nub, causing hushed encouragements and cursed expletives to spill forth from Callie's bruised lips.
Callie felt like she was living in a fantasy - being taken unaware - and, completely surrendering herself to the woman she loved and the marvelous feelings she was causing to course through her veins, the back of Callie's head slammed against the tiled wall as another orgasm began to stir, starting at her center and exploding like electricity throughout her extremities.
Arizona could tell that Callie was close, that she was teetering on the edge of rapturous oblivion and, quickly standing, she spun her around, pressing her own body into Callie's back. Forcing the other woman's perfectly rounded breasts against the shower wall, but making sure her curvaceous hips remained against her own wanton center, Arizona then push two fingers into Callie's tight opening from behind without the briefest remorse.
"Fuck!" Callie cried out as Arizona's other hand found her clit.
Arizona was in heaven; the primal sounds coming from deep within Callie's chest as she worshiped her body and soul, nearly enough to bring her to her own blinding, pulsing moment of shattering release. So, working furiously as she once again nibbled Callie's neck and shoulders, Arizona forced her own aching mound against her girlfriend's bottom, the sensation of Arizona essentially riding her, quickly causing Callie to come for the second time that morning with a shrill scream of ecstasy.
Praying the spray of the shower and the closed and locked bathroom door had managed to drown out the echo of Callie's scream, Arizona was barely able to suppress her own need as she once again helped her girlfriend remain upright. Then, holding Callie under the warm spray of water, Arizona gently washed her still shaking body with a soapy loofah, her lips blazing a trail of hot kisses down Callie's neck and over the prominence of her clavicle, stopping to peck at the silky swell of flesh at the top of her right breast.
Forcing herself from her orgasmic daze, Callie pulled Arizona's head upward and, kissing her softly and sweetly, her hands then moved to caress pert breasts. With her forehead pressed against Arizona's, Callie held the other woman's seductively needy gaze as her right hand then worked its way between them, a single finger slipping between the blonde's labia to find abundant wetness.
As Callie rolled that finger over her girlfriend's hardened clit, Arizona widened her stance to give the other woman better access to where she desperately wanted to be touched.
"Please, Calliope."
Never stopping her assault on Arizona's lips as she played with her clit and stroked moist folds, Callie pushed two fingers into Arizona's opening, causing a moan to explode into her mouth at the wonderful sensations she was giving her amazing girlfriend.
So aroused by the sight and sound of Callie coming not once, but twice, just moments before, it didn't take much for Arizona to fall careening into her own orgasm; it was gentle and sweet - it was beautiful, and it was just what she needed.
Arizona loved it, just as she loved Callie.
Holding Arizona close as her body quaked and shook with unadulterated pleasure, Callie knew - despite the doubts that had recently filled her head - this woman was something she could never live without. And, deciding she needed to prove that to her, she opened her mouth, words tumbling out before she even had a chance to think.
"Move in with me."
AN2: Thank you all for your continued support of this story and a huge thank you to those who take the time to read and review! Questions, comments, and reviews are always welcome and appreciated! Thanks again!