Author's Note: So here is the third instalment. This is already turning out to be longer than I expected, so I hope you'll stick with me for a few more chapters. Thank you for any favourites, follows and reviews. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Chapter Three
Abby
"No, I'm not." This had to be the worst conversation she had ever had. It was like she'd completely forgotten how to communicate, or decipher language, or simply interact like a human. He stood there just staring at her left hand, like she had a sixth finger, and she realised she should probably elaborate.
"Sam and I broke up…before the wedding I mean…we didn't get married." She explained each part quickly.
"Oh, sorry." He was not exactly displaying skills of great communication either, but she'd started the conversation with about five different sentences, none of which she managed to complete.
"Yeah, after the train crash, things just weren't…the same." She didn't want to admit that part of the reason they broke up was because of Abby's previous relationship with Buck.
"But you stayed in Phoenix?" He asked. She hadn't been ready to return to LA, plus she was beginning to like Phoenix and she was tired of travelling.
"Yeah, I just needed a fresh start, and I hadn't been there that long, and it's a big enough city to make a fresh start in, even after a break up and Matt was close by" She explained. She looked up at him. She couldn't quite read his expression, he seemed to be grappling with himself. A mixture of hurt and understanding. She moved to the soft chairs near where she'd been pacing on the phone, and he followed, taking a seat across from her.
"Sam changed, he was paranoid after the crash, he didn't trust me, I couldn't go through with it." She sighed, fiddling again with her empty ring finger.
"Paranoid?" He frowned, she realised that she'd opened up the conversation and now would probably end up explaining.
"He couldn't get past what happened at the crash." She said trying to dodge any details. He sat forward in his chair and seemed to be studying her face, she felt he cheeks get warmer and squirmed a little where she sat.
"What happened at the crash." It wasn't a question, he was simply repeating what she had said.
"He felt like, he thought that maybe, you and I, that we were more than, he wasn't convinced we were totally over." She looked down, this wasn't a conversation she really ever planned on having.
"Oh, what like he thought you were cheating on him?" Buck's eyebrows raised as she momentarily met his gaze before looking back down.
"No, not exactly. He knew who you were, and stuff, and I wasn't ever dishonest with him, but I didn't give him a lot of details either, like I never gave you lots of details about Tommy. Anyway, after what happened he seemed to think I'd downplayed our relationship. I couldn't take the constant questioning." She sighed.
"So, you broke up?" He said slowly.
"Yes, the relationship fell apart. I couldn't marry someone who didn't trust me." Abby explained. She felt a little defensive. Why would she have stayed with Sam?
A silence seemed to settle between them. The hum from the party could still be heard, but the lobby seemed to feel smaller. She felt kind of stuck. What was she supposed to say to him? The last time they spoke he had sort of seemed to accept that they were moving on, but she could tell he felt hurt by the way she had handled things. In all fairness, she knew she'd handled things badly, but in her confusion and soul searching she's just seemed to freeze. She didn't know what to do, so she just did nothing. She didn't call or text, but she didn't break things off either. Once Carla told her he'd stopped waiting, she'd been sad, regretful even that she hadn't spoken to him, explained how she'd felt. Then barely two weeks later she'd met Sam.
Buck
"So, there is no Sam now. Is there someone else?" He hadn't intended to get into it, but curiosity got the better of him. Seeing her again was giving him a rush of different emotions. There was always a dull ache when he though about how things hadn't worked out the way he had hoped, there was the awkwardness of everything that had gone on between them, but there was also a spike of excitement. Even through the shock and complication of them meeting again, it wasn't lost on him that she looked good. Her skin was tanned, more so than before, her hair was back to the light red it had been when they'd met, he liked it better like that. Her dress was elegant and complimented her figure.
"No one since Sam, I mean nothing serious. My job is kind of demanding." She said, looking down again, as if she was ashamed at her lack of love life. After a couple of seconds, she looked back up.
"Have you…found someone?" She asked, she shifted a little, she seemed apprehensive.
"Nothing serious." He echoed her answer and they looked at each other for a moment, neither one of them spoke. It was unexpected, but the mood changed. He felt a smile tug at his lips and he saw the start of smile around hers. He averted his gaze for just a moment, feeling a little bashful. Then laughed a little and she began to laugh too.
"Do you want to go back, to the party? It might be fun." He asked her, as his laughter subsided.
"Yeah, it might be fun." She smiled, he reached out his hand to help her up and she took it. He held on to her hand for a little longer than necessary before releasing it as they walked together back toward the function room.
They'd barely stepped through the doorway decorated with streamers when an intoxicated Carla accosted them.
"Oooh You found each other! Briiilliant!" She beamed, drawing out the 'i' sound in 'brilliant' in what he supposed was meant to be a suggestive tone but sounded a lot more sing song.
"Yeah Carla, you didn't mention that Buck was coming to this thing." Abby said with a slightly accusatory tone.
"Forgot." Carla said simply, she continued grinning for a moment.
"Well you two have fun." She cackled as she wondered off towards the dance floor.
"There is no way she forgot." Abby looked up at Buck.
"I'm beginning to think we may have been set up." He told her. She smiled at him and nodded, and then looked over at the bar.
"You wanna get a drink?" She asked him. He nodded and followed her over to the bar.
Buck finally began to feel like the party had been worth turning up to. They sat with their drinks at a table a little way from the dance floor and talked easily. The awkwardness of their earlier meeting gone, they were finding themselves in a rhythm not entirely unlike one they used to have. It was mostly small talk; work stories and family, life in their respective cities. It wasn't that the conversation was ground breaking or anything out of the realms of normal chatter really, it was that Buck had always found Abby fascinating. Everything about her interested him. Her tone of voice, the way she emphasised words when talking about something she was passionate about, like swimming. The way she used her hands to talk without even noticing. The way her eyes got a little wider when she was amused, and then creased at the edges when she laughed. He loved making her laughed, and he could make her laugh, and she made him laugh too.
They'd been chatting for maybe half an hour when a slightly inebriated Eddie, followed by an uncharacteristically tipsy Lena arrived at their table.
"Who is this?" Eddie said looking Abby up and down with approval.
"This is Abby. She used to live in LA, she was a 911 dispatcher. Abby this is Eddie, he's a…" Buck was about to introduce Eddie, but Eddie cut him off.
"Wait, this is your Abby?" Eddie had clearly lost all sense of social skills at this point in the evening.
"She's not my Abby, she's…I…we used to date." Buck finished lamely, not really knowing how to put it, without making Abby uncomfortable. He was relieved to see Abby smile politely at Eddie, and Lena who had elbowed Eddie sharply in the ribs as if to tell him to shut up.
"Oh yes, I had no idea Carla was going to invite one of your exes to this." Eddie said dramatically, confirming now beyond any doubt that they had indeed been set up, not only by Carla, but by Eddie as well.
They four of them chatted for a short while before Eddie and Lena practically bullied them onto the dancefloor and then promptly careened their way off into the crowd.
Abby
She laughed as Eddie and Lena became hidden by the crowd.
"So, Eddie seems…fun." She grinned at him. He felt relieved that Abby was easy going. Eddie was very charming when sober, but could be a little boisterous when drunk.
"Ha, yeah he's actually a really great guy, he's just drunk. Honestly if you met him sober, you'd really like him." Buck told her honestly, laughing a little himself.
"I believe you." She smiled, and felt him draw her in a little closer and manoeuvre her on the floor in time with the music. She giggled with delight as he twirled her spinning her out and back in, grabbing her hand in one of his and wrapping his other arm around her back and began to sway her in an exaggerated fashion. She had to admit, she actually loved dancing, regardless of how skilled or unskilled her dance partner may be, she was no ballerina herself, but she had taken a few salsa classes in her twenties, which at least meant she could move in time to a beat.
Inevitably after a string of up tempo songs a slow song began to play, and Buck drew her closer still, and she obliged leaning her head a little closer to his shoulder, but not quite resting there – they weren't there yet, and they were already venturing into clichéd territory with a slow dance. But she couldn't deny it felt good, the feeling of his arms holding her close to him, his hand held hers near to his chest and she found herself wondering if he still felt the same as he used to, firm and toned. She supposed he probably did. But regardless of what was underneath his shirt, this felt nice, and she was very happy that she'd booked the weekend off.
They'd remained on the dance floor until the party began to wind down, the DJ announced the last song and they made their way through the last few dancers swaying to the music. They stopped over by the table they had been sitting at earlier. The evening had turned out differently to how Abby had envisioned it, but she was not disappointed.
"So how long are you in town for?" He asked her.
"I leave Monday afternoon. I have to be back for work on Tuesday." She smiled sadly, she knew regardless of how much they had enjoyed the evening, it had to end. It was regrettable in a way. Tonight, had seemed to pull them both back in, to a place where they were before, to a place where it was like no time had passed, where Europe hadn't happened, where Sam never existed. It was just her and Buck and nothing else really mattered. Wrongs were righted and mistakes forgotten. She wondered if there was any way they could hold on to this, for just a little longer.
"Where are you staying?" He asked her. This could be her opening, this could be her way to find out. She knew that it was probably dangerous waters, but she really wasn't ready for the evening to end.
"I have a room." She looked at him, and saw the recognition in his eyes as she silently invited him to go with her.
They rode the elevator in silence, both of them in a kind of trance like state. This was happening, she had invited Buck up to her room and now there was no turning back. If truth be told, she didn't want to turn back. She'd wanted this since she felt his arms around her on the dance floor. She could feel her stomach flip flopping, a mixture of the movement of the elevator and the anticipation of the inevitable. He was stood next her, so close that she could practically hear his heart beat. She was certain he could hear hers, and she felt her cheeks burn, willing her heart to slow down as it threated to burst forth from her chest. The elevator dinged as it reached the seventh floor and she exited whilst he followed behind her.
She closed the door behind them and turned to face him. They just looked at each other for a moment. In her mind, she began to question how long they would spend pretending they weren't here for one thing. She hadn't invited him here to talk, or to drink coffee or a night cap. She had a massive, soft, king sized bed and Carla had been right, she wanted a man – this man. The staring became too much as it began to stretch out in front of them. She took a step towards him, put her hands on his neck and pulled his lips down to hers. He kissed her back with enthusiasm, she made a noise in the back of her throat, it sounded almost like relief and she pulled him, her lips still on his towards the bedroom.