Chapter Six - Would You Prefer Red Or White?
Scully and Mulder reached the end of Brian's driveway at the same time as several of the other neighbors. Nodding greetings to each other they all made their way to the door.
Scully recognized them all from the pool party and wished that she had Mulder's memory for she wasn't sure of all of their names.
Sensing this, Mulder called out his greetings
"Hi there, Stan. It is nice to see you and Brenda again."
Stan and Brenda both looked like runway models with glaring white teeth, blonde hair and absolutely perfect tans.
"Good evening Richard" Stan said returning his greeting. "It looks like we and the Petersons have perfect timing."
The Petersons, Scully remembered, were the other couple. John was short and athletic in build and Cindy was even shorter than Scully and looked as frail as a rose petal.
Brian opened the door and welcomed them all into the house. The living room, dining room and family room were already brimming with people. Brian led the group to a small table that housed several different bottles of wine.
"Red or white?" Brian said pointing to the bottles. "We have quite a variety here so take your time and try them all. Just make sure to take a bit of cheese or one of these biscuits Wendy made to cleanse your taste buds before switching types."
Scully and Mulder approached the table and Mulder raised his eyebrow at Scully. "I think I will start with the white and work myself over to the red" she replied to his gesture.
Mulder, himself, started immediately with the red.
Glasses in hand, they slowly worked their way around the room making sure to have said hello and be seen by everyone in the room.
Only then did they take a seat on a loveseat in the living room where they could easily observe what was going on around them.
Brian's living room was quite large and hosted a huge fireplace. The furniture had been rearranged so it all lined the outside walls of the room leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room directly in front of the fireplace.
Mulder assumed it was a dance floor and wondered to himself how this sedate group of adults quietly sipping wine and nibbling on cheese while chatting with each other would be induced to dance.
His thoughts were broken when the hostess of the evening, Wendy, slowly made the rounds around the living room offering her wine biscuits and a sample of a 'very light red' that Brian had picked out specially with her in mind.
Mulder and Scully accepted both the biscuits and the wine. They both nibbled on the biscuits which did their job perfectly. They were bland enough to totally remove all taste from the previous glass of wine and dry enough to make the person who had eaten it want to take a sip of wine immediately.
They both sipped the new wine and agreed that it was indeed a nice little red wine. Seeing as they both enjoyed it, they put up no resistance when Wendy came around to top off their glasses.
"I told you it was good" Wendy said smiling as she filled up their glasses "I think it really grows on you."
Wendy started off with her wine bottle poised in the air and Mulder caught himself looking at her. Not just looking at her but looking in a way that made him advert his eyes. He had suddenly seemed to be fixated on the way she looked in her tight pants as she walked around the room.
Slightly embarrassed he turned his attention back to his wine and sipped at it again.
Scully sipped her wine savoring its taste in her mouth. For some reason, she seemed to be able to pick out the different tastes within the wine more while drinking the second glass than she did while drinking the first.
Her sense of taste didn't seem to be the only one of her senses that seemed to be getting more sensitive as time passed. She could swear that she could smell the soft scent of Mulder's aftershave more now then she could when they first sat down.
Not only that, but she became keenly aware of Mulder's arm as it lay casually across the back of the loveseat. He had placed it there when they had first sat down, but she didn't seem to notice until now when Mulder had started to draw circles with his finger on her arm.
Slow, sensual circles that made Scully start to feel sensations she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She looked up at Mulder as if to ask him what exactly he thought he was doing when she caught him looking down at his own leg.
There, her hand was doing the same thing, making slow sensual circles.
Mulder looked briefly down at his partner and saw her puzzled expression. He was a bit puzzled himself but was more concerned about his partner's attentions causing him to be in an embarrassing situation than figuring out exactly what was happening to them.
He placed the hand not occupied with Scully's arm firmly on hers and managed to stop the circular motions. He sighed a bit then feeling that he had adverted the disaster, at least for now.
Mulder was just about to whisper a theory about what was happening to them into Scully's ear when the music began to play. Brian had an impressive stereo system and within seconds all thoughts of conversation were drowned out by the sensual beats of Brian's music.
Mulder had doubted the necessity of a dance floor only moments before saw the dance floor immediately fill with people as the formerly sedate couples began to bump and grind and spin their way across the room.
Scully watched the couples dancing and was surprised to find herself longing to join them. Usually Scully shied away from any such activities not thinking herself capable of such public displays. But tonight was different. She couldn't think of anything else she would rather do.
Apparently Mulder had the same thought as he removed his arm from her shoulders and rose to face her. Smiling down at her he offered her his hand.
Scully smiled back and let Mulder lead her out to the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and they slowly made their way around the room. Neither one exactly sure how they had gotten to that point, but both very happy to have gotten there together.
Scully and Mulder fit together perfectly and the swaying movements of their bodies only added to their aroused state. Mulder was sure that Scully would have little doubt about his feelings for her as he pulled her just a little bit closer.
Scully felt Mulder's presence and fought, for only a moment, the urge to look up at him. She knew that when she did that her simple gesture would result in their first true kiss. She paused a minute trying to think through what she was doing. She tried to call upon logic but the desires of her body won out.
Scully looked up at Mulder with her blue eyes wide and full of desire. Mulder looked down at her with a similar look in his eyes. His intent was perfectly clear. He was going to kiss her - now.
Mulder bent down closer, closer, closer until their lips just touched.
"Sorry folks" a loud voice boomed making Mulder and Scully spring apart and look at each other with a mix of excitement and horror at what had almost happened.
Mulder blinked once, then twice noticing for the first time that the music had disappeared and that the lights had all been turned on again.
"One of the neighbors thought things were getting a bit loud here" Brian said. The group gathered in front of him groaned collectively. "So the police have come and asked us to shut things down for the night."
Everyone groaned louder. "I know you were all just starting to have fun, but with a bit of luck, you will all be able to take up where you left off when you get home."
With that, everyone started to pick up their things and head out the door. If not for the police sitting out on the street, Mulder thought that a lot of the couples would have thrown themselves into the bushes and finished off what they had started in Brian's living room.
He shamefully admitted to having the same thoughts about Scully as he escorted her back to their house - practically dragging her back he was so impatient to get inside.
Scully followed Mulder's lead without comment. She was too confused by her own actions to question any of his. She knew what had almost happened while they were dancing and assumed that it would happen again once they got behind closed doors. She wasn't exactly sure what she thought of the idea.
Mulder leaned against the door after shutting it.
"Thank God we made it out of there" he said "it must have been something in the wine or those biscuits".
Mulder started pulling off clothes and Scully began to think she was right about starting up where they had left off even though she thought Mulder was perhaps rushing things just a bit.
"Forgive me Scully, but I don't get myself upstairs and into a very cold shower very fast and get some relief, I think I will have no choice but to ravish you right where you stand and we both know what a mistake that would be."
And with that comment, Mulder sped upstairs leaving Scully standing by the front door with her mouth open unable to think let alone speak.
After a moment Scully heard the sound of the shower starting and the noise helped to bring her to her senses. She had been right about the situation that night after all. She was out of her league with the swingers who had been with her in the room.
Scully slowly climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom. She stood in front of the mirror rather disgusted by what she saw. For a few moments that night she had felt like a beautiful sensual woman, but as she looked at herself now all she saw was a practical FBI agent who men avoided at all costs. The Ice Princess who was so unattractive that even a man filled to the brim with aphrodisiacs would avoid - preferring a cold shower and his own hand to her.
Silently Scully stripped off her clothes and into her pajamas not even noticing the large tears slowing descending down her cheeks.
Scully climbed into bed her body still feeling aroused and unfulfilled. She thought briefly about trying to find some relief herself but dismissed the idea. She was too sad to even try.
Mulder realized something was wrong the moment he walked out of the bathroom wearing only his boxer shorts.
The bedroom was dark except for a small lamp on one of bureaus still on to aid in his crossing the room to the couch waiting for him in the living room.
Scully always left that light on for him when she retired before he did. What was different were the clothes scattered on the floor in front of the bureau. In all the years Mulder had known Scully, he had yet to see her leave a piece of dirty laundry on the floor.
He turned to look at her curled up form and knew in an instant that she wasn't asleep. She was trying to look asleep but what she didn't know was that often at night, Mulder had paused during his trek across the room and just watched her sleep in the dim light. For some reason, the look of peace on her face brought peace to him as well.
"Scully" he said in a loud whisper.
Nothing.
He stepped closer to the bed and whispered a bit louder. "Scully?"
Still nothing.
Feeling a bit on edge still, Mulder took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the bed. "Scully, I know you're awake. Will you not talk to me?"
Silence still filled the room and Mulder slowly moved across the bed until he was stretched besides his partner with only the bed coverings between them.
Scully felt his presence there but offered no resistance as Mulder slowly drew himself close to her, his lips close to her ear.
"Scully, I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but please, please listen to me."
Getting no signs of protest from her, he squeezed her a bit harder and continued.
"What I said when we came back tonight. I know how it must have sounded, but that isn't what I meant. God, you have no idea of how beautiful you looked when you were in my arms tonight and every ounce of my being wanted to take you there in the front hall. But I just couldn't."
Mulder thought he heard a soft sob and felt Scully's face. Finding a tear he gently brushed it away and kissed her on top of her head.
"Scully, you know I find you attractive, very attractive in fact, but if you and I ever decide to make our relationship a physical one I want it to be based on our feelings for each other not by raging hormones brought on by chemicals. If I am ever lucky enough to become your lover, I want to know that when you reach for me and scream my name it is truly because of what you feel for me and I for you."
He paused for a moment "Do you understand?"
Scully was barely able to nod her head she was trying so hard not to cry. Mulder felt the motion and kissed her head again turning her unresisting body towards him. He gathered her into her arms and held her while her tears fell.
When they seemed to have subsided, he raised her head up, brushed the remaining tears away with his two thumbs and looked at her carefully.
"You are beautiful" he said kissing her forehead.
When she smiled weakly at him he decided to press his luck a bit. "If you are still feel the affects from tonight and I will be happy to help you find some relief."
He waggled his eyebrows at her and promptly got smacked on top of his head.
Scully smiled again "Perhaps some other time."
Mulder smiled back and rose to leave her.
"Mulder?" she said meekly. "Could you do me one little favor?"
"Anything"
"Could you just hold me tonight?"
"Gladly" Mulder said as he lay back on the bed.
End of chapter six
Scully and Mulder reached the end of Brian's driveway at the same time as several of the other neighbors. Nodding greetings to each other they all made their way to the door.
Scully recognized them all from the pool party and wished that she had Mulder's memory for she wasn't sure of all of their names.
Sensing this, Mulder called out his greetings
"Hi there, Stan. It is nice to see you and Brenda again."
Stan and Brenda both looked like runway models with glaring white teeth, blonde hair and absolutely perfect tans.
"Good evening Richard" Stan said returning his greeting. "It looks like we and the Petersons have perfect timing."
The Petersons, Scully remembered, were the other couple. John was short and athletic in build and Cindy was even shorter than Scully and looked as frail as a rose petal.
Brian opened the door and welcomed them all into the house. The living room, dining room and family room were already brimming with people. Brian led the group to a small table that housed several different bottles of wine.
"Red or white?" Brian said pointing to the bottles. "We have quite a variety here so take your time and try them all. Just make sure to take a bit of cheese or one of these biscuits Wendy made to cleanse your taste buds before switching types."
Scully and Mulder approached the table and Mulder raised his eyebrow at Scully. "I think I will start with the white and work myself over to the red" she replied to his gesture.
Mulder, himself, started immediately with the red.
Glasses in hand, they slowly worked their way around the room making sure to have said hello and be seen by everyone in the room.
Only then did they take a seat on a loveseat in the living room where they could easily observe what was going on around them.
Brian's living room was quite large and hosted a huge fireplace. The furniture had been rearranged so it all lined the outside walls of the room leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room directly in front of the fireplace.
Mulder assumed it was a dance floor and wondered to himself how this sedate group of adults quietly sipping wine and nibbling on cheese while chatting with each other would be induced to dance.
His thoughts were broken when the hostess of the evening, Wendy, slowly made the rounds around the living room offering her wine biscuits and a sample of a 'very light red' that Brian had picked out specially with her in mind.
Mulder and Scully accepted both the biscuits and the wine. They both nibbled on the biscuits which did their job perfectly. They were bland enough to totally remove all taste from the previous glass of wine and dry enough to make the person who had eaten it want to take a sip of wine immediately.
They both sipped the new wine and agreed that it was indeed a nice little red wine. Seeing as they both enjoyed it, they put up no resistance when Wendy came around to top off their glasses.
"I told you it was good" Wendy said smiling as she filled up their glasses "I think it really grows on you."
Wendy started off with her wine bottle poised in the air and Mulder caught himself looking at her. Not just looking at her but looking in a way that made him advert his eyes. He had suddenly seemed to be fixated on the way she looked in her tight pants as she walked around the room.
Slightly embarrassed he turned his attention back to his wine and sipped at it again.
Scully sipped her wine savoring its taste in her mouth. For some reason, she seemed to be able to pick out the different tastes within the wine more while drinking the second glass than she did while drinking the first.
Her sense of taste didn't seem to be the only one of her senses that seemed to be getting more sensitive as time passed. She could swear that she could smell the soft scent of Mulder's aftershave more now then she could when they first sat down.
Not only that, but she became keenly aware of Mulder's arm as it lay casually across the back of the loveseat. He had placed it there when they had first sat down, but she didn't seem to notice until now when Mulder had started to draw circles with his finger on her arm.
Slow, sensual circles that made Scully start to feel sensations she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She looked up at Mulder as if to ask him what exactly he thought he was doing when she caught him looking down at his own leg.
There, her hand was doing the same thing, making slow sensual circles.
Mulder looked briefly down at his partner and saw her puzzled expression. He was a bit puzzled himself but was more concerned about his partner's attentions causing him to be in an embarrassing situation than figuring out exactly what was happening to them.
He placed the hand not occupied with Scully's arm firmly on hers and managed to stop the circular motions. He sighed a bit then feeling that he had adverted the disaster, at least for now.
Mulder was just about to whisper a theory about what was happening to them into Scully's ear when the music began to play. Brian had an impressive stereo system and within seconds all thoughts of conversation were drowned out by the sensual beats of Brian's music.
Mulder had doubted the necessity of a dance floor only moments before saw the dance floor immediately fill with people as the formerly sedate couples began to bump and grind and spin their way across the room.
Scully watched the couples dancing and was surprised to find herself longing to join them. Usually Scully shied away from any such activities not thinking herself capable of such public displays. But tonight was different. She couldn't think of anything else she would rather do.
Apparently Mulder had the same thought as he removed his arm from her shoulders and rose to face her. Smiling down at her he offered her his hand.
Scully smiled back and let Mulder lead her out to the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and they slowly made their way around the room. Neither one exactly sure how they had gotten to that point, but both very happy to have gotten there together.
Scully and Mulder fit together perfectly and the swaying movements of their bodies only added to their aroused state. Mulder was sure that Scully would have little doubt about his feelings for her as he pulled her just a little bit closer.
Scully felt Mulder's presence and fought, for only a moment, the urge to look up at him. She knew that when she did that her simple gesture would result in their first true kiss. She paused a minute trying to think through what she was doing. She tried to call upon logic but the desires of her body won out.
Scully looked up at Mulder with her blue eyes wide and full of desire. Mulder looked down at her with a similar look in his eyes. His intent was perfectly clear. He was going to kiss her - now.
Mulder bent down closer, closer, closer until their lips just touched.
"Sorry folks" a loud voice boomed making Mulder and Scully spring apart and look at each other with a mix of excitement and horror at what had almost happened.
Mulder blinked once, then twice noticing for the first time that the music had disappeared and that the lights had all been turned on again.
"One of the neighbors thought things were getting a bit loud here" Brian said. The group gathered in front of him groaned collectively. "So the police have come and asked us to shut things down for the night."
Everyone groaned louder. "I know you were all just starting to have fun, but with a bit of luck, you will all be able to take up where you left off when you get home."
With that, everyone started to pick up their things and head out the door. If not for the police sitting out on the street, Mulder thought that a lot of the couples would have thrown themselves into the bushes and finished off what they had started in Brian's living room.
He shamefully admitted to having the same thoughts about Scully as he escorted her back to their house - practically dragging her back he was so impatient to get inside.
Scully followed Mulder's lead without comment. She was too confused by her own actions to question any of his. She knew what had almost happened while they were dancing and assumed that it would happen again once they got behind closed doors. She wasn't exactly sure what she thought of the idea.
Mulder leaned against the door after shutting it.
"Thank God we made it out of there" he said "it must have been something in the wine or those biscuits".
Mulder started pulling off clothes and Scully began to think she was right about starting up where they had left off even though she thought Mulder was perhaps rushing things just a bit.
"Forgive me Scully, but I don't get myself upstairs and into a very cold shower very fast and get some relief, I think I will have no choice but to ravish you right where you stand and we both know what a mistake that would be."
And with that comment, Mulder sped upstairs leaving Scully standing by the front door with her mouth open unable to think let alone speak.
After a moment Scully heard the sound of the shower starting and the noise helped to bring her to her senses. She had been right about the situation that night after all. She was out of her league with the swingers who had been with her in the room.
Scully slowly climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom. She stood in front of the mirror rather disgusted by what she saw. For a few moments that night she had felt like a beautiful sensual woman, but as she looked at herself now all she saw was a practical FBI agent who men avoided at all costs. The Ice Princess who was so unattractive that even a man filled to the brim with aphrodisiacs would avoid - preferring a cold shower and his own hand to her.
Silently Scully stripped off her clothes and into her pajamas not even noticing the large tears slowing descending down her cheeks.
Scully climbed into bed her body still feeling aroused and unfulfilled. She thought briefly about trying to find some relief herself but dismissed the idea. She was too sad to even try.
Mulder realized something was wrong the moment he walked out of the bathroom wearing only his boxer shorts.
The bedroom was dark except for a small lamp on one of bureaus still on to aid in his crossing the room to the couch waiting for him in the living room.
Scully always left that light on for him when she retired before he did. What was different were the clothes scattered on the floor in front of the bureau. In all the years Mulder had known Scully, he had yet to see her leave a piece of dirty laundry on the floor.
He turned to look at her curled up form and knew in an instant that she wasn't asleep. She was trying to look asleep but what she didn't know was that often at night, Mulder had paused during his trek across the room and just watched her sleep in the dim light. For some reason, the look of peace on her face brought peace to him as well.
"Scully" he said in a loud whisper.
Nothing.
He stepped closer to the bed and whispered a bit louder. "Scully?"
Still nothing.
Feeling a bit on edge still, Mulder took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the bed. "Scully, I know you're awake. Will you not talk to me?"
Silence still filled the room and Mulder slowly moved across the bed until he was stretched besides his partner with only the bed coverings between them.
Scully felt his presence there but offered no resistance as Mulder slowly drew himself close to her, his lips close to her ear.
"Scully, I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but please, please listen to me."
Getting no signs of protest from her, he squeezed her a bit harder and continued.
"What I said when we came back tonight. I know how it must have sounded, but that isn't what I meant. God, you have no idea of how beautiful you looked when you were in my arms tonight and every ounce of my being wanted to take you there in the front hall. But I just couldn't."
Mulder thought he heard a soft sob and felt Scully's face. Finding a tear he gently brushed it away and kissed her on top of her head.
"Scully, you know I find you attractive, very attractive in fact, but if you and I ever decide to make our relationship a physical one I want it to be based on our feelings for each other not by raging hormones brought on by chemicals. If I am ever lucky enough to become your lover, I want to know that when you reach for me and scream my name it is truly because of what you feel for me and I for you."
He paused for a moment "Do you understand?"
Scully was barely able to nod her head she was trying so hard not to cry. Mulder felt the motion and kissed her head again turning her unresisting body towards him. He gathered her into her arms and held her while her tears fell.
When they seemed to have subsided, he raised her head up, brushed the remaining tears away with his two thumbs and looked at her carefully.
"You are beautiful" he said kissing her forehead.
When she smiled weakly at him he decided to press his luck a bit. "If you are still feel the affects from tonight and I will be happy to help you find some relief."
He waggled his eyebrows at her and promptly got smacked on top of his head.
Scully smiled again "Perhaps some other time."
Mulder smiled back and rose to leave her.
"Mulder?" she said meekly. "Could you do me one little favor?"
"Anything"
"Could you just hold me tonight?"
"Gladly" Mulder said as he lay back on the bed.
End of chapter six