Disclaimer - see chapter one
Chapter Five
"Gil," Catherine said, her mouth so close to his that her breath lightly tickled his lips as she spoke.
"Yeah?" he asked, terrified that she was going to stop this.
"Is this a good idea?"
He smiled slightly, understanding where this was coming from. "I don't know."
"Maybe we - "
"But I'd like to find out," he interrupted. He knew that if he allowed her to say that they shouldn't, reality would take over and they would both agree that she was right. If she really didn't want it to happen, then it wouldn't, but he wanted to keep the fantasy alive for as long as possible.
"What about work?" she asked after taking a shaky deep breath.
"Work survived you pouncing on me, I'm sure it'd survive a kiss," he smiled.
"What if it goes further than that?" She felt really nervous now. The electricity between them was so strong, she knew that if neither of them pulled back soon, then it would happen. They would kiss. And though she'd longed for it for as long as she remembered, all the variables were spinning round her mind. There was so much at stake.
"It won't go further than that, Cath, we're in a public place," he grinned.
She laughed. "You know what I mean. Once you've kissed me once you won't want to keep your lips off me."
"Oh, we do think a lot of ourselves, don't we?" he chuckled.
"Don't think, know," she grinned.
"Really? You're that good?"
"Oh yeah!" she laughed.
"Prove it!" he stated, his lips now so close to hers that she was sure she could feel them.
"Certainly," she whispered, as his lips sank down onto hers, as soft and tender as she had always imagined they would be. She melted into the kiss, moving closer to him, their bodies pressing together holding each other in an embrace they had waited nineteen years for.
Suddenly the door to the auditorium burst open and customers began to file past them. They broke apart at the sound of the door opening, but still gained suspicious looks from several people who walked by - those who were awake enough to register that something had been going on. They straightened their clothing and hair, and hoped that they looked suitable to be seen unsuspiciously by Lindsey and her friends.
"Mom, you missed the end! And half the movie!" Lindsey exclaimed as she spotted her mum and Grissom standing near the doorway to the foyer. "What have you been doing?"
Grissom turned to Catherine and smirked, eager to see what the best way to respond to this question was.
Catherine understood his look and responded to it with a quick glare, before turning to Lindsey.
"I'm sorry honey, I just got a bit bored, and thought rather than embarrass you by falling asleep and snoring really loudly I'd go for a little walk. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Lindsey said emphatically, "I'm glad you left if that was the alternative!"
The friends giggled and the adults laughed, more with relief than amusement.
Grissom watched as Catherine walked with Lindsey into the foyer chatting about the film. When she turned to make sure everyone was following, her eyes briefly met his. She smiled, but he was sure there was sadness in her eyes, and the fact that she quickly looked away again, affirmed his fear that regret was what was causing it. He had known they were taking a great risk, but being prepared for the disappointment didn't make it less painful.
He followed the group outside the theatre and across the road to the pizza place, smiling and laughing as the children talked animatedly about the movie and how hot Marc Weston had looked, whilst all the time desperately trying to ignore the voice in his head that was saying 'She was right. One kiss isn't enough.'
*****
"You do so fancy him!" Bethany practically screamed at Lindsey, as the group sat around their pizzas making more noise than Grissom had ever imagined twelve people could.
"I do not!" Lindsey insisted for the third time, glaring at Bethany for continuing this subject of conversation in front of her mother, whose next line she had already predicted.
"Really? Who's this then?" Catherine asked with a wide grin.
"No-one, Mom," Lindsey tried to get across, but was drowned out by a chorus of:
"Michael Stuart!" from her eleven former friends, now traitors.
"I don't fancy him, Mom, he's so annoying!"
"There's a fine line between love and hate, Linds," Catherine teased.
"And I know which side of it I'm staying on," Lindsey stated categorically.
"Oooh! So you're gonna love him forever?" Cheryl giggled.
"I do not love him!" Lindsey continued to argue.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Grissom offered.
Everyone fell silent and looked at him, shock seeming to be the main reaction.
"What?" he asked, confused as to what he'd done to receive this response.
"I thought you would have taken my side," Lindsey replied, shaking her head slowly.
"Sorry. Guess I was caught up in the moment," he shrugged.
Apparently this was enough to end the stillness, and giggling and chattering resumed, if possible, at a higher volume than before.
Catherine watched him as he interacted with the girls. Since they'd left the cinema he had been very quiet and seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. The reason for her silence after his Shakespearean quote was shock that he had said more than three words. She had known things would change if they kissed. She had known that change could be good or bad, but she hadn't expected that it would be bad. It had all felt so right. Standing that close to him, touching him, holding him, feeling his lips on hers, she had imagined it all for many years and it was infinitely better than all her dreams. She had never felt such a level of disappointment as she did when that auditorium door opened, nor had she ever found it so difficult to pull herself away from a man. How it could have felt so perfect to her, but wrong to him, she didn't know, but his behaviour indicated that he considered it a mistake. And as much as it tore her apart to have to do it, she knew she would just have to accept that.
*****
"Okay, get in the car! I'm just gonna talk to Grissom for a second," Catherine said to Lindsey and the remaining three friends whom Catherine was giving a lift home, and then walked over to Grissom.
Awkward did not even begin to describe the atmosphere as the two of them stood in the car park, neither knowing what to say or do. After too many seconds of silence, Catherine decided she would have to speak first, because she knew Grissom could maintain a silence for hours if he wanted to.
"Thank you for coming tonight. I know Lindsey was really pleased that you came, even though you didn't stick up for her," she smiled.
"It's okay. She seemed to enjoy herself, that's good," he responded.
"Yeah. We talked about Eddie this morning. I think she's accepted that even though she doesn't want to, she needs to move on."
"She'll be okay, Cath. You two did a good job with her," he said, seriously.
Catherine seemed surprised by this.
"What?" he asked, once again confused as to what he had said.
"Nothing. It's just, you're the last person I would expect to include Eddie in that."
"It was his treatment of you that I didn't like. He was a good father."
"I know. That's what worries me."
"What?"
"That it was the two of us who did a good job with her."
"Hey, you're doing fine. You've had a lot to deal with, on top of Eddie's death, and you've survived, and Lindsey's fine, she's happy."
"I know. I guess I'm just. having a moment," she smiled, genuinely. "I'm over it. Anyway, thanks for coming. Again. I really appreciate it too."
He shrugged. "What are friends for?"
Their eyes locked for the longest time since the kiss and both realised that maybe things hadn't changed that much. They could still talk, they still cared. They could get through this like they had got through everything else life had thrown at them. They just had to not think about the kiss. That this was easier said than done occurred to them simultaneously, and they both smiled sadly and lowered their eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow night," Catherine said, barely looking up.
"Yeah," Grissom responded.
They turned and headed for their cars. After four steps they both felt the urge to stop and look back. And they both resisted it so as not to make things any harder.
TBC.
Chapter Five
"Gil," Catherine said, her mouth so close to his that her breath lightly tickled his lips as she spoke.
"Yeah?" he asked, terrified that she was going to stop this.
"Is this a good idea?"
He smiled slightly, understanding where this was coming from. "I don't know."
"Maybe we - "
"But I'd like to find out," he interrupted. He knew that if he allowed her to say that they shouldn't, reality would take over and they would both agree that she was right. If she really didn't want it to happen, then it wouldn't, but he wanted to keep the fantasy alive for as long as possible.
"What about work?" she asked after taking a shaky deep breath.
"Work survived you pouncing on me, I'm sure it'd survive a kiss," he smiled.
"What if it goes further than that?" She felt really nervous now. The electricity between them was so strong, she knew that if neither of them pulled back soon, then it would happen. They would kiss. And though she'd longed for it for as long as she remembered, all the variables were spinning round her mind. There was so much at stake.
"It won't go further than that, Cath, we're in a public place," he grinned.
She laughed. "You know what I mean. Once you've kissed me once you won't want to keep your lips off me."
"Oh, we do think a lot of ourselves, don't we?" he chuckled.
"Don't think, know," she grinned.
"Really? You're that good?"
"Oh yeah!" she laughed.
"Prove it!" he stated, his lips now so close to hers that she was sure she could feel them.
"Certainly," she whispered, as his lips sank down onto hers, as soft and tender as she had always imagined they would be. She melted into the kiss, moving closer to him, their bodies pressing together holding each other in an embrace they had waited nineteen years for.
Suddenly the door to the auditorium burst open and customers began to file past them. They broke apart at the sound of the door opening, but still gained suspicious looks from several people who walked by - those who were awake enough to register that something had been going on. They straightened their clothing and hair, and hoped that they looked suitable to be seen unsuspiciously by Lindsey and her friends.
"Mom, you missed the end! And half the movie!" Lindsey exclaimed as she spotted her mum and Grissom standing near the doorway to the foyer. "What have you been doing?"
Grissom turned to Catherine and smirked, eager to see what the best way to respond to this question was.
Catherine understood his look and responded to it with a quick glare, before turning to Lindsey.
"I'm sorry honey, I just got a bit bored, and thought rather than embarrass you by falling asleep and snoring really loudly I'd go for a little walk. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Lindsey said emphatically, "I'm glad you left if that was the alternative!"
The friends giggled and the adults laughed, more with relief than amusement.
Grissom watched as Catherine walked with Lindsey into the foyer chatting about the film. When she turned to make sure everyone was following, her eyes briefly met his. She smiled, but he was sure there was sadness in her eyes, and the fact that she quickly looked away again, affirmed his fear that regret was what was causing it. He had known they were taking a great risk, but being prepared for the disappointment didn't make it less painful.
He followed the group outside the theatre and across the road to the pizza place, smiling and laughing as the children talked animatedly about the movie and how hot Marc Weston had looked, whilst all the time desperately trying to ignore the voice in his head that was saying 'She was right. One kiss isn't enough.'
*****
"You do so fancy him!" Bethany practically screamed at Lindsey, as the group sat around their pizzas making more noise than Grissom had ever imagined twelve people could.
"I do not!" Lindsey insisted for the third time, glaring at Bethany for continuing this subject of conversation in front of her mother, whose next line she had already predicted.
"Really? Who's this then?" Catherine asked with a wide grin.
"No-one, Mom," Lindsey tried to get across, but was drowned out by a chorus of:
"Michael Stuart!" from her eleven former friends, now traitors.
"I don't fancy him, Mom, he's so annoying!"
"There's a fine line between love and hate, Linds," Catherine teased.
"And I know which side of it I'm staying on," Lindsey stated categorically.
"Oooh! So you're gonna love him forever?" Cheryl giggled.
"I do not love him!" Lindsey continued to argue.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Grissom offered.
Everyone fell silent and looked at him, shock seeming to be the main reaction.
"What?" he asked, confused as to what he'd done to receive this response.
"I thought you would have taken my side," Lindsey replied, shaking her head slowly.
"Sorry. Guess I was caught up in the moment," he shrugged.
Apparently this was enough to end the stillness, and giggling and chattering resumed, if possible, at a higher volume than before.
Catherine watched him as he interacted with the girls. Since they'd left the cinema he had been very quiet and seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. The reason for her silence after his Shakespearean quote was shock that he had said more than three words. She had known things would change if they kissed. She had known that change could be good or bad, but she hadn't expected that it would be bad. It had all felt so right. Standing that close to him, touching him, holding him, feeling his lips on hers, she had imagined it all for many years and it was infinitely better than all her dreams. She had never felt such a level of disappointment as she did when that auditorium door opened, nor had she ever found it so difficult to pull herself away from a man. How it could have felt so perfect to her, but wrong to him, she didn't know, but his behaviour indicated that he considered it a mistake. And as much as it tore her apart to have to do it, she knew she would just have to accept that.
*****
"Okay, get in the car! I'm just gonna talk to Grissom for a second," Catherine said to Lindsey and the remaining three friends whom Catherine was giving a lift home, and then walked over to Grissom.
Awkward did not even begin to describe the atmosphere as the two of them stood in the car park, neither knowing what to say or do. After too many seconds of silence, Catherine decided she would have to speak first, because she knew Grissom could maintain a silence for hours if he wanted to.
"Thank you for coming tonight. I know Lindsey was really pleased that you came, even though you didn't stick up for her," she smiled.
"It's okay. She seemed to enjoy herself, that's good," he responded.
"Yeah. We talked about Eddie this morning. I think she's accepted that even though she doesn't want to, she needs to move on."
"She'll be okay, Cath. You two did a good job with her," he said, seriously.
Catherine seemed surprised by this.
"What?" he asked, once again confused as to what he had said.
"Nothing. It's just, you're the last person I would expect to include Eddie in that."
"It was his treatment of you that I didn't like. He was a good father."
"I know. That's what worries me."
"What?"
"That it was the two of us who did a good job with her."
"Hey, you're doing fine. You've had a lot to deal with, on top of Eddie's death, and you've survived, and Lindsey's fine, she's happy."
"I know. I guess I'm just. having a moment," she smiled, genuinely. "I'm over it. Anyway, thanks for coming. Again. I really appreciate it too."
He shrugged. "What are friends for?"
Their eyes locked for the longest time since the kiss and both realised that maybe things hadn't changed that much. They could still talk, they still cared. They could get through this like they had got through everything else life had thrown at them. They just had to not think about the kiss. That this was easier said than done occurred to them simultaneously, and they both smiled sadly and lowered their eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow night," Catherine said, barely looking up.
"Yeah," Grissom responded.
They turned and headed for their cars. After four steps they both felt the urge to stop and look back. And they both resisted it so as not to make things any harder.
TBC.