"So now what?" I asked. The last light of the evening slanted in the windows. The apartment took on a milky glow.
"That depends," Greg answered, arms on either side of me, pretty much keeping me pinned to the front door. Letting me know who I belonged to. Not that I really minded. "Why don't you clue me in on what you're talking about."
"Is all forgiven with me?"
He smiled a crooked smile. "Forgive is a such a strong and compelling word. Maybe too strong for my liking."
"I never thought I'd see the great Gregory House foiled by a simple word." I said with a low chuckle.
His smile never faded, in fact it got broader. "I'm not foiled, and I'm hardly foiled by one silly little word. It'll take more than the alphabet to make me stumble. But you can still refer to me as great. I like the sound of that."
"I knew you would."
"I'm so easy to please."
"You didn't answer my question," I said. "Am I forgiven?"
"I'll forget about it now and forgive you for it later."
"Later? How much later?"
"We'll see. Take it or leave it. That's my final offer."
"That sounds fine."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes."
"Anything can sound fine when you don't have a choice," he told me, leaning his unshaven form closer. The smell of the warm July outdoors still swirled around us like a perfume. His eyes glinted in the remaining light like blue sparks. "Now that I have you, what am I going to do with you?" He brought a hand up and ran the thumb down my cheek. I loved every second of it. "Forgiveness doesn't come for free, you know. It has to be earned."
"How long is it going to take me to earn your forgiveness?" I asked with a bit of wariness, wondering what kind of petty little favors he would make me do. Hopefully forgiveness wouldn't go hand in hand with scrubbing out the oven with my toothbrush. Maybe he'd be happy with a few new bottles of scotch and brandy.
"Well, you insist on staying here with me, so I guess you're well on your way on the bumpy road to forgiveness." Greg paused for a series of warm, deep kisses that had me melting against the door. "I'll tell you the rest later. I don't really feel like talking right now, and neither do you."
I waited until the Vicodin kicked in and he had a late dinner in his stomach to take the plunge. "I need to ask you something, Greg."
"Need, huh?" He was lounging on one end of the sofa, finishing off a Pepsi. Still hiding the scar under tattered jeans, but I wasn't going piss him off by saying something about it. I sat at the other end and waited patiently for an answer. A raised eyebrow told me I had his attention. "Getting all serious on me, Jimmy? I hope you don't need a kidney or need part of a liver because you're out of luck in that department."
"I'm sort of serious here. As you well know, it takes two to tango."
"You want to tango again? Gee whiz, you're insatiable. It's amazing your poor wives could even walk."
"No, it has nothing to do with that or my wives. I want to live in our apartment." I gave it a few beats to sink in. The raised eyebrow shifted into a furrow. "You're always talking about staying under your roof, your living room, your apartment. I was just wondering if it could be ours."
I had to wait until he finished his drink for a response. It was a long and deliberate wait, but I didn't mind because I had caught him off guard and he needed to a few moments to gather his thoughts. "You're more than 'sort-of' serious. You wouldn't be talking like that if you didn't intend to stick around for a while."
"I'm here to stay," I said.
"Yes, you told me that already."
"You don't believe me?"
"Oh, I believe you, and I'm sure you believe it too," he grinned, "but in this case actions shall speak louder than words."
"How so?"
"Well, my dear Jimmy, you do a little favor for me, and tomorrow night you can come home to our apartment and all will be forgiven."
"Nothing screams 'forgiveness' like blackmail," I groaned. "I'm going to regret this, right?"
"No. This isn't blackmail. It's just one little thing. It's something you owe me anyway." Greg told me with a smirk. I was squirming again, uncomfortable, and he was enjoying it. I should be used to it by now.
"Can't I do it now and get it over with?"
"Nope."
"Why not? Are you going to drag this out forever just to torture me?"
"You can't give me what you owe me until tomorrow, so relax. You're just going to have to wait and see."
