Title: first date
Author: Cath
Feedback: Is always gratefully received
Disclaimer: Characters, etc, still are not mine
Summary: Tony & Michelle's first date. Post series 2.
Notes: Experimenting yet again. Let me know if you think it works…!
---
Breathless.
She pulls away.
He looks at her, questioning.
"You want to come in?" she asks. Quietly, almost shy.
"You sure?"
A nod, confident.
Smiles.
---
You dial her number.
"Dessler," she answers.
"Tomorrow night," you say.
She twists her chair and looks up at you from her workstation on the floor. It is a questioning glance.
"Are you free?" you ask.
"You mean for…?" she doesn't fully ask the question; you know that it is because she doesn't want to assume anything.
"Not for work. For the other thing," you say. For some reason you feel awkward asking her out on a date.
She twists her chair away so that you can't see her reaction.
"The dinner and movie thing?" she questions, and you can hear the smile in her voice.
"Yeah. You free?" You try to sound nonchalant. You fail.
"I'll have to check my diary," she replies and you know immediately that she's teasing you.
"And?" you ask after approximately two seconds.
"I think I might be able to fit you in," she comments.
"8 o'clock. I'll pick you up."
"You know where I live?" she queries.
"I have my sources," you reply. You hang up.
---
She fumbles with the key.
Holds it up to the door, somehow keeps her hand from shaking.
Turns the key, opens the door.
"Come in," she says.
He follows her.
"Wine?" she asks. Places the key on a hook.
"Sure."
She goes to the kitchen.
Takes a deep breath.
Tries not to smile too widely.
---
You are fifteen minutes early.
You sit in your car but are increasingly anxious to go to her door.
With ten minutes to go you leave your car and press the buzzer on the intercom.
"Hello?" she queries.
"It's me," you reply.
"Tony?" It's a surprised voice. "Come on up."
She buzzes you in, and has already opened the door to her apartment when you arrive.
"I'm not quite ready," she admits.
"I'm early," you apologise.
"Come in," she says. "I'll be a few minutes."
You look at her, an appraising glance, and cannot for the life of you understand how she could be more prepared. "You look…" you trail off trying to think of the least clichéd ending. You are unsuccessful. "You look amazing," you tell her.
She smiles almost shyly. "I'm not quite ready," she repeats.
---
Hands him the glass.
Fingers touch; linger. Draw away softly.
"Thanks," he says.
She sits next to him. Takes a sip of wine.
Gravitates towards him.
Arm touches arm. Hand touches hand. Finger touches finger.
Warmth spreads.
She shudders.
---
You don't tell her where you are going.
You enjoy her increasingly creative attempts to get you to divulge the information.
"You'll see," is all you tell her.
She mock pouts.
You take her to an Italian restaurant; you heard her talking to a co-worker about it weeks ago.
Her eyes light up.
"We're eating here?" she asks, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.
"Is that okay?" you ask, knowing the answer.
"Yeah," she replies.
"Good."
You take her hand. You remember the feel of it from weeks ago when you sat together in an interrogation room.
You shake the image from your head and concentrate on this moment. Her hand is in yours. And you don't know how you can ever let go.
---
Takes another sip of wine.
He watches her.
She tries to think of something to say; fails.
Turns her head towards him.
He takes her glass. Sets it on the table.
Hand moves up towards her head. She watches it.
Fingers bury into her hair.
She moves towards him.
Mouths collide.
---
The food exceeds expectations.
You try not to talk about work or events which have happened recently. But inevitably, there is only so much to say away from these subjects.
She brings it up, a moment of thoughtful silence after mentioning the renovations at CTU.
"What made you kiss me that day?" you ask when your mind takes you unwillingly in that direction.
She smiles, embarrassed. "What made you kiss me back?" she queries teasingly.
You give a look which you hope conveys "I asked you first," without saying the words.
"You were standing there in front of me and I thought, why the hell not?" she jokes.
"Really?" you ask, unconvinced.
"I've liked you for a while," she admits after a pause.
"A while?" you tease, probing for more information.
"A while," she confirms, unwilling to tell you exact periods of time. There is a pause. "Before he died, Mason said something to me which made me think. He told me to make the most of life," she tells you, and she is contemplative.
You don't reply to this, but you think about it.
"What made you kiss me back?" she asks again, trying to break the mood.
"I… I liked you too."
---
Tongues dance and duel.
Pull back, gasping for breath.
Hands explore.
Slowly, almost unsure, fingers trace patterns on her leg, moving upwards.
Lie down on the couch.
Her fingers locate his shirt buttons. Clumsily open one by one from the bottom.
Pause.
"Are you sure?" he asks.
---
"There are no good movies out at the moment," you inform her as you walk along the sidewalk.
"You want to watch a bad one?" she asks.
"If you really want to," you reply, but your body language says otherwise.
She laughs. You could spend hours listening to her laugh.
"I might have some movies at my place," she says.
"Like what? Pretty Woman? Titanic? That thing about the Magnolias that always makes my mom cry?" you query, untrusting.
She laughs again, puts her arm through yours. "No! I was thinking something classic. Like… Shawshank Redemption. Or Star Wars. Or Jaws."
You cannot tell if she is teasing or not. All your previous girlfriends have attempted to get you to watch girly romantic films and you're not entirely convinced that she should be any different.
"They're not exactly girly or romantic," you tell her, in case she was in any doubt.
"You want to watch something romantic?" she questions, grinning.
"I don't want to watch anything," you admit.
---
She stands up. He looks at her.
Her top is pushed halfway up her stomach. Her hair is mussed. Her eyes are dark; aroused.
He suspects his eyes mirror hers.
She takes his hand.
"Bedroom?" she asks.
She wants this as much as he does.
He slowly stands up.
Follows her as she pulls him.
Closes the door behind them.
---
You stand in front of her apartment.
"I had a great time," she tells you.
"So did I," you tell her.
She looks at you for a moment; it is a look that you cannot place.
Not yet, anyhow.
"I should get going," you say, in a voice that suggests you'd like to do anything but.
"Right," she replies.
You think about what your next move should be. You lean in towards her; intend to kiss her on the cheek. It's not the move you would like, but it seems more appropriate for a first date.
You kiss her on the cheek, pull away. She looks… You try to interpret it, but fail. And then, it turns into something you recognise; a look that you have seen only once before, in a dark hallway, weeks ago. And you know that there is nothing you can do now but kiss her. You are under her spell.
She moves towards you, slowly. You move towards her, hands behind her head, pulling her closer.
It starts out chaste, but your passion and hunger quickly take over, and you cannot get enough of each other. She opens her mouth to give you access; you bring her closer.
And then she pulls away.
"You want to come in?" she asks.
"You sure?"
She nods. And you realise that you cannot stop yourself from falling for this amazing woman.
You smile and she smiles back.
And you are happy.
---
She lies in his embrace; sated.
His fingers stroke her naked skin.
She smiles.
"I'm glad you kissed me," he says.
"Uh huh," she responds.
He laughs against her forehead.
"Next time…" he starts.
"Next time?"
"We don't wait so long."
She laughs, tired.
Sleep overcomes them.
---
FINI