A/N: Since we are feeling generous, we've decided to post one chapter on Fridays and one on Saturdays so you guys are not left hanging too long. We are getting a glimpse of what happened between our ladies, but we promise that everything will become more and more clear as the story progresses!
Happy reading!
Chapter 4: Houston, we have a problem
Agent Sloan exchanged a quick 'everything OK?' glance with his colleague, who quickly nodded. "I'll umm...meet you back in the car, Sloan," the brunette responded, trying to sound casual.
Once Mark had left the room she slowly turned to face Arizona full-on for the first time and watched as the blonde walked across the room. Dark brown eyes watched closely as Arizona closed the door before gently leaning against it. As the blonde had walked towards her, Callie had caught the briefest glimpse of a slender silver chain and a flash of green against the ivory white skin of the blonde's neck. It couldn't be? Surely she wouldn't still have it after all these years?
Fuck! Had someone turned the heating up? Why did she suddenly feel like the room was ten degrees hotter? Callie's palms had started sweating like she was back in high school and about to be told off by the Principal or something. The way Arizona moved around the room made her nervous as hell. She had no idea what she was about to say, but whatever it was, she was going to have to suck it up because in this situation Arizona was her superior. Whether she liked it or not.
"Calliope," Arizona said in a soft voice as she took in the brunette for the first time properly for years. Her eyes subconsciously scanned the Latina's hand for signs of a wedding ring. "It's... it's good to see you."
Callie felt her stomach flip as she heard the blonde's sweet voice say her full name for the first time in years. How was it that the woman still had the power to make her feel that way? She needed to regain some control of the situation.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't call me that," Callie shot back, amazed that she actually managed to speak in a normal tone of voice. Fortunately, she sounded more confident than she actually felt right now. "How's Tom?" Callie asked before she could stop herself, she was still thinking about that necklace. Yes, it was a childish question to ask Arizona in reference to the fact that the blonde had married one of their former classmates, but she had to. She had to create a bit of distance between them in order to maintain professional boundaries. There was no way she was going to give Arizona even an inch right now.
Arizona narrowed her eyes at Callie, keeping her gaze. She knew her remark was a dig and she probably deserved it. But she was too proud to give the Latina a clue as to how she was making her feel right there and then. "Oh, you know…..still Tom," she answered with a smile.
A douchebag then, Callie thought to herself as pictured the former classmate Arizona had married. She allowed herself a brief look at that smile. That smile that could take her breath away. Her heart was still pounding her chest and she could feel the blood rushing to her head, pumping through the veins in her neck. She prayed to God that she was not blushing.
"I ah…," Arizona paused and swallowed. Her throat had gone dry and she could hear her own voice come out raspy. She needed to regain her composure…regain control. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Listen, I just wanted to check that this…," she motioned her finger between Callie and herself, "..us working together...isn't going to cause any problems."
This time it was Callie's eyes that narrowed. Of all the things Arizona could say, she went for that? Did she question Callie's professionalism? Really? The nerves that had been buzzing through her body quickly died down, and anger started forming in the pit of her stomach. Who the hell did Arizona think she was? Insinuating she was still hurt, that she could not be professional or normal towards her. But at the same time, those impossibly blue eyes staring at her, looking straight into her soul…..that caused another feeling in the pit of her stomach, confusing her to no end. It resulted in what felt like a hot flash. God, someone must have turned up the heat in this room!
Arizona instantly regretted her choice of words as she saw Callie's body language change in front of her eyes. She could practically see the brunette's body go tense at the question as placed her hands on her hips, her pose indicating she was ready to tear Arizona a new one. But Callie wasn't going to give in to the blonde and after a deep breath, Callie managed to refrain from lashing out. She simply did not want the blonde to notice how much she still affected her. She could not give Arizona that power.
"Well, it's certainly not a problem for me, Officer Robbins," Callie answered casually as she opened the door to leave, although, to Arizona's trained ear, she could hear the Latina's sultry voice being far from casual. It gave her an odd sense of relief to know she was not the only one affected by their unexpected reunion.
####
"Houston, we have a problem," Callie said as she slipped into the car next to Mark before turning to look at him. "A problem that requires tequila so if you could, you know, get us to a bar ASAP, that would be great!"
Mark raised his eyebrow while Callie fastened her seatbelt. The fiery woman turned to him and flashed him a look. "Say no more," he said while starting the engine and driving out of the CIA compound.
"That's exactly what I'm planning to do," Callie responded while crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her whole body was still on edge, she could almost feel every single nerve ending. Whatever God was up there watching was having a field day right now, having Arizona's… no wait 'Senior Operations Officer Robbins' perfume lingering in her nostrils was making her head spin.
It did not take long for the silence in the car to become so uncomfortable, it had Mark shifting in his seat. "Okay, Torres, this is not cute anymore, speak." They were getting pretty close to DC and he could not wait to drag his co-worker into a bar to lighten her up. Moody Torres was bad, very bad.
Instead of actually speaking up and talking to Mark, Callie started mumbling in Spanish.
Mark gave Callie the side-eye. He swerved the car into the bar's parking lot and stepped on the brakes hard, making the car come to an abrupt halt. "Torres! Stop speaking Spanish! You know I don't understand that shit and it freaks me out."
She got out of the car and slammed the door. "You do realize we're flying to Spain tomorrow. Everyone is gonna be speaking Spanish there."
"Hey! What did my car do to hurt you?" He picked up the pace and caught up with Callie, who was already halfway en route to the bar. "You know that's not the point, Torres. You're acting weird."
"Drinks first," Callie simply replied. "And I'll remember you said no Spanish when you need help chatting up the hot, sexy chicas over there." Her lips curled into a cheeky smile, showing a hint of the Callie Mark had come to know and love.
They sat next to each other at the bar and Mark immediately ordered two Tequilas. When they got their shots, he bumped his shoulder into Callie's. "To the road, Torres," he said before clinking his tiny shot glass with Callie's and downing the shot. "Now, tell uncle Mark what's gotten your panties in a twist."
"It's Robbins," Callie said before she pursed her lips and motioned for the bartender to bring them another round of shots.
"Blondie? You got the hots for Blondie?" Mark raised his eyebrow at Callie. He did not peg their new team leader as Callie's type, too straight-laced and with a huge stick up her ass.
Callie gave Mark the side-eye and shook her head. "I ah…"
"No way! You've already slept with her? Torres, you dog!" Mark grinned and patted Callie on the shoulder. "I could have sworn she was straight as an arrow, but hey…they don't call you Tina for nothing."
"What?" Callie asked, raising her eyebrow at the man next to her at the mention of a so-called new nickname. She loved him, but sometimes he was just so full of shit.
"You know…," Mark replied, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "As in Turner."
"Mark, shut it," Callie said, although his remarks did make her grin. She loved this man to death, even with the whole bad boy, dirty man act. "I'm trying to tell you something here." She needed to get it out, she needed to tell him before they went to Spain. They were going to be cooped up as a team and she needed to tell someone about Arizona.
Realising Callie meant business, his smug smile faded and he sat up straight. "Sorry, proceed."
"I've met Robbins before. During training," Callie said while she started toying with the coaster in front of her. "We ah….we dated."
When Callie started speaking, Mark had expected her to tell she slept with Robbins. But dating was a whole different ball game. In the years he had known Callie, she had never dated anyone. "Robbins? Isn't she married?" Mark had so many questions. "You guys dated? As in wined and dined, made each other mixtapes dated? "
Callie chuckled at seeing her friend's brain go on overdrive. "I guess you could put it that way."
"What happened?" Mark had moved a little closer and was leaning in, obviously interested in hearing about this.
"Look, I don't think she's out, so you cannot talk about this, OK? It stays here, in this bar."
"Scout's honor," Mark replied, holding up three fingers as if he was actually pledging to something.
She downed her shot and turned to the man next to her. "She….she is the reason I came out to my parents. It's a long story, but let's just say she got under my skin and…well…Yeah, now I work for the FBI and she is married to some fellow CIA bozo."
"You kept tabs on her…damn, Torres. Must have been something."
"Ha! Well, I thought it was something." Callie held up two fingers to indicate they needed more Tequila. "Robbins less so and it was a mess in the end,...but at least I started living my truth after that."
"I was her first woman," Callie started, looking like she was going to say something seriously profound, but Mark interrupted her.
"And her last apparently…Were you seriously THAT bad?" He said with a mischievous grin.
"Fuck you, Sloan," Callie replied, swatting at him, although it was obvious she was only joking. "If you want me to tell you something, let me talk, asshole."
"Okay, okay, but you need to stop giving me such sweet openings, dude."
Callie chuckled. Somehow she was glad Mark kept the mood light because she was feeling anything but light right now. It annoyed her that only seeing Arizona still had so much effect on her. She had moved on, the blonde was her past. Being confronted with her subconscious, dormant feelings for and because of the blue-eyed blonde had her on edge.
"Anyway," she continued toying with the coaster, focussing on anything but Mark's intense gaze. "We were hot and heavy," her voice trailed off as she obviously took a moment to reminisce. "Damn, we were hot! But it...I guess I didn't fit in with her life plan, with her Miss goody-two-shoes image. She is such a stickler for the rules, she forgets how to live sometimes. So yeah, she ended up with the cushy job, the perfect husband and the house with the white picket fence and I became the hotshot FBI agent you've come to know and love."
"Oh," Mark always seemed to know what to say, but he did not right now. "And now you're the thorn in Little Miss Perfect's side?"
Callie chuckled and took a moment to down her shot before ordering another one. "I'm not as bitter as I sound," she said, more trying to convince herself than anything else. "If she's happy, I'm happy. It was years ago and I've moved on."
"Yeah. No. That doesn't sound bitter at all," Mark replied in a mocking tone of voice. "I always wondered who hurt you, I just never expected it would be a blonde barbie. I expected more of an evil Harley Quinn type woman."
"I'm not broken, Mark," Callie responded right away, getting defensive. She was no victim. Callie Torres was never a victim. "Sometimes things just happen. Life happens. We were young and naive back then," she shrugged and picked up her shot glass, downing it and clearing her throat as she felt the liquid burn.
"I didn't say you were broken, Torres," he took his shot and nodded towards the bartender for another round.
"Good," Callie said firmly as she knocked back the shot. "Oh, and a word of warning, don't be fooled by the blonde hair and the 'butter wouldn't melt in her mouth' look," she paused as she sucked on a slice of lime and winced at the sourness before continuing, "she is super fierce and really doesn't like it if she doesn't get her own way, so watch out OK?"
"Roger that! Like a Gremlin, don't feed her after midnight and don't get her wet," he flashed Callie a smug smirk, obviously proud of what he had just come up with. "Got it, listen to Special Operations Officer Gizmo." He accepted the two shot glasses from the waiter with a nod and put one of the glasses in front of Callie. "So….Spain, huh? Are you ready for all the hot señoritas?" Mark asked, sensing it was time to move the conversation along.
"You know me, Sloan...I'm all about the hot señoritas!" Callie responded with a wink, pleased that her partner had moved the conversation along. She had spoken about her feelings long enough. Even though she had only given Mark a heavily redacted and abridged version of the story, it had actually felt oddly satisfying to have laid it out. But it was enough. Callie Torres didn't open up when it came to matters of the heart. Not anymore!
