The decision to change plans and spend the rest of their date at the Stonewall Inn had worked out perfectly. Their friend from the subway, whose name they had learned was Tom, had waved them over excitedly as soon as they'd stepped through the door. They'd been immediately welcomed by his group of friends, who'd had them in equal fits of laughter and genuine shock at the tales of their escapes in the 1960s. They talked about the riots, and their pride at having been involved in such a momentous occasion in the history of gay rights. The whole group raised several toasts to Charlie, who had performed as a drag queen in his younger years, and been one of those in the front line of the resistance on June 28th, 1969. And Tom then spoke fondly of their wedding in 2011. They had always said they wanted to be married in their home state, and were one of the first couples to City Hall when gay marriage was finally legalised in New York.
"So, have you two lovely ladies thought about getting married?" Eric, one of the group asked them.
"Oh umm…" Arizona blushed.
"I…kinda need to get divorced first" Callie answered honestly.
Confused looks spread across the faces of the group.
"I'm sorry, did we miss something?" another of the group, Rod, asked "I assumed you guys had been together for years"
"Yeah umm, funny story there" Arizona looked at Callie and smiled shyly "this is actually our first date"
"Ok, no way, you girls are pulling our legs" Tom laughed "the looks you two keep giving each other, there ain't no way those are first date looks"
"Nope, definitely not kidding. It's just that this first date…well, it's long overdue" Callie told him with a glance at the blonde.
"I sense a story here…" Eric grinned.
The two women looked at each other, both nodding almost imperceptibly before Arizona began to speak, filling the group in on a very edited down version of their story that essentially was limited to them being teenage sweethearts who were separated due to circumstances beyond their control, but had recently found each other again.
The men seemed appeased, and the focus moved off of the two women, and back on to regaling stories from years gone by.
An hour or so later, the two women said their goodbyes and made their way back to the subway.
"So" Arizona turned to the brunette "was that ok?"
"It was perfect" Callie beamed "and I'm really glad we ended up going for drinks at Stonewall. It just felt really easy, relaxed, you know?"
"Yeah" the blonde nodded "I get what you mean. We're getting to know each other again, but that doesn't mean things have to be over-organised and going on dates at formal locations. It was really nice to just get to see you in a natural environment"
"That sounds like I'm an animal at the safari park" the brunette laughed.
"Hey" Arizona swatted her arm "you know what I meant"
"Sure I do" the brunette wrapped an arm round Arizona, pulling her close.
They got back onto the subway, finding seats together again. It sounded like there was a busker in the next car down, and for a few minutes they sat there listening. As one song ended, they heard the busker play the opening chords from "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon. The two women looked at each other and laughed simultaneously.
Ten years previously
It was Callie and Arizona's senior prom at Newport High, and the night had been pretty uneventful. Everybody knew that the real party was always the graduation beach party, particularly as that celebration actually involved alcohol, but still every year the seniors would go through the tradition of attending a school-organised prom night.
The night was drawing to a close, and Arizona was certainly looking forward to getting out of her uncomfortable shoes.
"Alright girls and guys, it's time for a slow one" the frontman of the band announced cheerfully "so grab your dates, and get on over to the dancefloor"
Arizona rolled her eyes, turning to Callie and Teddy, with whom she standing by the buffet table "Do they seriously think we all want to get up close and personal with a bunch of high school guys?"
"I guess the cheerleaders do" Teddy nodded in the direction of Izzie Stevens and her friends, who were busy dragging some of the less than enthusiastic members of the football team to the dancefloor.
"Well why don't we show them how it's done" Callie grabbed both of their hands and confidently pulled her two friends along with her.
"Wait, no…" Arizona started to protest, but fell silent as she caught sight of the glare that the brunette was giving her.
And so the blonde found herself begrudgingly putting an arm round each of her friends as they began to sway together in a mini circle. They began to sing along to "Use Somebody", with Callie and Arizona pulling a face at each other at the dubious tunefulness of Teddy's attempts.
The song was barely thirty seconds in when a massive grin spread across Teddy's face.
"Oh my god!" she squealed "He made it!"
She broke away from her two friends and ran across the dancefloor to launch herself at Owen, who had just entered the hall. He had been promising Teddy for weeks that he would try and make it back for her prom, but when he hadn't shown, she'd spent the first hour of the night bitching about the army, and men in general. The current scene suggested that all that was very quickly forgotten.
"I guess this means we should go back to the buffet?" Arizona turned back to the brunette, her arms slightly awkward as she tried to work out where to put them.
"Nah" Callie screwed up her nose "look around, plenty of girls are dancing together"
The blonde subtly surveyed the dancefloor and had to agree that in fact half of the couples seemed to be made up of female friends. She swallowed, and let her eyes lock back onto Callie's.
"Just put your arms around my neck" the brunette commanded.
Arizona nodded, draping her arms round Callie's neck as she felt familiar hands sliding round her lower back, pulling her close. Their bodies pressed against each other, and the blonde found herself nuzzling her face into Callie's shoulder, breathing in her scent.
"Is this ok?" the brunette whispered.
"Yeah" Arizona murmured "feels like a pretty fitting end to high school to me"
They swayed together gently, letting the words of the song fill their ears.
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice
Someone like me
"You feel really good" Callie breathed.
"I could stay like this forever" the blonde whispered back.
"Please do"
Present day
Smiling, Arizona took the brunette's hand "I'm glad I listened to you that night. You made dancing fun"
Callie laughed "Dancing is always fun. Especially with someone you're insanely attracted to"
"Insanely attracted to, huh?"
"Yep" the brunette replied decisively "I was back then, and I still am now"
A shy smile spread across the blonde's face "You never told me that before. I mean, not in so many words"
"Well in that case I'm very sorry, and promise to tell you over and over again until you get sick of hearing it"
Arizona laughed "I could never get sick of hearing anything you say"
"I'll remind you of that the next time you try and complain that I never shut up" the brunette teased.
"Would I ever?"
"Absolutely"
"Ok fine" the blonde relented "you get one free pass"
"Excellent" Callie grinned "now I just need to save up a really good rant"
"I mean, feel free to rant in Spanish whenever you want. It's totally hot"
"Hmm" a wicked grin spread over the brunette's face and she leant in so that her whispers couldn't be overheard by anyone in their car "is that because it reminds you of other times I lose control and explode in Spanish?"
Arizona cleared her throat, trying to disguise the wave of arousal that had been triggered by the brunette's words "I…I just like the way the language sounds, that's all"
"Sure" Callie winked at her.
"Anyway" the blonde stood up, somewhat overenthusiastically "this is our stop"
"Oh"
The brunette's mood seemed to immediately drop as they got off of the subway.
"So…" Arizona looked at Callie as they reached the top of the stairs, and deciding that she was reading the brunette right "you wanna know one of my favourite things about New York?"
"The hot dogs?"
Laughing, the blonde shook her head "No, but not so far off. You can basically get fro-yo 24 hours a day"
"Really?" a smile crept back onto Callie's face.
"Yep" Arizona grinned gleefully "so what do you say to extending this date a little, and I take you to my guilty secret?"
"I'd say hell yes"
Letting her hand slip into the brunette's, Arizona began to lead the way down the street to her favourite fro-yo store. It was barely a block from her apartment, and she'd stumbled upon it a couple of weeks into her residency when she'd just moved to the city. The fact that it barely ever seemed to shut meant that she was able to stop by for a sugar fix after a particularly gruelling night shift, or equally just mid afternoon when she fancied a treat. It had always been her little secret, something she indulged herself in alone, having built up a pleasant rapport with the staff who worked there.
Opening the door to the brightly coloured store, she smiled when she saw that it was one of her favourite servers working tonight. Alfonso was an effeminate gay man in his early twenties. Over the course of several late night visits, Arizona had learned that he'd come to the States from Mexico to study medicine at NYU, and picked up night shifts at the fro-yo store to try and cover some of his expenses. She saw a lot of her young self in him, plus the way he swore in Spanish about rude customers totally reminded her of Callie.
"Well hey there, long time no see" Alfonso grinned as the two women approached the counter.
"Hey Alfonso" Arizona returned his grin.
"And who is this total hottie?" he asked, turning to Callie.
"Ok, I love this guy" the brunette smiled.
"Cal, this is Alfonso, my total favourite fro-yo queen, Alfonso, this is Callie, my…date"
Alfonso's eyes widened "Holy hell. You're Callie. Like, THE Callie?"
"Well if she wasn't, this would be super awkward right now" the blonde teased.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say yeah, I'm 'the' Callie" the brunette raised an eyebrow "either that, or you have some real coincidental luck with women's names"
"Nope, just the one Callie"
"And you know about me?" Callie turned to Alfonso.
"Sure I do" he shrugged "I mean, it took me a while to get to the bottom of why little miss thang over her was so terminally single, but eventually I got the truth out of her. Nobody compared to her lost love. Although I have to say, her description of you totally failed to do justice to the hotness"
"Ok thanks Alfonso" Arizona blushed, taking the brunette's hand and pulling her towards the yoghurt dispensers.
Callie thought about protesting, but realising how embarrassed the blonde was, decided to let herself be lead across the store. They each took a cup, and the brunette's eyes widened at the selection of flavours available. It was a hell of long way from the single ice cream vendor in Newport.
Both women made their choices, and then moved on to the toppings section. As always, Arizona went for maximum sugar, loading hers with oreos and jelly candy. Callie chose to have slightly less of a sweetness overload, and added some fruit to hers.
Alfonso just smirked as he ran up their totals, and wafted Callie away as she tried to prevent Arizona paying for them both.
"So" the brunette pursed her lips as they sat down at a table "you've been talking about me to the fro-yo guy, huh?"
"Maybe" Arizona blushed again "but just Alfonso. And I guess he's kind of a friend"
"Just how often do you come in here?"
"I…occasionally?"
"Uh huh" Callie shook her head "as a doctor, you really should be more worried about diabetes"
"I'm fine Calliope" the blonde narrowed her eyes, but then added a wink.
"I'll just have to keep an eye on you"
Arizona smiled "Feel free to do just that. Because my eyes are going to be very much on you"
"Smooth Robbins. Although I guess I am, what was it now? Oh yeah, a total hottie" the brunette grinned.
"He wasn't wrong"
"So what exactly did you tell Alfonso about me?"
"Just…" the blonde paused, eating a spoonful of fro-yo as her eyes remained on Callie's "the truth, I guess. Or at least some of it. That I'd tried dating, but it became very quickly apparent that I was never really going to let anybody in, because I was still completely hung up on you. That I couldn't move on emotionally because my heart wasn't ready to let you go"
"Ari…" the brunette reached out sympathetically, covering Arizona's hand with her own.
"It's ok" Arizona squeezed the brunette's hand "I made my peace with it. And besides, it looks like my eternal pining over you eventually paid off"
"So…just how many people did you try dating before you came to that conclusion?"
The blonde's forehead creased "Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking how many people I slept with after…or before, you?"
"No" Callie looked down "sorry no, that's totally not something I wanted to ask. At least, not right now"
"We'll park that conversation for another time" the blonde agreed "but I want you to know that you weren't the only one who was a mess after I left. I didn't go on a single date for the first two years of my undergrad degree. My classmates assumed I was a virgin, saving myself for marriage or something, and I didn't care to correct them. So if you're wondering whether I ran away from Newport and jumped straight into bed with the first woman I could find, the answer is emphatically no"
"Thank you. You didn't need to share that with me, but thank you"
"It's ok to be jealous" Arizona said quietly "I know I am"
"I know but…I have no right to be. We weren't together…I mean, we weren't ever officially together, let alone once we hadn't seen each other for years"
"Nobody ever said that jealousy was a rational emotion. And I think a bit of it is healthy. It shows you care. So long as a person doesn't let it consume them, then I think it's ok"
"So…it's ok that I was jealous of Carina then?" the brunette smiled hopefully.
"I think I'd be more worried if you hadn't been"
"Just promise me one thing?"
"Anything"
"Never try to make me jealous on purpose"
"Callie" the blonde squeezed her hand, looking straight into her eyes "I'm not here to play games. I…like you. A lot. And I can't promise that I won't mess up sometimes. I'm not perfect. But I promise you I will never do anything deliberately to hurt you"
"I…like" Callie paused, smiling widely "you too"
"And that feels like a good time for me to walk you back to your hotel"
"Ok" the brunette smiled sadly as they waved goodbye to Alfonso and left the store "I really don't want this date to end though"
"I know" Arizona wrapped an arm round her "but it has to end so that the next one can start"
Callie squeezed the blonde back "You always know just what to say"
"So that means you agree that there's gonna be a second date then?"
"As if that was ever in doubt. Does it make me sound too keen if I ask if it can be tomorrow?"
"No" the blonde chuckled "I would've been disappointed to have to wait any longer than that"
"Ok" Callie grinned "and this time, it's my turn to take you out"
"Are you sure? I mean I really don't mind…"
"I'm sure" the brunette interrupted "it'll give me an excuse to start exploring the city"
"Ok" Arizona agreed with a smile.
All too soon, they reached the front of Callie's hotel.
"So…" the blonde bit her lip "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Unless you want to…" Callie nodded up to indicate her room.
Arizona reached out a hand to cup the brunette's cheek "Believe me, I would love nothing more than to follow you up to your room right now, but we both know what would happen and that's the opposite of us taking this slow"
"I know" Callie said softly, stepping in to wrap her arms around the blonde, her lips hovering by Arizona's ear "tell me what you think would happen"
"Callie…" the blonde moaned.
"Just to give us both something to think about"
Arizona swallowed, determined to make the brunette feel the same wave of arousal that was currently gushing through her.
"I think we'd end up with my tongue buried between your legs…" she rasped "making you come over and over until you were begging me to stop"
"Oh my god" Callie gasped, her fingers digging into the blonde's back.
"Was that enough of an answer for you?" Arizona pulled back, smirking.
"Yeah, you…god, you drive me crazy"
"The feeling is very, very mutual. So now, I'm going to kiss you goodnight, and then go home and think about what we could be doing in your hotel room right now"
The brunette inhaled, closing her eyes in a desperate attempt to keep control of herself "Ok, you win this one"
Arizona grinned, before leaving a lingering kiss on the brunette's lips "Goodnight Calliope"
"Night Arizona. And thank you, tonight was perfect"
No, thought Arizona as she watched Callie walk away, you're perfect.