The city streets were slick with a cold rain that had fallen an hour or so earlier, and the streetlights were reflected in the puddles that had formed, making for a night almost as full of sparkle as Las Vegas. Callie directed her low sports car according to instructions Arizona gave her, her pace slowing as she realized she didn't really want to take Arizona home yet.
They had stayed until after midnight. Addison Forbes, her bestfriend and old college roommate, had showed up and danced with Arizona and with Aria and the four of them had laughed and talked for a long time.
Some things about Arizona had surprised and intrigued Callie. She just had to remind herself Arizona was the same sort of operator her sister Teddy had turned out to be. Which was the reason she had asked for her help in the first place.
"Do you think in the end your mother believed it?" Arizona asked Callie.
"It doesn't really matter. I think she's finally starting to accept the fact that I'm not marrying anyone, especially not someone she pushes at me."
Arizona was quiet for a moment, then said softly, "She loves you, you know."
Callie glanced at her pretty profile. "Of course she loves me. That's just the problem."
"Be kind to her." Arizona sighed. "You're lucky you have a mother."
Callie didn't answer, but she did insist on accompanying Arizona to her door. As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Arizona turned to Callie and smiled.
"I just want to thank you for this evening."
"Thank me?" Arizona's face looked so lovely in the dim light, Callie found herself wanting to stare, to fix a copy of her picture in her mind forever.
"Yes." Her quick grin looked impish. "I actually had a lovely time, despite all the ups and downs. It's been so long…." Her voice trailed off and her grin faded.
Callie caught the note of pain in her voice and looked at Arizona curiously. "I assume you're not married," she said casually. "Are you dating anyone special?" She hated to admit how closely she was watching Arizona's face for her reaction to that question.
"I'm not dating anyone at all," she said firmly, her chin high. "And I don't plan to. I gave all that up a long time ago."
Turning toward her, Callie couldn't resist touching her cheek. "Who hurt you, Arizona?" she asked softly, searching her blue eyes. "What happened?"
Arizona lowered her gaze, avoiding her scrutiny. "That was a long time ago. It's irrelevant now."
Callie frowned, wondering why she felt such a strong, irrational desire to get revenge for her. The impulse was ridiculous. Arizona wasn't hers. And the elevator had arrived.
"I'm glad you had a good time," Callie told her as she escorted her aboard. "Even though I had to blackmail you into going with me."
She laughed, her mood changing like a summer day. She led Callie off and into a hallway. "Here's my apartment."
"I guess this is it." Callie's smile was lopsided. "Shortest engagement on record."
The urge to kiss her grew in Callie's chest and she started toward her, hungry for another taste of her warmth. Deep down she knew if she started anything with Arizona right now, she wouldn't be able to stop at just a kiss, she would need more, they would need more. Their chemistry was too strong to be tamed down with just a kiss. As the desire grew more powerful, all Callie could think of was throwing caution to the window. But something in the look on Arizona's face, some fear, some warning stopped her.
Looking away, Arizona quickly fumbled for her key and fit it into the door.
"Well, good night," she said brightly, gave Callie one last smile, and disappeared into her apartment.
Callie stood staring at the closed door, uttered a low oath, and finally turned back toward the elevator.
She can't allow herself to fall for this woman!
Arizona let herself into her apartment with a sigh. She felt like Cinderella coming home from the ball.
"Goodbye Princess," she murmured to herself. "Hello boring old life."
"Arizona?"
"Oh!" She jumped, then saw her sister getting up out of a chair in the darkened living room. "Teds! What are you doing here?" she cried, her hand over her heart.
"Do you have it?" Teddy's gaze raked over her. "Did you get the folder?"
Arizona sighed. "Teddy, I told you I would call you first thing in the morning."
Her sister's eyebrows came together as she realized what her answer was. "That's some dress. I didn't know you had a date tonight."
Date! Arizona groaned silently. And suddenly she realized she couldn't tell Teddy about what had happened. She just couldn't talk about Callie with her.
"Teds, I do have a life," she said, avoiding her sister's gaze and already hating herself for not telling the whole truth. "And as for the folder, no, I wasn't able to get it. I'll have to try again."
Teddy sulked, but it was late and she left soon after. Arizona carefully took off the beautiful dress and got ready for bed, but she lay awake for a long time, mulling over all that had happened.
The time she'd spent in Callie's arms had been magical. She felt the thrill again as she went back over each scene. Callie was a wonderful woman in many ways. If only things were different…
But things were the way they were. She had been in love before. Lauren Boswell had been just as beautiful, just as charming, and she had turned out to be a liar and a cheat. That realization had stunned her, because she considered herself a fairly intelligent woman and she hadn't caught a hint of it on her own. If she could be so wrong once, how could she ever trust her heart?
And then there was Teddy. Everything that was good in her life seemed to have come at her sister's expense. There had been a time when Teddy had given up everything to make Arizona's life easier. She owed her so much. And all Teddy wanted was her love letter to Callie back so that she could put an end to that episode of her life. Instead of getting it back, Arizona had spent a wonderful evening with the woman who was holding on to it.
Why couldn't she tell Teddy the truth? After all, she had been blackmailed into going out with Callie. And it was all Teddy's fault. And yet, here she was, unable to tell her. That should prove to her how impossible it would be to even dream of any sort of relationship developing with Callie.
You've barely known the woman for a few hours, she reminded herself. It was a Cinderella adventure. But you didn't leave any slippers behind, and no prince is going to come looking for you. Grow up!
No slippers perhaps, but Arizona had forgotten the little flashlight she had used to look for the folder the night before. It was the first thing Callie saw when she went into her office in the morning. She picked it up and stared at it.
Her mind went back over the previous evening. Such a short time ago, and yet somehow things had changed because of it. Callie knew she felt different, had a new sense of restlessness. Was it all because of Arizona? Tossing the flashlight into the air, she caught it handily and smiled, then set off to find her.
Callie finally located Arizona in a conference room she had taken over for her work. The table was covered with sketches, and a half-painted mural sat propped against one wall. Arizona herself was bending over a plan she was editing at her easel.
Arizona jumped up when she saw Callie, her eyes wide, a smudge of blue paint on her nose. Callie looked at the way the sun lit her upturned face and she realized Arizona made her smile for no reason at all.
"Hi," she said, looking down into her blue eyes and holding out the flashlight.
"Hi," Arizona said back, taking the flashlight and murmuring her thanks. "Oh, I dropped the dress at the cleaners on the first floor. Here's the claim ticket for it."
Callie pocketed it and looked around at her work, her attention drawn especially to a long mural with fluffy animals cavorting toward a pond where a cute frog waited for them.
"It's just an idea for the day care center walls," she said. "I'm meeting with Miranda Bailey, the director of human resources, after lunch to give her my thoughts and see how she likes them."
The drawings looked darn cute to Callie. "You seem to know a lot about babies," she said casually, glancing at her sideways.
"I'm thinking of specializing in day care centers and preschools," she admitted.
Callie frowned at her curiously. "You don't have any children of your own. What makes you so interested?"
Arizona shrugged. "That may be why. I don't expect I'll ever have any of my own. Marriage isn't in my plans."
For some reason, that sounded immoral to Callie. Someone as beautiful and downright nice as Arizona should reproduce in kind.
Arizona saw the skepticism in Callie's face and decided to try to make her understand. "I almost got married once," she told her as she untied the apron she wore to protect her sweater and skirt from the paints. "Then when I found out the truth about the woman I thought I was so crazy in love with, I realized I wasn't a very good judge of character. So I doubt I'll risk making a mistake like that again."
Callie frowned, partly to cover up the fact that just watching her take off an apron was giving her a bit of a buzz. "That seems a little simplistic. One bad experience and you sign off on marriage forever?"
She turned and laughed at Callie, pushing her curly mass of blond hair back behind her ear. "Look who's talking! You're the one who's blackmailing people to avoid having to commit. You pretended to be planning to marry me, and you don't even know me."
Suddenly, Callie wanted to kiss her in the worst way. "I know you now," she said, leaning closer, looking at her lush, beautiful mouth.
Arizona shook her head. "You hardly know me at all." Her eyes darkened and she took a step backward. "I may be tougher than you think." She stared at Callie sternly. "Tell me. Have you reconsidered giving me my sister's love letter?"
AN - so what do you guys think? Should Arizona be a bit lenient towards Callie? How long will Callie be able to reel her emotions in? Should Callie just take the easy 'blackmail Arizona into bed' route instead?
AN - thank you for all the wonderful, wonderful reviews! Yep another fic is just around the corner and maybe a SS update...maybe!
