Chapter 2: Airport and Strip-Club
Monday morning
"May I help you, Sir..." a fat man, who had observed Cuddy for a few minutes, asked House politely, as he already bent downward to House´s bag wanting to put it on the baggage conveyor belt of the Las Vegas´ airport. Cuddy, who stood next to House and laid her case on the baggage conveyor belt by herself, chuckled gleefully as she watched that bizarre situation which played out in front of her. House glared at her, placing his cane firmly at the top of his bag, which caused the stranger to stand up not able to succeed. He looked at House in question.
House faked a smile, before he answered with perfect false kindness in his voice: "That won´t be necessary, Sir... my wife will handle that for me." Demonstratively he took Cuddys elbow and pulled her closer to him.
"Your...?" the stranger blinked puzzled.
Now it was House, who smirked. "Yes, my wife." He stressed the word 'wife' with pleasure. "So you can stop trying to impress her by helping a poor cripple..."
The complexion of the man was suddenly very similar to that tawdry dark-red neckerchief which was noosed around his plump collar. Abashed he stuttered something House couldn´t understand before he fled.
Annoyed, Cuddy pulled back her elbow. "You´re really enjoying this, right?"
House shrugged his shoulders causally. "I´m just trying to prepare myself for playing my role as your husband..." He distributed his case on the baggage conveyor belt by his own hand but regretted that thoughtless action immediately. As the resultant pain that shot through his leg like fire mirrored itself in his eyes, Cuddy placed gentle hand on his arm worried. "House?"
Angry about himself, he bit his bottom lip. He hated that pitiful expression in her eyes.... He couldn´t stand that 'I-need-to-save-the-cripple'-look. He didn´t want her to see him as someone who needed to be saved, he wanted her to see him as an equal... Frustrated he gazed around the airport, searching for distraction. Then his look grazed a couple, which stood near by the two them in front of one of those many souvenir-shops obviously fishing for some postcards and a sudden idea enlightened his mind. Full of anticipation, he smirked, before he turned to Cuddy and watched her, frowning slightly.
Suspiciously she arched a brow. "What?"
"Hm..." Thoughtfully, House ran his hand over his chin. "You should also try to prepare yourself for your role... We should use our time left expediently." He looked back at the couple and limped towards the souvenir-shop. "Hurry up, let´s observe this couple... Maybe you´ll find some inspiration..."
"You mean that old guy and that girly in that mini-skirt?" Still suspicious, she followed him.
"You should wear skirts like that also... Although I definitely prefer your kind of tops... more cleavage..."
Cuddy twisted her eyes unnerved. "And for what role should that expressive insight prepare me for? The slutty school girl?"
House leered. "I doubt, that you need to prepare yourself for that role, Cuddy. You honestly don´t need research for that one, right?"
"Research?"
"Yes, research... If we would observe other married couples, we might learn how to play our roles better...", he explained, suppressing a grin.
Cuddy snorted. "Those two are never married... Either she´s his daughter or his lady-love..."
"That´s a massive inspiration!" His eyes brightened enthusiastically.
"I´m not paying for a lady-love either, House."
"You are heartless..."
"That´s why we made such a great match, darling..."
Confused, House stopped limping and looked at Cuddy. "Darling?"
"Doing some research too..." Cuddy answered. "It would seem odd, if I would still call you by your last name, now that we´re married..."
"Then call me Greg..."
"Greg... Hm..." Cuddy pretended to think about it. "I still prefer 'Darling'..." she smiled gleefully. "It suits our great love so much better..." Her smile got wider. "Or how about Sugar? Muffin? Honey?
With a nauseated expression House turned around and limped towards the souvenir-shop again. Meanwhile that couple was gone to another shop.
Smirking, she went after him. "Wait for me, my heart..."
"Perfect", House growled. "You call me your heart and I call you snow queen... It´ll be awesome..."
Cuddy laughed.
"Darling, it´s so nice from you to let me sit by the window..." Cuddy explained with big eyes, including flattering eye lashes, and placed her left hand at his arm nearly tenderly.
"I should throw you out of that window...", House growled quietly and tried to adjust himself in his seat, his frustration growing. If he had only been a bit faster, that precious window seat would be his... But as soon they had the permission to step on board, Cuddy had taken the advantage of having two healthy legs and had rushed past him to the window seat... And now she was making fun out of him. She was having much too much fun for his taste... He gritted his teeth, which caused Cuddy to smile brightly. They had been flying now for an hour and House was still sulking like a little boy...
Unnerved House turned to one of the stewardesses and ordered two double whisky.
Cuddy knitted her eye brows. "I don´t like whisky, House."
"Therefore you drank a lot of it on Saturday..." He glanced at her deridingly. "Besides I wasn´t going to share with you... I just ordered a double, because they don´t make quadruple in airplanes."
She frowned.
"What?" The right corner of his mouth bent upwards slightly. "The liver grows with it´s duties, right?"
Shaking her head, she let go of his arm and starred out of the window. Underneath the plane she saw some small clouds. 'Weird', she thought. Those clouds looked nearly like a female body... A sudden memory-fragment hit her without warning.
Two days before, saturday evening
"Is it hot in here or is this just you?" a male voice whispered suddenly close to her ear and nearly made her dropping her champagne-glass. Annoyed she turned around to the voice, which belonged to a huge handsome middle aged blond male, whom Cuddy identified as the rich edificial-mogul who had organized this fundraiser... The key-word here was definitely 'rich'. He already had tried to make a hit on her at the last three fundraisers where they had met... Also with such dumb patters like today, but he also had made a generous donor for her newest project...
Cuddy suppressed the urge to slap him for his dense verdict, concentrated herself on his massive assets and even raised a smile, while she tried to remember his name...
"Ian McBride!" Her voice sounded honestly delighted . Cuddy giggled as if his stupid chat-up line had been a charming joke. Her own stagecraft never ceased to amaze her... Yet she only needed to hope, that she´d remembered the right name...
"Lisa Cuddy!" He grinned and starred at down the low neckline of her black dress, his hands caressing her arms. The name must´ve been correct... "So, how is the most beautiful woman in this room feeling?"
Flummery... Either that name had definitely been his or her breasts had hypnotized him so much, that he wasn´t even able to remember it any longer... Cuddy tried hard to not roll her eyes. "I´m fine, thanks for asking." She smiled brightly. "Although I´m a bit worried bout the financial aspects of our new premature-infant-aid..." If she already needed to be nice to his money... uhm... him... needed to be nice to him then she could at least try to cash in on his fascination for her breasts... Her smile seemed worried now as well. Damn, she was good!- She could still start a carrier as an actress in "Prescription Passion" in case of she would ever be fired because of House´s escapades. Probably her first job, that would bring her House´s respect... That thought made her grin truly for the first time within hours.
"Worried?" Ian dug deeper, his left hand now playing with one of her curls which had escaped her elegant updo, while his right arm wandered from her arm to her back. Finally he teared his gaze away from her breasts. The ruttish sparkle in his eyes made her feel uncomfortable. "What would you think of going to a quieter place where we would be able discuss your worries further? We could have a little dinner too." His right hand fondled her ass. "Wanna get some dessert, Gorgeous?"
"Don´t think so.", a dominant male voice replied sharply. Hurriedly Cuddy broke free from Ian, starring at House, who had suddenly appeared right behind Ian out of nowhere. He looked so stern in his plain black suit... So serious. That impression was amplified by his tense face. Cuddy could nearly her him gritting his teeth. His eyes, with whom he fixated Ian, were cold as ice. "Her ass is fat enough." He gazed at Cuddy and his eyes got softer. "Not that I wouldn´t love her ass..." He faced Ian again. His voice cut as sharp as a scalpel. "And now please excuse us." He grabbed Cuddy´s nearly empty glass of champagne out of her hand and pressed it into Ian´s. "But my 'gorgeous' boss and I have more important stuff to do than to beg for some money... Like saving lives." To Cuddy he said: "My team just called, they have an emergency..." then he turned around and strode to exit.
"An emergency?", Cuddy asked as soon as she caught up with him.
"There was none... That stupid scumbag just pissed me off...". House explained cranky.
A bit speechless Cuddy followed him.
"What?" Suspiciously he arched a brow.
"Nothing..." She cleared her throat. "I´m just not used to you being noble..."
House snorted. "You should know better... As if I ever would allow anyone to pick on my three best friends..."
Bewilderment mirrored itself in Cuddy´s face.
"I meant your twins..." House explained and let his glanced at her breasts. "And of course your gorgeous ass."
Cuddy snorted. "Of course..."
He looked up again. "So what?" He grinned. "Are you, your ass and your twins ready to leave?"
"I actually didn´t thought about going to a strip-bar...", Cuddy growled half an hour later and reluctantly sat down next to House on an old wood stool in front the stage. She already regretted, that she had been so naïve to follow him... She should´ve known better...
A blonde with big breasts was just dancing on the stage, wearing only some tiny, tiny pants.
"Shame." House replied, nibbling on his beer, which just had been served together wis a glass of champagne for Cuddy by a nearly naked waitress, and gave the waitress twenty of his one-dollar-notes. "For my taste, you should think about strip-bars more often..." His gaze wandered to her cleavage.
Sighing Cuddy placed a finger under his chin and forced him to look up. "The naked breasts are over there." She nodded to the stage.
"But-"
"I won´t undress myself, House..."
"Sure?- Even if I tell you, that I´m having enough one-dollar-notes to make a C out of your B-cup?"
Cuddy shook her head in amusement. "Not for some lousy one-dollar-notes..."
"Kill-joy..."
"Tightwad."
"That´s not true!", House defended himself. "At least I payed eight dollars for an one-dollar-beer and whole fucking twelve dollars for a ridiculously small glass champagne."
"You´re right, you´re like mother Teresa... Always giving and giving and never taking anything back...", Cuddy replied cynically.
House chuckled. "Therefore I´m nearly a saint, so it couldn´t be such a sin, if you´d undress yourself for me..."
Monday morning
Already the third peanut joined the two others, which awaited it in Cuddy´s decollete and interrupted Cuddy´s memories rudely.
"Cut that crap!", she scolded House who already targeted her neckline with the fourth peanut. Unnerved the picked the nuts out her top.
"But I´m bored!", he whined.
"Your problem..."
"It´s not, because this is all your fault...", House pouted, eating the fourth peanut. "If you´d let me sit at the window, looking at the landscape would´ve distracted me... Now all I can do is to distract me otherwise... Like throwing peanuts at your cleavage, for example."
Stunned, Cuddy shook her head. "You´re so childish."
He smirked. "That´s the youthful charm, you fell in love with, snow queen."
THANK YOU SO MUCH for reviewing, people. I´m really grateful, cause feedback's the best to make one write faster ^-^
I hope, you enjoyed this chapter too... Please be a doll and drop me a few lines (Yes, I know, I´m begging again... But what am I supposed to do? - I´m just weak, when it comes to my writing... wasted another weekend writing this instead of making scribbles for my university...) I will send a little preview to everyone who reviews (Yes, I´m also doing that bribe-thing again :-P)