Back at One
Chapter 16
When Arizona returned to the house, she found Callie sitting at the island looking through a magazine. She quietly walked over and snatched up the magazine, causing the brunette to let out a whine and turn to face the thief.
"Really, all this trashy gossip is what has you so enthralled?"
"What if I like looking at the pictures? Maybe I'm interested in photography," Callie deadpanned.
"You mean interested in good looking people? That's most people, Calliope. Nothing new there." Both ladies let out a small laugh.
"So, Calliope besides showing your current interest in photography, what do you have planned today?"
"Nothing that I can think of, maybe going for a swim."
"Well, would you like to accompany me? I want to go check out the Carter Mansion before I show it and I'd rather not do it alone."
"I figured you would have Mark do that. He probably knows the property and the details."
"Mark brought me home for reasons. We had a very interesting chat."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Get dressed and let's go. You're wasting daylight, Calliope."
Arizona winked and shoo'd Callie out of the room. Callie smiled at Arizona's avoidance.
She walked up the stairs and threw on a pair of jeans, a fitted purple tee shirt, and some worn in tennis shoes. She couldn't deny the fact that she was excited that Arizona was back home from her lunch date with Mark. She was disappointed when Arizona had gotten up to leave earlier. She loved their days off together. They were usually spent watching movies, relaxing, and talking about pointless things. It made Callie smile knowing that Arizona was opening up more of herself to her and asked her to enter her work life.
To Callie, work has always been something that she kept separate from her home life. Yes, when she used to come home she would tell Javi how her day was, but she never opened up about any of her cases or if she was stressed. She always believed that's the way it should have been. Work was like her home away from home; something she treasured even if it was difficult, something that was just hers. She didn't know if Arizona was the same way, but since that was the way she saw it, the fact that Arizona was sharing with her made her feel like she was on cloud nine.
Arizona and Callie pulled up to the mansion. The blonde stopped at the gate to enter the pass code and pulled in as the gate opened. She pulled up in front of the steps leading to the walkway to the front door before both girls stepped out of the car and surveyed the outside of the house.
"It's beautiful," Callie breathed out.
"How about we check out the inside?" Arizona said jiggling the keys. Callie smiled and walked behind Arizona. Upon entering the house, Callie was completely blown away. Yes, considering her family had money, she had seen plenty of expensive houses and mansions, but something about this one spoke to her.
Arizona slipped her key into one of the doors and pushed it open. Callie loved the entry way; a long table lined one of the walls with a key holder over it and against the left side was a small bench with a shoe holder beside it. Callie watched as Arizona pulled open the next door stepping in slowly. She instantly fell in love. The hard wood flooring was breathtaking.
"So Arizona, explain this house to me like you would anyone else."
"Okay. First, I guess I should start with the fact that the family that owns this house lived in it for about fifteen years before moving to France. They kept it for a while as a vacation home. A lot of the times their children would come spend time here with their spouses. The owners past away recently and left the house to their children. The children no longer like being here because they don't want to tarnish their memories. Being here makes them want to contact their parents and it hurts when they can't."
Callie just listened to the woman before her speak. She began thinking of how she could do it all day every day. Something about her voice always soothed her.
"The floors throughout most of the first floor are African Rosewood or Bubinga. Here, to the left, is the living area." Arizona began walking toward the middle of the room. Looking up, the blonde pointed, "High vaulted ceilings with beautiful Bocci Pendant Lights give the room a modern feel. There is a two sided fireplace to your left. There is also a steel spiral staircase that, in an interesting way, seemingly hides the hallway."
As Callie looked around, she could already picture the furniture she would put in a living room like this. She could just imagine her and Arizona lying on the couch by the fire place sharing a glass of wine. She looked up to where Arizona was looking around and touching things. Arizona began walking behind the staircase and Callie felt like she was being pulled to follow. Callie turned left looking down the 'hidden' hallway. Together, they walked to the very end, walking straight into a bedroom with a queen sized bed and mirror clad sliding closet doors. Callie listened and walked behind Arizona as she followed her into the next bedroom and then into the library.
"Ok, don't judge me for this, but I believe this is my favorite room. Could you imagine books everywhere?" Callie exclaimed excitedly.
"You mean to tell me you are interested in literature and not just photography?" Arizona feigned shock throwing her hand on her chest sarcastically. "Oh wait, there is a magazine rack beside this bookshelf for your "photography."" Arizona winked.
The women shared a laugh and all Callie could think of was how she never wanted to lose this between them. The playful banter and silly moments were what Callie loved the most about their friendship.
"Now, Calliope, if you would follow me back into the living area and across the hall." Arizona began walking away passing the staircase and walking up to a pair of a subtle light blue stained glass doors.
"This kitchen has been remodeled and this is the finished product. Theses gray slate tiles accentuate the light cabinets with the black marble counter tops. If you look closely, you can see the flecks of blue that match the door and white. This L shaped island with a bench on the back is the most recent addition."
Callie fell in love with the island. The bench on the back with a table and two other chairs were beautifully placed. The top of the island, of course, matched the rest of the counter tops. It had a dishwasher and a wine rack built in on the other side. Above the island hung a stainless steel pot rack. All of the appliances garnishing the room were stainless steel. Callie looked around in awe.
"What is it?"
"I just love this. It's like a dream kitchen. Everything fits together perfectly and balances out. There is space to move around and a place to just hang out." Arizona watched as Callie walked to a corner in the kitchen near the stove. The Latina hopped up on the counter. "Oh yeah, just like home. I found my counter seat." Callie joked. She watched as the blonde looked at her in a way she couldn't place. She began thinking of how easily she and Arizona could fit into this kitchen. She would love to wake up and come sit on the counter while Arizona made breakfast. She could see Arizona reading the paper in the mornings while she fixed coffee, or them working together to prepare a meal when they were off. She didn't know why but she couldn't imagine any situation without Arizona being right in her vision.
"Come on Calliope, off the counter, you overgrown child." Arizona said locking fingers with the Latina and pulling her gently into the next room. "This dining room table seats ten. It is a dark cherry wood table with matching high backed chairs. This chandelier, valuing around $6,000, is a 9 light Schonbek Olde World chandelier." Arizona let Callie walk around and admire the room for a moment. The next room over was an office that Callie wandered into on her own.
"So, I have a question Calliope," Callie just raised her eyebrow in question. "Tour inside or out next?"
"Definitely outside, Ms. Robbins." Callie winked causing the blonde to blush. She watched as the blush spread across Arizona's face and it warmed her inside.
The two walked back into the kitchen and then out the French doors. They walked closely down the dark stone walkway. Both sides of the walkway were garnished with flowers. Once they arrived at the end of the walkway, they were met with a wade-in pool with black marble flooring.
"At night, the lights turn different colors and cause the water to glow. I have to come out here one night to experience that." Arizona said mostly to herself and all Callie could do was think about how she wanted to experience it with her. To the right of the pool was a table for six, light wood, with six high chairs and a small cabana beside a kitchenette. Callie walked into the cabana seeing inside a shower and a bathroom. When she walked out the back side of the cabana, she was met with two outdoor showers. She thought of how the place would be amazing for her and Arizona's parties, when Arizona got comfortable enough to have one again. Callie walked further out and saw that, in a more secluded area of the yard, there was a hot tub and sitting area.
The ladies walked back inside and into the hallway. Arizona walked toward what looked to be a dead end. She pulled on an almost unnoticeable handle and the wall seemed to slide away.
"How did you know about that?"
"Calliope, I may not have toured the house before, but I did have notes and details that I studied up on. You haven't asked that question until now." Arizona laughed at her friend. The two stepped into the hidden elevator and rode down.
"This, Calliope, is the third floor. This is also the only way down."
"What if the elevator breaks?" Callie asked worriedly causing Arizona to fight laughter.
"There have been no reports of this happening, but there is also a secret staircase in the back of the house. Ok, to the right we have a fully furnished game room. It has two pool tables, five arcade games, table tennis, and video game area. Now over this way," Arizona started walking out into the hall and to the right, "is the home theater."
Callie went to sit down in one of the middle chairs, rocking back and forth. Arizona went and sat beside her. Callie looked over at her, it was pitch black in the room besides the floor lights.
"I think I could get used to something like this."
"I could, too." Arizona admitted admiring the woman beside her.
Callie leaned over and laid her head on Arizona's shoulder. Arizona got butterflies but didn't want to move, scared she would disturb the moment. What Arizona didn't know was that Callie was experiencing the same unexplainable butterflies that only confused her.
Soon the women were back in the elevator and walking up the stairs with Arizona leading. With every step, Arizona had Callie in a trance watching her body as she ascended the stairs.
"To the right here, we have two other bedrooms," Arizona showed the rooms quickly. "Here, in front of the staircase, is a sunroom." Arizona took the one step up into the room. "It has a wall sized window, an entertainment center with dvd racks, and some contemporary paintings lining the walls. If you go through these French doors over here," Arizona pointed between the sun room and the master bedroom on the left, "there is a veranda overlooking the whole back yard."
"This is breathtaking."
"Here is the master bedroom. The gray walls would be great to keep the place dim at any time of day. There is a fireplace mounted into the wall over here with a bay window on the opposite side."
Callie went to sit in the window seat and watched as Arizona studied the room. She knew she was finding little things to help sell the house. She knew the way her brain was working to describe the things before her. Callie was stuck with her eyes on the blonde. With every room in this house, Callie could only think of what it would be like for her to own a similar home in the future. It also kept running through her head that she wanted Arizona to share it with. Callie grew more and more concerned at the thoughts in her head. She could see Arizona and herself sharing this room. How they could sit in the bay window and cuddle up while watching the fire or laying and watching their favorite tv shows on the 62" flat screen tv.
"One last thing to see," Arizona spoke, breaking Callie from her flowing ideas. "This is the master bathroom. The floors are white marble. It has his and hers black marble floating mounted sinks. The classic black marble claw foot bathtub and the glass enclosed shower. The shower head is an LED rainfall shower head hanging straight from the ceiling. There are a few black and white paintings and pictures on the walls, and one last thing. There is a built in sound system."
"Freaky," Callie mumbled under her breath with a smirk.
"Yeah, I love the style but the lack of privacy would worry me."
"When you're with someone you love fully, I don't think privacy would be an issue." Callie countered looking down as she spoke.
"Maybe, maybe not." Arizona said linking arms with Callie, just wanting to be close to her.
Arizona and Callie returned home. Callie spent the ride home discussing things she noticed and tried to give some input on the mansion. Callie's brain was still going into overdrive from the thoughts she'd been having in that house. If she were being honest with herself, she had been having them more than just at the house. She had them quite a bit lately, ever since their night dancing in the living room.
Callie was confused. She didn't know what to do. How could she tell Arizona what she was feeling? How would she react if she did? They we're both straight. Arizona had been through so much, she didn't need Callie unloading emotions on her that she didn't return. She didn't need to feel awkward living with Callie; they had a really great thing going as it was.
Callie was so lost in thought she didn't hear anything the blonde was saying to her. Arizona put a hand on each side of Callie's face and made her look at her.
"Earth to Callie," she said and watched the realization dawn on the Latina. She slid her hands down and they ended up on Callie's arms. "Where did you go?"
"Nowhere."
Arizona, unsatisfied with the answer, contemplated on making the woman before her talk, or just letting it go. She settled on the latter. "Well, I was trying to thank you for going with me today. It meant the world. I loved sharing that with you. You really helped with your input and the way I can show the house now, some points I can make."
"Glad I could help," Callie answered honestly.
"Would you like to go swimming now? We've done something I wanted to do, now the tables are turned."
"Yeah, I'd love to."
The two women parted ways and changed into their swimsuits. Callie grabbed two towels, knowing Arizona would forget hers like she always did, and made her way out the back sliding door. Callie walked to the edge of the pool to the ladder. She held onto the railing and dipped her foot in the water before walking a bit further and placing her towels and cell phone on her lawn chair.
The sun was setting and it was an amazing view. Callie walked over and slowly lowered herself into the pool facing the sunset.
Callie heard Arizona come out of the house and turned to offer her a smile before looking back to the sky. Arizona walked over to the pool and mirrored Callie's previous actions, dipping her foot into the water. Callie looked at Arizona taking in her 'swimming attire'. She was so used to the sight by now. Most people would wonder about her wearing a tee shirt and shorts into the pool, but Callie knew.
Callie knew all the pain she was trying to hide. All the scars that lie under those clothes. Even when it was just the two of them, Arizona still had yet to let Callie see her. Callie had probably seen more of her than anyone else, but Arizona was still careful. She would never face away from Callie, even when Callie wrapped her ribs, she wrapped them with Arizona facing her and just reaching around. Callie watched the blonde walk over to her lawn chair, pull hers up to it and placed her phone on it.
"Crap," Arizona sighed.
"Arizona, I grabbed a towel for you. It's under mine." Arizona laughed softly. Callie always took care of her. Everything this woman did to show how well she knew her warmed her heart.
Callie couldn't take her eyes off the woman before her. She watched as Arizona again dipped her foot into the pool. She stood there and gave one of Callie's favorite faces, she called it her shifty-eyed confusion. Callie sat in shock never expecting the next thing that happened. Arizona reached down and pulled off her swim shorts leaving her in just bikini bottoms and her tee shirt. Callie didn't even know what to say. She herself was probably wearing Arizona's confused look.
Arizona was trying to pretend like she wasn't, but she tried to sneak a glance over at Calliope to see if she was going to say something or if she was looking at her different. Arizona was still ashamed of her scars and was embarrassed to let anyone see them, but she was comfortable with the raven haired beauty before her. She . . . she loved her.
All day, all Arizona could do was think back to the conversation she'd had with Mark. All the points he'd made played over and over again in her head. She replayed all of the feelings Callie had made her feel. She studied how easily Callie could make her happy, could give her butterflies, and could make every other aspect of life disappear just with her smile, making her the only thing Arizona could truly focus on.
Callie moved her head quickly looking back at the sunset when the other woman glanced her way. When Arizona looked away from her Callie couldn't help to trace her legs with her eyes. Taking in her muscle tone, her legs were . . . breathtaking. Even her scars, as much as Callie hated knowing how they got there, added something that was unique to Arizona. And just like the woman Callie was describing, they were beautiful. To Callie, those scars meant strength. They were Arizona. They made her who she was.
Arizona didn't go for the slow approach. She dived head first into the pool and resurfaced on the other end. Callie dipped under the water and swam to the middle of the pool. When she resurfaced, Arizona was standing in front of her. Callie pushed her hair back with one hand, missing a strand of hair. Arizona reached forward to tuck it for the Latina and they both stopped and stared into each other's eyes, lost momentarily. Both of their mind's filling with thoughts neither of them knew how to voice.
Callie reached forward to grab the hand Arizona was retracting and pulled her back a little further into the shallow end. Both of the girls bent their knees keeping the water up to their shoulders. They floated all around the pool. Both lost in thought, silent, staring into each other's eyes, never getting further than a foot away from each other.
Callie studied Arizona, etching into memory every line of her face. She was beginning to think that the pro's to telling her had to outweigh the con's. The chance that Arizona might have feelings for her had to be worth the risk. She studied the shape of her lips, the places on her cheeks where her dimples popped when she smiled, on down to her neck and what she could see of her shoulders. She noticed something she had never noticed before. Sticking out of the seam of Arizona's shirt was a scar coming from her back.
"Arizona . . ." Callie breathed out while they were making their way back to the middle of the pool. She stationed herself against the side of the pool with Arizona standing in front of her. She definitely didn't know how this was going to go.
"Yes, Calliope?"
"You may get mad at me for asking this, but why do you always wear your shirt when we swim, it is just me and you here."
"Calliope. . ." Arizona sighed.
"I know you have . . . been through a lot, but it's just me. You will never turn your back to me. Do you not trust me?"
"Callie, no. I . . . I just can't." Arizona turned around facing away from Callie. Callie could see the small tremble going through her body. She knew Arizona was frustrated that she even asked and she knew she was upset. Was the shaking anger or tears? Though neither were good, Callie was hoping Arizona wasn't crying.
She couldn't take it when she saw the tremble once more. She stepped forward in the water and slowly wrapped her arms around Arizona making sure to give the blonde enough time to protest if she was going to. When the blue eyed beauty didn't say anything, she embraced her and pulled her back into her arms.
Callie pulled her back toward the side of the pool. She bent her knees making Arizona a seat on her lap. She held her tightly, trying to provide all the comfort she could. She knew Arizona was fighting not to cry as she could feel her stomach twitching. Callie slowly slipped her hand under Arizona's shirt and started rubbing circles with her thumb. Arizona rested her hands over Callie's arms, reveling in the feeling. They sat in the same position not wanting to move, not wanting to break the calm they had.
Callie sensed the way Arizona had let calm take over. She placed her chin gently on Arizona's shoulder and hugged her, smiling when she felt Arizona push on her arms to hug her back. When Callie leaned back her eyes once again went to the now noticed scar. She brought herself to her feet effectively standing Arizona up in front of her as well. The water was slightly above their hips.
Callie decided to take advantage of how relaxed Arizona had let herself become. She played with her hands on top of the water and slowly moved them into Arizona's body until she was just barely touching her thighs. Carefully, she worked her way slowly up to the hem of Arizona's shirt, not grabbing or tugging, just in place. Callie didn't seem to notice the way Arizona's head tilted back taking in the feel of Callie's hands on her.
Callie's slender fingers purposefully hooked, catching the end of Arizona's shirt. She slowly gathered the shirt in her hand, pulling up slowly. Taking her time to give Arizona room for refusal, the shirt made its way, excruciatingly slow, up the blonde's body. With a swift re-positioning of her hands she was ready to remove the shirt from Arizona's body completely. Arizona closed her eyes, lifting her hands above her body as she felt the shirt leave her skin completely. In seconds, the splat sound she heard let her know her shirt had been discarded somewhere behind Callie.
Arizona could feel the eyes burning into her back. She was waiting on the scoff of disgust or a sound of pity, neither of which she wanted. She waited and waited. Was it that bad? She knew this was a bad idea. She knew better than to get caught up in the feeling of Callie.
Callie watched as Arizona tensed up. She watched the muscles flex in her back. She reached forward to Arizona's hands and grabbed them rubbing calming circles on them. She knew Arizona didn't know how to react.
In truth, Callie didn't know how to react. She was angry looking at this, at what someone could do. How could anyone be this cruel? In the center of Arizona's back, between her shoulder blades, right above her bra clasp was a huge spiral circle; the eye of a stove burned into Arizona's back. The edges of the circle was uneven and jagged due to obvious struggle. This woman in front of her was the strongest person she would ever meet, which only made her respect her even more.
There would never be any sound of disgust or pity from Callie. Maybe looks of admiration, but never anything less. Callie tore her eyes away from the biggest scar and looked at the various others. None of which she could decipher the cause of: long lines, short lines, circles.
Callie let go of Arizona's right hand and lifted her hand out of the water. Unsure how Arizona would react, she brought her finger up to the scar that had caught her eye when Arizona first got in the pool. She outlined it carefully. She knew it was so old it wouldn't hurt, but it was, in some way, a metaphor; Callie would be nothing but gentle with Arizona ever.
Arizona flinched when Callie touched her but never pulled away. Callie traced a few more lines slowly, then moved to the stove eye and outlined it, running her fingers over it in a line as well, feeling the way the skin bumped up and down.
"How?" Callie breathed out in wonder. She knew how, but she wanted to hear it.
"Calliope, I know it's disgusting, just let me put my shirt on, you never have to look at it again." Arizona tried to turn to look for her shirt. She wanted to get away where she could cry, but Callie held her tight against her until she quit fighting.
"Please?"
"He was drunk one night and I was cooking. Words were said, fists were thrown, and when I took the pot off of the stove I turned off the eye. Not two minutes later I was laying pinned against the eye. My shirt burned into my skin and that's what was left. Second, almost third, degree burn. I told the doctors we had a small stove and a hyper dog."
"Arizona."
"Calliope, please let me get my shirt. I don't want you looking at it. I know it's ugly, as is the rest of my body." Arizona tried once again to move. Callie held her in place with a firm yet somehow gentle grip, until she stopped moving. Arizona felt Callie let go of her hands and move what little hair was hanging on her back over her shoulder. She felt the vibrations as the water moved. She stood completely still, unaware of what would happen next.
Arizona felt something she thought she never would, a light kiss on her scar. James had always made her wear a shirt of some kind, even over her lingerie. He thought the scars to be hideous and didn't want to touch them. Arizona tensed up, then closed her eyes cherishing the kiss, as light and as gentle as it was.
"Calliope." Her name came out a cross between a whine and a moan.
"You are . . . beautiful," Callie breathed in her ear when she stood up. Arizona turned around, tears in her eyes. Not sad emotional tears, but happy that someone could see past what had happened to her tears.
Before Callie knew what was happening she was pinned against the pool wall, Arizona's lips against hers.
A/N: I do apologize for the delay, but things get in the way, life gets in the way. Between computer malfunctions and timing issues this took a lot longer to publish. This is probably the next to last chapter. I understand if you are upset about the delay but honestly, sh!t happens. Reviews are great even if they are just smiley faces or something of the like.