Thanks for all the awesome reviews for the first chapter. This story kind of took on a life of its own after I started the first chapter, and this second chapoter practically wrote itself. Funny how that happens sometimes. Anyway, enjoy the Nallenness of it all - there will be a little more to come after this chapter.
For the first time in his life, Special Agent G Callen had absolutely no idea what he was doing or where he was going. He did know why it had happened the first time. He had let himself get drunk. But in doing so he had let down the walls he had so carefully built up. He had let her in.
Callen had deliberately kept his distance from the young analyst since she started. He had been immediately drawn to her. She was smarter than any woman he had met before, she told the truth, never shying away from the facts, but she was young and he was convinced he was far too jaded and cynical for someone so fresh and innocent, not to mention the complications becoming involved with a co-worker would bring. So the walls had gone up and he did a good job of keeping her out and his feelings in check, until that night at the bar. He was already pretty drunk when Nell confidently challenged Deeks to a game of pool and he had immediately offered to partner her. As the beer flowed and the shots were downed, he had relaxed even more and draped his arm over Nell's shoulder. She hadn't pulled away from him, not even when he had leaned in and whispered that all she needed to do to win the game was distract Deeks by popping open a few of the buttons on her shirt. She had actually laughed, and as they knocked back more shots of tequila, she returned his affections, touching his arm and leaning into him as they waited their turn at the pool table.
The first time they made love they were both so drunk he was surprised either of them remembered anything about how they ended up in that situation. He was pretty sure Nell didn't remember as much as he did. It was he who had made the first move in the cab as they were going home. He had reached over and brushed the hair from her face. He had wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. He had gently kissed her once, then seeing she wasn't pulling away he had kissed her again, deeper and with more passion. Helet his fingers get tangled in her hair as she clawed at his shirt and gasped when he moved to kiss her neck. The cabbie definitely got a show on that ride.
He remembered almost every moment of their first night together, from stumbling through the door, clothes flying in every direction, him exploring every inch of her perfect body and giving them both a night of absolute pleasure. He remembered everything and every feeling he had, right through to waking up and then hearing her throwing up in the bathroom. When he had first woken and found her gone from the bed, he wondered if she was regretting their night together and was hiding from him, ashamed to face him after what they had done. But when he heard her being sick he worried that she had been so drunk she wouldn't actually remember what had happened or would blame him for taking advantage of her. Pulling on his jeans and boots, he had gone through to the bathroom and found her crouched on the floor in jeans and sweatshirt, wiping her mouth. Even as they were agreeing not to talk about what had happened the night before, he could see her staring at him with a look in her eyes that suggested that maybe this wasn't just a drunken fling for her after all. But in the cold light of morning, he knew pursuing anything further would probably end in one or both of them getting hurt so he had located his shirt and made a quick exit.
But in the weeks following that first encounter, Callen found it almost impossible to keep his mind off Nell. Whenever he saw her he pictured her beneath him, he saw her perfect lips kissing him, his fingers trailing over her pale skin. Despite what they had agreed in her bathroom the morning after, Callen knew he couldn't just give her up. So it was he who instigated their second encounter. He had missed her. He saw her every day but he desperately missed being close to her, holding her, kissing her. She was like a drug to him and needed another fix. After overhearing her plans to meet up with college friends at the weekend, he knew he needed a plan. Using not so legitimate methods, he found out where she was going and had tailed her from the restaurant. When she entered the wine bar with her friends, he had slipped in behind, circled around and seated himself at the bar. By the time she got settled at a table and spotted him, it looked like he had been in there for a while. Once he knew she had seen him he made a point of looking over at her, drawing her attention. He sipped slowly on a glass of wine, not wanting to be drunk this time – he had to be sure the feelings he had been having were real and not something created out of a drunken stupor.
He knew she was teasing him when it took her an hour to excuse herself from her friends. When he saw her heading towards the bathroom he had followed her, knowing this was his moment. Coming up behind her, he had grabbed her arm, whispered to her then captured her lips with his, kissing her deeply and passionately to let her know just what he wanted. Though she accepted without hesitation, he was the one who had suggested leaving together. He knew at that time that whatever was going to happen was all on him. Nell seemed to be with him all the way but he had started it and she let him know it when they were lying in bed wrapped up in each others arms, hours later.
Over a couple of months they had many more encounters, each ending up in Nell's bedroom. Sometimes it was raw, hot, passion and lust. Sometimes it was soft and tender, even romantic. But it was always just sex. There were no dinners, no dates. Just sex.
The game changer, at least for Callen, was that weekend, the weekend after his operation had ended badly with several injured agents. He had turned up at her door at 1am without warning and looking battered, bruised and defeated. Nell had been content to just sit with him. They had curled up on her couch and she had rested her head on his chest while she softly stroked the fabric of his shirt. He didn't want to talk and he had no expectations. She had sensed that and didn't ask anything of him. They had spent that night in the same bed and tangled up in each other but fully clothed with nothing more than the odd gentle kiss. He had taken her out for lunch he next day and when she suggested take-out at her place for dinner he was more than happy to oblige. After dinner and a few drinks, he had led her to the bedroom where they stayed until Sunday lunchtime, content and comfortable in each others embrace.
Nell had been such a comfort to him that weekend that he wanted to show her how much he appreciated it. He knew she liked flowers so he had sent a small bouquet to her at work, knowing it would bring a smile to her face. However he hadn't expected quite the reaction it stirred in those around them. When Sam saw the flowers and commented about Nell having a secret admirer, Callen found it difficult not to react. But when Eric noticed them too he could see Nell getting uncomfortable and with just the utterance of his name, Callen had scolded Eric into getting back on track with the information he was supposed to be giving them. He also knew Eric wouldn't let it go quite so easily given the crush he knew the technical operator had on Nell, and he was worried for her – how she would explain the flowers, what reason she would give for receiving them.
In a new development, Nell turned up at his house that night. So far they had kept their encounters to the weekends and it had always been at her place. But there she was, standing on his doorstep. He could tell immediately that she wanted to talk. Whenever she had something serious on her mind she went quiet, as if organising her thoughts. And as she told him about her conversations with Eric and how she had explained the flowers, Callen felt bad. His actions had caused her to lie to a friend but clearly also made her think about what the pair of them were doing. They had had a couple of months of no strings fun but he got the sense as she walked from the entrance hall into his lounge that when she left there would be no more 'no strings'.
"You asked me a while back what we were doing." Nell began.
"I did." Callen nodded.
"And we said 'no definitions'."
"We did."
"Well, I need to know and I need a definition."
Callen had to admit that he wasn't actually surprised. He never really saw Nell as the type to have flings. But now the pressure was on to define what they were, if they even were something at all. Callen had a decision to make.