A coffee swims into my field of vision as I wake up on a couch in the lounge where I hadn't intended to fall asleep. I blink a few times and find Cameron perched on the end of the couch, smiling. I jerk upright.
"What are you doing here?" I demand in frustration.
She grins and hands me a coffee. "Waiting for you to wake up."
I take the coffee absently, mumbling something like a thank you for her attempt at a peace offering. She slides down onto the other end of the couch. I eye her suspiciously, knowing she wants something. "So…" I let the word trail.
She chuckles. "I'm just here to make an invitation." My expression is obviously sceptical because she continues quickly. "Dinner. I have tonight off and so do you, because I asked Foreman. I just want to talk."
I ponder the situation. To be honest, after our last encounter I can't help but be interested by her, too. My head slowly nods of its own volition. Her eyes light up. I examine her with amusement. "I want to pick the restaurant." I say petulantly.
Her eyes mirror mine. "I'll pick you up at seven. You're in charge of reservations."
I nod my assent and tell her my address. She exits the room smiling. I check my watch and drain my coffee.
"For someone whose name is a number, you sure can't count!" House's voice drips sarcasm. "You said you'd be back in fifteen minutes."
"You knew were I was." I reply, taking a seat at the glass table. "Any change in the patient?" Kutner shakes his head.
"We found some mould at her place. Lab's working on it now." He brings me up to date.
I sigh. "Fine. What are we doing in the meantime?"
House chucks a pack of cards on the table. "Poker" he informs us. Foreman deals.
I make it home by six, giving me a chance to shower and change into something suiting the slightly upscale Italian place I've chosen. I realise I don't know if Cameron's a vegetarian. She seems the type. Oh well, I'm sure there's some form of pasta available if she is.
Wrapped in a towel, I search through my clothes feeling vaguely irritated by the fact that I actually want to look good for Cameron. I give up on choosing between three shirts (all black) lying on my bed in favour of makeup.
A ringing doorbell makes me realise I've lost track of time, standing in the bathroom in pants and a bra. Shit! Sighing, I run for the door, opening it and peeking around to find Cameron on the other side. "Hi." I welcome embarrassedly.
"Ummm…Hey." She looks vaguely confused by the fact I'm hiding behind my door. I smirk.
"Come in, I'm not quite dressed yet."
"Ah." She steps inside and I actually take a moment to notice what she's wearing. She catches me staring and blushes. "Is it too much? You said it was a nice place…" she trails off.
"It's perfect." I assure her, and it's true. It wouldn't matter if the woman was wearing a neon snow suit, she'd still look gorgeous. However, the blue satin halter she's wearing currently is indeed preferable. Not to mention hot.
"What are you wearing?" she questions, raising an eyebrow at my mostly bare upper half.
"Good question." A problem I still haven't solved. "Do you want a glass of wine or something while I get on that?"
She shakes her head. "No thanks." She heads towards my room and I follow, confused. Fingering my shirt choices she grins at me. "You like black much?"
I blush now and shrug. She picks one up. "Wear this one." She suggests, handing me my favourite of the three. I take it from her gently and pull it on. She smiles softly, examining me once again.
I turn away, suddenly awkward. "Shall we?" I grab my leather jacket off the bed. She passes me silently and I catch the scent of her shampoo. I realise this situation would be much easier if she weren't stunningly gorgeous and blatantly interested…by me? In me? I'm not even sure at this point.
"My car?" she questions as we walk down the stairs side by side.
The image of Cameron on my scooter amuses me and I grin. "Unless you want to ride my scooter."
She winks. "Perhaps another time."
"So where's Chase tonight?" I ask as I guide her to the restaurant. She looks a little guilty at the mention of his name.
"His place I assume. Maybe with Foreman. He was grumpy I blew him off." Her glance slides towards me briefly.
"Oh." I drop the subject and we sit in silence.
In the end, it wasn't as bad as I expected. She didn't question me endlessly; instead we stayed on safe subjects like life at the hospital and where we'd been beforehand.
I also discovered that Cameron didn't hold her alcohol all that brilliantly. Two glasses in; I informed her I was driving back. Tipsy, any of her shyness disappeared. She was vibrant, at ease. She had a dryer sense of humour than I would have guessed. She even teased me about bringing my one-night stand into the ER.
Lying in bed that night, with Cameron's car (I had agreed to deliver it in the morning after dropping her off) outside, I realised I had enjoyed myself with her. She hadn't pushed for explanations, she simply seemed to like my company. Perhaps I'd guessed right to begin with. Maybe Allison Cameron was just as alone as I was.