Hmm. Chapter two. I used quotes from a movie, I wonder if you can spot them! Lol
"The Perfect man!" I thought it just seemed fitting.
Sorry this took me a while to get to ya'll! ;D
I hope you like how this is going.
Calleigh stood still, a little shocked as Eric stopped her before she could get into her car. Here he was, one of her best friends, saying something that meant more then it should. Sure, best friends would say something like that but it was obvious, even to Calleigh, that Eric was interested.
"If something would have happened to you, I don't know what I would've done."The tanned cuban said, towering above her. Calleigh swallowed a little and just smiled.
"Okay." She replied and allowed Eric to open the passenger seat of his car for her. She was a little dumbfounded...not by what he said but the intense meaning behind it. She loved Eric but it was purely platonic.
Everyone who knew Calleigh, knew she was independent so it came as no shock when she had told them, she only wanted a day. She was planning on taking a day off to herself, to think about everything that had happened. It was, without a shadow of a doubt, the scariest event in her ten years in the crime lab. Regardless, she didn't need any more time, she moved on quickly and got right back in the game. She had cases to complete, evidence to log and process, victims that depended on her to tell the truth for them. And she wouldn't let her abduction get in the way of that.
But now she found herself stuck in an odd situation. Eric had dropped her off, only he was now standing at her door way. She gave him an odd look and smiled a little. She had wanted alone time but she could tell Eric wanted to come in.
"I'll be fine, Eric." She said firmly but softly and smiled. Eric shoved his hands into his pants and smiled a boyish smile at her.
"I know, you always are." Calleigh sighed a little and held the door open for him. She could let him stay for a while and then make him leave. The look on his face alone, made her feel guilty. He was just worried about her, he wanted to be there for her. She walked on through to the kitchen and turned on the kettle.
"Coffee?" She asked, receiving a nod from Eric who had followed her cautiously. Sure, he had been there before but this was different, this time he was in love with her.
An hour later, the two were sitting on her couch, recounting older times when Speedle was still alive. They were laughing over silly nights out they had all had. It felt good to laugh with Eric. As a friend and she was beginning to think that he knew his feelings were one sided...unrequited love.
Calleigh frowned a little as her doorbell broke their laughter suddenly. Eric gave her a look and followed as she went to the door. Calleigh knew that was how it would be for a while. Everyone would be cautious around her. The fact that she wasn't expecting anyone didn't mean it was dangerous to open the door. But Calleigh loved them all for their concern. Opening the door, the blonde was a little surprised to see no one other then Ryan Wolfe standing there. He looked relaxed outside of work, his trademark, somewhat shy smile was on his face as concern played in his eyes. Calleigh glanced at Eric and laughed a little as she opened the door and let Ryan in.
"It seems we have a party now." She remarked and chuckled once Ryan had caught sight of Eric.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know...I can go." Ryan stuttered quietly, an obvious tone of disappointment in his voice. Eric rolled his eyes and looked at Calleigh expectantly.
"Oh, no, you're not interupting, we're just talking. Come on in. Coffee?" Calleigh said quickly, emphasising the fact that nothing was going on. The two men shared hello's and both went to sit down on her couch as Calleigh went off to make coffee.
What was he doing here? She wondered and calmed herself a little, her heart had picked up it's beat since she saw him standing in her doorway. Both the man she loved and the man that loved her sat in her living room. It was a vicious little circle and she wished it was different. Ryan had gained her trust from immediately after he solved her father's case when he first joined the crime lab. He was a newbie, it was his trial run and Calleigh was furious he was working her father's case. She had little hope in newbies, they made mistakes, big ones. But Ryan Wolfe had proven himself to her and gained her trust. He was the first person that she trusted so easily in such a short time. And after spending four years with him, she had fallen for him, and hard. It was no lie, Ryan made mistakes and had disappointed her on several occasions. But he had always proved himself to her afterwards. Despite his mistakes, Calleigh's opinion of Ryan was never altered. Eric had made just as many mistakes and some were worse and if everyone could over look those, they should also over look Ryan's mistakes. Somewhere between their harmless flirting, glances and arguments she fell in love. The perfect person for her was sitting in her living room and she could never tell him. She didn't want to sacrifice their friendship, it meant too much to her. Calleigh was no stranger to office relationships and each of them taught her that personal life and work life simply cannot be mixed together.
"Hey Cal! You okay in there?"Eric's voice suddenly broke her thoughts causing a sigh to fall from her lips. She grabbed the coffee for Ryan and wandered back in. They were perched either end of her couch and she felt uncomfortable sitting between them so once she had handed Ryan his coffee, she sat in an armchair in the corner of the room.
"What's with the flower, Wolfe?"Eric suddenly asked. Calleigh's eyes shot to the perfect orchid in a simple pot beside Ryan's foot. Ryan shifted a little and lifted it, his eyes firmly on the pinkish flower.
"Oh it's nothing. It's for Calleigh. Thanks Eric."Ryan remarked sarcastically as he got up and handed it to Calleigh. Calleigh's eyes rested on the details of the flower, from each pettle to the stem that seemed so perfectly positioned.
"Thank you, I love it." She replied honestly and sat it on the arm of the chair. Suddenly Eric scoffed a little and rolled his eyes.
"That's the type of flower you give to your sick grandma, Wolfe. A real woman deserves roses." He remarked snidely and smirked a little at Calleigh.
"No, you give your grandmother yellow roses." Ryan muttered softly and casted his gaze to the ground.
"Orchids are perfect." Calleigh offered seeing Ryan's reaction and smiled encouragingly at him. Ryan smiled and nodded a little.
"They are. Every woman recieves roses at some point in her life and sure they're romantic but orchids are different."Ryan went on as he looked at Eric who rolled his eyes.
"Go on, then seeing as you're such an expert on women. What are orchids supposed to mean?" Eric shot back and crossed his arms waiting for Ryan's lame response.
Calleigh didn't expect Ryan to answer. She knew Ryan didn't have a lot of girlfriends, Eric on the other hand was the smooth talker, the charmer. At one point, he had had a new girlfriend every week. That wasn't something Calleigh found attractive. Her sometimes cold exterior hid the fact that she was a romantic at heart. She wanted someone she could sit up for hours talking to over meaningless things, not someone whom she had to worry about flirting with everything that could breathe.
"That's what I thought, Wolfe. You've no idea about women want." Eric remarked and chugged a drink of his coffee as Ryan sat quietly.
"I should go." Ryan said suddenly and stood up, walking swiftly to the door. Once at the threshold, he turned and faced Calleigh's direction, their eyes locked as she sat in her chair, unable to move her gaze from his. Ryan's heart beat shot up, nearly jumping out of his chest. He never invisioned himself pouring his heart out to her while Eric was sitting there. His heart and mind screamed at him to do it.
"When a woman gets an orchid, she feels like she's floating on a cloud of infinite possibility..." Ryan said with a small gulp as he shifted his feet beneath him and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.
He trailed a little as his heart stopped. This was the moment he had waited for.
Calleigh's heart pounded in her chest as she stared at Ryan. She was trying to read him, what was he trying to say? Was it possible that he loved her too? Ryan cleared his throat a little as Eric sat impatiently, his gaze going back and forward between Ryan and Calleigh.
"...When a man takes the time to pick out a perfectly crafted orchid...he's saying she is perfection and, although he could be anywhere in the world, he chooses to be with her because life is better with her by his side."
There he had gotten it out and now he was running. Not physically but mentally. His eyes poured out emotions, with one in particular evident; love. Before Calleigh even had a chance to say anything, Ryan was already out the door and Eric was standing in front of her laughing loudly.
"Yeah, like flowers can say that much." Calleigh just glared at Eric and sighed as her gaze fell back on the now, empty doorway.
"You should go. I need to rest." Calleigh insisted and showed Eric to the door before shutting it firmly behind him. She locked and bolted it as her back slid down against it and she finally hit the floor. Her mind was running a million miles a second. Was he trying to say what she thought? Did Ryan Wolfe feel the same way about her that she did for him?