Hello!!
I am very sorry for waiting so long to update. I have been having major writer's block. Plus with the stress from school, it has been very hard to write.
If someone out there has a remedy for writer's block, please pass it along. I am begging you... June 7th couldn't come fast enough!! LOL!!
Well, here is another chapter!!! I have to say, it is pretty long. But I am proud with it.
Thank you for those who read and reviewed!! I really do appreciate it.
This chapter is dedicated to Franella for answering my London questions. Here is your request, girl!! I hope I gave it justice!!
I don't own anything!
Enjoy!
After having lunch, Gillian decided to take a nap. Cal went into the bedroom and cleaned and packed everything up. He made sure that he kept out some pajamas for him and Gillian. Then he went to the bed and sat down. He sighed a deep sigh. Then he began to tap his finger on his knee. He sat there for about two minutes and then whispered to himself, "Let me ring up Michael." So he went out to the sitting room and picked up his phone. He went back into the bedroom and started to dial Michael's phone number. He picked up. "Hey, Michael, it's Cal. Hey man, I am leaving early tomorrow morning and I was thinking we should get a couple of beers. Alright, meet at Henry's around 4, yeah? Okay, see you then, bye." Cal hung up and decided to take a shower.
When he got out Gillian was sitting up and reading a book. He didn't know she was up when he walked out in only a towel. Gillian looked up, grinned wickedly and whistled. "Look who is walking around naked. Did you get used to being by yourself when I was gone?"
Cal looked down with red cheeks and mumbled, "No, it has been lonely here. And you know I was at the hospital all that time."
Gillian closed her book, "Cal Lightman, are you blushing? Oh my goodness! Where is my camera? This is definitely a Kodak moment." She got up and hobbled on one foot to her purse. "Do you know there are some people who have never seen you smile a genuine smile? There will be a lot of people willing to pay big bucks for this—"
Just then Gillian lost her balance and started to fall over. Cal ran over to catch her. His was there in the nick of time. He grabbed her waist and brought her up to eye level. He carried her back to the sofa. "Are you okay, Luv? We almost had a man down. Now, don't look down. In my heroic save to catch you, my towel fell off in the process."
Gillian grinned but kept her eye contact with Cal. "I would have thought you would have wanted me to see your… ummm… your…" Gillian started to blush when she was at a loss for words.
Cal smirked, "Look who is blushing now. Anyways, I want you to see me naked when I can see you naked."
Gillian looked at him questioningly, "You have seen me naked before. Plus, it isn't like I haven't seen a penis before. I am a doctor, you know."
Cal still had the same smirk on his face, "I have seen you half naked, with clothing over the important parts." Gillian blushed again. "And besides I am different than any other men you have seen. Now close your pretty blue eyes." Gillian did as she was told. However, when Cal turned around she peeked and saw his tush. She whistled again. He said, "Stop that and close your damn eyes. I am going to change into my clothes." He went into the room and changed into jeans and a shirt. He walked out to Gillian reading her book. She looked up when he asked, "What are you reading?"
"Sammy's Hill, It's a great book! I started it on the plane ride over here and I am now addicted."
Cal looked confused, "I don't remember you reading a book on the plane."
Gillian closed the book and said, "That is because you slept on the plane ride over. I can't sleep on planes; never have, never will. There are very uncomfortable and after 9/11 I just can't close my eyes. My stomach is in knots." She laughed mirthlessly. "You must think that is silly." Cal was at a loss of words so he just shook his head. "Changing the depressing subject… where are you going?"
Cal looked down at his shoes to tie them and then looked back up to Gillian. "I am going to meet up with my friend, Michael, from the restaurant. The one that hit on you."
Gillian smiled, "Oh really, well say hello to him for me. Tell him that if he is ever in the States, he can show me the 'true meaning of love.'" Gillian grinned at Cal's pinched face.
He looked at Gillian and said, "Over my dead body. Well I got to meet him at 4:00. I am going. If you get hungry, just order anything you want from room service. Remember; do not open the door for anyone. I will make sure to tell the manager that he must bring up the room service."
Gillian smiled, "Really Cal, anything I want? Sounds like a plan but you don't have to include the manager. Let him do his job. I will make sure the room service guy shows me his badge and that I watch him. Remember, I have the whistle. Don't get to drunk. You on an airplane with a hangover, is not what I call 'fun'."
He walked towards the door and said, "Anything and I mean it. And besides, I don't get hangovers, just nasty headaches." He flashed a brilliant smile and walked out.
Gillian laughed and said, "Yeah right." She grabbed the phone and called room service. "Hello, room service? Hello, this is Gillian Foster in room 203. Can I get the filet mignon with a bottle of your best wine…"
***
It took Cal a good twenty minutes to get to Henry's with all of the traffic. When he walked in, he saw that Michael was already there. He stood up and walked towards Cal. They 'man' hugged each other and sat down at the bar.
Michael looked over Cal's shoulder and said, "Where is that exquisite woman you had with you a couple nights ago? She looks fantastic."
Cal ordered some beers, "She is not here. She is back at the hotel."
Michael accepted the beer and smiled. "How did you snag her up in your web? Did you trick her? You are very tricky with your tricky words."
Cal was laughing when he said, "I did not trick her. We are business partners. And what the hell do you mean by 'tricky words'?"
It was Michael's turn to laugh, "You are not going to tell me you have not hit that! Has 'Smooth Cal' lost his touch? Back in the day, the ladies panties would melt off if you gave them the time of day. Do you remember, Christine? She wanted you so badly, she practically took her clothes off every time you walked through the door. No, no, no! If you haven't done anything with her then I will go to her hotel room tonight and show her what a real man is like."
Cal was about to drink his beer, but stopped and said, "You won't find her in a hotel room by herself. We are rooming together because—"
Michael hit Cal on the shoulder, "You ol' dog! I knew you were more than just 'business partners'. I could tell by the way you looked at each other."
Cal held up his hands and said, "We are rooming together because she got hurt. It was with this case we are on. So leave it be." Cal was about to drink his beer but stopped again and asked, "How do we look at each other?"
Michael smirked, "Wow, ol' boy, you have really lost your touch. You both look at each other like you both want to jump each other's bones." Cal had a silly grin on his face. Michael grabbed his shoulder and said, "Oh my God, are you in love with her?" He got up from his chair and yelled, "Ladies, Cal Lightman is officially taken! However, I am still free!" There were many 'boo's' from the crowd when he sat down. He said smugly, "They love me." Both men laughed and finished their beers.
They drank in silence until Michael broke it, "So you didn't answer my question. Are you in love with her?"
Cal looked at him and saw that he was being serious. "Yeah, I am. I told her how I felt and she pushed me away. With good merit, I might add."
Michael looked confused, "Why? What the hell did you do?"
Cal looked down, "Well after I told her that I loved her, she pushed me away. I wanted to give her some space. She was crying, I didn't know what to do, so I just left. I went to a pub to think it over. Then this HOT chick sat down next to me and the next thing I know, she is kissing me and grabbing my balls. I left right after that and walked straight back to the hotel. But it was too late, the damage was done. I am a prick and I hurt her before we could even explore a relationship."
Michael thought for a moment and then said, "Well, number one, you are a prick. Number two, you shouldn't have left. It is not like you. You never give people their space; you are always in their face. Number three, you can fix this. Listen ol' boy, and listen hard. She loves you back. I can tell. Don't let her back away and don't back away yourself. Get in her face. I am sure she will appreciate it down the road. Finally, number four, and the most important one. You are a prick, but it doesn't mean you can act like one, especially in front of her. Don't fuck this one up; it is your only shot."
Cal thought for a moment, then lifted his glass and said, "To not fucking it up." They cheered and drank the rest of their beer. "What do they have to eat here? I am starving. I am pretty sure Gillian is eating steak and having a big glass of wine."
***
Cal drunkenly walked into the hotel room. He tried to walk to the table but he hit it instead. In the middle of trying to grab his knee and take out his wallet, his elbow knocked something over. He heard something crash on the floor. He tried to pick it up but he saw a light come on from the bedroom.
Gillian hobbled out of the bedroom with her pajamas on. "Cal what the hell happened? What was that noise?" He stood up to try and look innocent. It didn't work. "Seriously Cal, you are drunk. I asked you not to get drunk. Now I have to wake you up to get you on a plane and you are going to be cranky. And you broke something, great; we have to pay for it. Cal, don't just stand there, get into that bedroom and get to bed."
Cal grinned stupidly, "I thought you would never say that to me. It's a dream come true, Luv."
Gillian looked at him crossly, "Trust me Cal, I am not going to seduce you. In fact I might murder you. Now get to bed. I will put a trash can next to you just in case you might throw up."
Cal started to stumble towards the bedroom. "Okay, Mother Hen."
Gillian closed her eyes and lips tightly. She cleaned up the mess as best as she could and then walked back into the bedroom. When she walked in, she had to put her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud. Cal, in his drunken stupor, tried to take off his pants. The only flaw to his plan was that he forgot to take off his shoes. So he was lying on the bed, snoring very loudly, with his pants down to his ankles. She hobbled to his bed and covered him with his sheets. She placed the trash can next to him. She kissed his forehead and whispered, "Good night." She hobbled back to her bedside table and got her camera out of her bag. She turned it on and took a picture of the sleeping Cal. She put her camera away, slid into bed, turned off the lights and pulled the covers over her body.
Cal lifted his head a little and drunkenly whispered, "I love it when you boss me around. You should do it more often. It will make our sex life hotter." Then he passed out.
Gillian stifled a laugh and whispered to herself, "I wish I had a recorder." She laughed again, turned over and went to sleep.
***
At 4:30 in the morning, Gillian's alarm went off. She woke up and let it ring to help wake up Cal; it worked. He moved around and lifted his head. "Turn that damn thing off, I got a headache." He turned over to go back to sleep. Gillian got out of bed and turned on the light. "Oi, seriously, I am trying to fucking sleep, woman. Go nag someone else." In response, Gillian wordlessly took her pillow and hit Cal with it repeatedly until he held up his arms and said, "Okay, okay, I give up, I am up. You happy?" He got up and started to walk but he hit face first on the floor. "What the hell?"
Gillian looked from the bathroom door and said, "Cal, you forgot to take off your shoes last night. In fact, it was pretty damn funny, so I let you sleep like that."
Cal looked at her and listlessly said, "Ha, ha; very funny. You could not help me out. What kind of angel are you?"
Gillian grinned and said, "The bad one. Now get dressed, we have to be at Heathrow by 5:30." Cal grinned before turning to his suitcase and getting his clothes out. They were packed and ready within 15 minutes. They left their room.
On their way to the elevator, they ran into Gerald. Gillian went up to him and hugged him. "I will miss you a lot, Gerald. If I am, or if we are in London again, we should go to the pub together."
Gerald hugged her back and said, "I think I would enjoy that. Have a safe flight home, dear." When Gillian walked out into the Lobby, Gerald and Cal shook hands. "Go for it." He winked and Cal followed Gillian into the Lobby.
The check-out process was a painless one; except when Cal got the bill for the room service and the broken vase. "Bloody hell, I have to pay for an ugly vase. And you," he turned to Gillian, "you just had to get filet mignon and the most expensive bottle of wine?"
She looked clueless at him and said, "You told me to get whatever I wanted. So I did. Just pay the damn bill so we can go." He did what he was told. They left the hotel in a cab. On the way to the airport, Gillian turned to Cal and said, "I am going to be honest, I will miss London. Despite the whole kidnapping thing, I had a great time. I will miss it immensely." She grabbed his hand and said, "Thank you for showing me London." They continued holding hands, even onto the airplane. She whispered, "I can't wait to get home."
Cal reclined back his airline seat and put a pillow under his head. "Me too, Luv, me too."
So? Was it good?? Bad?? Please let me know!! Thank you!!!
