A/N: I don't really have much to say about this chapter. Just wanted to thank everyone that's been leaving reviews. I find them incredibly encouraging, and I appreciate every single one of them. I would love it if you specifically told me which things you liked and which things you weren't so fond of. Also, I would love to know what things you might want included in here. I love messing with tropes, but so far I've only done a couple of them. Feel free send me suggestions.
Ch 14
As they walked up to her building, Mindy pulled away from Danny to unlock the door. Once the key slipped into the lock, flipping the tumblers with an audible snick, she glanced over her shoulder at him. She smiled. He looked the way she felt, and probably looked as well. Totally beat. Finely drawn lines of exhaustion etched his face.
He'd been here before, but Mindy unexpectedly felt awkward. She hadn't cared what he thought before. As they walked toward the elevator in the lobby she glanced up at him. "I wasn't prepared for a guest, so keep your mouth shut about the state of my place."
They stepped into the elevator. Danny trailing a few steps behind her. "I'm sure it's not that bad. Not everyone can keep an immaculate living space, like myself. It takes a certain amount of discipline."
She looked over at him with an annoyed expression. "Please put your superior attitude away. I'm too tired to argue with you." She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. "And you're about as disciplined as a stray dog."
"What is that supposed to mean?" He looked at her with a slightly contorted smile. He was trying not to laugh.
What did it mean? She had no idea. She just hadn't been able to think of anything else to say. "Well, for one, you totally cannot control your primal urges." She huffed out a breath. "Also, there's a pretty good chance you'll make a mess on the floor if I leave you alone."
The elevator arrived at her floor and the doors slid open. She stepped out, not waiting for Danny. He followed closely behind her. "So. My primal urges? You had some trouble keeping a leash on yours, if I remember correctly. Of course, that only supports my original thesis."
She had stopped at her door and was fumbling with her keys. A bout of nerves had overcome her. It just occurred to her that she'd invited Danny to spend the night with her. Well, not the night. It was daylight out, but he would be sleeping at her place. On the couch.
"Oh, Daniel, how little you know." She finally regained her normal dexterity and shoved the key in the lock and turned it, a little more forcefully than necessary. "Everything that happened back at the office, was exactly what I wanted to happen. You were in the palm of my hand." Liar.
Danny was getting slightly perturbed. She had continued across her apartment to her bedroom, entering it before he could catch up with her. When he reached her room she was back in the doorway, holding a pillow and blanket.
He walked up to her, standing face to face, perhaps a little closer than necessary. He smiled, and it unsettled her. It wasn't a sweet smile. It was the smile of someone who was plotting something. "Mindy, trust me, we both would have known if you'd had me in the palm of your hand." Her arms were occupied, and she couldn't shove him away like she wanted. Because, she wanted to shove him away, right? "You couldn't have been paying that close attention if you think I would fit in the palm of your hand."
Her eyes widened. He took the bedding from her arms and turned around, headed back towards her couch. She felt her ears burning. She was not prude, but this was so strange coming from him. She strode after him. "Well, I suppose there's only one way to settle this." This was beginning to be a ridiculous habit of hers, but it was the only way she could get what she wanted without asking for it outright.
"What's that, Min?" He had settled the pillow on one arm of her couch and kicked off his shoes, draping the blanket across it.
The look on his face told her he knew exactly where she was going with this. She lost her momentum. "Oh, never mind. I'm too tired for this." She spun on her heel and stalked into her room, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her.
She wasn't used to being the one thrown off balance. That comment. What the hell was that? He didn't have any right to say something so suggestive with such a beguiling look on his smug face. He had no right at all to make her think about touching him… there. The fact that her mouth had suddenly become dry, and a swift thrill of desire ran through her only pissed her off even more.
She approached the window and closed the blinds, drawing the curtains across them for good measure. While not completely dark, the room was dim enough to sleep in.
She walked over to her bed and picked up the pillow laying on it and started whacking it into the shape she wanted. She tossed it back on the bed and angrily kicked off her shoes. She needed to take a shower, but didn't have it in her to do it. She didn't even have it in her to take off her scrubs.
She reached up to the back of her head and yanked out the hair tie holding up her mass of hair. It cascaded in a tangled mess down over her shoulders. She caught her reflection in the mirror over her dresser. God, she looked like a sexually frustrated wild woman. Ugh.
She took off her glasses in irritation and set them on the nightstand and just collapsed diagonally across the bed without even pulling back the coverlet. She was going to sleep for hours and hours. Lying on her stomach, she buried her face in the pillow and groaned.
Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't Danny still be the irritatingly grumpy coworker that he used to be? She liked that. Well, she sort of liked that. Sometimes he really pissed her off, but whatever this was right now was so much worse. This silly little game they were playing had her on edge. Wouldn't a real man just make a move? Or, if he wasn't really interested, at least back off?
Damn. Danny had been sure she was going to basically dare him to sleep in her bed just to prove he could control his "primal urges." He'd liked the game she'd been playing with him. It left him open to explore his feelings for her, but was still safe enough that he could back away without embarrassment.
It looked like she was getting bored with it. The disappointment filling him left him feeling deflated. He looked at the looked at the wrinkled cover and limp pillow laying across Mindy's sofa. It really didn't look comfortable. A doctor needed quality rest even if it was Saturday, even if the aforementioned doctor had absolutely no plans. That sounded right.
He glanced over to her bedroom door. She might not be asleep yet. Before he could change his mind, he scooped up the bedding on the couch and tiptoed over to her door, pausing briefly to listen for sounds of movement. Hearing nothing he placed his hand on the hand and pushed the door slightly ajar, leaving a slim crack to peer through.
There she was. Lying face down on her bed, still in her scrubs. A few rays of light sneaking through the curtains cast glowing lines across the bed. He felt a tug in his chest and swallowed. After a few seconds of staring he began to feel like a creep peeping on her like this. He pushed the door open further and it squeaked.
Her head popped up from the pillow to look at him. "What's the matter, Danny? Pillow too soft for a real man?" She frowned and laid her head back down on the pillow, her cheek pressed down on it, one eye still on Danny.
He just stood there, silently staring. For a moment he'd forgotten what he'd intended to do. He just wanted to crawl onto the bed and lie next to her. He stood there in silence, his mouth slightly open, ready to say something. Finally he looked away. "That sofa of yours is awful. You don't actually expect me to be able to fall asleep on it, do you?"
The irritated look on her face turned thoughtful. She propped herself up on one elbow. "Well, it isn't exactly made for sleeping." She was biting the inside of her cheek again. She turned completely on her side, facing him. "I suppose, since I'm grateful for your help with Mrs. Allen, you could share the bed with me." She patted the coverlet in front of her.
The swiftness with which Danny moved from the door to her side surprised even him. Mindy's eyes widened when he plopped down beside her. "Eager much?"
Danny merely glanced at her while he positioned his pillow behind his head, turning towards her as he did it. "I'm exhausted, Lahiri. Why don't you stop talking so we can get some much needed sleep?" He'd dropped the cover in his hand on the floor beside them.
Mindy smiled to herself. The position they were in was reminiscent of a slumber party. Their perfectly mirrored body positions imbuing her with a sense of camaraderie. They were just two girls about to settle in for the night, possibly intending to gossip before falling asleep. She'd never wanted to run her thumb across her girlfriend's bottom lip while talking before, to feel the stubble across the chin. Although there had been that one girl with a mustache. A decidedly different situation was lying in front of her.
She drew her gaze away from his mouth, settling on his eyes. They were as tired looking as hers. The eyelids drooping slightly, ready to close completely at any moment. "No funny business, Castellano." She was about to flip over to her other side when she felt his hand on her arm.
Her motion stilled, she looked up at him questioningly. He leaned in close and gently settled his lips on hers. For a moment neither of them moved, lying there in perfect stillness, breathing in each other. The hand resting on her arm began a circular caressing as his lips nibbled at hers.
He pulled back, gazing down at her. "You did an amazing job with those twins." His hand traveled from her arm to the side of her face, resting their lightly, his thumb grazing the skin under her eye. "No funny business." He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly one more time, before pulling back and settling into his pillow. "Neither of us has the energy for it right now."
She reluctantly turned over, her back to him now. After a few seconds she felt him moving around. An arm draped over her waste and his hot breath rested by her ear. "I can't promise anything after I've had a few hours of rest though, as far as primal urges go."
Mindy smiled to herself, relaxing into his embrace, her breathing syncing with his. Within minutes the two of them were snoring softly in the dim light filtering through her curtains.