Chapter 3:
It was something she wasn't prepared for when she opened her eyes a few hours later. It wasn't that she had never seen Eric sleeping before, because they had slept over at each other's places plenty of times, but he was in her bed, in her bed after they had kissed, after he had told her that he wanted her. His arm was still heavy on her body but Calleigh found herself enjoying the feel of it, the weight, having his body pressed against hers, his morning erection pressing against her rare and Calleigh was starting to get hot and bothered. It was too soon for them to go there, and even if she trusted Eric with every fiber of her being, she didn't want the awkwardness of the situation this morning, so slowly she lifted his arm and started shifting away from him. She had the early call, and she needed to get ready. She still needed to shower and select her clothes. She hated arriving late at work, so Calleigh opened the wardrobe, chose and outfit and pulled out her underwear and made her way into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
She had woken up a bit later than she would have liked so she didn't have the luxury of having a long shower. That was going to have to wait until she gets back from work later tonight and then, maybe she could have some time to enjoy the water splashing on her. She couldn't help but think about everything that happened since they finished work yesterday, from having wine and pizza over at Eric's, dancing, kissing and how he ended up in her bed. What surprised her the most, and maybe it shouldn't have really, was how much she had enjoyed waking up this morning wrapped in Eric's heat, surrounded by his body. She could feel his breath on her neck and thinking about it made her shudder. She knew though that this was not that simple. She couldn't just fall into something with Eric because Jake had come back, and Calleigh knew as well, that all the bitterness and the anger that she is harboring at the moment, will eventually fade away, and she didn't want to have any regrets. She needed to have a clear head when she finally makes a decision...and Calleigh knew that it was going to probably be the hardest decision she ever had to make, because how could she choose? To someone from the outside, maybe the decision was simple. It would be Eric. The person who she trusts the most, who makes her feel all sorts of wonderful things, the safest choice, her best friend, but Calleigh also knew Jake in a way that others didn't. Sure he can be a jerk, he can push her buttons in ways no one else can, he is the bad boy, has the bad boy look, while Eric offers home, but Jake doesn't have what Eric has and Eric doesn't have what Jake has. She knows who Jake is, and even if he can be difficult at times, he knows how to thrill her, how to make her feel wonderful in more ways than one. Granted, Eric never had that kind of chance yet so maybe he had a bit of a disadvantage start when it came to those things, but it wasn't Calleigh's fault that she and Jake had met while in academy and then met Eric years later.
Turning off the water and the thoughts in her head she got ready and made her way out of the bathroom, just as Eric was waking up.
'Good morning' she smiled as she tried to put on her earrings while walking towards him.
'Hey good morning' he replied as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He checked the time and realized that he was going to be late for work.
'Relax, I'll cover for you' she told him, knowing that he realized he was going to be late for the morning call 'I'll just tell them you had a puncture and that you informed me that you were running a bit late' she told him.
'Thanks Cal' he replied. She was about to walk past him to head out of the bedroom when he grabbed her hand and Calleigh stopped to look at him 'I just wanted to say thank you for what happened during the night' he told her smiling at her.
'You're welcome Eric. You know you can count on me anytime' she told him. She meant that although at the back of her mind she did think how things would be between them if she had to choose Jake and not Eric. Would they still be friends? Would they still be best friends who can talk about anything and be there for each other any time of the day? Not wanting Eric to pick up on any of those thoughts she pushed them away and let go of his hand 'I need to get going' she started telling him as she started walking towards the kitchen, with Eric following behind her. She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, feeling the cold liquid cool her interior, and then closed it again before grabbing her phone, bag and keys 'Just lock before you leave okay' she told him.
'Of course, I'll try not to be so late' he told her.
'Okay' she replied, before she leaned in and kissed his cheek. She stopped to look in his eyes, hoping he understood the kiss and when he smiled at her, letting one hand cup her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin, making sure to remember her beautiful face filled with the most gorgeous smile, and bright shining green eyes, he leaned in and kissed her on her forehead.
'I'll see you soon' he told her and with that she walked out the door, leaving Eric alone in her house. He sighed and ran a hand through his head. This was starting to get messy, he knew it. He knew what she meant with the kiss on his cheek and not his lips. She needed him to know that they weren't together, that the kiss on the lips cannot happen every time they see each other because she still needed to process everything and she still needed to have some time to know who she wanted to be with. He knew that there was a possibility that she could choose Jake, and he also knew that he would need to try and prepare himself for that kind of situation, but for now, he just wanted to enjoy the small victory of having finally found the courage to kiss her and tell her that he wanted her. He knew that it was important for Calleigh to show her what he wanted, that if he stood a chance of being with her, then he needed to make that step. With that, he proceeded to the bathroom, got his phone and keys and walked out of her house, locking the door behind him just like he promised.
oooOOOooo
Calleigh had just gotten out of the hummer and was walking down the concrete walkway towards the entrance of the house in Biscayne, where the murder happened. She pulled the door open, expecting to find Frank there, already taking notes and Alexx examining the body, but instead she found Jake with his little notebook in his hand.
'Jake...what are you doing here? Where are Frank and Alexx?' she asked him as she approached the body, careful not to step in any blood or other evidence that they might need. He was definitely the last person she wanted to see this morning. She was in a good mood, and wanted to stay that way, and Jake had a way of ruining that.
'Well Frank is sick and I happened to be in the neighborhood when I got the call, so I arrived before Alexx, but she should be here soon' he explained hoping Calleigh would leave it at that, but of course she didn't.
He watched her settle her kit on the floor and open it 'What were you doing in Biscayne so early?' she asked not looking at him, as she grabbed the camera and started taking photos.
'Emm...just had a late night and slept over at a friend's house' he tried to explain. That was when she looked up at him and looked directly in his eyes. She knew him too well, and from the way he tried to play it out, Calleigh knew she was right. He had slept with someone alright, but it was no common friend. It was probably a girl he hooked up with at some random bar, Calleigh was sure of it, and if she had to analyze her feelings and reaction to this new piece of information, Calleigh wasn't sure how she felt about it. She looked away then, and continued taking pictures and examining the body, when she heard Alexx's voice.
'So...did you get any information on our vic?' Calleigh asked him as she got up and started walking around the fancy looking house. It told her that the victim was quite good financially to afford such a house.
'Well she is Rosabella Gomez. According to the identity card she is twenty-five years old and owns this house' Jake told them, as Alexx went down on her knees to start examining the body.
'Poor baby looks like she has been hit with something hard on her head. I cannot tell just yet if that was the final blow for her, but I can tell you right now that, that she was most probably raped. Looks like she's got fluid on her thighs' Alexx informed them. That was when Eric walked inside the house, having received a text message from Calleigh with the address. She turned to look at him, their eyes immediately connecting, and if Jake didn't know any better, something had definitely happened between these two, from the way Calleigh was beaming at him, and the way Delko was grinning at her, and then just like that he looked away and looked at Jake, any hint of a smile washed away, and tension immediately filled the room, so much so that even Alexx stopped and looked at the three of them. This was going to be an awkward case to work.
'Jake' Eric nodded 'Good morning Alexx' Eric said smiling at her.
'Good morning honey' Alexx replied giving him a look that told him she was watching him and Jake, to which Eric just grinned at her. He knew that if it was up to Alexx, him and Calleigh would be together already, but unfortunately, neither she nor him for that matter had a say. He could help the issue maybe, but at the end of the day it was Calleigh's call.
'What do we have?' he asked, as he put his own kit down and pulled a pair of gloves in the process. Calleigh was about to answer but Jake was a bit quicker, though the reply wasn't exactly the one Eric was looking for.
'Well if you were here about ten minutes ago, you would know. Weren't you the one with the early call Delko? What happened? Had a late night?' he asked looking all smug, talking with intention to push Eric's buttons and trying to find out what happened between the two of them, because he was sure something was up. The way Calleigh had smiled at him, beamed at him really, her face had all but lit up when she saw him coming, made Jake suspicious. He could tell from the minute he came back that the two of them were close, that he had a competition in Eric, but he had no idea how close and from the way things had been going between him and Calleigh, Jake was afraid he didn't have a chance at winning her back, especially with Delko working with her day in day out.
Calleigh's eyes widened at that comment, as Eric's shoulders tensed, his face all hard and serious, as he took a step closer towards Jake, temperatures rising between the two men, and Calleigh could sense either an argument or a fight coming so she stepped in between the two, feeling both men stand too close to her as she tried to push her arms out, trying to keep them as far away from each other as possible.
'Both of us had an early call today, not that it is any of your business Jake, but Eric informed me that he was going to be a bit late since he found a puncture this morning' Calleigh replied 'Now...can we please focus on the case and leave the animosity between the two of you and everything else out of this?' she asked them looking between the two. She looked at Eric with pleading eyes and he softened up. She could see the lines on his forehead disappear and his shoulders ease as he nodded.
'Sure Cal...what do you want me to do?' he asked her, looking just at her.
'So far we haven't found her phone or anything that could clue us to someone close to her or who had been in this house. See if you can spot anything. The only thing we have is her wallet and by the way, this is Rosabella Gomes, twenty-five years old, looks to be the owner of the house. Has a head wound and was probably raped' she told him.
'Got it' he replied with a smile and with that he walked away in search of her phone, any photos she might have around that could possibly give them a start.
Calleigh turned to Jake then, her eyes shooting daggers 'And you...make yourself useful and leave this (and Calleigh motioned between the two of them) out of it. We are on duty and this has to come first' she told him 'Try and keep your clever mouth shut for once' she told him and with that she turned and walked away from him too. He watched her, walking further away from him, then watched Delko before his eyes fell on Alexx who was still watching him. He was about to say something but she raised a firm hand to stop him as she turned to look away, warning him that she doesn't want to hear it, and Jake just sighed and continued working. This was going to be a long day.
oooOOOooo
She knew that there were going to be times when the three of them would have to work the same case together, but did it really have to be the day after her and Eric had kissed. She knew that he had sensed that something had happened with Eric and that was why he started talking smart, and Calleigh also knew that Jake was a genius when it comes to pushing someone else's buttons, and Eric was like match. All he needs is a spark and he would light up in a wild flame. Everyone knew the Cuban had a bit of a temper, and Calleigh knew that she needed to seriously talk to both of them otherwise this was going to happen every single time they end up in the same room. This situation was already quite exhausting for Calleigh, the last thing that she needed was to play referee between the two of them all the time.
Taking a deep breath, knowing that Alexx wasn't just going to not say anything and leave this morning incident's slide, Calleigh tried to embrace herself. She knew that Alexx was only a concerned friend but Calleigh really didn't feel like talking.
'Hey you wanted to see me?' she asked her smiling brightly at Alexx as she walked in.
'Hey honey, yes. Poor baby was definitely raped. I have some DNA for you to take to Valera' she told her with a wink and Calleigh smiled taking the bottle in her hands. Thinking about it, it was actually very disgusting but Calleigh was used to it. Nothing repels her anymore.
'What about the head wound?' she asked her.
'That I am going to get started on it but I can tell you that it happened after the rape, so yes, it was the fatal blow' Alexx told her.
'Okay. When you have a clear indication of the weapon that was used let me know, so we can start looking' Calleigh told her and Alexx nodded. She was just about to leave when Alexx called out and Calleigh stopped. The questions were coming.
'Are you okay honey?' Alexx asked her truly concerned.
'I'm good Alexx don't worry' Calleigh replied with a smile.
'It's not an easy situation you find yourself in, and the longer you figure out who you want, the uglier it can get' Alexx told her.
'I know Alexx...but it is not that easy to just pick one. How am I supposed to choose? Whoever I don't choose is going to get hurt, and I don't want to hurt any of them' Calleigh tried to explain.
'I understand honey. Maybe you should go on a date with both of them and see how you feel about them' Alexx suggested and Calleigh raised her eyebrows 'Just kidding. I can only give you one advise' Alexx told her.
'Which is?' Calleigh asked.
'Listen to your heart. Your heart is never wrong baby' Alexx told her and Calleigh smiled and nodded.
'Thanks Alexx. Call me when you have something' she told her and with that she left and headed to find Valera. They needed to know who raped their victim so they could go and pick him up.
oooOOOooo
Just as Calleigh suspected, Valera was in her usual spot, behind a microscope studying samples, and Calleigh had just one more sample for her, to which they needed her to start as soon as possible.
'Hi Maxine, I need you to work your magic on this as soon as possible please' she told her as she showed her the small jar she was holding in her hand before placing it down on the counter before her 'It is the first piece of evidence we have that can get us to out prime suspect' she explained, meaning she needed results now.
'Sure. I'll just finish with this one and start on your sample' Valera replied.
'Great thanks' Calleigh replied with a smile before she turned to leave, literally darting out of the lab, before even Maxine said something to her about this morning, because Calleigh was sure that the news had travelled Maxine's way, and as much as she adored the woman, Maxine was a gossip girl. She always seems to know everything, even something that only the people who were there could have talked, and Calleigh knew that Eric wouldn't say anything. With Jake and Alexx she wasn't sure, one of them was bound to say something even if unintentionally.
Lucky for her, just as she got out of the lab, she saw Jake walking out of the elevator, so she turned on her left and tried to hurry up, but he called her and Calleigh had to stop...right in front of Valera's eyes. She could tell that she was watching them, but at this point there was nothing Calleigh could do except start walking again as soon as Jake starts talking.
'Calleigh wait up' Jake said and Calleigh turned to look at him.
'What do you want?' she asked him, still annoyed with him.
'I just want to apologize about earlier' Jake told her.
'No you don't Jake. You're just trying to make yourself look good' she told him and with that she started walking so at least Valera couldn't see them anymore.
Jake obviously followed her, even if that wasn't the direction he was heading into 'Calleigh I just...' he started saying as he grabbed her arm and turned her around so she could look at him. She yanked her arm from his touch and crossed her arms in front of her 'I just want to have a chance to prove to you that we can be good together' he told her.
'Well the first thing you need to do is, stop being a jerk' she told him looking straight in his eyes 'You think this is attractive?' she asked him 'Because if you do, it's not and secondly, leave Eric alone' she told him.
'Why do you always have to defend him?' he asked her 'Or have you already made your choice?' he asked.
'No I haven't Jake. Eric is my best friend and whether you like it or not, he is important to me, so every time you're an ass to him, it pisses me off' Calleigh told him.
'Okay okay' Jake started telling her as he raised his arms in surrender 'I will try to keep my mouth shut around him' Jake told her.
'Good' Calleigh replied and with that she turned and left him alone in the middle of the corridor, as she went in search of the other man who holds her heart.
oooOOOooo
Listen to your heart, Alexx told her, and Calleigh knew that if she had to listen to her heart, there wouldn't be any competition, because the amazing man who was going through crime scene photos in the room across from where she was right now, held it. She had come to terms with that reality quite some time ago, but the problem was that Calleigh couldn't just listen to her heart and follow it. It wasn't as simple as that for her. She needed to scrutinize every little detail. Jake was part of her past, a past which to her still feels unresolved, and that bothered Calleigh because if she had to decide to choose Eric, then she wanted that part of her past to have closure. She needed to know that she had done anything possible, that she didn't just throw it away and then have to live with the what if. On the other hand, Eric was her best friend, the only person in this world she truly fully trusted. There was no one else, and being involved with him scared her because if things don't work out, then she would loose her best friend, and Calleigh wasn't sure she wanted that to happen, and yet, she didn't just want to choose Eric because he was her best friend and she didn't want to loose him. She knew that the pending emotions that they both have stored away for so long, were now emerging, and now that they have, it was next to impossible to put a lid on them again, and put them back where they had been stored, somewhere locked away in their hearts. It was like pandora's box had been opened. They had kissed, and the imaginary line had been stepped on, but a kiss wasn't something that two couldn't go back from, but stepping over that line...then that would be something they would change everything forever.
Calleigh had always been one to hold back, have her walls guard heavily her heart, after it had been shred to pieces by her family. She had learned that she needed to protect herself and be strong, or otherwise she would not be where she is today, but with Eric she had learned to slowly given him access to certain pieces and parts of her heart that no one else can get close to. It had come naturally, this pull that seems to be there between the two of them. She couldn't deny it anymore. She couldn't deny that she wanted him to be more than just her best friend, but as thrilling as that would be, as thrilling as kissing him was, it scared her to death. Everything that he makes her feel was so different from anything else, any other guy had made her feel, nothing ever came close...not even Jake and she knew it.
Jake was the bad boy. The bad boy ladies wanted. He had the looks to go with it, and as a jerk as he can be sometimes...or most of the times, there were times where he could be nice and sexy. There were times, when it was fun to be in his company. Pushing those thoughts away though, Calleigh focused on where she was, a smiling filling her face as she watched him sliding his hand in his pocket and pulling his phone out. It was then that Eric lifted his head from the photos and caught sight of her. He smiled at her and Calleigh gave him that smile that always filled her face, making her eyes sparkle and making him go weak in the knees.
'Hey' she said as she approached him, finally walking into the same room as his.
'I was just about to pull out my phone and call you' Eric told her.
'I know I saw you' she replied still smiling at him 'Did you find anything?' she asked him.
'Yeah look here' he told her as he pointed at one person on the picture 'See this guy? He is in every single photo she had. I don't think that he is her brother even if he is in family photos as well, because look here, see how his arm is wrapped around her waist?' he asked as he pointed with his finger 'No brother holds a woman like that' Eric told her.
'No you're right. We need to find out who this guy is' she told him 'I'll get Jake right on it' she told him but at the mention of Jake, Eric's shoulder tensed and Calleigh caught that so she stopped and smiled at him 'Eric...' she said dragging his name out a bit but still smiling at him.
'I swear Cal he says things to me on purpose' he said feeling the sudden rage inside of him increase 'That man knows how to push my buttons' he told her.
'He knows how to push everyone's buttons' Calleigh corrected as she rolled her eyes at the thought and then she placed her hand on his arm and smiled at him 'Just try to ignore him Eric. I know it is easier said than done but...unfortunately we do have to work all of us together, and I know this is partly my fault but it's not something I can easily fix' she told him.
'I know Cal' he replied 'I'm not blaming you...it's the situation that's all' he said.
'I know...thanks for understanding Eric. I know this is not easy for you' she told him.
'No...not at all. Knowing that the woman I want might want someone else...no...that's not easy at all' he told her. It was kind of strange how they were starting to talk about things out when it comes to their feelings and relationship, but at the same time, it was liberating and important. She couldn't help the warmth that travelled all over her body at the way he said "the woman I want" knowing it is her. There was something special about Eric and she knew it, and the last thing that she wanted was to hurt him. She just wished it was that easy to pick him over Jake, but Jake always had a hold on her.
She smiled at him and took his hand in hers 'I wish this was so simple...the last thing I want to do is hurt you Eric' she told him. He could see that she was honest, and he knew that she didn't want to hurt him. He just wished she wanted him enough that there wouldn't be any issue on who to pick.
'What?' she asked him seeing his eyes drifting away to God knows where.
He looked at her, startled for a moment, realizing that she caught him drifting into his own mind. He wasn't sure if he should tell her anything or not, but then figured what the hell, she was going to get it out of him sooner or later 'I just wish you wanted me enough that there wouldn't be a situation' he told her. It was like he had just slapped her with his words. She was not expecting this 'I'm sorry Cal...can we just drop it and work the case?' he asked her.
'Better' she said sounding hurt for a moment but then she pushed the topic to the back of her mind as much as she could and focused on the case.