Chapter Text
Detective Dominick Carisi knew two things for certain today; it was too early to be this rainy, and the station had nothing but shit coffee. Taking a satisfying sip of his honestly, too-expensive cup, he tipped the man, sprinted into the rain, and returned to the office. The sun was just setting, and he guessed he would have another hour to work before Bensen sent him home to start his 3 day weekend. There were some benefits to being the new guy.
It had been a slow week. Most of his cases were straightforward, and his classes were easy to manage because of the light work. Finally, things were falling into place. That and he had a date tonight with a woman his mother had insisted he meet.
“A good Italian woman.” She had insisted, giving him her number and threatening him with her mixing spoon until he sent her a message. They had sent a few texts back and forth over the last couple of days, and Sonny hoped the conversation wouldn't be as one-sided when they met. Still, he was trying not to judge her too soon.
“I have never met a man so irritating.” The woman in the elevator grumbled as she put her phone in her pocket. She was soaked and dripping a puddle onto the floor. She raised an eyebrow at him as he sidestepped the mess. “Didn't you just come from outside?”
“Yeah, there wasn't any coffee in the pot.” He said, raising his cup and then shaking his head at how dumb it sounded.
“Right. I meant, you're already wet. I don't think stepping in my…small lake will harm your..” Sonny watched as she angled her head to get a better look at his shoes.”..size 13 oxfords.” She gave an impressed hum.
“You know shoes?” he asked as if it weren't obvious. The woman nodded as she fished out her phone, checked it, and hesitated at the buttons before pressing 3. “Which department are you looking for?” he asked, watching her. Her hair was pulled slick in a bun but was starting to frizz from the rain. Sonny watched a raindrop roll down her temple, over her slightly cold-tinted cheek, and drip off her chin.
“Special Victims. You know, if you wore socks that weren't the exact color of your suit pants, you wouldn't look so tall.” The elevator doors opened and she began walking briskly down the corridor, a luggage bag wobbling behind her. Sonny looked down at his feet for a moment, and back at the woman, almost missing the elevator doors.
“Jesus, lady.” A civilian grunted as they bumped shoulders. The woman, still looking down at her phone, ignored him and stopped outside the men's bathroom. Typing for a moment, she seemed to be listening for something before sighing. She shoved her phone in her pocket, and thankfully, Sonny got to her before she could open the restroom door.
“You know, I'm not trying to look taller.” He said, watching her face change from general irritation to slight amusement.
“I know.” She smiled slightly. “It was a compliment and an observation.” She looked between him and the bathroom door. “So, there is a way to make up for stepping over my puddle back there.”
“Stepping over your puddle? Wasn't it a small lake moments ago.”
“There was a lot of light in the elevator, dried it up a bit. Still, it was terribly rude, and honestly, I don't know how I could ever get over it.” Sonny smiled at the playful tone in her voice. “Well, maybe one thing.”
“I can see you're very torn up about it.” Sonny took a step closer to the woman catching her eyes for the first time. They were hazel with large flecks of green that seemed to catch the light and his breath. “What can I do to make you happy, doll.” The slight pink tint to her cheeks grew darker, and the large smile that took up her entire face brought a warm feeling to his own.
“Okay, “ she whispered, getting so close he could smell the slight strawberry scent on her skin. “Inside that bathroom is a man named Nick. If you would be so kind as to tell him that there is a package out here, and the delivery person refuses to give it to anyone else. Make it sound good.”
Sonny handed her his coffee with a smile and went into action.
-
Charlie watched the tall man step into the bathroom, gripping his coffee tighter. Its warmth was a welcome against her freezing fingers. Spring felt like it was around the corner in Virginia, but with the amount of rain she had to combat in New York, she wouldn't be surprised if it felt like winter forever. Before she could stop herself, she had brought the drink to her lips and took a sip. Not one for coffe, bute she was very surprised at how good it tasted. She decided one more drink wouldn't hurt. Moments later and one half-empty coffee, the hushed conversation took a more serious tone.
“...he's out there yelling man. Bensens about had it.” Charlie arranged her face into one of irritation and crossed her arms as the bathroom door swung open.
“If I had known you were taking the king of all shits, I would have been more patient. Maybe waited in the rain for another two hours.” Nick didn't say anything; he just gave a loud laugh, swept her into a bone-crushing hug, and twirled her around. At her hiss of pain, Nick instantly set her down. Looking to her left side as if he could see the recent surgery scar.
“Jesus you're soaking wet.” He said with a look of fake disgust. “Two hours?” He gave her a sheepish look and took out his phone as the tall man with the very fluffy mustache and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, peered over Nick's shoulder.
“Ha, that's one hell of a picture.” The man laughed, pointing to something on Nick's phone.
“I swear to god Amaro if that's still that god-awful photo of me drooling on myself…”
“Actually, it looks like a Christmas picture. Your hair is flat on one side and ….” Nick laughed at the embarrassed look on her face.
“Carisi, don't you have somewhere to be.” The man, Carisi, held up his hands and backed away. Right before he turned, he gave Charlie a wink and reached out for his coffee.
“About that, I kinda drank most of it.” she handed the, basically, empty cup to him. “Nick pay the man for his coffee.”
“You don't even drink coffee, Charlie.” He protested but fished his wallet out anyway.
“I know, but it was honestly the best warm drink I've ever had.” Charlie tuted at the man when he pulled out five dollars. “A fiver for the best coffee, Nick?” Mumbling about her always being so expensive he pulled another five out and raised an eyebrow.
“You liked it? I've been trying different types of roasts and flavors lately trying to find the right one.” Carisi’s excitement was evident in the way he was talking with his hands and the pace of his words. “...a nice blonde roast..”
“Don't man, she's a foodie. Can't cook worth a damn but she can eat more than any grown man I've ever met.” Charlie gave him a look before snatching the money from him and shoving it into Carisi’s hands. Holding on to their warmth for a moment longer than necessary.
“Anyways, I'm here for a week if you want to talk food and give me your secret coffee recipe.”
“Yeah, would be my pleasure.” With a nod to Nick, Carisi turned and walked back to his desk.
“I can't believe I left you there for two hours, Charlie.” That easygoing demeanor Nick always wore drifted away and in its place was the same tired kid that used to sneak her tortillas when she was hungry.
“Hey, it was only an hour and a half, if I'm being honest.” She nudged his shoulder with her own and handed him the handle of her luggage. “Show me your desk?”
“How does it feel?” Nick asked.
“You mean New York or getting shot in the lung?” The lack of smile on Nicks face was her answer. “It sucked. Sometimes its almost like breathing tires me out. No stress, no exertion beyond basic walking, and no work. Its the most infuriating thing in the world.”
“I'm just happy youre okay.” His honest tone and the weight of his hand on her back warmed Charlie better than any coffee.
Charlie looked around the bullpen, taking a moment to say hi to the coworkers he introduced her to. She came to a stop at the suspect board, her eyes quickly scanning over the series of pictures and data. Ever since she was a kid she had a knack for seeing passed the obvious. Connecting dots that seemed to have been missed and finding clues that had been overlooked. It's what landed her in the early start program in high school and what carried her through college and soon landed her a roll on the BAU squad.
“Your victims’ statement, though it doesn't seem to be intentional, is wrong.” She said to Nick, who was attempting to pull her away.
“You’re on medical, Forester.” He scolded but stopped to stare at the board.
“How can a victim's statement be unintentionally wrong, exactly.” The womans sudden appearance made Charlie jump. The sudden increase in heart rate made her slightly dizzy but recovered quickly.
“Lieutenant..”
“Your second victim stated the man was around 5’ 10 and medium build, but it was dark outside and the fact that she's only twenty-two and her age demographic as well as her occupation tells me she's not good at measurements. Now, if you look at the footprint, you can see he's at least 6’2, I'd say around 220.” Charlie elbowed Nick to get him to give her the photo she was talking about. The man was visibly reluctant.
“You know this how?” The woman said, not seeming to buy what Charlie was selling.
“The ground is dry around the print, and she doesn't say anything about it raining, so you can see the depth of the print making it pretty easy to gauge his weight. If you look at how defined the tread is he has a decent wage or at least a job that requires him to replace his shoes often. They are work boots, I would say they are pretty new too with how consistent the pattern is on both pairs. He also seems to favor his right leg over his left. Honestly, from the pacing of his steps, I'd say it's more of a knee injury than a hip.”
“You gathered all that from the pictures?” The lieutenant asked her, her arms crossed suspicion rolling off her in waves.
“It's her job, which she's supposed to be on mandatory leave from.” Nick ground out through clenched teeth. More for concern for her stress levels than her detailed dissection of their case. “She's under doctor's orders not to put herself in stressful situations for any reason.”
“I'm fine Nick. I gave myself a second opinion and after I looked over my files, I deemed myself good to go.” Holding her hand out to the lieutenant, she smiled at the woman. “Special Agent Dr. Charlie Forester; BAU. Though, Nick is right. I'm technically on ‘medical vacation’, so I'm not here in any enforcement capacity.”
“Dang, Nick. You never mentioned your girlfriend was one of the geek squad.” Fin said, giving her an appreciative look.
“Ew.” Nick said, earning a check smack from the woman in question. “Charlie is the little sister I never wanted but somehow got stuck with.”
“Hardy Har Amaro. As lovely as it's been to meet everyone, I need to get to my hotel and out of these clothes. I'm pretty sure I'm catching hypothermia. Amaro?”
“About that. I’ve got two cases on my desk that need some kind of resolution. I'm gonna be here for at least a couple more hours, kid.”
“Carisi.” The lieutenant called, waving the Detective over from his desk. “Punch out. Enjoy your weekend, and walk Special Agent Forester to her hotel.”
--
Sonny led Charlie to the elevator after she had said goodbye to Nick. Making sure he made a show of stepping in the puddle that was still on the floor. Her laugh was sharp and loud, which she quickly covered with her hand.
“You dont have to walk me to the hotel you know. I'm pretty decent with Google Maps.”
“What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't walk a beautiful woman to her door.” Sonny smiled at her snort. “..and if I'm being honest I have some time to kill.”
“In that case. How would you like to have a quick dinner with me? I don't know anything about this city and I haven't eaten since this last night.”
“Have mercy woman.” Sonny reprimanded with a scowl but found himself excited by having dinner with someone who could appreciate all the flavors.
The walk to Charlie's hotel did not have a moment of silence. Sonny, in the 20 minutes it took to get to the hotel, accidentally passed said hotel, and turned around; had learned a lot about the woman, the woman who took an interest in asking him unique questions about himself in turn.
She loved all types of food and was adamant that she would try all meats, even the illegal ones. She had laughed when he told her he loved everything except rice because it looked like bugs. When she learned he was studying law at night school, she listened intently and only interrupted to ask him follow up questions on a detail she didn't understand. He learned that she was perhaps the smartest person he had ever met, with an IQ of 185; which she grumbled was only two points below her work partner and he never lets her forget it. He found that she had different laughs for different subjects, quickly becoming his favorite was the deep fully belly laugh she would make when he tried telling her a joke.
By the time they got out of the rain and into the lobby they were both pink cheek and freezing. Sonny waited by the elevator as she grabbed her room key. Smiling to himself at how much he was genuinely enjoying their conversation. When she scooted up beside him, reaching for her luggage, he playfully pulled it back out of her reach.
“I'm a gentleman, remember doll. Gotta do the heavy lifting.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. I hadn't realized under that thick coat were the arms of a lumberjack.” She playfully exaggerated her southern accent, placing one hand on her chest and fanning her face with the other. “To think I thought your attractiveness stopped at your accent and those incredibly blue eyes. Silly me.”
Sonny blushed, following her inside the elevator and watching as she pressed the 10th floor button. Her brown finger tips red and shaking.
“Jesus, you're freezing.” He said, grabbing her small hands in his much larger ones, and rubbing them in between. “Lets hurry to the room. You can warm up while I find us somewhere to eat.” Sonny looked up from her red fingers and caught her watching him, her cheeks as red as her nose. He studied her face for a moment, noticing the freckles he hadn't seen earlier. The dramatic curve of her plump top lip. The way she pulled her bottom one in with her tongue and held it with her teeth.
“Room 1004.” She whispered as the elevator swung open to the hallway and the teenagers waiting on the other side.
Sonny, was reluctant to move away, which was almost as shocking to him as it was nice. Taking the key card from her shaking hand, he opened the door to her room and held it as she brushed by him. The smell of strawberries once again caught in his nose. Subtle from the rain, but still had him leaning in slightly to catch another hint.
“It could be worse.” Charlie sighed, removing her dripping jacket and hanging it over the chair. Sonny set her luggage on the desk and crossed the room to the heating unit under the window. Setting it to a high 80, he turned to ask the woman what she felt like eating when his words caught his throat.
She had taken her hair out of the ridiculously tight bun and was shaking the water out of the curls that brushed across her shoulders. The shirt made him pause, the soaked, nearly see-through, white shirt. The thin cotton clinging to the curve of her breast and the dip at her hip. Giving him a full view of her hard nipples.
Sonny felt like a pervert for taking an extra second before looking away.
“Italian?” She asked as she walked to the bathroom, coming out a moment later with a towel and tossing it at the side of his head.
“Uh, yeah born and raised. Staten island.”
“I meant the food. I'm so hungry I'm starting to feel a bit sick.” She laughed. Sonny watched in amusement as her smile lit up her face and she squished her eyes shut. “But it's nice to know where you're from.”
Before he could respond, Sonny's phone gave a loud chirp. For a moment, he regretted looking at it. His date, Stacy, was already at the bar—a date he had completely forgotten about and didn't seem too keen to go on anymore. “This place kinda quiet,” another chirp came though. ' I ordered a beer and some appetizers.’
“Hey, I'm really sorry. I forgot that I had this thing for tonight, and if I miss it, I'm sure my mother will kill me.” Charlie hid her disappointment well after a moment, but Sonny saw it. Though it made him feel bad about canceling their sudden plans, it also made him happy that she had been happy to have dinner with him.” I'll make it up to you before you leave, " he said before rushing out the door, sending Stacy a quick message.
--
Sonny had never been so bored in his life. Stacy, although pretty, had nothing to talk about; or she just had no interest in what he tried talking about. For the most part they sat in silence, with him attempting to make her laugh, or get her to interact with something other than her fifth beer and her phone.
If that wasn't enough, his mind kept drifting back to Charlie. The way she smiled, and talked, and her laugh…He found himself thinking of questions he wanted to ask her. Thinking of how she would have responded to his joke about the mozzarella sticks on their table.
“I could use another beer.” Stacy waved him off, eyes never leaving her phone.
“One more and a shot of tequila”
“Ill have the same.” Sonny's head whipped around at the sound of her voice. Her makeup was subtle, the eyeliner in sharp points and lips a deep red. “You know, if you didn't want to have dinner, you could have said so. I wouldn't have been upset.”
“Honestly, that wasn't it at all. I just had..plans.” The bartender returned with their drinks, Sonny quickly paid for them both, arguing that it was his duty to serve and protect. He felt the line was stupid, but she laughed anyway.
“Well I'm glad I didn't scare you off. I was afraid I came off too strong and you felt you had to run.” Her smile was infectious and Sonny found himself ready, not for the first time, to leave his horribly oblivious date.
“Dominick Carisi, enjoying your long weekend?” ADA Barba, smiled at him, before waving to the bartender. “Scotch, double please.”
“Yeah, it'll be nice to have some time off. Charlie, this is ADA Rafa Barba. Barba this is Nick's friend Charlie. She's on vacation from the BAU.”
“Ah, you're the one who Bensen was talking about. The Lieutenant was impressed with the profile you gave.” The ADA gave Charlie a smile, and Sonny clenched his teeth.
“It was easy work. Your team had gathered everything needed, I just connected the dots.” Charlie gave the man a small smile and put her hand on Sonnys. “I even got a free coffee out of it from Mr ‘Stache here” She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him as if he had given her the world. “Did you know he has been trying to find the perfect combination of coffee?”
“It may have been mentioned.” Barba chuckled while taking a sip of his drink.
“Honestly Dominick, what is taking so long.” Sonny had completely forgotten about Stacy. The woman's face was the picture of irritation, the chewing of the gum she’d been popping for the last two hours had become erratic.
“Full house, I see. Hi, I'm Charlie, a friend of one of Dominick's teammates.” Charlie held her hand out to the woman who promptly ignored it.
“Stacy, Dom's girlfriend. Who has been waiting at the table for forever.” Sonny was completely blindsided by Stacy's revelation. They were in no way dating, and as he watched the expression on Charlies' face go from open happiness to completely closed off; as she took a step back from him and removed her hand from on top of his, he wanted to scream that he in no way was dating this very boring woman.
“It's nice to meet you, Stacy, I bet your mom has got it going on.” Charlie gave a half-hearted chuckle and Rafa coughed up his drink. Stacy on the other hand didn't find it funny at all.
“Are you talking about my mother?” Stacy's face had gone from a slightly dewy pale to a deep red. She took a step towards Charlie, her breath coming out fast, the smell of beer wafting from her mouth.
“I think it's time Charlie and I caught up. You know, cases to go over and bad guys to catch.” Sonny was thankful for the ADA in that moment as he tactfully stepped between the two women. Though it was short lived as Charlie knocked her shot back and handed Barba her beer. “I have a booth in the back.” She refused to meet Sonnys eye as the man led her to his seat.
“I can't believe you let her talk about my mom like that.” The woman growled, poking a pointed nail into his chest. “You didn't even say anything about that slut having her hands on you, either.”
“Don't call her that.” Sonny demanded, taking her by the arm and leading her back to their table, where she sat in a huff. He tried to stay attentive to Stacy after that, tried to listen to her half-baked stories and give input when he was supposed to. Her fake attention doing little to keep his.
Yet, he couldn't stop staring at Charlie and Rafa. At the way he was making her laugh, closed off at first until finally she was throwing her head back gripping his arm. Sonny forced himself to look away, to focus on what was in front of him, but he kept looking back over. Kept seething at how close the two were sitting, on how comfortable they seemed to become in such a short amount of time. After watching Rafa play with a strand of her hair, he nearly broke the glass he had set it down so hard.
“Are you even paying attention?” Stacy fumed, her face once again red. Following his line of sight she gave a loud huff and stood from her chair coming around in front of him and forcing her lips onto his. For a moment Sonny had no idea what was happening until she forced her tongue in his mouth. The taste of beer and bad breath hit his tongue almost making him gag.
When he was finally able to pull her off of him, he found an amused Barba with his arm around a distant Charlie. The woman, refused to look at him. He didn't know what was worse the way she was avoiding his eyes or the hurt he saw in them when he finally caught her gaze.
“....Monday night.”
“I'm sorry what?” Sonny's attention went back to the ADA and the thumb that was moving along her bare skin. It was then he noticed the small dark blue dress she was wearing, and how it hugged every curve of her body, along with the black high heels. “You look great by the way. I didn't get to tell you earlier.” Stacy gave him a pointed look, which he ignored. He just didn't know how to tell Charlie that they were definitely not together without hurting Stacy's feelings.
“I was saying, it was good to see you but we're heading out and good luck on your test Monday night.” Before he could reply Rafa had put his suit jacket over Charlie's shoulders and led her outside.
“Your mother didn't mention your cheating habit.” Stacy huffed, gathering her purse and jacket. “I'm sure we can work through that though, as long as you get your shit together.”
“Let's just get you in a cab and back to Staten Island.” Sonny grabbed his jacket and followed the angry woman out the door. He looked down the road towards Charlie's hotel just as the two of them were walking through the doors.
“Next time, don't bring another woman to our date, Dommie.” The woman leaned towards him to kiss him again, something Sonny couldn't stomach. Instead, he leaned into the passenger-side window, handed the cab driver a wad of bills, and gave him Stacy's address.
“Listen about that. Tonight was..what it was, but I don't see this going any farther. We're just two different people, ya know.” Stacy gave him a look of complete shock. As if she hadn't exaggerated their relationship, hadn't insulted someone, hadn't forced her tongue down his throat. “Get home safe.”
Turning down the road he walked the 20 minutes to his apartment, trying to think of some way to explain things to Charlie in a way that didn't seem like a lie. Sonny just hoped he wasn't too late. That he still had a chance over the Cuban ADA.
---
From the moment she walked into her hotel room Charlie had, to her dismay, puked. Violent hacking that burned into her nose and strained her healing lung. She hadn't had much at all to drink, just her two and Barbas double but the fact that she did it on an empty stomach, without taking anything for heart burn, was her undoing.
When she was finally done with her misery and had drug herself into the shower. Charlies mind began racing. Stupid thoughts of old cartoons, her only constant when jumping from foster home to foster home; thoughts of the ocean and cotton candy. Then the color blue, specifically the same shade of blue as a certain detectives eyes.
Throwing back the shower curtain Charlie grumbled through the room and stalked to the mini bar. She didn't want to think about the irritatingly tall…smart…good looking…
Taking the bottles out of the mini bar she flopped her naked ass on her bed and attempted to forget about someone she didn't even know.
--
Fuck the police! F- Fuck- Fuck the police
Charlie jerked awake, scrambling for her phone. She squinted at the bright screen as she wiped the drool off her chin.
“I'm up, I swear Nick. I'm uh…getting my shoes on.”
“Lets ignore the fact that you sound like you wear headgear and pretend I believe you. I feel bad for doing this but it doesn't look like I'm going to be finished with these cases today. Hopefully I can get them done by tomorrow night and we can start your vacation off right. I also, don't want you cooping yourself up in your hotel room…”Charlie smiled at her phone putting her friend on speaker she cuddled into her blankets a little further.
“I'm perfectly fine staying in and reading. You know that.” Charlie could hear the shuffle of papers and who she assumed was Amanda, asking if anyone had seen a file that was on her desk. A knock sounded on her hotel door.
“Listen, I don't have a lot of time. I arranged an escort of sorts to show you around the city. Have fun, kiddo.” With that he was gone, and the next knock on her door was a bit louder. A foot maybe.
“I'm coming.” Throwing on the oversized FBI t shirt she usually wears to bed, she rushed to the door. “Hey, I'm not ready yet. I don't know what time my fri…”
On the other side of her door stood one Detective Dominick Carisi. Wearing a Fordham Law hoodie and jeans. His arms were full, a bouquet of flowers, an over stuffed vanilla folder, a leather jacket, a gift bag, and drink tray with two foam cups.
“You shaved.” There were other things she wanted to say to him but before she had passed out the night before she had made a vow to herself to keep her distance. “I'm sorry Nick roped you into this.”
“Good Morning Charlie.” She wanted to hate the way he said her name.
“Come in Detective. Sorry for the mess.” Leaving the door open she took a few steps back, giving the man room to step in. She looked away from his face before she could meet his eyes. She WANTED to look at him and that was the problem.
“Charlie, you…” The poor man tripped over her discarded high heel. Without thinking Charlie caught him around the waist, her body wedging between Carisi and the wall.
For a moment they were so close. She could feel each breath he took as she squeezed his sides. Feel the heat of each exhale against her face. His eyes searched her face before they seemed to be fighting a war between wanting to look in her eyes or at her mouth. His tongue wetting his lips for a moment as he found his footing. All she needed to do was stretch her neck a little higher and shed be able to kiss…
“..fuck.” She whispered. “Fucking…fuck.” Pushing him off of her she ran a hand through her tangled curls. Growling Charlie stomped off into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her with another round of cussing. She needed to pull herself together.
After Charlie had calmed down, half way tamed her mass of curls and washed the smeared make up off her face. She left the bathroom and nearly stepped into the man she wanted to avoid. She didn't know how long he had been standing there, flowers in one hand and note cards clenched in the other.
“Detective Carisi…”
“Charlie..”
“Sorry you..” They both gave a little chuckle at how in sync their timing was. Charlie rounded the corner.
“Did..did you clean and why are there a bunch of papers taped to the balcony doors.” Charlie whipped back around to the man as he cleared his throat.
“Look, I know you're mad about the whole Stacy situation..” He started.
“I'm not mad about any situation and I'm not mad at Stacy.” Charlie finished. “Are one of these mine?” She asked pointing to the cups.
“Either one. Well, then I know you're mad at me. Which is okay and …”
“I'm not mad at you either, Detective.” Taking a sip of the warm liquid, Charlie hated how good it tasted.
“Charlie you're mad about something or at someone. It's written all over you. I'm trying to apologize…”
“You're apologizing to me? Jesus, Detective!” Charlie didn't miss the way he shifted unhappily at his title. “I'm the one who fucked up. I pride myself on being damn good at my job. I have two PHD; my IQ is 180 fucking 5, and I can read over 2000 words a minute. My mind is a fucking well-oiled machine. Yet, I somehow missed everything. I was flirting with you, Detective. I… your girlfriend came to find you, and I was holding your hand. She had every reason to be mad at me! Not to mention I stole your coffee and backed you into a corner to have dinner with me. Oh and your ADA friend. Great man, straightforward and smart. Even after I met your girlfriend, I was still thinking about you, and when he walked me to my hotel, and I left him in the lobby, he kissed my hand and thanked me for the conversation.” Charlie was breathing hard as she avoided the man's eye and walked towards her bed and phone. “He kissed my hand and my first thought was, “Carisi's mustache would have tickled.” I don't know you and have no right to think that. And I drank nearly the entire mini bar! I don't even like pickles, yet I drank the hell out of the pickles vodka minis!” Charlie took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
“Detective. Despite my sudden confession, everything is okay. You don't need to apologize cause you did nothing wrong, and I really hope you'll let your girlfriend know that. Now, let me get dressed and I'll look at the case you’ve kindly taped to my doors but then I really need to eat. I'm still on empty.”
“Will you just hold on a damn second.” The man growled, shoving the flowers in Charlies hands and grabbing her shoulders so he could steer her towards the pages he had taped up. “Okay, so..” Charlie watched him shift nervously from foot to foot before clearing his throat. “When it was all said and done I felt cornered..” He franticly shuffled the cards. “Hold on. Hold on. They're out of order.”
“Detective..”
“Stop calling me that.” He growled throwing the cards on small end table beside the door. “Stacy is the most boring woman I have ever met…”
“Don't talk bad about her just to make me feel better…”
“Woman, if you don't let me finish.” The man ran a stressed hand through his hair and Charlie had never been more attracted to another human. She watched him take a deep breath and roll up the sleeves of his Fordham hoodie to his elbows; Charlie decided right then that she was wrong. It was now that she had never been more attracted. The simple action of watching his long fingers expertly roll the fabric, or the way the muscles of his forearm flexed with the movements.
“I'm not dating Stacy. I need you to look at the pictures here.” The heat of his hands felt like it was burning through the fabric on her shoulders as he guided her closer to the print outs. “I had a friend in TARU who owed me a favor. I had him dump my phone. This is every message sent and received in the last four months.” He pointed to the section on the right. “..and these are the calls. I highlighted Stacy's number as well as my mothers, Bella who is my sister, and Amanda's. They're the ones who knew about the date last night. So you'll see her name mentioned in their messages.”
He then handed her two papers.
“Here are all the messages between me and Stacy.” He said, coming to stand beside her, his chest pressed against her shoulder. “If you read here, you'll see that I didn't even set up the date, our mothers did. Oh, and here is the message she sent last night after I told her I didn't want a second date.” He said flipping the pages for her. “I did even want to kiss the woman. She just kind of shoved her tongue in my mouth.” With a deep sigh, he grabbed Charlies' chin and forced her to look him in the eye.
“I stood outside the elevator doors for ten minutes before leaving the hotel. I argued with myself because I was ready to turn around and forget about Stacy and this date. I forced myself into that elevator and walked the 3 minutes to that bar, and I've regretted it ever since.” He looked around the room, at his note cards and the flowers in Charlies' hands. “I want to start over. Let me take you out for breakfast since I failed to feed you last night, which isn't me.”
Charlie tried to hide the smile spreading across her face and smelled the flowers. This was romantic in an unexpected way. How often had she fallen asleep wishing for someone to care this much for her? Putting the flowers and coffee on the table, Charlie wrapped her arms around the mans waist.
“That's…really nice.” He said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her tight. They both felt the moment of silence that neither wanted to break. “My name is Dominick Carisi, but everyone calls me Sonny. Its wonderful meeting you.” He laughed, pulling back only when Charlies' stomach rumbled loudly.
“Names Charlie Forester, Dr if you're feeling spicy.” She laughed.
“Well, Dr Forester, I promised you something to eat.”