ORP: The Things I Didn't Say

"I honestly never thought I could be a cat person." Lucas laughed as he unbuttoned his dress shirt and pulled it off, leaving himself in a simple white v-neck undershirt and he untucked it before grabbing himself a beer from the fridge. He was comfortable here, it was his home afterall, and even though it wasn't anything grand, it suited him. "When my mom found out I was being stationed in D.C. she surprised me with her. She thought it'd be good for me to have a 'companion'." He chuckled softly as he remembered the day his mom had brought the cat over. She had flown in to help him set up his new home and when she arrived she had a kitten on hand. He couldn't very well tell her no so he kept the little girl and she had proved to be quite adorable. The best thing about cats was that they took care of themselves for the most part. He had gotten her one of those fancy automatic feeders and watering bowls that were on a timer and a self-cleaning litter box so even if a mission did take him away for a few days, she'd be well taken care of.

As he popped the cap off of his beer Lucas moved to grab a slice of pizza then followed behind Gracie. He plopped down on the couch beside her and took a bite of his pizza. It was odd how comfortable he felt being here with her and how well she fit into his home. His mind wandered for a few moments, thinking about what it'd be like to spend evenings like this with her when neither of them had to work and it brought a smile to his face. He could picture something like that for the two of them. "Hm...that is a good question. I have a few gaming systems, but I don't even know if you're into shit like that." He started, pausing only to take a sip of his beer as he glanced around the apartment, trying to think of what they could do together. He had a pretty expansive movie and television series DVD collection, so that was always an option, especially seeing how he had a rather impressive 60" television sitting in front of them.

His thoughts from earlier were popping back into his head and Lucas knew he had to say something. He shifted to face her and he tilted his head to the side, watching her as she ate. The way that she looked at him took his breath away and he honestly knew that there was no one better for him than his flygirl. "I'm assuming you were put on that base for the time being, right? Until the whole spaceship quarters are taken care of?" He asked, and only paused for a beat, barely giving her time to respond to his question before he continued to speak. "Why don't you just stay here? Homeworld Command's about ten minutes from here and it's better than having to drive all the way from the base to get there when you need to."

What the hell are you doing, soldier boy? He thought to himself. His mind was racing but he couldn't stop himself from talking. He was going to scare her away, he knew it.

He hadn't expected her to laugh at his question. He didn't think it was that funny. He wasn't all that hurt, he knew that it was a longshot to begin with and with them barely knowing each other it wasn't that good of an idea, he got that. Lucas shrugged off her laughter and waved off her explanation and instead took another bite of his pizza followed by a sip of his beer. "If you ever change your mind or just need a place to crash for the night -" He motioned around them with his beer. "Me casa es su casa." He wasn't hurt by her denying him and he wasn't going to let it affect their evening. Sometimes he didn't think things through, and that was most definitely one of those things.

It only took him a few moments to finish off his slice of pizza and he wiped his hands clean with a napkin that he had picked up when he was in the kitchen. Lucas stood to his feet and he walked over to the entertainment center and he bent down to pull open the drawer on the bottom. "I have everything. Well, not everything. I don't really have chick flicks, but I have a lot of other movies." He laughed as he dropped down to sit in front of the drawer. He thumbed through the movies that alphabetically arranged and he clicked his tongue trying to figure out what movies would be best to suggest. 

His fingers stopped on one of his favorite television series and he pulled out the first season before pulling it out and he held it up. "Have you ever seen the Lost series? It's ridiculous and a definite mindf**k." Perhaps she wasn't in the mood for a tv show though, so he had to find something else. What kind of movies did a chick like anyway? Most of his were action, horror, or science fiction so it wasn't like he could pull out The Notebook and be done with it. Although he began to wonder why he didn't have that movie - most chicks seemed to dig it.

"So you never did really tell me what kind of shit you like to do outside of work, and don't tell me 'fly' because that's work...and you have to have other interests apart from being in the sky." As he continued to go through his movies, Evvie walked over to where Lucas was and she began to rub against his back while purring incessantly. Biggest attention whore ever. 

Lost was, without a doubt, one of his favorite television shows ever and he loved introducing people to the series. He closed the drawer at the bottom of his entertainment center before popping the DVD into the drive and he closed it. Lucas returned to Gracie's side and he picked himself up another slice of pizza to eat as he sat a little closer to her. He didn't think she had been rude earlier - she was simply expressing how she felt - and even if he was a little hurt by it, it wasn't anything that he wouldn't be over in a few minutes. 

He smiled as he listened to her tell him about all of the things she was interested in and he made a mental note to ask later what books she liked to read. Maybe it'd be a good idea for him to pick one or two of them up and read them in his spare time. He was never one for reading but he was one for doing little things to try and connect better with a person. He took a bite of pizza and then wiped at the corners of his mouth when he felt some sauce there. 

"I think you're plenty interesting. Don't sell yourself short." He gently nudged her with his arm as he gave Gracie a smile. "I wish that I could say I'm an avid reader but I'm far from it. My mom used to have to bribe me to get me to read back in school." He laughed at the thought. His mom had become quite creative when it came to getting him to do things he hated - including reading. He would rather be outside playing football or hockey, or even hunting instead of sitting down and reading. It didn't hold his attention all that much unless it was a really great book.

"You should definitely fill your Kindle up with a ton of books so you'll always have something to do." A plan was already forming in his mind on the present he would get her before she went up. His mom was notorious for making sure that she sent him a gift before his deployment. Last time it had been a 160GB iPod all full of music and pictures so he wouldn't feel so lonely. It was the little things that counted in his mind.

In the short amount of time that Gracie had left him, Lucas finished off his pizza and washed his hands, then grabbed the two of them another beer to set on the coffee table so they wouldn't have to get up. He also grabbed a bag of chips and some cookies from his cupboard before making himself comfortable on the couch. This time he settled himself against the armrest so he could prop his arm up and it gave Gracie more than enough room to stretch out beside him if she wanted to. 

He gave her a small smile as she returned and the moment she was snuggled back against him, Lucas wrapped an arm around her as he got more comfortable. It was a welcome feeling having her so close to him and he had to admit that this was much better than simply going to the movies and having to have that awful armrest between the two of them. "Welcome back," he greeted her, glad to have her back with him and he took a sip of his beer. 

When her lips were pressed to his jaw he could feel her trembling. He placed his beer on the end-table beside him before he looked over at the pilot. He gave her a gentle smile as he lifted his hand up to brush his fingers over her cheek as his blue eyes met her gaze. Truth been told he had been wanting to kiss her for months now and the only thing that was really holding him back was because she had shared with him that he was her first. A lot of responsibility came with that knowledge and he didn't want to push her too far too soon.

What was he thinking though? The two of them were closer than most people were, they had shared an experience that most people never did, and he had already opened his big mouth and invited her to move in with him, not even thinking that it would mean they would either have to share a bed or he would be sleeping on the couch. Despite his experience with women, Gracie was different, and his fingers trembled slightly as they gently traced the outline of her jaw before he cupped her cheek. With his gaze staying on hers as he leaned in further, his lips pressed to hers in a soft kiss and his eyes closed.

"You don't have to be nervous, flygirl," he whispered against her lips before kissing her again, this time his lips pressed fully against hers as his other arm wrapped around her, pulling her small frame closer to his own.