Collide

"Let's go out," Caroline demanded as she flopped down on the couch next to Julia. Maria was sitting in the recliner and CiCi was stretched out on the floor.

"No," Maria said.

"Why?" Caroline whined.

"Because we always end up at the same places," Maria explained.

"But we have something to celebrate!" Julia jumped in and tried to come to Caroline's defense.

"What?" Maria sounded annoyed to CiCi which made her stifle a laugh.

"CiCi's promotion! She is moving up in the world of art or whatever it is you do," Caroline said. CiCi finally let out the laugh at her friend's attempt to use her raise as a reason to go out.

"I didn't get a promotion, I got a pay raise. A nice one because I do my job well, but that is all," CiCi explained as she felt her phone vibrate on her stomach. She glanced down to see a photo of Sidney standing on top of a mountain with his teammates. He was smiling and sweaty and downright delicious.

"Then you can buy us all drinks!" Julia exclaimed making the girls all laugh and snapping CiCi out of her daydream about her boyfriend.

"That Sid? Where is he at?" Maria asked having noticed CiCi grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"Upstate New York for team building activities. They climbed a mountain today while lifting boulders and logs. He sent me the picture because he knows how I will react to it, the tease." The two giggled at the photo and the subsequent text alluding to her missing all the action he sent with it.

"I say if we go we go to the piano bar. I'm all for hearing vulgar renditions of some of our favorite songs," Julia suggested ignoring the side conversation and trying to bring the room back into focus on the topic at hand.

"How about you girls go, I'll give you a twenty and you can buy a fishbowl to drink on me. And if you are too drunk to walk home I'll come pick you up," Maria suggested. CiCi had yet to commit to anything. She assumed that if she was receiving texts from Sid that meant he may be able to talk, which was something they hadn't had a chance to do for some time.

She was busy writing back to Sid when she replied, "I'm out. I have to be at the gallery early tomorrow anyways. We have a new exhibit coming in and I want to make sure they don't destroy the floors. They were just redone."

"Ah the life of a museum curator," Julia joked.

"Not a museum," CiCi mumbled as she climbed to her feet and started towards the stairs to her bedroom. She took the jokes sometimes, but there were times she just couldn't understand why her friends razzed on her about what she did. She never teased any of them for their career choices.

"Hi," CiCi said into her phone when she saw Sid calling.

"Hey, how's it going?" Sid asked. He seemed to be in a good mood, but was possibly not alone.

"Roomie with you right now?" CiCi asked.

"Yeah," he replied back.

"Damn thought I'd get some phone sex from you after sending me all that eye candy!" CiCi sighed as she collapsed on her bed.

"I can ask him to leave, you know. Dupers understands, he's got four kids so you know he's had a lot of sex," Sid laughed and CiCi heard some rustling and another voice telling Sid to fuck off.

"No, but I do have something I need to ask you." CiCi had a fleeting thought of what Sid was like around his teammates and whether she would meet them once they were back for the start of training camp.

"Ok, shoot," Sid said.

"So, you know how Maria is getting married in January. I know, I know it seems so long from now. But anyways, she asked if I would be needing a plus one and I said I would check. And I already looked at your schedule and her wedding is ironically the 18th and you have the entire weekend off! So, would you want to maybe go with me?"

"January 18th?" Sid asked as though he was contemplating it. He remembered her mentioning it before when he caught a glimpse of the dress she would be wearing.

"Yes."

"Oh, I'm really busy that weekend. You see my girlfriend is a bridesmaid in a wedding and I have to go to that with her."

"You're an ass full of sass tonight," CiCi said deadpan.

"Nice rhyme. Did you come up with that all on your own?"

Choosing to ignore him, CiCi continued, "Anyway, there was something else I wanted to bring up. Since you are moved in to your beautiful, albeit completely far away from your awesomely eclectic girlfriend, home do you think you will be getting rid of the apartment?"

"I was going to list it, I'm not so sure though, why?"

"Maybe you'd want to rent it."

"I don't know CiCi," Sid hesitated. He didn't want to be a landlord. He didn't like the thought of having to deal with other people's problems.

"Just to me. Our lease is up in two months and Maria and Derrick bought a house already. Caroline and Tom are getting a place to rent together and Julia is moving away for a new job."

"I'm not going to have you rent my apartment." The thought of taking his girlfriend's money made it feel like the wrong end of a business deal. Like she was paying him to keep him around.

"Damn. It's perfect for me to get to work. Oh well, it was worth a shot."

"Listen, let's talk about this when I get home. I'm sorry I have to go right now."

"Oh, okay," CiCi felt slightly defeated, she was kind of hoping that Sid would let her rent off of him.

"I'll be home tomorrow afternoon. Want to grab dinner?"

"It will have to be late because I am working until 8," she said.

"Alright, I'll pick you up at the gallery at 8."

"That works."

"I'm sorry I have to run. Some sort of simulation thing we have to go do."

"It's fine. I wasn't expecting to talk to you for hours."

"Ok. Hey!"

"Yeah?"

"Love you boobaloo," he said eliciting a giggle from CiCi.

"Love you too Sid," she said after she calmed down some.

"Until tomorrow my lady."

"Bye handsome."

"See ya baby."

CiCi lay there pondering her living situation, knowing she needed to find something and fast. She wandered back downstairs to find her roommates still debating on whether going out on a Wednesday was a good idea.

"Fuck it, let's go out," CiCi declared when she entered the room. And the room erupted into loud cheers.

*****
"CiCi, I'm so sorry about ending the conversation so quickly earlier. Call me back as soon as you get this? Please?" Sid pleaded into CiCi's voicemail. He had been trying to get ahold of her for a few hours and he couldn't understand why she was ignoring his phone calls. It was nearly midnight and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to stay awake. He had a long, exhausting day and he was actually surprised he wasn't passed out like Pascal in the bed next to him.

He finally succumbed to sleep when he was jolted awake by his bed shaking.

"Wake the fuck up dude, your phone will NOT stop ringing!" Pascal sounded angry and he couldn't blame him. "Just when I think it's over it starts back up again!"

Sid sat up and saw he missed four calls from CiCi and just when he was about to hit call back his screen lit up with her face and he answered the phone quickly, "CiCi? You okay?"

"Sidney!" She shouted into the phone then giggled uncontrollably.

"Are you drunk?"

"Maybe just a little bit, but that never hurt anybody before."

"Are you by yourself?" He saw that Pascal was giving him a death stare and looked at his friend apologetically. He got up and threw on his slippers and grabbed the key card to their room.

"Noooope. My friends are with me."

"Babe, I can barely hear you. Where are you?" Sid wandered out into the hallway of the hotel they were at so that Pascal could fall back asleep. He could hear movement on the other end of the line and listened for CiCi to finally speak.

"There! Better?" She asked.

"Where are you?"

"Walking home from Charlie Murdoch's."

"I don't like that you are walking home by yourself."

"Then stay on the phone with me while I walk."

"Why are you drunk?"

"Because I went out." Obviously, Sid thought.

"But you have to work tomorrow. Well, later today." He noticed the time stamp on his phone was after midnight by then.

"I just needed to let loose. Things...they are a-changing," she said in a sing-song voice.

"What is changing?"

"Jobs, living spaces, people getting married. Ex-boyfriends trying to be all slick even when I tell them no."

"Who? That Mark guy?" Sid didn't like the thought of CiCi still seeing this guy.

"Don't you worry about it babe. I took care of him and the whore he claims he wasn't fucking when I caught him."

Sidney was confused. CiCi told him plenty about her past, but never had she referred to what exactly happened to end her relationship with her ex. And what she was saying wasn't making any sense. He was tired, she was drunk and over three hundred miles away.

"So you went to Charlie Murdoch's? Did they play any of your requests?"

"Nooo, I didn't request anything...OUCH fuck!" CiCi screamed making Sid pull his phone away from his ear. He stifled a laugh because he never heard CiCi use profanity outside of the bedroom and it sounded funny to him.

"Babe, you okay?" He asked when he didn't hear anything else.

"You love me, right?" She asked instead of informing Sidney that she was and why she screamed out the way she did.

"Of course I love you."

"Well at least that hasn't changed! Oh there's my house."

"CiCi, are you okay?" He wished he was home with her to comfort her.

"I miss you soooo much! I hope that doesn't creep you out at all."

"Why would it? I miss you too. I'll be home tomorrow, remember?"

"Yes! You will be. Should I bring clothes with me?"

"Yes, however many days worth you'd like."

"Ah, I got it!" He knew she wasn't listening again.

"Got what babe?" He asked.

"The key into the door. Now I'm home." Sid heard a door slam and heels clicking along the hardwood. "I'm gonna bring all my clothes."

"Whatever makes you happy babe," Sid laughed then heard a loud thumping noise. "Cesira! What are you doing?"

"I'm...moving out."

"Where are you going?"

"With you for now."

"Just pack what you need until Sunday. Okay? Then we will go from there."

"Got it!" CiCi giggled. "Oh no! Did I wake you up?" He smiled. He has never experienced drunk CiCi and her delayed observations were making the situation that much funnier.

"It's alright, more like Dupers woke me up because you woke him up."

"Hehe."

"What?"

"You called your teammate Dupers."

"Why is that funny?"

"Because it sounds dirty."

"Okay, time for someone to go to bed."

"Awe babe no!! I...okay. Yeah I can sleep now."

"I'll see you very very soon sweetie."

"Love you bugaboo."

"I said boobaloo."

"That's right, bugaboo!"

"Oh never mind. I love you too. Get some sleep and I will see you tomorrow."

Sidney finally got CiCi to hang up the phone and he looked at his phone exasperated. She had been avoiding the idea of going out with her friends, he wondered what made her change her mind. He hoped it wasn't because of him, but he had a sneaky suspicion that all the changes she is gearing up to experience had something to do with it.

*****

CiCi leaned back in her desk chair with her crochet needle in hand and a skein of yarn unraveling at her feet. She was nursing a headache and avoiding her associates by pretending to catch up on emails, instead she was easing her mind by making a scarf for the coming winter months. She was lost in the mindless activity when she heard a soft knock on the open door and a black baseball cap sticking through the entryway.

"I knew you were hardly working," Sid said when he caught her attention. Instead of jumping up to welcome him home, CiCi sat back against her chair and groaned. "I was kinda hoping for a better welcome home than that, but I guess that works too."

"I'm so embarrassed! I cannot believe I called you drunk. I never drink like that! I am so sorry!" She fell forward and placed her forehead against the cool wooden desk.

"I thought you were funny, and maybe slightly confusing. Why do you want to move out?" Sid sat across from her and studied her closely.

"Ugh! That explains why there were loads of clothes piled in duffel bags."

"Do you have things to come back to my place for the rest of the week?" Sid asked hopeful.

"Yeah, I have a few sets of clothes for that. I don't know. I just...I don't want to unload on you. It's not becoming and this whole thing between us is still crazy new."

"But I want to know everything about you and if unloading is needed then please, be my guest."

"Not now Sid, please. I have a headache, mounds of work to do that I can't focus on because of the headache, and I'm just really confused right now."

"Alright, I won't press this issue any further. But can you answer one question?"

"Yeah, okay."

"You're confusion. It's not about us? Is it?"

She paused and focused on him. He looked somewhat vulnerable and so much younger than 26 years old. The uncertainty that she managed to project to him made him appear nervous and she felt badly because of all the uncertainties in her life he wasn't one of them. In fact, he was the only thing that was completely clear and that scared her and thrilled her. She stood and walked around her desk. Standing in front of him she ran a hand across his cheek and allowed his hands to snake around her thighs and pull her onto his lap.

"You are pretty much the only thing I am crystal clear about and it's so funny because of how our worlds collided together."

Sid squeezed CiCi's sides and pressed his lips against her shoulder. "You can live in my apartment rent free."

"What?" She leaned back to look down at the man holding her in his arms.

"I was going to tell you that yesterday when I got pulled out to do some more team building crap. But I'm not going to charge you to stay in my place. Especially when I'll probably be there a lot of the time."

"You're the most amazing person," CiCi mumbled as she pressed her lips to his in a much more fitting welcome home kiss.

Notes

Sorry for the delay!! I got on a roll with my other story, so I started neglecting this one. But I'm just about done with the other one. So please vote, subscribe, comment! Thanks!