More That That - Chapter 3: Sexual Something (Gwen/Luis)
by hot4luis
 

Chapter 3: Sexual Something
Love isn't brains, children, it's blood - blood screaming inside you to work its will.
-William the Bloody aka Spike
 

Luis stood in the middle of Grace Bennett’s antique shop the next day, looking blankly at the potpourri sachets that were lined up on one of the shelves. Grace had left his side a few minutes ago and he had never felt more lost in a store than he did at that moment. Shopping wasn’t his forte and shopping for housewarming gifts was a concept entirely too foreign for him.
He didn’t know why he had such a difficult time thinking of something to buy for Gwen’s apartment. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he hadn’t exactly seen her apartment yet and he wasn’t sure what exactly she didn’t have. He briefly thought about buying her a potted plant but that was too domestic for a practical woman like Gwen Hotchkiss. He ran a hand over his face and sighed in frustration. It wasn’t like he was going to find anything in Grace’s store for Gwen’s apartment. Grace was homey, she was sweet, she had a quaint store for people who were neat and tidy and who liked having scented wood shavings wrapped in little white lace packets with satin ribbons in their homes. Something told Luis that Gwen wasn’t a potpourri type of girl.
Sighing he stuffed his hands in his jacket and pulled out his cell phone. Flipping it open he punched the numbers to his house and waited for someone to pick up. "Mama?"
"Mijo," his mother greeted. "Where are you?"
"At Grace Bennett’s shop," Luis answered looking around the shop again. "Mama, I need to ask you a favor."
"Of course, Luis. What is it?"
"What do you get someone as a housewarming gift?" he asked scratching the back of his head.
"Well," Pilar said sounding thoughtful. "You can for something mechanical if the person is not such a good friend, like maybe a toaster or a coffee maker. Whereas if the person is a very good friend, I’d say you go for a potted plant or maybe, um, potpourri is nice."
"Um," Luis said as his eyes landed on the colorful sachets on the shelf. "Not potpourri, Mama. What else do you suggest?"
"Well, it would help if I knew who this person is," Pilar said indignantly.
Luis sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew calling his other was a mistake. She was good with this stuff but he couldn’t tell her about Gwen. He couldn’t tell anyone because frankly he didn’t know what about Gwen there was to tell. "Mama, you know what? Never mind…I’ll figure something out."
"Okay hijo," Pilar said sounding odd. "Good luck."
"Thanks." Luis said as he turned off the phone and sighed again.
Grace showed up at his side and raised an eyebrow with a friendly smile. "Still no luck?"
"I called Mama," Luis said and then gestured toward the potpourri. "She thinks I should go for the potpourri. I don’t think that’s such a good idea."
"Well," Grace said with a little cluck of her tongue. "I would say that this person you are visiting with a housewarming gift is a woman."
Luis winced. Sometimes Grace Bennett was just the most perceptive woman in the world. "She’s just a friend. I just don’t know what she likes."
"Well how about you go over there?" Grace said pointing to the left corner of the little shop. "There are some ceramic wind chimes, ceramic mugs and cups…it’s all ceramic and you never know what you’ll find!"
"Okay," Luis said knowing it couldn’t hurt. He couldn’t stay in the shop all night and if he couldn’t find something he’d just leave. It wasn’t like he had made Gwen a promise or anything. He had said he might drop by and she probably didn’t even think he really would.
He walked over to the ceramic display with caution and squinted his eyes to see the little miniature pieces that were placed on the display shelves. He laughed at a statue of a little girl holding flowers and one of a boy blushing rosy red.
Then, his eyes fell on the wall across the shelves and he found himself nearing them. Immediately he reached up and pulled down a small, wooden plaque. It looked hand-painted and rich with gold trimmings around the edges of the wood. Grey ceramic was bunched up in a corner resembling they jetty that the Lighthouse in Harmony stood. The Lighthouse itself was made of red and white ceramic. Waves crashed against the rocks, the sun was setting in the horizon in a magnificent display of pink, orange and purple paint. What caught Luis’s attention the most was the caption engraved in delicate calligraphy on the top that read: Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfection.
Luis smiled and tapped his finger on the back of the plaque. Turning, he walked to the cash register and found Grace. "I found it."
"Really?" Grace said with a small smile. "What is it?"
Luis held up the plaque and smiled proudly. "It’s really great."
Grace smiled and nodded. She rung up the bill and then looked back at him. "Do you want me to wrap it for you?"
"I can do that myself," Luis replied.
"I’ve had experience with men and wrapping gifts," Grace laughed as she pulled out a small pink gift bag from one of the drawers. "Let me handle it."
Luis relented as Grace proceeded to wrap the plague in layers of tissue paper. She ten carefully placed it in the bag and handed it to him as if it were a baby and not just a gift. "Thanks Grace. You’re the best, you know that?"
"Flattery will get you everywhere Luis." Grace smiled and then leaned in for hug.
Luis stepped out of the shop and looked at his watch. It was still nine-thirty. Maybe it was a little too early to be heading to Gwen’s. The realization that she may not be expecting him, suddenly hit him and he groaned. He didn’t really want to call her and announce that he was coming over. That would make her compelled to say yes even if she didn’t want him there. This way, he could show up, give her what he had brought and then evaluate if she wanted him to stay. "Hank and Beth. I’ll go over to their place first."
He drove over to the complex that Hank and Beth had bought an apartment together in. As he reached their door, he saw Hank coming outside. "Hey Luis!" He then glanced at the bad in Luis’s hand. "Oh Luis, you shouldn’t have!"
"I didn’t dumbass." Luis said with a snort. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Kind of," Hank said as he glanced back at the apartment. "Beth lost one of Mrs. Wallace’s brooches. She’s turned the place upside down looking for it. And right now she’s blaming me because I’m a slob. Somehow, it’s my fault."
"So you leaving her to her neurotic self?" Luis asked with a smirk.
"She threw me out."
"Ouch," Luis said and then nudged Hank towards the door. "I’ll protect you. Let’s go."
Hank and Luis entered the apartment cautiously and found Beth on all four looking through the shoe closet near the door. Hank sighed. "It can’t be there, baby."
"I thought I threw you out and told you I never wanted to see you again," Beth replied from the closet. She poked her head out and looked at Luis with a sweet smile. "Hey Luis."
Luis laughed and then walked into the living room Hank following him. Hank rolled his eyes and shrugged off his jacket. "The story of my life buddy – The Taming of The Shrew. Shakespeare is probably turning in his grave."
"I heard that," Beth said from the closet. "Hank Bennett, get out."
Luis snorted and propped his feet on the coffee table. Hank and Beth were a great distraction from his impending visit to Gwen and right now he just wanted to relax. "You guys have been living together way too long."
 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~
 

Gwen looked at the clock that rested beside the phone in the living room of her new apartment. It was ten. If Luis was coming he would have been there already. She slapped her hands on her knees and got off the couch in frustration. "He said maybe. It didn’t mean that he really was going to. What else was he supposed to say to your oh-so-subtle tidbit?"
She didn’t know why, she just expected Luis to actually show up on her doorstep with a housewarming gift. But the terms they had decided in Boston replayed in her mind. It was a one-night stand of pure physical pleasure and nothing else. Neither of them had admitted to wanting more that that night and she had no right to expect it again. It was sex and there was no other way around it.
But he had been so good. In bed and otherwise. Apart from being a wonderful lover, he was caring and gentle and his eyes shone with so much emotion when he took her. "No! It had nothing to do with emotion! Don’t see things that aren’t there, Gwen."
She needed to get out. She needed to check on her father again. His condition was the same and around a quarter to ten she had decided to leave the hospital after telling the nurse that she wanted to be contacted immediately if anything changed. She should be with her father right now. Not in her apartment waiting for Luis to show up.
She grabbed her purse from the coffee table and rushed to the door. She swung it open and gasped as her eyes connected with the amber ones of Luis. He was leaning against the doorframe, his hand in mid-knock and a surprised expression on his face. "Gwen…"
"Luis," Gwen breathed and commanded herself t calm down. She looked down at his other hand and saw a pink gift bag there.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "I’m sorry, were you going somewhere?"
"No," she answered and stepped aside. "Please, come in."
He brushed past her and she took in the scent of his cologne. He smelled exactly like he had that night in Boston and memories started to flash through her mind. She shook her head and closed her door. He turned and smiled at her. "This is a nice place you got."
"Thank you," she replied and smoothed her hands over her navy blue skirt.
He extended the bag in his hand and met her gaze. "Welcome home."
She let out a nervous laugh and took the bag from his hand. The back of her hand brushed against his and she felt a heat course through her. Her voice came out shaky. "Thank you."
Once in the living room, he waited expectantly for her to open it and she decided it was the best thing to do to dispel the tension rising in the room. She pulled the flaps of the bag apart and dug her hand inside. Pulling out something hard wrapped in tissue paper, she glanced up at him curiously. Slowly, she removed the paper and sighed as the plaque fell into her hand. Quietly she read the expression and then looked up at him in shock. He smiled. "The picture and the caption reminded me of you. Do you like it?"
"It’s perfect," she answered and took an involuntary step closer to him. "Thank you."
Before she knew what she was doing, she stepped up on her tiptoes and leaned forward to place a sot kiss on his cheek. He seemed surprised by the gesture and his arms immediately came around her waist. She stood firmly rooted to the spot, their faces inches apart. The same heat that had coursed through her in Boston was making its way all over her body. She looked up at him, his eyes slowly changing from amber to black, as she pressed closer to him.
"This is crazy," he whispered to her, his desire for her already apparent to her.
"I know." she answered back as her mouth hovered over his.
"But I can’t think of one good reason not to stay," he said huskily and she licked her lips.
"I can’t even think." She let out a small laugh trying to break the tension. If he was even slightly amused, he didn’t show it. Instead, he crushed his mouth to hers in a demanding kiss. She returned the kiss with just as much fervor, obliging by opening her mouth and letting his tongue slide inside. All the worries, frustrations and misgivings of the day and the last six weeks seemed to melt away as she melted into the kiss. Her legs gave way and she found herself clinging to him. His hands found their way under the silk of her blouse and her fingers were twined in his hair. He broke away and looked at her, panting. "Luis…"
"Bedroom?" he asked, his hands running over her back under the silk. She didn’t answer and pressed her lips against his neck. "Gwen, there’s a bedroom here, isn’t there?"
"Yes," she murmured as she felt her legs totally lose all control. He groaned as she kissed the column of his neck and pulled him down. "But there’s floor right here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~