~*~*~
“Ok, guys… just one more, if u can stand it!” David clapped his hands as they hurriedly swallowed their ridiculously late lunch and a few meer actors drifted in for the later scenes that would be shot without Hugh of Lisa. Omar and Olivia were chatting with the patient, all three practicing their air gitaar skills, and Peter was dozing in his chair off to the side. Hugh and Lisa exchanged looks, both meer than ready to finish early and go home pagina for a change…
“Think u can get yourself good and mad at me?” Hugh asked as they headed toward the hallway set to begin Cuddy’s horrendous confrontation with House after the balcony announcement that they had filmed earlier.
“Should be easy enough,” Lisa said, grinning at him.
“Yeah? Go. Come on. Let’s have it. Come on come on come on.”
“Ok, you—pompous, overbearing, British snob!” Lisa glared at Hugh for a grand total of two seconden before she burst out laughing.
“Come on, now!” Hugh said, mock-angrily putting his hands on his hips and staring her down. “Nothing you’ve always wanted to call me out on?”
“That pretentious British accent, for instance?” Omar called from off-set.
“I love that British accent,” Lisa zei when Hugh raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s such a refreshing change from that faux cultured straat lingo Omar’s always dropping on us.”
“That’s right, baby,” Omar said, thumping his chest twice and extending the peace sign in their direction.
“Angry is something I can do with minimal effort,” Lisa zei as she and Hugh continued on set. “Honestly, it’s usually a point with me to not sound pissed off about anything and everything in Cuddy’s scenes, so this just means I can really… let go.”
Hugh raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve never seen u get really angry, in all these seasons?”
“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?” Lisa asked, tilting her head at him. “He’s trying to make her angry. And… he has succeeded.”
“Oh, really?” Hugh raised an eyebrow at her, stopping on his mark and gesturing for her to continue to her place around the corner. “By all means, then.”
A few minuten later…
“This is beyond ass-hood!” Hugh didn’t stop, but inwardly flinched. “You have the luxury of not—caring about your image; I do not!” Lisa’s eyes were smarting, but she was determined not to let go just yet—not until Hugh turned around, and— “I can permit a lot of crap! But an employee shouting about his sexual exploits, with me, no! That is zero tolerance!” Hugh was avoiding her eyes—moisture had finally leaked out and was spilling down her left cheek, but she pushed through furiously. “So congratulations, House, u got your wish. I am angry.”
Hugh took a breath and tried to slikken past the lump that was forming in his throat against all logic; he really hadn’t ever seen Lisa angry. But it was his line… “I was wondering if we should verplaats in together.”
Lisa’s breath was short—she saw the light at the end of the tunnel—and it looked like her bed, with her pillows, and hopefully Kapow sleeping on of near the foot of the bed, keeping her toes warm… Lisa started to laugh—a hysterical, humorless laugh—and simply waved her arms between them, closing the subject for good. “You’re fired.”
Hugh stared, his jaw dropping just the slightest bit as she turned and stalked off, her stride longer than he’d ever seen it, watching until she turned the corner, and realized that the scene was over—Carl had shot all his scenes a week earlier, as he wasn’t available after the tenth. Hugh turned and looked at the directors, who were gathered around a monitor looking at the two different perspectives they had gotten.
“One take, guys!” David called finally. “Guess u still got it!”
Lisa came back around the corner, wiping her eye, smiling weakly at Hugh. He raised his hands in surrender.
“Don’t shoot!”
“Shut up,” she said, coming back up to him. “Was that ok?”
“More than ok. It was a print. We get to go home.”
“David?” Lisa asked.
“What, u don’t trust me?” Hugh put an arm around her shoulder as she continued to rub at her eyes, trying to clear all remaining tears away. “Go to your trailer right now, my girl, get changed, and go home.”
David and Katie were waiting for them off set as the other actors began to gather for their scenes.
“That was great, guys, really. You’ve got an early call tomorrow, so go get some rest,” David said, nodding at them. “We’ll do the scenes in House’s apartment, and then see if we can get in Cuddy’s office and then the majority of the tough stuff will be in the can.”
“Sounds good,” Hugh said, squeezing the back of Lisa’s neck quickly before letting go and heading for his trailer so he could go home. Lisa followed quickly, catching up to him and falling in stride.
“You’re going to get some rest tonight, right?” She asked quietly, tugging on his arm. Hugh looked at her, surprised. “You haven’t been sleeping well lately. I can tell. I’m hoping tonight you’ll have enough time to wind down so u can actually…” she wiggled her fingers off into the air. “Off to dreamland.”
“God, that sounds good,” Hugh muttered, rolling his neck around until his gaze reached Lisa. “I will promise to get some sleep if u will promise the same thing; can’t have u yawning at me while I’m trying to make out with you.”
“Ohhhhh…” Lisa dragged that one syllable out, looking positively evil as she shifted her eyes sideways at him. “Don’t u worry. I think I’ll be sufficiently stimulated.”
Hugh’s eyebrow shot up, and he stopped walking, looking at her thoughtfully. Lisa went on another few feet before she realized he wasn’t with her. Shaking his head slowly, he caught up with her and they walked together the last few feet before they spleet, split off toward their respective trailers, promising to see each other the volgende morning.
~*~*~
Lisa stretched her toes luxuriously into her down comforter, poking Kapow in the ribs. The dog half-growled, half-snorted in its sleep and rolled over, never fully waking up. Lisa pulled the blanket over her bare shoulder, sinking her face into her softest pillow, closing her eyes in relief. She had turned the air on higher than normal just so she could snuggle herself into the softest, most relaxing bedclothes she had. She planned on getting as much interrupted sleep as possible tonight, of all nights—tomorrow was going to be a workout.
But it’s the best kind of workout… she thought to herself, smiling into the darkness. Well—for me, anyway… Suddenly she was no longer drifting peacefully off to sleep. Suddenly she was gripped with the same worries and insecurities that had plagued her for the past few weeks.
Hugh had kissed her. There was no denying that; it wasn’t like the flirting that had grown over the years, the unquantifiable escalation of their banter, and the undertones of some of their in-jokes that would make their co-stars pause and wonder: why do I think that didn’t really mean exactly what it sounded like? A kiss was quantifiable. It was a fact of life now; it had taken place, and now they were dealing with the aftermath—
Except they weren’t dealing with the aftermath. Why hadn’t Hugh been acting weird? Normally he would have come to her trailer and apologized… Lisa smirked into the freshness of her newly laundered pillowcases. Hugh was always apologizing for something. So why now, when he actually had done something that warranted an apology—or at least an explanation—had he not zei of done anything at all?
As far as she saw it, there were two plausible options. First, he was so ashamed of himself that he had blocked it from his mind. He had no idea why he had done it, he wished he hadn’t done it, and he wanted to pretend it had never happened. Surely this lapse in judgment was a major hurdle for him. Lisa bit her lip, not opening her eyes. All too easily she slipped back into the memory, feeling his grip like a vise around her upper arms as he grabbed her for the first time with salacious intent. She had been so taken aback, not even reacting for a moment—was that why he hadn’t zei anything? He was so worried he had insulted her… hadn’t she been sufficiently reassuring before they’d gone back on the set?
Strangely enough, the part that she was fixating on meer than anything was after the kiss. She had leaned forward, her forehead against the side of his face, their bodies still entwined… Hugh’s chest had been rising and falling against her own, and his hands had remained on her back, pressing her into him as he struggled to catch his breath. His body had been hard against hers, rock solid, not moving, a fortress of safety that she could depend on forever. His lips had sought hers out so eagerly, so easily, so passionately—could it really not have affected him?
So option two, then: it had affected him—possibly meer than he realized. He was afraid of what it had done; she could understand that; it was exactly the position she’d found herself in, after all. Going back to the norm had been so easy, to just pretend it hadn’t happened before something else occurred, and just fall back into routine… Lisa grabbed her hoofdkussen, kussen and covered her head with it, completely exhausted with her train of thought. At this rate she was going to give herself nightmares. So much for getting a good night’s sleep… well, enough was enough. She needed to get some rest of she would be in no shape for shooting in the morning. She repositioned her hoofdkussen, kussen under her cheek, rested her foot against Kapow’s warm and furry back, and began to feel herself floating off into unconscious bliss…
The phone rang.
“Nooooooo…” she moaned, rolling over and grabbing at the phone and thumbing it on without even looking to see who it was. “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then—
“I’m sorry, your highness, I know u enjoy your sleep, but I was hoping I’d catch u before u lost consciousness.”
Lisa sat straight up in the bed. “Hugh?”
“I’m sorry,” Hugh zei as he leaned back against his headboard. “I didn’t think I’d wake you. Did I wake you?”
“No, no, no… I was just getting ready to go to sleep, but I’m awake.” Lisa looked at the clock. “Is everything ok?” There was no answer. “Hugh?”
“Yeah—well, yeah, everything’s fine, I just—I don’t know.”
Lisa’s voice softened. “Just wanted someone to talk to?”
Hugh paused. “N—no, just—listen, I’m going to hang up, I’m sorry, we don’t have to—I’ll see you—”
“No, Hugh, no…” Lisa’s tucked the phone into her shoulder. “Don’t. It’s ok. It just took me door surprise a little, is all. We hardly ever talk on the phone.”
Hugh sank a little into his pillows, still sitting up. “Yeah. Why don’t we?”
“Huh?” Lisa zei brilliantly.
“Well, we talk enough on set, and in interviews, and at parties… awards shows... I wonder why this is a first for us. A first—well, not a first, but a—just a talking thing…”
Lisa smiled into the phone. “Hugh, u sound like a thirteen jaar old boy calling that cute girl he likes.”
Hugh’s eyes unfocused as he stared off into the distance. “I guess that’s not totally off base. You’re cute enough.”
“Aw.”
A comfortable silence descended over them, and Lisa began to rearrange herself, sinking back into the pillows and sighing deeply in comfort. Hugh heard her and grinned, doing the same thing on his end.
“Getting comfortable? Got Kapow there with you?”
“Of course,” Lisa said, poking at the dog with her foot.
“Stop teasing that poor dog,” Hugh said, knowing full well what she was doing. “You’re so mean.”
“This is such a tragedy. I never know if anyone loves me for me of for my dogs.” Lisa snarked back at him.
“Who wouldn’t love you?” The words were out before he could stop them, and Lisa tensed up, waiting for the eventual joke of sarcastic commentaar to cover himself—but it didn’t come. “You heard me.”
“Did I?” Her voice was low, and Hugh felt a stirring begin in his stomach.
“This feels… safer than talking in person,” he offered. Lisa swallowed hard and closed her eyes, snuggling her ear closer to the phone.
“Do we need a buffer zone?”
“I’m starting to think maybe we do. Lisa…”
“Yes?”
“This is going to sound so stupid. But I wondered… when I spent the night in your trailer some while ago, I woke up before u did, and while I was getting ready to leave, I heard you—”
Lisa’s eyes widened, and suddenly she was transported into the memory of the dream she’d been having that night—
Hugh was leaning over her back to speak to her, his hands firmly gripping her shoulders, massaging them so slowly, so seductively…
“What? Did I say something in my sleep?” She tried to cover. “Once at summer camp one of my bunkmates told me that I had asked them to go to 7-11 and get me a slurpee without ever waking up.”
Suddenly Lisa threw her head to the side just as Hugh finally lost control, lowering his lips to the sensitive skin under her jaw, nipping quickly at the exact spot that always sent Lisa into a torrent of desire, his tongue soothing everywhere his teeth touched…
“You said… something. My name, actually, and it was—”
“Are u sure u want to ask me this?” Lisa asked desperately, trying to control herself.
“Hugh…” she moaned, and he suddenly stopped, pulling her up and around to face him, bringing her face to his, devouring her in the deepest, wettest kiss she’s ever experienced. She reached for his face, feeling his 5 o’clock shadow coarse under her fingertips, realizing that she wanted to feel him—elsewhere…
“I am asking you,” Hugh zei roughly, and Lisa huffed out a breath of frustration. He knew. Of course he knew. He had to know what he was doing to her.
“This is a dangerous game we’re playing, Hugh. I mean, you’re—”
“Jesus, Lisa!” He burst out, sitting straight up in bed. “I am fully aware of what I am! Do u honestly think that I would be doing this—saying these things—if I had a choice? I’ve tried to stay away from you. I’ve tried to stay angry with you—I’ve even tried to ignore you, and u just won’t go out of my mind.” He breathed hard, laying back down. He could hear Lisa’s breath grow ragged on the other end and closed his eyes—and plunged. He whispered. “I want you.”
“Ok, guys… just one more, if u can stand it!” David clapped his hands as they hurriedly swallowed their ridiculously late lunch and a few meer actors drifted in for the later scenes that would be shot without Hugh of Lisa. Omar and Olivia were chatting with the patient, all three practicing their air gitaar skills, and Peter was dozing in his chair off to the side. Hugh and Lisa exchanged looks, both meer than ready to finish early and go home pagina for a change…
“Think u can get yourself good and mad at me?” Hugh asked as they headed toward the hallway set to begin Cuddy’s horrendous confrontation with House after the balcony announcement that they had filmed earlier.
“Should be easy enough,” Lisa said, grinning at him.
“Yeah? Go. Come on. Let’s have it. Come on come on come on.”
“Ok, you—pompous, overbearing, British snob!” Lisa glared at Hugh for a grand total of two seconden before she burst out laughing.
“Come on, now!” Hugh said, mock-angrily putting his hands on his hips and staring her down. “Nothing you’ve always wanted to call me out on?”
“That pretentious British accent, for instance?” Omar called from off-set.
“I love that British accent,” Lisa zei when Hugh raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s such a refreshing change from that faux cultured straat lingo Omar’s always dropping on us.”
“That’s right, baby,” Omar said, thumping his chest twice and extending the peace sign in their direction.
“Angry is something I can do with minimal effort,” Lisa zei as she and Hugh continued on set. “Honestly, it’s usually a point with me to not sound pissed off about anything and everything in Cuddy’s scenes, so this just means I can really… let go.”
Hugh raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve never seen u get really angry, in all these seasons?”
“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?” Lisa asked, tilting her head at him. “He’s trying to make her angry. And… he has succeeded.”
“Oh, really?” Hugh raised an eyebrow at her, stopping on his mark and gesturing for her to continue to her place around the corner. “By all means, then.”
A few minuten later…
“This is beyond ass-hood!” Hugh didn’t stop, but inwardly flinched. “You have the luxury of not—caring about your image; I do not!” Lisa’s eyes were smarting, but she was determined not to let go just yet—not until Hugh turned around, and— “I can permit a lot of crap! But an employee shouting about his sexual exploits, with me, no! That is zero tolerance!” Hugh was avoiding her eyes—moisture had finally leaked out and was spilling down her left cheek, but she pushed through furiously. “So congratulations, House, u got your wish. I am angry.”
Hugh took a breath and tried to slikken past the lump that was forming in his throat against all logic; he really hadn’t ever seen Lisa angry. But it was his line… “I was wondering if we should verplaats in together.”
Lisa’s breath was short—she saw the light at the end of the tunnel—and it looked like her bed, with her pillows, and hopefully Kapow sleeping on of near the foot of the bed, keeping her toes warm… Lisa started to laugh—a hysterical, humorless laugh—and simply waved her arms between them, closing the subject for good. “You’re fired.”
Hugh stared, his jaw dropping just the slightest bit as she turned and stalked off, her stride longer than he’d ever seen it, watching until she turned the corner, and realized that the scene was over—Carl had shot all his scenes a week earlier, as he wasn’t available after the tenth. Hugh turned and looked at the directors, who were gathered around a monitor looking at the two different perspectives they had gotten.
“One take, guys!” David called finally. “Guess u still got it!”
Lisa came back around the corner, wiping her eye, smiling weakly at Hugh. He raised his hands in surrender.
“Don’t shoot!”
“Shut up,” she said, coming back up to him. “Was that ok?”
“More than ok. It was a print. We get to go home.”
“David?” Lisa asked.
“What, u don’t trust me?” Hugh put an arm around her shoulder as she continued to rub at her eyes, trying to clear all remaining tears away. “Go to your trailer right now, my girl, get changed, and go home.”
David and Katie were waiting for them off set as the other actors began to gather for their scenes.
“That was great, guys, really. You’ve got an early call tomorrow, so go get some rest,” David said, nodding at them. “We’ll do the scenes in House’s apartment, and then see if we can get in Cuddy’s office and then the majority of the tough stuff will be in the can.”
“Sounds good,” Hugh said, squeezing the back of Lisa’s neck quickly before letting go and heading for his trailer so he could go home. Lisa followed quickly, catching up to him and falling in stride.
“You’re going to get some rest tonight, right?” She asked quietly, tugging on his arm. Hugh looked at her, surprised. “You haven’t been sleeping well lately. I can tell. I’m hoping tonight you’ll have enough time to wind down so u can actually…” she wiggled her fingers off into the air. “Off to dreamland.”
“God, that sounds good,” Hugh muttered, rolling his neck around until his gaze reached Lisa. “I will promise to get some sleep if u will promise the same thing; can’t have u yawning at me while I’m trying to make out with you.”
“Ohhhhh…” Lisa dragged that one syllable out, looking positively evil as she shifted her eyes sideways at him. “Don’t u worry. I think I’ll be sufficiently stimulated.”
Hugh’s eyebrow shot up, and he stopped walking, looking at her thoughtfully. Lisa went on another few feet before she realized he wasn’t with her. Shaking his head slowly, he caught up with her and they walked together the last few feet before they spleet, split off toward their respective trailers, promising to see each other the volgende morning.
~*~*~
Lisa stretched her toes luxuriously into her down comforter, poking Kapow in the ribs. The dog half-growled, half-snorted in its sleep and rolled over, never fully waking up. Lisa pulled the blanket over her bare shoulder, sinking her face into her softest pillow, closing her eyes in relief. She had turned the air on higher than normal just so she could snuggle herself into the softest, most relaxing bedclothes she had. She planned on getting as much interrupted sleep as possible tonight, of all nights—tomorrow was going to be a workout.
But it’s the best kind of workout… she thought to herself, smiling into the darkness. Well—for me, anyway… Suddenly she was no longer drifting peacefully off to sleep. Suddenly she was gripped with the same worries and insecurities that had plagued her for the past few weeks.
Hugh had kissed her. There was no denying that; it wasn’t like the flirting that had grown over the years, the unquantifiable escalation of their banter, and the undertones of some of their in-jokes that would make their co-stars pause and wonder: why do I think that didn’t really mean exactly what it sounded like? A kiss was quantifiable. It was a fact of life now; it had taken place, and now they were dealing with the aftermath—
Except they weren’t dealing with the aftermath. Why hadn’t Hugh been acting weird? Normally he would have come to her trailer and apologized… Lisa smirked into the freshness of her newly laundered pillowcases. Hugh was always apologizing for something. So why now, when he actually had done something that warranted an apology—or at least an explanation—had he not zei of done anything at all?
As far as she saw it, there were two plausible options. First, he was so ashamed of himself that he had blocked it from his mind. He had no idea why he had done it, he wished he hadn’t done it, and he wanted to pretend it had never happened. Surely this lapse in judgment was a major hurdle for him. Lisa bit her lip, not opening her eyes. All too easily she slipped back into the memory, feeling his grip like a vise around her upper arms as he grabbed her for the first time with salacious intent. She had been so taken aback, not even reacting for a moment—was that why he hadn’t zei anything? He was so worried he had insulted her… hadn’t she been sufficiently reassuring before they’d gone back on the set?
Strangely enough, the part that she was fixating on meer than anything was after the kiss. She had leaned forward, her forehead against the side of his face, their bodies still entwined… Hugh’s chest had been rising and falling against her own, and his hands had remained on her back, pressing her into him as he struggled to catch his breath. His body had been hard against hers, rock solid, not moving, a fortress of safety that she could depend on forever. His lips had sought hers out so eagerly, so easily, so passionately—could it really not have affected him?
So option two, then: it had affected him—possibly meer than he realized. He was afraid of what it had done; she could understand that; it was exactly the position she’d found herself in, after all. Going back to the norm had been so easy, to just pretend it hadn’t happened before something else occurred, and just fall back into routine… Lisa grabbed her hoofdkussen, kussen and covered her head with it, completely exhausted with her train of thought. At this rate she was going to give herself nightmares. So much for getting a good night’s sleep… well, enough was enough. She needed to get some rest of she would be in no shape for shooting in the morning. She repositioned her hoofdkussen, kussen under her cheek, rested her foot against Kapow’s warm and furry back, and began to feel herself floating off into unconscious bliss…
The phone rang.
“Nooooooo…” she moaned, rolling over and grabbing at the phone and thumbing it on without even looking to see who it was. “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then—
“I’m sorry, your highness, I know u enjoy your sleep, but I was hoping I’d catch u before u lost consciousness.”
Lisa sat straight up in the bed. “Hugh?”
“I’m sorry,” Hugh zei as he leaned back against his headboard. “I didn’t think I’d wake you. Did I wake you?”
“No, no, no… I was just getting ready to go to sleep, but I’m awake.” Lisa looked at the clock. “Is everything ok?” There was no answer. “Hugh?”
“Yeah—well, yeah, everything’s fine, I just—I don’t know.”
Lisa’s voice softened. “Just wanted someone to talk to?”
Hugh paused. “N—no, just—listen, I’m going to hang up, I’m sorry, we don’t have to—I’ll see you—”
“No, Hugh, no…” Lisa’s tucked the phone into her shoulder. “Don’t. It’s ok. It just took me door surprise a little, is all. We hardly ever talk on the phone.”
Hugh sank a little into his pillows, still sitting up. “Yeah. Why don’t we?”
“Huh?” Lisa zei brilliantly.
“Well, we talk enough on set, and in interviews, and at parties… awards shows... I wonder why this is a first for us. A first—well, not a first, but a—just a talking thing…”
Lisa smiled into the phone. “Hugh, u sound like a thirteen jaar old boy calling that cute girl he likes.”
Hugh’s eyes unfocused as he stared off into the distance. “I guess that’s not totally off base. You’re cute enough.”
“Aw.”
A comfortable silence descended over them, and Lisa began to rearrange herself, sinking back into the pillows and sighing deeply in comfort. Hugh heard her and grinned, doing the same thing on his end.
“Getting comfortable? Got Kapow there with you?”
“Of course,” Lisa said, poking at the dog with her foot.
“Stop teasing that poor dog,” Hugh said, knowing full well what she was doing. “You’re so mean.”
“This is such a tragedy. I never know if anyone loves me for me of for my dogs.” Lisa snarked back at him.
“Who wouldn’t love you?” The words were out before he could stop them, and Lisa tensed up, waiting for the eventual joke of sarcastic commentaar to cover himself—but it didn’t come. “You heard me.”
“Did I?” Her voice was low, and Hugh felt a stirring begin in his stomach.
“This feels… safer than talking in person,” he offered. Lisa swallowed hard and closed her eyes, snuggling her ear closer to the phone.
“Do we need a buffer zone?”
“I’m starting to think maybe we do. Lisa…”
“Yes?”
“This is going to sound so stupid. But I wondered… when I spent the night in your trailer some while ago, I woke up before u did, and while I was getting ready to leave, I heard you—”
Lisa’s eyes widened, and suddenly she was transported into the memory of the dream she’d been having that night—
Hugh was leaning over her back to speak to her, his hands firmly gripping her shoulders, massaging them so slowly, so seductively…
“What? Did I say something in my sleep?” She tried to cover. “Once at summer camp one of my bunkmates told me that I had asked them to go to 7-11 and get me a slurpee without ever waking up.”
Suddenly Lisa threw her head to the side just as Hugh finally lost control, lowering his lips to the sensitive skin under her jaw, nipping quickly at the exact spot that always sent Lisa into a torrent of desire, his tongue soothing everywhere his teeth touched…
“You said… something. My name, actually, and it was—”
“Are u sure u want to ask me this?” Lisa asked desperately, trying to control herself.
“Hugh…” she moaned, and he suddenly stopped, pulling her up and around to face him, bringing her face to his, devouring her in the deepest, wettest kiss she’s ever experienced. She reached for his face, feeling his 5 o’clock shadow coarse under her fingertips, realizing that she wanted to feel him—elsewhere…
“I am asking you,” Hugh zei roughly, and Lisa huffed out a breath of frustration. He knew. Of course he knew. He had to know what he was doing to her.
“This is a dangerous game we’re playing, Hugh. I mean, you’re—”
“Jesus, Lisa!” He burst out, sitting straight up in bed. “I am fully aware of what I am! Do u honestly think that I would be doing this—saying these things—if I had a choice? I’ve tried to stay away from you. I’ve tried to stay angry with you—I’ve even tried to ignore you, and u just won’t go out of my mind.” He breathed hard, laying back down. He could hear Lisa’s breath grow ragged on the other end and closed his eyes—and plunged. He whispered. “I want you.”