Claire couldn't help laughing, a light blush colouring her cheeks, as Caleb impulsively picked up her hand, and in a flash of pure, old-fashioned romance, kissed the back of it. Giving him an exaggerated bat of her lashes, she grinned."Why, kind sir, you have me all a-twitter," she said, a god-awful attempt at a Southern US accent mangling the words. Having his lips on her hand was the best she was going to get for now, so she had to make the most of it.
"I grew up in a small town, just south of Auckland, but I guess even Auckland would seem small to someone who grew up in London," replied Claire. "In New Zealand, it's normal to head out to the beach every weekend, and spend loads of time on the water. My favourite place to go is Karekare. You've heard of the movie 'The Piano', yeah? That's where the beach scenes for that were shot." To Claire, it was the most beautiful place on earth, and the most haunting. She thought that Caleb would love it.
Claire looked at Caleb for a few moments, giving his hand a little squeeze, even as he ran his thumb over the spot he had kissed just moments before. "Then maybe we ought to get you in a pool somewhere," she said, offering him a warm smile. She was renting an apartment on West Cheyenne Road, less than 15 minutes' drive from the SGC, and it was perfect for her at the moment. Doubly perfect, in that it might be able to offer a resolution to Caleb's problem.
"My apartment complex has an indoor pool. If you ever want to try..." She shrugged. "I'm more than happy to spend some time in the water with you."
And not just in a swimming pool in public, either.
She held Caleb's gaze, barely even registering the waitress come back and clear their plates. Her body might be present in the pub, but her mind was tripping over a thousand possible scenarios between she and Caleb. She didn't want to go into something new with him, only for it to burn brightly for a short time, then sputter out, leaving only the ashes of their former friendship behind. She had never been the sort of person who had short term relationships: even her relationships before Tama had been no less than a year. Okay, so there had only been the two, but still... When Claire started building a relationship, she built it to last. She hoped that Caleb was on the same page.
"I hadn't thought about it like that," Claire said, smiling as Caleb put a whole new spin on her moko. Her smile grew, eyes sparkling, as Caleb told her he'd be honoured to play a part in her tattoo. "Well, if things work out... I can't imagine not adding our story to it." She'd have to explain it wasn't quite as literal as that, but Claire was confident that exploring her moko would end up being a lot of fun.
She glanced up at the waitress as the chocolate brownie sundae was placed between them, and Claire grinned at Caleb, doing as he asked, and taking a spoon. "You'll regret offering me the first bite, you know," she said, as she dug in and took a decent spoonful of both brownie and ice cream. The texture was velvety and indulgent, and Claire let her eyelids flutter closed. "Bloody hell, that's good," she said, digging her spoon in again, and offering it to Caleb. "You're going to have some serious competition to get a share of this, you know!"
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