DISCLAIMER: CSI: Miami and its characters are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I love all kinds of music. Except Britney Spears.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Thank you Britney Spears
By raven_christina
God it's hot.
That was the only thought running through Natalia Boa Vista's head as she tried to concentrate on her work.
The air conditioner in the lab was on the fritz, and it was grating on everyone. Horatio had made the dress code rather lenient, allowing people to come in shorts and sleeveless shirts if need be until it was fixed, though they still needed to wear their lab coats.
Natalia brushed an errant strand of hair from her neck and grimaced as she wished she'd brought a hair tie. She had been in such a hurry that she hadn't had time to grab one, and in just her luck she didn't have any in her purse or locker. The added weight of her hair seemed to add to the awful humidity of the room, and it didn't help that Maxine was playing that obnoxious pop music.
The beat and sugary words did nothing to help her concentration, and after listening to Britney's greatest hits for the fifth time in a week, she was beginning to get annoyed.
"Um, Maxine? Do you think we could listen to something else?"
The bottled blonde looked up at her lab partner, sweat glistening on her nose. Usually Maxine was quite cordial and she and Natalia got along really well, but it seemed that she was not in the mood to cooperate.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it's my turn to pick the music while we work, that's why. And it helps me concentrate."
"But usually the music you pick is something I can agree with." Natalia replied, feeling a little snappish herself.
"What, you don't like Britney?"
"No, I don't." Natalia managed to say, though she could feel her temper rising.
"Well you don't have to do your paperwork in here, the freakin' break room is open ya know!" Maxine snapped.
Natalia took a deep breath and grabbed the sheaf of papers from the table, "ok, I will!"
She stormed out the door and down the hallway. She walked into the break room and threw her papers down onto the table. She walked over to the fridge, took out a water bottle from the stash Alexx kept in there for them and put it to her forehead. "God it is so damn hot!!!"
"I noticed."
The brunette spun around and came face to face with her current crush, Calleigh Duquesne. She was sitting on the couch, dressed in a simple blue camisole and denim Bermuda shorts. Her long blonde hair was swept up in a bun, and she was holding a water bottle in one hand.
"Calleigh! I, uh, didn't see you in here," Natalia stammered as she suddenly felt rather embarrassed.
"I came in here to escape Ryan and Eric; they won't stop arguing." the blonde tilted her head to the side and gestured for her to sit down. "What brings you in here?"
"Maxine has been playing Britney Spears nonstop for the past week, and I can't take it anymore. Usually she picks music we both agree on, but..." Natalia nervously slid onto the couch beside her and grinned, "Apparently we both don't always have the same tastes."
Calleigh chuckled, "you never met Speed, but he worked in trace. On late nights he'd play the most obnoxious punk music. It drove me and Eric crazy."
The blonde's green eyes took on a nostalgic look. "Finally Eric switched his CD out with some backstreet boys or something. The look on his face when he turned on the boom box was one of the funniest things I ever saw."
Natalia grinned back. "What happened to him? He transfers out or something?"
Suddenly the blonde's smile was gone, and she lowered her eyes to the floor. "He died in the field."
"Oh."
Silence descended on the room, and Natalia didn't know what to say. She absently took a swig of water, and then attempted to make conversation. "So... what music do you like?"
As if breaking from a trance, Calleigh smiled again (the brunette heard her heart pounding in her ears). "Classic rock, oldies. My brothers raised me on it, but we lived in Louisiana so I do like a good blues concert. Eric got me interested in Cuban music because of some of the clubs we go to. You?"
"Everything except Britney Spears."
The blonde laughed. "I can see that."
Natalia grinned, but then another strand of hair fell into her eyes and she let out a frustrated groan. "Darn it."
She reached to push it back, but everything ground to a halt as Calleigh reached forward and pushed it back for her. "Why isn't your hair back in this heat? Here."
Natalia swallowed hard as Calleigh took a hair tie from her wrist, reached around and began to pull her hair into a ponytail. Her hands kept brushing her skin and it sent thrills of desire all through the brunette's body. She only hoped that the blonde wouldn't notice that she was trying not to tremble every time she touched her. She was so close that she could smell her perfume, the tang of sweat and a scent that was uniquely Calleigh.
"There. That should help with the heat a little," she said as she leaned back and took a sip from her water bottle.
Natalia finally snapped out of her reverie and drew in a shaky breath. "Uh, thanks."
Green eyes met brown, and Natalia found herself not wanting to break it. After a comfortable silence, Calleigh finally stood up, breaking the spell. "Well, I better go back to see if Ryan and Eric haven't killed each other yet."
"Yeah." Natalia said absently as Calleigh walked towards the door. Just before she left she jumped up. "Calleigh?"
"Yes?"
"There's this... this blues club about three blocks from my apartment. They have really good music and the food's not half bad. I was wondering if... if maybe you'd like to go with me tonight?"
Natalia bit her lip and waited for her answer, her body strung tight.
After a minute Calleigh smiled. "I'd love to. Pick you up at six at your place?"
Natalia nodded and she grinned, "It's a date then. See you later." and she walked out the door.
Natalia sat on the couch and let out the breath she had been holding. As it registered that she was actually going on a date with Calleigh, she smiled.
Thank you Britney Spears.
The End