The Suite Adult Life

Christmas (3.4)

Cody woke up abruptly in a foreign bed. Light from the morning sun shone brightly on his face. He groaned loudly into the pillow. He was going to need a lot of pills and coffee to get over his hangover. Why was he still a little drunk though? He didn't know what was worse, forgetting what happened after London left or the fact he could smell his own breath. Standing took far too long for his liking but he realized, thankfully, that he was still at his brother's apartment.

"Morning." His brother greeted. Zack held out a mug of coffee for him. "How did you sleep?"

"Can you turn off the lights?" Cody dodged the question.

"You mean the sun?" Identical eyes smiled back at him. "No, I can't turn off the sun."

"Where's Jackson?"

"Picking up the babies from his parents." Zack's stare grew in its intensity. "So, are we going to talk about what happened last night?"

"Do you want to tell me what happened last night?" Cody offered.

"Well, London made a very early exit not looking happy. So what did you say?"

"Why do you assume I said anything?" Bits and pieces were starting to emerge. No, he really didn't say much. Why didn't he say much? He could have fought a little more but that wasn't their relationship dynamic. "Fuck, I'm supposed to meet her for coffee." He patted his sides looking for his phone.

With a sigh and a roll of the eyes, Zack handed Cody his phone, fully charged. "Don't say I never do anything for you."

There wasn't a text from London so Cody shot off a quick one saying he was up and available when she was. "Do you need help cleaning up or did Jackson hire a service?" It was the least he could do for being an unexpected houseguest. "What?" he asked at Zack's surprise.

"Dude, look around." The apartment was spotless. No empty glasses or trash thrown about, in fact it looked like a party never existed and it was all thanks to a drunken Cody. Again a silent conversation occurred between the two made up of only various looks. One being specifically of horror from Cody. "I should get you plastered more often." He mirthfully sipped his coffee.

It was hours later when his hangover finally subsided. He left before Jackson got home, giving the excuse that he was gross after everything and a little shameful for his behavior afterwards. Even if it was helpful.

He parked his bike outside of the coffee shop, letting the vibrations within him subside before making his dismount. Similar to Bailey he saw London through the window. He would have knocked to let her know he was there but she had a solemn expression on her face. He debated slipping away or finding another entrance but their gazes met. She smiled kindly at him. This was an incredibly confusing situation for him. Usually he was on the other side of the window.

Walking into the coffee shop the atmosphere was different. The expected tension was different. He grabbed the darkest roast they had, and ignored the creamer and sugar. The bitterness was what he deserved at this moment. He was foolish and let his emotions get the better of him. He allowed himself a brief moment to imagine that he could be with someone like her. He never acted the same way with others as he had with her. But, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't treating London fairly. Seeing Bailey and learning the truth of what she went through lit something inside him. Was it revenge? No. It was more like an escape. A self-guided delusion.

Cody pinched the bridge of his nose, tendrils of his hangover still lingering. "You sounded pretty serious last night." His tone was soft and wounded.

"Yeah..." She sighed.

"Look, I just want to apologize for my behavior last night. It was weird and creepy..." His voice trailed off at London's bemused expression. "What?"

"It was neither of those things, Cody. It was pretty hot. Made me feel young again. I can see that your reputation is well earned."

"Reputation? What reputation?" Zack often teased him about how many women he met in port. That he seemed to always find the most attractive and available woman in the area within the first thirty minutes of arriving. Cody didn't really see it that way; but, it seemed others agreed with his twin.

London waved her hand telling him to forget it. "It was a joke. I'm trying to lighten the mood. You know that pesky little thing?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him until his face split into a smile. "Good, now that I have you smiling, I hope that will soften the blow. I'm moving." She said bluntly.

"Moving?"

"To Texas."

"Texas?!"

"Can you not repeat everything I say?" He put his hands up in surrender to let her continue. "I was offered a chance to move my residency to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston without having to restart. Which is huge by the way. It's the best hospital for pediatric surgery. I will be learning from the best of the best." Her shoulders slumped and she held out her hand to him. "Are you mad?"

When did London become an amazing person? Here she was making giant strides in her career and she was hung up on if he was mad at her. He looked at the soft manicured palm before sliding his larger one into it. His smile quivered to the side before becoming a full smirk. "How could I? I don't think I've ever been more proud of you."

"Thank you, Cody. That's very sweet of you to say and I appreciate it."

"What about your patients? And the project you wanted to start?"

"I am going to miss them. But I'll be working with their replacement before I leave. I would never just leave them up in the air." That was the hardest part of the entire thing. She had worked with some of her patients from her very first day. She had no idea how she was going to find the strength to leave them. "The project is what I wanted to talk to you about. It's going to be a more accelerated endeavor. And there's only a few I want to be involved with the project. Think of this more as a pilot program. I hope, even though I'm leaving, you'll still find time to help?" London bit down on her bottom lip half-expecting him to say no, even though she knew the heart on his sleeve wouldn't let him.

For her benefit, Cody made a production out of thinking it over. Pretending to have a conversation weighing the pros and cons before letting her out of her misery. "Of course I'll help. I think it's just what I need after this rollercoaster of a season."

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She squeezed his hand tightly and refused to contain her joy. "I always knew you were the better twin. No matter what anyone else tried to say."

Cody's head snapped up, "who said I wasn't the better twin?!"

"Nevermind that!" She giggled, quickly changing the subject. "I don't leave until the end of January so... I was thinking about making a reservation for New Years Eve?" She fluttered her long lashes at him.

London on New Years Eve was an incredibly tempting thought. But the realization he was forced to face the evening before told him that wouldn't be possible. "While that does sound amazing..."

"You can't," she finished for him.

"I think I just realized some things about myself and I don't want to get you enmeshed in it. I'm sorry." Now it was his turn to apologize. London laced her fingers with his, reassuring him. "But, there is a New Years Eve party coming up. It won't be at my brother's place. Jackson usually finds some random but amazing club to go to. It'll be the three of us and anyone else who decides to come. I would love it if you came. And you can invite whoever you want." Cody said it like it was icing on a cake.

Energy buzzed between the two, blue locking with brown. Did they dare? Did they have the willpower? Cody's motorcycle revved to life as two slender arms circled his waist tightly. A morse code with taps to the corresponding arm for which way to turn to get to her apartment. Clean, sterile, minimalist haven of style was cluttered with clothes making a trail from the front door to her bedroom. Hungry mouths tasting their pound of flesh and hands stroking the fire between them. Just like the first time, this, they told themselves, would be the last.

Cody lay breathless as London slowly moved off his hips to snuggle in the crevice of his arm, feeling his long fingers resume their gentle glide over her heated skin. "So you'll come to New Years?" He asked, looking upon her affectionately, once he regained a modicum of composure.

There was no gift upon leaving, no dinner ordered in, and no text messages asking for a reservation. Cody Martin and London Tipton's brief but blindingly bright love affair came to an end.