On her 29th birthday, Eliza Carlisle meets one SSA Aaron Hotchner. The catch? Eliza happens to be Emily Prentiss' beautiful, rich, learned younger sister. Will this connection ruin Eliza's and Aaron's chemistry, or will they rise above? Keep reading...
^^^ that's Eliza's dress for the evening, and here are the shoes ;))
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Eliza gets out of bed to take a long steamy shower to try and sweat out last night's beverages. She then moves into her pre-makeup skin routine, which feels extra good with the steam from the shower. She changes into some comfy clothes, scoops up her laundry, and sets aside last night's dress for dry cleaning before heading downstairs to play some piano while her hair air dries and her clothes go in the washer. She debates what to play before opting for Chopin's Nocturne in E-Flat Major, a piece from an early recital. She bounces between about a half hour more of selections before checking the time—5:30. "I'd better get a move on," she thinks to herself.
She throws her clothes in the dryer before heading upstairs to get ready. After consulting with Penelope via FaceTime, she opts for a short lavender dress with an eyelet patterning. "The lavender will make those emerald eyes shine like the gems they are," Penelope assured her. She goes with some light makeup to bring out the glow of her skin and some light lavender eyeshadow to continue to accentuate her eyes, taking care to cover those hickeys. She ties it together with a pink lip and straightens her hair, accessorizing with chunky pearl earrings, her same white Kate Spade, and white scalloped Louboutins before applying perfume, opting for Daisy by Marc Jacobs today instead. "TRES tres chic," Penelope assures. Before she knows it, it's 6:45, and her phone buzzes.
Aaron—"On my way. xx"
Eliza responds—"Lovely. See you soon. xx"
Without much time until he shows, Eliza heads downstairs and tosses her laundry into a basket on top of the dryer to attend to later. She starts to pace, super nervous, before reaching for her phone.
"About to leave...SOS I'm freaking out!!!!!" She texts JJ and Penelope, leaving Emily out of it.
"It'll be great!! Let us know how it goes <3," JJ says.
"You're a shining star and we all know it! Have fun, you two. xoxo," Penelope replies. Eliza smiles seeing their replies and is suddenly thirsty. After pouring the remainder of her Brita pitcher into her glass, she refills it and starts to drink her glass when her doorbell rings, and her nerves fire off again like no tomorrow as she heads for the door.
"Hi," she says, opening the door with a smile.
"Hello," he says. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, let me just snag my stuff," she says quietly, retrieving her purse and keys as Aaron waits outside. "Allllright," she says as she locks the door.
"Come here and let me look at you," Aaron says, pulling her in closer to him and looking her up and down. "You look beautiful," he says.
"Thanks," she replies softly, looking at the ground.
"Are you alright; what's wrong?" He asks, concerned.
"It—it's nothing; I'm just a little tired," she lies; she's thinking all about her fight with Emily earlier.
"Oh, ok; are you feeling up to this right now?"
"Oh my gosh yes, you already came all this way. Please," she says, taking his hand. He rubs his thumb over the top of her hand to help her relax; he can tell she is more anxious than she wants to let on. They let go as they reach his car. Aaron pauses before starting it.
"Are you sure you're just tired? You can talk to me," he says.
"It's nothing...I just fought with Emily this afternoon, and I guess I'm still a little upset." She starts.
"Oh," he says. "W—was it about us?"
Eliza pauses before speaking, contemplating how to respond. "Yes," she decides, not feeling like lying. "She's just having a hard time with it. She feels it's going too fast, but that's just how she is. She wants to protect me from every little thing. Then of course I got upset because she was making it about her and not really caring how I felt, or how you felt, for that matter. I wasn't going to bring it up, but I see I'm not best at hiding my emotions."
"How do you feel about it?" Aaron asks her softly.
"How do I feel? I wanted to keep my plans tonight, and I still want to now. All I want is to just enjoy the time with you, especially after the great time we had last night. I don't have any agenda; I just want to see where it goes. But..."
"But what?" He asks.
"I just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, especially her. And I don't want to put either of you in a weird place at work." For some reason, she can feel tears brimming in her eyes, so she turns to look out the window to try and hide it.
"Hey," Aaron says softly as he sees her turn away. "Look at me. It's ok," he leans over and assures her.
She looks up at him, a few tears slipping out in the process. "Aww fuck," she says, wiping them away. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I'm ruining something great before it even starts."
He takes her hand and rubs the top with his thumb, admiring how soft her skin is. "Eliza, it's ok. Please don't cry." She takes a deep breath, a small smile crossing her face as she does. He responds with a smile of his own. "Do you remember what I said yesterday?"
"That I'm not in the Bureau?"
"That's right. Eliza, I'm ok with seeing where this goes too; I promise you. We're on the same page."
Eliza's eyes brighten, and she breathes deeply before speaking. "Ok. Then let's go," she says, smirking a little as she admires his outfit—white button up, blue slacks, dark brown shoes, and the same Gucci shades.
Aaron smiles back as he takes his hand from hers and starts the car. "There she is," he replies, putting his hand on her thigh as he drives off.
Hey everyone! How are you liking the story so far?? Let me know!! xoxo
