Once the excitement of the holidays had passed (though theirs had been blessedly quiet), it was time for Kristin to have the wedding conversation with Lee. And as skittish as she was talking about it with Idina, she felt like she was more nervous by a factor of ten bringing the subject up with Lee. She wasn't going to put if off any longer, though, so she went into the living room where Lee was stretched out on the sofa reading and plopped herself on his lap. ( Do you have a minute, sweetie? )
"Okay, one thing I definitely know is that I need to get a new bed," Kristin chattered as she and Idina stepped out into the cold to start their whirlwind Christmas shopping expedition. "I was thinking I could just put a big red bow in the middle of it." ( Her high, girlish laugh rang through the neighborhood. )
"I'm so glad you were able to come with me!" Kristin whispered excitedly, squeezing Lee's hand between both of hers as they sat there waiting for the plane to take off. ( He'd taken a little time off to come up to New York where Kristin was going to be on one of the floats for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and she'd been chattering nonstop about where she was going to take him and what she was going to show him while they were there. )
It may have been the wee hours of the morning but Kristin was still flying. Her normally outgoing personality had been practically manic ever since she'd stepped off the stage. Turning as soon as she was inside the door, she wrapped her arms around Lee's waist, uncaring of the fact that he was still practically standing in the doorway. "God, I love a live audience!" It was probably the seven-thousandth time she'd said it just since the show.
Seven-thousandth-and-one. But who was counting? Lee chuckled, walking her in the apartment so he could close the door. "And they loved you," he said, remembering his part in the standing ovation that ended both her segment of the show and the show as a whole. ( You were.... really great. Just, really great. )
The phonecall had been brief and at supersonic pitches with the girls quickly agreeing to meet at a little cafe they could both walk to in less than ten minutes. When Idina had showed up, Kristin had popped up out of her chair and waved her friend over. "Didi!" she kissed Idina's cheeks one at a time, "Why don't we do this more than once a week?"
"Hell if I know! But my God!" Idina reached for Kristin's hand. "It's so good that you're here! I love it! How are you? ( All settled in? How's Lee? Spill! )
Just when Lee thought they'd have unloaded it all, another box would appear and it would stun him. How was it that she had so many things?! And he'd not even helped her with her clothes and shoes. But he collapsed another box, adding it to the pile, and taking a long drink of tea before going for another one. "Do you need anything?" He called to her, in the bedroom. ( More tea or anything? )
"Okay, now just swing around there and you should be clear," Kristin's voice rang down the stairs to where the delivery man and Lee were busy bringing her headboard up, "Careful of the light!"
All right, maybe it was time for her to shut up and let the boys do what it is that boys do...But she was so excited!!!! New furniture! For her new condo!! With her new gentleman!! ( It was really more than a girl could be asked to bear in silence )
Right on the dot of 10 am, Idina was knocking on Lee's door. Her best friend! Lived here now! This was cause for celebration! She even had the keys to Kiki's new condo in her little hand. "Open up, love birds!" She called. "You should be dressed by now!"
Lee nearly dropped the dishes in the sink from where he'd carried them from the table. "Uh, I think your friend's here," ( he said with a smile )
So, Lee had plans for Kristin's return, of course. They involved flowers, dinner, candlelight, sleeping over, that sort of thing.
But then Idina had called him and, in a lilt, said ( you know that's her birthday, don't you, sweetie? )
In a rare free moment (that wasn't 2 am!), Kristin found herself dialing Lee's number. She'd already talked and squealed with Idina when she'd overnighted the signed paperwork back to NoLa. As always, she waited with impatience for the other end of the line to be picked up. "Lee," she muttered under her breath as the phone rang, "Please don't be working late!"
He was, as a matter of fact, on the way home from work after stopping for a bowl of gumbo at the small place around the corner from the bar. He fished his cell from his pocket and couldn't help the big grin that lit his face when he saw who was calling. "Hello?" He asked, as he walked along toward home. ( Is this *the* Kristin Chenoweth?> )
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cheno_q and leepace_q]Before she could lose her nerve, Kristin quickly dialed Lee's number. She hoped he didn't have to work tonight. Just under an hour before, she'd gotten a call from her agent saying it was time to come back to LA, there were scripts to be read, meetings to be had, etc, etc, etc. It was a sign of her nerves that Kristin was chewing on a fingernail as she listened to the phone ring, willing Lee to pick up. ( Come on! )
"Just a second, let me..." It had taken them a couple of weeks and a handful of dates to get to this point and Kristin wanted to let it really sink in (no pun intended). A deep breath shifted him slightly inside her, eliciting an almost feline sound, bright blue eyes snapping open to find Lee's. "Okay, killer."
Killer? Lee had to fight the urge to turn around and see if she was talking to someone else. He was glad he didn't, because he kind of didn't want to move or look away. Already, all this before actual intercourse was... well, pretty amazing. And now this. ( Wow. )
cheno_q and leepace_q]True to his word, Lee didn't wait to call Kristin. In fact, he'd been hard-pressed to not call when he'd gotten home, but even he knew what a goober that would make him look like. So he'd waited, calling right before he went to work the next day. And he'd asked if she would like to come to his small, neat apartment and he would cook for her the night after that. Interestingly, this idea made him less nervous than taking her out. ( So he'd shopped and he'd cooked, the music on and a small smile on his face. )
Left on the kitchen counter where Idina will be sure to find it is a silver-wrapped box with a bright pink bow.
There's a card attached which reads:
Didi~
Because a girl can't have too many.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
All my love,
~Kiki
Inside the box
cheno_q and leepace_q]Lee found himself back at the door of the house on Royal Street. It was 5:55 and he had flowers again, a corsage kind of thing that the woman at the shop had told him was classy. He's not so sure. It was a wrist corsage that seemed to weigh about five pounds. He eyed it doubtfully before fidgeting with his tie-- he thought it was too short-- and running a hand over his hair. He was nervous. Big time nervous. Between him asking her out and tonight, he'd gone online and found out that Kristin? Was pretty famous. As were her friends.
( He was so out of his league. Maybe he looked a little hangdog as he rang the bell. )
Clearing his throat nearly compulsively, Lee shifted from foot to foot outside the door of the house. In one hand, a plain brown bag that held a... well, a vibrator. In the other, a small bouquet of flowers. This had been after a long internal debate. ( What did one get someone when returning the vibrator they left in the bar when they were too drunk to take it with them? )
Idina should have left for the airport ten minutes ago. Should have. She was still pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she came down the stairs, grinning down at Benny, who sat, wagging his tail at the foot of the stairs. "Hello, precious!" She cooed, crouching down to rub his ears. "You're going to have a friend here soon! Yes, you are!" Then she was standing and looking around, her hands on her hips. ( Baby? Where's my purse? Have you seen my keys? )
