Hey everyone, long time reader, first time writer here! Before leaving you to the story, just wanted to mention a couple of things; since English is not my first language, I would like to get as much feedback on grammar, spelling and structure of sentence as possible. Of course, any pointers you can give me on the actual content of the story is more than welcome, as I'm willing to work and make it better with the help of some constructive criticism (just please don't be rude, everything else I'll accept with open mind and heart). For those not familiar with the show, main characters in the story are Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), world-class forger and conman, with a fondness for art, fine wine, Sy Devore suits, fedoras, and beautiful women, and Elizabeth Burke (Tiffani Amber Thiessen), the beautiful, devoted, and sophisticated wife of FBI Special Agent Peter Burke, while female characters mentioned include Kate Moreau (Alexandra Daddario) and Sara Ellis (Hilarie Burton). Alright, having said that - let's get on with the story:
As he knocked on the door to the Burke family residence, Neal Caffrey knew what he came here to do. He just wasn't sure he'll actually be able to go through with it.
"Neal, hi", Elizabeth Burke opened the door with a warm smile, one that was so fitting for her beautiful face, "Peter is down in the office, I'm sure..."
"Actually, I came to see you", Neal cut her short before proceeding, "Mind if I come in?"
"No, of course, please do", Elizabeth said with a confused look on her face, not understanding what's going on, "Is everything okay with Peter?"
"Yes, don't worry, everything is fine", he replied as he stepped in, "It's just been a while since we had one of our talks over a bottle of wine, don't you think?"
"One of our talks? We never had those, that's me and Mozzie", she said crossing her arms over her chest defensively, look of suspicion crossing her face, "What's going on, Neal?"
"What? Nothing", Neal replied giving her one his trademark smiles, as he entered the kitchen and took a seat, "Can't a guy visit his friend without any ulterior motives?"
"He can, but that's not usually the case when it comes to you", Elizabeth smirked grabbing a bottle of wine from the fridge and taking a seat across from Neal.
"Ouch, hurtful", he said in a mock hurt voice, grabbing his chest in joke, but never letting that smile leave his face.
"I'm just kidding, you know I love when you're here", Elizabeth said with a radiant smile finally letting her guard down, as she poured each of them a glass, "So tell me, what's been going on with you, it's been a while since you paid us a visit?"
"Oh you know, same old, same old", Neal responded with a grin, mischievous look in his eyes.
"I know what that means", Elizabeth laughed, rolling her beautiful blue eyes playfully, "Another girl you should never in a million years be with, but are going to anyway with disastrous consequences?"
"No, nothing of the sorts", he replied, shadow of sadness suddenly casting over his face, "I think I'll be out of the dating game for quite some time..."
"Neal Caffrey retiring from the game, how can that be?", she said mockingly, but seeing that his face shows no trace that he's joking, became worried and asked affectionately, "Is everything okay, sweetie?"
"Yes, it's just... nevermind, I don't really want to talk about that", Neal said quietly, pretending to have something on his mind, as he patiently awaited for Elizabeth's next move.
She reached out across the table and took his hands in hers, giving him another fond look with those lovely eyes before asking again:
"You know you can talk with me about anything that troubles you, don't you? Peter and I consider you part of the family, and we both love you very much."
Those words were like a knife to Neal's heart as he seriously considered dropping everything and walking out of here, but knew that wasn't an option... he would have to play along until he gets what he needs, even if it meant sacrificing the relationship he had with this amazing, kind woman who always saw only the good in him. Pulling himself out of those thoughts, he stammered:
"You know that I never had trouble with girls, right?"
Elizabeth groaned and rolled her eyes again, taking another sip of wine, so Neal was quick to continue:
"But most of them were just adventures, only a few of them were serious relationships... and I only truly loved only one of them."
"Kate...", Elizabeth trailed off.
"Yes... Kate", Neal continued, tears forming in his eyes no longer just for show, "After she died, guess I tried to fill the hole she left in my heart, and avoided anything that resembled love. And now..."
"And now?", she asked genuinely curious, unknowingly falling into his trap little by little as she listened to his confession.
"And now I see what you and Peter have, and I want the same", Neal blurted out, catching Elizabeth by surprise as she stared at him in disbelief, "I want someone to love me like you two love each other."
Elizabeth was in loss for words, she never thought the notorious ladies man Neal Caffrey would ever settle down, let alone talk about love in such a serious manner as he did now. Not knowing what to say to comfort him, she instinctively got up from her seat and came over to where Neal was, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Oh, honey...", she started, but not knowing how to continue simply stood there with Neal in her arms, as he put his head on her shoulder and forced a couple of tears out of his eyes.
'This will be easier that I thought', he thought as he grinned to himself, but immediately felt bad about it, because this wasn't just one of his latest conquests, this was not only his best friend's wife but also someone who genuinely cared about him. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer, and despite feeling a bit uncomfortable at this level of intimacy, Elizabeth decided not to say anything and let the younger man cry as much as he needed to.
Sensing that it's time to move on with his plan, Neal slowly let go of her and Elizabeth sat on the chair closest to him, only a few inches separating them now. As she stared at his seemingly hypnotizing eyes welling with tears, she felt the need to comfort him somehow.
"You know... things aren't perfect between me and Peter either, it takes a lot of work to built a relationship that lasts..."
That was the opening Neal was waiting for, and with concern that he didn't even need to fake, asked her warmly:
"Is everything okay between you two...?"
"Yes, of course, everything is fine... you know how much we love each other" Elizabeth started, feeling the bottled up frustrations rise to surface, "But with his recent promotion and my job at the gallery, we barely even get to see each other anymore, especially..."