Rated: A Hard R this chapter.
Timeline: I'm fudging the timeline a little and making every one
a tad older. Kim is 22 and has just graduated from the University
of Florida. Assume that Angel Grove has been monster free for a
few years now. There is no Ranger action here, though there will
be mention of it from most of the characters. Spoilers up until
the end of Power Ranger in Space. This series is very character
driven.
Characters and there age: Original…Kim 22, Tommy 23, Trini 23,
Aisha 21,Kat 22, Jason 23, Rocky 22, Billy 24.
Original characters ages:………John 24, Mr.Bang 47, Shayla 23.
Distribution: Anywhere as long as you tell me first.
Category: Romance, Angst, Slight Humor, Sexual Tension, Sexual
Situations
Couples: Slight Kim/Other, slight/sexual Kat/Tommy, Kat/Jason,
Rocky/Aisha, Billy/Trini, Kim/Tommy <come on, you know I'm
going there!!!>
Feedback: send it to mrsinister@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net
Authors Notes: This series will be mature and as realistic as
possible. I want everyone to really be able to see the things
written here happening in the real world. This fic is really
about the characters we know and love becoming adults and dealing
with everything that comes along with that title. I hope you
enjoy.
Authors Notes: I like to thank the following people for there
support.
Chapter 4
By Ozmandayus
The Home of Billy Cranston
13 East Rutherford Lane
Wensday, January 20, 2001 7:50 PM
Angel Grove, Ca
"Let's see what we have here," Billy said to himself as
he perused the newly arrived Trini's video choices. The former
Yellow Ranger balanced a large cheese, sausage, and mushroom
pizza on her finger tips as she passed by him. She sat it down on
the inn table in the living room.
"I vote for 'Charlie's Angels' first," Trini said as she unceremoniously kicked off her shoes and got comfortable on the couch.
Billy managed to hide a grin at how both of her shoes flew in separate directions. <How can a woman so beautiful have no sense of order.> "Why don't we check out 'The Cell' first?"
"Anything to get your Jennifer Lopez fix, huh?" she joked as her eyes closed and inhaled the heavenly smell of the pizza. <If this pizza was a man, I'd marry him right out of the box.>
"I'm so hungry whatever you put on first is fine by
me," Billy said as his hand grabbed a
slice. This Wednesday night pizza and movie fest started about
three months ago. At the time both Billy and Trini were single
and hump day just seemed a little less stressful and lonely when
shared with a friend.
But that was three months ago.
A subtle, barely-there-if-you-don't-look-hard-enough shift has been slowly taking place in their friendship.
The first sign of the change came when they silently agreed not to tell anyone else what they do on Wensday night. Things felt a little more intimate that way.
Though they have never kissed or gone out on a date together, both can feel the winds of change blowing. Looks last a little longer, tinged with a hint of longing. Hugs are more frequent now. Phone conversations last longer than either intends until they hang up the phone and check the time.
It's the little things that sway friendships into other categories.
Billy closed his eyes as he finished off his first slice. Dressed in faded blue jeans and an equally worn blue sweatshirt, he looked the picture of casual in his new spacious home.
He bought the $400.000 house about three weeks ago. He's been working for an Aero-Space Tech company as an independent contractor. The pay is fantastic.
Aisha affectionately calls him 'Home-Worker Bill'.
Setting down a paper towel, Trini steals a glance or two at her childhood friend of nearly eighteen years. She hides a smile at how nice he looks with a five o'clock shadow. <He must have worked out of the house all day today,> she ponders, given his slightly scruffy look.
Scruffy Billy is quiet sexy at the moment, though saying that in her mind is a lot easier than saying it out loud.
Billy sits back as the opening credits for Charlies Angels finish. Out of the corner of his eye he catches a small smear of pizza sauce on the side of Trini's lip. Her tongue darts out to taste it away and Billy has to clench his hand on the arm rest, so jealous is he of that smear of pizza sauce.
They hide this new found deepening of their friendship from the others. To be honest, they hide what these pizza nights are really about from themselves as well.
Ignorance is bliss when you don't risk anything.
"How was college today?" Billy asked while taking a sip of wine. She brings the pizza, he provides the moet.
Trini shrugged her shoulders. "I went, I listened, I learned, the end," she finished in a sarcastic tone. <Thank goodness this is my last year in toxicology. I don't think I could take another year of classes.>
"You're in a very talkative mood I see."
"Forgive me, Billy. There was a power outage on my floor that's going to set my class back two days. I broke a heel and some jerk nearly ran me off the road trying to holla at me when I walked out of Wendy's at lunch. I caught a flat tire after school and had another jerk hit on me in the parking lot. This asshole didn't even ask if he could help me. I swear it's enough to make a woman go lesbian."
Billy laughs as she spills the goods on her day from hell. "All men aren't that bad. There are some gentlemen left in the world you know."
"I know," Trini admits with a smile and a careful look in his direction. "I'm just tired and blowing off steam."
Billy grabs her glass and pours her a re-fill. "Maybe a little more of this will relax you."
"Billy, Billy, Billy, are you trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me?" Trini teased with a wink.
Billy leaned closer to her and said, "I wouldn't have to get you drunk to take advantage of you." He then leaned back and continued to watch the movie as if nothing happened.
Trini sipped from her glass, happy to have her face partially hidden. Billy openly flirts with her in private now. Gone is the shy, long winded boy. In his place is a very mature, sensitive, well spoken man.
A very handsome man as well.
Then it hits her.
For the first time in 18 years of knowing him, Trini feels the urge to kiss him. She was aware of his feelings for her years ago, but high school crushes are fleeting and far removed.
They are not in high school anymore. And unlike other guys, she doesn’t intimidate him with her aggressive attitude. He knows her to well.
She knows that he knows she wants him. He's not intimidated or shy about it. This game is wearing thin between them. The seconds on the play clock are slowly ticking down to zero.
The attraction is growing, becoming harder to hide from their friends.
Harder to hide from the truth that they are falling in love with each other.
**
2 hours later
**
"I can't wait until this weekend," Trini admitted with
a smile Billy found so sexy. She pushed her plate away and put
her feet up on the inn table. "That pool in your backyard is
going to get one hell of a workout."
He could almost see her now in that two-piece blue bikini he remembers her in from last summer.
"Indeed," Billy replied. This Saturday will be the first party he has ever thrown and he intends for it to be a good one. Already, more than twenty-five people are confirmed to attend.
"Did I tell you what happened between Tommy and Kim Monday night?"
Billy shook his head. He was unable to attend because of a lecture he had to give Tuesday morning. "No, what happened?"
"They kissed."
Billy looked up and rolled his yes. "Didn't take long for those too, did it?"
"Well, they aren't back together or anything yet, but it seems that after Tommy kissed her he said, and I quote from Kat's hiding place, 'Ask yourself if the man you are dating can make you feel like I can'."
"Woah."
"Exactly. Now Kim's walking around acting like it's no big deal. She's in denial. But they have a ways to go before being in the position to get back together."
"So you really think it will happen?"
"Well, they've always been close. It wouldn't shock me if they got closer."
Billy heard the double meaning in her words.
<Let's see if Ms.Kwan wants to play.> "I don't know, Trini. Maybe friends shouldn't get involved with each other," he said while keeping his face straight and his eyes focused on the TV.
Trini tossed a sideways look at him, biting her bottom lip at the sexy gold wire frame glasses that fit his face perfectly. "Friends can make the best lovers."
Take that.
"Sex can ruin a friendship."
Your serve.
"Some friendships have to evolve."
Back to you.
"And some things should stay the same."
"You're not a risk taker are you, Billy?"
"I believe in looking at things from all angles and making an informed decision."
"And I believe in flipping a coin and taking my chances."
"We're complete opposites."
"Maybe that's why I want to kiss you so bad," she leered, pursing her lips for effect.
A slightly confident smirk fell onto Billy's face. She was trying to shock him and had failed to do so. "It's funny. You don't seem so much like the risk taker anymore now. I seem to still be talking instead of kissing."
Oh no.
You do not challenge Trini Kwan.
No, you do not.
Billy watched as she seductively tucked an annoying strand of her
long black hair behind her ear, her small slender fingers moving
the earring in her left lobe, twisting it back and
forth. Her neck was exposed to him. Trini's satin like skin
seemed to mystify him as his eyes drank her in like a starving
man.
He quickly realizes in the span of four seconds, she has retaken control.
He never had a chance.
Trini moves with cat like grace as she shifts from her seat and crawls over into his lap, practically dripping with sex appeal.
"Trini, what are you doing?" he asked in barely a whisper.
"I'm evolving our friendship," she says a second before she devoured his mouth with hers. For eight glorious seconds, her lips slid against his before pulling back with a syrupy smacking noise.
As seductively as she crawled onto his lap, she moved off the same way. "Two glasses of wine are my driving limit. I better be going." She stood and grabbed her leather jacket from the coat rack.
Billy stood and followed her to the door. It's one thing to flirt and tease. It's quiet another to face the realities that result from crossing the line of friendship to….whatever they are becoming.
Trini opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. The cool night air immediately caught her long hair in it's grasp.
"You are so beautiful."
Not usually one to feel shy, Trini knows she cannot fight the way
his compliment makes
her feel. "Thank you."
"I'm not afraid of change, Trini." Billy wanted to make that point perfectly clear.
Trini slowly walked down the steps of the porch. When she reached the bottom she turned and replied, "Neither am I, Billy. Neither am I."
**
**
The Total Workout Health Club
1778 North Western
Thursday, January 11, 2001 1:25 PM
Angel Grove, Ca
"I can't wait until I can just go home and soak in a bubble
bath," she said to
herself as the muted music of the aerobics class played just
outside her office.
Katherine sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. She's been in her office slaving over her computer for the last two hours editing new files and deleting old ones.
She reaches into her drawer and takes out a bottle of Excederine and retrieves two pills. A small cup of water later and she was on her way to feeling better.
rinnnnggg rinnnggggg
Kat reaches for her desk phone. "Total Workout Health Club, this is Katherine Hillard speaking. May I help you?"
"Yes. I am looking for a gorgeous Australian beauty with the sexiest accent you have ever heard and the most silk like blonde hair you've ever felt. I know this is a health club and all, but do you think you might know where I can find this a woman?" Jason teased on the other end.
Her face immediately broke out into a smile as she began twirling the phone cord in her hand. "May I ask why you re so interested in this woman? Other than your impressive and I might add accurate description of her looks."
Jason thought to himself. "Her intellect and personality appeal to me on so many levels and her uncanny business sense intrigues me."
"She sounds like one hell of a woman."
"She most definitely is. But do you know what I like best about her?"
"Do tell?"
"She has killer legs."
Kat laughs into the receiver. "Hello, Jason. Please tell me why you are calling me to flirt rather than protecting the citizens of Angel grove?"
"My dear Katherine. I've been protecting the citizens of Angel Grove since I was 14 years old. I multi-task really well. A skill I think you will derive much enjoyment from one day."
Kat wishes he could see the smirk on her face. <He's become quite the sweetalker over the years.> "Where are you?"
"I'm on 95th and Division. I'm taking a quick lunch break. I had a few minutes left so I decided to call the most gorgeous woman I know and ask her if she is free for the evening?"
<Okay, Kat don't answer to quick. Girls gotta play hard to get these days.> "Let me check my schedule."
Kat closed her eyes for second and imagined sitting by a fireplace with him sipping a glass of wine. He's not wearing a shirt and the flames cast light shadows over his broad chest.
It's a very nice image, she thinks.
"I don't have all day, Katherine." Jason uses her full name much more than the others do. It's a little way he uses to create a more intimate connection between them.
"I seem to be free this evening. Whatever do you have in mind?" She is already looking forward to seeing him tonight.
"I would like to cook dinner for you," he said in a tender way that made Kat smile all the more.
"Okay," Kat replied, her slightly shy voice exuding a little less of her usual spark. This will be a romantic dinner for two and she knows that the specter of 'just two friends' won't be hanging over there heads tonight.
"How's 7:30 for you?"
<If I leave now I can get my hair and nails done. Perfect.>
"7:30 looks good for
me, Jase." <You look pretty good too.>
"Oh, why thank you."
Oh
My
God
<Did I say that out loud,> Kat asked herself with a blush she was happy no one could see.
"Don't be embarrassed, Kat. I find you extremely attractive, too."
Regaining her composure, she replies, "I must be working to hard today."
"Well just focus on tonight. Focus on us."
"Us?" she said softly.
"Yes. Most definitely yes."
**
**
Cambridge Towers
22 West Pullman
Ninth Floor
Thursday, January 11, 2001 5:15 PM
Angel Grove, Ca
After shutting down her computer, Kim looks over the folders she will be working on the next few days before placing them in her briefcase. Her eyes hurt from all the hours she has spent in front of her monitor, but at least the day is over with.
Her stockings are starting to itch like crazy and the heels on
her feet are driving
her mad.
Saying a few good-byes for the end of the day, Kim walks out of
her office and down
the hall. She enters the elevator and presses for the ground
floor. Just before the door closes, John steps inside.
"Hi, stranger," he said with mirth in his voice and a twinkle in his eye.
Kim rewarded him with a smile. "Hi, John. How was your day?"
He steps in beside her. "Long, long, and long. But seeing you makes it all worth while."
<Laying it on a little thick, aren't you,> Kim thought to herself. "I'm sorry I haven't called in a few days. My department has been overwhelmed with new sales figures."
"It's okay. I understand completely. I haven't had much free time lately either," he admitted, tossing his suit jacket over his shoulder. "But I do have some free time tonight."
Kim looked down for a moment. "Look John, tonight I jus…"
"Hey, hear me out. I was just going to grab a few movies from Blockbuster and order some chinese food. I was wondering if you would like to join me?" John asked, his eyes hopeful.
It did sound nice. And she wouldn't have to cook tonight. <God, I am so tired though. But I think I know just the thing to make it up to him with.> "John, tonight I'm just going to crash at my place. But, my friend Billy is throwing a Bar-B-Que. party on Saturday. You could come with me if you like."
John hoped his smile didn't give away to much. He's ecstatic about meeting some of her friends and the fact that she asked him to be her date spoke volumes. "I would love to, Kim. Thanks."
<Looks like I just made his day. Well that's nice.> "No problem. Just don't forget your swimming trunks. Billy has a huge pool in his backyard."
The image of seeing her in a bikini now had John wishing for
Saturday to come more than
ever. "Trust me, I won't."
As elevator door opened. Kim stepped toward John and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, John. Call me tomorrow."
"Will do," he replied, feeling like the day was not so bad after all.
"Aren't you getting off the elevator?"
"I just wanted to see you down."
"That's sweet," Kim said over her shoulder as walked toward the lobby.
**
Now outside, Kim reaches inside of her purse for her car keys. As
she approached her black 2000 Nissan Maxima, she noticed someone
leaning up against the car.
Someone very familiar.
"Tommy?"
"I've never seen you in a business suit before," he said with a smile curling his lips. "You look nice."
"I was going for competent and equal to the task."
"You have all of that. But you still look nice."
Kim walked toward her former boyfriend slowly, still reeling from the kiss they shared on Monday. "What are you doing here?"
Dressed in a gray long-sleeved Sean John shirt and black jeans, he replied, "Aisha told me where you work. I just got off of work myself and thought I might catch you heading home. I got lucky spotting your car near the entrance to the lot."
Kim tosses her briefcase in her back seat. "You could have called me."
"I wanted to see you," Tommy admitted with a hint of desire in his voice. <Even after a hard day at work she looks fantastic. I love the longer hair she wears now.>
<Why does he have to look so good?> Kim argued with herself. "Leaning up against someone’s car can be considered stalker behavior in some states."
Tommy rolled his eyes and stepped away from her car. "I just wanted to see you," he repeated as he moved closer to her.
His voice sent a shiver up her spine. How could she be mad at him? Especially when he's been on her mind all week. Especially when he has a nice tan and she just wants to kiss him into a coma. "I'm tired, Tommy. I just want to go home and take a shower. It's been a long day."
"Need someone to scrub your back?" he teased.
Kim would not allow that mental picture to arise. "No, I don't need you to wash my back," she added with her hands on her hips.
Tommy moved so that he is now right in front of her. "I was wondering. Can I take my 'friend' to that movie we talked about Monday night?"
Kim had to look away. If her eyes connected with his she doesn't know what she might do. "Tonight’s not good."
"You have a date?" he asked, hoping that was not the case.
"No," she replied, pushing her hair off of her face. "Look, I just want to go home and relax."
"Kim, I just want to take you to the movies. It'll eat up three hours tops. I promise to get you home so that you can be in bed by eleven like the good little girl I know you are."
She finally looks up at him. "Are you making fun of me?" she asked while fighting a smile.
"No, I just want to spend some time with my 'friend' tonight. Besides, you were the one who suggested it in the first place." He leaned even closer to her and caressed the side of her face with the palm of his hand. "Just say yes, Beautiful."
Her mind was screaming, "Yes, lets get in the back seat and end seven years of unresolved sexual tension." Of course that would be the wrong thing to do for so many reasons.
"Tommy I…" She laid her hand over the one carressing her face. Her eyes, as always, were lost in his.
His eyes held hers in a gaze should could not break. "Just for tonight."
His words.
A quiet whisper to her heart.
Only he could make her feel this way and she hated her traitorous body for it's weakness to his touch.
They are standing in a parking lot in broad daylight maneuvering caughtiously through the drama that is their complicated relationship.
"Yes."
She could no more fight 'them' than she could fight the sun rising in the morning.
She also couldn't fight the weakness in her knees when his lips suddenly found hers and his arms wrapped around her, pulling her solid against his chest. Kim knows if this is all the willpower she has in public, what will happen the next time they are alone together.
Lord have mercy.
No longer content to dream of holding his love in his arms, Tommy revels in the real thing, gently moving his lips against hers, remembering what she likes, how she responds. She feels so soft and good against his body. He truly hadn't intended on comming here and doing anything other than asking her out to the movies.
But God, when he saw her……
This feels so good.
So right.
Kim's mind can't focus on anything other than the man who is kissing her like she is his lifes breath. In his arms she finds that which she can not find any where else on the planet. That which is most precious to her.
His love.
Her body feels like a live wire, coursing with electricity. Her arms wrap around his neck.
She can't get close enough to him.
They each wonder how on Earth have they gone without this feeling so long. This feeling that only the other can bring out.
Kim pulls away first, but Tommy does not release her from his arms. They look into each others eyes. Sight speaks the words that neither can bring themselves to utter because of the deep issues that still divide them.
(I love you.)
(I've always loved you.)
(The past is the past.)
(Be my future.)
"How far are we from your place?" Tommy whispered against her lips, his eyes leaving no doubt as to what is on his mind.
He wants to ravish her. His stare is almost scary in it's intent.
<No.>
<Oh no.>
<No, no, no, no, no.>
Kim's mind is telling her that they cannot go back to her place right now. This would all be happening to soon.
"About 15 minutes away."
<Who in the hell said that,> Kim thought immediately after the words came out of her mouth.
"I'll follow you."
Kimberly steps away from him and enters the drivers side of her car.
"No. I'll meet you at the Cineplex. 8:00 o'clock sharp. And don't be late, ‘friend'." Kim wasted no time in driving off.
Leaving a very aroused Tommy standing in the parking lot looking like a lost child.
Payback is a bitch.
**
**
819 South 14th
Rocky's Apartment Building
Thursday, October 11, 2001 6:30 PM
Angel Grove, Ca
Aisha sat impatiently, waiting for Rocky to get off the phone
from his with his latest 'hot girl'. She couldn't pinpoint
exactly what was the catalyst of her annoyance.
It's supposed to be because he's wasting time and she needs a lift to pick her car up from the repair shop.
It's not supposed to be because he is smiling while talking to 'her'.
Aisha flips through a few magazines on his couch while she waits. She is not used to these new emotions she has been feeling lately toward her childhood friend. <Maybe it's just because Adam is gone and I just want to feel that connection we always had.>
That's been the line she's used lately when she been around him.
Another round of laughs followed by something whispered causes her to clench her fist.
She doesn't like these new feelings.
Not one bit.
Rocky finally hangs up the phone. "Ready to go, Sha?" he asked.
"I was ready thirty minutes ago." Aisha is clearly pissed.
"Sorry, Sha," Rocky replied, hoping to get back on her good side. Being on Aisha'a bad side was not someplace he ever wanted to be. "How about I make it up to you with ice cream. I can see a carton of cookie dough ice cream in your future."
She could never stay mad at him to long. A joke and a smile and she was done. Of course now that he works in construction, just seeing him in his usual around the house tank top is enough to nearly do her in.
"You're buying," she ordered as she rose from the couch. "I want the good stuff too. Not that cheapo ice cream you buy with the boy on the front and girl on the back."
"And what's wrong with that, Ms Campbell," Rocky laughed as he moved next to her.
"The boy and the girl are the same except for that awful wig the girl wears. It's the same face on both sides. You are so cheap."
"I am so not cheap."
"Oh please."
"Aisha, I am cost efficient. There is a difference," Rocky finished with his hand over his heart.
Aisha crossed her arms over her chest and arched her eye brow. "You are the cheapest person I have ever met. Your choice in woman reflects that as well."
Rocky had never heard her speak of his taste in woman before.
<Now what hell is that
all about.> "What is that supposed to mean?"
Aisha pushed past him and headed for the door. "Forget it. Lets go." She opens the door, but Rocky comes up from behind and slams it shut.
"Something’s been wrong with you the last two weeks. What is it? Did I do something? You know how my mouth is. If I said something to offend you I'm sorry. You know I don't mean it."
"I'm fine. Can we just go," Aisha said over her shoulder.
Rocky's mind, whimsical though it may be, was not a stupid one. He has been talking to Kate, a secretary at his construction company for the last two weeks.
Rocky noticed how quiet she had become. He stands just over her shoulder "Talk to me," he says, his hand on her shoulder, turning her around to face him.
"I'm fine, Rocky."
"Yeah, you are pretty good looking."
She rolled her eyes. "You are such a tease."
"And your jeans are so tight."
"What does that have to do with anything."
"I like your hair in that ponytail."
<What the hell is going on here. And when did he start smelling so good.> "Why are you flirting with me?"
"Kate is a lesbian. Did I mention that."
Aisha's mouth opened, then closed quick. The woman who has occupied so much of Rocky's time over the last few weeks doesn't even go out with guys. "So." <That's right girl, play it off.>
Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
Rocky smiled down at her. "Kate's new in town. Me and her hit it off on my lunch hour one day. There is nothing going on with us. Although she did ask about Trini that one day she picked me up for lunch."
"Look, can we just go now?" Aisha just wanted to leave. She didn't want to notice the muscles in his chest rise and fall with each breath he took. She didn't want to see that unruly lock of hair falling over his face that made him look adorable to her.
She didn't want him to see how much she wants to kiss him.
And for the life of her she couldn't figure out why.
"Sha…"
His pet name for her causes her to look him in the eyes. They have never stood this close before. They have never held each others gaze this long before.
It was terrifying…..
And wonderful at the same time.
"Rocky, I'm sorry for giving you a hard time."
"Yeah, well you shouldn't of have worn those jeans."
Rocky is now greeted with the sassy look, complete with the trademark eye flip and pouting of the lips. "You like what you see?"
This is getting dangerous.
"Things are changing, Sha."
Truer words have never been spoken.
"I guess they are."
"You're beautiful, Aisha. I know I've never told you that before, but I mean it."
<Who is this man? This cannot be the joker Rocky I grew up with.> "I…ah."
"I want to kiss you." <I've gone this far. Might as well go that last mile.>
She looks down, feeling shy for the first time in his presence. She has no idea when this change in how they are together began.
She's finding it to hard to resist.
"Then do it."
So he did.
**
**
The Cineplex Theater
1646 North Ave.
Thursday, January 11, 2001 7:55 PM
Angel Grove, Ca
Kim killed the engine on her car and just sat there for a few
moments. From this vantage point she saw Tommy leaning against
the wall near the entrance to the theater.
Weeknights are not prime movie nights, so the crowds were sparse. The sun was just falling and though her day was stressful, Kim felt an energy flow through her the minute she arrived.
She let her hair down and dressed in a causal skirt and blouse. The skirt was short enough to draw his attention, but long enough to feel comfortable. The pumps she has on now feel so much better than the heels she had been in all day.
She continued to look at Tommy. His hair was a little shorter now, but he still wore that out of style Steven Seagal pony tail. <How does he still look so good in it?> she wondered with a smile.
Her finger tips lightly brush her lips as she reminisces on the sweet kisses they shared just a few hours ago. Tonight could end any number of ways if she so chooses.
He could drop her off and give her a kiss goodnight.
Or she could wake him up in the morning and they could go out for breakfast before work.
Meaning he spent the night at her place and they made love.
Her eyes close for a moment and she envisions what his passionate, fierce side would be like if he made love the way he fights. If all of his fury were to be turned on her.
She can have him tonight. His eyes told her he would not push her away. But she must resist the temptation to ravish him like she wants to.
Rushing back into a relationship with Tommy would not be wise. Nor would rushing into one with John.
Neither are her boyfriend and she feels no guilt in dating John and keeping Tommy as her 'friend'.
But her heart knows it's other half.
She gets out of the car before she ponders to much over that analogy.
**
He watches as she walks toward him. The seductive sway of her hips are a sign of the matured woman before him.
She has become amazingly beautiful in her adult years.
He wishes she would just walk right into his arms and never leave.
But she left before when he thought her heart belonged to him. That still haunts his soul.
"So, Mr.Oliver. What are we going to see tonight?" Kim asked when she reached him.
"I don't know. What are you in the mood for?"
A loaded question if there ever was one.
"How about Save the Last Dance. I could use something with a happy ending."
Tommy nodded his agreement. It surprised her when he took her hand into his and led her to the ticket booth.
This was how they were in the past together. She either stood in front of him with his arms around her or behind him, with his hand holding hers.
Like they are right now. Two couples are in front of them in line as they wait. Kim knows if she had any good common sense she would have turned Tommy down and relaxed at home.
Of course she could never turn him down.
"Two for Save the last Dance." Tommy paid for the tickets and escorted them inside the theater. At no time did he release Kim's hand. "What shall we snack on, Beautifull."
"Get the bucket of popcorn with extra butter," she told him at the counter. "Get some nachos too."
Tommy ordered and paid for the food, along with to medium Cokes. Kim snagged a few pop corn the minute the bucket was handed to him. "You gonna save some for me?" he teased as they moved to screen number 7.
"You know how much I love popcorn."
"Far be it from me to deny you anything."
"Exactly."
**
It will be another 15 minutes before the movie starts. The theaters is a little more than half filled on this Thursday night.
Kim and Tommy sit in the back of the theater, almost in a small corner.
"So, how has your week been so far?" Tommy asked while piling a nacho dripping with cheese in his mouth.
"It's been alright. Next week won't be as hectic as this one has been. My division is swamped with work right now."
Tommy felt a pang of guilt at how hard he pressured her to come out tonight.
Kim saw the look on his face. She could recognize Tommy guilt anywhere. "Stop it right now."
"Stop what?"
"I came out tonight because I wanted to. If I didn't I would not have."
He nodded with a smile.
"I wanted to see you, too," Kim added while staring at the screen. "How was your first week back teaching?"
"Pretty good, actually. The people at the dojo greeted me with open arms. It takes a little while to gain the students trust and that's what I'm doing now. All in all, it's not been a bad week."
"You look happy."
"I am now," he replied. "How's John?"
<It's not like I didn't see that one comming,> Kim kept to herself. "He's fine."
"Just fine?"
<Jealous much!!> "Yeah, just fine."
"Have you two gone out again this week?"
"That's none of your business."
Tommy remained silent. Her personal life really is none of his business and that angers him still.
"We haven't gone out again since Monday night," Kim offered, though she really didn't know why.
"Me and Kat almost made a huge mistake Monday." Tommy knows his personal life is none of her business either, but if she can offer information so can he.
"What do you mean by huge mistake?" Kim asked, not sure if she wants to hear about this.
"We almost made love."
It shouldn't hurt anymore. She knows that. She knows he had Kat were lovers throughout their relationship. She just wasn't sure if they still had something between them.
"What stopped you? You're both single and it surely would not have been the…first time." She hated every word out of her mouth.
"Me and Kat don't work relationship wise. We both know that. We click physically though. I guess we always have. But neither of us sleep around just because we feel the need. If we were getting back together, then yeah, we would have made love. But we are never getting back together. I'll always hold a special place for her in my heart though."
Kim looked closely at the man who sits next to her. She never in a million years thought she would ever hear of his love, past or present, for any woman other than herself. It hurts her that Kat was probably his first and knows him in a way she never has.
Tommy knows what is going through her mind. "I know it's weird."
"Yeah, it is."
"I always thought you would be my first," he admitted.
"I felt the same way about you."
They sit in silence as the theater darkens. So much time has past. So much history that has nothing to do with the other has happened between them.
But through it all, they are here, together.
Maybe not in the way they have always envisioned, but at least in a way that leaves the future open.
The previews start up as Kimberly takes the initiative. Her hand seeks out his in the darkness. She doesn't make eye contact with him. She just feels for his hand and takes it into hers.
He is the one that intertwines their fingers.
"You know that Kat is dating Jason, right?"
Kim turned toward him this time. "God, I've been out of the loop. When did this start?"
"Not long ago. They were just spending time together and things started to change. Jason cornered me on Monday and asked if something was still between me and Kat. When I reassured him there was not he confessed how much he likes her. He making dinner for her right now."
"I see I am going to have to call Mr. Lee. But we've all been so busy lately. I've got to call Zack, too."
"I spoke to him yesterday. He tells me that him and Tasha might get engaged."
"Really? That would be wonderful. She's good for him."
"Yeah. I'm happy for him."
They chat about Zack for a few minutes more as the movie begins.
"So, any cute girls at your dojo?" Kim asked.
"Why? You interested?"
A swat to the arm is his response.
" A few, but they are married. Although one of the single mothers hit on me yesterday. She's about 37, but God she is pretty."
He's messing with her and she knows it. "Whatever."
"Don't be jealous."
"I'm not jealous," she said with a straight face.
"I was jealous on Monday when you were out with John."
Kim didn't know what to say about that. On one hand she's a little happy. On the other she feels scared.
"I don't know what you want me to say?"
"Don't say anything. I was just telling you how I felt. Even though I know I have no right to feel that way."
<That's the worst travesty of them all,> she thought to herself. "How close to making love to Kat did you get?"
Her words came right out of the blue. "Some pretty heavy making out. That's about it. We were fully clothed the whole time."
Kim didn't reply. Her face betrayed no emotion.
"Have you and John…."
"No. There has been no one since Craig."
"I haven't been with anyone since Shayla and I broke up."
"You still get to me." Kim couldn't hold that in any longer.
Tommy wanted to escort her out of the theater right now, take her someplace nice and make love to her all night long.
"Do you love John?"
"We haven't been going out near long enough for that to happen. But I like him a lot."
"Do you love m…"
"Please don’t ask me that. Not now."
"Why not, Kim," he said leaning into her personal space. "You have now idea how bad I want to hold you right now. How bad I want to kiss you. How bad I want to make you mine again."
She could feel tears mist her eyes. "We can't go backward."
"Then lets go forward." Tommy lifts the armrest between them and pulls Kimberly into his lap, kissing her before she has a second to protest.
She doesn’t protest.
This is what has been missing from their lives. This connection. Tommy holds her tight in his arms, loving the feel of her body against his. Kim's arms wrap around him as their lips play with one another.
She moans into his mouth. He growls into hers. Tommy's strong hands run up and down her naked thighs, carressing the soft skin he finds there.
Kim is lost in his kiss, now knowing if she could break it if her life depended on it.
Fierce kisses turned into soft, erotic ones. Their tongues played with one another and Kim could feel Tommy harden beneath her. She moved her hips just a little and he moaned against her lips.
She knows she will not wake up alone tomorrow. Not clutching a phantom when the real deal lays next to her.
But is she ready for this? Can she do this without detailing the ugly event's of her past with Craig?
Kim pulls away, but rests her head against his. Both are breathing heavily, eyes closed, protected by the darkness of the theater.
"I want to rebuild what we had, Kim. I want it better this time. I want it to last. I want you."
One lone tear cascades down her face as she carreses his. To so many he is the hardened warrior or the disciplined teacher.
But to her he is the most gentle, kind, loving man she has ever had the pleasure of knowing. "Tommy, I have a lot of things to figure out in my life. A lot of things I need to sort through. I'm not ready to be involved with anyone right now."
His eyes lowered, but she placed her finger on his chin and lifted his face. "You're my first love. You've always been the man of my dreams."
Tommy takes both of her hands into his. "Kim, I lov.."
Before he can finish she bolts out of his arms and rushes out of the theater.
Tommy stands and watches as she runs out of the entrance. He doesn’t know why she is pulling away from him when he knows she wants to be closer.
<Her relationship with Craig must have been worse than she's letting on. Something happened and I think it must have been really bad.>
Tommy vows to find out exactly what that is.
Then he will claim his Harte's desire.
The End of Chapter 4.
Authors End Notes: I know I promised the party here, but I felt
the other characters needed a voice in terms of where they are.
The party will definitely take place in Chapter five. Now please
write me some feedback. Pretty please with sugar on top. Oh, and
I take suggestions and ideas too.
Thanks
Ozmandayus