She nods at my invitation of a drink, taking my hand as I led her out of the room back down the hall towards the kitchen.

I go over to the refrigerator, opening it, looking inside, "What do you want?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at her as she settles into one of the stools at the counter.

"I don't care," I tell him, trying to catch my breath and thoughts. "Surprise me."

Taking out two bottles, I shut the refrigerator door, taking them over to the counter where I open them on the tab opener that was hanging underneath the counter.

"Tequiza?" she asked, raising her eyebrow as she looked at the yellow liquid.

"Good stuff" I tell her before taking a swig. "Beer and tequila. American and Spanish, good mix, don't you think?"

I smile. I wanted to ask if he was going to get out the soup cans next but I didn't. I didn't want to bring up the past why can't we get past the past? so I took a swig of the brew, a long swig. I shivered as it went down, "God, this is awful."

I laughed, putting the bottle down on the counter. "After the first swig, the taste buds are dead so you'll get used to it."

I nod, taking another swig to test his theory. It wasn't as bad as the first one, I thought, taking another swig.

Before long, Tea had drunk almost half the bottle, which wasn't really that bad, for a girl. But if she kept it up, she'd definitely be drunk. I couldn't help but smile and wonder if that is what she really wanted to do. I know I did. Man, I didn't think this was going to be as difficult as this.

I mean, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy having her here but I didn't realize how much I really wanted her here. She fit this place and it fit her. She filled the room, every space becoming warmer with her presence. Don't get me wrong, I loved the house. It was a cute little house and yeah, I know, I bought it because it reminded me of her but I didn't really realize how muchI wanted her to be here she stepped into it. After having her here, having her walk through the house, her being radiating through the walls, there's no way I can have her leave, I thought as I watched her, sitting before me, polishing off the last of her beer. No way I could let that happen. I had felt the warmth again and I wanted it more now than ever.

"Another beer?" she asked, to which I nodded. Yeah, she was getting sloshed, I could tell, I chuckled to myself as I went to the refrigerator and brought back two more, one for each of us. Tea had finished hers quickly as she rattled on about something, I really couldn't tell you what it was about because honestly, I was admiring how her eyes flickered with gold chips whenever they caught the light. Anyway, as she rattled on and I stared, she picked up my beer and started sipping, I guess thinking it was hers. With two beers under, she asked me for another one.

I set the bottle in front of her and mine in front of me as I watched her take a good plug out of the bottle. I put mine to my lips and sipped, placing it back down onto the table. I looked up at her and she smiled.

"You really should be careful, Todd," she said, her words slow. "That's your second one."

I smile at her. "No, this is my first one. You drank the other one."

"I did not!" I told him, my tongue suddenly feeling thick. "I've only had mine."

He shook his head, still smiling at me. "No, that one was mine. You drank mine and yours."

I shake my head, sighing at him. "You know," I hear myself say "I can't have a decent conversation with you if your going sway like that. It's very distracting."

I bite my lip to keep from laughing she's so plastered. Running her fingers through her hair and letting out a heavy sigh, Tea looks around the kitchen, her eyes a little jumpy. Yeah, she's got a good buzz on, I think as I watch her. She looks at me and then smiles. I smile back. "Oh!" she starts, sitting straight in her chair. "Tell me about your protégé." I laugh, taking a few more sips from my beer before she takes it, tipping the bottle upwards, her throat working the liquid down. My eyes fall on a spot on her neck, right there on the side of her throat, underneath her jaw-line. The quick image of my teeth on that spot sent a hot flash through me as my body responded, growing firmer. When her eyes return to mine, I look down quickly at the countertop. The Dorian image isn't going to be enough tonight I remember thinking as I tried to control myself.

"What do you want to know?" he mumbled, looking down at the countertop. His face was a little flushed, his neck had little red splotches on it. He must be warm, I thought as I bit my lip thinking of how incredibly sexy he looked his face and neck flushed like that. For a moment, my mind flashed with images of him, on his back, his face and neck flushed because I was on top of him, ever so slowly sliding...

"What?" I heard myself say, looking up at him as he smirked at me.

"I said," I started, smiling at her confused look as I repeated myself again. She had been a million miles away. God knows where she was but she must have heard the tail end of my remark because now she was back on planet earth. "Why do you want to know? Jealous?"

"Of?"

"Of my protégé as you call her."

She laughed at that, well, actually she snorted, getting up off the stool, wobbling slightly. Padding over to the sink, Tea rinsed the empty bottles, her back to me.

"Well?"

"Hardly, Todd."

"And why is that?" I ask her, smiling that she has taken the bait and was going to do battle with me. God how missed that.

"No reason to be."

That hurt, I thought as she turned slightly to me, looking into my eyes. "You're not interested in her so there's no reason for me to be jealous." She explained.

Oh. OK, I thought as she continued rinsing the bottles, placing them on the sideboard when done. She didn't mean that she wasn't jealous because she didn't care, she just wasn't jealous cause I wasn't interested.

"Why would you say that?" I asked, leaning against the counter as she turned to me. Tea sighed.

"Because she's a woman. You're not interested."

He raised his eyebrow but remained silent. That didn't come out right. "That's not what I meant." I corrected wondering why the hell was my brain so foggy. I only had two beers.

"I know you're not gay."

"Thanks for noticing."

"You're welcome," I smile. "I just meant that you have this uncanny ability to not be like 99% of the males out there in that you don't think about sex, that's all. I mean, I know you. That's just how you are."

"So you're saying I'm frigid?" I asked to which she laughed.

"No. You're not frigid. That's an awful word for females. You're just, just..."

"Asexual?"

She looks at me. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"No, you brought it up," I tell her, my voice chuckling. "Continue."

"You'll get mad." I tell him watching, as he stood tall away from the counter crossing is arms.

"I'm not mad, Tea." He tells me, smirking, looking into my eyes. "Finish. I wanna know. So, you were saying?"

It was my turn to shrug under his heavy stare. Man it was getting warm in here.

"I think you said something like how I was unlike, what is it, 99% of males, is that right?"

She nods. "You don't do things like other guys would."

"What things, Tea?"

I shrug again. It wasn't my imagination; it definitely was getting warmer in here.

"Let me see if I can help you out." I started, watching as she gazed down towards the floor, shifting uncomfortably. I was really getting into the game but I have to admit, the subject was getting my attention up. "What do 99% of guys do that you think I don't do. Hmm, would I be different in that you don't think that I toss off?"

Her eyes met mine and she laughed, a hearty, gut-wrenching laugh. I do love this woman.

"What?" she chuckled, "What the hell is 'toss off'?"

I smile at her, shrugging, shaking my head. "Hell, I don't know. Heard it in a movie I saw once. Sounds better than saying jerk..."

"*I* get your meaning, Todd." She rushed to cut me off. "I don't know." She knew she was blushing, she could feel it in her face. Of course, her face wasn't the only thing that was beginning to get heated. That familiar burning filled her, one she knew so well. It was the desire she had felt, had always felt for Todd, the one that started deep inside her, slowly burning inside her, enveloping her, until it felt like she would shatter in a million pieces from it. How the hell did they get started on this topic?

She watched with trepidation as he slowly moved his way over to her, closing the gap that was between them.

Finding myself standing directly before her, I watched as her eyes looked up at me with a mixture of too much drink and a whole lot of lust filled them.

He's watching my mouth, I thought, looking up at him. If I thought it had gotten warmer in here, his standing before her certainly turned the heat a few notches. He smelled so good, his eyes wandering over her face, settling on her mouth. She licked them nervously. His firming erection twitched.

"Did you ever, when we were together, did you ever..." she stammered in a whisper, her eyes looking deep into his.

She couldn't finish the statement but I knew what she was asking. I knew what she wanted to hear.

"All the time," I tell her in a hush tone. "Still do."

She's embarrassed, I could tell. She looks away and chuckles, then looks back up at me again.

"You don't have to lie, Todd. I was just asking." I smile at her. She's uncomfortable, I thought, smiling. Good, keep her on her toes. "I'm not lying Tea." I whisper to her, taking her hand into mind, placing it in between my shirt, on top of my chest. Her hand is warm, soft against my touch-starved skin.

Holding my hand against his chest, I bit my lip as he guides our hand downward, the palm of my hand sliding over his slightly defined pecs, down to his abdomen. I continue to stare into his eyes that had grown darker, smokier. My hand continued to slide downward, leaving the softness and heat of his skin to touch the rougher fabric of his shirt. I could feel a shiver pass through me as he continued moving my hand down further. I felt the top of his pants, the coolness of the silver belt buckle pressing into my palm.

When her hand had reached the front of my pants, I sighed as her slightly damp palm glided over the bulge. I let my head fall forward, touching her forehead, closing my eyes. I held her hand there, pressing it gently against me, letting my hand rest atop hers as she rubbed up and down the length.

I could feel him getting firmer as I rubbed, his heat warming my hands. I continued looking into his eyes as his head sagged against mine, forehead to forehead, his soft breaths hot against my face.

Her lips, God those wonderful lips were so close to mine. All I wanted to do was just move slightly, just enough to feel them against mine again. I felt her fingers curl around me, squeezing me slightly.

I felt a shudder run through him as I squeezed him again. He pulled away slightly to look into my eyes. Todd took his one hand from mine and with the other, placed them on either side of my face. He looked down at my mouth then in my eyes again. My hand on his groin stopped as I watched him move slowly forward to kiss me.

I felt her tense. I looked into her eyes again.

"I want to kiss you," I told her, my voice, heavy, thick, rough. "If you don't want me to kiss you, I won't. But if there just one chance, one slim chance that you might want me to kiss you, tell me, please."

She nodded within my hands and before she changed her mind or me mine, I leaned in and placed my lips against hers, so soft and moist.

He slanted to deepen the kiss but I moved, away from him, his eyes opening to search mine. "I can't do this, Todd. I'm sorry." It was my words, coming from my mouth and even I couldn't believe I had said it. I could see the disappointment in his eyes as he backed away from me, nodding.

I thought I would feel better when he moved away, giving me time to breathe. But as he pulled away, it got harder and harder to breath. It was if my life was being sucked out of me, again. "Todd..."

She stopped, looking at me, helpless. She was confused, she wanted to explain but I just shook my head, willing her to stop. If she didn't say it, there still was a chance. She had reacted to me; I felt that, that wasn't a lie, she still wanted me. And now she knew, she felt, possibly for the first time ever, how much I wanted her.

"It's late," I heard myself say to her, watching as she looked helplessly up at me. "You'd better get some sleep. I'll go out to your car and get your bags, OK?"

I nodded, folding my arms across my chest, hugging myself against the coldness that had replaced the warmth that his body had radiated only moments before. Why didn't I argue with him? Why didn't I just grab him and continue kissing him? I don't know, couldn't tell you. I could only nod and watch as he walked away from me, listening as the front door opened and closed.

To be continued. . .

© Copyright by Whlwtcher 2000