"Look...Tea...you need to lighten up! It was just a little kiss...big deal!" He said it almost casually with a smoothness that further antagonized her. I'm the adult here she thought. I have to remember that. I've got to stay in control for both our sakes.

"We'll talk about this later, Todd. Let's go."

Todd pursed his lips in a silent whistle as she beckoned him to follow her to the elevator. He walked behind her svelte figure and thought about how soft and supple her body had felt next to his. In the elevator going up to the penthouse, he once more invaded her space by standing only inches away from her. She felt her face flush as she realized he was taking in every part of her body with his eyes. So this was how Todd Manning had behaved at that age -- cocky and sexually aggressive. She had almost forgotten that he was mentally a teenager because even though she had resisted him, she had wanted those lips to touch hers.

Todd tossed his gym bag into the nearest corner and then flopped down on the sofa. He looked around him approvingly. "Hey, there's no place like home, right Delgado? Got any brew here?"

Tea eyed him warily and went into the kitchen. One beer. She'd give him one He at least deserved that after what he'd been through over the last couple of months. She came back into the living room with a bottle of beer only to find Todd was no longer on the sofa.

"Todd?" she called out -- slightly nervous that he was missing.

She heard a noise and saw Todd come bounding down the stairs. Instead of the suit he had been wearing, he had put on a pair of jogging shorts and a tee-shirt. Tea put her hand over her mouth to hide her amusement at seeing him in these clothes. She had very rarely seen him in anything that was casual. He walked over to her slowly and took the beer bottle from her hand. He tipped the bottle up and drank several large gulps and wiped his mouth satisfactorily with the back of his hand. "Man, I missed this stuff in there!"

Well, one thing for sure thought Tea. His manners were still the same as they always were. "Todd, I'm going to fix some dinner for us. You must be starving. Why don't you turn on the television?" She tried to make him feel more comfortable. "I bet there's a good game on or something since it's Saturday."

"Yeah, I am hungry. The food in that place was the pits. Hey, soccer! There's a game on today."

"Good! I'll be back in a little while," Tea said, happy that she had given him something to do for the time being.

She walked into the kitchen and reached for an apron in the pantry. She spied a jar of salsa and a jar of picante on the shelf. She knew that there was hamburger in the refrigerator. A teenage boy would probably go for some chalupas she thought. Something spicy with that beer. She smiled triumphantly and walked over to the sink. She slipped on the apron and reached behind her back for the strings. Before her hands could reach them, she felt a pressure on the strings.

"Here...let me do that," a voice said in a low, rich tone, which sent shock waves through her. His hands moved in apparent slow motion as she felt the strings being looped and confidently pulled tight into her back. With a final tug on the knotted bow, his warm hands lingered against her waist. She froze and felt her legs liquify with his touch. Before she could protest, his hands had expertly twisted her body around until she was face to face with his penetrating, hazel eyes. For a second or two he looked at her as if trying to find a sign of approval in her rounded eyes and then with no more indecision, he melded his lips into hers, capturing her will and drawing her deeper and deeper into him. The world was temporarily lost to her as she hurtled into another dimension. She had wanted this so much she had dreamed of it almost every night while he was gone. As his full, soft lips drove into hers with schoolboy passion, a voice inside her head was seductively talking to her. This was still Todd. What was the harm? No! This was all wrong. Very wrong.

"Stop, Todd!" she wrenched her face away from his and leaned back to catch her breath which was now ragged and short.

Todd flashed his smile at her mockingly. "Come on, Tea! Cut out the games. You know you want it!"

Tea couldn't remember later how fast she reacted, but she heard the sound of a hard slap as her hand made contact with his face. For an instant she saw a flood of emotions run through his eyes -- shock, hurt, and finally, cold, hard anger.

"No one!" She spoke between clenched teeth. "No one -- not even you -- says that to me!"

He stepped back and his eyes took in her defensive posture and the raw feeling with which she had spoken these words. Suddenly he begrudgingly admitted to himself that she wasn't some cheap little plaything to toy with.

"Okay. I'm sorry! Don't blow a gasket, Tea. But look...you are my wife."

"That is true. But you have a thing or two to learn before you can be my husband again!"

Todd swept his eyes over her again admiringly. "I like older women. They have a lot of experience. You could teach me," he said, trying to make an appeal to her.

Tea almost laughed at his attempt to change her mind. Young Todd was in many ways just as sharp as the older one was. She was going to have to be on her toes every second in order to keep him from manipulating her.

"You have more therapy ahead of you, Todd. You must go through it to come out on the other side. You still have a long way to go. Having a...physical relationship now is not in your best interest." She said this matter-of-factly, but secretly felt like a total hypocrite.

Todd clapped his hands in mock appreciation for her sage advice. "You sound a lot like that idiot, Dr. Morris, Tea. In case you hadn't noticed, all that shrink stuff makes me want to gag. I can handle my own life -- you wait and see!"

Tea shook her head at his youthful bravado, and in a strange way, her heart ached for him. He was trying so hard, and she had to force herself to remember back to her own sixteenth year when she had wanted to be accepted and to be popular. It was the same with him, she knew. He was trying to act "big" and "cool" but inside he was a mess. I could be a little more compassionate she thought. "How long will I be like this?" he asked her after a minute of silence between them. He walked over to a counter and lifted himself up to sit on the top of it. She heard the disquiet in his question.

"I...don't know, Todd. We'll know more as each day passes."

As if thinking of something quickly, he jumped down off the counter and walked back over to her.

"Tea, look.. I'll try not to rush things...but, I want to get back to who I was...fast!"

"Why, Todd? There's no hurry."

The "bad attitude" look was gone and in its place was another one -- vulnerable and anxious.

"I don't know anything Tea, but...I want to change for you. I want to get back for you!" Still...I have you back home with me where you belong and that is more than enough for now.

The doorbell rang and Todd reverted back to a hyper adolescent and jogged over to the door. "Hi ya, Sammy! Wanna brew?"

Tea listened to the rapid exchange of their voices and her heart leaped with hope as she thought of what he had said to her in the kitchen. I know you can do this, Todd. You're not a quitter. But neither are you, Delgado she told herself stubbornly. Neither are you. I'll be waiting for you, Todd!

The End

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