Jaguar and Falcon; Shift [Jaguar's Perspective] - book two

When Andrew opened his eyes, his first thought was that he’d had one of the most pleasant dreams he’d had in a very long time. As his eyes caught sight of Kacey’s jeans tossed haphazardly in a pile on the floor, he felt his chest tighten. It hadn’t been a dream. God, it had all been real. All of it.

His mind flashed back to the bar. That wasn’t the way he planned on doing things. Confronting her in public, on a night where they were supposed to be tolerating each other for Doe and Jared’s sake, was not in the plan, but he couldn’t help it. They had been dancing together, bodies moving in sync without trying, indicating that there was something deeper between them that he didn’t want to ignore anymore. That he just couldn’t ignore anymore.

Confronting Kacey like he had shouldn’t have worked, but it had. I don’t know how to deal with it. That’s what she told him, her breath warm on his cheek, her body trembling against his. She didn’t know what to do with how she felt about him, which meant that whatever she felt was powerful, intense… The memory of his lips on hers brought a painful swelling sensation to his chest. It had been natural, so natural, the way they melted into each other, the way their bodies fit together. It was all too easy, letting go, giving her everything he had, letting himself feel for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. And for as much as he had given, she had given more. Kacey had dropped the walls she lived behind, allowing him for a brief time to get a glimpse of the woman underneath. She had let herself be vulnerable with him.

And then later that night, after getting home, it had taken all of his strength to hold himself back. He’d nearly mauled her, pinning her against the wall, kissing her hard and deep as his body held hers… Her lips on his neck and jaw, her fingers against the skin of his chest and abs, buried in his hair…everywhere she had touched him had burned, leaving a fiery path that even now, hours later, he could still feel. But the burning wasn’t just on the outside; it was internal, located somewhere in his chest area, gently waning and waxing in time with his breathing. His body had ached with desire, tempered mildly when they were tangled together, their limbs wrapped around each other, and then violently reignited every time they pulled apart the slightest bit.

As they lay together, breathing hard, it had felt like a piece of himself had fallen into place. Being with Kacey was natural, easy, right. Dear God did it feel right when he was with her, when he had her sleeping in his arms, her back pressed solidly against his chest, and the sweet scent of her hair filling his nose.

She had dozed off quickly, slipping easily into a deeper sleep, and Andrew had remained awake for quite a while longer, just watching her sleep. Her breathing was deep and even, her body warm and soft against his. An uncontrollable flood of emotion caused him to shake, so he’d clung to her tighter, heard her sigh softly, and almost lost his composure.

Andrew had struggled hard to keep himself together last night. He had wanted to take his time, but his body seemed to work on autopilot, stripping Kacey’s shirt off. He had sworn, cursed softly under his breath as he finally got a good look at her. Sure, he’d seen her numerous times over the years in the locker rooms as they changed, but he’d never seen her like that: flushed face, bruised lips, ragged breathing, her eyes half hooded in desire – for him. That realization alone sent blood flowing south.

Her skin was soft, unbelievably soft, and he’d been allowed to touch her, finally, allowed to let his fingertips trail across her skin, following the outline of her shoulder and arm, to the easy, graceful curve of her waist, leaving him breathless but yearning for more. So he took a deep breath to steady himself and then leaned closer, curling a finger under her chin to draw her to him, and then he kissed her. His self-restraint had never been tested so fully.

The kiss tasted to him of desperation, his own desperation, and though he did his best to keep it chaste, Andrew couldn’t help the unconscious message he was sending: I need you. Over and over and over again, until he realized his hand had hooked Kacey’s leg over his hip and he had just flipped them over, and –

Coherent thought flew out the window. Desire flooded his body, the ache somewhere deep inside his stomach flared, and he couldn’t help but press himself into her, shifting his hips against hers, and causing her to gasp and her eyes to roll back in her head. Jesus Christ. She was crumbling under him, her own resolve falling to pieces, and –

Holy hell. What had she done? Did that sound come from him? Andrew had scrambled off her body, still marveling at whatever Kacey had done to make him black out, but he couldn’t make himself move all the way away, so he just knelt over her, breathing heavily, trying to gain a sense of control over his own body again.

And then the atmosphere had shifted. She had giggled as he kissed his way up her stomach, as his facial scruff tickled her sensitive skin. He remembered her squealing playfully, and they both had laughed, him collapsing onto the bed beside her. They had bantered, teasing each other, until he couldn’t control the desire anymore. He needed her close, needed her in his arms, needed her.

And now… oh boy, and now…

He was on his stomach in bed, blankets only coming up to his waist, arms wrapped around his pillow. Kacey’s side of the – Kacey’s side? When had it become her side? – bed was empty. Presumably she was already up and moving. He sighed heavily, realizing her scent was on his pillow, and then sat up, stretching. He could hear a low buzz of voices that indicated at least two people were up. Noise came from Doe and Grizzly’s room down the hall, the sound of grunting that could only belong to Grizzly, so it stood to reason that Doe and Kacey were in the kitchen. He let his feet fall to the ground and stood.

A sudden wave of fear swept through him; what if last night was a mistake in her eyes? What if – He couldn’t deal with that train of thought. Andrew ran a hand through his hair. If that’s what she wanted to address it as, that was fine – shit. Who was he kidding? It wouldn’t be okay, it wouldn’t be anywhere close to okay if she wanted to – Andrew forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down. He had no way of knowing how she was going to react, so the best thing he could do would be to act normal and talk to her.

He padded softly down the hall, careful to not wake Kelly, and then into the kitchen.

“Morning.”

Andrew greeted the two women already in the kitchen. Doe was in a pair of yoga pants and an old t-shirt, and Kacey was dressed in his button down. Only his button down. All brain function stopped for a moment. Finally he glanced around.

“Where’s Jared?”

Doe answered with a nod towards their bedroom. “He’s getting ready to go for a run. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you wanted to join him.”

Andrew scratched at the back of his head as he tried to look nonchalant. “Maybe I will.” He couldn’t stop his eyes from finding Kacey’s.

Somewhere in the background, Doe busied herself with dishes. Andrew took a few steps forward, and as if pulled by magnets, so did Kacey. They met in the middle of the kitchen, still gazing silently at each other. A few errant strands of hair were in her eyes, so he reached up and pushed them out of her eyes. His breath caught.

“Are we okay?”

Where did that question come from? He wasn’t sure what had prompted the question, but nonetheless, he waited for an answer, his heart thundering painfully in his chest.  Finally, he got one.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “We’re great.”

A smile spread across his face. “Good.”

Andrew bent down until his lips touched hers for a brief moment. His head swam pleasantly as he pulled away and moved for the doorway. After only a few steps, he spun back around and took two giant strides back to where she stood. He wound an arm around her waist, pulling her body, still soft and pliable from sleep, up against himself, used the other hand to cup her face and then kissed her long and deep, sending electricity through his veins.

“See you in a bit,” he managed before hurrying out of the kitchen.

He passed Jared on his way back to his bedroom, flashing him a stupid grin, and made it just inside the closed door before leaning back against it and sliding to the floor, the explosively euphoric feeling in his body nearly making him sick.

He had her. Or rather, she had him. Heaven help him, she most definitely had him.

Jaguar and Falcon; Hangover

I've had this one sitting around in reserve for forever now. I figured it was time to pull it out, dust it off, and fix it up a little. So here it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andrew groaned and turned over, his hand coming to rest on his face.

I turned my gaze from the television to where he was sitting up and rubbing at the whiskers on his chin. I took a sip of my coffee as I watched Andrew rub at his eyes, blink hard several times to clear his vision and then flick his gaze quickly between the two of us. His eyebrows sat back on his forehead as he noticed the fact that he was half naked and I was wearing his t-shirt. Andrew's brow furrowed.

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “Nothing happened.”

His face seemed to relax, but grew faintly puzzled. “Nothing?” he groaned.

 I felt a slight heat rise in my face. “Not like our situation would imply.”

The puzzled look deepened. “Leave it to you to speak so eloquently when you’re hung-over.”

“Says the man using the word ‘eloquently,’ ” I shrugged, causing my head to throb a little harder. “Despite being half-naked, no, we didn’t have sex.”

“Gotcha.”

I turned away and reached for a mug sitting on the nightstand. I handed it to him. Andrew met my eyes.

“Why not?”

“Why not what?”

“Keep up,” he grunted. “We were both drunk and, last I remember, fooling around. Why didn’t we?”

My eyes drifted back to the television. “You answered it. We were drunk.” I took another drink of my coffee, which had cooled to nearly room temperature.

Andrew shifted on the bed. He set his cup on the nightstand near him and then moved closer to me. One of his arms slid under my pillow as he leaned close. His forehead touched mine.

“So?”

I reluctantly pushed him away. “Don’t do this Andrew.”

“Do what?”

I shook my head and attempted to slide a little farther away. Andrew got the hint and pulled away. He turned over and picked up his mug. It only took him a moment to drain it and then he was sliding out of bed. I watched him disappear into the bathroom. The sound of rummaging came from the drawers and after a couple more minutes Andrew emerged. He tipped his head back, popped a couple aspirin, and then sat down on the edge of the bed. His curls were mussed; a combination of bed head and my fingers in the early hours of the morning.

The pink light of the rising sun filled the room, causing Andrew’s bronzed skin to glow. The scars that littered his back were barely visible, but I could see them from where I was at. It was probably only because I knew where to look.

“God, my head is pounding.”

Andrew leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands, where his fingers massaged his temples.

“How much did I drink last night?”

I set my empty mug on the nightstand. “Enough to drown a horse.”

“And you?”

“Enough to drown a slightly smaller horse.”

He turned around enough to look at me. “And you feel okay?”

I rolled my eyes. “If by ‘okay’ you that I have a dry mouth, pounding head, and an achy body, then yeah, I’m okay.”

“And you're irritable,” Andrew muttered. His voice was a little louder when he addressed me again. “You’re a bitch when you’re hung-over.”

I rolled my eyes again, but Andrew had already turned away. He started to get up, but I grabbed the waistband of his sweats. His charcoal eyes slid towards me. I didn’t want to apologize, but I did anyway.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

His expression didn’t change. I wasn’t sure he had accepted it.

“Look," I sighed, "I am sorry. You’re right. I'm a bitch because I’m hung-over and I feel like shit.”

Andrew’s shoulders loosened a bit. He’d forgiven me. He looked away.

I sat up and crawled over to where he was sitting. My arms wrapped around his neck as I pressed my face into his neck. The strong muscles in his back flexed a bit as he reached behind him and wrapped his arms around me. After a couple minutes he spun around and we collapsed back into bed. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but Andrew had me tucked into his chest, his arms wrapped around me snugly.

I was about to say something, but his mouth came down on mine, silencing both my lips and my thoughts. He kissed me firmly, intentionally. His tongue flirted with mine while our lips danced together. I could feel the sparks. They were there, there was no denying it. My heart pounded away in my chest, as the blood in my veins sped up, and my nerves ignited everywhere that we were touching. I wanted to get a little closer, press my body up against the solid, unyielding muscles in his, but he was cradling me and it didn’t seem like he wanted to give up our current position. One of his hands touched my face, tracing the edge of my jaw and then settling easily under my ear, along my neck, to pull me closer. Both of my hands were pressed solidly against him, my fingers tight as if trying to bunch the muscles in his chest like I normally would his shirt. After a few more minutes I managed to pull away and get my breath.

“Kace – “

I twisted my hips, effectively turning myself over in his arms such that I was facing him. Our legs twined together as my arms found their way around his neck and torso. My shirt had ridden up enough that the bare skin on my stomach was touching his. Andrew’s hand slid to the edge of my shirt and he pushed it up a little more, exposing another inch or two of skin. I felt his fingertips slide under the edge of my shirt. Our eyes met. This time I initiated the kiss. I leaned forward and sealed our mouths together. He only let me kiss him twice before he pulled his mouth away and pressed a kiss to my neck. A shiver ran down my back as we rolled over. I gazed down at him as the fire in my stomach grew. Andrew’s hands continued their way under the edge of my shirt and trailed up my ribcage. My elbows buckled. Andrew caught me and rolled us over until he was the one gazing down at me.

“You okay?”

“I’m –“

My stomach rolled. Andrew must have noticed the sick look on my face because before I could push him off, he had scrambled off me and tugged me to my feet. I managed to make it to the toilet before I threw up. I vomited once more before I was able to sit back onto the cold tile.

“Feeling better?” Andrew asked from the doorway.

I groaned. “Kinda.”

He chuckled and I sent him a dark look. “I didn’t throw up last night. You did.”

Andrew didn’t have an answer so he settled for a shrug. I was about to snap at him again but my stomach lurched. I leaned over the toilet as I felt his hand sweep across the back of my neck, pulling my hair away from my face as I lost the coffee I’d drank earlier. I coughed a couple times before sitting back again. I could feel Andrew’s lingering gaze. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Finally, Andrew reached down and held out his hand. I laid mine in his and let him help me to my feet.

“Get a shower,” he murmured, pushing a few loose strands away from my forehead and leaving a blazing trail across my face from where his fingertips touched. “You’ll feel better.”

I sighed and then nodded slowly.

“I’ll make some more coffee.”

It was his peace offering; his way of saying he was sorry for laughing earlier. I nodded again. He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead and then left the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind him.

God we were a mess. I stared at the closed door for several long moments after his footsteps had disappeared, knowing that the sick feeling in my stomach now had absolutely nothing to do with the amount of alcohol I’d had last night or the lack of water in my brain this morning.

Jaguar & Falcon - Atlanta

"Green light. Repeat - green light."

I took a deep breath, released it slowly, and watched the man's head settle into the crosshairs. His hand with the pistol left the girl's head to wave in the air, and I felt my body relax as my unconscious took over.

-----------------------------------------

It's true, that age old sniper joke. The first thing a sniper feels when shooting a man is the recoil of her rifle. It wasn't until I realized that the red splattered across the pavement was the inside of his head that a wave of nausea hit. I scrambled away from my gun, made it across to the trashcan, and then vomited.

"Falcon?" Jag's voice in my ear slowed the spinning of my head. "You okay?"

I took a deep breath, weighing my options. "Peachy," I admitted.

"Sweet," he answered. I'm on my way up, is what he meant.

It took him only a couple minutes to make it up to the room where I was stationed. I had already packed up, but was sitting against the wall, head in my hands, attempting to make the room stop its sickening dance. Jag dropped down beside me and removed his earpiece, letting it dangle over his shoulder like mine was.

"I didn't want them to call you."

I shook my head. "I didn't want them to call me either."

His arm slid around my shoulders and I leaned into him easily, allowing his strong frame to support my weakened body for a few minutes. Silence fell between us, only broken by the whine of chatter from our earpieces and the faint hum of traffic on the highway a mile to the east. Finally, I stood up and replaced my earpiece. I felt Jaguar's eyes follow me as I brushed myself off, making sure that I was actually alright. When he finally determined that I was okay, Jaguar hauled himself up and also replaced his earpiece.

"Ready?"

"Affirmative."

He smiled without humor and swung my bag over his shoulder. I picked up my gun case. We looked at each other for a brief moment before he led the way into the stairwell and back down into the fray.

Falcon & Jaguar - Babysitting

Doe turned her soft blue eyes on Andrew and I.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. "Because we can call a sitter or -"

Andrew waved a hand at her to usher her out the door after Jared. "We'll be fine. Now go, you need a night out."

"Okay, okay," she conceded, stepping out onto the front porch. "Sparrow will be back from her concert late, maybe after midnight or so, and Kelly -"

Andrew promptly shut the door in her face and locked it.

I swung my head around to stare at him, my mouth hanging open in surprise.

"What?" he shrugged. "You know she wasn't going to leave without a fight. I just cut the fight down by a few minutes."

I shut my mouth as it tipped upwards in a smile. I nodded. "You're right."

A giggle from the living room made both of us turn. I trailed after Andrew into the living area where Kelly was sitting on her blanket, a stuffed rabbit in her hand, while she watched the Wiggles. I checked my watch.

"It's almost time to get her ready for bed."

Andrew took a seat on the sofa and leaned back. "We'll let her finish the video and then get her ready."

I sat down next to him and then pulled my feet up with me. "Won't that get her to bed late?"

"A half hour isn't going to kill her."

I turned my gaze to where Kelly sat, her eyes transfixed by the grown men dancing on the screen. Her blond curls were pulled into pigtails and tied with pink ribbons that matched her pink dress. There was a stain from her dinner on the edge of it. That would need to be spot treated before it was washed. She was only two years old but she looked so much like Doe already that it was uncanny. Her size, though, betrayed Jared's genes. She was tall for her age. And the shockingly green eyes weren't Doe's, they were definitely Jared's.

"What are you thinking about?" Andrew asked, stretching his arms across the back of the sofa.

"Her dress."

"What about it?"

I shrugged. "It needs to be spot treated."

His fingertips touched my neck and shoulders. They stroked back and forth for a few moments. I looked over at him. Andrew seemed like he was going to say something, but he didn't. He just turned his gaze back towards the television. I leaned into him and his arm slipped around my shoulders. Neither of us spoke again until the Wiggles was over.

"I'll bathe the little tot," Andrew told me, standing up.

"I'll help."

"You don't have to."

I stood up and moved to pick up Kelly. "Ready for a bath?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No baff!"

Andrew stepped up to her and sniffed. "You need a bath," he told her. "You are stinky!"

She gave Andrew a sour look. "No stinky!"

"Yes stinky," he said. Andrew scooped her out of my arms and swung her in a high circle before settling her on his hip.

She squealed in delight. " 'Gain!"

"One more and then a bath," he told her.

She pouted.

"Okay, fine..." he started to put her down.

"Pwease!" she squeaked. "Uncle! Pwease!"

His face broke into a grin as he dipped her suddenly and then whipped her upward, swinging her around a couple more times before setting her back on his hip. She giggled profusely.

"Bath time!" he told her.

She continued to giggle as Andrew carried her down the hall. I trailed behind them, watching her little blond head bob and her small hand reach for Andrew's hair. He was good with her.

Andrew set Kelly on the ground as he turned on the water in the bathtub. She reached for her dress and tried to pull it over her head, but it got stuck. She stumbled backwards a bit and then fell onto her butt. I smiled and hurried forward to help her out of the dress. A couple minutes later I lifted her and set her easily into the tub which had been filled with warm water and bubbles.

She giggled as she scooped up some bubbles and flung them at me. Luckily I saw them coming. I slid sideways. Andrew grunted as water droplets sprayed across the knees of his jeans and bubbles clung to his jeans and bare feet.

"Kelly!" he scolded playfully.

She squealed and did it again. He laughed and grabbed a cup from the sink. Andrew scooped up a cup of water and dumped it on top of her head, soaking her blond curls and sticking them to her forehead. She sputtered a moment before retaliating with a splash directed for Andrew. I stepped backwards to avoid the water and watched them play.

The sudden slamming of the front door made me jump.

"What was that?" Andrew asked, shooting to his feet.

Heavy footsteps came down the hall and as they passed the door to the bathroom, we saw a very upset looking Sparrow. Her eyes were staring intently at the floor as she stomped past the bathroom with a frown deeper than the Grand Canyon on her face. Andrew and I exchanged glances.

"Is she okay?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "Want to go see?"

He shook his head quickly. "She's your sister."

"Alright," I conceded. "I'll be back."

There was a splash as I left the bathroom and I imagined Kelly and Andrew were back at it again. I knocked softly on Sparrow's door, but there was no answer. I knocked a little louder.

"Sparrow?"

She didn't answer. I checked my watch. It was barely past nine o'clock. Her concert didn't start until nine-thirty, so what was she doing back?

Knowing that if I knocked again, she wasn't going to answer, I turned the knob and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Sparrow was on her bed, fully clothed, curled into a ball. Her arms were wrapped around a rather large stuffed turtle.

"Sparrow?" I murmured sitting down in her desk chair across from her.

She didn't give any indication that she heard me, but her eyes were pink and puffy, and she was sniffling.

"Allison, what's wrong?"

Her bleary eyes met mine. "I don't want to live here anymore. Can I go home with you and Andrew?"

I wished I could say yes, but I knew I couldn't. Not with the life that Andrew and I lived. We were gone at all hours of the day and night and exposed to things that I didn't want my younger sister exposed to. There was no way I could agree.

"What's going on?" I pressed. "You loved it here just yesterday. What's changed your mind already?"

"Please?"

"Allison -"

"Nevermind!" She turned over and took a shuddering breath. "It's not like you wanted me anyway."

How wrong she was. I wanted to address the last statement, but I knew better. I knew this behavior. It was my own behavior when I was growing up and something was bothering me. I also knew how to get through it.

"Allison, I know something's wrong and you can tell me what it is and I can help you work through it or I can leave you here and let you rot."

Her sniffling suddenly stopped. It had worked. I wasn't going to play her game. For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

"Fine." I stood up to leave but Allison was suddenly sitting up too, her arms still wrapped around her turtle.

"Katie's a bitch."

Well okay. I sat back down. "Why?"

Sparrow sniffed and swallowed hard. "I told her I liked John! I obsessed over him! She knows that! So what does she do!? She kissed him! And now they're going out!"

Tears ran down her face again as she dissolved into sobs. Oh boy. I sighed.

"All this happened tonight?"

"No!" she snapped, suddenly catching my eyes. Her bloodshot eyes were narrow. I could see the anger in them. "This happened last week. Last week! And she didn't even tell me! She told me John was coming tonight, so I got dressed up and I thought she invited him for me, and then he shows up and - and -"

Allison sank sideways, back into her fetal position, her face pressed into the soft back of the turtle.

"I hate her!" she screamed, voice muffled by the pillow.

Well this certainly wasn't something I had experience in. Any issue I had had in middle school and high school I had settled with my fists. Which was probably a factor that had led me to where I was now.

"What am I gonna do?" she moaned.

"Punch her?" I muttered.

I slapped my hand over my mouth, suddenly realizing I had voiced my thoughts out loud. Allison pushed herself up onto her elbow. Her gaze was something I couldn't read. I feared for a moment that she thought I wasn't serious and was going to go into full-out teenage pout mode. After another moment her lips tipped upwards and she laughed. Loudly. She laughed and laughed and after several minutes, was finally able to pull herself together.

"You were serious?" she gasped, tears of laughter running down her face.

I shrugged. "That's what I would have done."

She dissolved into laughter again.

I stood up and took a seat on the edge of her purple quilt. "Look," I admitted. "I never had problems like that in school. I was known for getting into fights, so I didn't really have many girlfriends. Or boyfriends for that matter."

Allison sat up next to me.

I looked at her. "I can't tell you what to do. I can tell you that punching her will get you nowhere however. So Ido not recommend doing that. But maybe you should talk to her."

"I don't want to. I don't think she would anyway." Allison averted her gaze. "When I found out I called her a 'brainless back-stabbing bitch' before storming out and walking home."

This time I laughed.

"What?" she asked. "It's true."

"Well you get points for alliteration and creativity."

"Thanks."

We lapsed into silence.

"Everyone's going to hate me now."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because everyone likes Katie. And I'm the new girl. They're all going to side with her. Besides, she's probably poisoned everyone against me anyway..."

"I don't think that's true."

Allison didn't answer. She just sat silently before jumping suddenly. She reached into her back pocket where her cell phone was located. A confused look crossed her face before she answered it.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Really?" Her voice sounded slightly hopeful.

Silence.

"Maybe. I'll call you back." Yep, she definitely sounded better.

Allison hung up the phone and tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Melissa. She left Katie's house after Katie started telling everyone that I was - well, it doesn't matter. But she wants to know if I want to get ice cream with her."

I smiled. "See? Not everyone hates you. And more importantly, not everyone likes Katie."

Allison nodded.

"You can go," I told her. "And if it's okay with her mom and you want to invite her to stay that night, that's okay too."

Allison sprang to her feet. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Thank you!"

She wrapped me in a tight hug and then pulled me to my feet and pushed me towards the door.

"I have to call her back and change! Thank you!"

Before I knew what had happened, I was standing in the hallway with Allison's door shut behind me. That had gone much better than I could have ever planned. I shook my head and padded back to the bathroom. The first thing I noticed was my wet sock from stepping onto the bathroom floor. I glanced down at the pools of water on the ground and then back up at where Andrew was holding Kelly who was wrapped in a plush white towel. His shirt was soaked and his jeans weren't much drier.

"What happened?" I chuckled.

Andrew looked at Kelly as she looked at him. They pointed at each other.

"Nice," I answered. I stepped forward and took Kelly from Andrew's arms.

"I'm going to get you ready for bed while Uncle Andrew cleans up the water on the floor," I told her, shooting Andrew a sly look.

He frowned playfully.

"What pajamas do you want to wear tonight?"

"Horsey!" she answered as we entered her bedroom.

"A girl after my own heart," I answered, setting her on the floor so I could get to her pajamas.

An hour later, Kelly was asleep in her room, Melissa and her mother had picked up Sparrow to go get ice cream, and Andrew was changed into a pair of sweats and a dry t-shirt.

"Bathroom's dry," Andrew murmured, stepping up behind me.

I smiled as I set the wash cycle for Kelly's dress. I shut the washer door as Andrew's hands slid around my hips and turned me to face him.

"So what was wrong with Allison?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he leaned down to place a quick kiss on my lips.

"Boy trouble. Friend drama. Typical teenage backstabber-y."

He raised his eyebrows. "How'd you get her composed so fast?"

"I might have, you know, actually told her my real opinion on accident."

"On accident?" Andrew was skeptical.

"Totally on accident. It slipped out."

"What did?"

I pulled away from him and headed for the living room. "I might have suggested punching the backstabbing friend."

"You didn't!"

"It was an accident!"

Andrew's arms swung around my waist and he tugged me against his chest. He was grinning. "That's what you did at that age didn't you?"

I shrugged.

His smile dimmed. "At least you punched people for a good reason. I didn't have such honorable reasons most of the time."

"Well I told her it was a bad idea."

"And she was okay with that?"

I shook my head. "Are you kidding me? No, her friend Melissa called. They're out with Melissa's mom getting ice cream and gossiping I imagine. That's what perked her up so much."

He had stopped listening. The glint in his eyes caused a familiar flutter in my chest.

"So," he answered, ignoring my previous statement, "what you're saying is that Kelly's asleep, Doe and Jared are out 'til late, and Sparrow's gone too? Meaning we're alone right now?"

I smiled at his insinuation.

"That's what I thought."

Andrew pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I returned it. I felt him smile as we backed up into the sofa and collapsed into it, limbs tangled. His kisses grew deeper, and so did mine, as his arms tightened around me and mine found their way around him. My hands slid under the edge of his t-shirt as he pulled his lips from mine and pressed them against my neck. Goosebumps raced down my arms and I felt his stomach tighten. My hands slid higher as his kisses trailed farther down my neck. He was shifting under me to get his shirt off when the front door opened and Allison's head peeked around the corner. We both freed our hands quickly.

"Get a room."

Andrew and I smiled guiltily as Melissa's blond head appeared too.

"You owe me five bucks," she said, looking at Allison.

Allison rolled her eyes. "It was a dumb bet. Like we both didn't know that they'd be making out when we got home."

"Too bad."

Melissa grinned at us and then both Allison and Melissa disappeared down the hall, Melissa's overnight bag tossed over Allison's shoulder. I had just gotten my heart started back at a regular pace when Andrew spoke.

"That's why I'm not having kids."

I laughed in agreement and then kissed him again, effectively wiping the interruption from both of our minds.