For personal use and select distribution only © February 2002 by Amber Stockton Billy's Lost Weekend - tagalogueWritten by Tom Chehak (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
...."And second, I took you off roll call for tomorrow. Have a nice, long weekend!" Billy said with smile. "Ohh, well..." Amanda exclaimed. "See you Monday?" Billy inquired. "Yes, sir!" Amanda replied. "Thanks, Billy," Lee answered. "Thanks a lot!" He chuckled, watching Billy close the door, then turned to face Amanda. "Wow!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together in anticipation. "Oohh..." Amanda's face showed her uncertainty about his exuberance, but that didn't stop him. "Ha-hah!" Lee countered, advancing towards Amanda as if he was stalking a prey. Amanda tried to get up before he reached her, but he quickly intercepted. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the back of the couch. Dropping down next to her, his lips immediately locked onto hers. She briefly protested, seemingly more out of surprise than anything. It only took a moment for her hands to slowly slide up his arms as they locked behind his head, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. His mouth moved over hers, the touch of her lips igniting his senses and making him very aware of her own passionate feelings. Lee broke the kiss, only to trail his lips across her chin and down her neck. His right hand slid down the sides of her body to clasp her waist. Amanda let out a sigh of contentment, and Lee moved back up to capture her lips once again. Losing himself in the embrace, he instinctively leaned them both back slowly onto the cushions of the couch until the back of her head landed on the armrest. His right hand moved from her waist, over her left hip and down to her thigh, then back up again. He could feel her react to his touch and become completely compliant. Then, almost as if she realized what was happening, she broke the kiss and pulled away a little. Lee gazed down at her with a question in eyes he knew reflected the passion he felt for her. "Amanda?" She hesitated before replying and shifted her gaze away from him. He saw the inner struggle she was fighting reflected in her eyes before she looked away, and he had to fight hard to control his own reaction. When she met his gaze again, she obviously wasn't able to put into words what she wanted to say. Lee knew this was a moment of reckoning. He could single-handedly blow it or keep things moving forward with the words he spoke. She opened her mouth to speak, but Lee reached up to place his fingers over her lips. "Hey," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Lee." Her voice was barely audible as she blinked several times against the tears gathering in her eyes. "I do want to spend the weekend with you at Pine Top. It's just that..." Lee did his best to reassure her, while forcing his body to recover and his heart to slow its erratic pace. "Shhh." He softened his voice. "I love you. No need to apologize." Gazing down into her beautiful face, Lee found himself responding again to their position. If he didn't do something about it, he wouldn't be able to stop the next time. With a groan, he sat them both up and looked away with a sigh before returning his gaze to hers. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't lie and say I'm all right with it." He nodded and swallowed. "But there's a lot at stake in taking our relationship to the next step. It shouldn't be something we enter into lightly." Amanda nodded as well. "We do have to think about things more and talk about everything before we do something impulsive and it's too late to go back." It wasn't easy for Lee to do this, but somehow he found the strength. With his hands firmly around her waist, he pinned her with an intent gaze. "Believe me, Amanda, I've made enough impulsive decisions in my life to last three lifetimes. I want us to start fresh, wipe the slate clean." "No past skeletons in the closet?" "None." She smiled impishly at him and narrowed her eyes. "No more bathrobes with 'Lee' and 'she' on them?" He leaned closer until his face was inches from hers and gave her a roguish grin. "The next robe I buy will have 'Amanda' on it and in it," he whispered suggestively. His grin turned to a smile when she shivered. "I like the sound of that," she managed to rasp. "Forgive me?" he implored, his eyes intent on hers. "Completely!" she immediately replied, then sobered. "But, you know, it's not just your fault. It takes two of us to kiss like that. I wanted it as much as you did." "I hadn't noticed!" He moved back to dodge her playful slap before he became serious. "I don't want to do anything that's going to spoil what we have." Gently, he reached down to pull Amanda's legs across his own, so they were sitting as they were before Billy interrupted them. "Amanda, I love you. I want this weekend to be very special, but we'll take things one step at a time." He reached out to cup her cheek and tenderly brush his thumb across it to catch the lone tear that escaped her eye. Leaning forward and touching his forehead to hers, he locked gazes with her. "All right?" Amanda nodded. "So, we're square on this weekend? No expectations?" "We're definitely going to skiing? No more overload of choices and options?" He sighed. "I promise." "Content to enjoy being together and giving me a great weekend just because I'm with you?" He held up two fingers. "Scout's honor!" "You were never a scout!" "No, but you're a Den Mother," he retorted. "Isn't that close enough?" She grinned and shook her head. "What about our room?" Her left hand slid up and down his upper arm as she held him. He tightened his hold around her and gave her a loving squeeze. "I reserved two instead of one. Figured we could cancel one if..." He left the remainder of his thoughts dangling and knew by her expression that she followed. "But, Lee, we've shared a room before." "Yeah, but that was before we admitted how we felt about each other. I don't know that I'd be fully responsible for my actions this time." "Hmm." The grin on her lips was nearly his undoing as she slid her hand across his shoulder to entwine in the hairs at the base of his neck, her fingers lightly stroking the soft strands and his skin. "I don't know that I'd be able to stop you," she whispered. He felt the shiver start at the base of his neck where her hand was and quickly spread down his spine. Trying his hardest to suppress it, he raised one eyebrow at Amanda when she knowingly grinned at his reaction to her touch. Two could play at that game, so he slowly raised one hand from her waist and lightly drew it down her cheek to her chin, continuing down her neck as he traced along the edge of the fabric at the opening of her shirt. The way she swallowed several times and the increased rise and fall of her chest were clear signs that she was affected. Not willing to quit just yet, he slowly leaned forward and watched her lips part. Just before he touched them, he shifted directions and placed a soft kiss behind her ear. His fingers moved from the exposed area of her neck up to her other ear to draw lazy circles around the soft skin. When he pulled back, he saw the passion reflected in her eyes and felt her grip tighten on his arms. "Sure you don't want to change your mind about this weekend?" he whispered, his voice husky and suggestive. For a moment, she appeared to compose herself, taking several deep breaths and swallowing several times, but a slow grin appeared on her lips and he saw the twinkle in her eyes. "Mmm, you certainly do present a very appealing case, Stetson..." He sighed and groaned. "But we agreed to take it slow." "So, what do you think Mr. Melrose meant when he said our relationship is fine with him?" At first, he was surprised at the slight change of topic, but knowing Amanda as he did, it wasn't as odd as he thought. "Billy's a good friend. He'd rather buck the system than bust up something he sees is working." "Well, if didn't know before about us, he certainly knows now," she replied. "That's twice he's come by here and found me here. It doesn't take a nuclear scientist to put two and two together." "Yeah, but I don't think we have to worry about him," Lee said with confidence. "He's been behind us from the start. Why else do you think he always did what he could to put us together at every opportunity?" Amanda grinned. "And I thought it was my impressive skills that caused him to keep asking for my help." "Oh, your skills were only part of it," he retorted with a crooked grin. "Still, he sure does have the worst timing!" With a sigh, Lee placed a quick peck on her nose, then began to pull away, but Amanda tightened her hold. He paused and looked at her, his head tilted and his eyebrows drawn together in slight confusion. An impish grin appeared. "Where were we?" Lee caught onto her playfulness and went along with the game. "Pine Top just received eighteen inches of new, fresh powder." "Really?" "Yep. I've got the skis," he said and briefly kissed her lips. "I've got the boots," he added, kissing her again. "And I've got you," Amanda finished for him. She pressed her lips to his and pulled him to her, initiating a kiss that ignited him straight down to his toes. He fought with every last bit of strength he had, pulled back from the kiss and briefly touched his lips to hers once more, then groaned deep in his throat. "If we don't get to packing, I'm going to forget my promise to you!" Amanda chuckled and smiled in return. "I love you." "And I love you," he replied, then took her into his arms and guided her head to his chest, relishing the feel of her snuggled against him. It certainly wasn't something he had done very often. Somehow, with Amanda, he realized it was something he could easily learn to enjoy. With her, everything was different. It all felt so right, and he knew it was only a matter of time until they could be together, completely. He knew what they had was something special. He had waited his entire life for a love like this and wasn't willing to risk destroying everything he and Amanda had together by treating it like another one of his flings. Wherever they went with their relationship, and whatever happened, he knew it was going to be perfect. (THE END) |
