Always a Ranger - Part 30
Games People Play
By Jeannine Trevizo
The flight
from Boston had been long, and Kim had spent half of it trying to keep the nine
young women preparing for the Olympics calm as they hit turbulence and as their
nerves got the better of them. It was a long flight, and somehow she did find
some time to sleep. The movie had been boring, and she’d ended up reading the
several months out of date magazine.
When the
plane finally landed, it was then another whole new adventure. Gathering
luggage and going through customs with teens and twenty-somethings was like
running an obstacle course. Then it was packing everyone into a caravan of vans
to shuttle them from the airport to the Olympic Village. There were lots of
oohs and ahhs as they drove along the roads. For most of them, this was their
first trip to Greece, and in some cases their first trip outside the U.S.
When the vans
pulled up after passing security, they were driven to the blue and white
apartment style housing that they’d make their home for the next two and a half
weeks. Grabbing their luggage, they found themselves met by Olympic personnel
and directed to their building, floor and room.
It was only once they’d packed their clothes and other personal items away that they realized that they had more time to get settled in than just a few hours. In fact, they had a whole two days of nothing but getting familiarized with the Olympic venues so they could move around easily. Or as easily as they could, what with the tight security measures. As it was, it took the team almost three hours to get their security clearances and badges. Kim began to realize just how enormous this all was as the team walked across the grand venue of the village, took a shuttle to the site of the gymnastics competition, and then finally stared at the impressive mass of the Olympic Stadium.
It was a
little overwhelming, and she had to remind herself to put it all in
perspective. She’d been a ranger for God’s sake, the Olympics weren’t anything
in comparison to what she’d done. Still, she couldn’t help but be awed at the fact
she was there.
Early on the
third day since their arrival, the team was scheduled to do their first
international press conference with their male counterparts. As soon as
everyone was dressed in their team USA sweat suits, they made their way to the press
pavilion. There, they trooped in, the gymnasts sitting in the prescribed seats,
the head coaches in the front, and the assistants lined the walls. Kim, in her
position as an assistant ended up along the edge of the wall, closer to the
edge. As the international press began asking their questions and taking
pictures, Kim watched the whole thing, taking it in with a surreal feel.
Then her
whole existence came to a sudden halt.
When Kim had
heard that the Olympics were a once in a lifetime experience, she never thought
that this was what they meant. Standing along the edges of the press room where
the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics teams were answering questions, she saw a
face she never thought she'd see again.
Chris
Masters.
The man she'd
left Tommy for.
She found
herself staring at him, her mind numb with shock as she noted him glance around
the room. When his gaze reached her, his eyes widened and he stared back. She
noted with some small part of her functioning brain that his blue-green eyes still
reminded her of the ocean, and she recalled thinking back when they first met
how they were so different from Tommy’s warm chocolate brown eyes. Suddenly she
realized that the interviews were over, and people were moving around the room,
photographers and reporters hurrying to get a one on one with the stars of the
team or the head coaches.
In that
chaos, Kim watched Chris weave his way through the crowds and approach her.
Part of her wanted to run, not really wanting to deal with this person, the guilty
feelings at leaving Tommy for him fighting with the nostalgic fondness of not
only their time together but at a familiar face thousands of miles away from
everything she knew.
“Kimberly,”
Chris drawled as he finally reached her, his old Southern accent having stayed
with him even after traveling the world, “what a surprise.”
“What are you
doing here?” Kim asked, focusing on the man before her, fighting to keep her
heart rate calm.
“The men’s
team thought I’d add some extra prestige to the staff, and hired me as a rings
coach.”
“You?”
“What? You
think I just spent my time dating models and doing photo shoots? I got an
education,” he retorted, almost insulted.
“I’m sorry. I
just…” she stumbled, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it.
“Look Kim,
I’m not looking to cause you problems. I mean, we dated but it didn’t work out.
Can’t we be friends?”
“I guess…”
“How about we
catch up? Have dinner after the practice for the opening ceremonies and talk
about old times?” he asked brightly, reaching out to catch her hand in a way
that reminded her of Tommy.
“I don’t know
if that’s such a good idea…” Kim began.
“It’s just a
friendly dinner Kim. Come on, you can’t tell me you’d rather sit in the
athlete’s dorms every night?”
Kim
hesitated, and Chris noticed her indecision and smiled at her with a grin she
remembered from her lowest moments in Florida. After a long moment of debate,
Kim finally nodded.
“Alright.”
“Great! It’s
good to see you again Kim,” Chris said as he leaned over and gave her a light kiss
on the cheek.
Little did
she know that an Associated Press photographer had just taken their picture.
-
Tommy Oliver
opened the newspaper at the command center console, his eyes drifting from the
scanners to the news of the games. The front page had a small picture referring
readers to the special Olympics section. Tossing the section away, he dug
through the rest of the paper until he found the special section. Opening it,
he found a large layout on the arrival of the U.S. teams to Athens, articles
about the chances of different athletes and lots of pictures. He flipped
through until he found a page showing the gymnastics teams and had an article
and photos from their first press conference in Athens. As he scanned the
photos, he found himself brought up short.
It was a
picture of Kim at the press conference, with a man leaning towards her, as if
to kiss her. His eyes tore from her face to the caption and his heart went
cold.
Former Pan Global hopeful and current
U.S. Women’s Olympic gymnastics balance beam assistant coach Kimberly Hart
meets up with Pan Global and U.S. Olympic medalist, and current men’s rings
coach Christopher Masters at a joint gymnasts press conference in Athens,
Greece.
He felt his
fingers go cold, the numbing sensation climbing up his arms.
It couldn’t
be…
Kim was there
with the guy she left him for.
Just the
sight of this guy next to the woman he loved sent his blood boiling. Hadn’t the
years that he and Kim had spent separated because of this man been enough. But
now, just as things were looking like they were going to move past everything,
when he was ready to ask her to marry him, here was Chris Masters, obviously
moving in on Kim. And she wasn’t walking away.
The two of
them had a history, but so did he and Kim. They’d spent the better part of two
years rebuilding what had simmered since she’d broken up with him as teenagers.
But they’d ended up together again. Unless Masters somehow got in their way…
“Hey Dr. O.
What’s up?” asked Conner, striding into the basement command center with Kira
following.
“Ooh, the
paper. Is there any news on the Olympic team?” Kira asked as she noted the
newspaper sports section in his hands.
“There’s some
pictures…” Tommy bit out reluctantly, laying the paper down as his students and
teammates moved beside him to look at the newspaper layout.
Both rangers
froze in shock as they stared at the photo their teacher had been staring at.
“You’re
kidding me!” Conner nearly yelled as he read the caption.
Tommy took a
deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to focus. He knew Kim loved him.
They’d said that every time they talked. Her clothes, linens and silverware
were supposed to be in boxes on their way to his house to wait for her arrival.
Nothing about the last year of their growing renewed relationship warranted the
overwhelming fear that was filling him at the thought of this man stealing her
from him.
But the
evidence of another man interested in his woman wasn’t something he could take
lightly. Especially since it was one Kim had a history with... a history of
leaving him for.
He had
decided that this time he wasn’t going to let her go. When he’d put her on the
plane the first time after one of her visits, he’d promised himself that he’d
do whatever it took to keep her, and he meant to do just that. But how was
another matter. Kim was in Athens while he was here. There wasn’t anything he
could do to keep Chris Masters away from Kim and assure himself that she was
coming to Reefside for good.
Then the
kids’ words reached through his musing, and he looked up to see Kira’s
concerned face.
“This can’t
be how it looks Dr. O,” Kira stated emphatically. “Remember Principal Randall?”
“I don’t
know…” he answered them with his old uncertainty, and watched Kira and Conner’s
faces darken.
“Then you
need to find out,” Kira said forcefully.
“Kira’s
right. You love Kim, right Dr. O?” Conner added quickly.
“Of course I
do, what kind of question is that?” he replied angrily.
“Then get on
a plane and go to her. And if nothing else, make sure this jerk knows Kim’s
spoken for,” Kira stated, stabbing a finger at the picture of her friend and
her ex.
“We’ll cover
things here. Just go,” Conner assured their mentor.
It only took
him another minute before he tossed the paper aside and nearly ran for the stairs.
Luckily his passport was up to date…
-
Kimberly sat
staring at the photo gracing the Olympics section of the USA Today the athletes
and coaches were able to get at the community dining area at breakfast before
the day started. There, clear as day was a picture of her and Chris, looking
like they were just about to move into a heated clinch. They had practice with
the team in less than an hour… not long enough to have a long conversation with
Tommy, but she at least had to call him and tell him that she wasn’t ‘with’
Chris… and that she was looking forward to coming home to him in Reefside in
two weeks.
“Guys, I have
to hit the payphone. I’ll meet you at the facility as soon as I can.”
With that she
got up from the table and headed quickly to one of the banks of phones. She
pulled the international calling card and followed the instructions. The phone
rang at Tommy’s house until the answering machine picked up.
“Tommy, I
don’t know if you’re there and just not picking up, but I wanted to make sure you
know I love you… I’ll call you later so we can talk.”
She hung up,
feeling a gnawing in the pit of her stomach that the world as she knew it was
about to be turned asunder.
-
Kim had been
despondent most of the day since being unable to reach Tommy any of the times
she’d called and had participated in the athletes and coaches practice for the
opening ceremonies with frustration. She would have called Kira to find out
where Tommy was, but she’d packed her address book in the last box she’d
shipped to Tommy’s. When everyone started to file out of the stadium after the
rehearsal had ended, Chris seemed to show up at her side from out of nowhere.
“So, how
about that dinner?” Chris asked, reaching over to catch Kim by the arm.
“I’m not
really the best company,” she stated, trying to deter his enthusiasm for going
out that evening.
“Please? I
just want the chance for us to catch up. Be friends again. Besides, you look
like you could use some fun!”
He smiled at
her, a disarming grin that had made her feel comfortable back when she’d been
alone in Florida all those years ago. Finally she sighed and nodded. There was
no use moping about. He was a friend, and right now, with everything she really
could use one…
“I need to
stop by my room first.”
“Sure. Anyhow,
I got us a table at Mikrolimano,” he stated as they headed through the crowds
and to the white and blue apartment style buildings in the residential section
where the athletes and coaches were housed.
“Give me a
minute,” Kim said, heading for her room. Inside, she reached for the phone
again and dialed Tommy’s number.
There was
still no answer. As she walked out, she passed Anton going the opposite
direction.
“On your way
back out Kim?”
“Yeah. I’m
having dinner with an old friend at Mikrolimano…”
“Have fun.”
Kim tried not
to laugh at Anton’s words. She wondered if she really could have fun while the
worry of what Tommy might be thinking sat at the back of her mind. Still, she
had Chris waiting on her, so she hurried out of the building to head off for
dinner.
-
Tommy had
done everything in his power to get the first flight to Athens… coach. When he
walked off the plane, he quickly hurried to customs, which was prepared for the
overflow of tourists there for the games. After passing through the lines, he
followed the crowd to the buses and taxis. After searching around, he found the
line for the buses heading to the Olympic venues, and got in line. The bus was
slow as it made its way through several of the venues, dropping people off at
different locales, but finally it arrived at the international area of the
Olympic village.
He got off
the bus and started for the gated area that lead to a series of apartment
looking buildings that had people moving in and out of them wearing sweat suits
with National flags on them, hinting at the athletes’ area. Walking up to the
security booth, Tommy straightened his shoulders, doing his best to look like
he belonged there.
“Excuse me,
could you direct me to the building the U.S. women’s gymnastics team is in?” he
asked.
The security
guard looked at him, as if trying to see if he was a terrorist or something.
“Look, I
can’t let you in that area,” the stocky guard said in accented English.
“Please.
Maybe you could call someone for me… Kimberly Hart. She’s part of their
coaching staff.”
Nodding
grudgingly, the burly guard moved to his kiosk and dialed into the main
operations center, and had his call routed to the dorms. After a few minutes of
nervous waiting, he looked at Tommy with a stern expression.
“Sorry, no
answer.”
“How about
Anton Gregor? He’s the head coach.”
Sighing, the
man went back to the phone and tried again. This time a shocked look crossed
his face.
“Sir, I have
someone here wanting access to the residential section. He doesn’t have any
credentials though…” he told the person on the other end.
Tommy watched
as the man seemed to listen to the person on the other end, and frowned.
“Excuse me,
could I just…” Tommy asked, holding his hand out slightly.
Passing the
receiver to Tommy, the guard moved out of the way somewhat, and Tommy pulled
the phone to his ear.
“Coach
Gregor?”
“Yes?” the
man on the other end asked with a hint of confusion.
“I’m sorry,
we haven’t met, but my name is Tommy Oliver and…” he began before Anton cut him
off.
“Ah yes, I
know who you are! Kim has mentioned you many times. But, she’s not in at the
moment. Did she know you were coming?”
“No, I… you
don’t suppose you know where she is?”
“She’s at
dinner at Mikrolimano with a colleague of ours, I believe his name is Christopher
Masters.”
Tommy felt
his heart go cold. His Kim was having dinner with her ex? Maybe he wasn’t
acting so crazy after all.
“Thank you.
Good evening.”
With that,
Tommy handed the phone to the guard and turned, starting to walk away when he
realized he had no idea where the restaurant was. Quickly he swiveled and
caught the guard’s attention again.
“I need to
get to a restaurant called Mikrolimano. Do you know where it is?”
“It’s not in
the village. There are taxis about three blocks down. They’ll get you there.”
Tommy nodded
in thanks and jogged off to find a cab.
-
Dinner was
pleasant, and Kim found herself reminded what it was that had endeared her to
him in the first place. But while she had been polite and kept up the
conversation as best she could, he was being more attentive than she’d
expected.
“So Kim… have
you ever wondered if you had made the Pan Globals if we could have made it
work?” Chris asked over the light of the lantern in the middle of their table.
“I…” Kim
stuttered, shocked at the question.
“I know,
especially after seeing you yesterday that I have.”
“Chris…” she
said in a dark tone, finally realizing his attention was more than friendly.
“What? You’re
an attractive woman Kim. Caring, generous and you know what it means to
sacrifice for a goal. What more could a man want,” he stated as he leaned
forward, quickly reaching a hand across the table to catch hers.
“Don’t,” she
started to say, as she tried to pull her hand away when she felt a presence
over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,
am I interrupting something?” said a familiar voice, and Kim nearly jumped as
she turned quickly to find Tommy standing by the table, his eyes staring at
Chris’ hand on hers.
“Tommy… it’s
not what it looks like,” she stammered, her heart thundering in her chest as
she yanked her hand from where Chris’ had pinned it.
“Tommy?”
Chris asked, looking from Kim’s frightened face to the well-built man standing
at the side of their table, with eyes burning holes into the woman looking at
him.
At Chris’ voice,
Tommy swung his gaze to the other man. The one who had haunted his nights for
years, when he didn’t know his name. Now he did know his name, and finally he’d
seen his former rival’s face. For the first time in nearly nine years, Tommy
Oliver was facing the man he’d lost Kimberly to.
And this time
this man was not leaving with *his* Kim.
“Tommy
Oliver. The name should ring a bell. I was Kim’s boyfriend when you two met in
Florida,” he stated thickly.
Chris was
shocked at this turn of events, but still indignant. It wasn’t his fault Kim
had dumped this guy for him back in the day. As it was, he couldn’t see what
was so special about Tommy that Kim had been so upset about not hearing from
him for weeks before she fell into his waiting arms.
“I’d say it
was nice to meet you, but that probably would be a lie,” Chris snapped. “So, is
there a reason you’re interrupting our dinner?”
Their voices
were carrying, and a large portion of the restaurant was staring at them. Kim
felt the weight of the air pressing down on her, stifling her and knew that
this was about to escalate right there if she didn’t intervene.
“Tommy,
please, don’t cause a scene,” she said softly, and he nearly growled.
Quickly,
Tommy gripped Chris’ upper arm, hauled him from his seat. Kim hurriedly threw
down some cash down for the check as Tommy roughly escorted Chris outside. With
barely restrained force, Tommy shoved the other man up against the wall outside
the restaurant. They were out of sight of the windows but in clear view of the
people walking along the street that slowed to note the confrontation, but
stayed out of it. As Kim came out of the restaurant, she found Tommy menacing
Chris with a look that reminded her of his evil green ranger days.
“You are
hitting on *my* girlfriend,” Tommy said darkly, “and if the fact that I lost
her to you once wasn’t enough, I am not about to let you have her again.”
Chris
instantly realized his mistake the moment his back had hit the stucco wall. The
man before him wasn’t a push over, and he was obviously in love with Kim. As
Tommy glared at him, Kim’s behavior earlier suddenly made sense. She had been
despondent about the picture and how it obviously would look to her boyfriend.
And his own foolish attempts to hook up with her again had put him back in the
middle of a relationship that probably should have survived her Pan Global
attempts, had he not been waiting in the wings to ease her pain.
The dark look
to Tommy’s eyes made Chris’ body shudder, and he knew he had split seconds to
get out of this mess.
“Look man, I
didn’t know she was with someone. I asked her to dinner as a friend. She didn’t
know I was interested in something more than that,” Chris stammered, afraid of
the glare Tommy was giving him.
“Then I
suggest you leave her alone, if you know what’s good for you.”
Indicating
that he should hit the road, Tommy inclined his head towards the street, and
watched as Chris walked hurriedly away. It was only once the man was out of
sight that he turned to the other player in this soap opera. But what he found
when he looked at Kim shocked him. He’d been angry, he had realized that when
he’d seen the picture. The thought that she’d be willing to be around this guy,
maybe still care for him had made his blood boil. Then the scene he’d walked in
on at the restaurant… it had made him see red.
But now
Kimberly stood before him, her head tilted towards the pavement, her sun-kissed
caramel locks obscuring her face and her arms wrapped around her middle. The
very slight audible sound of her muffled crying broke right through his rage
and pierced his heart.
“Kim?” he
said quietly, as he reached for her arm, and he was startled when she flinched,
backing away from him.
He tried
again, and she stepped back once more, slowly raising her face to his. The pain
he found behind her brown eyes, the streaming tears burned him.
“Don’t,” she
murmured, choking on the word, “don’t touch me.”
“Please Kim…”
The weight of
everything that had happened, both now and back then was falling on her in this
moment. Her fear that the picture of her and Chris would anger Tommy had been
fulfilled. She’d done the one thing that she should never have done… made Tommy
question her love, her loyalty by letting Chris anywhere near her. She’d
brought up the pain and betrayal of the past into her present life with
disastrous consequences. Could he ever forgive her for it? Should he?
“No… Please,
I don’t want to do this. You shouldn’t have had to come here. I should have
stayed away from Chris. I didn’t think that you’d think… I don’t deserve you.”
The last part
of her statement brought Tommy up short. What was she saying? Could she really
believe that he’d let her go without an explanation, without him trying to fix
things? Didn’t she know he’d learned his lesson from eight years ago?
“Kimberly…
Beautiful…” he started, respecting reluctantly her desire to keep her distance,
while all around them people walked by, barely noticing the emotional drama
going on.
He watched as
she swung her head away from him, her throat working convulsively as she choked
down sobs.
“I’m sorry… I
didn’t know…” Kim stammered, trying to explain, fix things, if she could…
Suddenly he
realized that she was blaming herself for what Chris had done. She hadn’t
realized the photo had been taken, or that Chris was trying to move in on her.
Now she was simply afraid and he wasn’t sure what would get through to her.
There was only one straightforward thing he could think of. He moved slowly
closer until he feared she’d move away again before he spoke.
“I love you,”
he said simply, reaching for her again.
Kim’s eyes
shot up again, the stunned surprise evident.
“What? But
I…”
“Did seeing
the picture of you and Chris hurt? Yeah, it did. And finding out you were out
to dinner with him when I arrived had me ready to put his lights out. But I
learned my lesson from the last time. I wasn’t letting him get between us.”
“He wasn’t
you know,” she said softly, and it was his turn to be surprised. “I didn’t know
he was interested in me again. I thought it was just a friendly dinner… for old
time’s sake. I would never have let him try to start something with me when I’m
in love with *you*. I was just about to tell him…”
“When I
walked in and found him touching you,” Tommy finished for her, and saw her
slightly nod.
“I’m sorry.
You shouldn’t have had to see that. You shouldn’t have had to think that I
would be charmed by him again. I tried to call you after the picture, but I
couldn’t reach you…”
“I was
probably already on the plane for Athens,” Tommy said bitterly, realizing he’d
been too quick to fly to her side, see what was going on. His own fears about
not being good enough for her had led him into this mess. Still he couldn’t
complain. He was there with her, and she was still his.
“I would
never leave you again,” Kim vowed suddenly, her face still tear stained but
with a look of determination that he remembered from their days as rangers
together. “*Never*. I wouldn’t be able to survive without you again.”
“I’m sorry
Kim, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions…”
Feeling the
guilt rolling off him in waves, she did the only thing she could think of; she
simply walked up to him and wound her arms around his waist, turning into his
chest. As his arms wrapped around her, he felt himself let go of the anger and
fear. She was real and in *his* arms.
Just where
she belonged.
As Tommy held
Kim tightly in his embrace, feeling complete in every sense of the word, he
wondered what they were going to do now.
Kim of course
was one step ahead of him, as she eased away from his chest enough to murmur
her question.
“So, you
coming back to the room with me?”
He started at
that, pushing her out at half-arm’s length to stare her in the eyes. The
seriousness there was mixed with regret and over it all was a fiery longing.
It had been
too long since he’d seen her…
“You’re okay
with this? I mean, I really was a jerk,” he stated, starting to feel like the
caveman that Kim always accused him of being.
“I *love*
you. And in truth, you flying all the way to Greece to ‘rescue’ me from Chris
is actually sort of romantic. By the way, why did you fly here, rather than
wait for me to call? You should have known I would…”
“Kira and
Conner,” he replied embarrassed. “I was already sort of worried, and they
convinced me that I should come over here and take care of business, so to
speak.”
Kim sighed,
and then smiled her most radiant grin at the man she loved. He was flawed,
always feeling guilty or not worthy of what he had. But in his heart, he was a
hero, and he loved her more than anything on this Earth. And that made her love
him all the more.
“Well, since
you’re here, let’s make the most of it, shall we? It’s still two weeks until
the games finish…”
Tommy
couldn’t help the leer that crept across his face as her eyebrows rose and she
winked at him. Without another word, he leaned down and kissed her soundly,
pulling her back into his embrace as she threw her arms around his neck.
Enclosed as
they were in their own world, the fact that they were kissing heatedly in the
middle of the street hadn’t hit them until a passerby whistled at them.
Instantly Tommy came back to his senses, turning slightly to stare at the guy
who’d gone past, and realized that he and Kim were gaining a lot more attention
than he liked. Especially the way that she was staring at him, as if she wanted
to devour him right there…
“Let’s get a
taxi back to the Olympic Village, like now,” he suggested, her close proximity
and their heated kisses having already put his neglected sex drive into high
gear.
Without a
word, she grabbed his hands and headed them towards the cross streets. There
was lots of foot traffic, and finding a cab actually wasn’t as tough as she had
feared. She had to thank the extra visitors, as every drive was probably out
and about, hoping to make as much money from the Olympic tourists as they
could.
“The Olympic
Village – residential gate please,” Kim stated as she got in, pulling Tommy in
after her.
Once the door
slammed behind them, the small car was off, weaving through the small streets.
In fifteen minutes, which Tommy attributed to the guy behind the wheel going
faster than he should have been going or knowing where all the shortcuts were.
Still, considering he was trying to keep his hands off Kim, lest he give the
guy more of a show than he deserved, he had to focus on something…
When the cab
finally stopped, Kim climbed out and paid the driver. She stood in the street
with Tommy as he drove off, leaving them in front of the entrance to the
Olympic Village, closer to the residential gate than the International area.
Catching his hand in hers, Kimberly walked them to the security gate, ignoring
the looks of some of the athletes and coaches going in and out of the secured
area.
“He’s with
me,” Kim stated to the guard who wasn’t the same one who had been on duty
earlier, which Tommy was more than a little happy about.
The man
verified her credentials and asked for Tommy’s ID. When he’d looked over his
passport, he handed Tommy a plastic badge with ‘visitor’ in large letters on
it. As soon as he noted the badge being given to Tommy on his log, he pressed a
button, opening the gate.
The two of
them walked along the pathway towards the seemingly limitless area of the
residential area. The white and blue trimmed apartment style buildings housing
the athletes and coaches loomed ahead of them. There were lots of people
walking about, even though it was already late.
Taking the
elevator, Tommy enfolded Kim in his arms as they made their way up to Kim’s
floor, but the ride was over too soon, as the elevator doors opened and the
floor indicator chimed.
“When do you
leave?” Kim asked as they exited the elevator on her floor and walked hand in
hand along the corridor to her apartment.
“Too soon,”
he replied, gripping her hand tighter, and when she turned to look at him, his
face fell slightly. “Noon tomorrow.”
“So soon?”
“This wasn’t
really a vacation Kim… I had to come here to make sure you were okay, that *we*
were okay.”
“But
tomorrow? Couldn’t you have gotten a flight in a few days?” Kim asked as they walked.
“Yeah, but I
had no idea what I would find. Plus, where was I going to stay? I doubt there’s
any hotels with vacancies with the Olympics going on.”
“You would
have stayed with me…” she said with a frown and slightly quickened her pace as
they walked down the corridor.
“And if you
*had* decided to go back to Chris? No, I knew I couldn’t stay long, no matter
what.”
“What do you
mean?”
“I don’t want
to be a distraction to you Kim,” Tommy said as they reached her door, and she
slid her keycard into the lock. “You’re so close to accomplishing your dream,
just in a different way. I’d be in the way. And I need to get back. The bad
guys aren’t going to wait for me to get back.”
She nodded in
understanding. They both still had their responsibilities. So there wasn’t any
extra time to waste, Kim thought as she pushed the door open. She walked in,
flipping on the light switch as Tommy followed he.
“We should go
out tomorrow morning,” she stated as he closed the door behind them, staring at
Tommy as he walked into the small apartment sized space of her accommodations
and towards her.
“Sure,” he
said distractedly.
He focused
his gaze on her then, and Kim found herself unable to breathe. The look in his
eyes ripped away the last vestiges of restraint from her, and she nearly flung
herself into his embrace.
Tommy held
Kim to him tightly, afraid of letting go, and Kim clutched him just as tightly.
There never seemed to be enough time… Slowly they eased their grip on one
another only enough to allow their hands to roam with a caress here and a touch
there, as they indulged in desperate, passionate kisses as they moved towards
the bed.
Sleep did
eventually come… but only after they assured one another of their commitment to
one another.
-End-
tbc…
A/N2: 1. Mikrolimano is an actual restaurant in Athens, but where exactly it is and if it looks like my description is something I don’t know. 2. NC-17 version will go up on my website on Sunday!
click the picture to go to the Always a Ranger page