“Kipp? Honey,” Kellen knocked on Kipp’s bedroom door as he waited for an answer. Kipp had gone into his bedroom to lay down for a while after his parents had left. Kellen had waited out in the living room long enough and he wasn’t going to wait anymore.

“Come in,” Kipp called out to Kellen as Kellen pushed the bedroom door open and walked inside. Kipp was looking out the window as Kellen approached him from behind.

“How are you?” Kellen questioned, reaching out and placing both his hands on Kipp’s shoulders gently. Kipp leaned back into Kellen’s touch as he squeezed Kipp’s shoulders gently. “You doing okay?”

“I’ve been better,” Kipp replied with a small sigh as he thought about everything that had been brought up today. He learned today that more than half of his life was a lie? How was he supposed to be acting about everything? “I have actually been a lot better.”

“It’s alright sweetheart,” Kellen frowned, wrapping his arms around Kipp’s shoulders tightly. Kipp leaned back in Kellen’s chest as he felt Kellen rest his chin on his own shoulder. “I know everything must be really hard.”

“Only someone like you would know how I would be feeling right now,” Kipp sighed, thinking about all the reasons he loved being with Kellen. “I just wish everyone was like you. You are so understanding. I just wish that everyone in my life was like you.”

“That’s very flattering sweetheart,” Kellen laughed lightly before giving Kipp a small squeeze, “but I think you might have a heart attack if your mother or your father told you that you had a cute butt.”

“You know what I meant,” Kipp let out a small laugh as reached up to touch Kellen’s hand gently. “I meant that everyone should be as understanding as you. You accept everyone.”

“I knew what you meant, I was just trying to lighten the moment. I am glad I got to see you smile,” Kellen replied with a small smile as he kissed Kipp’s cheek gently. “It’s better to see you smile then to see you gloomy.”

“You’re perfect Kellen,” Kipp smiled, resting his head back against Kellen’s hard chest. “I don’t know what I would do without you. I would hate to even think like that.”

“Well, luckily for the both of us,” Kellen began with a tiny chuckle as he dropped his arms around Kipp’s waist, “I am always going to think you are the hottest piece of meat I have ever laid eyes on.”

“Bull,” Kipp shook his head slowly as he looked up at Kellen. Kellen’s blue eyes were wide as Kipp let out a small laugh. “I know for one I am not the hottest. I know you think Kyle is hot. I know you think the men on television are hot…”

“And who am I with right now?” Kellen questioned, not letting Kipp answer before he went on. “Who do I say the words I love you to?”

“Me,” Kipp answered with a small smile as he felt Kellen squeeze him tighter. “I love you too Kellen. No one has ever been there for me like you have. I appreciate everything you have ever done for me and I never want to let you go.”

“Honey, I will never let you go,” Kellen declared with a tiny chuckle as he felt Kipp’s hands over his arms. Kipp’s fingers gently caressed his arm as Kipp let out a small sigh. “What’s on your mind sweetheart?”

“I just don’t know what I am supposed to do Kellen,” Kipp informed Kellen with a small shake of his head. “My whole life has been filled with lies. I don’t know what I should do right now.”

“I don’t think I should be the one telling you what to do,” Kellen pointed out with a small sigh as he felt Kipp cuddle in closer to him, “but I think the only decision you could go with is what your heart is telling you.”

“I would like to know what you are thinking,” Kipp insisted as he felt Kellen pull him over to the bed to sit down on the edge of it. “What do you think I should?”

“I don’t know because I’m living my life, not yours,” Kellen pointed out, reaching out to caress Kipp’s cheek gently. “I think you need to answer a few questions for yourself before you can decide to make something of all this.”

“What questions might those be?” Kipp wondered, reached out to grab Kellen’s hand in his gently. Kipp gave Kellen’s hand a gentle squeeze as Kellen shrugged his shoulders. “If you were caught in my position what would you do?”

“It would be hard for me,” Kellen explained as he shrugged his shoulders. Kellen had grown up without a father his whole life and the question he had always asked himself in the past was what if he did meet his father? What would he say? What would he do? “If I had a chance to ever meet my father, I would. The only question I would have to ask myself is truthfully--what am I going to do about this? If my father came back to me, I would have to think about the things I asked myself for years. Would I allow him back in my life? Would I still wish I could meet him like I did when I was a child? But that’s in my situation. Not yours.”

“Well, it kind of helped,” Kipp pointed out with a small sigh as he thought about all the things Kellen had said. Kellen may have thought he was just rambling, but it actually made Kipp think things over for a moment. “I have to answers questions first. I need to know what I have wanted for years."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jenna looked around the living room wondering just what kind of trouble Hart and Don were getting themselves into considering that she hadn’t heard from Hart in a while. All she’d gotten was a very brief message from him promising that he would call her as soon as he knew what was going on, but given that she hadn’t heard anything, she was still wondering if he was still clueless about whatever desperate situation it was that Don needed him to help with. Although Jenna was sure that whatever it was, it would find a way to even itself out sooner or later knowing the two of them.

Making her way into the living room Jenna reached for the magazine on top of the pile of Hart’s Sports Illustrated magazines. She fingered the top of the magazine on the pile, seeing one after another of his magazines and she had to laugh. So this was what it was going to be like now that they would be living together long term. Well lucky for Hart she did enjoy sports, but when she saw the swimsuit issue four magazines down into the pile, a small smirk spread over her features.

“I don’t think we’ll be needing this one,” Jenna announced with a tiny laugh walking back into the kitchen. She opened up the trash can ready to deposit it inside when she heard the phone ring. She practically jumped at the sound of it opting to set the magazine down on the counter top. Reaching for the phone she answered it with a cheerful voice. “Hello.”

“Hey beautiful, how are you,” Hart’s voice replied shakily over the other end of the line.

“Hart, where are you?” Jenna questioned bringing her hand up over her ear opposite of the one she had the phone to, “I can hardly hear you.”

“It’s a long story, but right now I’m with Ken, Don, and Brant,” he started to explain just as a woman let out a shrill, pinched scream. Before he could say anything further, Jenna could hear the woman in an uproar.

“You’re not going to get away with this you son of a bitch! Do you hear me? This isn’t over. It’s far from over. Mark my words!” the voice shouted with animosity.

“What in the world…” Jenna couldn’t help but ask confused by what she was hearing.

“We were at Ken’s wedding, but it was a bust,” Hart explained with a tiny chuckle, “Let’s just say the bride isn’t taking to well to being left at the altar.”

“You mean that’s the woman he was going to marry?” Jenna heard her shout out again followed by a man letting out a loud, pained groan.

“Oh no that was Don,” Hart gulped a long pause following, “Let’s just say that there isn’t going to be a wedding and the bride to be isn’t happy that her groom got cold feet. She’s pretty pissed since Ken kind of walked out, so Brant, Don and I are trying to help this situation…”

“Yeah, it almost sounds like it,” Jenna replied unable to repress the smile that built over the corners of her lips. She’d heard briefly about Michelle so she could only imagine what lengths the men had gone to in order to stop the wedding, “Ken walked out all on his own, I’m sure.”

“He really did,” Hart paused again, “I mean sure he might’ve had a little pushing but not much. He made up his own mind and Michelle will have to deal with that. Enough about Michelle though, how are you? Everything going good?”

Jenna eyed the swimsuit issue on the countertop again. Reaching for it she dropped it into the trash can with a satisfied smirk, “Oh you know it’s the same old, same old here. I was just doing a little house cleaning if you will…”

“Yeah I know I kind of left things a mess, but I promise when I get home I’ll work on putting my stuff away,” Hart promised when another sound rose up from the background. “Um, Jen, I think I need to go save Don before this gets ugly.”

“Sure no problem and be safe,” she added just in time to hear another noise before he hung up the phone. Setting the phone down she could only imagine what kind of tale Hart would have when he returned home to the apartment. She had no doubt in her mind that whatever he, Brant and Don had done to make the wedding come to an end, it was nothing less than over the top. They just seemed to have that kind of reputation together.

Letting out a tiny laugh Jenna returned to the living room ready to settle in on the couch for a bit of reading when the phone rang again. She leaned forward pulling the cordless phone off of the coffee table. She raised it to her ear and answered with a small laugh.

“If you’re going to wind up in jail, then I’m not bailing you out,” she teased fully expecting Hart to be on the other end of the line.

“Excuse me,” a man half questioned on the phone.

“Oh I’m sorry. I thought that you were…” she stammered sitting up straighter, “Um, how can I help you? Who are you looking for?”

“Hart Steiner please,” the man explained patiently as Jenna took a moment to collect herself.

“He’s not in at the moment, but if there’s a message you’d like me to give him,” Jenna began shuffling around for a pen and paper to jot the message down.

“Actually he and I were actually supposed to meet tonight over at his place,” the man paused with clear cut hesitancy, “He promised to do a showing and…”

“Oh right,” Jenna sat up straighter, “you must be the potential buyer who was speaking with him…”

“Yes. Yes I am,” the man explained again, “and I’m here, but I see that he isn’t. I’m assuming in your saying that he’s not around he’s on his way, yes?”

“Actually, he’s been called away for a business call, but if you can reschedule…” Jenna offered up, “I’m sure that he would have called you sooner if he’d remembered that you’d set a time up with one another.”

“I understand that, but I’m from out of town and I have a rather busy schedule,” the caller explained, “I really wouldn’t mind rescheduling, but I’m afraid that tonight is the only time that my schedule permits.”

“Tonight huh,” she frowned thinking about Hart’s desire to get rid of his place, “Well I suppose if you tell me where you are, I can meet up with you and show you the place.”

“I’m actually outside of his place right now,” the man informed her simply, “since we were supposed to meet half an hour ago.”

“Oh right,” Jenna leaned over the back of the couch snatching up her car keys. She looked at her watch, “In that case I can be there in about fifteen minutes. Will that work for you?”

“Yes and thank you for doing this. I truly appreciate it,” he explained eagerly.

“It’s not a problem, now if you could give me your name and…” she started only to hear his side of the call come to an end. “Hello? Hello?”

Pulling the phone away from her ear, she gave it a strange sideways glance before hanging it up. She rose up off of the couch collecting her purse and making her way towards the door. Sure, she didn’t think that Hart would mind her giving a perspective buyer the tour of the condo, yet with it being later in the evening she wasn’t going to walk into a situation foolishly either. Stopping to pull her pepper spray out of the drawer, she tucked it into her purse hoping she wouldn’t need it, but then again it never hurt to be prepared.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Try this,” Diane suggested holding the steaming mug out in front of Ben’s face. He wrinkled his nose at her before shaking his head in refusal. “Come on just do it.”

“No,” he groaned inwardly, “Diane, I feel like I’m going to die and if I even look at food, well I can promise you that it’s not going to stay down.”

“It’s not food Ben,” she curled her lip in a frown urging him once again, “It’s something to help settle your stomach and if you drink it, I’m sure that you’ll be able to get it all down.”

“And then when it all comes back up,” he wrinkled his nose again shaking his head and turning his face in the other direction. “I don’t think it’s a good idea Diane.”

“Ben, you’re sick and you’re only going to get worse if you don’t do something to help yourself,” she explained pointedly leaning in closer to him, “This was something that my mom used to do for me when I was younger and I’m telling you it really works.”

“Somehow I seriously doubt it,” he argued stubbornly sinking further back onto the bed he’d been laying in, “I don’t want to do it.”

“Ben, trust me please. It’s going to help you,” she paused searching his eyes for a long moment, “You do trust me, don’t you?”

His eyes raised to hers once more and an uneasy silence spilled between them. She felt something pass between them, but before she could allow that moment they shared to reach into her, she looked away.

“Okay forget about whether or not you trust me and let’s talk about what’s best for you. If you drink this you will feel better,” she mouthed in a quiet voice thinking about how she’d lost his trust completely after her one mistake with JT.

“Okay, I’ll try it,” Ben replied reaching out with an unsteady hand for the mug, “but only because I do trust that you want what’s best for me.”

“What?” she turned to face him again seeing the way he was watching her as he took the mug.

“I do trust you Diane,” he replied taking the first sip of the hot liquid. Despite the fact that his stomach felt like it was tangled in knots and ready to leap out of his body, he did as she’d told him finishing down the drink. Once the mug was empty he handed it back to her, “See, I did it.”

“And it’s going to help you in the long run. I’m sure of it,” she reached for the mug only to feel his fingers brush up against hers.

“But not nearly as much as it will having you here with me,” Ben mouthed his gaze now fixed upon her, “Diane, I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here with me right now.”

“You’d be sick and miserable,” she noted with a small smile unable to keep from watching him.

“And that was before this bug set in,” he added skimming his index finger over the center of her palm. A sigh slipped past his lips as he lay onto the pillow, “Diane, I know that we have a lot of things left unsaid between us, but the truth is that I never stopped loving you.”

“Ben, you’re sick. You don’t have to,” she tried to keep him from getting into a discussion about their relationship.

“It’s the truth,” he continued with a small yawn before his eyes opened wider than before, “and if nothing else, I need you to know that. I need you to believe that you can trust me again. I can see that you and I had some trust issues between us before and that’s the place where it all began. I don’t know how I lead you to believe that you wouldn’t be loved by me for being who you are, but I want to set that straight starting now. I do love you Diane and I want you to feel like you can come to me about anything.”

“Ben, I wanted to tell you about JT. I wanted to be honest with you, but I was so afraid of losing you. It was just one night--one stupid time that I really didn’t even want to be with him. I was drunk and acting out like an immature child and there is no excuse,” she began desperately thinking about how her past had put a wedge between them and the future they should’ve had with one another.

“I never should’ve lead you to believe that we wouldn’t be able to fix things,” he sighed heavily, exhaustion sweeping in over him, “It’s every bit as much my fault as it is yours for what happened with JT. I should’ve told you sooner that I loved you--that I wasn’t ready to walk away from us.”

“I’m so sorry that I screwed up Ben. I know that you’ll never be able to forgive me and I know I have to face that but…” she started feeling him squeeze her hand gently.

“Never say never Diane,” he mouthed with a weak smile his eyelids growing heavy. “I love you and I want us to work this out.”

“So do I,” she watched him for a long moment thinking about how she’d wanted to have this chance--to have this opportunity to tell him everything that had been going through her mind, but now she knew he needed his rest. Their relationship had to take a backseat to his recovery and she had to show him she loved him enough to give him that. Leaning forward she pressed a kiss on his forehead before sliding away from him, “Rest now Ben.”

“But…” he murmured as it as obvious exhaustion was hanging over him.

“Just rest,” she placed her index finger over his lips for a brief second before running her fingers through his hair gently. Once she was convinced that he’d drifted off to sleep, she moved off of the bed. She watched him for a long moment before leaving the room. Maybe things would get better after all, she thought closing the door behind her to give him some of the peace that he needed in order to get better.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Two…” Bruce’s voice ran through Russell’s head as he stood in front of Avery. Russell couldn’t let Bruce hurt Avery, not now. Even if that meant he was going to risk his life saving her.

“Three,” Kyle’s voice boomed through the cabin as Kyle grabbed Bruce from behind. Kyle struggled to keep Bruce in his arms as he tried reaching for the gun as best as he could.

“Kyle,” Russell went to take a step forward as Bruce elbowed Kyle in the stomach and stretched out his arm muscles. Bruce pointed the gun back in Russell’s direction as Kyle jumped in front of Bruce and grabbed Bruce’s arm, trying to force the gun out of Bruce’s hand.

“Russ, get back,” Kyle snapped, his face growing red as he tried to overpower Bruce. “Get Avery away from this, we can’t let the baby get hurt. I won’t let him hurt the three of you.”

“Kyle,” Russell began as Kyle punched Bruce square in the center of his jaw, sending him down to the ground along with the gun.

“Now,” Kyle yelled as he went to reach for the gun, but Bruce grabbed him by the foot and pulled him down to the ground with him. Kyle reached out to grab the gun, but Bruce pulled him back and punched him square in the back, making him cringe his back up in pain.

“Stay here baby,” Russell whispered, holding Avery in his arms as he got her back on the bed and watched as Kyle turned around to grab Bruce by the neck.

“You can’t save them,” Bruce muttered as he reached out to punch Kyle in the jaw, making Kyle lose his grip on Bruce’s neck. They both quickly got to their feet as Bruce went for the gun.

“I don’t think so,” Kyle grabbed Bruce by the collar of his shirt and pressed him up against the wall. Kyle’s fist slammed into Bruce’s stomach over and over again until Bruce fell to the ground on his knees.

“Kyle the gun,” Russell pointed out as Kyle quickly went over and picked the gun up. Russell watched as Bruce slammed into Kyle’s back making both of them fall to the ground in a thud. The gun slid under the table as Kyle tried to hold Bruce away from the gun.

“Russ,” Kyle grabbed onto Bruce’s throat as he tightened his grip as hard as he could. He had to stop Bruce some way and this was the only thing he could do. “Stay where you are.”

“But the gun,” Russell had already gotten up to look for the gun before Kyle had flipped Bruce onto his back.

“But nothing,” Kyle snapped, grabbing Bruce’s head and slamming it against the ground as he tried the best he could do. “That baby is going to have it’s father if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Kyle,” Russell muttered as he watched Kyle give him a look. Russell went back and cradled Avery in his arms as he watched Kyle stand up from the ground as Bruce did the same.

“You want to push someone around freak?” Kyle questioned, wiping at his bottom lip as Bruce took a step towards him. “You were dead the second that you tried to harm that baby.”

“You’re the one that’s dead Houston,” Bruce snapped, reaching to his pocket where he had his knife. He pulled it out as Kyle watched him slowly. “You don’t know what you are dealing with.”

Kyle lunged forward at Bruce as he quickly tackled Bruce to the ground in a thud. A small groan of pain passed Kyle’s lips as Bruce cut Kyle’s arm with the knife.

“Don’t think so,” Kyle pulled Bruce back down to the ground as he got the knife out of Bruce’s hand. He punched Bruce in the face over and over again before stopping.

“Is he dead?” Russell questioned, noticing no movement coming from Bruce. Kyle got to one knee as Russell tried to take in everything that was happening.

“No, I think I just knocked him out,” Kyle answered with a small sigh as he got up to his feet. He wiped the blood away from his lips as he saw Russell’s eyes get wide. “Russ? What is it?”

“Kyle, Bruce,” Russell tried to warn Kyle as he saw Bruce grab the knife and stab it into Kyle’s thigh.

Bruce twisted the knife in Kyle’s thigh before pulling it down a couple of inches all in a matter of seconds. Bruce pulled the knife out before Kyle fell to the ground in a thud. Kyle groaned out in pain as he grabbed onto his leg.

“I told you, you can‘t save them,” Bruce began with a small shake of his head as he walked over towards the table and grabbed the gun. He saw Russell begin to get up as he pointed the gun at Russell. “Don’t.”

“Don’t you dare hurt them you son of a bitch,” Kyle growled, pulling himself over to the wall as he tried to stand up. Bruce walked in front of Kyle as he held the gun out and pointed it directly at the center of Kyle’s face.

“Don’t worry, you’re going first Houston,” Bruce declared, cocking the gun and moving forward as Kyle closed his eyes. “Houston, I think you have a problem. Watch this everybody, the hero is going to die first. This is always my favorite part.”

“No,” Grady dived out in front of Kyle as Bruce pulled the trigger. Grady fell to the floor next to Kyle and blood began to stain the floor.

“Grady,” Kyle gasped, turning Grady towards him as he saw the blood that stained Grady’s shirt. “Are you okay?”

“You know me,” Grady coughed, placing his hand over the wound on his shoulder. “I’m fine.”

“You’re going to be okay,” Kyle promised in a tight voice as he forced Grady put more pressure on the wound, “You’re going to be fine. I promise.”

“Damn, I guess this means I have an easier shot,” Bruce’s laugh filled the room as he shook his head slowly. “Grady just made it a whole hell easier for me.”

“That’s it,” Kyle got slowly got to his feet as he kept his weight on his other leg. “You were going to wish you were dead before I got to you.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Seth opened the door to his apartment feeling the darkness surrounding him. Even now after he and Blake had returned from their night out, he still couldn’t quite shake the feeling that was eating away at him. Sure, Blake had tried her best to make the most of this night, but still the memory of his sister was hanging over him especially now that he’d returned to the apartment they had shared. He heard Blake step in behind him doing her best to be quiet in closing the door behind her entrance.

“I can go get the bed ready for sleep,” she suggested in a small voice doing her best to be helpful, but Seth knew full well that even with all her efforts it wouldn’t bring his sister back. That was something that he was going to have to face whether he liked it or not.

Sensing Seth’s silence meant that he was approving of her suggestion, Blake started off down the hallway ready to put the night behind them when she felt his hand on her arm.

“Don’t go yet,” his voice was low and sullen, clearly still reflecting on the loss he’d experienced.

“Alright,” Blake replied with a small nod giving him the time he needed to collect his thoughts. She watched him closely wishing like hell that she could find a way to erase the sadness in his dark eyes--that she could somehow change the turn of events that had lead to his sister’s death, but ultimately she knew that wasn’t going to happen. All she could do was step in closer to him and wrap her arms around his waist and lean into his powerful chest trying to convey her emotions with the gesture.

“Blake, I’m sorry,” Seth whispered kissing the top of her head gently, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t be more for you right now.”

“Seth, you just lost your sister. I understand how hard this is for you and,” she began poignantly feeling his finger curl underneath her chin to lift her blue eyes to his.

She saw so many things happening behind his dark eyes, but rather than saying something about what was on his mind, Blake felt his head tip down ever so slightly. She closed her eyes feeling the warmth of his breath skimming over her mouth before his lips completed the movement. His mouth was warm and gentle, his arms hugging her closer to him. She eased her palms out over the muscular lines of his shoulders tipping up on her toes to kiss him readily.

“I’m sorry that I’ve put you through all of this,” he sighed against her mouth, his words buzzing against her lips in a highly erotic fashion despite the fact that Blake was certain that was the last emotion he was going for at a time like this. Still as she felt his fingers drop down to the small of her back urging her in against his hard form, she couldn’t help but feel her breath catch in the back of her throat.

“Seth, it’s…” Blake started opening her mouth to assure him of her loyalty and need to be there for him, but before she could say anything more she felt his mouth close in over hers again, his kiss sending shivers up and down her spine. His arm squeezed her closer to him, hand pressing underneath her bottom to pull her up into his arms.

“I love you,” he whispered in a tempting slur that let her know that he too had felt the electricity between them.

While she’d half expected that they would spend the night in one another’s arms, she’d thought it would be while they were sleeping and putting the day behind them. However, with Seth’s renewed hunger behind his kiss, she wondered if he too was feeling that same longing to take their connection to the next level.

“I want to make love to you,” he murmured hotly against her neck, his lips devouring her soft skin with kiss after hungry kiss. She lay her head on his shoulder, her hair falling in over the side of her face as he pushed open the bedroom door.

Keeping firm in his stride, he made his way over to the bed laying her down carefully before moving in over her. She reached for him, her arms curling around his shoulders inviting a closer connection still. His thick fingers popped button after button open on her blouse revealing her to his lust-filled eyes. What had changed since they’d walked through the door with one another was still a mystery to Blake, but as his lips teased over her collar bone, his fingers peeling her blouse away from her soft, creamy flesh, she wasn’t about to argue any of it. She arched up towards him, shrugging her arms out of her blouse before she reached forward sliding her nails in over the hem of his t-shirt. Within a matter of seconds it joined her blouse on the floor in a crumpled heap.

“I love you Seth,” she mouthed tracing the contours of his perfectly sculpted body her fingers taking the time to touch every incredible inch of him. The warmth of him spilled out from his bronzed, muscled chest out onto her fingertips causing her to shiver with delight. She craned her head to meet his kiss once more and anticipation crawled over her.

“Allow me,” Seth suggested his thumbs dipping in underneath her slacks stroking her hips lightly with a feathery-soft motion. Sensations poured out over her, a smile licking over her lips at the pleasure he’d awakened inside of her. She raised her hips up off of the comforter giving him enough room to peel her slacks and panties from her body, opening her up completely to him.

“I love you,” he whispered throwing her slacks over his shoulder before his index finger traced lazy circles over her inner thigh making a seductive trail up over her curves.

“I know,” she smiled at him thoughtfully. She was trying to think reasonable and be rational about everything, but when he nudged her legs apart and his hand made it’s first intimate contact with her, she couldn’t help but cry out.

Dropping her head back into the pillows Blake closed her eyes feeling flashes of white light creep in over her. Her lips parted, a breath escaping from behind her lips as his skilled caress moved in over her, dipping inside of her body in a slow, tantalizing fashion. Whatever had prompted this impulse to make love had Blake loving the pleasure that surrounded her--the passion that he’d provoked inside of her and as her hips tipped up towards his heavenly caress another whimper carried over her. She was so very close to nirvana to the place where everything turned over to bliss and pleasure, but just before that moment swept her over the edge she felt him release her.

“Seth,” she opened her eyes feeling the warmth of him away from her body. She opened her eyes to see him standing at the edge of the bed now completely naked and ready to be one with her. She pulled herself up just a bit with her elbows taking in the magnificent view of his body. He was truly a Greek god in so many ways perfect from head to toe. Her eyes dropped down to his now hardened ache, she couldn’t help but bite down on her lower lip with anticipation. She curled her finger at him seductively before a smile crept in over her lips, “Come here you.”

“Right here,” he teased feigning innocence. He dropped one knee down on the bed, another forward movement following the first until he was now over her, his hard, powerful lines barely touching hers.

“That’s a start,” Blake captured his lips in a hungry kiss feeling his body press in over hers with a forward movement. She could sense his fingers returning to where they’d been seconds earlier and again he built that same, familiar rhythm inside of her. She closed her eyes with a shivering inhale as his other hand touched her cheek gently.

“I love you Blake,” he mouthed again and again, his own breath labored and uneven as she bit down on her lip fighting to control the way she was reacting to his touch. He skimmed his finger over her lower lip, watching her face on the verge of letting go of any and all semblance of control that she was carrying with her. He dropped his head down to kiss her neck before nibbling determinedly on her earlobe, “Don’t hold back on my account…”

“I’m not. I’m just…” she started feeling the first waves of tremors wash over her. She cried out, her body drowning in the desire he’d awakened from within. While she’d wanted to feel that experience with him inside of her, his enticing touch had already given her a taste of heaven and now she wanted more. She squeezed her fingers in over his shoulder biting into the skin as his lips met hers in a hungry, passion fueled kiss. She felt him make room for himself, his hips over hers and as she reopened her eyes she felt him inside of her with one solid thrust.

“I love you,” Seth whispered watching her blue eyes cloud over with love and passion. He touched her cheek gently, taking the time to slowly press further into her passion-moistened depths. She seemed to tremble at the movement, “Blake I want you to know how much you mean to me…”

“I do know Seth and you mean that to me too,” Blake touched his face gently trying to think about anything other than the way their union had her on edge longing for more. She felt him pull away from her, his body exiting hers before he pushed forward again, joining them once more.

“I want to share forever with you,” he promised moving again, this time with a bit more behind his thrust. She felt his lips in over hers, his body hard and so utterly perfect as they made love in a slow, painful fashion both trying to keep the feeling alive between them for as long as possible. She felt his mouth move down over her shoulder, placing tender bites over her skin. She scratched her nails over his back, loving the feel of him.

“Seth,” she whispered his name unable to refrain from turning herself over to passion completely. Their love making grew frantic. The intensity transforming between them from slow and seductive to a frantic need begging to be quenched. Their lips met again and for the moment Blake could feel their fire alive between them again. Yes, life had gotten in the way for so very long, but now that they were in one another’s arms perhaps this was just what they needed to get back on track again. Making love had only made things better. Even now as she was one with him, she knew that she’d never be any closer to heaven than she was with him. He was her heart and soul and that would never change.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I guess I could just stay at your place for a little while,” Trisha sighed, sitting down on Ria’s couch as she watched Ria pace back and forth in the room. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ria tried to push Trisha off the subject as she brought her hand up through her hair slowly. Ria heard a knock at her door before letting out a small sigh. Who in the world could that be right now?

Ria walked over to her door and opened it to see a smiling Valerie before her. Ria rolled her eyes as she held her hands up in the air.

“Listen, if you came here to start something, I don’t even want to bother,” Ria began with a small shake of her head as Valerie went to say something. “I don’t want to deal with any crap right now.”

“No, Ria,” Valerie stopped Ria before she could shut the door in her face, “I was hoping that we could talk. I came here to tell you that I was sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Ria questioned seeing Valerie nod slowly. “You have to be kidding me right now.”

“No, I’m not kidding,” Valerie replied with a small sigh as she simply shrugged her shoulders, “May I come in?”

“Fine, but if you even bug me in the tiniest way,” Ria began as she motioned Valerie to come inside, “I swear I will kick you out so fast.”

“I’ll behave,” Valerie promised walking into the apartment to see Trisha sitting down on the couch. “Oh, Trisha. Hey. How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Valerie,” Trisha smiled, looking over at Valerie who sat down on the couch next to her. “What in the world are you doing here?”

“I just came here to talk to Ria,” Valerie explained with a small sigh as she shrugged her shoulders. “You see, we got into this fight a while back and…”

“Could you be a little more quiet,” Ria begged, sitting down in the chair across from Trisha and Valerie. “I have the biggest headache of a lifetime right now.”

“What’s her problem?” Valerie questioned with a small frown as Trisha simply shrugged her shoulders. “You seem so uptight.”

“Mr. Adonis, her boyfriend has her all tied up in knots,” Trisha explained with a small sigh as Valerie’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Kevin is your boyfriend?” Valerie asked Ria seeing her nod slowly. Valerie let out a small laugh as she placed her hand over the center of her chest. “Man, I remember back in the day he wanted a piece of me so bad. I mean, I always had the hots for Seth, but with Kevin…he knew how to make out with someone.”

“What?” Ria choked seeing Valerie nod slowly. “Bull shit, Kevin would never do that with you?”

“Oh yeah?” Valerie questioned seeing Ria roll her eyes slowly. “Actually, one time Kevin and Seth both…”

“I don’t want to hear any of this crap you are trying to tell me,” Ria rolled her eyes, grabbing Valerie by the wrist and pulling her up towards the door. “You’re out.”

“But,” was the last thing they heard from Valerie as Ria shut the door in her face.

“Okay,” Trisha began, throwing her hands up in the air, “That was complete and total bullshi…”

“I know,” Ria declared with a small sigh as she shook her head slowly, “Kevin was always disgusted by her. They hated each other and I know that he would have never done anything with her. That’s one thing I know about Kevin.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Get back here,” Angela grabbed Kevin by the hand as he stood up from where they were. “You aren’t going anywhere, we just starting having some fun.”

“Fun?” Kevin repeated with a small laugh as he felt her tug on his hand once more. “Give me a second, I’m not leaving you hanging. I still plan on making this very memorable for you.”

“It will be if you get your butt back here,” she replied watching Kevin reach out to grab something. He showed her the bottle before squirting some more of it at her. “We needed more?”

“Of course we needed more,” Kevin declared with a small wiggle of his eyebrow as he put the bottle back down on the ground. He sat back down and pulled her in over him slowly before letting out a small yelp.

“What is it now?” Angela questioned with a small laugh as she watched Kevin reach for something that was under him. She let out a small laugh as she watched him eye it over slowly.

“I swear, you need to stop using so many toys when we do this,” Kevin rolled his eyes as he felt her hands slide in over his shoulders. “These things hurt if you sit on them.”

“I thought you loved it Kevy,” Angela frowned, watching Kevin play with the toy for a moment. “See, I told you it would add more spice.”

“Oh it adds spice alright,” Kevin laughed, squeezing the rubber duck that he had sat on in the bathtub. He squeezed the duck again, squirting the water at Angela as she blocked her face. “I love Bubbles and I think Bubbles loves you too Angie.”

“Put the rubber duck down,” she laughed as Kevin put the rubber duck back in the water of the bathtub. “Now why did you say we needed more bubbles in this bathtub?”

“So,” Kevin shrugged, scooping some bubbles up in his hands as he spread them out over her hair . He let out a small laugh as she stayed there and let him do his work. He placed some of the bubbles over her chin as he let out a small laugh. “Now you have a white beard and white hair. You look beautiful.”

“I do?” Angela questioned with a small laugh as Kevin nodded slowly. “You know what I think looks good?”

“What’s that?” he laughed, feeling her push him in the center of the chest and pushing him under the water. He came back up with bubbles covering his whole face. He wiped them away from his eyes and his mouth as he shook his head at her slowly. “That wasn’t funny.”

“Yes it was,” she chuckled, watching Kevin shake his head quickly, sending bubbles flying in all directions. “Now I have my very own bubble man.”

“I’m your bubble man,” Kevin repeated her words as he saw her nod slowly. He watched her reach out to wipe the bubbles away from his face. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” she chuckled feeling him reach out to wipe the bubbles away from her face lightly.

“I love my bubble monster, but I think I like my Angie much better.”

“You do?” she questioned with a small laugh as Kevin nodded slowly. “Well, I’m not sure. I may like my bubble man better.”

“Hey,” Kevin frowned, feeling her hands run in over his chest lightly. “I think I take that offensive woman. Maybe I should take back what I said about the bubble monster.”

“I was playing, I think Mr. Adonis is better than bubble man,” she teased as Kevin leaned forward and brought her in closer to him. She ran her hands through his wet hair as water slid down her arms.

“I have another surprise for you,” Kevin whispered with a small smile as he inched himself up closer to her. He reached up to caress her cheek gently before smiling. “Turn around.”

“Turn around?” Angela questioned, backing away from him slowly as he nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“Good,” Kevin whispered as she turned around and he pulled her back towards him. He let her settle between his legs as he reached up to caress her shoulders gently. “This is another extra to that pleasure I promised you.”

“Oh, I missed these,” she sighed, leaning back into his hard chest as he continued to massage her shoulders gently. “Oh yeah, these were the best.”

“Well, not the best thing,” Kevin whispered in her ear softly as he felt her loosen up to him and lean more into his bare chest. “But, they are pretty much up there, aren’t they?”

“Oh yeah,” she agreed, feeling his warm breath against her skin as she let out a small sigh. “You are so smart. No one would have come up with the idea to have a bubble bath to make me feel better. Thanks for letting me borrow one of your tank tops and a pair of your boxers by the way.”

“No problem,” Kevin let out a small laugh as he looked to see her playing with the bottom of the white tank top he had given her to wear. “If you want to borrow some of my boxers, go on ahead. That just might freak me out a little bit, but by all means you are allowed too.”

“I appreciate that,” Angela laughed, feeling him squeeze more at her shoulders as she let out another deep sigh. “You are so good at this. Do you realize how much you could get paid for doing this. I would pay you so much for just this.”

“What are you going to pay me with?” Kevin questioned with a tiny chuckle as she looked up at him with a small frown.

“That’s a good question,” she pondered, thinking things over for a moment. “Switch spots, I’m going to give you one too.”

“I really don’t think…” Kevin started to refuse, but she was already moving and pushing him forward so hey, why not? “Okay, if you insist.”

“I insist,” she laughed lightly as she pulled on Kevin’s shoulders, making him lean back into her and rest his head on her shoulder gently. Her hands started to caress his shoulders gently as he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. “I told you I was good at this too.”

“Maybe we should go into business together,” Kevin suggested with a tiny smile as he felt her fingers caressing his shoulders very slowly. “You say I am good at these, but I think you are amazing.”

“I think you’ve known that since the first time I ever gave you one,” she pointed out as Kevin opened his eyes and looked up at her with a tiny smirk. “Do you remember that?”

“Sadly, yes,” Kevin answered with a small chuckle as he felt her begin to squeeze at his shoulders a little bit rougher. “You had me so worried. Although, you did used to scare me a lot when you were seventeen.”

“You loved it,” she whispered in his ear as he let out a tiny laugh. She curved her hands in over the front of his shoulders as he leaned back into her more. “Let’s see if I remember how it went.”

“How what went?” Kevin wondered, feeling her hands tamper off in over his chest slowly as he looked down at her hands. He shook his head slowly as he felt her hands lower and outline the muscle in his abdomen slowly. Kevin sat up as he shook his head slowly. “You are evil Angie. I hope you know that.”

“Oh, you love me and you know it,” she smiled leaning forward to look at his back as she let out a small laugh. She reached forward to touch his back gently as she shook her head. “Are these scratch marks Kevin?”

“Huh?” Kevin looked back at her over his shoulder as he saw her outline the scratches on his back. “What are you talking about? You know that’s part of my tattoo.”

“No, this is not part of your tattoo. In the past, I used to stare at your tattoo for hours while you slept,” Angela informed him with a small shake of her head, “That is not part of your tattoo. So, who is the lucky lady?”

“Stop it,” Kevin frowned, turning around to face her in the bathtub as she let out a small laugh. “It’s not funny, it’s part of my tattoo.”

“Sure it is,” Angela bit back a small laugh as she saw Kevin frown again. “Are you blushing Kevy?”

“That’s it,” Kevin growled leaning forward and grabbing her wrists in his hands gently. He pushed them up against the side of the tub as he leaned over her. “I think it’s time for your laughing torture.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jenna pulled up to Hart’s condo seeing the dim lighting in the parking lot overhead. She had made a point of parking in a spot near the light just in case things didn’t turn out like they were supposed to. Reaching into her purse, she made sure that she had her pepper spray handy before she stepped out into the night. She slung her purse over her shoulder, taking in a small breath as she made her way over to Hart’s place.

While it was not entirely dark yet, she was pretty sure that she didn’t see anyone standing there in front of Hart’s place. Then again she hadn’t really been told that the potential buyer would be standing on the porch and maybe by now he’d left since she was stuck in traffic on the way over. Still she would go inside and wait for him to return she thought to herself pushing her key into the lock and opening it.

Walking into Hart’s place she took a quick look around making sure that everything was in order. While he’d had a lot of things taken out of the condo, she knew there were still other things that would have to go sooner or later. Of course in having them around it made the place look more like home. Oh hell who was she kidding? It looked like a bachelor pad in every sense of the word. There was no doubt that Hart had a sense of style, but the message his condo shouted out was something Jenna would just as soon not say or even think about for that matter.

“It’s a good thing you’re giving this place up Hart,” she laughed lightly running her finger over the back of his black, leather couch. She could only imagine how many times he’d brought back some clueless bimbo who wanted to explore the finer things he had to offer in being a big, bad, rich lawyer and all. On second thought, no she didn’t want to imagine it. Didn’t even want to think about the man her Hart had been before they’d gotten together.

Oh wait. Too late, she thought to herself. She knew full well what kind of man he’d been before they’d fallen in love and she hated that guy. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t totally hated him considering that they were able to fall in love with one another, but still. Oh okay, she’d admit it. She might’ve wanted to rip his head off, but she had been overtaken with lust the first time she’d seen him.

When he’d come into that courtroom during one of the first cases she’d been called in on to testify she couldn’t help but notice the new hot shot on the legal scene. Yeah, he’d been sexy and smart--a combination that Jenna had always been attracted to, but once he opened his mouth and tried to convince her that her testimony couldn’t possibly be right, they’d butted heads. It was a downward spiral after that leading to her encounter with Patrick, but that was another story she’d just as soon avoid reflecting upon.

“Times truly have changed,” she mouthed to herself with a thoughtful expression. Lifting her arm up she eyed her watch curiously, “and speaking of time, I think I should probably call it a night here.”

Jenna moved to turn off the lamp in front of her when she heard a noise from behind. She was immediately on edge spinning around to see a man masked with shadows near the doorway. Fumbling with her purse she quickly sought out her pepper spray, which much to her dismay seemed to fall into the bottom of her purse.

“Who’s there?” she questioned gruffly trying not to sound like she was in a panic now that her pepper spray was missing.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the voice explained as Jenna watched the man step forward still clouded by darkness.

“Stay there,” Jenna warned finally feeling the pepper spray beneath her touch. She started to pull the container out of her purse when the man stepped forward again revealing himself to the light.

“I’m sorry to startle you,” he repeated once more his dark eyes fixed upon hers, “I saw that the door was open and…”

Her eyes widened in recognition, “You’re Hart’s father.”

“Yes, yes I am,” he nodded briefly.

“What are you doing here?” she asked wearily, “Hart isn’t here. He’s not coming around and…”

“I know that. I was well aware of the fact that he wouldn‘t be coming here tonight,” he replied shamefully, “and though I shouldn’t have been deceptive about it, I have to admit that I’m the one who called about the condo.”

“You mean you’re the one who wanted me out here?” her eyes widened at that confession.

He nodded, “I did and I’m sorry that I had to trick you into coming out here, but I really felt that we should talk.”

“Look whatever it is that you and Hart have going between you, it’s none of my business. If you want to talk to him,” she stood taller still holding onto her pepper spray.

“I have tried, but it’s no use. Right now you’re my only hope,” he pleaded taking another step towards her, his dark eyes clouded over with an urgency Jenna could easily recognize, “I’m afraid if you don’t hear me out, then I may never be able to speak with my son. You’re my last hope here. Please at least give me five minutes to explain myself if for no other reason than you care about Hart and want what‘s best for him.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What is it that you want to say baby?” Kellen questioned, watching as Kipp struggled to get out what he was about to ponder. “Go ahead, I’m all ears for you here.”

“I’m just thinking,” Kipp informed Kellen with a small shake of his head. There were so many things running through his head at this point. He was asking himself question by question and he just didn’t know what to do anymore. “I keep remembering my childhood and how much I wished I had someone who cared for me. I wished my mother would be there to protect me.”

“Right,” Kellen nodded slowly, easing his hand in over Kipp’s shoulder gently. Kellen really didn’t know what Kipp was truly feeling because he always had a mother that cared for him. Kellen had a mother that would stand up for him at any time. “What do you think?”

“I think,” Kipp paused himself as he thought things over for a moment, “I think that I deserved more than this. I think that my parents are selfish for keeping me away from the truth all this time. And yet, I feel myself longing to gain a relationship with my mother while the other half of me hates her for doing this to me. I don’t know what to do Kellen.”

“It’s okay sweetheart,” Kellen frowned, reaching out to embrace Kipp in his arms gently. Kipp rested his head against Kellen’s chest gently. “Just let it out baby.”

“All I remember is how many times I have been let down in my life,” Kipp started as he thought about his life all over again. “I keep thinking about how many days I spent hoping things would change. I was let down by my father, my mother and even myself. I tried changing myself and that’s when I found you. You helped me become a new person Kellen.”

“You were a perfect person when I met you,” Kellen informed Kipp in a soothing tone as he ran his hand through Kipp’s hair gently. “I loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. To me, the only person you have ever been is Kipp Mahoney. And I love Kipp Mahoney, not any other person.”

“Why can’t people just love me for me?” Kipp questioned with a small shake of his head as he bit back the pain he was feeling inside. “I want to know why my mother let me go? If she loved me so much, why did she let me go? Why?”

“It’s a tough decision that many young women go through,” Kellen pointed out with a small frown, holding Kipp tighter in his arms. “If you want to have my opinion, I would say she was confused back then. She was young and I don’t have a doubt in my mind that she never stopped loving you. I know that she still loves you. We‘ve all made mistakes in the past. Even me, I made big mistakes in the past that you wouldn’t even begin to imagine.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore Kellen,” Kipp’s voice strained as Kellen ran his hand through Kipp’s hair gently.

“It’s okay,” Kellen hushed, kissing Kipp’s forehead gently. “I’m here Kipp. I’m here.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Diane sat on Ben’s couch flipping through television channels. Unfortunately for her Ben didn’t really have much of a selection going for him in the cable department since he must’ve had a basic package. She was given the choice of watching some watered down version of COPS on one channel, a woman who was trying to sell a vacuum cleaner that apparently cut hair as well on another channel or some movie with Tori Spelling where she was dying or a prostitute or was it dying and being a prostitute at the same time? She really couldn’t keep up with the plot. Reaching for the remote Diane shut it off and lay back on the sofa thinking about Ben.

While she wanted to go back into his bedroom and be with him, she knew that she really shouldn’t be pushing her luck. Reaching for the phone she dialed her mom and found herself relieved after her mother picked up upon the third ring.

“Hi mom,” Diane greeted her mother in a quiet, but cheerful voice, “How are you tonight?”

“I’m okay,” Judy paused sensing something behind her daughter’s voice, “What about you? Is something wrong?”

“No, not exactly,” Diane hesitated wondering if she should tell her mother what was really on her mind. She juggled her options in her mind for a few minutes before opting to come clean, “Actually I’m at Ben’s place right now.”

“Ben?” Judy repeated with surprise evident in her tone, “Really?”

“Yes really,” Diane nodded in confession, “I decided to come over earlier and try to work on patching things up between us. When I got here he was sick--really sick. He had a fever and he started throwing up and…”

“Oh dear, is he alright?” Judy’s voice shifted with concern.

“I think he’s going to be, but it’s been a rough day. I gave him some of your miracle serum and forced him to rest much to his dismay,” Diane toyed with the phone cord twirling it between her fingers, “I think it’s helping.”

“And what about you? How are you feeling,” Judy asked concerned.

“I’m feeling okay. I mean you know me. I have a really good immune system. I think the flu is afraid of me and if Ben has the flu, well I’m sure that it’ll skip over me. It knows not to screw with me,” Diane reminded her proudly.

“That was before you were pregnant. Sweetheart with a child all the rules change and…” Judy started to warn her.

“Mom, trust me I’m fine. Besides he’s sleeping in bed and I’m just kind of hanging out on the couch. I know I should leave, but I hate the thought of him being alone after how miserable he was earlier. You should’ve seen him,” Diane thought back to the way she’d found Ben a complete wreck, “He shouldn’t be alone tonight.”

“Okay, but honey just be careful. There’s no telling how this could turn out,” Judy hesitated an uneasiness in her voice, “and Diane?”

“Yes,” Diane replied quickly recognizing the tone.

“Honey, regardless of what happens, don’t get your hopes up again about what’s next. Ben is sick right now and…” Judy offered up with a small sigh.

“I’m not taking advantage of the situation if that’s what you are hinting at mother. I know that he’s in need of rest and relaxation. He needs to start feeling better and the last thing he needs to stress over is our relationship. I’m giving him space and I’m not pushing him.”

“I’m glad to hear that Diane. I know how hard this is, but…” Judy offered up once more.

“But nothing. I’ve got it under control. I just wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing. I know I have kind of been in my own little world lately and I haven’t thought about everyone else all that much,” Diane paused another thought occurring to her, “How about Deidra? How is she doing?”

“About the same. You can see this situation with Dean is tearing her apart, but she’s trying to be strong,” Judy explained worried about her eldest daughter.

“She just needs to stop being so upset and just talk to him. It’s obvious that he’s in love with her and she still loves him,” Diane thought about her sister’s story of bad luck, “I mean sure so there were a few misunderstandings between them, but when someone makes you that happy, it would be crazy just to walk away from it.”

“Sometimes circumstances don’t give us the opportunity to stick around and fight for what we want Diane,” Judy replied in a reflective tone.

“I don’t believe that. I believe if something is meant to be, then it’s well worth fighting for. You can’t give up on true love,” Diane explained in an impassioned tone, “If it’s meant to be then it’s well worth the risk of making a fool out of yourself as many times as it takes to help the situation along.”

“Spoken like a true romantic,” Judy noted curiously, “That’s not really like you Diane.”

“Yeah, well let’s just say that I realize I have a lot to want to hold onto,” Diane glanced over at the coffee table spotting a photo of her and Ben from their trip to Florida. She reached for it hugging it to her chest as she closed her eyes, “When love is real the last thing you can do is walk away without a fight.”

“And if the fight isn’t victorious you have to know when to walk away Diane,” Judy warned her with obvious hesitation.

“Mom, this isn’t about me. This is about you and about Deidra. If you two would just push a little harder at times, you might actually find a way to be happy again instead of miserable. You both deserve that you know,” Diane explained matter of fact.

“And so do you,” Judy added with a small sigh, “I just hope that your happiness finds its way to you again Diane.”

“So do I mom,” she admitted closing her eyes and thinking about Ben all over again. “So do I.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blake snuggled into the warmth of Seth’s body. Closing her eyes she could still feel tiny tremors racing over her at the memory of their lovemaking. She could feel his finger tips tease in over her spine and in turn she placed a kiss over the center of his damp chest loving the way he felt beneath her. His touch pressed in over her blonde hair and she heard him exhale in a soft sound of satisfaction.

“I love you,” she mouthed against his chest her words vibrating over him in a tired confession.

“I love you Blake,” he paused his body tensing up as another breath escaped his lips, “and I’m sorry.”

“Sorry,” she repeated with a small smile, “Seth believe me you have nothing to be sorry about especially after what we just shared. I know how hard things have been on you and…”

“Blake that’s not what I’m talking about,” he replied sliding out from underneath her, guilt sweeping in over his body. He dropped his feet down to the floor and he leaned forward, the sheet barely draped over his body. He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair as another breath carried over him. “I deceived you and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“Deceived me,” she gave him a strange look wondering why in the hell he was pushing her away after the stellar love making session they’d shared. She sat up as well crawling in behind him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders feeling his body still rigid and tight beneath her touch, “about what?”

“About this…about what we just did,” he replied shamefully his head dropping down racked with guilt. He shook his head struggling to find the right words to explain his actions, “When we got home I started thinking about Jade--thinking about what I’d lost and I got caught up in the moment. I got lost in this fantasy that my mind was playing out and I didn‘t stop to think about what was right for us.”

“Seth I don’t understand,” she began again clearly lost in what he was saying, “You’re not making any sense Seth. What’s going on?”

“Blake,” he tilted his head back just a bit to see her over his shoulder before he looked away again, “I did what I asked you not to.”

“Okay, you lost me,” she curled her lip at him, “because the last time I checked what we just shared was exactly what I would’ve asked you to do--no, I probably would’ve begged you to do it there and I have to admit it was pretty fantastic at that.”

“I’m not talking about our making love…at least not in the way you’re thinking,” he reached forward pulling the box of condoms off of the nightstand. He set it down on top of the blankets showing her what he’d willingly done to tamper with their lovemaking.

“Seth,” she paused releasing him long enough to pick the unopened box up from on top of the blankets. “Are you upset that…”

“I didn’t use protection Blake,” he pointed out finally finding the courage to face her, “I didn’t want to use it because when I made love to you all I wanted was for that to be the time that we had our baby. I wanted for us to have a child--a son or a daughter and I didn‘t give you the opportunity to react--to say anything and…”

“And you honestly believe that I didn’t realize what you were doing,” she blinked back at him confused by his sudden rush of guilt, “Seth, did you think that I didn’t know about that?”

“Well I just…” he stammered a bit surprised by her reaction to him. She reached for him using his shoulders to help her maneuver herself onto his lap again. She placed her hands firmly on the center of his chest a smile spilling over her still flushed face.

“Seth, trust me honey. I might’ve been caught up in the moment, but not beyond the point of being able to realize the decision you’d made,” she confessed dropping her fingertips down over his shoulders. She fanned them out squeezing his body tenderly before her lips beckoned his into a kiss, “and trust me if I’d objected to the decision you would’ve known it.”

“You mean you aren’t upset,” he questioned searching her eyes, “Even after what I’d told you about…”

“Seth, haven’t I already told you how much I want your baby,” she reminded him with a small smile, “about how I want for us to start a family together.”

“Well yes, but after what I told you before,” he found himself at a loss, “I mean I promised you so many things before Jade died and now…”

“Now you want to solidify our family more than ever,” she finished for him seeing the truth behind his eyes, “I want that too Seth. I meant that when we were almost married and I still mean it now. I want to be the mother of your child. I want for us to have our own family together and this, well this is only taking the first step in the right direction. If tonight could really be the beginning of a new life for us, then I think that we should embrace it. We should welcome the thought of a baby into our lives.”

“But I know I’ve done it for all the wrong reasons,” he sighed heavily guilt still hanging over him.

“Because you were missing your sister?” she questioned pausing for a long moment. Finally she spoke up again, “Seth, let me ask you something. Even if Jade was still alive, would you want to have a family with me?”

“Well yes, but…” he began his dark, chocolate eyes meeting hers again.

“Would you still want for us to share a family and be together for eternity,” she prompted further.

“Of course I would,” he nodded eagerly thinking about how loving Blake had brought him out of the darkness and into the life he’d never thought was possible for him.

“Then how can you believe that anything that happened tonight could be wrong,” she stroked his cheek lovingly. “I mean okay so we made a very good start, but as you said before we know that it usually takes more than one shot to get this right. If you are really sure that you want for us to have a baby, then I want you to know that I want it too. I want for us to have a child together Seth whether that means now or later. If you’re all up for trying now, then so am I. This is what I want. You are what I want.”

“You are all that I want as well Blake,” he promised kissing her once more, “and I truly want to be able to see you with our baby--to watch you with our son or daughter. That to me would be the miracle we need in our lives.”

“And it’s a miracle I promise to give you,” she hugged him, feeling his head press in against the swell of her breasts, “Seth, I want to be the mother of your child and I don’t care how long it takes for us to make this happen for us. It is going to be our miracle and as long as you want to keep trying, then so do I.”

“Really?” he couldn’t help but smile seeing her blue eyes sparkle with delight.

“Oh baby, you have no idea how much I really, really do,” she teased her nails over the center of his chest gingerly, “Of course I would like to add that I’d also like to spend lots of time making attempts at this. I mean sure some people get it on the first try, but I think with us, well we’ll need lots and lots of practice in getting it right.”

“You know in a strange way that could be taken as a negative vibe there Blake,” he tilted his head to the side to give her a wiggle of his brow.

“Nah, it’s merely my way of saying that baby, I fully anticipate us giving this our best shot with lots of excitement and adventure along the way,” she explained with a tiny giggle reaching for the box of condoms and tossing them onto the floor beside the bed, “Now about that baby making. Where were we?”

“I think we were right around…here…” Seth laughed lightly twirling her in his arms back onto the bed before their lips met in another kiss now anticipating what the future had in store for them with the possibility of a family fresh on their mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Don’t you dare even think about it Kevin Adonis,” Angela warned as a devilish smile appeared over Kevin’s features. “If you even do what I think you are about to do, I’ll kill you. I swear…”

“What do you think I am about to do?” Kevin questioned with a small laugh. He leaned forward closer to her as she looked up at him. “Is it this?”

“Kevin,” Angela squealed, feeling him put his lips on her neck and then feeling him blow. A small amount of laughter spilled from her lips as she felt Kevin do it over and over again. “I am going to kill you.”

“How are you going to do that?” he whispered in her ear before feeling her struggle against him. “I can make you laugh even harder than that. You want to see?”

“No, don’t,” Angela warned, feeling him begin to blow on her neck as his hands dropped down from her wrists and under the water to tickle at her sides again. She was filled with laugh as she felt her eyes become filled with water. “Kevin stop. Kevin please.”

“What’s the magic word?” Kevin chuckled tickling at her sides, as she arched up into him. “Come on…”

“If you don’t stop,” Angela warned sharply before letting out another small laugh as Kevin continued to tickle at her sides. She brought her hands to the center of his chest as she pushed him back. She watched as he fell back and hit his head on the side of the tub. “Oh my…Kevin? Are you okay?”

“Ouch,” he let out a small groan before lightly laughing. “That hurt. Really bad.”

“Oh, I did not mean to do that,” Angela promised with a small amount of worry as she slid in over him. She reached her hand behind his head to caress the spot he hit slowly. “Does that feel better?”

“A little,” Kevin answered with a small sigh, feeling her fingers caressing his head gently. “When you said you were going to kill me, I thought you were playing. I didn’t actually think you were going to try and kill me.”

“Kevin, I told you that I was sorry,” Angela frowned, watching him close his eyes tightly. Her fingers slid in against his neck as she slid her fingertips up in over his jaw line, tracing it slowly. His brown eyes met hers slowly as she let out a small smile. “You have amazing eyes. I would notice them anywhere, they are beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Kevin laughed, letting a small smile peak through the corner of his lips. He felt her gently run her hand into his hair as he blinked up at her. “So my eyes are hot?’

“Oh yeah,” she nodded slowly, reaching her thumb out to outline his bottom lip gently. “I just think you’re hot.”

“I am?” Kevin questioned with a small laugh, seeing her nod slowly as he leaned up towards her. “Well, let me tell you something…”

“Yes?” Angela’s eyebrows perked up as Kevin smiled up at her. “What do you want to tell me?”

“There you two are,” Martha opened the bathroom door, making Kevin jump as he placed his hand over his chest. “I thought you two might be in here.”

“Martha, hi,” Kevin let out a small breath as Martha came over and leaned against the edge of the counter. “I didn’t think you would be back here so fast.”

“Yeah, well, I had some free time,” Martha informed him with a small shrug as she looked down into the water. “I see you two are back to the old bath routine. Nice choice Kev.”

“Uh, thanks,” Kevin laughed as he looked up at Angela who was still settled in over him. “You know, I should let you girls talk for a little while. About whatever it is you two talk about.”

“Don’t you want to be in on the girl talk Kevin?” Angela questioned with a small laugh as Kevin shook his head slowly. “Are you sure, I mean it’s always fun.”

“I think I’m good,” Kevin answered, slowly standing up and bringing Angie with him. He stepped out of the tub before reaching his hand out to Angie to help her out. Kevin reached for one of the towels that were on the counter before wrapping his around Angie’s shoulders gently. “Is that good?’

“It’s fine,” Angela nodded as Kevin rubbed her shoulders gently. She turned to face him as she embraced him in her arms lightly. “Thanks for everything Kevin.”

“No problem,” Kevin whispered, watching as she tipped up on her toes to give him a small kiss on the lips. He let her out of his embrace slowly before grabbing the other towel and wrapping it around his neck.

“Hey Kevin,” Angela called out as Kevin started to walk towards the bathroom door with black boxers dripping. “I just thought you should know, I think you have a hot ass.”

“That is so truthful,” Martha agreed with a small laugh as Kevin looked back over his shoulder at the both of them.

“I know I do,” Kevin shook his butt at them slowly before winking back at them.

“Oh, now he is flaunting it off,” Angela whispered shaking her head slowly as she took a step forward and smacked his butt roughly. He jumped up, grabbing it as he let out a small yelp.

“Ouch,” Kevin let out a small gasp that was soon followed by a tiny laugh, “you just wish you had a perfect butt like mine.”

“I did have your butt once upon time,” Angela pointed out with a small wink as Kevin shook his head slowly.

“My butt has always been mine,” Kevin pointed out with a small chuckle as he looked between Martha and Angie. He walked back towards the door before shaking his butt at them again. “Look at it and wish you had it.”

“He’s a nut,” Angela laughed as Kevin walked out of the bathroom slowly, “I love him though.”

“What’s not to love?” Martha questioned with a small laugh. “This kid is great. I can tell why the two of you are best friends.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ria walked around her living room trying not to focus on the fact that Kevin had left town. Sure he’d told her that he wasn’t going to up and leave like that and yeah he had asked her to go along with him to the island, but deep down she hadn’t thought he was serious. Had she? She hadn’t really believed that he’d want to take her away to paradise with him and prove to her that he was ready to move on with her into a future. Surely, she didn’t think that he’d just walk away from the life he’d known before he came back to town. Really how impossible was that?

“It would’ve been nice though,” Ria sighed to herself realizing that this was doing nothing to help her. Here she was on one of her days off from the hospital and she was stewing about the man who’d obviously left her behind. He had his own life before she came into the picture and she was well aware of that. She knew full well that he had unresolved feelings for Angela, so then why was it bothering her so bad that he was gone? Hadn’t she told him that she understood where his heart was? That she would be waiting for his return? That she believed in the strength of their love? Sure, she’d said all those things, but that was before…

“Before he took off to be with her again,” she clenched her fists at her side trying not to cry. To get worked up about this now would only prove that she was more lost in Kevin than she’d already been before he left town. When they’d made love the last time she could remember clearly the way she’d thrown herself at him--the way that she’d offered up everything inside of her to him in the hopes that what? That he would just forget about his life he had before he came to Coral Valley? That he would put her first instead of going back to the woman he’d obviously wanted for so very long?

“Oh who are you kidding,” she grumbled to herself trying to be calm and rational, “Kevin wasn’t yours in the first place. He has always loved someone else and you were just…”

“Just what?” she could hear a voice inside of her head asking.

“Just a pancake sharing, bed breaking, t-shirt ripping kind of person who helped him kill a little time when he was in town,” she mouthed unable to hold back the tears of frustration that swept over her.

Fighting to keep it together she moved into her bedroom snapping on a light and vowing to get cleaned up and out of the place before it drove her mad. Trisha was doing, well she had no idea what Trisha was up to at this moment in time, but Ria knew full well if she wanted to keep from going completely insane, she had to get out of her apartment.

“Maybe I’ll call someone from the hospital,” she pondered the thought, but before she could really give it any time to go into completion her eyes fell to the mattress on the floor in front of her. Memories of strawberry syrup and pancakes flooded her mind all over again making her ache for the man who’d just up and left town. Sure, he’d called her, but there was something in his voice--something in his tone that had her believing that he was never coming back. Now that he was returning to Angela, why would he have to?

“This is crazy,” Ria threw her hands in the air fearing that she would completely lose it if she didn’t stop this. She needed to get out--to go and try to have fun, but deep down she knew that the only thing that could truly make her feel that way right now was Kevin. She longed to feel his arms around her, to hold him and keep him close to her. She wanted him more than she wanted anything and that was what was killing her. She loved him. With all of her heart and soul she knew that she was hooked on Kevin Adonis and even though their time together had been brief, she knew that there would never be another man who made her feel the way he did. There would be another love that touched her in such a deep and profound way. There would never be…

“That’s it,” she spun on her heel not bothering to look back. Marching towards her front door she reached for her keys ready to do whatever was necessary to escape the memory of the man who’d walked away--of the man who had warmed her heart, taken her to heaven and then packed it away with him when he left town. If she stayed in this apartment she would truly die of loneliness on the spot from missing him and that was something she had far too much pride to let happen.

Reaching for the door, she flung it open ready to find any means of escaping Kevin’s memory when she suddenly found herself face to face with a bouquet of bright, red roses. They filled the air surrounding her and immediately she felt her heart do flip-flops. A smile lifted over her lips and she thought to the arms of the man she loved--to the smile that touched her heart--to the hands that held her, touched her in a great many ways and in that moment she felt as if all her dreams were coming true again. He was back. Kevin came back and he was going to try to make it up to her. Her world couldn’t get any better--that was until the flowers lowered and she came face to face with the last person she expected to see. There before her instead of the chocolate brown eyes she’d fallen so desperately in love with, she found herself face to face with the man she’d pushed aside in the name of finding romance with Kevin. In that moment things went from depressing to just plain awkward. Somehow she knew that things were about to get worse--much worse!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh, I’ve got the chills now,” Bruce faked a shiver as Kyle stood before him. “I’ve got the gun, you have nothing.”

“And obviously you are very dumb,” Kyle declared, launching his fist out and slamming it into Bruce’s jaw. Bruce went to go hit Kyle, but missed when Kyle ducked and slammed his fist into Bruce’s chest. “You never talk, you just do it.”

“That’s it,” Bruce scowled, going to raise the gun as Kyle punched him in the chest again and then hit him in the nose with the palm of his hand and pushing it up.

Bruce fell to the ground as he dropped the gun and it slid to the middle of the ground. Bruce grabbed his nose as the blood seeped through his fingers. He kicked Kyle in the back of the leg as Kyle went to go for the gun.

“Kyle,” Russell got off the bed as Avery tugged on his arm to keep him with her.

“Please don’t leave me Russell,” Avery begged as Russell looked towards Kyle and Bruce. They both were swinging fists at each other as he sat back down and wrapped his arm around Avery to keep her safe.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Russell promised, watching Grady crawl out towards the center of the floor for the gun. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.”

Kyle got pushed back onto the ground as Bruce wrapped his fingers around Kyle’s neck tightly, squeezing as hard as he could. Kyle’s face became red as he tried breathing for air.

“Kyle,” Grady yelled, sliding the gun to Kyle as Kyle grabbed it and hit Bruce in the head with the item.

“Thanks,” Kyle whispered, grabbing onto the gun tightly as he breathed in deeply. Kyle got up to his feet as Grady scooted over towards the wall and leaned himself up against it.

“Kyle, Bruce is up,” Russell pointed out as Kyle turned around and Bruce grabbed Kyle by the arms and started fighting him for the gun. Kyle continued to hold onto it as Bruce slammed one of his fists into Kyle’s thigh making Kyle hunch forward in pain.

“I’ve got the gun now,” Bruce spat, holding the gun out at Kyle as Kyle stood up straight and didn’t fall to the ground. Bruce pulled the trigger, but when he did Kyle pushed Bruce’s arm up making him shoot a hole in the ceiling.

“Oh my god,” Avery gasped as she watched Kyle and Bruce fight for the gun. She watched Kyle struggle as she cuddled in closer to Russell. This couldn’t be happening. She had to be dreaming.

“Why don’t you stop now Houston,” Bruce got out as he tried his hardest to get the gun out of Kyle’s hands. “Quit now and maybe I will let you live. You can join me. Do you know how strong we could be together. You and me.”

“No, I‘m nothing like you,” Kyle’s eyes began to become red as he tried his hardest to overpower Bruce. “I can’t let you kill my family. I don’t care if I die, but you aren’t going to kill the only people I have loved in my life.”

“You’re so dumb,” Bruce snapped as he pulled the gun in closer to him, bring Kyle with him.

The room was filled with the noise of two gunshots going off as everyone’s heart began to beat quickly. Both Kyle and Bruce fell face forward onto the floor as a puddle of blood began to pool out over the floor, surrounding the both of their bodies.

“Kyle,” Grady yelled, trying to pull himself up from the floor. “God no. Kyle get up!” Grady crawled out to the center of the floor as he grabbed Kyle by the shoulder. He flipped Kyle over and saw Kyle’s white shirt covered in blood as he reached out to shake Kyle‘s shoulder lightly. “Oh god Kyle, no. Kyle wake up, please wake up. No, this can’t be happening. You can’t be dead. Kyle…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

...to be continued...