The Memoirs

Maybe Charlie had been reading too many books. Maybe he was going a little bit overboard to compensate for spilling coffee all over Emily the other day. Or, maybe he was just a geek. He actually voted for number three as he stuck his head in the door to Emily's work area. She was still up on the scaffolding, and Charlie hefted the plastic bag and red-checked tablecloth that he'd gotten from Derchi's about ten minutes ago. "Emily?" he called out. "You ready to break for lunch?"

He sincerely hoped the answer was yes.

She let out a shriek and almost toppled out of the huge wooden scaffolding. Madonna was shrieking about Argentina on the loud speakers... and Dogwood was singing in his beautiful voice right along with her. So when Charlie yelled mid paint stroke she almost inhaled half of a lung, and blinked as she poked her head out from the top, staring down at him.

Yesterday had simply been an atrocity. Her dress hadn't been ruined, but her mood, ego, and self esteem was down in the negatives, as she peaked out from the top. Truth told? She'd expected him to never talk to her again. But their he was, looking like the great big hunk that he was, and caught her lower lip in her teeth, peeking across at Dogwood with hope in her eyes.

Dogwood rolled his eyes. "What the hell you givin' me them cow eyes for, Emmie,? Ain't my black ass he asked out to lunch, it's yours. If you hungry, go!"

"My ass isn't black." A pout at him, as she craned around to peer at it. It was blue... pink, and bits of orange, but not bla--..oh. She coughed softly and grabbed the wires holding her up with hands of iron, grabbing the ladder and scrambling down them as elegantly, gracefully, and perfectly as she could. Which meant she all but tumbled and hit the concrete. She caught herself at the last second and her sandals hit the tile floor, as she looked up at him shyly.

A flowing jean skirt today, and a very soft pink sweater that hugged curves. ...Purposely worn, of course, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that.

Dogwood just rolled his eyes again. "Emily Anderson, one of these days you gonna fall flat on that skinny white ass o'yours!" he bellowed. "BE CAREFUL!"

Charlie swallowed. Hard. "H--Hi." He couldn't take his eyes off her, and what the sweater was showing him. "I, uh... lunch? You want? With me, I mean?"

She smiled at him, pushing as curl out of her eyes and back into the black headband she'd worn today. Also... for his benefit. She wasn't too keen on fashion, and usually looked like a lumpy mess, but he never looked like he minded. Which... oh, she was so happy over. "Y… yeah? I mean, if its okay?"

Shrug. "I wouldn't be askin' you if it weren't okay."

She reached out before she could stop herself and tucked a stray lock of his longish hair back into place. Blinked at what she'd just done. And very accidentally side-swiped his nose on her snap back. "Oh! God! I'm sorry!"

Bright blush. "No. I mean... thanks. Yeah. It's... yeah. Kind of wild." He grinned awkwardly. "Just... yeah."

Big smile at him, that bordered on intense blushing of her own, and she turned, gave Dogwood a blinding smile, and smiled back at Charlie, taking the red checkered cloth from him. "Lead? The way. I mean?"

God, he looked so good. All dark hair and puppy dog chocolate eyes and the smile. Oh, Jesus, help her.

Charlie hefted the bag. "Come on; it's not far. Just... up on the hill. Cause I'm supposed to be getting some perspective on where to lay the stuff out... around the park and stuff."

"Okay." She blushed softly and stepped out ahead of him. The construction sight stunk to high heaven, but she could see! Everything! Falling into place! The neighborhoods a mile or two from the buildings looked beautiful, all laid out on the valley of the hill, and even from where she stood she could see the beauty, magnificence, and history this place would have. It awed her, and she just smiled, turning back to glance at Charlie shyly. "Its like… a canvas. Building up on it... with color? You know?"

"Yeah, I know." He pointed up to the hill. "You can see everything. From up there, I mean. Houses, buildings, the sidewalk, everything. It's good. Pretty. I meant. Like you. But no! I mean... never mind. Shutting up."

Instant hot dark cheeks against her pale makeup and she looked across at him, as a hand came up to rub her neck softly. "You think... I'm pretty?" EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Charlie swallowed hard. "Yeah. I do. I mean, am I not supposed to?" His eyes widened. "You don't like, you're not one of those people who think it's an insult for a guy to say that you look nice?"

"No." Another big, hard grin. "No. I think? its nice. Because... not many people? See? You know? I think you're pretty too." Blurted before she could even stop herself, and her throat bobbed.

Charlie blushed even deeper red, and he coughed to hide the embarrassment. "Yeah?" His fingers went up to automatically push his hair back from his face, which caused it to fall right back in place. "Wow. Um. That's... thank you. So much."

"You didn't know?" Blatant stare. She refused to even acknowledge that he thought he was less than completely sexy, and she rung her hands slightly as her sandals quietly thumped on the concrete with each step. "You're… like... why do you… even want? To talk to me? Because... you know, wow."

"Hello? Wake up to the hotness of Emily." Charlie just gaped. "I mean... beautiful here."

Hard. Hard. Blush. "No."

"Totally." Charlie nodded it firmly. "Yes."

"No one… ever? Said that." A shake of her head, firmly, even if she.. .kind of stuck her breasts out a little more. "I've never had sex." Blurted so loudly that a few workers blinked and turned to stare at them as she and Charlie passed, and she turned crimson, to match her pink sweater.

"Well, neither have I, so you know. Nobody here either." He straightened his own shoulders a little so that he stood up taller. "So. You know, same boat. Still want to have lunch?"

Her eyes widened. Considerably. As she looked at this hunk of Grade A, USAD Prime Hunk, and blinked. Twice. "You? Ever?"

"Never," he confirmed, and got onto the wooden plank boardwalk that led up to the top of the hill.

"Ever? Why not?"

He shrugged as he climbed. "No reason to, really. No time for it, either, and nobody who wanted to, except maybe my old roommate, and he just wasn't my type cause I don't go that way."

She climbed next to him, lifting her skirt so she wouldn't trip on it, grasping it with the hand that held the checkered cloth as she grasped the rail and climbed after him. "That's dumb. You're hot, you know? Some girls are so artificial." Sore spot, as she glared off into the distance. She had... well, been teased mercilessly kind of was soft words for what had happened to her, and she heaved a heavy sigh.

"Won't argue with you there, and there are some guys that'd fall into the same category." He held out his hand to her in case she needed help balancing on her way up. "So how come nobody's hit on the hotness of you yet?"

"Because? Everyone thought I was a lesbian." Might as well come out with the embarrassment now, and her cheeks pinked. "Not... lunch-topics? But you know. Cause of the way my mom? Dressed me."

Charlie turned back and took a long, appreciative look. "Let me guess? Big, clunky, and concealing?" He took her hand gently in his, and tugged her forward. "Come on. It's not much further."

She blushed hotly and looked away at the long look, noting the appreciation but it had to be pity. Their was no way hot men looked at her like that, ever, and she bit her lip tightly as she came up beside him, taking his fingers tightly in hers so she wouldn't fall. "Have I mentioned? Heights scare me."

"I won't let you fall," Charlie said, and his grip tightened on hers. "The view? Worth it." He smiled at her over his shoulder. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going hurt you or let you get hurt."

"O-Okay." She smiled at him nervously and swallowed hard, as she gripped his hand tightly and stepped up beside him. "I never… thought? Id visit Smallville. My friend? She's originally from around here. Born here, moved...to Metropolis? Like, nine years old."

"Really?" Charlie carefully picked his way through the landscaper's tape and stakes, and put the bag down, and then held his hands out for Emily. "What's your friend's name?"

"You… might know her? She's a big shot now." A soft giggle as she grasped his hands tightly in both of hers, her skirt swooshing back down around her legs. "Lois? Lane."

Charlie nearly swallowed his tongue. "Your... you're friends with Lois Lane?" Mind-boggling. "Did you know that Mr. Luthor's ready to either have her called a saint for helping at the last press conference or have her hunted down like a dog for everything else she's ever done?"

"Sounds like Lois." Because she wasn't surprised she didn't look horrified, but amused, smiling at him as she squeezed his hands. "She? And I? Friends since we were like, 10. She? Was the first person to think... I was cool."

"Well, at least the lady's got taste." He tugged her up the little incline until they were standing at the top of the hill, in the same place where Lionel had crouched beside Dominic the day Dominic gave him the buildings. "See? You can see everything from here. And I still say, it's not as pretty as you."

She oomphed softly, grasping his palms tightly, and looked out across the small valley. It was beautiful, but her knees went a little weak and she had to sit down, as she swallowed and looked at him. "Its? Pretty. I'm? A little dizzy."

Charlie sat down beside her, stroking her hand softly. "You okay?" He rubbed the back of her hand gently with his thumb. "Breathe deep, you're okay."

"I'm fine." A nod and she swallowed a breath, before smiling at him a little shakily. "Thanks? For the whole compliment thing, but? You don't have to, you know."

"You're welcome, but um... yeah. I know I don't have to, but how about, I want to? Cause it's all true, and you're very pretty, and I like that you think I'm pretty."

Her ample lips spread. Come ON. Who came up with lines like that, if they weren't genuine? God, he was cute. So very, very cute. "You are, really... really pretty, you know? I don't know how you're all... you know. Still... a virgin. Though? Its endearing." A smile at him. A big one.

Blush. "I can't figure out how you are, either, so um... yeah. We're good there. Cause... yeah. I don't feel like quite the idiot any longer."

"Cause everyone thought? I was a lesbian. Which, you know, thought or two, and the thing? In college? Experimental. Not even gay." She nodded, felt like a supreme idiot, and looked down at their joined fingers, blushing all the more as she scooted a liiiiittle closer. Not to draw attention to herself or anything, though. "You? Are not an idiot. You're very, very smart."

"Nah. I just seem smart. Cause nobody but a really smart guy can be an idiot like me." made no sense, but okay. "Anyway. I, uh, I hope that Italian's okay, cause Derchi's is the only place that wasn't crowded to the gills, aaaaand..." He pulled two white towels out of the bag too. "Because I know I'm an idiot, and I don't want to spill anything on your pretty sweater... we have this."

She couldn't help the laugh, as she took the towel. "can't have? My sweater going see-through again. Mr. Ross? Will never look at me the same again." Another giggle as she beamed. "I'm half Italian. So it works, you know?"

Mr. Ross looking at Emily's see-through sweater. Suddenly, Charlie didn't like that idea much at all. "Right. We can't have that." He reached into the bag again and brought out two Styrofoam trays. "I got the basic. Spaghetti and meatballs. Cause I figured, hey. Everybody likes spaghetti, right?"

She smiled. Broadly, at him. Because he was so damned sweet, even as she reached out to touch his hand. "Charlie… I? Am... kind of a Vegan."

"Crap."

"You can? Have my meat balls." She smiled, broadly at him, as she accepted the tray and set it in her lap. She turned, twisting herself until she was in an Indian style, and set the tray down again, opening it up. It smelled divine, even if the dead cow was glaring at her for even considering it. Oh. Damn. Well. She was going to eat everything except for the defenseless dead cow, and she speared a meatball with her plastic fork... and offered it to him.

HEEE! Flirtations gave her eeeexciitaaatioons.

"I'll trade you my salad then," and then he blinked. He leaned forward, and opened his mouth, taking the meatball off her fork and raising his hands to make sure he got the whole thing in his mouth. "Mmmph."

She caught her lower lip in her mouth and bit on it as she watched. Yes. Well. Hmph. She swallowed, just a little, looked at her fork, and rather than impulsively lick it, went in for some spaghetti and flushed eight shades of red and two of purple. "Vegan? I... eat fish, and chicken. Just… no beef and? Pork."

"Crap. I almost went with the garlic chicken. It was their special today. Crap and double crap." He opened up his own tray and inhaled lightly. "Oh. Drinks. Would be good." He brought out the gallon jug of iced tea from the bag, and two little plastic cups that were kind of dented, but still usable.

"Garlic would… have been? bad." Emily nodded it, as she looped the spaghetti round her fork and put it in her mouth. The spaghetti taste was lovely, as it'd been some time since she'd eaten it, but the Charlie taste? Made her mouth water, so that she had to take a sip from the slightly dented little plastic cup.

Didn't mention that monster garlic breath fear was the reason he'd gone with Just Plain Spaghetti. "Yeah. Garlic isn't... good." He watched her chew, watched her swallow, stared a lot longer than he should have at the delicate arch of her throat, and the started shoveling his own food in. "Yeah. Garlic is not good."

Okay. Yes. She knew it, right then, as she licked the taste of his mouth right off her own fork, that he was going to be the Big One. The Big One her mama had allllways told her about, that would eventually come her way. Sure, she'd known him for two days, sure he was the first guy to show interest in her, ever... okay, so maybe she wasn't sure if he was the Big One, but she sure as hell wanted him to be. "No way. Garlic makes.. .really bad? Kissing breath." Swallow. Another twenty three shades of pink.

Cough. Choke. Splutter. Charlie barely got the spaghetti swallowed as he wheezed. "What, do you read minds too?" His blush was a bright shade to match hers.

Huge eyes. "No? I... I didn't mean… literally!" Back up. "I... I meant... in g-general, but? If... if you w-want to kiss? Me? I... I mean, if only you want to, I w… w... w... w-w-wouldn't mind." There. She said it. God help her.

"No!! I do! I did! Mean it!" Charlie almost snorted the tea when she tried to apologize. "No! I meant... yeah, I thought it. Then you said it. And it was like... she's reading my mind, only not, because that can't happen. But then there's the whole, this is Smallville side of things, so maybe she is reading my mind."

She grinned at him as he sputtered at her, gazing at him she hoped not too adoringly as she blushed, shaking her head and looking down at her spaghetti. "No… I... I mean? I went through a Latoya Jackson phase, but? Figured out I'm not... a psychic. Just... good at reading faces. Which, you know? Sometimes sucks big time. You-you just... on my fork? Taste nice. And.." A hard, hard, dark blush. "We'veonlyknowneach-" Gasp. Pant. Speak slowly. "Each other, for? A few days."

"Not psychic. That's of the good." Relieved exhale. "Whew. But... just a few days? Yeah. And I mean... this is our first... well, you know. Date. And all. So... yeah. Kissage... yeah. Smoochies are also of the good."

He hadn't caught her taste nice comment. Which she decided, was for the good. Thank God. She swallowed, blushing again, staring down at her pasta, and whispered, "I...never. Before."

"Never kissed?" Easy grin. "Well... there I have. See? Cousin? She practiced on me. For like, two summers. Of course, she was fifteen and that was five years ago and never mind, I'll just be over here."

Her mouth dropped. Cousin? She blinked at him a little bit. "Cousin? Practiced? Wasn't it.... gross? Kind of? Fifteen?"

"I was like, twenty, she was fifteen, and she was my cousin. It wasn't like, gross or anything, but I'm now doubting the validity of the practice sessions."

She smiled at him for his little joke, and blushed even hotter, looking down at her food she had barely touched. Dead cow kind of did it to her. "W...well. You can? Practice. O-on... me. If! You want. Its... no pressure. I mean, its okay."

"Yeah. Of course I want to. You'll just... you know, you'll have to tell me if I suck or not."

She blushed even harder, and turned her face. Suck? Ing?

"NO!! I mean, sucking in the bad way, not sucking in the suck way. Sucking like, not doing it well, not sucking like..." he made a pointless gesture with his hands. "...sucking."

She kind of. Wanted to. Not that she knew anything on the subject, or even what a penis looked like, and was she thinking about sucking? No. No, she wasn't. Instead she looked back at him and grinned a little, shrugging a shoulder. "Its okay. I mean... eventually. If... you show... show me. Because… I like you. A lot. And... maybe we should... date? More? If you want, you know, and I'm not weird or anything?"

"Yeah. I think we should date a lot more." He grinned up at her then, despite the heavy blushing. "I'd love to date you more, if you don't mind being seen out with me. And? I don't think you're weird at all, Emily. I think... you're just about perfect."

She smiled and pushed one of her very long curls out of her eyes and behind her ear, and leaned forward a little, swallowing, hard. Soft lips, very wide lips. Very, very, very nice lips, with just a hint of stubble from the day, and she reached up to touch his jaw just a little. "Okay. I think... you...should... yes. Because I... can't." No way could she initiate a kiss. No way. She was already embarrassed enough.

Little shudder as her fingertips scraped over the light stubble he should have shaved off before lunch, and he reached out, catching her cheek in his palm and stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. Then he closed his eyes, moving forward to meet her...

And immediately rammed his nose into hers.

The touch on her face was beautiful. No one had ever touched her like that, and her girls heart fluttered as he closed his eyes.

And slammed something against her nose.

She yelped and reached up to cup it, letting go quickly and wincing at him. Couldn't help giggling, shaking her head as she reached out to touch his, giggling softly. "Oops."

Charlie jerked back, mortified. He was silently cursing up a storm, swearing six days from Sunday, and he groaned. "Okay. You know, that was lousy. If you wanna change your mind about dating me, you're free to. I wouldn't mind. Hell, I actually wouldn't blame you," he said, angry at himself for messing it up. He always messed it up.

Okay. So. Maybe she grasped his hair, tugged him forward, and pressed her mouth against his. Didn't… really know what to do after that, but it got him to stop blaming himself, and being dumb, and he tasted so good and she couldn't help licking where she liked, as she blushed furiously. Her fisted hands relaxed and cupped the back of his head, offering because she didn't know how to take.

God. She liked him, so much.

He started in surprise, for about a second didn't realize what was happening until he felt her tongue against his lips, and he straightened, pulling her with him as he sat back up straight, his hands moving to stroke her face as he kissed her softly, only way he remembered how, tongue lightly touching hers before darting back fearfully, feeling curls of her hair brushing his fingertips.

Oh, wow. Wow. And more? Wow. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat she could not help, moving her mouth against his in fright because... yeah. Didn't know how. But she did as he moved and told her to without words, meeting his tongue softly as she pulled back a little, letting their lips slide a hairs breath apart so she could catch a breath, and leaned back in, for more. Yep. Uh huh. His hands in her hair, his body close, and she slid her fingers tentatively to his shoulders as she imitated what he did.

Soft nod as she touched him, and he grinned for a second, resting his forehead against hers, sucking in another quick gasp of breath before kissing her again, feeling her curls thick and welcoming in his hands, wrapping themselves gently around his fingers as he touched and caressed it, tugged it oh so lightly just to be playful before his hands moved back to her face, holding it still for a moment as his tongue touched again inside her mouth, then let go to slide his arms around her waist, loosely holding her.

Oh she liked that, and she shivered all over as his tongue slid in, her own meeting it. She tipped her head back just enough so he could get a better angle and wrapped her arms around his neck, making the sound again as she pressed just a little closer. He made her tingly all over, all over and she just could barely breathe as his hands slid from her hair to her waist. Big hands, surrounding her little waist, and she sighed, sucking in a breath through her nose.

Instinct made Charlie press forward when Emily tilted her head back, and he was surprised to realize that his hands almost met around her waist, she was so tiny, and he gasped softly again as one hand rose to cup the back of her head. He held her carefully steady as he delved slightly deeper, and he licked over her lip as he did.

"Charlie." The sound came out of her mouth very… very strangely, like almost like it wasn't herself, and she wanted... too much too soon, as she let her lips graze his, then his lovely tongue and uh huh. Well. Her brain didn't really know what to do with itself as she slid her fingers from around his neck down his back, stroking softly over the hard muscles she was finding that was turning her belly to strange quivery snakes.

Charlie finished the kiss he'd started, but instead of diving back in for another, he leaned his forehead against her shoulder until he caught his breath, then looked up at her, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to her lips and stroking her face and hair. "Emily?" he asked softly.

"Mmm?" Couldn't… no. Vocalizing bad, tree pretty. She closed her eyes, clearing her throat softly as her fingers stroked his back softly, their food between them and forgotten.

Well, her spaghetti was more on the white towel he'd given her, and she blinked at it a moment before back up at him, as if nothing was amiss. "Wow." She whispered, softly, shyly, looking around before back down.

"Don't look down," Charlie said softly, rubbing her chin lightly with his fingertip. "You're too pretty to hide."

"I… it was okay? It wasn't… like, my breath? was bad? or anything?"

"It was great," he said softly. "I didn't even notice your breath. You tasted like... like I think sunshine and flowers must, when you breathe in spring wind." He stroked her cheek softly.

"Why? Are you so nice, to me?" She asked softly, looking up at him as she fixed his hair again, very, very shyly.

"Because I like you, and you're pretty, and I want to keep dating you, and you're nice to me, and... and I like the way your hair falls, right over your shoulder like this, and I like the way it smells, and did I mention I like you and think you're pretty?"

She blushed crimson, the color coming up over her neck and spilling on her cheeks. "I like… you too." She pulled back shyly, softly, and started to pick the spaghetti up from her already painty skirt, still blushing. "I like? You a lot. And... I like that you were the first... first kiss. It was hot." She exploded before she could stop herself.

"It was hot," he answered back, nodding. "Yeah. And? It felt good. Really tingly. And yes, I know I sound like a dork. But... I like the tingles you give me."

She smiled up at him, and nodded, as she mopped up noodles off her skirt. "Very... very tingly. I never felt like that before. Have you?"

He shook his head. "No. I never have. But... I'd like to. Again. With you."

"Definitely. Most... definitely." She blushed at him as she set what was left of her lunch to the side, blotting at the stains on her skirt as her throat bobbed. Couldn't... look at him just now, even as she flushed crimson, giggling softly.

"Do... you have plans? Tomorrow night? Friday night, that is?"

"If... if I can be? Blunt?" She blinked up at him under long lashes. "I have no plans. ...Ever. So...we can… make? Some."

"You can be blunt," he said, cringing.

Then she said... no plans. And he beamed. Brightly. "Yes!! We can make some! That's why. I was asking. Cause I want to make plans with you. The Metropolis Cineplex--not the adult one, the regular one--you want to go? See a movie? Like, X-Men 2? Or something else!"

She just... she couldn't help grinning, broadly, nodding as she bit her lip. "I... have read? All the X-Men comics since like, ninety two." Hard, hard blush when he mentioned the adult movie theater, her scalp pinking as she swallowed at him. "But… yes. Love to."

"YES!" He cheered, pumped a fist in the air, and then sobered. "So. Um. You want to go... like, directly from here? Or do you want to like, go home and change and I'll pick you up?"

She grinned at him, then pointed down at her truly messy clothes. "Come… pick? Me up? If you don't mind. "

"Of course I don't mind." Then he paused, right in the middle of picking up trash. "Um... you'll have to tell me. Where you live. Cause I? Don't know."

"Oh!" She was such a clueless moron, and she winced softly as she fluttered her hands. "Have? You got, a paper and pen?"

"Always!!" Charlie beamed like a little puppy, glad to be able to for once, provide something on demand. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a little pad with a burgundy cover and a silver plated pen. "Here you are! Pen and paper!"

"My brain... its not running on all of its cylinders. And for Emilys? This is not good." A soft cough, a hard blush, and she was trying in vain to hide her very perky nipples. Could not. Be helped. he smelled so good, and he was so sweet, and he liked her, and her mouth and throat still tingled like crazy from where he'd kissed and touched her, and her throat bobbed softly as she took the expensive looking pen and paper. Inside... opened the flap and scrawled her full name, and the address for Smallville Inn. "Staying? There. With Lois. I'm... adding my phone number for the room, too? So you can call." She scrawled it underneath, before handing it back.

Charlie made sure he could read it, and then tucked it back in his suit pocket, making sure the little pad didn't get lost. "I'll call you tonight. To um... yeah. Firm up. Plans!" he added hastily, after ripping his eyes away from her chest and shoulders. "I'll call. And um... lunch tomorrow? I promise, poultry."

She nearly died, staring at him as he... did big time Freudian slip, and grinned. Like an idiot. "You... can let it drop. Yeah. You... like them?"

He blushed, but grinned back. "Yeah. They're... wow. Like the rest of you. Beautiful."

She beamed at him. Big time. "Thanks. And… stuff. You know. You're very... yeah. Wow covers it. I'm going to die blushing, now. We should...work? Thank you, for... for the spaghetti." A giggle at him, shyly.

"Yeah. Getting back to work would be good, before Mr. Senatori threatens my child-producing future again." He blushed, and couldn't help as his eyes roved over her again before coming back up to her face. "You're really, really pretty."

"You… you're very handsome. Very, very handsome. I... can't wait for tonight. Its going to...be? Very fun. You know?" She smiled and touched his cheek again, cause she sort of could now, and she LOVED that.

"Oh, yeah. I know." He smiled, and leaned into the hand on his cheek. "Lots of fun."

She tipped her head a little, as she let her fingers fall to catch his gently. She wanted to offer if he wanted to touch her, and the thought was strong and guilt inducing because she was not that type of girl, but she still wanted to. Knew she shouldn't. Almost opened her mouth to. But stopped at the last moment, smiling instead. "Come on. Work? Good."

"Emily?" Charlie let his hand rest on her shoulder, and he kissed your cheek. "You... are the prettiest girl I've ever known. And... you make me think a lot of things I haven't thought before. Just... wanted you to know that."

"M… me too. Like… just now?" She blushed, crimson, as she looked up at him. "I wanted... to ask if you… wanted? To touch me. But... its a little... scary, cause. I've never? Felt like this before. Ever. And... it makes me, me kind of shy." She was looking away as she spoke, her cheeks illuminated brightly.

Charlie reached up and caught her chin, making her look at him again. "Yeah I do. But... I can't. Cause... I like you. And... I don't want to disrespect you. So even though I want to... I can't yet. But... yeah."

Not yet. Oh God. There was going to be an already. And a now. And a please. She swallowed, hard, as he made her look at him. "I'm… new? At this. So... are you, so... we'll... learn? Together. I'm... sorry. If I offended you."

"You didn't offend me." He didn't let go of her, still made her look at him. "You didn't. I just... it'd make me feel wrong. Not-tingly, cause... it'd be like taking advantage. Or something. But yeah. We learn together, and it'll be okay. Cause we're both new, like you said."

"Okay, then." She reached up and cupped the hand he had on her cheek, and beamed at him. "Thank you, Charlie."

An answering beam. "No. Thank you. For, you know. Everything. Like saying yes."

"Well. Okay. Then? And... we sh-should go." She was going to make a fool of herself, and she quickly caught his hand before they moved. "If. I embarrass? Myself. I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry cause you're not going to embarrass yourself." Charlie shoved the rest of the trash in the bag, towels and everything, and tucked the cloth on top of it to be washed and returned to the restaurant. "Or, it's going to be me like bumping your nose, and so, we'll be cool." He squeezed her hand gently.

"I actually? Think you cleared my sinuses." Flash of a big grin as she climbed up to her feet...nearly lost her footing but caught herself with his hand, swallowing and smoothing her skirt.

Okay. She could do this. She could not make a fool of herself. She could be the superbly sexy and casual and modest and elegant and graceful. Except she was Emily, and it didn't happen.

But strange as it was? Him holding her hand didn't make it so bad.

- =- - = -

Justin Timberlake was crying himself a river when Pete finally stepped over the platform that lead into the house, and he allowed himself a snicker. Clark, for all he tried to hide it, adored the guy, and it gave Pete a moments amusement as he shifted his Micky D's bag and the twin cokes in hand. It was pushing two in the afternoon, and he'd finally gone hunting for Reynolds when the hunger pains all but made his poor masculine heart flutter in need. He and Shay had worked through lunch without even realizing it, and by the time they resurfaced, it was 1:30 and he was famished. As they were working until four today, oh HELL no, he'd gone looking for his Principle to beg to go get something.

Reynolds liked him. Why? Pete didn't have a clue, but he went with him to get some grease burgers, and was Pete ever thankful.

Regardless, he stepped over the unfinished hallway ceiling and stopped in the small, but really nice, kitchen he and Shay had been working in. It was all done, the cabinets up, the counters on, the stove humming. The fridge was the only thing left, and it sat in the hall in all of its packaged glory as Pete flopped next to his girlfriend and heaved a yawn. "I bring nourishment."

Shayla was leaning against the fridge.

Well... maybe she wasn't leaning so much as sleeping. But still. She cracked open one eye when her boyfriend sat down beside her, and she took one of the drinks. "You're disturbing my nap, Ross." The other eye cracked open at the scent of French fries. "Where in the hell did you get fries at, Pete?"

"Not just fries. McDonalds fries. And cheese burgers. Because a certain ass kicker has taken me under his wing." A ghost of a grin as he reached inside, handing her fries and a quarter pounder, because he'd figured she was just as hungry as he was, and handed her ketchup and napkins as he leaned against the fridge too.

"Ass kisser." She elbowed Pete lightly as she took the food, and straightened up, scrunching over to make room for him against the fridge. "God, I could eat a horse." She had her brother's appetite, that was for sure. And his metabolism. "You're good. You're too good." She unwrapped the quarter pounder and dug in, moaning softly at the welcome taste of greasy food to an empty stomach.

He glanced at her softly, shyly, and nodded, taking a drink of his Dr Pepper and digging in too. They stunk, they were dirty, muddy, dusty, filthy, sweaty, but it was okay. Her legs were pulled up, his were sprawled out in front of him, and right past his dirty boots was the unfinished kitchen floor. Almost done, almost, and then they'd be done for the day. Of course, this was another hour and a half of work, but they deserved a break. And he was damned well taking one.

Her legs straightened, and her foot bumped against his. " 'you 'oh, 'e 'id uh goo' 'ob in 'ere," she said, through a mouthful of burger and coke. "Prou' o'us."

"We really did." He chuckled softly, taking a big bite of his own burger and looking down at their feet. He chewed thoughtfully, taking a long drink of soda as he did. "Though I'm sure these people will be calling a repair man in the next two years because a cabinet fell, I'm pretty sure we've done good."

She shrugged. "That's what the pros are here for," she said, washing the huge bite down with a gulp of soda. "They'll come behind us and fix anything glaringly mistaken, but all in all, I think we've done good for a buncha kids."

"We have." And Pete said it very quietly, as he looked across the tile. Truth be told, he was ready to go back to school. He missed seeing his friends, and going to PE, and being, you know, clean. "Man, Shay. Be glad you didn't have to sit next to Eberhart today. God, the dude stunk like a bucket of raw fucking fish."

"Yeah, and see? This is why God created showers. Soap. Little things that these people need to be introduced to." But then, her face fell, and she laid her head on Pete's shoulder. "I miss Chloe. Her dad wouldn't even let her come to the phone last night."

"I know. I tried calling her too... she's in deep shit." He turned his face sadly to hers. "Whit, the same, though his mom was a little nicer about it."

"Yeah." She frowned softly. "Clark... was not happy. I heard him and Lex yelling about it last night. That whole sneaking thing again."

"You gotta stop doing that." He said quietly, as his thumb came up to gently stroke away a little bit of ketchup on her chin. "Were they arguing or something?"

She shrugged. "When people start tellin' me what's going on, then I'll stop lurking in doorways. Until then..." she sighed. "Clark was just... having a tantrum, I guess. He wanted to go and get Whitney and Chloe and bring them to the mansion to make sure they were okay. Lex wouldn't let him storm out like that."

"Good for Lex." A nod. "Clark gets possessive, sometimes. He wants who he loves close, and hates when people tell him he can't. I used to think he was just a little weird, but now with the whole....you know." A shrugged shoulder. "I get it." He licked the thumb that had stroked the ketchup from her face clean, and went into the bag he'd set between them for their fries, getting some and munching.

"I understand possessive," she said, rubbing her hand over his thigh. "and I'm worried about Chloe and Whitney too." She squeezed his knee gently, and went back to her sandwich.

"They got busted, big time. They'll be alright, Shay. Mr. Sullivan's a really nice guy, and so is Mrs. Fordman. You don't have to worry about them, kay? Sure, we won't be seeing them for a while, but you know what you can do?" He glanced over at her. "I used to get away with it all the time. Write her letters and send them through the mail. A year or two ago she got busted big time for something, don't even remember what, and Clark, Chloe and I would snail mail each other all the time. I sent her a book of stamps and that's how we'd talk. Cause... Mr. Sullivan gets adamant about the whole not calling thing."

"I know they did, but... Chloe's my best friend." She left her head sitting on his shoulder. "I mean like, sister-type best friend. This is the longest I've gone without seeing her and talking to her and hanging out with her. And I miss her. Because letters, they're just not the same. At all. Cause... they're just not."

"I know she is." He said softly, and looked down at her a little as he offered a French fry. "But there's nothing much we can do, sweetheart. Of course, if you want, we can skip next week sometime during the day and go sneak and see her."

"Yeah. Can we? Please? Cause... I miss her." She slid her hand down and linked her fingers through his as she opened her mouth and ate the French fry he offered her. "And can we take Clark? Cause... I know he'll feel better. And Clark's my friend; he's like you guys and doesn't treat me like an idiot."

"That's cause Clarks an idiot himself." But his voice held so much love for his boy, and he smiled a little at her as he offered his Dr. Pepper to her too. "We can go see her, don't you worry. Alright? Maybe we can get Dogwood to cover for us so we can. He's cool like that, you know. Clark'll feel better, yeah. And we can go see Whit, too, poor shit."

Bright, bright beam. "Yeah? You're so great, Pete." She squealed and hugged him tightly, then settled back beside him and took a drink of the Dr. Pepper he offered her. "Oooh. Dr. Pepper." A grin. "I kinda miss Whit. He's not all there, but when he is... he's kinda fun."

"Funny thing is? I think he's more there than all the rest of us." Pete said softly, as he hugged her and shifted his weight. "Boy's intense. He just don't let anyone else see it. He's not book smart so much, but like... he knows shit. You know? More than we do. I think its why Clark's... himself again. Cause of Whit."

"You think so?" Weight shift, and oh, that meant snuggles, and she leaned back against him again. "Yeah, I've noticed Clark does kinda seem to have this... I don't know, attachment, I guess, to Whitney. Plus... he did make you and me get face to face again, so that was a good thing too. Maybe he is more there than I give him credit for."

"He does that on purpose, sometimes, I think." Pete said softly, as he rubbed his fingers very lightly through her hair. "Easier for people to think you're a dense idiot than to try and prove them wrong, y'know?" A nod. "He's been my pal for a while... since Lana passed on. He's got smarts about him, just doesn't think he does. Chloe don't even see it."

"Yeah?" She nodded. "I think she loves him, though. And she does think he's smart just... maybe not in the way he actually is, I guess." Deep, deep sigh. "Stupid Asskick anyway, for kicking them out. I heard from Leslie who heard from Keith on the football team that Reynolds kicked Whitney off the team, and is making Chloe give up the paper."

"He's a mother fucker, babe." A little nod at her, and he didn't say anything else. Wasn't much to add to it, and he ate his burger quietly, crossing his booted ankles. The bandage on his hand was sooty, and he'd have to wash it as soon as he was finished with his meal and Shay. "Want to go somewhere this afternoon?"

"Yeah, he is." She snuggled in against him, and sighed, picking at the last two bites of her hamburger. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that. Where do you want to go?"

"Ladies choice. Wherever you'd like to go, I'm good with."

She was quiet for a while. "Lex has got a pool, you know. You want to go swimming?"

He glanced side-ways at her. "Swimming?" Near naked Shayla. Shit. "Okay, swimming it is. Need me to bring anything?"

Soft blink, and a little grin. "Just your bathing suit."

"Alright. What time?"

"How about... four thirty? That'll give us enough time to go home after this, clean up, and change." There was a pretty little pink number that Chloe had helped her pick out. "There's towels and stuff in the pool house, plus a sauna."

"Alright. Want me to bring some food or something?" He glanced at her just a little, because he was shy as hell, and his cheeks were flaming as he stared down at half the burger he hadn't eaten. And handed it to Shayla to eat.

Shayla leaned over and rubbed her cheek against his. "Nah. There's drinks and stuff in the pool house too, and anything we don't have, we can send Enrique out for." She paused for a second, scarfing the burger that Pete hadn't finished. "But! You can bring CDs. Cause Lex has got a killer sound system out there, and I don't think anyone wants to listen to my CDs anymore, so bring yours."

"Okay." He said it softly, as he sipped his drink. He was fucking depressed and trying his damndest not to show it. Everything that could have gone wrong in his life had the past few months. It truly, completely sucked to be Pete Ross. But he didn't let on, never showed it, suppressed it, along with all the other shit he'd taken to hiding. Even from Shayla, his brothers... his mom. There wasn't any use in trying to talk to people about it anymore. It was hit to deal with, and he'd deal with it.

"What ones do you want me to bring? And please do not say Creed."

She beamed, and then made a little face. "No Scott?" Sweet little pout. "Awww. Okay. You can bring whatever you want, then. I trust your musical tastes. But!! Oh!!" She sat up and glared at him. "You've got to bring the Buffy soundtrack to the musical episode. I just saw it on re-runs the other day, and please tell me you have it, cause Fordman's is out of it, and I haven't had time to get it in Metropolis yet!!"

A little smile at her. "Got the DVD, got the CD, got the full hour and six minute ep taped. Talking to the Buffy maniac, babe."

Squeal of pure joy. "Thank you!!!!!!!!" She hugged him tightly. "God, you're the best. Lex has a DVD burner, so bring the DVD and I'll copy it and give you the original back!!" Another pure-girlie squeal.

A soft chuckle, as he hugged her back tenderly and stuffed her trash in his bag. "Deal. Now… c'mon, lets get this finished so we can leave. I'm tired of tile laying."

She put her arm across his chest. "Pete... what's up?"

"Mmm?" He asked it softly as he took another sip of Dr Pepper and gently let go of her to climb to his feet. the bucket of spackle and caulk was waiting for them, as well as the metal iron spreaders, and he got down on the tile they'd let dry and began to spread the gray shit all over the floor, quickly and efficiently as he'd learned the last few days. "Just tired. I hate building houses."

"Right." Shayla got down on her knees beside him, laying tile down over the gray goop and set the caulk gun by his knee. "Call me crazy--or, just call me Shay, but my spider senses tell me that all is not right in PeteLand."

"Everything's fine. Swear." A smile for her. "Got everything I need. I'm just tired, babe." He spread more caulk, using the gun she offered to get into the cracks. "Careful here, their are still some shards of glass stuck in their." He motioned to a bit of the goop and kept moving, grouting as he went.

She didn't quite smile back. "You'd tell me, right?"

He hated lying to her. "Of course, Shay."

"Promise?"

Fuck. "Much as I can."

"Okay." She paused. "CJ called last night, and said that Berluce wanted me and you back over there this weekend to sit for him for something."

"He would." Sneaky ass bastard. "I'll ask him about it tonight. Are you gonna go to the strawberry festival and Farmers Market next weekend?"

"I'm not sure about the Strawberry Festival? What's it all... entail, exactly? Is it like the Maple Sugaring in Vancouver? We have one every year, but it's in the fall, when they finish tapping the syrup. There's candy pulls, and all kinds of sweet sugary things, and games and carts with stuff to buy, and live music and stuff." She blinked at the near-snarl of the first part.

"Its the same thing, except you pick strawberries. Theirs strawberry fields out in the boonies between Granville and Smallville. The Rubensteins own it, and every year they put on the Strawberry Festival. Its really neat, and fun. The Farmers Market is...well, they sell a buncha shit. Food, housewares, animals, antiques, you name it."

"Okay, yeah. Sounds cool, I dig strawberries. I'm there." She smiled. "You going too?"

"Yeah, got to. In the morning I'll be helping my mom sell her stitchery and knick knacks, and the afternoon I run one of the booths with CJ for a few hours for the kids. Since Bear is home this year, I might be able to get out of working the booth, though."

"Oh, cool. I'll talk to Morgan and AJ and get the skinny on if there's anything I have to do, and if not, you can teach me how to run the booth and I'll help you out."

"If I can get out of it, we can have fun." He offered her a small smile. "Go pick strawberries. I'll come pick you up on Saturday… seven? Do you mind if its that early? I'm sure Lex and Clark wouldn't mind taking you later on in the day."

Wince. "God, I am so not a morning person. But for you? Exception. That'll be great. I'll even be awake and dressed. But... bring coffee. Like, a lot of it."

"I will." A soft chuckle at her. "Hey. Four tiles left. Shay, lets finish this shit, do the bathroom, and leave. I'm sick of this place already."

Worried look down at her watch, and then over at her lover. "Pete... Reynolds will kick our asses if we cut out of here early!"

"Shay, baby, bathrooms gonna take us at least an hour and a half. We'll be fine, don't worry. Another half hour of work here and it'll put us right at four."

"Oh, okay then." Grin. "Then I'm down with the gettin' the hell out of dodge." She ran a hand over his shoulder. "You know I love you. You can talk to me."

"Love you too, Shay. Ain't got much to talk about lately." He nodded over at her, clearing his throat gruffly and laying down more of the gray goo, smoothing it out and making sure it was even.

Soft sigh. "I wish you'd trust me," she whispered quietly, tiles clicking lightly against each other as she put them down in the grout, positioning them as Pete caulked them into place.

The words made him pause mid movement, and his eyes closed for a long moment. "I do trust you, Shayla. Very much."

"No, you don't. Or you'd tell me what's bothering you. But that's okay. Cause I understand, better than you know. It's not easy to trust anybody right now, and I'm okay with that. I just... wish you'd let me in."

He couldn't ever tell her. That he'd been split into two people, he was ashamed of who he was, he doubted she was going to stay with him, doubted he could ever be physical with her again, doubted she could love someone who'd hurt her so much. Depressed out of his mind, and he just shrugged a little, as he looked down at the caulk he was spreading carefully. "It just sucks to be me right now, Shay."

"So tell me why." She kept laying the tile, just working so he didn't have to look at her. "You've got a great family, a bunch of friends, a girlfriend who loves you, and you're making your Grayson-issues right. I don't... I don't get why you won't tell me."

"Because I don't like who I am anymore."

Hard swallow. "So who are you?"

"The things I do are wrong." He said it quietly, as he caulked harder, spreading it a little more violently than he'd intended. "Can we maybe drop it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we can drop it." Buried the hurt, and gave a fake grin instead. "No problem."

"Don't." And he knew her much too well now to let the ugly little fake smile appease him. "Shay, you don't understand."

"No, it's okay. You don't wanna talk about it, you don't want me to understand, and hey. I'm out of tile. I'll be right back; I left the pallet outside." She pushed herself to her feet, and walked out the front door, where the crate of tile was still sitting on the wooden pallet. She reached in and took the next to last box of tile out, and carried it back inside. It was heavy, but she didn't drop it, and she got back on her knees, across from Pete. "There. Now... okay, shift your elbow just a little, I gotta get that last patch tiled before you caulk over the rim, kay?"

She didn't want to know? He'd wanted to drop it, but now he wasn't so sure, as she blatantly ignored it, and spoke instead about stupid fucking tile. Fine. If she wanted to talk tile, they'd talk tile. He moved his elbow out of the way as she did and ignored everything but what he was doing. He was sweating, he was tired, he was hot. He wanted to go home and take a long, hot shower. Another long stretch of the gray sludge, and he climbed partially to his feet to poor some more into the bucket lid he'd been using as almost like a palette, grabbing some more and spreading. "Its not… that I don't want you to understand."

"Then what is it?" she asked, laying tiles and not looking up. "Cause that's what it seems like. You don't want to talk about it, and when I ask you about it, you tell me to drop it."

"I feel very sad."

"So tell me what you feel sad about. Tell me, and we'll make it right. I'll help you." She put her tile down and looked up at him. "Please? Don't shut me out."

"We can't make it right. I have to, Shayla. I have to make things...about me, go away." He didn't know how to verbalize it better than that, and he stared down at his work, pushing the tile she'd set down into place, getting the roller from beside him and making sure it was firmly in place.

"No!!" She jerked the roller out of his hands, marveling slightly at the weight of it, and wincing lightly at a twinge in her shoulder. "Fuck a duck, Pete, no! I don't want you to make parts of you go away, cause then you're not the Pete I know and love anymore. You're a new Pete, and I don't know how I'll feel about New Pete. Maybe it's selfish of me, but I don't want you to change."

"I have to. We'll never be the same. But we won't even get close if I don't. I've made you, in the past, feel like you were dumb, or too innocent or whatever. This... our relationship began because I'm fucked up, and it might end because I'm fucked up. What does that tell you, Shay?"

"Pete? News flash. I was innocent. As much as I didn't want to be. As much as I didn't want anybody else to think of me that way, I was. I should have been wearing a fucking a white shirt and plaid skirt with knee socks for all the innocence I had!! I was seventeen years old, I hated the world, I hated being the youngest kid in my God-awful family. I just... you are the place I fit in to. Whether you think you're fucked up or not, that's not the point. The point is, you are where I belong. You're my place. Because I love you. The way you are, right now, problems and all. I don't think you're fucked up, but if you don't believe it, then there's no reason for me to sit here and tell you otherwise."

"I'm not..." A hard swallow. "I'm not fishing for anything, Shayla. If you think I'm having my own little pity party. Maybe I am, but I just wish you weren't affected by it. Because yeah, you're innocent, and if you think you're not anymore than that makes you all the more. You're very innocent, Shayla, and I love you, so much, for it. I want to be with you, but at what cost? You turned your hair pink, Shayla. Tomorrow, it'll be ripped up clothes and piercings, the next black makeup. I don't want you to be a bad person because I'm fucked up."

"You're right. There's still a lot of things I'm innocent in. But there's just as many that I'm not." She tossed down the little tool she'd picked up, for smoothing out caulk edges. "I dyed my hair pink because I was sad, Pete. I was sad, I was lonely, I didn't have my boyfriend cause I thought he cheated on me, and I wanted to go back to the way I was. Where nothing hurt. Where nothing got to me, because I didn't care about people, but you know what?" Deep breath to choke back the tears. "It. Didn't. Work. It didn't. It still hurt. I still loved you. I still cared about you, and I couldn't hate you. So don't. Even. Go there."

It had to come out. It had to, and he sat down from his crouch, hard, knee up and the other bent underneath him. "Don't cry. Shayla, don't cry, please." He begged it, from across the still bare floor they were doing together. "I don't want you to hurt because of what I do. You can't let it hurt you, because I'm going to fuck up again, I know it, and you're going to hate me."

Shayla sighed. "You... you don't get it. I don't know if it's a girl thing, or a Senatori thing, but loving somebody means that you hurt when they hurt. And it means you get upset when they do stupid shit. But it don't mean you hate 'em. Christ, if it did, Morgan and Big Daddy would never ever stop hating each other!"

His throat bobbed, hard, as he fought to control himself, gazing down between them. And his voice was so soft, so quiet, that it was barely heard. "I'm scared, Shayla. That when its time for us to be... together… again, I won't be able to."

She almost laughed. That was all. And yes, it was a very, very, very big deal, but not at all the cataclysm she'd thought it was. "Why... why do you think that?" She stroked his face. "I'm not going to rush you, if that's what you think. I can wait; you bought me a vibrator and showed me how to use it. That was a joke. But I'm serious about the waiting part."

His chin trembled. "Because I h-haven't been able… able to. Get it..." His throat bobbed and his eyes filled with tears of mortification, as he looked down. "I'm sorry."

Oh. Talk about a blow to his manhood. "Hey, Pete?"

He didn't look up for a few long moments. He'd tried. God knew he had. He'd had a nightmare over it, and upon waking up... he couldn't. No thoughts of anyone or anything, even living at Hugh's mansion with the Playboy Bunnies was doing it. Limp. And his heart stuttered hard in his chest as he calmed himself. He hadn't wanted to tell her, but she'd made him feel so bad and he'd had to. There was no way around it. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he rubbed his cheek a little before he could finally look up. "Yeah."

"Got something to tell you." She moved closer to him, and rested her hand on his thigh. "I didn't get together with you for what's down here." She rubbed her palm lightly over his crotch once, then brought it up to his chest. "I got together with you for what's right here." She tapped the skin over his heart. "Won't lie. I love being with you. I get a serious giggly kind of happy whenever I think about it. But? I get a better happy when I think about being with you than I do when I think about fucking you. Get me?"

"Wh--what… what if..." He let it hang their for a long moment, unable to meet her eyes. "Ever again, Shay?"

"If it's never again, then it's never again." She nodded firmly. "Cause me thinking about me without you? I can't see it. I don't. Ever. I tried. And I couldn't stop seeing me with you, no matter what. Even when I thought you cheated on me and I wasn't enough, I still couldn't see me without you."

He just… he leaned forward, and set his cheek on her forehead so he wouldn't have to look at her. "You don't deserve that. I..I tried, with... with the... the Playboy bunnies." His throat bobbed, hard. "Tried everything. And… and nothing. I don't ever w-want to not... not be able to. I… its how... how I tell the p-person I love how I..I care. And..." He was not going to cry. No. NO.

Heartbreak. "No. No, baby, it's not. You tell the person you love how you care by opening your mouth and talking to them. You tell them you love them and you want them in your life. You tell the person you love that you care by telling them your problems, letting them be part of your life, and stuff like that. Sex... sex is a great side benefit; it's not a meter."

His breath shuddered in and out, and he swallowed down a hard breath, tears flooding his eyes as he rubbed them gently against his girlfriends shoulder. "I'll try. I don't want to e-ever be... be without it. Its im-important to me."

"I know it is." She kissed his ear softly. "I know it's important to you. But you got to realize what happened to you, and you gotta accept it. Once you've accept it... then you can get through it." Squeeze to his hands.

"I'm sorry… drama. I didn't want you to know, Shay."

"Why not?" She rubbed her cheek against him. "Don't you know by now I don't really give a shit as long as we're together? You still think I'm that shallow?"

"No. No." He blurted it, quickly, before she even finished speaking. "I just... I'm your man. I'm… supposed to give you those things, and... and right now I *can't*. Do...do you understand how emasculating that is?"

"You give me what I need, baby." She kissed him softly. "You love me, you're my friend, and you give me confidence in myself cause I know you love me. You give me what I need; ain't nothing for you to feel bad about."

There was. And he didn't know how else he could express it, as he drew her close into his arms and kissed her cheek, her jaw, her ear, very, very gently, hugging her close to him. "I love ya, girl."

"I love you too, Pete." She slid her arms around his waist, and left her head resting on his shoulder. "I love you too. So much." Hard, hard squeeze.

 

-fin-

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