She smiled. "Yeah, he did it even after he sold the store. Sometimes they were wildflowers he picked while out walking, but she loved them just the same."

"Or my parents. They argue a ton, but when the chips were down-my dad was there for my mom."

"Arguing is good. It means that they're not afraid to disagree," said Kelly. "I want us to argue."

"Hey, we argued as soon as we saw each other at the wedding." I laughed. We both had tempers for sure.

"That means that we're equals. I've thought a lot about Chicago, and part of it was money. He had all the money and eventually he figured he owned me-not consciously, but still. Or maybe I thought that."

"Kel, you've got a great job now. I'm proud of everything you're doing. Once you get on the air, you're going to be the famous one."

"Am I? You're so smart. I still worry about you trying to manipulate things."

"Maybe I did that in the past, but I'm different now. When you went to Chicago, it was the worst time in my life. On the surface, things seemed okay, but it was like the sunshine went out of my life."

"I'm sorry, Phil."

"Don't be. It was my own fault. I vowed that if I got another chance-like we have now-that I would do better."

"You've been great. You're so honest and open."

I could tell there was still doubt in her though. If I could prove my love to her, maybe she could trust me. "I need you, Kel. I've always needed you. I want to tell you something."

"What?" She sounded worried now.

"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. You know that last track on the mix tape I sent you?"

"Yeah, I told you that's my favourite one."

"I wrote it. I wrote it for you."

"You did? That's so sweet. It did keep me going sometimes. That chorus where she falls and then keeps pushing on-I felt like that was me."

"It was you. It was you at your championship game."

"What? You mean my goal?" Her eyes were wide and wondering. "How could you have known that? The game summary said I scored, but it never said I scored lying face-first on the ice."

"I was there."

Kelly shook her head. "No way. I never saw you."

"It was a last minute decision. I had a lot of money after working at Fort Mac, and when I saw you were in the final, I thought, why not? Fly out for a long weekend, and maybe we could hook up again. We didn't exactly part on the best terms that summer."

"That was all you," she said with a frown.

"I know, I know. Anyway, it was a huge game for you, and I wanted to share that moment. So I went." It had been a stupidly romantic gesture towards a future that I had always hoped for.

"Why didn't you say something? You should have told me you were there. I can't believe you went all the way to Ottawa and back without letting me know."

"When I got there, I saw your Dad and all your relatives. And I saw you in the midst of your team afterwards. I figured you should have your moment to celebrate." I shrugged. It was hard to explain the feeling I got-that it was Kelly's time to shine and to celebrate with her family and teammates. That if I barged in, I'd be distracting her from her accomplishments and from everyone who'd gotten her there. "I figured I'd tell you when I saw you later, and we could relive it all. It would be almost as good, but we'd be alone."

Kelly's expressive face was sad now. "But there never was a later. Because I plunged you into the dating game, and then you didn't want to be vulnerable."

"I should have been. That was why I felt the worst, because if I'd shown you how much I loved you-the depth of my feelings-maybe you wouldn't have gone away and gotten hurt so badly."

"We can't regret the past, Phil." She was quiet again, deep in thought. "I do trust you. Not blindly, because I don't do that anymore. But enough to try to love you the right way."

"That's all I want." I kissed her, lifting her chin up and feeling her soft mouth responding to mine.

"You're right. I do pick myself up." Her voice was stronger now. "I'm different now. Going through what I did, and with my new job-I am tougher and more confident. If you started to pull stunts like that, I'd tell you to shove it or leave."

"Okay, Superwoman," I said with a laugh. "But don't worry, I think you're perfect the way you are."

"So not perfect. But now I do like me, the way I am."

Her stomach rumbled, and we both laughed.

"Pizza time?" I asked, and she nodded. "I'll call for delivery. That way you don't have to cover up that amazing body." Kelly got up and stretched. I ran a finger down her spine, and she shivered.

"We're going to eat dinner naked? No way. Don't want pepperoni in the wrong places."

"Okay, get dressed then. But I'll be undressing you later."

She held out her little finger. "Promise?"

48.

Happy Endings

I was full of delicious thin-crust pizza and feeling awesome. Phil was right; putting my troubles onto his broad shoulders was very therapeutic. Somehow, when I exposed my worries, they shrank away to something very manageable. Phil wasn't going to do the same things that Jimmy had done, and if he did anything that bothered me-we could work it out. I had a full, interesting life of my own, and I had options now. I could stay with him because I wanted to and not because I had to.

Since we had settled all the emotional stuff, we could get onto the fun stuff.

"Don't forget your promise," I told Phil. His grin told me that he knew exactly what I meant. He threw the pizza box into the garbage and cleaned off my little coffee table.

"What are you doing?" I wondered.

"I'm going to move the bed and the sofa together. That way we have more room for sex, and we can sleep together tonight."

"Engineers have the best ideas," I said, helping him. Moving things in my tiny apartment was a little like a game of Tetris since there wasn't a lot of space. Phil made me get out the extra sheets and, in no time, we had a double bed of sorts.

"I hope I don't fall down the crack," I said, and Phil laughed rudely.

"Don't worry, I'll hold onto you." Then he frowned. "Oh shit. I better go out and get some more condoms."

I put my hand up to stop him. "It's okay. I'm on birth control... and we're in a committed relationship, right?"

Phil put his arms around me and kissed me on the forehead. "I could not be more committed to you, Kelly. I told you, us being together-for real-is my biggest dream."

I waited for my body's reaction to that sweet, but essentially sappy, remark. Instead of fear, his remark made me feel a little squishy and warm inside.

"I'm cured," I announced.

"From what?" Phil asked.

"All the crap," I replied vaguely. "Now, let's get you undressed." I started unbuttoning his shirt for the second time tonight. I threw open his shirt and enjoyed the view of his lean torso and delineated six-pack.

"Careful," he said, leaning back as I undid his zipper.

"Oh, you went commando," I observed, cradling his balls in my hand. A happy shiver went through his body. I used my other hand to stroke his penis and make it even harder-and bigger. "No condoms is a good idea. I'm all for feeling this amazing cock the way nature intended."

"Why do you still have clothes on?" Phil complained "Time me." I started peeling everything off, and Phil laughed heartily.

"Um, 38 seconds. The new Olympic record."

"See, buddy, you're about to get lucky with the Olympic undressing champion. But you don't have a watch on, so I'm not sure how you knew the exact time."

"I used steamboats," he said. "Although when you took off your underwear, I may have lost count." He leaned against the back of the couch part of the makeshift bed and pulled me onto his lap. I straddled him and when I leaned forward, he cupped a breast in each hand.

"Man, that feels so good already." My nipples were puckering as Phil's warm palms brushed them. His touch was gentle and yet electrifying. "Your hands are magic."

"Better test that theory," he told me and started feeling me up everywhere. He ran his hands down my sides, over my thighs, and around to my ass. "Oh yeah," he murmured. "This perfect ass." He squeezed it for emphasis. And I was lighting up everywhere.

He craned his neck up to kiss me. His kiss was so right-firm lips, nice pressure, just a bit of tongue. I yielded my mouth completely to him.

After some long moments of exquisite kissing and touching, I wanted more. I moved around so I could take him into my mouth. He tasted so good to me that I went, "Mmmmm." Phil's happy groan made me realize how much he enjoyed the vibrations so I kept them up. After a few minutes I stopped and told him, "Almost as yummy as dinner."

"Oh, fuck." Phil twisted around and pulled me onto the bed. "Let me taste you too."

He got between my thighs. Then he planted a series of moist kisses along my thighs and finally all the sensitive places between my legs. When he kissed and sucked my clit, I automatically arched my back and offered more of myself to him. He tongued all around my clit, and I moaned happily in response. He teased me almost to the point of orgasm, and when he stopped, I grumbled in frustration.

Phil spread my thighs really wide and told me to hold them there. He inserted a finger into me and started making weird circles inside me. It felt okay, but not really sexual. More medical actually.

"Um, what are you doing?" I asked him.

"Looking for something."

What? A contact lens? Nemo? Ugh, I wanted him to go back to the licking stuff!

Finally he made an "aha" sound and placed one hand on my tummy just above where his finger was inside me. And then he started rubbing and tapping on a spot inside me. At first it felt like I had to pee, and I was wriggling in discomfort, but Phil just continued until as these incredible feelings built up in me. All these new nerve endings inside me were getting lit up.

I felt kind of congested, like I was swelling up in there. Finally I couldn't concentrate on anything but these building sensations. I was spiraling out of control-panting and flopping all over the bed. Then just when I was on the verge of this totally amazing inside-the-body orgasm, Phil took his finger out.

"Oh my God, you're killing me," I protested. Why did he keep stopping just before I was going to come?

The bastard chuckled and moved up between my legs. He turned me over and raised my hips. I felt the tip of his swollen cock enter me, and then he began thrusting. With each stroke, he targeted that same spot of swollen flesh he had awakened. His cock felt so good without a condom, and by the sounds he was making, Phil was finding our sex pretty intense too. He kept fucking me hard and steady, and I was out of control. I was screaming and thrashing my limbs everywhere.

"Oh fuck. Phil, it's so good. I'm coming, I'm coming." I tensed and pushed my ass up against him as this unbelievable whole body orgasm took over my body. Then he turned me over, his cock still lodged inside, and started thrusting again. He reached down and pinched my clit too, which sent me into a complete frenzy as I came yet again. Finally he came too; I could feel that one last deep thrust and heard his tortured groan of pleasure.

We both collapsed in exhaustion. Good sex was like a workout. Phil pulled the sheet up over us and put his arms around me.

After a few minutes, I recovered enough to ask him, "What was that?"

"Sex," he replied.

"Yeah, I don't think I've had sex like that before. Incredible."

"There's more where that came from."

"Oh, I'm gonna hold you to that." I sighed happily. "Has anyone ever told you you're a great fuck?"

Phil laughed in this easy way I loved. "You're such a sweet talker."

We lay there a while longer in a happy silence. I felt blissfully relaxed.

"I love you, Kelly."

"I love you, too." No hesitation or panic wrecked my post-sex high. I was cured. I snuggled into him. "I'm not sure if I still want to go hiking tomorrow."

"Today, you mean," he said. I guess it was long past midnight. This had been one hell of a night. "Why not?"

"I'm thinking that spending the day in bed with you-" I smacked his ass for emphasis "-might be better."

"We can do both. Shorten our hike and have sex-before, during, and after."

"That's a good idea," I murmured. I was almost asleep.

"We can have it all," Phil assured me, and that was my last conscious thought.

49.