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17 Days-chap7_pt3
Seventeen Days of Gold
Chapter 7 - Part 3
We split tiramisu for dessert and after realizing our dinner had gone nearly four hours, decided it was high time to free up the table for other patrons. As we left the restaurant, I pointed out some familiar faces from the media that were eyeing us with curiosity.
"Hey," I whispered in Apolo's ear, "why don't we give them something to talk about?"
He grinned devilishly and pulled me close to him. I wrapped my hand over the back of his neck and ran my fingers up into his hair. I pulled him into the kiss, hoping no one noticed that both of us were giggling too much to make it look as passionate as it was supposed to be. Suddenly, he dipped me down, holding me at my waist and behind my neck. I dropped my coat in surprise. Apolo kissed me, still playfully, yet passionately. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped and he returned me to my upright position.
"That's amore!" Called the maitre'd. I giggled and Apolo handed my fallen coat back to me. We asked the maitre'd to call a cab for us and stepped outside to cool off a little as we waited.

"What the hell was that all about?" I asked, elbowing Apolo lightly.
"What?" He feigned innocence. "You said to give them something to talk about."
"Yes, to talk about, not to make the front page!"
"Hey, just going along with the game here." He held up his hands.
"I'll give you game." I grinned, scooping some snow off the stair rail and tossing at him. It grazed his cheek and landed on his shoulder.
"Oh so that's how it is, eh?" He said, wiping his face off and grabbing snow from the opposite stair rail. "You're so gonna get it now." He started toward me, evidently to shove the snowball down my coat.
"No, no!" I put my hand up in front of me. "The dress is satin. Please don't ruin it!" He put one hand on the rail I was backed up against and held the other hand, filled with snow, a few inches from my face.
"What do you suggest I do with this then?" I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. I turned to look him straight in the eyes.
"You wouldn't dare!" I replied. Apolo leaned forward as if to kiss me again, lowering his arm and defenses. Just then, the taxi pulled up, beeping his horn, causing both of us to jump. I looked at his hand, then back at him.
"Told you you wouldn't dare." I smirked, but I should have known better. Apolo then lifted his hand and plopped the snow down on my head before making a dash for the waiting taxi. I shook the flakes out of my hair, muttering under my breath.
"Come on!" He called. "It's only snow!" I climbed down the stairs, brushing my now wet hair out of my eyes. He held the car door open for me, and as I entered, I shook my finger at him.
"You're going to get it, I swear."
"God, I hope so." He responded quietly. I looked at him with surprise, almost wanting to ask him to repeat what he said, although I knew damn well what I just heard. That revelation had momentarily taken the wind out of my sails and I sat pensively through most of the ride back to the dormitory.

*************************

We stood in his room, near the doorway separating the suites. For some odd reason ,it was an uncomfortable moment, saying goodnight. It was not technically a “date”, or at least, it wasn’t supposed to be. But it sure seemed like one, didn’t it? We had revealed so much to each other, dammit, he was almost too easy to talk to. And I had been so wrong about him. He was more like me than I cared to admit. And then there was that thing he said as we were getting into the cab.

I could hear myself saying something stupid about what I great time I had. He nodded, and bit his lower lip. I couldn’t help but think that he looked so adorable when he did that. Then I had to laugh. I realized my heels were increasing the height advantage I already had on him and I had to look down to talk to him.
“I can’t talk to you like this.” I said, shaking my head. I reached one hand out to his shoulder to steady myself and leaned down to take my shoes off. “This is better.” I straightened up slowly. Now we were more eye to eye. And I felt as if those hazel-green eyes of his were seeing into my soul. My hand lingered on his shoulder, and I curled my fingers around to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands had found their way to my waist and pulled me gently closer.
“We don’t have to--I mean, we shouldn’t--“ I began, not quite sure what to say. For all the “shouldn’ts” and “don’ts” I professed to believe in, my actions contradicted every word.
“No audience, no cameras, no reporters...” He said softly, reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ear. I shivered at his touch.
“So what are we still doing here?” I asked.
“You tell me.” He replied. Then he kissed me, softly, as if he knew I was seconds away from running scared. His lips were sweet, still tasting of the tiramisu that we had for dessert. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, loving the feel of his full lips against mine, and ran my fingers through his hair.  His hand found the slit in my skirt. He brushed his warm fingertips over my thigh and he pushed the material higher until he rested at my hip. His thumb played across my pelvic bone, as we continued to kiss. I felt possessed, as if my actions were not my own. I had not much to drink tonight, yet I seemed intoxicated. I ran my hands over his chest, feeling his toned muscles beneath his shirt. From what his speedskating suit showed, his body appeared to be perfect. Something stirred inside of me…and I wanted to see for myself. I undid the top two buttons on his shirt and slipped my hand inside. I could feel his muscles flex at my touch, and he moaned softly into my mouth, as I slid my hand over his neck, tracing his jaw with my thumb. He continued to caress my hip and thigh, slowly making his way back to my ass. He gave me a little squeeze, causing me to thrust myself against him and a moan to escape my lips. I gently bit on his lower lip and began to undo the rest of the buttons on his shirt with one hand. When the material fell away, I traced my fingers over his stomach, feeling him quiver at my touch. He slid his hand back to my thigh and fingered the first frog-clasp at my hip. This has to be one of the most difficult dresses to get off, I thought to myself, as I felt the clasp finally give way.

My eyes snapped open, and I jumped back, pushing Apolo away at the same time. The realization had just set in. Oh my God, what am I doing?! Apolo winced as if waiting for me to slap him across the face. I felt more like slapping myself.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He said, holding up his hands in surrender.
I clutched my purse against my chest and felt my face turn crimson.
“It’s not your fault, it’s mine.” I stammered. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
I dashed out of his room into mine, locking the door swiftly behind me. I leaned against the door, breathing rapidly, feeling tears of embarrassment welling up in my eyes. I threw my purse on the floor and wiped my hands over my face. It was not supposed to be like this, I thought, but God, how was it supposed to be? I spent so much time on building up this wall, yet one crack set the whole flood free. I took a couple of deep breaths to clear my head when I heard a soft knocking on the door behind me. I stood straight, smoothed out my dress, swallowed a couple times and sighed before opening the door. Apolo stood there, holding my shoes and coat.

"Here, you forgot these." He said softly, handing them to me. I set them on the floor next to me and faced him again. He appeared as if trying hard not to look at me. I reached out for his hand, although I still didn't know what to say. He finally settled his eyes on me then, and reached up to brush away tears from my cheek that I didn't realize were still there.
"I'm sorry, Mica. I didn't mean...I just...I thought that's what you wanted." He said uncertainly. I bit my lip. Yeah, I and that is what I wanted too, I thought to myself.
"It's my fault. I guess I have a knack for giving off the wrong vibes." I lied, and then briefly remembered my encounted with Elvis Stoyko a week ago. I shook my head to clear the thought. "Why don't we just forget this happened, okay?" Apolo was quiet for a moment.
"What if I don't want to forget?" He replied. I blushed again. I was touched, flattered even, by that simple statement, and didn't know how to respond. I didn't really want to forget either. I smiled and brushed a wisp of hair away from his hazel-green eyes.
"We'll talk this over later." I whispered, and gave him a light kiss on the lips. We each said good night and closed the door. I changed out of my dress and scrubbed my face before laying down for the night. I stared at the cieling, feeling more alone than I have ever felt in a long time. Hugging my pillow tightly, I fell into a fitful sleep.

"Kiss Me Softly"
by Journey
Copyright material
TMS2002

 

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