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A Tom/Denise fic.

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Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Prancer Returns.

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A/N: Another Tom/Denise fic from me ... 'cause let's face it, John Corbett is the only reason I watch this movie :D

Anywhoo, this one takes place when they were younger, I'm gonna assume for this one that there's about a year and a half age difference between them, with him being the older one. Takes place the summer before his graduating year.

I hope you like this, I know I'll love writing it.

As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!

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Tom told Gary not to wait up for him, planning on giving his parents a call from his friend's phone after he grabbed a towel from the bathroom. He'd carelessly forgotten his at home, so Gary had offered one of theirs, and told him to grab some beer from the fridge while he was there, their dad wouldn't mind. Gary had taken the truck down to the lake, so Tom would have to put the beer and towel into the saddle bags on his dad's motorcycle to carry them to the lake.

He didn't mind, he just wanted to hurry so that he wouldn't miss anything. The bathroom door was open about halfway, and he could feel the steam from within as he opened the door. Denise must've just finished her shower, he realized, popping the door open the rest of the way and lifting his hand to grab a towel. What he saw made him stop mid-movement, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. Now, he'd begun to notice Denise Randolph before today ... she was a beautiful young woman. He spent so much time with her brother, that it was next to impossible NOT to notice her. But this ... this was a whole new level.

She stood in the tub, one leg perched on the edge, razor in her free hand. In the other was a Discman, the cord leading up to her ears showing that she was oblivious to his presence. Without conscious effort, his eyes trailed to the soft dip of her breasts, noticing how firmly they hung from her chest. His eyes followed the long expanse of her leg that was currently being shaven, following it up her thigh, to the tantalizing curve of her hips, and then down to her right leg, that was locked at the knee to keep her balance.

Tom swallowed heavily, his sweaty hand slipping on the condensation-covered doorknob, causing him to stumble a bit.

Denise finally seemed to notice him, and shrieked when she realized he could see her naked body. "Tom?" she cried out, flailing her arms in search of the shower curtain.

"I'm sorry!" he defended immediately, closing his eyes tightly.

"What are you doing?" Denise demanded to know, pulling her headphones off of her ears and shakily setting her Discman down on the stand outside beside the bathtub, all the while making sure she was completely covered.

"Getting a towel ... I didn't know you were in here," he admitted.

"You didn't see the light on?"

Tom explained, "The door was open, I just figured you'd forgotten it."

Denise cowered behind the shower curtain, her body flushing red in embarrassment.

"Why was the door open anyway?" he wondered. Or the shower curtain, for that matter? he added silently.

"The fan is broken, and the room was full of steam!" Denise exclaimed. "I was trying to air out the room ... no one was supposed to be here!"

Tom sighed, his eyes still tightly shut. "I forgot to grab a towel when I left my house, Gary said it'd be cool if I grabbed one here ... I'm really sorry, Denise."

"Yeah, I'll bet," she replied, feeling so exposed.

Tom rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, making sure to keep his eyes shut. "Look, I'll, uh ... I'll just leave, okay?" He fumbled around for where he knew the towels were, his eyes tightly shut.

Denise narrowed her eyes, a plan forming in her mind. "I don't think so."

Tom paused. "Huh?"

She felt her confidence slowly rising, though she still remained hidden behind the shower curtain. "Well, I don't think it's fair that you've gotten to see me naked."

Tom furrowed his brow, winking one eye carefully open. "What do you mean?" he asked her nervously.

Denise motioned for him to toss her the towel, and he did so after a moment. Once she secured it around herself, she stepped out of the shower, brushing her hair back behind her ears. "Well, I assume you don't want me to tell Gary about this ... or my father?"

Tom's eyes widened in fear. "Please, don't."

Denise felt evil for teasing him so, but he had it coming to him ... staring at her like that. "Well, fair's fair." She stood almost a full foot shorter than him, but at the current moment, did not feel inferior.

Tom stared at her, trying to understand what she was getting at.

Denise pointedly looked down at his pants, one hand holding the knot of the towel tightly while the other came to rest on her hip.

"You want me to strip?" he exclaimed in realization.

"You show me yours, and I won't tell anyone you saw mine," Denise suggested, her eyebrow quirked in challenge.

Tom pursed his lips, knowing that he would face extreme consequences from her father if he found out ... he didn't even want to know what Gary would do. Sighing, he agreed reluctantly, "Fine ... but no laughing."

Denise promised she wouldn't, but from her subtle observations of him over the past few years, she didn't think she'd see anything humorous.

Tom stalled for a moment, closing the door behind him and fiddling with the material of his shirt. At the impatient tapping of her foot, he sighed again and lifted his shirt over his head, dropping it onto the floor next to him. His undershirt and shoes followed, and then his socks. He paused at the belt of his jeans, but a glance at her face made him continue, pulling the strap of the belt free and unsnapping the button. The only sound in the small room that was louder than their uneven breathing, was the sound of the zipper of his jeans being pulled down. Tom's lips twitched once before he let his jeans fall to the floor, carefully stepping out of them.

Denise felt another flush of red creep up her neck, this time not because of embarrassment. She'd been hiding her crush on Tom for years, and somehow she knew that if he removed his only remaining layer of clothing, she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore. She made a move to stop him from taking off his underwear, but he caught her wrist, giving her a pointed look.

All traces of his own embarrassment were removed from his face, giving her a heated gaze. "Fair's fair," he repeated, and released her wrist before removing his boxers.

Denise blinked a couple of times, forcing her eyes to remain on his face. Luckily, he was tall enough that even her peripheral vision didn't catch sight of his manhood.

Tom wondered if there was going to be a time limit for him standing there in the nude like that, but when he chanced a look at her face, he noticed that she was looking directly at him, and not at his ... area. She was breathing faster now, and was obviously blushing. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before reaching for a towel beside him.

Denise's eyes flickered down without her consent, widening for a moment as she stared, and then snapped them back up quickly as he leaned back with his towel. Denise turned around as he wrapped the towel around his waist, standing awkwardly in the room. Clearly, this hadn't been the best of ideas.

"Are we ... okay?" he asked her, feeling somehow like he'd forced her to look at him naked. He didn't like feeling that way, not with her.

Denise nodded her head, not turning back to look at him.

"Look, Denise, I really am sorry," he said, tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder.

She turned without warning, pushing herself up on the tips of her toes and pressing her lips against his. Her hands gripped his shoulders to help hold herself up, as he was so much taller than her.

Tom was surprised, and didn't respond immediately. It wasn't until she started to pull away, second-guessing her actions, that he brought a hand to her waist and pressed her more firmly against him, dipping his head down slightly as he kissed her back.

Denise gasped into the kiss, opening her mouth for him to explore it.

He took the opportunity without a second thought, fingers digging into the material of her towel as her hands wove around his neck, drifting through the back of his hair.

Denise let her tongue play with his for a few minutes until she had to pull away to breathe. There was a momentary pause, when they just stared at each other, and then he dipped his head down once more to capture her lips again.

The continued on for a while longer, both of them standing in each other's embrace in the middle of her bathroom, until the ringing phone broke the spell.

Denise pulled back slightly, turning her face towards the door as the ringing continued, her cheek was pressed against her chest as she listened, waiting for the answering machine to pick it up.

It was her father, calling to let her know that he would be late getting home.

Denise stepped away from Tom, adjusting the knot of her towel that had been sliding loose.

Tom kept a hand on his own towel, though there was no danger of it falling off of his hips. He watched Denise, waiting for her to say something.

She brought a hand to her hair, brushing it back out of her face, before meeting Tom's gaze again. "This never happened." It wasn't a question.

Tom nodded his head, sad that it wouldn't be amounting to anything, but happy it had happened.

Denise turned to step back into the shower, but stopped, looking back at him. She pressed herself up one more time, placing a hand against his chest, and let her lips linger on his cheek for a few seconds. It was by know means as passionate as their last kiss, but something in it made Tom hopeful.

He gathered up his clothing and left the bathroom, closing it behind him. He heard the water turn on a few moments later, and chuckled lightly, shaking his head. That had definitely been one of the most welcome surprises of his life. So far, anyway.

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The end.

Well, what did you think of that one?

Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful.

Until next time ...!