"Everybody to the Youth Center for a victory party," Ernie declared just after the congratulations were given to the three men that had just won the competition to save the Little Angels Haven Shelter from closing.
"I'll wait for you out front," Kimberly told Jason. Tommy noticed the sweet embrace between the two and was almost certain his suspicions were confirmed. Why else would they have come back together? Kimberly however, had not missed the longer than necessary hug between Tommy and Kat. Part of her didn't care considering that she was the one to let him go but another part of her, the bigger part that was still madly in love with him, was completely jealous. She knew he thought that Jason was the other guy and he couldn't be further from the truth but again, part of her didn't care that he thought that either.
"You okay," Adam asked her, noticing that she seemed to be staring off into space.
"Huh," she jumped slightly, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She gave him a tight smile and then followed the other two girls out of the arena to where the sun was just starting to set. A light breeze blew through her hair and she closed her eyes for a minute and enjoyed it.
"Hey Kim," Kat said, interrupting her reverie, "Do you want to ride with us?"
"Oh, um, I kinda promised Jason that I'd wait for him, but if you guys don't mind waiting, then sure," Kim said, giving them the best smile she could muster. In all honesty, she was exhausted and just drained in every aspect of the word. She felt like she could sleep for days.
"Are you sure you're alright," Tanya asked, noticing that she really seemed out of it.
"Yeah, yeah," Kimberly nodded, "I'm just exhausted, you know? I just feel like I could sleep for days."
"I hear you, girl," Tanya said, giving her a pat on the shoulder.
The guys were finishing up in the locker room and Rocky and Adam left leaving Tommy and Jason alone for the first time. Jason was throwing some things into his bag when Tommy approached.
"Jase can I talk to you for a minute," he asked. Jason turned with a raised eyebrow.
"What's up, Tommy," Jason asked.
"Look, I know I have no right to ask, but I don't want things to be awkward," Tommy started, "but I gotta know, are you and Kim together?"
"Are we together in the sense that we are a couple," Jason asked with a furrowed brow and Tommy nodded. Jason busted up laughing so hard he had to brace himself on the lockers to keep from falling over.
"I'm sorry bro," Jason said trying to stifle his laughter, "I'm sorry for laughing. The answer is no, we are not together. Currently, we're both single." Tommy nodded and turned to grab his stuff.
"What," Jason asked, "No dinner and a movie?" This time it was Tommy's turn to lose it in laughter.
"Not tonight dude, we got a party to get too," Tommy said and grabbed his bag as he and Jason started to walk toward the door.
"Look man, I asked her to come back with me. I thought it'd be good for us to come spend some time at home given some of the shit she's dealing with and some things I had going on," Jason explained.
"Is everything alright with you guys," Tommy asked.
"With me, yeah. I just had some financial trouble that took forever to get straightened out," Jason explained, "Kim's had things a little rougher than I have though. I did not want to be in her shoes this last year."
"What happened," Tommy asked as they reached the doors and waved to the girls waiting at the other end of the long parking lot.
"Well the guy she broke up with you for was an asshole. After three months he hit her once and then ran screaming when she kicked his ass. She said he caught her off guard in an argument over her not wanting to let him move into her apartment. She wasn't ready and he was pushy from what I understood. She said he hit her for saying no then tried to force himself on her and she beat the crap out of him and he took off," Jason said and Tommy looked more angry than when he assumed Kim was dating Jason, "It didn't get better from there. Kim got a call from a French detective and found out that her mother had been murdered and they spent six months building evidence to convict her step father, Pierre."
"Are you serious," Tommy exclaimed, "God, she must be a mess."
"Yes and no," Jason explained, "I mean nobody wants to lose their mother, especially like that, but she flew to Paris and served as a witness to the abusive nature of her step-father and she inherited her mother's art fortune. She said that nothing made her happier than seeing that bastard carried away in handcuffs. After that she went back to Florida and was getting ready to compete for Olympic placement and she was in the middle of her balance beam routine and one of the other girls had used something that left a slippery residue after her practice session and she slipped, fell, cracked four ribs on the beam and dislocated her shoulder when she hit the floor. She spent a few days in the hospital and a month on bed rest. After that I suggested she take time off and come home for a while."
"Well damn," Tommy said, "And this hijacking of her down time really helped nothing."
"Pretty much," Jason replied.
Kimberly had made the rounds and made small talk with just about everybody and now sat alone at the bar in Ernie's. She was beyond exhausted and just wanted to go home. Jason was too busy chatting it up with Katherine and everybody else was involved with their own conversations. She got up and grabbed her purse to leave.
"Are you leaving already," Ernie asked from behind the counter.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm exhausted and I really need some sleep. Like a years worth."
"Well, I'll tell them you went home," Ernie offered and she smiled.
"Thanks Ernie," Kim said and then headed out the door. She took a deep breath, pulled her purse strap over her head so that it was across her body and then she ran. Her body flew down the sidewalk like her feet weren't even touching the pavement. Despite her exhaustion, she felt like she could run forever. Her mind was overwhelmed by everything she had been through and here she knew she was in the company of her closest friends but she never felt further away from them. She'd lived more than she wanted to and yet she was only eighteen years old. She ran until she reached the lake in the park and she stopped. She stood in the same place that Tommy had first kissed her and she smiled at that sweet memory. She sat down on the rock and watched the ripples fade into the darkness for a few minutes before finishing the short walk back to Jason's house. She let herself in using the hide-a-key under the front door mat. She showered and put on a black spaghetti strap top and light pink shorts before she climbed into the guest bed and fell asleep before she even turned out the bedside lamp.
"Hey Ernie, have you seen Kim," Jason asked as Tommy joined them at the bar.
"Yeah, she said she was tired and headed home about an hour ago," Ernie said while handing Jason his smoothie.
"I should go check on her," Jason said, setting his drink down.
"I'll go," Tommy offered. "I'd like to talk to her anyway."
"Alright bro," Jason said and handed Tommy his house key, "Just keep the noise to a reasonable level. The neighbors are nosy."
"Very funny," Tommy said taking the key and grabbing his jacket from the chair he'd hung it over, "I'll see you all later." Everybody waved and continued on with their conversations. Kat continued to flirt with Jason and Tommy just shook his head and walked outside and located his jeep.
Tommy parked his jeep on the street and used Jason's key to unlock the front door. The house was quiet and Tommy set his jacket down on the arm of the couch.
"Kim," he called into the quiet house but got no answer. He knew Jason's mom's rule about shoes so he took his shoes off at the door and then started up the stairs. There was a light on in the guest bedroom and Tommy knocked lightly, but still no answer.
"Kim, he said, as he opened the door. The bedside lamp was still on and she was lying in bed, on her side facing the door. The comforter was pulled up to cover her chest, but she had her legs on the outside with the comforter tucked behind them. She looked so peaceful. He turned to leave when she groaned in her sleep like she was having a nightmare. He looked back to see her gripping the blanket with white knuckles and her face looked like she was in pain. He went over to her and shook her a little.
"Kim," he whispered, "Kim, wake up. It's just a bad dream." Her eyes fluttered open and she met his eyes with a confused look.
"Tommy," she whispered, "What are you doing here?"
"I told Jason I'd stop by and check on you before I headed home," he said, "He seemed pretty content with Kat and I was heading out anyway."
"Oh," she whispered, sitting up, "Well thank you. I guess I'm not in for the restful sleep I had hoped for."
"It's been a stressful few days," Tommy said, rubbing her shoulder.
"It's been a stressful year," Kimberly retorted.
"Yeah, Jason gave me the cliff notes version," he replied and she rolled her eyes.
"I suppose I deserve some of it," she said, flopping back on the bed.
"Why do you say that," Tommy asked as he lay next to her, with his hands under his head.
"Well I'd say Karma kicked my ass for giving up the best thing in my life," she said and just looked at him as he met her eyes.
"Do you regret it," he asked, bluntly.
"I regret walking away knowing I still loved you with every ounce of my being because I thought it would be easier on both of us but I don't regret the life experience I gained by doing so. I think maybe we both needed space to grow and I wouldn't trade that," she said just as honestly as he had asked, "But I could have done without everything that happened with my mom and then ending up being a sacrifice for Lava Breath. I feel like I've grown up to much in the last year. I've been so responsible and so focused on everything that needed to be done for my mom and for my gymnastics and now I just…"
It was then that Tommy took her hand and gave it a squeeze. She had been so busy being an adult, she was almost missing out on being eighteen. She gave him a sad smile and squeezed his hand back.
"Thank you for coming to check on me," she said, sitting up.
"You're welcome," he said and stood to leave.
"And thank you for not hating me," she said to his back. He turned to face her but she was looking out the window.
"Kim," he said, catching her attention, "I could never hate you. I was hurt and sad and even tried to move on but I could never hate you." She looked at him and then stood and straightened the covers on her bed before she looked at him again.
"I can't tell you how alone I feel," she admitted, "Even here. And what makes me feel even worse is that my mother put so much pressure on me to succeed at gymnastics that when she died, I felt…..well I felt sort of relieved. I was free. I could do anything. Be anything."
"I guess the question is, what do you want to be," he said. He watched her look at him, her eyes searching for something.
"Right now," she said, getting up and taking the two steps to be standing in front of him, "Right now I just want to be eighteen and in love with you." She reached up and stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his and felt his arms wrap around her small frame and pull her so close that she had to lift her legs up and wrap them around his torso. The kiss deepened and he carried her to the bed and sat down with her body in his lap, ravishing her mouth like he'd never kiss her again. Her hand buried into his long locks and she pulled away from his lips for only a moment to catch her breath. He let his hands slip under her top but stopped cold in his place when she shift in his lap.
"Don't stop," she breathed as she kissed his neck. His hands pushed her shirt up and she pulled away from him long enough to let him pull it over her head and as he tossed it somewhere she me his mouth again with even more intense passion. She began pulling on his muscle shirt and then she got it off and had to take a second to take in his extremely toned physique. Her hands traced the outline of his chest muscles and then she met his eyes.
"If you don't want to do this," she said, rather sheepishly, "We can…" He put a finger to her lips and put his hands at her jaw line and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs.
"There isn't anything I want more right now than to be with you," he said. She kissed him again and scooted off his lap on to the bed and he took her in. She sat up on her elbows in her black bra and pink shorts and when she reached for him, he met her with passionate kisses and soft touches until they had worked each other out of the rest of their clothing.
The sun rose and Kimberly clung tightly to her comforter as it shone through the curtains. She groaned and tried to roll over but there was an immovable Tommy shaped object in her way. She smiled and twisted around so that her face was facing his chest and she closed her eyes again for the next several hours. Sleep was a necessary commodity of life and she was not about to miss out on it for a moment.
Tommy woke shortly after Kimberly had rolled over and snuggled the front of her body into his. He held her tightly in his arms and lay awake just watching her sleep, until the time reached noon and he had to leave for the juice bar to teach a class. He quietly disentangled himself from her and got dressed. He wrote her a little note to let her know that he would be back later and left it on the pillow and then headed home to shower and change before making his way over to the juice bar.
"So, how was the after party," Jason asked as Tommy walked into the juice bar.
"You were here, why don't you tell me?" was Tommy's quick reply. Jason just gave him a knowing smile and leaned in and whispered, "Next time, shut the door all the way. I don't need to see you're naked ass more than once."
"Well, I hope you enjoyed the show," was his only comment as he walked over to his waiting students.
Tommy and Jason returned to his house late in the evening and found the house very quiet.
"Mom must not be home from work yet," Jason said.
"Where's Kim," Tommy asked. Jason shrugged and went into the kitchen to find some food. Tommy went upstairs and down the hall to Kim's room and peaked in. She was still sound asleep, the note he left still on the pillow next to her. She turned over but didn't wake up so Tommy quietly closed the door and went back downstairs.
"She's still sleeping," Tommy told Jason.
"Damn," Jason said, "I knew she was tired but holy shit."
"Well after what you told me, I just want to let her sleep," Tommy said, "Besides, I have some stuff to get done at home. Tell her I'll be back later, if she wakes up."
"Will do, bro," Jason said and Tommy gave him a quick Bro-hug and left.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty, its time to wake up," Tommy said, gently shaking her awake.
"Mmmmm, what time is it," Kimberly mumbled sleepily, stretching her arms alittle.
"It's ten in the morning," Tommy said with a smile.
"Geez, I only slept an extra four hours," she guessed.
"More like an extra twenty six," Tommy said with a guessing nod, "but who's counting?" Kimberly bolted upright in bed, forgetting that she was totally naked and exposing the top half of herself to him. He smiled, while glancing at her breasts and she quickly covered herself since the door was wide open.
"Why didn't anybody wake me up," she asked.
"You've had a bit of a rough go lately. We all kind of figured that you could use the extra sleep," he said, "But get up. We have plans."