Angela shut the door behind them, Tony took the champagne glasses from her, amazed she hadn't dropped them. He put the glasses and champagne on the night table and turned to look at Angela. She was leaning against the door, one hand grasping the door knob for extra strength, her eyes closed. He let himself indulge in a very long glance, "have I told you how fantastic you look tonight?"

She opened her eyes, looked at him, smiled and locked the door.

"New dress?" he asked.

"Uh huh, I was hoping you'd like it."

"I do," he walked back toward her, "let me elaborate on just how much I like that dress." He leaned in to kiss her and Angela thanked every deity possible that she had the door behind her to keep her standing. After a while they stopped kissing long enough for Tony to trace the low neckline of the much admired dress, starting at one shoulder and drifting his touch across that exquisite place where fabric gave way to skin to caress her other shoulder.

Angela sighed and depended on the door for even more support.

His lips then made the same journey.

Angela reveled in the touch, still not quite believing this was actually happening. Her breath was shallow, her thoughts out of control and that's when panic gripped her. Could she be vulnerable enough to trust Tony with her heart? It wasn't that she feared he wouldn't take good care of it, she knew he would; but she wasn't sure if was strong enough to drop the armor of protection she had built up around it. Would she be able to love him with an open heart, the way he had always loved her; or would she shy away in fear of rejection? She gasped. Tony touched her cheek and asked, "something wrong?"

"No," she lied, "I...sudden attack of nerves...I don't want you to be disappointed." She wasn't sure if that was shying away, or an attempt by her to banish her previous thoughts by ignoring them.

Angela had pointed out a valid fear for both of them; after years of wondering, would the reality live up to the fantasies they'd both had over the years? It had been easy to make their relationship work in their dreams, but could they create a romance which would live up to the fantasy? The doubts they had each turned over in their minds concerning the other tried to force their way into their thoughts, but found their way blocked by the romance. They gave way, temporarily, but vowed to be back in a less blissful moment.

Tony took another opportunity to boost her confidence, he kissed her then said, "how could I be disappointed in us? We're a great team, always have been."

It was a nice sentiment, but it didn't address another of Angela's apprehensions, "Tony, I know this doesn't apply to you, but most people are insecure about their bodies."

He shrugged off the compliment, and returned it, "you certainly don't have any reason to be insecure about yours."

"How would you know?"

"What do you mean, 'how would I know?'...bubble bath, towel," he reminded her.

"I forgot," she giggled.

"You forgot?" He was amazed, yes, it had been a long time ago, but he had most certainly not forgotten and he let her know, "trust me, the vision has never left my mind."

"I thought you only saw bubbles," she teased.

He laughed, "I wanted to keep my job," then dropped this enticing thought, "turn about is fair play, Angela."

"You taking time out for a bubble bath tonight?"

"Not tonight, but sometime," he promised.

Her eyes lit up and she couldn't stop a small smile from forming at the intriguing thought of Tony rising out of the tub, wearing nothing but bubbles; the idea had merit. They'd find a time to enact that fantasy, but not tonight.

They kissed again, but Tony still sensed a hesitancy, staying close to her asked, "what's wrong, Angela?"

She couldn't lie to him and say, "nothing", he was too important to her for that, "I guess I'm more nervous than I thought I'd be. We only have one chance at our first time, I want it to be perfect."

She was thinking too much. It had taken them seven years to get through the bedroom door, if she kept over-thinking, it would take them another seven years to get from the door to the bed.

"We only have one chance at a second and third time as well, Angela." He looked like he was going to keep counting to infinity, but the point was made. Angela laughed in relaxation. "They do say, 'practice makes perfect'; and I am a stickler for practice," he added, unzipping her dress to accentuate his point.

Angela sighed and melted into him, her misgivings started to melt away also. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, finding comfort there. He stroked her naked back, enjoying its softness.

"Tony," she murmured.

"Hmm?" he answered, lost in thoughts of her.

"You're overdressed."

"So are you," he whispered slightly devilishly in her ear.

"You're more o...dress...," she might have said more, but words were beyond her capabilities at this point.

"You have an idea 'bout that?"

"mmmhmm," she managed to tear herself apart from him just far enough to grasp the lapels of his suit and push the jacket off him. He took it from her before she had a chance to just let it drop to the floor, after all, there was a Very Important Watch in the pocket. He draped the coat over the back of the chair at her dressing table, then paused in awe as he turned back to her. She was still leaning against the door, looking delightfully disheveled and very alluring. This prompted him to hurry his return, which he did, placing his hands on the door on either side of her.

Angela unraveled the knot in his tie, pulling the silk through his collar with an emphatic 'whoosh'. She threw the tie in the direction of the dressing table, neither of them knew or cared whether it hit the mark or not. Then she started unbuttoning his shirt; first that little collar button, then straight down the row to his belt. She touched his bare skin, starting at his collarbone, then drifting down his chest. "No woman on this planet stands a chance against you," she sighed.

"Oh," he answered innocently, "you withstood my charms for seven years."

She shook her head and laughed, "it wasn't easy." He smiled. Touching his cheek, she kissed him and kicked off her shoes. He put his arms around her, taking her away from the safety of the door to the security of his embrace. "C'mon," he said as he tugged her away from the door, she kept an arm around him as they walked to the bed. Angela wasn't hesitant anymore, she pulled backed the comforter and sat down on the bed. Tony let her go long enough to pull his shirt out and finished unbuttoning, then he sent the shirt flying...somewhere, they'd find it sometime tomorrow.

"You're still too overdressed," Angela vamped as she unfastened his belt.

"Angela!" Tony said in false surprise. She turned her head up and grinned at him. Still looking at him, she slowly unzipped his pants and let them fall to the floor.

Still a little in shock at her devilish grin, Tony stepped out of the pants and threw them on a side chair. He pulled the bed covers back a little more and twisted around to sit down next to her. He bent down to remove his shoes and socks. Angela would have helped, but keeping her dress semi-on was paramount in her mind at the moment. Her so called sleeves and the structure of the dress itself were all that kept it from falling to the floor from the moment Tony unzipped it; and she wanted to keep that dress on until Tony was in a position to finish taking it off.

Tony kicked his shoes and socks away from the bed, then turned to Angela. They looked at each other, then put their arms around each other and kissed for quite a while. In due time, Tony drew away to kiss the nape of her neck, moving up to her earlobe he whispered, "now you're the one who's overdressed."

"No arguing that point," she somehow managed to answer.

Still holding her, he stroked her back again, down one side of the open zipper, lingering for a bit at the bottom, then back up the other. He smiled as he felt the chill this sent through her.

"Oh, Tony," she sighed.

He kissed her neck again, drew a sleeve; and consequently half the dress, down. Not wanting to neglect the other side, he kissed his way over and repeated the action.

Angela draped her arms around him, causing them both to pause. The were touching skin to skin, basking in this new found intimacy. This brought a new dimension to their hugging that they both hoped to repeat; often. "Wow," was all Angela could say. Tony kissed her hair and pulled her closer. They stayed there for how long they didn't even know just holding each other.

"Tony?"

"Yeah."

"As nice as this is, I'm only half undressed; and I want out of these pantyhose."

"Far be it from me to argue when you want to be even more undressed."

She pulled away a little and kissed him. Coyly, she turned away, picked up the bodice of her dress and stood up, her back to him. She tilted her head back to him and smiled coquettishly. Tony, not being one to ignore a beautiful half naked woman standing in front of him, touched her shoulders and languidly felt his way down to her waist. Angela dropped the dress and Tony did his part by guiding off her hips and letting it fall to the floor. Like he said, they were a good team.

Angela made quick work of the pantyhose, then practically jumped back into bed. She nudged her way back to the pillows and held our her arms to him. He moved closer to kiss her, she caressed his neck and shoulders. She settled back into the pillows and pulled him nearer. They were millimeters apart, she touched his cheek, "I don't want to rush through this."

"Angela, this is us; we don't rush."

She laughed, "true."

So he slowly stroked from her waist to her hips, tugging her underwear off and leisurely almost to the point of nonchalance drifted them down her legs, making sure his hands just happened to graze her legs all the way down to her toes. She shivered; but not from being cold.

"Now you're overdressed again," she noted.

"You care to do something about that?" he dared.

Yes, she just might want to do something about that, but first she had to stop giggling. Tony found her giggling quite charming, he smiled and took her hands, pulling her up from her comfortable position. He took her place there, leaving her sitting and still giggling.

Fine, she could do this, and she realized she didn't have to wait until she stopped giggling. She took one hand and meandered her way from the nape of his neck all the way down to the waistband of his shorts; where she stopped and giggled even more. Tony was delighted by her happiness and the sparkle in her eyes.

"Turn about really is fair play," she said in a low voice, just before she clutched that waistband with both hands. If there was one moment in this night Angela hurried through, it was this. She had those shorts off and thrown somewhere in the bedroom so fast it shocked Tony.

She stopped giggling and crumpled herself onto Tony, which pleasantly surprised him, he enjoyed the sensation of the full lengths of their bodies touching. She kissed him thoroughly. He put his arms around her and held her tightly, turning just a little so they were both on their sides. Tony whispered, "I love you" to Angela just before he started nibbling her earlobe.

"Love you," was all Angela could say as she sank back into the pillows.

He honored their policy of 'not rushing' by taking his time as he nuzzled his way down her neck, his hand gently touching her waist as he did so. Angela put her arms around his neck, intending to draw little circles there, but even at this point she was too far gone to do no more than sigh; a fact which delighted Tony greatly.

He pulled his head away to gaze at her beauty, she opened her eyes, longing to know why he stopped. The love he saw in her eyes encouraged him to move his hand up her waist and drape it over a soft curve.

"Oh," she whimpered.

He circled his thumb, charmed by her reaction. He moved down, bringing his lips to touch her, his tongue lavishing her with attention.

"Tone," he heard her say faintly.

"Hmm?" he answered, never moving from where he was.

"'member...no rushing...we agreed."

He stopped, placed a small kiss where he had left off, looked up at her and said, "I remember," in a tone that made Angela shiver in anticipation. He smiled, wickedly, then switched the full force of his attention to her previously unexplored curve. She sighed and ran her fingers through his hair, thinking she must be the luckiest woman on the planet.

They were faithful to their agreement, taking their time caressing and cuddling, each of them enjoying the pleasures of touching and being touched. Eventually they both knew it was time to move their relationship to its long delayed consummation. Toward that objective, Angela pulled him closer. They looked at each other, but no words were spoken, there was no need for an, "are you sure?" from either of them. The time was now and they embraced it, at long last becoming one in action in addition to words. They did their best to prolong this as well, but passion took over, giving them both the gift of ecstasy.

They calmed, and looked into each others eyes, overwhelmed. Angela lost what little control she had left and started crying. Tony quickly sat up and pulled her close, holding her tightly. She put her arms around him and held on as though her life depended on it. He rocked her as she cried, comforting her with tender words.

"Oh Tony, it really happened," she sobbed.

He stroked her back.

"I was starting to think it would never happen."

He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Angela."

"Do you?"

"You couldn't tell from recent activities?"

She laughed and brought her head up to face him. He dried the remnants of her tears, and she smiled.

"I love to see you smile."

This only made her smile more; but her smile disappeared when they drew together for another unhurried kiss. They continued to touch; both lost in the intimacy of their feelings.

Finally parting, he touched her cheek, "I think this moment calls for champagne."

She smiled broadly in agreement.

"Of course this means we'll have to let go of each other for a bit."

"Do we have to?" she pouted, then she smiled, "lean back a little, I think I can get it." He obliged. It wasn't easy, she had to sit on his lap to reach past him, but he didn't seem to mind. She picked up the bottle and poured more champagne into each glass, then handed one glass to him and picked up the other for herself.

"Nice move, Angela, I'm impressed...and happy."

She laughed. "I don't know whose glass is whose though."

"Angela, at this point, does it really matter?"

She laughed wholeheartedly, "no, I suppose not."

"So, what do we drink to?"

She was too far gone to think clearly, "I don't know...finally?"

"How about, 'I love you'?"

The smile she gave him then could have lit up Paris, "I love you."

They touched glasses and sipped.

"All right, there's something I have to know," he asked.

"What?" she said, suddenly a little scared.

"What were you talking about earlier when you referred to champagnes 'other' uses?"

A wicked little grin formed, "I was thinking about how much more delicious champagne would taste if licked off you," then she took another sip of champagne, looking at him with the most innocent eyes he could possibly imagine.

He was speechless.

But intrigued.

Oh dear, Angela's grip on her glass seemed to have slipped, and some of her precious champagne spilled on to Tony. What was a woman to do? After all, one couldn't waste champagne. It was right then that Tony became intimately acquainted with Angela's other uses for champagne. Later that night he found out that champagne somehow tasted even better when licked off one's beloved.