Chapter 1: Jim + Kate = love
Kate parked her four wheel drive in front of Jim's house. She still couldn't understand how a single man with an army salary could afford such a great place. Not that her own place wasn't good but from what she understood Jim owned this place and she only rented hers for a period of time.
He hadn't lied when he had described his place. He really did have a big veranda with ocean view and sea breezes. On it was a huge barbecue which was well used by the looks of it. This wasn't her first visit and she too had used the famous barbecue together with Jim.
Jim's jeep wasn't in his driveway but he could have put it inside the garage to make some space for her. Kate got out of the car and grabbed her bag and the bottle of Chablis which she had bought to celebrate their first month together.
Maybe it was a bit silly to celebrate any of that. She wasn't a young teenager anymore or a crazy twenty-some youngster but Jim brought this out in her; the silliness the spontaneous e-mails or phone calls to and from one another. She hadn't planned this but she was falling in love with Jim.
Thinking about what the night would bring Kate walked up to the door and rang the bell. They might have a month old relationship but giving each other keys to each other's house was a step they hadn't taken yet.
Eagerly she waited for Jim to open but after a second ring she realised he wasn't there. Luckily Jim had told her where he kept his spare key – a not so obvious place so it would have taken her ages to find it if he hadn't told her – and with it she entered his house.
"Jim?" Kate said, entering the seemingly empty house. "Jim are you at home?" she said closing the door and walking towards the kitchen. There, Kate put the bottle of wine on the counter before she walked up the stairs to see if Jim was in his bed- or bathroom.
From her pocket Kate pulled her mobile phone and sent Jim a text message asking him where he was. It wasn't like him not to be home when she would come over. Not that she was worried though, and she knew he wouldn't mind her being in his house on her own. It just was the first time that it happened and it did feel a bit awkward.
Kate walked back down again and stopped at the bottom of the stairs to have a good look around his house. Now he wasn't here she could shamelessly sniff around and try and find little secrets about him.
There were very few traces to be found of Jim's work. A picture here and there and some mementos from his training days but mainly there were lots of cultural ornaments to be found. Bright, warm colours were used all around giving it an inviting look.
The first time Kate had visited his place she had been really nervous about what to expect. He was this tough SAS guy from work but when she arrived at his place she saw a whole different side of Jim. He had looked so different out of his uniform and his house looked cosy and inviting.
Every guy she had ever been serious with she had met in work related situations and their houses had always looked like one big office. Fortunately Jim's place wasn't anything like that and after just a few visits Kate had started to feel more and more at home. It was like she belonged there, with Jim, and she wanted to know as much as possible about him as she could.
"You are a big softy," Kate chuckled when she picked up a picture frame with a picture of broad smiling Jim in front of an ice-cream parlour, acting all excited about all the choices of ice-cream he could pick from. "You and your desserts," she added while softly putting the frame back in its original place.
Kate looked in the direction of the kitchen. "Desserts," she said, smiling. The last time he had tried to make his famous chocolate mousse but had failed miserably. Every excuse he could think of was tried on her but she hadn't bought any of it and used the incident to tease him mercifully.
Would Jim have tried another batch of chocolate mousse? The only way to find out was to open his fridge and see if there was anything in there.
With her head stuck in the fridge Kate couldn't miss the couple of cups filled with nice smelling brown stuff. "Did you give yourself enough time to make them or are we going to have another round of chocolate sludge?" she asked while she put her finger on one of them to check if the chocolate was hardened.
"What are you doing in my fridge, smudge?" Jim asked before he pulled her out of it.
Kate wanted to turn around but hit her head against the top of the fridge and shrieked. "Jim! You… Where…? How…?" Kate tried to say while hiding the fact she was checking the dessert.
"Yes I made some more to prove to you, once and for all, my chocolate mouse is the best in the country," Jim teased after he saw what Kate had been looking for.
Kate laughed and leaned against Jim to kiss him. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to know what's for dessert," she said as innocently as she could. "But what is that?" she asked when she saw a tray full of meat on the counter, next to the bottle of Chablis.
Jim turned around and cleared his throat. "That is, uhm, your dinner. You weren't supposed to see this but you're an hour early," he explained.
Kate looked at her watch and shook her head. "No I'm not! We had agreed I would be here around six," she protested.
Jim laughed and kissed her on her head. "You didn't give me any time to reply. You hung up the phone before I could say anything remember," he said. "Let's not fight about it. Have you been here long? Found anything special while you were snooping through my house?" he teased her.
"Besides the chocolate mousse?" Kate said with a smirk. "At least you made the dessert yourself. I should be glad I came early because you would never have owned up to the fact you didn't prepare it yourself," Kate teased him some more, pointing at the tray.
"You know how to hurt a man," Jim pretended to be hurt before he opened the fridge again. "You were so preoccupied with your dessert that you didn't even notice the nice salads I made as well. I just couldn't find the time to marinade the meat as well and…"
Kate put her finger on his lips before he could say anything else. "You don't have to defend yourself and I'm sorry I'm early and stuffed up your schedule," she said.
Jim pulled her close to him and kissed her on the top of her head. "You're never too early and you can't help it the navy screwed up your sense of timing," he said before he started laughing. Kate started to punch him while she laughed as well.
"I'm going to have a shower. I'll give you another half hour to snoop around or you could try and start the barbie," Jim said. "If you're capable," he mocked before he ran away from any more punches Kate could give him.
Half an hour later Jim reappeared on the veranda where Kate was overlooking the ocean view. "It's pretty, huh?" he said while he put his arm around her waist.
Kate didn't know what to say and just nodded.
"I see you lit the barbie, I'm impressed," Jim said looking at the barbecue which was ready for its first load of meat.
"I'm not completely incapable and they do teach us a lot of good stuff in the navy," Kate answered dreamily. "Oh Jim, just look at this view. If it wasn't for…" she said but Jim wouldn't let her finish her sentence.
"She's off duty and she still can't get her eyes off the sea!" Jim pouted.
Kate turned around and threw herself in his arms. "You didn't let me finish you silly soft, but still tough, army guy. I wanted to say that the view looks great but it's nothing compared to you," she finally finished her sentence.
Jim smiled and caressed her back lovingly. "Kate McGregor you might look tough in a navy uniform but I love you so much more when you're in your civvies and have a smile on your face," Jim complimented her.
"That's because you put it there," Kate said, referring to the smile. "Come on. Let's put something on that wonderfully lit fire before I've got to ring the neighbour again to re-light it," Kate said smilingly.
After they ate and let the barbecue go out Kate and Jim sat down in his swing. She was comfortably in his arms while he planted soft kisses everywhere he could. Kate had her head on his chest but made sure she could still see his face.
"It's so nice being here with you," Kate said. She hadn't been this relaxed in months and if it was possible she would stay here as long as she could.
"I like it having you here as well," Jim admitted. "What time do you sail tomorrow?" he asked.
Kate shrugged. "Not sure what time we actually sail but I've got a meeting at 0800 at Navcom," she answered forlornly. "I wished I hadn't because I'll have to go home soon. That is if I want to wake up in time," she added.
Jim caressed her back and slid his hand under the hem of her shirt. "Poor you," he teased. "I had so many great plans for tonight."
Kate started to smile and let her own hand wander under his shirt. "What kind of plans did you have in mind?" she asked curiously.
"If I would tell you, you're going to regret the fact you've got to go home so I'd better not do that or Mike Flynn is going to have a cranky XO tomorrow," Jim said as seriously as he could but Kate could see he was playing games with her.
"Since when do you care what Mike thinks? Besides, he's going to have a cranky XO anyway. We're away for at least ten days and in that time I can't see my boyfriend," Kate replied while she removed her hand from his back and started to unbutton his shirt.
"Boyfriend?" Jim asked shocked. "Does that mean you're my girlfriend?" He took hold of her hands and looked into her eyes. "Oh Kate! I love you so much. We'll be fine. We didn't see each other for three years and we still have feelings for each other. I know I can survive those ten days and you will too," he said sternly.
Kate nodded slowly and kissed him on his lips. "I did bring my toothbrush and uniform," she whispered before she kissed him again, this time a lot more demanding.
"And I washed your undies from last time so if you forget to bring those," Jim said hopeful.
Kate smiled and put her head down on his bare chest. "Then I'll stay the night if you don't mind," she said, knowing the answer.
Jim had both his hands underneath her shirt and was caressing her back. He wanted to do so much more but would never do that on his veranda where so many people could still intrude. It was secluded but it still felt wrong to undress a woman there.
"You mind taking this to the bedroom?" Jim suggested when he noticed Kate was trying to unbuckle his belt. She either had a bit too much to drink or was really in need of some action. "Come on. We'll lock up and go to bed. I'll give you something to remember while you're away," he said jokingly.
Kate got up and then helped Jim. "You've got tickets on yourself but hey, I still love you. Just make sure I can still work tomorrow," she teased him back.
"You know me smudge. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," he said before he pulled her in an embrace and gave her another passionate kiss. "Let's lock up and go to bed."