Melting Ice

Chapter 2

Fen skipped into the club, her hair piled on top of her head, accentuating her graceful neck and high cheekbones, looking around she caught sight of Maverick and Goose at the bar, wriggling between them she dug Mav in the ribs,

"Beer!" she demanded

"Hey!" greeted Maverick, hugging her to him "Beer for the lady!" he shouted to the bar man

"Lady!" remarked Goose "A beer swilling hoe's what you is girl!" he quipped

"Goosey!" Fen whined "You're just insanely jealous of my ability to drink you under the table, round the room and out the other side!" she laughed, throwing her head back, unaware of the man on the other side of the room, caught in a moment looking at her.

"Yeah you got me!" replied Goose "Flat on my back when you two are still packing 'em back"

"Flat on your back Goose, where you should be, So Dreamboat" Maverick turned his attention to Fen "Goose tells me you have Iceman in your sights?"

"Goose!" exclaimed Fen as Goose held his hands up in mock terror "No, I just er, was talking to him" she finished with a grin

"Bad road is talking" observed Maverick "Not like you to waste time with preliminaries Dream, must be one serious crush, you would have already been there and be on to the next by now – AH!" Maverick winced as Fen cuffed him.

"We're not all like you Mav" she retorted "Some of us have principles"

"Yeah just not you" he replied

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Fen smiled as she looked around her, her gaze catching on Slider, clowning around with Hollywood and some of the others, despite herself she wandered about, doing a few circuits of the club, before getting herself another drink, avoiding the other female naval officers and civvie employees of the Navy, stood by herself and slowly drank her drink, watching Goose get grief from Mav for failing the latest bet.

"All alone?" said a smooth voice behind her, Fen turned to see Iceman smiling down at her

"Not now" she said, the butterflies were back again "You?"

"Sometimes I like more sophisticated company" he raised an eyebrow to where Goose, Maverick, Slider, Hollywood and Wolfman were fooling around playing drinking games.

"Sure" she laughed "Iceman, right?"

"Tom" he insisted "Dream your call sign?"

"Yeah" she said "Fen Miller" she held her hand out, Ice taking her by surprise as he lifted it to his face and brushed her palm with his lips, she coloured.

"So, Dreamer, what is it you do here at Top Gun?" engaging her in conversation, even though he knew the answer, he still held her hand lightly in his, his eyes burning into hers.

"I'm on the chopper crew" she replied, heart crashing, really, she thought, annoyed, this wasn't on, he was only a man!

"Rescue?" Ice dropped her hand reluctantly as he drank his drink

"Yup" her hand suddenly felt as cold as his call sign "Winch man, an old term"

"Must be tough, a woman in a man's world" he observed

"I hold my own" she flared

"I have no doubt" he smiled "A man would need to be brave or stupid to cross you"

"Indeed he would!" said a voice next to Ice, both Iceman and Dream started, neither had noticed Maverick approach, Ice turned away, grimacing to himself, Damn Maverick!

"Maverick" ground out Iceman "Goose" nodding to Goose as he sauntered across, followed by the others.

They drifted apart and the moment was lost as the group became involved in another drinking game, it did not occur to Dream that she was the only woman, all the guys treated her as just another guy, fearful of her temper and Maverick's fists maybe. The only person who seemed to notice that she was a woman was Iceman, he joined in the antics at a bare minimum, watching Dream as she clambered over Goose and Hollywood to get in and out to the bar and restrooms.

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"You sure?" said Maverick, climbing into the taxi "Can drop you off on the way?"

Fen shook her head "Nah, I need some fresh air" she replied, starting to walk along as Maverick shut the door and the cabs tail lights faded down the road.

Fen was almost at the base gates when a figure stepped out of the shadows in front of her, she blinked thinking maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, Iceman stood in front of her, his whites still immaculate and crisp, she had been thinking about him, and for a mad second she considered if her mind a conjured him up.

"All alone again" he observed "That could be dangerous"

"Why?" she asked as he fell into step next to her.

"Lots of guys around here might find an attractive woman on her own too much of a temptation" he spoke quietly almost reflectively.

Fen snorted with humour "They'd get a lot more than they bargained for"

"I'm sure" he smiled, as they showed their passes at the security gate, and continued towards the residential quarters, stopping as they were about to part ways, Fen to the permanent personnel, Ice to the temporary student quarters.

"Night then" she said

"I'll walk you all the way" he said heading down the sidewalk "Like I said, temptation"

"Yours or theirs?" she asked, her head on one side as she walked next to him, looking up at him.

"I have self control" he smiled at her, dazzling "No matter what the temptation"

"Must make you a good pilot"

"It does" no trace of conceit in his voice, a statement.

"This is me" she turned to face him in front of a standard building "Thanks"

"Anytime" he said stepping forward slightly his head bent as he looked into her eyes.

She held his gaze as the butterflies started again "See you tomorrow then"

"You will" he said, nearly making her faint as he lightly kissed her lips and disappeared into the night, Fen touched her lips and smiled, letting herself into the building, unaware that Iceman watched her until she was out of sight, a frown creasing his brow.

Tom Kazanski walked slowly back to his quarters, he wasn't quite sure what it was about her, if he wanted her, he knew he could likely have her, he could tell that much from the way she looked at him, most women looked at Iceman like that. And he did want her, a lot, but he also wanted to wait, he didn't want the feeling of excitement when he saw her to go, the suspense, the will she or won't she? Strange, the usual goal was to get a woman into bed as soon as he saw them, and was very rarely disappointed. But not this time.