Here's a little something for Ellibrial, since you asked so nicely! Welcome back!


Wheeler sees Linka sitting alone by the water's edge. He walks up to her, holds the stuffed penguin out to her and says,

"You forgot this on the boardwalk."

She is startled by him at first, but once she realizes who it is, she relaxes.

"You won this?"

"Yep."

"And you did not give it to Savannah?" She asks, keeping her eyes fixed on the penguin and not daring to look at Wheeler.

"I didn't win it for her. I won it for you. I saw that Kwame was trying to."

His revelation forces her to look up at him, unable to hide the surprised expression on her face, and even if she could, her voice would have given her shock away.

"You two were following us?"

"Nope…just me. I cancelled my plans with Savannah tonight."

"I saw you. Do not lie for my sake," she says angrily, hurt that he would lie to her on top of everything else that has gone on today.

"I'm not. I ran into her at the pier. I was alone…she had already lined up another date…guess you were right."

Linka is thrilled at this news, but hides it well.

"Sorry."

"For what? Being right? You've never apologized for being right about anything."

"Because I am always right so I never have to apologize for being wrong!"

"True," he admits.

Linka is eager to move past this. They both are. It's time to put this all behind them and move on. She's ready to take the first step.

"Thank you for the penguin. He is adorable."

"Yeah, I saw how much you wanted him."

"Did you pay the guy at the booth for it?"

"NO! I won him fair and square!"

"How many times did it take?" She teases.

"One! I was given four balls and had to knock down three stacks of bottles. I did it with one ball to spare. Too bad you weren't there to witness my greatness," he boasts.

"Da," she says sadly, thinking about how different her night could have been.

"If you want, I can go back and win you another one…a friend for this little guy here. You can watch this time."

"Do you think you can perform the same under pressure?"

"I'm cool as a cucumber when I'm under pressure."

"Ah. How silly of me to think otherwise, cool, calm, and collected are the first words that pop into mind when I think of you in the face of adversity," she says dryly.

"Really?"

"NYET! Of course not!"

They both laugh and then fall into an uneasy silence. Linka tries to force a conversation.

"So…what happened? Why did you cancel your date?" She quickly apologizes. "I am sorry, that is none of my business."

"No, it's ok…it kinda is your business since you were the reason I cancelled."

"I was?"

"Yeah. After what happened earlier…I can't even call it a fight…it was worse than any argument we've ever had before. It was a brawl without punches…not physical ones anyway…but there were a lot of emotional blows and those can hurt more than the physical kind…having been a victim of both, I know. So I wanted to apologize for all the things I said and did. I didn't mean any of it. I'm sorry I called you an ice queen…and I'm sorry I flicked you off."

"And I am sorry I told you to 'po'shyol 'na hui!'"

"I can't be mad if I don't know what it means…so spill it…did you swear at me?"

"Da."

"And it was a bad one?"

She chuckles.

"Da."

"Tell me."

"Nyet!"

"I can't forgive you if I don't know what I'm forgiving you for!" He presses.

She sighs.

"Fine. It means… 'blank off.'"

"And does that 'blank' start with an 'F'?"

Her only answer is to blush and look down at her penguin. Wheeler smiles widely.

"Nice. I'm pretty impressed. Didn't think you had it in you."

"You bring out the worst in me…and the best."

"Yoooooooou're welcome!" He says in a sing song tone.

She laughs and then turns serious.

"And I am sorry I said that I think so little of you…I do not…I think very highly of you, which is why I was so upset. I thought you should have known better."

"I did…just took me a little longer…and of course I had to argue with you. It would have been too easy for me to just agree with you!"

"And it would have been too easy for me to say, 'do not go out with her. Spend the evening hanging out with me instead.'"

"I wouldn't have argued with that," he says seriously, his previous joking tone gone.

Linka is still uncertain how Savannah and Wheeler ended up at the pier. According to him, he broke the date and Savannah found a quick replacement, but when Linka saw them together at the pier, she did not see anyone else. Was he telling her the truth?

"So when I saw you and Savannah at the pier…?"

"I was there looking for you…and I found you…having dinner with Kwame. He was holding your hand…"

"To comfort me. I was upset."

"…and then you moved to sit next to him and kissed him."

"On the cheek!" She protests.

He doesn't want to start another fight, but he's frustrated.

"Doesn't matter. It always seems like I have to ask you…BEG you for any sort of sign of affection like that. You only do it voluntarily when I'm in danger…and that's no big deal because I'm sure you'd be just as worried if it were anyone else."

"Nyet, it is different with you. And those are not the only times."

"Oh right…I forgot…you also need to be saying goodbye…is that what it's gonna take? Do I need to leave?"

"NYET! I could not do this without you…I do not want to."

"Then what do you want Linka?"

"This."

She grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him towards her, quickly bringing her lips to his before she loses her nerve. She's caught him off guard, just like she did at her grandmother's house in Russia, but there are two major differences…first, this isn't goodbye, and second, she doesn't plan on pulling away any time soon, especially now that he is responding.

She releases the death grip that she has on his shirt and slides her hand around to cup the back of his neck, lacing her fingers through his hair.

Not to be outdone and not taking any chances of her changing her mind and retreating, he rests his hand on her cheek, brushing his thumb over her soft skin. He uses his other hand to wrap around her back, holding her to him.

She needs to be closer so she moves to sit astride him, making her slightly taller than him. When he tilts his head back, his mouth opens wider beneath hers, inviting her to deepen their kiss. The passion and hunger behind this kiss is unlike anything Linka has ever experienced before.

Neither has Wheeler, but he's experienced enough to know that he needs to slow the pace. He pulls away and buries his face in the crook of her shoulder, nuzzling his nose against her, breathing her in and brushing his lips across her neck. He nips at her sensitive skin as he makes his way upwards to her ear.

"What were we talking about again?" He whispers.

She giggles, leans forward, and lays her head on his shoulder, mimicking what he had done earlier to her neck. When she brings her lips to rest next to his ear, she replies,

"I was telling you how I do not want to be with anyone else." She kisses his temple. "I do not want to spend my free time with anyone else." She kisses his cheek. "I do not want to kiss anyone else," she says as she brings her lips to his. "Ever," she murmurs against them.

"Mmm," he hums in affirmation as they resume their kissing.

Wheeler leans back, taking her with him, and then rolls over to brace himself above her. He dips his head down to kiss her neck, and as low as the collar of her shirt will allow him to go. He makes his way back up the other side of her neck and stops to pay extra attention to a particular spot that he noticed had caused her to gasp.

"You like that huh?"

"Da," she pants.

He lowers himself so that his body is pressed against hers, pushing her into the soft sand. His arms were getting tired of supporting his weight, but mostly he just wanted to feel as much of her as possible.

"I can't believe we are finally here," he says. "This is better than any of my dreams."

"Da, mine too. Because it is real. No more fighting. No more wondering what the other is thinking. No more hurting each other."

"No more talking," he says as he covers her lips with his.

She silently agrees with him by wrapping her arms around his back and holding him to her, sealing him against her by entangling her legs with his.

They are oblivious of everything around them. The lively nightlife of the boardwalk seems like a million miles away. The only noises they hear are the content sighs, hums of approval, and the blood pumping loudly in their ears as their hearts beat wildly.

Unfortunately, they also do not notice the encroaching waves as the tide rises until the edge of the ocean rushes up to meet them, putting an abrupt stop to their activities when Linka squeals as the cold water rushes under her and then back down as the waves recede back to the ocean.

Wheeler quickly climbs off her and lifts her up, cradling her in his arms as he carries her up the beach while they erupt in a fit of laughter.

"Oh nyet Yankee! My penguin!"

Wheeler turns around and sees the plush bird riding the waves back into the ocean. He rushes into the shallow water to retrieve the soaked toy.

She kisses the tip of his nose and leans her head against his.

"Always interrupted."

"At least we actually got to enjoy ourselves for a few minutes. Think that was Gaia's way of telling us to 'cool it?'"

"Nyet, I think it was high tide and bad timing on our part."

"Next time, we'll know not to make out so close to the ocean."

"Da. Maybe next time we should be somewhere a little more private…less chance of being disturbed."

"So does that mean there will be a second date?"

"Second? We have never even had a first!"

"Ok then…" he sets her down in front of him, wraps his arms low around her waist, and looks into her eyes. "So Linka, I was wondering…maybe if you were free tomorrow night, maybe we could…hang out? Get some dinner? Check out the boardwalk…and I think I need to win you a new penguin because that one is SOAKED!"

"He will dry…I do not want to replace this one, he is special…but I would love to spend tomorrow evening with you."

"Yeah?"

"Da."

"Awesome…can I walk you back to your room?"

"I would like that."

"Me too."

He puts his arm around her and pulls her against his side as they slowly walk up the beach and back to the hotel.

"You're soaked," he comments.

"Oh really? I had not noticed," she says sarcastically.

"Better get you inside. I don't want you getting sick and cancelling our date tomorrow."

"Viruses cause colds, Yankee, not BEING cold…but do not worry, nothing could keep me away from our date."


To Be Continued...