It was Monday morning and Pepper was desperately trying to forget the morning after Rhodey's party. She woke up with Tony and she was topless with only a bathing suit bottom. As soon as she opened her eyes it all came back to her. The hottub, the kiss, the feeling of his lips on her nipples, his soft hands rubbing her off. She really couldn't believe that they had done those things. She really thought it was another one of her daydreams. She slipped out the next morning while he was still asleep and she made a quick stop at home to get some clothes and then she spent Sunday night at Jillian's in case Tony decided to show up at her house. She was not ready to talk about it. She thought about what her story was going to be. She was going to tell Tony that when she woke up and she was topless in the bed with him even though she doesn't remember anything she panicked and she was so embarrassed. She entered the mansion and Tony was waiting for her. She looked at him and then looked away. She was mortified.

"Mr. Stark I don't know what happened but I'm sorry. It was unprofessional of me and if you want to fire me I totally understand"

"I don't want to fire you. I want to talk about what happened," he exclaimed.

"Tony the last thing I remember is finding you in the hottub where Rhodey was doing his renovations. I'm not sure I want to know. I'm in a relationship and if something happened between us then it was a horrible mistake" she said with a panic in her voice.

Tony wanted to push the issue. He wanted to see if she was lying and he wanted to tell her that she was the one who initiated the whole thing. But he could see the clear distress on her face and the panic in her voice and he decided to just let it go. He couldn't risk screwing this up and he was already at a disadvantage.

"Ok" was all he could muster.

They rode to the office in silence and Pepper could still feel the suction of his lips on her nipples and it was becoming increasingly bothersome. She felt her body temperature rising and she took off her blazer. She didn't care that Tony could see her in her silk camisole.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just really hot in here" she said fanning herself.

"That's because you're in here" he said.

Tony was so upset he wanted to keep quiet but this was Pepper and he just couldn't.

"You really don't remember anything from Saturday? It was really quite marvelous" he said smiling at her.

"No I don't. All I know is that I drank waaaayyyyyy too much" she said.

"You get very honest when you drink Pep"

"Tony I don't want to know what happened. Can we leave it at that?" she asked as visions of him with his hand down her pants re-entered her mind.

She needed to somehow forget and then as if he read her mind her phone went off. It was Trevor sending a text.

Hope you had a great weekend. Have dinner with me tonight at my place

Pepper looked at the phone thoughtfully and it was a no brainer.

I would love to have dinner at your place. I missed you. Welcome home.

Tony was watching her intently. Pepper smiled really big.

"I have a date tonight" she said smiling.

Tony felt his insides twisting.

"Are you going to tell him how you made the first move when you kissed me? And how you let me take your top off and annihilate your nipples and how I rubbed you off. And how you wanted to have sex and the only reason we didn't was because I had too much whiskey" he said.

Pepper was burning red from the heat of the memory and her anger. He just couldn't keep his mouth shut. She was ready to blow up.

"I already told you I was too drunk. I didn't know what I was doing" she said angrily.

"People are most honest when they're drunk. You told me Jillian and your Sybian machine were because you were horny for me. You being drunk doesn't change the fact that you want me" he said.

Pepper was livid.

"How dare you? I'm done with this conversation" Pepper said trying to find her earbuds.

"Avoiding it isn't going to make it go away" he pressed.

"You know you can be a real jerk sometimes" Pepper said with tears in her eyes just as they pulled up to the office.

Pepper opened the door and ran inside quickly. She picked up the pace to put lots of distance between her and Tony. She took the elevator and went to the office quickly. She was on the computer typing furiously and grabbing for papers frantically. She only had about an hour worth of work and she wanted to be done with it so she could work remotely. She looked at the time and she had a call coming in. She was thankful for that call just as Tony walked in.

She sat there in the chair and listened to the person on the other end babble on and on. She periodically took notes while avoiding Tony who was still patiently waiting for Pepper to be free. When she finally hung up and faced him her eyes were red and puffy.

"Pep I'm sorry. You're 100 percent right. I won't bring it up again" he said feeling defeated.

"Tony I'm really upset about this. We're ok but I need time" Pepper said.

Tony nodded with sadness in his eyes.

…..,

Pepper spent the rest of the day thinking over everything that happened with Tony. The situation had gotten way out of hand. This is why she needed to stop spending so much free time with Tony. She was going to focus on her relationship with Trevor. No more lingering around at Tony's place when she had no work to do. She was going to find work and spend time at the office. This was giving Tony a false sense of hope about what their relationship really was. She had lust for Tony and she was going to flush it out.

Trevor picked her up at seven pm sharp and Pepper was relieved to see him.

"You look great," he said as he drank her in and leaned in for a kiss.

"Thanks" Pepper said.

She wore an olive green silk dress and nude strappy heels. She avoided blue since she knew how much Tony loved her in blue.

"I have been busy. I've been preparing quite a meal. Cooking is a side hobby of mine" he said once they reached his home.

His home was expensive and modern. It was impressive but not quite as impressive as Tony's.

"Would you like some wine?" he asked.

Pepper nodded.

"Make yourself at home. I just need to finish a few last minute things before we eat" he said.

Pepper saw down on the couch and admired the architecture. She sunk into the cushions and cleared her mind of Tony completely. She looked over at Trevor and tried to work through the feelings she was having for him.

He's kind, intelligent and funny. He goes out of his way to do things for me and cares about my feelings. He doesn't invade my privacy or smother me. He gives me space. He's handsome. He's a great kisser. He courted me. He hasn't tried to push me into bed. I think….I love him, Pepper thought.

" Dinner is served. Black bean enchiladas with pumpkin" he said as he opened the lid to one of his glass trays.

"That sounds simply delightful" she said.

…

Pepper lay still in the bed with Trevor and she still couldn't calm her heart. She had done it. She had slept with Trevor for the first time and it felt really good. She felt mostly satisfied for the first time in awhile as long as she didn't have to look at Tony who she constantly fantasizes about. She wasn't thinking about Tony in this moment at all. She felt euphoric from the orgasms he gave her and he lay in bed caressing her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You're amazing Pepper. And there is no way I'm going to be able to let you go ever" he said.

"Good" she said as she nuzzled him and they went to sleep.