Speak Now

Chapter 10: Better Than Revenge

The next day, Kelly called me mid afternoon. I smiled as I answered the phone. "Hello, Beautiful."

"Hey. How are you today, Sexy?"

I smiled, for I could practically see her smiling even though that was impossible since we weren't on Skype. "Much better now that you called," I told her.

She sighed. "I'm afraid that's about to change."

I felt my feeling of elevation drop like a broken elevator. "Please don't tell me you've picked Marcus even after that beautiful night you and I had together yesterday."

"No, it's not that. Well, not exactly," Kelly said.

"Kel, you're killing me here. Just tell me what it is that I'm not going to like," I said. My stomach was in knots.

She sighed again. "Well, the thing is, Marcus and I are going on our next date this coming weekend."

"Okay. I can handle that!" I said with a smile. "That doesn't sound so bad." Then it clicked. "Wait. This coming weekend as in two days together?"

"Three," she corrected. "We're leaving on Friday morning, and coming back on Sunday evening."

"Leaving?" I asked. I swallowed hard. "Where?"

"Well, Marcus wanted to surprise me with a weekend getaway to Tuscany. He already spoke to the boss, and got me Friday off. Also, he already booked the tickets. He knew I always wanted to go there, so he figured this would be a great surprise," Kelly explained.

I clenched the phone so hard it should hurt, but my anger blinded me to the pain. How dare he? Italy was my country. So, I wasn't from there. Still, everyone who knows me—including Marcus—knows how much I love Italy. Now he was going to be the one taking her? Oh heck to the no! "That's an interesting choice of places to take you," I said, trying to not go ballistic.

"Well, like I said, I have been wanting to go there or a while," Kelly stated.

"He's not doing this for you. Well, maybe partly. He's mainly doing it to spite me. You know that, right?" I asked.

She sighed yet again. "Matthew, you're being paranoid."

"Am I?" I asked.

"Yes, you are! He knew I wanted to go there, so he planned this nice trip for us."

I bit my bottom lip. "Did you tell him what you and I did on our date?"

"Well, yes, but he had this planned before our date. I just only found out about it today," she explained.

"You guys both know how much I love Italy. He chose there specifically because he knew I had wanted to take you there." I was so angry, I wanted to punch a wall.

"Well, in all fairness, you were always partial to Rome. You never really mentioned Tuscany to me."

"It's still Italy. He knew how much this would hurt me, so he did it anyway," I insisted.

Kelly was quiet for a moment before speaking. "Not everything is about you, Matthew. You're always dissing him, and he has never once said a single bad thing about you."

I snorted. "That you know of." I was sure he was only being polite around her to earn her favor. "He just wants to look good for you. At least with me, I tell you exactly what's on my mind."

"Matthew, if you really are learning to grow up like you said you are, you'll quit complaining, and let me go. You had a chance to take me there too, but you didn't. Don't get me wrong. I loved the date you took me on. I wouldn't have changed a single thing! Well, except, I wouldn't have wanted Ale to bite your finger."

I couldn't help but smile at that, despite my anger. "It wasn't that bad. Just a nip."

"I love you, Matthew, but it's Marcus' turn now. If, sometime in the near future, you want to take me for a weekend getaway, you can. Heck, even if it's back to Tuscany, I'm all for it."

"I'm not going to recycle his dates. I can come up with my own, thank you very much," I grumbled.

"Well, you said you wanted to take me there, so, in a way, it is still your idea too. Besides, remember what I told you on our date? Even if I already do something with Marcus, it will still be unique if I do it with you because he's not you," Kelly reminded me.

"And I'm unique," I added.

"Exactly!" Kelly said.

It didn't make me feel much better, but I didn't want to start a war between us again, so, as much as what Marcus was doing to me annoyed me, I let it go. For now.

I sighed. "Well, I hope you enjoy it, but not so much you pick him over me."

"I'm not going to make a decision that soon," Kelly stated.

"Yeah, well, after your weekend with him, you might just change your mind," I said.

"Well, if you're really that worried, do something about it. Pick three days to be with me this week, and I'll make myself available," she said.

That was actually a good idea. It was too late to take her out of town, but I could still fight for her with all that I had and more. "All right. Tuesday through Thursday. How's that?" I asked her.

"The nanny has off Wednesdays," she said.

"So, we'll do something with the kids then," I suggested. "I'll bring Aven."

"All right! We can do that. I'm sure the kids will love to see both you and Aven again. I know I will."

I smiled, for her tone told me she wasn't just saying that. "All right! I'll talk to you on tomorrow at work, and we'll work out the details."

"I'll be looking forward to it," she said.

"Have a good rest of the day and a good night," I told her.

"You too. I really do love you, Matthew."

"I love you too," I assured her.

I could hear her kissing the phone. "Goodbye, My love."

I kissed the phone as well. "Goodbye," I said before hanging up.

I then sighed. Marcus may have won the battle, but I was sure as heck not going to let him with the war.

~There is nothing I do Better Than Revenge~

I knew just what I wanted to do on my second date with Kelly. True, it was something one would think we should do with the kids, but I thought it would be more fun if Kelly and I did it by ourselves. As much as I adored her children, and of course Aven is my heart, we'd be busy with them, and wouldn't be able to enjoy our time together as much if we did this with them. So, I figured we would go to Central Park and, as childish as it might sound, go sled riding.

I brought it up to her on Monday (which was next day) after work.

She grinned. "Sled riding? Doesn't that sound like a date we should save for when we have the kids?"

I nodded. "It does, I agree. But, I figured, aren't the most fun dates the dates where you can just forget about being an adult for the night and act like a child?"

"But, if we have the kids, it helps you remember how to act like one," she said with a wink. "Don't get me wrong. If you want to go sledding without the kids, then so be it. I say let's go for it."

"Just let me make one more point. How can you be reminded fully of what it is like to be a child if you have to be a parent? Don't get me wrong. I love, Aven, and I adore being a father. Still, every once in a while, isn't it nice just to pretend you're still a child yourself? To remember the fun and excitement you had as a child that you now only see through a child's eyes?" I asked.

Kelly nodded. "Well, when you put it that way..."

I grinned. "And, with no kids around, there is no one looking up to you, expecting you to be the grown up and give them guidance on what to do. You can be your own person, even if it's only for the night."

Kelly grinned brightly. "You already have me sold!"

I clapped my hands together. "Great! So, what do you say, I pick you up at six, then we can go anywhere you'd like to go for dinner. Then, we can go do our sled riding."

"I'll tell you what. I'll tell the children goodbye before I leave for work, and then, that way, you and I can leave right from work, and have all that more time to spend together?" she suggested.

"That sounds more than perfect," I said with a wink.

She kissed my cheek. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Me too," I said, wanting to kiss her lips, but knowing that I couldn't. We didn't want to say anything to our coworkers until we knew for sure that we were officially going to be dating. If we kissed now, someone was bound to see it. The studio had a lot of eyes, if you know what I mean.

So, I settled for kissing her cheek in return. Then, with longing looks and waves goodbye, Kelly and I headed out to our separate places. For me, the next day couldn't come soon enough. I hoped she felt the same.

~There is nothing I do Better Than Revenge~

Tuesday finally arrived, and it started off a great day.

Kelly and I were extra flirty while we taped. Even the director seemed to notice.

"Well, you two seem to be in a good mood!" he said.

"I am!" Kelly and I both said in unison. We then looked at each other and giggled.

The director smirked. "I want what you guys are on," he joked.

Kelly and I grinned knowingly at each other. I didn't need to be on anything. Kelly was my drug, and I hoped she felt the same way about me.

I tried not to show signs of distaste when I thought of her choosing Marcus to be her "drug." Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. I smirked. Marcus was a bad drug, and I was the good kind that makes you feel better.

"What?" Kelly asked with a smile, noticing the smile on my face.

"Just thinking about how you're my drug," I told her, quietly enough so that only she could hear me. "I know that's corny, but it's true. You make me happier than any drug ever could."

"I'm a lot better for you too," Kelly said with a wink as she latched onto my arm.

I laughed. "True!"

"I don't think it's corny at all." She rested her head against my shoulder. We were always this affectionate with each other, so nobody batted an eye when one of us leaned on the other. Besides, it wasn't like we were making out or anything, as much as much as I would like to. "I think it's sweet. You always say such nice things to me. Sometimes I don't feel I deserve them."

"Of course you deserve them! Why wouldn't you?" I asked in surprised.

"Well, for starters, I treated you like a jerk when you first told me how you felt about me," she began.

"We've already gotten past that," I reminded her. There was no use in bringing that up again.

"Then there's my indecisiveness on whom it is I want to be with," she said.

I shrugged. "You'll pick me soon enough." I grinned and winked at her.

She smiled at me, and kissed my cheek. "Possibly," she said.

We didn't talk about it any more after that. I was happy just leaving it on that good note anyway.

Finally, work was over, and we headed out for dinner. It was a beautiful night that almost felt like spring. It was nice not to have to wear our heavy jackets this time.

We took a cab, and headed over to where Kelly had chosen to eat.

I was expecting something glamorous, for, let's face it, Kelly is the definition of glamorous. However, she chose to eat a hot dog from a hot dog vender on a bench in Central Park.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked as we arrived at a vendor.

I smirked. "Not since you don't."

"I just thought it would be nice to sit and enjoy the park since there aren't that many days in January that actually feel like spring!" she said.

"Very true!" I said with a nod. "We might as well enjoy it!"

"It's weird though that there is even still enough snow to sled ride even though it's warm as spring out," she then commented.

I nodded. "It's insane," I agreed. "I guess it's a good thing we're going tonight. Tomorrow, the snow might be melted anyway."

She nodded. "True."

We got our hot dogs and sodas, then I paid the vender. Next, we sat, talked, and watched the people passing by. That was one of the nice things about the city—you never knew what you were going to see when people watching.

It was nice. We talked about anything and everything, and I felt like we were literally getting closer by the moment.

"All right!" Kelly said, once we had both finished our hot dogs. She took my trash, then stood up, and emptied it with her own trash in the trash bin beside her. "Sometimes a girl just needs something greasy and fattening to satisfy her craving!"

I stood up as well, and grinned. I pulled her closer to me. "And what about a different kind of craving?" I purred.

"Why don't you go ahead and 'settle' that craving for me?" she asked with an amused grin.

I laughed. "That joke is so old, and not even funny."

"Then why are you laughing?" she asked, laughing herself.

"Because it's so stupid!" I said.

She grabbed me, and brushed her lips up against my left ear. "Why don't you just shut me up with a kiss then?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "We're in public. What if people see?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I have an idea! Come here." She took my hand, and ran like the wind.

"Kel, wait up! Not so fast! I'm gonna get a cramp from eating then running," I complained as she pulled me away. I didn't mind though. I just liked razzing her.

Finally, we got underneath the Inscope Arch. It was slightly lit up under there, but no one was around. We had our privacy.

I smiled at her, and gently pressed her against the back of the wall. "I like the way you think," I said, gently stroking the sides of her hair.

"This wall is cold against my back," she said quietly, though, the way she was looking at me, and the way she was stroking my hair in return, I knew she really didn't mind.

I lowered my eyes. "I guess I'm just going to have to warm you up then, aren't I?"

She licked her lips and nodded, then our lips slowly met.

When our lips collided, we couldn't seem to stop ourselves for a moment. We continued to kiss for quite a while.

Eventually, she broke this kiss. "We better get going if we want to get to sled riding."

I nodded. We then latched arms, and walked out from under the bridge. I licked my lips, still tasting her on me. I loved the taste of her lips, even if she did currently taste like hot dog.

~There is nothing I do Better Than Revenge~

We headed to the store after. I, believe it or not, did not have any sleds. Kelly hadn't felt like dragging the ones she had around since we were going to dinner first. So, she decided an extra sled wouldn't hurt. She only had two anyway, which were Hermés and Helena's.

We got our sleds at FAO Schwarz, which worked out well since it wasn't far from the park. We both chose the wooden one, because it was the longest. The sleds were mainly made for children. Fifty-four inches was the longest they had, and it would have to do.

"Mine will go faster than yours," I told her as we headed out of the store.

She rolled her eyes. "Boy, please! Our sleds are exactly the same. I will still leave you coughing up snow!"

"We'll see, Rutherford!" I said as we headed over to the park, and then the best hill for sled riding.

"All right, do you want to put your money where your mouth is?" she asked me.

I raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

"You buy me a Birkin bag when you lose. The most expensive one there is!" She said with a grin.

I gasped. "Oh, right. All right. Then, when I win, you have to buy me the whole men's line from Brunello Cucinelli," I said, my arms crossed over my chest as I smirked smugly at her.

She tapped her lips. "How about this—winner buys dessert?" she revised.

I laughed. "Deal."

"It's not that I'm not sure I won't cream you. I would just feel bad, making you spend that much money on me," she said as we started our trek up the hill.

"Oh, that's nice and considerate of you," I said, amused.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned at me. "That's just the kind of woman I am—considerate."

"Full of it is more like it!" I said.

"Eat snow, Settle!" Kelly replied, pushing off down the hill then.

I gasped. "No fair! You cheated! You went before we said go!" I quickly sat on my sled, and slid down. It was kind of hard, for my legs were a good foot and a half longer than the sled. I wasn't about to let Kelly win though. I placed my feet on the foot bars, held tight to the rope, and leaned forward. Soon, I was rushing down the snow like lightening.

Lucky for me, I knew exactly how to steer the sled. I may not have owned one now, but wooden sleds went back years and years. I was riding these with my siblings since I was four.

Kelly, on the other hand, appeared to be having a slight but more trouble with her sled. She couldn't seem to steer it right.

I slid right past her, waving with one hand, and grinning at her.

She let out a cry of frustration. She landed quite a few seconds behind me. "Boo!" She pouted. "I'm not used to sledding on wooden sleds. My kids have the foam ones."

I smirked. "Excuses, excuses. You owe me dessert!" I stood up, then extended my hand to her to help her up.

She smiled, then pulled my hand down hard, taking me down along with it.

I fell on my butt.

Kelly cackled hysterically. "That's what you get!"

I stuck out my tongue at her. "You're a sore loser."

"Okay, maybe I am," she said with a shrug. She looked at me. "Best two out of three?"

"Not a chance!" I said with a grin.

It was she who stuck her tongue out at me this time.

We both stood up, then. We stood up by ourselves, for neither of us trusted the other not to pulls the other down.

We then climbed back up the hill, and raced down again. This time, we were dead even.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this now," Kelly said with a grin.

"You're doing all right," I said, not wanting to give her too much of a compliment.

"Face it. You're just afraid I'll beat you," she said.

"Hardly!" I said.

We raced up the hill again, laughing and pushing each other out of the way as we tried to be the first one on our sled and to the bottom of the hill.

We slid down at around the same time, but ended up accidentally crashing into each other at the end. Or, rather, Kelly crashed into me.

"I would have won, had you not crashed into me," I said.

She gasped. "I think it's the other way around, Mister! I would have won had you not crashed into me!"

"No way!" I said. "I'm a good sled driver."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Then apply for a job as Santa."

I sneered at her. "Cute."

We then grinned at each other, for of course, our banter was all in good fun.

Kelly's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wanna slide down together?"

I scrunched my eyebrows. "Can we both fit? Those sleds are small as it is."

"If we get close enough together, we can fit. One will just hold the other from behind," she explained.

I smiled at the thought of us being that close. "All right, but I'm steering."

She pouted. "Why can't I steer?"

"Because you aren't a good sled steerer," I said simply.

"I am a very good sled steerer!" she said with her arms crossed over her chest.

I laughed, and held my hands up in defense. "I'm not doing it if you steer."

She sighed. "Fine! But I don't think you're being very fair."

I smirked. I loved getting my way. "We'll just put your sled over here and out of the way for now," I said, setting her sled out of the way of sled riders.

We then headed back up the hill with my sled, Kelly pouting the whole way.

I couldn't help but smile. She was cute when she pouted. Well, she was cute all the time. She was especially cute when she pouted. I smiled even wider at the thought.

~There is nothing I do Better Than Revenge~

"Are you ready? Make sure you hold on extra tight!" I said.

"And so the real reason why you wanted to be the one to steer comes out!" Kelly said, hanging on tightly to me nevertheless.

"That's just an added bonus. Trust me, I'd like to hang on to you tightly just as much as I like you hanging onto me tightly. You can't steer, and that's a fact," I said smugly.

"Oh brother!" Kelly said, and I knew without looking that she was more than likely rolling her eyes.

"Lean with me," I said.

Kelly did as told, and soon, we were rushing down the hill.

"This is fun!" I said.

"Yeah, it is! You were right—it is making me feel like a kid again!" she said, sounding as if she was having just as much fun as I was.

I looked over my shoulder at her, and grinned. "See? Unlike you, I know how to steer!"

Her eyes suddenly grew wide. "Look out!" She pointed to the front of me.

I quickly turned back to watch where I was going, but it was too late. I crashed into a kid from behind, causing him to fall off of his sled, and roll down the hill.

I winced. "Sorry!" I called out.

The boy was crying by now.

Kelly and I arrived at the bottom of the hill, and Kelly instantly jumped off the sled, and ran over to the kid, who was now crying even harder in his mother's arms.

"Oh my gosh! Is he okay?" Kelly asked.

I climbed off the sled as well, and headed over to Kelly's side. I felt like a jerk. The kid looked to be no older than five. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was sledding," I said.

The mother held her son tight, and gently stroked his hair. She shot me a nasty look. "I know you weren't! You're an adult, for goodness sakes! You should know better than to look away when you're sledding down a hill with lots of people around, most of whom are children!"

"I know! I don't know what I was thinking. I'm really sorry!" I said. I felt like a world-class jerk. Kelly wasn't saying anything more, and I didn't dare look at her. Who knew what she thought of the whole situation?

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to my son!" the mother said.

She gently turned her son around to face me. His cheeks were tear strained, and his eyes were sad, and it broke my heart.

I got down onto my knees in front of him. "I'm really sorry. I should have been looking where I was going. Are you hurt?"

The kid wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "It's okay. Nothing hurt me. The snow is soft. I was just scared."

"Well, how about you take this, and you and your mother can go get a hot chocolate on me?" I asked him, taking a ten dollar bill out of my wallet, and handing it to him.

The boy smiled, and took the money. "Thank you," he said,

"You're very welcome!" I said with a smile.

The mother glared at me, and picked her son up. "Now you're bribing him and me for forgiveness? Nice. You know what?" She took the money from her son, and handed it back to me. "You can keep your stupid money. I can afford to buy my son and I hot chocolates all by myself, thank you very much! With the way you steer, I suggest you start riding a plastic sled instead. Those stupid metal sleds can really hurt someone! Actually, you know what? Just stay off the sleds all together. You'd be doing us all a big favor!"

Kelly picked up the boy's red plastic sled, and handed it to her.

"Give me that!" the mother snapped, pulling the sled away.

I sighed. "Hold on a minute. I have something that will make it up to your son, and it isn't a bribe," I said to the mother.

She still glared at me. "What could you possibly do to make it up to him?"

"Wait here a moment," I ordered, holding a hand up to her.

I heard her grumbling in the background as I then took off up the hill. I made it to the top, then looked down, and took in a deep breath. Then, I slowly let it out. Then, I lay down at the top of the hill, and rolled down the hill using only my body. I made sure it was a section of the hill where nobody was sled riding. After all, I didn't want to hurt any more kids.

Finally, I made it to the bottom. I actually rolled so fast, I went past the tree free zone, and rolled into a tree. "Okay, ow." I said before managing to get myself up. I brushed the snow from my clothes. At least the tree had stopped me from rolling any further.

I walked back over to the mother. Only, she and her son were gone, and it was only Kelly standing there. "Where did they go?" I asked, looking around.

Kelly smirked. "She took her son and left when you were only halfway up the hill. She muttered something about you being a nut job, then took right off."

"What a witch! I said I was sorry," I grumbled. I rubbed my side, where it had hit the tree. "I did all that for nothing!"

She smiled. "You can't take it personal. Being a mother myself, I know where she was coming from. If someone hurts your child, you defend your child at all costs." She burst into laughter then. "So much for you being such a good steerer!"

"Oh, shut up!" I grumbled.

She snickered. "Now go sit in a corner, and think about what you did!"

I fake laughed. "Haha, very funny. She didn't have to be so nasty about it! I said I was sorry. I was trying to be nice when I gave the kid that ten. Fine, then! She didn't deserve a free hot chocolate anyway!" I had already placed the money back in my pocket. "I rolled down the hill trying to pay the kid back for accidentally making him roll down the hill, and he didn't even get to see it!" I then grumbled.

Kelly latched her arm with mine. "I saw it. It wasn't for nothing. I thought that was very sweet of you to do. I take what I said before back. Protective mother or not, she really is a witch."

We grinned at each other.

"So, where do you want to go now?" I asked her.

She pulled me close to her, and brushed her lips against my right ear. "Back to your place."

I shivered, and it wasn't because of the cold. "My place?" I asked in surprise.

"I believe you owe me some dessert," she purred.

"I'm kind of in dire need of heading to the grocery store. It might be better for us to go out." I grinned. I knew what she meant, but I wanted to make absolutely sure.

She smiled at me, and gently stroked some hair out of my eyes. "In case I didn't make myself clear enough, you're going to be my dessert..and I yours."

I licked my lips. This was almost too good to be true. "Let's get a taxi." I said.

She nodded, then latched onto my arm.

We then practically ran out to find a taxi. I wished we could teleport back to my place, for I had to have her now. Though, I supposed, if I waited this long to have her, ten minutes more wouldn't hurt.

~There is nothing I do Better Than Revenge~

As soon as we got into my apartment, I locked the door behind us. We were, kissing each other frantically, our hands all over the other.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I asked. "I don't want you getting caught up in the moment, then regretting it come morning," I said to her.

"I'm not drunk this time. Last time, I only got drunk because I hated seeing you with Leyla, and I hated myself for pushing you away. I'm glad you stopped me from sleeping with you last time, but only because I want to be sober for our first time together. I wouldn't have regretted sleeping with you back then, and I won't regret sleeping with you now either," she assured me.

I took her face between my hands, and kissed her hard and passionate, then took her hand, and pulled her along with me to the bedroom. I closed the door behind us, and turned to look at her again. She was looking at the bed with a worried look on her face.

"What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?" I asked, my hands wrapped around her waist.

She blushed. "I know it sounds silly, but..."

"But what?" I asked her, kissing down the side of her neck.

"Are the sheets clean?" She blushed even more. "I don't know. I just don't want to make love with you under the same sheets you made love to Leyla under."

I grinned. "Of course they're clean! I made sure they were clean in case tonight was the night you picked me. In fact, I made sure they were clean the night of our first date as well."

She grinned too, then kissed me softly on the lips. "I love you. Promise me, if we do this, if we get together and it one day ends up not turning out, it won't ruin what we have. I don't want to lose you or our friendship." She gently stroked my cheek.

I took her face between my hands, and stared her deep in the eyes. "Kel, I doubt anything will make us break up, but, if it does, I promise you, nothing could ever make me stop loving you and wanting to be your best friend."

"I love you too," she said.

We kissed then, soft at first, but then more passionate.

She pulled off my shirt, and I pulled off hers.

I then kicked off my boots and socks while she kicked off hers.

She undid my pants and got them off me, and then I did the same for her pants.

Finally, we were left only in our underwear.

I couldn't resist her any longer. I held her close and unlatched her bra, then slipped it off. I then admired her body. "I didn't think you could possibly get any more beautiful, but here you are, more beautiful than I've ever seen you before," I told her.

She took my left hand and placed them over right breast. "I want to be with you now," she said. She then took me in her arms, and whispered in my left ear, all the while gently grasping my hair in her hands. "Make love to me, Matthew. Now. Please?"

I nodded. "You never have to beg me, Kel. Never!" I pulled back the covers, then picked her up, and gently lay her on her back on the bed.

She smiled cheekily at me, and slipped off her underwear. She dropped it to the floor.

I ran my hands slowly down her stomach, and gently slipped my underwear off and to the floor as well.

I then climbed into bed with her. "Are you sure?" I whispered.

She nodded, and wrapped her legs around me. She kissed my lips. "I love you," she said, looking in my eyes. "I have for a very long time now, and I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life."

"You're not going to regret this," I told her, gently kissing the side of her neck. "I promise you."

"I know," she whispered.

We kissed again, and I began to make love to her. I knew I wouldn't ever regret it either.

~There is nothing I do Better Than Revenge~

I held her in my arms after, and kissed her left shoulder. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

She smiled up at me. "You know I am. You were incredible." She took my face between her hands, and gently kissed me. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, meaning it now more than ever.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked me, smiling at me, and gently stroking my cheek.

I laughed. "Kel, that's like asking me if I need oxygen to breathe! Of course I enjoyed it."

She gently trailed a finger down my chest. "I guess I just mean, was I good?" She looked up at me again. "Was it what you thought it would be?"

"Everything I dreamed and more!" I told her, meaning it with my whole being.

She smiled, the relief clear on her face. "Good!"

We kissed a little bit more, then just lay in each other's arms for a bit.

Eventually, she sat up and stretched. "Do you mind if I take a shower?"

I grinned. "Do you mind if I join you?"

She grinned too. "I'll go get the water nice and warm for us."

"I'll be there in a moment," I told her.

She smiled, then disappeared into the bathroom.

I watched her naked body retreat to the bathroom.

I then sighed, and lay back on the bed, my head resting on my hands. I couldn't help but think how funny it was that, first, I thought Marcus had gotten one over on me, and I was so angry with him. Now, without even meaning to, I had gotten one over on Marcus. The best thing was, it had just happened naturally, and it wasn't even for revenge when I did it.

The water turned on, and I smiled. I got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom.

As I grabbed Kelly, and kissed her hard, I couldn't help but think how this was much better than revenge.