Kim is frustrated.

No. She is frustrated and mad, but also pensive and a little down.

First, she and Jack has had very little alone time in the past week since she came back from that family business trip. There are stolen moments and two dates, where they managed to let out some of the steam, but is feels somehow dirty and such a difference from the unhurried time spent in the hotels, where they had time to explore each other. So, apparently, she is very sensual and likes to take her time.

But beyond the obvious physical frustration, she also misses the times they went exploring new cities together, with no one getting in their way. She feels enormously selfish, but she wants Jack all to herself. To talk and to touch.

Second, her cousins from Tennessee are here and they are getting on her nerves. More accurately, its her cousin Sarah, who is bugging her. Sarah and Kim are practically the same age and, until Kim's family moved to Seaford, the two of them were classmates and somewhat friendly. Sarah is the opposite of Maddie. In fact Sarah is exactly what Maddie thought Kim was - mean girl, who was ostensible vapid. Only Sarah is not vapid. She is image conscious, for sure. And cultivates every aspect of her life to meet that certain image. But she is smart about it. There is plenty of admirable things she does: she volunteers and tutors. But all of it is a calculated effort and Kim can't quite give Sarah her due. She is also caustic and knows how to use words against people.

Sarah has been on Kim's case about the Otai offer ever since she came. At first it was all complimentary and congratulatory, but it did not last. Soon enough, Sarah started to question whether karate and the Otai scholarship are all that exceptional. And what exactly one does with the karate in 'real life'? Would Kim continue to be a sort of martial artist athlete? Is it a career path? How much can she make doing this? Would she end up being a karate teacher (sensei, Kim says, seething)? Teaching little kids in some strip mall in a suburb? Not that there is anything wrong with being a teacher. It is an honorable profession, shaping the new generation. And if Kim were to become a 'proper' teacher, it would be a great option and a good choice, especially when she has a family of her own. Does Kim plan to marry at some point? How many men would want a girl, who can beat them up with her left hand?

On and on, it went.

Sarah never tires of this topic.

And as much as Kim hates her cousin, part of her does wonder what she would do after the Otai, if she were to go there. It makes her think about her life in general and what she plans for a career. This is why she is pensive. She was always athletic and she can see herself doing that as a vocation. She can become an instructor of course. She can coach maybe. Either cheerleaders of gymnasts. She can choose the fitness/life style path. She can even go into law enforcement with her physical fitness level. But Kim quietly hopes for a career in sports journalism. It would combine the things she already likes: athletics and being on camera and reporting. All of these Kim has been mulling over for at least a year now. She even applied to the internship with the local TV station to get some experience in addition to the school channel work she's done. She can start the first week of July and with internship being six weeks long, she can complete before she has to answer Otai.

But Kim she does not want to talk about it to her cousin. Kim owes Sarah nothing.

So Kim tries to ignore Sarah, which is hard because they share a bedroom right now.

When Sarah is not questioning Kim's bright future as the karate kid, her cousin wants to know everything about Kim's personal life. Does she finally have a boyfriend? Oh, and how long has this been going on? She seems to recall that none of Kim's previous beaus lasted too long. Obviously, Kim spends too much time in the dojo with a rag-tag of friends (including an actual nerd). Sarah is willing to give a pass to Jack (Kim is ready to slap her cousin at this point), because for a skater he looks alright (Kim is sure that Sarah is actually blushing when Jack is mentioned). When Kim tells her that Jack is her current boyfriend (take that, Sarah), her cousin is actually silent for almost a minute (an achievement Kim is proud of), but then smiles sweetly and practically kills Kim with the few pointed words.

"Well, it can't be that serious. You are going away for a year. It is just a summer fling for both of you. Enjoy while it lasts. You don't expect him to wait for you, do you?"

Yeah, Kim is a little down after that.

She also feels very little compunctions when she tells her cousins that Bobby is an eccentric celebrity and would not like any strangers at his party.


Their little interludes in the car and then the mansion kitchen leave Kim unsettled. She wants that alone time with Jack like never before. She wants to kiss him without fear of being caught and interrupted.

She also wants to just talk to him.

Maybe not about her plans for life after high school, but to get the sense of what his plans are. She thinks they are very serious about their thing. At least she is and Jack has all but told her he loves her. But she does not know if he plans to go to college or stay the sensei route. Should she stay in Seaford, would they last through high school? And if they do, would he want to go to college together? Is she being crazy thinking this far in advance? How many people stay with their high school sweethearts?

Oh, is she turning into one of those girls, who plan their lives around a boy? She is being silly...

Only, she is not a random girl and Jack is not a random boy. They have been friends for a while and almost the entire time they have been friends, they have flirted with something more. Now that they finally are together, she does not want it to end or fade. She wants to be the couple that are high school sweethearts that stay together.

But, right now, Kim wants him. Simply wants him. His kisses in the kitchen, his hands on her, were electric and she is only a teenager. She wants some alone time. When they are together like this, there are no worries or doubts. Everything is clear and their connection is undeniable.

She is chatting with Milton about all the science museum she's been on her trip, when she hears shouts and before she catches on, Jerry is barreling into her with his hands full of cupcakes and she is taken down to the ground. When she gets up, her top is ruined: there are red, white and blue smears all over and she is so mad that she punches Jerry straight into solar plex.

"Ow, ow, ow. Jack get the scorpion off of me."

"That's it!" Kim shrieks and tries to punch him some more, but Jack grabs her from behind, hugging her and effectively pinning her hands and carries her away from Jerry.

"It's not my fault. I swear. Jack pushed me."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kim grouses, shaking Jack's hold off. "My top is ruined. I need to wash it off right now."

She peels the top up and peeks inside to see that the icing seeped through and she has sticky smears on her belly. "And clean myself off," she adds.

"Oh, just use any guest bedrooms for that. They should be fully stocked. I can find you a T-shirt, if you like." Bobby says already signalling to someone.

"That's fine. I brought my bathing suit. I can just wear the top, while my shirt dries." Kim's glad she thought ahead.

She goes into the mansion, feeling itchy and gross.


Jack cannot believe his luck. Kim is alone in the giant mansion, when everyone is outside and she is showering. He knows it would be too conspicuous if he leaves right away, but...

What the hell, he thinks.

The door to the bedroom is open and he follows the sound of running water to the bathroom. Its not locked.

He opens it slowly and is greeted with a sound of water splashing in the shower. It's already feels warm here – apparently, Kim likes her showers just shy of boiling. The shower curtain is a flimsy blue sheet, so while he can't actually see her, the shadow of her body through it is enough to get him going.

"Jack?"

He laughs as he closes the door behind him.

"Were you expecting someone else?" he teases.

"No," she says, and he can hear the smile in her voice. "But I did leave the door open."

He sits down on the closed toilet lid, and she pokes her head out from behind the curtain, clutching the plastic to her chest. Her face and chest are pink from the heat, and he'd like nothing more than to lick every droplet of water from her body.

"Somehow I never account for Jerry-related insanity."

He shrugs.

"No big deal." He glances at his reflection in the mirror over the vanity.

She cocks her head, looking dubious, and ducks back behind the curtain.

"Oh!" she says suddenly. "I got good news today. There will be no more family visits this summer. Isn't that awesome?"

He makes a humming noise of agreement, not sure what else to do. She's trying to have a normal conversation with him while she's on the other side of a thin sheet of plastic, all naked and wet – speech is a little beyond his capabilities at the moment. He sees her reach beside the shower faucet for a blue mesh sponge and then he sees the shadow of her hand moving it over her midsection and he knows that she's running it up her torso, over all her creamy, vanilla skin.

She's going to be the death of him.

That fact is more and more certain with every passing day.

He watches through the curtain as she steps under the shower's spray again, tilting her head back so the water falls over her but not her hair, and he almost wishes that he did not come up here because this is torture. The water turns off then, and her head reappears from behind the curtain.

"Could you hand me the towel?" she asks sweetly, gesturing toward the plush white cotton thrown across the vanity.

It would be fun to make her get out of the shower and get it herself, but that's not the game that she seems to want to play. So he stands and passes her the towel with a polite smile. It's large, so when she steps out of the tub, she's covered from her chest to past her knees. Still, there's no getting around the fact that she's naked under it, and when she looks up at him from beneath lowered lashes, it certainly doesn't seem all that innocent.

"Why exactly did you leave the door open?" he asks, amused.

She lifts her shoulders casually, like none of this is a big deal.

"I wanted to see what would happen," she purrs.

He pushes away from the vanity, and she takes a step toward him, and he's kissing her like he's wanted to since they parted ways in the kitchen. She wraps her arms around his neck and he easily lifts her off her feet so they're crushed together in the humid bathroom. Her towel comes loose between them and drops to the floor like an afterthought, so when he grabs at her butt to help her wrap her legs around his waist, he gets a handful of bare skin. He kisses his way down her throat, shifting her higher in his arms so he can reach her breasts.

"Oh, God," he moans against her skin. "Why do you smell like a Hershey Bar?"

"It's the body wash here," she says breathlessly. "Cocoa butter."

"You only have yourself to blame if I take a bite."

To prove his point, he nips at her shoulder and she breathes quietly ending in a long oh, her head lolling to the side to give him better access. He spins around, so he can sit her on the edge of the vanity, which doesn't really put them at the right height but he'll crouch down if he has to – the incentive is too strong not to make this work.

"I can't wait till your cousins' gone," he whispers against her lips.

She giggles, her hands slipping beneath his shirt to knead the muscles in his back. "Is there time?"

"That sounds like a challenge," he growls.

But there really isn't much time, so he doesn't bother trying to take off his clothes. He lets her undo his fly while he keeps on kissing her and palming her breasts. Her skin is still damp so he bends to lick some of the water away - she smells like chocolate and he's starving so he can't be blamed for fusing his lips to her body. He dips his fingers between her thighs, and she's already so wet that he finds himself thrusting into her hand with embarrassing urgency when she takes him out of his pants.

"Been too long..." he groans.

"It's not the same by myself," she tells him distractedly as she pumps her hand over him a few times - which feels so good that he has to press his face to the curve of her neck and just enjoy it for a second, until what she said hits him and he is even more turned on now.

"Oh, fuck, Kim..." he pants as he imagines Kim in her bed, thinking of him and getting hot and bothered and taking care of it. For all the cold showers he has to take...

She tries to move and position herself so that he touches her where she wants, but she's too short and can't quite maneuver. He moves her hand away from his erection and kneels down. She gasps but then taps her toes impatiently against his shoulders and he knows that his shirt is going to be a rumpled mess by the time they actually make it back to the party, but he's distracted by the velvety whiteness of her spread thighs and he runs his tongue along the soft, smooth skin. She smells amazing too, and he has to have a taste so he licks at her until she's squirming against the sink.

"Oh, oh, oh," she moans, tugging at his hair to pull him in. "We have to be quick…"

He'd like to argue, but she's probably right so he dives in and manages to work his fingers in. He is careful, because she is so tight, but she makes the sexy, little gasping sound that she always does when his fingers or tongue are inside and he waits for a second, trying to get his breathing back under control.

"Don't stop," she commands, her hands grabbing at his hips to try to get him to move. "Just…"

"Make you come?" he says with a grin.

Her eyes slip shut and her head falls back against the mirror. "Oh, God. Yes."

He winds his free arm around her waist and braces his knees on the floor (so unforgiving, but he does not care) to give himself some leverage. He goes for more speed than finesse. She is holding onto the vanity edge with one hand and the fingers on her other hand dig into his shoulder almost painfully and then she tightens around him, knocking a tube of toothpaste and bottle of hand soap off the vanity as she trembles through an orgasm that catches them both little off-guard.

He wants to draw it out a bit, but he figures they've only got 5 minutes before people start wondering what's taking them so long and Kim still has to get dressed, so he doesn't have the luxury. He gets up and her knees are around his hips and it is to tempting when his cock is close to her pussy, but she squeezes her knees around his hips once and then pushes him back a step and drops to the floor, her face in front of his hard-on.

Oh hell... He is going to come from just the image. The moment she takes him in and wraps her hands around his hips to urge him on, he knows that it would be over soon. She takes him as far as she can go and he fights the instincts to thrust in or to put his hands on her head. In fact, he grabs onto the vanity and clenches his teeth to stop the moaning. But he is not quite successful and makes a choking sound of half-curse, half-plea. She heard it because she looks up at him and the image finally does him in...

He makes a mental note to not go two days without seeing her again.