Let the Games Begin
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Chapter 21 - CALLING IT KIPS
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"At long last," Becker said as he shut the door to the bedroom.
Jess smiled - she knew exactly how he felt. While she'd enjoyed their excursion to Hatwalk, it had extended much later into the afternoon than she'd anticipated, and she was dead on her feet by the time they'd made it back to the flat. Jess kicked off her shoes and eagerly crawled on top of her bed, which she'd neatly made up almost a day and a half ago now, saying, "I know - I'm so tired, I wasn't even sure I was going to make it up the stairs."
Becker, who'd just begun to lie down beside her, paused. "I...uh...meant the two of us being alone."
"Oh. That, too," Jess said, smiling warmly as Becker's head reached the pillow next to hers. Despite her exhaustion, she leant forward to give him a kiss and was almost instantly lost in his embrace. Sure, they'd snogged plenty on his couch before the Games, and they'd spent time alone together in his car these past few days, but this was the first time they'd actually shared a bed...or at least the first time when they weren't merely sleeping with Emily inches away. Even when they'd gone away together for his father's retirement bash, Becker had been a perfect gentleman and gotten her her own room, though he'd seemed more than willing to let her stay in his if she'd wanted. But it was still early days, and she hadn't wanted to give his parents the wrong impression, so she'd stayed away. She was now rethinking that decision, though, for it felt so lovely to be lying here in his arms.
Though something didn't feel quite right.
She attempted to pull away from the kiss, saying, "Would you...um...mind...?" Becker pulled back, raising his eyebrows, and she could feel her cheeks growing warm, embarrassed to say it aloud. "Would it be okay if we...switched sides?" After all, he'd been on her other side when she'd fallen asleep in his arms the other night, and ever since that's where she'd been imagining him in her daydreams.
Becker looked almost relieved at the simple request, although he didn't immediately comply. Instead he resumed the kiss, pulling her even closer, wrapping his arms tightly about her waist. She didn't even realise what he had planned until suddenly he was rolling over, pulling her up and over him as she gave an involuntary squeak of surprise. Once she was settled on the other side, Becker pulled back, clearly amused. "Better?" he asked.
It was, only now she was precariously close to the edge, and she didn't want to fall off as Becker had the other morning. "Actually, can you...?"
He must've sensed her concern for he held her close once again as he shimmied backwards towards the middle of the bed, pulling her with him. Now she was no longer in danger of rolling off, but her skirt had ridden up during the shimmying, and she shivered from the sudden draught. She extricated herself from his embrace, sitting up and grabbing her grandmother's quilt, which was neatly folded at the foot of the bed. As she lay back down, pulling the warm covering over her, Becker frowned.
"It's a summer afternoon," he pointed out. "Is that really necessary?"
Jess nodded apologetically. "You know how cold I get in my sleep."
He nodded. "Then mind if I...?" he asked, stripping off his t-shirt before joining her beneath the quilt. As his muscular arms wrapped around her again, he seemingly discovered the reason for her sudden chill as his hand came to rest on her bare thigh, sending shivers of another kind through her. He smiled, teasing, "A bit of a draught, yeah?"
She nodded as he resumed their kissing, his hand slowly exposing more of her thigh as it roamed. Although she had been looking forward to getting some sleep, his touch felt amazing, and she was pleased she'd suggested-
The sound of the bedroom door opening sent a rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She immediately attempted to scramble away from Becker, so it wouldn't look like they'd been up to anything, but in so doing accidentally kneed him. As he groaned and doubled over in pain, Jess was torn as to whether to tend to him or to whomever was at the door. She quickly offered a soft "Sorry!" before rolling over to see who'd entered.
Emily had already taken a few steps into the room but must've paused when Becker cried out. "I beg your pardon," she quickly offered. "I did not mean to interrupt. I merely wanted to retrieve my book."
"No problem," Jess said cheerily, trying to put her friend at ease. "And...you weren't interrupting anything. We were just...trying to get some rest."
Emily raised a suspicious eyebrow but said nothing. She grabbed her tome from the bedside table and scurried out, closing the door behind her.
As Jess rolled back over, Becker commented, "Have you considered registering your knees as deadly weapons?"
"I'm so sorry!" she said.
"S'okay," he said, adding under his breath, "I didn't need 'em anyway."
Jess gave a guilty moan and quickly kissed him, hoping to make them both feel better. Unfortunately, the rush of adrenaline she'd just received, instead of jolting her awake, had only served to remind her of just how knackered she truly was. And though she tried her best to suppress it, she eventually let out a huge yawn. Becker pulled back, clearly trying to hide his disappointment as he stated more than asked, "You need to sleep."
"I'm sorry," she said again, but Becker cut her off with a quick peck.
"Jess, stop apologising. You promised a snog and a kip - you made good on the snog, now it's my turn to make good on the kip."
Jess smiled and gave him another kiss. "I really don't deserve you, you know that?"
Becker nodded. "I'm well-aware," he teased drily, and she playfully swatted him before rolling over in his arms and snuggling back against his bare chest. He gently kissed her hair as he bent his knees to properly spoon her. "Comfy?" he asked.
"Mmm, lovely," Jess mumbled, taking hold of his hand and clutching it to her chest as she closed her eyes.
But a minute later he extricated his hand from her grasp, and she opened her eyes to see what he was up to.
"Sorry," he said, awkwardly holding up his wrist so he could adjust his watch. "Just setting an alarm. We shouldn't sleep too long so we can still sleep tonight." Once finished, he wrapped his arms back around her, one hand settling on her bare stomach, where her blouse had ridden up. Unfortunately, she flinched at his touch, an instinctive response that she immediately regretted.
Instantly removing his hand, Becker asked, "You okay?"
Jess could feel her cheeks growing red and hoped he wouldn't notice. Grabbing hold of his hand, she clutched it to her chest, mumbling, "I'm fine."
But Becker was smarter than that and attempted to free his hand. She increased her grip, hoping he'd get the subtle hint and not try it again, but eventually he extricated his hand and purposefully placed it on her stomach, which naturally made her flinch once again.
"How did I not know you were ticklish?" Becker whispered in her ear.
"I'm...not," she said, but clearly it was a lie for she was unconsciously squirming, trying to get away from his touch.
"Liar," he said, scooting backwards so he could roll her onto her back to gain full access to her sensitive region.
"Really...I'm...not," she insisted even as she laughed and tried to get away.
"Okay, I'll take your word for it," he teased, holding her in place as he mercilessly ran his hand over her belly. "Not ticklish in the slightest."
He sat up and, tossing back the quilt, leant over and blew a raspberry on her stomach. Not able to stop herself, Jess let out a piercing scream practically in his ear as her knees instinctively came up to try and block him.
The door was suddenly flung open and Connor frantically raced inside. "Jess, you o...kay...?" he trailed off as he quickly took in the situation.
Becker sat back instantly, giving Connor a mischievous look. "Did you know Jess is extremely ticklish on her belly?"
"Becker!" Jess objected, giving him a friendly swat as she self-consciously pulled her shirt back down.
Connor, however, smiled. "Good to know - cheers, mate," he grinned. "And yeah, sorry to interrupt." As he started to pull the door to, Jess heard someone else running up the stairs and Connor reassuring, "She's fine, just ticklish," before Abby commented, "We clearly should've made THEM pose as the Young Lovers statue today."
Jess could feel how red her face was and turned to look up at Becker, who was still sat above her, poised to strike again.
"Please don't," she pleaded, protectively shielding her belly with her hands.
Becker nodded, cupping his ear. "I've learnt my lesson - no more tickling without earplugs."
"Sorry," Jess said as Becker lay back down beside her.
He shrugged. "My own fault. I should've known you'd be a screamer."
Jess blushed as she grabbed his hand and rolled onto her side, pulling him near. He placed the quilt back over them and snuggled close once again before tenderly whispering in her ear, "Any other ticklish places I should be aware of?"
She grinned, whispering back seductively, "You'll just have to find them yourself."
"Mmm, I'm always up for a challenge," he said, though she was thankful that he seemed willing to wait till any another day for such an exploratory expedition.
Jess closed her eyes, feeling safe and warm within his caring arms, and almost instantly began to doze off.
She was nearly asleep when the door opened once again.
"Parker, I need you to fix my backdrop, or whatever it's called, on my computer tomorrow."
Jess's eyes fluttered open to see Lester standing in the doorway, totally nonplussed by the scene in front of him.
"You mean...your desktop wallpaper?" Jess asked, trying to translate Lester's non-computer speak as she struggled to wake up.
"Yeah, the big background picture thing. And also all those little pictures I click on to do things - those need to be fixed as well."
"The icons?"
"Yes, whatever they're called. I had a problem with my computer today, and when Ravi attempted to solve it, he messed everything up, and now I'm completely lost and can't find anything."
Jess nodded. "Okay. I'll do it first thing in the morning."
"Thanks, Parker," he said, closing the door as he mumbled under his breath, "It's the bloody Olympic Village round here."
Once the door was shut, Jess closed her eyes again, hoping Becker hadn't been awakened by the interruption. However, he clearly had for he scooted backwards, causing her to roll onto her back, and she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her.
"We should've known we could never pull this off with so many people in the flat," Becker said.
"Yes we can," Jess insisted, still wanting her kip. "That's almost everyone - we surely won't get interrupted again."
But Becker shook his head, heaving a resigned sigh. "No, Jess. It's not gonna happen. Let's just get up. Staying awake till bedtime is probably wiser anyway."
"But...I like it here with you," Jess said, reaching up and pulling him down for a kiss.
When they separated, Becker had a serious expression on his face. "We're only working a regular shift tomorrow, yeah?" At Jess's nod, he went on, "Then tomorrow night, you and I are going on a proper date - dinner at that French restaurant you like so well and then the cinema."
Jess was intrigued. "Ooh - what's playing?"
Becker shook his head. "Does it matter?"
Jess giggled, and Becker leant back down to kiss her.
"So is it a deal?" he asked a minute later when he came up for air.
Jess nodded. "Definitely."
Becker kissed her again and then tossed back the quilt and rolled out of bed. Reaching down to offer her a hand, he said, "C'mon, Sleeping Beauty - up and at 'em."
Jess groaned and yanked on his hand, pulling him down towards her. "But Prince Charming - I think I might need a few more kisses before I'm fully awake," she insisted coyly.
Becker smiled and crawled back on the bed, eagerly accepting her invitation.
...
Unfortunately, staying awake till bedtime proved more difficult than anticipated, though Becker did his best to assist Jess in this task.
Coming downstairs after their failed kip, they found Lester reluctantly holding court in the front room, telling the others about his personal adventures at the Games on Saturday. After listening to his stories, everyone was in the mood for horses, so Becker persuaded Jess to find a site where they could all watch today's Equestrian events. This turned out to be a double treat, for not only did Team GB win the silver in the team event, but Zara Phillips was one of the riders, meaning many of the Royals were in the crowd to cheer her on.
"That's so sweet that her cousins came to watch," Jess gushed as the camera panned across the VIP crowd, which included Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry, and even Princess Eugenie. "You know, this makes Zara the first Royal ever to win an Olympic medal!"
Connor nodded. "And probably the first Olympian to ever be awarded her medal by her mum," he pointed out as the Princess Royal kissed her daughter on both cheeks before moving on down the podium.
No one was up for cooking a meal, so they ordered in Chinese. Unfortunately, after eating, everyone seemed to sink into a food coma, and if it weren't for the Games, they all might've gone to bed early. After watching Team GB get slaughtered by Serbia in Men's Water Polo, they switched over just in time to watch the women kick off against Brazil. Although Team GB scored two minutes in, that turned out to be the only point in the entire match. Goal after goal were attempted by both teams, but the keepers were earning their keep, eliciting excited commentary from Emily on each block and dive.
Drowsy as he was, Becker kept himself awake by keeping Jess awake. Each time he'd notice her slipping into unconsciousness, he'd casually reach over and place his hand on her stomach. It wasn't quite as effective through her clothes, but it still managed to wake her every time as she involuntarily flinched at his touch. It got to the point where she'd awaken as soon as Becker started to move his arm.
"You're mean!" she accused at one point when his hand was yet 15cm away.
Becker responded with an innocent shrug. "I didn't do anything," he pointed out.
Jess swatted him playfully as she nestled back against his chest, accusing, "You were thinking about it."
Lester, who was sat next to them on the sofa, eyed them both warily. "If thinking were a crime, I imagine Becker wouldn't be the only one in trouble."
Becker rolled his eyes before noticing that Jess's cheeks looked a shade pinker than a moment before, making him wonder what naughty thoughts had been running through her head.
It wasn't until after the match, when the exhausted contingent started to disband, that Connor brought up the dreaded topic of sleeping arrangements.
"You're not sleeping with me, Mr. Grabby Hands!" Lester insisted.
"I told you, I thought you was Abby!" Connor defended himself once again.
"Let's just keep everything the same as last week, yeah?" Abby suggested. "At least for tonight - we're all too tired to do anything else."
"But...I think I feel a bad dream coming on," Connor jokingly whined. "You know, that hat Queen Victoria was wearing today is likely to cause everyone nightmares."
"Connor," Abby scolded, shaking her head.
But Jess still fell for it. "Perhaps I can rearrange things tomorrow," she suggested through a yawn, and Becker was at least proud of her for not offering to stay up tonight to work out a solution. He leant down and gave her a quick peck before offering her a "Good night."
Settling down on the floor after the others had headed upstairs, Becker wondered if, in the next schedule, Jess might be able to arrange for them to sleep together. Of course, he knew that they'd probably have to wait till after the Games for that, but it was definitely something to look forward to.
As was their upcoming date tomorrow. He hadn't snogged in the back row of a film in years and frankly couldn't wait.
He was so tired that he fell asleep almost immediately, thinking happy thoughts of Jess in his arms. Morning came much too early, and Becker was surprised to find Matt already up and dressed when he opened his eyes.
"Going for a run so early?" Becker asked.
Matt gave him a look. "Early?"
Becker glanced at his watch in the dim morning light. "Dammit!" he grumbled to himself, having forgotten to reset his alarm after their lie-down yesterday. He tossed back the covers, asking Matt, "Will you wait?"
Matt looked annoyed but nodded his head, and Becker threw on his clothes in record time. Heading out to the pavement, Becker was relieved to be back on a normal work schedule again. However, thinking about the day ahead, he remembered their last shift - and Matt's strange behaviour regarding the anomalies. Whatever it was, the team leader had seemed in a rotten mood all yesterday as well, but that wasn't really any of Becker's business. The anomalies, however, were.
"Did you find any?" Becker suddenly asked without preamble, eliciting a confused look from Matt. "Other anomalies that we hadn't been informed of?" he quickly clarified.
Matt shook his head, giving a simple, "No."
That was a relief. Or at least it should've been. Becker wasn't sure why Matt had been so anxious to know about them in the first place...nor why he didn't seem pleased that they hadn't missed any. Becker had gotten the impression, from the way the team leader had acted, that Matt's concern had something to do with the time period the anomalies went to, but Becker couldn't figure out why that would matter. Unless...
"Is it something to do with Emily?" he blurted out.
"No!"
The phrase "The lady doth protest too much" suddenly popped into Becker's head, though he didn't imagine Matt would be too thrilled to be referred to as a lady. But his heated answer certainly suggested that this anomaly business had something to do with Emily. But what? Emily seemed happy here and was settling in surprisingly well. And weren't she and Matt meant to be away on holiday together this very minute? So why would an anomaly opening back up to Emily's time make any difference?
Unless something had changed.
Maybe that was it. Matt was from the future - perhaps he was aware of something that the others weren't. Something that Emily's continued presence in this time was affecting. Perhaps by her coming to live in this time she'd upset the balance somehow, changed things. Perhaps for some reason she needed to go back...
"Does it affect the security of the team?" Becker asked. Matt eyed him, seemingly annoyed by all the questions, but Becker quickly went on. "If it does, I need to know. If not...well...if you want to behave like an ass, then it's none of my business."
Matt said nothing, and the two men ran on in silence, their trainers slapping against the damp pavement. Becker's mind moved on to other things, thinking about the work day ahead and his date that evening...not to mention stray thoughts brought on by Connor's suggestion yesterday that Jess take off her shirt. Therefore Becker was a bit confused when, unlocking the front door at Jess's flat, Matt finally replied.
"I don't know."
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to be continued