Chapter 25

Run.

Hide.

Disappear.

Common sense told her that was exactly what she should do, but Kim found her body either unable or unwilling to comply with the simple commands that her mind was sending her way. Her feet felt rooted to the spot where she currently stood and she was beginning to wonder if her legs would even support her long enough to carry her back into the bedroom where Glen was waiting for her. But her failure to move really made no difference. She knew that hiding wasn't an option anyway. Even if she found the courage to try to leave, she knew that Glen would never let her anywhere near the door. He'd fought too hard to get her here tonight. There was no way he was going to let her go running off again until he'd had his fill of her.

Kim shuddered involuntarily at the image her thoughts evoked. She couldn't deny that it wasn't an entirely unpleasant thought, but even so, it scared the hell out of her. She felt so weak and vulnerable, knowing she was basically at his mercy. And what frightened her even more was the fact that she didn't know just what it was he expected from her.

Oh sure, he'd already told her that it was only dinner. That he wanted to take things slowly this time. That he wanted to get to know her first. But the look in his eyes told her something entirely different, his actions belying the fact that he wanted it to be much, much more. It was plain to see just how much he wanted from her, but at the moment, it was more than she had to give. She just hoped that he would continue to be patient with her as the night wore on.

Realizing that she couldn't stay hidden away in the bathroom for the remainder of the night, Kim made a few nervous adjustments to her hair, then took a couple of deep breaths before she finally found the courage to open the bathroom door and step outside. Looking in the direction where she had last seen Glen, she was surprised to find him still on the phone.

Standing there nervously as she waited for him to finish his conversation, she let her gaze wander around the room once more, this time spotting another door near the opposite corner of the room. Staring at it curiously for a moment, Kim cast another glance in Glen's direction before heading across the room toward it. Taking a closer look, she realized that it was the door to the balcony, and she quickly unlocked it and pulled it open, stepping outside into the cool night air as she closed it behind her.

Shivering a little as the cool air hit her skin, she wrapped her arms around herself, deflecting the breeze that was gently blowing around her. Taking a moment to examine the soundness of the flooring beneath her, Kim cautiously eased herself up to the black metal railing, her breath catching in her throat as she stared out over the large city beneath her. As incredible as it seemed, she realized that as long as she had lived here, she had never experienced the city at night. At least, not from this vantage point. The view was absolutely breathtaking. There were so many lights, as far away as she could see, and when contrasted with the dark blanket of nightfall that had fallen over the city, she felt as if she were staring down into a sea of stars.

Shaking her head in awe, she couldn't believe this had been there under her nose all this time and that she had failed to notice it before tonight. And to think she had always considered the city to be a dreadful place to live, certainly nothing like the peaceful country home that she had loved growing up. But now, she was starting to see things in a whole new light. She could get used to this, she realized. Perhaps change was not always a bad thing. After all, things were often not what they first appeared to be.

Ain't that the truth, she murmured to herself, letting her thoughts once again drift back to Glen.

How sweet and charming had he appeared to be in the beginning? Then this whole mess had happened. And now? Now, she just didn't know. Confused didn't even begin to describe her feelings. And as badly as she wanted to forgive him and start all over, she was equally terrified of being hurt again. Either way, she realized she had a lot to lose if she made the wrong decision. But she just didn't know if she trusted her own judgment enough to make the right one.

Follow her head or follow her heart?

At the moment, she just wasn't sure which way to go.

"Enjoying the view?"

Clutching her chest, Kim gasped as she spun around, only to find Glen staring down at her, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Jesus, Glen! Would you please stop sneaking up on me like that? If you'd made me jump any higher, you would've had to do a nosedive over the railing to catch me!"

"Sorry. I thought you heard me open the door." he chuckled, moving to stand beside of her. "But don't worry sweetheart. I would've caught you."

Blushing furiously at his term of endearment, Kim turned her attention back to the darkness in front of her.

"Did you order our dinner?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yep. It's all taken care of. They said they would have it ready for us as soon as possible."

"That's good." she murmured, then grew quiet as her thoughts consumed her once more.

Gazing down at her, Glen also remained silent, watching quietly as the different emotions played across her face. He could see how hard this was for her. How difficult this night had been so far. This was certainly not what he had intended when he had arranged to meet with her. But he vowed that someway, somehow, he would find a way to make it up to her. Right now, the only thing that mattered to him was her happiness. He wanted to show her just how committed he was to making things right with her. Making a silent promise, he swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to make sure that the rest of the evening went as smoothly as possible.

"It's certainly a beautiful view from up here, isn't it?" Kim asked mainly to herself, blushing when she realized she'd spoken the words out loud.

"It certainly is." Glen agreed, his eyes never leaving her face as he answered her.

Tilting her head to stare up at him, Kim felt her skin growing even warmer when she saw the way he was gazing at her. Quickly turning her attention back to the city, she focused on the lights beneath her as she tried to slow her racing heart.

"What do you think that is?" she asked nervously, pointing to a cluster of blue lights that were visible way off toward the horizon.

Smiling, Glen cleared his throat as he stared down at her.

"Kim."

"Or that one over there? What do you think that one is?" she continued, pointing in a different direction as she tried to ignore him.

"Kim."

"There are just so many of them. I can't keep them all straight. And they're all so beautiful. I don't know how anyone could not enjoy this view. Which direction did we come from earlier…..?" she chattered, wringing her hands as Glen moved closer to her.

"Kim."

"I just never realized how big this city is before. With all of those lights down there, it just seems to go on forever. I know it seems strange that I've never noticed it before, since I live here and all, but…."

"Kim!"

Jumping at the sound of his voice, Kim grew quiet but refused to look at him.

"Kim." Glen repeated in a softer tone, biting back a smile as he watched her. He honestly didn't mean to frighten her, but he couldn't help but be amused by her reactions to him.

"What?" she finally whispered, her voice failing her as she felt him move toward her.

Closing her eyes as she tried to regain her composure, she never saw him lean in towards her and she jumped when she felt his breath against her ear.

"You don't have to be afraid of me Kim. I already told you, nothing will happen tonight that you don't want. You're completely safe with me." he murmured softly and she felt her knees buckle as she grabbed for the railing.

But I do want it, she thought, mentally slapping herself when she realized where her mind was headed.

No, no no! Control. I have…to keep…myself…under…control, she muttered under her breath, her cheeks flooding with embarrassment.

Damn that man! Couldn't he see what he was doing to her? If he kept this up for very long, he'd have her in bed in record breaking time.

Concerned by her sudden silence, Glen hooked a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him.

"I…I'm…not afraid…of you." she stammered, cursing herself for being such an awful liar. It was obvious that he could see right through her.

"Oh, really. Now why do I suddenly get the feeling that you're not being completely honest with me?" he teased as his eyes traveled over her face.

"I'm not lying. I'm…I'm not afraid of you." she repeated with slightly more confidence, frowning when she saw his lips curve into a smile.

"Well then, if you're not afraid of me, then you won't mind if I do this." he replied, cupping her face in his hands and stroking her face gently with his thumbs.

Watching as his gaze dropped to her lips, Kim's heart began to pound when she realized what he was about to do. Unable to find the strength to push him away, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate, waiting helplessly for what was about to happen next.

Gazing across her face, Glen could only smile as his eyes focused on her mouth, his tongue darting out to lick at his own lips as he tried to calm the fire that was raging within him. She provided such a tempting picture for him at the moment. Her chest heaving with each labored breath. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Her lips parted slightly in anticipation of his actions. He could already feel the promises that he'd made to her….that he'd made to himself….slowing slipping to the back of his mind as the desire began to take over. Here he was, in her presence for barely over an hour, and he was already on the verge of breaking them all completely.

But then again, this was only a kiss. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just one small, simple, pleasant little kiss.

Surely that wouldn't hurt anything.

Would it?

Stroking his thumbs over the soft curve of her cheekbones as he studied her face, Glen silently chuckled to himself.

Nope, he didn't think it would hurt one little bit.

Lowering his head, he readied himself to taste her, already imaging how good she would feel against his lips. Feeling her breath against his face, he closed his own eyes, eager to fulfill the fantasy that he had dreamed of for so long. But even as he moved toward her, that annoying presence in the back of his mind continued to plague him, his conscience knocking at his brain, warning him that he was simply moving too fast yet again.

Knocking?

Glen frowned as he stood upright and glanced over his shoulder. Peering into the room through the open balcony door, he realized that the sound he had heard wasn't his well-mannered inner self warning him to behave, but rather some poor, unintelligent soul who had dared to be brave enough to interrupt their quiet evening together. Letting a low growl of annoyance escape from the back of his throat, Glen glanced back down at Kim, running his fingers over her face once more before reluctantly releasing his hold on her.

"There's someone at the door." he mumbled when he saw the confusion in her eyes, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her with him as he stepped back inside the room.

Carefully locking the door behind them, Glen glanced at Kim reassuringly before heading toward the door on the opposite side of the room, where the pounding still continued. Glancing at his watch, he wondered how the guys in the kitchen had managed to prepare their dinner so quickly, thinking that he would definitely have to leave them a generous tip for all of their hard work.

"Boy, you guys sure don't waste any…."

Glen's voice trailed off when he opened the door and saw who was standing on the other side.

"Hey buddy! Whatcha' doin'?" Chris asked cheerily, standing on his tiptoes as he tried to peer over the big man's shoulders into the room behind him.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Glen growled, his eyes nearly turning red with anger as he glared down at his friend.

"Uh….I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I'd drop by. You know…just to see if you wanted any…um…company or anything…." Chris replied, dipping his head in an attempt to see around Glen's hulking form.

Watching as Glen stepped outside the room and closed the door behind him, Chris jumped backwards and molded himself into the opposite wall, trying to make himself as tiny as possible as his friend hovered over him.

"If you value your life, you will take your obnoxious, scraggly-haired, off-key singing, Canadian ass and get out of my sight now, or I swear on everything that is holy that I WILL hurt you!"

"Okay! Okay! Geez, I just wanted to see how things were going in there! I thought you might need some advice or something. After all, I am Chris Jericho, the King….."

"NOW!" Glen roared, when Chris didn't move fast enough to please him, smiling inwardly as the smaller man broke into a run and disappeared around the corner. Muttering to himself, he took a few deep breaths to regain his composure before he stepped back inside the room.

Opening the door, it took only one glance to realize that Kim had apparently heard his outburst from the hall. Her wide eyes and confused expression made him curse his impatience.

"I'm sorry Kim." he stated softly, as he moved across the floor toward her. "I didn't mean…."

Another knock sounded on the door behind him and Glen let his voice trail off, his fists clenching as he closed his eyes. Spinning around on his heels, he stalked toward the door, already visualizing the headlines that would be in the morning paper when someone finally came along and found the body…

"WHAT!" he yelled as he quickly jerked the door open, watching as the man on the other side stumbled backwards, landing flat on his ass on the floor in his attempt to get away.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" Glen murmured, his face turning red with embarrassment when he realized he'd probably just knocked about ten years off the life span of their waiter who had so carefully prepared their food and delivered it to their door.

Rushing toward the fallen man, Glen grabbed his arm and helped him back to his feet, dusting off the gentleman's jacket in a feeble attempt to make good on his mistake.

"I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else." Glen murmured apologetically, frowning as the man stepped backwards out of his reach.

"But I imagine that kind of stuff happens to you all the time around here, huh?" Glen chuckled nervously, trying to break the mood.

"Actually…no." The waiter replied, only half-jokingly, keeping his eye on Glen as he straightened the tablecloth on the cart in front of him. "Thank goodness for that! At my age, I don't think my heart could take very many of those….surprises."

Glen chuckled politely at the waiter's weak attempt at humor, trailing off suddenly when he noticed that the man wasn't smiling. Clearing his throat nervously, he stepped to the side and motioned for him to enter the room.

As the waiter arranged everything for them on the table, Glen cast another glance in Kim's direction, taking note that she appeared to be deep in thought. Mentally kicking himself yet again, he hoped that he hadn't done any irreparable harm to their already fragile relationship. He was prepared to do whatever he needed to in order to win her trust again, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was anything that was going to go the way it was supposed to tonight. So far, things had definitely gotten off to a rocky start.

Turning his gaze back to the table, Glen could see that the waiter was finished with his task and was standing impatiently in front of him, his eyes darting about the room as he planned a quick escape, just in case in needed to get out of there in a hurry.

Digging into his wallet, Glen pulled out a stack of bills and handed them to the other man, giving him a reassuring smile as he did so. He'd never considered himself to be what others might call a generous tipper, but tonight he was willing to make an exception. If his bribe was accepted and it kept the police or anybody else for that matter away from his door, than he was more than happy to pay the price.

"Again, I am so sorry for the misunderstanding. I hope you will forgive me." Glen stated.

Taking the money from his hand and stuffing it in his pocket, the other man managed a feeble smile.

"Of course. No problem, sir."

Then rushing past Glen, he disappeared out the door, obviously relieved to be away from this giant of a man who had nearly assaulted him.

Closing the door behind him, Glen turned his attention back to Kim, thankful that they were finally alone again. Taking a deep breath as he headed toward the table, he prayed that something would finally go right for a change and that the next few hours would be much more pleasant than the evening's beginning.