Thanks for the reviews! I was seriously considering ending the story in this chapter BUT... seeing as some of you are eager to see what happens, I thought I'd change some things around and continue... Thanks for sticking with me for the past month and a bit!

CHAPTER 36

Niles had taken out some pancake mix, milk and eggs and set them on the kitchen countertop when CC rounded the corner from the bedroom and neared the kitchen. He had been reading the instructions on the pancake mix box but stopped to steal a look at her in her short, scarlet robe and then looked down to stop from staring.

She noticed the smile he was trying to hide. It mirrored her own shy smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear and rubbed her lips together.

"I know you only have a kitchen because it came with the apartment but if you'd like to help me make these, you can step around the counter and into the room. I won't bite." He smirked at her.

"Not as I recall." She said and licked her lips with a smirk.

He grinned. "Hope I didn't hurt you..."

"Who are you and what have you done with Niles?!" She teased as she rounded the counter into the kitchen. He smiled at her.

She leaned her hip against the counter with her hands behind her back, twiddling her fingers while she watched him crack a few eggs. She looked at his chest.

He wasn't what most would consider exceptionally well-built. He wasn't the 'tall, dark and handsome' package that Disney movies made girls believe a man should be. He didn't have washboard abs or a rugged, cleft-chinned face... But even with all of the shortcomings she loved pointing out, there was something about him that got to her. Something that drowned out the voice in her head that tried to feed her reasons not to want him. Something that made her feel...

"What are you thinking, Babcock? How to get some poison into the batter to kill me along with the secret of what happened here tonight?"

"No, I'm just thinking about how unattractive you are and yet here I am. I must be desperate." She joked.

He would have preferred a response in which she assured him she didn't care if people knew what had just happened between them but the banter meant she was comfortable so he looked at her and teased, "Well, you're no Adonis either."

She scoffed. "Adonis was the male god of- Oh." She pursed her lips.

They smiled at each other.

They had both just been so intimate with each other and now here they were in her kitchen, bantering as per usual and making their 'signature dish' so to speak. She had been so afraid that things would change and yet all that had changed was her view of Niles... And perhaps his of her. It had her stomach doing somersaults.

He turned to put the milk back into the fridge and he heard her gasp. He turned around to see her standing with a hand clasped over her mouth. She seemed shocked by something but then she began to laugh from behind her hand.

"What?"

"I um..." She clenched her lips, trying not to laugh at his expense. "Aw, Niles..." She looked at him apologetically and then snorted out a laugh that she couldn't hold in any longer. "I'm so sorry!"

"What did you do?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

She chuckled, stepped behind him and touched his back. He was intrigued by her touch but involuntarily flinched.

"What is it?" He asked. She pulled him nearer to the glass-and-mirror door of the oven so that he could see his back in the dull reflection.

"You always said I was an animal. I guess I proved you right tonight, too." She deadpanned when she showed him the scratch marks on his back. She was still standing next to him at the oven with her hands on his shoulder, looking at the reflection of his back. She giggled.

"Oh-ho, kitty likes to scratch!"

She looked at him, surprised, and a laugh erupted from her belly.

That laugh...He turned his body towards hers and put his hands on her waist. She stopped laughing and cleared her throat, suddenly nervous. He gently guided her backwards until she was up against the oven. They'd been in this exact position earlier that afternoon. He had teased her; used her 'weakness' to steal her underwear.

She took his hands and lifted them in hers as she put her hands up against the oven at her shoulders the way he'd done that time. He leaned against her and clasped his fingers tightly between hers.

"You're not going to get me back for the last time we found ourselves here, are you?" He asked carefully.

"The night didn't turn out too bad after that so..." She scrunched her nose and shook her head, smiling and closed her eyes as he kissed her hungrily.

She moved their hands from the oven to wrap her arms around his neck. He let go of her hands and placed his on her waist. She tilted her head and continued kissing him as he lowered a hand to her ass. She moaned at the feel of his hand against her silk robe and panties.

"MmmNnn-" she moaned as she reluctantly pulled her lips from his with a pop. His eyes remained closed and his eyebrows rose slowly.

She smiled and whispered, "We need to stop or I... Are we going to eat some pancakes tonight or...?"

He groaned and held her tightly, smelling the perfume in her hair.

"Open your eyes, Niles," she whispered; hoping it would bring her out from this fantasy too.

He lifted his lids slowly and looked at her. She drew in a ragged breath and put her hand over his eyes, sighing, "Ugh, that's even worse!" His gaze was too steamy.

With her hand still concealing his eyes, she allowed herself to lean in and kiss his lips one last time and then she pushed him away. She rested one hand below her naval and the other flat on her chest, taking a breath and trying to compose herself. She looked up at him.

He licked his lips and blinked a few times. He stuck a hand in his trouser pocket and turned around to face the pancakes. He did a little jiggle as he turned and she almost laughed, knowing he was adjusting his light arousal.

She shook her head thinking the whole situation to be quite incredulous. How did we get here?

CC picked up a mixing spoon and began helping Niles to make the pancakes. They glanced at each other every few seconds.

Every time he would move around to reach for something, he would brush against her lightly and she'd feel a shiver rush down her spine.

She went to fetch the milk from the fridge and stood at the open door for a few moments to cool herself. She grabbed the carton and went to the pantry to retrieve the cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice. Then she ran to her bedroom and returned shortly with the half-eaten slab of dark chocolate that she had offered him before they... Before.

She poured some milk into two mugs, added a few blocks of chocolate to each and put them into the microwave as Niles began pouring the pancake mix into the pan.

He glanced at her and then back at the pan in his hand and asked her what she was doing.

"Making us something to drink. Are you thirsty?"

"Yes and I should hope you are, too," he winked. "You worked up quite a sweat."

"I did?! Niles, girls don't sweat, they glow." She said with a snobbish smirk.

"Yes, girls do."

She shook her head, chuckling and watched his back for a while until the microwave beeped. She removed the hot mugs of milk from the microwave and set them on the table to stir the mostly-melted chocolate around in the milk. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

He began plating the pancakes he'd made and checked for sure the stove was turned off. He turned to place the plate of pancakes on the counter next to her and the mugs.

"What is it?" He asked about the drinks.

"Just a treat for you..." She set down the spoon she had been using and grabbed some cinnamon.

She sprinkled a generous amount into each mug. "And for me," she grinned, reminiscing about the cinnamon trivia he had taught her during their pretend-but-oh-so-real dirty talk at the mansion.

He grinned and took a mug from her, lifted it to his nose and inhaled the aroma. He hummed with closed eyes. Then he kissed her lips and said, "Delicious."

"You haven't tasted it yet!"

"I was talking about you."

She blushed and smiled into her mug as he did the same and sipped his. She'd have to get used to him complimenting her. It seemed to come to him so easily. She would have to learn to do the same. If things were to lead anywhere, that is.

With one hand he held his mug and with the other he rolled a pancake and lifted it to his mouth to take a bite.

"Aren't you going to add sugar to that?" He set the pancake back down onto the plate, sprinkled some onto the top and took another bite while she sipped her milk, watching him intently.

"And cinnamon?" She pointed out, smiling.

"I don't need it. I never did." His expression was serious.

She wondered if this was his way of telling her how he felt about her - That this man didn't need cinnamon to arouse feelings of love in himself. Her stomach flipped and she smiled shyly.

"Although..." He set his mug down. "I know a guy who, I think, could use some more..." He sprinkled cinnamon onto another pancake, rolled it and lifted it to her mouth.

She smirked and opened her mouth to take a bite. "It won't work on me, baby," she said while she chewed.

"Oh? Baby?" He smiled a lopsided grin and wiped some sugar from the corner of her mouth and licked it off of his finger.

She looked down, chewing slowly as her smile was getting in the way.

"You know, that's how you got me sick last time," she said.

"Love sick? What? With the cinnamon?"

She snorted. "Nooo." He laughed at the half scowl, half smile on her face.

"You licked my finger when we were... in the Sheffield's kitchen."

"No, that's just how I got some sugar." He wiggled his eyebrows. "You got sick because you licked it after me," He teased.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, it's my finger. I should be able to lick it without worrying where it's been."

He dipped his index finger into some sugar and lifted it in front of her. She looked up at him, frowning but knowing he was offering it to her for a lick.

"My finger has only been on you. I promise." He grinned.

She smiled and took his hand by the wrist and wrapped her mouth around his finger. She licked it and dragged it out of her lips slowly while she watched him.

He raised an eyebrow. "I think you're probably the only person that could handle a finger that has touched you, Miss Babcock." He put his finger into his own mouth and sucked it.

She smiled. "Think harder."

She saw his eyes light up even though he looked back at the pancakes, trying to hide his expression.

"Oh, you forgot to add some lemon juice to your pancakes," He said.

"That's okay. I had Lemon Bowl Fresh." He looked back at her and they laughed together.

He rolled up another pancake, took a bite and then fed it to her. She took a few bites, watching him as she chewed.

"You know what this reminds me of?" He asked.

"The cookies?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You remember that?"

She nodded with a smile. "I remember. I still don't know how things had escalated so quickly."

"Actually, when Miss Fine caught Yetta eating them, she flipped her lid..." He said.

CC frowned.

"I overheard her saying they were 'special cookies' from a Chinese herbalist at one of those Cantonese, backstreet stores downtown."

"Oh God, we ate more than half of that box of voodoo! What were they for?" CC asked.

"Apparently they were designed to get you and your partner 'really hot for each other'..."

CC was confused for a moment and then realization washed over her features and she laughed. He did as well.

"Exactly." Niles said.

"Well... It was delectable."

"The cookies or the... consequences of eating them?"

"Both." CC grinned at him. "I could have had the whole box."

Niles smiled and decided not to ask what she meant by that because he liked his version of what she meant. He looked up at the watch on the kitchen wall. "Oh, I didn't realize it was that late!"

She looked at the time. It was after eleven. "If that's late to you, you must be even older than I thought!"

He nudged her, smiling. "Mr. Sheffield must be wondering why his bed hasn't been turned down tonight... and why there's no chocolate mint on his pillow." Niles's mind began writing a list of all the things his employer expected of him.

"Are you kidding me? If he lives like that everyday, what does he have to look forward to when he stays at a swanky hotel?!" CC said in one exasperated sigh as she moved to the living room.

He followed close behind her. He wondered whether she'd ask him to stay. He wouldn't expect her to. He hadn't even expected CC to let him kiss her, let alone...

She stood with her legs against the sofa. "So um... are you leaving, Niles? To get back to the mansion?"

He searched her eyes hoping to find the answer she wanted from him.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked.

She looked at her feet. "Do you need to?"

"He hasn't called looking for me, has he?" He meant it to be his way of saying he wanted to stay.

She thought he was genuinely asking.

She looked up and then walked to her handbag, which was placed next to the answering machine. She clicked the button to play any messages on the machine while she fished her cell phone out of her handbag.

"Nothing on here," she said as she clicked a few buttons on her cellphone before putting it away again.

He moved towards her as a few messages were voiced through the air. She grabbed a pen to take notes in her diary after hearing a few of them. They were mostly about the upcoming show, costumes, music, actors and understudies...

Then a new message's greeting started a little differently.

"CC, baby! I've been thinking about what happened between us tonight..."

Damon. Niles's ears perked and CC's stomach lurched.

"...And I can't help thinking about that night we had so much fun on your sofa..." Damon's laughter pierced through Niles's chest as he looked back at the leather couch behind him to hide his expression from CC. I thought nothing happened between them?

She contemplated deleting the message before Damon could say anything more but she thought it might make things look even worse. She didn't want him to think she had something to hide. How much worse could the message get?

"Anyway... I think we have some unfinished business. Could we meet up tomorrow? For lunch maybe? You said you could get that servant to cook up anything for us. I think we should discuss the 'spark' between us that you mentioned earlier. How about it? Let me know, sexy!"

Beep.

CC set down her pen slowly as her heart began racing. Of course she'd ruin things! She was too much of a coward to fight for Niles, especially if it meant fighting Niles's own doubts about her. She knew he could be just as stubborn as she was. She also knew he could hurt her if he doubted her. He knew how to hurt her worse than anyone because he knew her weaknesses. He was her biggest one. How would she convince him the message was nothing if she was still trying to figure out whether she and Niles were something?

She didn't want to face him. Mostly because she was hoping she wouldn't have to see a Niles who didn't care about the message. That would be even worse than him being angry or jealous.

She turned to look at him. He wasn't there. She panicked for a moment until she saw him emerge from her bedroom with his shoes slipped back onto his feet and his hands deftly buttoning up his shirt. His tie was loosely draped around his neck and he was rushing around searching for his car keys. CC wasn't sure how to approach the situation.

"I must get back to the mansion," he said as he straightened his tie and spotted his keys next to her answering machine. He walked up past her and reached for them.

She didn't say anything, just watched him with a pitiful frown. His eyes refused to meet hers as he stood next to her. "I'll be serving breakfast at the Sheffield residence at 8 a.m. tomorrow if you'd like to eat with the family. I'm not sure I'll have the time to come here and cook for you beforehand." He waited for her to say something - anything. She didn't respond.

He nodded his head and turned to leave. As he walked to the door, CC took one step forward and called out his name. He turned to look at her. She took a breath. She was still uncertain of what to say. She was rooted to the spot. She frowned.

He looked behind him at the apartment door and then back at her, expressionless. He walked up to her slowly and looked down at her body. He stepped closer and without meeting her eyes and brought his lips to hers gently. Her hands hung at her sides, uncertain.

He parted his lips from hers and leaned his forehead against hers. Then he pecked her lips one last time, lingering for a moment before turning to leave. He still hasn't looked her in the eye. He walked out and hadn't shut the door behind him.

She hoped he hadn't expected her to run after him. Of course he did, she told herself. She didn't know what she would have done or said. She couldn't shake the dreadful feeling that the way he'd kissed her made it feel like it would be their last. I've screwed up royally.

After a moment of merely standing and staring at the open door, CC looked around her apartment. Her eyes rested on the mess they had left after making pancakes. She looked away and walked up to the front door to shut it. She slammed it a little harder than intended and walked to her room having decided to deal with the mess in the morning.

***ccccccccccccccccc***

It was after 2 am and she was tossing and turning. She could still smell him in her bed and on her body. She threw the duvet covers off of her in a huff and stomped into her bathroom. She turned on the shower and stripped down. As the water heated, she looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't the same woman she had been the last time she had looked at herself. The last time, her reflection had been a happy one; a woman who was glowing and grinning and didn't care about anything but what she was feeling - what he'd made her feel. She looked down at Marilyn's face blowing a kiss at her. She pursed her lips in annoyance.

She should have known the happiness wouldn't last. She should have been Miss CC Babcock, Bitch of Broadway and employer of Niles, the butler slash cook. She chastised herself and stepped into the shower to wash the night away. She was adamant that there would be no tears so she told herself it was just water from the shower running down her face.