Still Day Four

AMANDA

By late afternoon, the whole group was back at their 'usual' table in the lodge's bar.

"We finally got down that bunny hill without falling!" Kathy announced. She and Wally looked very proud of themselves.

"Four times!" Wally boasted.

"I think Lee and I skied about half again as far as we needed to by taking the wrong trail," Amanda said as she sipped her hot cocoa.

"You two are going to need massages tomorrow!" Joyce declared before the conversation moved on.

Amanda watched the flames in the fireplace dance and flicker as her mind drifted to the possibilities that might stem from the two of them getting massages. She wasn't quite willing to let her imagination run loose on that scenario in this public setting. Insead, as she and Lee sat close together by the fire listening to Jodie and her bridal party banter and joke, she reflected on their day.

Lee's quiet nod and smile after he'd breathed warmth back into her hands had taken her breath away. If it'd been anyone other than Lee, she might've called it 'shy.' It'd felt like the confession of a deeply buried secret. She wanted to let him know he could trust her with it. To tell him that she would keep it in her heart like the precious treasure it was.

Those moments of quiet togetherness were starting to become a habit. They'd had a few interactions like that since they'd met, and more so recently. They were sometimes silly and sometimes sweet, but always fleeting and lighthearted. These had a different weight and the buzz between them was getting stronger.

Finding her mug empty, Amanda excused herself to go call her mother and check on the boys. When she mentioned her call, Wally nudged Kathy, who got up and said she should probably phone her dad.

Lee caught Amanda's eye and scratched his ear to signal that she should listen at the wall that her room shared with Kathy's.

In her room, Amanda put her things down, waited a moment or two for Kathy to do the same, then she pressed her ear against the wall to listen. It wasn't long before Kathy was talking to a Lawrence Livermore Lab colleague, who didn't seem to be sympathetic.

"I just need the final page of the data set, that's all. I want to review the figures I entered. You can fax it to me."

Pause

"I was sure about them. But since I've been on vacation, I've been having second thoughts."

Pause

"I'll ask the lodge staff to grab it as soon as it comes in. It'll just look like a bunch of numbers to them anyway."

Kathy's voice was getting higher and whinier.

"You know what? Nevermind. See if I ever do you any favors!"

She went from pleading to anger, and crashed the receiver down.

Amanda felt for Kathy, she was in a desperate situation trying to help with her father's insurmountable debts. Treason wasn't the solution. At least she won't be able to give the other side the rest of the information, Amanda thought.

After talking with her mother and the boys - who barely had time for her before being picked up for a sleepover - Amanda got ready for dinner and dancing. Choosing to wear the outfit she'd bought with the gals a couple of days ago, she adjusted the ties at her neck and rotated in front of the room's full length mirror. A swarm of butterflies swirled in her stomach thinking about what Lee's reaction would be to the backless halter top and snug jeans. It was definitely not her usual embassy event or dinner outfit, much less anything even close to her office attire.

Adding a woolly blazer made the combo appropriate for the group dinner. With a last look in the mirror to be sure her makeup was just right, Amanda picked up her warm coat and left.

The group formed up in the lobby and caught taxis into town in twos and threes. Amanda ended up in the back seat of a cab with Lee, while Janet sat in the passenger seat. During the ride, she leaned in to Lee to fill him in on Kathy's phone call. Even after Amanda delivered the information, they sat close and Lee held her hand.

Amanda would've been more sorry that they'd reached the restaurant if she hadn't been so hungry. Kathy had made reservations at what was supposed to be the best barbecue place in town. Amanda felt and heard her stomach growl as they went through the door.

At dinner Kathy and Wally seemed to be getting along, but they weren't all over each other like usual.

"She must not've told him about her call," Lee whispered to Amanda as he held out her chair.

The restaurant's reputation was well earned, as the messy piles of sauce-stained napkins attested. Amanda appreciated it when their waitress brought hot, moist washcloths for everyone. Her hands were a sticky, saucy mess and she suspected there were barbecue remnants on her face.

They lingered over drinks until the hour was appropriate for dancing, then migrated next door to the bar and dance club.

"Gosh, it's hot in here," Amanda fanned herself. Lee took his coat, and her jacket and blazer to the coat check while she went to the restroom to freshen up. In the bathroom, the gals wolf whistled at her outfit while she fixed her lipstick and confirmed the absence of barbecue sauce on her face.

Back by the bar, Amanda spotted Lee sitting on one of the stools. She could see his profile, and thought he looked happy, content.

Emboldened by their cover, her daring outfit, and the growing affection between them, she approached Lee from behind, slipped her hands around his shoulders and settled her arms across his chest. His body was firm and warm. She forced herself to keep her hands and fingers still, resisting the temptation to explore and caress him.

Amanda thought he'd be at least a little startled, but he just huffed a laugh, held onto her arms, and craned around to say, "Hey."

"Hi." From the taxi ride, she knew he smelled freshly showered and shaved, including a cologne that was masculine without trying too hard to be macho. Amanda rested her chin on his shoulder and tried to discern his own distinct scent among the artificial fragrances.

"Come on, you two. Let's dance!"

Lee turned his head again. "If the bride demands it, we'd better go."

They stood and Lee led her to the dance floor with his hand in its usual spot on her lower back. Amanda hid her self-satisfied grin by staring straight ahead. She'd unmistakably felt Lee's reaction to her backless top. Her triumph was only curtailed by her own body's response to the warm flat of Lee's hand directly on her skin. Her bare skin. On her back. Her lower back. On the bare skin of her lower back.

In a relatively clear spot on the dance floor, they joined Jodie and the others. Lee turned to face Amanda to dance to the top 40 hits the DJ was playing. The bass was pounding from the club's woofers and she could feel it in her chest. Lee leaned in close to talk right in her ear. "You look great."

They switched places so Amanda had her lips at his ear. "Thank you, you too."

His Wrangler jeans were wear-worn in the best possible places and ways, and his button down shirt had a pattern that was reminiscent of a western motif. Cowboy boots finished off the look, which she thought was fitting for Colorado. She'd almost forgotten what a horseman Lee was, but the ease with which he inhabited these clothes left no doubt.

They danced together and as a group. Amanda boogied with Jodie and laughed with Janet, who tried to execute a jump kick like David Lee Roth in the video for 'Jump.' Lee was sent into the crowd to find the shoe that went flying.

He came back just as the music faded into a slow song. Lee stepped up to Amanda and confidently pulled her close with his hand on her waist. They'd danced like this many more times than they'd danced to any kind of pop music, yet this felt exciting and new.

The loud music, hot and crowded dance floor, and hormones from a room full of energetic twenty- and thirty-somethings permeated the air with an intoxicating aura of sexiness. Lee's hand was on her bare back again and the way his thumb was slowly stroking her skin was making Amanda even hotter.

When she ruffled her fingertips through the sweat-dampened hair at the back of Lee's neck, he shivered and let out a deep sigh. They both leaned back and then right into a kiss that felt as if it'd been destined since he'd arrived in Vail. Or maybe since he'd grabbed her arm on that train platform. One kiss easily rolled into another and if the song hadn't faded out, things would've kept going. In the relative quiet before the next record came to full volume, he said, "Let's find someplace quieter," and took her hand.

Amanda couldn't be sure Lee wasn't going to start an awkward conversation about how their kiss - kisses - were 'just business.' Maybe he wanted to share a new theory about Wally and Kathy. Or maybe he wanted to keep kissing, she certainly did.

In the much quieter hallway that led to the stockroom, Lee stopped and turned. "Amanda, I'm sorry. I'm the pro here and I shouldn't have kissed you like that for no real reason."

"Okay…"

He still clung to her hand and stood close. His body language wasn't anywhere close to matching his words.

"It's just… when you're playing a cover, you get caught up sometimes, you know?"

Now he wouldn't meet her eyes. If there was one thing she knew about Lee, it was that even with hard conversations, he looked you in the eye. "Uh, huh. I understand," Amanda said, starting to think it could be fun to make him follow through on this ridiculous backpedaling.

"You do?" Lee looked up.

"Sure. But what about everything else that happened today? And yesterday?" Now that he'd met her eyes, there was no way she was going to let him off the hook, and he knew it. His irises told her everything as the gold flecks in his green-hazel eyes came to life.

To his credit, Lee kept a straight face and tried to look abashed. "Oh, well, you know... it was cold…"

Amanda took his other hand in hers and nodded. "Right, just two people huddling for warmth."

"Two cold people seeking…"

"Seeking a little warmth," she finished.

"Right?" Lee asked, his smirk breaking through the faux contrition.

"Not exactly."

Lee shook his head. "Not at all."

He tugged decisively at her waist with one hand while reaching to the nape of her neck with the other. His smirk faded into serious concentration as their lips met. Lee traced his thumb up and down her spine and small shivers followed as Amanda reacted to the stimulation. When he wrapped his arm all the way around her torso and ran his hand upwards, his fingertips skimmed the side of her breast. Amanda had to break away to exhale a shaky breath. She tucked her nose into his neck and kissed him there, finally reveling in the scent that she knew was pure Lee.

"Invite me to your room," Lee whispered in her ear. "I'm not saying you're easy, just that a little more privacy would be nice."

Amanda nodded. "Agreed," she said with a smile and a kiss.

There was some kissing and cuddling in the cab back to the lodge, but not much. No need to make a scene in front of the taxi driver. Amanda wondered if he'd gotten more than a little frisky in the backs of cabs in the past. He used to talk about going to nightclubs. Did he take dates? Did he pick up women there?

Shushing the distracting voices, Amanda reminded herself that Lee was right here, right now, with her. She'd had other romantic partners too, but they didn't matter now. She trusted him to feel the same about his.

Back at the lodge, as soon as the doors closed on an otherwise empty elevator, Amanda put her hands on the curve of Lee's rear and yanked him to her. His dimples flourished as he smiled and snaked his hands up and under her jacket and blazer.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hello, yourself. Fancy meeting you here."

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Not a chance."

The elevator slowed and they shared a peck on the lips before exiting.

Amanda let them into her room and hung up her jacket and blazer. Lee draped his coat over the back of the small desk chair.

"Is this weird? This is weird, right? Should this be weird? Do you feel weird?" she asked.

"Amanda." With his hands on her shoulders, Lee ducked down to look her in the eyes. "Are you nervous?"

"Why? Are you nervous? Should I be nervous?" Amanda felt like her brain was full of hamster wheels all going about a mile a minute.

Lee laughed and ran his hands down her arms to hold her hands. "You get a bit talky - talkier - when you're scared. And I don't want you to be worried about anything."

She took a deep breath and about a hundred scenes flicked through her mind from the year and a half that they'd known each other. Each one was a building block that made up the foundation of trust that their relationship was built on.

Amanda shook her head. "I'm not nervous. I'm excited. A little nervous maybe. But more excited."

"Yeah," Lee concurred.

Amanda put her arms around his neck and captured his lips. With the spark between them finally free to combust, it now felt like it was yearning to ignite them into a blaze.

As if fanning those nascent flames, Lee spanned his hands around her torso - his long fingers stretching over her back and his thumbs tracing the sides of her breasts. Amanda kept one hand at the back of his neck and grabbed his butt with the other to pull him close. When their lips parted and tongues began to touch and explore, she pressed her hips against his. The heat of a blush rose to her cheeks at her own forwardness, though she was gratified to feel the effects of arousal from Lee's body.

The phone erupted in a shrill jangle. "Don't answer," they said at the same time, while knowing it had to be answered. At this hour it could be an emergency from Arlington or a call from the Agency.

Lee stood at her side, holding her close as she picked up the receiver. "Hello?" Amanda asked briskly. "Hello, Francine."

Amanda turned to Lee and they held the phone between them to listen. "I tried Lee's room, but there was no answer, so thought I'd take a chance he was there.'

"He's here. We're both listening."

"Lee, you were right, Wally - Wolfgang Schult - is from East Berlin. He's been seeing Kathy Bennington on and off for about a year, almost always taking her out of town. And get this, he's an expert in microdot technology."

"The camera!" Lee and Amanda said together.

They quickly updated Francine on Kathy's call earlier in the evening and agreed that Lee needed to get his hands on any film rolls Wally had shot so far.

"I'll check in tomorrow morning with an update, Francine. Thanks," Lee said and they hung up. He turned to Amanda. "I don't think it's likely Kathy will be able to get this Schult character the rest of the data for the ignition project, but it'll be good to get a hold of what he has all the same."

Just as he was about to pull her into another round of kissing, they heard the slam of a door followed by Kathy and Wally's raised voices.

Lee and Amanda quickly put their ears to the wall. It was easy to hear Kathy's emphatic tone as she assured Wally there was another co-worker she was sure would give her the missing information. Kathy then offered a few very specific and personal enticements for patience and Wally's grumbling softened. There was silence for a few moments. Then there was moaning.

They stood back away from the wall and Amanda said, "You'd better get to Wally's room, that won't last long." She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head toward Kathy's room.

Lee chuckled at the truth of it. "Yeah, but he'll be snoring away in no time." He bent in for a sweet but lingering kiss as Amanda hummed her approval.

"Be careful and call me when you're safely back in your room," Amanda said as he left.

After Lee was gone, she stripped off her clothes - there were definitely barbecue sauce stains on her shirt - and went to take a shower. It was refreshing to get the smoke smell out of her hair and to stand under the spray letting the day's events wash over her like the water. She would've liked to linger but didn't want to miss the call from Lee - much less a call from him if there was trouble.

With a towel wound around her hair and piled on her head, Amanda brushed her teeth and kept a keen ear out for the telephone. She'd hoped Lee would call before she finished her preparations for bed, but the phone remained quiet. The lodge's flannel sheets and soft bed were very welcome. They might need massages after all, Amanda could feel her muscles starting to get sore. As she was drifting into sleep, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Wow, that was only about a half a ring."

"I was anxious to hear from you," she admitted.

"This was a simple break in and retrieval. I've done a lot more dangerous things. So have you, for that matter."

"I know... I just…"

"Didn't want anything to happen that might derail…" Lee seemed to reach for the right word as much as she'd struggled to articulate her thoughts. "...things?"

"Yes, things." Amanda smiled. Even if they weren't able to define what was happening any better than 'things,' that was okay for now.

"Same here. Good night, Amanda," he whispered.

"You too."