Day Five
AMANDA
If wishing could make it so, Amanda thought as she woke up and looked at the clock, hoping it would be earlier than it was. She was in no hurry to get out of bed. What she really wanted was to doze back off into the half-sleep dreamstate she'd been in. The fuzzy visions featured the warmth and affection of just being with Lee, and the newly rising heat of arousal between them. Her body tingled at the thought and at the anticipation of experiencing him that way. Of him experiencing her.
At breakfast, Lee had gotten there first again, fixed their now usual breakfast/not-breakfast plate and gotten coffee for them just before Amanda arrived. They kissed hello and sipped their coffee while holding hands. He stroked his thumb over her knuckles leaving a trail of tingles each time he did. The way they were touching might've looked the same to others, but it felt distractingly different to Lee and Amanda.
Kathy and Wally were the last ones to come down and they were in even worse moods than yesterday morning. Kathy explained that Wally's room had been broken into sometime during the night.
"That's terrible!" Jodie furrowed her brow.
"What did they take? Did you talk to the management? They'd better do something about it!" Darlene insisted.
The level of Wally and Kathy's agitation confirmed that Lee had swiped the correct rolls of film. Amanda and Lee shook their heads and voiced their sympathies. He subtly put his arm around her and came close to whisper, "Wally must've checked his camera bag. I didn't touch anything else in the room."
Plans for the day were discussed and made, with Kathy and Wally opting out of doing anything.
"Kathy, come to the dog sledding demo with us," Jodie implored.
"Maybe," she said glumly, looking from Jodie to Wally, who was now stone-faced. "Okay," she finally acceded.
Jodie looped her arm through Kathy's as the group walked to the lobby, trying to cheer her friend.
"She's going to be so upset," Amanda said quietly to Lee.
"Yeah, sorry about that." He moved his arm around her waist as they walked. "I'm going to hang around here and see what Wally gets up to."
"Be careful."
"I will. I'm very motivated to resume… things, too." Lee ducked in for a kiss and snuck in a nip on her lower lip that she felt zap all the way down to her toes.
The dog sledding demo included a ride in the sled - for two at a time - which was pulled by ten very enthusiastic sled dogs. They barked and lept in the air until the guide pulled the snowhook, and off they shot. The trail took them through tight turns in what the musher called 'aspen alley.' It was like an amusement park thrill ride.
"Phillip and Jamie would love doing that!" Jodie said to Amanda afterwards.
"They'd also start asking for a team of dogs of their own!"
Lee was waiting for Amanda in the lobby when they got back. He dropped a kiss on her lips and joked that he desperately needed five minutes alone with her. Making good on the idea, he whisked her off to a nook in the lobby that held a bank of payphones.
Amanda looked back as they went and shrugged an apology to Jodie, who gave her a wink and shooed her off.
"First things first." Lee put his arms around Amanda's waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
"That isn't the only thing we're in this dark corner for, is it?" Amanda surmised, leaning back and putting her hands on his chest.
"I wish."
"What happened?" Amanda asked.
"I overheard Wally making plane reservations. On his way out, he asked the desk clerk to deliver a letter to Kathy's room and then caught a shuttle for the Denver airport. Francine activated the Denver team and they'll arrest him before he boards his plane."
Lee kept his hands at her waist while delivering the news, giving her a sense of grounding. "That's good. I still feel bad for Kathy, and Jodie, too."
He glanced back toward the lobby. "That's why I wanted to give you a head's up."
After freshening up in their rooms, the group met for lunch, but Kathy left within moments of coming to the table. Her eyes were red and she couldn't keep her hands still as she told them that her father had taken ill.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Amanda said as she tapped Lee on the thigh to confirm that she knew he'd need to call in this new development to the Agency.
"I'm booked on a flight back to California in two hours," Kathy told the group, then looked pleadlingly at Jodie. "I'm really sorry."
Jodie stood up and hugged her maid of honor long and hard. "Don't apologize. Get in touch as soon as you can. We'll be thinking about you."
Janet, Joyce, and Darlene nodded in agreement and wished Kathy safe travels and good health for her father.
"Let's go up and see if we can help her pack," Amanda quietly suggested to Jodie in the aftermath of Kathy's exit.
Jodie nodded and Amanda told the rest of the group, "We'll meet up with you in a while."
Amanda led Jodie slowly to the elevator - she didn't want them to catch up with Kathy. Lee came along, but went the other direction in the lobby, to the phone booths to make his call.
Once upstairs, Amanda steered Jodie toward her door.
"Isn't that Kathy's room?" Jodie pointed.
"Yes, but we need to talk."
"That doesn't sound good."
Amanda let them into her room and gestured for Jodie to sit on the bed. Once she was seated, Amanda knelt in front of her cousin and took her hands.
"Kathy's going to be arrested for espionage. Wally's already in custody. I'm so sorry, Jodie."
Jodie jerked her hands back. "What?! That's insane. What's going on?! How do you know?"
Amanda sighed and got up to sit on the bed. "My fun fact should've been that I work for a government agency."
"Amanda, are you a spy?!"
"We usually say 'intelligence operative,'" Amanda cocked her head to the side.
"What?" Jodie turned to face her cousin.
"Never mind." She shook her head and continued. "I really am sorry. We don't believe that Kathy's father is sick either - though he is in an awful lot of debt from gambling. Wally was using her to get information from the Livermore Lab in exchange for a payment she was going to use to help her dad."
Like Amanda, Jodie was quick to put together the pieces of a puzzle. "She didn't just meet Wally, did she?"
"No. He's been coming and going in Kathy's life for about a year. Wally flew into Denver from Berlin a few days before we all got here. He's an East German operative."
"Operative." Jodie repeated the word, letting it sink in. "The laser ignition project! That's why she was calling work?"
"The information she'd brought for Wally was incomplete and she was desperately trying to get the rest of it." Amanda confirmed.
"Did she?"
"No."
"That's good, I guess." Jodie paused. "I mean, it is good, but the whole situation is bad. Sad."
Amanda put her arm around Jodie. This was an awful lot of shocking information to absorb.
"Kathy and I became fast friends, and she's my closest friend geographically. Maybe that's not great criteria for picking a maid of honor." Jodie leaned her head on Amanda's shoulder, seeming to once again be a young kid relying on her older and wiser cousin. "It's the friends you've had for ages that really count, isn't it? And your cousins are your first friends."
"The best of friends."
Another piece of the puzzle suddenly dropped in for Jodie and she sat up. "Wait, what about the break in, that wasn't a coincidence either."
"No, that was Lee."
"Lee?!"
Before Amanda could fill in more of the particulars, Lee's triple knock sounded on the door. "Speaking of…" she said as she got up to let him in.
Lee's expression was cautious as he entered.
"Jodie, this is Lee Stetson, my partner."
"I knew there was something about you two together. You looked way too comfortable for having just met at the bar. That is so not Amanda's style. I have no idea if it's yours, Lee…but it's definitely not Amanda's."
Lee laughed at Jodie's Amanda-like ramble. He coughed and with a quick look to Amanda admitted, "Used to be my style,"
"Wait, so are you two actually… or is this..." Jodie waived her hand back and forth at Lee and Amanda. "Just because of the Kathy thing?"
Lee studied the carpet, Amanda picked an imaginary piece of fuzz from the wrist of her sweater.
Jodie's brow scrunched up as she realized her faux pas. "Oh! I really stepped in it, didn't I?"
"No, no, it's fine." As Amanda assuaged her worries, Lee put his arm protectively on Amanda's lower back. "We're still just kind of…. figuring things out."
"Oh good!" Jodie practically squealed in delight.
The happy mood didn't last. They were brought back to reality by the sounds of Kathy banging her suitcase around as she packed.
"I think we should keep up the story that Kathy's father is sick. It gives everyone good reason for being upset," Amanda suggested and Jodie nodded.
Finally, they heard Kathy's door open and then slam shut. They waited another 30 minutes before going downstairs to find Darlene, Joyce, and Janet.
The mood of the rest of the afternoon was subdued but supportive. They played a few hands of hearts and worked on the enormous 4,000 piece puzzle that was out in the lobby for communal solving.
Over dinner, they decided on an early night, but not before bundling up and going to the foot of the ski hill for the fire show. Hot chocolates in hand, they watched in awe as dozens of skiers made their way from the top of the mountain. Each one held a double-ended tiki-torch that they spun and whirled through the crisp night air. It made for a mesmerizing display as they skied and swung the flames in intricate patterns.
Amanda leaned back against Lee's chest and rested her hand on his arm, which was wrapped around her waist.
LEE
As the group broke up to retire to their rooms, Lee prompted Amanda. "Invite yourself to my room."
"Why do I always have to be the one doing the inviting?" she asked.
"Okay, fair point." Lee laughed and rephrased. "Amanda, will you come back to my room with me?"
"What's in it for me?" Amanda pretended to drive a hard bargain.
"Me!" He spread his arms to offer himself up.
Amanda tipped her head to the side, scrunched her face, and put a finger at her lips. "Well…"
"Did I mention that my room's got a great view for the fireworks in," Lee checked his watch. "Twenty-five minutes?"
"Ahhh, now that's a selling point!"
They stepped into the elevator and hit the button for Lee's floor. Amand reached for his hand and Lee smiled broadly as he interlaced his fingers with hers. He was awfully glad that Francine hadn't been his back up for this case.
Lee unlocked the door and ushered her in. Amanda gestured to the king size bed, loveseat, and the general openness of the room. "Your room is huge! Is this how you spend taxpayer money?" she asked as she peeked into the spacious bathroom.
"It was the only room they had left. But I got the government discount." Lee turned on one of the bedside lamps and opened the curtains wide so they wouldn't miss the fireworks. He then unwrapped the two stout, utilitarian glasses next to the ice bucket, which held a bottle of champagne.
"That come with the room?"
Lee looked up from the work of unwrapping the foil from the top of the bottle, then realized she was teasing. "Funny." He continued to work on uncorking the bubbly. "Sorry about the glasses."
"No complaints here."
Amanda held them while Lee poured. Setting them down on the coffee table, she said, "Before you sit, I have an idea."
"Me too," Lee stepped behind her and swept the hair away from her neck. He homed in on the very spot he'd been obsessed with in the hallway a couple of days ago.
He kissed the spot and Amanda lolled her head to the side in encouragement. "Hmm, that's nice."
His kisses evolved into nips and licks. "Your skin is so soft." Just as he'd predicted. "And smooth, and sweet."
Amanda turned in his arms and held him close. "Don't stop."
"I thought you had an idea?"
"You choose now to start listening to my ideas?" Amanda joked, then gestured to the furniture. "I thought we could move the loveseat so it's facing the windows."
Lee and Amanda slid the coffee table out of the way and then rotated the loveseat so they'd have a direct view of the fireworks. Amanda put her hands on her hips and nodded. "That'll work."
She sat down while Lee turned off the bedside lamp, picked up their glasses, and joined her. She took her champagne, they clinked glasses, and sipped.
Lee turned around to set his glass back on the coffee table and when he faced Amanda again, he saw that she'd put her glass down on the small side table.
"Amanda…" he began, scooting closer.
She reached out and was delightfully in his arms kissing him again. Lee couldn't tell if the zingy feeling on his lips was from the champagne or from the charge between them. He framed her face and breathed deeply, all of his focus was on her - their - pleasure. Amanda's hands were at his waist and then sliding up his chest. A one syllable murmur growled from his throat. He loved how her answering smile felt on his lips.
They adjusted positions and Amanda swiveled to put her legs over Lee's lap. He turned and tried to guide her to recline.
"Too small," she said as they chuckled together. Even if Lee's room was huge, the loveseat was really pretty tiny.
Amanda stood up, faced Lee, and straddled his legs. She sat down on his lap with her folded legs on either side of his thighs as she ran her hands through his hair. Lee closed his eyes, tipped his head back and hummed. He loved the way she was touching him in all these new and intimate ways. He'd have almost been happy to just settle back and let her caress him all over. Almost.
His hands were on her thighs, then higher as he explored the topography of her curves. The way her thighs transitioned into her hips and then into her waist was so sexy. When she bent to kiss his neck and up to his mouth again, Lee gripped her hips and relished her sensuality.
From behind his closed eyelids, Lee saw a flash and a burst of color. Amanda pulled back and turned her head in time to see the next set of fireworks explode in the sky. She slid from Lee's lap to sit and watch the show.
"I liked the other view better," he complained even as he cuddled her close.
Red, gold, and blue sparks lit the sky in spectacular bangs and showers of light.
"With the couch and the fireworks, this reminds me of 'To Catch a Thief,'" Lee observed.
"You know about the symbolism in those old movies, right?" She put her hand on his chest and played with one of the buttons while looking at him with a sexy smirk on her lips. "The fireworks in 'To Catch a Thief'... the train going into the tunnel in 'North by Northwest.'"
"I was seeing fireworks before the show out there even started."
"Sparks flying?"
"Currents arcing."
The pyrotechnics outside were forgotten as they explored their own bursts of flame. He slid his hands up under her top where the heat of her flushed skin practically burned at his touch. Lee was so engrossed by the supple skin of her back and the way she was kissing him that he hadn't noticed Amanda unbuttoning his shirt. When she smoothed her hands over his pecs, his head started to spin.
He actively took charge of their kiss and boldly palmed one of her breasts over the lacy fabric of her bra. Amanda arched her back and thrust her chest out as she moaned into his mouth. Breathing heavily between hot open mouthed kisses, it was clear where things would be heading if they didn't slow their pace.
Lee kissed his way to her neck and took deep breaths of the delicious way she smelled in that spot between the back of her ear and her hairline. He relaxed his hands around her back and caressed her with his thumbs.
"And you thought I wasn't easy." Her arms cradled his head and she spoke into his hair.
"It's not like we just met!" Lee countered and felt the puffs of Amanda's laughter on his head. It sent a tingle from his scalp down his neck and back.
As their kissing and caressing continued at a cooler tempo, they heard the 'pop, pop, pops' and series of shrill whistles in the air from the fireworks show finale, which flashed the room with strobes of color. Once again, Lee had the urge to stretch them out prone. "This loveseat was not made for love making," he said with frustration.
"I would suggest that you invite me onto the bed, and as much as I'd like to show you how 'easy' I can be, I think we should probably call it a night for now."
His libido was disappointed, but Lee knew it was the right decision for them. "Nothing wrong with leaving things simmering."
He stood and took her hand as she got up. They hugged and continued to exchange kisses until things threatened to boil over again.
"I should…" Amanda gestured to the door.
"Yeah. Walk you to your room?" Even if they weren't going any further - physically - tonight, he really didn't want her to go. It was wonderful just being together.
"No, I'll be fine. Besides, my room doesn't have any furniture except the bureau and the bed, so there's no safe place for us to sit," she teased.
"Maybe that was my plan all along…"
Amanda gave him a last, lingering kiss before heading to her room. Lee shut the door and turned to lean against it. He ran a hand through his hair, which made him think about how he liked it a lot better when Amanda did it. With a sigh, he levered himself off the door and got ready for bed.
As he brushed his teeth, Lee mused how hotly the connection between them had burned tonight. And that if tonight was any indication - and he was certain it was - things were going to be positively explosive when they did go to bed together.
He'd had hot and steamy sex before; it'd been thriling and carnally satisfying. This was completely different. Amanda was different - and maybe he was these days too. There was a grounding amidst their electric connection, a solid foundation of friendship and respect. Combining those intimacies with the intimacy of sex was even more arousing.