Another chapter in a 24 hour period! (Fifteen minutes to spare, in fact!) I'd say I'm doing alright my first day back! LOL!

And all I have to say is, what goes up, must come down...

I bit my lip hard as I pulled away from the mansion that evening, seeing Tony in the rear view, watching me in the drive way until I couldn't make him out anymore. "Hold it together, Potts," I told myself, trying to calm my thundering heartbeat. This was the residual rush I always felt whenever he and I spent time together. Which is why I always had to cut things off. It's ridiculous, I know, but being in that car with him, and him being so excited about it, and we'd had such a terrific day, it was all just...too much. I had to bring everything back to center, and make a quick exit before he and I forgot ourselves and things got out of hand between us. What would he think of me, if I just suddenly followed my urges and acted on the moment? How could he ever look me in the eye again? How could I ever live with myself if I just gave in to my temptations? All the respect I'd insisted he show me over the years would be out the window in the blink of an eye. And I'd just got my job back. Why would I want to jeopardize it now?

Even kissing his cheek was a bit much, in my opinion. But he needed to know how much I appreciated what he was doing for me, and that I wasn't leaving because I was upset. I just needed to make an exit, before I lost my self-control entirely, and that was the quickest way to get him to stop jabbering and listen to me.

I took a deep breath to attempt to steady my nerves further, and began my usual mantra. "He's Tony Stark. He's your boss. He's not boyfriend material, and he doesn't want to be. He'd only break your heart. You don't want this for yourself. It's better to admire him from a far, than to ever get yourself involved. It's not meant to be. You know this," I chanted out loud, as I drove.

I said it a couple more times, just for good measure. And when I finished, I bit my lip again, and nodded in affirmation. Already, I was feeling a bit better. But, even I had to admit, I'd be feeling a lot better if the feel of his cheek wasn't still on my lips, and my mind wasn't desperately trying to memorize the sensation before it vanished for good. And it would be having a lot easier time of it, too, if my other senses hadn't been permeated with some much of him to take in all in one day. Like the fleeting scent of his spicy designer cologne I could still catch traces of even now, as I drove. The low gravely rumble of his voice, instructing me on where to go and what to do this morning as we test drove the car. The feeling of his hand on my lower back in the restaurant, and that sparkly smile he flashed me during those fleeting moments when he was completely relaxed and happy. I shook my head helplessly. Tonight, it would be very hard for me to sleep, even though I felt stupid for acting like such a twitterpated, lovesick school girl.

XxXxXxXxXx

I eventually got the cars moved around in the shop the way I wanted them. But, instead of standing back and admiring my shiny new rattle I'd acquired, I suddenly lost interest and trudged up the stairs. I couldn't get the feeling of Pepper's kiss on my cheek out of my head. I know. Weak, right? I can't believe something as simple as a hen peck on my cheek had me all a-flutter. Never would have guessed it. But it wasn't just that. I swore I could still smell her perfume on me. I could still hear her sweet laughter in my mind, and the mere thought of it made me smile. Easy Stark, I warned myself. She let you know right where you stand before she left. Remember that.

Yeah, but it was SO great with her today, the devil on my shoulder countered. Why can't it be like that every day? Think about how great your life would be with her in it?

"Stop. Just stop," I said out loud. I'd walked into the living room from the shop, and quickly made a beeline to the liquor cabinet. I couldn't do this tonight. Not again. At least, not sober. My conscience tried to warn me about what always happened when I got like this. But again, the devil on my shoulder bent my ear. And he did it with only one word.

Vanessa.

I stopped at a dead halt, her name reverberating in my brain, as the bottle of Scotch stayed suspended in my finger tips. Then, I shook my head, trying to shake it off. "No," I said out loud, sternly. "Chasing is for chumps."

But she's still waiting for an answer about London, the devil retorted brilliantly. That could be your excuse to go see her. After all, she needs to know, doesn't she?

I plunked the glass decanter down on the bar in a huff with a loud clank. "Dammit!" I exclaimed, feeling my resolve crumble away millisecond by millisecond. I'd managed to pour a smidgen of Scotch in a tumbler before this little existential dilemma of mine reared its ugly head. So I, not wanting a drop of good Scotch to go to waste, knocked it to the back of my throat quickly and scurried upstairs before I changed my mind, or lost the stones, to go at all.

XxXxXxXx

An hour later, I marched down the Four Season's hallway toward Vanessa's room. When I came up on it, I raised my hand to knock, but hesitated briefly. Then I exhaled sharply, and pushed through the doubt, knocking on the door abruptly.

"Who is it?" I heard her muffled voice ask from behind the door a moment later.

"It's Tony," I said. I winced at how desperate and schmuck-y this had to have looked to her. "Look, I know you weren't expecting me tonight, but..."

Suddenly, the door flew open and Vanessa was standing there in a very revealing sheer camisole, and short lacy boy shorts, and I was having a hell of a time keeping my eyes on hers. "H-hey," I stammered, trying to act natural.

She gave me a coy smile. "Tony, you naughty boy," she cooed. "Have you come to deliver your answer to my offer in person? Or are you just hungry to see me?"

I chuckled at the joke, and smirked. "Um...both. I would say both is my answer to those questions," I answered back in a low purr, smirking cleverly.

She hummed in approval and bit her lip, gripping the lapels of my black leather jacket in her fingers and practically yanking me through the door. I surrendered completely at that moment, and pushed the day out of my mind with all of my might. Hey, you know what they say? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And seeing as how Pepper had chosen to fly out of the bush, and therefore out of reach, the only bird left in my life was the one I was currently holding, quite literally and figuratively, in my hands.

XxXxXxXxXx

So, here's where you found us at the start. That was last night. It's now the next morning, and Pepper's heard Vanessa and I in the bedroom upstairs. And she's just left, in fact, all in a huff when I mentioned I'd thought about going back to London with Vanessa. How did we go from a glorified booty call at the Four Seasons to here, you ask? Easy. We got tattled on. Apparently, Vanessa's neighbors didn't appreciate our late night impressions of amorous whales, so we brought the party back to my place. I got to show off my new ride to her, and she feigned being impressed, which was all the stroking of my ego I needed to keep up my...morale. I was going to say morale. Honest.

Anyway, Pepper's just left, I'm caught staring out the window in confusion, and Vanessa suddenly appears at the top of the stairs.

"Tew-ny, darling?" she coos in that clipped British accent of hers. I gotta say I kind of like the way she says my name. It's not easily forgotten. I'll give her that. And her accent is sexy, I must admit. Much better than the standard ditsy Valley Girl lazy mouth you find in L.A. That just gets old.

I raise my eyes to her, and marvel at how she looks right now. Her hair is all big and bed-heady, and she's wrapped in one of my cream-colored silk sheets, and damn. She's pretty gorgeous right now. I give her a smirk, as I pull myself away from the front window and jog up the stairs to greet her.

"Who was that, love?" she asks. I look back only briefly in hesitation.

"Uh, nothing, baby, it's...not important," I say, as I pull her into my arms, and lay a kiss on her lips. Then I move my lips to her ear. "However, you, Ms. Matthews," I purr. "Are in trouble, this morning."

She squeals and wraps her arms around my neck, giggling. I pick her up around the waist, and she lets the bed sheet fall to the floor to reveal her still very bare body, as she wraps her legs around me. I whimper, and she kisses me hard as I walk us back into the bedroom, trying my damndest not to stumble.

We reach the bed and I gently lay her on her back, propping myself up over the top of her. I swoop in for another kiss, but she stops me. "Before we go on, I must ask a question," she says, holding up her pointer finger in warning.

I exhale, wishing our momentum hadn't got stalled out. "Ask away," I say, pursing my lips.

"London. Are you going? Yes or no?" she asks briskly, hopefully.

I grin. "Yes," I answer simply.

She breaks out in a big smile. "Yes?" she says excitedly.

I give her a look of curiosity. "Yeah, weirdo, why? Aren't I just going to give you some pointers on new uses for nuclear power?" I ask. "It sounded like a pretty standard consultative meeting, I thought. Even if it is across the pond..."

She stops my blabber with a hard, abupt kiss. "Oh Tony Stark, you've made me a very happy woman!" she exclaims, breaking the kiss just as abruptly.

"I...have?" I ask cluelessly. Seriously. I wasn't following why she thought me going to London for something so boring was so exciting. Unless, she had other plans for us while we were there. In which case, as much of a freak as this girl was in the bedroom, I could understand why she was so excited. So I grin.

"You're planning something for us, aren't you," I ask, with a sly smirk.

She just smirks right back at me, her eyes filled with mischief. "Oh, my dear," she purrs. "You have no idea."