Disclaimer: They are still not mine, because if they were, I would not make everybody wait to see all of our fave couples get together! LOL!! ANd guess what people?! I'm DONE WITH THIS STORY!!!!!! WOOOOO HHHHHHOOOOOO!!!! I had a great time writing this story, and I hope that you guys had as much fun reading it. This is probably the longest TV fiction story that I have ever wrote, and I'm proud of myself for getting it done. In fact, I have actually plotted out the entire arc that this story starts out, and I have to warn you--it get steadily more angst. ANyway, keep an eye out for "Power Play" the next in this storyline--it focuses more on Tyler and Val, even though Jamie and Catie predominate the sub-plot (as always! Don't worry though, J/C will play a major part in the arc, of course, as will Hank in the thrid story. ) Anyway, I hope you like this last part, so without further ado...
Matchmaking 101 10
Val reached out and put her arm around her best friend's shoulder, pulling Catie into a hug. The dark haired girl allowed the blonde to hold her for a few seconds, before pulling away and swiping at her eyes half heartedly with the back of her hand.
"I'm okay now." She whispered, her voice cracking just a little bit.
"Liar." Val said softly, her blue eyes dark and concerned. Catie refused to meet her eyes, her shoulder's shaking slightly.
"I know. " Her voice was barely a whisper, and Val had to strain her ears to happen.
For a minute, silence hung in the air around the two girls like a shroud, the quietness mocking them. Val chewed on the bottom of her lip, wondering if she should break the pregnant silence. After much internal debating , she decided that Catie needed very much to talk about it, so it was up to her to break the stillness.
"What...what happened?"
Okay, that might not have been the best way to go, Val decided, noting her best friend's cringe. For a minute, it looked like Catie might not answer, but then the words were spilling out of her like a waterfall.
"He...he kissed me. Or I kissed him. Or...something like that. The point is, we kissed. And I...I...I..." Catie trailed off, her voice getting softer with every word she spoke.
"You...liked it?" Val tried, her eyes smiling slightly.
"Yeah...yeah, I did. A lot. I...felt something...something that I've never felt before." Catie's tone took on a slightly dreamy cast too it. She seemed to notice it after a second, and shook her head, as if the pull her mind out of the clouds. "Anyway, we kissed...and then you walked it. And he...left."
Catie dropped her eyes again, studying the floor, before looking back up at Val, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She couldn't voice her question, but she knew that her best friend would understand, not matter what.
And she was right. Val stepped forward, and put her arms around the smaller girl, hugging her tightly.
"I don't know why he did it Catie. But I know that you need to find out...or...you're never going to get any peace, or closure from this." Val told her, pressing her cheek against Catie's hair.
"How...how could he do that?" Catie cried, her voice catching on the last word. "How could he just...kiss me like that, and then leave? Didn't if matter to him at all...didn't he feel anything?'
"Oh Catie..." Val whispered softly, swaying with the girl in her arms gently. "I don't know why he did what he did...it seems so...out of character for him."
Her reassurances fell flat, and the female EMT knew it. However, Catie began to stop crying and get a hold of her emotions, so Val counted herself lucky. Of course, she realized that her words probably had nothing to do with it--it was probably due more to the fact that Catie never let herself fall apart for more then a few seconds, even in front of Val.
Brushing the last tears off her face, Catie looked up at Val. "I'm okay now. Really."
"Are you sure?" Val asked, putting her hand lightly on her shoulder, her eyes concerned. Catie let a small smile touch her lips and nodded, her dark eyes growing even darker.
"I am. But I think your right...I need to talk to Jamie."
"Now?" Val asked, slightly concerned.
"No time like the present." Catie replied, squaring her shoulders and heading out of the supply room, her eyes determined and her chin set.
"Umm...well...okay..." Val said to Catie's back, her eyes widening slightly as the girl left. 'Poor Jamie...'
@-}--}---
Jamie was not impressed with himself. How could he have let that happen?
The young man was now sitting on the picnic table in front of the station, his head in his hands. He'd been there for nearly ten minutes, ever since he had left Catie standing in the supply closet. How could he have done that?
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done, Waite." Jamie muttered out loud to himself. "You knew she was off limits."
"Who was off limits?" A voice asked from somewhere behind him. The young man sighed, and didn't look up.
"None of your business Hank." He muttered, hoping that his attitude would force the other young man to leave.
"Not gonna work on me, Jamie. I've known you long enough to tell when your copping the 'tude to get people to leave you alone cause you don't wanna talk about it. What happened, and why is Catie off limits?"
"What makes you think I was talking about Catie?" Jamie snapped defensively.
"Because...you're head over heels for her." Hank tried, coming to sit down beside his friend.
"WHAT?!" Jamie's head shot up, his eyes wide and stark terror was visible in them. "That's crazy, she's just my..." He trailed off, watching his friend grin knowingly at him. Sighing, Jamie decided that he might as well fess up. "Okay, so I am. So what?"
"Nothing...just wondering what made you decide you couldn't be with her. I mean, it's obvious to well...everybody, except for you two that is, that your both completely into each other." Hank assured him.
"It is--" Jamie stared to deny him, but was cut off by his friend's look. "Is it that obvious?"
Hank grinned and nodded his eyes dancing slightly. "Oh yeah. But at least you guys don't do the big soulful looks like Val and Tyler do."
"Oh well, as long as I don't do that..." Jamie let a small smile touch his lips and nodded, running a hand through his spiky black hair.
"You never did answer my question, man." Hank said after a minute, his dark eyes studying his friend for a minute.
"About?" Jamie played dumb, even though he knew what his friend meant.
"About why's she's off limits?" Hank reminded him. Jamie sighed, and looked back down at the ground, digging his fingers through his thick black hair.
"Because...she's...she's...I don't know. She just is." Jamie informed his friend, shaking his head.
"There has to be a reason." Hank pressed. "People don't just arbitrarily decide that they can't date a certain person. There has to be a reason, even if it's the stupidest one on the face of the earth--like, wrong hair color."
"I like Catie's hair." Jamie muttered.
"That's not the point." Hank rolled his eyes, confused by his friend's problem.
"I know." Jamie finally allowed, looking up from the ground.
"Then what is it?" Hank repeated his earlier question.
"Haven't you ever just felt...not...good enough for some one?" Jamie asked his friend, looking at the boy out of the corner of his eye. "No, of course you haven't." He answered his own question, sighing.
"Is that it?! You don't think your good enough for Catie?" Hank asked the other man.
Jamie was silent for a long second, refusing to look at Hank for fear that the observant young man would see the truth in his eyes. However, his silence spoke louder then words, and Hank sighed, looking down at the ground.
"That's it isn't it." It was not a question. "What makes you think that you don't deserve her--don't deserve to be happy?"
Jamie flinched, but found his voice long enough to answer. "I...you wouldn't understand."
"That's cool man. You don't have to tell me if you don't want. However, you are gonna have to tell Catie. No matter what you might think, she's into you, and if you don't tell her what's up, your going to wind up hurting her." Hank advised, rubbing his chin.
"Too late for that." Jamie muttered, his eyes dark.
"What do you mean?" Hank asked, curiously.
"Nothin'." The dark haired youth ran his fingers through his hair again, making it stand on that.
"I think I can hazard a guess." The older EMT deduced by watching his friend's body langue "Look--this is something you have to work out with Catie. And I suggest that you do it fast, before you mess up a really good thing."
"Hank--you don't get it do you?" Jamie asked, sighing in frustration. "I...I can't tell her."
"Why not?" Hank asked, confused.
"Because she wouldn't understand."
"How do you know that? I might." Catie's voice startled them both and Jamie winced. How long had she been listening?
"Hey Catie...uh...I...uhh...think I hear Alex calling for me... so, you know, I'll just be going now." Hank told the two, walking away and heading toward the
Jamie swallowed hard, before looking over his shoulder at his friend. Catie had her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes were dark in her face, her lips pulled down into a slight, thoughtful frown.
"Ummm...hi?" He tried, swallowing again, and dropping his eyes to the ground one more time.
"Hi? That's all you've got to say? Is hi?!" Catie wanted to scream. Loudly. But she managed to refrain from doing so, but only just barely. What she really wanted to do was smack Jamie senseless, and then kiss him until he couldn't breath.
'Stop it.' Catie chided herself, shaking her head. 'Your angry at him. He hurt you. He hurt you worse then anyone has ever hurt you before. You do NOT want to kiss him.'
Her little pep talk convinced her that she didn't want him with every single fiber of her being for about...twenty seconds. Enough time for her to look up, and get lost in a pair of the darkest, saddest, most all around beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen.
"I'm...I'm sorry Catie." His perfect lips formed the words so...sensually, Catie suddenly found herself at a loss for what she was so angry about in the first place.
'He HURT YOU!' The little voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Val yelled, trying to get her attention.
'But he's sorry!' The annoying voice, the one that had been after her to be with Jamie since it was first created, piped up.
'That's not the point.' Val-voice reminded Annoying-Voice.
'Shut up both of you.' Catie growled mentally, shaking her head slightly to make the voices stop babbling.
"How can you say your sorry?" While Catie had been arguing with her voices, her mouth had been on autopilot. "You kissed me like there was no tomorrow, and then you run off and leave me like it was nothing at all. I don't GET you Jamie! I mean..."
"Catie.." Jamie broke in, running a hand through his unruly black hair. "I'm...I'm sorry. That's all I can say...is that I'm sorry. I let my emotions..." He trailed off, cursing himself for going that far.
"You let your emotions do what?" Catie pressed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Jamie.
"Nothing." Jamie muttered, refusing to answer her question.
"Yeah, right Jamie. Just tell me the truth--for ONCE." Catie growled, her eyes flashing angrily.
That got his attention. The young man's head snapped up, and he looked her dead in the eye, his own blazing with emotion.
"I NEVER lie to you Catie. Never!" Jamie hissed, enraged that she would suggest such a thing.
"Never huh? Then what's the deal with the kiss and run stuff?" Catie demanded, her heart banging against her chest.
"I didn't lie." Jamie snapped.
"You made me think you wanted me! If that's not a lie, then I don't know what is! You might not have said the words Jamie, but you lied to me just the same!" Catie screamed at him, her eyes, to her horror, brimming with tears.
He swallowed so hard she could see it. For a moment, it looked like he was going to bolt, and Catie bunched up her muscles to run after him. He wasn't going to get away from her until she knew what the deal was.
'What do I say, what do I do, how could this happen?!' Jamie's thoughts were a wild tumble in his mind, as he groped for the words to tell Catie how he really felt. His need to protect her from himself was at war with his need to be with her, and it felt like he was being ripped in two. He wanted her, but he didn't deserve her--which would win in the end? His longing or his protectiveness?
She stood before him, her eyes glowing and snapping like dark flames, her soft skin alight with the fuel of rage. She looked so incredibly beautiful standing there, he thought that his heart was going to burst from his chest. What should he do? Go with his mind or go with his heart?
Which was stronger? His convictions or his desire? His longing to protect her or his longing FOR her?
When she looked at him like that, his answer was made for him, and the words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about them and to talk himself out of it.
"I didn't lie."
"What?" She whispered, shocked by his simple statement, and the fire that it brought to his soulful dark eyes.
Wetting his lips, Jamie opened his mouth to speak again. "I...didn't...lie. I want you. In my arms, in my life, wherever you go, I wanna be with you. I need you, Catie. I want you. I don't understand the way I feel for you, the way I've always felt about you, but I know that I have to have you in my life, or it would be...empty." When he finished, he dropped his eyes to the floor, as if to embarrassed to face her.
Catie opened her mouth, and then closed it. In her wildest daydreams and fantasies of a moment like this, she had never even allowed herself to think that someone would say something like that to her. Her heart had never beat this fast before--she was half afraid that she was going to pass out, but she managed to keep her cool.
Looking up, her dark eyes glued him to the wall, and closed his eyes, waiting for her to tell him that she didn't feel that way about him, and that it was all just a mix up. However, she didn't say anything for the longest time, simply looking at him like she would at some curious unidentifiable type of bug.
"What?" He finally couldn't take it anymore.
"You meant that didn't you?" Her tone was awestruck. Jamie blinked in confusion, and looked at her again, wondering what he was going to see in her face. A slight smile was pulling at her lips, and her eyes danced.
"Every word." Jamie breathed, amazed that she was looking at him that way. Why was she looking at him like--
Her soft mouth on his stopped that thought before it even got started. He gave himself to that kiss, wanting nothing more for this tiny instant in time to stop. But time won't stop for anyone, and the kiss eventually came to it's natural end.
"Catie..." As soon as the soft pressure of her mouth on his was gone, Jamie was brought back to the reality that the fire in her eyes had yanked him from, just a few short minutes ago. He would hurt her if he loved her. He couldn't let her get...
"You won't hurt me Jamie. You ARE good enough for me, because I say you are. I want you and I need you, and the only thing that I'm going to worry about is if I'm good enough for you." Catie told him firmly, a grin pulling at her lips.
Jamie blinked at her, wondering if she could read his mind. A grin pulled at her lips, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes dancing. "I was sorta listening to the conversation you were having with Hank. Now kiss me again, and we'll see if this is for real."
He couldn't think of anything to say to that, so tilted his head down to hers and pressed his lips to hers as gently as he could. Fire shot through his veins, and he pulled her closer, wanting to hold her against his body forever. But, like all good things, it had to end, and he let her go, his breathing slightly labored.
"Oh yeah, it's definitely for real." Catie decided, a small grin pulling at her lips. Jamie chuckled at her, and leaned his forehead against hers, happy, truly happy, for the first time in years.
@-}--}---
"This is so great...they got everything worked out!" Brooke cheered, peering out of the window that looked out across the basketball court.
"Brooke! I really don't think you should be watching that!" Val reprimanded her younger sister.
"Yeah Brooke. Their already pissed enough at us as it is." Tyler spoke up nervously, eyeing the window uneasily.
"Are you still scared that Catie's going to beat you up?" Val teased.
"Yes--I don't want to have to explain to William and Mom that I got the crap beat out of me by a five foot two girl and that's why I can't go on the trip this weekend." Tyler explained, rolling his eyes.
"Oh yeah, William's taking you guys for a trip on his boat, right? Sounds like fun!" Val grinned, glad that Tyler had started to be more accepting of his stepfather now.
"I hope it will be." Tyler said nervously, rubbing his chin. "But ya never know."
"I'm sure it will be fine." Val grinned, her eyes sparkling. "What could go wrong?"
"Awww...look! Their kissing again!" Brooke cooed. "Where's my camera?!"
"Brooke!" The three teens in the room yelled at the girl, laughing at the girl.
"What? What'd I say?"
Matchmaking 101 10
Val reached out and put her arm around her best friend's shoulder, pulling Catie into a hug. The dark haired girl allowed the blonde to hold her for a few seconds, before pulling away and swiping at her eyes half heartedly with the back of her hand.
"I'm okay now." She whispered, her voice cracking just a little bit.
"Liar." Val said softly, her blue eyes dark and concerned. Catie refused to meet her eyes, her shoulder's shaking slightly.
"I know. " Her voice was barely a whisper, and Val had to strain her ears to happen.
For a minute, silence hung in the air around the two girls like a shroud, the quietness mocking them. Val chewed on the bottom of her lip, wondering if she should break the pregnant silence. After much internal debating , she decided that Catie needed very much to talk about it, so it was up to her to break the stillness.
"What...what happened?"
Okay, that might not have been the best way to go, Val decided, noting her best friend's cringe. For a minute, it looked like Catie might not answer, but then the words were spilling out of her like a waterfall.
"He...he kissed me. Or I kissed him. Or...something like that. The point is, we kissed. And I...I...I..." Catie trailed off, her voice getting softer with every word she spoke.
"You...liked it?" Val tried, her eyes smiling slightly.
"Yeah...yeah, I did. A lot. I...felt something...something that I've never felt before." Catie's tone took on a slightly dreamy cast too it. She seemed to notice it after a second, and shook her head, as if the pull her mind out of the clouds. "Anyway, we kissed...and then you walked it. And he...left."
Catie dropped her eyes again, studying the floor, before looking back up at Val, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She couldn't voice her question, but she knew that her best friend would understand, not matter what.
And she was right. Val stepped forward, and put her arms around the smaller girl, hugging her tightly.
"I don't know why he did it Catie. But I know that you need to find out...or...you're never going to get any peace, or closure from this." Val told her, pressing her cheek against Catie's hair.
"How...how could he do that?" Catie cried, her voice catching on the last word. "How could he just...kiss me like that, and then leave? Didn't if matter to him at all...didn't he feel anything?'
"Oh Catie..." Val whispered softly, swaying with the girl in her arms gently. "I don't know why he did what he did...it seems so...out of character for him."
Her reassurances fell flat, and the female EMT knew it. However, Catie began to stop crying and get a hold of her emotions, so Val counted herself lucky. Of course, she realized that her words probably had nothing to do with it--it was probably due more to the fact that Catie never let herself fall apart for more then a few seconds, even in front of Val.
Brushing the last tears off her face, Catie looked up at Val. "I'm okay now. Really."
"Are you sure?" Val asked, putting her hand lightly on her shoulder, her eyes concerned. Catie let a small smile touch her lips and nodded, her dark eyes growing even darker.
"I am. But I think your right...I need to talk to Jamie."
"Now?" Val asked, slightly concerned.
"No time like the present." Catie replied, squaring her shoulders and heading out of the supply room, her eyes determined and her chin set.
"Umm...well...okay..." Val said to Catie's back, her eyes widening slightly as the girl left. 'Poor Jamie...'
@-}--}---
Jamie was not impressed with himself. How could he have let that happen?
The young man was now sitting on the picnic table in front of the station, his head in his hands. He'd been there for nearly ten minutes, ever since he had left Catie standing in the supply closet. How could he have done that?
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done, Waite." Jamie muttered out loud to himself. "You knew she was off limits."
"Who was off limits?" A voice asked from somewhere behind him. The young man sighed, and didn't look up.
"None of your business Hank." He muttered, hoping that his attitude would force the other young man to leave.
"Not gonna work on me, Jamie. I've known you long enough to tell when your copping the 'tude to get people to leave you alone cause you don't wanna talk about it. What happened, and why is Catie off limits?"
"What makes you think I was talking about Catie?" Jamie snapped defensively.
"Because...you're head over heels for her." Hank tried, coming to sit down beside his friend.
"WHAT?!" Jamie's head shot up, his eyes wide and stark terror was visible in them. "That's crazy, she's just my..." He trailed off, watching his friend grin knowingly at him. Sighing, Jamie decided that he might as well fess up. "Okay, so I am. So what?"
"Nothing...just wondering what made you decide you couldn't be with her. I mean, it's obvious to well...everybody, except for you two that is, that your both completely into each other." Hank assured him.
"It is--" Jamie stared to deny him, but was cut off by his friend's look. "Is it that obvious?"
Hank grinned and nodded his eyes dancing slightly. "Oh yeah. But at least you guys don't do the big soulful looks like Val and Tyler do."
"Oh well, as long as I don't do that..." Jamie let a small smile touch his lips and nodded, running a hand through his spiky black hair.
"You never did answer my question, man." Hank said after a minute, his dark eyes studying his friend for a minute.
"About?" Jamie played dumb, even though he knew what his friend meant.
"About why's she's off limits?" Hank reminded him. Jamie sighed, and looked back down at the ground, digging his fingers through his thick black hair.
"Because...she's...she's...I don't know. She just is." Jamie informed his friend, shaking his head.
"There has to be a reason." Hank pressed. "People don't just arbitrarily decide that they can't date a certain person. There has to be a reason, even if it's the stupidest one on the face of the earth--like, wrong hair color."
"I like Catie's hair." Jamie muttered.
"That's not the point." Hank rolled his eyes, confused by his friend's problem.
"I know." Jamie finally allowed, looking up from the ground.
"Then what is it?" Hank repeated his earlier question.
"Haven't you ever just felt...not...good enough for some one?" Jamie asked his friend, looking at the boy out of the corner of his eye. "No, of course you haven't." He answered his own question, sighing.
"Is that it?! You don't think your good enough for Catie?" Hank asked the other man.
Jamie was silent for a long second, refusing to look at Hank for fear that the observant young man would see the truth in his eyes. However, his silence spoke louder then words, and Hank sighed, looking down at the ground.
"That's it isn't it." It was not a question. "What makes you think that you don't deserve her--don't deserve to be happy?"
Jamie flinched, but found his voice long enough to answer. "I...you wouldn't understand."
"That's cool man. You don't have to tell me if you don't want. However, you are gonna have to tell Catie. No matter what you might think, she's into you, and if you don't tell her what's up, your going to wind up hurting her." Hank advised, rubbing his chin.
"Too late for that." Jamie muttered, his eyes dark.
"What do you mean?" Hank asked, curiously.
"Nothin'." The dark haired youth ran his fingers through his hair again, making it stand on that.
"I think I can hazard a guess." The older EMT deduced by watching his friend's body langue "Look--this is something you have to work out with Catie. And I suggest that you do it fast, before you mess up a really good thing."
"Hank--you don't get it do you?" Jamie asked, sighing in frustration. "I...I can't tell her."
"Why not?" Hank asked, confused.
"Because she wouldn't understand."
"How do you know that? I might." Catie's voice startled them both and Jamie winced. How long had she been listening?
"Hey Catie...uh...I...uhh...think I hear Alex calling for me... so, you know, I'll just be going now." Hank told the two, walking away and heading toward the
Jamie swallowed hard, before looking over his shoulder at his friend. Catie had her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes were dark in her face, her lips pulled down into a slight, thoughtful frown.
"Ummm...hi?" He tried, swallowing again, and dropping his eyes to the ground one more time.
"Hi? That's all you've got to say? Is hi?!" Catie wanted to scream. Loudly. But she managed to refrain from doing so, but only just barely. What she really wanted to do was smack Jamie senseless, and then kiss him until he couldn't breath.
'Stop it.' Catie chided herself, shaking her head. 'Your angry at him. He hurt you. He hurt you worse then anyone has ever hurt you before. You do NOT want to kiss him.'
Her little pep talk convinced her that she didn't want him with every single fiber of her being for about...twenty seconds. Enough time for her to look up, and get lost in a pair of the darkest, saddest, most all around beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen.
"I'm...I'm sorry Catie." His perfect lips formed the words so...sensually, Catie suddenly found herself at a loss for what she was so angry about in the first place.
'He HURT YOU!' The little voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Val yelled, trying to get her attention.
'But he's sorry!' The annoying voice, the one that had been after her to be with Jamie since it was first created, piped up.
'That's not the point.' Val-voice reminded Annoying-Voice.
'Shut up both of you.' Catie growled mentally, shaking her head slightly to make the voices stop babbling.
"How can you say your sorry?" While Catie had been arguing with her voices, her mouth had been on autopilot. "You kissed me like there was no tomorrow, and then you run off and leave me like it was nothing at all. I don't GET you Jamie! I mean..."
"Catie.." Jamie broke in, running a hand through his unruly black hair. "I'm...I'm sorry. That's all I can say...is that I'm sorry. I let my emotions..." He trailed off, cursing himself for going that far.
"You let your emotions do what?" Catie pressed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Jamie.
"Nothing." Jamie muttered, refusing to answer her question.
"Yeah, right Jamie. Just tell me the truth--for ONCE." Catie growled, her eyes flashing angrily.
That got his attention. The young man's head snapped up, and he looked her dead in the eye, his own blazing with emotion.
"I NEVER lie to you Catie. Never!" Jamie hissed, enraged that she would suggest such a thing.
"Never huh? Then what's the deal with the kiss and run stuff?" Catie demanded, her heart banging against her chest.
"I didn't lie." Jamie snapped.
"You made me think you wanted me! If that's not a lie, then I don't know what is! You might not have said the words Jamie, but you lied to me just the same!" Catie screamed at him, her eyes, to her horror, brimming with tears.
He swallowed so hard she could see it. For a moment, it looked like he was going to bolt, and Catie bunched up her muscles to run after him. He wasn't going to get away from her until she knew what the deal was.
'What do I say, what do I do, how could this happen?!' Jamie's thoughts were a wild tumble in his mind, as he groped for the words to tell Catie how he really felt. His need to protect her from himself was at war with his need to be with her, and it felt like he was being ripped in two. He wanted her, but he didn't deserve her--which would win in the end? His longing or his protectiveness?
She stood before him, her eyes glowing and snapping like dark flames, her soft skin alight with the fuel of rage. She looked so incredibly beautiful standing there, he thought that his heart was going to burst from his chest. What should he do? Go with his mind or go with his heart?
Which was stronger? His convictions or his desire? His longing to protect her or his longing FOR her?
When she looked at him like that, his answer was made for him, and the words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about them and to talk himself out of it.
"I didn't lie."
"What?" She whispered, shocked by his simple statement, and the fire that it brought to his soulful dark eyes.
Wetting his lips, Jamie opened his mouth to speak again. "I...didn't...lie. I want you. In my arms, in my life, wherever you go, I wanna be with you. I need you, Catie. I want you. I don't understand the way I feel for you, the way I've always felt about you, but I know that I have to have you in my life, or it would be...empty." When he finished, he dropped his eyes to the floor, as if to embarrassed to face her.
Catie opened her mouth, and then closed it. In her wildest daydreams and fantasies of a moment like this, she had never even allowed herself to think that someone would say something like that to her. Her heart had never beat this fast before--she was half afraid that she was going to pass out, but she managed to keep her cool.
Looking up, her dark eyes glued him to the wall, and closed his eyes, waiting for her to tell him that she didn't feel that way about him, and that it was all just a mix up. However, she didn't say anything for the longest time, simply looking at him like she would at some curious unidentifiable type of bug.
"What?" He finally couldn't take it anymore.
"You meant that didn't you?" Her tone was awestruck. Jamie blinked in confusion, and looked at her again, wondering what he was going to see in her face. A slight smile was pulling at her lips, and her eyes danced.
"Every word." Jamie breathed, amazed that she was looking at him that way. Why was she looking at him like--
Her soft mouth on his stopped that thought before it even got started. He gave himself to that kiss, wanting nothing more for this tiny instant in time to stop. But time won't stop for anyone, and the kiss eventually came to it's natural end.
"Catie..." As soon as the soft pressure of her mouth on his was gone, Jamie was brought back to the reality that the fire in her eyes had yanked him from, just a few short minutes ago. He would hurt her if he loved her. He couldn't let her get...
"You won't hurt me Jamie. You ARE good enough for me, because I say you are. I want you and I need you, and the only thing that I'm going to worry about is if I'm good enough for you." Catie told him firmly, a grin pulling at her lips.
Jamie blinked at her, wondering if she could read his mind. A grin pulled at her lips, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes dancing. "I was sorta listening to the conversation you were having with Hank. Now kiss me again, and we'll see if this is for real."
He couldn't think of anything to say to that, so tilted his head down to hers and pressed his lips to hers as gently as he could. Fire shot through his veins, and he pulled her closer, wanting to hold her against his body forever. But, like all good things, it had to end, and he let her go, his breathing slightly labored.
"Oh yeah, it's definitely for real." Catie decided, a small grin pulling at her lips. Jamie chuckled at her, and leaned his forehead against hers, happy, truly happy, for the first time in years.
@-}--}---
"This is so great...they got everything worked out!" Brooke cheered, peering out of the window that looked out across the basketball court.
"Brooke! I really don't think you should be watching that!" Val reprimanded her younger sister.
"Yeah Brooke. Their already pissed enough at us as it is." Tyler spoke up nervously, eyeing the window uneasily.
"Are you still scared that Catie's going to beat you up?" Val teased.
"Yes--I don't want to have to explain to William and Mom that I got the crap beat out of me by a five foot two girl and that's why I can't go on the trip this weekend." Tyler explained, rolling his eyes.
"Oh yeah, William's taking you guys for a trip on his boat, right? Sounds like fun!" Val grinned, glad that Tyler had started to be more accepting of his stepfather now.
"I hope it will be." Tyler said nervously, rubbing his chin. "But ya never know."
"I'm sure it will be fine." Val grinned, her eyes sparkling. "What could go wrong?"
"Awww...look! Their kissing again!" Brooke cooed. "Where's my camera?!"
"Brooke!" The three teens in the room yelled at the girl, laughing at the girl.
"What? What'd I say?"