Disclaimer: Eh.
A/N: Yay. I like this story. I like that you all like it, too! Thanks for the reviews! Did I take long enough to update? I realized (maybe too late) that I forgot completely about the Muranthias incident. It really doesn't make a difference whether it happened or not pertaining to this story, because I don't think it will be mentioned. But just to be on the safe side, let's say it didn't.
*Quick Note* I don't really know how to use chopsticks. I can manage, but there's a paragraph or two in here about them and well. If I'm terribly wrong, just ignore it.
Tsukino Akume: I'm actually more partial to Tommy's long locks, too, but he is older, and he did cut them in the Forever Red episode. Plus, I think he looks really hott in this one picture: (Copy/paste) (Enter the site and click on the Gallery link. It's in the Autograph section, last picture in the top row. There are other good ones, but I like this the best!! If you happen to click on the quartered pictures, they are really, REALLY ugly. that's all I have to say).
MegaSilver: You suggested that I use italics to express thoughts. I completely agree with you and *would* use them, were it not for the fact that neither italics nor bold lettering shows up after I update stories. I don't know why that is, and I'm somewhat computer illiterate when it comes to that stuff. Any help you or someone else may have to offer would be very much appreciated! But if it makes it easier, I will use brackets in which to hold thoughts. Otherwise, I'm sorry if the formatting isn't up to your par. It's just how I'm used to writing essays and such, aside from double- spacing. I've learned to always indent when starting a new paragraph. Thank you and all the rest for the reviews.
"Spoken words", [Thoughts]
Now, on with Lunch! ---------------------------------------------------------------------
LUNCH (11:18 a.m.)
Kim yawned rather loudly as the cartoon video came to an end. Mitch turned off the T.V. screen and wheeled the stand off to the side. Taking his place back in the center of the room, he began to talk about the film.
"Don't you just love Goofy? This little cartoon is as fun to watch as it is truthful. You'll see some drivers get into their car and then turn into some kind of evil road monster! It's quite funny from a distance. but anyway, showing this film has its own values, and I think I can honestly say that showing it is the second best part of my day."
"What's the first?" a woman in the front row asked.
Mitch laughed to himself and then answered, "Getting rid of you guys." His sarcasm earned a few light laughs, and Kimberly just rolled her eyes. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Going home is the best part of the day, wouldn't you agree?" There were murmurs of 'yes' and 'of course,' and Mitch went on. "I know. Just hang in there, guys. We've got about ten minutes until I can let you out for lunch. Make sure you get back here in an hours time. That means you have to be back here, in your seat, by 12:30 p.m. or you don't get back in at all. After that you've got another 15 minute break at 2:15, and you're excused at 3:30. For now, just sit tight in your seats for another," he checked his wrist watch, "eight minutes." With that, he moved to Jennifer's work station and began to make small conversation with her, as did the rest of the audience with each other.
Kimberly squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, trying to blink away the sleepiness that was weighing down the lids of her eyes. Lifting a finger to scratch an itch on her nose, she heard her name being said on the left side of the room. Leaning forward, her eyes landed on Tommy who lifted a hand to wave. Kim smiled and waved back, and giggled when she noticed the woman to her left was waving as well, looking rather confused.
Tommy made eye contact with the older blonde and pointed a finger, indicating the tiny brunette behind her.
The woman turned to Kimberly and blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I heard someone say my name and when I looked he was waving." She laughed.
"It's okay. I don't think either of us realized there was another Kim in the room. I must not have been paying attention this morning."
"That's alright. I'm only sorry he *wasn't* waving to me. He's cute! It's only too bad I'm twice his age." She snapped her fingers and laughed again.
"Uh, yeah," Kim said with a confused smile. Her face relaxed itself, however, when Tommy called for her attention once more.
Looking at his ex, Tommy silently asked her to join him for lunch. That is, he mouthed the question, "Do you like Chinese?" He proceeded to imitate holding chopsticks and a take-out box, and squished his eyes closed to mock an Asian appearance.
From her seat, Kimberly broke out in a fit of giggles at the sight her friend was displaying. He looked ridiculous, dancing in his seat the way he was, apparently pretending to hold an eating utensil of some kind and having a hard time seeing. She shook her head, grinning at his shrug and innocent expression of "what?"
They both turned their attention form each other, however, to Mr. Cross once again as he stood before the class. "Alright, folks. If you can neatly place all of your paper work and unnecessary belongings underneath your seats, you have my permission to leave for lunch. I'll see you all in one hour. Have a nice one!"
The seats began to empty as people stood and stretched, then filed out the exit. Tommy was waiting for Kim just outside the door, and the two walked side by side while climbing the short set of stairs to the main exit.
"So I take it you don't like Chinese food?" Tommy asked, looking down at his brunette companion.
"What do you mean? I never said anything about not liking Chinese food."
"Well, you laughed when I asked you via charades."
"Yeah, what was that all about? You looked like a constipated five year old, or something!" She chuckled with him for a moment.
As soon as he was able to speak again, he asked, "And how would you know what a constipated five year old looks like?" Just as she opened her mouth to reply, he cut her off. "Don't answer that. I was only trying to ask you to lunch. I know this great Chinese place up the block. It'll be my treat. What do you say?"
"Oh, so *that's* why you were doing the eye thing." She did her own interpretation, and they both broke out in laughter once more. When they had calmed down Kim said, "Sure. I love a free lunch."
The two made their way to the parking lot and stopped, the same question on both of their minds. "My car or yours?" they said in unison and smiled.
"How about you drive, then. You know where it is," Kim said, and Tommy agreed. She followed him and paused when she saw the bright red BMW 850CSI. A gasp caught in her throat, and she managed to let out an astonished, "Wow."
"Nice, huh? This beast has got a V-12 engine and can go 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. I guess racing for my uncle gave me a 'need for speed' attitude." He smirked when she continued to stare at the sleek body of the highly expensive vehicle. "Want to try it out?"
Kim snapped out of her stare and threw him a surprised look. "Are you mental? I'm afraid of just getting *in* the thing! How the hell could you *afford* this?"
He gave a shrug. "I saved up a lot of the money I earned in racing and actually bought it used from this really old guy."
"Wait, wait," she held up a hand. "What do you mean you saved up the money you earned from racing?" She had obviously been out of the loop for a long time. "You race? As in like, NASCAR or something?"
He smiled. "Sure. The pay is good, and it lets me take my mind off of things when life gets too hectic and stuff."
"Wow," the short female replied. "I remember you telling me a little about your uncle in school, but I never imagined that you would actually *drive* for him one day." Then, with a sly smile, she added, "No wonder you were speeding."
The long since retired red Turbo ranger glared at her playfully. "Just get in the car." They both buckled up, and the engine revved as the key was placed into the ignition.
Backing out rather quickly, Tommy sped away in his shiny BMW with Kim at his side. Pulling out into the main road slowly and checking for oncoming cars, Tommy brought up the events of the first break.
"Sorry about this morning," he said. "I was ticked that you didn't call, but I didn't have to act like such a jerk about it."
Kimberly watched the curb outside of her window as Tommy made a right turn into traffic. He stopped at the red light ahead, and Kim turned to face him. "You don't have to apologize. I really should have called." Not wanting to bring up the rather sudden 'kiss' that served as Kim's escape from a pushy admirer, she said nothing else and felt her lips tingle at the thought of his mouth on hers after all this time. Was there more to the kiss than was intended? [Did he feel what I felt?]
"Well, I'm just glad you're back," he said, breaking her thoughts. "Some of us were starting to wonder if we'd *ever* see you again. I know Jason was getting a little worried, and to be honest, so was I." She was facing the window again, and he moved his eyes to the road in front of him when the signal turned green. The engine purred as he pushed down on the gas petal, keeping a safe speed. Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, he spoke gently. "I know it was a long time ago, but we used to be so close, Kim. What happened? I mean, I know we were in different states and had different lives, but did you really meet someone else who you thought could give you what I couldn't?"
The successful gymnast bit her lip, keeping her gaze out the window without actually paying attention to what they passed. "Dunno," she shrugged guiltily. "When I met Keith, I had already been in Florida for three months. He was a friend of my room mates, and she introduced us when we went down to the coffee shop where he worked. We started hanging out a lot, and four months later he told me that he liked me. I told him that I felt the same," she paused upon hearing Tommy's heavy breath and then continued slowly. "But I told him I had a boyfriend whom I was very fond of. He understood and we agreed to remain just friends." A faint smile crossed her lips at the memory of a green eyed, brunette young man, dancing around with a broom after hours in the coffee shop.
Tommy shook his head, confused. With a quick glance over his right shoulder, he turned the car into a parking lot in front of a chain of small shops and food diners, one of which appeared to be the Chinese place, Mr. Wok's. The driver chose an empty spot just across the restaurant and killed the engine. He didn't, however, remove his seatbelt or unlock the doors. Turning to the pretty woman beside him, he looked to her with painful eyes. "I don't get it. If you two decided to just stay friends, then why dump me?"
"I didn't *dump* you, Tommy," was Kimberly's immediate answer. The rest came in thought. "A couple of days before I wrote you, I started thinking about us, and it dawned on me that we had spent over half a year apart, just barely calling each other to say 'hi.' Of the few conversations we had, each one was getting shorter and less intimate than the one before it. I didn't notice before only because I was so busy training and all and was happy to hear anything from you, but when I really got the chance to think about it," she looked away for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, lifting her eyes slowly to look into his, she went on. "I realized that I wasn't so in love with you, anymore."
The pair of mahogany eyes averted themselves from the cinnamon pair, and Tommy's head bowed at the steering wheel. He nodded slowly. "I see."
Hesitant to take it, Kimberly picked up Tommy's hand and sandwiched it between the both of hers. "I'm not saying that I *never* loved you, or that I fell out of love *completely*," she watched him lift his head up with a hint of hope in his eyes, "but if we had carried on the way we were, things might have ended worse than they actually did." She could feel her eyes swell up with tears, but she swallowed them back. She wasn't going to cry. Not now, not in front of him. "Letting you go was the hardest thing I had ever done, but it was the best thing for the both of us under the circumstances. We were growing up, and growing apart, on different sides of the country, no less! We tried, Tommy, but sometimes trying just isn't enough." Pausing to take in her own words, she sighed. "I'm sorry I hurt you like I did."
He took his time in replying. "Did you have any regrets?"
"Of course I did. I *still* do. I regret the fact that we drifted apart, I regret the fact that I didn't have enough strength to tell you *personally*, and I regret hurting you at all. I ached for you, Tommy. I put myself in your shoes, and couldn't imagine the pain and humiliation I put you through, but I knew that you would move on; you didn't *need* me anymore. You had a chance to start anew with someone else. Someone charming and kind at heart, with blonde hair, and blue eyes-"
Tommy took his hand away from Kim's grasp. "This isn't about her," he spat. "Yes, she was charming and kind, and I was attracted to her, but I already had the image of a brown eyed brunette clouding my mind, and I just couldn't shake her. Not even to this day." He looked up as Kim held a speechless expression. Satisfied that she knew how strongly he *still* felt, he unlocked the car and got out, opening her door for her.
Not a word was spoken between the two as they waited for their orders, and retrieved them when they were finally ready. They sat quietly across from one another, pushing their food around with chopsticks and glancing across the table when they thought the other wasn't looking.
It was after five minutes of the childish tactics that Kimberly was failing miserably with her wooden utensils. She dropped them to the table with a frustrated sigh.
"I need a fork," she stated bluntly.
Tommy held up his own and attempted to show her, his voice plain and unemotional. "It's really not so hard, once you get the hang of it. Just hold the bottom stick like you would a pencil, and put the other one on top of your thumb and under your index finger."
She tried it, and slumped back in her chair when the orange chicken she picked up fumbled onto the table beside her plate. "Screw this. I want a fork-"
"Just calm down, Kim," Tommy chuckled quietly, and then stood from his seat. He walked up behind her and picked up her chopsticks. Leaning slightly over her shoulder, he placed the chopsticks in her hand, one at a time, and covering her slim fingers with his, guided her on how to hold them. "It doesn't exactly help that you're left handed," he mused, but she gave no reply. His hand never left hers as the chopsticks headed for the chow mien.
She silently prayed that he didn't notice her shuddering at his touch. [Why is it that he still gets to me?] With his help, she managed to lift some three noodles between her chopsticks, and she cracked a proud smile. "Thanks," she said quietly.
Tommy was reluctant in taking his hand away, and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles in his khaki pants. He sat back down in his seat and answered, "No problem."
The rest of the meal was silent again, and soon the two found themselves breaking open their fortune cookies for dessert. Cracking them at the same time, both pairs of brown eyes looked to one another.
"You first," Tommy said, hiding his fortune from view.
Kimberly held hers up to her face and read it aloud. "It says, 'You have a deep appreciation for the arts and music.' Hmm. Someone knows I like to play the guitar." Her smile was simple. "Your turn."
Tommy gave a sly grin after reading his fortune silently to himself. "I have to say, I'm pretty relieved."
"What does it say?"
He cleared his throat and read aloud, "Your present plans will be successful." In finishing the phrase, he folded the small slip of paper and tucked it away into his pocket.
Kimberly raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so relieved? What are you planning?"
Tommy shrugged and stood up. "Are you ready to go? We've got about ten minutes."
The brunette stood up as well, curious as to what Tommy was hiding. "Don't change the subject. You've got something up your sleeve, haven't you?"
The tall man walked his shorter companion out to his car and unlocked the doors. "The only thing I was *planning* was getting through traffic school. Everything else is pretty much just 'go-with-the-flow'." Sliding himself into the driver's seat of his lightning red BMW, he started the engine and left the parking lot.
Kim watched him carefully as he drove them back to the courthouse and parked his vehicle somewhat further away than before. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Kimberly got out of the car and closed her door. She heard the 'click' of the door locks and Tommy replaced his keys into his pocket. Walking with her arms crossed at her chest, Kim eyed Tommy suspiciously from behind. She watched the smirk on his face grow and suspected he didn't know she could see it. Then, she remembered something she meant to tell him earlier. "Oh, by the way, nice hair cut."
His strides shortened to meet her pace, and he flashed her an appreciative smile. "Let's hurry, or we won't be allowed back in."
A/N: Yay. I like this story. I like that you all like it, too! Thanks for the reviews! Did I take long enough to update? I realized (maybe too late) that I forgot completely about the Muranthias incident. It really doesn't make a difference whether it happened or not pertaining to this story, because I don't think it will be mentioned. But just to be on the safe side, let's say it didn't.
*Quick Note* I don't really know how to use chopsticks. I can manage, but there's a paragraph or two in here about them and well. If I'm terribly wrong, just ignore it.
Tsukino Akume: I'm actually more partial to Tommy's long locks, too, but he is older, and he did cut them in the Forever Red episode. Plus, I think he looks really hott in this one picture: (Copy/paste) (Enter the site and click on the Gallery link. It's in the Autograph section, last picture in the top row. There are other good ones, but I like this the best!! If you happen to click on the quartered pictures, they are really, REALLY ugly. that's all I have to say).
MegaSilver: You suggested that I use italics to express thoughts. I completely agree with you and *would* use them, were it not for the fact that neither italics nor bold lettering shows up after I update stories. I don't know why that is, and I'm somewhat computer illiterate when it comes to that stuff. Any help you or someone else may have to offer would be very much appreciated! But if it makes it easier, I will use brackets in which to hold thoughts. Otherwise, I'm sorry if the formatting isn't up to your par. It's just how I'm used to writing essays and such, aside from double- spacing. I've learned to always indent when starting a new paragraph. Thank you and all the rest for the reviews.
"Spoken words", [Thoughts]
Now, on with Lunch! ---------------------------------------------------------------------
LUNCH (11:18 a.m.)
Kim yawned rather loudly as the cartoon video came to an end. Mitch turned off the T.V. screen and wheeled the stand off to the side. Taking his place back in the center of the room, he began to talk about the film.
"Don't you just love Goofy? This little cartoon is as fun to watch as it is truthful. You'll see some drivers get into their car and then turn into some kind of evil road monster! It's quite funny from a distance. but anyway, showing this film has its own values, and I think I can honestly say that showing it is the second best part of my day."
"What's the first?" a woman in the front row asked.
Mitch laughed to himself and then answered, "Getting rid of you guys." His sarcasm earned a few light laughs, and Kimberly just rolled her eyes. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Going home is the best part of the day, wouldn't you agree?" There were murmurs of 'yes' and 'of course,' and Mitch went on. "I know. Just hang in there, guys. We've got about ten minutes until I can let you out for lunch. Make sure you get back here in an hours time. That means you have to be back here, in your seat, by 12:30 p.m. or you don't get back in at all. After that you've got another 15 minute break at 2:15, and you're excused at 3:30. For now, just sit tight in your seats for another," he checked his wrist watch, "eight minutes." With that, he moved to Jennifer's work station and began to make small conversation with her, as did the rest of the audience with each other.
Kimberly squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, trying to blink away the sleepiness that was weighing down the lids of her eyes. Lifting a finger to scratch an itch on her nose, she heard her name being said on the left side of the room. Leaning forward, her eyes landed on Tommy who lifted a hand to wave. Kim smiled and waved back, and giggled when she noticed the woman to her left was waving as well, looking rather confused.
Tommy made eye contact with the older blonde and pointed a finger, indicating the tiny brunette behind her.
The woman turned to Kimberly and blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I heard someone say my name and when I looked he was waving." She laughed.
"It's okay. I don't think either of us realized there was another Kim in the room. I must not have been paying attention this morning."
"That's alright. I'm only sorry he *wasn't* waving to me. He's cute! It's only too bad I'm twice his age." She snapped her fingers and laughed again.
"Uh, yeah," Kim said with a confused smile. Her face relaxed itself, however, when Tommy called for her attention once more.
Looking at his ex, Tommy silently asked her to join him for lunch. That is, he mouthed the question, "Do you like Chinese?" He proceeded to imitate holding chopsticks and a take-out box, and squished his eyes closed to mock an Asian appearance.
From her seat, Kimberly broke out in a fit of giggles at the sight her friend was displaying. He looked ridiculous, dancing in his seat the way he was, apparently pretending to hold an eating utensil of some kind and having a hard time seeing. She shook her head, grinning at his shrug and innocent expression of "what?"
They both turned their attention form each other, however, to Mr. Cross once again as he stood before the class. "Alright, folks. If you can neatly place all of your paper work and unnecessary belongings underneath your seats, you have my permission to leave for lunch. I'll see you all in one hour. Have a nice one!"
The seats began to empty as people stood and stretched, then filed out the exit. Tommy was waiting for Kim just outside the door, and the two walked side by side while climbing the short set of stairs to the main exit.
"So I take it you don't like Chinese food?" Tommy asked, looking down at his brunette companion.
"What do you mean? I never said anything about not liking Chinese food."
"Well, you laughed when I asked you via charades."
"Yeah, what was that all about? You looked like a constipated five year old, or something!" She chuckled with him for a moment.
As soon as he was able to speak again, he asked, "And how would you know what a constipated five year old looks like?" Just as she opened her mouth to reply, he cut her off. "Don't answer that. I was only trying to ask you to lunch. I know this great Chinese place up the block. It'll be my treat. What do you say?"
"Oh, so *that's* why you were doing the eye thing." She did her own interpretation, and they both broke out in laughter once more. When they had calmed down Kim said, "Sure. I love a free lunch."
The two made their way to the parking lot and stopped, the same question on both of their minds. "My car or yours?" they said in unison and smiled.
"How about you drive, then. You know where it is," Kim said, and Tommy agreed. She followed him and paused when she saw the bright red BMW 850CSI. A gasp caught in her throat, and she managed to let out an astonished, "Wow."
"Nice, huh? This beast has got a V-12 engine and can go 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. I guess racing for my uncle gave me a 'need for speed' attitude." He smirked when she continued to stare at the sleek body of the highly expensive vehicle. "Want to try it out?"
Kim snapped out of her stare and threw him a surprised look. "Are you mental? I'm afraid of just getting *in* the thing! How the hell could you *afford* this?"
He gave a shrug. "I saved up a lot of the money I earned in racing and actually bought it used from this really old guy."
"Wait, wait," she held up a hand. "What do you mean you saved up the money you earned from racing?" She had obviously been out of the loop for a long time. "You race? As in like, NASCAR or something?"
He smiled. "Sure. The pay is good, and it lets me take my mind off of things when life gets too hectic and stuff."
"Wow," the short female replied. "I remember you telling me a little about your uncle in school, but I never imagined that you would actually *drive* for him one day." Then, with a sly smile, she added, "No wonder you were speeding."
The long since retired red Turbo ranger glared at her playfully. "Just get in the car." They both buckled up, and the engine revved as the key was placed into the ignition.
Backing out rather quickly, Tommy sped away in his shiny BMW with Kim at his side. Pulling out into the main road slowly and checking for oncoming cars, Tommy brought up the events of the first break.
"Sorry about this morning," he said. "I was ticked that you didn't call, but I didn't have to act like such a jerk about it."
Kimberly watched the curb outside of her window as Tommy made a right turn into traffic. He stopped at the red light ahead, and Kim turned to face him. "You don't have to apologize. I really should have called." Not wanting to bring up the rather sudden 'kiss' that served as Kim's escape from a pushy admirer, she said nothing else and felt her lips tingle at the thought of his mouth on hers after all this time. Was there more to the kiss than was intended? [Did he feel what I felt?]
"Well, I'm just glad you're back," he said, breaking her thoughts. "Some of us were starting to wonder if we'd *ever* see you again. I know Jason was getting a little worried, and to be honest, so was I." She was facing the window again, and he moved his eyes to the road in front of him when the signal turned green. The engine purred as he pushed down on the gas petal, keeping a safe speed. Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, he spoke gently. "I know it was a long time ago, but we used to be so close, Kim. What happened? I mean, I know we were in different states and had different lives, but did you really meet someone else who you thought could give you what I couldn't?"
The successful gymnast bit her lip, keeping her gaze out the window without actually paying attention to what they passed. "Dunno," she shrugged guiltily. "When I met Keith, I had already been in Florida for three months. He was a friend of my room mates, and she introduced us when we went down to the coffee shop where he worked. We started hanging out a lot, and four months later he told me that he liked me. I told him that I felt the same," she paused upon hearing Tommy's heavy breath and then continued slowly. "But I told him I had a boyfriend whom I was very fond of. He understood and we agreed to remain just friends." A faint smile crossed her lips at the memory of a green eyed, brunette young man, dancing around with a broom after hours in the coffee shop.
Tommy shook his head, confused. With a quick glance over his right shoulder, he turned the car into a parking lot in front of a chain of small shops and food diners, one of which appeared to be the Chinese place, Mr. Wok's. The driver chose an empty spot just across the restaurant and killed the engine. He didn't, however, remove his seatbelt or unlock the doors. Turning to the pretty woman beside him, he looked to her with painful eyes. "I don't get it. If you two decided to just stay friends, then why dump me?"
"I didn't *dump* you, Tommy," was Kimberly's immediate answer. The rest came in thought. "A couple of days before I wrote you, I started thinking about us, and it dawned on me that we had spent over half a year apart, just barely calling each other to say 'hi.' Of the few conversations we had, each one was getting shorter and less intimate than the one before it. I didn't notice before only because I was so busy training and all and was happy to hear anything from you, but when I really got the chance to think about it," she looked away for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, lifting her eyes slowly to look into his, she went on. "I realized that I wasn't so in love with you, anymore."
The pair of mahogany eyes averted themselves from the cinnamon pair, and Tommy's head bowed at the steering wheel. He nodded slowly. "I see."
Hesitant to take it, Kimberly picked up Tommy's hand and sandwiched it between the both of hers. "I'm not saying that I *never* loved you, or that I fell out of love *completely*," she watched him lift his head up with a hint of hope in his eyes, "but if we had carried on the way we were, things might have ended worse than they actually did." She could feel her eyes swell up with tears, but she swallowed them back. She wasn't going to cry. Not now, not in front of him. "Letting you go was the hardest thing I had ever done, but it was the best thing for the both of us under the circumstances. We were growing up, and growing apart, on different sides of the country, no less! We tried, Tommy, but sometimes trying just isn't enough." Pausing to take in her own words, she sighed. "I'm sorry I hurt you like I did."
He took his time in replying. "Did you have any regrets?"
"Of course I did. I *still* do. I regret the fact that we drifted apart, I regret the fact that I didn't have enough strength to tell you *personally*, and I regret hurting you at all. I ached for you, Tommy. I put myself in your shoes, and couldn't imagine the pain and humiliation I put you through, but I knew that you would move on; you didn't *need* me anymore. You had a chance to start anew with someone else. Someone charming and kind at heart, with blonde hair, and blue eyes-"
Tommy took his hand away from Kim's grasp. "This isn't about her," he spat. "Yes, she was charming and kind, and I was attracted to her, but I already had the image of a brown eyed brunette clouding my mind, and I just couldn't shake her. Not even to this day." He looked up as Kim held a speechless expression. Satisfied that she knew how strongly he *still* felt, he unlocked the car and got out, opening her door for her.
Not a word was spoken between the two as they waited for their orders, and retrieved them when they were finally ready. They sat quietly across from one another, pushing their food around with chopsticks and glancing across the table when they thought the other wasn't looking.
It was after five minutes of the childish tactics that Kimberly was failing miserably with her wooden utensils. She dropped them to the table with a frustrated sigh.
"I need a fork," she stated bluntly.
Tommy held up his own and attempted to show her, his voice plain and unemotional. "It's really not so hard, once you get the hang of it. Just hold the bottom stick like you would a pencil, and put the other one on top of your thumb and under your index finger."
She tried it, and slumped back in her chair when the orange chicken she picked up fumbled onto the table beside her plate. "Screw this. I want a fork-"
"Just calm down, Kim," Tommy chuckled quietly, and then stood from his seat. He walked up behind her and picked up her chopsticks. Leaning slightly over her shoulder, he placed the chopsticks in her hand, one at a time, and covering her slim fingers with his, guided her on how to hold them. "It doesn't exactly help that you're left handed," he mused, but she gave no reply. His hand never left hers as the chopsticks headed for the chow mien.
She silently prayed that he didn't notice her shuddering at his touch. [Why is it that he still gets to me?] With his help, she managed to lift some three noodles between her chopsticks, and she cracked a proud smile. "Thanks," she said quietly.
Tommy was reluctant in taking his hand away, and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles in his khaki pants. He sat back down in his seat and answered, "No problem."
The rest of the meal was silent again, and soon the two found themselves breaking open their fortune cookies for dessert. Cracking them at the same time, both pairs of brown eyes looked to one another.
"You first," Tommy said, hiding his fortune from view.
Kimberly held hers up to her face and read it aloud. "It says, 'You have a deep appreciation for the arts and music.' Hmm. Someone knows I like to play the guitar." Her smile was simple. "Your turn."
Tommy gave a sly grin after reading his fortune silently to himself. "I have to say, I'm pretty relieved."
"What does it say?"
He cleared his throat and read aloud, "Your present plans will be successful." In finishing the phrase, he folded the small slip of paper and tucked it away into his pocket.
Kimberly raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so relieved? What are you planning?"
Tommy shrugged and stood up. "Are you ready to go? We've got about ten minutes."
The brunette stood up as well, curious as to what Tommy was hiding. "Don't change the subject. You've got something up your sleeve, haven't you?"
The tall man walked his shorter companion out to his car and unlocked the doors. "The only thing I was *planning* was getting through traffic school. Everything else is pretty much just 'go-with-the-flow'." Sliding himself into the driver's seat of his lightning red BMW, he started the engine and left the parking lot.
Kim watched him carefully as he drove them back to the courthouse and parked his vehicle somewhat further away than before. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Kimberly got out of the car and closed her door. She heard the 'click' of the door locks and Tommy replaced his keys into his pocket. Walking with her arms crossed at her chest, Kim eyed Tommy suspiciously from behind. She watched the smirk on his face grow and suspected he didn't know she could see it. Then, she remembered something she meant to tell him earlier. "Oh, by the way, nice hair cut."
His strides shortened to meet her pace, and he flashed her an appreciative smile. "Let's hurry, or we won't be allowed back in."