In her sleep, Stephanie wrinkled her nose. She could smell something sweet. The scent permeated her unconsciousness. It smelled good. She took a long sniff and turned her head towards it. She heard a low chuckle and felt her nose growing warm and the frangrance strong. She felt liquid drop onto her lips. Then a soft pressure and gentle tug on her lower lip. She opened her eyes to find herself looking into Sportacus'. He was licking his lips and smiling playfully.

"Mmmm, can't resist chocolate covered strawberry lips."

Stephanie looked at Sportacus, surprised. She licked her lips, but Sportacus hadn't left any chocolate. It took her a minute to realize what he had just said. When it sank in, she panicked.

"Sportacus, what have you done? Chocolate? You'll have a meltdown!" Stephanie sat up on the sofa and grabbed for his free hand.

"Careful. You need to drink your hot cocoa, not spill it." Sportacus moved the cup away from himself and Stephanie. "No need to worry about a meltdown, it's sugar free." He winked at Stephanie. "I enjoy a hot cocoa from time to time."

Stephanie put a hand over her heart and said, "Thank goodness, you scared me! Don't do that!"

Sportacus handed the mug of rapidly cooling cocoa to Stephanie. She took it and drained it in a few gulps. As she handed the mug back to Sportacus, she noticed he was back in his superhero suit. The sun, which was three quarters of the way up, was beginning to shine directly through the front window. She looked over Spotacus' shoulder and could see the light on in the kitchen.

"Hey! The lights are back on!" Stephanie exclaimed as she jumped off the sofa and skipped to the kitchen.

"Yes, someone must have thrown the switch at the power station last night. I went to check it out earlier this morning. Hopefully, I turned it back on before many people got up." With Stephanie off the sofa, Sportacus began putting the living room back to rights.

"And your suit?" Stephanie asked.

"Oh, I took care of it." Stephanie was taken aback at the gentle snub. Apparently, that was one secret he was going to keep to himself. She smiled though, because she knew that if he didn't tell her, he wasn't likely to tell anyone else, either.

She leaned against the counter and watched him clean up the living room. Looking at him in his suit made her think of him, out of the suit. Which naturally led to thoughts about last night.

Her fingers twitched. The longer she looked at him the more she felt as if her heart were running a race. She felt the palms of her hands begin to sweat, and her breathing became shallow. She tightly grasped the edge of the counter to stop herself from running to him. She wanted to feel his lips again, and lay her hands on each of his muscles. Playing back the moment she woke up this morning in her mind, she absentmindedly licked her lips.

When he was done, Sportacus glanced around and found Stephanie staring at him. She was tracing her tongue over her lower lip, standing on one foot. The other foot was hooked behind the calf of the leg she was standing on. She looked ... nervous...scared?

"Stephanie?" Sportacus questioned her while turning toward her. He stood still, head tilted to one side, looking concerned. After a moment, and Stephanie still hadn't said anything, he took a step forward. He could see her grasping the counter, her knuckles white.

"I'm scared," Stephanie whispered.

Sportacus paused as she answered him. He took another step near her, then paused again, as she took a step back, putting the counter between them.

Sportacus' jaw dropped. He finally closed it as a wave of sadness swept over him. "Are you scared of ... me?" Sportacus asked quietly. He was sure of the answer. The hot cocoa stunt this morning was over the line, out of bounds, stupid. Now, he had scared her, broken her trust, disappointed her, disappointed himself. Some superhero he was. Emotionally, he turned out to be a man.

"I'm scared ... of me." Stephanie whimpered. "I'm scared of what I want, what I might do." Her voice rose as she spoke. "I don't want you to be angry with me or stop being my friend if I do something stupid." Stephanie's voice was strong and controlled by the time she finished. "You said growing up is hard. Does it have to hurt so much?"

Sportacus hadn't moved. His heart went out to the girl before him. On the one hand, he was relieved she wasn't afraid of him. On the other, the uncertainty of right or wrong, in one's own actions as an adult was unsettling enough. As someone on the road to being an adult, it truly must be terrifying. Sportacus braced himself for the answer to the question he was about to ask.

"What do you want, Stephanie? Right now, this minute," Sportacus asked. He could see her debating with herself. Fighting whether to say anything or not. "I won't be angry with you. But, I can't help you if I don't know what it is, you need help with."

"Will you hold me, Sportacus? Just for a little bit? Just a little longer?" Stephanie hesitatingly asked.

Sportacus calmly walked over to Stephanie behind the kitchen counter. She looked unsure what he might do. He held a hand out to her, and after a moment she took it. He walked her over to the sofa, sat down, and pulled her onto his lap. He rested his chin on her head, stroking her silky hair, while she laid her head against his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, as far as she could reach. His other hand rested on her thigh, holding her close to him.

The little girl and young woman did battle inside her. For this particlular moment, the little girl won. She just wanted to be held by someone she cared about, and knew cared about her.

"Your Uncle and Bessie will be home today." Sportacus tried to sound cheerful.

"This is it, isn't it." Stephanie made the question sound like a statement.

"What is what?"

"Everything goes back to the way it was."

"Was it so bad?"

"I don't think I can forget you ... last night, Sportacus."

"Do you ... do you ... want me to ... leave? Would that make it easier?"

Stephanie leaned back and looked him in the eye. She spoke slowly and clearly.

"NO!"

"I'm glad, Stephanie, because I don't know if I could leave." Sportacus breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know how we are going to handle this, Stephanie, but we will have to make it work."

"Can we still dance together? Can I still give you a hug? Maybe, I could hold your hand, just now and then?" Stephanie looked at him pleadingly.

Sportacus didn't trust himself to speak. Trust. She still trusted him. She didn't trust herself, and he wasn't too sure if he trusted himself. But they trusted in each other. He smiled and quickly nodded his head, yes.

Stephanie put her head back down. He brushed the hair from her eyes and slowly ran the tips of his fingers up and down her smooth skin, from shoulder to wrist, and back.

"Who else could I dance the Bing Bang song with?" Sportacus asked her. He could feel her smile, and that made him smile.

They sat in silence while the sun continued its climb skyward. It may have been morning, but they both knew in their hearts, this time together, was about to end.

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Not where I expected to end up, as I started this chapter. Nor am I generally known as a warm and fuzzy kind of person. Who knew? Chiba Apey - if you sigh I take that as a high compliment. DreamingofSportacus - the emerging hormones of fifth graders tend to make their teachers a little crazy, hence the need of Long Island Tea, which can also lead to being a hoot!