Part Two

They had lived in their mountain retreat for six months. In the beginning, Liz would talk about their return to the others, but in the past few weeks, she hadn't mentioned it at all. She had grown comfortable in their new lives. It was safe, and they were happy. There wasn't any of the tension with Kyle that there had been with Max. Sure, they still had to be careful, but it was a more relaxed environment. Well, it was once they got the bedroom situation taken care of.

Liz smiled to herself as she removed the jeans and tee shirt that made up her uniform at the little café. She reached through the shower curtain and turned the shower on full blast. In a matter of minutes, steam filled the small bathroom.

Poor Kyle almost fell apart when he realized the small cabin only had one bedroom in it. She laughed when she remembered the expression on his face when she walked into the small bedroom.

"Kyle, relax," Liz had said. "We'll just pick up an air mattress at Wal-Mart, problem solved."

"God, Liz, I, please don't think that I planned this. I didn't."

Liz couldn't help the bubble of laughter that had filled the room. "Kyle, I know you didn't. Don't worry."

"Well, I just don't want you to think I was trying to take advantage of you, or anything like that."

A thump in the living room pulled her out of her memories, and she turned towards wall that the bathroom shared with the living room.

"Is that you, Kyle," she called.

"Wilma, I'm home!" Kyle shouted.

Liz pulled a towel around her and opened the door part way and stuck her head out into the living room.

"Hey," she said. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour. It's spaghetti and garlic bread. Sound good?"

"Great," Kyle said, his throat dry, at the thought of naked Liz in the shower. He had hoped his desire for her would lessen after their six months of close living, but it hadn't. He wanted her more than ever.

"Kyle, are you listening to me?" Liz asked.

"Oh, uh, sure, what is it?" Kyle asked.

"I bought a mirror at Wal-Mart today. I was wondering if you could hang it up for me. I have it leaning against the wall where I want it hung."

"Sure, that's all I am to you, a handyman," Kyle grumbled, good-naturedly, trying to take his mind off of the discomfort in his groin.

"Thanks Kyle," Liz said, smiling. "I'll be out of the shower in a few minutes, I promise." She closed the bathroom door behind her.

Kyle crossed the small living room and looked at the mirror Liz had picked out. It wasn't anything spectacular to look at, but she said that it would reflect the light from their fireplace and fill the room with a rosy glow. He wasn't about to argue, in fact, he'd pretty much given her full reign in the decorating department. She'd done a good job, too. She'd covered the threadbare sofa with a navy plaid cover, and coordinating pillows dotted the surface. On the floor were several small carpets, covering a floor scuffed from years of tenants. Curtains to match the cover on the sofa covered the windows, and the walls were decorated with photos both of them had taken on various hikes throughout the area.

He grabbed his hammer and a small nail and made short work of hanging the mirror. Pleased with himself, he stepped back to admire his handiwork, and then frowned. The mirror tilted to the left. He reached out to adjust it and caught his breath. The bathroom door hadn't latched tightly behind Liz, and had opened enough for Kyle to see Liz's reflection in the bathroom mirror as she toweled herself off.

He stared, unable to drag his eyes away from her beautiful body. He watched as she rubbed her arms with the towel, wiping away the excess moisture. She brought the towel across her breast, and he felt the all to familiar tightening in his groin as the soft terry fabric brushed against her nipples. He tried to stifle a groan as him mind imagined him his hand pressing against the slick moist surface of her breast. He could feel his finger gently flick her nipple and heard her groan as she became aroused.

"Focus, Kyle, focus," he said to himself. "Stop thinking about your best friend that way."

"Kyle, did you say something?" Liz asked as she emerged from the bathroom.

"No, uh, no," he answered, grabbing his jacket and holding it in front of him to hide all signs of his arousal from her. "I'm just uh, going to go take a shower."

"I may have used all the hot water," she apologized.

"No, really, that's probably a good thing," he muttered, walking to the bathroom.

Dinner was strained, at least from Kyle's perspective. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the image of Liz, naked, water dripping down her body, from his mind. He made short work of cleaning the kitchen since Liz cooked, and then, went outside into the cold night air to split some more wood against the upcoming storm.

There had been several storms since the arrived in Colorado, but weather forecasters were predicting that this storm was going to be huge, and he wanted to make sure that they had an ample supply of wood prepared in case the lines went down.

Liz, warned by the people in town, had stocked up on canned goods, and made foods that could be reheated over their fireplace. Certain they could do no more to prepare for upcoming storm, Kyle shouldered the axe and went back inside.

"Kyle, can we talk," Liz greeted him, when he entered the house.

"Yeah, sure, Liz, what's up?" Kyle asked, some of his equanimity restored from the physical labor.

"Are you angry about something?" She asked. "You've been acting kind of weird tonight."

For the first time in his life, Kyle lied to Liz.

"No, I was just worried about the storm," he said. "Hey, it's freezing out there, want to have some hot chocolate with me?"

"I already have it made," Liz said with a smile, pointing to the two steaming cups on the battered coffee table.

"Oh great," Kyle said, rubbing his hands together. He quickly shed his boots and jacket, and sat down on the couch and picked up the cup. Liz sat on one of the large cushions on the floor in front of the fire and looked at Kyle, a worried expression on her face.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" she asked. "I'd hate to think you were angry about something and not tell me about it."

"Seriously, Liz, I'm not angry. If I were, I'd tell you. I value you, and your friendship too much to play those kinds of games. Hey, this cocoa is good, it tastes like candy canes."

"I put a little bit of peppermint schnapps in it," Liz confessed.

"Aren't you worried that some alien weirdness is going to ensue?" Kyle asked.

"No, not really," Liz said. "Max and Michael had reactions when they drank, but they weren't human. We are, and our bodies are used to alcohol."

"Well, if I start flying around the room, don't open the door," Kyle joked.

"I promise," Liz said, smiling at him. Lately, when she looked at Kyle, she started getting strange feelings in her stomach. Almost as if she were - attracted to him. "I'm about ready to call it a night," she said to Kyle. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I'll be in, in just a few minutes. My week for the air mattress, right?"

"Yeah," said Liz. "I put clean sheets on this morning, and I turned on your electric blanket a little while ago.

"Thanks, Liz. What would I do without you?" Kyle asked. He stood up and reached for her empty cup. As he took it, he dropped a casual kiss on the top of her head, and she felt her heart jump up into her throat.

"Liz. Liz, are you awake?" Kyle whispered.

"I am now," she groaned, lifting her head up from the pillow. "Oh, God, it's cold in here."

"That's why I'm waking you, the power's out. Do we have any extra blankets?"

"No, their all on the bed," she said, regretfully. "Maybe if we build up the fire in the fireplace?"

"No good, it won't warm up this room enough. I can pull the air mattress out there, and you can use that, and I'll sleep on that deathtrap of a couch," Kyle offered.

"Or you could just crawl in here, under the covers," Liz offered. She flipped back the covers and slid over to make room for him. "Hurry up, though, it's freezing in here."

Kyle didn't hesitate; he grabbed his pillow and tossed it up beside Liz, and grabbed the covers off of the air mattress and spread them out on the bed. When the covers were arranged, he climbed underneath them.

"Thanks," he said, his teeth chattering. "I was freezing down there."

"It's not a problem," Liz said, struggling to not reach out and wrap her arms around him. "Sweet dreams, Kyle."

"Sweet dreams, Liz," he whispered.

He awoke, as was his habit, fifteen minutes before the alarm on his watch went off. He stretched a little, enjoying the sensation of a warm body beside him. As his sleep fogged mind cleared, he realized that his hand was underneath Liz's shirt, cupping one of her breasts. He started to move it away, slowly so as not to disturb her.

"Mmm, that feels nice," she said, in her sleep. "Don't stop."

He felt her hand reach up and grab his and guide it back to her breast. She moved against him, her bottom nestled snuggly against his erection, and he groaned. Almost against his will, his hand began to caress her breast.

She turned in his arms, and he felt her hand snake down to his stomach. Slowly the hand inched under the waistband of the sweats he wore to bed. He moved his hand to stop her; he couldn't bear to be a substitute for Max, when she opened her eyes.

"Please, Kyle?" she asked. "I need you."