Chapter Seven:

Lee awoke in surroundings that were not readily familiar to him. It took a few moments for his mind to register where he was. In Kara's apartment in Delphi, in Kara's cot-like bed that barely slept one, but somehow the two of them managed to sleep on it together.

After their heart-to-heart talk, they began kissing. They started by falling on the couch, where they stripped off their clothes and allowed themselves to indulge in the passions they had been holding back. Once done on the couch, they moved to Kara's bed, clothes in hand, and rested in each other's arms for an hour. They didn't say anything, just enjoyed the time together. Then, they made love again, with this encounter being less intense than the previous one, but not less enjoyable and intimate for the both of them. Afterwards, they fell asleep with arms and legs enter-twined with one another.

But Kara was not in bed when Lee woke up. He pulled the sheets off of him and put on his pair of underwear that he retrieved from the floor next to the bed. Lee walked from the small bedroom to the main room of the apartment. He found Kara standing in her military issue underwear and undershirt, painting at an easel standing in the middle of the room.

"Finally up," said Kara, not turning to look at him.

"You must have eyes in the back of your head," said Lee, walking up and putting his arms around Kara's waist. He kissed her neck.

"Helps when you fly a Viper," said Kara, stopping her painting momentarily to enjoy Lee's embrace. "Actually, I just felt you watching me. You like seeing me paint in my skivvies?" she asked playfully

"I'd rather watch you paint without your skivvies on," replied Lee, brushing his lips against Kara's shoulder.

Kara chuckled, and turned to face Lee and put her arms around her. "I can think of better things to do naked."

She kissed Lee on the chest, before raising her lips to meet his.

"So, you expect a repeat performance," said Lee. "Two showings didn't satisfy you."

"Nuh-uh," said Kara. "I want more."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Who the frak could that be?" asked Lee, between kisses.

"Um, I ordered take out," said Kara.

Lee let out a pained sigh.

"Sorry, Lee," she said. "I was hungry."

"I'm hungry, too," said Lee. "For you."

"Food for dinner first," said Kara. "Then we can have desert."

A few hours later, after they shared "desert," Lee and Kara lay on the bed that now smelled of sweat and sex, the results of their repeated bouts of passion. Lee was laying on his back, with Kara laying half on top of him, her head resting on his chest. He played with her hair tenderly as they lay there.

"Kara," said Lee, breaking their silent repose. "What made you tell me about your past? Have you ever told that to anyone else?"

"Shane knows quite a bit of it," said Kara. "She's really my only close friend. The others are just drinking buddies. Not exactly the kind for true confessions. Besides, it's nobody else's business. As for why I told you…you were pretty persistent."

"You know, you did kind of give me a sense you were interested in me for more than just a one night stand when you told me to look you up if I were ever on Picon," said Lee.

"Part of me wanted to tell you that when you left that morning after we were together the first time," said Kara. "I wanted to reach out to you, but…I chickened out. I'm not good at this emotional stuff."

"I don't think anyone is ever good at it," said Lee. "I could have pressed you then, but I figured that if you were giving me the cold shoulder, why should I make an issue of it? Even though I felt something for you that was different."

"You know what kind of drew me to you in the beginning," said Kara. "Besides the fact you've got a cute ass."

"I do?" asked Lee with a big smile.

"Don't let it go to your head, fly boy," she said. "When I first met you, I pegged you for being some tight assed Daddy's boy. Then you came to the O Club, played a good hand of cards, and then challenged me to that match on the Darby Queen. Then, to top it off, you demanded my pants as a trophy if you won."

"I was attracted to you then, too," said Lee. "But two very different things really made me want to explore something more with you. The first was when you gave me back my Dad's wings. The second was when you dropped your trousers in the O Club when I dared you."

They both chuckled. "I still think you just wanted to see me in my underwear," said Kara. "As for the wings…well, you just looked so beaten up over it. I couldn't take your Dad's wings."

"That meant more to me than you might ever know," said Lee.

"Let me know," said Kara, looking up at Lee. "Tell me more about your relationship with your Dad."

"You really want to know all of that?" asked Lee.

"Quid pro quo," said Kara. "I spilled my guts to you. Its your turn."

"My relationship with my father is complicated," said Lee. "I mean he gave me a lot besides his first pair of wings. He put me and Zack in a Viper cockpit when were still young boys. He would take Zack and I up in Raptors sometimes. When I was flying with Dad, I felt closer to him than at any other time. I also felt this thrill for being in the air. I felt I belonged there."

Kara smiled. "So did I the first time I flew," she said.

"I found my love of being a pilot because of my father," said Lee. "But he also made it a matter of being a man to be a pilot. That's why Zack joined up. He didn't really like flying, he just wanted to please Dad and be a man in his eyes. That's why when he flunked out of flight school he still joined up as a deck hand…to please Dad."

"But your Dad told him he was okay with Zack not being a pilot," said Kara.

"Sure," said Lee. "Stack that up against a lifetime of hearing from him the pride that only comes with being a Viper pilot speeches. Then there's Mom. They love each other, but he was just never around much for them to really know what it meant to be married to one another. Even when he was home, part of him was still in the air, or on a battlestar. Mom felt like she was a mistress and Dad was married to the service. Their marriage is now on the rocks. The divorce became final a few months ago."

"So you not only resent his demands on Zack," said Kara. "But you also resent how he treated your mother."

"I guess," said Lee. "Anyhow, that's my relationship with Dad. I'll have to introduce you to him sometime."

Kara looked away from Lee, and settled her cheek back down on his chest. Lee could feel her body tense up.

"What, Kara?"

"Lee, do you really want me to meet your parents?" asked Kara.

"Sometime," said Lee. "Why?"

"I've never really thought of myself as the kind of girl a guy would take home to the folks," said Kara. Then, she decided to end the conversation before they went too far back into her life story. "Speaking of home," she said. "We have to go back tomorrow, you know."

"Uh-huh," said Lee.

"I assume you don't want this to end when we leave this apartment," she said.

"Damned right I don't," said Lee.

"Good," said Kara. She was quiet for a few moments, contemplating her next suggestion before making it. "You know, the War College is just 15 minutes from the Flight School."

"Yeah, we can see each other often," said Lee.

"Especially if we were sharing quarters," she said.

Lee looked at her with surprise. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"I guess I am," said Kara.

"That's a big step," said Lee. "Are you sure?"

"Why not?" asked Kara. "I mean, if we are going to try this whole 'getting to know you' thing, might as well not do it half-assed. If it doesn't work out, I can always throw your ass out onto the street."

"You would throw my 'cute ass' out onto the street?" asked Lee playfully, harkening back to her earlier compliment about his posterior.

"Frak, I knew that comment would go to your head," said Kara, getting up out of bed. As she sat up, Lee looked down at Kara's posterior.

"Speaking of cute asses," he said.

She turned and smiled. "Yeah, and I'm taking my cute ass to the head, so you'll just have to do without it for a while."

As she stood up, Kara wiggled her but slightly in Lee's face. The latter slapped Kara's but playfully as she stepped away from the bed to go towards the bathroom. Lee put his hands behind his head and smiled.

"Frak me, my girlfriend is hot," he said to himself.

"Thanks," said Kara, from the bathroom door.

"With great ears to boot," said Lee, slightly embarrassed by the overheard comment.

End of Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight coming soon. Feedback/reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.