Chapter 56-Hope You Like Instant

"Fast Food For Thought"

Lee let out a deep sigh of frustration as he lay on his back staring at the cracks in the ceiling of his cheap motel room, stewing over Francine's ill-timed appearance in the hallway. Not only that, but her ill-timed knock on his door earlier in the evening. He thought that he and Amanda were just about to work through his faux pas of booking them as brother and sister when as luck would have it, there she was. Then just as he and Amanda were starting to feel like them again with their flirty banter about field experience to the point that Amanda had invited him into her room for "instant coffee," damn it, there she was again.

Was she doing it on purpose? He thought back to her almost cat-like grin when she'd said goodnight and told them she'd knock on BOTH their doors early as well as to all the recent times that she'd been insinuating that she knew there was something between them and couldn't help thinking that it was intentional, just to keep them apart. Was it jealousy? Was she still harboring resentment over their long-ago break-up? Or was there more to it than that? Was it simply professional jealousy because Amanda, the rookie, as she called her, got out of the office more than she did?

"Screw this," he grumbled as he flung the covers back, hauled himself out of bed and pulled on his robe, cinching it tight. Francine or no Francine, he was going to take Amanda up on her offer. Damn it, they were both adults and it wasn't any of her business. He slid his feet into his slippers, dropped his room key into the pocket of his robe and crept to the door, easing it open a crack. He waited for just a moment, sure that any second, Francine's door would burst open again as it had before. When it didn't, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurried across the hall and lightly tapped on Amanda's door and whispered her name, "Amanda?"

Hearing her name, Amanda smiled slightly as she slid out of bed slowly, pulled on her robe and padded to the door. She couldn't resist a bit of teasing, however as she answered, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Lee answered.

"Me who?" she questioned as she bit down on her lower lip to stifle a giggle.

"Amanda," He hissed. "Come on, you know who it is. It's Lee."

She opened the door just a crack and grinned at him. "Oh, you mean, Lee Stimpson...my brother?" she teased.

Lee rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. But what was that you pulled downstairs with that 'married once, cured forever' bit?"

"Maybe that's how I feel," she fired back. "Especially now that Joe's back in town and I'm reminded of all the reasons we got divorced."

"Oh?"

"Mm-hmm," she answered as she folded her arms across her chest and stared at him.

"So, you two aren't...uh..." He looked down at his feet. "You know maybe this isn't something we should discuss in the hall, especially with Francine right next door." He gave a sideways nod with his head to remind her of their untimely interruption.

Stifling another chuckle at Lee's awkwardness, she conceded, "Fine. Come on in." She opened the door to allow him entrance and then closed it behind him. "We're not what?" she queried to urge him to continue his thought.

"I don't know...I just...the way you two were last week. I wasn't sure where I stood. I mean, sometimes things happen between exes and he's been hanging around that house a lot since then. Plus, this is a guy you used to wear sexy nightgowns for, after all. That's why I signed us up for this thing as brother and sister instead of as a couple like I normally would."

"Well, let me clear a few things up for you. You shouldn't have any issues knowing where you stand since I was having sex with you...with him in the next room to boot. As for him hanging around the house a lot, he's just trying to catch up with the boys and it's honestly been driving me a bit crazy having him around so much, especially with my mother dropping not-so-subtle hints my way and doing everything she can to try to leave us alone together at every given opportunity. Why do you think I jumped at the chance to get away this weekend?"

"I-"

"As for the sexy nightgowns," she continued as she poked a finger into his chest for emphasis. "YOU could have had that this weekend if you hadn't been such a jerk and booked us as brother and sister without asking me how I felt about it first. I actually had one packed, believe it or not since I thought after last week in your kitchen, I'd made my feelings perfectly clear on not only what I wanted but WHO."

Lee's eyes lit up. "You packed a sexy nightgown...for me?" He slid one hand to her waist in an attempt to pull her closer.

Amanda quickly slithered out of his grasp before he could get a good hold on her, then got just close enough to jab a finger into his chest again. "Just keep your shirt on, Mister! You already blew your chance there!" She then grinned at him. "After all, it would hardly be appropriate for me to wear a sexy nightgown for my brother, now would it?"

"Well, then if you were so pissed about that, then was all that about 'field experience'?"

"I was talking about the job."

"Oh, you were not."

"I was too."

"Were not and you knew that I wasn't either."

"And how exactly would I know that since we are here to work, after all," she replied obtusely.

He glowered at her and realized it would pointless to continue arguing that point. "Okay, fine then, but what about inviting me in for coffee?"

"It seemed like that polite thing to do and you know me, Lee, I'm always polite."

"Oh, please. That 'I hope you like instant' thing was a blatant come on!"

She gestured to the setup in the room and its disposable coffee cups, taking an great amount of pleasure in seeing him squirm. "Observe. Instant coffee!"

"So, you're saying you weren't flirting with me," he challenged as he took a step closer to her, his eyes dancing in amusement.

She shook her head."With my brother? I don't think so."

Lee ran both hands through his hair in frustration and grumbled, "Oh, Amanda, come on! I already explained that, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't. Not really. You said you weren't sure where you stood, which I just pointed out to you was ridiculous because you shouldn't have had ANY doubts about that!"

"I wanted to make you more comfortable by choosing a different type of cover than us being a couple."

Amanda nodded knowingly. "I suppose I can see that. But are you sure that it was to make me more comfortable or was it to make YOU more comfortable?"

He flushed slightly and mumbled, "Okay, maybe a little of that too." He turned from her to escape the intense scrutiny of her gaze for a moment and then with a gesture to the window, cleared his throat loudly. "So, you...uh...All that stuff about sleeping with the window open? That was...uh..." He turned back to face her. "You really do like to sleep with a window open?" He shuffled his feet nervously.

"Spoken by the man who likes to sleep with the light on," she challenged him with a smirk.

"But you said that you could handle that," he protested.

She nodded. "Mm-hmm. And I meant that, but all that...you know babbling about the window..." She let out a sigh, all trace of teasing gone. "I wanted to find out if you could handle you know..." She nodded to the window. "...that."

He chuckled softly, stepped toward her took both of her hands in his and replied, "I guess for all our time together there's still a lot of things that we need to get to know about each other, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," she answered with a shrug as she looked down at their joined hands slightly, afraid to meet his eyes.

Releasing one of her hands, he tipped her head up so that she was facing him. "Hey, if you can handle my light thing, I can handle your window thing, okay?" When she nodded in acknowledgement, he softly brushed his lips against hers to seal the deal.

Once his lips touched hers, the dam broke and the argument was forgotten. What began as a soft, tender kiss turned into a fiery clash of mouths and tongues as Amanda wrapped one arm around his neck pulling his head down to deepen the kiss and pulled her other hand from his to loosen the belt on his robe. Emitting a low groan, Lee moved in kind, quickly untying Amanda's robe wanting to strip her of it, but he was thwarted by her hands working loose the buttons on his pajama top. Pulling back from their kiss, he clasped her hands in his again for a brief moment as he searched her eyes looking for confirmation that what she'd said was true, that he was the one she wanted to be with.

"Lee..." Amanda's voice took on a desperate edge after the tiff they'd had over their ridiculous cover. All she wanted now was to show him that she felt anything but sisterly toward him.

Hearing his name on her lips in that tone was all it took for Lee to get the message. He released her hands and pushed her robe from her shoulders letting it drop to the floor, but before he could do much more, she was doing the same with his as well as the pajama top, she'd opened. He never knew what to make of Amanda. Just when he thought that he had her figured out... He had no time to give that though another moment though because without warning, he found himself flat on his back on her bed with her above him, trailing kisses down his chest and to his stomach.

"Amanda..." he whispered her name reverently as he closed his eyes and reveled in the sensations she was causing. How could a woman who seemed so demure on the surface be such a firecracker when it came to this? Furthermore, how had he ever been stupid enough to think that things could ever go back to the way they were or that they could successfully pull off a cover as brother and sister when they had such passion for one another? He let out a long, low groan when her nimble fingers wrapped around him inside his pajama pants and began to stroke him.

Hampered by his pants, Amanda couldn't quite do what she wanted so pulled back for a moment, tugged at the waistband and said firmly, "Off."

Lee opened his eyes and raised his hips up to comply with her command and responded in a low drawl, "Yes, Ma'am." He couldn't help grinning at her, nodded at her modest cotton gown and quipped, "I hope that's not your 'sexy nightgown.'" That comment earned him a playful slap on his bare chest as she moved to straddle him, which only made him laugh. "It's okay," he shrugged as he reached for her and ran his hands slowly up her thighs. "It IS the one you were wearing the day we first met, so it's still sexy in my book."

Amanda couldn't help laughing. "I can't believe you remember that," she replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I'll never forget it. You saved my life that day...in more ways than one."

Amanda was stunned into silence with his comment, but soon let out a squeal as Lee flipped her over onto her back and quickly slid her panties down her legs and deposited them onto the floor before urging her to raise her arms so that he could remove her nightgown as well. When that was completed, he lowered his mouth to hers for a sweet, lingering kiss, then moved to trail kisses down her neck, her chest, first one breast, then the other as his hands explored the rest of her, delighting in hearing her sighs of pleasure.

Once again, however, Amanda surprised him and he landed on his back again, this time, pinned to the mattress with one of her hands firmly on his chest as she used the other to guide him into her then wasted no time in locking her knees against his side and pushing against him to drive him deeper inside.

"'Manda..." He growled at her sudden onslaught and began to protest because after their fight, he'd want to take his time to show her how much he didn't think of her as a sister, but the words died on his lips as the overwhelming feeling of being buried deep within her took him over and he was helpless to do anything except follow where she was leading him.

"Yes," Amanda hissed at seeing the acquiescence on his face as ran her hands down his chest and back up again, relishing each reaction she garnered from him. As she began to ride him in earnest, she too soon became overwhelmed with sensation and arched her back as those feelings intensified.

Lee raised his knees up to give her some support and grasped her hips as he bucked against her, the pair moving in tandem to reach their mutual goal. "Oh, Amanda," he cried as he felt her tightening around him, calling out his name as her climax hit her driving him to his own and he felt himself flooding her with his seed as the tumbled over the edge together and she collapsed onto his chest, both their breathing labored and their hearts pounding. He wrapped his arms around her and planted soft kisses to her face and he held her trembling body against his.

A long while later, Amanda raised her head to look him in the eye and questioned with a smirk, "You'll never think of my as your sister again now, will you?"

"Is that what that was about?" When his only answer was the same smirk, he asked, "Are you ever gonna' let me forget this one?"

Amanda pondered the question for a moment. "Not a chance, Mister, " was her cheeky reply.

They laughed together for a moment, but then were both silent when they were startled by a thump from the next room.

"Shit," Lee cursed. Francine...again. Couldn't she ever let them have a moment? He hurriedly clambered out of Amanda's bed and yanked on his PJs and scrambled into his robe.

"Lee," Amanda whispered as she pulled on her own robe. "You don't have to leave, you know. What's she really gonna' do?"

"Turn us in for blowing our cover?" Lee suggested and he shoved his feet back into the slippers that he'd lost when Amanda had knocked him to the bed.

"Your cover," Amanda reminded him.

"OUR cover," Lee corrected. "I gotta' get out of here before she catches us together." He slowly opened the door and cautiously peered outside. "The coast is clear. I'll see you in the morning."

Amanda let out a deep sigh as he disappeared toward his own room and she closed the door behind him. As she moved to pick up her discarded nightgown, she let out a soft chuckle just as she heard him swear again from the hallway. Snatching up his room key that had to have fallen out of his pocket when she'd disrobed him, she walked to the door and opened it to find him on the other side. "Lose something?" She teased as she held it out to him.

"Yeah, thanks." He reached for it, but she held it behind her back out of his grasp. "Amanda!"

"Mm-mm." She shook her head. "I want something first."

"Oh, what's that?" He stood poised with his hands on his hips staring her down as if that would do any good.

"This," she replied as she stood on her toes, snaked her free hand behind his head and kissed him soundly. She then gave him the key. "Just wanted a goodnight kiss since we had a good night together." She then closed the door without another word. She did have to admit that Lee had been right though. If Francine had caught them, she'd never let them forget it. She breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't.

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Amanda soon found out that they weren't as in the clear as she'd believed as she and Francine stood staring at one another after Francine's awkward "People leave," outburst.

After their even more awkward conversation about the lack of air, Francine seemed to have regained her composure and whipped back around with a look of triumph on her face. "Just so we're clear, don't think I don't know what you and Lee were up to last night."

"Up to?" Amanda questioned, trying to sound innocent.

"Don't give me that innocent act. I saw you and Lee kissing in the hall last night, not that I didn't know what you were up to before then. Why the hell do you think I kept lingering in the hall when you were supposedly saying goodnight? Do you have any idea how dangerous what you're doing is? How easily you could have blown your cover?"

"Can it be any more dangerous than the situation we're in right now? And in case, you hadn't noticed, our cover got blown anyway and so did yours or we wouldn't be in here!"

"Okay, fine, but still, you're supposed to be his sister and you were NOT kissing him like a sister! That was in direct violation of-"

"What, Francine?" Amanda interrupted. "Are you going to turn us in or what?"

"Please! Do I look like a fourth-grade tattletale? Besides, who am I going to tell when we're gonna' die in here anyway?"

"No, we're not, Francine! We're gonna' get out of here. I don't care if you don't believe that Lee will come for us, but I believe it! I believe in him and you should too!"

The two stared at each other and lapsed into silence again.

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After the case was closed, Lee and Amanda shared a laugh at her "once on the lips..." comment. "But really," Amanda explained. "It was also a bit of a bribe because she DID catch us the other night." She then grinned at him again as she stepped into the now open elevator, leaving him once again equal parts dumbfounded and astounded by her.