Chapter 74-Cleaning Out the Closet

"Need to Know"

AN: I decided to do something a bit different with this chapter, using a flashback to their Pine Top trip which will be as close as I ever get to writing a Pine Top story since there have been so many done already. Also, for creative reasons, I'm changing the order of the episodes slightly to put this one before "The Man Who Died Twice," since "Need to Know" fits better with where I left the prior chapter and with the ongoing story arc of Lee wanting to make space for Amanda at his place. On the Jim Saarinen bit, my supposition comes from a "missing" scene from the script in which Amanda said she wrote something about him for one of her class assignments.

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Upon returning from their trip to Pine Top early Sunday morning, Lee began unloading their bags from Amanda's car, and found her looking at him funny as he did so.

"What?" he questioned the dubious expression on her face as if her were doing something wrong.

"I...uh...I guess I don't understand why you're unloading my stuff too. I mean, it just seems pointless to haul them all the way upstairs, just to have to haul them all the way back down, since I have to go back to the house this evening to be there when Joe brings the boys home."

"Just trust me, would ya'?" He planted a quick kiss to her lips. "Besides that's hours and hours away."

"Okay-ay," she replied doubtfully as she closed the gate on the Wagoneer and followed him inside.

As she used her key to allow them entrance to the apartment since he had his hands full, Amanda's curiosity only increased when he walked straight to the bedroom. She'd expected him to set her suitcases down near the entryway since they would eventually have to take them back downstairs. She closed the door and followed him, entering the room just as he dropped the luggage on the bed.

As he began unpacking hers and not his, she stepped up to him and questioned, "Okay, I have to know, Just what are you up to?"

He plucked the clean garments she hadn't worn during their trip, smiled at her and walked to his dresser with the pile of her clothes in one hand while he opened the top drawer with the other. "Observe," he told her as he deposited her things inside the open drawer.

Her eyes lit up once she caught on to what he was doing. "You know, that's really very sweet, but if I don't take my luggage home with me, my mother is going to have some serious questions since she knows that I was out of town."

"I thought of that," he explained. "You may be very different from any other woman I have ever been involved with and in many, many ways, but one thing that is not different is that you packed way more than you needed for just a weekend trip. I figured you could take home the stuff you need washed so that your mother doesn't question you too much about the trip and leave the rest of it here." He turned to face her with a bit of a nervous expression on his face. He was now wondering if this had been a bad idea. He had wanted to surprise her, thinking that sharing his space with her would be a romantic gesture, but with the way she was looking at him dubiously, he wasn't so sure anymore. "I...Um...I just thought since you spend so much time here now, you should have your own space."

She smiled warmly at him. "That's a lovely gesture."

Sensing the hesitance in her tone, he probed, "But?"

"No, no, no. No but. I was just thinking..."

"Well, another plus is that it would keep you from having to haul that overnight bag around every time we wanna spend some time together," he reasoned. At seeing her still-wary look, his face fell and in a deflated voice, he injected, "You hate the idea, don't you? I...Uh...I thought when you agreed to marry me that you-"

"No, I don't hate the idea," she interrupted before he could get too bogged down in hurt feelings the way he had a tendency to do. She let out a bit of a sigh. She'd hoped that with time, there'd be fewer misunderstandings between them over little things like this. "I think it's wonderful that you cleared out a drawer in your dresser for me. I already said that it was sweet and thoughtful." She nodded to the garment bag lying on the bed beside her suitcase. "It's just that there are some things that aren't appropriate to put in a drawer...things that need hung up. You...Uh...You..." She didn't want to be to presumptuous since she knew that this was a big step for him. She took a deep breath and plunged on. What was the worst that could happen? "I...Uh...I don't suppose you cleaned out any closet space for me...did you?"

"Oh," he let out a bit of a laugh along with a sigh of relief. "No."

"Oh," she nodded with a bit of a downcast look on her face.

"But I can," he added. "I just wasn't thinking."

"No, no you don't have to. I mean, your space is your space," she protested, not wanting him to feel as if she were forcing him into it.

Lee sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at her in bewilderment. "Amanda, don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"This place...the moving...apartment-hunting with you by my side...me asking you to help me move...having you shop for furniture with me... I did all that because I wanted your opinion. I wanted to start fresh in a place that you'd feel comfortable in...when you're here, I don't want you to feel like it's just my space, but our space. I know this is all new and we're not married yet, but we will be and I-"

Amanda stifled his words with a tender kiss. "I love the idea..." She brushed her lips against his again, "...And I love you."

He took her hands in his and replied affectionately, "I love you too." He gave her a quick kiss and rose from the bed. "So, if we're going to make room for you in the closet before you have to go home, we'd better get to work." He released her hands and went back to her suitcase. He let out a slight grin as he picked up an item that had been concealed by the ones he'd just removed. "Amanda, what's this?" he questioned as he held up the lacy black negligee.

"What? This old thing," she teased with a smirk as she took it from him and held it up to herself.

"Amanda," he replied in a warning tone, not amused by her joking.

"Okay, okay," she conceded. "I bought it for this weekend, but I never did get a chance to wear it for you."

He thought back to their trip away and argued, "Hmm...I seem to recall a couple of times that you could have worn it."

"Oh no," she countered. "If you recall, the first night we were so tired from the drive and unpacking and all that we went straight to bed, not having the strength for anything else."

He took the nightie back from her and challenged, "If you'd worn something like this the first night, trust me, I'd have found the strength."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah," he confirmed as he moved closer to her.

She held her hands against his chest to keep him at a distance, the look in his eyes telling her that if she gave in, they'd never get the task at hand completed. She continued, "Well, then there was the second night we were there after we'd been out on the slopes all day..."

"I remember..." Lee mused as the memories washed over him.

They entered their cabin laughing and holding onto one another. "Wow, was that fun, but I think I'm going to really be feeling it tomorrow," Amanda joked lightly as they closed the door behind them.

"Well, I know just the thing that'll help," Lee teased with a playful look in his eyes.

"Oh?" She linked her arms behind his neck.

"Yeah. I have what have been called magic fingers..."

"Well, I KNOW that," she interrupted him with a laugh.

"Don't mock. That's not what I'm talking about," he explained as he began walking backward toward the bedroom with her in the circle of his arms. When they reached their destination, he suggested, "Why don't we go take a long, hot shower and then I'll work on those sore muscles of yours?"

"A massage? Really?"

"Really," he replied sincerely.

"That would be wonderful," she gushed. "You're on."

They returned from their shower clad only in their robes. "Here, let's get this off you to make it easier first," he told her as he tugged at the belt holding her robe closed.

"Of course..." she replied eagerly in anticipation as she allowed him to peel the robe from her body, reveling in his appreciative gaze. "Just to make it easier." There had been a time earlier in their relationship when such a lingering stare from him would have made her flush with embarrassment, but now she enjoyed it. She loved that fact that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her.

Lee cleared his throat loudly and forced his gaze from her trim body, took her hand in his and led her to the bed. "Lie down," he croaked hoarsely trying to maintain enough resolve to keep his promise to her.

Amanda complied and lay face-down on the bed while Lee moved to hover over her. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he began with her feet and slowly worked his way up, gently kneading the tight muscles in her calves, then her thighs eliciting low moans of pleasure from her.

"Magic fingers," she murmured as she sighed in contentment.

"You like that?" He moved his hands upward to her taut bottom and then to her lower back.

"Mm-mm," she answered as her body relaxed into in touch. "Feels good."

Lee scooted up on the bed, moving to straddle her as he trailed his hands further up her back, caressing and massaging as he went, working the knots out of her muscles. He couldn't help marveling at the smoothness of her skin as he manipulated the muscles with his hands. "Good, huh?"

"So good," she whispered in a raspy voice.

He leaned over her as he worked his hands up to her shoulders and brushed a tender kiss to her lips, and then to the tender pulse point at her neck.

"Mmm..." she sighed in response, his touch having set her alight. While the massage was just as wonderful as she had imagined it would be, now she wanted more. "Don't stop," she pleaded.

"No?"

"No."

Lee obliged her as he began to trails kisses down that path his hands had followed up her body, Amanda's vocal responses guiding him. He sucked the water droplets from her skin that were left by her still-damp hair and breathed in the scent of her, his desire for her escalating, but he was in no hurry. This weekend was just about taking the time to be together, about celebrating their engagement and her recovery from the torture she'd suffered. In his mind, this weekend was all about making her happy and giving her what she needed.

"Lee.." she moaned softly as his hands and mouth moved further down her body. His skilled hands parted her thighs and slipped beneath her, lifting her hips up just enough for his mouth to reach her most intimate region. "Lee!" she cried out louder than before as he began to stroke her with his tongue, working it in slow circles as he had her sore muscles with his hands. She gripped the pillow tightly with both hands as the pleasure began to overtake her. She soon found that she was not alone because his hands had moved from under her to clutch her own as he entered her from behind.

"OHHH, Amanda," he gasped as she closed around him, welcoming him as she always did. He clasped her hands with his, linking their fingers together, smiling at the sight of the diamond she wore wedged between them as he moved slowly within her.

"Lee," she gasped as she tried to push against him to urge him on, but found her mobility limited by his weight on top of her. "Lee, please," she begged at the maddening slowness with which he was moving.

"Shh..." he crooned into her hair and pressed a light kiss to her lips. "Patience, My Love." After their frenzied encounter in the shower a few days ago, he wanted to prolong her pleasure for as long as possible. He'd given into her demands then. This time, he wasn't. He circled his hips, mimicking the earlier motions he'd made with his hands during her massage and eased all the way into her again, delighting in her cries of elation. "Yes," he cheered.

"Oh," she cried as she felt the full length of her fiance' inside her, only to have him pull almost all the way out and push back in again.

"I love you," he murmured against her back as he pulled back again, his own pleasure intensifying as hers did until he could hold back no longer and he finally picked up the pace, driving into her until he felt her spasms around him that catapulted him over the edge with her. He gripped her hands tighter, raining kisses on her neck and shoulders as he spilled into her until he had nothing left to give her and collapsed atop her completely spent.

"I...love...you," she rasped as she tried to catch her breath and met his lips in a long, lingering kiss.

"That was quite a night," Amanda commented as they unpacked and began to sort through his closet. "But we should get finished."

An hour later, the project had turned into a much bigger one. While they'd pulled things from the bedroom closet to make room for her, they hadn't figured out what to do with the stuff they'd taken from it. Amanda had discovered that the hall closet was just as packed so some stuff had been moved to the living room just for a place to put it in the moment. Much to her chagrin, she'd found the front closet just as full. I'm marrying a pack rat from hell, she thought.

"You know we should probably clean out these other two closets too." She gave him a curious look. "When we moved you in here, I thought you said you were gonna' get rid of some of this junk."

"And I will," he confirmed with an awkward chuckle.

"Well, why not just do it now while we're at it? I mean, if we're going to get married, you'll have to do it anyway for the day we move in together. It's for sure, I don't want some of this stuff at my house." As evidence to prove her point, she held up a lacy black bra she'd found in one of the boxes. She held it up to herself and looked down at her bosom. "I know for sure that I don't have any way to fill this out," she jested.

Lee snatched the item from her and tossed it into the bedroom trashcan while she began rooting through another box. He wasn't at all sure how he felt about moving into her house with her since she'd shared it with her ex. He wasn't sure just how to broach the subject with her, so instead, he shrugged and replied, "I just...I don't know. It's hard for me to part with some of this stuff."

She raised her eyebrows as she glanced at the scrap of lace he'd just tossed where it sat on the top of the trashcan. "Okay, not stuff like that." He shifted nervously. "What time do you have to be home again?"

"Oh, that's hours and hours away," she repeated his earlier words as she made her way into the living room arms laden with more stuff and him hot on her heels. "You're never gonna' clean out your closets if you won't throw anything away."

He knew she was right, but he was still thinking about her comment about her house. What if...? He shook his head. They had time to figure it out. After all, they hadn't even set a wedding date yet.

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Lee and Amanda looked up as Francine entered the room, but for once, didn't change their position for her benefit.

"Don't even bother to explain. It'll only make it worse," the blonde chirped cattily as she dropped the file on Amanda's desk and exited as quickly as she'd entered. She wondered how much longer they thought they could keep pretending there was nothing between them, especially since she'd seen first-hand how devastated Lee had been over Amanda's abduction at the hands of Addi Birol. She knew she needed to attempt to have another conversation with one or both of them, but now wasn't the time.

Finishing their tussle with the coin, Amanda crowed triumphantly, "Start talking."

Lee groaned in protest as he sank back down at his desk. "Don't think I don't know that you cheated," he countered.

"What? Me? Cheat? I have never cheated on anything in my life!"

"No?"

"Mm-mm," she shook her head adamantly.

"Then explain Jim Saarinen. You were married to Joe then."

"I was not!" She looked affronted that he'd even think that of her.

He tapped the file. "I beg to differ. That was 1976. You married Joe in '72 and divorced him in '82."

"Mm-mm. It was 1971 before I even met Joe." Okay, not much before, but still...she mused.

He looked at this file. "No, it's right here in your own words that you wrote for your class. 1976."

"I know what it says, but it's wrong. I wrote that story up for a class assignment as you well know, but I hand-wrote it. The girl in steno goofed when she typed it. She mistook a stray ink smudge for being the rounded part of a six next to the one in 1971. I've been trying to get the official copy corrected ever since."

"Even so, who is he and what were you doing in Hilton Head with him in whatever year you were with him?"

"Mm-mm. You lost the coin toss, so not until you start spilling your guts first."

"I did not lose the coin toss; you cheated on the coin toss," he goaded her with a grin as he rose from his seat and approached her.

She too rose and glared at him challengingly. "Are we going to do this again?"

"Maybe..." He smirked at her. "I kind of liked being on top of you that way. Reminded me of our weekend at Pine Top."

"That is so not fair," she pouted as she flushed at the memories.

"You know what they say...All's fair in love and war," he reminded her.

"If that's true, why do we need to share secrets at all?" she reasoned. "We are both adults and we should just acknowledge that we both have a past and move on with our future."

"You're right. Why dredge up the past when we've got such a great future?"

"Good. Then, we're agreed." She nodded in acknowledgement.

"Absolutely."

"Besides," he shrugged as he wandered back over to his desk. "I'd be perfectly happy to imagine you only having had sex twice before me."

Amanda laughed as she sat back down in her own seat and began to peruse the file that Francine had left, muttering under her breath, "You wish."