A/N: Evening, everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. Here is another chapter. Heads up; this is an M chapter for some obvious reasons. :)
Remember to R&R! Enjoy.
Tommy – The Past
"Congrats, guys!" Rocky exclaimed, limping his way towards us. Around the juice bar, I saw a number of people. Of course, Adam, Jason and I were here, being the guests of honor in Ernie's celebratory round of smoothies. The tournament had been hard but thankfully, we had pulled through and won it. Now, the children's center would be able to provide a lot more services to the kids of Angel Grove, including Justin. He was sitting in the corner, talking to Aisha and Adam. I smirked at the sight of him, knowing he was going to be a great Ranger someday. He already was good at it but with some training, I had no doubt he would make a great leader as well.
"Thanks, man. How's your back?" I asked, giving him a gentle hug. He was still using a crutch, but he smiled.
"Great! I should be good to go in no time. Though, I hear you've replaced me already." He winked at Justin who blushed a deep red color. Jason ruffled up his shaggy hair, a supportive smile on his lips.
"Kid's pretty good. I think he could give Tommy a run for his money." Jase said, winking at me.
"Cause Tommy's old." Justin said. I scoffed, shaking my head.
"Careful who you call old there, kid. I'm technically your boss now." I said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah. Yeah." He rolled his eyes, walking towards the juice bar. Kat was sitting next to me at the table, a strawberry smoothie in her hand. Her eyes caught mine and she smiled, reaching out and putting a hand over mine. I ran a thumb over hers before turning to Jason.
"Where's Kim?" I asked. "I didn't see her come in."
"I think she headed back to the hotel to pack. Her flight leaves tonight. You know her. She probably has fifteen pairs of shoes to fit into one bag." The group laughed, and I forced one, a feeling of sadness sweeping into the bit of my stomach. She was gone already? I was hoping to talk to her. I had so much to ask her and I didn't get a chance to speak to her after we left the island. Damn it, I thought.
"Shoot." Adam said, fishing through his gym bag. "I think I left my gloves on the matt. They're my favorite too." He tossed the bag down, frowning.
"Hey, don't worry." I replied, standing up. "I have to head back over there and lock things up anyway. I'll grab them and then I will see you guys at Rocky's place."
"Want me to come with you?" Kat asked, standing as well. I shook my head.
"I'll be fine. See you guys in a bit!" I waved at them before jogging out of the youth center. I ran across the street, heading into the back door of the Angel Grove Rec Center. In the distance, I could hear the faint whistling of the John, the janitor, coming from the bathrooms just outside of the auditorium. He waved as I neared, the grey hairs gentleman smiling. "Hey, John. I came by to lock up. You almost done?"
"Just about." He said, pushing a yellow mop bucket. "But I think there still someone in the aud."
"Really?" I asked, confused. "I'll tell them we're locking up. Take your time." Turning, I walked over to the double doors that led to the center of the building. Earlier, it had been filled with the cheers and applause of about two hundred people. Now, it was dead silent. In the middle of the room, the ring was still set up. A sea of chairs circled it all around. To my surprise, the ring wasn't empty though. Sitting on the edge of it was Kimberly. She was staring off into space, sitting on the edge of the ring. Her feet draped over the apron and she leaned against the two lower ropes for support. I stood there for a moment, watching her. She must have been deep in thought, the only sound she made was a sniffle here or there. I wondered what she was thinking about or rather who. Most people don't go off on their own to think about things that didn't involve certain people in their lives. Tucking my hands into my jean pockets, I walked down the steps towards the ring.
"Hey." I called out as I neared the bottom. She jumped at the sound of my voice, whirling around to see who was there. She let out a little gasp when she saw it was me, whipping at her face with her hands. Had she been crying? Her eyes were slightly puffy, a pinkness to them. She had been. I could tell. Looking at her now, I could just see tiredness in her features. I wasn't sure if it was from the excitement over the course of the last few days or if maybe it was life in general. It suddenly dawned on me that I didn't even know what she was doing with her life. I know that Jason had mentioned something about her getting picked for the US team this year. What else was she up to now? Had I really let what happened between the two of us put such a wedge and strain on what was a friendship I valued?
"Hi." She said, pulling her feet into the ring so she could stand up. I hopped up onto the edge of it, bending under the top rope so I could enter. "Good job. Congrats on the win. Not that I had any doubt in you guys."
"Thanks. I was looking for you at the youth center. Jase said you might have left for the hotel already."
"Oh." She said, her fingers twisting together nervously in front of her. "I was going to head back there but I sorta got lost in thought while I was here."
"Happens to me all the time. I'm actually glad. With everything going on, we didn't get a chance to talk. It's been so long. How are things?" I asked. She plastered her fakest smile on her face and looked up at me.
"Great!" She replied. "I mean, besides the whole getting kidnapped part but that's something to expect in our world I suppose."
"So…why were you sitting here crying?" I asked softly.
"What?" She asked, seeming surprised by my question. "I wasn't crying."
"Kim…it's me." She glanced at me for a second before sighing.
"Tommy, I can't do this with you." She whispered, tears lining her eyes. "When I was heading home, I was excited about seeing everyone. I thought I would just stroll into town and it would be like old times. And it was for the most part, evil and all. I just didn't expect that I would have to deal with everything that happened since I left." Walking over, she leaned against the top rope. The red colored plastic dug into the skin on her forearms as she closed her eyes. "I thought I was over our break up but apparently, I'm not."
"What do you mean?" It was my turn to be surprised. What was she saying? Did she regret breaking up? The letter? Because that would make two of us. She shook her head.
"I didn't think us breaking up was going to cause such a strain on everyone else." She said, glancing at me over her shoulder. "I know that everyone looked at me like the enemy when it first happened. It was very clear. But, it was something I thought everyone would be over by now. Being here, I can tell that a few of them still feel that was. Especially Adam, Rocky…and Kat." She trailed off, turning back towards the empty sea of chairs. "Not that I blame them. I did something that was selfish. I broke up with because of a rumor I heard. Though, I can see that there was a small amount of truth behind it now."
"What rumor?" I asked, taking a step towards her. She gave a sad smile, taking the rope in her hands and leaning back on her heels.
"That you had feelings for Kat. It's okay, Tommy. I think I always sorta knew that it was bound to happen. I mean, she was here, and I was 3,000 miles away. Only an idiot would think feelings wouldn't happen. I figured that it would be best for everyone involved if I just ended us before someone got hurt. Of course,…I guess we still did get hurt. At least you anyways. I didn't mean for that to happen."
"You broke up with me because you thought I had feelings for Kat?" I asked. She nodded. "What about that other guy you wrote about?"
"I may have been feeling petty and wanted to make you jealous. Not my most shining moments but it made me feel better at the time. I wanted you to feel what I was feeling. There was no other guy. There never has been."
"Kim, I didn't have any feeling for Kat until you broke up with me. When I got the letter, it was quite the blow. Not sure if it was more to my ego or my heart. Probably both. I couldn't believe that you found someone else. I was at a loss of what to do. I thought about coming to ask you what happened. Or calling and begging you to take me back. I couldn't bring myself to do either though. I didn't want to face the reality that you really didn't want to be with me. It was too much." I said, hanging my head. "Moving on wasn't something I thought I would have to do and it's not something I think I've one completely, either."
"So, it's safe to say we're both fucked up in this department then." She said, both of us letting out soft chuckles.
"I think so." I gave her a small smile. "Kim, why didn't you call me if you still wanted to be with me?"
"You're with Kat now. I didn't want to cause trouble on the team." Shit. Katherine. For a moment, I had completely forgotten about her. "Tommy, you can't let what I'm telling you come between your duty as a ranger and your duty to Kat. She deserves better than that."
"Yeah. She does." A silence fell between us. Slowly, I raised my eyes until they locked with hers. Before I could stop myself, I strode forward two quick steps and pressed my lips to hers. Her hands instantly found their way into my hair, gingerly combing through the tresses that made my pony tail where they connected to my scalp. Cupping her face in my hands, I kissed her with everything I had in me. It was something I had wanted to do for two years almost now. Something I had missed so desperately that I couldn't resist it now.
"Tommy…" She breathed as we parted for air. Her eyes slowly opened, filled with emotional lust.
"How far is your hotel?" I asked, pressing my lips against hers again.
Twenty minutes later, Kimberly and I were walking up the long hallway of the Quality Inn connected to the Angel Grove hotel. She pulled out a key card from her purse and slid it into the door of room 311. The light above the handle lit up green and I could hear the locking mechanism click. Pushing the door, she entered the room. I followed behind her, making sure no one was in the hallway to see.
As soon as the door was shut behind me, I scooped Kim up in my arms and kissed her again. She pulled my coat off my shoulders, pushing it off my arms as I walked her towards the queen-sized bed in the modest hotel room. My knees hit the edge of the bed, and I sat her down on the beige colored bed spread. I found the hem of her shirt and pulled, breaking from the kiss long enough to get it off of her torso. This exposed her light pink bra. It cupped her breasts nicely, just how they used to look the last time we had been together. She grabbed my red t-shirt and I helped her pull it over my head.
Laying her back, I crawled over her body until I was able to kiss her. I could feel her trying to get the buckle of my belt undone. It made the blood in my body run hot and it grew when she slipped it out of the loops of my waist. It slapped the bed side table as she tossed it to the floor and I found myself running my hands down her body until I found the top of her jean shorts. I had to button through the loop in the blink of an eye and I unzipped them with one hand. Sitting up, I grabbed her shorts and pulled them off her slender legs. Her sneakers came as well, leaving her in just her bra and matching underwear. They were pink as well lace with a small white bow where the elastic sat under her belly button.
Sitting up, Kim reached behind her back and unclasped her bra. Slowly, she pulled the straps off her shoulders and tossed it to the side with the rest of her clothes. I stood off the bed, pulling my pants off and leaving my green flannel boxer shorts. I kicked my boots off before kneeling back on the bed. She laid back against the feather pillows and I nibbled on the skin on her neck. I could feel her pulse under my lips, it quickening as our skin touched. Mine felt hot like fire, sweat forming on the small of my back. Tucking my thumbs into the top of her underwear, I slid them off. I pulled back slightly, taking the sight of her in as she was sprawled out underneath me.
"You're beautiful." I whispered, kissing her again. I left a trail of kisses from her neck all the way down her collar bone. Travelling down the area of her skin between her breasts, I ran my hands down the length of her body. It arched when my tongue flicked the right nipple, a small whine coming from the back of her throat. I moved to the other one, a similar cry coming from her. Her fingers tangled into my hair as I heard my name on her lips as she panted. I continued to make my way down until I was between her legs. Spreading them gently with my hands, I slipped my tongue in between the folds of her and let it lap up her essence. Her cries came out louder as I repeated the action and it became wetter as well.
"Tommy!" She cried, her back arching. It gave me more access and I kept assaulting her bud with the lip of my tongue until I felt her convulsions begin. She shuddered and melted in my hands, giving the poor soul in the room next to us a reason to wish they weren't there as she screamed my name. I gave a few more gently licks as she came down from the orgasm. Climbing back up the bed, I smiled when I saw her panting heavily on the bed. She lifted her hands and released me from the opening of my boxes. I was standing at an attention, the tip of it throbbing from the very sight of her. She spread her legs wider and looked up at me with eyes filled with something I couldn't describe. I licked my lips, leaning in to kiss her. As I did, I slid slowly inside of her. A hiss came from me as I did, the feeling of her heat around me like heaven. I closed my eyes, taking it inch at a time. I hadn't slept with anyone since the last time I had been with Kim. Kat and I hadn't gotten to this point yet, mainly due to me missing Kim. I would never admit that to her though. When I was all the way in, I lifted my head to look at her.
"I've missed you." I whispered.
"Me too." She said back, smiling at me. Pulling my hips back, I slid back inside of her. I did this a few times, so we could find our rhythm. Soon, she was crying out underneath me and I was doing my best to hang on as long as I could. The feeling of going over the edge was coming, and I knew it was going to be soon. She clung to me, her nails digging into my back as her cries grew louder. I tucked my face into neck, sinking my teeth slightly into her skin as my orgasm began to wash over me.
"Fuck. Kim." I panted. I felt her release too and I let go, both of us calling out each other's names as we did.