They were in the car for an hour already, when he got a message from Lindsay. Sighing he went to delete without opening, when his phone started blowing up with a series f incoming messages. They all seemed to come from Milton and Jerry. Perplexed he opened the one from Jerry and it took him a minute to decipher the texts that was half misspelled, half in text-speak. If he understood it correctly, he should not listen to rumors and come and talk to Kim directly. Milton was more coherent telling him that there was a rumor about Kim and Kai and he, Jack, should know how unlikely that pairing was. He also, somewhat philosophically, added that there was no fury like a woman scorned. Still perplexed, but now feeling like the bottom of his stomach dropped, Jack finally checked Lindsay's message.

It was a series of pictures. Of Kim. And Kai. Together. In the GreenBean. Kai was smiling talking to Kim. And in few of them he was holding Kim's hand. She was looking intently into his eyes and giving him the cup. The actual text only said, "When the cat's away, the mouse will play."

So that what was got his friends buzzing. Knowing Lindsay and Donna they already spread their story about Kim and Kai around school. Damn it all to hell! Why is everything coming at them all at once? And Lindsay... Well, it was time to deal with that girl as well. Clearly she still was hung up and pissed off and chose Kim as a target, who may have had a few clever retorts, but was only one person against so many.

He zoomed in on one of the shots. It was a profile picture, so it was easy to think that they were friendly or more. But Jack already knew the story. He saw that Kai was not so much smiling, as snarling. That his hand on Kim's wrist was a vise grip than a gentle hold. That Kim's wasn't looking intently, but glaring at his cousin. As if he needed another reason to finally confront Kai about his obsession with Kim. He actually gripped his phone so tight the plastic case made a squeaky noise and he relaxed his hold.

The anger and anxiety the the felt since his confrontation with father, that had not abated despite the week long competition, that only got stronger since yesterday's conversation with Kim, that anger was like a leashed animal snarling and pouncing. And now there was a visual to make him even angrier. Especially because of her ominous 'we'll talk.' He had a horrible feeling that she wanted to break up with him, probably for his own good, or some such. Because Kim was like that: unwaveringly kind and caring, she wouldn't want him to 'suffer' or to cause a conflict within his family.

Well, he'd just have to convince her that she was wrong and use all of the best arguments.

He was waiting for the class to be over and stood by the door to Kim's English class. When the bell finally rang and people started to fill in the hallways, he became aware that may be this wasn't such a good idea. He had a pretty bad bruise on his cheekbone and one of his hands was wrapped because he had sore knuckles. It was par for the course for a the competition of his level, but it looked bad. It was easy for people to assume that he was in a fight. And of course they would assume the worst... Come to think of it, let them. Maybe it would make Lindsay and Donna back off Kim.

He saw Lindsay some out of the classroom and she immediately walked to him, anticipation morphing into worry as she saw his face.

"Jack, you are here already? Did you..."

He didn't let her finish, "Thank you for letting me know that my punk of a cousin was bothering Kim. I sorted him out." He made a vague gesture with his wrapped hand and Lindsay eyes widened. And then he went for the kill. "But also, a reminder. Stay out of my business and stop bothering Kim. She is a brown belt and can wipe a floor with you. She did it with Randy and Frank... And, one more thing: I had known you for three years and never was tempted to date you. So, just get over it and move on."

He felt bad for her, he did. But her relentless campaign first to win him over and then to make Kim's life miserable had all but eliminated any positive feelings he might have had for her. She blinked a few times, eyes and cheeks reddening and just when he thought she might make a scene, she turned away and left, leaving Jack to wait for Kim.

When he finally saw Kim her eyes went wide and she startled at seeing him there. He walked the remaining few steps to come and stand in front of her and she was looking at him, like she never expected to see him again or she thought it was the last time. His own heart was swooping and beating wildly, his entire body buzzing like live-wire, and even his aches and bruises stopped bothering him.

She lifted her hand to touch the bruise on his cheek and he caught it, because is was the one that Kai gripped so hard and he turned it around to see if there were any marks. There weren't, but he still lifted it to his lips and kissed it. She shivered and gasped.

"He won't bother you again," he said loud enough to be heard and she looked at him askance, looking so adorably confused that he just went for it, ignoring the crowd, pulling her close and finally kissing her.

Their first kiss was kind of epic if Jerry's wolf-whistle was anything to go by. He knew what it meant to both of them: reaffirmation of the new bond between them and overcoming another hurdle together. Milton politely coughed and Grace groused that they should go find a room already, but Kim was smiling wide and he smiled back.

Later, when they were alone in the library, he told her that his spat with father was more than a spat.

"Oh? What happened?" She said cautiously.

"Long story short: you are a distraction and he is taking away the car and my allowance until I 'see the light.'" Jack said sarcastically, feeling rebellious and carefree.

Kim let out a whistle, "So... What are you going to do?" she said carefully and Jack's heart constricted because he knew she was trying for nonchalant and failing.

"Well, I will not stop seeing you, so..." he trailed off because he really did not think that was even a question for him and he marveled at how much he changed since knowing Kim.

She was silent for a while and he wondered if she would try to be noble about it and he tried to gird himself up for a debate with her.

He cleared his throat thinking of the opening argument, when she continued, "But your allowance? I mean, I know he did not pay for all the time you put in the office. And being poor is not as cool as I make it look..."

Oh... Oh... She was trying to be noble.

"Don't worry about that. All my prize money went to an account under my name and I have inherited some from my Grandpa. Since I am eighteen, I can access it. Plus, I can always sign up for more championships. The money is not that great, but enough to make up for the allowance."

"You have both a trust fund and prize money from fights?"

"You make me sound like someone named Harrington Farnsworth with the Roman numeral after the name. It's just some inheritance from Grandpa, not a trust fund. And the prize money... I never used it, so it accumulated... So, does this mean you won't try to be noble and break up with me for my own good?"

She was quiet for a moment.

"I thought of that, honestly. But it would hardly solve the problem for you. You chose already to stand up to you dad. With or without me, you'd still have the overbearing father, with whom you are at odds. And whether we stay together or not is a joint decision. Are you sure you want to stay with me, when it causes you so much trouble?"

It was now his turn to be quiet. He wanted to find the right words to explain to her just how much he did mind all the troubles.

"Remember when we met? When you run into me? I was waiting to join my father at the business dinner, which was just another boring dinner in a series of many just like it. Every day I would wake up early, dreading the day at school, at the office, at these dinners... I slept poorly and was so concerned with how my father saw me that I forgot entirely who I was. I was busy emulating father and his ideals, I hardly noticed my own mother. You know that day I ran into you when you went to movies, I was home early and, still remembering our conversation, I almost went to movies myself. Then I realized that my mom was home and I had no idea what she did when I or father were not there. I asked to join her that afternoon and her expression was so disbelieving I almost wanted to lose to Kai to get a proper beating."

He stopped and tried to formulate how to say the next part. "I was miserable and so deeply unhappy, stuck in the notions of duty and obligations like a closely fitting cage. And I was making others either equally miserable or kept them away."

She looked at him with suspiciously bright eyes and visibly struggled to speak, "Oh... I am afraid you and your mom give me too much credit. I did not change you. You were already a kind and compassionate guy before me."

"Maybe I was. But I hid it so well that hardly anyone noticed. Until you."

She blushed and tried to look away, but he caught her chin and kissed her. It was slow and comforting, a thank you and a reaffirmation.

She pulled away and looked down, fidgeting with her hands. He waited to see what was bothering her.

"So, since you are sure, I think you should know that you dad offered me to arrange an internship with some acquaintance of his, where I might get a scholarship, in exchange for dumping you." He pulled back in shock and Kim, misinterpreting his move, grabbed his hand. "No, I am not going to take it, of course... But, he also sort of threatened to get me fired from from the GreenBean and the Maddie's Fund. I... I may have pissed him off when we talked, so I expect he actually would go through with those threats."

Jack was simply seething at this point. Why? Why father was so opposed to Kim? Or really any interests of his besides business and karate? Somewhere, underneath his mounting anger and frustration, he registered that Kim refused and apparently pissed off his father. He was kind of proud. In fact, he wished there was a video of that. He smiled, imagining the conversation, and Kim looked at him askance.

"Jack? What..." the rest of her question died, when he kissed her again, this time longer and harder.

When they parted he smiled at her, "I wish I was a fly on the wall when your told my father to shove it. I don' think anyone has said 'no' to him in a long, long, time."

"I am pretty sure he hates me now." Kim said somewhat upset.

"He is my problem. Let me worry about him."

She didn't look convinced, so he redirected. "I may have solved you job problem."

She perked up and looked at him with a soft smile, "What? In addition to the music shop one from your mom?"

"Yes. What do you say to being an assistant to my sensei with his no-belt and white-belt students?"

She smiled happily, "Well, I babysat a bit in Tennessee. Think it would help?"

"Oh, I think it will. We should go see Rudy after school."

"OK. There is a bus that we can take, or maybe guys can drop us off... You still sure about this Jack? You would be joining the ranks of us, pedestrians?" She said and the tension released from him.

"Not exactly. When Grandpa died, he left his old bike to me. It might need some work, but I'll use that." Jack was trying to remember what needed to be fixed in the old beast, but he always liked it and would love to use it again.

"Bike? You have a vintage bike? Do you also have a leather jacket?" Kim asked coyly and Jack's heart swelled despite the situation.

"Why, Ms. Crawford? Do you like bad boys on bikes in leather jackets?" Jack practically growled and heard her inhale.

"Dear me, that depends on the boy in question, doesn't it? I don't talk to just any gentleman caller." She answered using her Southern accent, fanning herself with one hand, and he was surprised to feel himself respond to that.

He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Are there more gentlemen callers? Ms. Crawford, you should know that I do not share. I might have to duel them now, don't I? How about that? Do you like bad boys on bikes, who fight?"

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then rested her weight on the plans of her hands and she leaned towards him.

"I just might." Her pouty mouth paused a hair's breadth away from his, teasing him with a ghost of a kiss, before pressing her lips against his.

"We... really... should go, Kim," he breathed between the kisses, "Rudy would be waiting. Come."

"Yes... yes," she whispered, as he found a spot just beneath her jaw that made her breath hitch, "what... Who?"

"My sensei and your future employer," he said, nuzzling her neck.

"All right..." she said pulling away to look at him, but he followed her, leaning in to kiss her again. Reluctantly, he let her go, pulling her with him as he moved to stand up.

She was smiled up at him, "rain check?"


Rudy was an interesting man, Kim thought. Equal parts enthusiastic child and a seasoned martial artist. He was easy to talk to and was a terrible interviewer. She ended up volunteering most of the information a normal prospect employer would ask: qualifications, references, hours, pay... Jack was present at the interview and at some point she looked at him silently asking him if this was a real interview. Jack shrugged and gave a small smile.

By that point Rudy moved to the demonstration of karate skill set and Kim was a little worried as it had been a long time since she practiced. Rudy noticed and commented, but his comments were more encouraging than criticizing and somehow Kim felt like she could do it all. That was probably why Rudy was a great sensei. Feeling better about this opportunity than ever, Kim and Rudy agreed that she would come twice a week to the dojo and help the new students.

She had to go to the Maddie's Fund for the rest of the afternoon and she sent Jack home, worrying how the confrontation with his dad would go. She knew that he had his mother's support, but who knew what would happen and she had to forcibly refocus on the job at hand.

She had to decide sooner rather than later what to do about her findings. If Mr. Brewer went through with this threat and Kim was let go, she would no longer have access to all the files to complete her search. She was confident that she got enough to at least raise some serious questions and her real concern was who to report it to. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that someone at the local chapter was at least aware, if not directly involved, in this scheme. That made reporting anything to her supervisors here useless. She had to get her findings to the higher-ups in the Fund. Maybe not even the actual executives, but the founder of the organization, who gave the initial grant to start it all. Resolved, Kim tracked down the information on the founder of the Fund and copied all her findings to make a concise summary of the scheme and the total amount she was able to trace.

When she left the office she was rushing to the bus stop afraid to miss the scheduled bus, when someone called her name. She turned around and stopped shocked...

There, leaning against the vintage Harley-Davidson, in a leather (!) jacket was Jack. From the distance he looked relaxed and she walked slowly admiring the view. There was no denying that he looked very good and a little bit dangerous like that. Her body responded to his presence and probably because she missed him so much, she really just wanted to get him alone.

But when she got closer she saw that he was in a strange mood. He was not smiling, his eyes focused on her and yet somehow far away. He was holding himself stiffly and when she stopped close she was actually unsure whether her touch would be welcome. So she stood and looked and so did he.

Finally, when the tension was too much, she absently licked lips and opened her mouth to speak, when his expression changed into intense and heavy stare. She shivered and asked him anyway, "Is everything alright? Did you talk to your father?"

There was an almost imperceptible flinch and his eyes clouded for a brief moment, but then the intensity came back and Kim just stood there pinned under its weight. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lifted his arm and traced the outline of her cheek following the hairline and ending up with his fingers buried in her hair. He pulled her close and hugged her to him, nearly crushing her and she returned the hug, still unsure what exactly happened, but certain that it was awful and Jack needed this support and reassurance more than anything.

They made it to her apartment, still silent and Kim was worried beyond all measure. Her dad was still out and she let Jack in, leading him to her room. Before she could say anything his hands were on her and he was pulling and kissing and touching her everywhere. They tumbled onto the bed with him on top of her and she tried, tried, to ask him what was going on, but his mouth was on her and he just breathed a halting please and she let it be.

The kiss was far more intense after that. Its all Kim could do to keep up with him and every moan and twitch of his hips left her breathless. His hand snaked up her shirt, pushing it out of the way to pull her bra down. He stopped kissing her long enough to suck on hardened nipple into his mouth and Kim arched up at the sensation. When he's done, Kim was panting. He went to do the same with her other breast and she hazily remembered to pull off her shirt, just as Jack pulled her bra down completely and stared at her chest. She smiled a little to see his admiring look.

Her mirth died in her throat however when he took off his own shirt. She'd seen him topless before, but it was always in tight places with little room to pull back and just look. And now she was not sure where to look first as her eyes darted around trying to identify the muscles presented before her while all her brain supplied her with was "oh my god". She ran her hands over smooth skin and ripped abs as he settled himself between her legs. The feeling of his skin against hers sent a charge through her body unlike anything she's ever felt before.

She pushed him back a little and wasted no time to explore and lavish attention on all that glorious skin. He had a few moles on his body and she followed them, trailing invisible lines with her hands and mouth, making constellations and by the time her hands reached the waistband of his pants he was cursing softly.

He stopped her and took a long look at her face. She was so turned on, she did not know what she wanted, but she wanted something.

"I'm going to take good care of you," he said finally, before he kissed her and ground hips into hers.

She blushed hotly at that and he kissed her hard, one hand stroking through her hair while the other slid up her legs to find the inside of her thighs. He toyed with her for a few minutes before his hand slid inside and the first touch made her buck into his hand. He pulled back and keeping the same laser focus look on her face, pulled her leggings and underwear off in one move.

Lying fully naked in front of him for the first time, Kim was almost self-conscious if it was not for the way he was looking at her. It was as if she could feel him looking and it was just as physical as any touch. Before Kim could do or say anything he settled between her legs again, parting them easily to make room for himself and the desire she felt at that moment obliterated any anxiety she might have felt over her own appearance. He lavished small kisses on her inner thighs, making her tremble and causing goose bumps to rise, and then without any preamble he used his tongue to part her lips and licked a long wet strip up her center and, oh my god, if it wasn't just the hottest thing ever.

She could feel his smile, realizing only al little too late that she must have said it out loud, but she had not time to feel embarrassed, because one of his fingers slid in and his lips and tongue were on her, exploring her and making her whimper. She tried before, herself... Of course she did, but this was different. His lips and tongue were both softer and more electric and he was winding her up and up, the slow swirling in her belly, and she was now shamelessly pushing her hips up into his face. He got the message and now had two fingers in her and the stretch was unusual and welcome. He now zeroed only on her clit, his lips tightly around it and his tongue and teeth grazing over it, sometimes sucking hard, sometimes nipping it, and she was so close, trembling... That's when his fingers inside curled and he did something...

The orgasm that hit her felt like someone pulled a rip cord and ignited her. She let out a cry that tapered into a soft whimpering moan as Jack returned to long, slow licks of her sensitive flesh. He rubbed his hands up the backs of her shaking thighs before she gently nudged his head away. He slowly crawled up, kissing her along the way, until finally he was kissing her on the lips. She recovered enough to take notice of his erection now pressing into her belly, hot even through the fabric of his pants.

She looked at him and echoed his earlier words, "Let me take care of you."

He shuddered, his eyes closing for brief second, and then he rolled onto his back and she followed to be on top of him.

He was beautiful. And strong. She admired him, hands exploring, mouth following the path. She traveled lower and lower and when she got to his pants, the tent in them was very pronounced and she boldly palmed him over fabric. His body convulsed a little, muscles of his abdomen contracting and he hissed, "Kiim..."

Taking pity on him, she went to take off his jeans, valiantly fighting the jitters, because this would be the first time she'd try to give someone a blow job and she knew next to nothing about it. She was pulling the pants, Jack helpfully raising his hips, when his hands found hers and squeezed them. Just like that she calmed down.

This was Jack...

''Let me,'' she said, wrapping her hands around his cock. She took a minute to simply explore the length, giving him a few experimental strokes, watching the tug and pull of skin, cupping his heavy, full balls in her hand, making breath hiss between his lips, then a deep, satisfied growl from low in his chest. She decided to stop teasing him and so she lowered her head and wrapped her lips around him, moving her head as she sucked, trying to breathe through her nose, allowing as much of it into her throat as she could without gagging. She tried to follow his reactions as she moved from slow to fast and back again, using her hand on the rest of him. She knew she found the rhythm, when he cursed quietly and his hand dropped on her head, not quite pushing her, but guiding her along. HIs other hand was fisting the bed pane, knuckles white from pressure and she got the satisfaction of knowing she got him this way. This did not last long, because he started pushing his hips up a little and she sped up instinctively knowing that's what he needed and when he half-hissed, half-moaned Kiiiiim, she prepared herself. The salty, warm liquid filled her mouth and she swallowed it down, wondering if she tasted the same to him. He was now whimpering and she let go of him and crawled up to lay her head on his chest...

They were silent for a while, enjoying the afterglow and Kim was pleased to see that his expression did not go back to the closed off and intense look from before.

When his heartbeat slowed, she finally asked him.

"What happened?"

He pulled her closer and whispered into her hair, "I never actually knew anything about my parents, it seems. My father cheated, but apparently there were some extenuating circumstances. At least mom does not blame him. Mom almost left him once, but he promised to fight her in courts over me. And I am the only heir to my Grandpa's estate, which is why Kai hates me."