I don't own Power Rangers.

Chapter 6

"Why, Mr. Oliver, I do believe you're blushing."

Tommy averted his gaze and mentally worked to stop the spread of red hot crimson across his cheeks. "Eighteen," he murmured.

"Eighteen? Hmm… So that must have been Miss Katherine, huh?"

He nodded reluctantly.

Over the course of the last hour and a half, Tommy and Kimberly had wasted no time in catching up on each other's lives. Their spirited discussion had fallen into a natural pattern of question-answer and was sprinkled with flirtation. The outside world faded away around them, except for the occasional intrusion by Marty to refill their drinks, and they each reveled in the other's presence, enjoying the companionship that neither of them realized they were missing.

Tommy had learned that Kimberly was now working for one of the top advertising firms in the country. She graduated from the University of Florida with a double major in Marketing and Management in 2005 and worked her way up through the ranks of a small company in Tallahassee. In only a small amount of time she caught the eye of a recruiter who immediately convinced her to pack up and head to Los Angeles by offering an incredible salary and benefits package complete with lots of perks. She was great at what she did, and she didn't have to say it. Tommy just knew. But he could sense that deep down she was slightly less-than-fulfilled by her 9-to-5 cubicle job.

He also learned that the narrow scar on her right knee was the result of a surgery done to repair the injury that ended her gymnastics career. Of course, he seized this opportunity to run his hand along the tender skin on her inner leg and lower thigh while inquiring innocently about the scar's origin. She certainly didn't object, and if his eyes weren't fooling him she may have leaned in closer to him, welcoming the gesture.

Tommy hunted for signs of remorse as she talked about the injury, but he couldn't detect any. She explained that it was not unusual for a gymnast to be done competing by their early twenties, which was why she was so thankful to have had such an incredible opportunity as a teenager. She won several medals and awards, and while she still enjoyed a casual workout or occasional expo show, she was content to have the world of competitive gymnastics behind her.

Kimberly had learned several things about Tommy as well. He told her all about his days as a competitive race car driver, and the fiery accident that left him laid up for weeks and shook him up enough to walk away from that particular career path. Her heart ached at the thought of him in harm's way, even though she knew full well that he had probably encountered much worse in his days as a ranger.

She heard all about his time at UCLA, where he attended relatively aimlessly for the first year before he decided to pursue a degree in paleontology. He had paused while Kimberly giggled, a response he had grown to expect whenever he told one of his former teammates about his degree choice. He graduated with honors and spent a few years traveling with a small group of fellow graduates working on archaeological digs. Kimberly watched in awe as he told her this bit of information as though it were no big deal, and made a mental note to dig into this particular piece of Tommy-history at a later time.

Upon returning to the United States, Tommy purchased a home in southern California and attained a teaching certificate. However, while he knew teaching was his true passion, the classroom was not where he wanted to be, and after only a year of traditional teaching he stepped away and threw himself into his latest project – his martial arts school. John was a friend of his uncle's who knew Tommy from his racing days and had generously offered to loan him the money he needed to get the school up and running. Now that the school was prospering Tommy had repaid his friend, but happily kept him on board as a silent partner of sorts.

Kimberly studied Tommy carefully as she processed his answer to her most recent question. "So, you lost your virginity to Kat after dating for less than a year? Wow, and to think… We were together for three years and barely got past second base."

Tommy swung back to face her, hoping his forced confession didn't just ruin their whole evening. Much to his relief, he did not see animosity reflected in her delicate features, but rather a touch of curiosity – a look that told him he was going to have to elaborate. "Alright, for the record… I would have GLADLY gone farther with you."

"I don't remember stopping you," she whispered.

He sighed. "Do you remember your last night in Angel Grove?"

"You mean, at the lake? In the back of your truck?" She smiled fondly as he nodded. That night remained very vivid in her memory. She remembered sitting on his lap, their legs dangling off the open tailgate facing the lake as he whispered in her ear how much he would miss her, and how proud he was that she was following her dream. She remembered his lips pressed against her neck, her cheek, and finally her lips. She remembered kissing him like she'd never kissed him before, turning slowly until she straddled his lap and cradled his face in her hands. Most of all, though, she remembered the feeling of his strong hands all over her, feeling safe in his tight embrace, and praying that he would never let her go. "Yeah, I remember."

"Want to know what I remember about that night?"

She nodded softly, afraid of the tremor she might hear in her own voice.

"I remember being terrified that, for some reason you would open the glove box and find the condoms I'd stashed in there."

"Tommy Oliver!" she reprimanded with a mocking smile. "I never thought you had it in you."

"Yeah, well, believe it or not, I have thought about sleeping with you once or twice in my life."

She scoffed. "Once or twice, I'm sure. More like once or twice tonight." She caught his wink out of the corner of her eye before continuing, "So why didn't we get a chance to use those condoms that night?"

He smiled at her wistfully. "I thought it would make it harder for you to go, and harder for me to let you go. I didn't want you to feel trapped."

As he had done several other times this evening, Tommy had responded to her boldness with such genuine sincerity that she found herself speechless. She stared at him for a long minute trying to reel in her reaction before Tommy spoke again.

"Of course, if I had it to do over again…" he said with a devilish half-smile.

"Well…" She started to say that he would have met no objections from her, when something dawned on her. Tommy totally changed the subject! Impressed and annoyed that he so effectively threw her off her original line of questioning, she pulled herself back on track. "Well, still. For you to swing for the fences with Kat so soon, you must have had something really special."

"The exact opposite, actually."

Now she was confused. She stared at him, silently imploring him to elaborate.

"Katherine was… easy."

Kimberly laughed and sipped her drink. "That's mighty blunt of you. I'm not sure Kat would appreciate hearing you say that though."

"No, no…" Tommy replied, shaking his head. "That came out wrong. What I meant was, I sort of fell into a relationship with her out of convenience."

She smiled sympathetically. "Not sure that's much better."

"But it's the truth. Kat was there, all dressed in pink, and you weren't. She was obviously interested…"

"Very obviously," Kimberly interjected.

"…and after you and I broke up, she and I just kind of ran with it." Kimberly appreciated the way he made the breakup sound mutual, even though they both knew damn well that wasn't what happened.

He sighed and pushed his glass forward, indicating to Marty that he'd like another drink. "We slept together after graduation, and we never said it, but I think we both knew it was a last-ditch effort. We were trying to forge a connection that just wasn't there."

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I thought that you and Kat looked really happy together."

He shrugged. "We weren't unhappy. She was good to me. I like to think I was good to her, but I feel bad that I never developed the type of feelings for her she had for me." He laughed and leaned back in his barstool. "The sex was horrendously awkward. We both just stared at the ceiling for a good long time when it was all over with."

Kimberly stifled a giggle. "Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, well, that's life I guess. Live and learn." He grinned brightly, sending a flutter through Kimberly's chest as he accepted his new beverage. "My turn."

"Oh boy," she muttered, taking another long sip.

"Hey, I don't want to hear it. You just dove into my virginity. The way I see it, nothing's off the table."

"Alright, let me have it."

"How many men have you dated?"

His dark eyes bore right through her, but she didn't back down. Instead, she leaned in with a devious smile. "Dated? Lots. Too many to count. But that's not your real question."

He beamed despite her smug grin, enthralled by her obvious insightfulness. Unable to break eye contact, he smoothly responded, "Fine. How many men have you slept with?"

"Three." Having anticipated his question, the answer fired off her tongue without a second of hesitation, but now she paused, trying to gauge his reaction. He leaned back, not in aversion but more in contemplation and crossed his arms over his chest, still piercing her with his gorgeous dark eyes. "Trying to decide if you have a shot with me?"

"No. Just trying to determine how many men I'd be willing to kill in a jealous rage."

Kimberly pressed her lips together folded her hands in her lap. More than anything else she wanted to leap into his lap right now and go for number four. Trying to cool herself from his heated gaze she broke eye contact, but she couldn't stay away for long. She took a deep breath to regain her composure before meeting his eyes again. "Why didn't you kiss me back there?"

"What?"

"It's my turn to ask the question, and I want to know why you didn't kiss me while we were dancing. You wanted to; I could see it in your eyes."

Having been very effectively thrown off-guard, Tommy closed his eyes and shifted in his chair. Of course, behind his eyelids all he could see was her delicate pair of lips, which was little help. "I did want to kiss you."

"I know. And I wanted you to kiss me. So why didn't you?" Her voice was soft and smooth, but insistent nonetheless.

He smiled gently at her admission, taking note of their sudden close proximity as he scrambled for the correct way to word his response. "You looked… afraid."

"Damn." Her chin dropped to her chest and she sighed, staring at her hands. She was about to take this game in an entirely different direction. "You're right," she confessed, meeting his gaze again as she spoke softly. "I'm terrified of the way I feel about you."

Her words, quiet and affectionate as they were, nearly knocked him off his barstool. The present tense she used registered somewhere in his subconscious, and he realized he'd been swimming in a sea of denial when he'd told himself that he could walk away from her after tonight and go back to life as usual. After a shaky breath he reached for his drink, more as a method for stalling than desire for the alcohol's velvety burn.

She waited for eternity for his reaction, knowing that, despite the fire they'd been dancing around all evening, she'd just pulled him across a line that he may or may not have been ready to cross. Finally, he spoke. "Why didn't you just kiss me?"

His lips curved into a faint smile, much to her relief, and she grinned back brightly in response. "Tommy…" She leaned back toward the bar and took another long sip, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and continued. "What kind of lady would I be if I made the first move?"

Tommy laughed and rolled his eyes, letting the cloud of sexual tension lift temporarily. She giggled with him, then chewed on her lip nervously. It had been years since she felt this jittery in the presence of a man. "Your turn," she quipped, hoping to get him talking again as she downed the last of her fruity concoction.

He had another question he was dying to ask, but he wasn't sure it was the right time or place. He was also terrified of the consequences that this particular question might bring. But he had been silent too long, and her golden brown eyes begged him to speak. Plus, his personal filter had faded away with his last rum and coke.

"Kim, why did we break up?"

He regretted the words the instant they were past his lips, as he watched her stiffen and turn away. He half-expected her to jump down from her barstool and bolt for the door, and if she was being honest with herself she had certainly considered it. Instead, though, she pushed her glass forward with a touch of desperation, and despite the fact she'd promised herself that the last drink would be her last, her eyes begged for just one more to get her through this conversation.

Luckily, Marty was very good at his job.

Sorry for the long delay! I've been without computer access for far too long. This chapter became much longer than I'd originally planned, and I decided to split it into two. The good news is, the next chapter is done and just needs a little bit more editing. It should be up very soon, with the conclusion soon to follow! Enjoy!