Yay! A quicker chapter update :P We're getting deeper into the story, though, and I'm really super happy about that. So...enjoy!
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She's tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand, the other using a spare (never used, of course) tooth brush that Tom had. She can feel him watching her, so she looks over a little with a mouth full of toothpaste suds and a head of crazy hair from the night before. "What?" She asks, the toothbrush still in her mouth and the noise coming out as a bit of a gargle.

He waits a while before speaking, keeping a goofy smile the whole time from the bed, "Nothing, I guess." He says, shrugging his shoulders upward and brushing it off.

She turns, smiles, and continues to brush her teeth.

Once she's all finished and dressed again, she tries her best to fix her hair and then puts her shoes on. "It's a good thing today is a day off." She says, scratching her nails gently over her brow, looking down shyly. That feeling of shyness hasn't ever gone away, still, from last night. She can't explain the reason why he makes her heart beat funny and her mouth feel dry, but he does. And she's not completely sure she likes it. She's not sure of anything other than the fact that she better keep a close eye on things so she can make sure she's not pregnant. She can't have that.

"True." He says, pulling a fresh tee over his head and standing up with his pants already on. "You wanna grab some lunch or something?" He asks, running his fingers through his hair to un-knot it from the shower this morning.

She doesn't want to hurt him, but she's felt sick to her stomach due to the fact that he could have just impregnated her last night and he isn't even worrying about it. She doesn't want to overreact, either, so she simply says, "No thanks, not today." and moves on to get her purse in the living room.

He follows her down the stairs and gently takes her arm, and it brings back flashbacks of the day he grabbed her in the airport, "What's wrong, Tri? You've been off all morning..." He says, his brows furrowed.

She can tell he's concerned for her, simply by the tone of voice he's using (a sweet, gentle one that carries about twenty percent nerves). "Nothing." She replies, hoping he'll buy her lie. She doesn't want to overreact.

"Something is..."

"It's nothing, Tom." She states, a little bit more bitterly this time as she slides her arm away from his hand. "I just don't feel like having lunch with you today...I'm sorry...I just...I want to go home..." She says, turning around and walking the rest of the way down the stairs.

She hears his sad sigh, "Is it about last night?" He asks, finally, rushing down the stairs and standing in front of her in a desperate attempt to get her to stop. "I really, really am sorry, Trina. I just...I didn't even expect it. I don't think I've come that quick since I was a teenager..." He says sorrowfully, "You make me excited, Tri. Really excited." He continues, and by now she's forgotten that she hates being called Tri, because it sounds okay coming from him. "And you make me happy. And you make me feel...new and...I don't know how to explain all of this. And...I plan on one day finding out why you don't do relationships, because I plan on sticking around that long – no matter how long that may be – whether it's as a friend or a lover...I don't know. That's up to you because...you know how I feel about you, babe. And I think you know that I would do almost anything-"

"Stop." She says, meaning it as a demand but making it sound – accidentally – like more of a request. "I can't do this, Tom. I- do you understand what it's like for me right now? I don't think you do. Have you ever made the mistake of not pulling out?" She asks, waits a beat for him to shake his head, then continues, "So you don't know what I'm going through right now. I'm not mother material, which means I have to end the baby's life like I have done one other time before. I lost my first one, and I'm not getting pregnant and having a child. I know you don't have to worry about it, because why would you? You're just the man who injected sperm into a woman, not a father." She swallows hard and clutches her hands together in front of her, about to continue but she gets cut off.

"Then tell me. Tell me what you're going through. I do care for you, I thought I established that at dinner when we were talking. I- you're my friend. Even if we can't be more, I love being your friend and I most certainly love being your lover. Who wouldn't?" He asks, shifting his weight to his other leg and taking a deep breath. "You know that I didn't mean to do that, right? And if you are pregnant, I would be there every step of the way whatever you wanted to do. If you wanted to abort, so be it. I'd be there to take you and to bring you back from the procedures." He says, pausing a moment, "I can't say I love you. Not yet. But I'm pretty sure I do and-"

"Stop."

"No, Tri. I can't just stop. I stopped in the shack that night and it's not happening again...I'm not going to let that happen again." He says. "I'm sorry for what you've been through. And I'd love, love to learn more about your life other than just knowing you're a flight attendant, a woman who sleeps around a lot, and a woman who dislikes her mother. I don't know why you don't like your mom. I don't know why you became a flight attendant. I don't – no, I really don't know why you sleep around, because any guy who has a lick of sense would kill to keep you around, Tri. Kill."

She looks down once he talks about her mother, shaking her head, "I haven't told anyone, Tom. At all."

"Well maybe you should start with me?" He offers, "I'd love to let you talk for hours and hours. Just...babble."

She looks over her shoulder, completely bypassing his face because she knew if she sees him, she'll start crying and then she'll break. She can't do that. Not now, not ever. "Goodbye, Tom. I'll see you tomorrow." She says sadly, grabbing her purse from the table and putting it over her shoulder.

"What if I told you," He pauses and hopes for her to stop – in which she does, "That I had a girlfriend right before I met you? We were very close, really, and she was even talking marriage. I wasn't ready for that, but I figured I'd wait it out because, hell, she may be the one. But then I met you, and I knew as soon as you stepped foot into my plane that I couldn't be faithful to her anymore. I dumped her. Because I knew I needed you, right then. And yeah, the whole reputation thing you've heard of was true. But it ended when I met her, and like I said, I knew I couldn't be faithful to her if you were around."

"You-" She stops, the anger growing and bubbling up in her chest, "Why the hell would you do that?!" She snaps, turning to face him again, "Why would you tell me that?! Now I'm just some...some 'other woman'? That makes me feel better, Tom. So much better."

"Because I knew-" He stops and shakes his head in defeat. "I knew that I couldn't be faithful. So you weren't the other woman, because you didn't even know about her until now."

"But-"

"Please...just-" He pauses again and swallows thickly – he must see the little bit of tears that are building up in her eyes, "Let's order lunch and have it delivered. Chinese, pizza, anything. I want to listen to your story."

She thinks for a moment, shifting her weight and getting a pouty look on her face. It's not purposely, the pout, but she does it without even realizing sometimes. This, unfortunately, is one of those times. It's unfortunate because he likes it when she pouts, and because it's brought a smile to his face. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because you're pouting." He says, smiling a little more. "You're adorable when you pout. See? That's one thing I know about you...now let me learn the millions of other little things about you and never, ever forget them."

Again, she shifts. She looks down, thinking hard and remembering back to what he said. I would be there every step of the way whatever you wanted to do. Why does he even want to be in her life? The thought just fathoms her beyond belief, she can't wrap her head around the fact that someone really cares about her and she's not even sure if he does. He keeps saying so, but...can she really trust a man that easily?

The tears come to surface again and she wipes them quickly, looking down and swallowing thickly. "Lunch, Tom. Don't make more moves like you did last night – please – I'm not...I'm not ready for that and I will be very upset with you if you try." She states, making sure he knows all the rules beforehand. "No strings attached, this time. You're not jumping my bones tonight or tomorrow night or any night unless I make that decision. Okay?"

He steps forward and tilts her chin up so that he could look into her eyes, then nods before pressing a sweet and gentle kiss to her forehead. "Okay. I don't ever want to make you cry again." He says sadly, wiping the tears running down her cheeks. She tries to jerk away on instinct, but he shakes his head, "I'm doing this because I care, Trina...I want to show you I care and I'm going to do many, many things to show you that."

Ass-kiss. She sniffles and looks back at him with the pouty expression again, "Why, then? Why do you care about me so much? What's so special about me, huh?" She asks, looking him straight in the eyes. "Because I don't understand. I don't- I don't see why you would give up a steady girlfriend for some...slut." She snips at herself, trying to gain her composure after she says that. "You deserve someone better if you really care about me, Tom, because I'm not that special."

"We'll just see about that, Tri." He challenges, smiling sadly and rubbing her cheek. "I care because I think you are special. I'm pretty sure you are, really. But I gotta find out, see, that's why I want to keep spending time with you. Talking, laughing, joking, having fun. I like doing that with you. Plus, I care about my friends. And I care because I don't want you to end up like my mom...and because she cares. Is that a good enough start of an answer?"

"Only a start of an answer?" She asks, furrowing her brows and wrinkling her face up a little.

He smiles sadly, nodding, "Only the start. Because once I learn more, I'm sure I'm going to care more and have even more reasons to. Okay?"

She sighs and gently pulls away from his hands, wiping her face and setting her purse down. "Pizza. I like pepperonis and extra cheese...and anything else. But definitely the pepperonis and extra cheese." She says, sucking the tears that have gathered on her lower lip into her mouth, keeping her head down as she tries to avoid thinking about all the things he wants her to babble about. "And I like that place on Third the best, but they don't deliver. Only pick-up and dine-in." She explains, wiping her nose on her wrist and swallowing thickly.

He nods, grabbing the phone book and looking for the restaurant's number, "Sounds good, we'll go pick it up if that's okay with you?"

"Sounds okay." She says, snuggling up into the couch's cushions a little more.

This may possibly be the most uncomfortable lunch she'll have had since her mother's "sex talk over Mexican take-out". A reason she doesn't like Mexican food, now.

..

He's doing all the work this time, not letting her lift a finger (he's told her so, too). He's getting the plates ready (styrofoam), the cups (plastic), and the sodas to go with the wonderfully delicious smelling pizza. He brings it all in, sets it down on the small coffee table, and opens the box for her to grab a slice. "Ladies first." He says, smiling with a bit of a goofiness to it like he's been so well at doing lately.

She smiles softly, the tear stains gone and the shakiness of everything disappeared for now. "Thank you." She says, grabbing a slice and laying it on her plate. She smiles, "Pepperonis, mushrooms, onions, sausage...but did you get extra cheese?" She asks playfully, taking a bite off the end.

He chuckles a little bit, "Of course! I couldn't forget your only two requests. You like the other stuff on it right?"

She nods with a mouth full, a little bit of a cheese hanging from her lips as the sauce is dabbed on her upper lip. "Love it." She murmurs, a mouth full of food blocking her from speaking properly. It's very un-lady like, and she can hear her mother's voice again in the back of her head, but she's doing her best to ignore that nagging as she chews. "Their pizza is the best."

"I agree." He replies, taking a bite off the end of his, too. "Now, I know you're stalling." He stops a beat and smirks up at her, biting his lip, "You wanna tell me why you're stalling?"

"No." She answers with a mouthful again.

He smiles a little bit at her and hands her a napkin for the pizza sauce that's dripped down her chin. "You may need that." He says.

She takes it with a gracious expression, wipes her pizza face, and then sighs as she sets her slice down on the plate to take a drink. "What do you want to know?" She asks, just coming straight out with it.

"Whatever you're comfortable sharing."

"About what?"

"About anything." He replies, "I just wanna know you. The real you, not the...I-sleep-with-random-men, you."

She sighs in defeat, closing her eyes as she tries thinking of a subject to start on. "Just give me something to start with." She asks.

"Okay." He replies, thinking for a few moments and taking a couple sips of his drink, "Okay, how about why don't you like to be called Tri?"

"Because it's not my name. But you can keep calling me that." She says, trying to hide the small smile. No, Trina. Stop.

"Oh can I?" He asks sarcastically, cocking his head a little bit in a cute sort of way, "Am I really that special?"

"No, you'll just be an asshole if I keep telling you to stop." She quips, smirking up at him and giving him a small wink. "Next question because that one sucked." She states, raising her brows as she takes a big chunk off of her crust.

He thinks again, thinking hard and long on this question (she can tell by the way his chewing has slowed. She finds it somewhat funny). "Why did you become a flight attendant?"

"For the sex." She answers simply. "And, I mean, for that...but also because it pays decently and I like all the travel. It's a good job for me because it has long hours so I don't have to stay at home all the time." She shrugs a little bit and licks the pizza sauce off the corner of her lip, feeling like a complete slob. She doesn't really care. "So, yeah, sex and the view." She chuckles, eating the last bite of her first slice of pizza.

She reaches for another one as he goes right into his next question, "Why don't you like your mother?"

That one stops her, she freezes in mid-bite and takes the slice away from her lips to set it back down on her plate. "I – that's a question for a later date, Tom." She says, the subject making her uneasy, clearly. "It's a hard subject for me."

"Okay." He says respectively, "May I ask why it's a hard subject?" He asks softly, curiously. He wants to know, she can feel that deep down he's trying to be respectful but it's hard. She wonders, again, why he cares, but she just tries to keep her calm since he's trying to be nice about it all.

She swallows hard and looks down, picking at her nails in a nervous manner. "She's never been a great mother." She says, "And that's really all I want to say about it right now." She states, "Can we maybe have this conversation later? Like...some time way later? Over drinks one day? It's much easier for me to babble about my life when I'm slightly intoxicated." She admits, finally taking the slice back into her sort of shaky hands, looking up at him.

He waits a moment before giving her a nod, "Yeah." He says. She can tell he's a little disappointed, but he needs to understand how hard it is for her to do this.

"I will tell you, though, that I hate cheaters. Since you want me to babble." She smiles a little bit, taking a bite and starting off with a mouthful again, "I was cheated on twice in high school. By the same boy, too. He was my boyfriend – the only relationship I actually had, mind you – and he cheated on me with this younger girl. I don't even remember her name. She's probably married by now." She says, shrugging a little bit. "The first time I let him off the hook, the second time – ooh, I was mad. I even slashed his tires. I hated him. But then," She pauses and shakes her head, "He gave me some tequila and into the backseat of that tire slashed car we went. Make up sex is probably the best sex." She smirks and shakes her head again, looking up at him. "But, anyway, it was only a little while after that that we parted ways simply because we just...weren't going to work out."

"What was his name?"

"Luke." She says, taking another bite from her slice. "My boyfriend all through high school. He took my virginity." She says with a low chuckle, smirking up at him and biting her lip.

"Oh did he now?" He asks, putting his drink down onto the table with a goofy smile on his lips, "Lucky bastard." He teases.

Trina smiles, nods, and continues eating. "Yeah, I guess so."

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"And, also, I mean the perms just kind of stuck with me." She continues on after babbling (like she said she wouldn't) for about the past eight to nine hours. Of course, a break here and there, some radio, some television, and a dinner. "My mom made me do them but then...I ended up liking them." She states, shrugging.

He chuckles a bit, shaking his head as he tips back the wine they've been sipping at during the past hour. "You look good with a perm. But I have a feeling you're one of those people who would look good with any hairstyle, aren't you?"

She shrugs, "Maybe? I haven't tried many..."

"Maybe you should one day." He says, a little bit of a smiling gracing his lips.

She's noticed when he smiles that he looks like a teenager, especially with his fresh little baby face. It makes him even cuter, which is unfortunate. "Maybe I will." She replies, tipping her glass and raising a brow as to say, touche.

He lets out a sigh, and she can't tell if it's a sigh of content or a sigh of, well, what's happening next? "You want some more wine?" He asks, looking over at her mostly empty glass.

She takes a quick glance at the glass and shakes her head, "No thanks, I'm still kind of recovering from the alcohol last night." She chuckles and shakes her head. "And...Tom?" She asks the last part with a bit more shakiness in her voice. When he looks her in the eyes again, she sighs and continues, "I really, really do appreciate you. And your mom. I-I've just never really had anyone care for me like either of you do and it's a weird feeling to have that. It's not a bad feeling, just...weird." She admits, rubbing her arm after setting her glass down on the coffee table in front of them beside her feet, "And I thank you, too, for the nice words you said about...if I'm pregnant." She says, swallowing thickly and taking a very shaky breath. "I don't want to be pregnant, though, Tom. So I do hope you know that if I am, it's my body, my choice. I don't need a child."

"I understand." He replies, but she can tell there's a bit of bitterness in his voice. "I just...I want to be there with you no matter what happens okay? When – if you end up needing to take the test, just...let me know and I'll pick you up and bring you. I got you in the mess, I'll stick with you through it."

"And I thank you for that, too. Really." She says, then yawns. After taking a look at the clock on his wall, she sighs, "I really should be getting home, it's getting pretty late and we have to be up early tomorrow." She states, not really sure of her words. She doesn't really want to leave all that badly, but she also knows they need their sleep. She doesn't want more sex, just...she's not sure she wants to leave him.

He stands up and stretches, stifling out a yawn as well, "Why leave? Just stay with me again tonight, we can run by your house and grab your uniform in the morning. Okay? I don't want sex – well I do but I want to respect you." He says, then nods and continues, "I just want you to sleep beside me again. I like it when you're there."

She smiles a bit, biting her lip and shaking her head up at him. When she sees the look of disappointment, she surprises him with her next word, "Okay." And she stands up to be his level. She wraps her arms around his neck again and smiles just a little bit, "Thanks. For making me feel like I have worth, for respecting me...for...a lot, Tom. You're a better guy than I thought you were."

"I know." He teases, which results in a playful smack on the back of the head from Trina, "Ow."

"Ow is right." She smiles and shakes her head, sliding her arms down from around his neck and clasping her hands together. "Do you have another shirt I can sleep in?"

"Of course." He says, leading the way up to the bedroom without even putting any of the dishes away. She has a feeling he just wants to enjoy the night, think about the dirty dishes later. Which is what she would like to do, too.

She follows him up the staircase, smiling as she remembered their clumsy trip up it last night. It made her stomach bubble with giddiness again, even though tonight – honestly – she didn't want sex. Not with the possibility of a baby.

She strips down into her underwear, putting his shirt on over her naked upper half. It came down to just above her knees, and she caught him staring. "What?" She asks, looking up at him as she sits on the edge of the bed.

"Nothing." He states, a goofy smile on his lips. It reminds her of this morning when he was caught watching her brush her teeth. She wonders what he's so infatuated about with her. Maybe she'll ask...later.

After she slips into the bed and under the covers, she lets out another yawn and sighs. "Goodnight, Tom."

"Goodnight, Trina."

And with that, it's one of the few times she falls asleep with a smile on her face. And surely not the last.

..

Four weeks had passed by; weeks of Trina hardly ever wanting to go back to her own apartment (though, she has, and she's only spent about three more nights at Tom's since the night she babbled on about her life), weeks of being domestic at dinner time (which she's kind of grown to like), weeks of wondering...if she's pregnant.

Now, she's sitting in a doctor's office waiting for the blood results. And of course – Tom is right by her side, squeezing her hand. "I'm still going to be with you." He reminds her.

He's sensed, again, that she's nervous. How could she not be? It's not like she wants to end a baby's life, it's just what needs to be done if that's what's going on. She can't be a mother. So, because he's sensed her nerves, he's been assuring her the whole morning that he's not going to leave her side. And it makes her feel comforted, but also a bit agitated, "Okay." She says, her expression mostly blank as she replies.

After only a few more minutes of waiting, they're called back into a private room so the doctor – Dr. Fragert – can give her the results. "Ms. Russo?" She says, coming in the door with a soft, doctor smile. "Hi, nice to see you again." She says, shaking her hand after putting the clipboard of papers down on her little desk. She sits down on her rolling stool and clears her throat, "I don't know whether to say I have good news or bad news." She states, looking down for a moment and then back up at Trina.

"I – I don't want it." Trina replies nervously, shaking her head. Tom immediately, instinctively squeezes her hand to let her know that he's right there. "So is it still good or is it bad?"

"Good." Dr. Fragert says with a sad smile, "Your results came back negative, Ms. Russo. You're definitely not pregnant."

Trina looks over at Tom with a relieved sort of smile, tears coming to her eyes. He looks at her like he's amazed, but he probably is. One, because he's been swearing up and down that she's pregnant. Two, because he's never seen her cry when it wasn't his fault. "It's okay." He whispers with a soft smile, reaching up to wipe her tears.

Dr. Fragert smiles slightly, standing up and handing a few papers to Trina, "What a nice couple." She says softly, "I'll see you in a few months for your next check up." She says, then politely closes the door as Trina and Tom are looking at each other with a bit of confusion.

"Don't let her thinking that we're a couple go to your head, we aren't." She says, and then finally smiles again, wiping her own tears now.

He chuckles, "I was hoping, but..." He shrugs. "I'll wait some more."

She nods and looks away, gathering herself a moment before speaking again, "Thank you for sticking by me like you said." She whispers, "And, I – I've learned a lot from this experience. I've been through this before, but...I don't know. This time it felt different for some reason. And...I was actually really scared I would have to terminate the baby." She states, shaking her head and looking down, "So please, please...let's be more careful. And we're going to be using condoms. And...I also have someone who may be able to get me one of those...contraceptive pill, things. So...I'm going to try that. I'm scared, though, that it won't work. So...just be careful with me." She warns shakily, but then takes his cheeks in her hands, pulls him in softly, and places her lips on his. "That was a friendly kiss." She states with a tired smile.

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What did you think? Please, please, let me know in a review! I always try to base my stories off of what the readers like, and if I don't hear feedback, I don't know what they like ;) So help me out, please, and let me know of things you're really liking or maybe (hopefully not!) disliking.

Thank you!

G.