CHAPTER 7

The following afternoon, Sue decided to stop by the office to check on things. She got caught up on email, and office gossip.

"Hi Sue." D said as she walked to get a coffee. "How's the practice going?"

"Good. Jack is picking up the routine pretty quickly. We have to still work out some timing kinks, especially with the jumps and throws." Sue said.

What, you mean to tell me he hasn't dropped you on your head yet?" Bobby asked laughing.

"I didn't say that!" Sue said with a chuckle. "He's dropped me plenty, but thankfully, it's been either on the mats or into the foam pits at the gym. We've been practicing on those more than actually skating, it's safer!" Sue laughed.

"Good. I hope you guys can beat the 'other two'." He said at barely a whisper.

"Me too." Sue replied as she shut off her computer. "If you need us, call. I'll see you guys in a couple days." She said as she waved and walked back out the door.

Across town, Jack was warming up at the gym. He was doing some weight lifting, trying to build more muscle to be able to pick Sue up with ease. She wasn't heavy, but trying to do it on skates was harder than he thought it would be. Sue entered the gym and saw him stretching. She noticed that he had bought a pair of spandex shorts to practice in. She followed his outline down from his chocolate brown eyes to his sculpted arms, and his six pack abs, down to his well toned legs. Jack felt someone looking at him, and looked up. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the pretty blonde staring at him. He felt a smile beginning to form at the corners of his mouth. He tried to keep it at bay, hoping to play a little bit with Sue. He began to do lunges, which showcased his physique a little more. He could barely keep the smile from his lips any longer, and decided to pretend to just notice Sue standing there.

"Oh, hi." He said, smiling in her direction. "I didn't see you…" He began.

"I'm sure you didn't." Sue responded smirking, knowing full well that he knew she was watching him, and enjoying it.

"You ready to get started?" He asked. They began the routine from the top and worked through it, slowly, ironing out every detail. Jack had gotten the pacing and throws down, now all they had to do was put it on the ice. After a few hours at the gym, they decided food was probably a good idea.

They stopped off at Maria's and picked up a couple subs and headed back to Jack's place. As they ate their sandwiches they talked over the routines.

"I think we have the big one down pretty good, don't you?" Sue asked.

"I do. Maybe we should work on the other one tomorrow?" Jack suggested. Sue shook her head in agreement.

"I can show you what we have so far when we're done, if you want?" Sue suggested.

"Sure." Jack agreed. "When do we get back to the ice?" He asked.

"Thursday. We have the ice from 1-3. I figured I would book ice time when Randy and Randi are, or at least should be, at work. I figure, as anal as Randy is about work stuff, he won't sneak off in the middle of the afternoon to practice, no matter how badly he wants to win." Sue said with a chuckle.

"Randy's over confident. He thinks he has this in the bag because of Randi… The other Randi." Jack said.

"I think we have a good shot at winning. We have a strong routine, and we have it down. I'm confident we'll win." Sue said seriously.

"I just want to have the pleasure of watching Randy squirm when we do such a great job on our routine!" Jack said with a wink.

They both laughed as they finished their meal.

"That was good, but I am full!" Sue said rubbing her stomach. "Do you want to go over the routine or just rent a movie and chill for the night?" Sue asked hinting at the second one.

"I think we can stand to chill for one night. We've earned a night off." He said. Jack picked up the remote and began to search through the movies on demand. "Speaking of nights off, you never told me how your night out on the town with Lucy went." Jack prompted.

"Oh, it was good. We went to Maria's then to that new club downtown." She said.

"Nice place?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it was. We had a good time." Sue said, trying to change the subject subtly. Jack finally found a movie they could both agree on. About half way through they took a quick break and Sue made some popcorn for them. They took turns digging out handfuls of the buttery treat. Before the movie was over, the popcorn was gone. Both reached for, and searched the bottom of the bowl to no avail. Sue pulled her hand away quickly when their fingers touched. Jack felt her pull away. He felt the same spark Sue had, the reason she pulled her hand back so quickly. Sue tried to cover her actions by putting the bowl on the table. When she sat back again, Jack slipped his hand under hers, entwining his fingers with hers. He gently stroked her fingers with his thumb. Sue felt like a school girl. She felt like she was 13 again going to her first dance with a boy who took all night to get up the nerve to hold her hand. She felt the electricity spark against their hands as his thumb trailed the same path over and over. She didn't dare look at him. She was afraid what would happen. Her heart beat faster in her chest, nearly uncontrollable. The pounding heart beat beckoned to her to look into his chocolate brown eyes. Sue could feel Jack's eyes staring at her, piercing her soul. She couldn't deny her need to look in his eyes, to see if the same passion she was feeling was on Jack's face as well. Slowly, she turned her head in his direction. She raised her head and her eyes til they met his. Her mouth had long gone dry. Her breathing was beginning to be labored from nerves. She would have, at that very moment, sworn she could actually hear her heart pounding. Jack's eyes locked onto hers, not letting go. He slowly closed the space between them. They were nearly at the point of no turning back when Sue's Blackberry vibrated and rang, breaking the spell. Both let out a nervous sigh, pulling away from the other quickly.

"Hello?" Sue answered the phone.

"Hello Sue. It's Peter. From the club last Friday night." Peter said.

"Oh, hi." Sue said back. "How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?" He asked.

"I'm good as well. What's up?" Sue asked.

"I wanted to know if you would like to grab a cup of coffee tomorrow?" Peter said hopefully.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm tied up with a project right now." Sue said.

"Oh. Another time then?" Peter asked.

"I'd like that." Sue offered. "OK… Bye." She said as she hung up the phone.

"Everything OK?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, a friend." Sue answered.

"Oh. Does she want to go out?" Jack asked, fishing for more info.

"Umm, yeah, he does." Sue answered.

"He?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, his name is Peter. We met last week at the club." She admitted.

"Oh. I see." Jack said, his heart sank. There was a sudden feeling of awkwardness between them. The spark they'd felt a few minutes early had faded, nearly crushed out from Sue's admission of another man being interested in her.

"I… I should go, it's late." Sue said.

"It's too late, Sue. Stay here tonight." Jack said. "You can have the bed; I'll sleep on the couch." Jack offered.

"No, it's fine. I'll be fine Jack." Sue argued.

"Sue, it's nearly 1. Just stay here tonight." He pleaded.

"OK. If you insist." She agreed, knowing it was no use to argue with him, she wasn't going to win. She knew if she insisted on going home, he would drive her, and she didn't want that because he wouldn't get back home until nearly 2.

Jack had put out some clothes for her to wear to bed. He had changed into his while he was in the bedroom. He walked out in only pajama pants. As he walked through the door, Sue gasped. She didn't mean to, but her breath got caught in her throat. His body was well toned. He was in great shape. Sue was grateful for the awkward feeling between them right now. It would at least keep her mind off his body so she could get some sleep. It would also keep them from being tempted to cross any lines tonight. Sue closed the door behind her and changed into the things Jack had given her for bed wear. She curled up under the blankets and closed her eyes; hoping sleep would over take her quickly. It didn't. When Sue's eyes closed, the only image she could conjure up was one of Jack nearly naked in the next room, and how close they'd come earlier to kissing. She tried to shake the images and thoughts from her head, but the scent of him on the pillow and blanket made that impossible. She finally quit trying and sleep finally over took her.