CHAPTER 11

Thanks to everyone for their concern! My daughter is feeling better.

"What was that all about?" Jack asked as the couple got into his car.

"Just Lucy being Lucy." Sue said. Jack didn't have to ask anymore than that, he knew exactly what she was referring to.

They drove for a little while toward downtown. They didn't speak, they didn't need to. Sue looked out the window at the night, how fresh it looked outside. She stole a glance at Jack and was surprised to catch him staring at her. She blushed lightly, but was grateful for the fact that it was dark, it covered the pink shade. Jack slowly reached over and put his hand over hers, entwining his fingers with hers as she turned her hand over. He smiled, and turned his attention back to the road.

A short time later, they pulled up to an Italian restaurant.

"Jack? I'm not dressed for a place like this." Sue protested.

"Relax. We're getting takeout. I thought we could get a good dinner without either of us having to actually cook." Jack answered.

"And?" Sue urged.

"And… I thought since we've been working so hard on the routines we could just watch a movie and relax." He suggested, hopefully.

"That sounds nice." Sue said.

The pair walked into the restaurant and placed their order. A little while later, they were back at Jack's place. They ate and talked about the competition the following day. After dinner was finished, they walked to the couch and picked a movie on Demand. It wasn't long before they were leaning on each other. Jack placed his arm behind her, and she snuggled into Jack's body. Jack stretched his legs out on the couch, and Sue laid her head on his chest. Jack slowly rubbed her back. She was enjoying the attention. It was soothing, comfortable. She was amazed at how easily they had transformed their friendship into a relationship. It was as if it had already happened, it was just waiting for them to realize it, and move with it. She could feel his breath on the top of her head. She looked up at him. He had his eyes on the television as she watched him. She watched as his jaw muscles twitched. She watched his every movement, his every breath. She watched as he blinked. His dark chocolate brown eyes. Just as she inched up, he noticed her watching him. He smiled. She smiled back, knowing she'd been busted. He turned his body more toward her, wrapping his other arm around her. He trailed a path with his thumb along her cheek and her jaw line. He leaned in for a gentle kiss. She returned the kiss with more vigor than either expected. Jack pulled her tight to his body, increasing the passion in the kiss. Sue moaned into the kiss as she gave into it. Jack's hands explored Sue's body as his mouth explored hers. Their tongues danced in unison. Jack could feel the kiss picking up too much speed, and slowed it some by caressing Sue's jaw and neck. Jack groaned as Sue hit his sensitive spot at the base of his neck, near his collar bone. He leaned back some, enjoying her soft lips on his body. Sue's hands explored his chest, wrapping around to his back. They both knew they needed to slow the kiss. Sue felt she needed to stop, before things got out of hand. Jack was the one to break the kiss.

"I still don't believe 'that's' even possible." Jack said with a sexy smile turning up the edges of his lips. Sue smiled sweetly at him, not saying anything. They lay there in each other's arms for what seemed like hours.

"We need to stay focused, for tomorrow." Sue finally said. "We can't afford to break our concentration on the ice." She said, sounding a bit nervous.

"We'll do great." Jack reassured her.

"I should go… It's late." Sue said looking at the clock and noticing it was after midnight already.

"Stay." Jack whispered.

"What?" Sue asked him, not sure she understood what he said.

"Stay here tonight." He said, looking her in the eye.

"Jack…" Sue began hesitantly.

"I mean just sleep here. You can have my room, I'll sleep out here." Jack said trying to make her more comfortable.

"You can't do that Jack. We should sleep in beds, so we can get a good night's sleep, relax and not wake up feeling like we've been hit by a truck." Sue argued.

"I have a very comfortable blow up mattress in the closet I can use. I'll be just fine." Jack said.

Sue sat up and looked him in the eye. She could see he was sleepy and it probably wasn't a good idea for him to drive her home at that hour.

"OK, but I will sleep on the air mattress." Sue insisted.

"No, you have to do more work than I do tomorrow. You can have the bed, I'll be fine." He said as he got up and headed to the closet for the air mattress. He went into the bedroom and retrieved a pillow and an extra blanket. He began to blow up his bed for the night. He decided to take a quick shower. When he came back, he noticed that the bed hadn't inflated. Sue was walking from the kitchen with a glass of milk.

"Good night Jack." Sue said as she passed him.

"Good night." He answered, obviously distracted.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Apparently, I have a hole in the mattress." He said disgruntled. "GRRR."

"Did you just growl?" Sue asked, with a half smile.

"Sorry. Yes, but at the situation, not you." Jack said with a chuckle.

"Jack, I trust you. We can share your bed." Sue said shyly.

"Thank you, but I don't know that I trust me." Jack said. "I'll just sleep on the couch."

"No. You need REST. Come to bed- in here- now, please." Sue said.

"You have no idea how many times I've thought about you saying those exact words." Jack said flashing his trademark smile in her direction.

"I'm going to bed. Please don't wake me when you finally decide to crawl in next to me." She teased.

"You know. I don't think I can trust you! You're pretty frisky tonight." Jack laughed. Sue turned and walked into his bedroom still sipping milk. Jack grabbed his pillow and blanket and followed her into the bedroom, making sure to give her lots of space between them. He still wasn't convinced he could trust himself.