I finished this latest installment of the strange FF story. I hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading and your feedback!

Matt blinked his eyes as the two of them stood alone on the island. Shock defined his features at what his best friend had just told him. C.J. stood there, her hair settling softly on her shoulders and her mouth twitching upward into a smile as she read his expression. But his surprise soon faded when her beauty caught his attention instead and he suddenly wanted to kiss that mouth.

"Cat got your tongue Houston?"

He looked at her as she folded her arms and stared back at him awaiting an answer. But he didn't have one immediately. How could he, after the bombshell she had just dropped on him? Here they had been enjoying their fried fish dinner one moment, then the next… His mind still had trouble wrapping his mind about what she had proposed though his body didn't. Because after all, from her long, supple legs conditioned by spending a lot of time on horseback and out working on the ranch, to that lovely face, what man could pass that up and he was as red-blooded as the rest of them.

Still…he wondered if she had been pulling his leg…He thought about looking around for someone to jump out and surprise them with a camera but he knew they were alone.

"You just told me…"

"I know I did," she said, "Don't look at me like I'm crazy."

He smiled back at her, his eyes lighting up and warming her insides, causing them to tingle in ways that they had during a moment of weakness when she stopped keeping count of why she shouldn't be crossing this line with him. He sucked in some much needed air.

"That's not why I'm looking…"

She tilted her head at him, studying his face as he looked at her.

"Why are you then?"

He took one step closer and she held her ground.

"Because a beautiful lady just propositioned me," he said.

She snorted and her face lightened.

"Like that never happens to you Houston," she said, "It hasn't even been a week since that last happened."

He coughed.

"Did I accept any of those offers," he asked.

She shook her head. Because after all, he hadn't been nearly as…active with the ladies as his reputation had mandated that he be back in Wild Fork. Yet he didn't seem bothered by that, though she could see that what she said had stirred a reaction in him. But she was curious about a few things.

"Why didn't you?'

"I'm not spending my final week before heading off to basic with them," Matt said, "I'm spending it with you."

She ran her hand through her hair, and considered that. Of course, what came to mind naturally was that he had been spending it with her as a friend, in ways they had spent other trips they had taken together. Not that there had been that many, mainly because they were usually so busy and their circles ran differently.

"It's been a great week and I've loved just taking off with you and not thinking so much where to go" she said, "It's just been missing something."

Now that she had dropped her invite in his court, she felt unsure how to proceed. She just studied his face to see if it would betray anything he didn't want her to see but he remained focused on her and what she saw there, she liked.

Matt heard her words, weighed his own carefully because he felt like he were suddenly in a minefield. His friends would laugh at him if they knew what ran in his head. The great stud of South-western Texas at a loss for words in the presence of an attractive woman. But she was more than that to him, not that his friends understood that either except maybe his cousin, Will. To most of the men of Wild Fork, women weren't in the same category as men but were there for men to enjoy when they were being waited on by them. But since C.J. herself worked on a ranch from sunup to sundown as hard as any man and alongside them, she broke some of those rules. And so did he, not that he gave a damn what anyone else thought.

Until he started breaking his own rules as the words slipped out of his mouth.

"I've had a great time too," he said, "But are you sure this is what you really want?"

Oh, she frowned at him then and he knew why. He had just insulted her and he knew she would never let him get away with it.

"Okay just forget it," she said, "Forget what I said."

She started to step away from him and he felt the distance coming between them that was more than just physical.

He grabbed her arm gently and she turned to face him and he said the obvious.

"It's a little late for that now, don't you think?"

She bit her lip but the stubborn glint in her eyes still remained.

"It's never too late for anything," she said, softening a bit, "Well most anything and I don't want us to leave each other for a long time without knowing what it's like…"

He tilted his head to look at her as she stood there, emotions swirling on her face in ways that he didn't usually see. She shifted her body weight and stared back at him. He wondered if her heart had started to beat faster too at the possibilities that crossed the mind.

"What it's like…," he prompted.

"To be close to you," she said, stepping forward towards him, "to do this…"

And just like that his friend disappeared for a moment, the girl who had grown into a woman when he hadn't been watching. The woman whose hands were as deeply callused as his own, her heart just as heavily guarded. In her place, was the fully grown woman with a figure that he knew would mold nicely against his own even before it did and who he knew could really kiss even before her lips brushed his own. In that split second, a wave of emotion hit him that he knew as foreign, in a way both exhilarating but more than a little unnerving. Matt prided himself on being in charge of his emotions and in his relationships with the women that he attracted but he lost the reins too quickly to pick them up again.

And for the first time in his life, he didn't want to be in control. Her lips were soft, pliant like rose petals but he knew he was being kissed by a woman who knew exactly what she was doing and what she wanted. Her mouth became more insistent, probing his own and he responded, wrapping his arms around her, drawing her close. In a second, she was going to know how much his body wanted her there but as for him…

"C.J…."

Then he lost his breath again as she continued her assault on his emotions even as she stroked his back with her hands, his muscles twitching beneath her touch. He ran his hands through her soft hair which rested on her shoulders and she responded by deepening her kiss. And that's when he knew he was lost, not wanting in the least to be found.

Finally she broke for air though she still tried to catch her breath while he struggled to do the same.

"How was that," she asked softly.

Words were lost to him, his mind had failed to grasp onto any rationale and any that it did find, slipped away just as quickly.

"That was…."

She chuckled at him, her eyes full of merriment.

"Nothing more from the Casanova of cowboys," she asked.

He sighed, but not painfully.

"C.J…I am not the player that you seem to think I am," he started.

She just smiled, the laughter still on her face.

"Oh yes you are Houston," she said, "But I don't care right now."

"I…neither do I."

Taking a deep breath, she just looked into his eyes.

"Look I'm not asking you for something serious, an engagement or even for you to wait for me in the military," she said, "I'm a realist Houston, I just want us to share something memorable with you that we both can take with us."

"C.J…you're sounding so matter of fact about this," he pointed out.

She shrugged.

"We're both adults, we're both single and free and what we do here far away from home can just stay here," she said, "If it helps, just pretend I'm another girl for a little while."

His expression changed then and she couldn't read everything that appeared but she saw one emotion that she did know very well. Reaching out to stroke a tendril of her hair, his skin brushing her cheek.

"I can't do that…not with you," he said, "and I'm not going to do that. I can't do that."

She nodded at his words, thinking the issue had been settled.

"Okay then, like I said…"

Then he pulled her close to him again, their bodies pressed together, their heat intermingling and he kissed her this time. The electricity which rose between them…well it knocked them both through a loop. Her hands went beneath his shirt to touch bare skin, her hands cool against his warm torso. His lips moved a path down her neck.

"Houston…" she said finally.

He stopped and looked at her, his heart pounding beneath her hands which still touched him and she tried to catch her breath.

"Are you sure," he asked her.

She nodded.

"I've given this a lot of thought in the past few weeks," she said, "And don't worry about protecting me because I've taken care of that too."

His eyes widened. Damn she had been doing a lot of thinking while they had been working together with him none the wiser. Just when you really thought you knew someone even better than yourself…well they could still shock the pants of you. He smiled at that choice of words and she returned it, which just jolted him further.

Now that this had been settled, she looked at him expectantly.

"So what do you think cowboy," she said, "Want to go for a ride?"

Ouch, her come on lines were worse than his own, she thought but she didn't want to stand here when there were better things for them to do.

He looked at her for a long time, taking it all in, her lips which still bore the mark of his kiss and her flushed skin that he wanted to touch so much he ached. Instead of answering her with words, he just reached for her hand and held it in his own.

"Come on," he said, "Let's head back to the cabin…"

When they came together once they made it back to the cabin, everything rushed past them and around them, as they fought to keep afloat in the current that had grabbed hold of them. As soon as the door opened and they moved into darkness, he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into the bedroom. They kissed hungrily as they unwrapped each other, slowly at first but when their skin first touched, much more quickly as if they couldn't wait long enough, as if they'd already waited forever. He touched the body that he had admired from afar before he tasted it and she ran her hands over him, not quite believing he really stood in front of her. They wrapped themselves in each other as he pushed her gently on the bed and joined her, never feeling so alive in his life.

"Houston…"

She looked up at him, her hair damp and her mouth, warm from his kisses and he stroked her face gently, his eyes never leaving hers. He knew her question without her asking and in his own way, he answered.

"I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere," he whispered as they joined their bodies and at that moment, she knew their hearts had come together as well, beating as one. And she just held on as did he, while they did what came naturally.

He held her close to him afterward as their bodies still remained intertwined in the tangled sheets and the darkness still surrounding them. A trail of moonlight flowed into the bedroom, spotlighting them. She stroked the hairs on his chest as she listened to his heartbeat which was just beginning to return to normal.

Now that they had made love, she didn't know what to do. In her experience, men loved and then they left. Her father had died when she had been a little girl, leaving her with an uncle who viewed her not as his flesh and blood but as just another hand on the ranch. Dylan had dumped her not long after she had let him in her bed and the others…they hadn't lasted long either. And now looking at Matt, who still remained next to her, she wondered what came next for them. He would be leaving to go to basic training in a matter of days, she to law school and soon enough, they would be thousands of miles apart without her even knowing where he'd be assigned. She remembered that she had set the rules and knew she had to follow them.

Their lives which had been spent together now diverged into completely different directions. She would probably meet new people as would he and life would move along for both of them. Matt had met many women, had bedded quite a few too and had moved onto the next without looking back. His life in the military would only encourage that especially if he moved around a lot. She felt him move next to her, his hands caressing her hip.

"What are you thinking about," he asked.

She put a smile on her face and propped up looking at him.

"Nothing really…just how nice it's to be here with you," she said, "and that I want to enjoy it for as long as I can."

He remained silent and she wondered if she had said too much.

"Look Houston," she started again, "I know this is just for the here and now. I set the parameters myself and when we get back to Wild Fork, it will be like…"

"This never happened," he finished for her.

She looked at him conflicted after hearing something in his voice which sounded like reproach.

"No, not like that," she said, "I offered myself and you gave me more than I could hope for…and I'll understand if you feel like we should chalk this up to being a nice memory for both of us to look back on."

He stopped her with a quick kiss, the promise of what it would bring remaining on her lips.

"We can't do that C.J.," he said, "Because you've given me your…going away present, and I still haven't given you mine…"

She smiled at him.

"Oh really," she said, "and what would that be?"

He lay on his back, keeping her close to him.

"That we remain right where we are until it's time to head back," he said, "We've seen plenty of sights out there and I'd like to see some in here."

She shook her head.

"Houston, I was actually hoping to go hiking up to that water fall you used to visit with your father," she said.

And he remembered what he had told her earlier, and he knew she had accepted his own gift. He nodded slowly.

"Okay, we'll go…hiking up there," he said, "Pack up a lunch and a blanket and have ourselves a nice time together."

She could only imagine what he meant by that and his expression, well it spoke volumes. Whatever waited for them in Wild Fork and when they left it behind them…could just wait. The most important part of her life now was right here; holding her while his hands invoked all sorts of nice sensations in her.

When they drove back to Wild Fork a couple of days later, ready to face what lay ahead for both of them, she carried the emotions of everything they had shared together inside of her and she sensed in his own way, he did the same. Thinking back, she remembered the first time she had turned the bend after a couple hours of hiking up a series of switch backs and across several meadows and saw the water falls for the first time. When she watched the icy blue waters cascading down into the pools beneath them, she envisioned a much younger Matt splashing in the pools while his father looked on, enjoying a rare moment away from his own busy life with his only son. A most special place, to have briefly brought the two very different men separated by much more than a generation, together. And at that moment, she felt closer to him then, even before he lead her to a secluded spot beneath the cascading water. Even when he kissed her, after telling her some old legend about how if two people kissed beneath the magical waters that they would forever be united. She had laughed at him, believing that he had come up with it on the spot just hoping to get lucky and of course, played along with him.

Still, when she joined him behind the falls, she felt like the lucky one as time stood still around them and everything receded into the background except the sound of water hitting the rocks and their own rhythm.

As they headed back to the ranch to prepare for their lives ahead, events began to unfold in various corners of the world that would change the path it and they took forever. As they and others enjoyed the final weekend of the summer, they had no idea of what lie ahead in September 2001.