A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing, I really do appreciate it :)

Chapter Eight

Wheeler was right about the others not teasing them and though Gaia had a look in her eyes that suggested she knew what they were up to, she didn't say anything other than offering good wishes to his family. They arranged it so that they would spend Saturday night at the theme bar and then go on to his parents in the morning. Sunday would be spent in Brooklyn and then they would travel home on the Monday.

"Nice room huh?" Wheeler asked as he dropped their luggage beside the bed.

"Da." Linka smiled at him as she closed the door behind them and surveyed the light and spacious area, and the double bed it held. "I might not want to leave."

He grinned and moved back towards her, "We don't have to go down, we could have dinner sent up here."

"But then we would miss the bull riding, and that is what we are here for da?" she leant into him as he slid his arms around her waist.

"What else?" he brought their lips together before she could answer and for several minutes they lost themselves in the kiss. Neither of them had admitted out loud just how much they'd missed each other but it was evident now in every movement and every soft sound.

They finally broke apart and Linka walked towards her bag, blushing and breathless. "I brought a change of clothes, do you need the bathroom?"

"Nope." Wheeler moved back to the bed and sat down. He was already wearing jeans so he just needed to change his shirt to the checked one he'd bought. Whilst costumes were not necessary at the bar, their blurb said that they encouraged people to blend in so the two Planeteers had decided to get into the spirit of the thing.

When Linka disappeared into the ensuite, Wheeler got up and looked out of the window. They were on the outskirts of a small town and he had a good view of the plains beyond. It would be easy to imagine they were back in the old west out there. After a couple of minutes he returned to fish his shirt out of his bag, pulling his t-shirt off and dropping it on the bed.

He was just about to do up the buttons on the shirt when the bathroom door opened and he forgot all about it. Linka looked like the 'girl next door' version of the woman on the front of the flyer he'd found. Her denim shorts were longer, and therefore decent, but just as tight and the tied top that left her mid-drift bare accentuated her breasts, even though she was in no danger of falling out of it. Her long blond hair was tied at her neck in two pig tails and she was posing against the door jam in way that suggested she knew exactly how she looked.

Wheeler swallowed and wished he hadn't gone for jeans that fit quite so well. The look of appreciation she was giving him didn't help either, but when she pushed away from the door and came over to run her hands over his bare chest he pulled her against him, not caring if it made his discomfort worse.

"I take it you approve?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement and he marvelled at the difference in her since their first night away.

"Me and every guy in that bar," he assured her.

She tilted her head up to taste his lips, "I only care what this guy thinks tonight, do not forget that Yankee."

Wheeler kissed her deeply and given the heat between them it was almost a miracle that they made it down to dinner, but they both knew that if they let things go too far they would miss out on the evening they had planned, because there was little chance of them being able to repeat the visit. Even so it took a lot of will power.

The bar was a nice mix of modern and traditional country, clean and well kept but with wooden features that gave it an old world feel. There were tables along one wall set up like private cubicles and more public tables moving out towards the bar and the stage, which had two metal poles set either side of it. The mechanical bull was over the far side in a section you had to go down some steps to get into, presumably keeping it separate for safety purposes. It was still early but there were a few people already having dinner and a band was setting up on the stage. Country music was already playing from the speakers.

The two Planeteers took one of the more private tables where they could watch both the goings on, on the stage and over in the bull pit. "What do you want to drink Beautiful?" Wheeler nodded towards the bar.

"A lemonade please." She smiled at him and made herself comfortable in their chosen seat to watch him walk over to the bar.

He was back in a few moments, "The waitress is going to bring the drinks over and take our orders."

They didn't have to wait long and Linka was surprised to find that Wheeler had ordered a beer. When they were alone again she commented on it. "I do not think I have ever seen you drink anything remotely alcoholic before."

"Does it bother you?" He asked cautiously.

"Of course not." Was her reply, "I was just surprised."

He poured some of the liquid into his glass, "I don't drink enough to get drunk but the occasional beer doesn't hurt." Wheeler looked up and gave her a wry look, "And I wasn't going to order myself a lemonade in a cowboy bar."

She laughed. "If I had known lemonade offended your macho sensibilities I would have told you to get me a vodka."

"Seriously? I don't think I've ever seen you drink either." Wheeler looked surprised.

Linka shifted in her seat, "I have had a glass of champagne when we attend certain functions… but nyet, I do not see the need to drink most of the time. I drink vodka when I am home and it is a special occasion, so I know that it does not affect me much, but other than that…" she shook her head.

"Never been drunk?" he asked.

"Nyet. I was allowed to try my family's drinks at Christmas as a child but never to have my own." She took a sip of her lemonade, "After that, being part of the Planeteers, it never seemed appropriate to drink let alone get drunk and I… I am not sure that I ever trusted anyone enough."

"Even me? I'd never let anything happen to you." He frowned.

Linka smiled and shook her head, "I know you would not let me get hurt Yankee, but you were not the most mature of teenagers. If I was making a fool of myself you would not only have let me, you would have taken the pictures to prove it… I could not have dealt with that."

Wheeler wanted to argue but he figured she had a point, "Maybe."

Her eyes met his, "Besides, you have never been comfortable around people drinking, and I did not need to so why would I?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, for the experience?"

"Have you?" she was curious. "Got drunk I mean?"

"Once." He confessed, "I was at a party with some guys from school and I'd had a belly full of my old man all week… I don't know, I guess I felt like rebelling. Stupid huh?"

Linka smiled, "Da, but that is fairly normal for a teenage boy I think."

He laughed, glad that she was ok with it, "Yeah well, I was sorry in the morning. I know everyone swears off alcohol when they have a hangover but I had a better reason to keep the resolution, and like you said I didn't need to drink. But I like the occasional beer."

Once again they were both struck by how easy it was to talk to each other. Kwame had once commented that the two of them had nothing in common, suggesting that they would therefore have nothing to discuss on a date, but this was the second time they had been alone in a date-like situation and that didn't seem to be a problem. By the time they'd finished their desserts they had lost track of the topic's they'd covered and were laughing good naturedly about some of the things that had happened to them during their time on Hope Island.

Linka shook her head and sat back, "I am still not convinced that that alien game show was not a mass hallucination."

"Yeah, maybe." Her friend replied pointedly, "But the question is, did you hallucinate kissing me? Cos you always swore you didn't but based on what the others remember it was one shared dream and I think we had total control over our actions, so real or not, it still had to be you doing it."

The Russian laughed, blushing a little, "You know very well I did, I just could not cope with the teasing. I never knew how to deal with my attraction to you or being on display. It was easier to deny it."

"I guess you know how to deal with it now." Wheeler grinned.

"You mean just give in to it? Da, that appears to be working." They both laughed.

The American nodded towards the other side of the room where the first patron was taking his turn on the bull, "Ready to ride?"

She rolled her eyes, "I will let you go first."

He chuckled and stood up, holding his hand out to her and smiling wider when she took it.

"Yankee are you ok?" Linka knelt over him as he lay on his back, so that from his perspective she was upside down. Fortunately the floor had mats down to help those that were thrown as her friend had been.

"I'm fine Babe," Wheeler laughed, scrambling to his feet and pulling her with him out of the way of the next contestant. "It was wild! I have to do it again!"

The lovely Russian laughed and shook her head, not complaining about the way he put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Normally she would have assumed that it was because he wanted the guys lining up for the ride to know she was taken, but for once it felt like an unconscious gesture and perfectly natural.

A friendly rivalry started up amongst the guys as they took turns trying to stay on the mechanical beast, and the bar's employee, who was running it and making sure it stayed friendly, started noting down times. After a few drinks it seemed that they all knew each other's names and were calling encouragement for each other as much as their own friends. It was about this time that Wheeler reminded his companion that she'd intended to try it.

"I would not want to get in the way of your competition." She teased, but immediately found that all of the other participants were eager for her to take a turn. "Okay, okay, if you insist."

Linka rolled her eyes and walked over to the 'bull'. Waving aside offers of help she vaulted herself into place like a gymnast and followed the safety instructions she was given.

Underestimating the movements of the mechanical animal, despite what she had already seen, the lovely Russian was thrown almost as soon as the beast started up. Wheeler rushed to her side but a she assured him she was fine, her pride having been hurt more than anything else.

"I will try again, I know what I did incorrectly but I was unprepared for the actual momentum." She said determinedly and ignored the bruises she'd received to once more put herself in the saddle.

This time the stubborn young woman kept her seat as she applied the observations she'd made as the others took their turns, to her own performance. When the beast finally shook her loose she lay on her back laughing, her eyes bright with excitement. Wheeler held his hands down to her and pulled her to her feet, and into his arms, hugging her tightly. "That was amazing, you beat the best time by a mile and Blake's been doing this for years!"

The guys around them were cheering and waiting to congratulate her. "Spasiba… it felt amazing." She told them, and added to Wheeler, "I understand why you wanted to do it now."

Blake stepped forward and placed his hat on Linka's head, "For the new champion. Though I swear I'll beat your score before the night is out."

Laughing, Linka thanked him but snuggled back into Wheeler's arms, glad he wasn't showing any signs of jealously. "You can try."

To be continued...