AN: Hi everyone! Just a quick note. Wanted to let people know that if you only read one chapter with the last update you missed something. Go back and read Homeward Bound or this chapter will not make sense. Or it might...but you might be a bit confused on how I jumped from the lobby of the hotel to Kim's apartment. Just a thought. Hope you like this one!

When there's smoke…

Back to the present

I wasn't thinking about how I was really going to deal with Adam on the way to my place. I was trying to remember what I couldn't. I'm guessing starting with mimosas next to the pool that morning was not a great idea. Well, not if I was trying to pace myself for the day. Night. Whatever. So far, my mind is still drawing a blank, but I can feel that all of it is just barely out of reach. Like the fingertips of my brain are just brushing up against those memories but they can't grab hold. I make my way into my apartment and am parking my suitcase up against the wall when I hear the door shut and Adam throw the lock. I have never felt like my apartment was small till that moment. I turn back to look at Adam and the look on his face freezes me in place. I swear my grip on the handle of my bag is the only thing that is keeping me upright. It isn't lost on me that this is the first time that the two of us are alone since this morning. I can see that fact written all over Adam's face. That mixed with a healthy dose of lust and what I am guessing is possession.

"I think I am going to make some tea. You know. Help my stomach. So we can talk."

Adam begins to walk towards me and for some reason my feet are not cooperating. Tea is really the last thing on my mind. As he gets closer, his eyes soften and that smile of his spreads across his face.

"I thought you were going to make tea."

"I am."

"Doesn't look like it."

I look towards the kitchen and then back towards Adam. In that short period of time, he is now standing in front of me. He places his hand on my right hip and begins to rub his thumb back and forth along my side.

"You know what I've been thinking about the whole way here?"

I shake my head because I really can't speak right now.

"I'm wondering why you chose that saying for your tattoo."

Oh, crap my tattoo. Yeah, the one I got awhile back. The one on my back on the very side that he is now touching. I swallow hard at that statement for a couple reasons. One, his thumb is seriously driving me crazy. Two, that means he remembers seeing the whole tattoo and not just the small black birds above it that can be seen over the edge of my swimsuit.

"What saying?"

That just makes Adam smile more. He steps even closer than he was and unless I want to trip over my suitcase I cannot back up.

"What saying? You are really going to play dumb? Yes, Kim. I remember that. Sometimes when you fall you fly. That's what it says, right?"

He's leaning towards me and I place a hand on his chest to hold him back. It was instinct. Just like the words that came out of my mouth.

"As I recall, I'm not the only one with new ink."

Ok, where did that come from? What am I talking….. Oh! That statement freezes Adam in place and he lightly grips my hip.

"What was that?"

I swallow again and then he is pulling me effortlessly into his arms. Adam's fingers are threading into my hair and I know I am helpless in that moment. Because I remember. I remember in vivid detail what happened in that hotel room. He didn't even have to kiss me to make me remember.

"What new ink?"

He breaths those words right onto the shell of my ear. I grip at the shoulder that I know the tattoo sits on. Or on the blade. The side that I never got a clear view of at the pool.

"Dream…"

I can't get out the rest. It's too much. I try to disengage. I try to pull away, but Adam somehow pulls me closer. He presses his forehead against mine.

"Come on, Kim."

I take a breath.

"Dream like you'll live forever."

Adam nods his forehead against mine and smiles.

"You already knew about that part. Keep going."

I grip at his shoulder again, like it will somehow help me find solid ground. All it really does is pull my body even closer to his. I didn't know that was possible.

"Live as if you'll die today."

I can feel Adam's lips feather across mine.

"Live with me, Kim. You remember."

I shake my head.

"Not everything."

It's a soft kiss against my lips before he pulls back slightly to look at me.

"Does that really matter?"

Not in the slightest. Not in that moment.