�I can�t believe you did that,� Holly said as she walked into Lance�s living room with a bag of ice. She took his swollen hand in hers and turned it over, inspecting it.
�Ow! Ow! Not so rough,� he whined, jerking his hand away from her.
�I thought you liked it rough,� she teased, winking at him and placing the ice bag gently on his hand. �You big wuss.�
�But I defended your honor,� he pouted, holding his hand against his body.
�You just wanted to show you could kick some ass,� she said, sitting down beside him.
�I did kick his ass, didn�t I?� He grinned, obviously pleased with himself.
�Yeah, you did,� Holly answered, smiling softly at him. �Thank you for that.�
�You�re welcome,� he said softly, caressing the side of her face with his good hand. �Anything for you.�
Holly blushed and lowered her head. The more time she spent with him, the more amazing he became. He tilted her face up to him, gently kissing her. As he broke their kiss, he smiled at her.
�You gonna give it up to me now?�
It took a moment for his dead-panned remark to register with Holly. Her eyes widened in surprise.
�Lance!� She chastised, pushing him away.
�Ow! Ow! Ow!� He howled, falling back against the couch, clutching his injured hand again.
�Oh, Lance,� Holly exclaimed, immediately feeling bad. �I didn�t mean to hurt you.�
�It�s okay,� he sniffed before turning a megawatt smile on her. �They say you always hurt the ones you love.�
�Lance,� she began.
�But I will never hurt you,� he finished.
�I know that. And I�ll never intentionally hurt you, either.�
�Holly,� he said, his voice growing husky.
�Lance, don�t.�
�Don�t what?� He brushed her hair away from her face, wincing slightly at the movement.
She moved her head out of his reach and took his good hand in hers.
�I appreciate what you did tonight. More than you�ll ever know. But that doesn�t mean��
�How do you know what it does or doesn�t mean?�
�Lance.�
�No,� he said, grasping her hand. �You don�t know what it means. For all you know, it could be just the fact he reminded me of someone who used to pick on me in school and it was my way of getting even all these years later.�
Holly giggled, shaking her head. He released her hand and pushed her hair back from her face again, this time letting his fingers run through the long tresses.
�But we both know that�s not what it�s about. Holly, you�re a lady and deserve to be treated as such. That was the least I could do. I actually thought for a moment I could just walk away, but the more I thought about it, he deserved that plus a hell of a lot more.�
�I�m glad you didn�t do more,� she told him.
�Really? Why?�
�Because I wouldn�t couldn�t bail you out of jail until Monday morning.�
Lance chuckled.
�But I wish you�d let me take you to the emergency room just to make sure you didn�t break anything.�
�I�ll be all right,� he insisted, wincing as she lifted the ice pack from his hand. He looked down, making a face. �Who would have thought blue and purple mixed together would make such a disgusting color?�
�Yeah, it�s definitely not you,� she commented.
�Oh, really?� He shot back.
�I�m disappointed,� she told him. �Usually you have better comeback lines than that.�
�Again, I�m hurt, woman. Leave me alone. My superior wit will return when this damned throbbing goes away.�
Holly gingerly raised his hand and placed a soft kiss on it.
�I got something else that throbs and I know if you kissed it, it would feel a hell of a lot better.�
�You�re incorrigible,� she laughed, dropping his hand.
�Ouch!� He yelped as his hand hit his leg. �So, I guess that means no nookie tonight, huh?�
�Uh�.No. Thank you for a wonderful date, Lance.�
�Holly, you can�t leave,� he whined, sticking out his lower lip in an adorable pout. �I�ll be good, I promise.�
She giggled at his attempt at an innocent face.
�The sweet baby face won�t work, babe,� she told him, tweaking his nose. �I know the real you now.�
�Would you like to know me even better?� He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. Getting only laughter in response, he sighed dejectedly. �I guess not. But you could get me something to dull the hurt.�
�Lance, I�m not a science major, but I believe that won�t kill you. You�ll just be uncomfortable until you settle back down.�
�What the hell are you talking about?�
�You being arous� Oh! My!� She exclaimed, blushing furiously.
Lance laid his head back and laughed until his sides hurt.
�That�s not funny!� She insisted, finally laughing along with him.
�Yes�it�.is�� he gasped. �I was talking about something for my hand and for once, you were the one whose mind was in the gutter.�
�Well, you had been saying��
�I know what I had been saying,� he snorted, finally regaining some kind of composure. �Oh, shit. That was good, Holly. I needed that.�
�I�ll get you some damn aspirin or something,� she told him, sticking her tongue out at him as he started laughing again.
�It�s in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom,� he called after between fits of laughter.
A few minutes later, she returned and handed him some Tylenol.
�Thanks,� he said, taking and downing the pills. �Stay with me for a while?�
�Yeah,� she said softly, settling beside him and removing her shoes.
They sat and talked about nothing until early the next morning. Holly was finally able to leave when Lance decided he couldn�t stay awake any longer. She closed his front door behind her and headed cross the courtyard to her own townhouse, her high heeled shoes dangling from her fingers.
~*~
Holly rolled her eyes as she listened to her mother on the other end of the phone. She reached a foot out and rubbed Harold�s head. He meowed happily and flopped down on the floor, rolling on his back for a tummy rub. She grinned at the cat, giving him her full attention and tuning out her mother.
�HOLLY!�
�I�m listening, Mama,� she said, jumping at the sound of her mom�s screeching. �Yes, I was, Mother. No, I am not going to do that. No�.. Because� Mother� Hang on, someone�s at the door�..Why don�t I just call you back later?....No, whoever it is at the door is not a crazed killer.�
If I�m lucky, it will be, she thought, stepping over Harold, her mother still yammering away on the phone. Please be something to get me off the phone with her. She shook her leg, teasing Harold enough for him to reach up and latch on to her sweat pants and be drug across the floor, kicking his back feet against her ankle and biting her pants leg. Opening her front door, she saw Lance standing there, the late afternoon sun shining on him like a spotlight.
�Lance!�
�Holly!� He returned her excited greeting, smiling brightly at her.
�Get in here,� she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. She turned her attention back to the phone. �Mom, I�m going to let you go. I�ve got company�Yes, Lance�.No, I�m not going to ask him�..No, you cannot speak with him�.Because�MOM! I�ll call you later. Love you�.Bye.�
�Aargh!� She screamed in frustration, shaking her leg again, this time to get Harold to turn loose.
�What�s that about?� Lance asked, bending down to extract the cat from her leg.
�My mom. You have one. I�m sure you understand.�
�I guess,� he answered hesitantly. �If I say I don�t, are you going to give yours to me?�
�No,� she laughed, scratching Harold�s ears as Lance held him in his arms. With a mischievous grin, she scratched Lance under his neck.
He laughed with her, swatting her hand away, grimacing as he did so.
�Oh, your hand. I forgot.�
�Yeah, me, too,� he told her, placing the cat on a chair.
�How is it?� She asked, taking it in her own hands as they sat down next to each other on her couch.
�A little better. Remind me next time I want to rescue my fair maiden that I�m a lover, not a fighter.�
Holly grinned, bending her head down. Her hair, uncharacteristically loose, fell forward, covering her face.
�Do you think it�s broken?� She asked, raising her head, tossing her long mane back across her shoulders and tucking one side behind her ear.
�I don�t think so. I can move my fingers, see?� He wiggled his hand carefully to show her.
�Good.�
They sat there in awkward silence for a moment, Holly not sure what to say and Lance trying to come up with a good reason for not just taking her right then and there.
�What?� She asked, feeling self-conscious with him watching her.
�What what?�
�Lance!�
�Oh,� he said, raising an eyebrow slowly at her, lowering his voice intentionally. �I was just thinking.�
He leaned in close to her, running his good hand through her hair, resting it against the back of her head and drawing her close to him.
�Yeah?� She didn�t blink and wasn�t backing away.
�Yeah,� he continued, his eyes giving away his lusty thoughts. �I was thinking of all the things I could do to you right now.�
�But you�re not going to do them,� she teased.
�No?�
�Well, maybe,� she said suggestively.
�Maybe, huh?� He asked, barely brushing his lips against hers, his breath warm against her face.
Holly almost whimpered from his nearness and the feel of his hand caressing his face as the masculine scent of his cologne infiltrated her nose. He kissed her again, this time harder, letting his tongue slowly caress her lips as it made its way into her mouth, only to be met with the tip of her tongue. He began easing her back onto the couch, his injured hand carefully roaming across her stomach.
RINGRING
�I give up,� Lance said, raising off her and throwing his arms up in defeat.
Holly snickered, reaching for the phone. She looked at the Caller ID, swearing softly under her breath.
�Hi, Mom,� she said, forgoing any usual greeting. �No, I haven�t asked him yet�I might ask�.Mom, he just got here�.We were doing other things, Mom�.What?....Oh, we were having wild, hot, sweaty sex up against the wall, knocking down all the pictures�Well, you asked a stupid question�.I am not being fresh�.Yes, Mom, I swear I was just joking�.I�m sorry, I shouldn�t have said anything like that�Okay�I love you too. Bye.�
She pressed the off button, growling at the phone. She looked at Lance out of the corner of her eyes.
�Don�t even say a word,� she warned him, sensing he had been holding back laughter.
�I can�t believe you actually said something like that to her,� he told her, shaking his head.
�I can�t either,� she admitted, grinning wryly. �I�ll have hell to pay later.�
�It�ll be all right,� he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug. He kissed the tip of her nose. �What did she want you to ask me?�
�It�s nothing. I figured you�d be going out of town next weekend, anyway.�
�Not that I�m aware of. What is it?�
�My family didn�t have their usual June cookout on Father�s Day weekend. They want to have it next weekend. My parents are just insistent you come with me. I mean, you don�t have to. Actually, I wouldn�t blame you if you didn�t. They can be a little��
�I�d be honored to,� he interrupted. �Your parents are hilarious.�
�That�s because they�re not your parents, Lance.�
�But you�re my Holly, right? So, of course I�ll go with you.�
�I�m your Holly?� She asked, looking up at him as butterflies swarmed in her stomach.
�Well, yes,� he replied, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. �If you weren�t, I wouldn�t have risked bodily harm to kick Jarvis� ass, now would I?�
Holly laughed and snuggled close into his chest. �No, I guess not. And you know what?�
�What�s that, babe?� He asked, stroking her hair.
�Next time, all the damn phones in the house come off their hooks.�