tiger_lily_5

This one's to Raven03... her Frachel fic about the dressing room inspired parts of this continuing saga, and to KSF for cracking me up with that body comment!! Ha ha ha ha ha. Enjoy!


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Gun Shy, Chapter 3

Santa Monica, CA
March 1992

Still on the horse, Whitney listened to the soft sound of the ocean as she leaned in closer to Kevin. She planted several soft kisses down his jawline and neck, moving her hands down his stomach. Closing his eyes, he tried to lean back to really kiss her, but couldn't manage it without losing his balance. He laughed quietly, scooting forward in the saddle and looking down the beach in both directions. It wasn't crowded, but there were still a few people out; too many for them to do what they both obviously had in mind.

"Ready to go back?" he whispered.

"Yeah."

She held on to him tightly as they rode back to the stable, listening to the rhythmic pounding of hooves on sand and loving the feel of being pressed up against him. It was simple, sweet things like this that she missed about being in a relationship, and she silently hoped that being with Kevin would turn into more than a one-night affair brought on by her own flirting. It seemed to have already turned into a little more than that. She felt the cool wind rustling her hair as Moira started up the small hill to the stalls.

Kevin brought the horse to a stop and dismounted expertly, looking up at Whitney. She brought her leg around, and he reached up, placing his hands under her arms and lifting her gently down. He held her just above the ground, pulling her into a long, deep kiss before setting her all the way down. She was breathless as the kiss ended, unable to remember a time when she wanted anything as badly as she wanted him right now.

"I'll hurry," he promised, obviously sharing Whitney's thoughts as he quickly took the saddle and reins off of the horse, placing her back in her stall with a loving pat.

"Come on." He grabbed Whitney's hand tightly, leading her quickly through the building and back outside to the front. He took out his keys, fumbling through them with shaky hands. They made a loud clink as they fell to the ground.

Whitney laughed loudly. "Somebody's a little anxious."

Kevin shot her a loaded glance before bending down to retrieve the keys. "Hey, now! Let's not forget who came onto whom in this relationship." He stifled a smile, finally getting the door locked. She casually slipped her arm into his as they walked to his car, quieting a little voice in her head that was telling her not to get used to this.

They drove back to the photography studio in restless silence, watching the early spring evening pass by around them. When they reached her car, there was an awkward silence as neither one of them made a move to get out of his. Kevin couldn't even bring himself to make eye contact with her.

"So is your place close, or...?" He cracked one of his knuckles. "Because mine's about 45 minutes away. And I really don't know if I can make it." He chuckled, still avoiding her gaze.

Whitney raised her eyebrows, suddenly deciding to torture him for a little longer. "Wait... are you inviting yourself over to my house after our first date, Mr. Costner? What kind of girl do you think I am?" She stared at him seductively, pushing her dark hair behind her ear.

He looked at her heatedly before responding with a sarcastic smile. "That's cute, coming from the same girl who wanted to rehearse love scenes after the movie was done filming. Come on, chop chop, I wouldn't want to waste any more of your time."

Whitney got into her own car, shaking her head as her own earlier words were thrown back into her face. As she drove the short distance to her house, him following behind, her mind replayed the evening. It had all been so easy and comfortable with him, and that feeling was new to her. She'd always preferred her own company to that of others. She had gone on very few dates since becoming a star, and even those had been a few years back. One short-term relationship that hadn't ended well, then a couple of one-nighters after that; the latter only to try to show the ex that she'd moved on. Lord knows he already had.

They both pulled into Whitney's long driveway, and he followed her around to the back of her house before they got out of their cars. She unlocked her door and they stepped into the kitchen, dim light coming through the large windows from outside. A few seconds went by before they met each other's eyes in the near-dark.

"Hey," she whispered with a sweet smile. "If you're-- "

"Shhh." He grabbed her, pulling her in tightly and crushing his mouth down onto hers. It caught her by surprise and she heard a soft whimper come out of her own mouth as his warm hands moved up her back. It felt like absolute heaven, but she eventually pushed him gently back to stop the kiss.

"What's wrong?" His breath came out in ragged gasps, and he made no effort to loosen his hold on her. "God, please don't tell me you changed your mind? I don't think there's enough cold water in the world." He managed a small laugh.

"No, it's not that." She looked up at him. For the first time after all her months of trying, she could see nothing but pure desire in his eyes, which she returned with a practiced heated look of her own. "I was just going to show you to the... bed." She shied away from the last word, suddenly a little self-conscious. She hadn't done this in a long, long time.

Kevin guided her gently backward a few steps. She felt the edge of the counter press into her lower back before he kissed her again, leaving her lightheaded and dizzy. He kissed down her neck and back up, finally hovering his lips over her ear.

"I don't know where your bed is, but it's too far away," he whispered.

In one swift move, he put his hands around her waist, lifting her up until she was sitting on the marble counter, then stepping up to her and kissing her again as she wrapped her legs around him. They made love on her kitchen counter, soft moonlight streaming through the window. Whitney had never been so thankful to not have neighbors.

It was incredible with him, yet somehow a little frightening at the same time. At some point after her breakup, she had gotten good at distancing sex from emotion, and having both at the same time was almost too much for her to handle. Afterward, he held her close as they tried to catch their breath, before carrying her upstairs to her soft bed where they both fell asleep quickly.

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"Have you ever been in love?"

She flipped through her stack of papers, eyebrows drawn in confusion. "I... what page are you on? I don't see that line."

"I'm not asking Rachel, I'm asking Whitney." Kevin set his own script down in his lap, looking at her intently.

Her eyes darted around for a second before answering. "Well, I thought I was once, but..." He continued to look at her, making her suddenly nervous. "Why do you ask? And what about you... have you?"

"I have, yes." A simple answer, and he didn't elaborate on it. "And I was going to try to give you some backstory to the way I -- well, the way Frank was about to deliver the next few lines about his ex. He's going to get a little distant for a second, but make sure you stay present. Keep your eyes on me."

"Okay. I can do that." Whitney smiled, looking back at her script, relieved that he wasn't going to pry further.

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Stretching and yawning in the sunlight, Whitney awoke from a deep sleep, feeling a faint soreness in muscles she'd forgotten she had. Rolling over, she found that the other side of the bed was empty and cold. She put on her slippers, then remembering that she may still have company, threw on a red robe. Last night had really thrown her for a loop, but she felt like she needed to talk to Kevin about it; to let him know that she needed this to be more than a one night stand.

She padded downstairs, relieved to find him in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and reading the newspaper. He was dressed in his clothes from the night before, but was showered and seemed to have been up for a while. The smell of strong coffee enticed her as she walked in.

"Good morning," he said, sounding chipper. "I didn't want to wake you." His eyes lingered on her for several seconds before going back to the paper, and she felt a flicker of insecurity about her smeared makeup and disheveled hair.

"Thanks. I was tired," she replied with a smirk, making a beeline for the coffee pot. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Oh, yeah." He smiled, his eyes still fixed on the newspaper. "Having a bed not made of cardboard was amazing."

She grinned, thinking of the terrible trailer beds while pouring herself some coffee and topping his mug off. He flopped the newspaper down on the counter in front of her.

"Check it out, we made the entertainment section."

Whitney glanced down at the page, seeing a blurb about the film wrapping yesterday, with a grainy shot of them together.

"Oh, nice." She smiled, taking a sip of coffee and a deep breath. "Listen, Kev, I... " She trailed off, staring out the window, suddenly nervous to have such a serious conversation with him so quickly.

"What? Tell me. I gave up a long time ago on trying to read women's minds." He set the newspaper down.

She took a deep breath. "Well, at first, you know with us, I thought it was just this innocent attraction. So I thought it might be fun to pursue it, but you shot that down."

"Only because we were working! Not because I wasn't interested. I don't think I could have possibly proven that to you any more clearly last night." He grinned, eyes moving to the counter behind him.

"Right, but I didn't want it to be a big deal, you know? But then you planned out that dinner, and you were so sweet last night, and I just don't want..." She stopped talking again, reaching into a drawer for a spoon.

"Tell me." He looked at her with a serious expression.

"I just don't want it to-- "

She was interrupted by a quiet knock on the door. Crossing the bright kitchen quickly, she opened the door to let her mother in.

"Whitney, did you see the paper? It mentioned the movie and-- "

Cissy stopped talking immediately when she saw Kevin. She looked slowly from him to Whitney, still in her robe, and back again.

"Well, good morning, Kevin. It's nice to meet you, in my daughter's kitchen... at 9:00 on a Saturday." She stuck her hand out to shake his, before looking back at Whitney with an amused expression.

Whitney turned away from both of them, her face hot. "Mom... this is not what it looks like."

"Honey, you're a grown woman. I'm not here to judge your personal life." She paused, looking back at Kevin with a smile. "Besides, I'm pretty sure this is exactly what it looks like. I can tell when two people had a good-- "

"Mom, stop."

Kevin licked his lips before trying to hide an embarrassed smile behind his coffee mug. He set the drink down. "I actually was just on my way out. Whitney, I... will see you later. Cissy, it was a pleasure."

"I'm sure it was." Cissy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Mom!" Whitney yelled, mortified.

Kevin slipped out without saying another word, shaking his head and laughing heartily all the way to his car.