tiger_lily_5

I watched the show... bad waters to tread. I agree with a lot of the thoughts here, and am also worried about BK. Deep stuff.

How about a fic update to lighten things a bit? Hope everyone is having a good night.


---------------------

Two Samurai, Chapter 3


Santa Monica, CA
June 1989

It was midmorning when the phone rang. Whitney forced her eyes open, knocking over an empty cup in the process of reaching for it.

"Hello?" Her voice was slightly hoarse.

"Good morning, sunshine. Did I wake you?"

She scrambled to a sitting position, realizing who it was. "Yeah, but it's okay. How are you?" Whitney quietly slipped out of bed, tiptoeing down the hallway with the cordless phone to the guest room and closing the door behind her. She didn't want to wake Bobby, who'd been slumbering beside her.

"I'm pretty good. I'd be a lot better if you'd give me a 'yes' today."

"You're persistent." She sat down on the guest bed, then laid back, resting her head on a soft pillow.

"You know you love it."

Whitney grinned. "Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Actually, tonight isn't good," Kevin replied. "How about some brunch right now instead?"

"Oh, umm..."

"Whitney?" Bobby called from down the hall.

She covered the phone with her hand. "Just a minute!" she yelled to him.

"Oh, you aren't alone. Well, rain check then," Kevin said. "Who's the lucky man?"

"It's just... a guy I've seen a few times." She'd already heard her friends and family question her decision to date Bobby; she didn't need to hear it from nearly a total stranger too.

"Alright. Well...we'll talk soon. Promise. I'm not going to let you say no until we've at least chatted in person."

"I can tell." Whitney laughed softly.

The doorknob turned, and Bobby entered the room. "Who are you talking to?"

"Just a minute, we're almost done," she said to him.

"I don't want to get you in trouble... talk soon. Bye, Whitney." Kevin sounded amused.

******************************

August 1989

Clutching the phone in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, Whitney padded out onto her deck barefoot, planning to call Kevin as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful view from her back porch, the sky streaked with pink and orange, behind the silhouettes of the huge trees on her property.

They'd been talking just about every day for nearly two months now, about anything and everything: how they'd each gotten into the business, their successes and failures, their families, their pasts, and their hopes for the future. She'd come to really enjoy and look forward to their conversations. He was so down to earth, not at all what she'd expected him to be when he'd first had Simon start calling her. She dialed his number, which she now knew by heart, and he answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Whitney."

She was taken aback. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, I think I know your routine fairly well by now. Let me guess... you're out on the deck, barefoot, with a bottle of white zin?"

"It's actually blush, and just a glass, not the whole bottle." A grin spread across her face as she laid back on her deck chair.

"So are we talking business or pleasure tonight?"

Whitney raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying we can't have both?" She cringed as soon as the words were spoken, realizing how bad they sounded.

He laughed. "I never said that."

Damn! She placed a hand over her mouth, covering a huge grin.

"So how are things with Bobby?" he asked.

"They're... good." She took a sip of wine.

"That was a hesitant answer. I think you know me well enough by now to tell me the truth."

"No, I mean... things are fine. He just..." She trailed off, setting her glass down on the little round table beside her. "He gets a little bit... angry when he drinks sometimes. We had a fight last night. It's not a big deal... I'm sure we're fine now." She looked down at the row of small bruises on the top of her arm, four of them, where he'd grabbed her.

"Whitney... I know it isn't my business, but I don't like the sound of that."

"It's nothing. I promise." She crossed her ankles at the end of her deck chair, hoping she was right.

******************************

October 1989

"Whitney... do you realize we've been on the phone for three hours and I haven't even told you Happy Halloween yet?"

She laughed. "I really don't mean to take up all of your time."

"You know I love it. Plus I'm home alone tonight anyway. And, you know, if we weren't on the phone, I might be scared...with all the monsters running around and stuff."

"Man! This would have been the perfect time to pull a really good one on you. Show up outside of your window or something, and scare the siht out of you!" She pulled down her covers, crawling into bed and turning out her lamp.

"I somehow think a gorgeous woman showing up outside my house would not, as you put it, 'scare the siht out of me.'" Kevin chuckled. "Been awhile since that's happened."

"Which... being scared, or having a woman outside your house?"

"Well, either one," he replied. "I should have made you tell me that last one was a promise. We're going to have to actually meet sometime, you know? Put these phones down and see if we get along in person?"

"I know." Whitney pulled her knees up to her chest, curling one arm around them. She tried not to put a label on the way she thought about Kevin. She was almost afraid to meet him; afraid she might grow to like him as more than a friend. Afraid she already had. She stretched back out, pulling her quilt tighter around her and suppressing a yawn. "If I fall asleep on you, don't get offended."

"Are you lying down already? It's only, what... oh. 1:37 am." He laughed softly. "And why are you alone again tonight?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

Bobby had gone to a party, one that he'd been very clear he didn't want her to accompany him to. At a strip club. She wasn't about to tell Kevin any of that.

"I don't want to be nosy, Whitney, but I'm always here for you if you need to talk," Kevin said. "I just want you to know that."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." She smiled, closing her eyes. "And hey, why are you alone?"

"Oh... Cindy had some work stuff."

A few seconds of loaded silence passed before she spoke. "Hey Kev?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I leave for tour on Tuesday, and I'll be gone for six months."

"I know. I'm trying not to think about it. How will I fill my time?" He laughed softly, but she could tell he meant his words.

"I have an answer for you. It's only fair." She rolled over onto her side, pressing the phone to her ear and wishing the bed wasn't so cold; wishing for a brief moment that Kevin was there beside her. She shook her head as if to clear the thought.

"An answer about what? The meaning of life? Do tell."

Whitney laughed lightly. "No, but... I want to be your Rachel."

Several seconds of silence passed, and she could hear the soft churning of the washing machine downstairs.

"You mean that? Don't play with me. I thought you'd forgotten about the movie, to be honest."

"Yeah. I mean it. I want to do it. And actually, if you're free tomorrow, I'd love it if you came over for dinner. Bring Simon, and I'll bring Anna, and we can talk about it some more." She buried her face in the pillow, smiling.

"Absolutely! And hey...we're finally going to meet. Do you realize how happy you just made me?"

"I'm glad," she whispered, yawning again.

"Awwwww. You're sleepy. I don't wanna keep you up."

"I can talk a little longer. I'm not tired."

"Liar," he said, smiling.

Neither of them spoke for the next couple of minutes, then Whitney fell asleep, the cordless phone rolling off of her pillow. Kevin finally hung up, just before whispering "Good night, beautiful lady" into the air of his own empty bedroom.