tiger_lily_5

Hey girls! Still working on this, lol.

When we last left our lovebirds, they had just, *ahem* 'been together' at Whitney's house.

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Two Samurai, Chapter 9

Las Vegas, NV
March 1991


Whitney had been on the road for over a month by the night of her Las Vegas show, and still had about two more months of touring to go, with few breaks. She and Kevin had been talking more nights than not, but their conversations were often cut short by an obligation that one or both of them had to go take care of; work for her, and either work or family for him. Still, she was talking to him much more than she was talking to Bobby, who seemed like he couldn't care less where she was, or make much of an effort to check in with her. When they did make contact, she always ended the conversation feeling like she was keeping him from a party; like a parent checking up on their teenager.

Standing on the balcony of her suite after the show, she took a long drink, staring out at the lights of the strip. Her evening routine of wine out on the patio, no matter what city, was just about the same on the road as it was at home -- only she found herself missing Kevin much more, knowing he wasn't even in the same state as her.

A muffled ring cut through the nighttime city noise, and Whitney set her goblet down to dig through her purse, finally locating her cell phone after five or six rings.

"Hello?" she said quickly.

"Hey, Vegas girl." Exactly the voice she'd been hoping to hear.

Whitney closed her eyes, smiling reflexively. She loved when Kevin kept up with her tour schedule. "Hi there. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good. A little tired. Travel always does that to me."

"I know that's right. Wait...what travel? Are you on location this week?"

"Yeah, in a way." An elevator dinged on his end of the line.

"I'm sorry, Kev. I must have forgotten. Here you are, keeping up with me every night, and I can't even remember your one trip. Some girlfriend I am." She froze after that last part; they hadn't really gotten into labels for their relationship, and she wished she hadn't said it. What other word is there to use, though? Mistress? That sounds so...cheap. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to say 'girlfriend.'"

Kevin laughed softly, and was breathing heavier as though he was walking fast while talking to her. "No, it's cool. I think we're a little deeper than 'boyfriend and girlfriend' though, but hey... whatever works." Whitney could hear an amused smile in his voice. "So, Whit...how are things?"

"Pretty good. Tour's been smooth," she said. "I miss you a lot, though. I don't mean to get all sentimental, but it's the truth."

"I miss you too, beautiful. More than you know."

Her heart did a little flip-flop in her chest, but she didn't speak.

"Wouldn't it be crazy if I came to Vegas though? We'd have so much fun," Kevin continued.

"Oh my God, I know! Do you gamble at all? I'm bad at just about everything, but I have fun doing it. And there's fabulous restaurants here... I'm gonna hit at least one tomorrow, since we have the day off. And geez, Kev... I wish you could see this view. It's incredible. I'm looking down over everything." She pressed the phone to her shoulder, using both hands to pick up her glass and finish off the wine.

"Okay, I was gonna mess with you a little more, but I can't stand it. Come let me in."

Whitney froze. "What?"

"Your door. Come open it."

With shaky hands, she sat down her phone and empty goblet, then ran inside and through the suite to the hallway door, throwing it open. Kevin stood just outside of it, a dozen roses in one hand and a guitar case in the other.

"Hi." He smiled shyly at her. "Ummm... surprise?"

He hadn't even finished the last word when she took a step out into the hall and threw her arms around him. He lifted her up slightly off the ground, hugging her back tightly, then stepping into the room with her still in his arms -- not an easy feat with everything else he was carrying. He closed the door behind them with his foot.

"I can't believe it," she whispered after the hug finally ended. "Best surprise ever!"

Kevin sat the guitar and flowers on the bed, then pulled her in for a long, slow kiss. Whitney smiled, feeling complete and happier than she had in weeks.

She tugged gently at his hand. "Here, come see this view I was telling you about!"

They moved out to the balcony, Kevin taking the amazing sights in. She poured him a glass of wine and they sat outside and talked for about an hour, catching up on everything they hadn't had time for on the phone. He'd started filming on Robin Hood, and she told him a few funny travel anecdotes along with some not-so-funny ones, like when her bus broke down in the middle of a bad Detroit neighborhood.

"...and I swear I thought we were going to get shot, right there in cold-ass Michigan!" A soft breeze rustled her hair as she finished the story, then stood up, walking up to the railing.

Kevin grinned, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "Well, obviously, I'm glad you didn't... cause then I couldn't do this." He kissed her on the cheek, then softly down her neck. She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of his touch. They eventually went back inside the room, making love on the big bed. Their night couldn't have been any more perfect.

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The next morning, Whitney woke up in his arms. It was such a nice feeling. She took a deep breath, then let it out. The room was chilly; they'd slept with the balcony door open. She hopped up quickly to close it. As she was heading back toward Kevin, he stirred, rolling to face her.

"God, Whitney, you'd better put some clothes on if you want to do anything today that doesn't involve this bed." He grabbed her bare waist with one arm as she sat down beside him. "Or, you know... it doesn't have to involve the bed. I mean, there's the balcony, and the shower..." Kevin trailed off, a smug grin on his face.

She hit him playfully. "You're bad, you know that?"

"I see nothing bad about this whatsoever, actually." He pulled her back down so that she was lying on top of him, kissing her deeply.

An hour and a half later, they were finally showered and dressed. Whitney's curiosity got the best of her as she finally opened his guitar case.

"Is this just for show or what?" she said with a joking smile.

"No... you had asked me about it at my house before. I thought I'd play something for you."

"Really? Okay!" She was genuinely surprised and excited.

They both perched on the bed, the room bright with sunshine, and Kevin proceeded to take a ridiculously long time tuning the acoustic instrument.

"Come onnnnnn," Whitney urged. "Stop stalling! I wanna hear it."

"Okay, okay." He sounded flustered and nervous. "It's not much, and I didn't write it, but here goes."

He launched into a slow cover of Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl." Whitney was surprised at how good his voice was, and he was a pretty decent guitar player too. She smiled brightly, lowering her head as he changed a couple of the lyrics, obviously meaning them to be about her.

Mid-song, there was a loud tap at the door. Kevin stopped playing, and Whitney's eyes got wide.

"Who is it?" she yelled.

"Anna."

"Siht," Whitney whispered.

"You haven't told her?" Kevin replied.

"I haven't told anyone. I didn't know if it was... if it was okay or not. I don't want to get you in trouble." Whitney stood up, smoothing out her pants.

"Well obviously neither of us want it all over NBC Nightly News, but I think Anna should know. We can't hide it from her forever." He sounded so matter-of-fact about the whole thing; much more relaxed than she was.

Whitney threw him a nervous look as she headed toward the door, letting her assistant in. Anna stopped quickly as soon as she saw Kevin, his guitar still in playing position on his lap. Whitney saw Anna's eyes move to the various pieces of clothing still strewn about the floor.

"Oh... Kevin. Hi. Well, this is a real surprise. I didn't know you guys had a... did you have a meeting about the movie project?" She looked from him to Whitney and back again, then glanced down at her watch, seeming to note how early it was. It was obvious that she'd pieced together the real situation very quickly. A look of confusion played across her face as there was a simultaneous "no" from Kevin and "yes" from Whitney.

"No, Whit, it's okay." Kevin smiled sweetly before turning to face the assistant. "Whitney and I are, umm... well, we've been seeing each other. Although I guess technically this is only the second time we've 'seen' each other."

"Third," Whitney whispered to herself, inaudibly. Then, aloud, "Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, Anna. I haven't told anybody at all... it wasn't personal."

"Well I can certainly see why not, seeing as though he's married, and you're seriously involved with someone." Her voice was chiding, parentlike. "You don't have to worry about me spilling, but Whitney, I think you need to seriously question this decision."

"No, Anna, it's not like that," Kevin said softly. "I promise you. I really..." He paused to take a breath. "I really care about her. A lot."

Whitney idly chewed on a fingernail, not looking at either of them. Siht. They hadn't really discussed their feelings yet, either. I think I'm falling in love with him. This is bad, she thought. This is really bad.

Anna's demeanor seemed to soften a little with his words. She sank down into a cushioned chair beside the TV, crossing her legs. "I just don't want her to get hurt. That's all."

Kevin looked her right in the eye. "You have my solemn promise that I will never hurt her."

Whitney looked up at her assistant, and could tell the woman still had questions. "Kev, can I have just a couple of minutes with Anna alone? I'm sorry. I'll meet you down in the lobby in just a few."

"Sure." He placed his guitar back in its case on the bed, fastening the locks, then walked over and gave Whitney a quick, sweet kiss on the lips.

"Nice seeing you again, Anna. And thanks for your understanding," he said, shaking her hand before leaving the room.