Author: Jenny
Disclaimer: I don’t own it.
Pairing: Kyle and Tess (alternating POVs)
Rating: MATURE
Summary: Takes place after A Roswell Christmas Carol, on New Year’s Eve to be exact. (Some of this is adapted from an RPG I used to participate in as Tess. Only the parts that I wrote are included.) This one will be fairly short, only about five parts.
Author's Note: Um, I'm kinda nervous about this one, so please be gentle.
Special dedications:
To Kerri, aka kerri240879, my wonderful and fabulous beta. You rock my socks mate!
To Jen, aka bunniefuu, who played the part of Kyle in the RPG. Obviously, none of her parts are included in this, but without her, I couldn’t have written what I did. So thanks girl! I love ya!
To Paul, aka lostnfound1, who was there to listen to me whine when I was really struggling with a certain part of the RPG, and really helped me put some of Tess’ thoughts into words. You’re amazing, sweetie, I love you and I treasure our friendship!
And to Elvin, aka Yaga, the self-proclaimed King of Lamptrimmer Fanfiction. I hope I do you proud.
Part One ~ Kyle POV
“Kyle…” she whispers breathily into my ear as I run my hang along the smooth expanse of her leg. She has the silkiest skin I’ve ever felt in my life. I swear I could stay here forever, just touching her.
Hands move more urgently and clothes begin to disappear. Things are moving too quickly, and my head tells me that we should slow down. I don’t even know how we got here, and right now, I couldn’t care less.
She moans my name again as our movements become almost frantic. I’ve never needed anything like I need this now – like I need her. “Kyle…” she moans louder.
“Oh, god, Tess…” I moan in return, cascading kisses down her neck and collarbone.
She writhes beneath me as I touch her in the most intimate of places. We’re both panting and I know that it’s too late to turn back now.
“Oh, Kyle!” she says, louder still. “Oh my god…Kyle!”
“KYLE!”
I bolt upright and shield my face as bright light penetrates my eyes. What just happened here? Where am I?
“God, Kyle, wake up! You sleep like the dead.”
Oh geez, I was dreaming. I shake my head to clear the fuzziness, and realize that it’s the object of my desire that has woken me. She’s dressed in a pair of snug blue jeans and a pale purple v-neck sweater that gives me a nice view of her cleavage. I groan and wrap my blanket tighter around me, praying that she won’t notice what kind of dream she just roused me from. Oh god, I hope I wasn’t talking in my sleep.
“Come on, Sleepyhead,” she says, “get up and get dressed. I can’t believe you slept so late. We’re supposed to be meeting everyone at the Crashdown for lunch, remember?”
Oh, that’s right. To make the big New Year’s Eve plans. Insert eye roll here. This has got to be the most overrated night of the year.
I get up and get ready anyway, and soon we’re on our way to the Crashdown. We ride along in comfortable (well, semi-comfortable on my end) silence, and I steal glances at her every few seconds. She’s bopping her head and humming along to the music on the radio. My mind wanders back to the dream I’d been having. It’s not the first dream I’ve had about her, but lately, they’ve been coming more frequently, and they’ve been more…um…explicit.
Ever since Christmas, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. Well, that’s a lie. I thought about her all the time before. I mean, she sleeps in my bed for Christ’s sake. But before, my thoughts were mostly along the lines of, Man, I’d like to get with that. But now, I look at her and think, God, she’s beautiful.
It’s a little disconcerting for a guy who’s never had feelings like this before. Sure, I’ve dated my share of girls, but this is different. Even with Liz, it was just something to do for fun – someone to hang out with on the weekends. But with Tess – I don’t know. I want to talk to her, protect her, be her companion. I want to know everything there is to know about her.
Sometimes I think maybe she feels something for me too, but it’s hard to tell with her. She’s just naturally so guarded, and every time I feel like maybe I’m getting past some of her walls, she’ll crack a joke or insult me. I guess we’re more alike than I ever thought.
When we get to the Crashdown, everyone else is already there. “It’s about time you two got here!” Maria exclaims.
“Blame it on Buddha Boy here,” Tess says, giggling. “He sleeps like a log.”
A waitress comes over to take our orders, and after we have all decided what we want to eat, the planning begins.
“Pam Troy is having a party at her place tonight. We could go to that,” Isabel suggests.
Liz and Maria both roll their eyes. “Ugh, I’d rather gauge out my own eyes,” Maria says with disgust, and everyone at the table laughs.
“There’s the usual hoopla at the soap factory,” Alex says with a shrug, but that suggestion is met with a chorus of snores.
“What about Enigma?” I suddenly ask, and everyone shuts up. I can see an excited spark in Maria’s eye, and I know I’ve gotten her attention.
“What’s Enigma?” Tess asks, the only one of us who didn’t grow up here and hasn’t heard all the crazy stories about the elusive New Year’s party.
“It’s a secret party that’s held in a different location every New Year’s Eve,” Liz explains. “Clues are left all over town, and you go on this sort of scavenger hunt in order to find it. It’s been going on for years. Since our parents were kids. Some people have searched for it for years and never found it.”
“But what if we don’t find it?” Tess asks.
“Then at least we’ll have fun looking, right?” Alex responds.
Maria bounces excitedly in her seat. “Let’s do it!”
“Everyone in?” Max asks, and we all agree. “Great, we’ll meet…” he starts, and I tune him out. I’m not in the mood for Evans and his need to control everything.
I excuse myself from the table, and go to the counter to get a refill on my drink. I realize that Maria has followed me.
She takes my glass and refills it at the soda fountain, giving me a smile. I cock an eyebrow at her. What’s she up to?
“So what’s up with you?” she asks casually. “You’ve been awfully quiet today.”
“Nothing,” I say.
“Oh, come on. I know you better than that.” She sets my glass down in front of me. “Tell Auntie Maria what’s wrong,” she says, propping her chin on her hand.
I can’t help but laugh at her. “It’s nothing, really,” I say again.
“It’s Tess, isn’t it?”
I sputter and almost choke on my drink. She grins. Damn, I’m caught.
“How did you know?”
“I’m perceptive. It’s a gift,” she says with a wave of her hand. “Things getting a little tense in the Valenti homestead?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Why don’t you just ask her out?”
“What?!” What is she doing, reading my mind?!
“Oh, come on, Kyle,” she says with an exasperated sigh. “You two have been doing this dance for months now. It’s so obvious that you’re into each other.”
“It is?” I ask.
“Kyle, trust me, if you ask, she’ll say yes.”
I glance over at Tess, laughing at something Michael just said. Maybe Maria’s right. Maybe we should quit doing this “dance” and go for it.
I look back at Maria, and she winks at me. “What have you got to lose?”
***
After all the arrangements for the evening have been made (I trust that Tess knows the details since I didn’t listen to a word Max was saying), we head back home in silence. I’m replaying my conversation with Maria over in my head, and Tess is again lost in the music.
“Are you okay?” she suddenly asks me.
“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” I say.
“’Cause you’ve been acting weird all day.”
I give her a fleeting look, and she’s looking at me with concern written all over her face. Okay, Valenti, I coach myself, just do it.
“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Okay…” she says with uncertainty.
“I was wondering if…maybe…you and I should go out. Like…on a date.” There, I said it. I hold my breath and wait for her response.
When she doesn’t say anything, I look back over at her, and she’s smiling. That gorgeous, stunning smile that lights up her whole face. Okay, that’s a good sign.
“I’d really like that, Kyle,” she says.
“Really?” I say, hoping my voice doesn’t sound as retarded as I think it does. “Okay, great.” I breathe a sigh of relief.
“When?”
“Uh…” I think quickly. “How about tonight? We could go to dinner at Señor Chow’s before we meet the others.”
“Sounds good,” she says.
“Okay, then, it’s a date.”
“It’s a date,” she repeats, smiling at me.
It’s a date.
