Ok... now it was starting to sound as though Lily didn't think of... being physical... as anything special. Jacen had been involved in quick flings that were purely about satisfaction with no strings attached and if Lily was offering well... as a red blooded man he would just have to accept.

Tipping his glass up Jacen drained the last of his alcohol, his mind made up completely. "Well then... if you're comfortable with it, I've got no problems. And I like long showers myself so there's an extra large hot water tank here. Take all the time you need."

Quickly slipping out of his shoes and socks he left them by his racket bag and quietly padded after the young woman as she made her way to check out the bathroom. It was essentially a very neutral looking room. The walls were a soft doe skin tan/brown with white towels hanging on their apropriate towel rods. The floor was tiled in a dark, chocolate brown linolium tile that was still in good condition. Hanging over the toilet was the only picture in the room... a painting of a large Alaskan mountain in the back ground with trees, a beautiful stream, and a deer drinking from the stream in the foreground.

For Lily however, the most important item in this small room must have been the bath tub. The bathtub itself was slightly larger than average, meaning that two people could actually sit or stand in it without being uncomfortable. Because of the plumbining in the walls made it so that the shower head was actually at the opposite end of the room from the door. While it might still be within Jacen's range if he were standing outside, it would most assuredly be at the maximum distance.

"I've got some sample bottled of soaps and shampoos stored underneath the sink so you can grab whatever you need." Jacen said with a slight grin as he leaned up against the bathroom doorway. Now that he was getting to understand the situation a little better and be a little more comfortable with the whole thing he felt that a few half teasing half serious comments might work to keep the atmosphere relaxed, "Need someone to wash your back?"

"Well then... if you're comfortable with it, I've got no problems. And I like long showers myself so there's an extra large hot water tank here. Take all the time you need."

Yeah, he was still being a bit more of a gentleman than she was used to. Why did she always go for the bad eggs? Lily chose the master bath. As long as Jacen was on board, why skimp on space? She smiled, quite happy with her conquest. Safe shower and a tag along. Excepting the fact that Jacen wasn't exactly her ideal type, how could this be bad? Who knew? Maybe lurking underneath the nice guy was what she desired.

She dropped her bag next to the large tub. A bath. That would be nice. So would swimming, but nothing was keeping her from that shower if she could help it. Lily sat and peeled her socks and shoes off and wiggled her stinky toes. He had no idea how awesome this was.

"I've got some sample bottled of soaps and shampoos stored underneath the sink so you can grab whatever you need." She rolled over from sitting to lay on her stomach and stretched her reach to the cabinet in question. Stay in hotels much? She grabbed a handful of who knows what and went to place them in the tub for later use.

She checked and double checked to see that Jacen was in the room before turning on the hot water. She smiled as she put her hand under the stream, her fingers splayed and nothing happened. Well, nothing unusual.

"Need someone to wash your back?"

Her answer came in the form of a happy blur of excited hopping up and down, curtain closing, and stinky clothes flying. Lily threw her arms around Jacen and planted a big fat kiss on his cheek before pulling him toward the shower clothes and all. She wasn't shy at all.

If he were being completely honest... Jacen wasn't really expecting Lily to say yes to his helping wahs her back. Heck... he hadn't even been expecting her to be comfortable with his being in the bathroom with her and it had been shocking when that was OK.

If people would have considered him to be surprised by both of those responses, then he had to be absolutely in shock by what the young woman did next. It was a burst of excitement that he had obviously never seen Lily exibit before. Suddenly she was jumping around, pulling off the small tennis outfit to reveal the small undergarments that were hidden underneath. And then, as Jacen's eyes widened slightly and his neck flushed, even those undergarments dissapeared.

The man would have been frozen in place except for the fact that she now had her arms around his neck and with a kiss on his cheek was pulling him back toward the water.

"At least I already took off my shoes and socks..." Jacen thought in surprise moments before his body was drenched by shower head.

"Apparently you must like having someone to wash those hard to reach places." He said quietly as he peeled off his now wet t-shirt and tossed it out to the shower floor, not really caring that it was slowly beginning to make a puddle. Leaning down Jacen captured the blond woman's lips with his own, kissing her with all the pent up emotion that had built throughout the day. Frustration... surprise... anger... lust... they all combined into a searing kiss that made the room steam up all the more quickly.

"Maybe... we should focus on getting you cleaned up first... once anything else starts we might not get everything cleaned up." Jacen whispered as he pulled back from the kiss.

Reaching over to the various shampoos and soaps that Lily had grabbed he selected a packet of shampoo and opened it before beginning to lather it into the woman's hair. "You enjoy the water... let me do this." He ordered quietly as his hand moved back and forth through her hair, washing out the sweat and grime from the day. Jacen had learned long before that touching or washing a woman's hair is one of the most intimate gestures. It seemed to fit with this situation and besides... washing her gave him a chance to explore.

***

Time passed, the steam cloud thickened, and the heat grew. The washing part of the shower had ended a while before but noone had yet exited the shower. Moans and whimpers could be heard and then something appeared through the steam... a pair of shorts and boxers falling to the floor to join the t-shirt as the puddle slowly grew.

(Fade To Black)

Nobody thinks about logistics until you're a foot shorter and sudsy. Lucky he had the arm strength and they were able to take the party elsewhere after the bubbles were circling the drain.

It was easy. She didn't have to worry about holding back for fear of frying brains. She didn't have to do anything abnormal... if she didn't want to.

***

Damp tangled sheets and pillows. They'd kind of skipped the towel stage, but it didn't matter. Lori scratched her still damp hair and rolled over to get some air. She wasn't exactly the romantic-cuddling type. Normally she was tired from electric discharge. She smiled and hugged the blue pillow. This time she was just tired.

Jacen lay stretched out on the bed, propped up by two of the pillows that he had piled on top of each other to give them a little more height. If he had been a smoker than now would have been the perfect time to light up a cigarette. He hadn't felt this... satisfied in quite a while.

"I have to admit... when I met you at the tennis tournament I never expected things to end up like this." The man said, his voice slightly amused as he looked over, enjoying the sight of Lily's body... both the skin that was uncovered and the silhouette that was hidden by the damp sheets. She was a beautiful woman, and although she seemed to be a touch more wild than the woman he was normally attracted to, she had many redeeming quality.

"I wonder how many more... qualities I can discover." Jacen idly wondered to himself as he lifted his right arm up, crooking it back on the pillows so that his head would now rest on his arm, "We'll just have to see."

"Care for something to eat?" He asked after a few moments of just enjoying the comfortable silence, "I make decent spaghetti or I can order take out if you're hungry." It wasn't an offer to try and deepen the relationship or anything silly like that... truth be told it was simply an offer to rebuild their energy just in case there might be a repeat performance later that same evening.

"I wonder if she'll stay over... should I ask her?" He pondered as he waited for Lily's opinion about the food, "Or should I just wait to see where things lead? Waiting is probably the best idea."

"I have to admit... when I met you at the tennis tournament I never expected things to end up like this."
She took her time replying. First hugging the pillow and finally rolling over for a begrudging cuddle. She liked the skin contact. "You can say that again." He seemed more the strait-laced type. Not the kind for a spur of the moment roll in the hay. Or shower. She smiled just thinking about it. "But I guess it's nice to find a surprise every once in a while."

"Care for something to eat? I make decent spaghetti or I can order take out if you're hungry." She ran her hands across his skin and lay her head against his chest.
"As long as I'm not cooking... or cleaning." Of all her talents, cooking was one she could not muster. Differential equations were easier by far.

"You know what I like about you?" She ran her upper teeth along his shoulder before kissing the skin there. "You are more than you seem." Lily kissed her way down to Jacen's elbow before sliding her legs off the bed and standing. No need for sheet. The bathroom wasn't that far and well worth the risk. Walking away was her specialty after all. It was hard to beat naked.

Lori snatched up the bag, electricity arced across her scalp and shoulders where her damp hair touched her skin so she brought the bag to the bedroom. Lucky Jacen got a free show, and she'd be sticking around until her hair dried. That would be a wonderful excuse.

She pulled out her skinny jeans, still nicely pressed from this morning and her camisole and pulled them on. She was going commando. No need to ruin her cleanliness. "Chinese?" She gave him puppy dog eyes. A free meal? Sure.

When the blond beauty rolled over to snuggle up against Jacen's bare skin, he slipped an arm around her to give her a quick squeeze. He wasn't being clingy and there would be no effort to hold on to her whenever she decided she needed to slip away.

"You know what I like about you?" Lily asked softly as he nibbled at his shoulder before pressing her lips into a kiss against his skin, "You are more than you seem."

Smiling slightly, Jacen was quiet for a few moments as he watched the young woman kiss her way down his arm and then roll away to climb out of bed. She was quite a sight to watch strolling away. Jacen had noticed how attractive she was from the rear even when she was clothed in her tennis outfit and now to see the same view without any clothing... well it made it even more obvious just how sexy she was.

"I could say the same thing about you." Jacen spoke up with a slight grin as he watched the electricity dance through her damp hair as soon as the young woman stepped out of his aura, "How many people would expect that such a pretty package could contain such a powerful force. I'd be willing to bet most people underestimate you."

Lily made her way back out of the bathroom and then set about getting dressed. Soon she was covered but there was one thing that Jacen noticed that was rather enticing. She was wearing nothing underneath the jeans or camisole. That meant that only a snap and a zipper separated Jacen from...

"Chinese?" Lily spoke up, her voice breaking through Jacen's thought as she gave him the most innocent and cute expression she could manage.

"Chinese is good." Jacen replied with a chuckle as he leaned over to pluck the cordless phone out of its cradle on the table beside his bed, "I know just the place. You have a favorite dish?"

***

A few minutes later, after ordering honey chicken, fried rice, mixed vegetables, and a couple of egg rolls for himself, along with whatever dish Lily thought sounded good to be delivered as soon as possible, Jacen placed the phone back in its cradle. Swinging around rather reluctantly, the man stood and walked over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of gray sweat pants and a forest green shirt with 'Army' printed across both the front and back in black block letters. If she was going to go commando then it was only fair he did the same... maybe she'd be thinking about things other than food the same way he was.

"So, I know that you went to college but what do you do now?" Jacen asked as he turned back around and led the way for the two to walk back into the living room, "Other than brain tennis players so that you can seduce them, of course."

He was teasing and digging all at the same time... mentally Jacen knew he hadn't shared his profession with Lily either. She knew he was military but he had never mentioned that he was actually NYPD. Of course, she may have figured that out from the radio in his car but there was no telling really. Jacen had apprehended plenty of perps that had the exact same kind of radio installed in their vehicles so she might think he was just a police enthusiast... or a criminal.

"How many people would expect that such a pretty package could contain such a powerful force. I'd be willing to bet most people underestimate you."

"You know, it's mostly people who have never met me before. For some odd reason, repeat offenders seem to remember. Maybe not my name..." for obvious reasons. She shrugged it off and re-zipped the bag closed. Hopefully Jacen would never know she supplied a false name or not care. It was possible.

He grabbed the phone without hesitation. Obviously Jacen didn't cook much either if he had the Chinese restaurant's number memorized. "...You have a favorite dish?"

"General Tzo's Chicken and fried rice - oh but if they have peas in the rice maybe Lo Mein is better." She liked spicy. In fact, she thought it kind of humorous that the big burly man ordered honey chicken. That was baby stuff. Too sweet and too bland. No excitement whatsoever!

She waited for Jacen to re-dress. He followed her precedent of no underwear, passing the first check point of Lori's suspicion. He wanted more. There was no other reason for him to skip the underwear stage considering he had a whole drawer full. Lori skipped hers because they were all sweaty from Tennis, stinking up Jacen's room in a the duffle bag that technically wasn't even hers.

"So, I know that you went to college but what do you do now? Other than brain tennis players so that you can seduce them, of course."

Ahh - so the questions were coming anyway. She'd so hoped that at least one of the people in her life could just go on a face, a name, and a really good time. She did smile about the tennis racket comment, though.

"You know, I thought you were doing it on purpose. How was I supposed to know you got this far in life and never noticed you ruined other mutant's days. Of course, I have to say that you did make it up to me." She followed Jacen to the living room and hopped over the back of the couch bouncing on the cushions. That had been an artful dodge of the actual question on her part. He didn't really want to know what she did. If he was really military... or police... or even a defector from one of those, he wouldn't really want to keep her around knowing she was a murderer, thief, coercer, extortioner, and all around really bad person.

She didn't ask personal questions of him. Honestly, she didn't really care. It would only make whatever this was more complicated than it had to be. Lori pulled her hair up and tossed it over the back of the couch. "Nice place, Mac. Quite the bachelor pad." She propped up her bare feet on the coffee table and stretched her arms. How long until they could plug their mouths with food and have an excuse not to talk?

Jacend wandered over to his liqour table and poured two more glasses even as one of his eyebrows lifted inquisitively. The one for himself he filled with brandy and the other he filled with whiskey. She had dodged the question. It had been done artfully but it was still quite obvious that it was dodging.

"Nothing personal... fine and dandy." Jacen thought to himself as he turned back around, a slight smile on his face, "We'll keep this impersonal."

"You know your way around a tennis court pretty well." He said, smoothly changing the subject back to more comfortable ground as he carried the drinks over and took a seat at the other end of the couch while he offered her the strong alcohol, "I'm decent myself but I always played more football or basketball during my military days."

These were little trivial facts that, while providing some information, all kept them both away from the more personal subject that she so obviously disliked. "Do you know your way around the dance floor as well as you do the tennis court?"

The very thought of going dancing, partying, or out for drinks with Lily was enticing. Neither of them were looking for any type of steady relationship but it would be nice to have someone to just go out and have fun with... someone to burn off energy with.

He brought her a glass of whiskey with a smile. If he was testing her with something strong, he was going to be a bit disappointed that she could down this much with very little affect to her. She took a polite sip, though because it wasn't polite to guzzle the expensive stuff.

He seemed to catch the implication that he should keep this a purely carnal relationship. Favorite color? Foods you like or dislike? That's fine information to share. What do you do for a living? or Where were you on the night of January 9th around 7pm? Noooot so much.

"You know your way around a tennis court pretty well. I'm decent myself but I always played more football or basketball during my military days."

"Tennis, soccer, ultimate frisbee... I like running sports. Not hurdles or anything, my legs are too short for that." She wiggled her toes. "Football? Not so much for me. Basketball is alright, but I never got the wrist thing that helps with accuracy." She made the motion of shooting, but it was obviously sloppy.

The thought of repeating this rendezvous once a week was starting to sound like a real possibility since he didn't press for lengthy I wuv you's and he even supplied her with alcohol. This could really be a mutually beneficial situation. She took another drink, this one less politely sized.

"Do you know your way around the dance floor as well as you do the tennis court?"

The whiskey tried to reverse direction half-way down her throat. She coughed and sputtered and set the glass down. "I uh-- no." She laughed and coughed some more. "Unfortunately, I'm a horrible dancer. Anytime I go out, it's not exactly for that purpose." She was used to standing behind the bar serving drinks or sitting at the bar receiving them. Dancing required human interaction.

"I'm not opposed to the idea though, assuming we establish some standing buy order for stress relief and showers." She downed the last of the drink from her cup. Either this was really strong stuff or the electricity helped burn some away usually. No electricity coursing through her body meant her nose was starting to turn pink.

Hiding a slight smile Jacen lifted the glass to his lips and downed half the brandy in a quick swallow. He rarely did it but every now and then it was nice to feel that burning sensation as a large quanity of alcohol moved down his throat. If she wanted this to continued he saw no reason to argue.

"I think we can work out some sort of arrangement. After all, everyone needs a way to let off the pressure, so to speak."

This wasn't the way Jacen usually acted, in fact, this was like nothing he had ever done but he was starting to like this new side to his personality that he'd never found. For to long all he'd done was follow orders and put himself in harms way. Maybe, just maybe, it was his turn to enjoy life a little.

Before anything else could be said, a knock sounded at the door. "The restaurant's not far from here and their delivery guy is always pretty quick." Jacen spoke up as he set his drink down on the coffee table and then made his way over to the front door. Opening it he smiled at the young oriental man that was standing there.

"Here's your food Mr. King. Nice to see you have company." The young man said with a nod and a smile as he handed over a bag of food. Leaning over Jacen opened a drawer in his alcohol table and pulled out a twenty and a ten which he handed over to the young man.

"Keep the change Johnny. Thanks for the quick service."

"Have a nice night!" The young man responded before Jacen closed the door and walked back over to the couch.

"Can you handle the chopsticks," Jacen asked with a teasing and yet challenging glint in his eye, "Or do I need to get you a fork?"

"I think we can work out some sort of arrangement. After all, everyone needs a way to let off the pressure, so to speak."

"That's certainly one way of putting it." She just hoped that this one had the presence of mind to keep his nose clean and out of her life. There was always a slim chance he could come around to her way of thinking and aide and abet her in her life of impulse and crime, but really that was wishful thinking. For now, all she wanted was a few free rides. That's all one could really hope for after all was said and done.

If Jacen wasn't a pro at this kind of life, he could have fooled Lori. Before she had to scamper for another safe topic, the doorbell rang. Lori arched her brow at Jacen and he explained that the restaurant wasn't too far. In fact, it was quite amusing that the delivery boy knew him by name. Seemed like the spaghetti he could cook might be his only card... she'd make sure to ask for take out next time too.

Lily waved at the kid from the couch. So Mr. King didn't usually have company even though he had a guest room? It was all very mind boggling. Oh but he was a good tipper. Maybe not rich, but that hardly mattered when he had the power of the shower on his side. She waited serenely on the couch enjoying the warm fuzzies the alcohol provided.

He brought over the bags and Lily helped crack open the cartons of food. The one with the chili peppers was obviously hers. She looked around for a spoon or something, but there were only chopsticks. Oh man. He was a regular. That probably meant...

"Can you handle the chopsticks or do I need to get you a fork?"

"Was that a challenge?" She was pretty sure that was a challenge. Lily grabbed a pair from out of its paper wrapper and broke them apart. At first she held one in each hand looking at them, but eventually she managed to hold them both in one hand... kind of. "I can do it." She protested even when she dropped the same chicken for the third time. Eventually she just speared the meat in order to get it in her mouth. She wasn't quite sure what she'd do about the rice, but that worked as far as the chicken went.

Could Jacen speak chinese? Not a chance in the world. Could he read chinese? No way. Could he eat chinese food? Most certainly! Gripping the chopsticks firmly in his hand, he moved them expertly, picking up a piece of chicken and popping it into his mouth with minimal effort. Chewing his piece of chicken, he did his best not to laugh as he watched Lily struggle with her chopsticks. Reaching over in the paper sack he dug around to the bottom before pulling out a piece of rubber aproximately an inch long with a hole in either end.

"Need a cheater for those things?" He asked with as innocent an expression as he could muster while holding out the particular item.

After Lily had chosen either yes or no, Jacen leaned back against the cushions of the couch and returned to eating. Using his chopsticks to scoop up the rice he continued eating in silence for the next few minutes, alternated back and forth between chicken, fried rice, and vegetables.

"Tell you what," Jacen finally spoke as he plucked out one of the egg rolls and held it poised to be eaten next, "how about I give you my phone number and you can call when there's an opening in your busy schedule."

If she wanted to keep things impersonal then he didn't know how to make it any more impersonal. This would give her the option to be the one to make contact in the future or to not make contact. If she wanted another... shower, then it would be her choice. Unless she offered his number he wasn't going to ask for it. Taking a quick bite off the end of his egg roll he chewed slowly as he just watched Lily to see what her reaction would be.

Lily nodded pathetically and handed her chopsticks over to be cheat-a-fied, but even afterward it was a foreign play. Her hands just weren't trained to handle that kind of implement. After struggling through half of her chicken and maybe a fourth of her noodles, Jacen was already finished with everything except his egg rolls. A slight headache was forming near her temples. From lack of food, lack of mutation, or too much good scotch, she wasn't sure.

It was a good battle, but she gave up and went to get a fork. Perhaps if she practiced some more, she could have gotten it, but this was America! Americans weren't supposed to be able to pick up slimey, saucy noodles with twigs! People use forks in America! She wasn't impressing anyone with her sloppy stick work. There were times when hunger won out and an honorable concession was the only option.

She was rooting around in the drawers for a fork when Jacen spoke up, "Tell you what, how about I give you my phone number and you can call when there's an opening in your busy schedule."

She wanted to say that her schedule wasn't very busy. Truly she made her own schedule, but there was no telling what each day brought. It was best to be flexible. She wanted to be able to give him a number, but she'd fried every phone she'd ever carried. It was better to be untraceable. She wanted to tell him about the Sanctuary, but she didn't want him pissing off the wrong people. It was bad form to have your lovers cross paths.

Lily returned to the couch and dug into her food with vigor now that she wielded a useable utensil.

"Sounds fair enough. Any day preferable for you?" She continued to slurp up her lo mein as if they were scheduling a hair appointment or dinner date. "Because I would hate to clear an opening in my busy schedule and then not fit into yours." She scraped at the bottom of her lo mein box before tilting the carton up over her head so that she could consume every last noodle. Droplets of sauce speckled her forehead and around her lips when she put the carton down so she fished around for a napkin.

It was good to see that Lily was willing to accept defeat and so Jacen so no reason to push the subejct any further. They had a good thing going and he wasn't going to mess this up by pushing her to far or to hard.

"Sounds fair enough. Any day preferable for you? Because I would hate to clear an opening in my busy schedule and then not fit into yours."

This was one of the few times that Jacen really appreciated his work schedule. Much like a fire fighters, he would work heavy hours for two or three days and then have a full day off. Unlike a fire fighter, his schedule was always the same each week.

"I'm available all day on both Sunday and Wednesday and I'm available anytime after 7:00 on Tuesdays and Saturdays." He replied without the slightest hesitation before popping the last of this particular egg roll into his mouth and chewing quickly. As he watched Lily slurping up the last of her soggy noodles, Jacen was already reaching for a few napkins. He hadn't yet met a person that could eat lo mein without getting messy and even though he would have liked to clean her up a different way, he thought that might be a little to forward at the moment.

"Here." He said as he held out the napkins. After she had taken them he popped his second eggroll into his mouth, whole this time, and continued chewing as he stood up and walked into the kitchen. A few moments later he returned with note card that had his first name and phone number on it.

"It's my cell so, unless I'm extremely busy, you'll get right through to me." He said as he sat back down and offered her the card. Glancing down he saw that there was only one last egg roll remaining so he grabbed the container and offered it to Lily, "Egg roll?"