Fallen

Chapter 11

My next match... my next match didn't go so well. He was the second seed. The number two ranked wrestler in the tournament. I lined up against the kid. He was big, not as big as the last kid, but he had a good forty pounds on me...

He was also a better wrestler. Everything I tried to do, he blocked. He made me look really bad. He had me outscored by 6 points going into the third round. I was screwed.

We started the round on our feet, and he continued to dominate me. Every takedown I tried, he countered. On the plus side, I wasn't hemorrhaging points anymore...

I wasn't letting him score on me, he wasn't letting me score on him. It was apparent that neither of us were going to score a pin on the other...

We ticked down to the last 60 seconds...

He tried to take me down aggressively and we both ended up out of bounds. I had lost...

I hung my head as I started back to the center. I knew I couldn't beat him... I'd go out with a blaze, but I wasn't going to win.

"Hey!" it was Karly's voice. My head snapped to her and I looked at her. She was seated at the scoring table, her eyes piercing into me. "You promised me..."

My heart fell. I had promised her that I wouldn't quit. Not that I'd win. Not that I'd dominate. That I wouldn't quit. But that's what I was doing...

The whistle blew and I knew I couldn't quit, that I wouldn't. I had promised her...

I took him in an over hook and turned my side to him. It was risky, but I needed him off balance. I was down by six. The only way for me to win, was to score a pin. The only way to get a pin in less than a minute, with his skill level, was to put him straight on his back. The only way to put him straight on his back was to do something risky. Something risky and something very, very stupid.

I threw myself off balance into him, kicking at his leg, trying to get him off balance. I needed him to lean into me, and I needed him to lean into me hard...

He bit hard. I set the hook.

I snapped my weight around and dropped, rolling across my back and pulling his body across mine. My back went across the mat and I heard his body strike...

I snapped my hips over and got my arm in behind his head, continuing to hold his arm in the over hook. I heard the hand hit the mat, and I was shocked...

I had scored a pin...

I had won...

I heard Karly scream in excitement! I was in the finals... there was no way I was in the finals... I wasn't in the top five... I was guaranteed a top two finish...

It was unreal. We shook and the guy actually hugged me...

He raised my hand for the ref... then looked at me, "That was awesome..." he told me. "I haven't been pinned all year..."

There was joy in my heart.

Coach shook my hand. Karly dived on my back, hugging me tight. Her mouth was hot on my ear. "I knew you wouldn't quit... I knew you could beat him!"

I spun out of her grip and hugged her tight. I kissed her cheek, "I would have baby girl... I had given up. If you hadn't of woken me up... I would have quit."

She smiled at me... tears in her eyes... "I'm so proud of you..."

I pulled her in tight and hugged her as hard as I could. Coach dove in and shared the hug. Then a couple of my team mates. Pretty soon I was crushed under the weight of all of them... I only felt Karly... I only cared about Karly

I was bleeding again...

I had to wrestle that monster in the finals. The one that picked that kid up and dropped him. I knew it would be him when I saw him wrestle the day before. What I didn't realize was how brutal he would be to wrestle. He weighed the full 275 pounds, every ounce of it. Some of it was fat, but the vast, vast majority of it was brutal, powerful muscle.

He was enormously strong. Stronger than even coach...

I had never been thrown around the way this guy threw me around. He wasn't gentle. He showed absolutely zero regard to my safety. He wrestled like I did, just this side of the rules...

My speed and aggressiveness was the only thing that kept him from hurting me. Well that and skill. I was the better wrestler; it was just that I was wrestling an enraged grizzly bear...

I was worn out... Six brutal matches going into this one... and now this one.

I was down by three points at the beginning of the third round. He had done something no other wrestler had managed to do the entire tournament. He had nearly pinned me. In the second round, he reversed a move I had made and threw me nearly straight to my back. I was in it until then. That one move had cost me three points... I fought tooth and nail, but the truth of the matter was that had the round not ended... he would have pinned me.

He had the choice to begin round three. The ref looked at him, "Red's choice."

The monster looked at me. "I choose top."

Fuck! I thought to myself... I had hoped he'd take bottom; it was what most wrestlers took. Maybe if he was feeling really cocky he'd take standing and I'd have the chance to work from my strongest position. Instead, I was stuck on the bottom, beneath this monster so he could beat on me...

He mounted on my left side. His hand wrapped around my stomach firmly... I heard his knuckles pop he squeezed my left elbow so hard.

The whistle blew and he sunk in a tight waist and chopped my left arm hard. He pulled me and tried to tip me straight to my back. He almost succeeded. He would have succeeded, but I didn't fight it. I threw myself into it as hard as I could. I went across my shoulders briefly and as I was over I kicked as hard as I could. I flew over him and knew I was free!

His head hit me square in the face...

I went back onto my back, my face in blinding agony. I managed to turn and protect the pin... the whistle stopped him from coming on any more.

The ref called my coach in and he ran over to me. I could hear Karly's voice, and then I felt her hands on me. Coach was telling her to back off, to give me some air. Coach's hands were on my face... he looked into my eyes...

"You okay Gabe?" he asked me.

I shook the cobwebs out of my head. "What happened?"

Coach was holding a rag to my face, trying to stop the bleeding. "He head-butted you."

I blinked, trying to control the pain and gain my senses. "He get called?" I asked.

Coach shook his head, "No. Ref says it was accidental."

I looked him in the eye... "My ass, accidental."

Coach shrugged... I could tell he wanted me to keep going... but he also realized that this kid might just hurt me to hurt me.

I let him off the hook, "Let's get this blood stopped before I get dq'd."

I saw relief in his eyes as he took me to our corner. Again, I got a tampon shoved up my nose... it hurt a lot more this time...

Coach looked at me, "I think it's broken."

Rage surged through my mind, and I could feel the chains starting to stir...

I looked at Coach and tried to shove it down... it wasn't going back in the cage though... "Not the first time it's been broken, probably not the last."

I went back to the center and got down. My vision was completely red... I was angrier than I had been in forever... This was how it always is... someone always thought they could push me. Someone always thought they could hurt me. They always thought they could put their hands on me. I only had one choice... I had to bite and claw. To howl and curse. I wasn't going to behave...

The whistle blew and I made a rash decision. I moved quickly to my right and then I snapped my left elbow back and hit the kid square in the face with it...

It wasn't legal. It wasn't even this side of legal... I didn't care.

I drew a call for unnecessary roughness... it cost me a point and I was warned that another violation and I would be dq'd from the tournament.

Coach looked pissed but I really didn't care.

It was time to close this one out.

I went back down into the defensive position. I knew what he was going to do...

The whistle blew and he tried to chop my arm and threw in another brutally tight, tight waist. I grabbed his wrist and pulled a suicide roll.

Once again, I rolled across my back. If he had dropped his hips back, I was screwed. Problem was, he was so aggressive he was trying to beat on me. He overcommitted hard and went straight over my side. He went straight to his back. I pinned him right there.

I got up with my arms raised.

He got up swinging...

I let him go over my back and used his momentum to carry him over, then I stood and snapped his body hard. In a wrestling match your knee had to hit first, before your opponent did. I didn't bother even pretending to go to a knee. He hit the mat hard, knocking the wind out of him. I guess Karly was right. I could lift a guy that big with him fighting it...

He looked hurt. I didn't care...

Coach was on his feet and screaming. The kid got dq'd. So much for second place for him...

I nearly got dq'd too... only thing that saved my ass was that coach argued I was just protecting myself when the other kid came at me after the match had ended...

I got a gold medal...

I sat on the bed in a towel, fresh from the shower, staring at the medal...

How the fuck had I won gold...? I wanted a top five... I got top...

I shook my head.

There was a knock at the door. I looked over as Joe opened it a crack. He was in a towel too, headed to the shower himself. There were two other guys in various stages of undress in the room.

He talked with someone at the door quietly and then turned to me. "It's Karly."

I looked at him and the dark clouds parted and let the light through. I smiled, "Tell her just a sec, I'm in a towel here..."

He turned and passed the message, closing the door quietly as he finished, laughing the whole time. I looked at him. "She says you can lose the towel... she doesn't mind!"

I smiled at him and he returned my shit eating grin. I grabbed a pair of shorts and pulled them on. I looked at my phone quickly. Looking at my friends... "Can I meet you guys downstairs in 15 or so...?"

They all smiled at me. Joe clapped me on the shoulder. "Make it 30."

I threw my medal on the bed and ran to the door.

My Karly met me on the other side. She dove straight into my arms. Her kiss was fierce and proud. Her arms held me so tight I thought she might hurt me and her tongue probed its way around my mouth.

She was so energetic she shoved me into the door.

I didn't mind.

We turned in the little alcove and I pressed her against the wall, my kiss becoming more and more predatory.

I was breathing hard by the time we broke for air. I looked into those beautiful eyes... "Can we go to your room...? I think I really need to open my present right now..."

She bit her lip, thinking naughty thoughts I was sure... "Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed.

She pulled me by the hand down the hallway, both of us nearly running in our haste. I'm sure anyone watching would have known exactly what we were thinking... a girl leading a half-naked guy down the hallway... hell I didn't even have shoes on!

I really didn't give a shit. I only cared about her right now.

She fumbled with the little card lock as I kissed her neck, thankful for her shorter haircut that gave me new access to her neck...

"Stop that!" She commanded me. "I can't focus on the door thingy with you doing that..."

She growled in frustration as she finally got the little light to turn green and wrenched the door open. In a flash, we were both inside.

We tangled in a pile of limbs and kissing and vaguely worked our way to the bed. If we didn't make it to the bed soon I was taking her right here on the floor...

I kissed her and pulled at the button on her jeans... stupid jeans. I got them down to mid-thigh and reached under her arms. I lifted her and threw her ass down on the bed.

She squealed as I lifted her and then giggled as she hit. I wrenched her pants to her knees and that was as much patience for her clothes as I could summon. I climbed between her legs, forcing her pants over my head and pressing myself to her bare crotch. My kisses found their way to her neck and she turned her face into me. We kissed passionately, our tongues tangling...

My hands found their way up her body as I ground my hips to hers... I was really regretting the fact that I was wearing those shorts....

Her kisses moved to my neck and she started to fumble with trying to push my shorts down, but her angle was so awkward she couldn't make much progress... "Take those off..." she begged.

I started fumbling with them.

"Hurry," She panted...

That was all the invitation I needed. I pulled my shorts down just passed my ass and like that I was inside her...

"God," I moaned into her ear... "how are you always so ready for me...?"

Her kisses found my ear and she breathed her hot breath against me, moaning as I pushed myself effortlessly into her...

"Because I was made for you..." she moaned... "and you were... oh fuck... made for me."

She used her jeans and the pressure they provided on the back of my legs to pull me into her harder. I didn't pound her... I just wanted to make love to her. I slid into and out of her gently...

It was still really fucking hard... I hadn't realized how much I had missed her body; how much I had missed joining myself to her. My hands slid inside her shirt, not to paw at her, but simply to feel as much of her skin as I possibly could...

My kisses smothered her face...

Then I felt her tighten around me... it felt so good I had to stop...

I pulled away from our kiss, "What the fuck was that?" moaning into her ear.

She smiled... "That toy you got me taught me a new trick..." I pushed myself back into her, thankful that she had loosened her hold on me... "Fuck!" she moaned.

She made me meet her eyes again... "Let me watch..." she moaned.

I had just pulled out of her and was sliding back in when she tightened herself down there again... fuck it was like heaven!

I almost fell over the edge right there...

I managed two more strokes into her. I kissed her hard and started to push back into her as she did it again...

I shook my head... "You gotta stop that... I can't hold on with you doing that..."

She pulled me in close to her and her hot breath on my neck, her body tightening on me as I stroked into her she whispered, "Go to town... you've earned it..."

I sped up my rhythm and she tightened on me each time I pushed into her...

I only lasted four more strokes before she pulled me over the edge...

I ground my hips into her, feeling my body release into her.

"Oh, my god baby girl..." I growled into her neck as I fell over the edge. I kind of wished she had fallen over with me... but only for a second, she gave me such pleasure...

My lips met hers again and I finally started to realize how much my nose hurt...

Pulling away from her I stared into her eyes. I shook my head and looked at her, how could I be so fucking lucky...? A lifetime of absolute shit, and this angel falls into my life...? I kissed her again and then told her, "I love you so much baby girl..."

Her hand latched on the back of my head and held me into the kiss. It made my nose fucking hurt, but I really didn't care.

I ground myself into her one more time... finally managing to untangle myself from her kiss...

She noticed then... "Oh my fucking god... your face!"

I smiled a lopsided smile at her, "Hey, I'm not that ugly!"

She grabbed both sides of my face to make me hold still while she mother henned me... "Oh, baby!"

I kissed her, really making my nose hurt... "It's not that big of a deal, he just broke my nose."

I had assessed the damage once I had gotten back to the hotel. My nose was a bit swollen and I had two black eyes... it hurt like hell, but at least it had settled down to a dull ache.

She ran her fingers under my eyes, "Hey now... that fucking hurts..." I whined.

She kissed me lightly, avoiding my nose... "I'm so sorry baby..."

I pushed my face into hers again, kissing her hard. It hurt but I wanted her to know I was okay.

I broke from our kiss and she put her hands on my ass and pulled me into her. She wiggled her hips a bit. I was semi soft but still inside her... "You want to stay here and... rest a bit?" she teased me.

Smiling at her I told her, "Nah! I'm done with you now."

She gave me a vicious thrust with her hips... the thought of staying in the room with her had gotten me pretty excited pretty quickly... that thrust was pure evil. "You sure about that?" she teased.

My head dropped in pleasure to her chest and I pushed into her harder just to feel how she felt...

I finally managed to get control of my hormones. In truth, I was dead dog tired. I just wanted to curl up and fall asleep. My defenses were frayed and I wanted to be away from the world for a while...

I made myself lie to her. "No baby girl. I want to take you out on the town and celebrate..."

She gave me a look that told me she knew I was lying. "Shawn. You don't have to lie to me."

I kissed her and pulled myself out of her. It was something of an adventure for us to get untangled with me wrapped up between her and her jeans...

When I finally broke free I gave her another little peck. It was a chaste kiss, just the kind I used to tell her that I loved her and that I thought she was the best woman in the world. I blinked at her sleepily. "I want to go out with you. I want to show you off. Let the world know you belong to me, and I belong to you, and that I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

I smiled at her. My fatigue was sneaking up on me. It was our last night in Reno with the team and all the guys were given free rein to run around and have fun. They all wanted to cut loose and right now I was the man of the hour. They all wanted to celebrate and howl at the moon for a while.

Sneaking out from between her legs I let her pull her pants back up as I flopped on the bed next to her and tried to rub my face. I got as far as my nose and the pain shooting through my face made me stop...

"Ow... that was a mistake..." I moaned in misery.

She pulled my hands away from my face. "We should stay in..."

I could see the disappointment in her face. No way I was letting her down. I forced a smile onto my face. "I'm fine. I'm just tired. Once I start moving around I'll be fine..."

She gave me the Karly look. The one that said she knew I was full of shit. "You sure?"

Wrapping a hand in her shirt I pulled her in for a kiss. My nose screamed in pain but her lips felt so good I told it to shut it.

We broke out of the kiss and I smiled at her. "I'm positive."

There was a knock at the door. I pulled my shorts up while she answered the door. Joe popped his head in and asked, "Shawn, you got a room key?"

I yawned mightily and realized that I didn't. "Shit! No!"

I jumped out of the bed. "You guys all ready?"

He nodded at me, "Yep."

Yawning I shook my head.... "Give me a sec to get dressed and I'll be right down. I'll meet you in the lobby." Looking at Karly, I amended, "We'll meet you in the lobby."

Karly decided to gang up on me. "Joe, tell his stupid ass to stay in. He's exhausted. He doesn't need to go running around all night."

I saw the disappointment in Joe's eyes... He forced it down, but I still saw it. Then he looked at me. "Dude, she's right. You look like shit. You should stay in and get some rest."

No way that I was letting down two of the most important people in my life...

"I'm good. I just need to move around a bit." I forced a smile onto my face.

She looked at him, "Stubborn ass..."

He smiled at her, "Yep."

We went back to the room and I pulled on a pair of black cargo shorts, my favorite Rick and Morty shirt, socks and shoes. Karly looked at me funny, "Aren't you going to be cold?" she asked.

I shook my head at her, yawning mightily. "I'll be good. The cold will help me wake up."

I met the rest of my crew in the lobby, we all coordinated by cellphone. Karly and I were the only ones above 18 but as a crew we decided that we were going to hit a buffet for dinner, and then head into one of the casinos. None of us was legal to gamble. Nobody seemed to care. We were all just planning on hitting some of the slots and we figured that the casino probably wouldn't care if we lost some money...

We decided on the Atlantis, being a big casino with a buffet and in easy walking distance, plus the fact that we weren't staying there as guests were all points in its favor. We walked as a group, Karly and I holding hands and joking as a group. Karly was a bit reserved, and my heart ached a bit for her as I saw her making an effort to get along with my friends as an outsider. The guys all seemed to be taken with her and I could see effort on their parts to make her a part of the group. It warmed my heart to see people that I cared about trying to all get along for my sake.

I yawned mightily several times on the way over, Karly giving me her mother knows best look each time... she didn't press me on it any more though.

We got to the buffet and I started to feel... funny.

There were so many people! It was loud, it was boisterous... I had a hard time keeping my focus anywhere. The worst part was we had to walk through the casino to get to the buffet and I was seriously starting to regret our decision to go to the casino...

So many people in such a confined space... I was bumped into, coughed on, one old lady even nearly hit me with her little scooter thing...

Things were a bit better inside the restaurant, but I was starting to feel really anxious...

Karly noticed and snuck in a cuddle with me while we stood in line. "You okay?" she asked, her worry plain painted on her pretty face.

I tried to rub my eyes and was again foiled by the pain in my nose. I blinked at her stupidly, through tears brought on by the pain...

I finally nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, and really hungry."

She raised an eyebrow at me, then her hand smacked me on the ass. "You've already eaten today!" she joked with me.

I knew she was trying to use sex to lighten my mood... I put my arm around her and just appreciated the warmth of her and her comforting presence.

We got to the front of the line and I insisted on paying for the both of us... Karly wasn't happy about it, but I insisted. She finally relented when I leaned and in plucked a solid kiss on her and told her it wasn't up for argument...

I ate like a king...

I was lucky, I didn't have to worry about my weight like a lot of the guys did so I went crazy. Steak, potatoes, salad, meatloaf, ham, bread, broccoli covered in cheese sauce, and several slices of cheesecake all made their way into my stomach!

I also watched what Karly ate... I always wanted to know the things she liked so I knew what to make for her later... I always wanted to provide for her and I noticed that there was a strong tendency in my mind to watch and care for her safety and providing food for her. I figured it was a biological thing, some ancient throwback to a time when being a good provider of those things equated to being a good mate. I also loved anything that made her happy, which helped me to really look for the things she liked!

She sat next to me, and being the only girl at the table she ended up eating significantly less than any of the guys replacing several thousand calories worth of hard work over the past couple of days. She ate slower though, so it balanced out.

I was feeling better by the time we finished with the food, though each trip to the buffet to get food seemed to spike my anxiety. The only thing that seemed to help was returning to Karly...

My friends helped too, but it was different with them. I couldn't break down with them the way I could with her. I knew they were there for me, but it was just... different. They needed me to be strong. To be someone who kept in control. She didn't, nor did she seem to care that I was less than a man...

Once dinner was over we hit the casino and the group fragmented pretty quickly. We figured it would be a safer bet to split up as a large group of young people would be easier to spot than a gaggle of kids hitting the machines.

It was so loud...

My anxiety spiked the instant we got into the crowded room. People hustled and bustled all over the place, all with the manic intensity only gamblers seem to possess...

I kept close to Karly the whole time and found myself hunching into myself as I moved around. It seemed weird to me that I would do that but it was like I was making a conscious decision to make myself seem smaller, like I would be less likely to draw attention... less likely to be vulnerable. I just kept drawing in on myself.

Karly kept drawing us into the crowds, heading to brightly lit machines that beeped and whirred. I found the machines fascinating, but all the people around them were starting to very much freak me out...

It was getting hard to breathe...

Finally, Karly looked at me really hard... "Are—ay?" She said.

It was so loud I had to lean in and shout, "What?"

She started to pull me out of the throng of people... "I said are you okay?" She yelled.

I nodded my head too rapidly... "I'm fine."

By this time, she had gotten me into a semi quiet corner, "No you're not... I think you're having a panic attack."

I shook my head fiercely at her. "No, I'm not."

Panic attacks only happened to weak people... I was not having a panic attack.

It was just fatigue... and I couldn't breathe... and there were too many people... and it was so loud... images of a closet flooded into my mind... I told myself that I was there while someone cried and screamed outside... they weren't going to find me... then the door flew upon and someone dragged me out... I was crying and screaming...

The circuit breakers in my mind slammed shut. Whatever was on the other side was not something I could look at...

I again tried to rub at my face but the damn pain in my nose stopped me again...

Anger and rage boiled to the surface... I could feel the chains in my mind starting to rattle...

A woman wept while she begged for her life...

I lay in a bed in a dark room, silently weeping, wondering why they were all so cruel...

My breathing became more focused and my spine stiffened. I was getting out of here... and nobody was going to stop me. I had to go!

Suddenly Karly was there. Sweet, beautiful Karly. She filled my world with her presence...

She wrapped me in her arms and kissed me and it was like the air deflated out of me... the pain and the worry just flooded out like the air let loose from a balloon.

She broke from me and I felt it all starting to rush back in. Too much stimulation, too many things to focus on, too much threat around me. Her touch was like ants crawling under my skin... I felt pain and hunger and never-ending sadness well up from deep within me, threatening to swallow me whole. I wanted to scream, to crawl into a dark hole and just shut myself in...

Karly gave me another light kiss. It was quieter here in our little corner so she didn't have to yell, "I want to smoke. You want to come outside with me?"

I smiled at her. She knew I needed a break, and she gave me an easy out. I ran my fingers down her face. "Call it what it is baby girl. I'm freaking out and I need to get out of here for a little bit."

She kissed me, "You're just not used to big crowds. They freak me out a bit too."

I took the lead and acted as a blocker for her. Her hand was like a dagger resting on my back as we walked and I made sure to stand up straight and project my best, get the fuck out of my way, face as we walked.

We made record time getting outside.

I sat and watched Karly smoke, the fresh air and her calming presence doing wonders for my worry... I sucked as much of it into my lungs as I possible could, trying to calm my mind and soul.

She was just finishing her cigarette and looked at me...

"You know..." she bit her lip, "we could just sneak back to the hotel..."

I really wanted to do that... not for sex, but just to get away from all of the people. I couldn't do that though... I looked at her and wanted to break out into tears...

"I really want to baby girl... but I need to start getting over this..." I shook my head, "I can't keep being like this. Weak."

I felt disgusted with myself.

Feeling her sorrow, I met her eyes... she was terrified for me. She walked over to me, throwing her cigarette onto the ground. She wrapped her arms around me and I had a hard time making up my mind as to whether or not it was comforting or painful... how could I feel that way? How could I betray her like that...?

I looked at her, clinging to her sanity like she was a life preserver in a frozen ocean...

I closed my eyes and forced my mind to still... find a place to center yourself... I pictured water swirling down a drain...

It was her scent. That vanilla scent that finally pulled me back together. I remembered being on the bus with her, that first night. When she crawled under my covers for the first time, that first time that I got to hold her... I had never felt the peace that I felt at that moment before...

I pushed her away and looked at her. It still hurts... the animal was still bouncing off the walls in my mind, but the volume was turned way down. "I'm better now..." I told her.

Anger flared across her face. "Please don't lie to me. I can't help you if you lie to me."

Smiling weakly at her I shook my head. "You make me better. You give me an anchor." I stood up and moved closer to her. I took a strand of her hair and held it under my nose, breathing deeply. "The smell of your hair. It reminded me of that first night, when you came to me on the bus." I looked into her eyes to make sure she knew I was telling her the truth. "I'm not all better, but I am better."

I kissed her and the familiar warmth of pleasure at being with her flooded into me. "Can we go back inside now?" I asked her.

Her eyes went wide and she shook her head, "No way in hell."

I kissed her again. "I'm not going to get any better if I keep putting this off. I'm only going to get worse, and I have to stop getting better at slowly getting worse..." I pulled her close, smelling her hair, "You make me strong. I can do this with you, especially if I know it's coming."

Karly and I went to a table in a pseudo bar in the casino, ordered a couple sodas and a few deserts and watched people together. My skin was crawling the entire time, but she sat there with me and we just shared food, and quiet conversation, and romantic stolen kisses between bites. She pushed her chair close to me and laid her head on my shoulder... I rested my face against her.

My anxiety spiked and waned. With her help, though... I made it an hour.

I chose to see it as a victory.

Finally, after an hour she pulled me up from the table, still holding my hand. "Come on. You are exhausted. We're going back to the hotel. We're going to be around all week. We can do more later."

I smiled at her and the exhaustion crashed into me like waves into the ocean. I put my hands on each side of her face and kissed her, slow and steady. "I love you baby girl."

She blew in my face! "Not as much as I love you, teddy bear!"

With that she pulled me away from the table by the hand. This time she insisted on paying the check, I figured that it was a cheap meal, so it was a good time to compromise...