"After the Party"

The ride home seemed to take much longer than it actually was. As Colin drove down the road towards their house, he couldn’t help but become lost in his own thoughts about what had transpired at the party.

He had been reluctant to go to the party in the first place...would have been happy to just have spent New Year’s Eve alone with Kate back at their place. Have a nice dinner, a bottle of champagne, then a bit of a roll and tumble in the bedroom. But no, he wanted to please Kate, and she had her heart set on attending this party at the Meridius house. And at first, he actually found that he was enjoying himself. He really took a liking to Maximus and his wife, Joimus. Even got a bit of business lined up, too. Hell, he even took a liking to Bud – even though he was another fuckin’ cop.

No, the trouble started when that slime ball in Armani...Sid....started trying to make moves on his girlfriend. Colin felt his jaw tighten as he thought about how Sid had looked at Kate...how he seemed to be leering at her...like a spider laying in wait for it’s prey. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly and clenched his teeth.

Kate, however, seemed completely oblivious to what he was thinking. She sat next to him, babbling happily away about the party and about Sid and all of the preparations she’d have to make for their upcoming dinner party.

Colin pulled up into the drive, slammed the car into park, yanked the keys out of the ignition, and practically jumped out of the car – slamming the door behind him. Kate sat there, stunned. She shook her head, then opened the car door and followed Colin into the house.

"Colin, wait!" she called to him, just as he stormed into the living room and slammed the front door behind him...right in her face. Kate stood on the porch a moment – completely in shock by what had just happened. She didn’t understand what had happened to make Colin act this way. Was it something she said?

Cautiously, she opened the front door and slipped inside of the house. Colin was in the living room, pacing back and fourth, furiously. He stopped his pacing and glared at her when he saw Kate come in the door.

"Colin, what the fuck?!" she yelled at him, walking right up to his face. "Why are you being such an arse?!"

"Wha...ME?! Oh, I’m the arse, am I?" he yelled back, "I’m not the one that was flirting with another guy at the party, now was I, sweetheart?!"

"No, you’re the one that freaked out and ran off to the bar...leaving me to fend for myself!" Kate spat back at him. "And, I wasn’t flirting with Sid. He’s just a friend."

Colin took a deep breath, let it out. Was she really that naive?! He realized he was standing a mere 2 inches from her face, so he took a step back, tried to compose himself a bit before he answered her. "Kate, that asshole was practically undressing you with his eyes. You might not have been intentionally flirting with him, but trust me, darlin’, he had anything but mere friendship on his mind."

"Colin, please! He’s just a lonely man looking to make friends here in the community. He knows how I feel about you....knows there can’t possibly be anything more than just friendship between he and I." She turned around, ready to stop out of the room, then stopped herself. Why was he getting so upset about this?! She wondered to herself. Nothing had happened between her and Sid other than a friendly conversation.

Colin laughed and shook his head. "Oh Kate, don’t be so naive. The man is trying to make a play for you. Just like he was with all the other women he was chatting up at the party. Why do you think Jeffrey got upset and stormed off to the bar?! That Armani asshole was making a play for Meggie, too!"

"Oh...my...God!" Kate nearly started laughing out of frustration. "Are you so fucking insecure that the first nice looking bloke that comes along and wants to befriend me sets you off in a tizzy?! I mean, come on! He’s just a friend, Colin. Simple as that. Sid in no way said or implied he wished for anything more than just friendship. I invited him to dinner with the two of us....the two of us, Colin! Not on a date!"

Colin just stared at her for a moment, thinking about what she had said. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was blowing things out of proportion. He let out a loud sigh, "Whatever, Kate. Whatever you wanna do is fine," he turned and headed for the stairs. "I’m going to bed. I’ve got a fuckin’ headache. I’ll see you in the morning."

Kate tried to stop him, but he just motioned for her to back off and stomped up the stairs to the bedroom alone. A moment later, Kate heard the bedroom door slam shut, and she let herself drop to the couch and turned off a nearby lamp. No longer able to fight back the tears, they began to flow freely down her face and she sat quietly sobbing by herself in the darkened room – her legs tucked up under her and arms wrapped tight around her body. She sat like that for a long time, trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

Looking back through their relationship, Kate realized this wasn’t the first time that Colin had gotten overly jealous over another man that had tried to be friends with Kate. Hell, he’d even gotten upset at strangers for just looking her direction! Was he really that insecure? Didn’t he realize how much she cared for him? Now, however, she wasn’t quite sure what she was feeling about him. She wasn’t even sure exactly what he felt about her, for that matter. Was it really love? She didn’t like the way he seemed to be treating her like a possession... something to keep for himself and away from others. She had a lot to think about, that was certain.

After an hour or so, Kate wiped away the last of her tears and slowly walked up the stairs and into the bedroom. Colin was lying on his side in the bed, facing away from the door. Kate quietly undressed and slipped into bed beside him. She lay on her back for a moment, staring at the ceiling, then turned on her side and wrapped her arms around Colin and nuzzled up next to him.

Colin had been laying there in bed awake, unable to sleep after the argument they had just had. He didn’t like arguing with Kate and especially didn’t like going to bed without resolving things between them. He cared a lot about her, hell, maybe even loved her! And he wasn’t going to let something like this....this...what? Misunderstanding?...come between them. He needed her to know that she meant more to him than that. He’d do what it took to make her happy – even if that meant putting up with that asshole at their dinner table for a couple of hours. When he felt Kate’s body next to his, he slipped his hand on top of hers – which startled her.

"I’m sorry, Luv," he whispered, gently caressing the back of her hand with his fingertips. "for overreacting...for....everything." He let out a sigh, then turned his head to face her.

"Colin," she whispered back, but was interrupted by his soft lips meeting hers.

"Shhhhh," he said, turning so that his body was now facing hers, and gently running his hand down the side of her face. "It doesn’t matter. Not now." He slowly leaned into her and gently pressed his lips against hers once more...his tongue sliding between her lips as he kissed her. "Kate," he whispered, as he let his hand slide down her back and pressed his body closer to hers, so that she could feel his hardness against her. She let out a soft moan as Colin slowly kissed down her neck and torso. All of the hurt and anger Kate had been feeling was now being replaced with her hunger and longing for him. The warmth of his hands and mouth on her skin sent a wave of shivers through her body and she reached out and gripped his muscular shoulders – nearly digging her nails into him. Colin stopped, looked up at her – his expression full of hunger. He wanted her – needed her, needed to be one with her again. He pulled her body against his and within moments was inside her, filling her, loving her.

Afterwards, they lay quietly together, wrapped in each others arms until sleep and exhaustion finally won out and they drifted off.

TBC...