"Manda, are you ready?" Lee called to his wife as he moved up the stairs. Pushing the half-opened door aside, he stopped and leaned against the doorframe, sliding his hands into the pockets of his trousers as he observed the view before him.

Amanda Stetson, his lovely wife of no more than two years, stood facing the full-length mirror that graced the far wall of their Maplewood bedroom, clearly dissatisfied with the image she was reflecting by the expression on her face. Lee, despite the negative vibrations her body stance clearly dictated, thought she was beautiful in the full-length dark blue dress. She'd only worn the dress once since he'd picked it up on his recent trip to Paris for three days and he was more than ready to see her display it for him again.

With her dark auburn hair drawn back in an elegant bun and tiny ringlets streaming down to frame her face, he was forced to suck in his breath to keep the wolf whistle forming in his throat at bay. She was an image from the Gods and he was more than willing to stand there and drink in her beauty all night long. Unfortunately, they had a commitment to go to and unless she increased her pace, he knew they were going to be late.

"Procrastination is only going to allow us to make a rather late but flashy entrance," he teased from his position near the door.

"Or we could just not go at all," she threw back at him, pulling her earrings out of her earlobes and dropping them unceremoniously back into her opened jewelry box on the dresser. "You know I'm not all that comfortable with this."

"No, we're going," he returned pushing off the wall and moving into the bedroom. Stepping up behind her he tenderly caressed her bare shoulders just above the soft material of the dress and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "Go pick out your shoes and I'll find the perfect jewelry to accent your beauty," he breathed, kissing her throat. "I think your black heels would look stunning, they make your legs absolutely edible," he suggested.

"Lee, I've changed my mind. I don't want to do this," she rebutted shaking her head.

"Sure you do," he whispered, trailing tiny kisses down her jaw line toward her ear. "It'll be fun Amanda. You've been talking about this for two weeks." Feeling her muscles tight beneath his touch, he sighed, inhaling the wonderful sweet fragrance of her perfume as it engulfed him. "Why are you so tense?" he questioned, kneading her shoulders with the well-practiced ease his fingers knew by heart.

"Because I don't want to go," was her quiet response as she lifted a hand to cover his. "Please don't do that," she protested softly, referring to the gentle massage he was giving her upper body. "You know what that does to me."

Lee smiled against her skin, glancing back into the mirror to discover that not only had she leaned her weight back into him, but she had also closed her eyes in quiet submission to his touch. He chuckled softly to himself all too aware of the effects his massages had on her body.

"Yes I know what this does to you," he purred in a low sensual tone. "And as much as I would love to take you there… we have a commitment," he continued, drawing his hands and mouth slowly away from her body. "One you're going to make us fashionably late for."

"Lee… " she protested, giving him a look as he quickly set her balance back to her feet and stepped away toward the dresser.

"Now I myself think that your silver necklace and diamond earrings would look absolutely gorgeous with that dress," he continued, looking through her jewelry box quickly for the items. "And the bracelet the boys bought you for Christmas would be perfect to complete the ensemble."

"You're going to make me do this, aren't you?" she questioned posting her hands along her hips.

"Yep, I sure am," he returned grinning as he continued his search. "You wanted to go, I bought the tickets and now I'm not going to let you back out of this. Besides if you don't go, you're going to be disappointed that you missed it."

"Somehow I doubt that," she muttered, stepping to his side as he retrieved the earrings proudly from their compartment.

"Ta da…" Turning he held them to her ear, observing their look. "These are perfect," he beamed, giving her a quick kiss. "You're absolutely breathtaking Manda. Don't you want to show me off?" he teased.

Unable to keep the disapproving scowl on her features she smiled warmly at his compliment and took the earrings. "Fine, if we're going get out of here and let me finish up," she commanded, shooing him away.

"Okay, but don't be too long, the clock's ticking," he agreed. "I'll be downstairs giving the last minute instructions to our dynamic duo." Blowing her a quick kiss, he headed back down the hall with a smile.

"Mom's still not ready?" Jamie asked in surprise when he stepped into the kitchen where the boys had congregated for an early evening snack.

"No, she's putting on the finishing touches, I hope," he breathed, swiping a carrot stick from the small plate Phillip had sitting on the counter.

"Man you guys are going to be sooo late," Phillip piped in shaking his head. "You know, I remember her doing the exact same thing ten years ago… or was it twelve?" he muttered trying to think back as he used one of the short orange sticks to emphasis his statement. Unable to pinpoint the time he shook it off and glanced back to his waiting stepfather. "Anyway the point is… " he continued pointing the carrot toward Lee. "Once she realized she was going to be late, Grandma couldn't talk her into going for any amount of money."

"Well she's going this time," Lee corrected strongly. "I'm ready, she's nearly ready… we're going even if we have to make a grand entrance in the middle of the festivities."

"There you go," Jamie laughed patting Lee on the back as he rose to refill his glass of milk. "Be firm, be the man of the house. Show her who's boss," he giggled.

"Oh you're a laugh riot tonight, aren't you?" Lee questioned giving him a smirk. "Seriously though, your mom needs a night out and I'm going to do everything in my power to see that she enjoys it. Now," rubbing his hands together quickly he looked back to Phillip. "You're in charge tonight until your Grandmother comes home. She said she'd be in around eleven…"

"Don't sweat it, I've got it covered," Phillip assured him around a carrot stick shoved in his mouth.

"No parties…" Lee pressed, holding his fingers up as he counted off the rules. "No female companions…" this made Jamie snicker again and shoot a look toward his older brother. "No leaving the house…"

"No drugs, no booze, no guns, no gang fights," Phillip teased grinning.

"No locking your brother in the hall closet," Jamie added laughing.

"No Satanic rituals in the garage," Phillip continued with a nod toward his brother. "No making of bombs in the den, no skinny dipping in the back yard…"

"We don't have a pool…" Jamie informed him quickly.

"Okay, no running around butt naked in the back yard," he corrected as Lee sighed, giving them both a look. "Does that about cover all your do's and don't's? " he asked with a smile.

Lee grinned shaking his head. "Okay, so you've got the idea. Behave yourselves," he returned. "We'd like the house to be in the same condition when we come home."

"Do you mean standing or clean?" Phillip inquired innocently.

"Very funny. Now the number of the hotel where we'll be is on the refrigerator. If you have any problems contact us there. Depending upon the layout of the buffet, I may take your mother out to eat afterwards. Lord knows what they're going to serve us," he muttered rubbing his neck. "We should be home around one at the latest."

"Just go and have a good time Lee, we'll be fine," Jamie assured him with a smile. "We're just going to order some pizza and sit around watching movies."

"Yeah, Mark and Brett's coming over about eight. They said they'd bring the movies if we supplied the pizza," Phillip informed him. "You have a good time with mom and we'll have a boy's night around the t.v."

"No skin flicks," he warned them sternly as he pulled his wallet out and handed over two twenties. "This should cover the pizza's. You tell Brett if he drinks that entire case of soda in the icebox I'm going to hunt him down and hurt him," he teased. "I just bought that damn thing yesterday. I'd like to have a couple before he devours them. I swear I think the only reason those boys comes over here is to eat us out of house and home," he muttered shaking his head.

"You want me to padlock the icebox?" Jamie asked snickering.

"I'm ready," Amanda called coming downstairs quickly drawing their attention as she stepped into the kitchen. "How do I look?" she asked nervously.

"Wow mom, you're a knock out," Phillip whistled.

"A total fox. That dress is rad," Jamie agreed nodding his approval.

"You're sensational," Lee added smiling.

"Thanks guys," she returned with a small smile gripping her small purse tightly in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she nodded toward Lee. "If we're going to do this we'd better go before I change my mind."

"Your chariot awaits," he breathed, leaning in for a quick kiss then turned her toward the door.

"Have a good time," Jamie called, waving them off.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," Phillip added following them through the house to the front door.

"Just remember what I said," Lee pressed opening the door for her.

"You boys behave and stay out of trouble until your Grandmother comes home," Amanda called toward them as Lee led her down the walk toward his car.

"We'll be fine mom, have a good time," Phillip hollered back then waved once more and shut the door.

"They're going to be just fine Manda," Lee assured her yet again, helping her inside the car. "I gave them the do's and don't's, they're capable boys. Phillip's big enough to watch his brother without you worrying about them."

Shutting the door he hurried around to his side and slid in, starting the engine. "Besides, we're just going to be across town and Mark and Brett are coming over to keep them occupied," he continued.

"Hmmm… that means the cupboards will be bare when we get home," she muttered shaking her head as Lee backed the car out of the driveway and proceeded down the darkened street.

"They'd better not be," he said laughing.

TBC

Pulling into the hotel parking lot, Lee eased the vette into place, turning off the engine quietly as he looked toward his wife. She had been silent the entire trip, only speaking when he prompted her for an answer. The closer they came to their destination the more uneasy she seemed.

"Manda, if this is really making you that uncomfortable we don't have to go inside," he whispered, reaching over and taking her hand tightly in his. She immediately intertwined her fingers through his, giving him a hard squeeze. "I just thought… you were really excited about this last month when we received the invitation in the mail. I thought you'd want to see your old friends."

"I do, at least a good majority of them. I haven't kept up with most since we graduated," she returned, looking toward the building.

"Then what's wrong honey? We had a wonderful time at your college reunion a few years ago. You've been trying to back out of this since we woke up this morning," he admitted, turning his body toward her in the small space available. "Who do you think might be inside that you're dreading to meet?"

Looking toward him quickly, Amanda saw the small smile on his face and marveled at his ability to read her so well. "Is it an old boyfriend?" he teased lightly. "Should I be worried that an old flame may try and steal my wife away from me?"

"That should be the farthest thing from your mind," she retorted dryly as she heard him chuckle.

"Then what is it?"

"There was this girl I went to school with," Amanda confessed softly looking down at her lap. "Her name was Meredith Morgan at the time. Most everyone called her M&M back then." Lee nodded listening quietly. "She was in the cheerleading squad with me our freshman year, that's how we met. She was pretty, popular, everything anyone wanted."

With a sigh, she shook her head. "At first I thought we were friends, it wasn't until a year or so later that I realized her kindness was just a smoke screen. She's very competitive Lee, she always has been. She's a user, she manipulates and bends people with her charm and good looks then just discards them away when she's had her fill."

Tightening her grip on his fingers, she took another breath. "When we first met she seemed really nice and you know how I am. I always see the good in people and refuse to think differently until it comes back and bites me. We hung around a lot that freshman year. We talked about the boys we liked, worked together on our homework… I really thought I'd made a good friend. It wasn't until that next year that I realized how mean and self centered she really was."

"What happened?" he questioned softly.

"She started out stealing the cheers we'd worked up over the summer, taking credit for them, sucking up to the other girls. I lost head cheerleader to her that year because of the fact. But it didn't end there. If it had, I could have gotten over it and moved on, but… then she set her sights on Barry Wilhelm."

"Who was that?"

"Barry was a friend. We'd gone out a few times, we weren't serious but we enjoyed being together and doing things. The moment she stepped into the picture Barry was gone. He no longer had time to go to the movies or a pep rally with me, he was always with Meredith."

Lee frowned, hearing the past hurt creeping back into his wife's tone. To him Barry Wilhelm sounded like a total jerk.

"The thing of it was… it didn't stop with Barry. Every time I went out with someone, no more than a few days later I'd see Meredith going out with the same boy. It was so frustrating," she admitted shaking her head. "I didn't know what to do about it. It was like she was trying to ruin my life. Everything I did she wanted to prove she could do it better."

"She was jealous of you," he returned gently.

"Of me? Why? What did I have for her to be jealous of?" Amanda asked looking toward him.

"Sweetheart, you would be amazed," he whispered smiling. Releasing her hand he reached up and caressed her jaw lightly, trailing his fingertips tenderly along the outline of her lips as he cupped her face. "You've got the most sweetest, wonderful, giving personality that I've known anyone to posses. You're kind and compassionate… every inch of your body is sensual and erotic. People flock around you and look up to you, men and women alike. Your understanding and friendship is like a magnet that draws on an inner desire that even I don't understand. I can easily see why she would be jealous of you and your gifts. If she is as self-centered and callus as you described then I can imagine she felt threatened by your popularity and that was the reason behind her past actions."

Amanda sat silent for a few moments then nodded her head in acceptance of his words. "But that wasn't all. What really upset me Lee, more than anything else, was after High School she dated Joe," she confessed softly, feeling his fingers delicately working their magic on her neck. "He went out with her three times while we were dating."

"Oh Manda…" 'That bastard! How could he do something like that to her?' he growled inwardly, this little tidbit of information just giving him all the more reason to dislike her ex-husband.

"He assured me nothing went on," she returned quickly, shaking her head. "But the fact was she went out with him and I'm not sure how I can deal with that. I haven't seen her since. I never really confronted her about it. The fact of it is… I said very little to Joe. I was so hurt… he had told me he loved me but he…"

"Hey," he pressed, turning her chin toward him. "Joe's in the past sweetheart, it's me now. Don't let this upset you, please. It happened twenty years go and I can guarantee that the woman isn't going to hurt you again," he whispered tenderly. "The odds are she probably isn't even going to be here tonight." He gave her a smile, allowing his thumb to trace small circles along her soft cheek. "You've got a bunch of friends inside probably dying to see you again. Don't let her actions of the past spoil this night for you. Let's go inside, I'd like to meet some of your school pals," he said smiling. "We can always leave early," he suggested lightly. "I've got pictures of the boys all ready to whip out and proudly pass around."

She smiled at his words, exhaling roughly. "You're right. I'm just being silly. Why should I let a rivalry of twenty years ago ruin our evening? I've got nothing to be apprehensive about."

"There you go. That's the Amanda I remember," Lee returned, flashing her a grin. "Sit tight and I'll come around." Opening the door, he swung his long form out and hurried around the car.

"Have I told you how breathtakingly handsome you are in that black suit this evening?" she asked as he assisted her from the vette.

"Thank you."

He smiled as she ran her fingers tenderly along his chest. "I think I like this almost as much as your tuxedo," she purred, leaning into him for a gentle kiss.

He groaned, pulling her tighter against his body, feeling her tongue surging with power against his. Allowing himself to enjoy the moment, his hands caressed and explored her familiar curves, drinking in the sensations she produced throughout his form. "Hmmm… I love you," he breathed, holding her close.

"I love you too," she returned, feeling his lips nibbling her throat with their caress. "We'd better go in before we get too side-tracked," she teased.

Grinning he pulled back, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Yeah, I'm kinda bad about that, aren't I?"

"You're not hearing any complaints from me."


* * *


Walking inside with his arm firmly around her waist, Lee flashed her a bright smile as he led her toward the ballroom designated for the gathering. Stepping inside the big double doors both stopped, staring at the décor.

"Wow," he breathed in surprise. "They decked this place up."

"Oh yeah."

Throughout the large area tables were scattered about, white cloth table coverings dotting the tops with crystal wear and plates covering the surface. Huge bouquets of multi-colored flowers graced the tables as centerpieces with several other floor standing plants spread throughout the room. Streamers in her school's color draped the area with a big sign hanging across the center of the room in welcome for all the attendee's. Soft music filtered over the loudspeakers, giving a pleasing atmosphere to the large crowd of people already in attendance.

"Amanda? Amanda West, is that you?" a voice drew them to the right as both glanced over seeing a slim dark haired woman rising from behind a table which was covered in pamphlets and nametags. "It is you! Oh my God, it's been ages!" she exclaimed excitedly as she moved toward them.

"Donna Payton," Amanda returned as the two embraced quickly. "Look at you, you look wonderful," she said happily, pulling back from the woman's hug.

"Five marriages later and I'm still a Payton," Donna said laughing.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Amanda swallowed hard as Lee grinned beside her. It was clear to him that the woman before them wasn't the least bit upset about her predicament.

"Oh don't be sorry, I'm not," she returned brightly. "They weren't what I was looking for. I'm too independent to be tied down to one man. I'm not going to be changing my ways at this point in life. Do you know I ended up marrying Jimmy after High School? We lasted a whole ten months."

"Oh my," Amanda managed with a weak smile.

"Enough about me," Donna interrupted waving the conversation off with a flamboyant gesture as she looked toward Lee. "Tell me who this darling man is with you. You're going to be the hit of the night," she teased toward him.

He grinned taking her hand as she presented it, allowing Amanda to introduce him. "Donna this is my husband Lee Stetson," she said proudly.

"Pleased to meet you," he said pleasantly.

"Husband? Oh my God, if you didn't get the pick of the litter," Donna proclaimed smiling broadly toward Amanda. "You've been hanging out at the right watering hole. Come on let's get you signed in so you can mingle. Mercy if you haven't done better than Barry… he doesn't hold a candle to him," she continued stepping away, talking more to herself than them.

Lee chuckled wrapping his arm around his wife as they moved off after Donna. "She's very colorful," he observed.

"She's always been very outspoken," Amanda agreed.

"Did you know he's selling insurance now?" Donna asked turning back toward them.

"Who? Barry?" Amanda asked surprised as Donna handed over their nametags. "I thought he wanted to be a professor."

"Nah, he flunked out his first two years in College when he moved away," Donna continued, babbling on. "When he moved back home his father set him up in the family business. Him and his wife are sitting across the room at the far table. He's going to love seeing you again," she pressed motioning them toward the crowds. "Ask him about his kids, they've got five!"

"Five? Oh my goodness," Amanda laughed.

"Is this the Barry you were telling me about?" Lee inquired lightly as they made their way across the room.

"The one and same."

"Wow, imagine that. You could be married to an insurance tycoon with five kids."

Amanda gave him a smirking look and a hard nudge in the ribs as he laughed. "Very funny Stetson."

To Lee's delight, they were stopped several times as people began recognizing Amanda. He stood back, listening happily to all the wild times they recapped, pleased to see his wife laughing and enjoying herself after all the worry she'd put herself through. He was introduced and awed over by several women, thankfully for him, they were all still single or divorced. He wasn't in the mood to have to deal with any jealous husbands the way some of them went on about him.

Sticking close to Amanda's side, his fingers constantly intertwined with hers, he smiled and laughed, falling into conversation with a few of the women's spouses as the ladies reminisced old times. By the time they'd managed to traverse the majority of the floor, he'd snagged a couple of glasses of wine for them from a passing waiter and smiled pleasantly toward who only could be the elusive Barry Wilhelm as the man grinned broadly at Amanda.

"Mandy! You did come," he said happily, rising quickly to his feet and dragging Amanda away from Lee with a strong bear hug that nearly caused her to spill her wine down his back. "I wasn't sure if we'd see you after you didn't show up at our last get together. I thought you'd moved away."

"No, I've been here all my life," she managed, pulling herself away from his big arms. "Good lord Barry, you nearly squeezed me to death. Look at you, how have you been?" she asked smiling.

"I've been good," he returned nodding. "A few hairs lighter, and a few pounds heavier, but good." Giving her an approving look, he shook his head in wonder. "You're beautiful Mandy, the years have been great to you."

'A few hairs?' Lee thought smugly, looking the man over carefully. 'That's an understatement.' The man was in dire need of a chrome polish in his opinion. What hair he did have left had seemed to migrate down around his ears and across the back of his head. 'You're bald as a cue ball buck-o.'

"Thanks," Amanda returned blushing slightly at his compliment. "Barry, there's someone I'd like you to meet," she said quickly, turning toward Lee and taking his hand again. "This is my husband Lee Stetson, Lee, this is Barry Wilhelm, an old friend of mine."

"Hello, Barry," Lee offered lightly, tipping his glass in greeting. "I've heard a bit about you."

"Only good I hope," Barry teased. "It's good to meet you Lee. Are you taking good care of my Mandy?" he questioned, faking a serious tone.

"I think she's pretty happy," Lee returned then gave Amanda a look. "Mandy?" he muttered, leaning closer to her ear as Barry turned away from them and back to the table. "I thought you didn't like to be called Mandy."

"I don't," she returned through a plastered smile. "This is why."

"Ah," he breathed, grinning broadly at this little information.

"Mandy, Lee, this is my wife Estelle," Barry proudly introduced, holding his wife's hand as she rose from the table. "Estelle, this is Mandy We… ah… Mandy Stetson," he corrected quickly. "We were really good friends in High School."

"Call me Amanda," Amanda corrected sweetly, shaking hands with Estelle. "It's good to meet you."

Lee nodded his greeting as Barry motioned them to the vacant seats. "Sit down please. There's so much we need to talk about. What have you been up to Mandy? What have you been doing with yourself all these years?"

Lee pulled out her chair pushing her toward the table before he seated himself next her as Amanda spoke. "Well, I'm working for a film company right now, I've been there for the last five years," she said proudly as Estelle grinned. "I've got myself two wonderful boys, who are at home at this very moment probably pigging out on pizza and soda's," she said laughing.

"A film company, wow. Here in D.C.?" Barry questioned. "I don't remember hearing about that…"

"Oh it's nothing special, we deal in documentary pieces. 'The life and death struggle of the Caterpillar,' stuff like that," Lee interjected with an absent shrug. "We work behind the scenes, mostly in the film library and scouting locations."

"You work together?" Estelle asked surprised.

Amanda nodded, reaching over to caress the back of Lee's hand lying on the table. "Yes, in fact that's were we met," she confessed, giving her husband a tender smile. "Lee's my boss."

Lee chuckled, shaking his head. "Only in the office I assure you," he teased. "When it comes to the house, it's her home turf hands down."

"So how long have you two been married?" Barry inquired leaning forward as Lee intertwined his fingers with the slender ones of his wife. "And you said you have two boys at home eating pizza?"

Amanda laughed, shaking her head. "We've only been married two years and the boys are from a previous marriage. Phillip's our oldest, he just turned sixteen four months ago…"

"And drives like a maniac," Lee chuckled.

"He gets that from you, you know," Amanda returned.

"And Jamie's our youngest, he's only fourteen, but he's got a great head on his shoulders," Lee continued, flashing his wife a quick smile as he pulled his hand back, reaching into his suit jacket. "We've got pictures," he said proudly, pulling them out. "I heard you two have a few of your own."

"A few?" Estelle laughed as Barry rolled his eyes smiling. "We've got five, three girls and two boys. The boys are the oldest."

"We're hoping for a girl ourselves," Lee admitted shyly, handing over the pictures as Estelle quickly pulled hers out and passed them across the table. "But we haven't really decided when to start trying."

"Always try," Barry teased as he leaned in looking at the pictures his wife held. "And don't wait too long you two. We've learned if you wait for the money to be right or the housing space to be available you're never going to have any. Just go with the flow and let nature take its course. Do you have any of your own, Lee?" he asked looking over to Lee and Amanda who were admiring their horde of bandits.

"No, I don't. This is my first marriage," Lee admitted as Amanda and Estelle traded pictures. "You've got yourselves a wonderful set of children there."

"Thank you, yours are beautiful," Estelle returned smiling.

"Then you guys need to have a couple," Barry interrupted, motioning with his hands. "You'll fall in love with the pitter patter of little feet running all over the house. I love kids."

"I noticed." Lee grinned, looking toward Amanda as he wrapped his arm gently around the back of her chair. "I think we'll eventually take the plunge, but right now, with us both working, our jobs are just a bit too hectic and I refuse to have Amanda give up her hard earned career to be at home again with the kids unless that's what she really wants. We do well to work in family outings with the boys now."

"I would love to be out of the house and back in the workforce," Estelle commented truthfully. "I've been at home with the kids for the last twelve years and to tell you the truth, I crave adult interaction at times," she said smiling.

"Oh yeah, gone are the days of late night romantic dinners and nights on the town," Barry agreed. "This is the first time we've been out without the kids in nearly a year. I think I've forgotten how to dance."

Lee laughed, trailing his fingers along the back of Amanda's neck, feeling her chuckling beside him. In his opinion, the night was turning out fabulously. Amanda was relaxed and having a great time and he was enjoying himself tremendously meeting all her old friends.

"Amanda? Amanda," A voice rang out behind Amanda's shoulder, causing her to tense up almost the instant it was uttered. "Where's your handsome husband Joe?"

Feeling her muscles tighten Lee looked over his shoulder at the speaker in the same instant his wife turned quickly in her seat, looking up at the tall, blonde woman standing behind them.

"Meredith…"

TBC

'So much for our night,' Lee sighed inwardly, looking up into the steely eyes of one Meredith Morgan as she and Amanda quietly sized each other up. 'What happened to the odds being in our favor?'

Eyeing the newcomer with a careful look, one that he used to only reserve for the prominent dates in his life, Lee checked her out thoroughly. She held herself with an air of superiority shoulders back and straight, chin firm. She wasn't bad looking. The years had been kind to her. Her skin was still soft and creamy, well tanned as far as her dress line allowed the eyes to explore. In his opinion, she had a few more pounds placed throughout her form than Amanda did, but she carried it well and didn't allow the extra fat to interfere with her looks.

'The hair's definitely bleached,' he mused quickly in his examination. 'I've seen enough saloon jobs in my time to spot those roots anywhere.' Trailing his eyes downward, he took in her too perfect nails and their bright red coloring to match the skin-tight dress she had clearly been poured into. 'Wonder when the last time was those hands saw a decent days work?'

With a sigh, he relaxed back into his chair, allowing his fingers to tenderly caress at the tension knotting along his wife's neck. 'Nice overall packaging, but there's far too many flaws that the pretty surface decorations can't mend. I wouldn't have touched her even in my hay day. No, she's not got anything on my Manda. All the ribbons in the world can't make that present any more appealing. I prefer the natural down to earth types. I'll keep my Manda any day of the week over that one,' he thought smiling.

"Joe isn't with you?" Meredith asked again, darting her eyes quickly to Lee's form and the position of his hand before looking back into the darker ones of Amanda.

"No, Joe and I are no longer together. We've been divorced for nearly seven years now," she said calmly.

"Meredith, it's good to see you," Barry tried to intervene, standing quickly and holding out his hand. "How have you been?"

"Really?" Meredith breathed, looking back toward Lee, who at this time wasn't even staring at her. He had his attention on his wife and the way she kept twisting her purse strap tightly between her hands. "Well isn't that just too bad. I was hoping to rehash old times with him," she stated, giving Amanda a smirking smile.

"Well, you're just going to have to discuss that with him and his wife," Amanda threw back, shrugging her shoulders as if to brush the comment off. "As far as I know, they weren't invited tonight."

"No, I suppose not," she agreed then nodded to Barry and Estelle as if seeing them for the first time. "Hi Bar, how's it going?"

"Good, good," he returned quickly, eyeing the two women with an unreadable expression. Estelle was watching the entire scene along with Lee and he caught her eye, giving her a small shrug as if to say, 'Beats me what's going on.'

"Care if I join you?" Meredith asked, not bothering to wait for a response as she quickly drew out a chair and sat down between Lee and Estelle. "I don't know you," she said straight out, turning toward him.

"No, we've never met before," Lee stated, giving her a smile, his hand never stilling on his wife's neck.

"Well, I'm Meredith, and you are?" she asked giving him a big smile.

Reaching out, he picked up his glass slowly, tipping it toward her. "I'm Lee, Amanda's husband." Feeling Amanda's hand slid across his thigh beneath the table, he turned to her and gave her a sweet smile, winking toward her.

"Damn Amanda, how'd you manage to snag him?" Meredith asked condescendingly. "Is she drugging your food?" she asked in a teasing tone, leaning toward him.

"Meredith…" Amanda warned in a low tone.

"Not that I'm aware of," Lee returned shaking his head. "Actually I thought I was the one that got the better end of the deal. She's a pretty special woman, Meredith. I'm honored she chose to marry me."

"Listen Meredith, it's great to see you again, why don't you check out the rest of the room?" Barry suggested hopefully, feeling the tension radiating off the two women. "I'm sure there's a lot of men out there that's more than willing to say hi and give you a big welcome…"

"I'm happy right here, Barry, thank you," she returned, giving him a smile. "So you Barry's wife right? I think I met you at our last get together. Didn't you have like nine kids or something?" she asked of Estelle.

"We have five and yes, we did meet before," Estelle muttered dryly. "It's good to see you again."

"Of course it is. So," she turned back to Amanda and Lee, blocking the Wilhelm's from her mind. "How long you two kiddies been married and where are you living now?" she inquired pleasantly.

"Two wonderful years," Lee said before Amanda had the opportunity to speak. "And we're living in the area."

"Where?" she asked again.

"Around," he muttered, taking another drink. "I don't like giving our address out to people we just met you know. There's all kinds out there, you can never be too careful," he added smiling.

"Well that's just silly, I've known Amanda since she was fifteen."

Lee shrugged. "You just met me."

"Meredith, go visit with someone else," Amanda pressed giving her a hard look. "I really don't have much to say to you."

"Oh Mandy, you're still not upset over what Joe and I did, are you?" Meredith questioned sarcastically. "That was a long time ago…"

"You want to talk to me?" Amanda asked harshly, rising from her chair. "Then come with me and we'll talk…"

"Manda…" Lee pressed, rising with her as he grabbed her arm. "I don't think you should…"

Meredith laughed, drawing both of their attention. "Oh please sit down. We're not going outside, or in a corner, or anywhere else. If you can't take what I have to say out here in public, then I don't need to waste my time."

"Now listen here…"

"No really, it happened a long time ago. I could care less what you think or how you feel. It's not my concern," Meredith continued rising. "You're still the same girl I knew when I…"

"Let's dance," Lee interrupted, pushing Amanda in front of him toward the small dance floor.

"Lee I don't want to…"

"We're going to dance," he pressed, giving her a hard look. Setting her jaw, she allowed him to led her to the dance floor and wrap his arms tightly around her ridged body before she finally looked back into his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded sternly as he slowly led her in time with the music and the swaying of the other couples.

Leaning his face toward her, he moved his mouth closer to her ear so that their conversation would be more private. "Because I didn't come here to see my wife duke it out with an old rival," he muttered.

"I wasn't going to hit her," she returned, tightly.

He chuckled lightly, feeling her beginning to relax against his body. "You could have fooled me. You looked like you could bite through titanium."

"She just makes me so mad…" she complained, balling her fist up in the back of his jacket material.

"Hey, don't skin me alive," he protested, feeling the tightness. "I'm not the one talking all tawdry and throwing my smutty ways up in everyone's face. I'm just your innocent hubby, remember? The one trying to defuse the situation before it gets explosive."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, loosing her hold and rubbing his back tenderly. "Thank you for having enough foresight to keep me from making a fool of myself."

He pulled back slowly, holding her against his chest as he smiled down into her eyes. "You know what? Remember what you always tell me?" At her look, he elaborated. "When I'm upset and ready to hit the nearest wall, you always tell me to think it through. You ask me what good getting mad will do anyone. Well," he whispered, kissing her nose softly. "What good would getting mad at her and making a scene in front of your friends do other than give them something to talk about for the next ten years?"

"Nothing," she admitted weakly, lowering her eyes to his shirt.

"Uh-huh, and why would you want to play into her hands? She's only saying those things to push your buttons Manda, you know that," he returned. "You're not that type of person. Don't fall for her deceptions. Let's not ruin our evening okay? We've had a great time so far."

"Yeah," she admitted smiling up at him. "You're right. I'm being very childish about this whole thing."

"You didn't hear that from me," he teased, laying his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry," she returned, running her hand up his back and tenderly running it through the back of his hair. "I promise to behave the rest of the night and ignore all her barbs."

"That sounds like a plan to me. What say you and I, after we get finished reminiscing, find a nice quiet, sparsely lit restaurant and treat ourselves to a wonderful meal, without interruptions, all alone?" he whispered, kissing her nose again. "Sound like fun?"

"That sounds incredible," she returned, lifting herself to kiss his lips. "With you at my side, I know I'm going to have a wonderful time."

"Always my love, always."

"But what about the dinner they're serving here?" she asked skeptically.

"Do you really want to stay and have to listen to her while we eat?" he asked seriously. "You know she's going to keep this up all night. Wouldn't it be better, just me and you, all alone under romantic lighting?"

"Yeah, it would be," she agreed smiling.

"See, I knew you'd agree," he grinned, kissing her quickly.

Dancing slowly amid the assortment of couples around them they both held each other close and blocked out all the surrounding distractions. Lee willingly lost himself in his wife's beautiful eyes, gazing lovingly at her smiling features, kissing her time and again with the urge became too strong to ignore.

To his surprise, several songs later he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention. "Could I have the next dance?" Meredith asked, smiling sweetly at Amanda as she lifted her head from his chest.

"No I don't think so," Amanda returned, shaking her head.

"Sorry, my dance card's all filled up for the night," Lee added, giving Meredith one of his best smiles as he drew Amanda closer and moved off, nibbling her neck. "She doesn't hold a candle to you my love. You're all I'm ever going to need in my arms, now and forever."

"I love you too," she whispered, drawing his lips down to hers with a gentle pull. "Thank you for being my knight in shinning armor."

"It's my pleasure, I assure you," he whispered into her mouth.


* * *


When they pulled up into the driveway of their home, Lee sighed, looking toward his lovely wife. "Every single light in the house is on," he muttered, shaking his head.

She smiled, caressing his face. "I know sweetheart, apparently mother just came home as well."

"Well, let's go round up the hoodlums and see what's still intact," he teased, climbing out of the car and moving around to open her door. As he helped her out, he motioned to the black Trans Am still parked ahead of them. "You think I'm going to need to move or are they sleeping on the couch?"

"What's tonight?" she asked as they moved up the walk hand in hand. "Friday?"

Lee nodded then looked toward her as they both spoke at once. "Sleeping on the couch." Laughing he drew her against him under the porch light and kissed her soundly. "I love you Mrs. Stetson. I had a wonderful time tonight."

"Hmmm… so did I, I'm glad you made me go."

Grinning he kissed her stronger, pressing her tight against his body as his hands roamed freely along her slim form. Amanda's hands no more than tangled into his hair when they heard the front door open beside them. "Yep they're home!"

Pulling back, Lee smiled, looking toward the announcer. "Hello Brett," he said patiently as the younger boy grinned out at them.

"Hi ya, Mr. S. Did you and Mrs. S have a good night?" the younger boy asked, standing in the doorway in little more than a pair of sweats and a tee-shirt. Lee couldn't remember when he'd seen the boy in shoes other than during school and in the winter.

"We were trying," Lee returned as Amanda giggled against his chest.

"Cool, we thought we heard the vette pull up. Come on in," he waved, stepping back down the small incline.

"Isn't it nice to be invited into our own house?" Lee asked as they stepped inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Hi mom, hi Lee, did you guys have a good time?" Jamie asked, passing by with an armful of blankets and a smile.

"Yeah it was great," Amanda returned as they made their way into the den where they found the other two boys sprawled out on the furniture. "You are going to clean this up, right?" she questioned, motioning to the room in general.

Empty pizza boxes, plates, and coke cans littered the furniture and floor amid several pillows and shoes, along with what they both knew were Mark's and Brett's overnight bags flung in the corner. Jamie dropped the armload of blankets onto the edge of the couch as he grinned, nodding his head, before sliding into the floor and snagging one of the few pieces of cold pizza still sitting on the table.

"Oh yeah, we'll get it for you, Mrs. S. Don't worry about it," Mark assured her with a smile. "Just as soon as the movie's over."

"You do that," Lee returned giving Amanda a look. "Is your Grandmother home?" he questioned.

"Nope, not yet."

"Makes sense, otherwise the house wouldn't look like this," Amanda breathed, shaking her head in wonder. "Let's go check out the damage in the kitchen. Looks like you and I have a little clean up duty before we call it a night."

"Ah the pleasures of children," he teased, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "I like it," he growled, kissing her along the neck.

"Behave," she laughed, smacking at his hands when he lifted them too high.

Chuckling quietly they moved into the kitchen together, Lee sighing as he looked at the disarray around them. "Wow, four boys can really trash a kitchen," he muttered releasing her and stepping toward the scattered dishes. "Milk shakes? They made milk shakes without me?" he complained, holding up the ice cream stained blender.

"If there's any milk and ice cream left I'll make you one," she assured him with a smile, picking up the glasses and spoons and lowering them into the sink. "After we do these dishes…" shaking her head, she looked down at her dress and then at Lee who was wiping at the counter. "Come on, let's go change, then we'll hit the clean up."

"Good idea, I'd hate for you to get anything on your dress. The next thing on the agenda is a dishwasher around this joint." Holding out his hand, he drew her to him and started up the stairs as they heard the front door open.

"I'm home," Dotty called happily.

"We're heading up to change, we've got kitchen detail," Amanda called back, smiling.

"How was your reunion dear? Did you two have a good time?" Dotty asked stepping into view.

"Oh it was a night to remember," Lee laughed, pushing Amanda up the stairs ahead of him.


* * *



The End