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Disclaimer: Terri Mason is my character. Gene Simmons and KISS are real persons, but this story is a work of fiction, not intended to harm or demean the parties mentioned. All other characters are property of the author, or else used with the permission of the authors consulted. This story rated PG-13 for adult situations and some language.
Under the blue waters she glided, pushing off from the wall of the
pool. Terri made few bubbles under the water, except when she surfaced
for a breath. Wet hair plastered to her face and she flicked her head to
toss it aside. She had not expected to have an audience right away, but
she was glad when he leaned over the wall on one knee.
"Oh it's you," she laughed.
"This isn't some silly slasher movie," he laughed, taking her face in his hands. She loved how soft his touch was, refined with years of practice. This touch felt as good as the first time he ever caressed her cheek, and she shut her eyes in the force of the warm California sun. The rays warmed her not as much as the contact of his skin to hers.
She noticed he had his swimsuit on under the brief robe. He leapt in, tossing it aside as he landed in a spectacular splash. Playfully they wrestled under the water, kicking and splashing.
"How long till moving day?" Gene asked her unexpectedly.
"The end of this week," she whispered back.
"Mm, I wish almost you'd change your mind, but I know better then to
argue with you once you've decided," Gene sighed, pulling her close to
him. They began to sink in each other's embrace, and she felt Gene's lips
close over her as the waters closed over her head. It was a very odd and
sensual experience to feel his slick skin pressed to hers, the shared breath
they both depended on sealed between their lips.
A week later, she had picked out an apartment, and it was the first
stop on a Saturday night when she arrived. Gene had driven her to the airport,
putting as brave a face on as he could, but she knew he was missing her
already. The apartment she had found on the Internet, in a high rise community
where the rent was affordable, yet it was secure. It was a townhouse, about
a thousand a month, but a good size. Terri saw that the movers had begun
to arrive wit the boxes of her things on that Wednesday night. She hadn't
the energy to unpack yet, so she thought she would leave it to the following
weekend.
Crystal had taken her through the lab, and the new chemists who had just been hired. People remembered Terri, and were flabbergasted to see her again. Lab Supervisor was something she never would have imagined possible, but Crystal, in her "acting" role had done well, since she had been promoted to senior chemist.
"It's great to have you back," Crystal said that day over lunch. It was Friday, and Terri was absently poking the bit of salad. It seemed that her old life was worlds away.
"Yeah. I missed everyone."
"What's the matter?"
"I miss Gene," she whispered.
"It's only been a week. Surely when he was on tour you guys weren't around each other that much…"
"We always found time," Terri said slowly. "I guess I just well, miss him."
"He couldn't come out with you?"
"He had some business to take care of. There's a new movie in production, and he had to meet with the co producer," Terri said. "But he promised he'd come visit two weeks from now…"
"Hmmm yes," Crystal said. "And have you gotten in touch with your parents?"
"They came by the other night and brought me chicken and dumplings," Terri laughed. "My mom was so thrilled to see me… and then she noticed the ring on my finger…"
"Her reaction?"
"She asked when he was coming out to visit, and that I should bring him by the house," Terri laughed.
"Oh boy that's gonna be tough…"
"Yes," Terri sighed. "All they know is his name's Gene. I wish I had told them who he really was. I feel like I was lying…"
"Well you told them he was a producer, right?"
"Yes. They didn't know I was working for KISS specifically. I told them I was a pyrotechnician on tour with a major rock group. Someone they weren't familiar with. Mom doesn’t' know the particular groups anyway…" Terri said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Oh man you gotta tell them…"
"When they meet him they'll know," Terri said slowly. Crystal caught sight of something under her sleeveless shirt.
"Wow, what' that? Another tat?"
"Yes," Terri blushed, and unbuttoned her blouse to show what was scribed in red and black on her left breast, up around the chest. The Demon glared out with extended tongue at her, white ink still healing a little bit.
"Whoopee, that's really something," Crystal laughed. "How much did that one cost?"
"I had it done in Hollywood," she blushed. "Gene was floored, and flattered. I told him it was something that would bond us together forever…"
"Wow, you are hooked!" Crystal laughed, poking a bite of salad into her mouth. Terri delved into the plate of gnocci, in a heavy cream sauce, that was suddenly put before her.
"Wow, this is excellent…" she sighed, savoring each bite. Crystal raised an eyebrow at Terri's menu choice. The Terri she had known had counted calories at lunch, only to do a guilt trip when she craved chocolate. Now Terri ate whatever she wanted, not caring if it was fat loaded or not.
"Well, it's great to see you eating, girl," Crystal laughed. "But how do you stay so toned?"
"A lot of swimming in Gene's pool," she grinned with a wink. "A lot of swimming."
"Mm hmm," Crystal grinned. "I'm sure that's not the only activity you've found fun…"
"Midnight Olympics help too," Terri snickered. Crystal almost spewed her mouthful of spring water she laughed so hard.
"Ohh listen to you! You're in the groove now!"
"Mmm," Terri sighed. "Now, dessert…"
They emerged from Ciggies, in downtown Conshohocken, and climbed
into Crystal's car. They drove the interstate back to Orphan, now owned
by Merk, Sharpe and Dohm. The sign had changed, but not the basic ultramodern
building that looked like a gray diner lined in blue. Both of them chattered
with each other as they placed their namecard badges to the door, and went
inside. Terri strode with even step, her platform loafers putting her almost
six feet tall now. They slipped on their labcoats, and Terri felt as if
she had to enter the lab, before she remembered that she had an office
now.
"I'll bring the latest set of chromatograms. We've had a bit of a flutter with the instrumentation, and we're not sure if it's the mobile phase or the standard," someone shouted to her as she settled into her office. Before long a large stack of printouts were dropped on her desk, with accompanying Certificates of analysis.
"I'll have these approved soon," Terri muttered, glancing over the huge stack. It was going to be a long afternoon. Sighing, she looked to the clock, and then to the stack. She would have been the one gathering the data a year ago, and now she was the one who had to approve it on the LIMS system. A few keystrokes separated approved research data and samples from quarantine.
"Terri! Glad you're in!" someone said, not bothering to knock on her door.
"Uh, hi Scott," Terri said.
"Manager says there's a staff meeting next Monday. I've got a Process meeting to go to and I won't be able to make it…"
"All right, I'll make sure you get the notes for the Thiralophen project updates," Terri said, interrupted in her work. Ten minutes later, she was face to face with someone from Fed Ex.
"Uh, just leave it in front of the lab." Terri said. She had only made it a quarter of the way throughout he pile of data when four o'clock moved by.
"Why don’t' you take an early evening," Crystal told her as Terri glanced up yet again. For the twenty-fifth time!
"But I want to make sure these are approved…"
"Shit, leave 'em for Monday! You have to unpack, girl!"
"But…"
"Get outta here," Crystal laughed. "I'll handle the lab…"
Terri sighed and left her office a clutter. She had barely been here a week and it was already piled high with technical manuals and stacks of data. She didn't have to take the full orientation again, as she had it only six months ago. Since she was so familiar with the chromatography assays, it was easy for her to be thrown right into the routine of a Supervisor. Only briefly had she even been able to get into the lab the whole week. She was missing it.
In addition, there was something else she was missing. Sighing she walked out to the parking lot to the rental car, and climbed inside. She flipped on her CD player and cranked up Revenge very loud. Unholy clicked on, and she lost herself in the gritty base tones she loved so much.
Now all these images swirled in her brain, when she came out of
the elevator, and trekked down the hall to her apartment. To her annoyance,
the door was unlocked. Her heart pounded for a minute when she opened the
door and saw the mess inside. Boxes were open, with packing material strewn
about. Grabbing her shoe off, she limped inside, holding it up as a defensive
weapon. Loud rock music blared from her stereo, and she knew she hadn't
set her stereo to turn on at four thirty!
Stealthily she sneaked in, hearing the sound of rustling. Whoever it was, was still there. She crossed the living room into the large kitchen area, to find that pots and pans were on the stove, bubbling with some strange concoction, and a cookbook open to a certain recipe. Goldilocks wasn't far from her mind. All the silverware was still there.
Terri crept up the stairs to the second floor of the apartment, hearing what sounded like a toilet flushing. She stood carefully to wait, her shoe in hand. She was determined to nail whoever it was, then run out of the apartment full tilt with her cell phone in hand.
Just then, the bathroom door clicked open, and she heard heavy footsteps. Slowly she backed down the stairs and waited for whomever it was to step down. There came the clomp of what sounded like boots on the wooden open stairs, but she concealed herself behind a partition that fenced off the staircase from the main sitting room.
"All right, stop right there!" Terri shouted, jumping out with her shoe held up. Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her wrist inches from slamming the shoe to his head; the other hand snared in his other.
"Holy shit, that's a fine way to say hello!" Gene suddenly got out as they stared at each other in mutual astonishment.
"You son of a bitch!" she gasped, letting her shoe drop to the floor. "I had no idea… you scared the hell out of me!"
"I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't expect you home so soon after work… I thought I'd come in and surprise you…"
"Well I am surprised," she panted, as Gene released her wrist apologizing.
"I am sorry, sweetheart. Very sorry…" he apologized, kissing her wrist where he'd grabbed it tightly.
"Serve you right if I did knock you out for sneaking in here like that," she grumbled, still annoyed at being so scared.
"You're right, I was an ass for just sneaking in here. But I really thought you'd be pleasantly surprised… I am sorry…"
"How sorry?" Teri asked, taking in the sight of him in tight, lace-up leather pants, and a dark purple shirt, denim. Those boots she loved encased his feet, and they were the steel-toed ones with the straps over the ankles, black to match his sturdy belt.
"Very…" he half purred, half growled as he wrapped her in his arms. She sighed with pleasure, loving the feel of him embracing her again. It had only been a week since they had been apart, but she had to admit she missed him terribly. Terri leaned up for a kiss, as Gene slipped her glasses up to her forehead and tipped her chin to his waiting lips.
"Mmm," she muttered with delight when their deep intense kiss broke. It was far better then the chocolate mousse she had for lunch, just as luscious and just as satisfying. Just then the question crossed her mind and came tumbling out of her mouth a second later, "Gene, I'm so glad to see you again, but I thought you were not going to visit till I was settled in… what was this crap about a production meeting?"
"It was in New York City," Gene winked mischievously. "I thought I'd surprise you. I hopped into a rental car and drove down here. The superintendent let me in when I said I was your boyfriend. Then I started helping you to unpack… because I noticed all these boxes here… are you still mad at me…"
"A little," Terri pouted. "You are a stinker… making me miss you so much!"
"Let's see what we can do about that," Gene cooed, leaning down to press another searing kiss to her hungry lips.
Terri was amazed Gene hadn't burnt the kitchen down. He actually
managed to cook steamed vegetables in her small steamer, with mashed potatoes,
instant, and a good steak in the oven. In front of the television they
both ate, watching a DVD of Nosferatu. IT had been a while since
they'd seen it, and Gene had already picked Zardoz when Terri returned
with something in her hands from the kitchen.
"Wine? You know I don't drink sweetheart…" he laughed as she poured two glasses for them both.
"Just a little sip, because I'm so glad to see you," she said. "You don't have to finish it…"
She handed both drinks to him, and settled down next to him on the leather sofa, making sure her hip pressed invitingly against his. He handed her one glass, keeping the other for himself. Gene peered into the glass a little gingerly, not sure if he would like the taste or not.
"Paul's the one who knows wines," Gene laughed, and they raised their glasses to toast. "What shall we drink to?"
"Being together again," she smiled. "I know it sounds cheesy but…"
"Done," he nodded, clinking glasses. To please her he took a minute sip and put the glass down. Terri took a good swing, and gently stroked his cheek.
"You're a good sport. I'll get you a Fresca," she said, about to get up.
"Uh uh, little girl. I can get it. You just relax…" he scolded, holding her down with one hand. He got up and disappeared into the kitchen. Terri basked in the comfort of the SF movie in the foreground, and the full stomach. Soon she hoped that something else would be filled in as well. He soon returned with chocolate chip ice-cream and a glass of Fresca for himself.
"Where's mine?" she teased.
"There's enough for both of us," he grinned slyly, and set the Fresca down on the coffee table. He dipped the spoon in the ice cream, and held it out to her. She nibbled a bit off, then swallowed the whole spoonful. For a time she let him feed her, and then licked a bit off the spoon himself. They shared it, and the glass of Fresca together, relaxing in front of the television.
"I have to say that Philadelphia hasn't changed much since I was last here," Terri said casually.
"You act as if you're still surprised that it's here..." Gene laughed, setting the now emptied bowl aside on the coffee table. He washed down his last mouthful of ice cream with the last sip of Fresca. Before them on the flickering screen Jay Leno delivered his monologue on the Tonight Show.
"You sneak, you took the last bite of ice-cream," Terri scolded.
Gene leaned over and kissed her on the lips, freezing cold. Even more surprised was she when she felt his tongue slip past her lips, and transfer the chilled mass to her numbed mouth. He gasped with a mouthful of coldness she recognized as ice cream.
"Not when I can share it," he laughed when they parted. "So, does it pass the chemical test?"
"Smart ass," she laughed. Gene grabbed her shoulder and bent her over his lap. He gave her a playful spank on the behind.
"Hey, that means war," she laughed, turning over in his lap and tickling him in the ribs. Playfully they wrestled on the sofa back and forth, until Gene pinned her gently under him, pressing a kiss to her lips.
"You really did miss me, you sentimental fool," she laughed, stroking the side of his face as he pulled away for another breath.
"That obvious, huh?" Gene grinned cheesily.
"Well, how many people would have come three thousand miles just to drop in for a visit?"
"It was not three thousand miles from New York," he corrected. "And besides..."
"Whatever, it was sweet," she sighed, as Gene slowly began to unbutton her work blouse, tracing a trail of kisses after each one. When he had spread her shirt halves aside, he buried his face in her chest, reaching around to liberate her from her bra. Under him, she arched her back with desire at his tongue on her sensitive places that ached for his touch.
For a moment, he drew back, eyes dark as hers with desire. He slipped his hands up her thighs, pushing her skirt up with his wandering touch. Winking, she wrapped her legs around his waist and Gene lifted under her back. Playfully he yanked her up into his arms as he boosted himself off the couch.
Their lips fused into a deep kiss when Gene took a moment to stand there. He strode toward the stairs, carrying his precious cargo upstairs. All the while their kiss remained as unbroken as possible, hot fire passing from her warm exhalations in his mouth into his very being. With a steel-toed boot he kicked open her bedroom door and carried her over to the queen sized bed. He took a moment to lay her down, and drew back to admire her body in the dim light cast from the street.
She pulled him by the front of his shirt down onto the bed next to her. Clothes were shed as quickly as their inhibitions, kisses and caresses abounding amidst licks and whispers of naughty fantasies.
Repeatedly they rolled, locked into a hungry embrace that sprung like a trap. Hungrily she devoured each kiss, each touch, her hands exploring his thick dark hair as if for the first time. When at last they had completed their explorations, Gene entered her in a firm rush of passion. Three thousand miles added to three hundred had heightened his hunger, and he sweat at his massive efforts to tame and please the woman in his arms.
Terri's hunger engulfed her the deeper she pulled him within. It seemed as if he could not fill her enough. As a wildfire, the hunger burned in her bodies recesses until exploding into fast and sweet painful release. Cries merged into the darkness as they satiated their desires together. Distance had no meaning now, but both lay there entwined wondering if it would after this. What had driven her to move so far away, Gene wondered? Terri also wondered if this was worth the price, and if there was, that some cost that would be paid which would be too terrible to contemplate....
Sleep came mercilessly, and mercifully ended their contemplation.