Where We Go From Here

Title: Hidden in Plain View (1/1)

Title: Just the Touch of Your Hand (1/2)
Author: Michelle K. (CageyGrl@yahoo.com)
Rating: NC-17
Archive: If you have some of my other stuff, feel free to have this too. New archives - drop me a line first.
Pairing: Donna/Leo
Summary: Leo and Donna (sorta) make a public appearance together. Someone makes an observation. (sequel to 'Keeping Secrets')

Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" don't belong to me. Instead, they are the sole property of Aaron Sorkin, Warner Brothers Television and NBC.

Much thanks: To the people who sent me feedback on this series. My theory that there is a market for stories that feature Naked! Leo has thus been proven. :)

Notes: I'm going to now title "Where We Go From Here" (partly from a line from the first story, partly from a song of the same name.) Doesn't change anything, just wanted to have a collective name for my little series. In case anyone's just tuning in, the previous stories are:

"Unexpected," "In Need," "Afternoon and Night," and
"Keeping Secrets."

This is written in Donna's POV and third person.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Josh, how long have you been wearing that tuxedo?" I ask my boss with a furrowed brow.

"I don't know," Josh answers with a shrug. "Ten minutes."

"Then how come it looks like you've slept in it?" I question.

"You know I didn't sleep in it. You know I just changed into it."

"I know that. I just find it fascinating that all your clothes turn into a wrinkly mess as soon as they touch your body."

"Well, you know how it is, Donnatella," he says. "Everything withers once it's exposed to my heat." He holds out his arm, exposing a little of his wrist. "Go on. See if you don't crumble."

"I think I'll pass," I reply with a roll of my eyes.

"You don't know what you're missing."

Josh and I are standing outside his office having this odd conversation. This sort of banter seems to have become our trademark. And it can be tiring at times.

He, as you may have already surmised, is wearing a wrinkled tuxedo. A tuxedo that wasn't wrinkled when it was picked up from the dry cleaners, or when it was spending most of the day hanging in his office. The man can somehow wring the life out of Armani in mere seconds. It's amazing, in a way.

I, on the other hand, am dressed impeccably. I have on a black silk dress. Low cut, but not *too* low cut. Part of my back is exposed, but not all of it. It goes down a few inches below my knees. Just enough to be attractive without crossing into slutdom. I even managed to effectively sweep up my hair using a few hairpins and some hairspray.

I look pretty good. Especially for someone who got ready in a White House bathroom.

Oh, and if you're wondering why we're dressed like this, there is a good reason. We're going to a fundraiser. I love getting dressed up for these things.

"So," Josh continues, "what about this guy you're seeing? I would've been happy to have him tag along. Get to met him." He's smiling at me.

"Um...He's busy tonight."

Josh continues to smile. "Well, I can't wait to meet him. I'm sure he's a great guy." This comment, strangely enough, isn't sarcastic.

I stare at him. I can't figure Josh out. Usually, he would be mocking my taste in men. Now, he's patting me on the back and expressing interest in meeting the great guy.

"Josh, are you feeling okay?" I ask seriously.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," I reply. "You're just..." You know, I should just let this serendipity last for as long as I can. "Never mind."

Well, anyway, back to the fundraiser. Josh is going. I'm going. CJ and Toby are going. The President's going.

And Leo's going.

He wasn't originally supposed to go. Originally, it was the President, Josh, CJ, andy. Ty. Then, Josh invited me because he knows I like these things.

And, then, I invited Leo. Well, not really *invited* him, since I don't have any power in these issues. But I asked him if he could go. And he said he would. So, he talked to the President and now he's going. He told me that the President questioned his desire to attend the sort of event he has a natural aversion to. Leo just told him that he wanted a night out.

He didn't lie, technically. He just left out "with my secret girlfriend." Politicians do things like that all the time. They'll know eventually, anyway.

But it probably will be strange - we'll be there together but nobody will really know it.

"What time do we leave for this thing?" Josh asks me.

"In about a half an hour."

"Okay. I'm going to go talk to Sam. Come get me when we're ready to go, okay?"

"Okay," I reply as he walks off.

I wait a few minutes before exiting the bullpen myself. I walk to Leo's office, where I almost bump into Margaret, who seems to be on her way out.

"Hey, Margaret," I say. "Leaving?"

"Yeah. Leo told me I could leave. He doesn't expect to do any work after the fundraiser."

I nod.

"Why? Do you need anything?"

I shake my head. "I just wanted to see Leo." Clarify or this will seem strange. "Josh wanted me to ask him something before we leave. He's in his office, right?"

"Yeah," Margaret asserts. "Be sure to knock, though. He might be getting changed."

If only she knew how much of an issue that isn't. "Okay. Thanks, Margaret," I say.

She walks past me. I watch her walk down the hall before I enter her office and stand by Leo's door. I do knock - I guess that does seem right, even considering our relationship. If I can't be polite to the man I'm sleeping with, whom can I really be polite to?

"Come in," Leo's voice answers through the barrier between us.

I enter, closing the door behind me. He is, for the record, completely dressed.

"Good evening," I say with a smile as I cross towards him, stopping by the front of his desk. "You look quite good tonight."

"You look..." he pauses for a moment as his eyes take me in completely. "Amazing."

I blush a little. "Thanks," I reply.

He gets up and crosses to me. His arms encircle me. It's been two days since we've been this close. It'll be a few hours before we'll be this close again. I rest my head on his shoulder as he lightly kisses my neck. I sigh softly - it's amazing how much I've grown to miss him in the space of a couple of days. But, I'm growing used to it. We're both busy. I understand that we can't be together all the time.

"I like the dress," he breathes into my ear before pulling away slightly.

"Thanks," I say. "It would've cost me an arm and a leg if I weren't returning it tomorrow."

He smiles slightly. "You mean I'll never get to see you in this again?"

"Well, I could always keep buying it and bringing it back."

"They wouldn't notice that after a while?"

"Not if you get a different salesgirl every time. They could be none the wiser."

Leo raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little complicated?"

"That's what you have to do if you're a woman of limited financial means."

"I missed you," he says suddenly. "It's really good to see you."

"You'll see a lot of me later," I remark.

"I'm well aware," he says as he traces the side of my face with his thumb.

I breathe deeply. "Yeah." It's a few moments before I can speak again. "I should go. Josh will sit in Sam's office all night if I don't tell him otherwise."

"I'm well aware," he says again as he takes my hand in his. He lightly moves his lips over my knuckles before kissing my palm. "I'll see you later," he says, almost questioningly.

"Yes. Yes, you will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sam," Josh says as he enters his friend's office, leaving the door open behind him.

"Josh," Sam answers as he shifts his eyes from his computer to his friend's beaming face. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," he asserts happily.

"Tell me."

"I will," Josh says as he sinks down into a chair.

"Okay."

"I'm breaking her, Sam."

"Okay."

"Donna."

"You're breaking Donna," Sam returns.

"Yes." Josh stares at Sam for a moment. "Aren't you going to ask me what I'm talking about?"

"I assume it has something to do with Donna and her fake boyfriend," Sam replies wearily. He has been privy to a point-by-point deconstruction of this theory. He does not need to hear it again.

"Exactly. I'm breaking her. Soon she'll admit it all and I'll be victorious."

Sam nods. "I guess that could happen," he says neutrally.

"Oh, it shall my friend. No one can match my political mind."

"I can think of a few people," a female voice asserts from the door.

Josh swivels around in his chair to see CJ, clad in an elaborate gown. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not too long. But long enough to hear you sound like an ass."

"I'm not an ass. I was the first one to crack the Donna has a fake boyfriend story," he asserts with a playful grin.

"You know Josh, I don't want to call you stupid..." CJ's voice trails off for a moment before continuing. "But you're stupid. You're very stupid." She sits down on Sam's couch, letting her long legs stretch out before her. "You're stupid if you think Donna has a fake boyfriend. You're even stupider if you think that if Donna does have a fake boyfriend, she will end up telling you all about it. You're stupidest yet if you think that she will enjoy the look of victory on your face after she confesses. So, really, there is no way you came emerge from this situation as anything other than a moron."

"Well, when you put it that way," Josh says slyly after considering CJ's monologue for a moment.

"I'm adept in both simplicity and complexity," CJ retorts.

"You know," Josh says with a touch of seriousness, "I am doing this for her own good. If she keeps making up fake boyfriends, she'll eventually end up as a crazy spinster with seventeen cats. Do you really want that to happen to Donna? I thought she was your friend." Now he sounds more than a little self-righteous. But he does also sound concerned.

CJ considers Josh for a moment before answering. "You're an idiot."

Toby enters the office and wordlessly sits down next to CJ.

"Josh is an idiot," CJ informs Toby, who nods in assertion.

"I've thought that many a time," Toby declares.

Josh looks to Sam. "Tell them I'm not an idiot," he says.

"Well," Sam says haltingly. "You do have your moments."

Josh sinks into his chair sullenly. "Well...whatever," he says finally.

"That quip makes your case greatly," CJ returns.

"I'm going to miss hearing this all night," Sam says.

"You're going to miss hearing people attack my intelligence?" Josh questions.

"It does have a certain entertainment value," he retorts. Sam sighs. "I hate being the only one working. Leo's not even going to be here," he says with what veers dangerously close to being a pout. "Leo's always here."

"What's your interest in Leo? Are you having an affair with him or something?" Josh says teasingly, looking for any small way in which to pay back his friend for joining in on the 'Josh-is-an-idiot' assertion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The limos are here. It's now officially time to leave.

Now I just have to get Josh.

I walk to Sam's office. The door's open. And this is what I hear as soon as I step in.

"What's your interest in Leo? Are you having an affair with him or something?"

I stop in my tracks. I almost think he's talking to me for a moment. But he's not. He's looking at Sam.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask him.

Josh turns around. "How can you and CJ manage not to make a sound upon entering a room?" he asks me.

"Women have special powers," I retort. "What did that thing you said to Sam mean?"

"Nothing," he replies with a shrug.

"He was just being an idiot," Sam declares, placing special emphasis on the word 'idiot.'

CJ and Toby nod their assertions.

"Okay, then," I say. There is a backstory to this exchange, I think. But I might as well not question it. Josh wouldn't take well to a few more slaps on his ego. "It's time to leave."

I begin to make my exit. Josh follows, quickly falling into step with me. "You know, you do look nice," he tells me, sounding sincere.

"Thank you," I reply.

Not too long until I can see Leo's face again.

That is very good to know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My eyes scan the room. I can't find Leo; for the record, I can't find Josh, CJ, or Toby either. The four of us arrived together, but all dispersed to mingle. I know the President arrived a while ago - he's the only one I can find in the crowd. That, I would assume, has a lot to do with the fact that he's the President - if you can't notice him in a room, you're probably blind.

Leo, I know, arrived with him. I saw some woman pull him into a conversation. After that, he got lost in the crowd.

I try to raise myself up to look over the people in front of me. But your toes can only get so tippy when they're in heels.

"Don't talk to Gwyneth Weir," a voice behind me warns. I know that voice.

I turn to him. "And why's that?" I inquire with a soft smile.

"She'll tell you all about her family history, dating back to her great-grandparents. They were sheep farmers," he adds with a heavy sigh.

"Sounds fascinating."

"I think you're greatly overestimating the fascinating aspects of sheep."

"Maybe," I say with a shrug.

"It's a little bit to the side of maybe." He smiles at me.

"You know, Karen Cahill's here," I inform him. "Maybe you can go and tell her that I wasn't making a pass at her when I dropped my underwear in front of her."

Leo considers this for a moment. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen."

"It's all your fault, anyway," I declare. "You're the one who had to pick on her shoes."

"And she's the one who bought ugly shoes. I't t't think I could be blamed for that."

"You didn't have to say anything. If you would've kept your mouth shut, Sam would've felt a little smarter and I wouldn't have had my underwear twirled around," I add playfully.

"Worse things could happen." He pauses for a moment. I feel like he's going to kiss me - but there are people here. People who would question why the White House Chief of Staff is kissing someone in the middle of a fundraiser.

So, he just lightly touches my bare arm with his fingertips. It's such a tiny gesture - but it lets me know that he's there.

It's hard to tell, from this light touch, how much has grown between us. But this is us. This moment is ours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CJ slowly turns her head from the older woman, trying to distract herself from the talk of sheep. Her eyes roam the room, scanning the faces of all those who are there.

She thinks nothing of it at first glance. Just two people talking.

But her eyes are drawn back. There is something to the way he looks at her; and she at him. There is something to the way he touches her arm.

She wonders from a moment if she's going crazy; if she is just inventing something to entertain herself.

Leo and Donna?

"Ms. Cregg?" the older woman says, trying to get her attention. "Are you listening?"

CJ breaks her eyes away from the pair and focuses her eyes back on Mrs. Weir. "Yes. Yes, I'm listening," she assures her with a smile.

Leo and Donna. She'd have to pay attention to this, if only to prove her sanity. Or insanity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His fingers lightly grace the back of hand before he lets his arm fall to his side again.

"Dance with me," I say.

He's about to follow me when a man approaches him. He pats him on the back roughly before talking. "Leo," the man says - a tad too enthusiastically if you ask me. What's even worse is that it's obviously fake enthusiasm. I hate guys like that. And from the way Leo's staring at him, I can only assume he feels the same way.

"Steve," Leo says. His voice isn't nearly as enthusiastic. "This is Donna Moss. Donna, this is Steven Cooper."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Moss," the man, or Steven, says to me.

"Nice to meet you," I return.

Steven quickly looks away from me and continues talking to Leo. "I want you to meet someone," he says.

"Well, we're in the middle of something here," Leo replies.

"She won't mind," Steve replies. I assume he's referencing me, but he isn't looking at me.

"Sure," I interject. "Go ahead." Granted, I *do* actually mind, but I don't want to seem rude. And Steve seems like the type to irritate you until you do say yes.

Steve leads Leo away from me. I watch him leave, and I wonder how long it will be before we meet in the crowd again.

It may be quite a while.

I think I've grown to hate these things too.

End Part 1/2

Part Two
Standard Disclaimers Apply

It's a few minutes later that I see a familiar face - Josh.

"Enjoying yourself, Donna?" he asks me.

"Yeah," I reply. "And yourself?"

"Not bad. Meet any eligible men?"

"I don't have to meet any eligible men," I reply.

"Oh. Yeah." He smiles to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing," he replies quickly as the smile subsides a little.

"Stop acting coy with me, Josh, or I may have to join Toby, Sam, and CJ in the 'Josh Lyman is an idiot' brigade."

"I'm not coy. I just forgot about the guy," he replies. "Can a man even be coy?" He still has a bit of a smug look on his face, but I decide to let it pass.

"Of course a man can be coy," I say. "Coquettish, though, I would find problems with." I pause. "What about you? Any eligible women?"

"Naturally." He looks across the room at a woman who is most definitely staring at him. "In fact, there's one right now."

"Go talk to her, Josh," I tell him.

"If you insist," he replies before moving off.

I move back into the crowd, doing my mingling thing. I have about twenty useless conversations before I feel fed up.

I want this evening to end.

I want to see Leo.

And, most of all, I want Gwyneth Weir to shut up.

"Really?" I say as she comes to a pause. I have no idea what she just said. But my response is just as good as any.

"Really!" she replies happily.

I fake a smile and nod. "Really."

After a moment, I feel a presence beside me. I turn my head a little to look at Leo.

"Excuse me," he says. "I need to discuss something very important with Ms. Moss."

Gwyneth Weir nods. "Oh! Go ahead."

Leo rests his hand on the small of my back as he leads me away. "I told you not to talk to her," he says.

"I didn't know her name until five minutes in," I reply in my own defense. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem. Still want to dance?"

"Sure," I reply with a smile.

He takes my hand in his and takes me to the dance floor.

It's awkward for a moment as we decide exactly how to dance. We can't be too close, after all. Not as close as we are at his apartment.

We're in public, after all.

We dance like a couple of high schoolers trying not to irritate the chaperones. I rest my hand on his shoulder; he puts his hand on my hip. He lets his fingers move against me slightly before stopping abruptly.

We're in public, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, you look like you're having a good time," CJ remarks to Toby, who decidedly *doesn't* look like he's having a good time.

"I'm a few seconds away from hanging myself with my necktie," Toby replies.

"You're wearing a bowtie. Can't get very far with that."

"Don't remind me," he declares dryly.

CJ's eyes drift for a moment, and she sees them again. Leo and Donna. They're dancing this time. It could be nothing, she reasons. But then again, it could be something.

"Toby," she says to her companion. "If I asked you something, you wouldn't tell anyone would you? I mean, about what I'm going to say?"

"I barely like to talk about myself. I'm not going to talk about other people. I think you should be more concerned with whether or not I care." He pauses. "Which I probably don't," he adds.

CJ ignores the last couple of statements as she gestures to the dance floor. "What do you see there?"

"People dancing." Toby looks at CJ questioningly. "Why?"

"I mean them specifically," CJ says as she points discreetly to Leo and Donna.

"I still see people dancing. You know, this is the worst Rorschach test ever."

"I mean *them.* Leo and Donna. You don't think they seem a little..." She pauses while she looks for the right word. "Cozy?"

"No. But I do think you're insane."

"I'm not insane. I have a sixth sense about these things."

"You know, I've thought hard about this. And I've decided I *definitely* don't care." He pauses. "And that you're completely insane."

"I'm telling you Toby, something's going on. I can tell. Just like I can sense your undying lust for me," she adds, which catches Toby's attention.

"Well, anyone can sense that," he retorts.

It's now that Josh enters the conversation. "What are you two talking about?" he asks.

"Toby's undying lust for me," CJ answers quickly.

"Yeah, I'm getting out of this conversation right now," Josh says. "I'm gonna go get Donna." He walks away from them.

"See? Josh doesn't think anything of it," Toby says gruffly. "Psycho," he adds under his breath, which prompts a slap from CJ.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo pulls me a little closer to him. "I should buy you the dress," he says simply.

"You don't have to."

"I want to," he replies.

"Can I cut in?" Josh says as he taps Leo on the shoulder.

Leo hesitates for a moment. "Um, sure," he replies as he steps away from me.

Josh takes Leo's place as I watch Leo disappear into the crowd once again.

That's it. I've decided that I hate fundraisers, I hate interruptions, and I hate Josh.

Okay, I don't hate Josh. I am a little irritated at him, though.

"What were you dancing with Leo for?" Josh asks me.

"Why can't I dance with Leo?"

"I didn't say you can't. It was just a question."

"Well, I just wanted to dance. So we danced. No big state secret," I say huffily.

"Calm down, Donna."

"I'm calm."

Josh stares at me. "I think that if you want me to buy into your claims of calmness, you should speak in something other than a high pitched wail."

"I didn't wail." Okay, maybe I did a little bit. "I'm calm," I reassert, this time with a monotone.

"Okay. Good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't see him for the rest of the night. Well, I do see him a few times, but we're both preoccupied. We don't get to talk. And, even in the few times we have gotten to talk, we've just been interrupted.

I can't wait to get out of here.

And, soon, I'm on my way. CJ, Toby, Josh, and I are back in the limo where we started the night. CJ seems to be looking at me strangely, but I assume it's just my imagination. I haven't been doing anything strange.

She's probably just a little tipsy.

When we get back to the White House, Josh starts bugging me again.

"No, Josh, I'm not going to work now."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm in a dress. An expensive dress."

"A dress which you're going to return tomorrow," he retorts.

"That's not the point. There's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. You should go home, too. We should all go home." Now, I think, my voice gets a tad too pleading.

"Okay," Josh replies.

"Okay?" I reply.

"I was planning on going home. I just wanted to see how high-pitched your voice could get."

I scowl at him. "If I ever did bring you coffee, I'd vow to never do it again."

"Well, I guess I lucked out on that one."

We begin to walk out together when we bump into Leo.

"Hey, Leo," I say softly.

"Hey," Leo returns with a small smile as he begins to walk next to me. "Going home?" he asks.

"Yes," I reply.

"It's what we should all do," Josh interjects.

"Huh?" Leo says.

"Nothing," I reply.

"Yeah. I'm going home too," Leo says.

"Yeah."

And I shall see him there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as I enter Leo's apartment, I take his face in my hands and kiss him. He's still wearing his tux, sans the jacket, and it still wears well on him.

"I've been waiting to do that all night," I say as I pull away.

"It's similar to what I was thinking," Leo replies.

"Good to know we're on the same wavelength."

Leo's lips brush lightly against my neck.

"I talked to Karen Cahill tonight," he says.

"Yeah?"

"I told her that you weren't making a pass at her."

"She believed you?"

"Yeah. It never even occurred to her. Do you know many people who drop their underwear in public places as a pass?"

"I've known some," I reply.

"Don't introduce me to those people," he says.

"Okay. What did she think it meant? The underwear dropping?"

"She thought it meant you were a little foolish. And I told her you weren't."

"Please tell me you didn't say anything else to her - because I don't want to get caught in some sort of horrible cycle again because she was wearing an ugly dress," I say with a laugh.

"She was wearing an ugly dress, but I didn't say a word."

"I'm very proud of you," I say before kissing him again. His arms wrap around my waist, then move upward, touching the part of my back that lay bare.

"I've started to hate these things too," I admit as I pull away slightly. "It drove me crazy barely getting to see you all night."

"And getting to see you for a little while made the evening more tolerable for me."

I smile at the genuine tone of his voice, and the knowledge that I have him for the rest of the night.

"Let's go to bed," I say with a sly grin.

I sit on the bed and kick off my shoes. I take off my jewelry and put it on the nightstand. He stands near me as he takes off his cufflinks and places them by my jewelry.

This all goes much slower with formal wear.

"I'm going to need your help with this dress," I point out as I watch him undo his tie and the first few buttons on his shirt. I resist the urge to rip it off of him.

"You look like you're doing fine with it."

"I mean--"

"I know." He leans in, his movement urging me to lie down on the bed.

I resist, putting my hands on his chest and pushing him back. "I need to return this dress," I remind him.

"I'm buying you the dress, Donna."

"You don't have to."

"You should have something nice." He pauses. "And you look incredible in it."

"So this isn't an entirely selfless move," I reply with a smile as I take the pins out of my hair and place them on the nightstand as well. I shake my head, letting my hair fall against my face.

He pulls me off the bed and I turn my back to him, waiting for him to unzip me. But he doesn't. He wraps his arms around my waist as he kisses the back of my neck.

"Donna..." His voice trails off.

"What?"

"Nothing."

I turn to him, and he silences any questions with his mouth against mine.

I reluctantly break off the kiss and look into his eyes. "What is it, Leo?"

"Nothing," he replies. "Just want to help you with the dress."

I know there's something more to what he was going to say. I can see it in his eyes. But I decide not to question him. We don't have nearly enough time together for me to start bugging him about things he doesn't want to say. If he wants to say it eventually, he'll say it. Whatever it was.

He brushes my hair out my face before resting his palm at the back of my neck. It takes just that touch of his hand for me to melt back into him.

I press myself against him as my lips move my lips across his cheek. I move my tongue against his earlobe before taking it into my mouth and tugging on it. A soft groan escapes from his throat as suck on a tiny bit of skin right underneath his ear.

Leo's hands move against my back, lightly massaging me. I brush my lips against his jawline, liberally darting my tongue out against his skin.

His mouth finds mine again as his hands slide off me and move back to the buttons of his shirt. I help him, pulling the shirt out and unfastening the bottom buttons. Our hands meet somewhere in the middle, our fingers grazing against each other's.

We continue like this until he's naked before me. I turn my back to him again. This time, he does unzip my dress. His fingers caress me, touching the skin that was previously inaccessible to him. I moan lightly as I arch myself into him, feeling his hands slide around my sides and rest on my stomach.

His hands move again, pushing the straps of my dress off my shoulders. I find myself not caring when the dress falls to the ground as his lips travel across the side of my neck and his hands cup my breasts.

I turn to him again, our eyes meeting briefly before he kisses me again. He guides me back toward the bed, gently lying me down onto the blanket.

He lies on top of me, but his hands resting into the mattress on either side of me keeps him from pressing fully against me.

"Leo," I breathe softly, partly because I haven't said anything in what seems like ages, partly because I want him to touch me. Or kiss me. Or do anything that will partly quench my need for him.

He leans into me, moving his mouth against mine. I can feel his hardness against me, through the panties that I'm still wearing. The panties that I desperately want him to remove.

I move my hands to his back, as Leo's mouth moves lower, trailing kisses down my chin and neck. He nips at my collarbone, which causes an involuntary intake of breath.

My breathing gets heavier as his tongue moves against the sensitive skin of my breasts. He suckles and nips at me, knowing exactly what kind of pressure to apply. I arch myself into him as I breathe deeply.

My hands slide off his back as his head moves lower, tasting the skin of my stomach. I whimper slightly as his head moves even lower, sucking at the skin right below my navel. He looks up at me for a moment before moving his fingers right above my panties and pantyhose.

I raise my hips, letting him slide off the remaining garments and he throws them to the side. I expect his body to join mine again, but he doesn't. He continues to slide down until he's kneeling at the side of the bed, directly in front of me.

He moves his hands underneath me, pressing his fingers into my skin as he pulls me closer to him. I move willingly, letting him guide my hips to the edge of the bed. His fingers press into my thighs, pushing my legs further apart.

I breathe sharply as I wait for him to move again. Wait for him to do what he's about to do.

"Leo," I say softly as his mouth nips against my inner thigh.

He stops for a moment before moving his head even closer to my center. I can feel his breath, warm and steady, against me and it sends a small shudder through my body. He hesitates for an agonizing moment before moving his tongue against me. He starts off slow, but soon quickens his pace.

A choked cry emits from my throat as I move my hands to the back of his head, letting my palms brush against his short bristles of hair.

He looks up at me again before flicking at my clit with the tip of his tongue. A moan escapes from me as he continues, swirling his tongue around it, making the merest of contact with the tiny bundle of nerves.

His tongue presses down on my clit for a moment before he thrusts it inside me. My hips rise off the bed and he slides his hands underneath me, keeping me where we both want me to be.

I mutter his name softly as he moves his tongue in and out of me, driving me a little bit crazier with every movement.

I need something to hold on to, so I slide my hands away from his short hair and grasp the blanket.

My body jerks again as his tongue slips out of me and his nose bumps against me. He exhales onto me again, causing another rush of electricity through my body.

His tongue finds my clit again, stroking it tenderly. I feel my body tighten up as I dig my nails into the comforter. "God, Leo," I moan throatily. "Good God."

I know it won't take much more and I think he knows it too.

I feel his lips close around me and tug sharply, causing me to spasm wildly against him. I can barely hear myself scream over the pounding in my chest as the euphoria ripples through me.

His lips are still brushing against me, gently coaxing me down from my orgasm. His hands slip out from under my raised hips and he moves them to caress my legs delicately.

It takes a while for me to regain full control of my senses.

Damn the dress. After this, he could buy me a pack of gum and I'd still want to build a shrine dedicated to him.

"Leo," I say softly as he gets back on the bed next to me. I smile softly as he kisses my shoulder and rests his hand on my stomach.

I move my hands against his skin as I roll on my side to face him. His fingers move against my side, tracing the soft curve of my hip.

"Leo," I say again.

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to buy me the dress."

"I'm buying you the dress," he reasserts as he kisses me.

"You know, if the biggest fight we have is whether or not you're going to buy me things, I think this relationship is going to work very well."

He smiles softly. "Yeah," he says before another kiss.

I roll onto my back and pull him on top of me, wanting him to make love to me again.

And he does.

And I know that, however torturous the beginning of the night was, it was all worth it. Because it was leading to this.

"Leo."

THE END