The Lodge in the Forest

Marty was stupidly happy. He felt dizzy and elated. Soaked as well from the rain.

They almost fell over the threshold with their linked fingers and Dana was back to giggling again and raising her free hand to her lips whispering 'sssshhh' as they squeezed into the living room and sat in a sodden mess before Marty decided they should probably change clothes.

He desperately wanted to stay in this little bubble of giddiness but realistically, pneumonia was unlikely to help things along.

He dragged the girl - the beautiful, kind, amazing girl - to her feet and let her kiss him again, wanting save the moment.

"We should probably rid ourselves of these...cumbersome garments."

He smiled lopsidedly, acknowledging the innuendo.

"I don't wanna get sick when it's not even," he sniffed, "July."

Dana laughed, shaking her head.

"Marty it's August 5."

She took both of his hands playfully, then changed her mind, running her fingers through his hair which spurred him to push hers back behind her ear.

There were those dimples - the damn things were gonna kill him someday.

"You're really wet too."

He laughed and rubbed a thumb across her cheek.

They meandered back to their rooms and reluctantly parted ways with a promise to meet in five minutes.

Marty, however, found himself some minutes later sat in consternation on his bed, still in his wet clothes, worrying - now that the fog was fading - whether this whole 'thing' with him and Dana was built on a lie and whether he'd somehow coerced her into following a thread that wasn't there. He needed to tell her what actually happened the other night in the shower, kisses be damned.

His thoughts were interrupted by a nervous knock at the door and he was barely able to drag a smile onto his face before Dana was shuffling in - dressed in a t and baggy pants - looking a little bit sheepish.

A bolt of bittersweet irony lanced through him.

Maybe she had used this time to think too.

She sat next to him on the bed and put a hand on his arm, only to recoil in disgust.

"Ew Marty you're still drenched. Don't you have any dry clothes?"

He smiled at her half heartedly and shivered as he realised how cold he was.

"Here - let me help you."

"N-no...no Dana...urgh. Stop-."

He was too tired to resist and soon she had peeled the offending cardigan and tshirt off him and thrown them swiftly into a corner. She then rooted under his bed for a shirt.

He batted her off unsuccessfully.

"I can dress myself! I am not some man-doll."

With a joint effort he was encased in a warm, dry jumper and he stood, starting to undo his belt before realising she was watching him.

He glanced at her, suddenly feeling self conscious.

He was tempted to make a jokey come on to break the silence but somehow nothing seemed appropriate.

She was biting her lip, rosy cheeked with embarrassment and deliberately staring at the wall.

He forced himself to strip out of his corduroy jeans and awkwardly pull on his sweats before sitting back down next to her.

He took a breath. Now was the time. He had to tell her, it had to be done.

He put a hand ontop of her clenched ones and she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Marty-."

"Dana-."

They laughed.

"You go-."

"No it's ok-."

"Dana," he couldn't help but smile sardonically in self-depreciation, "The other night, when you were in the shower, with the wine and the crying..."

He trailed off weakly as she tried to kill him with her gaze,

"Uh, yeah..you know what I mean. The next morning, you -,"

He was finding this harder than he'd first anticipated, and his hands pawed the air as he articulated his words,

"Seemed to be of the persuasion that we...shared uh, a 'moment'".

He paused and looked at her, worried but desperate for her to know the truth as he pulled out the real story word by word.

Breathe, Mikalski. Soon it may not matter anymore.

You were never good enough for her, it was all a pipe dream.

Oh how he wished it was one, but some selfish part of him was glad he had been allowed to kiss her at least once.

Dana's pale bedraggled face was wrought with confusion.

"Marty, what do you mean?"

"Y-you slapped me."

"I what?!"

"You were...angry or something that I had disturbed your weird...special shower time and I -", He splayed his fingers just as he felt his one chance slipping through them, "Just - you said to me "You leave me alone Martin Mikalski, I don't want you in my life." So I got Jules and then..well I guess you know the rest."

He shrugged and finally laid his hands to rest on his thighs.

He could wax lyrical about how much he liked and respected her, but it was her turn to speak.

If she wanted to speak to him. He couldn't look at her right this second. But he would do it in a minute.

The seconds ticked by and Marty risked a peak out of the corner of his eye.

She was worrying at her thumb, cheeks a delicate pink, tendrils of drying auburn curls framing her face. Her eyes were distant, unseeing and he didn't know what to say, or whether he should say anything.

"I'm not sure which is worse!" She exclaimed finally, a bemused smile curling her lips as blue connected with green.

"I - I feel like I should...apologise-,"

The blonde put his hands up in protest, eyes wide.

"No-no Dana, you were totally within your rights to tell me to leave. I-I was totally invading your personal space, which I accept full-.

"Marty. Fucking just, shut up for a second. I slapped you. I was upset, I-", She brushed offending static locks from her forehead, "Was angry. Not at you - well not completely - and I took it out on you. And I shouldn't have, I was outta line."

"Dana..." Marty was stuck for words, he could feel hers crowding inside his mind making him feel sick as the possibility of repeating the last hour faded.

She looked awkward, embarrassed but she was there still and maybe-just maybe.

Marty gathered his tattered wits about him and readied himself for one last stand.

How to-

What should he-

How could he-

Now what did he-

Fuck it.

He climbed onto his knees on the bed beside her and took her hands firmly.

"Dana, look at me."

She did, warily.

"Look, I know this may sound fucked up but I don't care that you-slapped me-which really fucking hurt by the way. I care that this," he shook her hands demonstratively, "Is built on a lie. And I don't wanna start anything with someone that...didn't even want me in the first place."

The redhead looked as though he'd returned the favour, mouth ajar in surprise.

"You...like me?"

He pulled a face somewhere between a grimace and a smile.

"That's the way of the world!" He declared with false enthusiasm.

"But I slapped you across the face."

"Yeah, I know, I think you'll find I was there also."

"Me."

"Oh for the love of everything sacred and...consecrated, woman, have you seen yourself? You're...you're beautiful! Your hair is just-."

He gesticulated towards her as though he was reciting a poem and she was his muse.

"Your eyes are amazing, your smile. Your dimples!"

He was full of fire, feeling like making out with her and then wringing her beautiful neck.

"You're kind...and and resourceful, and smart and a far better person than I'll ever be. I've seen those drawings you...doodle in lectures when you think noones watching you...well they're amazing! And so are you Dana Polk."

There was a pause in which Dana felt like she'd been dumped over a waterfall and Marty like he'd sprinted the last 100 metres of a race.

"I thought you were asleep!"

"No! Well, at least, not all the time...I was really tired ok?"

He smiled as he realised how ridiculous he sounded and soon Dana was laughing and they both shook silently before Marty noticed Dana wasn't running for the hills.

"You're still here. Even after my gallant...speech."

She smiled, dimples aplenty.

"Well observed." She took his hand and he felt a jolt of hope run through him. She scraped her hair back absently and bit her lip and he felt his heart swell like a balloon.

Was this actually happening?

Or was he going to wake up in the middle of the park...wearing only boxers, with a raccoon scratching at his-.

He shook the memory off and focussed on the woman in front of him.

"Marty I'm not ready for...everything, yet." She held up to stop him from interrupting with anymore gallantry.

"But I mean, I would like to," she took a breath and stuttered out, "Maybe go on a...date sometime."

She barely whispered the word date, but Marty heard it and couldn't stop an ecstatic shit-eating grin spreading across his face.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't hear you, I mean I may just be going deaf in my old age but I think I heard you say that you wanted to date me? I'm not sure my delicate nature can handle such sordidness-."

Dana did hit him - with a pillow this time - coupled with.

"Marty you asshole."

He laughed and flapped helplessly at the pillow until he got the strength to snatch it away and return the favour with vigour.

Dana screeched and tried to grab it back before Marty pinned her down and bombarded her with soft fluffy blows until she begged him to stop through her giggling.

"You're such an-."

"Asshole. Yeah you said, but you also said you wanted to go on a", and he whispered "date."

Dana smiled mischievously and bit her lip.

"Maybe."

Suddenly it occurred to Marty that he was straddling her, like literally on top of the girl he was into and she was looking at him at he was something tasty she wanted to try.

His lower regions responded to this and he groaned, covering his face with his hands and wishing he was not a guy right now.

He took his hands away, face bright red and looked at her, feeling ridiculous.

"This is not fair. Not fair at all."

Dana laughed at him and wriggled backwards into a sitting position between his legs, a movement which made his breath hitch.

"Patience, Marty. I'm not a complete...you know but I'm not ready yet. I will be, and if you wanna stick around I will be. But maybe...not for a little while. I have some issues I need to deal with first."

"Yeah I'm totally fine with all of that. So totally fine. The little guy - I mean, the big guy, I mean the guy downstairs he just like, gets a little over excited sometimes but you know, it's nothing I can't handle, in fact-."

Dana kissed her way softy down his jawline during this revelation, interrupting it with a teasing attack on his bottom lip - which he returned with gusto.

She broke off the kiss with a breathless laugh and threw her arms around him in a hug.

He held her close, breathing in her scent and thanking whatever gods there were out there that this wasn't some sort of dream.

It's not, right?