He extended his hand to her. His hair fell down across his forehead as he sent her a smile that she swore could melt granite. "So……you wanna make out?"

{Go for it, Brenda! You know you’ve been dying for him to kiss you again! But then…..he’ll kiss you. And kissing will lead to petting. And petting will lead to more kissing, and French kissing, and the bedroom and.......disappointment. Can’t you learn *anything* from past experience?} Brenda hesitated as a war raged between her rational self and her hormonal self. Finally, she decided that the best decision was to……not decide. "Uh…I left some dip out on the counter in the kitchen." She moved quickly past Jax on the couch and towards the swinging kitchen door. "I just have to put it in the refrigerator before it spoils."

Jax’s eyes narrowed. He knew a stall when he heard one. {Why would she be stalling? She seemed happy to see me. Is she afraid of me?} He rose from the couch and put on his most charming smile. "Why don’t I help you and then you’ll be done even quicker?"

Brenda tried to cover her sigh. {Great. *Then* what should I do?} "Sure – Never let it be said that Brenda Barrett is a sexist when it comes to the kitchen! Men can do dishes just as well as women, I always say!" As she turned to push through the doors, she sincerely hoped Jax hadn’t thought her comment was as stupid as it sounded to her.

By the time Jax followed her through the swinging doors, Brenda was putting some of the leftover guacamole in a jar. "You really eat that stuff?"

Brenda looked up in surprise. "Sure – why not?"

Jax shrugged. "I don’t know – I guess I just find it hard to believe that anyone could eat something that green and not feel like it was already spoiled."

Brenda opened the refrigerator and put the jar inside. "Well, Reggie always brings the most delicious stuff to poker night that I make sure to save the leftovers. The cook in the Quartermaine house is *really* good at what she does."

As Brenda moved past Jax in the small kitchen, his arms snaked out to pull her against him, her lips just centimeters from his. "Speaking of being *really* good at something you do – so am I," he said huskily.

Brenda barely had time to close her eyes before Jax lowered his lips to tease at hers. He nibbled on her upper lip, and then traced her lower lip with his tongue. When she sighed softly, Jax seized the opportunity and slid his tongue into her mouth, taking her lips in a ravenous kiss. Brenda’s hands slid up Jax’s arms of their own volition, finally grabbing his shoulders to steady herself.

Jax pulled her closer to him, angling his head to the side to deepen the kiss and bringing his hands up to cup her face. As his fingers began to massage the nape of her neck, Brenda felt herself sinking deeper under his sensual spell. She knew she had to pull out of the dive fast before she crashed and burned.

Jax dragged his lips from hers and moved his hands down to pull her against the evidence of his attraction. "What would you say," he whispered in her ear, "if I told you that I have this insane desire to throw you over my shoulder, take you back to your bedroom, and make love to you all night long?"

Brenda laughed shakily, trying to put some distance between their bodies. "I would say that you sound like a Type A." Jax froze for a minute and pushed away from her.

"Type A? A Type A what?"

Brenda seized the opportunity to wriggle free of his embrace and head for the doors. "I was talking about a Type A hero -- like in my books," she smiled, going through the swinging doors into the dining room. {Whew....got out of that one.} But like a used car salesman, Jax followed her.

"So is he your dream man, this Type A hero?" Jax pushed the swinging door open and stood in the doorframe, lounging lazily against the side.

Brenda shook her head and laughed. "Not hardly! The Type A hero is arrogant…sexy, but macho…. and pushy. A real cave man type with an over-abundance of testosterone."

Jax frowned. "Cave man? Just because I said that I wanted to make love to you all night long I’ve suddenly turned into a Neanderthal?"

"Well," Brenda hedged, pushing all the crumbs into a pile at one side of the table, "actually you might have a few hidden type B tendencies."

Jax moved into the dining room to sit in a chair near where Brenda was industriously cleaning. "And a Type B would be .......?"

Brenda sighed. "Sensitive, caring, gentle.....the kind of guy every girl wants to have as her brother."

"So...does that mean that all men are either sex maniacs or platonic idiots?" Jax’s face held the hint of a smirk.

"No," Brenda countered, her voice showing that her patience was wearing thin. "It means that when I write my books, I try to combine the sexiest qualities of a Type A with the most sensitive qualities of a Type B."

Jax threw up his hands. "Which is *exactly* why I said that your books are pure drivel! They’re fairy tales! A man with that combination of qualities may live in your novels, but he’ll never exist in real life." Jax shook his head. "If that’s the kind of man most women are looking for, I know why psychiatrists treat so many cases of depression."

Brenda scraped the last of the crumbs into her hand and went back to the swinging doors. "But you see, that’s *exactly* why women read romance novels." She gave Jax a gesture to stay where he was as she quickly brushed her hands over the waste basket. When she came back in, she had a lace tablecloth in hand. "Women read my books because they *want* a man who gives them 45 minutes of foreplay -- not five!" Jax winced as he rose to catch one side of the tablecloth and help her replace it on the table. "They don’t want to read about crying babies or lines at the supermarket or science projects that the kids just remembered have to be finished by tomorrow. They want to read about a world where there are no ATM’s that suddenly jam when it’s your turn or kids with a fever of a hundred and three."

As Brenda went into the living room, Jax followed her, still shaking his head and wearing a snide grin. "They read my novels to escape the from the Type A husband they’re married to, who drinks beer, belches, and scratches his belly while watching football on TV."

Jax finally saw she was close to the couch and seized the opportunity. "Well," he said, lunging for the couch and dragging her down under him, "if I promise to be sensitive and caring and not belch ---- can we go back to that question about making out?" Brenda shifted so that her legs parted and Jax settled more firmly into the soft notch between them. "You feel so soft, Brenda," he murmured, lowering his lips to nuzzle her neck. "You have the most beautiful neck...."

Brenda’s eyes widened as he trailed his lips over the sensitive skin, and she almost gasped aloud when she felt his tongue join the party. "I thought you said you liked my butt," she said, desperately trying to lighten the mood.

Jax raised his head. "I do. And I’ll get to that eventually. Now let me get back to your neck."

Brenda felt Jax’s body against hers and despite her misgivings, she was sorely tempted to let him continue. But she knew where all of this would eventually lead, and for Brenda, sex had never been "glimpse of heaven" that it was for her heroines. So....time for defense mechanisms.

As she felt him nip her neck and then soothe it with his tongue, Brenda giggled. He raised his head to give her a surprised look. "Did that tickle?"

"No." She pulled one of her hands up and covered her mouth as she giggled again.

Jax frowned. "It was funny? Did I do something wrong again?"

"I just......I couldn’t help but think that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was going to burst through my front door any minute," Brenda said, stifling more giggles.

"Well, if she does, I’ll be sure to grab the stake before she mistakes me for a vampire," Jax murmured. "Now -- do you suppose you could manage to shut that mouth for a few minutes while I kiss the bloody h*ll out of it?"

Jax lowered his head to hers again, but after about thirty seconds, he pulled away from Brenda and she grabbed her stomach as a loud belly-laugh erupted from her lips. "Now what?" He moved to the other end of the couch as Brenda curled into a quivering ball of giggles. "What could *possibly* be so funny?"

"I’m sorry," Brenda sputtered, "but is that the best line you’ve got, Dr. Jacks? Kiss the bloody h*ll out of my lips!?" Brenda patted her chest to calm herself. "Oh, pleeeeease.....I’ve written better romantic dialogue for a conquering Norman swine!"

Jax rose from the couch and ran his hands through his hair. "Well, if you’re lonely tonight all by yourself in your bed, I’m sure some of your wonderful heroes can keep you company! Because I’m LEAVING!"

"Awww, did the poor super-human doctor get his feelings hurt?" Brenda asked with a superior smirk.

Jax came thisclose to Brenda and glared into her eyes. "No, the super-human doctor lost forty of his hard-earned dollars to you playing poker tonight, and doesn’t care to kiss a woman who couldn’t feel romantic if her life depended on it!"

Brenda sat on the couch and watched Jax as he stormed towards the front door and unlocked it angrily. "Did we leave you enough money for the toll bridge back home?" she asked with a snicker.

"Just barely," Jax growled, turning back to her. "Well, it’s been real, and it’s been nice, but I certainly can’t say that it’s been real nice, Ms. Barrett."

"Likewise, I’m sure," Brenda returned smartly. "Don’t let the door hit you on the way....." She got up to slam it, but before she could, Jax pulled the door shut behind him.

Brenda stood at the door and leaned against it, resting her forehead on it wearily. ".......out." As she heard the motor of Jax’s SUV start up with a roar, she banged her head against the front door. {Well, Brenda….can’t you just imagine what Lois will say to this one?}

"YOU LET HIM LEAVE?" Lois’s exclamation was so loud that Christopher momentarily opened his eyes wide and stopped nursing. Lois was reclining in the bed, giving Christopher his lunch so that then the two women could adjourn to the kitchen for some girl talk and lunch of their own.

Lois rubbed her finger against the baby’s soft cheek. "I’m sorry, pookie. Mommy didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that your Auntie Brenda is such as horse’s @ss that it made Mommy a little upset, that’s all," Lois crooned. Christopher started nursing again and Lois raised her eyes to Brenda, who was pacing back and forth in Lois’ bedroom. "What did you say to him, Brenda?"

"Me? Why do you automatically assume that he left cause it was something *I* said!" Brenda gasped defensively. "Hasn’t the thought ever occured to you that maybe *he* behaved like the horse’s @ss?"

Lois shifted Christopher to her shoulder and started patting his back gently. "Actually, Brenda, when the two of you are around each other, I think you’re both as full of gas as Christopher is!" The baby gave a resounding belch and Lois smiled over her shoulder at him. "Or was, anyway."

Brenda continued to pace as Lois rose from the bed and went to the changing table to give Christopher a fresh diaper. "Honest, Lois, I don’t think I was out of line at all the other night. Jax seemed to enjoy playing cards with the other guys…"

"What did *they* think of him?" Lois asked, making funny faces at Christopher as she deftly slid the wet diaper from beneath him and a fresh diaper under him.

Brenda leaned against the door jamb and crossed her arms. "Well, Reggie was about to accost the man as soon as I give him the "all clear." And Lucky and Nicholas seemed more worried about my virtue remaining intact after they left than anything else."

Lois lifted the baby to her shoulder again and cuddled him. "Hmmm….and now just why do you think they would worry about you being alone with him, huh? Was the good doctor giving you the old "bedroom eyes" routine over the poker table?"

Brenda stared down at her feet. "Yeah – I guess so."

"And were you returning those longing glances?"

Brenda shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "Maybe."

Lois lowered the baby into his bassinet. "So then what happened between "lust and a full house" and slamming doors after everyone left?"

Brenda sighed as Lois turned on the baby monitor and shooed her out of the room. "Now, Lois, you know how I am when a relationship gets too physical." As they went down the stairs, she turned sad eyes to her friend. "I’ve told you before that for me, the earth never exactly *moves* during sex."

Lois made a grim face as they got to the kitchen. "Brenda, we live in California. The earth moves *all* the time!"

Brenda put her hands on her hips. "Don’t play dense with me, Lois Ashton!" At Lois’ dirty look, she lost some of her bluster and started playing with her fingernail as she slid into a kitchen chair. "Sex just has never been that great for me."

"That’s because you’ve never had sex with someone you really love," Lois said gently, sitting opposite Brenda and taking her hands. "Now tell me exactly what happened after the guys left."

Brenda took a deep breath. "Well, Jax made it very obvious that he wanted to do some kissing and….stuff."

Lois nodded. "Yeah…..stuff. Stuff is good. Go on."

"So, I wasn’t exactly sure if I wanted things to get that hot and heavy yet, so I stalled for a little while. But then after the dining room table was cleared, I ran out of excuses."

"And?"

"And…..he caught me on the living room couch and started kissing me and nuzzling my neck."

"Neck nuzzling is good," Lois encouraged, rising from the chair and going to one of the cabinets. She took out two glasses. "So then what?"

"So….I got the giggles." Brenda cast her eyes downward and began picking at a perfectly formed cuticle. "Defense mechanism number 3."

Lois bit her lower lip. {OK, God, we need to have a talk but I don’t have much time here. See – these two people are *so* meant for each other, but they’re both just too bull-headed to see it. So, if I have to bend the truth a little to get them to see it, it really won’t count as lying, will it?} "Ohhhh, Brenda….tell me you didn’t laugh at him."

Brenda’s face was blank. "Why? I thought an attack of the giggles would be less insulting than just telling the man I didn’t want to go to bed with him because he’s probably a dud like all the others."

Lois put two plates down on the table. "Oh, Bren….*please* tell me it didn’t sound like you were laughin’ at the man."

"I don’t know, Lo. I had the giggles. Why? Why is it so important that it didn’t sound like I was laughing at Jax?"

Lois went to the refrigerator and took out a large pitcher of iced tea. "Well, see—you wouldn’t have known this cause you just met him. But my Ned told me a story about Jax and his ex-wife that would curl your hair." She shook her head sympathetically. {Now God, don’t strike me with the lightning until you hear the whole story, OK?}

"What kind of a story? What happened?"

{See? See, God – she’s leanin’ forward. That’s cause down deep she really cares about the guy but she just won’t admit it.} "Well, from what Ned told me, Jax was finishin’ his residency at the hospital in Boston. He was pullin’ some awful shifts tryin’ to prove what a good doctor he was. Anyways, one time, Jax had been on duty for somethin’ like 36 hours straight with no sleep. And when he went home, there was Miranda, all decked out in some sexy nightie, hot to trot."

"So?"

"So……" {OK, God, here I go. If You *have* to hit me with the lightning, just don’t hit Brenda or Christopher, OK?} "…..so Miranda wiggles up to Jax, tryin’ to jump start his libido, and Jax….well…..let’s just say he couldn’t …..rise…. to the occasion."

Brenda frowned. "So? That’s not surprising. The poor man had been on duty for 36 hours with no sleep, after all. There’s nothing wrong with that."

"I know, but that’s not what Miranda thought," Lois continued acidly. "She laughed at him."

"NO!!!"

"Yeah, she laughed out loud….and then the next day she called all her girlfriends and told them and made fun oughtta Jax. It tore him to pieces." Lois continued to stare down as she carefully poured the iced tea, but she caught a glimpse of Brenda out of the corner of her eye, and she knew immediately that her plan was working.

"That……she…….why, that *woman*……" Brenda sputtered. "She’s a witch with a capital "B", you know?" Brenda rose from the table and started pacing, gesturing her hands wildly in the air. "First of all, to laugh at the poor man when he was just exhausted from trying to help other people, and then to tell all of her friends!!!"

{See, God? I told You she cares about him. It was definitely justifiable fib-i-cide.} "So, ever since, Ned says that Jax just kind of closed himself off to women and hasn’t taken a chance romantically with anyone." Lois tried to give Brenda her most wide-eyed, misty look. "You were his first," she said in voice choked with emotion.

Brenda sank into her chair. "Ohhh, Lois! Oh, my God! I never meant to hurt the poor man’s feelings like that!" She thought for a few seconds. "I’ll just have to make it up to him. Next time I’m with him, I will treat that man like the precious human being that he is," she declared emphatically. Brenda chewed on her lower lip. "If he ever wants to speak to me again, that is."

Lois glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall as she took the lid off the chicken salad. {Ned’ll be home in three hours. If I work this just right, you’ll be hearin’ from the good doctor before you know it, girlfriend.}

The following day, Ned pushed open the doors to the Cedars Fitness Center with a sigh. His gaze swept the room until he spotted Jax, hard at work on an exercycle. He tried to saunter nonchalantly across the room, but several heads turned at the sight of him. Before today, Ned didn’t even know that Cedars *had* a Fitness Center.

Luckily, there was an empty exercycle right next to Jax’s. Ned swung his leg over the frame and hung his towel on the handlebars as Jax finally looked up and caught sight of him. "Ned! What’re you doing here?"

"What am *I* doing here?" Ned asked innocently, pointing to his chest. {I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here because you and Brenda botched it up again and my wife read me the riot act last night. I’m here because Lois sat there, nursing Christopher, and told me that if I didn’t convince you to call Brenda, my son would be the only one to ever see that naked breast again in this lifetime.} "Well, I just figured that I should try to stay in shape, you know? And I thought that maybe I might be lucky enough to catch you here."

"Yeah," Jax smiled, pumping away at the pedals as a lock of hair fell down on his damp forehead, "I like to come up here when things get really tense down in the ER and work off some steam. Not a whole lot of people know that I work out up here."

"Really?" {No kidding. I only had to ask Nurse Jessie in the ER, who sent me to two x-ray techs, who sent me to a gray lady in the cafeteria, who sent me to Nurse Andrea on the OB floor, who finally sent me to Jean in anesthesiology, which cost me ten bucks.} "So," Ned drawled, trying to figure out how to start the exercycle, "how’s life going?"

Jax watched Ned fumble with the machine for a minute, and then chuckled, shook his head, and reached down and turned it on for him. "I take it you’re asking how Brenda and I are doing," Jax said sarcastically.

Ned’s lips pressed together in a thin line. "The thought had occurred to me."

Jax pumped even more furiously at the machine. "Yeah, well, I think I was right the first time. That’s woman’s definitely a nut-case."

"What…makes…you…think….that?" Ned puffed, trying to catch his wind on the cycle.

Jax looked over and his eyes crinkled in glee. "Are you sure you want to start with that machine, Ned? Why don’t you come over and spot me on the weight bench?"

Ned swallowed hard and gasped for air as Jax switched off the exercycle. "Good….spot for you…..stay in one place…..good."

Jax threw his towel around his neck. "I actually went to Brenda’s place the other night to play a friendly game of poker." He settled himself beneath the weights and lifted them off, beginning a set of repetitions.

"So how was that?" Ned asked, grateful to be doing something stationary. "I understand that her poker buddies are an eccentric bunch."

Jax gave him a wry look. "That’s putting it mildly. But things went OK until after they left, and I thought Brenda and I could …. get to know each other better, you know what I mean?"

Ned nodded. "I’m pretty sure I do. So – what happened?"

Jax took some weights off the end of the bar and added new rings. "Well, things were going pretty well, if I do say so myself," he added with a sly grin, "until she gives me this lame story about needing to put away leftovers! Can you imagine – she’d rather save every last drop of this horrible green stuff they were dipping chips in than …..well….you know." Jax grimaced.

Ned shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I don’t know about that. Makes perfect sense to me."

Jax set the bar down and pulled himself from beneath the weights to put his hand to Ned’s forehead. "Putting away leftover food makes more sense to you than foreplay? Ned, I know those first few weeks with a newborn are tough, but I never thought you’d crack *this* quickly," Jax quipped with a grin.

"No, Jax, you really don’t understand," Ned replied, glancing around as though he was checking to make sure nobody was listening. "See, Brenda is….well….."

"What? She’s what, Ned?" Jax leaned forward and Ned was gratified to see a panicked look in Jax’s eyes.

{Lois was right. They *do* care about each other. So whatever Lois told you, God, that goes double for me.} "Well, she’s ….. she’s strapped financially, Jax," Ned whispered, glancing around again. "Lois tells me her food budget is practically nonexistent."

Jax sputtered a little, trying to stifle a grin. "Aww, come on, Ned. You’re kidding, right?"

Ned shrugged. "Why do you think we have her over for dinner so often? At least that way we know she’ll get at least one balanced meal a day."

"Wait a minute, though," Jax frowned. "Didn’t she say at your house that night that she was selling something like a million copies of all of her books? Shouldn’t that have her rolling in the dough?"

"You know those paperback book publishers, Jax," Ned said grimly. "Sometimes they renege on a deal, or they’re late with the checks." He looked around again. "I’ve only met her publisher once – Lucy Coe or something like that – but let me tell you, she’s a real flake if there ever was one. She probably forgets to turn in Brenda’s name to payroll."

Jax swore under his breath. {Lois was right again. Here comes Sir Galahad, charging to the damsel’s rescue.} "Why didn’t you tell me this before, Ned?" He shook his head and then lightly pounded his forehead with the heel of his right hand. "Come to think of it – I don’t think she ate anything that whole evening I was there!" Jax shifted position on the weight bench as he grew more agitated. "And then – later, you know? She got the giggles when we were kissing on her couch. Come to think of it, she did look a little pale…" Jax’s mouth dropped open in realization. "She probably was getting hypoglycemic from lack of food! And I left her there alone!"

Ned patted Jax comfortingly. "Jax, don’t beat yourself up about this one. I’m sure she’s fine. Lois just spoke to her yesterday." He sighed theatrically. "I guess we’ll invite her over for dinner this coming Friday again so she gets a good meal in her before the looooonnnnngggg weekend."

Jax slapped Ned’s thigh and rose from the bench quickly. "Don’t bother, old man." He threw his towel around his neck. "I messed this one up. I’ll fix it." As Ned watched Jax stride quickly from the Fitness Center, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then glanced up at the ceiling. {Thank you. Now ---- if You could manage to get these two to spend an evening together without killing each other, I would REALLY appreciate it.}

To be continued…..