Leo swooped down to grab Andy's lips with his own. Andy shivered, then relaxed under his skillful lips moving over her own. His tongue played around, coaxing her lips for entrance and she didn't deny it. She grabbed the lapel of his fur lined leather jacket and pulled him closer for the kiss.

He grabbed her and Andy melted. It had been too long. She hadn't had a kiss since her last boyfriend left her. 

Oh no! What the hell was she doing? Hadn't she sworn off men?

Andy jolted back down to earth. Leo was still kissing her and with difficulty, she disengaged her lips and with a groan and a shudder, buried her head in his jacket. She was still shivering from the after effects of the kiss.

Leo's hands, which were currently splayed across her left breast (Yes, she had been that far gone), moved up to caress her neck. She could feel his rushing heartbeat, proof that she wasn't the only one affected.

Leo let out a disbelieving laugh. Andy raised her head to look at him, he looked as dazed as she felt.

They kept staring at each other until Andy blushed and looked down. Leo was still caressing Andy's right breast. She stumbled backward breaking contact. She turned awkwardly and fumbled with the keys, desperate to get inside.

She heard Leo let out a long sigh and his arms came around to her waist. He pulled her to him and she was weak enough to allow it. His lips nipped her ear and she relaxed and turned her head to give him access to more.

"Let me in."

Andy froze.

She was behaving like a wanton, no wonder he thought that she would sleep with him.

It was all her fault, that she let things get this far.

She gathered strength into her suddenly limp body and pulled away from him.

She mustered up the courage to glare in his face. His face actually relaxed into a grin! He must think that she was really easy!

"Well, I don't sleep around with guys I just met."

Leo raised a hand to her face and caressed her hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. It was such a caring gesture, she felt her resolve waver. Almost.

"I think we are two consenting adults. We can do whatever the hell we feel like."

Andy huffed in a breath. "Well, good, because I definitely don't feel like!"

She turned and with shaky hands managed to get her latch open. Leo was watching her pensively as she shut the door in his face. She turned around and slumped against it, exhausted.

-------

Leo kept a hand against the door, waiting till his body was back in control.

Wow, she sure could kiss! She had all but knocked his socks off! And he felt like he should apologize to her for thinking her figure was too slight, it was well rounded in the places that mattered.

His body in control finally, Leo sighed and moved away. He might have been too precipitate in expecting Andy to let him in. He needed to be patient when handling her. But he was damn sure that she would be worth the wait.

Unable to wipe the grin off his face, Leo whistled as he got into his car and drove off.

The next morning, Leo turned up to Andy's house to talk, but she wasn't home. He went around to the diner. Felicity came around to meet him and chatted with him for half an hour, twirling the gold cross around her neck. From her, Leo came to know that Andy was gone to Dallas to visit her friends. She had left her home keys with Felicity and Leo should feel free to start getting the work done in the house.

Leo came away, a tad disappointed. He had come on too strong, and now was paying the price for it. It was ironic, out of all things scary in young Andy's life, it was him that had her running scared.

Andy stayed away for three days and Leo, for the first time in his life, mulled things over. He really wasn't looking for more than a fling, he kept telling himself, but knew on a deeper level that there was just something about Andy that made him feel protective towards her. A feeling that was quite alien to him.

Leo was able to work off some frustration by working on Andy's house.Mornings were spent attending to his father, Dan Knight in the best nursing home that money could afford. Leo went there every day, managing to share at least one meal with him. Dan had Alzheimer's, so he only rarely recognized his own son.

But today was a good day. Dan was alert and lucid. He stared at his son as he pensively sipped soup. 

"What's got your mind in a shuffle, son? Is it a nice Southern belle?"

Leo had no idea where Andy was from. Which probably one of the many reasons she had turned down his offer to spend the night.

"Uh-huh. You could say so, Paps. A red-head this time. And I am pretty sure she hates my guts."

"Oh no, what did ya do this time, son?"

Leo gave his wrinkly old man a wry smile. "I kissed her."

The old man, closed his eyes and guffawed loudly till tears came out of his eyes.

Leo grinned and said, "Stop it, old man, or you'll pee yerself."

"Ya kissed her like a right nancy boy, didn't you? All puckered up like the dandies from LA kiss?"

"Damn it, no, Paps. She's running from somethin', I think. Didn't appreciate me getting all friendly with her."

"Did she slap, ya?"

Leo smiled, "No, Paps."

Dan grinned and slapped his knee. "Then there's still hope, son!"

--------

When Andy came back home after spending a weekend with her best-friend Mia, she wasn't expecting the mess that was her home. Newspapers were strewn everywhere and there were more than one tool strewn around. 

She huffed. This is what she got for handing over the keys of her house to a boy!

She cleaned up best as she could, then set out unpacking.

Meeting Mia had dredged up a lot of memories for her. 

Eight years back, unsure as a young colt, she had met the well-put together Mia West, nee King. She was still reeling from her break-up with what she had then thought was the love of her life.

Blonde, tall and big, Brad had overwhelmed her and she had been crazy about him. He encouraged her attentions and she had been young and impressionable enough to believe that he cared for her. She also had a small shop-lifting record against her name then, thanks to her proud streak of not asking for charity and being dirt poor. Brad had spoken sweet words to her, bought her a few gifts and her young heart had stood no chance.

She hadn't realized that Brad was twisted inside, that was her depth of infatuation with him. She worshiped the ground he walked on, even turning a blind eye when he embezzled his employers and borrowed heavily from creditors. He smoked pot and shared it with her, swindled and did it with such charm, her eyes, heart or brain could see no wrong in him.

She opened her home, heart and her young body to him, telling herself that he would come to love her soon.

But instead of loving her, he broke up with Andy and got engaged to the daughter of a business tycoon.

That's when Andy met Mia. They were finally able to put two and two together and Brad was found to have destroyed the life of Mia's sister. Brad, her first love, was now languishing in jail.

Afterwards, Mia had sort of taken her in. She had to thank her friend for giving her a direction in life. She worked at the Sharon West Home for Women, for nearly eight long years.

Mia's work ethic and morals rubbed off on her, and she cleaned up her act. She took care of the women in the home, teaching them new vocations in order to be independent. She had also facilitated the rescue of a few young women, mostly from abusive men who were the husbands and boyfriends.

The atrocities committed against these women were unimaginable and Andy's heart could only deal with them by turning as hard as stone. Even worse, the women blamed themselves, always holding out hope that their husbands and boyfriends were misunderstood and would turn over a new leaf and apologize for their mistakes. Each young women was eager to forgive them and move back.

It was sickening and Andy would have snorted at their naivete, if it hadn't reminded her of who she had been as a little girl. She was more and more convinced that love only brought pain.

A shining contradiction was her friend Mia, happily married to her husband. They had two kids and loved each other to the moon and back. 

So, Andy had to admit there were exceptions, but most relationships were doomed. She swore to never leave herself vulnerable again. She stopped dating and focused only on her work.

Mia was the first that noticed the change in her and tried many times to change her mind, but to no luck. Finally, when the offer arrived to move to Prescott and change her life, Mia pushed her towards it, telling her she would be getting a much-deserved break and that she wasn't needed at the home anymore.

Andy had been pissed at Mia, though it was impossible to stay pissed at her, until she took up the invitation to visit her and met her again.

The reason that she had taken up the invitation had brown hair and laughing brown eyes and she cringed how easily she had fallen under his spell. She seemed to have a weakness for good-looking men and some flaw in her character allowed her to be easily led.

It was just that he seemed to understand her and care for her, the way no one had before. Or it was the suave way he seemed to cut through her well-erected defenses and touch her heart.

She snorted. Now, she was suddenly waxing poetic.

Leo was just a bored, spoiled rich boy, looking to get laid.

And she had been gullible enough to think that he actually cared for her. Allowed his kisses to drive away all logic and reason and let him use her, like a, well, like an object.

But that wasn't true, he was also affected by the kiss. Her body yearned for more, what would it matter to give in to his kisses, have a fling with him?

No! She couldn't believe that her body was actually causing her to think in that direction.

She was immune to good-looking, smooth-talking rich boys like him, and that was that.

She was done running away. She would face him now and prove that she was unaffected by their kiss. 

And staunchly vowed to never entertain any of his advances again!