Playing With Fire

+++++++



Carrie woke up with a smile. Kelly was sitting up in bed with nothing but the white sheets wrapped around her waist as she went through her emails. She reached out, rubbing her back.



"Mornin'," Kelly drawled.



"It's my birthday," Carrie replied.



"It's not your birthday," Kelly laughed.



"In Oklahoma it's still my birthday."



"True," Kelly nodded, smiling as Carrie took her lap top away, putting it to the side.



She placed a hand on the Texan's shoulder, pushing her back to where she was laying down. She smiled at the sight of her laying half naked, completely exposed yet completely at ease with her. "You know, I love the way you look in white sheets," Carrie ran a hand through the shorter girls hair, propping herself up on her arm.



"I know," she replied, kissing her fingers as they moved to trace her lips.



Carrie smoothed a hand over Kelly's stomach, gently following every curve, "You're so beautiful."



Kelly smiled at her adoringly.



Carrie leaned down, placing a slow kiss on the side of her neck, her hand tracing a circle around her belly button. Her lips lazily made their way across her collar bone before moving down, following the gentle slope of her chest.



Kelly's eyes closed softly, her head falling against the pillow as she rubbed Carrie's back encouragingly. Her breath came out shakily as she felt Carrie's lips part against her chest, sucking gently. Carrie's hand moved lower, her fingers grazing back and forth over the smooth skin between her hip bones.



A gentle knock came from the door, and Carrie groaned softly causing Kelly to giggle hoarsely.



"It's not funny," Carrie pouted, pushing herself back up as someone knocked again. "Five minutes!"



"Five minutes huh?" Kelly raised an eyebrow. "I can totally handle that."



Carrie laughed, wrapping her arms around her as she turned onto her back, pulling the shorter girl over her. She kissed her stomach, sliding Kelly down as her lips made her way back up to the Texan's mouth before kissing her there as well. "You know...it's still my birthday..."



"And you didn't get your birthday kisses, did you?"



Carrie shook her head.



"Now, let's see...how old are you now? Twenty-five?"



Carrie nodded.



"Ok," Kelly smiled, leaning down and kissing her sweetly. "That's one...two...three..." her lips trailed to her cheek before moving to her jaw and down her neck, along her collar bone before moving back to her neck, up to the soft spot just underneath her chin and finally to her lips again. "...twenty-five."



"And one for good luck," Carrie reminded, her pulse racing.



"One for good luck," Kelly nodded as she kissed her firmly, her mouth opening as she felt Carrie's tongue against her lip. She ran a hand through her hair before framing her face as she pulled away, out of breath. "We should be getting up."



Carrie nodded, reaching up and stealing a quick kiss.



"Hey..." Kelly laughed. "That's cheating."



Carrie smiled as Kelly rolled off of her, allowing her to sit up. Each of them got up to look for their pajamas, before realizing neither had gotten far enough the night before to even put pajamas on.



Kelly laughed again, shaking her head as she dug through her suitcase, pulling out a pair of pajama pants to slip on and a t-shirt, before handing Carrie the same.



"Thanks," Carrie grinned, slipping the clothes on before walking over to answer the door. "Hey."



"Hey," Shanna smiled, walking in. She studied the pair of them then the messy bed, and her smile grew. "I'm totally interrupting, aren't I?"



"Yep," Carrie nodded, closing the door.



"Sorry," she laughed softly. "I just wanted to come and tell you that we're heading out to go shopping."



"Oh, wait...give us a little while, we'll join you."



Shanna looked passed her to Kelly who shook her head, "Um, actually, I believe you have other plans. Don't worry, we'll spend the day together tomorrow."



"Ok..." Carrie replied confusedly.



"See you for dinner," Shanna assured, giving Kelly a slight wave before walking out.



"Other plans?" Carrie asked, turning around to face the short Texan.



Kelly shrugged.



"Another surprise?"



"It is still your birthday somewhere, right?" she grinned.



++++++++



"A plane?" Carrie asked, looking at the small plane waiting for them as they exited the limo. "Kelly, you know how much I hate to fly...please don't tell me you bought me a plane."



Kelly laughed, "I didn't buy you a plane. We just need to get on it to get where we're going."



"I don't wanna."



"Trust me, you do."



"But it's little."



"And it's private, and it's only a fifty minute flight, and I'll hold you the entire time...I promise."



"Well, as long as you promise..."



"I do," Kelly assured her.



"Ok then," Carrie sighed. "Let's get this show on the road, people."



Kelly smiled, following her onto the small plane.



++++++++



"See?" Kelly asked as the plane came to a stop on solid ground. "Not so bad, right?"



"Can we just stay like this?" Carrie asked, curled up on her lap, her arms around her neck. "I like this. This is the best birthday gift I could ask for."



Kelly smiled, kissing her temple, "I promise it gets even better."



"Where are we?"



"You gotta go outside and see."



Carrie kissed her before standing and taking her hand. She led the two of them off the plane. She couldn't help but sigh at the scene in front of her, "Wow..."



"Kinda amazing, right?" Kelly whispered, softly as she stood beside her.



Carrie wrapped an arm around her, "I thought the outside only looked this pretty on post cards. I didn't know it was real. It's so...green."



Kelly laughed softly, "Welcome to Ireland."



"Ireland?" Carrie's voice rose a couple pitches. "You took me to freaking Ireland for my birthday?"



Kelly smiled as Carrie turned to her, "You like it?"



"Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"



"I have a hunch," she nodded, accepting a kiss. "But, we're not done yet."



"We're not?"



"Nope," Kelly shook her head, come on. "We've got a little bit of a walk if that's ok."



"As long as there aren't any go-carts."



"No go-carts, I promise," she laughed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as they started to walk down the stone path across the green field.



"Freaking Ireland," Carrie whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.



Kelly gave her hand another squeeze as they made it to the top of the third hill several minutes later.



"Kell..." Carrie gasped.



"Beautiful, right?"



"Wow..."



Kelly smiled, guiding her down the hill, "Come on."



"He's gorgeous," Carrie gasped as they walked up to the solid white stallion that was tied to an old fence post.



Kelly gave a wave to the old farmer that was watching them from the small barn nearby. He waved back with a smile. "You ready to go?"



"We get to ride him?" Carrie looked at her incredibly.



"That's what the saddle's for, yes," she nodded.



"Wow..." she repeated, her eyes dancing.



Kelly felt her heart soar, knowing she had made her happy. She pulled herself onto the horse's back before holding a hand out for Carrie, helping her up behind her. "Hold on."



Carrie wrapped her arms around her waist tightly, resting her face against her back.



Kelly lightly tapped the reins, allowing the horse to jog at an easy pace along the field. "You ok?"



Carrie nodded.



"Can we go faster?"



She nodded again, holding Kelly tighter as she felt the horse speeding up into a gallop. She could feel the wind rushing past them as she turned her face, kissing right in between Kelly's shoulder blades before peeking over her shoulder to watch the scenery fly by them. "Beautiful," was all she could manage.



"Yea," Kelly replied, slowing the horse down once more as they came to the top of a hill before allowing him to walk at his own pace.



"Kell..." Carrie shook her head, resting her chin on her shoulder as they looked out on all the land before them. "How did you even think of something like this?"



"This wasn't part of the original plan," she admitted, patting the horses neck appreciatively. "At first it was just supposed to be the thing with your family."



"And that was plenty," Carrie replied. "You didn't have to go through all this trouble."



"It wasn't that much trouble...it was actually fun."



"So, why Ireland, and the horse, and all this," Carrie motioned to the amazing scenery before them.



"You remember when we were at your house? And we went ride one of your horses out over your parents' property?"



"Yea."



"You said that this is what you wanted...you and me, together, free to live our lives. I know how hard it's been on you lately, and I know how stressed you are with the article and everything, and I just...I guess I wanted to give you that feeling again...to show you how good it is when it's just you and me."



Carrie felt herself tearing up. She kissed Kelly's shoulder softly, "This is so perfect...you are beyond perfect. And don't worry, I will never forget how good it is when it's just you and me."



Kelly smiled, tilting her head to the side to rest it against the country singer's, "I think I surprised myself with this one. I didn't think it'd turn out this amazing."



Carrie laughed softly.



"You hungry?"



"Yea, a little."



"Good. I had them set up a picnic."



"Seriously?"



"Hey, the food is just as much for me as you," Kelly grinned.



Carrie chuckled, kissing her cheek.



++++++++



"I should've known," Carrie giggled as they sat on the blanket that was spread out, waiting for them as the horse walked calmly nearby, stopping every now and then to taste the grass.



"Ok...so, I kind of blanked out when they asked me what to make. I was trying so hard to get everything else perfect...your family...the flight...the horse...peanut butter and jelly was the first thing out of my mouth," Kelly smiled sheepishly.



"You know what?" Carrie smiled at her.



"I totally ruined the whole thing, huh?"



Carrie shook her head, "No, this just makes it so much more amazing. It's just so...you, and I love you."



Kelly's smile grew as Carrie leaned forward, kissing her sweetly.



"Thank you, so much. This is definitely the most amazing birthday I've ever had."



"Good, I'm glad. It was your first birthday that we were together, so I wanted it to be something you wouldn't forget."



"I will definitely never forget this."



"I've totally screwed myself over, huh?"



"How?"



"How in the world am I gonna top this?"



Carrie laughed, kissing her. She pulled back with a smile, "All you have to do is keep kissing me like that, and I'll be the happiest person in the world."



Kelly wrapped her arm around the taller girl's neck, pulling her closer, kissing her again. She leaned backwards, laying them down as Carrie fell between her legs, lying on top of her.



"I think we should add Ireland to the list," Carrie smiled as she pulled back just enough to be able to talk.



Kelly nodded, finding her lips once more.