| “A new day together” by Sep *** Honor and love to Travis. *** Part 2 "Well that was clever, John. Any other time.." He wasn't in the kitchen anymore. "John?" She called out not knowing if he'd maybe decided to slip out the window or head back to bed. He was, to say the least, unpredictable. He came out of the bedroom again when he heard her voice. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?" "No, not wrong. It's just that…" How could she explain the concept of discretion to him when he was so upfront about everything. That was just one of the many things that fascinated her. If he was mad, you knew it, you saw it, if he was confused, you saw that. His feelings, his emotions were right on the surface, untamed and unbroken by rules that said it wasn't right to feel this or that. From the first night she'd met him, his face and his eyes had always told her the absolute truth. "It's just that, well, Sam didn't expect to see you here and he's not stupid John. He knows we were together. " "Together, like last night?" He sat down on the couch cross-legged and she sat in the chair opposite him. "Yes, like last night together. Intimately." She laughed. His innocence was unnerving. "I really liked last night. It was…" He let out his breath for lack of the right descriptive. She saw it in his face as well, as if he were turning over the memory of their touches and all he'd felt. He came to where she sat and took up her hands in his before he kneeled down to face her. "Did you like it too?" "John," Hesitantly, slowly, she touched his arm. " Yeah… I liked it. I more than liked it. Was it, you know, everything you wanted it to be?" He thought for a moment and then stood up, pulling her against the bareness of his chest as he rose. Those truthful eyes held hers and as she anticipated, he leaned close, putting his arms around her and letting those strong hands of his wander up her back. It was a touch she could have died to feel. "Being with you, it was like nothing ever before, Jane. " He let her go only enough so that she could read his expression. "It was everything, yes. Only, it makes me want you more." Gathering herself and pulling away was no easy feat, but she managed. "Yes, well, it's not something we can lay around all day doing." Another nervous laugh left her feeling almost angry that she suddenly was feeling so self conscious. "Why can't we?" Of course, he would ask that, and when she thought about it, there really was no reason she and John couldn't have made love right there and then, and all through the day and night had they wanted, but from the first, everything about him had made her want far more than that. Sure, his physical appearance was more than inviting. His body was sculpted and seemed made for her hands to touch, but there was so much more to be explored with him, and certainly she didn't want it to become a relationship where all they had going for them was sex. No way. Nicki's voice in her head, and she smiled as she pushed away from the warmth of his chest. "John, there are more things to do besides that. What do you want to do today, really? I've already decided we're not going spend today on our problems. I want to forget about them for the whole day, if not forever. And of course, Sam won't be coming around to remind me of those now." She shook her head. "I mean really John. Your timing was impeccable." "Impeccable?" He felt the word in his mouth as he walked into the kitchen and once again picked up the container Sam had brought. Of course, he must be hungry. "I just mean, any other time you're in the shadows, waiting, and then you walk out and practically announce that we've spent the night together!" She reached him just in time to save the soup from being investigated by his fingers. She poured some into a bowl and popped it into the microwave and turned again to him. He was perched on one of the barstools behind the kitchen countertop watching the microwave with earnest curiosity. "Sam is your friend. He is my friend, isn't he?" "Well yes John, he is. Hell, Sam could have blown everything wide open for us by now, but he hasn't. He's been more of a friend to both of us than I ever dreamed he could be." "So why shouldn't he see me with you?" His mouth was pursed as he watched the digital display behind her and when it beeped on completion, he broke into a smile. "It's done." My God, she thought as she retrieved the soup and stirred it, what was this going to be like. On the one hand she was eternally amused by the things he found so new and interesting, and on the other hand, she wasn't accustomed to explaining everything so minutely. She handed him the bowl and a spoon, which he looked at for a moment and then back to her. "Come on now John, you can't eat soup with your fingers." She put the spoon into his hand the right way and continued from his last question as she watched him eat. He actually did a fair enough job of it and she wondered, not for the first time about how his life had been before the plane crash so long ago, and how he'd survived, how it had been for him. Something inside her longed to know everything, but for now, the basics were enough. "Sam cares about me John. It's not that he doesn't want you to be with me. He doesn't want me to get hurt, and he knows, " She sighed because there was no other way to say her thoughts. "He knows I'm already so involved, so wrapped up in all this mess." That brought him to attention, and his eyes changed again to the hurt she'd seen there once or twice when her words stung him. Immediately her hand found his. "But you know what John, I wouldn't change a thing. Really." He settled back some on the stool and listened to her. "You, and I… We're in this together now. I told you that night at the Doctor's house that I wasn't quitting, and I won't. I just wish some things could have been different." He finished the bowl of soup by picking it up and drinking it, noodles and all. Of course. Much more convenient. When he stood up, he came to her and touched her face with the warmth of his hand, bringing her eyes to meet his. "I am sorry about Michael too, you know that. But I am glad you say you are with me. It is all I want." Then, he smiled so tenderly and kissed her cheek in the barest of touches. Everything within her sought more, and her lips found his warm and salty flavored, and she laughed through their kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. Silently she damned the voice that seemed from far away to tell her she had no right to this moment, to this happiness. It was here, and it was hers, no, theirs, and she intended to devour every minute. *** When at last she stepped back, she moved into the bedroom knowing full well that he would follow. "I'm going to take a shower now that you're up. Then we can figure out what we're going to do for the day. Unless, do you want to shower first?" "No. I'll wait for you. Can I listen to some music on this?" He gestured to her stereo, and she told him of course he could but then paused long enough to show him how to put the CD's in and which buttons to press. She left him listening to something classical, sure that he'd find his way through her collection to something that suited him. The blessed heat of the shower awaited, and she wasted no time in pursuing it. As she let the hot water run over her the music played from her room and the sheer simplicity of the situation made her smile. It was a bit like playing house, yes, but damn all the other stuff for a day, she wanted to be free with him to do whatever they wanted. It wasn't realistic to think that way long term, but yes, just for today. A walk in the park maybe, or going to the movies, just, anything normal so long as it was with him. What a difference that one night had made. It was as if she wanted him now as never before, as if all that holding back had been let loose and now there was no stopping. Physically, mentally, hungrily, she wanted him over and over again. That thought had her back against the wall as the water moved over her body and she thought naturally of the time she'd seen him under the water, bare and golden, but no… no.. must get out of the shower and back to sanity, if only for a while. Christ, he was stunning, and her body ached for him once more but she wasn't about to give into that, not just now. There were precious few minutes when the two of them had enjoyed the freedom to be and do as they wished, and though the thought of spending all day in bed with him was more than arousing, it needed to be more. She dried and got dressed in the humid air of the bathroom listening to the choices he was going through on the stereo. How new it all must seem to him. The year 2004 rapidly approaching and he wasn't even aware of the nineties and all that decade had brought into the world. She combed through her hair just as she heard Marilyn Manson scream through the speakers. She made a face to herself in the mirror, and vowed to tell her sister not to mix their CD's together. God, what would John even begin to make of Manson, she didn't want to know or explain. She walked out to find him sitting on the floor amid maybe ten cases with a look on his face that said he didn't want to know either. She shut off the CD, rolling her eyes and switched it back to the classical station. "Music is so different. I don't remember much music from when I was small." He watched her as she sat on the bed. "I don’t really remember much of anything." "It must be hard, huh?" She asked him, though she knew already that he struggled to remember both for his sense of belonging and for the things he could find to help him adjust to this world once more. "If you ever want to talk about it John, you know, I'd love to listen. It's all right though, I mean, if it's too painful." He crawled up beside her and sat lost in his own thoughts, running one finger along his lips. Again, amused that she was noticing his habits, she watched him and went to get up from the bed. He grabbed her arm and she hesitated. "Wait." "What is it John?" She'd learned that if he sensed something it was wise to listen and let him feel it out. Was that what he was doing? He shook his head, hearing that question in her voice. "Nothing. Just, thank you. For wanting to listen. I would like to tell you about all I remember. Only you." His hand left off her arm and it was he who stood and walked over to surprise her by picking up the CD cases off the floor. Sometimes he'd do that, say something touching that appeared to leave him vulnerable, and then he'd busy himself or go on to some other task as if to avoid any further questioning. That was fine. That he'd revealed his desire to tell her, and only her, was nothing but a completely honest, trusting statement, and had she stood there and thought about it long enough she'd have been in tears. "John, I'll get those. Do you want to shower here or should we go to Kathleen's and get you some clothes?" Kathleen, she realized suddenly. She needed to call Kathleen! By now she would probably be worried sick about John and she didn't have a way to reach Jane even if she'd wanted to check on his whereabouts. "Oh God, I have to call her. I didn't even think. Did she know you were coming here?" "No. I don't think so. We talked and she went to work." He shrugged. Shrugged! She sighed and went to the phone. When it rang through, Kathleen picked up immediately. "He's with me, yes. Since last night." "Why didn't you call me last night then? Do you know how worried I've been? I've been scared to death that Richard's men got him somehow!" "I uh, I'm sorry. We just got to talking, John and I, and he fell asleep. He looked so restful I didn't want to wake him and I uh, fell asleep too." She was a piss poor liar and she knew it, and what's more, she was sure Kathleen knew it too. As she waited for the response on the other end of the phone line she heard the water running in the shower and guessed he'd figured out the mechanics. Hell, it was a shower, not rocket science. "Did you hear me Jane?" "No, sorry, what?" Broken concentration. Get it together girl. "Are the two of you coming here, or is John on his way? I don't know that it's safe for him to stay here anymore, though I have hired guards around the clock." "We," She paused. "I don't really know. Either way, he'll be back tonight, I'd say. And Kathleen, don't worry. I'll make sure he's safe. You know I don't want anything to happen to him." "That hasn't helped so far." The words were unnecessarily biting, but she knew the worry that lay behind them. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nasty but, I care so much for him. I'm just now coming to terms with the fact that he's not dead and if anything happens to him, we'll both lose him Jane." "No we won't. We won't let that happen. " She smiled into the receiver and hung up gently not really sure if she'd meant for the 'we' to be she and John or she and Kathleen, but either way was true. At least now his Aunt knew where he was, and that for the time being he was secure. Now, where were her shoes? She went to search back in the bedroom, remembering that she'd taken them off last night just before her window visitor had come calling. Her own impeccable timing came through just as John emerged from the bathroom with a huge cloud of steam trailing behind him as he moved wet and bare into her room stopping her completely in her tracks and sucking virtually all other thought from her mind except for the silent awe she felt when she looked at him. "Now you see me again after my shower." He laughed easily, reminding her of the first unexpected time she'd seen his nakedness. This was different though. Then, she'd been completely stricken, stumbling and embarrassed as she averted her stare. Now, she beheld the full glory of his manhood and couldn't look away for anything. Her eyes moved from his face, his hair hung against it in soft wet strands, downward over the sleek wet curves of his chest, his nipples small and dark, the perfection of his abs, better than any she'd ever seen in person or in print, and lower still to that part of him that had known her for the first time so recently. She thought that if she were to touch him, if she could, right now, yes, she pictured how that part of him would grow hard and ready for her, how his lips would seek hers… "Jane?" He called her out of those thoughts and she cleared her throat most obviously. "Yes, uh, sorry. " Her laughter to anyone else might have conveyed the thoughts that had been slowly caressing her mind. He came to her just as he was, and held her with his hand gently on the back of her neck. "You can look at me. I want you to look at me that way." His hand moved lower, his boldness increasing as if her stare and appraisal had given him that permission. "I want you so much. You know that." "I do, John. I do." She laughed just a little and had to fight the shiver she felt all through her as she pressed her hand against his chest, easing him away. "Later." "Later." He repeated, and stepped back, bending almost purposely slow as he picked up his clothes. Damned if he wasn't teasing her and he knew it! His back, the shape of it led downward to the well muscled shape of his backside and legs. Finally she gave up and turned around, reminding herself, shoes, shoes Jane, look for your shoes. When she picked them up from beside the dresser and turned around he was right behind her and she gasped in surprise. "Later is a promise?" He asked with a mischievous smile, his brows raised. She stepped back and sat on the edge of the dresser shaking her head at his insistence. "We have to go over to Kathleen's first, and then we'll see what we're going to do with the day." She couldn't help but to smile at the intentional mixture in his expression that was at once pouting and innocent. "But yes, later, is a promise." ***
Written and Completed 11.24.03 COPYRIGHT @2003 Shannon Peirce All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproduction. 399Comments to: sep@minuo.org |