It had been a long day; he'd woken up late, got to work well over an hour after he should have clocked in and gotten shit from his boss for it. On the way home the rear-right tire on his truck had blown out. He'd only barely gotten back on the three good wheels he had left.
It had all been better when he found Sandy waiting for him in the bathtub. The lights were off. The bathroom was lit by at least a dozen vanilla-scented candles. She had a step-stool sitting next to the tub. On it was a bottle of André and two champagne glasses. It had taken only a minute for Joel to join her in the tub.
The water had still been warm. Joel sat across from her with his back propped against the tub and his legs tangled with hers, a glass of champagne in one hand.
"Hey you," Sandy said after a few moments of peaceful silence.
"Hmm," Joel said.
"You're hogging all the space, Romeo."
"I'm bigger than you."
Using her foot, Sandy splashed water at him and crossed her legs.
"Hey! No splashin'! I'm in hillbilly heaven here!" Joel watched her for a moment. "How do you cross your legs like that?" He asked.
"I'm a lady," Sandy said. "We always cross our legs."
They shared another moment of silence. Sandy watched him with blue eyes. Joel raised his glass to his lips and took a sip of the Champagne. He grimaced.
"This is all great, Baby...'cept for the...um, Champagne..."
"André," Sandy said with a smirk. "The best two-dollar champagne on the market. Pretty icky, huh? I had to mix Kool-Aid with it before it was even drinkable.
Joel chuckled. "The candles are nice. Very romantic."
Sandy sighed contentedly and stretched out her legs. She entangled them with Joel's once again.
"Joel, if you could have one wish...anything in the entire world, what would you want?"
"Are you serious?"
"As serious as I can be. And don't be shallow, wise guy. What would you want?"
" ya' know, when I came home the other day, I saw you tryin' on a new dress and I thought...the only thing I want is to spend the rest of my life with this woman."
"Oh, Joel, you're making me melt."
"What about you? If ya' could have one thing, what would it be?"
"Hmmm," Sandy gently chewed at her thumbnail, a thoughtful look on her face. "Let me think..."
"Really? Ya, have ta' think about it? Are you bein' coy?"
"Maybe."
Abruptly, Sandy worked her way closer to Joel and settled herself onto his lap.
"No, I don't have to think about it, but I have to whisper it to you."
"Am I gonna' laugh?"
"I'm going to say no."
She leaned in until her lips were brushed up against his earlobe. "I want to make love to you all night under Christmas lights."
Joel smiled. "Sweetie, I love that ya' said that...but it's August."
Sandy leaned back. "Don't you think it's worth the wait?"
"No, I do, I do."
"You just keep practicing that," Sandy said before standing up and stepping out of the tub. Joel followed and took the towel she held out to him and wrapped it around his waist. Sandy covered herself up and took his hand, leading him out of the bathroom.
"What're you up to now?" Joel asked. Sandy didn't answer. Just dragged him to their bedroom door and led him in.
Hung on the wall above their bed were several rows of Christmas lights.
"Surprise," she said.
A/N: I know I haven't updated Signs of Life, but I am actually almost finished with the final draft of the next chapter, so expect that up either tonight or tomorrow. This was just something I actually wrote a long time ago and I figured I'd put it up here for y'all to enjoy. Let me know what you think.
~Exangellion