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Some Kind of Wonderful


Chapter Nine:

Mr. Wonderful


"What exactly does that expression mean, 'friends with benefits'? Does he provide her with health insurance?"
― Chuck Lorre


Coolville, Ohio - 1998


The little house was adorable. Rebecca discovered that although his family owned land in the country, they also owned a homestead on the edges of the most precious town she'd ever seen.

One of his brother's had picked them up at the airport. She'd been quiet on the trip while she studied the eldest Kennedy brother from the passenger seat. He was good looking, there was no getting around that. He had a nice jaw with that infamous buttchin and soft lips under an impressive goatee. His hair was shades darker than Leon's and worn longer in a style that was nearly a mullet or something.

He had on a pretty blue sweater over faded jeans. He had big blue eyes and thick dark lashes. He was cute. Even if the mole near his nose looked like a plop of brown paint. He was still cute.

Her eyes shifted to Leon's profile in the back seat. He'd let her have the front like a gentleman. He was looking out the window at the pretty sunlight on the green, green grass.

His brother - Gavin- was cute. He just was. But Leon?

He felt her looking and turned his head toward her. The smile on his face was instant and so was the wink that followed. Her breath just...seized as she smiled back. Cute? The wrong word.

He took her breath away.

She smiled back at him while her face flushed.

In the driver's seat, Gavin was saying, "-so that's how Kit and Conrad ended up in the lake." He glanced at Rebecca and smiled gently, "You do much swimming, Becky?"

Becky. Seriously? Shrugging, she settled back her seat. "Sometimes. Depends on the lake. Some lakes have massive amounts of bacteria in them. It's the leading cause of urinary tract infections."

In the back seat, Leon chortled a little. Gavin looked vaguely disgusted as he remarked, "...gross. But thanks for the heads up."

Rebecca smiled sweetly, "You bet...which one of your brother's is married?"

She felt Leon tense in the back seat as Gavin replied, "Conrad. He married his high school sweetheart."

Without missing a beat, Rebecca returned, "Actually, he married Leon's high school sweetheart. It's easy to do that when you cuckhold your own brother."

The silence in the car was loud. Into it, Gavin cleared his throat and answered, "...I don't think Maggie knew she was his sweet heart. She said they never even did more than kiss a few times."

Rebecca shrugged again and said, "So? You saying Conrad didn't know about them?"

Gavin shifted in his seat. In the back, Leon was dangerously quiet. Apparently, he was ok with Rebecca asking the questions. So Gavin sighed, "He knew. We all knew. I just think...maybe Connie thought it was a game or something. Maybe he thought it would be funny."

Rebecca turned her gaze back to the window, "Looks like Leon got all the looks and all the brains in the family then."

Behind her, Leon felt his heart seize. She was something else. Without a single thought, she defended him. She praised him. She put him on some kind of platform he felt perilously close to tumbling off. Would she still like him so much if she knew he was a huge nerd before he'd met her?

Shamed into silence, Gavin said nothing else while they pulled up to the house.

The pretty little farmhouse was lovely and white and authentic. The stairs creaked on hundred year old hardwood floors. The pillars were hand craved. The railing as old as the first of the Kennedy's who'd settled there during the days of the race for land in the west of a new world.

The decor was simple chic. His mother liked lace and red checkered fabrics. She'd had the walls painted a soft buttery yellow. Old paintings of long dead family lined the walls into the huge dining room.

Dinner was already laid out. Fried chicken and turnips, huge platters of deviled eggs and bowls of mashed potatoes, a pretty dish of punch with a crystal ladle. Down home cooking in a place that felt vaguely old fashioned and simple homey.

Rebecca yearned a little for the closeness of the clan of Kennedys. They were like old friends. They were all laughing and hugging and encouraging Leon to tell them all about his "fancy job in the big city."

People milled about laughing and eagerly there to greet them.

Rebecca was introduced to a dozen Kennedy's before they all sat down for dinner. Her gaze wandered over to find a woman staring at her. Pretty, red haired, with a dusting of freckles on a pert nose. She wore glasses that made her look fresh and gentle. Her hair was braided down her back with pieces framing porcelain skin. She was just a little plump, but not in a bad way. In a way that said soft and homespun.

The way she was staring, it had to be the infamous Maggie.

Rebecca gazed at the man beside her. Conrad, or Connie, clearly. He had an arm draped over the back of her chair. He looked like Leon if Leon had swallowed a big bag of "douche" for breakfast. He was fatter around the middle with the beginning of a decent double chin. But he was still handsome.

When he felt her looking, he rolled his gaze over and winked at her.

What was charming on Leon, was offensive on his douchey brother.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and glanced at Leon beside her. He was engaged in a talk with a young cousin of his about the merits of basic firearm training for eager recruits. Apparently the girl was considering law enforcement.

Testing the situation, Rebecca laid her hand on his thigh above his knee. Without missing a beat, his left hand moved down and slid around hers to hold it there. He linked their fingers and brought hers to his mouth to kiss the back of it.

No thinking. Just reaction.

Rebecca felt her heart melt and leaned in enough to put her head on his shoulder.

Pushing the limits of it, she lifted her face up to see what he'd do. Breaking from the conversation, he leaned in enough to press a kiss to her forehead. Her whole body sang with it. Simple. So very simple.

It should have been nothing, but it was better somehow than all the sex they'd tried. This? It was intimacy. It was closeness.

It was the first time she felt like, maybe, she was his girlfriend. She leaned in again while the laughter filled the room around them and the warm smell of fresh bread and sweet fruit encouraged her. His mouth curved up into a soft smile as she kept her eyes open and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Something on his face registered it. The smile slid away under an intensity that made her heart pound. He dipped down and kissed her again, just a skim, a butterfly brush really. Innocent.

And ripe with so much that it left her breathless.

Their eyes volleyed around the other's face, looking for what? Nothing. Everything. Anything. She whispered, under the din of the revelry that seemed somehow ok knowing what kind of a horrid person Aunt Gert was, "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you."

The softness on him flickered into a panic. He started to say something back and a snide voice broke the moment, "Well why don't the two of you just get a room? Don't let the rest of us stop you here."

Maggie.

She had a whiny voice.

Rebecca looked over at her as Leon leaned back in his seat. She tilted her head. "I'm sorry...but what's your problem?"

The table started to quiet. Rebecca had always been missing pieces of the right kind of attitude for keeping quiet during passive aggressive baiting. Maggie laughed nastily and answered, "Apparently a funeral is a good time for you to come home and rub your fancy job and skinny ass girlfriend in all of our faces, huh Leon? We could tell she was a snob the moment she got out of the car. Gavin said she was a bitch on the way here."

Surprised, Rebecca looked over at Gavin. Leon, softly, queried, "...what the hell did you call her?"

And Leon's mother murmured, "Leon Scott, language."

But he ignored the admonishment. He stared down his brother until Gavin cleared his throat. He lifted his hands and defended, "I didn't say bitch. I said...rude. I said she was a little rude."

Rebecca shook her head with a soft scoff, "I'm not rude. I'm right, but sometimes the truth is hard to swallow I guess." Apologetic, she rose from the table and told Leon gently, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."

His hand caught hers before she could leave. His expression was pleading but determined as he told her, "Don't go."

How could she say no?

Leon rose from the table. His family was watching him quietly now. But it was Conrad that spoke first, "He's still salty that I stole his woman. But it's not my fault I was the one born with all the looks man. She came onto me. Was I gonna say no? It wasn't personal, dude. She never loved you anyway."

Maggie looked guilty as she answered, "I did. I just didn't think he loved me back."

The discomfort in the room was sky high now. Rebecca felt a little panic at the idea that he might still. Would he take the chance with her? Sure, she was his brother's wife now. But marriages could be ended after all.

Leon shook his head and turned away, saying quietly, "We'll see you in the morning for the funeral. The flight was long. We're gonna go unwind and get to bed."

And Conrad taunted, "See? Puss. He didn't fight for her then either. Which is why he's always been the baby in more ways than one. Big fucking coward."

Leon's mother admonished him now, "Connie..enough."

Kit, the second youngest brother, shook his head and warned, "You're outta line here, Conrad. Shut the hell up and sit down."

Stumbling a little, clearly drunk, Conrad rounded the table and drilled a swaying finger into Leon's chest. "Why? You think I'm scared of this little shit? He's a joke. Mom always hanging pictures of his goddamn awards all over the house. Dad proud as a peacock that he was the "smart one" and the "strong one". You think I thought twice about taking his girl from him? No way. It was my turn to show him who was the best one."

He lowered his slurring face into Leon's and added, "...I win, little brother. How's that feel?"

Before he could answer, Rebecca put her hand on Conrad's drunk chest and shoved him back. He staggered and nearly went down on the table. Gavin and Kit rose from the table to intervene as she told him, "You pathetic mess. Why would she want you? You could spend the rest of your life trying, but you'll never be Leon."

Surprised, Leon looked down at her with some kind of feeling he couldn't identify. He was humbled and honored that she so staunchly defended him even as Conrad spat, "Him? He's nothing. He was always the weakest of us. He had to go be a cop to prove he was a man."

And Rebecca laughed, "Him? He's everything. And on his worst day? He's still a hundred times the man you are. Go have another drink and choke on that jealousy. Maybe no one else can see you for what you are, but I can. It must suck to know he became a success and you turned into a failure. You're greatest achievement is sleeping with his faithless former flame. Good for you. I bet that feels real good at night when you go to sleep beside her and realize the two of you deserve each other."

She glanced at the other brother's and shook her head, "The rest of you should be ashamed. Brothers should protect and care for each other. All I see is a bunch of jealous boys pretending to be men."

The silence was loud as she felt her face flame in the aftermath of her righteous speech. Softly, she finally whispered, "...I'm sorry. Excuse me."

As she left the dining room, it was his mother that spoke first. "Oh...I like her."

The room laughed and went right back to talking. Leon said nothing to his brothers who were looking at him sheepishly. His heart was pounding as he followed the sound of Rebecca fleeing out of the house.

They were staying in the barn that his mother had converted into a loft when he was young. He'd always been separate in a way, living out in the barn while his brothers had run the house. But the loft had given him autonomy in a way he'd never really appreciated until now.

Without a word, he took her hand when he found her standing in the cool sunset and taking deep breaths.

She apologized again, profusely, "I shouldn't have said those things to your family. I'll leave in the morning and just-"

Leon shook his head. He pulled her into step beside him. She went, watching his profile as they entered the barn. The stairs curved upward until they were in the loft. She made a soft sound of surprise.

It reeked of him.

From the simple blue comforter on the full size bed to the framed poster of a dragon behind it. She knew it was something mystical. Some game he'd played. There was a Nintendo on the narrow dresser beside a small fat television. There was a bookshelf lined with physics and economics and text books filled with never ending information.

An open journal was lying on the floor by the bed, probably where he'd left it. She wanted to read it. She wanted to lie on his bed and read his journal and imagine him young and sweet and soft.

She caught sight of the photo above the dresser. A group of boys gathered around a table with a game before them. A little blonde boy with braces and glasses. He was grinning at the camera and showing the book in front of him. What was he?

He was the dungeon master. What else could he be?

And he was adorable.

She started to say something else and Leon shook his head. He turned toward her. He caught her face and tilted it up to him.

And he kissed her.

It wasn't sweet. It wasn't gentle. It was the best kiss she'd ever had. Her blood turned hot. Her hands caught in his shirt to fist. Her foot went up like in an old romantic movie. She moaned and swayed.

When they broke apart, she whispered, "...you're not mad at me?"

He shook his head again. His hands slid down to her shirt and he answered, "Nobody has ever stood up for me like that, Rebecca. No one. I don't understand you."

So she murmured, "Yes you do. I love you. I love you, Leon. I can't help it. I'm sorry if that scares you."

His head shook again; no. He tugged her shirt up and she let him, feeling it fall to the floor as his hands angled her face back to his mouth. Somehow? This time they didn't bump noses. They didn't do anything but tilt heads and hit the right spot every time.

She opened her lips to let him put his tongue in her mouth. She made eager noises and reached under his button down shirt to feel along his belly. He let her grip the hem of his shirt and pull it off him.

She got the feeling they were about to...what? Make love. Not fuck. No. Make love. She'd never been more nervous in her life.

They grappled with clothing. They kissed and touched. He lifted her around his front and carried her to the bed.

She felt like she was in a romance novel or something. Her head was swirling. When they were naked, the press of their flesh made her whimper.

Without prompting, she put her hand between her legs to stroke herself. He joined their fingers to touch her. It made her writhe and hump her hips.

She felt him lift off her and roll toward where his pants had fallen. Her heart started beating a sharp tattoo as she watched his incredible ass lean over the bed. When he turned toward her, she felt that roll of fear in her belly at the huge jut of his manhood coming at her.

Would that ever go away? She doubted it.

He slid over the bed and rose on his knees. She watched him open the condom and slide it on. No hesitance. He was getting pretty good at it. It fit perfectly that time and he didn't rip it or pop it. Her body was convulsing when he slid back between her legs. Her hand started to retreat and he caught it, holding it on her.

"Keep doing that, ok? Keep touching yourself. It feels good, right?"

When she nodded, face red, he told her, "Yeah. Keep doing it."

He slid his hands down the insides of her legs and pushed her knees back a little higher. She looked so scared. He could almost smell it on her. Shaking his head, he caught her face with one hand and drew her to him to kiss her.

His other hand joined hers on her body. As she stroked, he slid two fingers into her. She gasped, humping, and he put his mouth to hers to kiss her. When they were breathless, he promised against her lips, "I'll stop. If you want me to, I'll stop. Ok?"

Nodding, feeling a weird fullness building in her belly, Rebecca gasped and humped on his hand again. What was that feeling in her? What was happening here? Did an orgasm always feel vaguely like she had to pee before it happened?

He kept his mouth on hers and she felt him angle himself at her body. His hand retreated and his dick took over the assault. He breached her body while she slid her fingers against herself.

When he was about two inches into her, she felt that panic at the stretch of him. Too big, her body told her, too big. Stop. It must have been on her face because he leaned up a little and pushed her knees back further. The second he did, the pressure eased off and it just felt good to have him in her. She used her free hand grip his arm. She nodded.

He shifted closer, but he was too tall like that. He had to readjust and dangle her legs over his arms. His hands settled at her shoulders as he cuddled her butt against his thighs and told her, "Anytime...ok? Anytime." She was nearly undone by the hoarse need in his voice.

He sounded desperate for her.

His face was so beautifully needy.

She knew she wouldn't stop him.

She nodded anyway and he leaned down, kissed her, and claimed another inch. When she didn't resist, he went for another. The fullness was there again, pressing into her bladder, but she simply let her body relax. Her fingers found some part of clit that made her jump and her mouth opened on a small cry of surprise.

She swirled her middle finger against herself and gasped.

And he claimed another inch. Too full, she felt her other hand push on his hip as she gasped, "...I-oh I can't...just-I can't."

He nodded, looking so terribly strained. She felt awful about it. His body slid out to the tip...and that? That felt incredible. Her free hand grabbed at his hip to hold him that little bit in her and she begged, "...wait...wait...again."

Heart thundering, he eased back into her. Still full, still tight, but better. Better. He shifted and her back bumped the headboard. Her hands instinctively lifted to grip it above her head. His left one replaced hers on her body, stroking. She felt her eyes roll back in her head as he went in until she shook her head no, and he pulled back to the tip.

Voice shaking, he asked, "...like this? Yeah?"

Good.

After that?

Just good.

What had Jill said? It's goooood.

She nodded, face flushed. His hands were shaking on her. He was as nervous as she was.

Her body opened for him. It stopped resisting and started inviting. For him, it wasn't nearly as desperate as that first time. The condom made sure the feel of her was lost to him. He knew she was tight. He knew she was eager. He knew she was warm.

But she wasn't wet and sucking around him now. It gave him control of himself.

He was able to slowly push into her. She mewled and her thighs quivered. In, out, in out...the sound of it was coupled with harsh breathing. The fifth time, he pushed into her further. She didn't stop him, she lifted toward him for more.

So he the next time? He went all in.

Bump. He hit the spongey end of her and stopped. She whined and her eyes fluttered...and she thrust toward him.

Yeah. Yep. Good.

He shifted his hands to hers on the head board. She looped their fingers together.

And he just started moving in her.

Her body damped. Her skin slicking with sweat. His hips went faster. His body moved harder. When she opened her mouth on a gasping cry, he stopped trying to be gentle at all. He started fucking into her body like all the guys he'd ever seen in a porno tossing their dicks to an eager girl.

The crazy part? She was making high pitched sounds and soaking his thighs. Her face was mottled pink. Her breasts flushed. Her hips surging up to meet him.

Good. Sooooo good.

Softly, Leon gasped, "...shit." His balls tightened.

He dropped her legs to the mattress. She grabbed for his face like a wild thing and climbed up to straddle his lap. His left hand speared into her hair to jerk her to his mouth. His right arm wound around her narrow waist to lift and lower her on his surging dick.

He was half sure he'd die. Her small hands fisted in his hair as she jumped around on his plunging junk like it was a pogo stick.

She kept going, "Oh oh oh oh...oh oh oh..."

And finally she squealed softly and warned him, "...I'm gonna pee!"

Was that a good thing?

But she didn't pee. Not really. She clenched so tight around his claiming body that his eyes crossed. The fullness in her belly burst over her body in a warm gush. She mewled and humped down and up and down and up.

And she came all over him.

Her doing it prompted him to do it. He half tossed her to the bed and finished by rutting on her like a madman. He plowed her little belly while she squealed and grabbed his ass and shoved him into her harder.

Jesus Christ in a clown car filled with crap...it was the greatest moment of his life. It had to be.

He collapsed on her while they both shook and panted.

And then he gasped into her ear, "...I'm really glad you came with me."

On the trip? In the bed? Both maybe. Both, definitely.

Rebecca turned her face away from him...and promptly started crying.