Chapter 9 - Snowed in

I sigh disconsolately at the image before me "I can't believe this!".

"Chicago woke up unexpectedly covered in white…".

"All the roads are closed! We should've gone yesterday...", I shake my head at the TV. I came back to her place after my shift and we had decided to leave early in the morning to our much anticipated weekend in the country.

Abby yawns next to me "I didn't realize it snowed so much…".

She sinks under the covers "I guess we'll have to take a raincheck…".

"Yeah…".

"It's a shame, I was really looking forward to our little escapade…", she whispers.

I nod and stare glumly at the tv.

She turns it off, I'm about to protest but she shifts to my side, hogging my pillow "No reason to be grumpy all day…Let's go back to sleep, it's 6.30 in the morning", kisses my lips gently.

"I'm not grumpy", I murmur as I feel her tucking her leg between mine.

"Besides, we have a thousand of weekends ahead of us", Abby says.


"So, what do you have?", I ask looking inside the upper cabinets.

She slaps my ass "Hey smartass, I didn't go to the grocery because I thought we were going away for the weekend…".

I chuckle "Not everything's lost: we have spaghetti!".

"I have tuna, tomato sauce, some frozen veggies…", she says into the freezer. "I could just go downstairs and get us something…", she sighs as she closes the door of the refrigerator.

"Come on, this is fun!", I smile and take the vegetables from her hands "It's like med school all over again". I pour water into a pan.

She looks over my shoulder "And may I ask what's on the menu, chef?".

"Oh, I don't know yet. Let's just mix up everything and hope for the best", I chuckle.

"I think I'll stick to crackers then…", she chuckles, leans against the wall.

"You're gonna eat your words, along with my delicious food", I smirk, raising my brow in jest. She laughs and I add salt to the boiling water.

"Jane used to love my food. I'm telling you, I'm great at improvising recipes".

She nods "Ok, I believe you. And who's that Jane person?".

I look up "Uh, room mate…". There's a split second of indecision that Abby notices immediately.

"Oh… And?", she comes closer, leans on the counter.

"We went out for a while", I reply adding the vegetables to the water.

"She was your first?".

I nod "Yep".

"Was she pretty?", Abby asks, trying to sound not too interested.

I shrug my shoulders "Yeah, she was tall, was on the volley team".

"What happened?".

"We grew apart. Met other people… You know, the usual".

The pasta's ready. Abby's looking into space.

I lean close to her "I thought it was pretty obvious to you that I had been with other women before…".

Abby nods "We just never really talked about it…".

I sit at the table, smile at her "You can ask me whatever you want".

She tastes the food, nods "You were right, this tastes amazing. I guess your ex was right".

I pause and look at her, she looks amused but I know she's just feeling insecure.

"She's not my ex…".

"You just said you were together for a while…".

She's just teasing me and I know that. But part of me wants to tell her that what I feel for her, what we have, is so much stronger, better, than any previous relationship.

She eyes me from the other side of the table, expecting an answer.

So I answer.

"Abby, I think we should move in together".

She looks so surprised that, for a moment, I'm afraid she might choke on her food. She swallows, takes a sip of water, her eyes always on me.

"You always manage to surprise me…", she whispers, half smiling, half thinking out loud.

"I know we never really talked about it, but I think it makes perfect sense. This… us, it's the only thing I'm certain of. And I want to be able to show you that, everyday".

"Okay", she says and I'm a little nonplussed at her answer.

She realizes that and reaches for my hand "You are quite something, Susan Lewis…".

And then she smiles "Let's do that".


There's not much you can do when you're snowed in at home on a long weekend.

Abby's throwing out some old magazines, sorting out her mail. I'm sprawled on her couch, flipping channels, not really paying attention to the TV. I'm bored. I stand up and step closer to her book shelves, grab one of her poem anthologies, return to the couch.

I opt for a foreign author that I never heard of, take in those words. That's how you know it's good poetry, when you can actually feel the words warming you inside, waking up your senses. I should read more.

Abby asks gently "What are you smiling at?". She's in front of me, a pile of old newspapers under her arm.

"Oh, just this poem I'm reading…", I nod and she stays there looking at me.

"Don't go far off, not even for a day", I start. My voice sounds shaky, so I clear my throat.

"Don't go far off, not even for a day, because

Because - I don't know how to say it: a day is long

And I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station

When the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep".

I raise my eyes from the book and I feel like I'm blushing, though I'm not really sure why. Abby is looking at me with those kind eyes of hers, piles the newspapers on the coffee table behind her and then she steps forward and kneels on the couch next to me. She takes her book from my hands and straddles me. I look up at her and stroke her thighs gently. Abby frames my face in her hands, subtly traces my cheeks with her thumbs and she speaks up, her voice just above a whisper.

"Don't leave me, even for an hour, because

Then the little drops of anguish will all run together

The smoke that roams looking for a home will drift

Into me, choking my lost heart…".

Damn.

I study her eyes, those perfect brown eyes that look at me with such intensity that make me feel burning in the inside. I let my eyes fall to her lips, lips I'll never get tired of and she joins them to mine. While I kiss her, my head rambles about a lot of things. How could I had lived this long without knowing this kind of feelings- wait, this kind of connection was possible between two people?

I whine when she breaks the kiss and Abby giggles, tosses my hair, pulls my head closer to her. My hands trails up her torso, I stroke her breast slowly and she sighs. I slip my fingers into the cleavage of her shirt, rub her nipple softly and she stiffens slightly. She raises her arms and I slid her shirt off, leaving her body exposed to me. She sighs when my lips touch her skin, my tongue rolling her nipple and my other hand pulls down her pants, escapes under the lace of her panties, past the rough hair, my fingers exploring that warm flesh. She shudders a little, her fingers clutching at my hair, arches her back and shoves her breast into my mouth.

I watch her smiling with her eyes shut. I pepper her breasts with butterfly kisses, crawl my way up to her neck where I sink my teeth only to make her whimper a little. She's wet and I slide my middle finger inside her, push and pull it out slowly until she starts moving her hips. I add another finger and she starts rocking her hips more vigorously, grabs the couch behind me for balance.

Her breathing's becoming shallower and I add another finger while I rub her clit with the heel of my hand. She jerks back at the contact and I tighten my grip around her "I got you…".

She opens her eyes and rewards me with a smile but then her mouth twists involuntarily into a groan as I move my fingers inside her, aiming for that sweet spot. I know I've found it when she starts rocking her hips faster until she stops and this guttural sound escapes from her throat and I have to pull her closer to me so that she doesn't fall backwards.

We let ourselves slump on the couch, Abby nestled in my arms.

"That was particularly good", she chuckles against my chest.

I chuckle with her, play with her hair a little. The she looks out for her shirt, puts it back on and I'm about to sit up but she pushes me down gently, flashes me that sly smile "I'm not even started with you yet…".