BABE. Not Morelli friendly...he's only going to be mentioned once or twice, and that's it.
Warnings: Minor Language, heavy petting, smut in later chapters... don't know about violence... probably not.
All recognized Plum characters/settings/plots belong to Janet Evanovich.
NOTE: The characters are slightly OOC...I'm sure Steph has been on a plane before, but just go with it people...think of it as poetic license...or whatever.
Chapter 8
SPOV
We left the bedroom and waited at the top of the stairs for Sarah, who emerged similarly dressed to me, in jeans and a nice top.
"Nice dress, Lula," Sarah smiled broadly winking at me while Lula twirled on the spot.
"Thanks gurl! Let's go show our men how damn fine we are, and how lucky they are to have us!" Lula led the precession down the stairs, all three men standing as we entered the lounge room.
The men were all dressed in jeans, boots, and button down shirts rolled up to their elbows. They all matched, it looked hilarious. Although, I'm guessing, not as hilarious as Lula would look to the Australians in the pub.
Jack's jaw fell open slightly at the sight of Lula. Sarah moved swiftly to his side, gently closing his mouth and kissing his lips softly. I smiled as she snuggled into his side and started whispering in his ear.
"Babe." I jumped as Carlos' arm snuck around me and pulled me tight against his body.
"I know, I know, be more aware. You shouldn't be sneaking around in the first place." I bit back a giggle as I watched a wide smile spread across Tank's face as his eyes took in every inch of Lula.
"To each his own, I guess," Jack muttered, staring intently at Lula's back.
"I don't sneak," Carlos breathed gently in my ear. Shivering, I glanced up at him through my eyelashes.
"Oh, really?" I murmured.
"Yes. Really." Our moment was broken by Jack whistling loudly to supposedly gain everyone's attention. Really, it was probably just to prevent us kissing.
"Let's get this shindig on the road!" Jack chuckled, staring pointedly at Carlos and me. See, what did I tell you?
"I suggest each couple takes a car, so they can leave early if they wish," Carlos divulged, his eyes locked on mine, a smirk on his lips. I gulped as he dipped his head and kissed me until I was dizzy.
"If that's what you want, Ric," Jack laughed again, rolling his eyes so perfectly it would have made any Jersey woman proud.
Everyone agreed, none the less, the men eying their women appreciatively. We parted ways outside, each moving to our respective vehicles.
Jack and Sarah took the lead, Tank and Lula followed and Carlos and I brought up the rear.
We were sitting silently, and I couldn't take it. I had gotten used to Carlos talking; it was weird with him quiet now.
"So what's the pub going to be like?" I wondered nervously.
Carlos smiled and collected my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Loud, dirty, happy and fun," I blinked at him.
"Oh," I responded, not really sure how to answer his statement.
"You'll like it Babe," he assured me.
"And the locals? Are they going to... like us?" I asked.
"Not sure Babe. Anything could happen." Well that didn't exactly reassure me.
"What if – "
"You'll have me there Babe, right by your side. I won't let anything happen to you, or anyone touch you. It'll be fun. We'll eat, drink and dance. Ok?" I nodded.
"Ok. But Carlos – "
"No."
"You didn't even know what I was going to say!" I objected.
"I'm not going to start a fight with anyone Babe," he murmured quietly.
My jaw dropped and my mouth moved like a fish. How on earth could he have possibly known I was going to say that?
"I told you that I wouldn't let anyone touch you. You've seen my protective nature; it was the logical direction for your mind to take. I know you Babe." I huffed and folded my arms, even if I was feeling a little happy that he knew me so well.
We fell into silence again, our convoy making slow progress.
"Can I call you Carlos while we're out?"I requested abruptly.
"You can call me Carlos anytime you like querida. I don't mind, I love it, actually." My insides tingled at his admission.
"Good," I smiled, dragging his hand into my lap so I could play with his fingers with both my hands.
"You're still nervous," he stated with a sigh.
"Well, of course I am, we're meeting all these new people, in a foreign setting, in a foreign country. I'm just not sure what to expect and it's freaking me out a bit," I answered, staring at his hand.
His fingers were rough, but the top of his hand was so smooth. I loved his hands. Oh the things he could do with his magical fingers...
"Babe, Lula will be running distraction. There won't be any attention on us." That did make me relax a little. Lula would certainly be the center of attention, I hoped so anyway.
I kissed Carlos' palm and softly stroked his hand, reassured by his words and his presence.
It would be ok... hopefully.
A little over an hour later, we pulled to a stop.
The building was about the quarter the size of Jack and Sarah's house. It was mostly wooden, with a tin roof; it seemed structurally sound... but also seemed like it had been there for a good half a century. There were quite a few cars parked out front, mostly monster Utes and Land Cruisers.
Carlos helped me down from the car, and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me protectively into his side.
We all met up and entered together. It wasn't what I expected, that's for sure. Hell, the building was even air conditioned. There was a nice clean bar area, a section full of padded booths, and some tables and chairs were scattered around, a small dance floor was off to the side and there was a stage area for a band. There appeared to be a kitchen behind the bar area, where waitresses were coming and going with food. I noticed a small hallway that led towards the back of the building, where I assumed there were toilets, another exit and perhaps another room.
When we arrived, the pub was already half full, even at the early hour. The noise was mostly friendly chatter. Until they noticed us, that is, then they all simultaneously fell eerily silent.
Jack and Sarah waved to a few people, while Carlos directed me to a spare booth. Tank and Lula slid in on the other side, across from us, as Jack and Sarah sat next to Carlos.
The noise level gradually picked back up, but I did notice a few whispers and glances in our direction. Oh, and the women practically throwing themselves at Carlos. One tripped over a chair, another walked into the bar, another bumped into her partner and spilled beer all over his shirt.
I guess I would just have to get used to all the attention Carlos drew from women. The arm around my waist suddenly tightened and I felt Carlos' hand on my jaw a second before he pressed me against the wall and thrust his tongue into my mouth. He kissed me forcefully for a delicious long minute and released me slowly. I panted, my eyes opened, flicking to his. Raising both my eyebrows, he gave me a thousand watt smile and tucked me back into under his arm.
He didn't explain himself. Personally, I thought the eyebrow raise would have indicated to him that I wanted to know what his deal was. Guess not.
"What the hell was that about?" I whispered, my eyes staring at the side of his face.
Smiling at me again he brushed his lips lightly against mine.
"Now all the women know I belong to you, and all the men know you belong to me. You can stop glaring at them now, Babe," he chuckled as he rubbed his nose against mine.
"But I – you. I wasn't glaring!" I argued.
"You were glaring Babe. I thought I was going to have to hide my gun, just so you couldn't shoot them." I rolled my eyes and smacked his arm for good measure.
"Smart ass," I muttered.
"You love my ass," he growled into my ear just as a young waitress stopped at our booth.
She smirked and glanced at Sarah.
"Don't mind them, they're new to love," Sarah easily dismissed us, waving her hand and grinning at me.
My face heated and Tank let out a bark of laughter.
"Are you ready to order?" The girl asked, grinning at me.
"Uh... what's on the menu?" I wondered, gazing around the table. There was no menu.
"Jack?" The girl faced away from me, shaking her head.
"Burger, fries and a XXXX gold," he replied easily. "Same for you, honey?" His shoulder nudged Sarah's.
"Yes, thank you," Sarah laughed, ruffling Jack's hair.
"Me too!" I piped in, my stomach protesting just on the thought of not eating at all. It couldn't be that bad. Burger and fries, right? And something called a XXXX gold?
"Same here, thank you," Carlos echoed.
Tank ordered the same as well.
"Can I get a serve of southern style chicken wings, fries and some onion rings?" Lula requested. "Oh, and a Long Island Iced Tea."
The waitress laughed and shook her head.
"We don't do southern style chicken, sorry, or Long Island Iced Tea, whatever the hell that is." I recoiled back into the seat as Lula's face contorted into anger.
"What do you mean, you aint got no southern style chicken wings?" Lula exclaimed.
"Lula baby, calm down. Have the burger," Tank suggested calmly.
"Calm down? Calm down? Excuse me? Do I look like I need to calm down?" Lula ranted.
"Yes!" All six of us answered together.
She huffed and muttered something under her breath.
"She'll get what everyone else is having, with a side of onion rings, thanks," Tank translated.
"Your food will be out shortly," The waitress smiled at the three men, before moving on to the next stable.
We sat and chatted easily while we waited. Our group meshed into the crowd, sliding under the fresh meat radar as the pub filled up.
The food arrived after around forty minutes; my stomach growled as I stared at the feast before me. It looked and smelled delicious, and it turned out the XXXX gold was a beer.
I sunk my teeth into the burger, swallowing my first bite ravenously before savoring the next few. Lula had already demolished hers and was working her way through her onion rings.
"So I take it you enjoyed the roo burger," Jack chuckled, slyly steeling an onion ring as Lula's face froze. I'm sure I was wearing the exact same expression.
"The what burger?" I demanded, putting down the half I had left.
"The kangaroo burger," Jack's eyes were twinkling as he announced that little bit of information.
I removed the top piece of bread from my burger and investigated.
The meat looked like steak. It smelled like steak, and it tasted pretty much like steak.
"You're shitting me," I chuckled, putting my burger back together and taking another bite.
"No Babe, he's not, Australia is the only country where they eat their national emblem," Carlos educated me.
I gulped down my bite and stared at my burger.
"How can you guys eat something so cute?" I cried. Well, it did taste mouth-watering but...
"They're a pest, well not a pest per se, but they overrun the country side, they're a very overpopulated species. It's a good source of meat, and it tastes good. How can we not eat it?" Jack shrugged.
I fought with my conscience for a moment. It was already dead. Not eating it would just be a waste of good food. I started eating again, my stomach victorious.
I glanced at Lula, who still seemed to be frozen.
"I just ate rodent. Excuse me." My eyes bulged as she dashed from the booth, down the hall.
She returned after a short while, happier than when she left. We finished our meal, and Carlos paid the bill, not listening to anyone's protests.
The pub now looked to be at full capacity and Lula seemed to be itching to immerse herself with all the people.
"Well, I'm gonna go meet some of these bush-folk," Lula proclaimed, strutting off into the crowd, dragging Tank with her.
"Can I shoot her?" Jack muttered, his eyes wide as he watched Lula introduce herself to every person in the bar, young and old.
"Not in public, dear," Sarah patted his cheek, kissing his lips before smiling.
He pulled her into her lap and nuzzled her neck softly.
"You know, I still haven't punished you for that stunt you pulled early," he whispered suggestively in her ear.
Carlos tightened his arm around me, his chest silently shaking with laughter.
"Well, I'm gonna go drain me dragon," Jack suddenly proclaimed, standing up, his eyes locked on Sarah's.
"I'll come with you..." she stood quickly and took his hand, following behind him as they escaped to God knows where. I hoped it wasn't the toilet, I sure as hell didn't think it would be very clean.
Tank returned briefly, only to stand up moments later and quickly stride back over to Lula, who had gathered quite a crowd of boisterous men, who seemed to be very interested in her... dress.
I laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The men all took a noticeable step backwards.
Carlos' lips dropped to my ear. I shivered as he simply breathed against my neck, his breath hot and heavy.
"I can't wait to get you all alone querida. I can't wait to be buried deep inside you, my cock in your hot, wet, tight pussy. I can't wait to lick you, to taste you again. It has been far too long. My dick is so hard, throbbing for you. It's missed you querida. I've missed you, so much," His words were softly spoken, yet they sent fire straight to my doo-dah.
His arms pulled me onto his lap, his cock nudging against my ass.
I trembled as his lips trailed against my neck, pleasuring me innocently.
"Damn guys, you trying to burn this place down or what?" Lula huffed, taking a seat as Tank slid in next to her.
I guess he wasn't pleasuring me so innocently...
Tank snorted.
"Okie dokie folks!" An old man, who looked just as wrinkly as my Grandma Mazur, stood at the band's microphone, smiling. "Tonight's band... the Bush Tappers, are just about ready to start; I want to see all of you on the dance floor, especially you new folks!" Tank and Carlos both laughed.
The little old guy handed the mike to the lead singer of the band.
"I like him. He says okie dokie,"Lula revealed. "You know, he also kinda reminds me of your granny. You think they'd make a cute couple?" She turned, staring intently at me.
I choked on my beer and started laughing.
"Uh, yeah, sure Lula." I sat my drink back down. Sometimes it was a hazard trying to drink anything when Lula was around.
The band started playing, a few lively songs that the locals got up and danced happily too. Lula and Tank also got up and joined them, laughing as they acted like fools. It was good to see them both having some fun.
Soon, the band struck up a slow country song and I felt Carlos squeezing my hand as he stood up with me.
"Let's dance, Babe."
We moved together to the small square dance floor, where various other couples were moving slowly.
My arms automatically made their way around Carlos' neck. His hands moved to my hips, pulling me flush against him as he swayed us from side to side, creating delectable friction.
I buried my face in his shoulder to stifle my moans. The longer we danced, the tighter his hands got on my hips. The faster the songs became, the faster our swaying, well I guess our movements were more along the lines of grinding, became.
His leg slipped between mine at one stage, and I was so close to the edge of climaxing, when he pulled away.
"Ready to go Babe?" He practically panted in my ear.
I nodded and we shuffled, his back flush against mine and our lips locked, back to our table.
Jack and Sarah were back, and Tank and Lula were sucking each other's faces.
Carlos' lips seemed to be glued to my skin.
"We're leaving," I spoke, breathlessly.
"See you at home," Sarah laughed, elbowing Jack in the gut before he could say anything.
"We'll catch ya later, eh? After you've rooted like rabbits!" Jack yelled, dodging Sarah's second elbowing attempt.
Ignoring him, Carlos and I stumbled outside, making our way to our car.
I heard Tank and Jack cheering at Carlos from behind us.
I guess boys will be boys.
TBC...
