Saturday, October 9, 2010

Omaha, Nebraska

21:47

It had been a long day. Mary and Marshall had finally handed off their witness to the Omaha Marshals just before ten. It was definitely too late to begin the drive back to Albuquerque. Currently, they were driving on a stretch of road that seemed to lead nowhere. There was nothing in sight; just a vast expanse of land.

"We need to find a place to crash tonight," Mary yawned from the passenger seat.

Marshall pushed a couple buttons on the GPS to help him locate a motel in silent agreement.

An hour later, they collapsed in a heap of bones and standard marshal issue clothing; not caring that there was only one bed.

Mary stirred but did not wake as Marshall's wrist watch alarm went off. She did, however, wake when Marshall began shaking her shoulder vigorously.

"Mare, wake up!"

She simply grumbled and buried her head farther under the pillow.

"Come on, Mare," Marshall pleaded excitedly, "you need to wake up right now!"

"Whaaaaat?" she opened her bloodshot eyes to meet Marshall's animated ones. Even in her groggy state, she could notice that they had changed from their normal stormy blue to a lighter hue. Mary jerked backwards as he shoved the display of his wrist watch in her face.

"It's 1:01 am!" he was practically bouncing on the bed, "you know that that means?"

"Do I care?"

"It's 1:01 am on 10-10-10! 101010101! It is the Binary Moment!"

"Yahoo… now go back to sleep."

Despite the interruption to her sleep, Mary awoke feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. The voice in the back of her mind told her it was because she shared the bed with Marshall, but she managed to convince herself that she was just so tired that even the most uncomfortable box spring mattress was comfortable. She walked out of the bathroom and noticed her partner sitting on the bed with a map spread out and a coffee in hand. A second cup of coffee resided on her bedside table.

"Whatcha doin'?" she peered over his shoulder to look at the map.

"Trying to plan our route home," he pointed to the 3 different colored lines on the map, "If we take I-80W to 25 south, it's a whopping 1,513 kilometers but if we just take 25 south, it's only 1,438 kilometers. Of course there's always the easy way: going through Denver. But that just seems out of the way," Marshall cast a glance in Mary's direction. She just looked confused.

"What the fuck is all this talk about kilometers?" she snapped. The coffee obviously hadn't sunk in yet, "just say 'miles' like a normal person!"

"Actually, there are only three nations in the entire world who haven't adopted the metric system as their national unit of measurement," he stated, "it's not hard to figure out how to convert miles to kilometers."

Mary made for the pillows on the bed as Marshall jumped to the other side of the bed and whipped out his Blackberry.

"Before you pummel me, let me just remind you of what today is," he pulled up the calendar on his phone and showed it to her, "It's National Metric Day that just happened to fall on "Binary Day," he grinned, "a two for one special!"

"I'll show you two for one," Mary growled as she pounced on him with a pillow in each hand.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Mary stared at the crowded room for several minutes without seeing a single face she recognized. For the hundredth time in just over an hour she wished there was alcohol. Anything to make this night pass quickly.

Why she had let Brandi convince her to hold a Halloween party at her house she had no idea. Maybe she felt badly that she wasn't fully on board with the Brandi moving in with Peter idea, or perhaps she was just lonely. Either way, she had agreed and now a few dozen of Peter and Brandi's closest friends and workmates were gathered in the Shannon living room, wearing costumes, drinking virgin punch and playing some ridiculous board game that involved charades and spelling words backwards.

She knew the no alcohol was done for a reason other than to drive her insane, Peter was a recovering alcoholic as were a few of the other guests and it was simply expected that those who could indulge without waking up six weeks later to find they were homeless, naked and a complete waste of oxygen, were expected to suck it up for the good of a few. It even made a little sense, but it did nothing to ease the dullness.

Just as she was seriously considering grabbing her secret stash of tequila and retreating to her bedroom to get fall down drunk alone, Mary's phone rang.

It was Marshall's number on the display and Mary almost dropped her cup of punch in her hurry to answer. "Marshall?"

"That bad?"

"You have no idea." She turned away from the crowded living room and disappeared into the kitchen where she could talk without being overheard by all of her sister's friends. "A ten year old could drink this punch. And there are at least five cars boxing me in."

"Well," Marshall drew the word out slowly, his tone playful, "I was going to spend the evening alphabetizing my DVD collection, but I might be persuaded to put that off given the right incentive."

"Anything," Mary promised, not allowing her mind time to consider any possibilities, "Just get me out of here."

"I'll be there in five."

. . . 40 Minutes Later . . .

"You're kidding."

"I assure you I am in earnest," Marshall's grin stretched all the way across his face.

"I am not howling at the moon." She held up a hand to forestall his reply, "And before you ask, I don't care what the calendar says."

They sat for several moments engaged in a silent battle of wills. Mary clenched her teeth and refused to bend. The man was certifiably nuts if he thought she was going to stand out in the middle of the desert and howl like a coyote. On the other hand, if she gave in maybe they could spend the rest of the night on more pleasurable activities. Anticipation was all well and proper, but she'd been patient long enough.

Still holding her partner's gaze, Mary opened her mouth and howled.

When he finished laughing, Marshall climbed out of the SUV and pulled a pair of blankets out of the backseat. When he began spreading them across the hood of the car Mary stepped out into the desert.

"Not against a barn door, but the hood of your car is perfect?" She teased. Though she couldn't see in the moonlight she was pretty sure Marshall was blushing.

"Stargazing, Mary. It's a perfect night for it." He came to stand inches away from her, close enough she could smell his shampoo, "but if you had other things in mind…" He let the thought hang in the air between them.

Mary closed the distance between their bodies with a single step. Her hands slid along his abdomen and around, coming to rest on his lower back. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the thrumming of his heart.

He followed her lead, sliding one hand just beneath the hem of her shirt and tracing small circles against her skin. She shivered a little and he tightened his hold. Over the top of her head he watched a star fall. He watched it with a peaceful smile on his face, he didn't need to make a wish, everything he wanted was right here.

Mary didn't know how long they stood there, silent, wrapped in each other, watching the sky. It felt like forever. It felt like the blink of an eye. At some point she raised her head and kissed Marshall gently on the cheek.

He turned his head and the next kiss was on the lips. Slow, gentle, exploring kisses. Nothing like their brief moment in July, but equally wonderful. Mary started unbuttoning Marshall's shirt from the bottom, one button at a time, slow and steady.

He slid one hand up the front of her shirt and pinched her left nipple through the lace of her bra. She dropped one hand to cup his growing erection through his jeans. Their kisses grew hungrier.

Mary pushed Marshall's shirt off his shoulders and they pulled apart for a moment while Mary wriggled out of her t-shirt. The desert air kissed her naked skin, bringing forth goose bumps and turning her nipples hard as stone.

Marshall lifted her up and set her ass down on the hood of his car and pressed her back so she was laying back on the blankets he'd spread there. The heat from the engine radiated through the blanket warming Mary's skin. With surprising ease Marshall removed her shoes and slid her jeans down over her hips, trailing kisses along her inner thigh as he went.

The combination of Marshall's hot mouth and a cold evening breeze branded each kiss into her skin.

"Marshall," Mary groaned, sitting up long enough to pull his face back to hers. Locking his lips in a heated kiss, she freed his belt buckle and pushed his jeans towards the ground.

There was a brief awkward scramble as Marshall kicked out of cowboy boots and jeans before joining her on the still warm hood of the SUV. He pulled the second blanket over them, locking out the cold night air; then his hands were on her breasts and his mouth on her neck and she thought she might die from the pleasure.

Marshall's erection pressed insistently against the hot wetness between her legs. In seconds she had her panties off and Marshall's penis free of his Pumpkin covered boxers. Does he own any grown up underwear? she thought with a giggle that was cut short by his long finger flicking over her clit. When he followed up with two fingers plunged into her vagina she lost her ability to form a coherent thought.

The waves of her first orgasm came hot and heavy as Marshall pumped his fingers in and out, his mouth nipping and suckling at her left breast. As her inner walls tightened around his fingers she threw her head back and howled his name to the full moon.

Ok so we know what October 9th is but what is October 26th?

a) National Stargazing Night

b) Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night

c) Fuck Your Best Friend on the Hood of Your Car Night

d) None of the Above

Review and let us know what you think!