Chapter 11: Popcorn

When I opened my eyes the next morning, my left arm was numb. John's grip was strong and I did not escape the circle of his arms. He woke up briefly, kissed the top of my head, and went back to sleep. I wished we could stay like this forever. Outside his hold, nothing existed. So I enjoyed his laziness and allowed myself to doze off.

This morning his watch did not ring and it was already late when we surfaced. It started with indolent caresses and tender kisses until our senses awoke. Gentle strokes became more sustained, lips became hungrier, tongues started to coax. His stamina was great and my craving strong.

Soon, my room was filled again with our moaning. This time, his eyes did not leave mine. Like two opponents in a duel who never cease to track each other, we made love; our pupils locked until we screamed.

Later, he was stroking my head, pushing the hair aside my face as we recovered. His eyes were telling the words he did not utter. John was a man of few words and this was fine with me. I swiped away the beads of sweat from his forehead and he kissed me softly before resting over me, letting his breathing calm down. I loved feeling the weight of his body crushing mine, forcing my chest muscles to work harder in order to breathe. I loved the smell of his skin, which intoxicated my head. Having him here all to myself was a marvel. I was thanking the Valar for having the chance to meet him. And I knew that, anyhow, everything would be all right.

Several minutes passed until we spoke. Our eyes were our way to communicate. Simple is good.

"We both don't go off world today. So… we could take time to relax." John obviously looked cosy still leaning over me, tracing lines around my breasts.

"Sure. What about going to the main land?"

"Are you kidding me? It's raining!"

"And? We will not melt."

"Huh! No we won't! But we'll be wet!" He pretended to be annoyed. "So… I thought of something different." His eyes were kindled. "Do you know popcorn?" He had raised his chest and looked like a mischievous child.

"What?"

"That's what I thought. So… we could do something that is kind of a tradition when it rains on a Sunday…"

"We are not on Sunday."

"Whatever! When it rains, it's a good time to watch a movie and have popcorn!"

"If you say so. Is it fun?"

"It is fun and delicious."

"I cannot refuse."

"Alright. Let's get some stuff to eat, get popcorn and watch this movie." He kissed me soundly. "Why don't we meet at the mess hall? I need to do something before." He had already started to collect his clothes. Once he was almost done dressing again, he came back to the bed. He gave me few kisses while I caressed his chest. He stopped in order to look at me and lowered briefly his head. He looked troubled.

"I have to see Elizabeth."

"Okay."

"I think I have to tell her…" He gestured at him and me. "You know… I don't want her to learn… by gossips…"

"Is it a problem after all?" I was suddenly concerned and pushed myself in a sitting position.

"No! It's just, you know, the teams, this stuff…" He scratched uneasily at his head. John was definitely terrible with talking about such topics. I was no better.

"You can assign me to Major Lorne's team exclusively."

"We're not there yet! I'm just… gonna… tell her first." He tried to look convincing.

"Okay."

"Okay!" He grabbed my face and kissed me tenderly. "See you at the mess hall then."

"I'll be there." One last kiss and he pulled on his shirt.

-º-º-º-

John met me later on at the cafeteria. He walked purposefully toward me. I had just gathered few things for the lunch and the bag was waiting with me. If he had indeed talked with Dr. Weir, it had been quick. I was a bit apprehensive, but he appeared to be smiling.

"How did it go?"

"Good!" He fetched my hand and pulled it. "Let's get some popcorn now." He looked quite energized.

"That's it? Just good?"

"Yes! Sure!" He did not release my hand, and I followed him.

We took a box of this popcorn thing, a lady of the kitchen had prepared some and I noticed how she was smiling at John. He was indeed a very attractive man and I was obviously not the only one sensitive to his charm.

We then headed to his personal quarters and he was telling me some details about this movie we were about to watch. On our way, we ran into Dr. McKay, who was carrying a small computer. He was obviously preoccupied by something and noticed us only at the last moment. When he raised his head, he looked at us both alternatively.

"Hey! Are you up to something?" He tried hard to appear friendly.

"Kind of; we have a movie to watch. So we better get going." John was pushing my arm forward; he obviously did not want to linger.

"Oh, which movie? It's like a free day for me as well. Even if I am still working on these issue of power spikes in the Zed-PM controllers, which are quite strange and worrying because the system is not supposed to…"

"Well, maybe you should keep on working on this, Rodney." John was still pushing me forward. So I did not wait for him and resumed walking. Yet, I was curious and my elven ears picked up easily on their conversation.

"Oh… I see!" Dr. McKay's sounded irritated. "Sheppard! You can't get the girl all the time. I see what you're trying to do! It's so typical of you! This is not…"

"McKay…"

"No-no-no-no-no! You can't…"

"McKay! I've got the girl." John's voice was calm.

Then I heard Dr. McKay grumbling and John caught up with me. We walked for few yards and I could not resist on commenting have I've overheard.

"So… you've got the girl, uh?"

"You heard that?"

"I am no girl."

"Come on! It's just a way of talking… You're angry?"

I laughed softly. We eventually arrived in front of his door. As he opened it, he gave me a slight slap on the bottom. I pretended to be offended; his eyes were sparkling.

We made some room on his bed and opened the food containers. He had installed his computer on a nearby table and was managing the machine.

We ate while watching the movie. This was all still very strange to me. Yet, I can recognize that movies have this ability to take you away in the story that is told in a quite powerful way. Yet not all the stories I've seen so far were equally interesting. And that one was the worst I've seen.

"John, this story is preposterous!"

"Because something is missing. That's why you need popcorn." He lent me the bowl containing this strange fluffy corn. The smell was interesting. I hesitated a second before picking up one fluff. He nodded, encouraging me to taste it. So I did and realized that it tasted better than it looked. I was quite taken aback.

"See? It's good!"

"Yes, it's not bad. It's interesting." I saw some fake disappointment on his face so I added: "Okay, it is good."

"Told ya." He grabbed a handful and ate it all.

I kept eating popcorn and tried hard to watch this movie, my head resting on his legs. I noticed he was observing me. When I turned my face, he was smiling softly. He switched his position and came leaning next no to me, his arm supporting his head. His eyes were teasing. I was curious to see how long it would take him before kissing me, thus I did not move. Few seconds later, his lips were brushing over mine and his hand travelling over my hip.

I let him kiss me and he chortled. "You taste like popcorn." He had a wicked smile and got back to my lips more hungrily.

I let him kiss me again, but resisting touching him was too challenging. My hand went roaming over his chest as our tongues were dancing softly. I moved the bowl of popcorn aside as he came against me, one hand catching my face, the other caressing me.

It was strange how this man was awaking my desire and craving for him within a touch or a kiss. I understood that we would not watch the rest of the movie when he rolled over me, his yearning so evident.

On this day of laziness, a rainy day, the movie was going on, but we did not care. We were again melting into each other, our bodies blending seeking anything, but the pleasure we shared.