Best Wishes
by: amkp
Chapter 14-Let's give thanks
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Life's so unfair!
Author's note: Thanks to Jenny, JenRar, my very gifted friend and Beta! Love ya, Babe! Also, thanks to Cara, girliegirl79, who is really into Black Friday. Personally, I think it's crazy, but it takes all kinds! LOL. Love ya, too, Babe! Oh, and apparently, my dedicated reviewers still want more smut! What is it with you ladies? I'm feeding Carlos and Steph protein bars and Gatorade so they can continue to meet your demands! *grin*
RPOV
My watch alarm clock woke me from my sex-clouded dreams; visions of Stephanie rising from the ocean water, naked, had me ready for action. I was greeted with a morning wood that could drive stakes into frozen ground. Cool it, Manoso. She's not going there with you right now!
I brushed a kiss to the top of Stephanie's head, untangled my body from hers and went to the bathroom. With my workout clothes on, I headed downstairs to do some lifting before I went for a run.
Going over to the closet, I grabbed a towel and my iPod with earbuds. Since we had company, I wasn't going to use the main sound system in the room and wake everyone in the house. I strapped the iPOD in place, turned the music to near deafening and began my stretches. When I was limbered up, I made my way to the bench press station. Setting a comfortable lifting weight onto the barbell, I lay down on the bench and started my first set of reps.
Halfway into the third set of twenty, I felt something brush the inside of my thighs. I nearly dropped the weight onto my chest when I looked down my body to see Edna Mazur standing between my legs, dangerously close to my crotch. I quickly put the barbell back in its stand, ripped the earbuds from my ears and sat up, all in the blink of the eye.
Upon seeing what Edna was wearing, I sent up a pray of thanks that I hadn't eaten anything yet this morning. The sight was not pretty and had my stomach wanting to revolt. She had on a tight tank top, no bra, her wrinkled mid-drift exposed and hot pants that were so snug, she had a camel toe. Holy Shit, that was unattractive! I swallowed rapidly in an effort to keep from dry heaving.
"Ah, Edna, what are you doing here?" I knew it was a stupid question, but give me a break, I was fighting the urge to not bolt and run screaming from the room.
"Well, Hot Stuff, I decided I need to get in better shape. I'm not getting any younger, and I want to be more flexible. Do you think you could help me come up with an exercise program?"
My mind raced over possibilities of escape before realizing that Edna was as tenacious as the curly-haired brunette that was currently sleeping, blissfully unaware of my predicament, in our bed. I knew no matter how far I ran, Edna would still be waiting for me when I returned.
Stay calm, soldier. Give her a task and then haul your ass out of here! My eyes scanned the room for a piece of equipment that wouldn't be too strenuous for her. The bicycle…perfect.
"The stationary bike would be a good choice. I'd recommend a short two to three mile ride on the lowest tension setting," I volunteered as I swung my leg over the bench then crossed the room to set the machine for her.
She bounded over to me, anxious to get started. When she was settled into a comfortable rhythm, I told her I was going to take off for the beach and my run. Twenty miles sounded like a walk in the park in comparison to staying here alone with her in that outfit. She seemed pleased with the bicycle and blew me a kiss as I left the room. I charged outside with the relief of a man granted a last-minute death row pardon. My adrenaline kicked up and I sprinted down the beach.
By the time I got back from nearly a fifteen mile run, I only had enough time to quickly shower, grab some fruit and a bagel, and take Julie to school. I rushed into our bedroom, stripping clothes as I made my way to the bathroom. Stephanie sat up in bed when I came through the door.
"Hey, Babe, I'm in a hurry. Want to come talk to me while I shave and take a shower?"
"Argh, yeah, in a minute," she groggily replied.
I was standing naked at the sink, shaving, when she stumbled into the room, holding her lower abdomen. I stopped and raised my eyebrow at her.
"Cramps. Sometimes I hate being a woman." She went into the small room that housed the toilet and firmly shut the door behind her.
Not sure what exactly to do, I finished shaving, pulled my shorts back on and left the room. I went downstairs, got her a large mug of coffee with extra cream and sugar, a piece of banana bread Michelle had prepared, and two Tylenol tablets, then returned to the bathroom. I started the water in the tub and poured a liberal amount of bath salts in, just as she stepped out and went to the sink to wash her hands.
"Babe, come soak. I brought you some breakfast and coffee."
She settled herself down into the water and heaved a sigh as she began to relax. I handed her the two tablets, followed by her mug of coffee. When she was finished, she laid her head back against the contoured pillow on the edge of the tub.
I jumped in the shower and got dressed in record time. She was in the same position when I came to kiss her good-bye.
"Julie only has a half-day. You don't need to come into the office at all. If you'll pick Julie up at eleven, I'll be home around two or three. We need to find out what your mother wants us to prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow."
"Are you sure we, mainly me, won't burn the house down? I'd really be pissed if something happened to this house!"
I laughed at her worry; her confidence could use a definite boast in the cooking department. "Babe, we'll do fine. Nothing's going to happen to the house."
"I've warned you, so it's not my fault if something goes wrong."
"How do you feel? Any better?"
"Yeah, the warm water and Tylenol are doing the trick. Thanks, never had a man wait on me like this before. It's nice."
I brushed the hair from her face and kissed her on the lips. "Love you, see you later."
"Love you, too, Batman. I'll probably run Julie by Rachel's for the afternoon. Maybe you could pick her up on your way home?"
"Sure, call me and let me know if you do."
"Mmmhmm," she said as she settled back into the water. "Have a good day at work."
Julie was waiting for me in the kitchen. I didn't have time for breakfast now, so I'd take care of that when I got to the office.
SPOV
The day passed quickly for me. I took Mom and Grandma grocery shopping, then picked up Julie and dropped her off with Rachel before returning to the house.
We planned out the menu for tomorrow. Carlos and I were in charge of pumpkin pies and a vegetable of some sort. This spoke of our relationship perfectly, dessert and health food.
He arrived home carrying Julie on his back, piggyback style. Carlos had her secured against his back with both arms, careful not to jar her. Her injury was nearly healed and the splint was a dreaded contraption Julie was looking forward to getting rid of. The picture of him playing with his daughter struck a cord in my heart. Who would have thought the tough, bad-ass Ranger could be such a tender, loving father?
"Hiya, Steph," she called from her perch.
"Hi, Jules."
"Where's everybody, Babe?"
"They're all down on the beach. Grandma broke out her swimsuit," I said trying hard to keep a straight face as Carlos grimaced. In his defense, Grandma in her swimsuit was a frightening sight.
After dinner, Carlos decided we should make our part of the Thanksgiving meal. We made steamed green beans with almonds as our vegetable dish, which was fairly easy. Then we started on pie crusts, which weren't.
At one point, I thought Batman was going to lose his cool. He had the crust balled up in his fist and seemed to be looking for a place to throw it, before I stopped him. The crust wouldn't cooperate; it kept tearing every time we tried to transfer it to the pie plates. We remixed the crust recipe three times, changing the flour and water ratio with each mix. Finally, we successfully completed the task. The filling preparation was simple, and in no time at all, okay, it had been nearly three hours since we started the process, two pies where baking in the oven.
Carlos looked around the kitchen, then down at himself before turning his eyes to me. He had a smile tipping up the corners of his delectable mouth. "Babe, it looks like a flour bomb went off in here."
I tried gallantly for several moments to contain my amusement at our mess, but gave up and went into a fit of laughter. Carlos joined me, his deep laugh getting louder when I slapped the counter and a cloud of flour dust covered my face.
"Let's go take a shower before we start to clean this up. Otherwise, we're just going to spread what's on us around more."
"We can't leave the pies!"
"They have to bake for nearly an hour. We've got time." Carlos assured me. I gave one last fleeting glance at the oven, then allowed him to pull me up the stairs and into the bathroom.
When we found ourselves naked, wet and frustrated in the shower, I discovered my need for Carlos was greater than my aversion to having sex during my period. I reached between our bodies to stroke at his massive erection. He sucked in a breath and raised one sexy eyebrow. "You're playing with fire, Babe."
"I know, I want to get burnt," I purred against his chest as I scraped my teeth along his nipple.
"Are you sure, Steph?"
"Geez, yes! I'm dying here. Please!"
He cupped my breast, pulling it up as he bent his head down to suck the tight nub into his mouth. I didn't even try to hold in the long, loud moan. His hand traveled down between my legs and parted my folds. I tried not to think about my 'monthly friend'. It was only difficult for a minute until his fingers were inside me. Once he began his gentle, slow rhythm, I forgot all about it and just enjoyed the pleasure he was building.
"You okay, Babe?"
"Ummhmm, I'm fine. Getting better all the time," I said as I plunged my tongue into his mouth.
The groan he gave vibrated through our kiss. He added a third finger and I went a little crazy. I could feel the orgasm racing through me, and felt the rush of moisture as it came. I forced myself not to think about anything but the intimacy we were sharing. If it didn't bother him, it wasn't going to bother me, I reminded myself.
While I had gave myself the mental pep talk, Carlos moved us back to the seat that stretched across one side of the shower stall. He stood me on the seat, then spread my legs wide to stand with a foot against each wall of the shower. I was thankful for the regular exercise I'd been getting, because I was definitely more limber these days than I'd ever been before in my life.
Carlos stood directly in front of me, with his cock standing proud and tall ready to serve. My mind tried to process how this was going to work. Luckily, Carlos' ever-present ESP checked in.
"Bend your knees slightly, Steph."
He helped me by securing a tight hold on my waist as I did as he instructed. When I bent my knees, he leaned forward and I found myself impaled by his rock hard cock. He buried himself deep within me, then stopped to let my body accommodate his size. I could feel my inner walls stretch to accept him. There was no room left over, as he filled me completely. Finally, he began to move. I settled my arms over his strong shoulders, tunneling my fingers into his hair. He took advantage of his position by latching onto one of my nipples, then the other. Before long, my legs started to tremble from the exertion and from being spread so far apart.
Carlos lifted me off the seat, turned and sat down, all while managing to keep us deliciously coupled together. He tucked my bent knees into his armpits and secured me tightly to his sides with his biceps. He wrapped his arms up and around my back, placing his hands over my shoulders, his fingers digging in for purchase. I became a stationary object, positioned solidly in place by him. His forceful thrusts up into my core were deep, penetrating drives that had me begging for more. I urged him to take me harder, faster, while I held on for dear life, my nails leaving crescent-shaped dimples in his back. He pounded into me, heralding my orgasm as it came in a rush of heat and moisture. Carlos pulled down on my shoulders as he plunged in deeper, then rested his head against my chest as I felt the pulse of his release coat my inner walls.
We sat still for several long minutes, basking in the afterglow of our climaxes. Carlos was the first to recover, placing a kiss to my chest were he rested, then picking up his head to stare into my eyes. Our foreheads gravitated together. He rubbed his nose gently to mine before asking, "So how's sex during your period?"
"Pretty damn good!" I said with a smile.
Carlos laughed, shook his head, then lifted me just enough to free his partially erect cock from my body. I could feel liquid pour out of me, and closed my eyes in humiliation.
"Oh, God," I groaned, "maybe not."
"Babe, quit worrying about this. It's me. I don't care. We're going to get you all washed up."
He grabbed the hand-held showerhead and turned it on, waiting for the water to warm before he placed it between us. The gentle rain carried the mess away as Carlos tipped my head back and allowed the stream to wet my hair. I took it from him and returned the favor. When we were both completely soaked, he stood us up and carried us forward in the shower.
Grabbing the Bvlargi from the shelf, he lathered my body in the wonderful, hypnotic scent, then rinsed me. Next, he shampooed my hair and applied the conditioner I used everyday to control the frizz. While that worked, I washed his beautifully, sculpted body. We finished with a rinse that included several long, passionate kisses as the water ran between our bodies. We emerged from the shower, dried off and threw on comfortable clothes to go clean up the kitchen.
As soon as we stepped from the bathroom, I knew we had a problem. I could smell something burning. I reached out and grabbed his arm. "Carlos! Do you smell that?"
He didn't answer. He just started walking quickly out of the room, with me hot on his trail. When we got to the top of the stairs, we could see the smoke coming from the kitchen. We were halfway down the steps when Mom came charging from the hallway where her room was located, wearing her nightgown and robe.
"What is that burning?!" Mom demanded, concern lacing her raised voice.
Carlos arrived first into the kitchen. He threw the door of the oven open and a wave of smoke poured out, which, of course, tripped off the smoke alarm. As soon as the signal sounded, the phone started ringing and the internal security system's computerized voice started repeating a dead-pan mantra, "Fire. Fire. Fire."
Daddy, Julie and Grandma came running from their rooms as soon as the alarm went off.
"Julie, answer the phone and tell them it's a false alarm," Carlos ordered as he sat our pies on top of the stove, using a towel as a hot mitt.
"Holy crapola! Are you trying to burn this nice house down?" Grandma questioned, wearing a leopard printed teddy with a see-through robe.
Mom grabbed fistfuls of paper towels, saturated them in water and handed them to Carlos. He wiped the inside of the oven and the smoke began to dissipate. The alarm continued to shout its warning.
"Babe, could you shut down the security system?"
I turned on my heel, ran to the panel, and stood still for a moment as I frantically searched my panicked brain for the code. I finally remembered it was a combination of our birthdays, the day we meet and the day we got engaged. On the second try, I was able to silence the annoying little voice and the screeching beep of the alarm.
Tears were threatening to spill as I stepped back into the kitchen. Carlos immediately crossed the room to me and pulled me into his arms.
"I'm so sorry. I told you this was a bad idea."
"Babe, it wasn't your fault. The filling bubbled out over the top of the crust and was burning on the bottom of the oven. The pies are fine. No harm done." He spoke in a calm voice as he rubbed my back in a soothing motion.
Daddy grumbled about Grandma's sleeping attire, saying he was worried about permanent damage to his eyes from the sight. He said he still hadn't recovered from the swimsuit from earlier, and now this 'tiger-print thing' that no woman her age should even own might have caused him to start going blind prematurely. Julie seemed unfazed by all the excitement and said she was returning to bed.
Mom came over and stood next to us. "Stephanie, it's fine. Custard pies almost always run over. If you line the bottom of the oven with foil, it makes it easier to clean up, and if it starts smoking, you can take it out and replace it with new foil."
I nodded my head in acknowledgement as Carlos thanked my mom for the advice.
"The pies look great. You both did a good job. I'm sure they're going to be delicious," she added with a smile.
"If they're not edible, we'll just have ice cream," I rationalized, thinking that a whole pint right now sounded like an excellent idea.
"I'm sure that won't be necessary. Would you like me to help clean up the baking mess?" Mom volunteered.
"No, Helen, we'll take care of it, but thanks." Carlos smiled warmly at my mom.
"Well, good night then. See you in the morning," she said softly as she left the kitchen.
It only took about twenty minutes to clean up the kitchen. By then, the adrenaline from the earlier disaster had completely worn off and I was exhausted.
"C'mon, Babe, let's go to bed. It's late."
Carlos tugged my hand, pulling me towards the stairs and our bedroom. We were snuggled into bed, and as I was just drifting off, he said, "Love you. Let's sleep in and not exercise in the morning."
I turned in his embrace to look at his face, sure I was going to see someone other than 'Ranger' had made the statement.
"Carlos? No exercise? I think the alarm damaged my hearing."
He laughed softly. "One day off won't hurt."
"I like holidays and I love you," I whispered as I gave myself over to sleep.
I could feel a ray of sun warming my face as I slowly came awake. My back was being warmed by a hot, sexy, hard, Cuban body. I twisted slightly and found him still asleep. Write this down! I'm awake and he's not!!
Letting this rare occurrence settle in for a moment, I relaxed and enjoyed listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing pattern. I took one of his hands that was draped over my body and began a gentle massage to his palm. His breathing pattern changed, and I knew he was awake. I sighed. He was a light sleeper, and any movement I would have made was going to wake him up. Sneaking up on him, even in sleep, was virtually impossible to a man so highly trained in being aware of his surroundings.
"Mornin', Babe. Happy Thanksgiving."
"You, too, Batman. I've got a lot to be thankful for this year," I said as I continued to deliver a massage up his arm.
"We're both very fortunate to be where we are," he agreed as he rolled to his back.
I flipped around in bed then crawled on top of him to straddle his waist. He looked up at me with hooded eyes, which darkened when I rocked back against his morning erection. I ran my hands down his face and then traveled back to massage at his temples. He let out a long breath as he relaxed into my ministrations.
Carlos was probably the most relaxed and at ease as I'd ever seen him, after I completed an entire body massage. I ended the process with a long, gentle, unhurried blow job that left him spread-eagle on the bed and drifting back to sleep in peace. As I started to get up from the bed to go to the bathroom, he stopped me.
"Babe, that was unbelievable. I don't think I could move right now, even if the house was on fire."
"No problem. The house on fire was yesterday, not today. Mom's cooking today. We're safe."
I could smell the turkey already cooking in the oven. The rich aroma had me suddenly very hungry for breakfast. I made quick work in the bathroom, and when I stepped out, fully-dressed, Carlos was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out the windows at the beach. I gave him a quick hug and kiss before I went downstairs to find something to eat.
The entire day passed easily. We called Valerie and her family, as well as Carlos' family, and took Julie for a short visit to see her grandparents and Rachel between board games and walks on the beach.
I'd never seen Carlos enjoy food as much as he did today and it gave me hope that he could live a little. Who'd have thought? Of course, I teased him about packing on the pounds and all his hard work going down the drain. He told me he wasn't worried, because we'd both be up bright and early tomorrow to work it off with a long run down the beach. Right, first you have to find me, Batman. Tomorrow was Black Friday and the only running this 'Burg girl was going to be doing was through a shopping center!
It was 2:33am when my eyes popped open, and I immediately jumped from the bed. Pulling on my shirt and pants before Carlos even began to stir, when I reached for my shoes, he was finally coherent enough to speak.
"Babe, what are you doing?"
"Shopping. I'm going shopping. It's Black Friday! The greatest shopping day of the year!"
"But it's 2:30 in the morning."
"Right, and if I don't hurry, I'll be late."
"Late for what?"
"The SALES, of course!"
"Babe, we can afford to pay full price. Come back to bed."
"It's not about the price, it's about the hunt!"
"The hunt?" Carlos looked at me with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
"Yes, the hunt. I've got to go; Grandma and Julie will be waiting on me!"
"They're going, too?"
"Yes! Now I have to go! Just go back to sleep. I'll see you later today."
Carlos threw the covers back and rose gloriously naked from the bed to walk towards the closet for clothes.
"What? Where are you going?" I managed to squeak out, only momentarily forgetting my shopping high and considering hauling his very fine ass back to bed.
"I'm going too, Babe. There's no way I'm going to let the three of you loose in Miami at three in the morning without someone with you."
"But, why? We'll all have each other; we probably won't get into any trouble." Give me a break, I have to qualify that. Grandma's coming along…anything could happen!
"Babe."
I knew what this 'Babe' meant, and if I didn't, the look on his face spoke volumes. Basically, this was Carlos' way of saying, 'Don't argue, it's your grandma. Case closed.'
Of course, my first reaction regarding his demand to come along was, 'No way!', but then I realized that having him with us might work out to our advantage. It also might possibly teach him a lesson about getting involved in a female full-contact sport.
"Ya know, Batman, maybe it would be a good idea for you to come along. We might need protection. You've got your stun gun, right? Some of these women can get pretty aggressive. You can push them out of my way so I can get the deals!"
Carlos raised an eyebrow at me, clearly not understanding exactly what he was getting himself into, but I saw that he'd strapped on his weapons, so I felt good about our chances to get everything we wanted. I grabbed his hand as soon as he finished tying his boot, and yanked him from the seat, dragging him behind me as we headed down the stairs.
Grandma and Julie were already in the kitchen eating a bit of breakfast when we arrived.
"He's going with us?" Grandma asked, a look of pure glee on her face.
I shook my head in acknowledgment, quickly grabbing a paper plate and loading it with some breakfast pastry for myself, fruit, yogurt and a breakfast bar for Carlos, and two travel mugs of coffee, all in less than a minute.
Julie looked at him with a big smile. "Dad, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Julie, how bad can it be? It's just a couple stores."
"Well, actually it's ten, only counting the mall as one," Julie responded as she pulled a folder from the bag she'd sat on the counter. The first piece of paper she laid down was a Google map with each store highlighted. The next thing she brought out was a list of all the stores and each 'special' item they had on sale. The final piece of paper marked each store in order of opening time. She also had all the flyers and sale ads in the folder.
I laughed out right when I saw how organized she was. The Manoso 'strategist gene' had not missed his daughter. Carlos took all this in, looking between Julie and me, trying to figure out what had gotten into us and what exactly he was missing about this whole situation.
"C'mon on, Dad, we got to get going. The first store opens in fifteen minutes!"
We loaded into the Suburban with Julie in the passenger's seat, directing Carlos on where to go. Seven hours later, we arrived home, loaded down with bags and boxes. Carlos looked like he'd been dragged behind a vehicle. His shirt was untucked and he even had a few dirty spots and rips and tears, his hair was disshealved, and upon arriving into the great room, he dropped himself on the couch with a flop. Daddy looked up from his television program to inquire about Carlos.
"What happened to him?" he asked, jerking his head in Carlos' direction.
Carlos decided to answer for himself. "I can't describe it. I've been in war-zones and third world countries that were calmer than the last few hours here in Miami. Twice, I almost called the guys for reinforcements."
I sat down and pulled his feet into my lap. I unlaced his boots, placed them on the floor and gently massaged his feet. He had his arm thrown over his eyes and seemed to relax as I took care of him. He'd been a good sport. Having him along had helped a bunch. Heck, without him, we'd still be out shopping now. He'd dropped us off at doors, carried bags back and forth to the truck and pushed our way through the mass of people. We'd managed to get everything on our list.
Julie happily described the highlights of our trip to Mom before she raced off to her room to call her friends and tell them all about her experience.
Grandma came over to stand next to Carlos. She bent down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. His eyes shot open as he looked up at her.
"You were great, Hot Stuff! I want you to go shopping with me all the time!"
Carlos closed his eyes, groaned slightly and shook his head in a negative fashion. "Next year, I'm sending one of the guys."
TBC
Poor Carlos. So did you laugh during this chapter? I'm working really hard to keep you entertained! Next chapter, the Plums and Grandma go home, I promise! I just wanted to 'play' with the dramatics between Carlos and Grandma a bit more. Hope you don't mind. Please review, thanks!