Chapter 21: A Future With a House
Allison sits beside you on the left side of the couch, legs curled up behind her ass, as she leans against the armrest, engrossed in Julie and Julia. A finger in her right hand, twirls a lock of her loose and messy blonde hair. She's opted to be lazy thus far today and hasn't put on normal clothes, choosing instead to wear a pair of your blue boxers as shorts and your 'The Who' tee, which engulfs her making her frame looks even smaller. Smooth toned legs beg you to caress them. Turning a page, she shifts slightly in her seat, and drops her right hand from the page to hold her ankle. Her lips purse as she reads, mind engrossed in the text.
From the corner of your eye you watch her as you play Assassin's Creed half heartedly, in an attempt to hide your excitement about your plan. Your first appointment for a home showing is at 11:00, so you need to get moving soon. Pausing play, you run your fingers lightly over her leg from the front of her knee, down her shin, then over her fingers and up her arm to the elbow and back again. She breaths in deeply and exhales a sigh. A smirk plays across her lips as she continues to read.
After tracing the path a few more times, you lean over and kiss her shoulder, then bite it gently. From your new vantage point you can see she is nearing the end of the chapter, so you continue upward to her neck grazing it with your beard as your lips trace, feather light, across her creamy flesh.
A second later she closes the book and tucks it between her and the couch arm, closes her eyes and takes off her glasses, then rolls her head back and to the left to grant you better access.
"I have a surprise for you."You whisper in her ear. "Keep your eyes closed. I have to run outside and get something. No peeking or I'll have to punish you later." You say as the hand you have on her leg travels up her thigh and circles over it stopping just shy of the apex of her legs.
"Mmm. You're making me want to peek, you know." She sighs. And you smile against her neck.
"Just keep 'em closed little girl, and don't spoil the surprise."
You leave her then and she sits up in a normal position, swinging her legs in front of the couch, and places her hands folded in her lap, keeping her eyes closed the whole time.
Satisfied, you exit the apartment, retrieve the gift and return to sit beside her.
"Okay. Hold your hands out in front of you, palms up."
She obeys and you place the shiny red helmet in her hands. She feels it without opening her eyes, and as she runs her hands over it her smile broadens. "Okay, you can look." You say, smiling just as widely.
"Oh, Greg, I love it! It's so shiny and red! I love red." Still grinning ear to ear, she puts it on her head, and snaps the strap under her chin, then flips the visor down and back up. "How do I look?"
"A little like the Red Power Ranger." You answer with a lopsided smirk.
"So you have a fetish you haven't told me about? Because I am totally willing to wear this naked." And with that she moves across the couch and swings her leg over you to straddle your lap and grinds against you provocatively.
You grab her ass with both hands and tell her "I didn't before, but I think I do now." then thrust against her playfully, before pushing her up and nudging her to sit back on the couch. "Hold that thought. There is more to the surprise and we are on a schedule. Go get dressed in something comfortable. We're taking a ride on the bike. Wear that black leather jacket you have."
With your order, still beaming from your playful surprise, and now, because of your secret road trip, she gets up and heads back to the bedroom to change, still wearing the helmet. You wait for her in the living room, because you know if you don't, you'll toss her on the bed, strip her (except for the helmet) and give her that fuck she wanted.
"Later, Little Greg. I promise." You sigh, willing your half hard dick back down. You grab the PS3 controller and turn off the console, then grab the TV remote and turn off the set.
You had spent your evening on your macbook looking at homes and setting up appointments with Bonnie, while Allison was busy with laundry and some other random house work. She didn't seem to be curious about your activities, but you made sure to keep a window of facebook and youtube in the background, so you could hide your true actions whenever she was in eyeshot of your screen.
Also, under Bonnie's advisement, you had plugged in both your incomes and a rough guess of your combined financials on a banking website, to get an estimate of the price range of home you can afford. Together, two doctors can buy a whole lotta house.
There are four places that you want to look at today. Two have open houses later in the afternoon, the other two, Bonnie will meet you to walk you through. All four places have at least four bedrooms and at least three baths (with at least one walk in shower and at least one large tub), a separate den and living area (so you can finally have a proper music room, away from your TV) and a recently renovated kitchen. Other than that, you don't have a ton of features you know you want at this point. You also don't really have any idea what Allison has in mind beyond her conversation with Wilson over lunch. All of the homes you plan on seeing today are single family houses, though you bookmarked a few condos and townhomes you like. It seemed like a good idea to start there, and see how it goes. If she or you hate them, you'll at least have the topic open and you can start looking together.
Hopefully.
There is still always the chance she isn't ready to sign a mortgage with you.
One detail at a time.
Ten minutes later you are walking out of the apartment with your smokin' hot biker babe as she puts her new helmet back on. You attach your cane, grab your own helmet, don it, mount the bike and scoot forward to make more room for Allison to climb on behind you. She has only ridden with you once, and that was back when you were still trying to steal back Stacy. She had been hesitant to hold to your body then, after you had made your lack of interest in any romantic relationship with her painfully clear. But now, she wastes no time molding her front to your back and tightly encircling your torso with her arms. It causes you to think back for a moment to what she did to you yesterday.
With a smile, you start the engine and take off from the lot, a little more carefully than you normally do alone, but with enough of a surge that she squeezes her legs around you tighter. God, you love having a woman behind you on your bike.
The first home on your list is the furthest away and is a little off the beaten path. Once out of town, there is a ten minute drive on a moderately curvy two lane state highway that you would enjoy getting to take to work when you ride your bike in. But it isn't so far out that the commute would be a complete pain in the ass. Of the homes on the list, this one might be your favorite, at least based on the images that you viewed from realtor's web site.
It is a departure from your normal style, a mid-century modern home that reminds you of something akin to Frank Lloyd Wright's style. It is one floor with a partial basement and is built on a wooded three acres lot. The front of the home is constructed in white block and dark wood with a privacy fence, making the place seem sort of plain but mysterious, however beyond the fence lay a big home full of rich wood tones and large uncovered windows on nearly every external wall. The home was built in four sections forming a square around a small open air atrium. The walls that flank it are floor to ceiling glass, highlighted with darkly stained solid wood panels. Two of the four walls surrounding the atrium have sliding doors to access the area.
It has a large modern kitchen, with maple cabinetry and granite counters. The great room features a beautiful arched open beam ceiling over a large open area you hope to split between a dining area and music parlor, and more windows and light everywhere. It's the kind of home you think of a happy person like Allison in.
The master bath has had a recent renovation and includes a whirlpool soaker tub, just behind a glass walk in shower. You'll be able to lay back in the bath and watch her take a shower. Oh, the possibilities with that.
There is a big and private back yard with nothing but trees on three sides of it, and a tall fence on the one side with a neighboring home. Going solely off the pictures, you are hoping for a yard you can have lots of sex in without worrying about the prying eyes of your neighbors. And to top it all off, there is a big pool and a huge deck. You could throw one helluva party in this home.
As you pull into the drive, you see that Bonnie has already arrived and is standing at the front door smiling and waving as you pull up.
When the engine cuts, you feel Allison loosen her grip, and dismount. You take off your helmet, and watch her do the same, hoping to get a reaction of some kind. "So, are we looking at houses?" She asks, with a pleasant, but confused grin.
"Yep. I called Bonnie up last night and then looked at some places and she set up a few showings for us." She takes a step to you and leans down and kisses you gently on the lips. Your answer is yes then. A wave of relief washes over you, though you know there are still many levels of this whole home buying thing to iron out. Like the part where you are buying it together as opposed to you just wanting to be a supportive boyfriend who is helping his girl pick out a home, that he'll likely live in, but not be on the deed.
"Hey guys! Glad you called me back." Bonnie walks over to you and extends a hand to Allison. "You must be Allison! I'm Bonnie, James's ex. I had no idea you were also House's girlfriend until he called me yesterday. To be honest, I'm still half convinced this is all a prank now, but hey, if there is a chance to make a sale."
"Nope, no prank, and I'm not even a prostitute." Allison winks at you and you pretend to scowl, but you are sure the twinkle in your eyes gives you away.
This comment earns a hearty snort of a laugh from Bonnie, as she turns to lead you back to the front door of the home. Allison hands you her helmet and she follows. You hang each helmet from opposite handlebars, dismount your bike, grab your cane and follow them to the door.
Catching up to them you find Bonnie struggling with the lock box around the door handle. "These older models are a real pain in the ass." She apologizes as she struggles with the box more, but to no avail. After a few moments, Allison shoots you a devious grin and places her hand on Bonnie's arm.
"Here, let me." She says, then pulls a small black case out of her jacket's breast pocket. Opening it, she pulls out her lock picking tools and in less than fifteen seconds has the front door open, to the shock of Bonnie. Winking back to you she adds, indicating the tools, as she puts them back in her jacket "I never leave home without them."
"Did I mention she used to be on my team?" You offer as a way of explanation, as you walk past Bonnie to follow Allison in.
"That was certainly impressive. I never got to see your skills in action. Are you really sure you don't want to come back to the team? I hear Thirteen sometimes takes the breaking part of breaking in a little too literally."
Just past and to the right of the small foyer you enter the great room, which is staged with one half as a dining room, with a set of shelves creating a makeshift divide between it, and a formal seating area, complete with a baby grand piano. You have to admit, seeing their setup has you thinking a very similar thing, only you are thinking less couches and chairs and more instruments. There is a fireplace on the far wall next to the piano, which you want to put a soft rug in front of so you can have lots of sex there with Allison, surrounded by your instruments, next to a hot fire matching the one in your loins.
"This place is enormous, Greg. How much is it?" Allison's comment snaps you back to reality.
"$1,280,000" Bonnie answers for you. "But I think you can get them down eighty or ninety grand. The owner is moving soon and really needs to sell quickly. That's going to be hard for him with the market still being slow."
"This is beautiful Greg, but I can't afford this."
"No, you can't… but we can." She looks at you with wide eyes, confirmation of what she had suspected slowly revealing itself in her expression as you continue.
"This place was my favorite just going by the pictures online." You feel yourself getting excited telling her about it, and you start going on like a kid who wants to convince his mom to buy him a new toy. "So, I love the idea of keeping this kinda like it is, only this would be a dedicated music room. I could put my piano in the same place and, since there is less hanging space on the walls because of all of the windows, I'd just get floor stands for the guitars, and maybe we could actually buy that drumset for you and we could have some jam sessions.
"And the kitchen in this place is bad ass. I think it is through here." You grab her hand and lead a smiling Allison through an archway into another open area, where the kitchen and family room are found. The kitchen has sleek and modern maple cabinetry with light brown granite counter tops. Oak hardwood flooring is laid on the forty-five and the cabinets flanked by the sink area and the family room have extended counter tops that double as bar seating. Windows over the sink look out to the side yard.
The family room is cozy, with a floor to ceiling bay window looking out to the side yard as well and the deck. The ceilings are a rich medium stained wood, joined tongue and groove with exposed white beams. The wood floor here is laid in a parkay pattern, which matches the other rooms in the home. They have it staged with the TV opposite the kitchen, a couple of lounge chairs on the wall opposite the window, and a sectional facing the TV.
Again, you love their layout. Your furniture would look great here. Maybe with Allison's side chair.
"So I like this staying a family room, like they have it. That way the TV is in here, away from the music room, and we can watch it from the kitchen while we cook or do dishes or make out." You tease her, while she looks at you, still a little shell shocked. "This thing is massive, and all new stainless appliances and a gas stove. This beats the hell out of your sorry ass apartment." You continue in a french accent, and elaborate circular hand gestures "I'm an artist after all, and I need the right environment to inspire my creations."
Bonnie, who isn't lost on the surprise you've just dropped on Allison, excuses herself. "You know, how about I let the two of you just wonder around and take the whole place in? I'll just hang out in my car and make some phone calls and you can text me when you're done and, if you really like it, we can discuss more of the details. Take your time, our next showing is after lunch, at one, so you have at least an hour if you need it." And with that she turns and leaves the two of you alone.
"Wow." Allison says finally, once Bonnie is out of the house and turns to lean against the bar cabinet, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you sure about this? I mean, I assumed you'd stay with me most of the time whenever I bought a place, and eventually, if things keep going well, we could make the place officially ours, but are you really ready to sell your place and buy a house with someone you've been dating a grand total of nineteen days?"
Raising a hand, you rub your eyebrows, she needs a little convincing. "Allison, we've known each other for six years. You've seen me at my worst, and still want to be with me. I don't doubt I'll fuck things up at some point, but I think you'll find a way to help me work through it." Stepping to her you tug her arm and she leans into your embrace. " You're always the one who stands with me when no one else will. Look, you don't have to make a decision today, or even this month or the next, I just wanted you to know this is an option, if you want it." You kiss her gently and tug her hand again. "Now come on, I want to show you all of the great places we could have sex in this place!" A wink and a wiggle of the eyebrows gets a smile from her, and she starts to allow herself to get caught up in the excitement again.
Heading back out to the great room you head for the sliding glass doors that lead to the deck and backyard. It is just as amazing as you hoped it would be. The huge deck wraps around two sides of the house, giving tons of room for tables and lounge chairs. The yard is epic, and extends back as big as a football field to the tree line. There are no neighboring homes in view from this side of the home. Just grass and trees. You know from looking at a map that, beyond the trees, is a brook that runs on the property line.
After taking a moment to take the view in Allison sighs. "We'll have to hire someone to mow this for sure. But it is absolutely breathtaking."
"Yeah and think about all of the amazing sex we can have out here. It's completely private. And there is a pool over there. So I could cancel the gym membership in the summer at least. And again, sex. We could have naked picnic lunches in the summer and naked breakfast in the kitchen in the winter, and um… sex. In fact, with all the windows in this place, I wouldn't mind us just staying naked all of the time."
You walk back into the greatroom and she runs a finger across the piano as she walks towards the hallway to the bedrooms. "It is tempting. I could sit on the piano and you could suck and lick me off while you play, then lay me down in front of the fireplace and fuck me slow and deep."
"I knew I could count on you to see the big picture." You tease her, as you amble behind her taking in the sway of her lovely butt again.
She comes to the study first. One wall is covered with a floor to ceiling built in bookshelf, so more than enough room for both your collections of medical texts and other books. "I think my couch could go in here, since yours is nicer. And I have a really nice desk in storage. We can fit two desks in here. One opposite the shelves, the other in front of the window." Her eyes are sparkling now as she imagines your combined belongings in the room. She's embraced the idea and is starting to see you there.
It's not terribly surprising that the girl who married a man she knew was dying has an impulsive streak. She's like you in that way. If she believes in something, she acts. And she believes in the two of you and her optimism is rubbing off on you.
You look around each of the smaller bedrooms and baths, as you work your way down the hall. Nothing super amazing about them, but all the bathrooms have had a major renovation within the last ten years or less. The wall opposite the bedrooms is all glass and looks out on to the atrium. Before taking in the master bedroom, she opens the sliding door and steps out on the stone patio. There is a small tree in one corner with a bench underneath and she sits down there and takes in the small water feature across from it.
You sit beside her and take her hand again. "So, no need to tell you, because I am sure you've noticed, but we could have so much great sex here." She looks up at you, with a fake scowl and you give her a wink, before getting back up and heading to the master suite.
"Four bedrooms." She asks you as she steps just in front of you at the door of the master. "That's a lot for two people."
"Well, I figure the one that's just smaller than the master, will be a good workout room with your treadmill, and I have a Total Gym and some free weights in the office of my apartment as well. The other two can be guest bedrooms for now. I'm sure when Gabe and his family come visit they'll enjoy not having to camp out in the living room." Wrapping an arm around her, you place a hand firmly on her stomach and whisper through her hair "And in a year or two, who knows, maybe we'll find another use for it."
She puts her hand over yours and intertwines her fingers with yours, and you gently nudge her into the room then turn her toward you. She looks up to you with misty eyes as you take her cheek in your hand and kiss her softly.
"It's finally Sunday, you know. And, conveniently there is a big ass bed in this bedroom, and we have…" you look at your watch and back at her with a feisty grin "thirty minutes before Bonnie sends in a search party. You know, all the home buying forums suggest that one should never buy a home without having sex in it first."
"Really?" She takes hold of either side of the front of your jacket. "I seem to have missed that bit of advice during my research."
"Oh, it is essential." You nod your head enthusiastically.
With that she is on you like a cat in heat, pushing you around and back to sit on the bed, causing you to drop your cane. She climbs on top of you, pushing off your leather jacket, and kissing you aggressively. You can barely stay sitting up, between her attempts to rid you of it, and her pressing her mouth to yours. Once finally free, she grabs the tail of your tee and pulls it swiftly over your head and, as soon as it is tossed aside, she shrugs off her own coat and you help her pull her shirt over her head and into the floor. Her bra clasps in front, and you open it with your mouth, getting an impressed look from the beauty atop your lap, as your hands slide the material from her shoulders and your mouth turns its focus to her left breast.
You suck it as if your life depends on it. She pulls your head in, trapping you for a moment against the delicious mound. You'd like to make her come this way, but not today, because today you need to be inside of her, and soon.
"OOOHH, damn Greg… that's it… suck my tit, baby!" Continuing your efforts, you respond with a hum, and she begins to slowly gyrate her hips.
Hands lower to unfasten her pants, and you mumble against her flesh "Get up and take your fucking pants off. I want inside you now."
Standing she wastes no time kicking off her shoes and dropping her jeans and underwear to the floor. Yours slide off just as quickly and she's back on top of you in seconds, cock in hand, guiding you into her hot, slick entrance. "Fuck! Allison… so tight." Then she's riding you with reckless abandon. Leaning back on your elbows, you look up at her and take it all in.
"God, I've missed this! Your cock's amazing. Feels sooo… soo… fucking… good… fuck Greg!"
Your eyes focus on where your bodies meet, and you watch your hard length disappear inside her over and over again in an hypnotic rhythm. Pausing for a moment to leveraging herself on your shoulders, she slides her legs up to squat over you on the balls of her feet. Once balanced, she pumps your long shaft with long, fast, athletic strokes taking your full length in and out, again and again, continuing to moan and cry dirty little words of encouragement to you and your prick. It's too good, way too fucking good, you're going to come.
"I'm going to come if you keep that up. You close?" With your panting confession, she takes one hand from your shoulder and attacks her clit with vigor and the sight drives you over the edge. "Ooohh, yeah! I love coming inside your tight little pussy." You growl as you close your eyes, collapse fully back against the bed and spurt your hot seed deep inside her.
She doesn't stop after your climax and you have to grab her and pull her hips hard against you, stilling her to lessen the intensity of the friction against your overly sensitive flesh.
She grinds against your hold, still stroking her clit feverishly. Damn it's fucking beautiful seeing her on the edge of climax! You push her hand away to replace it with your own stroking her just as aggressively until she screams your name and comes all over you and your throbbing dick.
A moment later, running awkwardly to the master bath, Allison gets cleaned up and joins you back in the room to get redressed, giving you blushing and sly grins the whole time.
You pop your heads in the two car garage and the partial basement just before you exit the home and find both to be clean and functional. Once back outside, you peck on Bonnie's window to get her attention from her paperwork. She looks up and smiles at you and gets out of the car.
"So... what do you think? You like it?" She asks looking at Allison.
"We do! I think we'd like to review the paperwork and get more details. I'm starving. All of that… looking around, worked up my appetite. We should go get lunch and go over more of the details there." She answers and you nod in agreement, then the three of you head back into town for lunch.
After lunch you visit two more homes. One privately, the other in an open house. You both agree that house two and house three aren't going to make the cut. They weren't bad, but the first house was far superior and more updated. Not to mention, you now have a real fondness for the master bedroom.
Finishing both homes early, you head over to the fourth and last on the tour. It's an open house today, so no appointment was needed. This one is a close second, in your mind, to house number one, going solely from the realtor's site. The colonial traditional style home is two and a half stories, has a huge finished basement, and an elevator. The yard is much smaller with no grass to mow, instead the home is nestled inside a cottage style garden with supposedly low maintenance plantings.
The home has an old world charm to it, but is actually only three years old. So everything is new. The rich neutral colors colors and moldings remind you of your apartment. You do really like that classic style. The hardwood flooring is a rich Brazilian cherry wood, the five bathrooms are all full and most feature a shower or a duel shower/tub, but again the master bath has both a deep soaker tub and a separate walk-in shower.
The biggest down side you see to the place is it is too close to the neighboring homes. Though there is fencing around the yard, the multi-story homes around it prevent it from truly being private, so no patio sex here. The pluses are it is closer to downtown Princeton and work and you'll have to spend far less on yard maintenance, but the home is more expensive, so that would likely balance out anyway.
Maybe one of your former escorts doubles in yard service and would cut you a deal. It's worth an ask anyway. Maybe Allison would trade you eye candy for eye candy and you can find her a hot, though maybe gay, pool boy. Speaking of pools, this home doesn't have one, so no giving up your gym membership just yet. Not that any of these things is a big deal breaker for you, but they do give house one a leg up for you, at least on paper.
The doors are open when you arrive at house four and two other couples are wandering around the home along with the seller's realtor. Snacks are laid out in the kitchen with coffee, beer and wine and there is even a signup sheet for a door prize (aka sneaky way for the other realtor to collect your email sheet). Nether of you fall for this trap.
The home has a solid floor plan. The family room could make a great music room and would be a little more private than the first home. The elevator makes easy work of getting to the five second floor bedrooms, the study is on the third half floor, which does require climbing a flight of stairs, which you can handle, but you are not convinced you like the office and your books being so far removed from the other living areas, given the both of you are addicted to your work.
Bonnie points out that you could adapt it and make that the workout room, but you don't envy the movers trying to get her treadmill up the small elevator and the stairs, but you suppose they'd find a way. Then maybe you could make a bedroom or one of the massive basement rooms into a study.
But in a lot of ways this home seems to tip over the edge of your desired features into excessive. The full sized, fully finished basement has a theater, a recreation room, a utility room and a shop. Maybe if you wanted a huge family, but at this stage in the game you think two kids is probably a good number. You hated being an only child, but you can barely imagine yourself being a father at all, so that seems like the logical numbers are either zero or two. And if kids are in your future now, you'd rather them have a big yard like house one so they can get outside rather than this alternative of maximum indoor entertainment with no real outdoor play space.
You have no idea how you are going to express these thoughts to Allison, who is already taken aback by the sudden jump from unofficially living together for a few weeks to buying a home together. But you are you, and the dial is now on eleven. It doesn't make any sense not to plan fully for the contingency of being together for the long haul. You aren't keen on change, so when you do change, you do it big so you don't have to deal with it again for as long as possible. You're not the type of guy who gets a starter home only to upsize every five or ten years. You've had too much picking up and moving in your life. If it works, this should be your home for the long haul. If not, you are stuck moving anyway, so why not just jump in with both feet?
Allison leads the way through the home, making little comments here and there about things she likes, like the huge walk-in closets and the sauna in the basement. But the proximity to so many other potential buyers has you both more quiet. You suppose you'll talk to her at home about it all, but, unless you've completely lost your super powers of observation, you are betting she is on the same page as you. God, you hope so. The more you think about the first home, the more you want it to be your first home with her, maybe even your last home.
After several hours of home tours, you bid goodbye to Bonnie with the promise you'll email in the next couple of days. House four is close to town, so you get back to the apartment quickly and, once through the doors, you take Allison by the hand and start leading her down the hall. "My leg is starting to ache. Let's take a bath."
You get no argument from her, as she follows you. "I'll start the bath, you go ahead and get naked, I'll join you in a minute." she says as she turns into the bathroom and you head on to the bedroom to disrobe.
Stilling on the edge of the bed you open the nightstand and take out the Motrin and take three dry before putting it back and kicking off your shoes. From the other room, you hear her call to you "Hey, you want bubbles or one of those fizzy bath bombs or both or just water?"
"What will make me smell less like a girl?" You yell back as you take off your shirt and toss it across the room into the hamper for three points.
"Um, I think this bath bomb is kind of bi-sexual."
"That sounds kinky. I like it." You lift your ass and pull off your jeans then kick them the rest of the way off, using your arm to help pull out your bad leg. Then you take a moment to rub down the aching limb. The pain is manageable, but it still sucks. Hopefully you'll soak it away soon while cuddled up with your girl. She'll probably even give you a massage afterward if you need it. Hell, maybe she'll give you a total body rubdown. Maybe you'll give her one too. It feels like you haven't really gotten to touch her naked in forever, despite the quickie today at house one. You miss taking your time with her, licking her body, tasting her pussy. God, you really want to have her sit on your face. Luckily you have plenty of time after the bath.
She joins you in the room and looks you over appreciatively then begins to disrobe herself. Her body is so perfect and so very sexy. Once all her flesh is revealed, you push off the bed wishing you didn't have to limp as you walk over to her and pull her body against your. Flesh on flesh feels so satisfying. Taking her hand, you lead the way to the bath.
You step into the tub first, sitting down carefully as Allison takes a moment to put up her hair. The water is near scalding, just like you like it, though sometimes your balls protest a little. Once you are settled she climbs in, far more agilely, and positions herself between your legs and lies back against your chest. The bath bomb is still fizzing in the front of the tub, turning the water a blue-green as it dissolves. It smells like a sort of spice mix and, as Allison so aptly put it, was pretty much a 'bi-sexual' scent.
"So these bath bombs are cool. Where'd you get them from?"
"Oh, I must have gotten like twenty from random patients around Christmas. They seem to be the latest rage in acquaintance gift giving. I saw them at Macy's the other day, they had this huge display of maybe thirty different kinds. They're all organic too, I guess."
"Yeah, well we wouldn't want chemical burns on our fun bits, now would we?"
Giggling at this, she lays her head back against your right shoulder, relaxing completely against you. Kissing her cheek you ask her "So what did you think about the houses?"
"Mmm… well I think that we both agree that two and three are out. House four was really nice. I liked the layout, but I agree with you that the office being on the third floor isn't that great. The closets are amazing, which with your tennis shoe collection would come in handy. It's pretty new, so not as much of a chance the wiring and plumbing aren't up to code. It's also pretty close to town, which is nice. But it is really close to the neighbors and I think I'd like having a little grass in the yard, even though the landscaping was pretty amazing. It's also way too much house, unless you completely throw me a curve and admit to wanting to breed a small army."
This comment makes you smile. "You shouldn't be surprised that I have plans for world domination, I was thinking cloning, but recently I've been thinking the traditional methods are far more fun."
She laughs lightly. "Yeah, and I prefer your penis to a turkey baster as well. So, we're a little behind, but if we start soon we could squeeze in a dozen or so before you have to revisit plan A. We'd have to get a nanny, maybe one of your prostitutes is nearing retirement age, what is that these days? Thirty-five or so? At least until I retire, which is a long way off, but by then you could have that big basement remodeled into a proper mad scientist lab and be well on your way to growing the rest of your army in pods."
That's quite a scenario she's outlined for you. "Mmm. As much fun as all of that sounds. I was really thinking more along the lines of two kids. Maybe a dog or a cat or both."
"Ha! Com'on. You are Gregory House. You have to get all of that superior DNA out into the world!"
"Quality over quantity. Two kids, close together, so I'm not a million years old when the youngest goes to college." You state seriously and matter of factly.
Sitting up a little, she twist her upper body to look back at you awkwardly. "You're being serious." She states, seemly shocked. Figures. Even she doesn't see you as a father. Why the hell are you surprised? Oh, you had let yourself build up a nice little delusion that she'd just toss her birth control in the trash at first talk of family and start demanding baby making sex from you.
You're fucking pathetic and delusional.
She's not going to trust you to father her children after three weeks of a semi-normal relationship. Not that you were looking to start tonight or anything, maybe a year down the road. How the hell do normal people talk about this shit anyways?
Your eyes must betray you, because hers soften somewhat. "Greg. This topic isn't something I am willing to be a lab rat on. If you are bringing up family now to test me or fuck with me to place some little puzzle piece about me, just don't. I do want a family. But I've had the idea yanked away from me too many times. I can't handle sitting around planning our little, or big, family only to have you yank it away from me again a year from now when you finally admit you weren't really serious. I mean, I'd be ok if it was just the two of us. Really. But please don't send me down the path of kids and puppies if this is just a joke or some kind of experiment to gage my reaction."
There is no anger in her words. If anything, fear, hurt. You hadn't really thought about it that way or considered the idea that she might have started to see her future differently than the young woman you caught crying over dying babies. She's right; it is totally like you to do something like that. Test her. Take her down a path in hopes she'll see the path isn't what she really wanted in the first place. You can't be angry she'd think you'd do that, because you would if you thought you should.
The problem is you're serious.
"I'm not joking. This isn't a test." You state to her and gently tug at her to lie against you again. Giving in, she turns back against you and you put your arms around her tightly.
She continues, "Please do me a favor. Just spend some more time really thinking about this. You're being impulsive, because that is what you do. I love that about you. I'm just as bad most of the time. I mean, living together, buying a house it's fast, but that's our track record with relationships that are working for us, and I am fine with it. If we work, then we are good going forward, and if we don't we'd be stuck moving anyway. So why the hell not? But we can't just walk away if we have kids. That is permanent and I don't want to fuck that up."
All the time you had been hung up on Cuddy, you had known the score on kids, so there wasn't any mental debate or fear on how to broach the subject. There wasn't going to be any of your children, at least biologically, so that part was easy. She had her one kid, most likely her only kid, and you and said kid would have had to figure it out the same way you would have had to figure out everything else about a relationship with your boss. You could see yourself there. Problem was, she couldn't see you fitting into her neat little suburban universe, so she took the safer path with Lucas.
But now, having taken the chance on Allison, that door suddenly swung wide open again. It's funny. Like the mental preparation you did to see yourself being a father for Rachel, turned something on and now that you are with someone young enough to give you children of your own, ones who you not only would learn to love, but you would also have a biological connection to… well, it just seems like it's now or never somehow.
So just tell her.
"I'm not asking you to toss your birth control in the trash tonight or anything. I'm not testing you or teasing you or trying to figure something out. It's just, I know you want kids; you kept your dead husband's sperm; you planned on having kids with Chase. I… I just wanted you to know that, despite the fact I don't gush over babies and little kids like most people, I haven't ruled out the idea of having a family, especially now that I'm with someone young enough to still make that happen."
Kissing her temple you continue, somewhat sad and dejected.
"Look, I know that I'm totally a fucked up choice to be a father. So maybe, you just can't see me with you like that. I don't blame you really. I'd even understand if it were a deal breaker for you."
The wind is out of your sails now. It's like the euphoria from the last three weeks has suddenly warn off and you are seeing clearly again. Nolan was right to question you. Of course she needs more than you being needy. She doesn't need an a crippled addict to start a family with. Love is great until the feeling dulls and she wakes up next to an old man with no business being a father to their children.
You're already in so deep, but maybe it is better this way. Let her go now, before you get in even deeper. Sure, she says no kids is fine for her now, but just wait 'til she hits the final years of her fertility and she suddenly realizes that she needs a child to complete her. God, you'll be at least sixty then and no fucking way. You'll already be getting mistaken for a grandfather of any child you have as it is. When you're fucking sixty how the hell will you keep up then?
Sensing your downturn in emotion, she takes a moment to turn herself in the tub, sitting on her calves facing you. Putting a hand on your cheek, she locks eyes with you.
"The problem isn't that I can't see you as a father, Greg. The problem is I can see you as a father. I just don't want to get hurt when the newness wears off. I know you aren't asking to start tonight, but I need to know that this really is something that you want before I can start seriously planning that kind of future for us. Not something you want for me, not some sort of impulse resulting from the great sex, not just a whim, but something you're really sure about and committed to."
"You don't think I'm too fucked up?" You ask, pain evidenced in your eyes which feel red and raw. "Because I think that a lot, and honestly, it scares the hell out of me most the time." You raise your hand to hers and turn your head to rub your beard against the palm of her hand trying to comfort yourself with her touch, afraid that this is it; that she has finally woken up to see you are too fucked up for anyone to love in a forever kind of way.
She raises her other hand and turns your head back to face her, then leans forward to kiss you softly before sitting back to answer.
"You're a million kinds of fucked up, but I still believe in you. I still believe you do crazy things for the right reasons. No one is a perfect parent, but as selfish as you can be with some things, with the really important things you are one of the most selfless people I've ever known. I've seen you risk your career and even your life to save total strangers. I believe you'd risk everything for someone you love, because you don't love easily so you value it more than most. So no, I don't think you are too fucked up to be a dad. I think you are the perfect amount of fucked up. Which is why I am so afraid of allowing myself to believe I can have a family with you."
Kissing you one more time, she turns back around, this time sloshing water over the side of the tub, before leaning against you once more. You place your arm on the side of the tub and she puts hers on top of it and intertwines her fingers with yours.
You're not sure what you feel now. Some kind of messy combination of fear, sadness and relief. If it were anyone other than Allison, you might doubt their words, but with something like this, you trust her. So now what do you do? How long do you wait to broach the subject again? Despite her call to wait, you know that you've already opened pandora's box. The, pardon the pun, seed is planted, and as much as she says she wants to protect herself from hoping for everything with you, it will be hard to not think about it. That's only natural, you suppose. Saying it out loud too many times does have a way of making things more real.
So get back to smaller steps. Ha! Like buying a house together is a small step.
Breaking the silence, she shifts things back to the original topic. "So I think we both really loved house one. My only concern there is the age of the home, could be there's old wiring and plumbing or things not up to code that could be issues sooner than later. I'd like to get Gabe to come down and do an inspection with me. He worked at Dad's company all through high school and summers in college, so he knows how to uncover any shoddy construction work. He came very close to just taking over the business, but Mom really pushed him to go to college and get a degree rather than just going to trade school. But he had a gift for it, so if he feels good about the house, I'd be excited to make an offer on it."
"It is a pretty bitchin' place." You agree and wrap your arms around her again, willing the nagging feeling in the pit of your gut to go away and trust that two broken people can somehow fit together to make a whole.
Notes: Both I and atavares had work weeks from hell. I told her at least our cycles were lining up. :P I have to give her lots of credit on this one for helping me keep House and Cameron in character during the kid talk. It is hard to not move them too quickly emotionally since I've been writing this for months, but for them it's only been a few weeks. Also she suggested that I have House take over the house hunting. I was going for something else at first, but this is better. Two heads are definitely better than one.
So I tend to go home shopping when I write house descriptions. If you are curious about 'home one' here is a link:
www dot zillow dot com
/homes/for_sale/39011280_zpid/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/40.357942,-74.666541,40.337075,-74.71143_rect/14_zm/
Who knows how long that link is going to be up with working images, but at least for the current followers you should be able to check it out. It's pretty sweet I think, and totally full of fun places for them to have sex, which is why we picked it. :P