(Here's the next part. A little rushed, nothing much happens, but I think I
like those chapters more. Less work for me to do!)
Part 10
Carter awoke early in the afternoon and stretched out contentedly, only to realise that he was alone in the double bed. He sat up groggily and allowed his eyes to gradually adjust to the light coming in through the curtains. He called out for Abby but received no reply. He looked about him sleepily to see if there was any evidence of her departure but the room appeared to be in the same state they left it early that morning. Their clothes were still strewn across the floor giving proof of the rush they had been in to commence their honeymoon, and she had not rearranged the tangled bedclothes from about him as she usually did if she left the apartment before him. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and groaned as he stood up, swaying slightly from the sudden rush of blood to his feet, then put on a pair of boxers and started to head out of the bedroom. "Abby, honey, where are you?"
He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to remove the last vestiges of sleep and walked into the sitting room to be confronted by a vision: Abby was sitting on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table painting her toenails. The curlers in her hair and bright blue facemask only contributed to the image of domesticity! Carter stood and looked at her for a moment, marvelling at the fact that, if it were possible, he loved her even more at this moment than he had yesterday. She seemed totally oblivious to his presence, humming a little tune to herself as she set down the bottle of nail polish and sat back to wait for her nails to dry. He crept up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands: "Guess who?"
"Um, Luka? Listen, you'd better hurry before my husband wakes up. He can get very jealous!"
"Not funny!" Carter took his hands away from her eyes and jumped over the top of the couch. He dropped into the seat beside her and pulled her into a hug with her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her front. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her newly washed hair. "Good Morning Mrs Carter!"
She turned slightly so that she could get a proper look at him. "Good 'Afternoon' Mr Carter!" she smiled. She turned her neck to look at him and smiled. She was just about to reach up and kiss him when she realised that she still had her rollers in and the mask on her face. She pulled back suddenly and let out a little squeal before jumping up and running to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her! Carter looked after her in bemusement before getting up and following her to the bathroom. He tried the handle but found it locked, so he had to raise his voice to be heard through the door over the sound of the running tap.
"Abby what's the matter?"
"Nothing!"
"No, something's up. Just tell me what it is."
"It's nothing. It's just…I didn't want you to see me like this!"
He was a little caught out by this remark. "Like what?"
She opened the door and peered around it. She had washed the facemask off but traces of the blue still remained, and she had only managed to pull out half the curlers so her hair was a curious mixture of tight curls and bright plastic rollers. " 'Like what'? Like the creature from the Black Lagoon! I got up early so I could get all of this out the way before you woke up."
"So is this like a regular thing for you to do?"
She looked down and blushed slightly. "I normally do this when you're out. You know, when you have to go back to your apartment or if you're on shift but I'm off."
"But if we're going to be living together now you shouldn't have to sneak around me!"
"I know…but I was embarrassed! I was afraid you'd take one look at me like this and decide that all the magic had gone out of our relationship and that you didn't want to hang around with the reality of dull, boring, blue- faced old me…"
John leaned his head against the doorjamb and gave a slight smile as he reached out and played with a loose curl and tucked it behind Abby's ear. He cupped her cheek with his hand and looked deep into her eyes: "Abby, you have never looked more beautiful to me than you do at this moment."
She laughed out loud and looked up into his face. "Now I know you're lying, John Carter!"
"I'm not. Do you have any idea what my experience with women has been like? (What am I talking about, of course you know.) Its just been one long line of blondes who never took the time to get to know the real me and never let me know anything about themselves. It's different with you, though. You know the worst things I'm capable of but you're still here with me, and you're not afraid to admit to me that you're weak sometimes as well. I love you, every part of you, even the not-so-perfect things that you don't want me to see. And no mater what you say," she tried to interrupt him at this point but he put his finger over her mouth in a 'ssh' gesture and gave her a light kiss on the mouth before continuing, "no matter what you say I will always love this honesty. I've had precious little of it in my life and I promise you I will never get tired of it. So if you want to paint your face blue, or green, or yellow I don't care, so long as you promise to you stay you…and get the rest of those things out of your hair because you look like a gorgon!"
She gave him a playful slap before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. He put his arms around her and returned the kiss, but when he moved to deepen it she pushed him away lightly. He grunted a protest and continued to plant soft kisses along her jawline and down her neck. She was almost seduced by his slow movements and gentle caresses, but just as he was slipping the gown she was wearing off her shoulders she turned her neck to give him better access and caught a glimpse of the clock on the VCR. She immediately snapped back to reality and attempted to get Carter to do the same, but it was difficult when she could only manage to slip a few words in between kisses:
"John we've got to…John, stop it…It's nearly time…STOP IT!"
"Ow, what did you do that for?!"
She had given him a little pinch on the arm, not hard, but she knew he was going to play this for sympathy.
"We've only got 90 minutes to get ready and get to the reception. I've got to do my hair and get dressed, and you've got to have a shower and shave." She started to push him towards the shower when he stopped and turned to look at her. He pouted and put on the voice of an injured child, rubbing the top of his arm where she had pinched him.
"You're mean!"
"Oh don't be such a baby. Come here, I'll kiss it better…and if you're a good boy I'll let you play with the other boys and girls at the reception!"
"I'd rather play with you…" Carter stopped and thought about what he had just said. He could see Abby was trying not to laugh. "That didn't come out the way I meant it to…"
That was too much for Abby. She burst into laughter at the sight of Carter's face as he tried to explain what he meant, and continued to push him into the shower. "It's no good, we just don't have the time. You have your shower, I'll go do my hair and maybe, just maybe," she stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the end of his nose, "I'll let you 'play with me' after we get through the reception!"
She turned and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She pulled the last of the curlers out of her hair and arranged the curls in a tumbling cascade down her back, with a few loose curls to frame her face. She then slipped into the dress that was hanging on the back of the door, her wedding dress from yesterday, and went into the kitchen to sit down at the table and apply her make-up.
In the meanwhile Carter had emerged from the bathroom clean-shaven and dressed himself in his new black Armani suit (Abby had insisted he wear it because she knew Richard would be green), and he came out from the bedroom to find Abby standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. As had happened in the dress shop yesterday he was completely floored by how beautiful she was. She simply took his breath away. He walked over to her slowly and put his hands on her shoulders. "I will always love you in this dress," he whispered before leaning down to give her a gentle kiss. They shared a smile, and he then turned to give her his arm.
"Well, shall we get going to that reception then?"
(Well, what did you think? Lots of Carby which I like to think is a good thing. Until next time, when we will get to see the wedding reception and make Richard squirm!)
Part 10
Carter awoke early in the afternoon and stretched out contentedly, only to realise that he was alone in the double bed. He sat up groggily and allowed his eyes to gradually adjust to the light coming in through the curtains. He called out for Abby but received no reply. He looked about him sleepily to see if there was any evidence of her departure but the room appeared to be in the same state they left it early that morning. Their clothes were still strewn across the floor giving proof of the rush they had been in to commence their honeymoon, and she had not rearranged the tangled bedclothes from about him as she usually did if she left the apartment before him. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and groaned as he stood up, swaying slightly from the sudden rush of blood to his feet, then put on a pair of boxers and started to head out of the bedroom. "Abby, honey, where are you?"
He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to remove the last vestiges of sleep and walked into the sitting room to be confronted by a vision: Abby was sitting on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table painting her toenails. The curlers in her hair and bright blue facemask only contributed to the image of domesticity! Carter stood and looked at her for a moment, marvelling at the fact that, if it were possible, he loved her even more at this moment than he had yesterday. She seemed totally oblivious to his presence, humming a little tune to herself as she set down the bottle of nail polish and sat back to wait for her nails to dry. He crept up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands: "Guess who?"
"Um, Luka? Listen, you'd better hurry before my husband wakes up. He can get very jealous!"
"Not funny!" Carter took his hands away from her eyes and jumped over the top of the couch. He dropped into the seat beside her and pulled her into a hug with her back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her front. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her newly washed hair. "Good Morning Mrs Carter!"
She turned slightly so that she could get a proper look at him. "Good 'Afternoon' Mr Carter!" she smiled. She turned her neck to look at him and smiled. She was just about to reach up and kiss him when she realised that she still had her rollers in and the mask on her face. She pulled back suddenly and let out a little squeal before jumping up and running to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her! Carter looked after her in bemusement before getting up and following her to the bathroom. He tried the handle but found it locked, so he had to raise his voice to be heard through the door over the sound of the running tap.
"Abby what's the matter?"
"Nothing!"
"No, something's up. Just tell me what it is."
"It's nothing. It's just…I didn't want you to see me like this!"
He was a little caught out by this remark. "Like what?"
She opened the door and peered around it. She had washed the facemask off but traces of the blue still remained, and she had only managed to pull out half the curlers so her hair was a curious mixture of tight curls and bright plastic rollers. " 'Like what'? Like the creature from the Black Lagoon! I got up early so I could get all of this out the way before you woke up."
"So is this like a regular thing for you to do?"
She looked down and blushed slightly. "I normally do this when you're out. You know, when you have to go back to your apartment or if you're on shift but I'm off."
"But if we're going to be living together now you shouldn't have to sneak around me!"
"I know…but I was embarrassed! I was afraid you'd take one look at me like this and decide that all the magic had gone out of our relationship and that you didn't want to hang around with the reality of dull, boring, blue- faced old me…"
John leaned his head against the doorjamb and gave a slight smile as he reached out and played with a loose curl and tucked it behind Abby's ear. He cupped her cheek with his hand and looked deep into her eyes: "Abby, you have never looked more beautiful to me than you do at this moment."
She laughed out loud and looked up into his face. "Now I know you're lying, John Carter!"
"I'm not. Do you have any idea what my experience with women has been like? (What am I talking about, of course you know.) Its just been one long line of blondes who never took the time to get to know the real me and never let me know anything about themselves. It's different with you, though. You know the worst things I'm capable of but you're still here with me, and you're not afraid to admit to me that you're weak sometimes as well. I love you, every part of you, even the not-so-perfect things that you don't want me to see. And no mater what you say," she tried to interrupt him at this point but he put his finger over her mouth in a 'ssh' gesture and gave her a light kiss on the mouth before continuing, "no matter what you say I will always love this honesty. I've had precious little of it in my life and I promise you I will never get tired of it. So if you want to paint your face blue, or green, or yellow I don't care, so long as you promise to you stay you…and get the rest of those things out of your hair because you look like a gorgon!"
She gave him a playful slap before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. He put his arms around her and returned the kiss, but when he moved to deepen it she pushed him away lightly. He grunted a protest and continued to plant soft kisses along her jawline and down her neck. She was almost seduced by his slow movements and gentle caresses, but just as he was slipping the gown she was wearing off her shoulders she turned her neck to give him better access and caught a glimpse of the clock on the VCR. She immediately snapped back to reality and attempted to get Carter to do the same, but it was difficult when she could only manage to slip a few words in between kisses:
"John we've got to…John, stop it…It's nearly time…STOP IT!"
"Ow, what did you do that for?!"
She had given him a little pinch on the arm, not hard, but she knew he was going to play this for sympathy.
"We've only got 90 minutes to get ready and get to the reception. I've got to do my hair and get dressed, and you've got to have a shower and shave." She started to push him towards the shower when he stopped and turned to look at her. He pouted and put on the voice of an injured child, rubbing the top of his arm where she had pinched him.
"You're mean!"
"Oh don't be such a baby. Come here, I'll kiss it better…and if you're a good boy I'll let you play with the other boys and girls at the reception!"
"I'd rather play with you…" Carter stopped and thought about what he had just said. He could see Abby was trying not to laugh. "That didn't come out the way I meant it to…"
That was too much for Abby. She burst into laughter at the sight of Carter's face as he tried to explain what he meant, and continued to push him into the shower. "It's no good, we just don't have the time. You have your shower, I'll go do my hair and maybe, just maybe," she stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the end of his nose, "I'll let you 'play with me' after we get through the reception!"
She turned and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She pulled the last of the curlers out of her hair and arranged the curls in a tumbling cascade down her back, with a few loose curls to frame her face. She then slipped into the dress that was hanging on the back of the door, her wedding dress from yesterday, and went into the kitchen to sit down at the table and apply her make-up.
In the meanwhile Carter had emerged from the bathroom clean-shaven and dressed himself in his new black Armani suit (Abby had insisted he wear it because she knew Richard would be green), and he came out from the bedroom to find Abby standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. As had happened in the dress shop yesterday he was completely floored by how beautiful she was. She simply took his breath away. He walked over to her slowly and put his hands on her shoulders. "I will always love you in this dress," he whispered before leaning down to give her a gentle kiss. They shared a smile, and he then turned to give her his arm.
"Well, shall we get going to that reception then?"
(Well, what did you think? Lots of Carby which I like to think is a good thing. Until next time, when we will get to see the wedding reception and make Richard squirm!)
