Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: A Wedding Diary
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Jed introduced Abbey to his best friend, Leo
Summary: Abbey shocks Jed with her news
June 14, 1967
Jed sat on the couch with Abbey laying back across him, her hair sprawled out over his legs. He ran his fingers through her auburn locks absent-mindedly.
"It's almost two," he leaned down and whispered to her.
Her eyes fluttered as she sighed. "I know. I don't want to go."
"Abbey, it's your last fitting. You have to go." He brushed her hair off her face with repeated gentle strokes. "I don't want to give you any excuse to back out of this thing."
"As if I ever would," she replied with a smile. "I just want to stay here with you all afternoon."
"Sweetie, your sister, Joni, and Millie are all meeting you there. If you don't show up, they're going to come over here and kick my ass." Chuckling at the image, Abbey sat up and twisted her upper body to face him.
"So you're just worried that a bunch of girls could take you?"
"Damn right." He turned her body away from him so he could wrap his arms around her and pull her back against his chest. "Tell you what, come to my house when you get back. I'll take you out tonight."
"Yeah?"
Jed kissed the back of her head. "Of course, that doesn't mean I don't wish I was going with you."
She reached down for her purse to pull her brush out and untangle all the knots he managed to create in her hair."You know the rules. You can't see the dress until the wedding."
"I hate rules," he replied as he stood up to look for her keys.
"Only when they're not to your benefit," she laughed.
Jed pushed aside a pile of paper on the table. His eyes froze on what he found underneath. "Abbey, what are these?"
She looked up to see him holding up several letters from the London School of Economics. "Oh, that's nothing," she said as she grabbed them out of his hand.
"What do you mean it's nothing? These letters were addressed to me."
"Yes, and you didn't open them. I found them when we were at your place a few weeks ago. So I swiped them. I know I shouldn't have, but I was curious."
Jed rolled his eyes. He loved her dearly, but occasionally, her nosiness infuriated him. "You really shouldn't have done that."
"You never told them you weren't coming."
"I never got around to it," he said softly.
"That's because you couldn't imagine not going there. Jed, I know how much you were looking forward to going to that school."
"We've already talked about this. You mean much more to me than London. I should have replied to their letters. I just hadn't gotten around to it yet."
"Because you couldn't bring yourself to. I know you couldn't." She lifted his head up to look him in the eyes. "That's why I think we should do it. We should go to London"
"Abbey, we're both going to Harvard in the fall. We've already been accepted."
"So we'll defer while we test out London. We can do that for two years before we have to apply again. You're going to Harvard to get your MBA, Jed. It's not the same as the program in London. I'm serious about this. I even sent away for a brochure on housing close to the LSE campus. I was going to tell you as soon as I found us a place to live."
"Whoa, wait a second. You already made the decision?"
"Yeah," she said cautiously, hoping he wasn't angry.
"But we agreed..."
"You were right when you proposed. At that time, I really hadn't thought much about our future. I had already gotten into Harvard Med and I was just so excited that I didn't stop to think about things realistically. But you did. And when you layed it all out for me, it made sense. You told me we would wait until after I finish med school, but now I realize that if we're ever going to do this, it has to be now. We're young, we don't have kids. Now's the time to do it. We can go to London for four or five years, however long it takes to get your doctorate and then we'll come back and I'll start med school"
Jed processed her words, but he still couldn't believe what she was willing to give up. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"I've always wanted to see Europe. It'll be an adventure. I can work at a hospital so that I remain active in the health care field for when I reapply to Harvard. And if not, then I can get a job at LSE. I talked to one of the department heads already. I may be able to work in the administrative office or the library or something until you graduate. And as a grad student, you can get a TA position. We'll be fine."
"I can't let you…"
"You're not letting me. I'm doing this on my own. I want to do this. I want to go to London with you. I really do. Let's do this now."
"You really have thought this through."
"I have. Harvard can wait. If we don't do this now, we may never have the opportunity"
All of a sudden, everything had changed. He wasn't lying when he said he'd choose her over London, but the truth was, he wanted both. He had his heart set on LSE and though going to Harvard was nothing to sneeze at, an MBA from there wasn't what he was after.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
Abbey answered with a kiss, whispering "yes," into his mouth.
"I promise, four years. I'll work my ass off, do whatever it takes. Give me four years and we'll come back to the States and you'll go to med school. I'll pay for it myself"
With one look, Abbey could see the love in his eyes and she instantly realized she had made the right decision. She would be sacrificing her own dream only temporarily and now that she saw how happy she had made Jed, it was enough to cast aside any lingering doubts she may have had. Jed stared at her for a long moment, his blue eyes watering.
"I still can't believe that you'd do this for me." He reached out a hand to gently stroke her cheek.
"Why not? I love you, Jed."
"Nobody's ever loved me like this. Nobody's ever put my needs first."
It was moments like these, when he said things like that, that her heart broke for the little boy inside the man that she loved with all her heart. "Well, get used to it." Her voice caught in her throat. "Being in love and being married means making your partner's needs as important as your own. You were willing to give up your dreams because you were putting my needs first. But I think this is a way that we can both be happy. We'll both be able to go to the schools we'd planned on attending."
"How'd I end up with such a smart cookie?" Jed pulled her into his arms and before she could answer, he kissed her.
Abbey responded to the kiss, opening her mouth and meeting his tongue with her own. Even if they were now technically lovers, there had been little time to explore the new physical side to their relationship and every touch; every kiss was enough ignite the flames of passion Jed's hands slipped under Abbey's shirt caressing the warm skin of her back and sliding down her spine into the waistband of her pants to curve over her satin-covered rear. Abbey moaned against his lips, pressing her breasts into his chest and her belly into his erection.
"Abbey," Jed pulled back from her lips. "Your parents?"
"It's okay, we have plenty of time." Abbey reached out a hand to press over the now throbbing bulge in his jeans. She smiled a wicked, sinful smile as she traced her finger over him watching him squirm, hearing his breath catch in his throat. "Wanna mess around?"
"Do you think you have to ask?" Jed was a young man at the prime of his sexual peak and he wanted Abbey more than anything else in the world. The few tastes he'd had of her over the past few months had done nothing to appease his hunger. He kissed her again and this time, they fell back on the couch tearing at each other's clothing. Yet, once they were finally naked, Jed slowed the pace for just a moment.
Abbey lay back against the couch cushions completely nude as he ran reverent fingers over her chest, her breasts, her belly, and the soft curls nestled at the apex of her thighs. He knew that he would never get enough of this, never get enough of her. She was the gift that he'd been given whether deserved or not, and he would forever show her just what that gift meant to him.
Abbey smiled at the warmth of love in Jed's eyes as he touched her, watched him as those eyes became hooded with desire when he began stroking her gently between the thighs. She reached for him then, pulling his hard masculine body to hers, needing to show him that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Her fingers curled around him, still marveling at the changes in a man's body and the ache that touching him created inside of her. Needing to ease that ache, Abbey spread her thighs positioning Jed between them.
"Hold on a sec." Jed leaned over the edge of the couch for a fallen foil packet. Within moments, he had himself sheathed.
"You're getting much better at that," Abbey smiled.
"Well, practice makes perfect. I'd like to become a pro." Jed re-positioned himself between her thighs.
"When we get married," Abbey's breath hitched as Jed started to penetrate her. "I think I'm going to go on the Pill."
"Mmmm, I'd love to be inside you with nothing on." Jed thrust his hips forward and groaned as her tight feminine walls squeezed him. "God, Abbey, you feel so good."
"You don't feel so bad yourself."
He paused for a moment to kiss her but then as her hips lifted to take him deeper, his body took control and, suddenly, he was thrusting into her again and again, his groans competing with her soft cries of pleasure. Abbey lifted her legs higher to take him deeper and faster.
"A...Ab..."
She heard the anguish in his voice and opened her eyes to watch him close his and grind his teeth to fight the orgasm that threatened to overtake him. He had no idea of just how close she was, but with the next thrust, she grabbed his rear holding him inside of her as her body tightened and clenched exploding in orgasm. Before she had finished shuddering, Jed cried out her name, his own orgasm exploding through him. Panting heavily he kissed her gently, sweetly.
Abbey reveled in the strength of his body, the crinkly hair of his chest and his thighs sensuously abrasive against her own soft skin. She kissed his shoulder tenderly; tasting the salt of his sweat then pulled back with a start as she felt liquid warmth seeping from where their bodies were joined.
"Jed, I think there's something wrong with the condom."
"Huh?" Jed was still reeling from his explosive orgasm.
"I said, I think there's a problem with the condom. I feel you."
Startled, Jed held the condom in place as he withdrew from her body then stared with dismay at the torn latex that covered his penis. There was not a drop of sperm left in the tip.
"Abbey." He looked at her with shocked eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know how..."
"It's okay." She reached out and took his hand. "It's not your fault. It will probably be okay. I mean just this once..." she trailed off knowing that they both knew all it took was one unprotected time to create a child.
"Maybe you could...um...you know...clean up."
"That doesn't work, Jed. It's already inside me. I can't wash it away." Tears shimmered on Abbey's eyelashes.
"Abbey, don't cry." Jed pulled her into his arms cradling her head against his chest.
"It'll be okay, I promise. No matter what, I'm going to take care of you. Maybe, just this once, it wasn't enough. Maybe nothing's going to come of it. The odds are in our favor."
Abbey nodded and snuggled in to him feeling suddenly warm and safe and protected. Love for this man, her man, radiated within her along with the fleeting thought that maybe carrying his child, if that was what God intended, would be the best thing that ever happened to her.
TBC