Alex Romero had spent the last hour churned up with regret. This wasn't how he'd pictured his one year anniversary with Norma, falling asleep the night before with hopeful, romantic plans to wake her up very slowly, (either with featherlight fingertip touches or his mouth. He hadn't fully decided), make love to her as tenderly as either of them could bear, looking into her eyes as he whispered how much he loved her. And then pancakes. Obviously.
But all his gentle plans were instantly forgotten as a small noise just before dawn jolted them half awake at the same time, both blinking blearily as they listened.
"Racoon or murderer?" Norma had murmured sleepily, like those were the only two viable options and he shook his head, stirring at the feeling of her body pressed against his front.
"It was nothing," had been their last words to each other as he'd nuzzled his face into the side of her neck, warm and inviting, lapping his tongue against her pulse point. They didn't utter another word, Norma instantly arching, grinding her ass in slow circles against his growing erection, moaning sleepily as he roughly palmed her breast, nipping and kissing and licking at the side of her throat until she was panting and desperate. It was a frenzy of tearing at nightclothes, grabbing at each other's flesh, Norma yanking her satin nightgown up in a haste as she bent her top leg up, Alex slipping inside her with much less fumbling than this slightly awkward angle usually allowed them. He could only congratulate himself for a brief moment before she was whining and pushing back against him, Alex's hand grabbing onto her hip to help her, slamming her into his pelvis so hard he was worried his hip bones would leave bruises on her ass. The thought sobered him and he remembered it was their anniversary and he was going to make love to her and look into her eyes and all that good stuff, a voice in the back of his mind suddenly screaming at him to slow down.
"Harder," she moaned, reaching behind her to grab at his hair, and the romantic little voice in his head was quashed by his animal instinct, rolling her over onto her stomach, flattening her out as he obliged her request. She squeal-giggled in surprise and pleasure, Alex thrilled that Norman had been away at college for several months now, the effort of trying to keep Norma quiet in the bedroom for the few months her glowering son had been home proving very challenging. But he wasn't here now, their empty nest proving to be a happy one and joyfully, a loud one, Alex bracing his weight on his hands above her, snapping his hips back and forth, watching her ass jiggle pleasingly with every hard thrust, delighting in the breathless moans he was forcing out of her.
"Holy fuck," she ground out, pushing her face into the pillow, one of her feet flinging up helplessly to kick him in the back of his leg. Feeling his rhythm growing erratic, listening as her groans grew shriller, he managed to shove his hand underneath her, roughly working his fingers between her pelvis and the bed, missing her wince in pain. His fingers located her clit with a knowing precision, and she let out a little shriek, slapping her hand down on the mattress, grabbing a fistful of sheets. It only took a few quick swipes before she shook and went rigid under him, blindly groping behind her to wrap her fingers around the wrist bracing next to her waist.
"Oh god, oh god," she whispered before she came with a short, broken scream, dragging him along with her with a handful of harder thrusts, her nails scratching painfully into the soft skin on the inside of his wrist, Alex not minding at all. They slowed, Alex collapsing to the side of her, flopping back but not letting her go, spooning her against him as they panted together. He wrapped both arms tightly around her, her hands clutching onto him like she was afraid he was going to let her go, huffing out soft, lightly delirious laughs. A wave of guilt shot through him as she trembled a little, rubbing her thighs together, murmuring sleepily, and he reached down to cover her with the duvet, holding her close.
"Norma..." He started quietly, about to suggest they go clean up, thinking he could make up some tenderness to her in the shower, cut off as she let out an unhappy groan.
"No," she muttered before he could really say anything, puffing out satisfied sighs into the pillow, nestling her sticky body back against him, her breathing already evening out. "Five more minutes..."
He grinned into her hair, amazed at her ability to fall asleep so quickly after sex, Alex having no way of knowing it was a newly acquired skill, Norma never feeling so relaxed and satisfied with any of the men before him. His grin faded as "five more minutes" turned into over an hour, Alex watching the side of her face as she slept, guilt setting in more completely with every passing second. She'd rolled away from him eventually, less clingy once she was sleep-warmed, and it was the tiny smear of blood on her white satin nightgown that drew his gaze initially, staring with horror at the long shallow scratch along her hipbone. He gazed at it until his vision blurred, glancing darkly at his traitorous watch, realising the sharp, jagged edge of his old watch had cut into her skin when he'd shoved his hand under her.
He'd wanted to make love to her, to kiss every inch of her skin and prove to her he was more gentle than any other man she'd ever known. Instead he'd started their one year anniversary by taking her roughly from behind without uttering a word to her, and drawn blood with the crappy watch he'd been wearing for the last fifteen years. He groaned softly, furious with himself and she stirred, Alex freezing until she stilled again.
"Mmm, love you," she murmured in her sleep and he felt the rage he'd been letting course through him begin to leach out as her little sleepy frown evened out.
"Love you more," he whispered back, leaning over her to press a kiss against her temple before sliding slowly from the bed. He could let himself get lost in feeling sorry for himself, hating himself for hurting her, or he could be proactive and set about fixing it.
A very stressful, frantic half hour in the kitchen later, and Alex returned to their bedroom, managing to push open the door while carrying a very full tray, his heart full as he caught a glimpse of her still sleeping soundly, her hand outstretched in her sleep towards his empty side of the bed.
"Hey, hun," he muttered softly, watching her eyes flickering open, smiling widely as her eyes landed on him stood in his boxers, holding a tray.
"Hi," she pushed herself up weakly, blinking around. "Did I fall back to sleep?"
He grinned at her, amazed at her inability to perceive time. It had been hours since they'd woken up the first time, the sun now firmly up, closer to lunch than breakfast time now, Alex not regretting letting her sleep, even as his slow cooking abilities had pushed their first meal of the day so far back.
"Breakfast in bed?" She trilled out excitedly, sitting up and pulling the blankets up around her chest, making space for him to settle at the end of the bed, resting the tray between them, Norma's face lighting up. Alex was no whizz in the kitchen, not like Norma, but he'd been watching and learning and he'd been able to whip up blueberry pancakes, perfectly crisped bacon, a side of neatly sliced strawberries and a French press of coffee. "My favourites!" It wasn't a coincidence, and he smiled.
He watched her eat happily, shaking his head when she held out a bite to him, ignoring her little pout at his resistance.
"Are you... are you ok?" He said eventually, setting his coffee cup down on the tray and reaching for her hand.
"Yeah, of course I am." She frowned at the question, noticing the stricken way he was looking at her. "Why?"
"I just..." He sighed, waiting for her to finish her last bite before setting the tray on the floor and pushing her back gently, tugging the covers away from her. He reached for the hem of her nightgown and her eyes lit up, misunderstanding.
"Oh!" She giggled.
"I wanted to make love to you," he blurted out, and she frowned in surprise, biting her lip.
"I thought you did?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively but he ignored her.
He tugged at her white chemise, drawing her attention to the tiny dot of blood soaked into the fabric before pulling it up, showing her the long, fine scratch across her skin. She frowned until recognition crossed her face, glancing at his old cracked watch she'd hated since she met him then back at the tiny cut, instantly realised what had happened.
"Not like that," he said quietly. "I just wanted to take my time, and show you how much I love you. Instead I... I hurt you. I-"
"You caught me with your watch by accident, Alex. You didn't beat me up," she said sharply.
Her words hung heavily for a moment, both of them remembering she'd been beaten up plenty of times in her life, both gulping as they moved past it.
"Yeah but I-"
"For God's sake," she muttered, reaching harshly for his wrist, turning it over and hurriedly undoing the creased old leather of his watch, sliding it from him and throwing it across the room, both of them watching with open mouths as she threw it harder than she intended, his watch smashing off their bedroom wall with a shattering sound that told him it would never work again
"Shit, sorry," she whispered from behind her hand. "I was aiming for the rug."
"What if I need to tell the time?" He said through a broad grin, trying and failing to pretend he didn't find her charming, even as she chucked his stuff around, breaking it with ease. Thankfully, he never really liked that watch, wearing out of habit rather than some sentimental attachment.
"Well..." She started, rolling her body over his, his hands immediately grasping her waist to keep her steady as she reached for something in her bedside drawer, ignoring the way he reached up to kiss her collarbone, flopping away from him and handing him a small box.
"Happy anniversary!" She announced, watching nervously as he opened the box, finding a new watch there, clearly classy and expensive, all chrome and black leather, much nicer than the old one he'd grown to hate.
"I love it, Norma. Thank you."
"Turn it over, turn it over!"
Alex,
I will always love you.
Happy 1st of many.
Love, Norma x
"I'm actually not happy with the font on the little kiss but they refused to re-do it so... I hope you like it?"
He felt a lump in his throat as he read and re-read the engraving on the back of the watch, reaching for her and pulling her onto his lap, folding her up in his arms to hold her.
"Thank you," he breathed into her hair, pouring all his gratitude into the words, holding her close for a quiet few moments together until she pulled back.
"Ok, no pressure but I'm ready for mine now," she sing-songed, placing her hands over her eyes and settling on her knees, waiting like a child on Christmas morning.
She felt him slide from the bed, yelping in surprise as he pulled her up off her feet, swinging her up into his arms and beginning to stride from their room.
"Where are we-"
She was cut off as he headed straight for his old room, wriggling to sit up better, winding her arms around his neck, glancing at his face in curiosity.
"Are we gonna have sex in a different room in the house?" She asked innocently and he chuckled, jostling her as he set her on her feet in the doorway, Norma shivering as her bare feet hit the floor of his old room, now a spare room, storing some of his overspill clothing, a handful of smart suits hanging on the back of the wardrobe door.
"No... Although I'm very open to that idea." He ducked his head to kiss her bare shoulder, unable to resist giving her ass a little squeeze before he stopped himself, focusing on showing her the gift he'd been working on in secret.
"You know how I've been clearing the weeds at the back of the house and making repairs?"
Norma glanced around the room, searching for something different, finding nothing, growing suspicious as he moved to stand behind her.
"Yeah?"
"Well..." She jumped as his hands covered her eyes from behind, leading her to start walking towards the window overlooking the back of the house. "I lied."
"Alex..." Her voice was low, a warning.
"Relax..." He whispered in her ear, positioning her right by the window. "Surprise!"
He removed his hands with a flourish, placing them on her shoulders immediately, waiting nervously for her eyes to land on the structure he'd been secretly working on for weeks. He'd started near the end of summer, after Norma had lamented the lack of nice outdoor space around the property, warning her that there were hidden sinkholes at the back of the property that he would need to fix, telling her not to head back there until he'd finished. He'd been pleasantly surprised to find that she'd listened to him, working in secret on the project to get it done in time. Eventually, he'd conceded he wasn't going to finish, and yesterday, he'd snuck home from work early, Emma taking Norma out for dinner so he and Dylan could work through the December cold to put the finishing touches on the ornate, handmade gazebo. He'd been grateful for her oldest son's help, Dylan proving more knowledgeable about carpentry than he expected, clambering up with ease to hammer the last few panels of the roof into place, helping Alex pick out the very best weatherproofing white paint to make the gazebo stand out prettily against the wild green landscape around it. They'd finished triumphantly, sharing a beer in the octagonal gazebo, both gazing proudly at the neatly finished wooden building he'd poured his heart and soul into for her.
"Oh, Alex..." She breathed out tearfully. "You built that? For me?"
"Well, Dylan helped," he admitted. "I just... well, you said you had nowhere to have picnics in the Summer... And to watch the storms rolling in across the mountains. The trellises on the sides would be perfect for jasmine I think but I thought I'd let you do all that. And we can change the furniture in it if you don't-"
She spun in his arms, kissing him. Flinging her arms around his neck, she stroked her hands down the back of the neck as she pressed her lips against his so sweetly, so perfectly, he felt like he could cry.
"So you like it?" He whispered against her lips.
"I love it!" She giggled, pecking him again. "I love it, I love it!"
"I love you," he said seriously, nodding at her.
"I love you too."
He kissed her cheek before leaning back, crossing his hands at the small of her back, rubbing his hands across the satin there, his gaze growing heavy for a second.
"I'm really sorry about this morning-"
"Alex!" She interrupted, reaching to grasp the bottom half of his face, smushing his cheeks together ridiculously. "If you bring that up one more time, I'm gonna change my mind about my plans for the rest of the day. And I don't think you want me to do that." She narrowed her eyes at him, shrugging his hands from her body and shoving to walk past him. She paused in the doorway, leaning her lip coquettishly against the frame, toying with the strap on her chemise.
"Oh? And what might those be?" He asked, a smirk playing on his face.
"Well, first, I'm gonna get out of this nightgown, and take a shower." He took a step forwards and she held up a finger to let him know she wasn't done. "Then I'm gonna take every blanket in this house, and you're gonna carry them down to that gazebo... And you're gonna make love to me in it. The way you wanted to this morning. The way I want you to right now..." He gulped at the predatory look she was giving him, somehow dark and intensely loving at the same time, before she disappeared out of sight and Alex was frozen with inaction for a moment.
"Well? You comin'?"
A flash of white satin shot past the doorway and he finally moved.
"Holy shit," he muttered to himself, lurching forwards and scrabbling to push down his boxers. He had nothing to compare it to but he somehow still knew - "Best anniversary ever."