Christine had promised she'd go to the store and she'd meant it when she said it. The day just hadn't really gone as planned. She'd been running late taking Charles to school after her alarm just didn't go off, and her clingy husband didn't make it any easier to get out of bed. They'd been so warm and content, wrapped in each other's arms, until she'd glanced at the clock.

"Shit!"

She'd jumped out of bed and raced to get ready, and it seemed like she hadn't slowed down since.

Oh well, they could order take out for dinner. There wasn't anything truly essential on the shopping list that couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Except whipped cream.

She and Erik had been experimenting more and more in the bedroom and Christine had always been a bit curious about what it would be like to have something licked off her body. Erik had been more than agreeable to the idea, and they'd planned to put Charles to bed tonight as early as possible. She was looking forward to their evening.

Christine opened the fridge, hoping she'd get lucky and find a can somewhere in the back of the fridge. It might not be the freshest, but whipped cream is whipped cream, right?

No luck. There was a dubious carton of chicken stock, a mostly empty liter of sprite, and a handful of baby carrots sitting directly on the fridge shelf. Christine scooped up the carrots and dumped them into the trash.

With carrots on her mind, she gave the fridge one last glance. In the door sat a lone half-empty bottle of ranch.

Well… that could work.

She knew the accident had greatly damaged Erik's nose and that affected his ability to taste, to an extent. Would he really notice if she substituted ranch in place of whipped cream?

The consistency might pose a problem, she noted.

Christine quickly pulled out her phone and Googled "can you make whipped ranch dressing?". After surfing the results, she put her phone away with a plan in mind.

She poured the ranch into a bowl and grabbed what was left of a box of cream cheese, blending the two until it was a spread. At least then it wouldn't run down her body when the time came. She put it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap, pleased with her substitute and she hoped Erik would be as well.

Erik readily agreed to order take out; it never took much convincing. Christine only needed to bat her eyes and tell him how terribly tired she was and he would cave. Truthfully, she knew she didn't even need to go that far, he wouldn't deny her anyway, but it was like a little game.

"My poor sleepy Christine," he mourned, as he peppered kisses to her face. "Order whatever you would like, my darling."

They ordered some pizzas and Christine got the table ready while they waited for it to arrive.

"Christine?" Erik called out, his head in the fridge. "Are we out of ranch?"

"Yes, I put it on the list."

Honestly, she thought dipping his pizza in ranch was weird anyway.

Charles joined them at the table and told them about his day while they ate. Christine and Erik tried to feign interest but they were all too eager to send him off to bed.

Erik stopped her in the hallway after they tucked him in, squeezing her hand. "Go get ready," he murmured. "I'll be right in."

Christine nodded, stopping in the kitchen to grab her ranch spread and a spoon. She undressed in the bedroom, feeling a little nervous. This was definitely a scenario she had never really imagined herself in. If it was anyone but Erik, she didn't think she'd be able to even consider it, but she loved him and she trusted him. It would be a new experience, but it would be ok.

Fully nude, she laid back on the bed and spooned some of the ranch onto her body. She tried to arrange it artfully in little white peaks over her nipples. She was too nervous to put it anywhere else yet. He might not even like it.

Well, if he hated it, they could just move their fun into the shower. Her cheeks flushed at the memory of the last time they'd showered together. It had been wet and slick and sinfully good. Thinking about it definitely got her in the right mindset for what they were about to do.

Lying on her back, she couldn't see him enter, but she heard the door shut and the soft click of the lock.

"Mmm… don't you look delicious," he purred. The bed dipped from his weight. She felt his lips brush against her neck and let her eyes fall shut. He slowly worshipped her skin with his mouth, slowly moving lower and lower. His tongue slid along her breast and he finally got a taste of the spread.

He paused.

"My darling… I think the whipped cream has gone bad."

"It's uh… ranch. I was hoping that you… wouldn't notice." She kept her eyes shut, well aware that her cheeks were burning.

Suddenly his weight was gone and she sat up, watching him exit their bedroom.

"Erik?"

That was not the reaction she'd expected. She sat there for a moment, dumbfounded.

Just as she was reaching for a tissue to wipe off the apparently-offending ranch, he returned, crackers in hand.

Erik straddled her hips, gently pushing her onto her back with his hand on her shoulder, then retrieved a cracker from the box and scooped some of the ranch from her breast. He ate it, then dipped another, while Christine just stared at him.

He held the cracker out towards her. "Did you want some?"

Wordlessly, she shook her head.

Once most of the spread was gone, he licked her clean and nuzzled his face against her breast, murmuring, "As delectable as that was, my dear, let's try whipped cream next time, shall we?"