He dropped the letter and dialed the number again. She resigned? She can't quit! He listened to it ring a few times, rapidly scanning his brain for something that he had done that could have caused this. He couldn't think of anything! He slammed the phone down, breaking it. He rushed out of his office and turned to the interns, trying to play it cool. "Hey, guys. Laura's at home sick today, so you all will have to handle everything yourselves. She tried to leave a voicemail this morning, but I guess it got erased somehow." He stared at them. He couldn't tell if they were buying it. He continued anyway, "She'll be back tomorrow, but for today, I need you to clear my schedule."
"But–" they said in unison.
"No but's," he interrupted. "I just got an urgent call from the New York office. They said they need me there right away, so figure it out!" He turned sharply and went to the elevator.
About forty-five minutes later, he stepped out of his car, which he actually drove himself this time, and looked up to the house he hadn't been in in years. As much as he wanted to take in the moment, feeling like he was finally home, he knew that he had to figure out what was going on. He had to convince Laura to come back, and he only had a day to do it. He took a deep breath and ran up to the door. He moved to ring the doorbell, but figured he would get results very similar to the telephone. Instead, he reached in his pocket for his key. He found the one that used to open the front door and prayed that they hadn't changed the locks. He stuck it in, turned it, and then click. He did a silent happy dance and slipped inside.
Michael turned when he entered, and he looked happily surprised. Quickly, Steve held a finger up to his lips and shushed him. He couldn't have him giving his entrance away. He walked past Michael on the couch, patting his head as he we went by. He slipped quietly into the kitchen and saw that Laura was nowhere in sight, but Eli was in his high chair, and the stove was on. Eli started to cry, and he heard Laura yell from the laundry room, "Oh, I know, Baby! It's cookin'. Give Mama one more minute, and your baba will be ready! Eat your Cheerios."
Steve walked over and took the crying baby in his arms. He held him close and bounced gently, soothing his cries. He walked to the stove and turned it off. He picked the bottle up, tested it on his wrist, and handed it to Elijah as he laid him back in his arms. Elijah ate happily, and Steve pulled out a chair to cradle him. He faced the laundry room.
Moments later, Laura walked out with a basket full of clothes, saw a man holding her baby, screamed, and dropped the basket. Immediately, Elijah started to cry, and Michael ran into the room. Steve took the bottle from Eli and held him closer, hoping to calm him.
"What the hell are you doing here, Steve?! You scared me to death!" she yelled.
"Mama, why are you yelling at Uncle Steve?" Michael whined, his eyes full of tears.
Laura crouched down in front of him and opened her arms. He quickly embraced her, and she squeezed him tightly, kissing the top of his head. "Oh, no reason, Baby. He just startled me." She looked up at Steve and glared.
Steve returned the bottle to the newly calm Elijah, and Michael ran back into the other room because he was missing his cartoon.
Laura stood and moved toward Steve. She gently, but forcefully, took the baby from Steve's arms and held him as he ate. She decided to let him finish before she said another word to Steve, not wanting to make Eli uncomfortable as she tensed.
Steve watched as Laura held her baby close. He wanted to interrogate her. He wanted to know what was going on, but he was captivated by the softness in her face as she looked at Eli. Gosh, he thought as he gazed at her lovingly. He wanted to have so many more babies with her. He smiled to himself, naming them in his head.
When Elijah was done, she held him close to burp, which he did quickly, and she turned to Steve. "I'm going to put both boys down for their naps. Please, wait here," she said emotionlessly.
Oh, boy. She's already shutting down. Steve always knew it was the hardest to argue with Laura when she put her emotions aside. When she tried to do that, she always felt vindicated and logical. It was hard to walk her back from that.
She came back down stairs about ten minutes later. Steve noticed then how incredible she looked even in simple clothes. Her pink sweater hugged her chest tightly, and her dark jeans accented her hips. He looked up at her face and saw a look of pure fury. "Howdy, Sweetums," he said, trying to break the ice.
Her eyes just narrowed as she took the chair at the head of the table. "How the hell did you get in here?" she snapped.
"My key still works," Steve said recoiling slightly.
She held out her hand. "Give it to me."
His brow furrowed. "What? No, it's my key."
"You don't live here anymore, Steve. Give me the key," she moved her hand closer to him.
He wanted to argue, but knew he should save his energies for whatever bigger battle was coming. He took the key off the ring and handed it to her. She nodded and put it in her pocket. As if that were my only copy! "Laura, what's going on?" he demanded. "Why did you quit?"
"I explained it in the letter," she said, standing to gather the clothes that had slipped from the laundry basket she dropped.
"No, you didn't. 'Personal reasons' is not an explanation."
She stood and started to refold the clothes that were jostled in the fall. "Well, my reason is personal, Steve, so that's all I can say."
"No, it's not. You can tell me anything; you know that. What happened, Laura?"
"Something came up," she replied curtly.
"No, it didn't," he argued. "You won't even look at me, which means that I did something, but I have been wracking my brain all day, and I can't come up with a darn thing."
She scoffed. "You can't come up with anything you did or anything you think I know about?"
"What?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Like you don't know! Stop playing dumb, Steve. I don't wanna say it out loud."
"Say what out loud?" Steve asked, a little too loudly, and she shushed him.
"The kids are asleep, Steve!" she whispered angrily.
"I'm sorry, Sweetums, but I really need you to spell this out for me because I am totally lost!" he whispered back.
"You are such a jerk," she said exasperatedly, shaking her head. She realized that she had made a mess of each item she refolded, and she dumped the basket out on the table. The red thong she had worn on Friday night somehow ended up on top of the pile as it lay in front of Steve. His eyes were immediately drawn to it, and she snatched it up, putting it back in the basket, along with some of her other delicates. As far as she was concerned, he had seen more than his fair share of ladies' undergarments this week. She started to refold the clothes.
Steve's mind refocused after the thong was moved out of sight. "Laura, I'm not trying to be a jerk. You just caught me off guard. We were getting along so well. Really, really well," he said, licking his newly dry lips. "Is this about Friday night? I know I was… a little… forward, but I stopped when you made me."
"Well, of course, you did. There's no point in pressuring me if you have a back-up plan," she sneered.
"What?" Steve was only getting more and more confused.
"This isn't about Friday night. This is about yesterday," she admitted.
"Yesterday?"
"I know I have no right to be mad about it, Steve. Obviously, you're young and someone is going to take care of your… needs, but I just can't work for you if you're going to be rubbing my face in it in the office."
"My needs? What in Einstein's name are you talkin' about, Lady?"
Suddenly, she sat down in front of him, "I forgot my purse yesterday, Steve."
Steve could not figure this puzzle out. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
She looked down at her hands. "When I went back to get it, I stopped by your door to see if you were done with your… meeting, but I heard… Well, you should know what I heard."
Steve's eyes got wide as he realized what she had heard. "Oh! Oh, my God. Laura, I'm so sorry. That's so embarrassing. If I had known you were coming back to the office, I would never have–"
She looked up at him again, the pain showing in her eyes. "But you shouldn't be doing that in the office at all, Steve!"
"You're right," he conceded. "Laura, I promise that if you come back to work, I'll never do that in my office again."
"Well, honestly, Steve, I'm not ok with you doing that anywhere."
Steve looked around, a little nervous. "Laura, Sweetheart, I'm not sure that's fair."
"Oh, it's completely unfair!" she said. "If I'm not going to date you, I have no right to dictate what you do to…" She sighed heavily. "That's why I quit, Steve. I can't bear to watch it, and I can't tell you not to do it."
"Laura, I never knew you felt so… strongly about this. You know it wasn't the first time, right?"
"It wasn't?" Laura looked like Steve had ripped the heart out of her chest.
"Oh, of course not, Pet. I'm a pretty strong guy, but there aren't many men who can resist temptation for long."
"When was the first time?"
"Oh, I don't know. It wasn't long after you and I accidentally saw each other naked, I guess."
"WHAT?" she yelled, quickly covering her mouth. "You didn't even know Jenna that long ago!"
"Jenna? Who's talking about Jenna?" Steve asked, completely caught off guard. He sure wasn't thinking about her.
"We were!" Laura urged. "We were talking about your… meeting."
Steve finally understood what was going on, and when he realized what had set these events into motion, he started to laugh. He laughed harder and harder until he was near hysterics.
Laura just narrowed her eyes at him, her mouth agape. She had no idea what was so damn funny about this situation. "Steve!" Laura barked.
He snorted. "Oh! Snort! Ohhhh, Laura Lee, I'm sorry," he said wiping his tears. "You just got this all so wrong. Snort! Snort!"
"Well, then what's going on?" she insisted, failing to find a single thing she could have misunderstood.
Steve became a little more serious, ashamed of what he had to tell her. "I wasn't in the office with Jenna."
What? There were other women? "Then who?"
"I was alone," he admitted.
"Oh, Steve, no, you weren't. I heard you," she insisted.
He shook his head. "It was just me, Buttercup. I swear. I could show you the security tapes if you'd like, but I'd really rather not."
"How could it have been just you? You were talking about…" Laura couldn't finish her sentence. She couldn't bear the thought of him with another woman.
"Laura, it was just me, I promise. Jenna left after five minutes." She stared at him blankly. "What you heard… I was… I was touching myself," he admitted, looking away from her.
"You were?"
He nodded, avoiding her eyes.
Well, that changed everything. Suddenly, Laura started to laugh, too. She reached up to cover her mouth. Steve chuckled uncomfortably. "Oh, my God. Steve, I am so sorry," she said, laughing. "If I had had any idea…"
He fidgeted in his seat. "It's ok, Laura."
"Wait, so you just sat through this whole conversation thinking I was angry at you for masturbating?" she laughed again.
He blushed at the word and nodded shyly.
She wiped the tears from her eyes, but each time she tried to stop laughing, she cracked up again. Eventually, she calmed down. "Hoo. Oh, wow, Steve, I am so sorry I made you admit that to me."
"Heh. No sweat, my pet."
She reached out a hand to him, and he took it hesitantly. "No, Steve, really. I'm sorry. I know that wasn't easy for you, but I'm really glad we straightened this out."
He looked up, meeting her eyes hopefully. "So, does that mean you'll come back to work?"
"You would have me back? After all of this?" she asked, embarrassed by her own behavior.
He squeezed her hand tightly. "Do you even have to ask?"
She smiled, looking down at their hands. "We should get going then." She pulled her hand from his and stood.
"Oh, no, Laura. I told the interns you were sick and that I was going to New York," he said. "We have the whole day off." He got up, feigning confidence. He walked over to her and stood just an inch closer than she felt comfortable. "What should we do?" he cooed.
She swallowed hard. "Um. Well, I should spend the day with my boys. We haven't had much time together since I've been working…" He slowly began to step closer to her. "And I should… really… take advantage… of the opportunity…"
He smiled down at her. "Laura," he whispered, "why did you care about me being in my office with Jenna?"
She moved to take a step back, but he just followed her. "Steve…"
He continued to move closer to her until he had pinned her against the back window. He moved his face closer to hers. "Why, Laura?"
She placed her hands on his chest in a half-hearted attempt to push him away but never pressed when her hands landed on his hard pecs. Instead, her fingers caressed and squeezed.
"You didn't like the idea of me being with another woman, did you, Sweetums?" He looked into her eyes. Though his body and voice were playing the confident seducer, his eyes reflected his insecurity. He really needed her to say it.
"No," she admitted, barely above a whisper, her hands continuing to stroke his chest over his dress shirt.
He pressed his forehead to hers, their lips only inches apart. "Why not?"
She looked down at her hands on his chest and then back to his eyes. "Because… you're still mine."
He smiled victoriously. "Oh, really?" he crooned.
"Yes," she whispered, almost inaudibly.
"Do you still love me, Laura?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
"I think you do," he whispered, placing his hands on her hips. He moved closer so that his body pressed into hers. He relaxed against her.
"I really don't know," she swore.
"Well, what did you feel when you thought I was with Jenna?"
"Hurt, betrayed, unbelievably angry with you."
He smiled softly. "Were you jealous?"
She didn't answer.
"Did you want it to be you?"
She still didn't answer, so he leaned down to kiss her and held her tight as his tongue worked its way into her mouth. He wasn't going to let her get away with this. She quit a job that she desperately needed because she couldn't bear the thought of him being with someone else. She wanted him. She needed him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She knew she should have stopped him, but she was just so relieved that he hadn't done anything with Jenna. She was too grateful that he was still her loyal suitor to stop him now.
He moved his hands down and grabbed two big handfuls of her butt. He squeezed her tightly before he started to massage. He pulled his lips from hers but left their faces touching, "You have nothing to worry about, my love." He continued to massage her butt. "You are the only one I want."
Her eyes stared deeply into his. "Were you thinking about me? You know, when you were… alone in your office?" she whispered.
He smiled proudly. "I always think about you when I do that, Pet."
She smiled sweetly. "Always?"
"Always," he repeated.
"Tell me what you were thinking about, Steve," she commanded, her voice becoming breathy.
Oh, that voice! He swallowed hard, trying to compose himself before he regaled her with his sexy fantasies. "I was thinking about Friday night," he began. "I was thinking about taking you back to my place and touching you all over."
"I heard you telling me to 'Swallow your big…'"
"My 'big' what, Baby?" he prompted.
"I don't know," she teased. "I stopped listening before I found out."
Steve's eyes fluttered shut as those familiar images started to flash before him. "I was telling you to swallow my big cock," he lusted.
"Why, Steven Quincy Urkel, your word choice made you sound like a porn star." she scolded, thinking back to her own use of dirty words with him.
He caught the reference and snorted, "What did you expect me to call it?"
She smiled, but ignored the familiar question. "Say it again, Steve."
"No," he teased.
She pouted at him. "Please?"
His brow wrinkled. That wasn't the tactic he had used their first time, but there was something so sexy about her full lips pouting like that. He obeyed almost immediately. "Suck my big cock, Laura." His voice was soft but clear.
Suddenly, Laura pushed him away, and he landed back against the table. He gripped the edges. She dropped to her knees in front of him and reached up to his belt. She fiddled with the buckle, avoiding his gaze. She quickly tore his pants down along with his boxers. As his erection bobbed out in front of her, she got very nervous. It had been so long since she'd done this, she was afraid she wouldn't remember how. She was also intimidated by his size. She remembered him being bigger than Stefan, but she didn't think it was this big of a difference. She swallowed hard and tried to wet her dry lips with her tongue. She made a mental note to ask Steve later why he was so much longer and thicker than his near-clone.
Steve looked down at her and saw her hesitate. He wanted her to do it so badly but not if it was going to cause her stress. "Laura, you don't have to," he conceded.
Seeing that they were losing momentum, she took the plunge. She quickly grabbed him and took him in her mouth.
"OOOOOOHHHHH," he moaned in ecstasy.
She pulled off of him abruptly. "Shhhhh!" She started to lick up and down his length, sucking on the tip each time she reached the end.
He bit his lip to stay as close to silent as possible. "Nnnnnn."
She smiled to herself as she noticed his knees beginning to shake. She wasn't sure if this was truly a skill she never forgot or if he was just too used to his own hand to notice how bad she was at it. Feeling more confident, she took him into her mouth again as deep as she could. She noticed that she could fit more of him than she could the first time but still nowhere near his whole manhood. That was never a problem she had had with Stefan. She sucked harder and bobbed faster, reaching out a hand to cup his balls and leaving one to stroke his unswallowed length. She looked him in the eye, glad to see that his eyes met hers, completely captivated by the view. She moaned for him, as if his flavor was the most delicious taste in the world. "Mmmmm…"
His breathing was getting heavy, and he just kind of rasped back to her, "Nnnghhh." He could tell she was better at this than she was the first time, which made him bitter and jealous. On the other hand, her eyes were thirsting for him like he hungered for cheese, so he couldn't really complain.
She could tell he was getting close. She felt a little bad that this was going to end so soon for him, but she knew that he was too new to it all to last long, and she didn't particularly want to train him today. Her neck was already hurting from a lack of recent practice.
His balls tightened, and he stared at her, his eyes glazing over. His head was foggy. He knew there was something he was supposed to be doing, but he couldn't tear his mind off of the incredible sensations he was feeling long enough to–
His manhood was deep in her mouth when he suddenly shot his hot cum. She gagged immediately as it poured into the back of her throat. She coughed and pulled away, leaving only the tip in her lips as he continued to spasm. She swallowed what she could, but with such a rough start, some of it began to dribble down her chin.
His eyes locked on her mouth as he filled it with his cum. "Laauuuuurrraaaaaa…"
When she felt his orgasm end and his body relax slightly against the table, she started to lick up and down his member to clean him off.
He growled softly and began to stroke her hair, "Mmmmmmm…"
When he was clean and soft, she pulled her mouth off of him and started to wipe her lips and chin. As she found his cum, she licked it off of her fingers. Believing she was clean, she stood up and pulled his pants up with her. He leaned silently and calmly against the table as she slipped his pants back up and tucked in his shirt. She buttoned and buckled his pants and belt before leaning up to kiss him.
He kissed her back hungrily, taking her face in his hands, enjoying the fact that her mouth tasted like him. "Thank you, Sweetheart," he whispered against her mouth. "That felt amazing." He took his finger and wiped his last bit of cum off her chest. He placed his finger in her mouth and she sucked it clean.
"Is it all gone?" she asked.
"Yes, my love. I'm sorry I didn't warn you," he apologized. "I got caught up in the moment."
"It's ok, Steve," she promised. "Try a little harder next time, though, ok?"
"Next time?" he purred.
She stayed silent.
Suddenly, he placed his hands on her butt and lifted her high. He leaned her against the table and began to kiss her neck. "Mm. Laura. Laura. Laura," he moaned between kisses.
"Whoa, hey, hey, Steve," she pushed him off of her and stood from the table.
"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately concerned.
"Nothing, it's just…" She looked away from him, suddenly feeling like a tease. "We can't really do this. My sons are napping upstairs. That was just a onetime thing."
He frowned as she started to push him away again. "I see."
"Please, don't be mad. I just got a little carried away."
"I'm not mad, Laura. I'm just disappointed. I wanted to make you feel as good as you made me feel," he admitted lethargically. Somehow, wooing her this time was much more tiring.
She knew that he was telling the truth, and there was a huge part of her that told her to just let him, but the stronger part of her continued to resist. "I'm sorry, Steve."
He nodded and tried to shake off his frustration. "Well, we still have the rest of the day together? What do you want to do?" he asked.
"I really do have to spend the day with the kids, Steve," she said as she quickly, and more accurately, folded the remaining clothes.
"We can all do something together," he suggested. "The boys already like me, so I can't imagine they'll mind. Let's go back to my place for a dip in that pool Michael's always talking about."
"We're not going to your house," she insisted.
"But Laura…"
"No, Steve," she continued. "It's not really appropriate for me to spend the day with my boss, anyway. Maybe you should just go."
"It's not really appropriate for you to give your boss a blowjob, either, but here we are."
"Steve!" she snapped, embarrassed that he put it like that.
"Laura, how long are you going to put us through this?"
"Steve, I'm not putting you through anything. I'm just… not interested."
"Oh, so you want me to start seeing other people then?"
She spun around to him swiftly but found she had no real response to that. "Maybe you should," she said bitterly.
"I won't, Laura."
"Well, then don't complain to me when I won't go out with you. I'm telling you that you are free to see whomever you want. If you choose not to, that's your problem." She returned to the laundry.
He came up behind her and pressed his pelvis into her juicy buns. He wrapped his arms around her flat stomach and held her tightly. He moved his lips close to her ear. He whispered softly, "You don't mean that, Pet. You don't want me to go find Jenna."
Laura continued to fold the laundry, pretending to ignore him.
"You don't want me to take off her bra and kiss her breasts. You don't want me to suck on her nipples." He moved his hands up to cup her breasts, and her breath caught in her throat. "You don't want me to bend her over my desk and spank her."
He grinded his hips against her ass for emphasis, and she moaned irrepressibly, "Ohhhhh…"
"You don't want me to press my face into her womanhood and taste her. You don't want her to buck against my face. That's only for you, isn't it, Baby?" He moved his hands down and unbuttoned her jeans. He slipped his right hand down to cup her womanhood. He didn't move. He just held her most intimate area. "You don't want her to ride my big, hard cock. That's your job, isn't it, my pet? You're the only one who gets to bounce up and down on me, aren't you? Do you want her breasts hitting my face or yours?" He pressed his hand against her more firmly but still didn't move.
She whimpered and released the clothes in her hand. She gripped the basket tightly.
"Do you want me to come inside her? Or you?"
"Meeeeeee…" Laura whispered.
"Then give it to me, Pet. Stop resisting, and just let me have you. I love you, Laura."
"I'm not ready, Steve," she sniffled, her eyes tearing up.
He heard her begin to cry, and he moved his hands up to her waist. "I'll wait as long as I have to, Laura. Just tell me to wait for you!" he begged.
"I can't, Steve," she said as she really started to cry. She turned to him and hugged him tightly. "I can't ask you to do that for me."
"Yes, you can, Sweetums," he insisted.
"It could be years, Steve."
"I'll wait as long as I have to. I just need to know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Tell me you'll come to me first when you're ready. Tell me that we can be friends, real friends, while I wait. Tell me it would kill you to see me with someone else. Tell me you still love me."
"I can't, Steve," she cried. "I'm sorry. I just can't."
He held her tighter and started to kiss her neck. "Please, Laura. Please. Please. Please."
She felt tears hit her neck and realized he was crying, too. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Steve."
"OH, GOD! Laura, please, ask me to wait for you. I need you. Please."
"I can't, Steve. I can't trust you. I can't trust anyone," she cried.
"Because I left? Laura, I promise that won't happen again. It won't. It won't."
"That's not it, Steve."
He pulled his face away from her neck and looked at her eyes. "What did he do to you, Sweetums?"
Laura shook her head. "Nothing," she lied. "We just grew apart."
"Laura Winslow, do you think I can't tell when you're lying to me?"
She looked away, knowing he could. She buttoned her jeans again and tried to wiggle out of his embrace. He pulled her closer. "Steve…"
"What did he do, Laura Lee? How did he hurt you?"
"Steve…" she tried to pull away again.
He placed his hand under her chin to maintain eye contact. "Did he cheat on you, Laura?"
"No, and I don't wanna–"
"Did he meet someone else?"
"No."
"What did he do, Laura? Why can't you trust me?"
"HE HIT ME, STEVE," she shouted, frustrated.
Her words knocked all the wind out of Steve. He couldn't believe it. He released her and immediately fainted. He collapsed to the ground, and Laura grabbed the laundry and ran upstairs to put it away. She didn't want to deal with this anymore.