I released Jen from 'Proofing Prison' for this one... please bear that in mind if you find anything that sounds amiss.
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Chapter 5
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In the wee hours of the day, Hanna stood in her bathroom, applying a dab of perfume behind her earlobe as she gave herself the look-over in the large mirror above the sink. Then, she removed the scrunchie and unloosened her messy bun. Now, her long blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulder. Perfect to have Caleb run his hand through it the way he always loved doing it, she thought.
Hanna opened the door of the bathroom and immediately stopped to check out the situation in front of her. While she had been getting ready in the bathroom, Caleb had shifted on the bed, though apparently not woken up. He now lay sprawled out on his side, clutching her pillow in his arms. The idea that he must have missed having her by his side tonight warmed her heart a little bit. She, too, had woken up on the couch feeling lonely and longing for his warmth to soothe her.
His steady breathing prompted her to think that he was fast asleep. She remained rooted to the spot and crossed her arms, enjoying the sight of him as he was finally resting from the physical exertions of the past day. She remembered that he had taken on all the hard work, assuming that she was coming down with a cold or something. At the very moment, Hanna didn't feel sick at all and reasoned that her weakened state the day before had to be symptoms of a general tiredness from the eventful months that lay behind her.
At that very moment, Hanna didn't feel sick at all and reasoned that her weakened state the day before had to be symptoms of a general tiredness from the eventful months that lay behind her.
Caleb was lying with his back turned to her, and in the faint moonlight that kept streaming into the window of their bedroom, Hanna could see his well-defined muscles there. She wondered if he would be down for what she had in mind right now.
Having seen the package of birth control pills had reminded her again that, only a few hours ago, she and Caleb had agreed that they were ready to start a family, ready to try getting pregnant. And she had come to the conclusion that, due to her lack of tiredness at this unusual hour of the day, and thanks to the enticing half-naked sight of him, now would be a great time to begin... trying.
She quietly tiptoed across the carpet and sat down right next to him on the edge of the bed. Her nightgown slid up, billowing around her middle, leaving her long legs exposed. The sudden movement of the mattress hadn't gone unnoticed, and Caleb drowsily spoke to her, "Oh hey, baby," without so much as opening his eyes or making a move to give her more room so she could lie down on her side of the bed.
"Hey," Hanna whispered as she reached out her arm and started stroking away the hair that had fallen down to his forehead, continuing her caresses further down on his arm. His skin had gotten cold due to the fact that he hadn't gotten under the covers in the middle of winter.
The warm touch of her hand finally did the trick and pulled him out of his sleepy state. He wordlessly put his hand behind her neck and drew her head closer in order to place a goodnight kiss on her lips. His hand slid down on her arm and landed on her naked thigh, resting there as he was still tired and started to drift away yet again. In his last conscious thought, Caleb couldn't exactly pinpoint why she didn't just lie down next to him and go to sleep.
She silently put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him until he came lying on his back. Then, seeing that he had even managed to unbuckle his belt, but had yet to unbutton his pants, she made quick work of looping the buttons through their holes in order to free Caleb from his restrictive nightwear. When her hands grazed over his delicate parts, Caleb jerked and sat up; now, he was fully awake.
Hanna suddenly had his full attention. She was sitting by his side, wordlessly gazing down at him and hoping that he would catch on quickly. In all of these years that they had been together, they never failed to read each other's faces and gestures even without speaking.
This was another one of those moments.
He worked himself free of his pants and boxers and lay back down again, knowing their well-attuned routine of silent seduction for the sake of quick satisfaction. He was holding out an arm for her, showing his readiness after the signs she had been giving to him.
With a plan in her head to seduce him, she hadn't even bothered to stay in her underwear when she had stood in the bathroom just minutes before.
In the stillness of the night, Hanna got up from the bed and pulled the only piece of clothing that was covering her body, her negligé, up over her head before letting it fall to the floor and climbing onto the mattress in order to lie down on top of him.
The simple idea of being able to have unprotected sex with him whenever they felt like it had given her hormones a jumpstart and she didn't feel like biding time with foreplay now. And judging by his immediate reaction to having exposed her naked body to him, though slightly obscured in the semi-dark, Hanna knew that Caleb was feeling just the same way.
Sleep could wait. Had to wait.
Any signs of physical weakness on his side had evaporated into thin air; he would never be too tired or too exhausted to resist her sultry temptation.
Between the two of them, there were years of experience and there were great expectations... both sufficing to bring their arousal to an unbearable level if it didn't get tended to immediately.
Neither of them had said another word as they started kissing fiercely while Caleb let his hands roam all over her body, tracing and studying her shape religiously by use of every finger, without omitting a single patch of skin as if he didn't already know it by heart from years of practice. Hanna was hovering above him with her hands entangled in his hair, returning the fervent approaches of his tongue in her mouth by heated attempts to have her teeth gently play catch with it. She could feel his hard erection, pressing into her lower stomach, and her own need was quickly boiling towards the point of no return.
Hanna was hovering above him with her hands entangled in his hair, returning the fervent approaches of his tongue in her mouth by heated attempts to have her teeth gently play catch with it. She could feel his hard erection, pressing into her lower stomach, and her own need was quickly boiling towards the point of no return.
When Caleb's hands simultaneously came to rest on her butt and vigorously pushed her lower body even further down onto himself, Hanna arched her back in reaction to the intense friction, prompting his hands to continue their exploration of her satiny skin on a part of her body that he hadn't had the opportunity to touch yet.
He just as forcefully compassed her breasts, which elicited a loud moan from Hanna. He had intended to pinch her sensitive nubs the way that he knew would drive her insane with ecstasy, but found them to be stiff already. He tilted up his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth before switching to the other one, all the while causing Hanna to let out a series of low wails.
When the feeling of pleasure became a little too intense for her liking, bordering on pain even, Hanna pulled back, searching for a final sign from him that would tell her they were both ready to go. She skidded downward, finding his throbbing penis before girding its tip with her lips in order to suck strongly on it. This time, Caleb's loud groans filled the room; he was already dangerously close and started clenching his fists that had been fondling her blonde mane. Hanna recognized his state of need and sensed that if she didn't stop immediately, they'd have a mess on their sheets instead of a chance for her at getting pregnant.
There was no blood left in Caleb's brain, which had disabled him from forming coherent sentences. His terse utterances of "down… now!" was sufficient to get her to comply with his forwardness. Not that she was minding anyway…
Hanna released him and laid down on her back, spreading her legs lightly; her breathing sounded labored already. Caleb was quick to get up on his knees and soon enough, he was right in front of her, grabbing her by the waist to pull her further to where he needed to have her. His hands traveled down on her legs, seizing her by the knee bends in order to spread her legs further apart.
Now, there was no holding back any longer. He let out a short grunt as he entered her in one swift movement, facilitated by her severe wetness. When he was sheathed all the way up to the hilt, he bent down in order to support his weight on his elbows. Hanna instinctively let her hands wander all across his back, up and down, and up again, kneading his presumably sore muscles. She lay with her eyes squeezed shut, enjoying the quick succession of Caleb's thrusts that were gradually bringing her closer to the edge. It wasn't long before the wave of ecstasy hit her hard and she peaked, causing her to repeatedly utter the only word she was capable of saying, "Yes… yes… yes", again and again until she had lost all of her breath and lay trembling and sweating beneath him. For a second, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find he had slowed down and was watching her with an amused expression on his face. "Well, that was brisk," he huffed into her ear before, little by little, he was starting to increase the pace of his thrusts again.
For a second, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find he had slowed down and was watching her with an amused expression on his face. "Well, that was brisk," he huffed into her ear before, little by little, he was starting to increase the pace of his thrusts again.
"Would you just shut up?" Hanna said, slightly embarrassed. However, just a second later, she grinned up at him with glazed eyes and continued to stroke over the length of his back.
After he had been hovering at the pinnacle to watch her climax, Caleb didn't take long to fall over the edge, too. He came in long spurts, emitting unabashed groans as he buried his head in the crook of her neck with Hanna holding on tight to his shoulders.
Panting heavily, Caleb rolled over to the side and pulled her along with him. They lay entwined and still connected, allowing the sensations deep within their bodies to subside slowly. "I needed that tonight," Hanna's quiet voice broke the silence that had started to encompass them in the afterglow.
In their drive for a quick release, they both hadn't bothered to share any passionate kisses and were now beginning to make good for what they had refrained from, tenfold. Their lips met in lingering kisses, despite their lack of breath.
"You know I wanted to ravish you in that storage unit as soon as I saw our table," Caleb told her eventually, picking up their conversation from where they had abandoned it in order to unwind. "But you really didn't look good today, Han," he added with concern in his voice.
"I'm pretty sure it's nothing. Just a little bit too much stress going on in the last couple of months, I guess." She yawned before murmuring sleepily, "Or maybe it's still the jet lag or something."
She lay with her eyes closed and didn't see that Caleb was frowning at her with disbelief, trying not to read too much into the fact that they had just been on a very relaxing vacation for three long weeks... not to mention that Rosewood and Aruba had been in the very same time zone.
"So your cramps are gone, too, I assume?" He tried gathering more information about her state of health, always the concerned husband.
"They're better," Hanna said before she let out another yawn.
"Alright, that's good... Try to get some sleep." He said and brushed a small kiss against her forehead. "Because you're gonna need the energy in order to help me hoist up that table first thing in the morning."
"Mkay," came her mumbled response as she was almost immediately asleep already. "Night!"
"Good night, baby!"
They shared a final kiss before Caleb pulled out of her and sat up on the bed.
"Baby is good. I think I like this one the best," Hanna murmured drowsily as she turned her back on him. He quickly reached for a tissue from the box of Kleenex that was standing on their night table and cleaned himself. Then, before he had laid back down again, he picked up their blanket, which had fallen down to the floor earlier during their frenzy. He cuddled up close against her warm back, spooning her and placing his free hand on her stomach, hoping its warmth would make the last remnants of pain subside.
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Hanna had only been able to sleep for a short while. After she had woken up again, she could feel Caleb's naked skin pressing against her back, and he was exhaling little blows of warm air directly into her neck. It was the most pleasant position for her to fall right back asleep, and on most days, a sure-fire way, unquestionably.
But today, she just wasn't tired enough and therefore lay awake for a long time, dwelling on her thoughts about the day before. She had met Jordan again, the man who had taken the place by her side after Caleb had run away from her. In a simple twist of fate, they had both found their happy place – it just wasn't with each other… was probably never meant to be. He had been her rebound guy, who just happened to stay around for a little bit longer. But she had never seriously considered having a family with him.
And here she was now, back with Caleb, married and taking the next step… towards being a mother… it was all happening in a matter of months, and she still had trouble wrapping her head around it.
She didn't dare to move a muscle in order to avoid rousing him again, and when she finally managed to fall asleep again, it had been the early hours of morning already.
Once she was dead asleep, she didn't notice Caleb waking up and lying awake next to her for a long time. And she certainly didn't notice when he eventually got up quietly and left the warm cocoon of their bed.
By 8:30am, Hanna awoke to the sounds of music playing outside of their bedroom, time and again interspersed with the shuffling of feet and unfamiliar thuds on their hardwood floor. She looked around in confusion because Caleb hadn't woken her up like he usually did after he had finished his shower and also because she was naked, head-to-toe. She got up and put on her silk dressing gown before leaving their bedroom in order to check out where all of the commotion was coming from.
As soon as she had stepped into their living room, her eyes widened in shock: the usually spacious room looked cluttered as all of her boxes from storage had been brought upstairs and were now standing wherever Caleb had found an empty spot to dump one.
Since their front door was open and her husband nowhere to be seen, Hanna concluded that he had to be downstairs picking up the next box. She figured he had to have gotten up early to unload the rental truck so that he could return the car without being charged for extra time.
Having rounded the obstacle course made up of moving boxes, she eventually found her way to their kitchen unit and turned off the loud music which didn't meet her taste. Then, she started preparing the coffee machine for the first of many caffeine infusions of the day.
Checking the kitchen cabinet for clean mugs brought about the next pleasant surprise as somehow, Caleb had found the time to do their dishes. However, her good mood was about to be shattered when a wave of nausea hit her as soon as the hot water was running through the coffee filter. Hanna had to turn off the machine in order to keep herself from gagging. How odd, she thought when she stood at their opened bay window, catching a whiff of fresh air, before blaming her body's weird reaction to her favorite beverage to a troubled stomach, which as her doctor had told her, could be normal for someone who had been under so much stress like she had been.
From a distance, she could see Caleb walking towards their apartment building, carrying a cardboard tray with two cups and a paper bag with the familiar Brew print on it. When he suddenly switched the paper bag to his other hand, now juggling drinks and food, and pulled out his phone from the back pocket of his pants, she figured he had an incoming phone call. She didn't mean to listen in, but somehow, incoherent parts of his mumbled speech traveled all the way up to her ear while he walked the last yards up to their door.
"Hanna doesn't know," was the first of his mumblings that she could fully understand. It immediately piqued her curiosity, making her think the worst like she always did when she felt she hadn't been let in on a secret. A. and A.D. had turned her into that mistrusting shadow of herself, and she hated the fact that even after all this time that he had been helping her out with the board game, Hanna still found reasons to doubt Caleb's honesty.
Eventually, she heard him speak more clearly when he stopped dead in his tracks right underneath her window, apparently hesitating to enter the building while he was still on the phone. Hanna stepped back from the window, not wanting Caleb to catch a glimpse of her, eavesdropping as she was.
"I don't know how to break it to her. I think this is gonna tear her up after everything she's been through," Caleb spoke into his phone. It didn't help making her feel better about his words. For all she knew, he had just confirmed that whatever the phone call was about, it had to be bad news.
Suddenly, his voice was no longer audible, and she figured he had eventually gotten inside the house anyway. Hanna walked back to the kitchen, stopping at the refrigerator in order to settle for a bottle of water. The feeling of nausea was still lingering in the pit of her stomach, yet it was no longer due to the disturbing smell of coffee. Suspiciousness as to what kind of news Caleb was about to break to her, had taken over control.
A few seconds later, Caleb appeared at the door of their loft and started smiling broadly when he spotted her behind the kitchen island. "Hey, someone's finally up. Good morning!" He kicked the door shut with his heel and walked over to her before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.
Hanna cracked a smile, trying hard to look unsuspecting. "Thank you for carrying up all those boxes. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, you can sit down and relax. I brought you tea and a cream-cheese bagel from the Brew." Caleb placed a steaming cup and the paper bag in front of her, before sipping at his own cup. "And when you've finished your breakfast, you can help me with our table." He busied himself shoving boxes to one side of their living room, creating stacks of boxes in order to make room to move within their already crammed place.
t'Uh, thanks." Hanna sat down on one of the bar stools, watching him as he efficiently worked his way through her stuff. At some point in the past, she had stopped wondering how he always knew what she needed the most, so his idea to bring her tea on this very morning when she hadn't been able to stand the smell of coffee, didn't stir any surprised reactions on her part. She did, however, wonder when he was going to break the bad news to her.
At long last, when all of the boxes had been piled up by the wall, Caleb proceeded pushing the couch, the end tables, their two chairs and a coffee table aside in order to make room for their new dining space. Every so often, he looked up to exchange glances with Hanna, smiling inwardly at the slightly [conspicuous] impression he kept getting from watching her watch him.
"What do you think? Any chance the table will look good here?" He said when he was finished with the task at hand. He crossed the distance between them and positioned himself between her legs while engulfing her in his arms. Having to tilt his head up in order to reach her mouth, he kissed her again, two, three times. "Hmmm," he said before taking a bite off of her bagel. "How are you today? You seemed to be feeling all better early this morning," he grinned at her, prompting Hanna to contemplate how long he was planning to uphold his act without telling her what was actually going on in his mind. But then again, she didn't want to be the one broaching the subject because she didn't want to come across as being too nosy. She quickly decided to play along with him.
"l am feeling better," she answered his question truthfully, "Knowing I won't have to carry any of these boxes upstairs anymore, how can I not? Thanks!" She put the rest of her bagel back into its paper bag and put her arms around Caleb's neck.
"No worries," he shrugged before their mouths met for another series of lingering kisses.
"I saw you did the dishes, too," Hanna noted in between kisses.
"Yeah, I couldn't really sleep for much longer after our little rendezvous in bed," Caleb told her.
Thinking she had been given her cue, Hanna queried, "Why? Had anything important going on in that pretty head of yours that was keeping you awake?"
"Nothing specific... little things, really," Caleb shrugged.
"Like what?" She probed him.
"Like the thought of us trying for a baby, and how little this loft is actually suitable to raise a baby here. Have you ever thought about it?" He pulled back from her and pointed his arm at various directions in their living room. "Like... take that spiral staircase over there. Not baby-proof. Or..." Caleb left his spot right in front of her and strode through the open space he had just created for their dinner table. "That fireplace over here, in the middle of the room? Seriously? Not baby-proof. Or... or..." He walked past the fireplace, stopping by their windows. "Don't even get me started with the settee here. They could easily climb on top of it and fall out of the window." He made a corresponding motion with his hands. "Why don't we just tie them up to their little high chair as soon as they can walk?"
At that, Hanna burst into a laugh and she cocked her head, shaking it vigorously while smiling at his attempts to obscure what was really going on. "Caleb, we have plenty of time to figure that out. Or is it something else that you're suggesting?" She huffed at him, prompting him to look away from their window and back to her. And all he saw was her messy early morning hair and her gaping gown which was more revealing than enveloping.
"I'm suggesting…" he quickly turned on his heel and walked back to her, grabbing her hand as he continued walking towards the door to their hallway. "...that we hoist up that table right now and resume practicing so you can distract me from having all these reservations about raising a kid here."
His reaction left Hanna speechless as he again managed to get away without supplying further information about his unsettling phone conversation, so much so that she even forgot she was still clad in nothing more than her knee-length dressing gown and about to step outside on the curb in it.
Together, they ran down the stairs and got the heavy piece of furniture off of the moving truck. Then, after noticing that it was way too big to fit into the elevator, they started carrying it up the two flights of stairs, stopping on the first floor landing for a moment in order to catch their breaths. Eventually, they made it all the way upstairs and simultaneously dropped their load in the middle of their living room.
"I've been wondering, what happened to our chairs? How are we supposed to sit at the table?" Caleb said, shooting her a questioning look as he stood with his hands at his waist. "Don't tell me we'll have to go shopping for matching chairs..." He added with an exasperated air in his voice.
"Our old chairs? Jordan didn't like them and had a load of bulk waste picked up along with a bunch of other stuff when I moved into his place. We got a set of matching chairs from his grandmother. But I never liked them anyway," Hanna explained indifferently, "I think they were some sort of heirloom belonging to his family since the beginning of the last century."
"Speaking of heirlooms..." Caleb stopped speaking mid-sentence and rounded the table. He found Hanna still gasping for air, looking at him with a glazed expression.
Memories of their happy times in New York had started resurfacing right before her eyes. The table... her safe haven... scratches... having sex on the table... often, but especially when they had made up after they'd had been fighting. Things had always gone out of control quickly when their passion for each other had re-awoken in the aftermath of another heated argument.
That period in their lives seemed like a million years ago now. Ever since they had gotten back together, she couldn't pinpoint when they'd last argued with each other. Things were so different now. Caleb was so much different, now that they were living together in Rosewood and no longer in the confined space of their apartment in New York's East Village which was only the size of a shoe box – not that they had minded in the beginning... He seemed so at ease
She saw him approach her slowly, cat-like, and the expression on his face kicked off a tingle in her belly. Her body seemed to turn around of its own volition, expecting a familiar routine to find its way back to their relationship.
"We'll just have to eat directly off of the table," he said suggestively. "No pun intended." Caleb put his hands on her butt and lifted her up, placing her on the tabletop with slightly dwindling patience. His hands started roaming across her naked thighs, which came into his view when her dressing gown had slid aside, exposing her creamy skin underneath. He bent down in order to nudge her gown open with his head until her cleavage was revealed, too. His mouth touched down on the swell of her breasts before working its way up along her collarbone.
Hanna closed her eyes, convinced now that her expectations were about to be fulfilled. She was barely able to contain herself.
Neither one of them noticed the steps coming closer outside in the hallway. When the shuffling feet had reached the open door of their apartment, a voice suddenly filled the air, and both broke apart in terror.
"Oh come on, guys! You have got to be kidding me! Are you still acting like bunnies, consummating all the time?" said Emily as she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the couple which couldn't be more telling.
Hanna blushed and quickly jumped off the table, holding her dressing gown in place in order to hide her nude front. "Hey, Em," she said as she walked past her friend and over to the door.
Caleb remained rooted to the spot, not daring to turn around and show the even more embarrassing side of himself. "Hey! Just come on in," he said, seemingly on edge.
"At least you could have closed the front door," Emily added with a wink, letting her friends know that she found the situation rather funny. "Seriously, every time I walk in here, you two seem to be all over each other."
"It's always nice to see you, too. How can we help you?" Caleb asked her, smiling broadly at her on purpose as he finally turned around to face her.
"I just stopped by to ask when you two are gonna be moving out. You're gonna buy it, won't you?"
They both looked at her incredulously, before Caleb's expression changed and he shot Emily a warning look. "What do you mean?" Hanna was first to respond. "Buy what?"
"I just drove by your old home and I saw the 'for sale' sign outside on the lawn." Emily strode past the table in order to reach the new position of the couch. "Well, wow. This is nice. Is this a new table?" She put her hand on the tabletop, feeling the surface of the intarsia.
Hanna frowned at her with disbelief, taken aback by this new piece of information she hadn't had any idea of. "Uh, no. It's our old table," she answered anyway, prompting Emily to let go of the woodwork before she awkwardly held it up. Then, she sat down on the couch and leaned back into the cushions.
"What are you talking about? A 'for sale' sign? My mom's selling our house?" Hanna inquired, her voice cracking.
Before Emily could answer her question, Hanna had turned on her heel and left the room.
"What did I say?" She asked innocently, shooting Caleb a skeptical look.
He closed his eyes for a moment. "All the wrong things, Em. All the wrong things," he said before he quickly followed Hanna to their bedroom.
to be continued…
Sorry you had to wait that long for an update. Hope you liked it anyway. Review?
Zip :-)
