Yeah, I suck, I left my flash drive in one of the computers at school, and so I have to end up re-writing the last three chapters! So here is the first I actually like it better than the one I had written, it's shorter but I love the cliffhanger at the end. I'll try to get the next two up ASAP!
Chapter 15:
As soon as the pair arrived at the Kelso's, Jackie made a beeline for the kitchen. Kelso was in the den watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television; Eric joined him there, grabbing a beer from the open cooler Kelso had next to him.
"Hey, man," Kelso greeted, "How's it going?"
Eric took a swig of his beer and shrugged, "Good, just glad to be back in the States, ya know?"
Kelso grinned, "Bet you never thought you'd end up having to stay with Jackie, though? That must be brutal, man, living in the same space as Jackie? I mean, really there's no where to escape to either!" He giggled conspiratorially to himself.
Eric glanced oddly at Kelso and said as nonchalantly as possible, "I deal, I guess. She's not as bad as having to check your bed for snakes and scorpions every night."
Kelso grinned wider and instantly lost the allusion of knowing something that Eric didn't,
"That's awesome! I wish you woulda brought me back a snake!"
"Ri-ight," Eric said, taking another drink of beer, "Where are Brooke and the kids?"
"She's feeding the baby and Betsy is still sleeping. I gave her a bunch of Pop Rocks and grape soda last night. Man, she was wired! Wouldn't go to sleep until past midnight. Brooke wasn't too happy about that, she pinched me and said I was going to sleep outside next time. Chicks, man." Kelso shook his head.
"Yep, Chicks…" Eric trailed off, his mind immediately fixating back on Jackie.
"So, uh… do you know that Donna…" Kelso was saying.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, she's getting married. She came to see Jackie the other day, asked her to be her maid of honor."
"Yeah, she came by here too, I guess. She left a note, saying she'd stop back by, wants Brooke and Betsy in the wedding, too." Kelso had a rare moment of seriousness cross his face as he studied Eric's reactions, "So, you… I mean, you don't still love her, do you?"
Eric shook his head without thinking twice, "Nah, man. I did. When I left, I loved her as much as I always had but after, you know… just living, for once, on my own…I realized how much I really did to her that was unfair, I was in love with the illusion I had of her and me. That we were perfect, but perfect couples don't do the things we did to each other."
Kelso nodded, almost sagely, "I know what you mean…That's what I love about Brooke, I don't get too comfortable, the woman has me under her thumb make no mistake. But it's different, ya know? She makes me want to prove that I am good enough for her."
"That was surprisingly lucid, Kelso."
He nodded, "I know, you see what I mean?"
Eric grinned at his oldest friend, "Well, you are married, you must have done something right."
Kelso nodded and shrugged, "Plus, she's seen me naked so that helped her make her decision. Anyway… I guess Jackie will want you to go with her… to the wedding I mean."
There it was again, that sneaking feeling that Kelso was trying to get at something.
"Oh, well, I don't know. We didn't really talk about it, and besides I might not be her roommate that long, you know, I have a job now and all, " Eric lied, they had in fact talked about the possibility of showing up at the wedding together, while they hadn't reached a solid decision Eric had been fairly sure he already knew the answer.
"Yeah, Jackie loves weddings," Kelso continued, looking at Eric in that annoyingly innocent, yet non-innocent manner.
Eric nodded. "So who is playing today?" he asked, hoping to steer Kelso away from this quickly unnerving line of chatter.
In the kitchen Jackie had pulled the thawed turkey out of the refrigerator and was finishing basting it. The counter was littered with other preparations for their Thanksgiving feast.
When she and Brooke had talked about it they had planned on having the traditional feast at around four. They'd watch the parade while the food was baking, have some drinks, and snack on a veggie, cheese, and meat platter Brooke had Kelso pick up the night before.
Jackie never imagined she'd grow up to be so domestic. She scoffed at herself as she pushed the turkey into the oven. She never imagined any of this. And she was secretly glad she didn't, she rather liked being surprised.
She glanced at the clock, 9:32; she figured the turkey would take six hours to cook through. That gave her plenty of time, she had decided against using prepared ingredients, opting instead to dazzle a certain Eric Forman with her cooking abilities. She was planning on baking her own stuffing and making cranberry sauce, biscuits, and mashed potatoes and gravy from scratch. The only thing she bought premade was the pumpkin for the pie.
Just as she turned back to the counter to begin her dough for biscuits, Jackie felt strong arms wrap around her waist. She sighed and leaned back into Eric's comforting embrace.
"Look at you, Suzy Homemaker," Eric whispered against her neck.
Jackie whimpered slightly as he pressed a kiss to the soft flesh below her ear. She pressed back against him and shivered. Her hands went to his arms and squeezed tightly as he continued to place kisses and delicate nibbles along her neck and earlobes.
"I have a sexist confession to make, Jackie. Seeing you wearing an apron and making dinner… it's so sexy… makes me want to pick you up and make love to you right here on the counter," he growled lowly.
Jackie swallow as her mouth went dry, "Well, lucky for you I'm not a feminist then, otherwise I might be offended," she whispered back.
At that Eric's hands slid from around her waist up her ribcage and lightly brushed the undersides of her breasts. Jackie gasped and almost involuntarily shrieked as Eric pressed her forward against the edge of the counter.
She never would have guessed Eric could be so aggressive, but apparently that was just another part of the surprise her life was turning out to have in store for her.
"Mmmmm, Jackie, you taste so good, I don't think I even need Thanksgiving dinner," Eric chuckled in her ear.
He bent her forward slightly and pushed her hair from the back of her neck with one hand, as the other continue to stroke her sides.
Jackie grinned and spun around in his arms, her back to the counter, "Oh, no. Feminist I am not, but I'm not slaving over a hot stove for nothing. But…" she paused and licked her lips as she stared up at Eric from under her lowered lashes, "if you are a good boy and eat all your dinner, maybe I can think of something you can't resist for dessert."
She pressed herself against him, giving him a great view of her cleavage from the top of her dress, the apron hugging that particular part of anatomy closely.
Eric inhaled sharply at her insinuations and dove for her mouth capturing her lips in a sweet, heated kiss. Jackie sighed into his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. She giggled as she felt his arms around her hips and her feet leave the floor as he hoisted her to sit on the counter. She leaned into him as close as she could possibly get. They remained that way for several minutes.
"Eric," she said in a silky voice, "we better stop, we're gonna get caught."
As if on cue a familiar "UH!" broke the spell between the two.
They jumped apart, feeling like teenagers again, caught making out in the basement.
Eric whirled around, a mixture of shock and discomfiture on his face. Jackie stared with wide eyes as she hopped down from the counter and moved as if to hide behind Eric. Kelso and Brooke both stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Kelso's mouth was wide open in a twisted sort of grin and Brooke's face held a look of utter disbelief.
Eric began to turn red, "Kelso, l-l-look I- uh, we were- ummm…"
But Kelso wasn't even listening; his mouth slowly closed and instead broke into a wide grin.
He turned towards his wife and wordlessly held out his hand. Brooke blinked a few times before she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, which she then placed into her husband's waiting hand.