A/N: Hi! This is a translated version of my Finnish story called Jumissa. I'm translating it on my own so I'm sorry for all of the spelling errors. I'm a big supporter of Joella, but it just didn't work for this story. But if you want to read about Joe and the lovely Stella, please check out my story Lovesick. You can find it in my profile. In the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this story. Please remember that Joe is going as Matthew and Susie as Natalie in this story.
By the way, I own just my crazy ideas.
I woke up early next morning. I was happy to notice that I didn't have a headache like I usually had after having too much to drink. Matthew had had gone to his morning run because I was alone in our bed. I got up and checked on Henry. He was still sleeping. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth and blow dried my hair. I put on very light make-up and put my hair up on a high ponytail.
I walked to my walk-in closet and put on white woolen stockings and a yellow mini dress with short sleeves. I looked nice. I walked dowstairs after checking up on Henry, who was still asleep, and started to make muffins. I put on an apron. We had some blueberries so I decided to make blueberry muffins. When the muffins were ready, I set the table and put the coffeemaker on. I took off the apron and put it back to the kitchen cabinet. As I was doing the dishes, I heard the front door open. I continued my work and a while later a sweaty Matthew came to stand behind me and kissed the top of my head.
- Good morning darling, he said.
- Good morning. Go take a shower and then come to breakfast, I smiled and turned around. I kept my hands up so I wouldn't wet my clothes. Matthew kissed me quickly and ran upstairs. I finished the dishes and dried my hands. A while later Matthew returned holding Henry.
- Look who's up, Matthew smiled and I took Henry from him. I heated a bottle I had put ready and sat down to the table to feed him. Matthew was pouring coffee to our mugs.
- He did sleep pretty late, I said. Normally Henry woke up at six and now it was almost eight.
- He woke up at four. I put him back to bed before I went for a run, Matthew said and took a muffin.
- Well that explains it, I smiled. Matthew took a bite and closed his eyes.
- You made my favourites, he smiled and kissed me suddenly.
- I did? Good to know, I smiled. I had had no idea they were his favourites. I had just done them because we had some blueberries.
- These are really good, he said and took another one. Henry had drank all the milk so I lift him up on my shoulder. He burped pretty quickly. I got up and put him down to a play mat. I went back to the table and took a muffin. Matthew had already eaten four.
- You'll feel sick soon if you don't stop, I laughed at him.
- These just are the best muffins I've ever had, he laughed with me. We ate and talked about the previous night's party.
- You can take a nap before we have to go if you want to. You had to wake up so early today, I said to Matthew after we had cleared the table.
- I'm fine. We'll just go to bed little earlier tonight, he winked at me. I just laughed.
- That's just fine by me, I smiled and put my arms around his neck. He put his arms around my waist and pulled my body close to his. I pressed my head against his chest and he put head on mine. We stood there, just hugging, for a long time.
- Tell me something about you, he said suddenly.
- What do you want to know? I asked.
- Anything. Everything, he said. We moved to sit on the couch. Matthew pulled me to sit on his lap. I pressed my head on his chest again. He played with my ponytail.
- There's not much to tell. I didn't really have friends. Well, I had one friend. You met her at the headquarters. I liked to read. I didn't wear any bright colours. I lived in a tiny rented apartment. I couldn't keep a houseplant alive. I had a boyfriend until my last shift at K-Mart, I told him.
- What do you mean 'until your last shift'? he asked.
- I walked to work that day like any other day. Jamie came up to me at the parking lot and told me it was over. And I had to go to work right after that, I said. I felt a few tears drop to my cheeks from my eyes. Matthew took my face into his hands and wiped the tears away with his thumbs.
- From what you've told me, I gather he was a jerk. I want you to know that I am not like that. I won't hurt you. I would never cheat on you. I was raised better than that. And I already care about you so much that I don't even want to think about being with someone else, Matthew said and kissed me gently. I curled my fingers to his hair and pulled away to breath. I turned around on his lap to face him. We pressed our foreheads together and he drew circles to my back with his fingers.
- So what's your favourite book? he asked me.
- P.S. I love you by Cecelia Ahern. It's really good.. It makes me cry everytime. It's about a woman who loses her husband but receives letters from him every month for a year after he's passed away, I told him.
- Sounds good. Maybe we could see if the local book store has it, Matthew smiled.
- That would be nice, I smiled.
- By the way, you look very good in bright colours, Matthew winked. I laughed.
- Thank you, I said.
- You're welcome, he smiled and kissed my cheek.
- So, what about you? Tell me something, I said to Matthew. I turned my head around to check on Henry. He was still watching the toys above his head.
- I loved to play board games with my family. I was kind of a serial dater but I always had a special place in my heart for Stella. But as you know, it didn't work out. It turned out we were much better just as friends. We have known each other for a really long time and she is my best friend. So I think it was natural for us to have feelings for each other, Matthew told me.
- Do you still have feelings for her? I asked.
- Yes, but not romantic ones. They are all saved for you, he smiled and kissed me again. This kiss was sweet.
- Good to know, I smiled.
- We should probably play with Henry. He'll soon think we have abandoned him, Matthew laughed. I nodded and got up from his lap. I walked over to Henry and took him to my arms. Then I walked back to the couch and sat down beside Matthew. He took Henry to his lap and I put my head on his shoulder. Matthew put his arm around me and I tickled Henry's belly. That made him smile.
- He's adorable, isn't he? I smiled and looked at Matthew.
- Yes, he is, Matthew smiled looking at me. He kissed my forehead gently. Henry's eyes started to shut and I felt my own eyes shut a little too. Matthew started to sing a song I didn't recognise.
" In a crowded place, I see just your face
And it looks so familiar
I can't get to you, though I'm trying to
There are just too many barriers
But I only see you, in all that I do
To the rest I am blind
I don't want something new, other than you,
For the rest of my life"
The song had nice words and Matthew's voice was beautiful. He could reach the higher notes perfectly. He sang quietly, so it was almost a whisper but I heard him clearly. I put my hand on his knee and rubbed it. His hand rubbed my side as he continued to sing the song. I felt really happy. It felt like we were a family for real.
A while later I opened my eyes.
- He's asleep. I'm going to take him to his crib, Matthew smiled and got up. I sat on the couch as I waited for him to come back. A few minutes later he returned. He sat down and I climbed on his lap. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged myself to him. His hands went around my waist.
- You voice is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, I whispered to his ear. I felt him smile against my shoulder.
- Thank you, he said.
- Could you sing some more? I asked and lowered my head on his shoulder. He started to sing Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender. I smiled and closed my eyes. I got lost in his voice for a while. When the song ended, I lifted my head and kissed him gently.
- Thank you, I smiled at him as we ended the kiss.
- I'll sing to you anytime you want, he whispered. I pressed my head on his shoulder.
- Do you ever wonder what's going to happen when we can go back? I asked.
- All the time, he said.
- In a way, I don't want to go back to being Susie. I had nothing and now I have everything. And I don't mean the stuff. I mean, I had no family. My parents died when I was in college so I have no one. And now I have you and Henry, I sighed.
- You'll always have me, Matthew whispered to my ear.
- That sounds wonderful but you can't say that for sure. You can feel a whole lot different when you go home to your ordinary life. After all, we are going to different places after this. And it can happen any day, I said. I closed my eyes to keep the tears away. I didn't even want to think about the pain I would feel when I would have to say goodbye. It seemed like my whole life was about saying goodbye to everyone I loved.
- I know how I feel. Let's enjoy this while it lasts, he whispered and kissed my neck.
- What do you think happens to Henry after all this? I don't want to give him away, I whispered. Now the tears were falling to my cheeks.
- I don't know. But he is an orphan. It may be possible to adopt him, he said and lifted my head from his shoulder. He wiped away my tears.
- I really hope it is, I smiled through my tears.
- Darling, don't cry. I don't think we have to go just yet. At least the situation I'm in isn't going to solve in just one night, he said. He hadn't talked about it before.
- Would you like to talk about it? I asked.
- Later. We have plenty of time when we come back from the brunch, he said.
- Oh, the brunch! I totally forgot. I must look like a mess, I said and started to get up from Matthew's lap but he held me down.
- You look beautiful. And we still have a few hours, he smiled. He held my body close and kissed me gently. I pushed my hands under his t-shirt and slid my fingers on his abs. His hands were caressing my back. I felt his tongue enter my mouth and I played with it with my own. I moved my hands away from under his shirt and into his hair. He moaned when I pulled his hair a little and pulled me closer. I felt his hands on my bottom. I smiled against his lips and pulled away a little.
- Sorry. I got a little carried away, I smiled as I rested my forehead on his.
- It's alright darling. It felt very nice, he smiled. I rubbed the nape of his neck with my fingers.
- It's just that I'm not really sure how far you are comfortable to going. This is all new to me too. With Jamie, and I'm sorry to bring this up, it was always about his pleasure. He didn't really take care of me, you know. As long as he got his own release, he was content. And I didn't really complain because I didn't know anything could feel this good. With you, I get all excited when your fingers just brush me, I explained. His fingers gently touched my neck. It felt like there was electric in his touch. I pushed myself closer to him.
- I'll tell you when we have to stop although I really don't want to, he smiled.
- Yes, I remember last night. Maybe we should keep our hands to ourselves, I said and put my hands up in front of him. He laughed and shook his head. His hands slid from my neck to my breasts. I looked at him surprised. His eyes were asking for a permission. I nodded and he caressed my breasts through the fabric of my clothes. I closed my eyes and moaned. It felt really good. I had to put my hands on his shoulders. I felt his lips on my neck. My fingers gripped his shoulders and I was afraid I might hurt him. It felt like I was on fire. I opened my eyes, put my hands on his face and lifted his face to the same level with mine. I kissed him with all the passion I could conjure. I felt him press himself against me harder. It had to stop now or we wouldn't stop. I noticed he had the same thought because he pushed me away from him, kissed my forehead and walked outside to cool off.
I sat there on the purple couch panting. Woah! That had been great even if it hadn't gone any further. I didn't feel like he would have abandoned me. I knew we had to stop and he knew it too. So he stopped. I got up from the couch and walked to look myself from a mirror. My ponytail had gotten really messy so I fixed it. My lips were a little swollen from kissing but they would just have to do. I walked upstairs and made our bed. I put the diaper bag ready for Henry and chose clothes to him. Henry woke up a while later and I dressed him to a turquoise onesie and lime green pants plus turquoise socks. I walked downstairs carrying Henry and the bag and put the bag to the kitchen counter. I fed Henry and checked the clock. It was already a quarter to noon. Where did Matthew go? I dressed a white jacket and a white hat to Henry and put on my own white coat and my white UGGs. I took my back from the kitchen counter and walked outside carrying Henry. I saw Matthew sitting on the stairs ouside our house.
- Honey, aren't you cold? I asked as I sat next to him. I put my hand on his knee.
- A little, he said quietly. He looked at me and I saw tears in his eyes.
- What's wrong? I asked and hugged him to me with one arm. I kept Henry on one side so we wouldn't crush him. Matthew hugged himself tightly to me.
- I failed you, he whispered. His face was really cold.
- No, you didn't. You were great. And you knew when to stop, I said gently.
- But I almost didn't, he said.
- But you did. That's the most important thing, I smiled against his neck.
- It was really hard to stop, he said quietly.
- I know. Please go inside and put a sweater on. You're really cold, I whispered to his ear and kissed his cheek.
- Okay, he said and got up. I got up from the stairs too and talked to Henry while we waited for Matthew. Soon he came out wearing a blue sweater. He took my hand and kissed my forehead. I noticed that he had washed his face. I gave him a quick hug and kissed his cheek.
- We'll talk later, okay? I smiled and he nodded. We walked to the house next to ours and Matthew knocked on the door. Soon Zachary opened the door smiling widely.
- Hey. I'm so glad you made it, he said and kissed my cheek. He shook hands with Matthew and we entered the house. I took off my jacket and Henry's jacket and hat. Matthew left the sweater on when I gave him a stern look. He just smirked at me and took my hand. It was freezing cold.
- It was so nice for you to ask us, I smiled and Zachary led us to their dining room. It was painted brown and olive green. It looked very nice. The dining room table was full of different fruits and pancakes and muffins and juices and everything.
- Wow! This is quite a brunch, Matthew smiled.
- Well, Luke likes to cook, Zachary smiled as Luke entered the room carrying a coffee pot. They had really beatiful china.
- Hey, you're already here! Luke smiled and put the coffee pot to the table. He came to hug me and he hugged Matthew, too. We sat down to the table. Henry was in my arms.
- Do you want me to bring a blanket so you can put him to the floor? Zachary asked.
- That would be nice, I smiled back and he went to get one. He came back with a really beautiful red blanket.
- Here you go, he said as he put the blanket to the floor. He took Henry from me and put him down to the floor.
- Thank you, I smiled. Luke poured us coffee and Zachary served us pancakes. There were even fresh strawberries.
- So, what do you do for a living? Matthew asked them as we were eating. I held his hand under the table. It was warming up.
- I sell houses and Zachary has his own clothing store in downtown. I actually sold you your house, Luke told us.
- Oh, that's right. We did give our agent free hands so we didn't have to get so much involved, Matthew said. I was glad he did all the talking. I would have messed up and given away something about our past.
- I know you're a wizard with computers, Matt. But how about you Natalie? Zachary asked interested.
- I'm just a mom, I smiled.
- Don't say it like it's not a big thing. I think it's the most special thing to be, Zachary smiled at me.
- I know. I'm very proud of Henry, I smiled truthfully. I felt Matthew squeeze my hand. We ate and chatted about the neighbourhood and the town. Zachary and Luke were really nice. We found out that Luke was 26 years old and Zachary was two years younger. They had been together for five years. They had moved here two years ago when Zachary had opened his store. He had hired help so he was able to spend time away from the store if he needed to.
After we had eaten, I took Henry from the blanket and held him close to me. Luke took Matthew to the carage to show him their gym. Zachary took me to their living room and I sat down onto a pink couch. I had asked Zachary to warm a bottle I had with us for Henry and I started to feed him.
- How long have you and Matthew been married? Zachary asked me.
- A little over three years, I smiled.
- For so long? You look like you're still on the honeymoon stage, Zachary said surprised.
- In a way, I think we are. The move here did bring us closer to each other. I'm glad we moved here, I smiled.
- Me too. I've been missing a girlfriend the whole time we've lived here, Zachary smiled. He told me about his friends here and that he had been living in New York for a while before he got together with Luke. NY had been way too busy for him, he said.
- You have to come to my store. I have so many clothes that would be so your style, Zachary smiled at me as I swinged Henry in my arms. He fell asleep fast. I held him close to my body.
- That would be nice. But you have to promise that you won't tell Matthew how many clothes I have. He's already complaining about my shoe collection, I laughed. Matthew had been teasing me about the shoes a few days ago. I loved shoes and I loved having them although I hadn't bought them myself.
- I'll keep the secret if you are willing to try on some clothes so I see how they look? he smiled.
- Hey! That's blackmailing, I laughed.
- I was just kidding, he smiled.
- Well, I can try them on if you want me to. But then I'm waiting for a discount, I smiled.
- Of course girlfriend, Zachary smiled. Luke and Matthew returned a while later. Matthew sat beside me and put his arm around me. I lowered my elbow on his leg so I didn't have to keep all of Henry's weight on my arm. Matthew kissed my forehead. I noticed that Zachary was watching us. I smiled at him. Luke had gone to sit beside Zachary on the other pink couch. We sat there talking for a while. Then it was time for us to go. We agreed to see each other the next day.
When Henry was put to bed that night and we were in bed ready for the night too, I decided to ask Matthew about the earlier discussion.
- Matt, would you like to tell me why you were brought here? I asked gently. Matthew was on his back on the bed and my head was on his chest. His arm was around me and I was drawing circles with my finger to his bare chest.
- Not really but I promised you, didn't I? Well, we were suppposed to go to a concert, Stella and I. I was driving to Stella's place to pick her up. I decided to get some gas on the way so I stopped at a gas station. There was a big limousine in the parking lot. We live in LA so it's not a rare thing. I pumped the gas and went to the shop because Stella had asked me to bring her a coke on my way. So I went inside and saw a man in a suit at the cash register. He was paying for his candy. I walked to the last isle where they keep the sodas and heard someone enter the shop. Then I heard a gun shot and hid behind the shelves. The killer didn't see me but I saw him take the video tape from the security camera with him. When the killer was gone, I called the police. It turned out that the man in the suit was a some kind of a king of a drug ring. So they had to hide me. I'm the witness so I have to be alive, Matthew told me.
- But why were you in handcuffs when they brought you in? I asked.
- I was in denial and I thought I could stay home and be okay. I didn't want to come here. So they forced me to come. It turned out really well. I wouldn't have met you if I would have stayed home, he said and kissed the top of my head.
- Yeah. I'm glad you are here with me, I smiled against his skin.
- Me too, he whispered.
- What about your family? If the killer knows who you are then he'll know who they are too, right? I asked concerned.
- They' ve got protection, he just said. I decided to drop it.
- Okay, I said.
- So, now you know. What about you? Why are you here with me? he asked and his fingers caressed my back.
- As you know, Jamie cheated on me. Well, the woman was one of my colleagues, Nina. After my shift that night, Jamie came to talk to me again on the parking lot. He was really drunk and he whined at me to take him back. As he was whining, Nina came behind me and shot him dead. Nina escaped and Mandy told me later that she had been tracking Nina down for a long time. So I'm basically hiding from her, I told Matthew.
- That must have been horrible. Seeing someone you loved getting shot, Matthew said. I closed my eyes. I felt tears coming and I really didn't want to cry.
- It was really confusing. Of course I was sad and I didn't want him to die but as horrible as it sounds I really wanted to pull that trigger myself when I heard that he had cheated on me the whole time. I mean, not to kill him, just show him the pain he was causing me. I had loved him and cared for him and made him soup when he was sick and waited for him to come to me when he was probably sleeping with Nina. And I held his hand at his grandfather's deathbed and listened to all his lies and just believed them. And I always forgave him if he forgot a date. And then he goes and cheats on me. It just wasn't fair, I cried.
I felt Matthew pull me closer to him and hug me into him. I pushed my face into his neck and just cried. Matthew caressed my back with his fingers and just let me cry all the pain away. It felt really good to be his arms. Soon the tears ran out. I wiped my tears into my sleeve and Matthew kissed my shoulder.
- Thank you, I said. I kissed his neck and just inhaled his smell. He smelled good. Very manly.
- For what? he asked.
- For letting me get that out, I said against his skin. He pulled me closer and kissed me gently.
- That's why I'm here, he smiled and wiped away the last of the tears.
- Yeah right, I just laughed.
- I'll tell you again and again because you don't seem to get it. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to cheat on you. I'm not going to lie to you. I'll take care of you, he whispered and kissed me again.
- I know. I do believe you but it's just hard to actually trust that it's true. I mean, I do trust you but it's hard to get my heart to believe it, I said.
- We can take things slow. We have plenty of time to get to know each other, Matthew smiled.
- Yes, we do. I want to know everything there's to know about you, I said and kissed him right back. He turned on his back and I climbed on him. His hands roamed over my back. Kissing Matthew was phenomenal. He took his time and he was very gentle. I pulled away from the kiss and pressed my face on his shoulder and yawned.
- You just have to ask, I heard him say before I fell asleep.
A/N: Please leave me some love :)