1976
Jonathan felt a slight tickle under his chin and woke up in darkness. He shifted slightly, his arm starting to go numb. And then Jennifer started to wake. Her auburn hair touched his jaw again and he chuckled lightly.
She turned her head and looked up at him. He gazed at her through the shadowed room. "Hello again," she murmured hoarsely.
He grinned. "Hello again." Jonathan rolled them both to their sides and started kissing her once more.
This was the third time they'd woken from a doze. They had made love the first time and held each other tightly until their breathing and heartrates had returned to normal. Jonathan had rolled off her, and she followed him to rest against him. They closed their eyes to rest. She woke first, and Jonathan only knew that because he woke to find her touching his thighs. Once she knew he was watching her, she moved her gentle touches to his soft cock which quickly returned to life. She took him in her mouth and gave him a blowjob so incredible that Jonathan had passed out when he came.
The second time, Jennifer had never actually fallen asleep but merely waited for Jonathan to be ready again. When he woke, she was already perched on top of his lap. His hands mapped her hips and waist and breasts, earning sweet sounds of aroused appreciation from her. Once he was ready, she readjusted herself to ride him until they both climaxed powerfully.
And now they had woken up again. It was late into the evening. Sometime in the midst of multiple rounds of incredible sex, the sun had set. Jonathan hadn't looked at the clock, but he was quite certain that they had a long night left to them. Plenty of time to make love to her again. And again.
Lying in bed with naked limbs wrapped around each other, Jonathan could not help but be amazed. It was something out of a dream. He hummed against her lips and murmured, "Are you really real? Are you really here?"
She smiled through their kiss, pulling back to look at him. "I sure hope so. I've waited for this a long time."
Jonathan propped himself up on one elbow. "So was it as good as you imagined?"
Jennifer smirked. "Which time?"
He laughed at that and kissed her again. "Well, you are better than I could have ever dreamed."
"And have you?" she asked.
"Have I what?"
"Dreamed about me?" Jennifer pushed her hair back and added, "I'll admit that I've dreamed about you quite a lot over the years. And especially over the last month."
Jonathan felt a shiver go through him at the idea that she'd dreamed of him. "Oh?" He hoped she'd say more.
"Well, even in school you were always gorgeous. Do you remember, I first saw you on the Brookfield campus trimming hedges with your shirt off."
A memory struck him. "Was that before or after the first football game of the season that year?" he asked.
Jennifer furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "After, I think. Actually yes, it must have been after. My roommate, Midge, was a cheerleader, and we went to Brookfield together that day and that's when she met Buckets Fenstermacher and he flirted with her because she was one of the new cheerleaders on the team and he'd noticed her during the game. Why?"
"Because I don't think I knew which of us saw the other first," he replied.
"We met at Lookout Point that weekend," she recalled.
Jonathan smiled softly. "We met that weekend, yes, but I first saw you the week before, after the first football game. I was with some of my friends, leaving the stadium, and I heard you laugh. I turned to follow that beautiful sound and I saw the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. I think you were with Eva Taylor, laughing about something, and the sun caught your hair and I was just blown away. Love at first sight."
Her expression brightened. "Really?"
"I don't think I realized it right then. But after we met and talked and dated, I knew. Looking back, I fell in love with you that first moment I saw you. And then I got to know you, and you were everything I ever wanted and more."
Jennifer leaned in to kiss him again. It felt a little strange. Not kissing her. That felt incredible. But telling her these things. Being so open and honest after all these years, after a month of being professional and keeping a distance. It felt strange to be so intimate so quickly. Actually, that wasn't true. It didn't feel strange at all. It felt safe and comfortable and so very right. And maybe that was what felt strange. The fact that it didn't actually feel strange at all.
Jonathan pulled out of the kiss again. He wanted to talk to her some more. He wanted to savor that as much as he wanted to make love to her again. But he felt sure he'd get another opportunity for that. A little later. After they talked again.
He stretched his neck and lay back on the pillows, still facing her. She stayed close to him. Jonathan took her hand that rested between them, gently caressing her long, elegant fingers. "Did you ever make the cheerleading squad? I know you weren't as a sophomore but…"
"I tried out every year," she replied. "Never got picked."
"Their loss," he said.
She laughed, "No, I was never coordinated enough. Dancing is very different than all that tumbling they do. And I didn't look very good in the uniform. You remember, I was all legs and not much else. Scrawny, skinny thing."
Jonathan had heard her refer to herself that way at the time, and he'd never liked it. He rolled her onto her back, making her giggle at his sudden move. He kissed her neck and said, "I never thought you were scrawny. You were always beautiful. But you certainly filled out in all the right places." And to show it, he slid his hand up her waist to one of her breasts. More than just the small handful she'd been in high school.
Jennifer's own hands rubbed up over his shoulders and chest. "And so did you," she replied. "God, if I thought you were gorgeous that first day trimming hedges, you can't imagine what it did to me to see you come out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel."
Was it lost to the annals of time or a flaw in his memory? Jonathan didn't remember Jennifer being this bold before. She had her moments of bluntness, but not like this. Maybe she'd shed some of that insecurity over the years and become comfortable to say whatever was in her mind. It took him by surprise, and he loved it. And he loved that she just unabashedly told him how attractive she found him. He wanted to push her a little further. "What did it do to you?" he asked.
"I could hardly think straight all day, and I had a dream about you that night," she answered. There seemed to be no limit to her boldness.
Jonathan gave her breast a gentle squeeze and decided to indulge in the delectable taste of her neck as he said, muffled against her skin, "What did you dream about?"
"You," Jennifer replied. Her voice went a little breathy and she moaned a his teeth grazed the tendons of her neck. "I dreamed about you in that towel, kissing me and pulling me into the bathroom and putting me up on the counter next to the sink and making love to me right there." Another soft moan escaped her.
"Maybe we can make that dream a reality," he growled before taking her earlobe between her teeth.
All of a sudden, Jonathan's stomach growled loudly. Jennifer burst out laughing, and he rolled off her, laughing as well. She sat up and said through her giggles, "I think we'd better figure out some dinner first."
Jonathan glanced at the clock and said, "Bit late for dinner. It's after ten. No wonder I'm hungry."
"As much as I'd like to say I'm all full up from you, I'd like to actually eat something, too," she teased in response.
They both got out of bed. Jonathan got his bathrobe from where it was always hung on the closet door. He was about to offer something to Jennifer, but when he turned around, he saw her doing up a couple buttons on his discarded shirt. It was big enough on her to go well past her hips and cover the most intimate parts of her. Parts of her that he had now been quite intimate with. And seeing her in his shirt and nothing else like that was perhaps the sexiest thing Jonathan had ever seen. When she noticed him looking at her, she smiled.
The two of them wandered down the hall together to the kitchen. It was incredible to Jonathan just how easy it felt. How after fifteen years, they could practically pick up where they left off. This had always been what he'd envisioned for their future, making love and putting together some food for themselves and eating together while talking and laughing or just sitting side by side in comfortable silence. The fact that they had found their way back together after all these years was a miracle. A gift. And Jonathan had no intention of squandering it.
"Max went out, so he probably didn't cook dinner," Jonathan noted, going over to the fridge.
"We can always put together sandwiches or something. Or reheat leftovers?" she suggested.
"I can cook us something. How about an omelet?" he offered after taking quick inventory of what was in the refrigerator.
"That sounds great. What can I do? Chop things? Stir something?" she offered in return.
Jonathan chuckled. "Did you ever manage to learn how to cook?"
Jennifer looked at him sheepishly. "I did try. And I've still got The Joy of Cooking at my apartment in New York. But between school and travel and work and trying to live life, I never really had the opportunity for much practice. I've lived alone ever since my last college dorm when I was about twenty years old, so I didn't really bother cooking. I'm sure Max would be disappointed in me."
"I'm sure he wouldn't be. You've been very busy with your illustrious career. But you know he and I are always happy to help you practice. How about you help me with the omelet now, and in the morning we can do French toast?"
She raised her brow. "Is that an invitation to spend the night?" Her eyes sparkled playfully.
"It is an invitation and a hope," he said earnestly.
Her expression softened. "There's nowhere I'd rather be."
Jonathan hardly knew how to answer that. He just smiled and turned back to the fridge to gather ingredients. Jennifer joined him to assist.
He started work on the egg mixture and sliced some cheddar cheese and diced some red onions. Jennifer was put to work cutting up some sausage. They worked well together in the kitchen, as they used to in the past. And Jonathan knew, too, that they worked well everywhere. In the mechanic's garage, in studying for exams, in calls with international investors, in bed, and in the kitchen. It was even better to get to work alongside her while she was naked except for his shirt.
"Jonathan, the eggs are burning," Jennifer alerted.
He turned his head back to the stove. He'd been too busy looking at the exposed parts of Jennifer's skin and delighting in the view of all her beautiful freckles. But he couldn't be doing that while trying to cook.
In the end, Jonathan managed to salvage the large omelet, which he divided in the pan and scooped onto plates, one for each of them. He got them each a glass of water, and Jennifer took their plates to the table.
They were midway through their late-night meal when a sound came from the living room. Both Jonathan and Jennifer paused eating, trying to listen for what was happening.
Max entered the kitchen. His eyes went wide with shock. "Hiya Miss Edwards," he greeted in surprise.
"Hi, Max," she answered.
He looked to the two of them and eventually landed his attention on Jonathan. "Midnight snack?"
"We never got a chance for dinner," Jonathan explained. That was probably more than Max wanted to hear.
"Looks like you had a better night than me," Max said with a little chuckle.
Jonathan smiled. "Max, I think I've had a better night than any man alive."
Jennifer blushed slightly but smiled. She didn't say anything.
And Max grinned wider than Jonathan had ever seen. "Goodnight, you two," he told them, leaving the kitchen.
Both Jennifer and Jonathan bid Max a good night, though he'd already gone. Jennifer turned to Jonathan. "I'll have to remember to thank him in the morning. He was very encouraging, and I'm just glad I finally was brave enough to actually talk to you."
"So am I. And if Max was the one to help convince you to say something when I obviously couldn't, I owe him a hell of a lot more than a thank you."
Jennifer just chuckled and kissed him across the table.