A/N: I'd like to thank everyone again for the great reviews. I have been finding bits and pieces of time to write here and there and I'd like to thank ya'll for sticking with me and for all the excellent reviews that you leave me. This chapter, especially the second part with Lucas and Peyton is borderline M. Nothing too hardcore like Blissfully, but I'm just warning the youngins. I'm not sure if it's too racy for this section, cause these days it really is hard to tell, but if it is drop me a line and I'll switch the whole Bliss series over to M. It'll just be easier that way.
Thanks again guys!
Rachel Gattina rolled over to squint at her digital clock and cursed under her breath. She picked up her phone without bothering to look at the caller id and muttered a sleepy, "This better be a booty call," into the receiver.
Brooke made a face at her phone on the other line. "Yeah, sorry to disappoint. Why are you in bed?"
"Because it's night time and most normal human beings sleep during this period of time."
"Um, hello have you forgotten you live in the city that never sleeps?"
"Oh trust me I'm painfully aware," Rachel remarked, slyly as outside her window she could hear cars honking, faint music playing, and a general hum that was New York city.
"So how's Mayberry?"
"I need you to come down here," Brooke demanded, peeking out the window at Haley and Nathan who were enjoying alone time in the yard.
"That good huh?"
"I'm serious!"
"Okay can I guess this has to do with a certain hot blonde we know?"
"Geez does everyone know how I feel about Lucas?"
"Well I was talking about Peyton, but do tell," Rachel joked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Rachel!"
"Okay, okay. So what's the deal? Does he have a girlfriend or something?"
"I wish," Brooke sighed, beginning to pace up and down the floor of the guest bedroom at Haley and Nathan's. "He's married…To Peyton and they have two children together and he apparently can't seem to keep it in his pants when he's around her."
"Mmmmm," Rachel hummed, appreciatively, leaning back in her bed, and biting her lip. "I always knew that boy was a sex god."
"Rachel you are not helping! I'm still-I think I'm still in-"
"In love with him," Rachel finished for her. "Yeah. I know."
Brooke stopped pacing and was silent a moment before saying, "Am I really that transparent?"
"Kinda. I mean Chase saw it-I mean not the Lucas part but that you definitely weren't all there."
Once again, shit that could have been brought to her attention before her break up. Brooke shook her head, feeling herself ready to blow up. Hindsight really is fucking 20/20.
"Shit-fuck-sonofamother…."
Rachel held the phone away from her as Brooke let loose a stream of curses that would make a sailor blush.
"Okay, little friend you clearly are having some serious issues because you don't curse like that ever."
Brooke growled her frustration. "Isn't that what I just said? What is the matter with you!"
"Um, keep up that attitude missy and my ass is staying in the city that never sleeps."
"Oh, I'm sorry, okay? Rachel," Brooke whined. "I can't do this alone. I mean you didn't see them together. It's absolutely disgusting."
"Um, well here's something…Why not just come back here?"
"Because Chase is still in that city. New York is a big city but they didn't write that 'It's a Small World' song cause it's catchy. Besides, I apparently need some type of… closure, right? I mean my relationship with Chase bombed because I'm not over Lucas."
"You mean like closure sex?"
"Why does closure always equate to sex with you? Forget it-Everything equates to sex with you," Brooke sighed rolling her eyes. Not that she would mind letting Lucas put those new muscles to use on her.
"Um okay Pot," Rachel threw back, raising an eyebrow she knew Brooke couldn't see.
"Yeah yeah. There can be no closure sex because he's married okay?" Brooke said quite unconvincingly. She didn't like the undertone in her own voice either and to cover that up she brought up one of Rachel's flaws.
"Besides, some of us like our men unattached," Brooke said, referring to Rachel's ongoing relationship with a married Wall Street banker who had been promising to leave his wife for the past six months. Rachel was a smart girl to be sure, but it was a well known fact that when it came to men, she didn't do so well.
"You aren't doing a very good job of trying to get me down there," Rachel deadpanned. Rachel
"Pleeeeaaaaase, new best friend. I can't do this by myself. I need moral support only a fellow jaded New Yorker can give. Oh and Mouth's here, Skillz, and Bevin it'll be like a reunion. Come on I know you've missed this little town as much as I have."
"Well…I do have a whole rack of vacation time saved up….and I am the boss so I can do whatever I want." Rachel sighed. "Okay you twisted my arm."
"Oh good!" Brooke squealed. "When will you be here?"
"I'll leave tomorrow, but I'm driving down there, so don't hold your breath."
"Oh yay." Brooke squealed. "You don't know how much this means to me Rachel. Thank you."
"Not a problem, chica. Well, since I apparently have a long day ahead of me tomorrow so I'm going to get my tired cynical ass to sleep."
"Okay and Rach? Thanks again."
"Yeah…hey! Where are we staying?"
"Oh…um, well I'm staying with Haley and Nathan."
"I'm guessing Hales won't be too keen on letting me stay there too, huh," Rachel commented, dryly.
"Well, Peyton offered to let me stay at her house, so maybe she'll let you stay there. I can ask her tomorrow."
"Oh great so it'll be like staying at a hotel, but apparently I won't have to pay for the porn."
Brooke gagged into the phone. "Ugh, don't make me sick," Brooke sighed, flopping down on her bed. "The way the were looking at each other when they left, they're probably doing it right now."
The thought alone made her want to vomit.
"Did you enjoy yourself Peyt?" Lucas asked while he set the baby monitors down on the nightstand.
Peyton smiled over at her husband and nodded. "Yeah, I did. It's off the hook every year, but this year was particularly…eventful. The kids had fun too."
Lucas paused in pulling off his other shoe and looked up at his wife with a grin. "Did you just say off the hook?" Lucas giggled. "Who's spending too much time with Skillz now?"
"Dude, shut up," Peyton threw a converse sneaker at him. Lucas avoided it deftly and grinned.
"They did wear themselves out this weekend," he said, turning the conversation back to the children.
"We wore them out this weekend, dude," Peyton exclaimed with a satisfied grin.
"And no tantrums or boo-boos in sight," Lucas added with just as much satisfaction. He pulled off his shirt and Peyton couldn't help but marvel at the way the beautifully defined muscles rippled in his back. She cleared her throat and said,
"You should have a mellow Monday Mr. Mommy." She unzipped her jeans and scooted out of them, tossing them on a chair. "We rule,"
They high-fived each other on a parenting weekend well done. Even though the Scotts looked like the ideal family with two angels for children and loving parents with a more than healthy love life, most days were general pandemonium. Anna and William were overall good kids…but they were still kids and it was always a treat when they could go through a day without some type of low scale tragedy involving a lost toy or broken something.
Peyton pulled her top off, smirking because she knew her husband's appreciative eyes were on her. She was about to walk away when Lucas grabbed hold of her waist. "Hey, hey, hey. Where do you think you're going?"
"To shower. I stink." Lucas wiggled his eyebrows at her comically and asked,
"Need help washing your back?" Peyton laughed at his buffoonery and shook her head.
"The kids-"
"Are fast asleep and we can bring the monitor into the bathroom with us," Lucas said, sidling up to her. He toyed with the hem of her panties and looked up into her eyes.
"Besides I seem to remember you making me a promise earlier tonight."
Peyton bit her lip and gasped as his hands slid up her torso and over her breasts.
Breathlessly, "I did promise huh."
"Nothin' crazy. I'm actually kind of worn out myself," Lucas chuckled. "I just… want to be close to you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, making her smile.
"Come here." Peyton grabbed his hand with one of hers and the baby monitor with the other. Smiling she dragged him into the bathroom with her. They shed the rest of their clothing and stepped, giggling into the shower.
They didn't get to spend as much time together as they would like. It wasn't that Lucas couldn't keep his hands off Peyton and vice versa, it was that they wouldn't.
Between their careers and raising two children under the age of four it was no miracle that they kept their physical romance going, but a necessity. Lucas and Peyton could and had gone for weeks without making love simply because there was no time or one wasn't in the mood or the thought of sleep was more seductive than lovemaking.
It was the reality marriage and of having a young family to raise and support, but they had seen too many marriages and relationships crack and crumble under the stress of forces beyond their control and they had nearly lost their own years before marriage ever entered their minds. They may not make love every night, but they kept their physical intimacy by constantly touching or holding hands, a kiss here and there, simply to keep themselves from falling into that void that many married couples had fallen into before them and they had nearly fallen into themselves.
They stepped under the spray, wetting their bodies, and rubbing water into their parched skin. Lucas grabbed the shampoo and lathered up her head and she in turn washed his hair for him, giggling as he stooped down a bit to make the job easier on her arms.
They stepped back under the spray of the water, letting it rinse the shampoo from their heads. Lucas grabbed the soap and began moving his hands slowly over her body, cleaning and reacquainting himself with every curve of her all at the same time. His eyes never leaving hers, he pulled her slippery body towards his and brought his lips to hers, his tongue lunging forward to seek hers. His hands dipped into every crevice, every place that was once only secret to her and now belonged to him as well.
Brooke remained a thought at the front of Peyton's mind. They had finally talked, but Peyton still felt that there were major hurtles ahead. Peyton had so much more she wanted to say to the brunette, but like she'd told her in Haley and Nate's living room, there was too much at stake in the present to dwell in the past.
Even so, Peyton couldn't help but notice that when she was talking to her or to Lucas alone and the other would approach Brooke would find a reason to run off. She knew Brooke wasn't okay with her and Lucas and she knew Brooke wouldn't say anything about it. She didn't know how to feel about that and was unsure of what the days they would eventually spend together would bring.
Opening her eyes, Peyton stared at her husband. None of that mattered now as she stared at Lucas. Taking the soap from him she ordered him to turn around and she began to rub soapy hands into his back. His skin was bronzed, a trait she was jealous of because all she could ever seem to do was burn. She watched him lean an arm against the wall and slick his hair back and once again marveled at the beautiful sinewy muscles that rippled on his back. Nathan had decided three years ago after a PTA meeting that they would never turn into those beer bellied, out of shape husbands, and he and Lucas began working out everyday. And it showed. Lucas had always been the smaller and less muscular of the two, but these days Lucas could give Nathan a run for his money.
She would fight battles for him and she still woke up some mornings to him typing away on his laptop or giggling quietly with Anna over some silly secret they decided to keep from her, or reading the newspaper to William whose serious little eyes looked as though he knew exactly what he was talking about, and think, "How did I, Peyton Elizabeth 'everybody leaves' Sawyer, get so damn lucky?".
"Hey," Peyton said, getting his attention. He turned to her wiping water out of his eyes. "I love you," she declared quietly. "You know that?"
Lucas's lips curved slowly into a smile and he reached an arm out, snaking it around his wife's waist and pulling her to his slick body, reveling in the feel of her soapy skin against his, and they way their bodies fit together like a jig saw puzzle.
He kissed the top of her head, once, twice, and whispered back "I love you too, blondie."
If asked about his heart condition in the presence of his family he'd simply smile at his wife and children and reply "My heart is just fine." It was fine and at this moment it was soaring.
"You have no idea how it makes me feel every time you say that to me the way you do," he husked, feeling his blood begin to burn as her pebble hard nipples slid against his chest.
"If it's anything like the way it makes me feel when you say it, then I have an idea," Peyton replied, listening to the beating of his heart. It was something she loved to do when her head was pressed against his chest. Her greatest fear was loosing him and she'd nearly lost him before to a heart attack. Hearing his heart beat beneath her cheek, healthy and strong calmed her more than anything.
Lucas smoothed a hand through her slicked back hair and kissed her forehead again. Peyton lifted her head from his chest and leaned her head back to look up at him with 'those green eyes' and he leaned down to meet her for another kiss. It began as a gentle caress, their lips just barely grazing one another's and then a tender interlocking of flesh against flesh, hands leisurely traveling over each other's slippery bodies, leaving heat and shivers in their wake. The Eskimo kiss…and then smoldering blue met wide eyed green.
They lunged at each other at the same time, passion grabbing a hold of them tightly not soon to let go. Lucas pressed her up against the wall of the shower, plunging his hungry tongue into her mouth and hers pressed forward to meet it, tangling, dancing.
He felt her shiver and wrapped his arms more tightly around her.
When they had finally made it home with the children still sound asleep, he had found he was exhausted. It had been a fun, but busy weekend and he had spent much of the day worrying about his wife. What she had said to him that morning hurt him.
That she could ever think he would leave her for anyone else and that he'd placed that seed of doubt in her mind, killed him. He hated to be reminded of how badly he'd dealt with Peyton and Brooke their junior year and it all always seemed to come back to that. Him fucking it all up with Peyton and with Brooke.
"Hold me, Luke," Peyton whimpered, even though she was wrapped up tightly in his arms, her leg hooked around his hip, she needed to be closer. She wanted him to take her breath away. He knew that feeling. Sometimes they just couldn't seem to get close enough. Like they needed to be inside each other. Lucas ran a hand up Peyton's leg and grasped her bottom.
He felt badly for Brooke and he understood her need to reconnect with the friends she let go, but part of him selfishly wished that Brooke had stayed away, because her return had rekindled every doubt and every sadness Peyton had felt at that time years and years ago. He never wanted her to feel that way again and she never wanted to feel it, so even though they were both tired they needed this closeness.
The water began to cool down and Lucas reached blindly for the faucet handle. Shutting off the water, they separated only to grab towels and the monitor. Hand in hand they walked back into their bedroom. Lucas set the monitor down on the nightstand, before Peyton stepped back into his arms and they rubbed each other dry. They giggled like children as they furiously rubbed the towels over their heads to dry their hair.
And then a droplet of water fell from Peyton's hair and made a trail that Lucas's gaze followed down to her breasts.
He swooped down and puckered those amazing lips of his, catching the water and suckled on the spot, making Peyton moan. The tip of his tongue backtracked the trail of water on her skin and then settled at her collar bone, leaving a small love bite and then swathing it with his tongue. Moving back down again, he found her nipple, suckling on the tender bud, making Peyton hiss and drop the towel. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he picked her up and gently laid her down on the bed.
"Lucas," Peyton cried, throwing her hands into his damp hair as he moved to the other breast, suckling and licking, and loving it as he had done to the other.
"Oh God, Luke," she murmured, her body beginning to writhe restlessly. His hand traveled down between her legs to touch her and he moaned into her skin, finding her warm, soaking wet, and more than ready for him.
"I want you Peyt," he whispered, his fingers hungry for every inch, every millimeter of flesh. She felt his erection against her thigh and let out a high pitched sigh.
"Lucas, I need you inside of me," she begged, arching her body into his. He shivered and turned his eyes up towards hers which were hooded with desire and want.
There was more to Brooke's presence that worried him. He wasn't a moron. He'd noticed that somehow Brooke managed to avoid being in both he and Peyton's presence at the same time. But he could think about those worries later.
He crawled back up Peyton's body and met her lips for a searing, spine tingling kiss. Right now his wife was begging him to make love to her. And even if the whole world was coming to an end outside he would still happily consent do as his wife asked.
As they began their dance, Lucas cradled her head with his hands whispering words of affection and love to her. Words that were slowly becoming incoherent as he got swept up in the feel of her and the intense ecstasy he felt.
"Why are you so good to me," Peyton sighed. This made Lucas pause his movements and stare down at her, his gaze intensifying as he responded.
"Peyton don't you get yet?" He resumed his movements, slower, but just as forceful.
"Baby….you're everything to me," he whispered, passionately. Peyton's eyes misted over at the conviction of his words. He leaned down and kissed her lips, tenderly,
"You're everything," he said again. "You're my whole world."
It was Peyton's heart's turn to soar.
Reviews are like my reward :)