Possible spoilers for Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6.
This chapter is totally dedicated to Halawen for her continued help with everything, but especially the bedroom section, which she has continued to help with in upcoming chapters too.
Ch. 6 Future Plans and Experiments
(Emma)
"Last night we told Owen's parents about us, and then I stayed at his house. Tonight after having dinner there, we're talking with his parents about what happens next," Clare answers Jay's question, but appears nervous. And then I notice the guys appear to have anger in their faces again.
"Good grief guys, leave them be. Until Clare talks to her mom it's probably best she isn't at home, and they are married, so they can do what they want," I try to reason.
"Thank you Emma. And guys, I understand that you're protective you always have been, and I love you for that, which is why I wanted to tell you guys and asked you to be there when I tell my mom, but I'm 18 years old, and yes maybe I did something that could have been dangerous, but it's something to learn from, and thankfully what came from it is good, and I'm extremely happy being married to Owen," Clare explains, and I'm proud of her for speaking her mind.
"I feel the same about Clare. Not only am I happy we got married, but I have promised to always protect her. I did that from the time I found out we were married. I never want to hurt her and I truly care about her," Owen responds, and I can't help but smile.
"You guys seem perfect together," I gush. And Clare and Owen both smile at me.
"Thanks for understanding Em, and it's been great to see you guys, but we should probably be going back to Owen's for dinner," Clare mentions, and I'm sure part of this has to do with just wanting to get away from the guys being overbearing at this point. "So how does meeting at the Dot after school tomorrow sound, before we head over to talk to my mom?" Clare asks, and the four of us look at each other.
"Fine with me," Lucas comments.
"Works for me," Spinner mentions, and I nod.
"I work at the shop until 4 tomorrow, but I can meet you there after and we can then head over to your house," Jay suggests.
"Ok, cool, I can go to the Dot after school and do my homework and you guys can meet me when you get there," Clare remarks, and we all agree.
Clare and Owen stand up to get ready to leave, and we all hug Clare, and the guys shake, but this time Owen and I hug too, and we all say goodbye. While I'm hugging Clare I whisper, "I want to talk to you tomorrow just the two of us. A sister type of talk, cause Darcy isn't here and I've thought of you like a little sister for years," and Clare nods, "we can talk up here after school."
And then Clare and Owen leave. "I can't believe she's married," Lucas comments, and we all smile and nod.
"She really has grown up," Spinner remarks. He's the one who has known her the longest. "I guess we should probably call Peter," he mentions and grabs his laptop, setting it on the table so we can video chat with him.
(Owen)
We say goodbye to them, and Clare and I head out to my SUV. "Was that how you expected it to go?" I ask as we climb in.
"Ya, they've always been protective, and telling them I got married while drunk, I knew they'd probably go crazy," Clare comments as I start driving.
"Plus, they've only ever really known me as a ravine kid, so trying to prove I'm not that same kid, could take a while. But Emma, seemed pretty supportive," I mention.
"Ya, she has been a pretty good older sister since Darcy's been gone, and has been supportive of me in pretty much anything I do. She does want to talk to me tomorrow alone before we go to my mom's though," she tells me.
"Uh oh, should I be worried?" I ask.
"No, I think it's just girl talk, she is married and expecting a baby after all, and I don't have Darcy or my mom to talk to," Clare comments, and I sigh slightly in relief. "So Adam mentioned his parents would like to talk to us Thursday evening if that works for both of us," Clare comments, "we can have dinner there and then talk to them after."
"Sounds good to me," I smile. "So how did telling Jake go?" I question curiously.
"He was quite surprised, but was supportive. He's the type that cares and loves me, but doesn't worry too much as long as I'm ok and happy. He also promised not to tell anyone including our parents. I told him he could tell Katie if he was talking to her but he had to tell me first if he was going to," she tells me and I nod.
"I'm glad he's cares that you're happy, and that he won't say anything at least," I comment.
"Ya, Jake had always been an only child until our parents got married, so he's pretty good at caring, but has always loved himself the most," she mentions.
"Well, you have many people who care about and love you, which is important," I comment, and then realize I said care and love. Well Clare is my friend, so I guess I do love her like that.
We arrive home and greet my parents and Tris and all sit down for dinner. We all serve ourselves and I pick up my fork, but then I notice that beside me, Clare has her head bowed, her hands folded and I think her eyes closed. I realize that she is saying grace and remember how important her faith has always been to her. I don't know much about her faith, or about God, my family didn't go to church while I was growing up, but I decide to be respectful, and wait until she's done to start eating. My family has already started, and then my dad leans over next to me, "Why aren't you eating Owen?" and I motion toward Clare. Dad nods his head and then Clare raises hers, and she picks up her fork so I start eating also.
"Saying grace Clare?" Tris asks, and Clare nods because her mouth is full.
"We're not really religious people Clare, but you're welcome to say your grace out loud for everyone when you eat here if you'd like," my mom offers, surprising me.
"Thank you, that's very kind," Clare smiles at my mom.
We tell my family about our days while we eat, but it's still a fairly quiet meal. When we finish dessert, my dad decides it's time for us all to move to the living room so we can have our family meeting.
"So first off, Clare have you told your parents about you and Owen being married yet?" my mom asks as she sits next to Tris on the couch while dad sits in his chair and Clare and I sit next to each other on the love seat.
"Not yet Mrs., I mean Danielle, but I told my step-brother, and my brothers today, but we plan to go to my house tomorrow after school to tell my mom and step-dad," Clare tells them, and I see Tris has an odd look on his face.
"I thought you just had you're step-brother Jake as a sibling Clare. But you're mentioning multiple brothers. How many siblings do you have?" Tris questions. Guess he couldn't hold it in.
Clare laughs, and I can't help but smile too. "You're right Tris Jake is my step-brother, but I have a sister Darcy, who lives and works in Africa," she starts, but then notices the faces Tris is making again, "believe me Tris, it's a long story for another time. They are my only actual siblings. But around the time I was 11, before Jake and his dad came back into our lives, Darcy was dealing with some really difficult stuff, and my parents were so focused on her, that I got forgotten at times," Clare explains until my mom interrupts.
"Oh that's awful Clare, I'm sorry you're parents were too busy for you," mom comments.
"Thanks Danielle, but I understood even though they tried to keep me out of the situation that Darcy needed more help at the time, and it was because of this that I ended up with my older brothers. You see Darcy's former boyfriend Spinner, Spinner's best friend Jay, Spinner's girlfriend at the time Jane, and Darcy's boyfriend at the time Peter all began looking out for me. From the time Spinner and I met he thought of me as a little sister, and I thought of him as my older brother. Spinner and Jane didn't last but her older brother Lucas started looking out for me too, and that's how the four of them became my older brothers. And I've called them that ever since. Plus Spinner and Jay's wives became older sisters too. They had been friends of Darcy's, but after she left for Africa later that year they became my surrogate older sisters," Clare tells them, and it appears it makes more sense to them all now.
"Some of those names sound familiar, would I know any of these people?" dad asks, and I laugh.
"Peter and Spinner both worked and eventually managed the Dot, and Peter owns Above the Dot and worked at the Dot with Fitz for a while. And you probably know Jay and Lucas's names because I hung out with them in the ravine for a while. Although they both stopped going there before I did," I tell my parents.
"Spinner's wife Emma is Mr. Simpson's step-daughter," Clare explains to my parents.
"Well I'm glad you have older siblings who look out for you," mom remarks, "given what I've heard about your parents so far."
"Ya I have a feeling tomorrow isn't going to end well, which is why Owen, and Spinner, Lucas, Jay and Emma are coming as moral and possibly physical support, when I talk to my mom tomorrow," Clare comments with a slight nervousness to her voice.
"I'm glad they'll be going with you, but that brings me to the next part of this conversation. Have either of you thought of what you might do if your mom doesn't take the news well? Not that I would ever want her to kick you out Clare, but given what I've heard, and the fact you two are married, I'd just like to know what you thought," mom remarks, and I start thinking about it.
I look at Clare, "Um, actually we haven't really talked about the future yet, we were more just focussing on the present, figuring out what happened and adjusting to this new situation, no that's not the right word. Relationship is I guess the best way to describe it. And focussing on telling people important to us before we did anything else," I explain to my parents.
"We agree that all of that is important of course son, but now there are just Clare's parents to tell. Have you talked at all about your plans for once you graduate Clare?" dad asks.
I listen closely wondering about her plans. "We haven't talked together, but I applied to schools in the fall and winter before any of this happened," Clare tells my parents.
"What would you like to do Clare? I mean what were your hopes and plans before you and Owen got married," mom comments when she notices Clare look up at me after the first question.
"Well my dream had always been to go to Columbia University for journalism," Clare tells us all, and my heart sinks a little, "but given that I have an ex-boyfriend in New York, and the fact that although it is in remission now, I did have cancer and go through chemo last summer, I thought I'd like to stay closer to my friends, and my older brothers. So when I applied to Columbia I also applied to York, Ottawa, Western and Trent for journalism also," she announces and now my happiness is coming back and I smile.
"Oh my, we didn't realize you had cancer Clare, I had cancer when I was quite young also, but I have been in remission for many years now. What type of cancer did you have?" mom asks. I had forgotten she told me a number of years ago about her cancer.
"Rabdomyosarcoma," Clare tells her, and I can tell she's thinking about last summer again. "I got early acceptance to York University and the University of Western already, and I should be hearing from the others in the next few weeks, hopefully with good news," she comments. And I realize how close York is to TU.
"If you got accepted to Columbia still, would you take it? After all, it was your dream, and it's an Ivy League school," I ask Clare, because I want to know for sure and I don't want to hold her back from her dreams.
"Owen, it was my dream. But an Ivy League school isn't everything. I know I can get a great education at any of the schools I applied to, and between Eli, Asher and everything with my cancer I don't want to go to New York anymore, unless it was just a vacation. Besides, I have my mom, when she cares, I have my older brothers, I have my two best friends and now I also have you here Owen, I don't plan on going too far," Clare tells me and then leans over and kisses me on the lips, and I can feel her smiling. I reach my arm around her lower back and deepen the kiss and there's a happiness there, but I don't have a chance to feel it stronger because Tris starts whistling and my dad clears his throat. I see my mom smiling when I pull away and look back at my parents.
Dad gives Clare and I a moment before he begins talking again. "So, I assume you want to live together now that you intend to stay married," he questions and Clare and I look at each other, hesitate for just a second and then both nod. So far we've really only shared a bedroom, between the hotel room and my room, we haven't really shared much else, but given we are married, living together would be logical. "It sounds as if Clare's mother won't approve of that in her house even though you're married, and Clare no longer has contact with her father, so those are both out. Your mother and I have discussed this with each other, and we feel that you both need to be looking for jobs. Owen to start right away, and Clare for the summer. And that dependant on what happens school wise, that you both getting a small apartment might be the best solution. We'd be ok with the two of you staying here for a short time while everything is sorted out, but you just can't stay here forever. Plus with you both going to school in the fall you'll probably want a place close to campus, as Owen won't be able to stay in student housing and neither of you will be going to the same school.
"I assume, you have money to go to school Clare?" mom asks, and it surprises me just how blunt she was.
Clare doesn't seem to mind though, answering, "yes, I have been saving for school since I was young, and my grandparents set aside money for me also."
"So if we're assuming Clare won't be living with her mom any longer, we believe it's best if you both look for jobs so you can help pay for your apartment, as the two of you set this whole thing in motion. Once Clare knows where she plans to go to school, we'll figure out apartments and living arrangements then. We won't ask you to pay rent while you stay here, but we both work so we need you both to be contributing with chores and helping out around the house. This includes taking and picking Tris up at school Owen," mom explains, and I nod.
"Are you saying I can stay here?" Clare asks in nearly a whisper, and I put my arm around her shoulders.
"Yes sweetie we are," mom smiles, and I see tears forming in Clare's eyes while I hold her and she leans on me more.
"Thank you both so much. I know if the roles were reversed my parents would certainly not have been this understanding. I'm sure tomorrow my mom won't be anyway," Clare comments, and I hold her a little tighter.
"We always try to support our boys in whatever situation they get into the best we can. Although sometimes they have to learn from their mistakes, but this doesn't just affect Owen this time, it affects us all, and it also affects you, so we've tried to find a solution that works best for everybody," dad tells Clare with an understanding smile.
"Alright, well, you kids have a nice night and don't be up too late. We're gonna head up to bed now," mom comments. "Will you be home for dinner tomorrow night?" she asks, and I look at Clare.
"I don't know how long we'll be at my mom's house," she says, and I find it funny she's already referring to it as her mom's and not her house. "And we'll probably just got out afterward so I don't think so tomorrow, and Audra and Omar Torres would like to have so over on Thursday night, so we'll be back for dinner Friday night, if that's okay with you both," Clare cautiously comments as if she fears we'll get in trouble for not being home for dinner.
"It's no problem Clare, I just wondered how many would be here for dinner. You and Owen are adults, and Owen and Tristan know they can mostly come and go, although we like knowing if they'll be out super late. You know if you're going to be living here maybe we should have a key made for you," mom suggests.
"I can do it tomorrow after I drop them off," I tell my mom.
"That's sounds like a good idea," dad says. "Night kids, we'll probably see you in the morning before work," he says and then he and mom head for the stairs as the three of us call goodnight.
"I'm gonna go watch West Drive in the den. I can't believe you guys get your own apartment, and mom and dad are ok with it," Tris comments.
"But we have to pay for a lot of it, and besides if I move out then you have more room for your clothes and musical posters," I remind my brother, although I hate the thought of losing my room, but at least that won't be for a little while yet.
"That's true!" Tris jumps up with excitement and then dashes up to his own room instead of the den, but I don't even worry about it.
"So, welcome to the family, my beautiful wife. What would you like to do right now?" I ask, and I get Clare laughing in my arms.
She shifts slightly and looks up at me. "We could watch a movie and cuddle in your bed," she suggests with a smirk.
"Sounds good to me," I grin and hug her. I stand and pull her up with me, and then decide to be a romantic husband tonight and pick up her. She squeals slightly and grabs on to my arm, putting her arm around my neck.
"What are you doing?" she squeals as I climb the stairs.
"I'm carrying my wife to our room," I joke, but it is actually true. We get up to my room and I lay Clare down on my bed and then sit down next to her. I lean down and kiss her quickly seeing her with a sweet smile when I pull away. She sits up and then moves off the bed going to her duffle bag grabbing her pyjamas. She's about to walk out toward the bathroom when I stop her.
"You know you can change in here," I comment and she stops but waits a moment before turning around. But when she does I can see she's wringing her pyjamas in her hands and she's biting her lip, a sure sign that she's nervous. "You're a beautiful girl Clare. Even before we were friends I thought you were beautiful. To be honest, after what I did to Adam, and the fact I was a ravine kid and how smart and beautiful you were, I never thought I was good enough for you. But here we are, not only friends but we are married now too, and I'd just like to see my wife," I tell her and see she's still biting her lip, but now she's blushing too.
"You really mean it?" she asks shyly.
"Of course Clare, it's the truth. I promise I won't touch you if you don't want me too, we'll just change, but I would like to watch you. You can watch me too," I tell her. "We won't do anything else besides cuddle to watch the movie if you want," I mention, and hope she doesn't think I'm pressuring her.
I see her thinking about it for a minute, still biting her lip and I'm afraid she's going to turn me down, and then she lets her lip go. "Will you close and lock the door?" she asks, and it takes me a moment to understand what she's getting at realizing my bedroom door is open.
I don't answer, I just walk over, closing and locking my door, and then close the curtain on my window also and I see Clare watch me the whole time, smiling slightly when I'm in front of her again. She takes a step back, but I don't move toward her, instead I sit on the end of my bed.
Clare stands nervously for a moment. "It's only us Clare, no one can see you but me," I assure her, and then see she reaches for the top button on her shirt. As she undoes it, she begins biting her lip again. I know she's nervous, but I decide to stay silent so I don't make her more nervous. Her head stays down toward the floor, but she continues to slowly unbutton her top. As she gets to the final button and I can see the center of her red bra, I stand and move toward her. I put my finger under her chin and lift her head so she can see my eyes. I let go and take a step back as I promised not to touch her, and I let her take off her shirt, and look down at her as she reaches around and unzips her skirt and it slides to the floor.
She seems alright with me still looking at her, but now that she's just in a red lace bra and panties set, looking gorgeous, she's getting nervous again. "It's just you and me, and I think you're beautiful Clare, you have no reason to be nervous. Please let me see, I won't touch you or do anything you don't want me to," I remind her of the truth.
She takes a minute standing in front of me, but I just look over her beauty the whole time. She then reaches back unhooking her bra. It loosens, before she lets the straps slide down her arms and it falls to the floor, and I take in the true beauty that is Clare, and smile.
"You're staring," she whispers.
"Because I've never seen anything more gorgeous. You are perfect Clare," I tell her, and although I don't want her too, I step back so she can get in her pyjamas.
She looks down again, "thank you," she says quietly, acknowledging my compliment. I smile at her even though she's still watching the ground.
When she's finished getting in her pyjamas I realize I haven't changed yet. "Clare, was that enough for you tonight? I mean, should I change in the bathroom, or do you want me to change in here?" I ask her. I hope that by giving Clare the power to decide, she'll feel more comfortable with me.
She's silent for a moment and then quietly tells me, "you can change in here," and I smile at just how adorable she is. I grab pyjama bottoms and clean boxers out of my dresser, setting them on the bed.
"I don't want to pressure you, but if you want to, you can help me change," I offer. Clare pauses a moment and looks right up at me, almost like she's surprised by this offer. She waits a moment and then instead of answering she walks toward me, and stands right in front of me, although she's biting her lip again. I step out of my shoes and socks and move them to the side.
Its seems like Clare's not sure what to do, so I reach out and take her hands bringing them to the hem of my shirt and then I let go and lift my arms so she knows to just pull it off. Which she does and drops it on the floor and stands looking at my chest, and I smirk as she stares slightly. "Clare?" I question, and knock her out of her moment. She looks up at my face with a small smile.
I reach for her hand again, and move it toward my belt. "We can stop if you want," I comment when she pauses on my belt. She moves from looking at my face to looking at my belt, and then slowly begins to unfasten it, pulling it from the loops. She looks up and meets my eyes and bites her lip for a moment and then lets it go and goes for the button on my jeans. She undoes it and pulls at the zipper, and my jeans slide down, and then she stops.
"Um I uh," Clare starts stumbling over her words. I look down and see I have the start of a tent in my boxers. I lift Clare's chin with my finger again and look right in her eyes, silently asking if she's comfortable with this, and get a slight nod, so I take her hands one more time and together we pull down my boxers so that they can fall on their own when Clare and I let go, but I continue holding her hands.
I see Clare looking down once my boxers are off, so I decide to experiment. I think Clare will tell me if something bothers her, but even if she doesn't, I know Clare enough to tell certain signs when she's nervous or concerned, so while still holding both of Clare's hands I walk backward to the edge of my bed while Clare slowly follows. I sit down and then move myself back on the bed and pull Clare until she's kneeling on the bed. Once we are there I decide to try something and let go of one of Clare's hands, but I pull the other and wrap it around the top of my erection slowly.
"Ooh," Clare sounds out when it's there. I smile because she's cute, but now that her warm hand is on me it feels really good. I guide her hand on me slowly, and watch her as she watches our hands. I slowly speed up because I need this. I can feel it the pit of my stomach, and just before I know I will release I move her hand off of me, as I capture her lips with mine and kiss her with more passion than we have ever kissed before and finish myself off a moment later, but continue kissing Clare.
We kiss a little longer having deepened the kiss slightly and then I pull away because my hand along with my lower stomach is now quite sticky. I see Clare looking at me when I pull away and she seems almost a little curious now.
I break the silence that has come over the room by telling her, "I'm gonna go wash up a bit." I see her nod, and then stand and grab my boxers and pyjama bottoms off my bed with my clean hand and walk into the bathroom. When I come back to the room Clare is laying in the bed leaning against the pillows and headboard and holding the converter.
I walk over to my dvd collection and look for a moment, "what would you like to watch?" I ask her, and she climbs out of the bed and comes to look at what movies I have. She chooses Fast Five, which surprises me because I wouldn't have seen Clare for a car movie fan. I put in the movie and then we climb back in bed. "I'm surprised you chose a car movie," I comment.
"It's not really the racing or the cars I like about this movie, but the romance and family aspect that I like the most about it," Clare tells me as I fast forward through the commercials
"Romance?" I question, as I usually just watch for the awesome cars, explosions, the heist and chase scenes, plus all the cute girls.
"Ya, especially with Brian and Mia, they really are the heart of this franchise, but also with Dom and Elena after he lost Letty," Clare informs me, and I realize that with Clare's perspective I may look at some of my movies in a completely different way after this. "I'm not usually a car movie fan, but I love this franchise, and this one is by far my favourite, plus the family and faith, especially at the end of the sixth movie, is even more of a reason to love these movies," Clare tells me.
I smile, and put my arm around her shoulders. I don't reply, but I do realize as the movie begins that I'm watching for these types of things more now. I move down under the covers a little, and with my arm around Clare, I feel her nuzzling into me, as we watch the rest of the movie.