Thanks for all of your comments, suggestions, PMs, and reviews! I love hearing from you! I hope you enjoy this little piece of fluff.
I know it's going to be one of those nights when I come home to find Chris's truck in the driveway. When I hit the button and watch the garage door slide up, I notice Dov's bike tucked in to the wall by the door leading into our home. I sigh. I had hoped for a quiet evening alone with Gail, but I can't really blame her. Cabin fever has been driving her crazy. I am both grateful and anxious that she goes back to work part time next week, if all goes as well as anticipated at her check up on Monday.
I can hear them as I climb the stairs and open the door into our kitchen. The tantalizing aroma of fresh pizza hits me, making me realize I missed lunch for the third time this week. I need a drink. Fortunately, on nights like this, there is plenty of beer in the fridge, and a variety of hard liquor spread across the kitchen counters. I am thankful that Dov is into micro beer as crack open a Black Creek IPA.
They are arguing loudly over what super power would be best if they could choose one, or which Super Hero they would like to be. I hear Chris say something about Dov being like the Verb guy in the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons.
Chloe chimes in "Don't you mean Fraggle Rock?"
"Wait, wait, are you calling Dov a Muppet?" I hear Gail laughing
Dov starts to protest saying something I don't quite catch, about him being more like Wolverine, when Chloe cuts in. "But they're so adorable, just like you! Don't you think? You don't mind do you?"
"No, I said he was like the verb guy in Schoolhouse Rock." Chris interjects, "You know like the cartoon. Cuz he's always in action!"
"Thank you Chris!" Dov states forcefully, "See Babe, that's better!" I can tell that he's probably pacing.
"If you say so!" Gail is laughing harder.
I'm just about to take my beer and head to my office when Chris strides into the kitchen, nearly running me over.
"Oh, hey Holly!" He smiles almost shyly at me, "I hope you don't mind that I made pizza from scratch."
Pizza from scratch? Mind? He's joking, right? It's been a hellish day and I don't have to cook? I might just kiss him!
"Wow! No, that's great! Thanks Chris!" I smile back at him instead.
"Cool. Well, I'll just get these bad boys out of the oven, and the salad out of the fridge then." He says, wrapping an apron around his waist.
Salad? Did he say salad? I blink at him in pleasant surprise. As the oven opens, I am overcome with the smell of baking bread and garlic, cheese and spices. My stomach growls embarrassingly. Arms wrap around me and soft lips brush the back of my neck in greeting as three slightly lopsided pizzas come out of the oven.
"I might marry Chris right now." I joke.
"If you weren't already taken." Gail bristles slightly even though she knows I'm joking.
"If I weren't already taken!" I agree with a smirk. It's bad, but I love to get her going sometimes.
"Hi." Gail whispers as she nuzzles my ear.
Chris blushes, laughs, and busies himself with cutting the pizza.
"Hi." I turn to kiss her quickly on the forehead, and break free from her arms. "I'm just going to grab a slice and head to my office, if you don't mind."
She blinks blankly at me. "Oh. Ok." She finally smiles, "Well don't wait up for me if you're tired then. Dov and his Queen Dork here are back on a Trivia kick."
"Ok, I'll come in and say good night if you guys are still going when I go to bed." I smile back.
"Well I was kinda hoping we would have the pleasure of your company for dinner, but I guess if you're tired…" Chris is pouting. It's endearing and a little bit odd at the same time.
"Ok." I relent, "But only if we use the dining room table."
"Really?" Chris asks, looking surprised.
"Yeah! Why not?" Gail says happily, "It will be our first dinner party in there. You know, the way it should be, not all stuffy and shit like at my parent's house!" The three of us grin at each other for a minute.
I reach under the kitchen counter and pull out a stack of the blue and green stoneware dishes my friend Amber made for me when I moved into the apartment I bought when I moved back to Toronto. The apartment I moved out of when we moved here. Gail's expression becomes softer for a moment, with that adorable little smile I know she reserves for me.
"Whoa, Holly… These are your good dishes!" she sounds a little bit awestruck.
"And these are your, no, our, good friends. And Chris made us pizza from scratch!" I hand her a stack of indigo cloth napkins and knives and forks in pint glasses from our trip to Niagara, "I think we can serve ourselves in here. So go set the table before I pass out from hunger!" I wink at her.
Dinner is a raucous feast of teasing, and stories, and laughter, reminding me of how it used to be around the cramped kitchen table at Gail's old apartment. Sure, it was kind of like a frat house, but I haven't seen Gail be this happy and animated in a while. After, when the plates are cleared into the dishwasher, and we are all eating ice cream, I excused myself from another game of Mortal Combat and retreat to my own peaceful space.
The house is quiet when I wake up on the couch in my office, The Secret Life of Bees still draped across my chest. I get up and stumble into the dark hallway. I can hear her puttering around the kitchen, cleaning up. Its late, and I expect her to be alone, but she is with Chris. They are talking in low voices when I come around the corner to lean the doorway. I can't make out what they are saying, but they look serious. I am surprised as Gail lets Chris pull her into a bear hug and kisses the top of her head. They stay there for a moment until I step into the room. They turn to face me, Gail still tucked under Chris's arm, her arms still loosely wrapped around him.
"Hey!" She calls softly to me, reaching out a hand to draw me into their circle.
"Hey, is everything ok?" I ask as I join them. With everything that's happened since I met Gail, I can't help but worry.
"Yeah, I mean, we were just talking about how much he misses hanging out with us ever since we got this place." Gail explains, "Tonight was nice." She finishes simply.
I look at Chris, and he nods. I can tell that he's trying not to get all choked up, and I realize I miss him too. We have been so busy with trying to get our lives back on track after Gail came home, and then buying this house, that we haven't seen much of Chris or the rest of Gail's friends lately. Admittedly, Chris is my friend too.
"So, Dov and Chloe are talking about moving in together." Chris says
"Oh yeah?" I smile at him and realize how lonely he must be with Gail having moved out and Dov all wrapped up in Chloe.
"Yeah." He smiles "I might just get a whole place to myself, for once."
"Can you do that?" Gail asks
"Well, yeah, I mean I got to keep my raise in pay grade when I came back from Timmins." He says "And you know, now that I'm not paying child support…"
"How is that going with Denise?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at him
"I donno Holly, she wants me in Christian's life, and I want to be there, I do," He looks at the ground, "But, you know, things are complicated, and I don't even care that he's not really mine, but…"
"We get it Chris." Gail says, starting to sound annoyed.
"No, no you don't." He says looking up at her and then at me. "I want to be his Dad. And I would be a good Dad too! It's so hard growing up when you're a kid and you don't know what to expect! But Denise just uses him as leverage sometimes.." He shrugs and looks back at the floor. "Hey listen, it's late. I should go." He says finally.
"You know Chris, we do have a guest room." I say.
"No, really. I don't want to be in your way." He says.
Gail is shooting me the look of death, but I don't back down. "You won't be." I glare back at her, and she shrugs.
"Are you sure?" I realize he looks a little bit lost.
"Yeah, I am." I say.
"Sure, why not." Gail echoes.
"Cool! Listen, maybe I can take you out for breakfast in the morning!" Chris says with a smile.
"Can we go to that place with the gooey maple crunch filled donuts and thick cut bacon?" Gail says, brightening considerably.
"That's just the place I had in mind!" Chris smiles cheerfully at her.
"Mmmm… Gooey donuts…" Gail muses dreamily.
Gail is sitting up against a mound of pillows at the head of our bed, wrapped in our duvet when I come into our room. I can feel her watching me get ready for bed. Brushing out my hair from the bun it's been in all day, I catch her eye her in the mirror above our bureau and smile. I let my robe drop onto the chair next to our bed. She slides down against me with a sigh as I crawl under the covers. She kisses me, gently removing my glasses, placing them on our bedside table. Her skin feels like liquid silk, her body hovering over mine as she reaches to turn out the light, but stops to look into my eyes. I am suddenly overwhelmed with the thought that I might have lost her just over a month ago. I love her so much it hurts! I reach up pulling her down on top of me, burying my face into her hair, and holding on tight. Our bodies slide together and my heart feels like it might burst.
"Holly? What are you thinking?" Gail murmurs into my neck.
"Just how much I love you, and I never want to be without you." I sigh.
"You sound worried." She says quietly.
I sigh again. "Not really." I lie.
"Yes you are." She sounds more amused than annoyed.
"Ok. Fine. So I'm worried about what happens when you go back to work. Are you happy now?" I know I must sound pathetic, but I can't seem to help myself.
She rolls off my body taking me with her and pulling me close. I run my fingers absently over the lump in her shoulder. She kisses me with a little more urgency now, brushing her tongue softly against my lips.
"Quit trying to distract me!" I scold
"Ok." She smirks, and leans in to kiss me again. This time it shuts me up completely as her hands make their way slowly down my spine. Her fingers play with the top of my tailbone. It's not fair! I feel our breathing synch as our kiss deepens. Damn her and her sneaky ways! She is stroking my spine with one hand and palming my breast with the other. My hips move of their own accord, locking into hers. How am I supposed to think of anything but this? Two can play at this game. I snake my hand between us so my fingertips are resting lightly against the heat emanating from the juncture between her legs. She gasps and spreads her legs slightly, giving me more access.
"Holly…" She breathes out as I cup her gently in the palm of my hand. I realize we haven't really made love since she was in the accident.
"Mmmm…" I breathe into her lips.
"I just, I just love you!" She stutters. Her voice is filled with so much tenderness and longing it slays me completely.
She moves against me and I know how it must feel to have the power of a God. To have her looking at me with those wide, trusting eyes that I just fall in to. She cries out softly as my fingers move deeper into her. She grasps either side of my face, eyes boring so intensely into mine the air its self might catch on fire.
"Only you, Holly! Only you!" She manages to gasp, before kissing me again and igniting my world.