Everyone and anything familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are mine alone. Warnings for a little bedroom fun.
I used to dread the hours between midnight and five AM ... with no light, no distractions, and no relief in sight. And then Stephanie happened. Even when we weren't officially together, I could fill those endless hours just thinking about when I'll see her again, and remembering exactly how she looked, felt beneath me, and tasted on my tongue.
Being married to her, have me looking forward to these quiet hours, even more so now that Olivia's new morning routine involves scooting her precocious little self out of her semi-big girl bed, which Steph had fitted with new bedding featuring pastel-backed forest animals, and ambling into our room accompanied by her four-legged, two-tailed security detail. Our bed then gets real full, real fast.
But for the next hour at least, it's just my wife and myself under our covers. Stephanie's lying half on her side and half on me, her lips placing kisses randomly on my chest as she's using just the tips of her fingernails to trace words I can 'read' via the feel of them … 'I love you' 'Olive' 'Manoso' 'Rangeman' and 'Happy' being among a few of the skin-texts. I've had some memorable moments - good or bad depending on your perspective - throughout my life and career, but hours like these are what are beginning to take up more room in my memory than those I've spent years begging to forget.
I slid the fingers of my left hand through her curls and waited to feel her eyes caress me just as her fingers and lips have been doing.
"Since we have a few minutes before our daughter realizes it's almost morning, I want to get your opinion on something," I informed her.
Dr. Paice, Rangeman's resident 'issue-fixer', one of Steph's many names for him, and I have spoken at length and have come up with an idea on how to personally help Frank as well as ease him back into his daughters' lives.
Steph moved further my way and rested both arms across my rib cage to look up at me, once her chin was set comfortably on the back of her stacked hands. "What's going on?" She asked.
"You know that Winter break is coming up ..."
"Julie getting a week off from school? Yeah. I'm hoping at least some of that time she'll be with us."
"She will be. I've already asked Rachel and Ron's permission. And Dr. Paice and I have discussed the benefits of taking a family vacation."
"You could've skipped the Head-Doc and just asked me if I want to scoop Jules up and take off. To which I'd immediately say 'Where do I sign up? And when do we leave?'" She said, turning playful as a side-seduction to already being sexy.
I can feel the silky skin of her thigh sliding along the length of mine. I became properly distracted, but valiantly willed my body not to be.
"Your presence is required for anyone to go, Babe. No sign-up is needed. Your VIP pass is lifelong and non-refundable."
As I had expected her to pick up on, she knew there must be a reason why I'd turn this into more of a conversation than just casually mentioning over breakfast that we've been cleared to take Julie and leave both Trenton and Miami.
"You know Olive and I will go wherever you do. Add in Julie, and we're there yesterday. So what gives? Why is this trip different than all the others we've taken?"
I smiled down at her from my place on the pillow and I slid my hand down her back, frustrated that the material of her tank top covered the skin I want to be able to run my hands freely along.
"I'm sure if I look long enough," my wife said, clearly reading my mind, "I can find some pj's for Olive that have bells somewhere on them so we can hear her coming with enough warning so I can shimmy into one of your shirts."
"Even better would be for you to locate and buy some strapless nighties for yourself. I'm sure those could keep the two of us entertained for hours, while providing coverage-options should our pint-sized chaperone try to catch us doing anything more than waiting for her to wake up."
The way her leg hooked the outside of mine, led me to believe she appreciates my problem-solving abilities.
"I'll order a dozen tonight. So back to our vacation-discussion ..."
"Do you think your father would agree to leave the Burg and come along with us?"
"I don't know. And I have to admit, I'm trying to figure out how to have a relationship with him, and I think he's trying too, but I'm not sure I'm ready to be trapped out of town with him. And vice versa."
"I know you wouldn't be entirely comfortable with that, which is why I was thinking we could also extend the invitation to include Edna, Valerie, Kloughn, and their girls, plus my parents. Possibly Santos and Tank to help provide security and contain the chaos."
"So my Dad would be away from Mom, surrounded by his daughters and granddaughters, with only a few guys to choose to ignore us for, and your parents there to help him see how devoted ones act and interact with their kids?"
"Got it in one, Babe. How do you think he'll react to the suggestion?"
"I'm guessing he'll silently freak out, mentally run through - and weigh - all the things my mom will pull or say when she finds out about the trip she's not invited on, and then he'll do a rundown of how he himself will be able to get through something entirely out of his comfort zone. This vacation will have to include something more appealing to him than strolling through a monkey park or eating ice cream on a beach in Key West."
"How about a yacht that I'll rent and have sailed down the coast. He enjoys fishing and food. He'll be able to do some deep sea fishing and have a chef willing to make a few of his favorites ... if my mother doesn't fire them minutes after she learns I've hired someone to cook for everyone."
"And you know Olive loves the water and Julie really enjoys boat rides ... I'm guessing the bigger, the better in this case. Plus everyone will have their own 'apartment', so personal space will be available for those of us who'll need it."
"So it's something to consider?" I asked, curling my hands around her upper arms to bring her all the way up to face me.
"It's something to definitely set up. Our girls and I will love it, and Val and Grandma really could use a vacation like that, but aren't able to afford one. This turf war between my mom and I, hasn't made their lives any easier."
"Helen is to blame for making everyone miserable, Steph. Not you. If anything, you've been working overtime trying to make everyone happy."
"It seems unfair that not everyone can be as content as we are. Anyway … if Dad wants to come, I'll be okay with it, but I don't want everyone else's happiness to hinge on him agreeing to join us. Though multiple fishing experiences may just tempt him enough to accept. Mary Alice has been hinting that she wouldn't mind learning how to fish, but Mom was always telling Dad, Val, and Mary Alice, that it isn't something 'young ladies' need to know how to do. Mom didn't appreciate my saying, it is something handy for any lady to know in case she ever finds herself starving to death in the middle of nowhere."
"If he won't teach her, my mother will," I told Steph. "She was so in love with my father after they started dating, any chance she had to spend time with him, she jumped at. Even pretend to enjoy catching fish so he'd call her instead of his fishing buddies."
I got distracted again when my wife grinned at me. "Was in love with your Dad? Those two are as in love now as I bet they were back then."
"They do seem to appreciate each other's company."
I could see her blue eyes sparkle even in the darkness shrouding our bedroom. "Understatement of the century on floor seven," she teased.
"God I love you," I said, curving my hand around the back of her head to bring her close for a kiss.
"Right back atcha, Batman. So the plan is at our New Year's RangeParty, we throw the bait out there and see what Plum/Kloughn/Mazur bites?"
"It'll be a start."
She leaned in close and I felt her legs part across mine. "You know what I feel like starting right now?"
Before I could formulate a response, she sat up and inched her tank top slowly up her torso. The hint of breast was all I needed in order to act. I brushed her hands aside and may have gotten a little sidetracked when I felt her nipples hardening against my knuckles. Keeping our end goal in mind, I peeled her top off and started working her little boxers down her legs. We didn't fling either piece of clothing very far, though I know I'll hear the crinkle of Olivia's mattress and the sound of Gunny and Mo's dog tags when our daughter is awake and begins to move.
I kept Steph's now completely-bare legs around me and turned until she was cushioning my body. I kissed her as she stroked me. We were both breathing heavy when our mouths finally separated and I began skimming my lips along every inch of her skin. I could hear as well as feel that she was ready for me long before I was ready to let up on loving her. My wife is not a one-bite appetizer, she's a completely satisfying twelve-course meal.
When we did end up hearing Olivia begin to wiggle her way out of her bed, Steph and I were so spent ... it took considerable effort to get ourselves dressed and tucked back into our roles as 'Olive's parents' again.
