CHAPTER 42

SUNSET AT MONSOON (part 1)

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Mandy woke up when she felt Jason getting up from the bed behind her, and Cerb was already staring at her beside the bed. She was lazily smiling at Cerb and hearing Jason get into the bathroom, then flushing the toilet, then she could hear him brush his teeth. She knew he'd come back to bed and pretend he just woke up with a fresh minty breath, because she did the same an hour ago. She took her phone, it was still early, but she was too excited for the party later that afternoon. She wanted to buy a dress, or a blouse, or an earring, anything new and stylish, to wear at the party. Like all of the other ladies of her group chat. They were all going to the mall for a couple of hours, maybe a bit more, to shop for some pretty stuff and grab something for lunch. Even Emma wanted to join the shopping spree, meaning she'd drag Brad with her to VA Beach many hours earlier than they'd need to. But as Emma pointed out, wearing something new at a party was a necessity.

Camille, on the other hand, had her favorite store ready for her at a mall in DC, but she wanted to arrive at least an hour before the party, too, because she wanted to bring two different options of dresses, and Mandy would help her choose one of them. They got a room in a hotel to stay for the night after the party, even though Mandy and Jason said they could stay at Lisa's, and Camille and Peter could stay at Jason's apartment, or vice-versa, but the outsiders said they would happily enjoy the hotel room, all alone, in many ways. So, better for them.

Mandy usually pretended to still be asleep when Jason pretended he didn't just brush his teeth, but she was too excited. She wasn't much of a party girl type, but since she pretty much knew everyone that would be there, no way it was gonna suck.

Jason petted Cerb and laid behind her on the bed, wrapping his arms on her waist. He saw that she was texting on her phone, and he took a peek at her chat with the girls.

"How are all of these women already up this early on a Sunday?" he mocked, lazily rubbing his boxers and its content against Mandy's ass.

"I don't know Jason, how can you be already up this early?" she laughed, and turned to face him. "I need to answer a few texts" she explained, when he complained. But he made a really cute face, looking needy and sleepy. Irresistible to her.

She sighed, "Ok I'll send audios". So she looked at a very happy but confused Jason and kept one hand on the phone, locking it for recording, and unexpectedly put the other hand inside his boxers, grabbing his semi-hard member and rubbing it. She smiled at his shock while recording the audio to Jessica.

"Hey, Jess! Yes, you can bring a third friend, that's ok. So far only you and Lisa are bringing a third guest, and Camille is only bringing one guest, so the deck will stay in place. All you need to do is send the name of all your guests directly to that contact I shared on the other group chat, the one I told about the party. His name is Andrew, he works there. The australian guy, remember? Oh… and if you don't have your guests' full names that's ok too, just the first name and linking them to your name will be just fine. It won't be a huge party, but they need to avoid [Mandy, come on] sorry I'll explain later". She released the lock and sent the audio, with Jason's angry voice in the background.

He could finally moan. "God that was the longest audio ever", then he moaned again.

"Are you close already?" she put her phone down, continuing to rub him, faster. She didn't think the audio was that long.

"Well, you are rubbing it pretty fast" he joked, moaning again.

"Oh, no" she slowed down until finally stopped.

"Mandy" he complained again, he wouldn't be able to hold until the end of another audio.

"Well, I thought you'd prefer something warmer, but your choice" she teased him, taking off her panties under her Hayes t-shirt.

His eyes widened "Come here", he immediately pulled her closer to him, feeling her wetness with his finger and pushing his erection inside of her. "No hands could compare" he dramatically announced, in a terrible british accent, while her walls welcomed him.

She giggled and entwined her legs around his and moved her hands on his hair, while he lazily fucked her, both of them laying on their sides on the bed.

"Is your dad bald?" she suddenly asked.

"No", he answered confused, then immediately put a hand on his head, alarmed "Why? Are there bald spots?"

She laughed. "No, no bald spots. That's why I asked. I really like your hair. Hope you'll keep it"

He grinned, relieved. "Yes, I noticed. Don't worry, my dad is almost 80 and has a lot of hair. Probably I'll have this hair until that age too", he hoped. But he noticed her blushing, then he realized that she gave away that she was thinking about being with him for a very long term. He liked that, but he pretended not to notice that so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. But he kissed her deeply, and moved faster until they came.

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Mandy glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror, she was looking real nice, actually. She didn't want to look too casual or too chic, and as she discovered with the girls at the mall, they all had the same concern. But eventually she found a dress that she liked, and the girls all decided to wear sandals with low to medium block heels, with some dazzle on them and accessories. All of them, in the end, decided to wear dresses or skirts, even though it was supposed to be a bit chilly that night, but they knew they'd be drinking a lot, so they'd be warmer then. If anything fails, they could dance a lot, too.

She ended up buying not only a dress and shoes, but also a new necklace and lipstick. She let her hair just a bit wavy, because she knew that if she let it wavier, it'd be frizzy in like, ten minutes, with the wind. All the girls of the group pretty much bought a new whole outfit for the party, after they reminded themselves that they were getting older and almost never had parties or gatherings like that to attend, and they deserved. Emma, on the other hand, justified her expensive shoes and accessories on the fact that she was young and had to enjoy her youth, and she had a dress already.

Mandy also bought new lingerie to wear underneath her new dress, because the ones she had there Jason kept ripping them off, and she only had one other cute one, but the bra wouldn't match, so… again, completely understandable.

She knew Jason would wear his navy blazer with khaki pants and a powder blue linen shirt, making him look even more tanned. Of course Mandy and Emma bought that shirt for him to wear, he was going with a white basic one. But he seemed to like it. She was getting ready with Jason, but closed the bathroom door to put on her dress, lipstick and accessories, because she wanted to see the whole outfit and decide if she liked it. Men always kept rushing and saying that everything was looking fine. She wasn't late, but she wasn't ready as soon as she wanted either, because she had to help Camille choose her dress earlier.

Jason glanced at his watch again, he knew people didn't usually arrive at the exact hour that a party began, but he and Mandy wanted to arrive exactly at 4PM to help Mr. Henryson with anything he needed, and they were curious to find out what he wanted to celebrate that afternoon. They decided to get a uber to the place, because even though neither of them wanted to drink much, they couldn't guarantee that. He sighed again, and Cerb sighed too, making him laugh. He was laying beside Jason at the sofa, already fed, and Jason took him outside for his business, even though it was the middle of the afternoon. Jason's friend, Tom, would pick up the dog later and take him to his house until the next day. It wasn't necessary, but Tom was a lonely guy, and he enjoyed Cerb's company, and the dog loved that big backyard, so it was a win-win situation.

"Ok, we're good to go" Mandy quickly got out of the bathroom, walking to Jason without even stopping. He thought she'd show him her dress, stand on a pose or something, but she didn't think much of it and came closer to him, all excited to leave. But he stood up and silently stared at her, next to him. She looked amazing, wearing a blush pink dress, in an ombre style that went a bit darker on the bottom, that was short but still elegant. Her legs were really long, so it was still very sexy. It was flowy with a slight shimmer, and had a short delicate sleeve; it didn't have much of a cleavage on the front, but then Jason made her turn and it had a sexy cleavage on the back, and she was wearing a pinkish and orange crystal necklace that had a pendant on the back, to highlight the cleavage. She was wearing a burnt pink lipstick with a bit of gloss, and her hair was slightly wavy. It looked like she was wearing VA Beach's sunset on herself, and although he'd never seen her wear anything in that muted pink color before, he thought it looked perfect on her.

"You look great" Mandy joyfully told him, while Jason was still looking for a compliment for her. "That shirt fits perfectly on you" she caressed the shirt, and opened a button.

"You look amazing" he muttered, and softly kissed her cheek. He was married for more than a decade, so he knew very well he should never kiss a woman on the lips when she's all ready to leave. Or mess with her hair. Ever.

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"Oh my God", Mandy could only say when she arrived at the party. The décor was amazing, with all the colors of a sunset; and orange, yellow, and pink flowers all around, and some greenery. There was also a bit of american décor all around, with some discreet american flags, and someone actually made it work with the colors of the sunset, using a bit of washed-out colors on the flag. In the corner of the deck, there was a small band of three people playing good music, but not fancy, just like pop, hip hop, soft rock, some australian vibes too. But the musicians certainly looked american. On the other side of the deck, there was a bar with bartenders and waiters walking around, and there was a decorated wooden table where probably there would be food soon. It was all chic but relaxed, just like the restaurant downstairs. And the view was beautiful, on that side a person could only see sand and ocean.

"Well I'm glad you told me to wear pants" Jason joked, because it was really beautiful there. It wasn't too fancy, but definitely not a party to arrive wearing shorts.

"Hi, Miss Ellis. Mr Hayes", Andrew came out of nowhere with an affected australian accent, and he was wearing a white shirt with khaki pants, looking like he came out of a house renovation reality show. He was holding a glass of whiskey on the rocks, and Jason glued to Mandy and got his posture straight, as he always did near Andrew.

"Oh, please, call me Mandy, Andrew. Especially now, that we're all guests" she stated, noticing he was heavily drinking already, because his speech was a little slower than usual. They chatted for a bit, then Mr. Henryson approached the couple to greet them, friendly and dramatically as always. "Oooh there you are! I'm so happy I finally could make this happen!" they all greeted each other joyfully, and Jason and Mandy complimented the décor and asked him how the hell did he manage to pull off that party in just one day, but he dismissed their shock, saying this was a normal day for him. He was very efficient. Andrew disappeared somewhere.

"Well" Mandy asked, curious, "What are you celebrating after all?"

"It's more of a remembrance. I'll tell you all when everyone arrived. Now go, go have drinks, food will start in an instant, please enjoy, enjoy! I'll talk to you later on", Mr. Henryson's guests were arriving, and he wanted to greet them all. In the middle of them was Sonny with an unknown brunette woman, but Mandy recognized her from The Bulkhead once, talking to Sonny, and she tranquilized Jason, she didn't seem to be an escort. They heard his laughter from the other side of the deck, he was greeting Mr. Henryson, who also laughed loudly.

Sonny and the woman, who turned out to be named Isis, came to chat. Mandy and Jason were near the bar, so maybe that's why.

"It's a stripper's name, Mandy" Jason whispered to her, concerned. She continued smiling at him while Sonny and Isis asked for drinks to the bartender. "It's also a dog's name, Jason, so you can't be sure. Just let it go, alright". Jason grunted, but kept quiet.

Soon, one by one, all the team and their guests arrived, and Blackburn came too, looking very fancy and in a mood for a party. Camille and Peter introduced the couple they invited, they were really great people too, and Naima and Ray were getting along very well with the two couples from DC; they all had kids, so it bonded them. They were complaining a lot about the parenting life, but reiterating how much they loved their kids. Camille and Peter also got along great with the rest of the team, except Sonny. Peter didn't care much for him, but Sonny brought a date and although he looked at Camille up and down, he didn't make a move on her. He respected her husband. Peter was a lot taller than him, so maybe that increased Sonny's respect.

The team and their family and friends were all looking great, the ladies were all wearing some sort of sunset or earthy colors, like green. Lisa arrived in a green and turquoise dress with a tall tanned guy from the Navy as an accessory, and Jason gossiped to Mandy that he was an Officer. They heard Sonny grumble next to them "Pfff. Cake eater". Mandy gossiped to Jason "He must have not eaten cake for a year", joking. Jason laughed, because she was probably right, the guy must have almost zero fat in his body. Even Jason thought he was impressive, so he let Mandy go on with the girls to gossip about men and clothes and stuff.

Camille was talking to Naima, Ray and the other couple, and suddenly she came to Mandy and pulled her to the side. Mandy was talking to Emma, Brad and Jason, and Mandy wanted to properly introduce Jason's daughter, but Camille said it was urgent and they'd be 'right back'.

"What's wrong?" Mandy asked, alarmed.

"I swear Peter didn't invite him Mandy. Did you?" Camille pointed at the entrance of the deck, where Paul was greeting Mr. Henryson.

Mandy was surprised, but not alarmed. "No, I didn't. Doesn't he know Mr. Henryson? I think". Mandy thought she mentioned his restaurants to Paul once and he said that they were their favorite places to eat, even though he didn't seem to remember the menu very well, and stated he always went to his restaurant in DC. But still, Mandy wasn't understanding the alarm on Camille's voice.

"What do you mean you don't understand? You went out with him, he wanted more, you didn't. These days he's your boss, Mandy, and he went to your house a few times to deliver some crap, and now he's here in VA Beach where he only knows you?" Camille almost whispered, and Mandy knew she was serious because she rarely swore in english, it was usually in french. She continued, "That's weird. I'm just letting you know, in case he comes talking to you, you should alert Jason about who he is".

Mandy never realized Paul was that weird, she always thought of him as friendly. "Oh, Jason knows him. They met each other during the same trip I met Paul", she casually said.

"What?" Camille was confused. "In the same work trip where you decided you wanted Jason, was Paul? Who the fuck do you guys travel with?", she was still swearing in english, alarming Mandy.

Mandy then realized that it obviously was weird to Camille, because she didn't know that Mandy was in the CIA, and that Jason was a Seal. But in the camp there were people from the navy and reporters like Paul, but hardly they'd hang out with a worker from an NGO like Mandy, in the story she told Camille.

"Well, it was a very famous humanitarian mission, there were a lot of people involved. It even appeared on the news, Paul was there writing an article, and he interviewed a few of the guys from the Navy, Jason was one of them" she quickly explained, because Paul was already walking towards Mandy and Camille.

"Oh hi, Mandy! Camille!" Paul sounded surprised, but Mandy noticed how he searched the party, almost looking for her. She felt uncomfortable.

"Paul! What are you doing here?" Camille greeted him with a kiss, and Mandy did the same, even tough she worked with him. "Peter is right here at the party too, he'd love to see you" Camille quickly tried to take him to the other side, but Paul was already touching Mandy's forearm and starting a conversation. "What a pleasant surprise. I am good friends with the owner, and I donated a lot of money for his late husband's NGO" he explained himself to the ladies, who glanced at each other. "I wanted to talk to him about something today and he ended up mentioning he was having some gathering, so I decided to have some fun".

"Hey, Paul, how are you?" Jason came between Mandy and Paul, and Emma and Brad joined them between Camille and Mandy. Peter appeared next to Camille too and Paul greeted Jason with a nod, and Peter with a loud tap on the back. Mandy decided to introduce Emma and Brad to everyone.

"Emma is Jason's daughter, and Brad is her boyfriend" Mandy remembered to not use the word son-in-law until they weren't still married, it would kill Jason. "He's joining the Navy too", Mandy proudly mentioned, and Camille almost pressed his cheeks saying how adorable he was. Then she began to discuss about artistic things with Emma, and they basically started a parallel conversation. Mandy was left with the three men, and when she didn't know if she'd stay or go, Brock and Jessica arrived next to Jason to greet them.

Jason tried to introduce Paul to Brock, but Brock had no idea who he was, even though Paul seemed to remember him as the 'K9 guy' in the Navy. Peter heard that Brock was a K9 trainer and started a conversation with him, talking about his german shepherd, and Brock was careful to not mention that he was a Seal. But Jason was already thinking that Peter and Camille were worthy of trust by now, and he had no problem telling them he was a Seal, and he told Mandy that, but she thought they should tell them after the party then. Jessica came next to Mandy and the party was starting to get a bit crowded on that area.

"Hi, where are your guests?" Mandy greeted her, and she greeted Jason, then turned to answer Mandy.

"Oh, two of them actually arrived before us, they're my co-workers. They love frogmen, but they are great girls, you don't have to worry about them. Maybe you'll see them hooking up with someone you know. The other one arrived just with us, I met her at The Bulkhead that night when I met Brock, we kept in touch because she said she comes to VA Beach sometimes. She heard there was this party happening and asked if she could come, she said she worked here like one or two years ago. I think you actually know her, because that night she was talking to you guys" Jessica joyfully said to Mandy and Jason, and they quickly glanced at each other, knowing who she was talking about.

"Well, that's just being dumb" Mandy told Jason, with a skeptic face, and he chuckled.

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"God", Mandy said while dramatically resting her forearm at the bar counter, and asked very politely to the bartender for some whiskey on the rocks. But not too many rocks. She was being extra nice because she knew she'd end up friends with him at that party.

A rough hand touched her in the back and she relaxed a bit, she knew who it was.

"Ok but if you're ditching me to come and drink, I have the right to ditch Paul too, right?" Jason joked. Then asked, very politely, for a whiskey, neat, to the bartender.

"I swear I thought this would be a nice party to just relax with friends and family, but the drama never ends" she joked, but looked annoyed.

"I'd say. It feels like I'm back on Command Center and we're thinking about how to avoid the enemy coming from all sides" he chuckled.

Their whiskey was delivered, but she was looking at Jason and covered his glass with her hand. "I have an idea" she said, raising an eyebrow, reminding him that they were accomplices once when charming her neighbors. He raised his eyebrow too, curious.

"I really am a tequila dive bar kinda girl, and nothing relaxes me more than that" she seductively said to him, caressing his chest.

"Tequila it is" Jason agreed, calling back the bartender. They'd get that party started.

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