Intimacy
"Now Joe I hope you are not on that plain chicken and salad diet tonight, I got a whole lot of food here that needs eating" Marla said in one of her more serious tones. Joe smiled at her " No Ma'am I came to eat" he said rubbing his hands together. He was sat with Cassie on his left and Paul and Marla across from them. Paul placed a beer in front of Joe and he smiled at him gratefully. " Looks like I might be getting a car service home then if we are drinking" he said. Paul agreed " Why not , its not often we see each other outside of work, let's enjoy ourselves". All of them seemed so chilled out and relaxed , it made him almost wish for a vacation of his own. He snuck a look at Cassie " So how was the break then , y'all are making me want to get on the first plane out of here" . She smiled fondly " Oh just amazing, swimming , relaxing , eating and switching off. It's was just what I needed to unwind". Paul snorted " Yes you did unwind after three days of being uptight we finally persuaded her to relax. Marla made her surrender her phone and live in the moment ". That explained why he hadn't heard much from her. It sounded like she was in wind down mode. Cassie was looking a little contrite " Yeah I think before I left I was a little ...um...distracted. Anyway enough about me , how has work been?". Paul groaned loudly "Can we at least have dinner before we start getting all the gory details". Joe paused as Marla placed an amazing smelling casserole in front of him. "Smells great . You have not missed much. Me and Drew at Survivor Series is the angle". " Ouch" Paul said with a raised eyebrow " Yeah , I know. Not going to be a fun night for me.". Joe shrugged Cassie looked alarmed " Why? Is he going to hurt you ? That's not right" she sounded downright annoyed and Joe couldn't help but smile at her reaction. " Thank God she wasn't here for the Brock matches" he said to Paul with a glint in his eye. They all laughed. "No its not that , it's just if you get injured , no more bonuses for me and how else would I be able to buy another one of these ?". She waved her hand in the air and Joe noticed the watch. He took her wrist in his hand to examine it , while enjoying the feel of his skin on hers. He whistled " Someone got the bling. Very nice. So you ain't worried about me getting hurt then in a match , you just want to make sure the money keeps rolling in huh. And I thought we were friends". He pretended to hold his heart in mock hurt and everyone at the table laughed. Cassie snatched her hand back and nudged his shoulder playfully.
Joe sat back with both hands on his belly " Marla , that was so good. Thank you". " Not at all Joe , Paul why don't you help me with these dishes and dessert. I hope you like Apple Pie". Joe let out a breath "I can manage that , still got some room left". When they left the room Joe stood and topped up their glasses with wine before popping open another beer for himself. " Thank You" Cassie said as he sat back down. "Sure, Is Aubrey watching TV ?". Cassie nodded , he noticed she was chewing on her lip . " Out with it, I know you want to say something ". She looked at him " I wanted to apologise to you for how I treated you before I left , truth is I um was in a bit of a tailspin with everything that was happening and I took that out on you". Joe didn't say anything just let her talk "I don't know what's going on with us but what I do know is that I missed you and am glad you are here tonight for dinner". Joe looked at her in the eyes " I am glad to be here with you too. And there is a lot we need to discuss but let's enjoy tonight first". Cassie nodded in agreement just as her aunt walked back in " Now who wants pie?". Aubrey came running into the room " Me , I want pie" she shouted good naturedly.
After dinner and after much begging from Aubrey they agreed to play a board game. Joe spent a bit of time setting up the game it was mousetrap , her favourite and they all played along. Marla and Paul from the couch while Aubrey ,Joe and Cassie sat on the floor around the table. Being so tall didn't make it so comfortable for Joe , but he made the exception for Aubrey who was growing fonder of Joe by the second, by the end of the game she was sitting on his lap as she grew more and more tired. She gave a loud yawn" I think its someone's bed time " Joe observed looking at the little girl who was rubbing her eyes. Cassie stood " It sure is , come on honey. Let's get you to bed". Joe stood too , unsure if he should take his leave. Paul stopped him " Stay , sit. No need to rush off ." Marla on the other hand called it a night, kissing her husband and following Cassie and Aubrey upstairs. Joe groaned as he stood " Damn I'm getting too old for sitting on the floor". He sat next to Paul on the couch . They spent a bit of time talking about work and Vince and some ideas and soon Paul began to yawn " You go on up Paul, I'm going to call a car service and head home. Go on , you look tired". The older man smiled , the effects of the wine on him clear now. He hugged Joe and took off . When he did , Joe knelt on the floor and began to clean up the board game . He was putting the last of the cards in when Cassie reappeared . " Oh hey where is Paul?". Joe finished putting the board in " He went to bed , was a little tired after all that wine.". Cassie walked to the table and picked up her own glass before sitting on the chair. She looked at him "Want to keep me company while I finish this?".
They sat together on the couch , Joe nursing the end of his beer. None of them spoke, each unsure of what to say. " So you missed me huh?" he went with , smirking at her. She rolled her eyes " And you went crazy without me huh?". He took a sip of his beer . His eyes turned to hers again. This time he didn't look away, neither did she. It happened in slow motion, or at least it felt that way. He made the first move, he knew that, leaning his head in towards her, all the while his heart beating wildly. He registered the recognition on her face as she realised what he was about to do , he needed her to want it to . And when she leaned on to meet him, he knew she wanted it too. His hand automatically reached for her face before their lips touched. He brushed them lightly with his own , before going back in with intention , for her part she responded in earnest. Her lips soft and urgent and inviting him in. As it went on it became more urgent and his tongue begged for entry. When she granted him entry he was taken back with how they fought for dominance a little . It surprised him a little and he liked it. Eventually they came to a natural stop and drew back. She gave him the cutest smile and he felt a moment of true happiness. "You kissed me" she said. Joe nodded slowly "I did" . She played with the stem on her wine glass for a minute " I thought that was something that you didn't really do, like it's an intimate thing for you". He tilted her face to him " It is, I haven't done that with someone since Galina , you're the first. And I know that probably complicates it more , but its what I wanted to do in the moment". She put a hand in his and smiled " Maybe you should do it again just to be sure". He showed her his teeth with a wide grin , before he took her face in his hands and pulled her to him again, his hands stroked her chin and hair while his lips claimed hers and all her senses sprang to life. She had always wondered what it would be like to kiss him and it was just as great as she had hoped . For her part her fingers found his face and she stroked the smooth skin, where there want any beard. He smelled amazing too and as his tongue began to wrestle with hers she felt her entire body come alive. It was then she heard a sound that made her blood almost stop. A cough. She looked at Joe in surprise as he drew back and looked up at the doorway of the living room. His expression immediately turned to guilt and Cassie turned to see her uncle standing in the doorway. He looked really mad.
Cassie watched In shock as Joe stood he faced her uncle like a man " Paul, I can explain" he said , trying to calm the situation. " That won't be necessary Joe let me just say this and then I'll go back to my bed. As far as the world is concerned you are still married. As far as my niece is concerned she just broke up with a husband of many years. A month is not enough time to move onto another relationship". Joe Interrupted him "No um this isn't a relationship" , the look on Paul's face made him shut his mouth. "Ah I see , that's my point , none of you know what you want. Most importantly relationships and work do not mix. Trust me , this will ruin everything you have tried so hard to build. Both of you. I get it you are close , it's obvious. But I think whatever this is , is a big mistake. I'm going back to bed , I hope you will take what I said seriously". He walked to the coffee table and picked up the cell phone he had come down for before going back up the stairs. When the bedroom door locked Joe turned to look at her. " I don't know what to say" he said. She stood and drained the end of her wine. "You pshould probably go now Joe". He looked at her apprehensively and decided against saying anything at this moment. He called a car and saw it would be here in a few minutes. " I will wait outside , you should get to bed" he said to Cassie softly . She avoided eye contact with him, her uncles' words still stinging. He walked to the door and she followed him to lock up . A warm breeze greeted them as Joe stood out , she hesitated for a second before going to close the door " Good night" she said. He turned back and looked at her , she couldn't read him. She opened the door a fraction and whispered so Paul wouldn't hear "Joe , I don't regret it" she said to him. He rewarded her with a smile "Me neither" he said with a wink . " Get inside before Paul comes down and grounds you" he teased. Cassie shut the door and stifled a laugh. She would deal with Paul tomorrow, for now she was going to back in the enjoyment of that kiss.