This chapter seems a little disjointed to me, but hopefully you all won't feel the same way.
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I knew I was acting weirdly. Thank god Carlisle was too out of it to notice. My heart was still racing, firmly lodged in my throat, and I sat on the couch with a glass of water to calm down. He'd hate me if I went into the bedroom crashing around because I was so jumpy. It wasn't like anything had happened with Heidi, but guilt still picked away at me until I felt sick. Obviously not as sick as my boyfriend was feeling - he'd puked again, and I knew I was going to have to go and help him eventually. He'd been completely incapacitated since I got back from the school.
I forced myself to get up and go and see if he was okay. There was no way I was ready to deal with the mess he'd gotten himself into, though, and I stopped in the doorway to try and collect myself a bit. A curse slipped out before I could stop it. "For fucks sake, Carlisle."
He'd barely moved since I'd left, except he'd managed to throw up all over himself and our bedding. My abrupt entrance into the room had him flinching back, mumbling something incoherent about his head hurting when I turned on the light.
I moved closer, shaking his shoulder to wake him up a bit. "You have to get up," I grumbled at him once he had.
"No," he mumbled, quietly pleading with me. He resisted when I tried to pull him into sitting up. "Please, Gar, I have a migraine, I can't move."
My annoyance melting, I crouched in front of him, my hands on his knees as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I know, but I need you to clean up." I kept my voice soft, but it didn't seem to hurt him any less. It wasn't convincing him either; Kate was more cooperative than this. "I can change the bed, but you can't sleep covered in your own vomit all night." That, and it was making me a bit nauseous too.
It took awhile for my words to sink in, and he reluctantly agreed. He was so tired that he was just doing what I'd told him, and I gently guided him into the bathroom, not particularly wanting to touch him. The harsh lighting made him stumble back into me, desperate to get out from under it until I switched it off again. Showering in the dark wasn't going to be fun if his vision was already distorted, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
"You going to be okay?" I asked wearily. "You're not going to pass out?"
He mumbled that he would be alright.
The water turned on as I went back into the bedroom. I had to strip everything off of the bed and throw it in the washing machine, replacing all of it. By the time I came back to him, he was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, his head in his hands and half dressed. "Come lie down," I murmured, kissing the side of his face. His hair was damp and tangled when I tried to run my fingers through it, and I pulled him into a gentle hug.
"...sorry…" He slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders, letting me lift him to his feet. "How was the school thing?"
My pulse quickened again. "It was fine, I'll tell you about it when you're feeling better." I hoped to god that he'd just forget about it. I led him back to bed, tucking him in and pulling the blankets closer around him as he relaxed again. "I'll be in the kitchen; call out if you need me." Just don't throw up everywhere again - we didn't have enough blankets to do that again.
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It took two days before his headache eased enough for him to do anything. Even then, he could barely look at his computer screen, battling between taking enough painkillers to withstand the pain but still wanting to function enough to think. I managed to land a couple of interviews for random jobs, impatiently waiting to hear back from either of the companies. Each day seemed impossibly long, and I was quickly falling into the same routine of picking up Kate, saying hello to Heidi, trying to stop my sister in-law from drowning in chores, and then heading back home to deal with whatever state my boyfriend was in. The family time was nice, and it was going to be something I was reluctant to give up. Eleazar paying me definitely helped; Carlisle's income had been okay, but the bit extra took the edge off of both of us, and I was relieved to not be entirely dependant on him.
I wasn't sure what to do when I finally got a call offering me a position. It was for a cleaning company and only part time, and I had been sceptical about even going to the interview when they'd invited me. Still, I'd be stupid to turn it down. I just really needed to talk it through with my boyfriend. The lady on the phone was nice enough to let me email her my response when I made up my mind, thank god. "Hey, Carlisle?" I called down the hallway.
It took a moment for him to appear, still half asleep despite it being midday and having been awake for hours.
"I have a job offer, but it's only part time work." I continued before he could formulate a response. "And it's for a cleaning company, but I really want to take it; it means I could still look after Kate, and spend time with my family while Carmen's struggling and-"
"That's fine, Gar. Take it if that's what you want." His voice was quiet, and I wasn't sure if he was really listening to me - he just wanted to go back to sleep.
"Are you sure though? It's only just over half the hours that I used to work." Realistically, I should have brought this up with him later when he was functioning properly, but I didn't want the opportunity to disappear while I hesitated.
"Yeah, you've been happier since you've been able to spend more time with your brother and his family. You're always in a good mood when you come home, and I like seeing you like this." He was rubbing his face, his voice muffled by his hands.
"Yes, but is it going to make things hard for us later?" I pressed. Once he was close enough, I pulled him toward me, squeezing his waist to try and get him to focus a bit.
"I don't think so? We were okay with just my job for a while, so I don't see why it wouldn't work for us." My tactic didn't work; the warmth of my body just made him want to cuddle me, his hands in my hair. "Take the job, Gar; family is more important than money."
"If it doesn't work, I can always quit and find something else." I kissed every inch of exposed skin along his throat that I could reach as he leaned over me, quite aware that my touch was making him sleepy. I had to take this job; part time or not, it would mean that he wouldn't need to take on as much at work, even if it was just a temporary means until I got something full time. I wasn't going to ruin his health just because I didn't want to clean for 25 hours a week.
"It'll work," he murmured. "Are you okay with cleaning though? I mean with manual work?"
I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm not that precious, Carlisle; I can wrangle a vacuum when I need to."
"That isn't what I meant," he laughed, nudging me with his shoulder. His smile grew. "Maybe we'll have to get you that maid's outfit after all."
"You have to stop it with that," I chuckled. I kicked my chair back from the table, pulling him into my lap and slipping my hands under his t-shirt against his back.
His arms came to rest around my shoulders and he brought his lips to mine, kissing me gently. "I love you."
"How's marrying a janitor feel?" I grumbled. The job title wasn't exactly the most glamorous thing, and I wasn't sure how proud he was going to be to tell people what his partner does for a job now. Tracing the length of his spine, I slipped my hands across his belt, tugging it looser around his waist.
He was quiet for a moment. "I don't care what you do for a living; I'm just happy I'm marrying someone that cares for their family as much as you do. I love you so much." His kisses were distracting me, my mind reeling as his fingers knotted in my hair, pulling lightly.
The compliment made me warm all over. I'd never get over it, how gentle he always was with me; it wasn't the same as the way Riley and Victoria or Eleazar and Carmen treated each other, as loving as they were. I knew how much he genuinely cared every time he touched me, and I wasn't sure how I'd ever managed to trust someone so much. I loved him more than anything. "Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" I asked, kissing along his collarbones, across his throat as he tilted his head back.
A quiet hum slipped between his lips. "Somewhere warm - I'm already sick of this weather."
I chuckled. "Yeah, okay." I really didn't care as long as it was with him. I thought I could have lived anywhere with him by my side. Thank god my unemployment hadn't driven us apart.
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He made me breakfast the morning I was due to start work, insisting that I eat now in case I couldn't while I was out. I did purely because it meant he would sit at the table with me for a little while. Having him close to me helped to soothe my nerves about the oncoming day, though I wasn't sure why I was so worried about holding a mop. "Are you going to the office today?" I asked through a mouthful of egg.
Chasing his food around with his fork, he didn't look up at me. "Maybe. I'm not sure if I have to yet."
"You feeling alright?" Weary now, I watched him carefully, rubbing his hand to reassure him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I stayed up too late last night." He forced a smile, letting out eyes meet as he glanced up. It wasn't a lie; he'd crawled into bed at about 3am, after spending the early hours of the morning doing god knows what.
I chuckled, letting my knees brush his under the table. "You're not a teenager; you need to go to bed at a normal hour." That, and I didn't sleep that well until he was beside me.
That earned me an eye roll. "Yeah, I know, I just really want a weekend off; there's an important client that my boss gave me a project for, and I needed to finish my end of it so I don't have to worry about anything for a few days," he explained.
"Did you manage?" I asked hopefully.
His smile was suddenly a little more genuine. "I did."
"Do you want to do something this weekend, then?" I wanted to get him out of the house more than anything. That, and we hadn't been on a date or anything of the sort since we got engaged.
"Do you want to take Kate out somewhere?" He asked wearily. The prospect obviously wasn't entirely appealing to him.
"Actually, I'd rather it was just me and you," I assured him. Whatever we did, it wasn't going to be able to be too high energy without slaughtering him, but a movie and dessert sounded perfect. He looked relieved when I suggested it to him, managing to mask whatever nerves he had about going out. "You pick the film, and I'll pick the food?" I suggested. I knew damn well he'd sabotage us in order to not make me uncomfortable if it was the other way around, but I was pretty sure I'd be able to hide in a corner somewhere and force some ice cream down my throat. It'd be nice to see him relax a little again.
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My pulse was pounding in my ears as I made my way up my new office's front steps. The whole place reeked of industrial floor cleaner before I even opened the door, the ammonia smell making my eyes water a little. There was no front desk, just an obnoxious buzzer as stepped through the threshold. It summoned a woman from the back, a grin already on her face.
Her tight ponytail seemed to pull her forehead back into her hairline, the glittery scrunchy a little obnoxious for a forty-something year old working professional. The bright blue polo shirt was far from flattering, and I realised that this was what my uniform was going to look like - minus the scrunchy, I hoped. "You must be Garrett!" she announced before I could get a word out. "We'll get you something to change into, and then I'll take you to meet your team; they're all excited to meet you."
I really doubted that, but I nodded and followed her anyway. She kept up a semi-obnoxious stream of chatter as I followed her out the back, and I found myself drowning her out as she tossed one of those awful shirts and a pair of pants at me. The back of the building was lined with various, disinfectant bottles and packages of different cloths, vacuums and mops grouped in a corner and a large machine which I guessed to be some kind of polisher. When I'd signed up for a commercial cleaning job, I hadn't entirely anticipated this.
Over the next few hours, she went through the different products with me, assigned me to another group of people who were apparently going to be stuck with me for who knows how long, and printed me a timetable. All of my hours were either early morning or late nights, which was perfect seeming as I could still work around Kate. I piled into a van with the rest of my team to go to the building we were cleaning, and they promptly loaded me up with a vacuum and sent me out onto the floor. It wasn't so bad; I didn't really have to talk to anyone, and we were allowed to have headphones so the music helped to pass the time. My six hour shift was over in no time.
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By the time Saturday evening rolled around, Carlisle was feeling miserable again, as much as he tried to hide it from me. He still downed a couple of painkillers and put on a brave face, going along with my plans and cleaning himself up enough to be presentable to the outside world. I waited for the complaint that he didn't want to go anymore, but it never came. I had almost forgotten about everything by the time we were in the theatre and the movie had started. Whatever we were watching didn't matter; all I could focus on was how badly I wanted to touch him, and the unbearable tension between us. Without him so much as looking at me, I was getting hot under the collar, almost wishing our little date was over so that we could be alone again. My boyfriend's hand landed on my thigh about half way through, making me jump and both of us giggle. I tried to pass him the popcorn, thinking that was what he wanted, but he only shoved it aside and grabbed the front of my shirt to pull me down for a kiss. Maybe I wasn't the only one feeling that way.
I sat back in my seat again, grinning as I helped him quickly slip over the armrest between us to be in my lap. His lips traveled across my jaw and down my throat, and I dragged my fingers up and down his spine. The longer we kept it up, the more worked up I was getting, and I knew that Carlisle knew exactly what he was doing. Wanting to give him a taste of his own medicine, I lightly palmed him through his jeans, well aware that he could feel my erection digging into his thigh. Each time he moved, I was going crazy. It seemed like an eternity before the end credits rolled across the screen. I breathed a sigh of relief that we could get out of there.
"Come to the bathroom with me?" Carlisle whispered, slipping back into his own seat as people started to shift.
My mouth suddenly dry, I swallowed thickly. "Uh, what for?" I needed him to say the words.
He ran his hand through his hair to get it off his face. "Um, safety in numbers?" He grinned at me, teasing dancing behind his eyes.
"You're going to get us in trouble," I warned playfully. It sounded like the best kind of trouble to me. I let him grab my wrist and hauled me to my feet, and then we were hurrying out of the theatre.
My hands were shaking as we ducked into the bathroom. I followed him into the stall furthest from the door, shoving Carlisle up against it and burying my face against his neck as he tried to catch his breath. One of his hands tangled in my hair, pulling so roughly it hurt, while his other fumbled with my jeans. My knees felt weak under me, desperate for him to touch me. I kissed his throat, his jaw, along his collarbones as I started to push up his shirt, refusing to let our lips meet. He slipped, rolling his hips against mine and falling in the process, finally jerking my belt undone. My body shuddered as he shoved my pants down my thighs, his fingers teasing me through my underwear.
"Carlisle, please," I begged, clenching my jaw to shut myself up. His teeth grazed my inner thighs as he pressed kisses against the sensitive skin there, my hand instantly knotting in his hair as he finally started to suck me. I pulled too hard and he hummed softly, warning me that I was hurting him, but the vibration almost made me lose it. His fingers dug into my hips, and I leaned my face against my arm to muffle my panting. The fucker was doing everything that drove me wild and I really, really wished we were at home..
My hips buckled against my will, and I bit down on my lip to keep from moaning as my climax hit me full force. I squeezed my eyes shut as my boyfriend swallowed, trying to come to terms with getting every 15 year old's fantasy at 27 - bar the cute blond being a guy instead of a girl. A blond who was now getting a little squirmy because he'd worked himself up as much as he had me, and I hadn't so much as touched him yet.
I couldn't help myself, grinning at him. "Alright, let's get home." I made to uplock the stall, nudging him to the side as he got off his knees.
"Garrett!" He grabbed my hand, silently pleading with me. His voice had been too loud, setting both of us giggling.
"What? I didn't start this." I let him suffer uncomfortably for another few seconds before kissing him softly, gently rocking his weight back against the door again. "Do you need something, baby?" I teased him, earning myself an eye roll. The pet name didn't get the rise I wanted out of him - he was too far gone. It was only fair seeming as he'd made everyone in my personal life call me 'Gar' for the last year.
His breaths were frantic and catching, and he groaned as I started to kiss down his chest. He rubbed the back of my neck as my lips brushed over the front of his pants, eventually settling on grabbing fistfuls of my shirt when I wasn't moving fast enough. "Fuck," he whimpered. It had been a little loud, and someone else in the room cleared their throat, setting his face alight.
I barely held back a chuckle, standing back up again to whisper in his ear. "If you can't be quiet, you'll have to sort yourself out when we get home,"I threatened. I wasn't going to make him walk through the entire mall in his current state, but I couldn't help but wind him up a bit more.
"No- please, Gar," he whispered back. "Please, I really want-" His words were cut off as I started to shift his pants out of the way, strangling a still faintly audible moan in his throat.
"Shh," I laughed again. I kept kissing him, hoping it would keep him quiet as I slipped my hand into his underwear. He arched his back against the door, grabbing at me and trying to close the non-existent space between us. Fairly confident that he'd come apart as soon as I broke my lips from his for too long, I kept up the lazy kisses, barely letting him catch his breath. It didn't take me long to have him finished, giving him one last kiss as I zipped up his jeans again.
I made sure my own clothing was in place before opening the door, turning to glance over my shoulder when my boyfriend was slow at following me. Still out of breath, his cheeks were pink and flushed. "Do you need to splash some water over your face or something?" I teased again, laughing at my own joke. Thank god, whoever was in here before was gone, and we were alone again.
"Shut up, as if you're any better," he teased back, jogging forward the few steps between us to take my hand. "You're such a dick sometimes; I love you."
"I love you too." I squeezed his fingers and pulling him out of the block of bathrooms. "Let's go get dessert, I think we could both do with some cooling down after that." That, and I could see he was a bit uncomfortable again now that we weren't messing around; for the love of god, no more headaches.
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