A Beauteous Flower Ch. 12

Chapter 12 - The Business Trip, the Party, and the Unexpected Arrival.

*****

"I'll be gone until next Sunday."

Madison pulled a mug of disappointment. At times, Daniel traveled for work, and when he did, Madison didn't like it. Since their wedding, Daniel had done his best to moderate the amount of time he spent on the road, but there were times he just couldn't avoid it.

This latest unavoidable engagement would be his longest stay away from home since Madison had met Daniel. Daniel had been invited to be a guest speaker at a college graduation and then he would sign books in another city. He would be gone for seven days and Madison's jealous bone did not like that one bit, especially since there would be other women around him. In fact, that thought made her want to break things, however this was for work and Madison went into the relationship with the knowledge that at least part of Daniel belonged to the world, no matter how he resisted his fame. That didn't mean she couldn't have a good pout about it though, so Madison engaged pout mode, crossed her arms, and stuck out her bottom lip.

Madison also had a second secret reason to pout. A secret reason. This trip was doubly inconvenient because she had recently decided to start a family with Daniel and Madison could not wait to show Daniel a positive pregnancy test. After consulting her girlfriends on the topic, Madison had stopped her birth control pill regimen almost two weeks ago and she was pretty sure she was either about to ovulate or in the midst of ovulation. With Daniel gone, her chances of pregnancy this month were exactly zero. Her pique over his absence at this critical time ignored a slight oversight on Madison's part. She hadn't told Daniel about her attempt to get pregnant... yet.

Her girlfriends agreed with her decision, so Daniel would surely have agreed with her decision if she had asked him. Why spoil the surprise? Besides, it was what she wanted, and Daniel should give her everything she wanted, as her girlfriends helpfully reminded her. She pictured how happy they would both be when she told Daniel she was pregnant and Daniel's absence at such a crucial time vexed her. To Madison it seemed as if he had put her off even though he technically did not know that they were in the middle of an attempt to get pregnant.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked.

Madison shook her head bitterly and huffed.

"Don't go!" she insisted petulantly. "Stay with me!

Daniel tilted his head to the side in a conciliatory manner.

"I would like to. I really would, but I need to do some publicity for the new book and...."

Madison huffed and turned her head away. Whether he knew of it or not, Daniel's participation was required to start a family and Madison felt snubbed, so she folded her arms, crossed her legs and kicked her foot in irritation. Daniel simply shut up and went upstairs to pack.

Madison sniffled a little after he was gone. She wanted to hoard Daniel's full attention, and she definitely did not want him out of her sight for that long. Adalina, Ivy and Deva all had warned her against such things. An out of pocket man might get up to trouble, and the last thing she needed was a pregnancy marred by a potential infidelity with some bitch who would shamelessly try to steal her man. While intellectually she knew that Daniel wouldn't cheat on her, her fiercely jealous bone just couldn't rule out the possibility. Besides, even if Daniel behaved himself like a choir boy, that didn't mean other women wouldn't look at and even make a play for him. With her jealous bone thoroughly picked at, it did not take much effort for Madison to worry herself into a first-class snit. Madison kicked her foot angrily as she fretted about the implications of Daniel's inconvenient absence. Maybe she should go with him?

Then again, this could be an opportunity to show off a bit to her girlfriends. Madison could assume the role of Mrs. Selene, invite her friends to her pretty, gracious and stylish home and be the pretty, gracious and stylish hostess. That thought mollified and intrigued Madison a bit. If Daniel was away for a week, she wanted some company. Who better than her faithful band of girlfriends, with whom she could plot the trajectory of her relationship with Daniel. It sounded like a solid plan and with that in mind she picked up her phone and texted Deva an invitation.

It only took a few minutes more to send invitations to Adalina, Ivy, Cassidy, Kelly, and Moira and then Madison put her phone down with a nod of satisfaction. With Daniel out of town, it was a perfect time to show off what a great life she had to her friends. This fall had been unseasonably warm, so it was also opportunity for them all to work on their tans before the games started. In short order they all had agreed to come out to the lake-house and spend the week with her. Madison didn't even bother to run it by Daniel. He wouldn't mind. He would be out of town anyway, and this was her home, so she could have her friends over if she wanted and Madison could implement her pregnancy plan when he returned.

Still, even though Madison felt a little better,her jealousy burned just below the surface. She decided the prudent thing to do was to play a little offense and she headed up the stairs to attack Daniel. After she cleaned out his pipes and left her scent all over him, she'd feel a lot more comfortable with him out on the road. And, as a pleasant byproduct, she might just get her pregnancy wish as well.

*****

It had been a fun week of girlishness and familiar fellowship. In short order the lake house rang with laughter and gossip like a sorority house and it all served to reinforce Madison's position as a boss bitch. They enjoyed each other's company, the wine held out and tasty delivery food kept everyone full and happy. Madison insisted that she pay for everything because Daniel's credit was more than up to the task, and she settled easily into the role of pretty hostess in her pretty house and showed her friends a grand time. The Fall weather cooperated, and temperatures stayed nice and warm, but not muggy. It was perfect for afternoons of sunbathing and TikTok dances and selfies. The only mild disappointment of an otherwise great week was all the pregnancy tests she took were negative, but her girlfriends consoled her with the knowledge that when Daniel came home she could try again. Meanwhile Saturday was their final day together before Daniel came home on Sunday, and they had planned a final day by the pool and a night of pizza before Madison's friends left. Everyone was up and bikini clad for a 9 AM breakfast of bagels and giggles.

By 10:00 AM Madison and her friends were all laid out in the lounge chairs by the pool for suntans and girl talk. They had only been in place for a few minutes when the first car rolled up. It parked next to Deva's SUV and six people, five men and a woman, clad in beach attired got out, but Madison did not recognize any of them.

"Who are these people?" Madison asked warily.

"Oh, just a few friends I asked to come over," Moira piped. "You don't mind, do you? It will give you a chance to show off your home a bit, anyway. It's a great house and this patio and pool just begs for a small party."

Madison was dubious. She didn't know these people and she wasn't sure how Daniel would feel about a party at their home. But then again it wasn't exactly a party, was it? Eleven people wasn't a party. At least not the kind of party Madison worried about. She relaxed a bit.

"Cool."

"Hey, you pack of hobos!" Moira shouted at the new arrivals. "Did you bring the alcohol?"

One of the men gestured toward the trunk of the car.

"Vodka. And beer."

"Great! Make some punch with the Vodka, OK? We don't like beer."

Before long Madison and her friends all held a solo cup full of Vodka punch. Madison took her first sips as Moira introduced the new arrivals. The punch was on the strong side, so Madison took her time with it. Meanwhile, someone found the speakers by the bar and random house music began to thump across the pool. Kelly and Cassidy immediately began to dance, and others rapidly joined in. It was right then that Madison noticed that either her math was off, or there were more than eleven people around the pool. A quick look at the driveway confirmed that there were three more strange vehicles there. Madison looked at her friends with a query in her eyes.

"Just a few more," Moira shrugged.

This gave Madison pause. She had run this game on many an unsuspecting host and personally turned some small gatherings into house parties so big that they ended in police raids. Nothing got a party started like pretty people and pools and alcohol on a sun kissed Saturday. More to the point, Daniel probably wouldn't be comfortable with this many people in their home. Madison bit her lip and considered if she should nip this in the bud, but then she didn't. This was her home too, so if she wanted to throw a party then that was OK. Daniel just wanted her to be happy. Right? And she didn't really want to be that girl, the one that threw a wet blanket on the expected good time. These people were harmless and, well, a pool party had always been one of her favorite pass times. Besides she was the pretty, gracious and stylish hostess, and she liked the idea of people being wowed by her pretty, gracious and stylish home. She could handle it. She was a boss bitch after all. Satisfied with her justification, Madison reclined into her lounge chair and took another sip of her drink.

"Cool."

It didn't take long for the pool area to fill up with scantily clad people and abandoned red solo cups. Madison lost count of how many people were there after fifty. Soon the dancers were in the pool and some of the more liberally minded women removed their bras. Everyone kept it low key though. This was obviously an experienced party crowd that wouldn't get out of control because of a few naked breasts. Madison was initially concerned about the number of people, but then she finished her first cup of punch, and it didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. Daniel wasn't due home until tomorrow, so this party wouldn't bother him anyway. Madison struck a queenly pose on her lounge chair and graciously received each guest as they were presented to her. They all gushed about how pretty her home was and that made Madison very happy. She had worked hard to make it pretty, and she was glad other people shared her opinion.

"Madison. Madison!"

Cassidy's voice called from inside the house and Madison got out of her lounged position to investigate. Somewhere between the lounge and the sliding glass door someone slipped another cup of vodka punch into her hand. Prudently, Madison did not take a drink from it. Pretty girls learned early not to drink anything they hadn't poured for themselves. She set it down on a table before she entered the house.

Inside she found Cassidy in the kitchen with Gandalf. Madison had forgotten all about Gandalf today and, now that she was reminded of him, she found him an unwanted distraction from her duties as hostess. Gandalf also reminded her that Daniel might not be too happy about this party and Madison was anxious be rid of that irritation as quickly as possible. Gandalf, for his part, nuzzled Cassidy on the nose and Cassidy smiled happily and kissed the top of his head.

"Oh, such a good kitty!" gushed Cassidy to Gandalf.

While Gandalf purred and winked his eyes happily, a vaguely peeved Madison wanted to get back to being the gracious hostess.

"What's up?"

"Your cat wants to get outside" said Cassidy. "I remembered you said he's not allowed outside because of the coyotes."

Madison focused again on Gandalf as he purred and nuzzled Cassidy. She felt a little jealous, like the fact Gandalf liked Cassidy and not her was a mild insult.

"He's not my cat. Here, let me have him."

Cassidy handed Gandalf to Madison and Madison held Gandalf out in front of her so he didn't get cat hair in the suntan lotion on her body. She was a little tipsy and maybe she should have been a little gentler, because Gandalf let out a low growl and squirmed a bit.

"Ooooo! Easy! You'll hurt him if you carry him like that!" Cassidy warned.

"He's fine. C'mon Gandalf."

Madison marched towards the stairs with Gandalf before her like he smelled. Cassidy trailed along and clucked to Madison to be careful of how she held Gandalf.

When she reached the top of the stairs Madison hesitated. She had intended to shut Gandalf up in her room, but then she remembered that at parties like this couples tended to find their way to the bedrooms. Daniel would never forgive her if Gandalf got out and the coyotes got him. She looked around for another idea, and then headed up the stairs to the third-floor storage room. Cassidy trailed along and continued to urge Madison not to hurt Gandalf. Indignant at this treatment, Gandalf growled a light warning.

"Oh, shut up, you," grumped Madison. "We're busy doing people things here, you know."

Once in the storage room, Madison went to the closet. It was mostly empty save for a few free weights and an old coat. She opened the door, dumped Gandalf in the closet and then slid the door shut. She clapped her hands together.

"There."

"Madison, why don't you just put him in your bedroom?" queried a concerned Cassidy. "He'll be more comfortable in there."

Madison thought for a moment. Daniel probably wouldn't like that she had put Gandalf in the closet, but Daniel wouldn't be home until tomorrow and she'd have plenty of time to let Gandalf out. A plaintiff "meow" and a little scratch came from behind the closet door.

"He'll be fine in there. This way no one will let him out by mistake," Madison dismissed and then headed for the stairs. She looked back at Cassidy.

"You coming?"

Cassidy looked at the closet as Gandalf uttered another "meow". With a sigh she followed after Madison.

"You're funeral."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Madison retorted testily.

"Well, your husband probably won't like that..." protested Cassidy.

"Well Daniel's not going to find out, is he?" Madison interrupted. In Madison's mind this was just another unwanted distraction from her pretty, gracious and stylish hostess position on her lounge chair.

Cassidy looked at Madison and, to Madison's chagrin, Madison saw disappointment in Cassidy's eyes.

"Fine."

Cassidy pushed past Madison and went down as Gandalf "meowed" again, but he was almost inaudible now. By the time Madison reappeared on the patio with a fresh drink in her hand, Gandalf was not even remotely on her mind. Deva danced over to her, graceful as ever, and never missed a beat.

"What's up? You look peeved."

"Cat trouble," Madison waved in dismissal. "It's handled."

"Oh. Good."

Just then a buzz went through the crowd as new arrivals appeared. They were all players from the team, but one stood out. He wore a tight-fitting tank top and a pair of red gym shorts. He was well over six feet tall, blond and his arms and legs were heavily muscled. He moved with the easy smooth grace of a panther, and everyone turned to greet him. His face had a sharp, square jawed and perfectly symmetrical. Sparkly white teeth showed like pearls as he smiled and high-fived a few of the other players and then shucked off his shirt and kicked out of his high-top sneakers. Deva drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh. My. God."

The man was a veritable Greek god sculpture with pronounced abdominal muscles furrowed into his narrow stomach. There was not an ounce of fat on his body and he fairly bulged with masculine power. Every woman at the party stopped and gawked. Madison had never seen such a perfect example of male sexuality in all her life.

"Jesus," Madison heard someone whisper and then she realized it was her voice she heard.

"Amen, sister," Deva whispered back.

Ivy appeared next to Deva.

"Who is THAT guy?" Ivy asked with big wide eyes.

"That's Steve, the new quarterback they traded for this year." Adalina informed them. "He's been a pro-bowl quarterback for several years now."

Madison wasn't sure what a "pro-bowl" quarterback was, but she didn't really care either. Steve was a spectacular physical specimen of manhood and immediately Madison, along with all the women around the pool, unconsciously primped. It was quickly obvious who the grand prize was at this party. Madison recovered and reminded herself that she was the pretty, gracious and stylish hostess, and her husband would be home tomorrow.

"He's cute," allowed Madison even though she knew he was much more than cute. As Deva had said, baby animals were cute and Steve, while he might be mostly an animal, was by no means a baby. Not at all.

"Cute?" snorted Deva. "He's fucking gorgeous! I would literally lick whipped cream off those abs for days!"

Madison was a little surprised to hear Deva gush over a guy like that. Men always flocked around Deva, and she never paid much attention to them, but this guy almost literally made her drool. Madison bobbled her head noncommittally, but she didn't need Deva's appraisal to know that this guy was something special in the looks department. She glanced over the pool at him again and Steve winked and raised his red cup to her with a nod in the suave and non-committal motion of polite acknowledgement that men who expected the attention of all the women in the room bestowed. Deva elbowed Madison in the ribs.

"Oh, you bitch!" Deva chided. "He likes you!"

Madison felt a little tingle of excitement. Could it be that this hunk of manhood would pick her over Deva? Over every other pretty woman at the party? That thought gave Madison a thrill of pride. Sure, he might be a stupid block of muscle, but he was by far the best-looking guy at the party and every girl at the party wanted to be with him. And he was interested in her. That was a pretty prize for Madison if she did say so herself.

"Nah," she demurred to cover her excitement. "He's just being nice."

A warning light flashed in Madison's mind, but she dismissed it quickly. She hadn't done anything wrong. All she had done was admire another man's body and that wasn't a crime. Right? Every one of her girlfriends did it too, no matter what their relationship status. It was just girl talk and it's not like she would do anything about it anyway. She was a married woman, and happily married at that, to a wonderful man with a great life. She wouldn't do anything that put that in jeopardy. She'd never cheat on Daniel.

From across the pool, Steve shot Madison a brilliantly confident smile and automatically she smiled in reply. Again, the warning light flashed, but again she stilled it. It was no big deal. It was only friendly to smile back when someone smiled at her. She was just a pretty, gracious and stylish hostess. Deva smirked and turned a savvy look at Madison.

"Yes, he dooooes!"

"Shut up."

Madison glanced again and Steve still looked directly at her. It was a pointed and definite kind of look that made the back of her neck prickle. Yes, it caused the warning light to go off in Madison's mind a third time, but it also excited her in a very familiar way. The best-looking guy at a huge party of pretty people was interested in her, and, despite herself, she found that she was pridefully interested in him. It wasn't a big deal though. What girl wouldn't be flattered by that kind of attention? She stood up and vamped to Deva with a flighty laugh, as if she didn't know Steve stared at her from across the pool.

With another sip of her drink, Madison's buzz got a little stronger along as did her confidence. She held her cup in her teeth and hiked her bikini bottoms up her hips, so they showed a little more of her butt cheeks. After another sip of her drink, she did a tight runway turn on her toes and sashayed back to her lounge chair. Steve could look if he wanted. That wasn't illegal either, and if Steve did look, Madison didn't mind that at all.