A Loaded Proposal Ch. 06

"No," she replied gruffly. "As much as I would love a longer nap, I wouldn't sleep well tonight if I slept later now. Anyway, it's gotta be getting close to dinner time, yeah?"

I picked up my phone from the bedside table and tapped it to find out she was right; it was already 5:47. "What do you want to do for dinner?" I asked. "I'm sure there are still some menu items I would try at the restaurant in-house. How about you?"

"Yeah, the restaurant is great." She replied, finally sitting up on the bed and stretching, her hair positively messy from her nap and her breasts hanging slightly lower than they had before having Delilah. I couldn't help smiling at the beautiful sight.

"Ok, the next question is where we'll eat. Lucy and I made it a point to not even eat in restaurants until our children reached a certain age; it just wasn't worth the hassle. How do you feel? Do you want to eat downstairs with Delilah, or have them send up the food to our suite?"

"Oh, I absolutely agree. And I would feel bad if she made a mess at our table and they had to clean it up. Besides, they already provided us with a high chair up here. But how will we know what we want to order?"

I put Delilah down and left, quickly returning with a menu I pulled from the counter in the dining area. "They provided us with this for our stay. I thought we might prefer to eat up here this time." I handed her the menu, as I mentally scrolled through the options I remembered being available. I knew there was a rice bowl I had been considering trying during our last stay, so I decided that would be my choice for tonight. "I'll go down, order, and bring the food back up, if that's ok with you, Sarah."

"I'll be fine on my own with Delilah," she snapped defensively, her frustration quickly fading to a sad frown. "I'm sorry, Steven. Sometimes it's hard to wake up, and I think I'm getting hungrier than I thought." She looked down and considered the menu for a few more seconds. "I'll have sweet tea with chicken strips and onion rings, and whatever dipping sauce they have available."

"Great. I'll see if I can get a jug of their sweet tea or something; I had thought about having some too. I'll be back," I said, bending down to kiss her forehead, then carefully stepping around the crawling Delilah on my way out.

On my way down, I decided to order the molten brownie ice cream for dessert, as a surprise. All in all, the ride down, ordering and waiting for the food, and returning to the room took close to forty minutes. I was concerned about Sarah's mood due to her hunger, but relieved that I had scored a gallon jug of their sweet tea.

I entered our suite to find Sarah seated at the table with Delilah in the high chair. A mostly eaten apple was sitting on the table in front of Sarah, along with two almost full containers of baby food. "I don't think Delilah was quite ready to eat,"she explained, indicating the baby food containers. "She did have a lot of milk earlier, so maybe she'll eat more later." She finished cleaning up Delilah let her down onto the floor before glancing at the three containers of food I had set on the table. "Are we expecting a guest for dinner?" She asked, somewhat confused.

"Oh...no," I replied, smiling at the misunderstanding. "The third container is dessert, which I need to put in the freezer," I explained, doing just that. I retrieved the two glasses we had used earlier, setting them on the table and pouring a healthy amount of tea into each. I set the jug onto the table and sat down in the other chair. I grabbed the top container, opened it, and found chicken strips and onion rings, so I slid it over to Sarah and took the other container for myself.

Despite the typical food containers, the food was just as good as we had enjoyed in the past at the restaurant. We ended up sharing some of each of our dinners. Afterwards, Sarah took Delilah into the bedroom to change her diaper, then offered her some more of her baby food--green beans and peaches--about which she was more enthusiastic the second time around. After Delilah was all cleaned up, we decided to watch a movie--Inception--while she played on the floor of the living room.

The movie was about halfway through when Delilah started fussing. Sarah picked her up and she started making rooting actions against her chest, so she sat down on the couch beside me, pulled off her shirt, unclipped her maternity bra and offered her breast to Delilah, which she happily latched onto. Fifteen minutes later, Delilah switched breasts, and shortly after that, she fell asleep. At that point, Sarah admitted, "I'm pretty tired myself. I don't think I'll be able to finish the movie, but you're welcome to. Then she stood up and carried Delilah to the room.

As I turned around and watched her walk away, I had a fleeting moment of indecision, then realized I didn't really want to watch the movie without Sarah. I turned off the television and quickly followed, turning out lights as I went. As I entered the room, I explained, "I didn't want to watch more without you. I wanted to go to bed with you, if you'll have me," I finished, looking uncertainly from the bed to Sarah and Delilah.

"Is there a problem?" Sarah asked, puzzled.

"I don't have a problem sleeping with the two of you, but I'm not completely confident in my ability to not roll over in my sleep," I shared uneasily.

"That's certainly understandable. That's one thing they taught us about in our birth preparation classes; they were huge supporters of co-sleeping. Here," she gestured to the other side of the bed, "come lay down and I'll show you." I complied easily as she placed the sleeping Delilah in the middle of the bed. "Now, face the middle of the bed, lying on your right side. Extend your right arm above your head, under the pillow." I did so, and she continued, "Keep your right leg straight and bend your left knee, bringing your leg up towards your abdomen."

As I did so, I rolled an inch or two towards the middle of the bed. Immediately, I felt Sarah warm hands firmly pushing on my back, but my body didn't move an inch. "See, that's called the recovery position. It's recommended for people who have passed out drunk. You put them into that position so if they vomit, it goes out of their mouth and they don't aspirate. Now are you confident in your ability to not roll over?"

I nodded, just about falling asleep already. She went around to the other side of the bed, turning out the light before lying down. "I'll start on this side, with Delilah between us, but I may need to feed her from my right breast later. I'm putting the pack 'n play up against the side of the bed so there's no risk of her rolling over onto the floor." Everything she did and explained confirmed my earlier assertions that Sarah was an excellent mother.

I woke up in the middle of the night to Sarah moving around on the bed. She must be trading places with Delilah, I thought. This was confirmed as I felt Sarah's back nudging firmly up against my front, giving Delilah plenty of room away from the other edge of the bed. After a few more seconds, I heard the audible sucking and swallowing of an infant nursing at her mother's breast. I smiled, wrapped my arm around Sarah's waist, and drifted back to sleep.

_____

The next morning, I woke up quite early. Sarah was sleeping next to me, but I could hear Delilah waking up. I reached for my phone on the floor and used its light to see her better, observing that it was 6:17am. It was so early, but I felt great and wide awake, probably because I had gone to bed earlier than usual. I walked around to pick up Delilah, deciding to place her safely in the pack 'n play while I took care of some morning business in the bathroom. After that, I quietly retrieved her and brought her out to the living room, closing the bedroom door behind us. When I noticed Sarah's diaper bag sitting by the couch, I realized Delilah would definitely need a new diaper, so I took care of that as well before seating her in the middle of the play mat on the floor and sitting down next to her.

We had been happily playing together for nearly an hour when I heard the bedroom door open. We both looked over to see Sarah entering the living area. She approached the couch quickly and leaned against it, observing us for a few moments. "Thank you for letting me sleep longer," she said finally.

"You're most welcome. You weren't worried when you woke up and she wasn't there, were you?" I asked, momentarily concerned.

"No, well...maybe for a few seconds. But that was just because I was still waking up. Then I knew you had probably brought her out here to let me sleep."

"Yep, we've been playing for...what time is it?" I asked.

She glanced over at the microwave. "7:25," she answered.

"Wow, it's been over an hour already. And I change her diaper, too."

"Well, you do know what you're doing, don't you?" She asked sarcastically. "Mind if I take a shower and get ready for the day?"

"Please, go," I answered, shooing her out with my hand. "I've got this," I stated confidently.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what Delilah didn't want. As soon as Sarah turned around and returned to the bedroom, Delilah whined and starting crawling slowly after her.

"No, no, no, little Delilah," I said. "Mama needs time to herself...I know, how about we try some breakfast?" I picked her up and placed her in the high chair, buckling her in and securing the tray. I was certainly glad I had decided to clean it right away after she used it the night before. I checked the refrigerator and found the half-full container of peaches. That seemed fitting, so I checked to make sure it was microwave safe, then heated it up for a few seconds. I took it out, stirred it up, and tried a small amount to make sure it wasn't too hot.

Sitting down, I fastened her bib around her neck, then slowly began to feed her. It took a bite or two for her to catch on, then she finished the container quite enthusiastically. While I was feeding her, I had time to study her face up close. I couldn't help but notice that she somewhat resembled my three kids when they were that age, especially our daughter. After I cleaned her up, I placed her near the toys on the floor while I wiped down the small mess we made on the tray.

I was just finishing clean-up when Sarah walked out of the bedroom, hair still wet from her shower. She looked wonderful in her brown skirt and loose-fitting purple blouse. She walked over to me, threw her arms around my neck, and kissed me deeply. "Thank you, Steven," she said, before kissing me again.

"You deserve it, Sarah. Now, I'll get dressed and go get us some breakfast. Is there anything in particular you want?"

"I trust you to make a good decision for breakfast. I want orange juice to drink, though."

_____

Breakfast went similarly to how dinner had the evening before, as did lunch. We spent most of the morning lounging around our suite, occupying Delilah with the toys, commenting on her development and activities. After lunch, I remembered the hotel had set aside a stroller for our use, so we decided to go to the zoo, as it had warmed considerably since the sun had risen. We had a great time walking around and showing Delilah all of the animals, but decided to cut our visit short when she started getting cranky.

Before leaving the zoo parking lot, Sarah decided to nurse Delilah, while I looked on. When we arrived back at the hotel, we all took a nap together so that we could stay up later that night for karaoke. Delilah slept in the pack 'n play, while I happily obliged Sarah's request to drain her other breast before we both feel asleep. Suckling at her breast and holding the other was just as amazing as the first time had been. I had a fleeting thought again of wanting more than that, but it only lasted a few seconds before giving way to contentment in the moment and pride at helping her out.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon in much the same way that we had spent the morning. Before we knew it, it was dinner time, and that night, we decided to eat downstairs in the restaurant. Sarah decided to dress up in a ravishing dark green dress, so I decided to wear my nicer outfit as well. Sarah nursed Delilah for a few minutes before going down so that she would only need baby food in the restaurant. That dinner was definitely the best meal I had eaten at the restaurant--salmon, smoked and grilled, with rice pilaf and steamed broccoli. Sarah had French onion soup and a Caesar salad, and Delilah had squash.

After dinner, we returned to the room to wait until karaoke started. We had decided Delilah would be antsy enough as it was, so we tried to give her plenty of exercise before we went back down to the lounge. What a sight we must have been to the rest of the audience, a man and a woman singing karaoke while holding a baby! Together we sang "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, "Come Sail Away" by Styx, and "More Than a Feeling" by Boston. I had been tempted to suggest "I Want to Break Free," but in the end I decided not to. It was different than the last time we sang together, but somehow a little more fun with Delilah there with us. We could only stay for three turns before Delilah decided she had had enough, and that was even after being nursed at our table halfway through.

By the time we made it back to our room and had changed Delilah, she was falling asleep, so Sarah placed her in the pack 'n play. As I stood in the doorway watching her, she went and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate how much you've done for us." She paused, considering her words, suddenly a sad smile on her face. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," I replied.

"Ok. I just want to know if you think I'm still attractive. I get the feeling that Kyle doesn't." She looked down at the floor, unsure of what else to say. When she looked back up at me, she was trying to hold back tears.

"I think you're still attractive. Just because you've gone through a lot of changes doesn't mean you're not still attractive, sexy even," I said, giving her a small, hopefully reassuring, smile. "Is there a reason you're asking me? Does it feel like I don't find you attractive anymore?"

"Maybe..." she paused. "You've been more than accommodating about helping me drain the excess milk from my boobs, but you haven't shown any interest in me besides that. Yes, you've hugged and kissed me, and you held my hand as we walked around the zoo today. But you're not interested in sex with me, are you?"

I really just wanted to blurt out that she was dead wrong, but I thought she might not believe me. Instead, I decided to address more than one problem at once. "So, you know Kyle talked to me yesterday, right?" She nodded, so I continued, "He said he wanted to warn me that you might not be interested in sex because you had been really exhausted lately. I thanked him, and decided I wouldn't bring up the subject unless you did..." I trailed off awkwardly, then added, "And now you have."

She did burst into tears at that. I could tell she was trying to cry quietly so she wouldn't wake Delilah. She sobbed, "Well maybe...if Kyle...did more of the work around the house....I wouldn't be so tired......all the time..."

I went and sat beside her, putting one arm around her shoulders and taking her hands in my other hand. "That might be the case, but the easiest way to know for sure is to talk about it. It sounds like there's been a lot of miscommunication. These kinds of things take working out, and they need to be done together. It requires finding the right balance from both of you, but it's still gonna be hard. Really, it doesn't stop being difficult, but that's also what makes it worthwhile. You're making this work out together."

She looked over to me, right into my eyes. "It would just be so much easier if we could stay together. You do everything so perfectly. You have all this wisdom and experience we could never have. Please, Steven, let's stay together," she said, pushing herself into me and kissing me with a very wet, very open, mouth. It broke me to do it, but I had to push her away, quite forcefully, to continue the conversation. I knew if she kept kissing me, I couldn't hold her off much longer.

"Sarah, please. You're letting your emotions rule and not giving any thought to anything else. Stand up, and take a deep breath. Please?" I asked again, and surprisingly, she did. Then she sat back down, a few inches further from me than she had been before. "Kyle, and Lucy, remember? That's why I've been reminding you from the beginning. I told you on day one that we would become attached, even grow to love each other, and it would be one of the hardest things we would have to do in the end. But Kyle is your husband, and Lucy, your sister, is my wife. We can't just abandon them, and my own kids. Right?"

I think it was the mention of their names that brought her back to reality. She took a deep breath, holding it in and then slowly letting it out. "You're right. Of course you're right. How could I forget all of them? You have a wife, and kids. You can't just go off and leave them."

"And all that wisdom and experience you said we have," I replied, "we're family. If you need help or advice, we're only just a phone call away. Okay?" I asked.

"Yes, we're family. That's right," she repeated, more to herself than to me. "And you can still come back to visit more in the future?"

"Yes, that's right," I repeated uncertainly, "but not in that way. Let's not ruin what we've had by wishing for more. Let's leave it as it is, so we can always look back on these times and treasure the experience. Until our dying days, we can smile at these memories, untarnished by conflict or anything else. Can we do that, together?" I asked her, moving closer to her and holding her face in my hands.

"I...I think I can do that. But can we...can we still make love tonight? One last time together?" Sarah asked hopefully, lightly placing her hand on my thigh.

"I would like nothing better tonight," I paused, getting up and walking over to my bag in the corner, from which I pulled out a wrapped condom. A momentary frown crossed her face before she could stop it. "The deal was one child, then you said you would consider adoption if you wanted more children. Do you remember that conversation, Sarah?"

"Of course I do, Steven," she replied with a smirk, "but you can't blame a girl for trying, can you?" With that, she stood up and walked over to me, kissing me deeply and putting one hand firmly on my crotch. "Well, it looks like you're not ready to fill that condom yet? Let's get you ready, shall we?" She asked, pulling me to the bed, where she pushed me down and pulled off my pants, followed by my briefs, then my socks and shirt.

She pulled down her panties and kicked them off before climbing on top of my legs, pinning me down. As she made her way up to my half-erect penis, I was fully aware of the unopened condom still grasped in my hand. She pulled up her dress slightly and slowly dragged her wet pussy over my cock, again and again until it was fully hardened. Then she pinned my hands above my head, kissed me deeply, and slid her way onto my cock until I was fully inside of her. I knew what she was still trying to do. I figured the best way to turn it around was to lull her into a false sense of power, letting her think I was going with it, until I could flip her off of me. Whatever she thought of my intentions, she was clearly trying to finish me off as soon as she could, as she immediately started bouncing on my cock as savagely as she could. She knew I didn't normally last long being ridden like that.

I started kissing her viciously, nibbling on her lips, plunging my tongue into her mouth. That caught her off-guard, which gave me a chance to slip my hands out of her grasp and hold her head, continuing to kiss her passionately. Once she was distracted by my kissing, I repositioned her right leg, quickly flipping her over onto her back beside me and mounting her, pinning the middle of her body down. I was fairly confident that she didn't have the body strength to get me off of her at that point. "I will not be fucked like some stud," I said, smiling down on her as I ripped open the package and placed the condom on the head of my cock, slowly unrolling it down the length of my penis. I lowered my face close to hers and whispered, "Now, let's get that dress off of you so we can make sweet love, one last time."