Bipartisanship and Romance Pt. 06

This is part six of my series about Maddie and Ted. As always, I would recommend reading the last pieces. The politics aren't real. I am just trying to have some fun and always enjoyed political thrillers and such. It is also still meant to be a sexy love story. There is less sex in this episode, but it moves the story forward quite a bit. As always, this isn't a political science textbook. It is me having fun. I hope you do too. Enjoy

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The transition back to the real world was tough, but it was good to be back in some ways. I immediately threw myself back into the Ohio union law fight. The Speaker was pleased with my work and put me on the labor relations committee. Maddie was added to a new small business subcommittee thanks to her work on infrastructure. Raj was still the hero of healthcare, and there was some talk that if Grace won reelection, there would be a place for him in the White House. He kept joking about how it was because of his good looks. Eddie had to do his two weeks in the reserves and was late getting back.

Arnold Play continued to provide entertainment. He caused a stir by calling Doug Santos' wife ugly at an Iowa debate before the caucus. He claimed that the country deserved a "smoking hot babe" for the First Lady. Santos turned beet red and claimed he wouldn't dignify nonsense with a response. Surprisingly, it didn't seem to hurt Play very much. Larry Free tried to stay above the fray by attacking Democrats back in Ohio on charges of socialism.

In the second week of January, my mom came to town. Maddie and I took her out to dinner. It was great. She and Maddie joked and laughed, usually at my expense. After dinner, the talk turned to politics.

"Maddie, I hate to ask, but where do you stand on Mr. Play?" mom asked.

"He's a joke that gives a bad name to Republicans. If I am honest, I am not a fan of any of the front runners. Play is in it for the money. Santos is a crusader who doesn't have anything to crusade about. I normally like Larry Free, but his fight with Ted and the unions are made up. He knows that unions are popular. He's doing it to be the nice guy most of the time but adds a mean streak he thinks Santos has. He made up his anger at public unions," she finished. I was in shock, though I had suspected something like this. She was the first to say it.

Mom said, "I don't know, guys. Play may be in it for the money, but I think he has a real chance. The rallies that he throws are real. Sadly the cheers he gets are real. I think he has a chance."

"Mom, there is no way Arnold Play can make it through this. If he isn't saying something mean, he is saying something racist. It won't work. American won't elect a shock jock as president," I said, shaking my head.

"I just don't know," mom replied. "I have an awful feeling, and I want you two to be careful. This election doesn't feel right."

After dinner, we took mom back to her hotel. She and Maddie hugged, and mom told me she was a keeper. I made plans to take her to lunch the next day before heading up to Baltimore to visit my aunt.

"You hear that slick," Maddie said, slapping my arm. "I'm a keeper. A mom-certified keeper."

"She barely knows you. Also, she didn't stick you on a private jet and fly you to paradise," I retorted. Maddie stuck her tongue out at me. Raj had the TV on when we got home, and Eddie, still in uniform and with his bag from his reserve training, was standing behind the couch.

Before we could say hi to Eddie, Raj said, "Will you look at this shit?!" On the screen was Arnold Play. Raj turned the sound up.

"That's right, folks. We are gonna build a big beautiful wall. There is a flood of immigrants coming into the country. A flood. And the liberal, socialist, Democrats, they really are terrible people folks. The liberal socialists just want them to flood in. And we know why. Everyone knows why. The media. I call them the liberal media cause they are. They know, and they won't tell you. They know that the only way we lose, THE ONLY WAY, is when they let these illegals come in, and they flood the polls. It is terrible. It is so terrible, folks, and we have to stop. We have to." Raj pushed mute.

"Fuck that guy!" Eddie shouted at the tv.

"He's been saying it all day. Just going around Iowa and making shit up," Raj said. "He even brought up the Amigos thing again. I think he is getting close to saying us by name."

"Guys," Maddie chimed in, "I get it, but Arnold Play is a joke. There is no way in hell he has a shot. He fills media time."

"Well, the media needs to pull their heads out of their asses," Eddie shot back. He picked up his bag and went upstairs. I looked at Raj, and he shrugged. Maddie ran up the stairs after him.

"Is your mom still coming to lunch tomorrow?" Raj asked.

"Yeah," I paused. "Mom said something tonight. She's scared. She thinks that Play has a real shot."

Raj looked over his shoulder, "I don't know what is going on with Eddie, so I'll say this lightly. I think he does too. They showed his crowd size in some earlier shots. Something is happening here."

We heard people coming down the stairs. It was Eddie followed by Maddie. Eddie almost looked like he had been crying. His tie was undone, but he was still in uniform.

"Look," he said, "I'm sorry I exploded. I already said sorry to Maddie, and I'll repeat it to the two of you that I shouldn't have ripped into her like that. The military is way better about gays serving, but it still dicey. I was told that I would be granted exceptions if I wanted. That I could claim Congressional service and be excused. I just." He broke off with a sob. Maddie put her hand on his shoulder. "I think it's because of Play and what he said over Christmas Break. I love being a Marine, and I swore I would keep going no matter what."

"Shit, Eds, I'm sorry," I said, hugging him. "This is fresh now, but once Play starts to get trounced, things will get better."

"I hope, man, I do," he sighed. We all went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer to catch up.

The next day, I took my mom into the Capitol. I showed her around my office and took her down to the Congressional Cafeteria. Maddie was in a meeting, but Raj and Eddie ate lunch with us. Raj, as he always did, put on a show. He talked and joked and had mom rolling with laughter. When he found out that I hadn't gotten her a special visitor's pass, he scolded me and then called his office to get one. He took her on a tour of the statue gallery that is usually off-limits to average tourists.

As we were walking, I leaned over to Eddie, "Jesus, I'm sleeping with Maddie, and she didn't try this hard."

"It's Raj, man. Whatever he else he is doing, he is always running for mayor of most Popularsville." Eddie replied, shaking his head.

When I was walking mom out to her car, she kept gushing about Raj. Finally, I asked, "Mom, Raj is great, but he isn't my type. Do you like Maddie?"

"I do, sweety. You two are very cute together, and for a Republican, she doesn't seem like she is as cutthroat as some of the rest of them seem today. You smile a lot around her, and that makes me very happy." She gave me a peck on the cheek.

On Maddie's birthday, we went to a great little Greek restaurant. The hummus was amazing. We almost ordered two helpings. The carafe of 'table wine' and the glasses were small juice cups. It was also excellent. We each ordered different meat kebabs and barely spoke while eating. Finally sated, we came up for air.

"Oh. My. God. Where did you find this place?" Maddie asked.

"One of Raj's Michigan guys found it. Says it is his best place to score lobbyists," I replied

"Ted, next time, just say Raj found it," she said, shaking her head.

"What, I wanted to add to the romantic atmosphere!" I protested.

"You were already going to score when you brought me here. Now you are losing it. Give me a present and see if you can fix it again," she demanded.

I think I shocked her when I slipped the little box out of my pocket. I don't think she thought it was a ring. I just don't think she thought I would pull off jewelry this early in the relationship.

"Ooooh. Gimme Gimme Gimme," she cried. She unwrapped it and put her hand up to her mouth. "Where did you get these? They are so beautiful." Tears came to her eyes. She pulled out her earrings and put the pearls in her ears.

"I got them on the island, on the day we went into town. I just knew that you needed them," I said. She leaned over the table and kissed me. I felt like a million dollars.

"Don't you ever spend a stupid amount of money on me again, unless it's jewelry or an engagement ring or a wedding band. Or a George Rogers jersey," she laughed. The waiter then brought out a special vanilla cake he called the Jackie O. He claimed it was his grandfather's cake for Jackie Kennedy Onasis when she was married to Aristotle. It was so light and fluffy with real vanilla bean in it. Maddie kept batting my fork away.

As we left, she pulled me in for a kiss as the snow started falling. "Those are great pearl earrings. Maybe we can add a pearl necklace," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. Just over her shoulder, I swear I saw a guy taking a picture of us on his phone.

"Well, sure," I replied a little distractedly, "I didn't see one, but I'm sure he'll have one the next time we go down."

Maddie shook her head and laughed. "Ted, I want you to cum on my chest." She kissed me again. "Soon. Like tonight." We called a cab and went home.

Maddie practically pulled me up the stairs and into her room. Our coats were still on when we got there. We were frantically undressing each other.

"Why does your coat have so many fricking buttons," she hissed at me. She gave up when she saw that under the buttons was a zipper. She moved down to my belt.

"Your sweater has some weird shoulder zipper. Hell, your boots have zippers," I said, kicking off my shoes. Instead of unbuttoning my shirt, I just pulled it over my head. Maddie had her sweater off and was unzipping her boots. When she had them off, I pushed her back on the bed and dragged off her tight jeans. She still had on her calf-length black socks, but at this point, I didn't care. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra.

I fell on top of her, taking one of her nipples into my mouth. She moaned and dragged my head up for a kiss. My cock found her wetness. I slowly began to slide myself into her. She moaned into my mouth. I felt her legs wrap around me. I pulled back slightly.

"Happy birthday, beautiful," I panted out.

"Mmmm, thank you, baby," she moaned. "Remember to give me my pearl necklace." I laughed and kissed her again. I picked up the pace. My face went to her neck, and I kissed her. I felt her hands go to my back and her nails dig in.

"Oh, yes. Ted. Please. Please don't stop," she moaned. I moved my head up and ran my tongue around her ear before giving it a small bite.

"I'll never stop," I whispered. I started to move faster into her. She used to legs to pull me in even tighter. I could feel her moving her hips up to meet my thrusts. We were both panting and moaning. Maddie reached down and slapped my ass.

"Ted, yes. Fuck me, don't stop!" she cried. "I'm almost there, oh God!" I continued to pound into her. Her legs spread, and I put my arms under her knees. We could hear the wet slapping sound that our bodies made. I felt her pussy tighten around my cock.

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck," she cried. "I'm going to cum. I'm. I'm. I'm cumming. Cumming, don't stop. Please don't stop." I kept up my pace. Her legs went limp on my arms.

"Oh, yes, baby, keep going. Fuck me, Ted," she panted. "I want you to cum on me. Please give me a nice birthday cum!" Her dirty talk was getting to me. I felt my balls start to tingle. Knowing what she wanted, I pulled out and quickly straddled her midsection.

"Yes, yes. Give it to me," she hissed. I stroked myself. Maddie scooted down further between my legs. She reached for my cock and pointed it just above her tits. Let go. Cum splashed around her neck. Maddie pointed my cock at different spots. When I finished, she licked up what was on her hand.

"Perfect. Let me see if it matches!" she laughed and pushed me off of her. She popped up and went to the mirror behind her door, and held her hair to the side. She was smiling. She struck a pose like the models showing cars on the Price is Right when she turned to me. "Tada. Matching Pearls"

I laughed at her crazy pose. Standing in front of me was Congresswoman Maddison Crawford, wearing nothing but socks and cum dripping down her chest. It was a vision. I grabbed a towel and tossed it at her.

"You're nuts," I said. "Insanely hot, but nuts." We both laughed, and she wiped herself off. I laid back down, and she jumped on top of me. I pulled the blankets over us, and she kissed me.

"Thanks for the great birthday," she said.

"No problem. Let's do it again next year." And I turned off the lights. On Monday, our world exploded.

When I got to the office, it seemed like it was going to be a typical day. Mike met me at the door with about twenty meeting requests and, of course, the hundred calls I had to make. I wanted to set a meeting to address what social media companies would do about cyberbullying in schools. At about 10:30, my phone erupted. Ten reporters were calling, and news flashes were dinging on my phone. When I opened one, my heart stopped.

TWO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ENGAGED IN ILLICIT AFFAIR was the first headline. Several involved some variation on the word sex. Some had pictures. Maddie and I, kissing in front of the restaurant. Maddie, working on the buttons of my coat. Me, on top of a blurred-out Maddie. Maddie posing. Someone had been spying on us. I immediately called Maddie. Her secretary told me she was busy. She also did answer her cell.

Mike ran into my office and turned on the tv. "Jesus," he said, "everyone has it."

MSNBC, CNN, and worst of all, Fox was running it. Fox kept running the pictures. CNN only ran the one of Maddie and me kissing but kept implying there were more explicit ones.

"Why are they talking like we made a fucking sex tape?" I screamed. "We were fucking spied on, for Christ's sake!"

"I know, but shit, these look bad," Mike said, almost in a whisper.

"Mike, fuck, don't turn on me. What the hell do we do?"

"Ok," Mike seemed to snap out of it. "We don't deny a relationship. Are you close to anyone at the networks?"

"I'm good with the MSNBC guys," I said.

"Call them. You are horrified that your relationship is being revealed to the world like this. You are not having an affair as you are both single adults who can date whomever you chose. The real story is the gross breach of privacy," Mike seemed to galvanize into action. "I'll get Eddie and Raj's office to start working on statements of support. You need to call the Speaker now. Where's Maddie?"

"I don't know. She isn't answering." I said, sounding a little panicked.

"Find out if she is ok. This has to be terrible for her. Then find out what kind of statement she is planning to make. Maybe we can piggyback off of her statement?" Mike said, leaving my office. I tried Maddie again, and still nothing. I then called Speaker Gower, and she answered on the first ring.

"You really fucked the dog Congressman Bates," she said sarcastically. "I mean, wow, you couldn't have put me in a worse spot. There are sixty-four female Democrats in the House, and you couldn't find one of them to date."

"Mam, I." she cut me off.

"Shut up. You are putting out a statement, right?"

"Yes, mam. We." She cut me off again.

"You are going to say that you reject the idea that this was an affair. You were maliciously spied on, and your private life splashed unjustly before the public," she wasn't asking. It was also a bit frightening how quickly Mike had come up with the same plan. "Are your buddies going to release a joint statement?"

"We are contacting them now, so I'm sure." Again she cut me off.

"Have you spoken to her yet?" She didn't need to elaborate.

"No, I tried. Maddie didn't answer," I missed my slip up on the name, but it sounded like she did too.

"Kyle probably still has her in his office. Jesus, that poor girl. Alright. You're a dumb ass, but you didn't actually do anything wrong, and I'm sorry this is happening to you. My office won't say anything. I'm going to kick this to Houser. You don't need a woman whose marriage ended in divorce because of infidelity backing you on this. Stan is clean," she finished with a sigh.

"Mam, this isn't infidelity. Neither one of us is married, and neither one of us was dating someone else," I said weakly. "We were two happy people celebrating a birthday, for Christ's sake." I almost started to cry.

"I know," she said almost sympathetically. "But the pictures change everything. A rumor that you two are dating can be cleared up. Hell, you could have even admitted to it. But her side had many holier than though people who love to hit us with this shit. It would be best if you were ready for whoever you are up against to use it too. If you are lucky, it will be Schadt. That asshole has two of his own little scandals behind him, but I bet he's dumb enough to try and use this against you," she paused. "You're probably going to be hearing from me a lot today, so always have a phone." She hung up.

Mike got our statement out. I was on MSNBC at 11 and noon. I deflected every question about an affair and focused on how terrible it was that we were spied on. After Houser issued his statement condemning the incident, several other members, including Eddie and Raj, did the same. Raj was actually in my office when the next shit hit the fan.

We were talking when Mike stormed in and turned on the tv and said, "You won't believe this shit!"

Alexa Sanchez-Cruz, the young Democrat from Brooklyn, was talking to the show moderator on CNN. She was just finishing her statement. The moderator broke in.

"So let me get this straight. You are suggesting that Congressman Bates may have leaked information to Congresswoman Crawford throughout their relationship?" he asked.

"Look, I don't have any specific information. It just concerns me that two roommates that started a romantic relationship are expecting everyone just to accept that they never spoke to each other about the things they were working on," Sanchez-Cruz stated.

"That's a big accusation, Congresswoman," the moderator countered. I flipped off the tv.

"FUCK!" I shouted.

"God damn it. I told her the house rule. We don't talk about work shit. Any of us. If it is public knowledge, sure, but we never break the rule. You never did, right?" Raj asked.

"Fuck no," I said. "The only fight Maddie and I ever had was because she felt blindsided by the healthcare meeting. But she didn't know. I'm sure she will stand by that. God, I wish she would pick up her phone."

"This makes this a fucking scandal if it wasn't before, Ted," Mike said calmly. "Alexa just flipped this thing on its head."

"FUCK!" I shouted again.

I had to get to a committee meeting. There must have been twenty reporters around me asking me all manner of questions. I almost punch the guy from an online news magazine who asked if I was considering selling any other tapes or pictures I had. The meeting itself, on increased spending for Black History Month programs, was a blessed relief. However, I could tell that several members were leering at me. Kyle Farmer, the Minority Leader, and a committee member came up to me afterward.

"First off, let me just say that I'm really sorry," he said, extending his hand. "What is happening to the two of you is awful. If I find out that one of my guys was responsible, there will be hell to pay. This isn't the kind of politics that I will be associated with."

"Thank you, sir," I said. "You talked to Maddison. Is she ok? She hasn't gotten back to me all day."