BMB: Version 3-2

"What did you two have planned today?" Jen asked as she finished her sandwich.

"I was hoping to still be in bed with her," I answered and put my hand to my forehead. "She's changed my life, Jen. While we didn't talk a lot about New York, I did a whole lot of thinking about what I would show her first, wondering how much she was going to love the fall colors, meeting Gram, and seeing where I'm from like she did for me these two weeks.

"I've never been a cuddler in bed. Now I wake up when she gets up even to go to the bathroom, and I struggle to sleep when she isn't actually lying on my arm. I've never told anyone who wasn't family that I love them. I told Trin the day after I met her."

"She's the one, Tom," Jen told me confidently. "I just hope this whole experience doesn't mess with her too much. I just hate not knowing. Is she hurt? Drugged? Just being held hostage? I can't imagine her mom allowing her to be hurt. Maybe knocked out with Chloroform, but not hurt. Shit! This sucks!"

Jen's phone rang making her jump. She ran to it and picked it up. "Hello?" She paused. "Yeah? Oh, thank God. Yeah, we'll be right there. You're sure she's OK?" I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks, Dan." She hung up.

"They found her in Mrs. Riley's basement. She's another rich bitch like Mrs. Nethers. Both belong to the country club and are all buddy-buddy with Mrs. Powers for her ability to provide them gossip. I've never liked them, and Trin hates them. We're gonna head to the station. She's being checked out by paramedics now, and Dan said she's just tired."

"Oh, thank God," I sighed and hugged her before following her out of the house to collect our girl. We got to the station in Jen's car and were immediately led back to a room to wait to see her.

* * *

"I promise, Dan," I told my old friend, "I'm fine. The twins didn't hurt me or anything. I refused any food in case it was tainted, and once they'd taken me from the park, they didn't talk to me at all. I want to see them, Dan! Take me to Jen and Tom now, please."

"Fine!" he conceded and huffed. "Remember, I'm the cop here, Trinity. I'm in charge."

"You're also the guy who used to play in my kiddie pool with me when we were in diapers, Dan," I reminded him. "Andy here isn't going to say anything, right?" Andy, the paramedic who was checking my blood pressure and who was our old classmate as well, just laughed.

"I'll take you to them, let you hug Jen, and then take her out of the room so you can see Tom alone," Dan shared as we made our way down the hall. "Just as you've requested. I'll have her sign you out of our custody." He stopped suddenly. "Trin, he's a great guy. I'm really happy for you. I know things have been hard with all that happened with Mark and the girls. No one should ever feel a loss like that. I just wanted to tell you that you deserve to be happy again. Go make a life in New York and have fun, kid," he teased.

"Thanks, Dan," I told him as I hugged him. "You know, she's out there too." I reminded him quietly. "Your person. I feel like the time is coming. Keep me posted. I can't wait to hear about it."

"Thanks," he whispered and ushered me into the room where my best friend and boyfriend were waiting.

"Trin," Jen gasped and hugged me fiercely. "Oh, honey. Thank God."

"Hi, Jen," I sighed and hugged her back. I felt Dan put his hand on her back, so I let go and waited for her to leave the room. When the door closed, I turned to face Tom.

"Tom," I whispered and took the few steps to stand before him. "I'm so sorry," I said softly and waited to see if he'd hug me.

"Sorry? Oh my God, Trin! You're OK!" He cupped my cheek and brought his lips down onto mine hard enough to show me how much he had missed me. I kissed him back and wrapped my arms around him. We must have been at it for a full minute. "Why in the world would you be sorry? Oh, Trinity. Oh, thank God you're OK."

"I shouldn't have been upset with you," I told him as I set my hands on his chest. "I should have been more understanding! I never should have left the house. I could have just sat out back. Man! I was so stupid!"

"No, babe," he said definitively. "The guys who took you against your will were stupid. You were just doing what you've done for years, and with Jen only two minutes away. But it's done now. Let's go home. Let's let the police deal with the charges. I want to take you back to the house."

"You want to take me to bed," I told him and smiled up at his face. "Or at least I hope you do," I teased and put my arm around his waist. "Jen should be done signing the paperwork."

Jen walked us inside the house and went to my room to collect her clothes. I knew her outfit looked familiar! Duh. She walked up to the both of us and hugged us closely. "I'll talk to you before you leave," she promised. "Right after the closing. Love you, Trin. Bye, Tom." She was gone quickly. I was pretty certain she knew we wanted some alone time.

"Wanna go not sleep?" I asked as I took his hand after he'd locked the front door.

"Are you going to want to talk about what happened?" he asked with concern.

"We have the whole road trip to New York for me to share the story, Tom. I've waited all night to feel your hands on me. Are you up for it?" Tom's look said it all. We made our way into the room and spent the next nearly four hours connected in every way imaginable. It was heavenly.

We slept for another two hours and then got up and took a shower. Man, I love shower sex. With Tom, I think I have yet to find a way that I don't adore making love with him. I feel closer to him every time we join bodies and become one.

A late lunch came next and then we headed over to the shop so that I could see Mike. We filled him in on how things had been going since we'd met that first night. Mike told Tom he'd have the bike on a trailer ready to hook up to my car on Sunday for our trip. Then Tom introduced me to his bike and took me for a ride. We stopped at a park and Tom pushed me on the swings. We even took a few rides down the slide together. We were laughing and just having a great time.

We headed out to take a longer ride and ended up out in the country where we found ourselves at a little lake with no one around. He parked and turned around to face me. Before long, we were heavy into some hot kissing and a lot of petting. Before anything could come off or we went too far, we slowed down to do some simple kissing, and then he revved up the bike and brought us back to the shop where we parked the bike in the garage and took my car back to the house for the last time.

Once the door was locked, our clothes found themselves being all but torn off each other's bodies. I'd barely made it into my room when Tom's hands were on me, lifting me up and taking me right there against the wall. My jeans were still hanging on one leg, and my bra was one snap away from becoming undone.

After we'd both reached our climaxes, he let me down and helped me out of the rest of my clothes. We climbed into the bed for the last time and set the alarm for 6AM so we had time to get as much ready as possible for the movers. I laid back and looked up at the ceiling while he used the bathroom and shut off the lights before joining me. We snuggled together and kissed passionately for several minutes before falling asleep.

At 6AM, the alarm went off, and we went to work taking the bedsheets off, packing dirty clothes which would fill a bag to be washed by the time we got to New York, showering and getting dressed, and then packing the remaining loose items into the two boxes I'd had ready to be packed. I had a suitcase for our two-day trip packed full of our clothes and toiletries. After two weeks together, we'd grown quite accustomed to each other's routines and items used.

By 8:30AM, we had all our boxes in the garage and all furniture torn down as much as possible. The guys arrived early, and as promised, I'd had delivered breakfast for them. They ate and then got to work filling the truck. With many hands, it was quick work. By 9:30AM, they were done and ready to pull out of the driveway to get on the road, and I was making my final walkthrough of the empty house.

I checked every cabinet and touched all the countertops. My mind was full of different memories from the time Mark and I had moved in right up until they'd left the house for the last time. I remembered making dinners for game nights and laughing with my little girls as they ate in their highchairs nearby.

And then suddenly, I could only focus on the things Tom and I had done over the prior two weeks. We'd done a thorough job making sure everything in the house was either meant to stay there or had been emptied and packed. I turned to face him after the last room was inspected and shook my head. "This is it," I told him. "For two weeks' time, we sure made a lot of memories in this house."

"Come on," he suggested as he took my hand. "It's early. Let's go hook up the trailer to the car for the trip. Then we'll head to the closing. We'll meet up with Jen as planned and then get on the road. We're going home." He brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed it before leaning down and kissing me. What had begun as a simple kiss turned into a deep, passionate one, and by the time we pulled apart, we were breathless.

"I love you, Trinity," Tom told me and cupped my face. "By the way, I heard your initials are T-I-P. Did you know that mine are T-O-P? I just thought you might find that interesting. Mrs. Penney said something about you jokingly mentioning that you hoped to find the 'top' to your 'tip.'" He gave me a weird look. I returned a similar look with a smirk. "Did that sound as weird as it seemed? I swear it didn't sound that weird when she said it." We both ended up laughing.

"Thomas?" I asked him.

Tom nodded. "Yep. Full name is Thomas Owen Parker."

"Trinity Irelyn Powers," I offered and smiled. "I guess that solidifies it. You're my match."

"In so many ways, Trinity," Tom answered and kissed the side of my head. "So many ways."

Once the trailer was hooked up to the car, Tom drove us to the place where I was closing on the house. He told me he'd stay in the car so I could get all which needed to be done finished with little distraction. He had a movie on his phone he wanted to watch, so he had plenty to do to keep him busy. I told him I'd text Jen when I was about done so we could meet in the parking lot to say goodbye.

I walked into the building and was met by the realtors of both groups. I had been early so I had expected to wait, but everyone was there so we happily got to signing the mounds of paperwork which needed to be signed for the transition of ownership, and in my case, the big check I would be taking with me to New York to open my first solo account. I went from opening a checking account with my dad's name on it to having my name put on a joint account with Mark, and now I would be opening one of my own.

I texted Jen quickly at the end of the meeting while I waited for my check. I shook the new homeowners' hands and wished them a wonderful life in their new home. I thanked both realtors for their ability to work on a Sunday and wished them both a happy fall. As I walked out of the building, I felt the weight of the last piece of ownership there in my town slipping away as I was finally done and ready to move on with my life.

Jen was sitting in my car talking with Tom when I got done. I laughed at how well they seemed to get on with one another. I couldn't wait to see what watching Jen and Dougie would be like. I had a feeling she'd be as happy as I was with Tom. Man, I sure hoped so.

We walked across the street to enjoy one last meal together at the diner which sat near the building where I'd just ended my homeownership. Jen sat across from Tom and me and smiled as she watched the two of us laughing at something on the menu. "I'm so happy for you guys," she shared and shook her head. "If ever there was motivation to come join you, Trin, it's to continue watching the two of you making a life together. And maybe," she said and paused as a smile lit up her face, "just maybe there's a guy waiting there for me too."

"Oh, he's waiting," Tom answered and nodded at her. "He's texted each day since he first saw you on FaceTime. Don't dilly-dally, young lady. Time's a-wasting. Have you set a goal date yet?"

"Yeah, actually," Jen told him quietly. "All I have to do is pack up and move. My roommate was happy to hear that I want to go. It turns out, she was trying to figure out a way to let me know she wanted to have her boyfriend move in with her. It works out well for everyone."

"Oh, my gosh!" I exclaimed! "Where will you stay? What are you going to do for a job?"

"Well, I already looked up the branch of my company in New York, and there is one in Crawford. I've also updated my resume so that I can apply on Monday to transfer. If they won't allow it, I've got my two-week notice typed up and ready to turn in. And if I have to give notice, my resume is ready to send to five different companies in that area which may find my knowledge and abilities useful for their business."

Jen inhaled deeply. "As for where I'll live, I was kinda hoping maybe I could stay with you in your new house if you are settled by then. But I have lots of money saved, so after the move, I was thinking one to two months maybe, and then I would begin looking for a house. It will be my first major purchase."

"Well, I guess I can agree to most of that, but the one to two-month time frame?" I asked and shook my head. "Yeah, that's got to go. I'll have to insist that you wait until spring to move out of my house, Jen. I don't want to have to help you move in the winter!"

Jen appeared concerned until she heard my amended timeframe. When she realized I was insisting on having her be with me longer, she gasped and then jumped up to hug me. I slid out of the booth and opened my arms to hug her back. "Oh, Trin! You scared me! Oh! This is going to be so great! Thank you! Thanks for lighting the fire under me to do this for myself!"

"Well, won't Dougie be thrilled?" Tom asked and began laughing. "All this because Trin decided to apply at BMB and make a new life for herself. And what a life it's turning out to be."

We stood in the parking lot and hugged and cried and hugged some more. Tom put his arm around me as I waved at Jen who finally got into her car and drove away so we could leave. Tom asked if I was ready to go, and I nodded as I wiped my eyes once more.

We got into the car and headed for the interstate. We had a lot of miles to travel before we were able to stop. I looked up some hotels in different parts of the route we were taking to see which seemed feasible with the time it would take to make it to them. Finally, we decided on one in Toledo which would make this leg of the drive just four and a half hours of driving for the day. I looked up the hotel and called and reserved a room for us for the night. I told them when we expected to be there and thanked them for their time and efforts to have it ready by then on short notice.

"OK, we are set," I told Tom and set my head back on the headrest. "Thanks for taking the first leg of the trip. I do plan to drive for some of the time." Tom gave me a leery look. "What?"

"How often have you driven with a trailer behind your vehicle?"

"Never, but there's no time like the present to learn," I admitted. "It won't' be that different."

"We'll see," Tom conceded and took my hand in his. "Now, we've made it on the road. It's time, Trin. I've waited patiently and without bothering you for the details even once. Will you please tell me?"

I sighed. "Fine, yes, I owe that to you," I declared and shook my head. "Honestly, I think it was harder on you two than it was for me for a lot of the time, Tom. It was the 'not knowing' part which probably really screwed with you. I know it confused the heck out of me. And knowing that you two were probably beside yourselves with worry was the worst part for me."

"You have no idea," he told me with a sad look in his eyes. "Not knowing was awful, yeah, but wondering the worst, dealing with the police, trying to stay positive for Jen and vice versa, and then kinda realizing your mom was in on it? I don't know, Trin. I can't really decide what the worst part was for us."

"I'm glad I was on the phone with Jen and that she had insisted on joining me," I shared. "And that I had mentioned to her that the twins were in the neighborhood. As soon as I heard them laugh when I thought it was Jen approaching me, I realized something was way off. And they used Chloroform on me! That was bad. I hated being knocked out. I have no idea what time I woke up from it, but I was groggy from the drug effect and the moldy basement and the unknown whereabouts in which I was being held."

"I was so worried they were going to hurt you," Tom confessed. "Jen assured me that between the stupid harmless crap they usually got into and the fact that your mom was probably part of it, you were not expected to be in any real danger. It still sucked though."

"Yes, it did," I agreed. "They tried to get me to eat something, but never actually spoke to me at all. When I refused, they just shrugged and left the food on the table sitting next to me. I was in a locked room. No one ever spoke to me. No one came down except the one time the twins tried to get me to eat. I kept wondering what was waiting for me. Torture? A lecture? Drugs?" I shrugged. "I just didn't know."

"So, what happened when they found you?"

"I heard yelling, and then the door was opened quickly," I explained. "The twins looked like deer in headlights. They were so shocked to have been caught. The officer who found me looked shocked that I wasn't hurt or tied up or crying or anything. He asked me if I was Trinity and then offered his hand to walk me up through the house and out to his police car. I never saw anyone other than the twins.

"When I got to the station, it was just after sunrise, I think. They had me telling them every single detail I could think to share, and then they asked me multiple questions to see if I would shed some more light on the already questionable experience. That lasted about an hour and a half, I think. They asked me all the crazy questions like if I had been hurt, abused, sexually or otherwise, and when I assured them that I hadn't been, they insisted on still checking all my vitals and stuff. By the time Dan came in to talk to me, I was sick and tired of it all.

"I got up, walked over to him, hugged him, and then demanded to see you and Jen. I then told him to let Jen hug me and then to get her out of there so I could be alone with you. I needed to make sure you were OK and that you weren't upset with me."

"I still can't believe you thought I'd be mad at you," Tom said and laughed. "I hope I showed you just how not mad I was when we got back to the house."

I think I blushed. "Oh, you showed me and then some," I responded and smiled. "I do love it when you show me how you feel. You're very expressive."

"Baby, you're the one I've finally found who knows just how to understand me," Tom replied and winked at me.

"Not gonna lie," I began and figured that since we were already on the topic which had me blushing, why not go all the way? "I can't wait to express a few things with you tonight at the hotel. I believe the room we'll be staying in will be complementary to some of the things I'd like to do with you."

"Woman, I do like how you think," Tom declared and laughed. "See? Isn't this better than making a 13-hour road trip alone?"

"Yes, fine," I confessed and smiled. "Well, that discussion got us into the next town. Now what can we talk about for the next four and a half hours?" We found many things to discuss including music, family stories, grade, middle, and high school memories, and we were discussing the holidays and traditions when we got to the hotel.