Christmas Chickadee

After an hour I decided it was time to prepare for bed. What I had in mind was using that fabulous master bathroom with the large tub tucked into its own alcove. It was every woman's dream to have a place to relax in quiet luxury in such a setting. Now, it was all mine to enjoy as I wished. No interruptions. Just me and my thoughts. I drew the bath, stripped down, and sank into the warm water up to my neck. I felt the stress of the week fade. I mused on how I could get used to having this tub to soak in when I needed too. I loved this house.

My thoughts went to Andy. I knew he worked hard all of the time and I couldn't help but wonder if that wasn't the major contributor to his failed relationship. There are always two sides to a story and I hardly knew anything about it from even from his point of view. What I did know came from his friends, I knew nothing at all from her perspective.

Did he really not notice the warning signs that their relationship was in trouble until it smacked him square in the face. Then I hesitated—wasn't that the same thing I had faced? Maybe he just didn't want to believe it and figured once married they would be good and things would work out. I hadn't gotten that far.

I had glimpsed how focused he could be while at work. After all, he hadn't called me all week and there must have been a few minutes available when he could have. Maybe there was another reason for his having waited so long. But why was he coming home? He wasn't supposed to come home until the end of each month, surely it represented an unexpected expense.

I supposed I would find out soon enough. All in all, Andy had more good qualities than bad and so far I was willing to live with those things I disliked. After all, we were still very new together. Still, I felt I was more comfortable and had deeper feelings for him than any other man I had ever spent time with. This despite our limited time together, it just felt right, and it was a feeling I hadn't been able to ignore.

I cleaned the bathroom, slipped into my sheer nightgown and a fresh pair of panties. I walked into the bedroom, pulled the satin sheets back, stepped to the bedside table, turned off the light, leaving only the faint glow from the night light in the bathroom to light the way. Andy would be home in the wee hours of the morning, maybe we would be able to snuggle for a few minutes until he fell asleep if I woke up. What would happen after that? I smiled and felt the excitement surrounding the possibilities. I really didn't know how much energy he would have. But I knew what I wanted to do—if it happened I would be in a great mood when I met with my friends for lunch.

The feel of the warm soft satin sheets, sumptuous pillow and mattress was all I remembered until I woke after hearing a noise. I glanced at the red numbers on the digital clock- ten after four. Andy walked in quietly, trying not to wake me. Though why he thought I wouldn't wake when he got into bed with me seemed ludicrous. I was in his house and his bed waiting for him. I knew he meant well and didn't say anything as he slipped into bed beside me. I moved into him after he was settled onto his back. I whispered.

"Welcome home, snuggle with me and go to sleep. See you in the morning."

He half rolled over, his hand came to my hip and caressed it a few times.

"Nice to be home Dana. I'm tired as hell. Thank you for coming. I missed you."

I turned away from him and felt his hand come to my side as I drank in his words. I took his hand and placed it under my arm and onto my breast. I felt his warm hand cradle my breast and squeeze gently a few times. That was all I remembered until I woke in the morning to find him sound asleep next to me. I could hardly believe I was with him again after thinking his silence meant we were not as close as I had hoped. I felt his warmth and I slowly moved closer, placed my hand over his waist and closed my eyes. He didn't move. I was glad he didn't as I felt my body slowly warm with arousal. It was strange as I was fully content with the pleasure it brought me. For the time being it was more than enough to make me happy.

Half an hour later I slipped out of bed quietly, stood and watched him in the dim light as he slept. I wanted to kiss him so badly. He looked so handsome even with his day old beard. It made him look rugged, grizzled in a manly way I hadn't seen before. Like he could wake up, see me, and take me with primal, lustful desire. It sent a shiver of excitement through me with the thought he could take me boldly and I would enjoy it. I surprised myself with the thought of him rocking me forcefully, buried under his firm, muscled body.

I dressed quietly and slipped out of the bedroom. Breakfast was the first thing that came to mind. I fixed a bowl of cold cereal with milk, prepared apple slices, and fixed a cup of hot chocolate. I placed everything on a tray and walked downstairs to watch the bird feeders while I ate. I was sitting watching all of the activity at the feeders when I heard someone come in the front door. I was puzzled for a few moments until I remembered the cleaning lady was supposed to come sometime this week. She no doubt decided no one would be here so she could come anytime she chose to. I walked upstairs and found a middle-aged woman taking her coat off in the foyer. I called out softly.

"Good morning."

I saw her start and she turned around quickly with a surprised look on her face.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you jump. But I wanted you to know someone was here before you made too much noise. Andy got in late this morning and he's still sleeping. I didn't want you to wake him."

"Who are you? How did you get in?" She asked matter-of-factly. No smile graced her face.

"I'm Dana. I've been dating Andy. He called yesterday and gave me the code for the garage door. My car is parked inside where you wouldn't have seen it. Sorry again for giving you a start, but I didn't expect you would be here on a weekend."

She composed herself as a smile slowly crossed her face. She had apparently accepted my explanation.

"I planned on getting here yesterday but one of the kids was sick and I put it off. By the way, my name is Nancy. I was just going to fill the bird feeders. I wasn't planning on having more to do other than some light dusting this week. I was wondering if Andy would start to see someone again. It's been quite a while since Sandra was spending time here."

So that was her name. No one else had offered it and I never asked, thinking perhaps I was being too nosey. So she had spent time here before they broke up. Well, she was gone and I was here and I planned to stay. I looked at Nancy with a smile.

"I promise to make sure the bathroom and bedroom are clean before I leave. Andy will be flying back to California on Monday and I expect I'll go back to my apartment. Don't worry. You won't have much to do."

"Thank you. I really don't mind. I don't think anyone could be as big a slob as Sandra was. Once she found Andy had me coming in to clean she didn't lift a finger to pick up after herself. Andy was always neat and tidy. I could never understand what he saw in her. That is other than her looks. Well, I should get to it and get out of here. I still have a sick kid to deal with."

Nancy walked towards the mudroom door, opened it, and disappeared. I walked back downstairs and watched as she filled the feeders. So Sandra slept here. The picture that others painted of her was not a pretty one. What was it that Andy saw in her? Maybe that was the problem. He hadn't seen her for who and what she was. Maybe it was blind love on his part and nothing more. The feeders filled, I watched as Nancy disappeared and heard her enter from the mudroom as I got to the top of the stairs. She smiled at me as I met her in the foyer.

"Nice to have met you Dana. Please tell Andy I hope things are going well for him in California. By the way, do you expect to spend more time here? It would be nice to know so I knew what to expect.

"I don't think so. Andy will be in California and I won't be here unless he is. I hope your child will feel better soon. I'll suggest to Andy that it might be a good idea to let you know when he comes home on short notice."

"Thanks, I do too, he was feeling better this morning. I think you have a good idea, Andy can always call me or leave a message."

I locked the door behind her and was standing in the kitchen when I heard a noise from down the hall. Andy was moving around. I wandered down the hall and peeked into the master bedroom. Andy was standing in his briefs and a white T-shirt. He was clean shaven and I noticed how tanned his face, arms, and legs were. The California sun had obviously been at work over the past week. When he saw me he broke out in a huge smile, walked to me, took me into his arms, and held me close.

"I'm happy to be home. I'm glad you're here. Dana, I missed you so much. I couldn't get you out of my mind. I needed to see you."

I leaned back away from him. He looked at me with those gorgeous eyes and I felt myself wilt.

"Are you telling me you came back expressly to see me? Not to do something at work?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you call me? I thought after five days of not hearing from you we were done. That you wouldn't want to see me again. Andy, I thought the worst."

His face showed a grimace. "Because I didn't want to believe I was in love with you I guess. But I am, and I wanted you to know it. It was something I had to tell you in person, not over the phone."

I was stunned as he placed his hand under my chin and guided my lips gently to his. The kiss brought me to the tips of my toes, I could taste him, I could feel the wonderful touch of his hand as it came down to my lower back and pulled me close as a surge of hot electricity ran through me, his wonderful odor filling my nostrils. The passion flowing between us increased as we kissed again, long and soft, then long and hard as my heart thumped in my chest. When our lips parted I felt ecstatic. We fell onto the bed and he just held me close, caressing my arm as I lay upon him, my eyes closed. It was several minutes later when I rolled off him and looked at him with a smile.

"You know I love you don't you?"

"Yes, I figured it out. I know you won't leave me. I should have told you before I left for California how much I cared for you. But I couldn't believe it could happen so fast. I was afraid I was wrong. I couldn't believe that after just a few weeks we both felt the same way. Dana, I was afraid of making another mistake."

"Andy, I'm not her. I want you. I'm ready to settle down. No games, no doubts. I'm yours plain and simple."

"I know, I know. We have things to talk about. But you have plans for lunch. You should get ready as it's getting late. Do you want to come back here afterwards and we can plan on going out to dinner, or do you have other things you need to do?"

I couldn't believe he had even asked. He was all I wanted to 'do'.

"I'll be coming back here. Now, to keep you in good shape, I have things in the refrigerator for you to eat if you want breakfast. By the way, Nancy was here this morning and filled the feeders. She knows I'm spending time with you and she hopes you're doing fine."

"Good, I'm glad the two of you have met. After all, you'll be spending a lot more time here in the future and I'll want her to continue to come and clean once a week. You work full time and I want you to enjoy being home."

The words hit me full force. I knew what he meant, my emotions surged, could this really be happening. We kissed and got up out of bed. I hadn't missed the fact he considered this my home—I was in heaven on earth.

I finished getting ready to meet the girls and when I left fifteen minutes later Andy was sitting at the table with a huge bowl of cereal and large glass of orange juice. I saw him watching out the window as I backed out of the garage. I waved and turned down the drive. I was sure he could see me glowing with excitement as I drove off. He had come back for me!

Our future lie together. It was going to be a new life. This time I knew with certainty what lay in my future. Andy had caught me. Though in reality we had caught each other. I had flung myself softly and he had caught me firmly—just as he said he would. It felt so good to love and be loved.

I arrived at the restaurant and found my friends outside waiting. There were five of us arranged around the table, Anna my closest friend, a colleague from work, sat next to me. Conversation was light and fun filled. I was still feeling on top of the world. Anna took notice and leaned towards me.

"Dana, you look like you could burst wide open. Did Andy finally call you?"

"Yes, he called just a few minutes after I spoke with you last night. I would have called you back but I had to get things around and drive to his house."

"Drive to his house! Why? Did he need you to do something for him? Seems a little insensitive to me if he did. He hadn't called you all week."

"Anna, he called to tell me he was flying home last night and would arrive early this morning. He asked if I would be there to meet him. I spent the night and he arrived home a little after four this morning. We slept together until I got up this morning, he got up just a little while before I left to get here for lunch."

"I guess I can see why you're upbeat. At least he called you. But why didn't he suggest he would see you sometime later today. Wait—he wanted to have sex didn't he?"

"No. We didn't have sex. He was tired. All he wanted was to tell me was that he missed me before he fell asleep. It was what he told me just before I left to come here that made the difference. Anna, he came back to tell me he loves me. He told me he thought of me every day he was gone and he flew home to tell me in person. He said he didn't want to tell me over the phone."

"You mean he flew all the way back from California to tell you? Dana that is so damn romantic. Dana that's unbelievable! So what now? I mean he came back to tell you and now he leaves again? It just seems strange. He still plans to open the new office doesn't he?"

"Yes, I think so. I expect him to leave on Monday to go back. But we're going to spend the rest of the time together while he's here. I'm sure we'll discuss what we should do."

"Dana, I do hope things work out. I just hope he doesn't want you to move to California with him and give up your job. I would miss you. I think we all would."

"Thanks, Anna. I would miss you too. I don't think he'll be asking that. He loves his house and property and he loves me. I love him and the house is wonderful. I don't intend to leave my job and he respects the fact I have an important job I enjoy. I think he'll find someone to run the new office and he'll return and remain here where he really wants to be."

"You seem pretty sure, Dana. I don't want to throw a wet blanket on you, but you have known him just about a month. It seems like things are moving fast. Maybe too fast."

Brenda spoke up. "Anna, sometimes it doesn't take months to see if something is right. All it takes is the right person and good communication. I think it's lovely the way things have worked out so far. I think Dana has been in enough relationships to recognize a good man when she sees one. I'm confident this is going to work so give her some support and stop trying to protect her."

The other women seemed to agree with Brenda. After lunch, I felt even better. All of my friends understood and supported my desire to have things work out with Andy. As I drove to Andy's home I felt as confident and strong as I ever had. Andy had shown me he understood I had friends and needs beyond himself. He was mature as none of my previous partners had been when it came to my existing friendships. They hadn't been supportive when it came to relationships that didn't include them in a substantive way. The thought gave me even more confidence in Andy and in myself. I pulled into the drive to the house and smiled—I was home. I was home and it felt good when I walked in the door and called out loudly.

"Andy, I'm home. Where are you?"

"In the office Dana. I'll be done in just a minute. How did your lunch go?"

I walked towards his office and looked in when I reached the doorway.

"Fine. It's always fun to spend time with my friends."

He walked out and we shared a quick kiss. He smiled at me.

"You know you can always invite them here. It's not like there isn't plenty of room to entertain them."

"Really! You mean it?"

"Of course, no reason to have a nice looking home and not have it used. Kind of like having a beautiful woman and not taking advantage of her," he beamed.

I saw the grin on his face as he looked at me. I knew what it meant. I felt it too. I started running towards the bedroom. Andy was just a few steps behind as I reached the doorway. I was laughing as he reached me and pulled me close from behind. Then he turned me around and looked into my eyes.

"I'm rested and I'm horny. What do you think we should do about it?"

"Oh, just because you're in the mood I should be?" I teased.

"No, but maybe I could do things to you to put you in the mood."

"Maybe just a little demonstration of what you mean would help." I suggested with a laugh.

"Dana, I've been fantasizing about you all week. You are the woman of my dreams."

What transpired over the next hour fulfilled my own fantasies. He worked me over with his tongue from top to bottom as he had the first time. Then I lay back and took him in. As I lay there satisfied I spoke softly into his ear.

"I know you didn't come. I want to be on top. Let's roll over."

It was as if we had practiced the move before, but of course we hadn't. In seconds, I was astride him. I shifted back onto his pelvis. I was going to realize one of my own fantasies. I was going to be in control and dominate him in bed with my body and fully pleasure him.

"Andy, just go with it. Let yourself go. Promise me," I demanded.

"Promise."

I laid into him after leaning forward with my hands on the mattress beside him, moving him in me non-stop until I saw him starting to breathe hard. His hands came to my hips. I pushed down onto him harder and drove him deeper. I watched as his face went into an expression of exquisite agony and felt him pulse inside me as he moaned softly. I was close, but knew he would be sensitive to my movements. I stayed in place and smiled broadly to myself in satisfaction. I had been able to watch him climax. Even if this was the only time I ever saw it, I knew what I did to him. Damn I was good for him! Afterwards we lay together and snuggled. I was so happy we were together. Ten minutes later we sat up in bed and started to talk quietly.

"Dana, how would you feel about moving into this house?"

I looked at him—I was puzzled. He was going to California. Why would he be asking me about something like this?

"Andy, I don't understand. I think this house is fabulous. But I have a place to live. Living here without you doesn't have any particular appeal. I hope you understand."

"I do. I was just wondering how much money you could be saving each month if you didn't have to pay rent. You could stay here and it wouldn't cost you anything. I don't see any reason to keep the heat and everything else on for just a few plants and maybe a mouse or two."

"Andy, thank you for thinking of the practical side of things. But you know what people will think if I move in while you're away. They'll think I'm just taking advantage of the situation."

"What if we weren't just dating? Do you think that would make a difference?"

"Andy. I have no idea. I mean if we aren't dating what are we? Shacking up? That doesn't look any better. At least to our families."