Don't Ever Give Up Ch. 09

"I'm sorry," she said. "I came to get the game, and the bag was --"

"Shhhh," he said, cutting her off. "Why do you think I asked you to come get the game for me?"

Her eyes widened as he took a few steps toward her.

"What... is...?" She tried to ask him a question, but her brain and voice couldn't get on the same page.

"I'll explain," Tim said, taking the bag and box from her. She didn't want to let either of them go. He set the box down on the arm of the nearest couch and reached into the bag, producing a long, slender box. He opened it in front of her, and watched her eyes get even bigger.

"This," Tim continued, pulling a diamond-encrusted necklace from the box, "is to thank you for everything you've done for me." He walked behind her and gently draped the necklace around her neck, latching it as he talked. "For putting up with me, for being patient, for being persistent, for always believing I was worth it, even when I made it ridiculously hard to believe that. For never giving up on me, and most importantly, for making this one of the easiest decisions I've ever made."

"What decision?"

Tim took the other box from the couch and opened it as he dropped to one knee. Julia's left hand flew up to her mouth, and Tim chuckled.

"Babe, I'm, uh, gonna need that."

Tim reached up and gently tugged her arm away from her mouth, sliding his fingers from her elbow across her forearm, past her wrist, and finally locking her fingers with his.

"I'm not great with words, so I hope I don't embarrass myself right now." He pulled a small diamond ring from the box and looked into Julia's eyes. Tim had wanted to get something bigger, but Sheila had insisted Julia would prefer something simple. He hoped she was right.

"I have four college degrees. I have two great jobs; one doing something I've been obsessed with my entire life, and one doing something that allows me to help people. I have a bank account I never dreamed I'd have. I have a house most anyone would kill for. I have a lifetime of experiences that it would take some people five or six lives to compile, and I'm just barely in my 30s. Julia, in anyone's eyes, I'm living a charmed life."

He touched the ring to her fingertip, and her eyes flashed down to look. When she realized he wasn't going to put it on yet, she snapped her eyes back to his. He thought it would be hard to maintain the eye contact, but he didn't even have to think about it.

"When you have all those things," Tim said. "When you have everything you've worked so hard for, so many things you've wanted your entire life... and you know without a doubt you'd give them all up in a heartbeat just to get the woman of your dreams to say one little word..."

He trailed off now, as the tears streaming down her face hit him harder than he thought they would. He knew they were happy tears, and he didn't want them to stop, but he thought they might have some company very shortly.

"Yeah, Julia, this was pretty much the easiest decision I've ever made," he said. "I liked my life before, but I only love my life now because you're a part of it. You're a part of me. Something just slides into place whenever you're with me, and it doesn't quite feel right when you're not."

He slowly slid the ring onto her finger, stopping between the two knuckles.

"You said once that you wanted the relationship, the family, and that you wanted to grow old with somebody. You said you knew that I did, too. Well, you were right, Julia. I do want all those things, and I want them with you."

He pushed the ring down the rest of the way.

"Please take this, Julia," Tim said. Now, he was fighting mightily to keep the eye contact. "Take this ring, make my life complete, and let me make your life complete. Please, Julia... marry me."

Tim didn't think she could cry harder, but as soon as the last two words came out, she did just that. Her head moved up and down as she lifted her hand to her face.

"Is that a yes?" Tim asked. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes now.

"What do you think?" Julia responded, smiling through the crying.

"For my sanity, and by extension, your sanity, please make the next sentence you say contain the word 'yes.'"

"Oh, God, Tim," she said. "Yes. Of course. Yes. Are you stupid? Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Tim stood up now, and Julia flung herself at him with a ferocity he wasn't prepared for. They tumbled backward onto the couch, with Julia landing on top. She showered his face with kisses, intermingled with continuous calls of 'I love you.'

She eventually stopped kissing his face, and settled her head onto his chest. Her T-shirt had ridden up, and Tim absent-mindedly caressed her ass as they laid there on the couch, her crying on his chest and him willing to let her as long as it took. The few tears that had escaped his own eyes trickled down his cheeks toward his ears, but no others followed. He hadn't fought them back -- he was simply too happy to cry.

"So what do we do now?" Julia asked. Tim guessed maybe a half-hour had passed.

"Whatever you want, baby," Tim replied. "At some point we'll have to tell people. We'll need to start packing and tying up the loose ends here. But that's next week. That's later. Tonight, and tomorrow, we'll do whatever you want."

Julia's hand slid down his torso, coming to rest on his still-soft cock. This whole thing had been far too emotional for his sex drive to come into play, but as Julia gently squeezed, that all changed.

"Well, then," she said. "You, Mister, have earned yourself the greatest orgasm of your life."

She got up then, and she pulled him up with her free hand, never letting the hand on his crotch fall away.

"I don't know, Jules," Tim said, teasing. "You've given me some pretty powerful ones in the past. Earlier today, even. I don't know if you can top them."

She licked her lips and led him out of the room.

"You wanna bet?"

********************

"That's all of it," Tim said, loading yet another suitcase into the back of the rented Chevy Traverse. "Finally, it's all in here."

He shut the back door and walked back up the stairs into his house, where all that was left were a few appliances, a couch Tim had decided to donate to the house's next owner, and Julia, who Tim wasn't about to give to anybody.

And apparently, a black T-shirt that had somehow escaped from one of the suitcases and duffel bags and found its way onto the remaining couch. Perplexed, Tim walked toward it.

"I put it there," Julia said, standing near the door.

"Oh," Tim answered, picking it up. "Did you need it, or you want me to go stuff it into a bag?"

"I need it for something," she answered, and Tim tossed it to her. "We're done here, right?"

"Yep," he answered, wrapping her in an embrace. "Off to the airport now. The Learjet is waiting for its pilot, not to mention its incredibly gorgeous passenger."

Julia grinned at him. "Can we make one stop first?" she asked.

"Where?" Tim asked. "I mean, yeah, sure, but I don't know what's open at 1 a.m. on a Wednesday morning."

"It's a surprise," she said, piquing Tim's curiosity. He didn't do surprises very well, but he'd gotten better at them, mostly because Julia liked giving them.

"You know I can't say no to you," Tim said.

He looked around his empty living room one last time, then walked hand-in-hand with Julia down the stairs and over to the car.

"Where am I going?" Tim asked.

"Let me drive," she answered. "Like I said. A surprise."

Tim opened the driver's door for her, then got into the passenger seat. She leaned toward him, the black T-shirt in hand.

"Let me put this on you," she said.

"I'm wearing a shirt, thank you very much," he answered, though he knew what she wanted. He leaned his head down enough that she could tie the T-shirt around his eyes as a blindfold. She was very gentle, making sure it wasn't too tight but ensuring he wouldn't be able to see anything.

"Just sit back and relax, babe," Julia said as the SUV roared to life. "I've already called the night manager at MHC, and they know we're going to be a little late. I promise, you'll enjoy this."

Tim had no doubt.

It had been just under a month since he'd asked Julia to marry him, and things had happened very quickly. In the days following the proposal, Brad Carver and his investors had flown to Raleigh to meet with Tim, J.T. and Howard Lancaster, so the final contracts could be reviewed and signed. Julia was at the meeting, and Howard and Brad had formally asked her to be Mile High West's CFO. Southwest had offered her a transfer to their corporate offices, too, but it had only taken Julia a few seconds to accept Howard and Brad's offer.

Tim put his house on the market the same day, and despite the rush to get things moved out, they had managed to find time to squeeze in a couple showings. There were a couple of buyers interested, but Tim was in no hurry. He didn't really need the money, so he could afford to wait for a really good offer.

Julia had gotten her wish, after all - she basically moved into the house for their final month in North Carolina. It had taken Tim, Julia, Sheila and J.T. a few hours to pack up everything in her tiny apartment and move it out to Tim's house, and she'd simply stayed there with Tim. A few days ago, a moving company had picked up everything from the house -- both cars, the boat, the jetskis, the hot tub, and most of the furniture and appliances.

One of he and Julia's first stops to make once they arrived in Dallas was the land Tim had purchased to build their new house. Like Tim, she wanted the house in Texas to look very similar to the house they were leaving behind, but with a few small improvements. As huge as Tim's old kitchen was, she wanted an even bigger one, and she also wanted a hot tub right there in their bathroom as well as one outside on the deck. He knew she would never try to abuse the fact that they had money, but she wasn't shy about building the house of her dreams, either.

As the miles flew by toward wherever Julia was taking him, Tim let his mind meander over the past few months and how everything in his life had slid neatly into place. Not just for he and Julia, but for everyone in their lives, as well.

J.T. and Sheila had never been happier, and they both thought that had something to do with the fact that both of their best friends had finally found happiness as well. Everyone had shown up to watch Sheila walk across the stage to get her Bachelor's degree the week before, and as promised, J.T. took her out to show her the construction on their new house as a present. To say she had been thrilled would be an understatement -- Tim wouldn't have been shocked to hear reports of more cops showing up later that night. They were both sad that Tim and Julia were moving to Texas, but as much as they all flew, they figured they'd see each other at least once a month.

Just a few days after the party at RBC Center, Carlos had led N.C. State to perhaps the biggest win in team history. And led really wasn't even the word -- more like, Carlos McDonald had single-handedly won the Orange Bowl.

With the Wolfpack down by four scores at the start of the fourth quarter and the defense giving up huge tracts of yardage on every play, Carlos had asked Hank Taylor to put him in the game on defense. Hank refused, so Carlos put himself in the game anyway. Before the coaches could do anything about it, Ohio State's quarterback already had the ball - and he was the last player that tried to tackle Carlos as he returned the interception for a touchdown. N.C. State's next offensive play was an 81-yard touchdown run by Carlos, and he caught a pass for a score on the following series. Carlos threw a touchdown on a halfback pass to the regular quarterback, C.J. Franklin, with just seconds remaining in the game to get the Wolfpack within one. Instead of tying it with a point after kick, Coach Taylor decided to go for it.

For his coupe de grace, Carlos ran the two-point conversion straight up the middle, right into the heart of Ohio State's defensive line, and dragged about half of their team into the end zone. It was only fitting, because he'd just metaphorically dragged 80 other guys onto the platform to accept the Orange Bowl trophy. The announcers called it one of the most dominating individual performances in the history of college football.

A few weeks ago, the best player in N.C. State history had been drafted fifth overall by the Washington Redskins. When he'd seen that on ESPN, Tim's first reaction had been to vomit in his mouth -- he was a lifelong Cowboys fan, after all. Still, it was Carlos, so Tim was going to have to suck it up and root for the Redskins this fall.

He wasn't the only N.C. State player drafted, though. Pat Kersee hadn't even considered playing football after college until this past season, when, like Carlos, he'd come out of nowhere to be hailed as one of the top players at his position in the ACC. He got good reviews at the NFL Combine, but he was hopelessly devoted to Tia, and was determined not to leave Raleigh until she graduated in the spring of 2010. He told anyone who would listen that if he were drafted by anyone but the Panthers, he wouldn't sign.

Instead, he'd been picked in the fourth round by the Atlanta Falcons, and after a couple days of Tia begging him to do it and convincing him Atlanta was close enough that they could see each other weekly, he'd finally agreed. Mini-camp started for both Pat and Carlos in a couple weeks.

All that was on top of the relationship he and Julia had carefully built since he'd finally exorcised his last demon. J.T. really had been right -- all he needed was closure. One conversation with Leira had been enough to let him move on.

He was half-inclined to call her up out of the blue one day and thank her. Forgiveness was pretty powerful, and it was something Julia deeply believed in.

Maybe someday. Just not today.

He was still lost somewhere on Memory Lane when the SUV pulled to a stop.

"We're here," Julia said.

"And where's here?" Tim asked.

"Silly boy," she answered. Tim heard her door open and close, and a few seconds later, his door opened and Julia took his hand. She helped him out of the car and closed the door behind him.

It was almost 2 in the morning, but it was also late May, so the temperature was somewhere in the mid-60s. Tim took a deep breath and tried to hold it as long as possible, attempting to savor the moment.

He let her lead him into the night for another minute or so, until she pushed him up against something cold and bumpy. He felt the surface with his hand, but only figured out that it was metal before Julia playfully slapped his wrist.

"Hey, keep your hands to yourself, buddy," Julia mock-scolded him. "I've got something better for you to do with those."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and forced her tongue into his mouth, and Tim wasted no time joining in. His hands rubbed up and down her back and roamed across her chest as well.

As if trying to one-up him, her hands found the growing bulge in his cargo shorts, and Tim groaned. Their kiss grew more forceful as she stroked his cock through his pants and he kneaded her breasts through the sweater she wore.

Tim completely forgot that his vision was blocked and that he had no idea where they were - right up until her fingers began working on his zipper. In no time, she had his cock out and in her hand, and Tim broke free from their liplock.

"Julia, where are we?" Tim asked. "You sure about this?"

"You'll see in a minute," she replied. "Trust me."

He wanted to yank the blindfold off his face and make sure no one was watching, but he fought that instinct with all his might. Julia must have knelt in front of him, because a moment later, he felt his cock slide into her mouth. He was still nervous about their surroundings, but at least she'd given him somewhere to put his hands.

"Yeah, baby," Julia said, backing up off his cock for a second. "Grab my head, and fuck my face."

Tim did just that, thrusting about half his cock in and out of her warm, wet mouth. He'd done this enough to know just how much of him she could take without being able to go at her own pace, so he made sure he didn't choke her.

After five minutes of that, Julia pulled him from her mouth long enough to slide his shorts down to his knees. She quickly popped him back into her mouth, cupping and massaging his balls this time. Occasionally, she let a finger slide toward his ass, tickling and teasing the sensitive skin just below his balls.

That went on for a while, and then Julia redoubled her efforts on his cock, grunting as she really went to town on him. She made loud slurping noises and moaned around his cock several times, making up for his lack of vision by giving his other senses more to take in.

In most circumstances, her ministrations would be more than enough to make him cum in her mouth, but not tonight. Part of it was that he was concerned about being in public -- he had no problem with public sex, but he liked to be in control of it. A larger part was that he was simply trying to hold out on Julia. If she didn't want to tell him where this incredible episode was taking place, then he was going to compensate by making it last as long as he could.

It was almost as if she read his mind as he was thinking that thought.

"OK, fine," she said, and he heard her rustling with something. "You don't want to let me make you cum in my mouth. I get it."

She was silent for a second. "You know, most men would think you were nuts, Tim. How many men would hold themselves back from cumming if I was sucking their dick, huh? I'll tell you how many. Not a damned one."

He smiled.

"But, fine," she said. "I'll give you want you want."

He thought that meant she was going to take the blindfold off. It didn't. Instead, she pulled him off of whatever he was leaning against, walked him a few feet away, and then turned him around.

"I'm bent over, with my hands on what you were leaning against. Find my hips."

His hands moved toward his waist, and then out from his body. They found her ass first, then moved slowly up to grip her hips.

"So, now, you're going to fuck me," she said. "It's going to be hard and fast, deep and dirty. I'm going to cum within a few minutes, and then I'm going to go back to sucking your dick. And you're going to cum, damnit."

Tim said nothing. He gripped his cock and slowly stepped forward until it came into contact with her body. He felt around until he found her pussy, then moved his cock along his finger until he lined it up at her entrance.

"That's how it's going to be, huh?" Tim asked, emphasizing his point by thrusting forward, spearing her pussy with one stroke.

"Son of a -- fuck me," Julia said, trying to stay quiet. "Fuck me, baby. If you don't want to cum in my mouth, then make me cum on your cock."

Tim cinched in a death grip on her hips and sawed into her pussy as fast as he could. It was awkward, not being able to see what he was doing, but he was trying to stay in tune with his other senses even more. He could hear her subtle whimpers and whispered dirty talk loud and clear. He could feel her skin growing slick beneath his fingers. He could tell just by breathing through his nose that she was more than a little turned on, and he longed to get a taste of her juices.

Not right now, he thought. Oh well -- maybe on the plane in a few minutes.

Just as she'd dictated, it took less than five minutes for her to start cumming. She kept her voice mostly to herself, chanting out the stray expletive just loud enough for Tim to hear it, but he could feel her juices flow around his cock. He kept plowing into her as hard and deep as she'd asked for it, until a few moments later, when she asked -- told -- him to stop.