Finding Home Pt. 11-16

"Holy shit," muttered Kail.

"What Kail said," echoed Grace.

"Andy talked to my oldest sister on the phone, and she adores him. My parents were convinced Andy was 'the one,'" said Eden. "My mom thought I'd lost my mind. My sister Elise chewed me out, and daddy was moping around the house. They all like Andy that much," she explained.

Kail and Grace were speechless. Finally, Sara spoke again.

"We don't want to rub anyone's nose in what we have going on. But we are engaged, and very much in love, and since we've all been with Andy in one form or another, we all know what that's about," said Sara with a smile on her face.

"Wait, what!?" exclaimed Eden.

"Don't worry, we'll tell you all about how Gracie and I were too much for Dreamy to handle. Trust Power Girl on that one," Kail assured her, giving her a thumbs up and chuckling.

"Bottom line, he's going to sing to me, and we're going to make love -- probably loudly -- because Eden needs to be around us being us. Seeing me happy -- and I am really, really, happy with Andy -- helps her. It reassures her that she made the right decision. This is us trying to be there for her, not trying to be show-offs, or some sort of weird voyeuristic thing. Now do you understand?"

"OK, so just to be clear; Elsa passed on Dreamy because she knew Dreamy and Kisses were really a better fit for one another -- and because she loves you, Sara?"

"Nailed it," said Sara.

"So, Eden is having some passing up on Andy remorse, but seeing the two of you together, and just doing what the two of you do helps her deal with it?" asked Grace.

"Yes. It sounds kind of dramatic, but that's the deal," said Sara.

"So -- is everybody here good now?" Grace asked.

"We will be. We're getting there," admitted Andy. "What Eden did for Sara will take a while to work through. It took teenage Andy a couple of months, and to be honest, I thought Priya would dump him and then I could date her with a clear conscience. Nine years later, we all know how that worked out."

Grace teared up, and turned to Eden. "E, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard of. People throw words like 'love' and 'sacrifice' and 'friendship' around pretty loosely. It's an honor to see those things given life and breath. What you did for Sara, and for Andy is -- well, I don't have the right words. I do know that I'm proud to be your friend. And I've felt privileged to see Sara blossom like she has. To think, this past Monday I was pretty pissed at Sara."

A confused Eden asked, "Why were you mad at Sara?"

Kail laughed, "Wow! Elsa, you should have seen it: Monday is testing day, right? So, Alex comes over and says, 'Whazzup' to Sara, knowing that she and Dreamy DeHottie are gonna get hitched. Sara introduces him as her boyfriend's brother-in-law. Now -- we'd heard about this super-hot 'DeGroat' '51' who skated with Alex, from some hockey players girlfriends. So, I go up to Kisses, and I'm like 'Um boyfriend?' And she, of course, gets the Andy glow she gets. Well, on Monday, I thought maybe she had like, food poisoning, or something. No clue. Then Gracie comes in looking like she's stoned, or fantasizing about string theory. She's the TA for Dreamy's Calc class. She met him that morning in class, and now she's all ready to have his babies. And then Kisses goes all M&M's, and totally posts my girl Grace up -- hard. I was kissing our season goodbye, and we hadn't even put the boat in the water. You're in Paris, and Grace and Sara are about to throw hands over a dude I didn't even know existed 10 minutes before. Then we find out -- through the grapevine, nonetheless -- that Dreamy and Kisses are engaged -- but not officially. Grace has a meltdown, and Sara goes back to the Andy glow. Coach thought we'd lost our mind! I'm telling you, Eden. It was a hell of a day, and that was just Monday."

Eden began laughing, and soon, they all were. Hugs were exchanged, and Andy got a kiss on the cheek from Kail, Grace, and Eden. He got a long, purposefully deep kiss from his fiancé. Once Kail said, "Geez, Kisses. Get a room." She broke off the kiss. Andy turned and addressed the group.

"It's been a really great -- and really long weekend. You have practice in the morning, and one of you has to test. Coach Shea is expecting the four of you to kick ass and take names, as are the Fedorov's. Just a heads-up, tomorrow the force of nature that is Helen and Jane will be on campus with Christopher. They're doing some site evaluations for the Sumner-White Complex. If I know my grandmother, they will announce their presence with authority -- and just happen to drop by practice. They'll be kind and elegant and gracious, but everyone will know who the four of you are. I'm sorry about that, I love them both very much, but they do what they do."

"Baby, they already know who we are. Your grandmother and Aunt Jane won't be doing anything you haven't already done," said Sara lovingly. Andy stood with a shocked look on his face. Sara's words were a punch to the gut for him.

"Kisses is right, Dreamy. Hang out with your family, and you become kind of a big deal," said Kail. "It's awesome. We all like it."

Eden came and hugged him, "Droobie, we love it that way. We'd be hurt if Helen and Jane didn't stop by and raise a ruckus. We get it."

"OK, well, now I've got something to think about instead of sleeping," Andy joked, "Now, I'm going to go shower, sing to my fiancé, and sleep in our own bed. What time do you want to be up?"

Andy intentionally took his time, and by the time he had finished his shower, and come to bed, the lights were off, and he could hear Sara's rhythmic breathing. She was out. He slid in next to her quietly, kissed her hair and said, "Goodnight my love."

Monday

Andy's internal clock woke him up at 5 AM. Lying next to Sara was delicious, and he loved the way his body conformed to hers. He adored how her curves invited him to be near her. He loved how her ample breast felt in his hand. He was amazed at how soundly he slept in her arms. Add all these things together, and getting out of bed was a rather unpleasant task this particular Monday morning.

Yet it was love, and not duty, that motivated him to do so. He loved his fiancé with a love he could not have imagined. He loved her friends. They were like sisters to him. They stood by him and Sara, and he adored them. So, he got up, threw on his PT gear, and moved quickly and quietly about the Commons. He gathered all the dirty laundry he could find, and got the new gear Alex and Jessica had sent his roommates. There was a 24-hour laundromat in town, and he knew that if he utilized multiple machines, he could have everyone's laundry done before they woke for the day at 7 AM. The comment about the disruption in their lives brought about by his family's presence stung him. He knew it was true, and it grieved him. He could, he hoped, show his love and care for the four women in this little, everyday thing.

At 6:30 AM, Andy returned with 5 loads of washed, dried and folded laundry. The proprietor was an elderly lady who marveled at both the early hour, and at Andy's kindness to his fiancé and her friends. She had helped him transfer loads, and had even helped him fold the clothes. Most remarkably, she had helped him navigate some of the 'female delicates' that left Andy flummoxed as to how to launder them properly. On her advice, he'd run to the Dollar Store across the street, and returned with laundry bags for the delicates, a bottle of Woolite, and two collapsible drying racks. He carried the loads into the Commons, set the clean laundry on the pub tables, and went to make coffee. At 6:40, he woke Sara up with a kiss, and handed her a cup of coffee.

As she sat up, Andy considered her carefully. She was wearing her 'Huntress' t-shirt, which was indeed a size too small. Her lovely breasts moved enticingly as she sat up. He considered her thick, curly black hair which was, now, a rather unsightly mess. He looked into the large, brown eyes that entirely bewitched him. He loved the way her hands handled the offered coffee cup, particularly now that the ring finger on her left hand held a diamond. She kissed him on the cheek, and said softly, "Thank you, baby. You spoil me."

"Thank you for letting me," he smiled. "There's clean laundry on the tables. I think I got everyone's clothes back in their pile, but if Kail tries to put on Eden's sports bra, I think we'll know pretty quickly."

She giggled, and just about spit her coffee out. "Andy, you did our laundry?"

"I did," he said quietly. "Well, Mrs. Hathaway at the laundromat helped me, too. She's a wiz when it comes to delicates. You now have your own laundry bags for your 'unmentionables,' and we have Woolite and a couple of collapsible drying racks. I've done a lot of laundry in my life, but not so much on the ladies' finery, if you catch my drift."

She giggled again, and put her free hand on his face. "I love you. You treat me so well. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm dreaming."

"Well, it was helpfully, put painfully, pointed out that I have a rather -- let's just say 'noticeable' -- presence in your lives. I'm just trying to dial it down and help get us all back to normal, whatever that will be moving forward. I figured clean laundry was a good start."

She kissed him again. "You are too sweet; you know that my beautiful man?"

"Sara, doing big things for you is really easy for me. I know this past weekend was over the top. I'm trying to do the little things, I really am. The things that no one will know about except you and I. Let the campus think whatever they want. This is how we do us, Bellissima."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Can I make one suggestion for the four of you -- well actually two suggestions?"

"You did our laundry, Andy. Make all the suggestions you want," she giggled.

"First, you should go dressed as a team. We can get more of the crew shirts if you guys like them. One of the things I learned at Groton, and in the Marine Corps is that the uniform helps project unity. The four of you are going to be 3-time national champions. You have a unified goal. Wearing the same thing each day will project that. Romeo and I wore exactly the same PT gear every day; we even ordered the same running shoes. We were a team, and we dressed like it."

"I love that idea, Andy!" she squealed. "I think the others will as well. What's the second thing?" she asked.

"You should all test again, that is, if Coach O'Neill will let you. Again Sara, you're a team. What you do, you do together. If she won't let you, the three of you should be there making an absolute ruckus when Eden tests. Let her know you're behind her. Cheer her on. Announce the presence of The Birds of Prey with authority. Everybody on this campus knows not to mess with you - Kail and Grace took care of that. Show them positively what that looks like."

She beamed at him. "Baby, I love how you look out for us, and think about us."

"Well, I love the thought of being a Crew husband. I get to sleep with a NCAA champion. I'm actually secretly very proud of that, and pretty turned on, as well."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, my proud man. Let's go shower and you can show me just how proud you are to be my Crew husband. I fell asleep last night before we could make love, and I'm sorry about that. We can make it up to one another." She leaned forward and kissed him.

"Lead the way, Mrs. DeGroat, and please be quick about it. I'm really, really, proud of you," Andy said huskily.

Sara giggled, hopped out of bed, and headed to the shower room. Andy was close on her heels.

Andy got the shower going, and quickly washed and rinsed while Sara used the bathroom and brushed her teeth. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard her call his name. He turned around to see her standing in the door of the shower area.

"You're not the only one who's turned on this morning, baby." Sara slowly removed her shirt, rubbing her breasts tantalizingly when she had removed that troublesome garment. She was wearing his dog tags, and they hung seductively between her ample breasts. Her nipples were rock hard. When she slid her panties down, she made sure he got a good look at her womanhood. She was primed and ready. The outer lips of her pussy were plump, and engorged with her need for him. She came to him, and they kissed passionately. Andy's hands instinctively began to fondle her breasts, giving her nipples particular attention. She moaned in his mouth.

"Do you know what I really love about this moment?" she asked him.

"You mean aside from the fact that we're naked in the shower?" he replied.

"I'm almost naked, Andy. What I really love is that the two things I have on identify me as yours. I'm wearing your engagement ring, and your dog tags. We belong to one another, baby. I can't wait until we have wedding bands. I want you naked, except for my wedding ring on your finger." She kissed him again and this time he moaned in her mouth.

"God, I want you Sara," he groaned.

"Then take me, baby. Take what's yours," she replied.

Andy broke from her embrace and led her over to the teak shower bench. He sat down, and then pulled her onto his lap. They kissed for a time, before Andy turned his attention to her breasts. Sara's head flew back as he sucked on her nipples, and she began to moan loudly. After he'd given attention to her breasts, Sara grabbed his manhood, raised her hips, and then impaled herself on his iron rod.

"Oh. My. God," exclaimed Sara. "Baby, you fill me so good. Somebody is really hard this morning."

"The woman I love came into the shower wearing my dog tags, which I might add, is every Jarhead's fantasy. So, there is that," he said. "Plus, this way I get to look into your eyes."

"And here I thought you liked my ass," she quipped, increasing the rate of her rising and falling.

"I adore your ass. But your ass doesn't show me how much you love me. I can see it, plain as day, in your eyes. Windows to the soul, Bellissima," he said softly.

She kissed him, then leaned back, and looked straight into his eyes. He increased the intensity of his thrusting, and soon the shower was full of the sounds of their coupling. As her breasts moved from their exertions, Andy's dog tags began to sway between her enticing orbs. Sara orgasmed first, and Andy kept hammering into her. Her second orgasm came close on the heels of her first, and Andy felt her gushing between their joined bodies. The grabbing of his penis by her convulsing womanhood set him off. He exploded into her.

She leaned forward and kissed him tenderly. This morning's love making had been frantic, driven by need and the events of last night. The aftermath had a much gentler feel to it. The urgency had been replaced by intimacy. They sat there for a time and enjoyed the moment, until his wilting manhood slid out of her.

Sara giggled as her body leaked the fluid of their coupling. "Good thing we're in the shower. You do make a mess when you're having your wicked way with me, baby."

"Best mess ever," he announced. She stood up and went to the shower to begin washing. He joined her, and quickly washed the effects of their lovemaking off. He stood behind her, running his hands up and down her back as she washed. He leaned forward and began nibbling on her neck.

"Mmm. If you keep that up, you'll have me bent over holding on to the wall. I'm game for that, but your face tells me another story." She turned to face him, "Windows to the soul, baby," she giggled.

"I'm not sure if I'm comforted or troubled that you can read me so well," he replied.

"Good thing I love you, isn't it?"

"Helen and Jane want to take us house hunting this afternoon. I just want to make sure you're good with it. I know they can be overpowering, and there's a good chance we're first-time homeowners by the end of the day. Sara, we don't have to live in a house. We can live in a damn box, and I'll be happy. Home is you, Bellissima. The rest is just details," he said earnestly.

"I -- I just want you to be comfortable with whatever we do. This is our home, not theirs. If you want an apartment in town, or married student housing, or whatever -- I'm good, my love. We can tell them we've changed our minds if you want."

She smiled at him. "Baby, when I was girl, I had a friend from school named Miriam Green. Her parents were both doctors, and they lived in a brownstone. I went to her birthday party when I was 10, and I came home telling my momma that I was going to live in a house someday. Not an apartment, but a real house. I kept saying that for a couple of years until I realized my mom probably wanted to live in a house too, but she had a daughter she was raising on her own, and a 1-bedroom in Brooklyn was the best she could do. If you look at my life goals, near the top of my list was to own a house by the time I was 30. Now, you've accelerated my life goal by ten years, but believe me, Andy. I'm totally good with a house," she assured him. "Plus, when momma comes to visit -- or when she and Tommy come for Christmas or Thanksgiving, I want them to be able to stay with us. I know we'll have Christmas dinner and all that at the cabin, but I really want to be able to have some space for my mom."

"Sara, if that's what you want -- I mean really, then we can absolutely make that happen," he said, and then leaned forward and kissed her.

"Baby, you're forgetting one other good thing about a house," she said. "There's more rooms to christen. I love the thought of you taking me on our kitchen table, or in the dining room. I love the idea of you taking me wherever you damn well please," she whispered.

"I know I won you," he said. "But I'm glad you keep deciding to be mine. You have no idea how much I love you."

"Wrong," she said. "Baby, you show me exactly how much you love me all the time." She kissed him. "Now, hop out. The others may want to shower, too."

He went to get out, and then turned back to her. She was so beautiful, he almost forgot what he was going to say to her. After a time, he said, "Your birthday is Friday. Let's talk about what you want to do to celebrate. I'll try not to go big fly. It's your day, my love. You decide, and I'm your humble servant." 3 minutes later, Andy had shaved and dressed for the day. It was 7:05 AM.

The others were stirring on the mezzanine when he went into the great room. He grabbed his phone, synced with the speaker under the TV, and began blasting DJ Khalid's "All I Do Is Win." They looked at him in tired bewilderment. He decreased the volume, and spoke to them in his Sergeant's voice. "Clean laundry is here on the tables. Please double check to make sure what's in your basket is yours. There is a uniform of the day, so talk amongst yourselves to decide what that will be. Good morning, ladies. You look lovely this morning. It's a great day to kick ass and take names," Andy bellowed cheerfully. He felt amazing this morning, and was very much excited to face the day. Whether or not his roommates shared his excitement remained to be seen.

Kail spoke first, "So we're treated to hearing you and Kisses going at it like porn stars, and we get clean laundry? Power Girl approves. Power Girl has spoken."

All three came down the steps, gave him a hug and a kiss, and went to their respective laundry baskets. "How do we have clean laundry?" asked Grace.

"I did it for you. Please consider it a peace offering. It's my way of acknowledging that my presence in your lives has been more than a little disruptive. You three mean the world to me; and I'm trying to smooth over some of the disruption. I figured clean laundry was a good start," he explained. "Moving forward, if you'll have your dirty clothes in your baskets on Monday and Thursday mornings, I'll return it to you clean."