Finding Home Pt. 17-18

"Will you excuse us, please?" she asked softly as she reached for Brian's hand.

"Absolutely Gracie," said Sara sweetly.

The exited the restaurant quickly.

"You were amazing, my love. Devious, but amazing," said Andy as he looked at Sara admiringly.

Kail was immediately in the seats Brian and Grace had vacated.

"So Dreamy, what's the word? To be honest, my girl has had this weird look on her face all day. It's a wonder the OG's didn't think she was stoned, or something. I'm not sure if I'm into this. I mean, my bestie gets laid, and a job offer working with Dreamy, all in a 24-hour period? Slap me and call me Susan," she laughed.

Andy saw Brian re-enter the restaurant and motion for him. Andy walked to his old friend. "She'd like to talk to you, Drew. Alone," said a smiling Jake.

Andy walked out to the parking lot. Grace was standing next to Jake's BMW, a bonus from the Jets for winning rookie of the year two years ago. He approached her, and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Gracie, are you OK?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and closed the distance between them and hugged him.

"Thank you, Andy," she whispered. "You're an amazing friend. You've introduced me to Brian, and you got me an amazing job. Thank you," she said.

"Whoa. All I did was introduce you and get you an interview. You landed one of my best friends, and you wowed the Wonder Twins in your interview. This is all you, young lady. You kick ass," said Andy reassuringly.

"Whatever. I was just a bi-racial math nerd until you showed up. Andy, you helped me believe in me. Do you know what I was most nervous about in that interview? Making you look bad. You believe in me. I can never thank you enough for that." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'm so thankful that you and Sara are in our lives."

She stepped back from him. "And do you know what else? Our time in the Commons was a big part of me really enjoying my first time with Brian. It wasn't weird or awkward. Having you see me, you know -- like that - let me know I'm desirable to a man. And Andy, it was so amazing!"

"I'm so happy for you both. Selfishly, Sara and I want all the people we love and care about near us. You're falling for our evil plan," he did his best mock evil laugh.

"But Andy, one thing I don't feel comfortable about," she said timidly. "Why are they paying me for my senior year in college?"

Andy smiled. "You and I will sit down with them tomorrow after brunch. I suspect we'll get the skinny then. Don't worry. There's something work related they'll want you to put your amazing intellect towards. Plus, you and Jake will have a great place to get away when you want to."

"What do you mean?" she asked, stunned yet again.

"They're building a second boathouse at the cabin. Senior staff at Sumner-White will have access to it. You'll get your own key code and everything," he grinned. "In fact, you could use the current boathouse whenever you want now."

Grace broke into a huge grin and did her best impression of Brian's goal celebration.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she hugged Andy again, and gave him another kiss, this time on the mouth.

"Andy, my parents will freak out! They might not believe me."

"You have a contract to show them. Hard to deny a signed contract," he observed. "Now, Miss Federspiel, you have much bigger fish to fry than signing a contract. I think my old friend is dying to take you ring shopping."

She giggled, "Andy, please don't tell him, but I already know what I want. Jessica and I picked it out when we went looking with you and Sara in Portland. I know the jeweler in Boston who carries that exact ring," she said excitedly.

"How do you want to tell the others?" he asked.

"If you'll lend me your phone, I'd like to call Helen and Jane and accept their offer verbally," she said. "Then, we probably better get everyone else out here to tell them. Kail will lose her mind."

"You barely had time to eat your lunch," Andy observed.

"Captain, the thing I'm hungry for right now is not a burger. You feeling me Dreamy?" she grinned. Andy noted the look on her face as Brian cautiously approached them. She lit up as he walked to her. Andy smiled, patted Jake on the back, and headed back inside.

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Once lunch was over, Andy pulled his truck to the back of the caravan of cars headed to the jewelry store. Grace had the directions pulled up in the navigation system in Jake's car, and he was moving with purpose to their destination. Andy got caught at a series of lights that had them far behind the rest of the group. He smiled at Sara, made the next light, and then turned into a parking garage. Down they drove, until they were in the bottom level of the garage. This structure belonged to an office building -- now very vacant on the weekend. They had not seen a single car for two levels before this one. Andy found a corner spot, with a large concrete column on one side and the wall on the other. He smiled at Sara as he backed his truck in. Reaching under the back seat, Andy pulled out a sunshade. Quickly opening it, he had it secured in the front windshield in seconds. He turned and smiled at Sara.

"Panties off, Mrs. DeGroat. That lovely mind of yours has me so hot for you I can't stand it anymore," he said huskily.

She giggled, and undid the top three buttons on her sundress. She looked in his eyes as she undid the front clasp of her bra. Andy groaned as she slowly freed her lovely breasts from their captivity. Never breaking eye contact, she slid her panties off and put them under Andy's nose. He could smell her need.

"Baby, I'm so wet for you. Open the sunroof please. I have a feeling I may be quite energetic," she said coyly.

He turned the key to the auxiliary position, and opened the sunroof.

Sara reached over and unbuttoned his shorts. "Shirt off," she commanded. "I love feeling my nipples on your chest. Baby, you've got them hard as stone."

Andy's hardness sprung from his shorts, causing Sara to lick her lips. "And baby, that's not all that's hard. Damn."

Andy watched, absolutely entranced as Sara moved from her seat to sit astride him. She did so without a hint of awkwardness, or gracelessness. Her movements were worthy of her form. Andy was not sure why Yeats' words popped into his head, but they were in the forefront of his mind as she leaned forward and kissed him. He chuckled.

She pulled back and looked at him. "What's so funny?" she smiled.

"W.B. Yeats. The Irish poet," replied a smiling Andy.

Her expression changed. "I thought he was kind of depressing. We're about to make love in a parking garage and you've got a depressed Irishman going through your mind?"

He leaned forward and kissed her. When he was done, he looked into her eyes and quoted the poem, "'Her movements were worthy of her form.' That's the Yeats that comes to mind every time I watch you do anything. Bellissima, you are such a stunning woman. I love how Alex says, 'Her mind is nimble.' Everything about you is nimble. You made an historically awkward move look sensual and graceful. Damn lady," he said with love and admiration showing on his face.

She smiled back at him. "You are so sweet to me, Andy. I love you." As she spoke, she grabbed his manhood and put him at the edge of her slit. She rubbed the head up and down, and he moaned as he felt her wetness. She moved up, and then impaled herself on his iron rod.

"Yessss," they both hissed. She began to move up and down him slowly, flexing her Kegel muscles hard as she did so. Andy kissed her again, and pulled her back to him in the reclined driver's seat.

"Nice and slow my love. Grace won't even know we're gone," he whispered.

"Mmm," she replied. She sat up a bit, and gave him one of her engorged nipples. Andy hungrily engulfed the offered delight. She moaned as he drove her crazy with her tongue.

She leaned forward and whispered to him, "Andy, do you know what's going to happen in the spring of our senior year?"

He shook his head no.

"Three amazing things. First, you have a birthday. Second, Eden and I are going to win our fourth national championship in 8's. But baby, the best thing is the last thing. We're going to make a baby."

He groaned and started to increase his thrusting. She kissed him and shook her head no, smiling at him as she did so.

"We'll go to Paris for spring break. We'll rent an apartment, and open the windows to make love in the afternoon sun. And Andy, you're going to put a baby in me when we're in Paris. My favorite man in my favorite city. God baby, it makes me so hot thinking of you filling me with that big, beautiful dick of yours. I'm gonna cum so hard for you. Mmmm," she trailed off as her own pleasure overtook her. Slowly, her talk resumed.

"Baby, when we walk across the stage for graduation, my diploma will have your last name on it. And I'll have your baby in me, growing in my body. And that baby will be so loved. They will be so safe with their momma and daddy. I love you, Andy. I love our life," she moaned.

Sara's own need had overtaken her. She leaned back and put her hands above her head, exposing her glorious breasts in a highly erotic way. Andy loved it when she did that. She looked at him and smiled, knowing exactly what she was doing to him. Their rhythm increased, as did the sound coming from both. Sara's whole body began to shake, and Andy drove his hips up and held them there as he emptied himself in his fiancé. Sara's upper chest and neck were now flushed and splotchy, as the pleasure continued to course through her body. Andy lowered his hips, and Sara collapsed forward into his arms.

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20 minutes later they walked into the jewelry store. Alex and Jessica were standing back a bit from the group, who were admiring both the glow on Grace's finger, and on her face. Jessica saw them walk in, and burst into laughter. Andy and Sara walked over to her sheepishly, and Jessica gave her brother a kiss on the cheek.

"You two are about as subtle as a damn sledgehammer," she said with raised eyebrows. Alex added something in Russian, and Andy and Jess both laughed.

"Alex said they would have done the same thing if not for their passengers," said a grinning Andy.

Jessica hugged Sara, and whispered to her. "You've got plenty of time for babies, Sara. My little brother isn't going anywhere without you."

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The rest of the afternoon flew by. Jen Land joined them as the purchase of the ring was being finalized. Packing the Moses house was progressing just fine; the moving company was doing the lion's share of the work. Linda's sister and her husband had come to help John deal with the last of his late wife's things. Jen had wisely decided that making herself scarce was probably a good idea. Their relationship was new, and she had yet to meet any of John's extended family or in-laws. Wading into the waters of what to do with his deceased wife's things was not something she felt the need to do.

When they headed to Colton, Andy texted John, and he met them -- with Marty in tow, and led the tour. Sara was amazed at how much of this part of Andy's life she knew nothing about, and how much he simply neglected to tell her. She knew it wasn't false modesty or misplaced pride that kept him mum on this point. He wasn't being unnecessarily secretive. This was an entirely separate life. He was very different now than he had been as a young man. The wisdom and experience gained had come at a high price, and it was dear to him. In fact, it was now central to who he was. The Broquard's and O'Leary's met them, and the trip down nostalgia lane commenced.

"Damn Dreamy, you guys were bad ass," commented Kail in awe of the display case. "Seriously, you guys were arguably the best high school hockey team of the 2010's. Color Power Girl impressed."

Juliette Broquard turned to John Moses and asked a particularly insightful question, "John, what made them great? I mean, there was obvious talent there; but talent does not equal greatness."

John Moses smiled, and thought for a moment. "Well, I'd attribute it to two things: first, each of the four men who are here right now had experienced some sort of hardship in their lives. They were all mentally tough. Whatever hockey threw at them was small potatoes compared to what life had already thrown at them."

Eden asked the apparent follow-up question, "So if it's OK with the four of them, what were the hardships?"

John looked at each man, and they all nodded. Sara slid in next to Andy and put her arm lovingly around his waist. In fact, each man's significant other had moved to be next to him.

"Well, let's start with Mike O'Leary. Mike is from Southie, and his family owns the largest beer distributorship in New England."

John saw the confused looks on the faces of the Colton women and Juliette.

"Alcohol distribution has a checkered past. Most legit businesses were once owned by organized crime. The O'Leary's were not always a legit operation. Mike's grandfather had mob ties. On top of that, an Irish family from Southie is not exactly welcomed with open arms by Boston's elite -- and make no mistake -- Groton is an elitist place. Mike was called everything in the book, and people looked down their noses at him the moment he stepped on campus. That's one of the things that made Mike and Andrew's friendship so unique. The Carlson's are Boston blue bloods. For Mike and Andy to be tight was -- well -- it raised a few eyebrows."

Priya turned and kissed her husband's cheek, and Sara heard Jake mutter, "Damn straight."

"You all know Andrew's story. Everybody knew Drew before he set foot on our campus. He'd made a name for himself as a hockey player, and he'd been the captain on every team he'd ever played on. He would have been the captain of the freshman team, but we needed him on varsity. He still wore an 'A' on his sweater at that," he said fondly.

"Andre had an older sister who was developmentally disabled. Suzanne was a very sweet young woman, but she needed round the clock attention. Andre not only watched his parents sacrifice for their daughter in this way, but he helped when he was old enough to do so. Plus, that kind of care is not cheap. There were financial pressures on the family as well."

Sara smiled when she heard Juliette speak words of love and affection to her husband in French. Andy looked at her questioningly, and she whispered, "I'll tell you later. She's amazing, Andy."

"Brian -- well -- Jake are you sure you want your story told?"

"Please," said Jake softly. "Grace needs to hear it, and I've been too chickenshit to tell her myself."

"Well, let's agree to disagree on that point," said John Moses. "Brian, you're a lot of things, but chickenshit is not one of them."

He paused to look at the man, and Grace kissed him on the cheek. "It's OK, Brian. I don't have to hear this," she said softly.

"No," he exhaled loudly. "You do. And John's the best person to tell it. He had a front row seat for all of it."

"Jake's dad is an alcoholic. He was a mean drunk who beat his mom, and he beat Jake, as well. One day, his mom just up and left. Jake was 11 when that happened. By this point, he's a hell of a hockey player. All four of these guys started playing together when they were," he looked around.

"We were 10," said Mike softly.

"So, Jake confides in his buddies that his dad is beating the shit out of him. He's always trying to hide in the locker room. He didn't want anyone to see the bruises. You boys were 13 then?"

All four nodded.

"Finally, they decided to take matters in their own hands. They hid at Jake's and waited for his dad to come home. When that drunk bastard lit into Jake, they used Mike's phone to video the whole thing. Finally, they've seen enough and the three of them take him on. They stopped him, but they paid the price. Four 8^th grade boys against a drunken, grown man is not a fair fight."

John paused and took a deep breath. "The cops showed up, The Judge got involved, and Brian's dad will probably never get out of jail. Ralph and Helen got legal guardianship, and Brian split time between the O'Leary's, the Broquard's, and Andy's house. He'd do a month at a time at each place. All three families already had their hands full, but no one wanted Brian shipped off to a group home, or some other sort of bullshit like that."

"That's the kind of character those young men had when they started playing for me. Tough, smart, and loyal to one another unlike anything I'd ever seen." John paused to wipe his eyes and clear his throat. Jen Land reached over and held his hand. He looked at her and smiled.

"What was the second thing?" asked Grace quietly. She had embraced her man, and kissed him tenderly after she asked her question.

"Leadership," said John flatly. "They all knew who the captain was. I've never seen a young man lead his peers like Andy did. What made it great was that Andy knew just how badly he needed his friends, and he never acted like a prima donna. He led by being a servant; by making everyone around him better. All four of those boys were badly beaten up after confronting Brian's dad, but Andy was the worst. After that, everybody at school called him 'Captain.'"

John looked at Andy and nodded appreciatively.

"Sara," said Priya softly, "now I hope you know why Andre, Jake, Michael, and I are so grateful for you. I know Juliette is, as well; but if you were at Groton when they played together, you'd understand. Having Drew back is -- well -- it feels like everything is right with the world again."

All the Groton alums nodded, and even Marty said, "Yes" quietly.

"I failed you," said Andy softly. "I went off on my own personal crusade and I failed you. I just fucking left you all. Some Captain. What fucking bullshit."

Sara looked at Andy, and then stepped aside when she saw Mike, Andre, Brian, Priya, and John Moses coming to embrace him. He wept -- they all did. Forgiveness was asked for; forgiveness was given. Sara went and stood by her friends, and they all embraced Juliette as she stood next to them. Sara and Juliette gathered Marty, and explained to him, in French, what was going on. He nodded, and went and hugged Andy as well.

Juliette turned to Sara and said, also in French, "Sara, this is the most wonderful thing I could imagine! Andre felt horrible for being angry at Drew. I could not tell him that he had every right to be angry; he would not listen to me. Now I know why." She had tears in her eyes.

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"Baby, I am so proud of you," said Sara once they were back in his truck. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Nothing particularly amazing about abandoning your friends and family for six years, Sara," he said coldly.

She put her hand on his before he could start the truck.

"Look at me, Andrew David."

He did, and saw the love and admiration in her eyes.

"We all do things we regret. You, my love, have the rare ability of owning your mistakes. Andy, you took a beating for Jake -- and for Christopher! Your friends love you. You asked for their forgiveness, and you received it. Baby, they are so happy to have you back! Don't miss that, please. I promise you that our friends and extended family will have a central place in our lives. You fought your war. Please don't fight yourself on this. That, my beautiful man, is how we do us."

She leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

"I love you," he said quietly.

"Damn skippy you do," she giggled. "Baby, I really am proud of you. You're a good man, and a good friend."

They held hands as he drove them back to Beacon Hill.

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