Late Night Conversations

Mira's hair was a mess and she was half in and half out of her sleeping bag. The clothes I could see were disheveled from spending the night in the cramped tent. None of that mattered with the way she was looking at me.

"Me too." Miranda leaned in and pressed her lips against mine. I pulled her close, waking up fully as her kisses grew hungrier and she made the expected parts of my body react.

I held her mouth to mine by enmeshing my fingers in her hair at the base of her skull and pressing, gently. Mira moaned and opened her moth to mine, kissed me deeper. I slipped my other hand down the back of her sleeping bag and caressed her perfectly shaped ass. Miranda's reaction was to roll on top of me.

It was my turn to moan as her hand pressed between my legs. My sleeping bag and clothes were between us, but that didn't matter. I began to swell even faster than before. I knew Miranda could feel it because her eyes lit with her recognition and need.

My girlfriend might have been a virgin, but like Mira said, she was no saint. She had her wants and needs, and was definitely in the mood to have them fulfilled. There was a reason why we were waiting, but at that moment I couldn't remember it.

That's when the laughing got louder. It took a second for my mind to kick in, and when it did, I was almost too late. I pushed Miranda off of me and to the other side of the tent as I rolled onto my side, hiding the obvious lump.

"Hey!" Mira cried, obviously too into the moment to understand, but that quickly became a non-issue when Renzo threw open the tent flap.

"Come on you two! Gramsy said breakfast is ready and it's past time you both woke up."

Miranda did her best to hide the look of horror that sprang to her face as she realized what almost happened. She actually did pretty good with that, but less so with the embarrassment that followed. It was so bad that instead of blushing, she actually grew pale. The only saving grace was that Renzo took a couple of seconds after his announcement to stick his head inside.

"We'll be right out." Miranda's voice was a touch higher than usual, but her brother didn't seem to notice.

"Gramsy made breakfast?" I asked. That wasn't part of the plan, but it wouldn't surprise me.

"Yes. She said to tell you that it's such a nice morning that we're eating on her patio," Renzo answered. "She made something called a frittata. Well, two actually. One with potatoes, egg and cheese and the other with eggs and a whole bunch of vegetables."

It was obvious with the way he said vegetables which one he was going to eat. "She also said to tell you that there was French toast too, and that it was almost done."

"My favorite!" Well, it was one of my favorites anyway. Pretty much everything Gramsy cooked was on the list.

"That's what Gramsy said you'd say!" Renzo was in a much better mood today.

Everything had gone over surprisingly well the night before. We had a late dinner and barbequed hamburgers, hotdogs and corn. Afterward, we made smores while singing whatever song Sophie picked off of the extensive list she made up.

Neither Miranda, Renzo or I had particular good voices, but Sophie was enjoyable. Matteo wasn't half bad either despite his age, but it was Gramsy that surprised me.

She didn't sing with us at first because I expect she didn't know any of the songs, but at one point everyone except Gramsy was busy eating their second smore so I asked her what songs she liked to sing as a kid. My grandmother smiled and started to sing something in Italian.

It wasn't long before we all joined in despite not knowing what the words meant. The song was very catchy and Gramsy had a very pleasant voice. It made me wonder what she sounded like when she was younger.

"You're calling Mrs. Stahl Gramsy?" Miranda was obviously concerned.

"Why not?" Renzo frowned at his older sister. "You called her Gramsy all night and she didn't seem to mind."

"Did I?" Mira seemed more embarrassed than mortified, but neither were necessary in this case.

"Yes, you did," I grinned happily. "Don't worry. Gramsy liked it. So did I. Frankly, I expect it would have happened sooner or later anyway, so why not sooner?" Miranda understood what I meant and smiled warmly, but only briefly.

"But the others..." she began. I cut her off before she could finish.

"Don't worry about it," I insisted confidently. "First of all, Gramsy being Gramsy, she would have let all of you know if she didn't like it. And second, I think she always wanted more grandchildren. She was from a big family, but both my dad and his sister only had two kids each. You four double that number."

Miranda nodded in acceptance, but it was somewhat reluctant. I got her concern, but it was groundless in this case. Unless she thought her parents would mind, but I didn't think they were those type of people. I guess we would learn one day, but for now, it was what it was.

"You get going," I told Renzo. "Miranda and I are going to roll up the sleeping bags and be right there."

He nodded and left quickly. I think he was hungry despite all the smores he's eaten the night before. I was more concerned about Matteo. The little guy took to the sweat treats so much that we had to keep an eye on him.

"That was close," I said once we were alone.

"You think?" Miranda sighed, shaking her head and unzipping her sleeping bag. I did the same to mine. "Thank God you heard him coming."

"You know, I think I finally understand why both your father and Gramsy talked to me about us when all this started." I shook my head, remembering how annoyed and yes, even self-righteous I'd been at the time. "It's a lot harder keeping my hands to myself than I expected."

"That's my fault, not that I feel bad about it." The sexy smile Miranda teased me with made me half reach for her. She laughed and shifted away from me. "Not now. Although, I definitely want to go camping with you one day."

"Soon." I didn't quite groan, but it was a close thing. Miranda had a way of driving me crazy with a look.

"And I still think papa was wrong for talking to you," she added, sounding annoyed as she went back to my earlier comment. It didn't last because a moment later she blushed and added, "Although, Gramsy's point about being 'in the moment' was certainly dead on."

"You think?" I grinned as I used her own words from a few moments ago. Miranda just shook her head and started rolling her sleeping bag. I did the same with mine. We then moved on to the others.

"Let's get going," she said once we were done. "I'm starving and that vegetable Frittata sounded good." She took a step toward the tent flap, but I reached out and stopped her. "What?"

In answer, I pulled Miranda to me and gave her another kiss. I only allowed myself one because I wasn't sure I could stop if we shared a second one, but I dragged it out as long as possible.

"Oh, that." She was smiling at me afterward.

"And to think, I was worried about you being a sloppy kisser." My heart was beating far quicker than usual. Miranda's kissed did that and far more to me.

"Here's to hoping neither of us are sloppy lovers." Miranda was joking, but there was certainly some real concern there as well. Although, I expect it was more for her part than mine. "Well, that and us finding out soon. This waiting is killing me."

"You're killing me!" I snorted and broke out into laughter. I'd been with more women than I cared to admit at college and plenty of them had wanted me as much as I did them, but none of them were as open about their desire with me as Miranda.

"Hey, you're the one who made the promise to papa." She waited a couple of seconds for me to reply, but I figured it was smarter to stay quiet, or at least safer.

Miranda disappeared out of the tent and I followed her. She teased me by putting that wiggle in her walk that she knew drove me crazy while I tried desperately not to stare. As usual, I failed, wondering if her butt looked half as good as it felt.

Thankfully, Mira stopped when we got to Gramsy's yard. The others Ramos children were already sitting and eating. Gramsy came out with the French toast as we arrived.

"Perfect timing!" I grinned, earning me one of her patented looks.

"It's about time you two woke up." My grandmother shifted her gaze to Sophie and added, "Child, shift your chair over to make room." She then turned back to Miranda and me. "I thought you were going to sleep in there all day."

There was something in the way Gramsy said sleep that seemed off. It took me half a second to get what she was oh so subtly inferring. I couldn't believe my grandmother! You want to talk embarrassed? That was crazy enough, but the weirdest part was that I was pretty sure Miranda understood as well, but didn't seem bothered by it nearly as much.

"Gramsy, I was ready to sleep in, for sure."

My eyes grew big, but Miranda sat in one of the open chairs looking innocent as the day she was born. My grandmother didn't help. Gramsy started laughing. I couldn't tell if it was at Mira's comment or my reaction, but either was too much. I sat down and buried my face in a couple of pieces of French toast, figuring that was the smarted thing I could do.

"Granddaughter...I mean child, don't feel bad." Gramsy correcting herself was an oddity, but I understood.

I loved the idea of my grandmother calling Miranda granddaughter and it sounded like she did too, but it was too early for that no matter how strongly we felt for each other. It was obvious that the two liked each other. I guess that made sense since they were neighbors my girlfriend's entire life, but it was more than that.

There was a closeness there that I hadn't realized before. Maybe it was new and had happened because Miranda and I were so obviously in love, but even still, the seed had to be there already for something like this to happen. The thought made me smile, at least until I saw Gramsy's expression.

Unfortunately, my grandmother faux pas wasn't enough to stop her from continuing to teasing us. Although, at this point, it felt more like they were both having fun with me.

"It was a long time ago, but I remember being young and wanting to sleep in. In fact, David's grandfather could be difficult to get out of bed. He sure did like his sleep too."

'Okay, who was this woman and what did she do to my grandmother?' The thought popped into my head, but thankfully, I was able to stop myself from saying it out loud. Apparently, burying my head wasn't working so it was time to go to plan B.

"So Sophie, which constellation was your favorite?" I figured it was past time for a change in subject.

Gramsy went to bed after the smores and singing, but the rest of us stayed up looking at the sky for a while. Well, everyone except Matteo. He passed out not long after my grandmother left. I carried him to the tent and Miranda put him in a sleeping bag next to where she planned on sleeping.

"I liked the big dipper!" Matteo said excitedly.

"That was cool, wasn't it?" I couldn't help smile at his expression. It was the only one Matteo could easily make out. It was also the only one I could find before last night.

Miranda helped me find the little dipper as well and a couple of others, but I quickly lost interesting in trying to find the constellations. That's not to say I stopped looking at the stars or coming up with some constellations of my own. I found both enjoyable and so did Sophie.

"It's hard to choose, but I guess liked the 'Silly Dog' best," Miranda little sister said, finally answering my question. "What about you?"

"That's easy. It's definitely 'Princess Miranda'."

"You are not calling it that!" Miranda shook her head, remembering my teasing from the night before. Gramsy's eyes lit with humor, but she didn't say anything. I think she was having more fun watching us.

"It's either that," I retorted. "Or the physically attractive, non-ethnic, non-denominational female royal."

"Very funny." Miranda sounded like she wasn't amused, but she was. I could tell. It was the only way I could say 'Beautiful Spanish Princess' without her commenting on it sounding racist or sexist. I'd thrown the non-denominational in there just for fun. "Try again."

"Well, I guess if you really don't like 'Princess Miranda', we can go with 'Princess Mandy.'" I knew I'd gone too far so I quickly added, "Not meaning you of course, but as you've said many times, Mandy is a perfectly good name."

"Don't make me hurt you!" This time her words and mood matched. Miranda was not happy. So much so that I decided to call it quits on teasing her.

"Look, you can call it whatever you want, but it will always be 'Miranda' to me." I met her eyes letting her know I was serious.

"Miranda, I guess it's no surprise that what David sees when he looks at the stars is the woman he loves." Gramsy's comment was so matter of fact that it was hard to argue with, even for Mira.

I didn't miss the fact that my grandmother had used our first names. That meant she thought what she said was important. I wasn't sure if Mirandas picked up on that, but whether she did or not, she nodded in acceptance and smiled almost tentatively at me. I was amazed once more how her smiles differed depending on her mood, but in the end, I guess it didn't matter. They all got to me in their way.

I was concerned about how the other Ramos kids would react to Gramsy's announcement on how Miranda and I felt for each other, but for the most part they were unperturbed. Well, actually, Renzo frowned, but I think it was more because of the whole love thing in general as opposed to Miranda's and my feelings.

Sophie smiled sweetly, obviously well aware of our feeling for each other and thinking it was romantic, which it was, after all. Little Matteo either didn't care or didn't understand. I guess both worked. It was time to change the subject again.

"I can't believe it's this warm so early in the day." I figured that talking about the weather should be simple enough, and for once, I was right.

"You picked the right night to sleep outside," Gramsy said agreeably. "Although, it's going to be a hot one today."

The conversation drifted after that as we sat enjoying breakfast and each other's company. I was happy to hear how much each of the kids enjoyed our night out under the stars and promised myself that we'd do it again soon.

The others were finished eating and even Miranda and I were starting to get close to being done when Sophie brought up my grandmother's pasta.

"Gramsy, do you think you will be making your homemade pasta again any time soon? It's my favorite." I grinned to myself, thinking, 'Subtle, very subtle Sophie."

"I imagine so." My grandmother's answer wasn't really comital, but if I knew her, we'd be having her pasta for dinner today or tomorrow.

"Not without my help." Gramsy was eight-four and had been cooking for us every night by herself. I didn't like the idea of her trying to make the homemade pasta by herself. Of course, I didn't say that. Gramsy had more than her share of pride. "I still have to figure out how to shape the pasta."

"You think?" Miranda's teasing made me smile. Apparently, today was going to be a 'you think' kind of a day. I guess it made sense since we were both in a good mood.

"Can I learn how to make pasta?" The hopeful tone in Sophie's voice was priceless.

"We'll see," Miranda injected before Gramsy answered. I thought her little sister was going to press, but the preteen saw her sister's expression and backed off. "Why don't you three go start cleaning up the yard. Davey and I will be there shortly."

"Leave Gramsy's barbeque. I'll take care of that." I figured that was only thing that could get messy.

"And no one touches the left over smores ingredients!" Mirander's tone brooked no arguments.

"Don't worry," Renzo grinned. "We're all too full to bother." I wasn't so sure he was right based on Matteo's expression. That little boy showed signs of being addicted. "I'll bring them inside and put them away so they don't go bad. This way we can having them another night." Even Matteo liked the sound of that.

The kids thanked my grandmother for breakfast and disappeared around the side of the house. All three of us waited until we saw them come back around the Ramos home and into their yard before continuing to eat and talk.

"Gramsy," Miranda began at one point, obviously having something important on her mind. I noticed her pause despite that when she realized she'd done it again and called my grandmother by the nickname I used for her. I smiled and allowed myself to enjoy what it meant when she nodded to herself in acceptance.

"Yes, child?" my grandmother prompted. Miranda shook her head and continued.

"Gramsy, I was happy to have you over last night and breakfast is amazing, but are you sure you're okay with this? We're still supposed to be social distancing."

"We are child, we are," Gramsy insisted. "Just together now." I thought that would be the end of it, but Mira wasn't done.

"You're not responsible for my brothers, sister and me. We're doing fine." I finally understood Miranda's concern. She didn't want to be a burden on my grandmother. "Well, with David's help."

"If there's one thing I've learned over this last week is that you don't need my help." I meant it too. Miranda was more than capable of caring for her family on her own until her parents returned. "I'm only there for support. Oh, and to make your father feel better."

"You're wrong. I definitely need you," Miranda disagreed. "This is so much easier with you." I smiled, not certain if she was right, but liking that she felt that way.

"You are both doing better than fine," Gramsy interjected. "So much so, that you don't need me interfering with what's going on. It just seems silly not to enjoy each other's company during these trying times." Miranda looked at me for confirmation.

"This pandemic isn't going anywhere any time soon, and honestly, I'd prefer Gramsy not to spend it alone." I saw my grandmother's expression so I turned to her and quickly added, "Not that you're not perfectly fine that way." She frowned, but thankfully, decided to let it go.

"Relax, child," Gramsy said, seeing Miranda's concern. "All it means is that we'll share a meal or two together most days. Oh, and maybe I'll show Sophie how to cook some things since the girl shows an interest."

"Not just Sophie." She glanced my way before adding, "I'd like to learn how to cook some of your specialties too."

Miranda's smile was slow and heartfelt as her eyes fell on me again. I knew she meant she'd like to learn how to cook my favorite things from Gramsy, and it warmed my heart, but I had the feeling that saying so would probably only get me in trouble. My girlfriend loved to tease me.

"Get in line!" I demanded instead.

"Young love," Gramsy grumbled as she watched our antics, but I saw a glimpse of the smile she quickly hid away. We were interrupted by some arguing from the other yard.

"I'd better get over there before they break one of the tent poles." Renzo and Sophie clearly had different idea on how the tent should be put away. I doubt they'd actually break anything, but if I let them pack the tent on their own it might take forever to put it back together.

"I'll be there right after I help Gramsy clean up." Miranda shook her head as she stood.

"No need." My grandmother stood as well and grabbed one of the serving platters. My girlfriend nodded, but then started stacking plates anyway. Gramsy frowned and added, "Child, you don't have to help."

"I know," Miranda replied, but again, continued to clear the dishes. I couldn't help grin at their interplay. That was a mistake. Both women noticed and turned on me.

"I thought you were worried about the tent?" my girlfriend asked pointedly.