No Ordinary Proposal Ch. 05

I got him back to the house where Jo said that I was staying for dinner. I was scratching Maggie behind the ears and thought that I'd been spending too much time with Scott and Jo the past few weeks but neither of them seemed to mind. I wondered if it was to help spread the emotional burden of the situation and I accepted the weight on behalf of my best friends.

"Jo are you busy this weekend?"

"You had her all last weekend!" Scott joked. They both laughed and I must have blushed as my face felt warm. "If he only knew," I thought and wondered if he might. I hadn't asked Jo if she'd spoken about our weekend in Montreal and frankly I knew it wasn't my business what was whispered between them. Not now at least.

"We don't have anything planned. Why?"

"Well I got my boss to let me have his plane for the weekend. I figured the look on your face when you were in the cockpit of that jet made me think you might like to try it out."

"Try what out?"

"Flying." I said grinning.

"You're a braver man than I am. I've been with her in the car and still hold on tight to the door."

"Hey! You're rarely late! I'd love to Bobby. When?"

"I was thinking Sunday morning."

* * * * *

Friday came around and I changed after work and headed to the house, wine bottles in hand. Scott was right, his lawyer had weasel written all over him. He was definitely competent but his glances at Jo were lecherous. Jo's new lawyer was a woman about my age, Jacqueline Sommer. She spent most of her time taking notes and asking topical questions, mostly to learn the situation and the people involved. At one point Jerry made a condescending remark and she shot back at him with a polite yet firm reply that she was here to look after Mrs. Meadows interests.

"Whoa, this isn't a divorce proceeding." Scott said firmly, taking control of the conversation to ease the tension. "Lighten up Jerry."

"I'm sorry. I thought I would be sufficient to Mrs. Meadows needs after..." He stammered.

"Truth is Jerry you make my wife uncomfortable, and if you were one bit less skilled as my attorney I would have dropped you years ago." The stress he place on the word dropped infused it with multiple contexts. The two looked at each other for a moment and Scott never let his gaze waver causing Jerry to look aside.

"When the will is read and everything is complete you'll send your last invoice and it will get paid. Jackie is her attorney, and I'm sure she's capable of handling everything for Jo."

"If I may ask, what is Mr. McNeil's role?" Jackie asked.

"He will assist her with executing the will. Unfortunately, he has recent experience after the passing of his father, and he's a very close personal friend of ours." After a pause he leveled a flat but serious threat towards his lawyer. "If you'd like I can transfer all of this to Ms. Sommer's firm and let her handle it, but I figured since you helped draw it all up and have known me for years I'd let you see it through to the end."

Jerry acted with a lot less supremacy once Scott had taken him down a notch. Things went forward from there. Scott had made a packet of information for me so I knew what the breadth of the estate entailed.

When the evening wound down and the lawyers were gone we sat in the living room with drinks.

"I fucking hate lawyers." We all busted out laughing at Scott's statement as he sipped his drink.

"I see why Jerry creeps you out. I felt the hair on my neck stand on end at one point when I looked up and I realized he was looking at Jo."

"I felt the same thing." She hugged her arms to her sides.

"I should get going."

"Sorry but Maggie buried your keys in the yard." Scott said. "We'll have to look around in the morning."

I looked at Jo who was smiling and shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't what she did with them."

"If I didn't know better I'd think I was being kidnapped."

"Well considering you had a drink before dinner, half a bottle of wine and a drink in hand now I'd feel better if you didn't end up in a hole before I did."

"Good point."

I awoke in the middle of the night to find I had a visitor. "What are you doing in here?" I whispered.

"After last weekend you have to ask?" She replied with a soft laugh.

"Well, I didn't think you'd, well right here in the house."

"Why not, it's not as if it's a secret at this point."

I didn't say anything but thought back to our conversation about keeping our relationship between us. She gripped my forearm which I'd wrapped around her waist.

"I didn't speak with him but he's not stupid Bobby. He's figured it out as if we'd written a report on it."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. He's not angry or upset, if anything I think he's a little relieved and a touch jealous of you."

"Me?"

"He wishes he was in your shoes. Loving, learning, growing together, living. He and I about eight years ago." I tightened my hold on her. "He knows Bobby. He knows you've been miserable for years, despite the fact you hid it well. I guess he's hoping we can help each other out with that." She sniffled and I rolled her onto her back. I couldn't see her face but I knew she was crying.

"I know."

The sun was still low but bright and I could hear a scratching. Jo unwrapped herself from me and opened the door to a little canine whine.

"C'mon sweety I'll let you out and get you some breakfast." She whispered and closed the door behind them. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling for a minute and got up. I put on my pants but it appears my shirt had been appropriated so I went downstairs quietly. I leaned on the counter and looked out the picture window at Jo wrapped in only my dress shirt holding Maggie's leash. I grinned and thought I had better keep an eye on where I walk on their lawn in the future. They turned back towards the sliding glass door and the shirt fell open and I felt my heart stop as they reached the door. Jo stopped short seeing me at the counter. She unhooked the leash and let Maggie loose who ran to where her food dish is on a little stand at the end of the counter and began dancing in place. "Yes, I haven't forgotten clown. Your breakfast first, mine next." She flicked her eyes at me. I felt a wave of heat wash over me with that glance and suddenly I was ravenous too. She tilted her head towards the stairs, her eyes flashed brightly at me.

She pulled me back into the bedroom and closed the door. My shirt slid down her arms and she sat on the edge of the mattress looking at me. An impish grin spread across her face as she slid back and beckoned me towards her with a single flick of her finger. I didn't move right away and she took it as a challenge. She stretched and swept her hand pushing her hair back as she did, her body flexed towards me in invitation as her leg slid gently up along the sheets. She looked at me again, this time there was fire in her eyes as she swirled her hand across the bed in front of her in clear invitation. She looked very much the centerfold model and male fantasy and I began moving, my hands going to my zipper, my eyes never leaving her face. Her smile widened as I climbed into bed with her.

"I thought you'd never get here." She mumbled into my mouth, her tongue followed her words. Her hand found my cock and stroked it slowly to full hardness. She had taken the lead and had me on my back, her chest laid across mine, her leg thrown over mine. "I have the perfect spot for this." She gave my cock a gentle squeeze.

"I know you do." I gasped for breath. She scrambled over me her ass pointing up right in front of me as she opened the drawer in the nightstand. I ran my hand up the swell of her ass and gave it a little swat. She giggled and settled herself across my hips sinking slowly onto me. Her eyes closed and she sighed wriggling as she settled fully down. She took my hands and put them on her ass before leaning forward to kiss me again. She began to rock her hips slowly and I sank my fingers into the soft flesh assisting her with each down stroke. Her hips ground against me quicker as she rode me to orgasm.

Jo started to catch her breath and I rolled her onto her back, parted her legs and began driving my cock into her with my own release in mind. She pushed her head back into the pillow and gasped as pumped into her with abandon until I exploded. I kissed her quickly and often, gasping for breath between each.

"Don't worry." She spoke softly after I'd walked back in from the bathroom. "He sleeps late because of his medication and you, we," she corrected, "just need to get over this cheating feeling."

"It feels strange, you know what I mean?"

"Yes, I really do. You should have been here Tuesday. After you left for work I cried my eyes out for a couple hours. He said he was going to get to call my doctor and have me sedated if I didn't let it go." Her laugh was soft and sweet. "He was honest with me though. He told me that at first he wanted to flatten you when we got back."

"Shit."

"He got over it. 'Higher function' returned as he called it and realized this was what he was trying to get to happen and he succeeded."

"We'll see if 'higher function' appears over the rim of a coffee cup."

"I'm sure it will. Though I think I'll wash up before hand, nothing like walking into a room looking, and probably smelling, like you just got good and fucked." She kissed me and rolled out of bed. I followed her into the bathroom and nudged her under the not yet warm water. She yelped and covered her mouth before splashing me with water.

She had come to my room without a stitch on and now wore one of the t-shirts I had left in the drawer and walked out of the room. I dressed in jeans, pulled on a shirt and made the bed.

"Good Morning." Scott said. He stood at the counter with a coffee cup in hand. Jo moved around him. She turned from the open refrigerator showing just how thin that shirt was, showing effects of the cold air. When she raised her arm to grab a pan off the hook above the stove top I saw she hadn't bothered to stop for any other clothing along the way. "Paris Air Show, maybe you can take Jo this year."

"Farnborough." I said and swallowed loudly, a sound that was probably all in my head.

Scott turned and patted my shoulder. "Relax, have some coffee. What's Farnborough?"

"It's ah, it's this years air show. They alter them." I snapped out of it as she put her arms down and gave me a little smile and continued. "This year it's in Farnborough England. The Paris Air show won't happen again until next year, they're biennial." I took down a coffee mug and filled it.

"Well that sounds like a fun place too."

"Yea but it's in just a few weeks and I hadn't planned on going this year."

"That's too bad. Let's hope you make it to Paris next year then."

"Ooh la la." Jo said softly. After a pause we all started laughing. She pointed at the plates on the rack and then the table and I got the hint as she started slicing thick slabs of bread. She gave me further instructions on where to find a bottle of real maple syrup.

"Straight off the boat from Vermont."

"Uh Jo, Vermont is landlocked. The only boats are on the lakes." I said.

She leveled a withering gaze at me. "No shit?"

Scott busted a gut, with the sound of laughter the tension broke. It was good to hear.

They managed to keep me talking and hanging out for the rest of the morning and I had a tough time wresting myself away in the early afternoon. I got home, tossed a load of laundry in the wash and grabbed a beer. I sat in front of a ball game on TV but didn't really pay attention to it. The whole situation with Jo, Scott and I was turning my mind into a jumble. I laughingly wondered if it was this weird in the Sixties during the free love movement. I looked outside and decided the lawn needed mowing. I threw on my beat up sneakers and went out to the garage. I don't remember doing it, my mind was all over the place but it looked better once I was done. I thought about doing the trimming and decided I wasn't that enthusiastic. I put the mower away, closed up the garage and went inside.

Freshly showered, I sat and thought about dinner as I looked out at the still bright daylight of the early June evening. I wasn't overly hungry so I let the idea slip away. I gazed unseeing for a long while lost in thought about the past few weeks and how my life had changed so drastically.

"Holy shit." I whispered to no one. In the past eight days I've done several nude photo shoots of one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, made love to her many times, and agreed to marry her. The dark reality of what brought this on crept into my mind and the guilt began.

The doorbell startled me out of my haze. I answered it to find Jo standing there, gilded from the light of the sunset. I looked her up and down, she was wearing sandals and a short sundress which despite being a little loose still showed off her figure. She was holding a take out bag in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other. I stared for a moment and noticed the smirk cross her face.

"You know, when a pretty girl shows up at your door with dinner and a six-pack, it's customary to invite her in."

"I, yes come in!" I said startled. "What are you doing here?"

She looked side-long at me and the smile turned into a laugh. "That's a lovely way to greet your fiancee."

I closed my eyes and joined her in laughing. I kissed her and noted a bag a little bigger than a purse hanging from her shoulder. "Moving in already?"

"I thought I might spend the night if you didn't mind. You live a lot closer to the airport and it gives me more time to sleep in."

"I don't know if I have the space. I mean there's only the one bedroom, the other one got turned into an office years ago." I smiled.

"What ever will we do." She leaned into me and kissed me again. "These aren't getting any colder." She waved the six pack.

"Right through there. I thought you'd been here before? What did you do with Scott?"

"I fed him and he wasn't feeling great so he was going to go to bed early. He said he'd take care of Maggie and I should take care of you."

I leaned on the door jamb and watched her put the beer in the fridge and shake her head at what she saw in there. "Sad."

"Don't blame me, I've been staying with friends a lot recently so I don't exactly do a lot of cooking."

"I hope she's a good cook then."

"Thanks to her I had to put on an extra mile to my morning run." I said, hand over my stomach.

"Keep complaining and she might put you on a diet. She might like to keep you in good shape."

"Well what ever she brought tonight doesn't smell like a diet."

"I was feeling Italian. Chicken broccoli Alfredo or sausage and peppers? You must choose!" She was grinning as she opened cupboards looking for plates.

"I must?"

"Shit, have you already had dinner?" She turned around concerned.

"No." I laughed. "Lady's choice, I will gladly accept which ever I'm offered. Left side of the sink." I said as she looked at the drawers wondering where to find silverware. I opened another drawer and pulled out cloth napkins. She set the plates on the small breakfast table in the kitchen and sat down.

"Oh the beers."

"I have wine if you'd rather have that."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"I don't need to, do I?" I leaned down and kissed her.

"No, but since I haven't had lunch you're waiting until I inhale this pasta." She smiled. "Wine please."

We had dinner and shared forkfuls so we didn't miss out on the other option. She bit her lip before taking a sip of her wine. "Um, would you be at all upset if I left a toothbrush here? I mean I have a feeling we're going to be spending more time together now."

"First you ask me to marry you, now you want to move in? What will you want next, drawer space, room in the closet? Scented candles everywhere?" Waving my hands in mock distress.

The grin on her face was beautiful. "Well the place could use a woman's touch." She chided looking around critically. "I mean seriously, it screams bachelor pad and we can't have that, not any more." She set her chin on her hand and looked at me with purest expression of love I have ever seen and I felt my heart skip. If I ever doubted what Scott saw in this woman, those doubts were scattered to the wind in that moment. She was more than I deserved and she would eventually be mine.

"What's the matter?" She said her look suddenly concerned, and I feared the mirror of mine. Her hand reached across and grasped my forearm.

I just shook my head and took a long drink from my wine.

"No, no, no. We're not going to start off like that. What's the matter?"

I took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. "It's sad you know, like fate playing a cruel trick on me. I finally get the girl of my dreams at the cost of my oldest friend." I felt the tear on my cheek and watched as Jo closed her eyes, the grip on my arm tightening. "Here's what you've always wanted, but it will cost you what you cherish now." Tears sprung from her closed eyes and ran down her face, her head nodding in agreement.

"The worst game of 'Would You Rather' ever played." She sniffled. "Scott has been very insightful lately, he said it may be the universe's way of sharing the wealth." She let out a rueful laugh at that. "I never really thought of myself as a hot commodity before."

"You're kidding right? After the start you had to keep making the positive choice at every turn, that's nearly miraculous. Grew up right, put yourself through college, if he hadn't swept you off your feet I have no doubt that you'd be doing what ever it was you wanted to do, sing, dance, act, shrink heads." I laughed at that and brushed away the tears on my cheek then hers.

"He does have a little bit of an over protective, read paranoid, streak sometimes. You might have one too if I'm allowed to bring up the Christmas party again."

"Well it's not my fault you're a smart, sweet, lovable, smoking hot babe that every guy within a fifty yard radius is going to find by dint of having his cock sniff you out in a crowd."

Jo's mouth dropped open in shock. "You think I have any control over that? I wasn't to blame for his actions!"

"No! That's not what I meant, I am being honest though. Any guy within sight of you is going to be instantly attracted to you because you're flat out gorgeous." I said with a little laugh.

"Is that going to turn you crazy on me?"

"No, at least I certainly hope not. I'll do my best and I hope you'll call me out if I'm being an asshole."

"That I'll do." She pushed her plate away and took my hand in hers. "I know it's something you recently discovered but does it bother you that I'm a tease?"

I laughed. "After what you did to poor Matt at the hotel, now you ask me?"

She had the good grace to blush and bite her lower lip to keep from grinning again.

"I'll stop. I'll start getting longer hemmed clothing, start wearing underwear everywhere. No more tank tops at the grocery store and standing in front of open freezer doors until my nipples are rock hard. I'll ditch the yoga shorts and wear full length pants."

"Don't stop being you." I laughed. "I'm not opposed to being turned on by you, I just don't want to have to keep my eye on every guy within sight to make sure you don't get into trouble."

"I would never have done anything while we were in Montreal if you hadn't been right there. I'm a tease but I'm not stupid about it. If I had walked into that gym in that outfit without you I could very well have ended up in trouble if I'd been followed out. I know that. I've been doing this for a while."

"Before you met Scott?"

"Not unless one of my wing-girls was nearby. I feel it necessary to reveal that I'm not wearing any panties right now. I'm sure you would have discovered that fact on your own soon enough."