Stock Ch. 01-18

"So that was why he was distracted all the time."

What was going on? Sean had never heard Elizabeth genuinely apologize before. He could tell Elizabeth was uncomfortable and tried to figure out how to put her at ease. "Anyways, Cheryl was just on her way out. I can't keep you two in the same room together for long or I'm sure you'll cook up something embarrassing for me to get stuck in. Can't have that. And don't forget about your paper due tomorrow, Cheryl."

"Yea, I've still got that term paper to pull out of my ass by tonight. Thanks for the talk Sean. Nice meeting you, Elizabeth. I'm sure we'll see each other again. Maybe we can swap stories." And then she headed out the door.

"Nice girl," Elizabeth said, "Very cute."

"Uh-oh," Sean responded, "I can see where this is going. Cheryl and I are friends, that's all. We met at the dorms freshman year and have been talking ever since. She started casually dating my former roommate a little over a year ago after she dumped her ex. Now that I've explained myself to you and told up front that there's nothing to worry about there's only one more thing that I can do to allay your fears."

"And what's that?"

Sean stepped up to her and firmly planted a kiss on her lips; the surprise of the move practically took her breath away. Her eyes fluttered open and she melted in his arms. Sean guided her to the couch and wrapped an arm around her. "Now that I've done pretty much all I can how about that lunch?" He fished around in the paper sack and pulled out the two wrapped bundles. He moved about in the kitchen and brought back plates and cups. They ate in silence but touched often, snuggling as they finished lunch. Despite the companionable quiet, Elizabeth was still uneasy about Cheryl. The girl made feel Elizabeth feel old but she didn't say anything. After they cleaned up, Sean showed her his room. Elizabeth was startled by what she saw. His room wasn't overly messy or neat, a bookshelf was filled to bursting by his desk, and a full sized bed in a corner under the window kept things cool during hot summer nights. But that wasn't what surprised her. Floor to ceiling along every available space on the walls were drawings. Not small works tacked haphazardly on the wall but a long continuous mural that stretched across the whole room. The theme shifted from flying birds to a sleeping dragon by the bed. All of it was done in charcoal, the shading dramatic and impressive. It was breathtaking.

"Wow," was all she could manage to say at first. "How long did it take for you to do this?"

"A little over two years," he explained. "I've always wanted to do this for the longest time. The panel on the door was actually something I did at home in high school then brought over. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes though it can be frustrating. I'm working on another one in the other room but it's far from finished."

"You seem to surprise me every time we're together."

"Well I've got to find a way to keep you interested, don't I?"

Elizabeth felt Sean hug her tight at the waist as she continued to look at the walls in amazement. He was good, very good. "How long have you been drawing?"

"Ever since I was about twelve. Started with comic books and moved on from there."

Elizabeth reached out to touch a phoenix blazing fire across the wall in black and white but stopped herself.

"It's alright," Sean said as he reached up and held her hand to the drawing. When he did that though she wasn't paying attention to the drawing. "I sprayed all of this with a fixative so it wouldn't smudge. The whole place smelled of chemicals for hours. I swear the pictures jumped off the walls and started moving on their own."

She chuckled. "I'm sure they did." She turned her attention away from the drawings and faced Sean. "So, what do you have planned for us today?"

"Besides kissing you silly," he smiled. "Well, I thought maybe we could rent something from the video store across the street and I could cook you dinner."

"And he cooks, too," she laughed, "I am not letting you out of my sight."

Sean chuckled. "Don't say that until after you've tried my cooking. But before that, care to talk to me about why Cheryl worries you so much?"

Elizabeth thought that she did a good job of hiding her thoughts. "Am I that obvious?"

"Not really, but I can tell none the less."

She sighed. "Well, I'm sure you already figured out that I'm thirty-four." He nodded. "I just don't understand what it is exactly that you see in me. And Cheryl is very cute. She's the kind of girl I worry about that will steal you away from me."

"Don't worry about her," Sean replied, "There's no chance of me winding up her boyfriend." Elizabeth noticed that he didn't say that he wouldn't fall for her. "And stop acting so paranoid. No, I'm not going to go after her. I've left that thought behind."

"So you admit that you might have before."

"Look, you said so yourself, she's cute. She's a nice person and we hang out a lot. But certain events developed that pretty much shut her from me when it comes to me furthering our friendship. Suffice it to say, she has a boyfriend. You can stop being jealous now, as cute as you look when you are it doesn't quite suit you."

Sean let it stand at that but Elizabeth still wasn't entirely so certain. "I know, it's just…" she took a moment to form her thoughts. "It's just that right now I'm at that stage where I like you, a lot."

"But…"

"But I still don't trust men in general all that much."

"So who did Charles have the affair with?"

The question took Elizabeth by surprise. "An intern working at Charles' workplace, Rebecca something. She's twenty-three."

"That's why you're so worried about losing me to someone younger. Well, I'll just have to stick around a while to prove you wrong. By the way, who are ‘the Twins'. You mentioned them at the dinner party."

"Rebecca's breasts," Elizabeth said flatly.

"Ah, I see. Big knockers, huh?" Sean sighed. "Well, I'm not a breast man so don't worry about that. Of what I can see, yours are nice enough for me." And he punctuated the remark when Elizabeth felt him cup her breasts through her sweater. He wasn't rough and grasping like Charles was, but gentle and coaxing. The feeling was very nice and she could feel her whole body warming up. Which was far enough for her. Elizabeth reached up between his legs and squeezed a bit.

"I think you've demonstrated your appreciation enough," she said, her eyes sparkled playfully.

"I beg to differ," she squeezed a little tighter. "But it looks like you've got me by the balls." He grinned. "Perhaps later, though?"

Elizabeth turned around and gave him a lingering kiss that they both thoroughly enjoyed. "Depends on your cooking, sweetheart." She beamed a small smile his way. "Don't you just love it when girls play hard to get?"

"There's an easy answer to that one," Sean replied, "They never do. Never been hit on."

"I find that hard to believe," she said truthfully.

"I certainly don't. I have no illusions about my attractiveness. I'm plain vanilla by all appearances."

"You are not plain. You just hide yourself very well. I saw well you cleaned up at the shareholder's meeting. Most girls your age are naïve enough to only see what's on the outside," she finished for him. "Not all girls are like that."

"I certainly think so," Sean tilted her chin up and looked piercingly into her eyes. "That's why it took a woman to find out who I am." He leaned in and kissed her until her toes curled. Eventually they broke for air and simply stood staring into one another's eyes. Elizabeth's heart tumbled end over end as she desperately tried to regain control of her breathing. Damn! How did he do that? Charles never made her heart race like this even before they were married.

"So, how about that movie?"

Chapter 6

This was nice. Sean sat on his couch reading a fantasy novel on a lazy Saturday afternoon with Elizabeth laying her head in his lap reading her own suspense-thriller. He had dreamed of moments like these. Simply being relaxed and leisurely with someone he loved. He loved her. He had finally come to admit to himself after being with her for the past month. It was one of the most anticipated and frightening concepts of his life. He was in love. Sean couldn't tell her yet though. He had discovered earlier that saying the Big Three would seal his fate to hers forever. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with her, far from it. But there were still things that she had to learn about him and if those skeletons in his closet scared her off after he told her how he felt, it would pretty much tear him apart. He didn't want to go through another break up, the first one still hurt although it happened four years ago.

Gently, Sean stroked Elizabeth's face and looked down at her. She looked up at him and pointedly cuddled up to his hand, smiling contentedly at him. "It's about time I showed you the other room." Elizabeth knew what he meant. Every once in a while Elizabeth would ask about the locked door across the hall from his bedroom and every time Sean would steer the conversation away from it. There was nothing perversely sick about the room, just unusual. Enough so that he was certain it would scare most people. Not even Cheryl knew what was in there. But the fear of losing Elizabeth after he said that he loved her proved too great a fear for him. Best to do it now and get it out of the way.

Elizabeth set her book aside and sat up. "You don't have to show me what's in there, Sean."

"Yes I do. If not now, then eventually I will have to. I think it better that you know early on what you're getting yourself into if you want to be with me. There's nothing perverse in there. Just unusual is all. But it is an important part of who I am. What I am." He held out his hand and led her to the door opposite his bedroom. He pulled a complexly designed silver key from his wallet and placed it in Elizabeth's hand. Sean watched as Elizabeth slowly raised her hand and inserted the key then turned the lock. The door swung silently inward to reveal the other room.

Elizabeth took a moment to look at peer inside the dark room and took a step forward. Sean watched Elizabeth's eyes take in the view of his training room. The walls were covered in various swords, daggers, polearms, and other martial weapons. By the far wall stood what was called a ‘wooden man', a five-foot tall log with various foot long pegs protruding out of the body. The adjacent wall stood a short cherry wood table with a black, scabbarded sword. Sean watched as Elizabeth's face as it shifted from surprise to curiosity, no fear.

"I've been practicing various forms of martial arts since I was five. It's sort of become a passion of mine. Every weapon you see here I am proficient in. It's taken me a long time to get this far."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I really don't," Sean thought as he walked across to the short table with the sword. "All I know is that I have a knack for it. I'm good at it, it feels good. Not the violence, mind you. But there's this feeling I get deep inside me as if I'm complete when I practice. It's a liberating experience. I become so focused on the actions that I exclude the world. It all drifts away and I find peace there. Some part of me tells me that it will come in handy some day and I believe it. Besides, better safe than sorry, right?"

"How many weapons do you know?"

"The twenty you see here on the wall but I prefer the katana over the others. It was custom made. Titanium alloy, acid etched. The works. Cost me a pretty penny for it I can tell you that. None of these here are showpieces. They're all combat ready and razor sharp. I don't fool around with my training. I practice long and hard with each of these. I take it very seriously. Now you know what it is I do in my spare time. So what do you think?"

"I'm not sure what to think," Sean could tell she was a little surprised at it all, not that he could blame her, he didn't even know what to make of it at times. "It's a bit much to take in all at one time. But I still don't understand why."

"What's the most exhilarating feeling you've ever had," Sean asked. "Where every nerve in your body is alive, burning like wildfire. It's hard for me to explain it when I don't even know what to make of it. But I figured you deserve to know about this. None of my friends know about this. They wouldn't understand."

"And you think I will?"

"Well, not exactly. But I was hoping you would be a little accepting. Acknowledge what is in this room and then think that it's just one of my weird quirks then leave it be. I don't expect you to understand it. I hardly do at times."

"Then teach me."

"What?"

"Teach me." Elizabeth turned around and looked deeply into Sean's eyes. "I want to understand. I want to learn. I want to learn more about you." She stepped up to him and cupped his face, then kissed him deeply.

Sean broke the kiss. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Why?"

"Just…just give me a little time to come to a decision. It's not something that you can pick up like a book in a store. What I can teach you goes beyond what you can learn from just walking into some studio out there. There's more than just the motions. There's the mentality. It's dangerous, mercurial. Just give me time, okay?"

She nodded and gave him another warm kiss, understanding, caring. They lost themselves in the embrace, time blissfully slipping away. Sean's head swam as he tried to think about Elizabeth's request but lost his train of thought as his girlfriend took his breath away. He could think about it later.

Chapter 7

"Nervous?"

"You have no idea," Sean answered.

"You big jerk," Elizabeth said while playfully swatting him on the shoulder. "I should be the one nervous about meeting your friends, not you." She wondered if she was dressed appropriately in blue jeans and black t-shirt.

"Yeah, I know," Sean said as he thought about his friends coming over, "But you have to understand I usually am not all that open towards my friends. They don't know much about my personal life, except for maybe Cheryl and of that only half of it. I am definitely not openly affectionate around anyone but you. Most of the time I'm just goofy and weird. Since I have the money I can call myself eccentric but they don't know about that. This is probably the first time where my personal life and my social life will meet. I like to keep them separate. If I had a choice I'd buy us a nice cabin in the woods with acres of land and you and I can just be together. But that won't happen. And no, it's not you. I'm sure they'll like you; it's me I'm worried about. I don't want to hurt you when I act differently. I may come off as a little aloof and strange when they get here so don't say I didn't warn you."

"Sean, that's why I want to meet your friends. So I can see another part of you. There's a lot of mystery wrapped up in you I intend on figuring you out."

Just then someone knocked on the door. Sean stepped toward it but was swung around by Elizabeth as she planted a very disarming kiss on his lips. "I love you," slipped out of Sean's mouth as they broke the kiss. Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise. The two stared at each other in shock, Sean for saying it and Elizabeth from hearing it. But Sean was quicker to grab his wits about him as the person outside knocked again. "Aha, I turned the tables around. Point for me!" He grinned playfully at Elizabeth and winked at her as he opened the door.

The first of his friends, Vince, showed up. "Sorry about the delay. Elizabeth and I were just sharing a word or three," he beamed a smile her way which snapped her back to attention. "Vince I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Elizabeth." Pleasantries were exchanged and a couple of more friends arrived. Derrick and Cheryl showed up last and more introductions were spread. They all filed back out of the apartment and into their cars for the mall.

"So, Elizabeth," Derrick said, "What do you do for a living?"

"Well, I'm an on and off accountant but mostly I'm just living off of what my lawyer could gut out of my rich ex-husband."

"You were married?" The whole group seemed to quiet a bit to listen.

"Sure, hasn't everybody?" Elizabeth fired off. "Nah, I just realized that he was jerk after we got married."

"Well, Sean's got nothing to worry about," Cheryl said. "He's a college student. Not a cent on him that he doesn't have to pay financial aid back for."

"I assure you that wasn't why I approached him."

"How did you two meet?"

Elizabeth chose her words carefully. She remembered Sean telling her that none of his friends knew how rich he was. "We met at a party."

"A party? Sean? You sure about that? Sean's not the kind to party."

"Not the typical beer bash guys. One of the stocks I invest in was throwing a sort of investor's meeting and I decided to show up. You know, so they could get us to buy more shares. Propaganda ball of sorts."

"Has any of that paid off?"

"Well, you know how it is. You jump in at the wrong time and jump out at an even worse time. But sometimes you get lucky. I just manage, I suppose." Elizabeth noticed how he sidestepped their meeting. Personally, she preferred they didn't know about Charles either.

"Anyways," Elizabeth continued, "I happened to sit next to Sean and he asked me to dance with him. The rest, they say, is history."

"I didn't know Sean could dance," Cheryl said.

"How long have you two been together now?" from Derrick.

"I can't dance. Not to that hip-hop funk that most people play at the college bashes at least. And trance just reminds me too much of Mortal Kombat. Nah, ballroom's for me. And we've been going out for the past four months now."

"Ballroom? You really are an old fogy."

Sean merely shrugged. Elizabeth had to wonder at how easily his friends questions slid around him, they thought him strange and never bothered to figure him out. He was a stranger to them. She wondered what his life was like to be so hidden and at the same time she was honored that he would trust her so much with his life. But then again…there was still so much to unlock about him. The conversation changed directions and the group discussed something else amongst themselves. Sean sidled up next to her and gently rubbed the small of her back.

"Hey." Elizabeth smiled at him. "Thanks for keeping the lid on things about my financial status."

"Thanks for not talking about Charles."

"You know, there's still a lot of things that you don't know about me and there's a lot of things I don't know about you. But whatever those details are I promise we'll find out together."

"I certainly hope so," she replied, "Having a past to hide means you've got character worth digging for."

"About what I said earlier. Um…it sort of just popped out. I do mean it though. I just haven't found the right time to say it."

"Well, now it's out in the open. No apologies. Besides, I feel the same way."

Elizabeth watched as Sean's eyes grew wide with hope. "I love me, too," she said. Sean's eyes dimmed and in a blink that goofy mask of insincerity slid into place as he laughed. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulled him in tight, and whispered in his ear, "I love you." And right there in front of all his friends she kissed him, long, passionately, with just a bit of tongue to simmer the blood.

"Whoa, you two," Derrick called out, smiling, "Get a room."

Together, Elizabeth and Sean gave Derrick the finger and continued the kiss until they ran out of breath. The two broke, laughing. For the second time that night Sean surprised her and picked her up in his arms and spun her around, the two smiling at each other without a care in the world. Sean's friends stared at the two of them and did what they could to either look elsewhere or rib Sean about getting a room. Elizabeth saw that Sean blushed as bright as she did and just wrapped her right arm tightly around his waist.