The Bunker Ch. 04

The others converged with me, Sarah, and Gabriela in the entry room. The eagerness on their faces told the story, but I wanted to talk as a group, without the realtor listening.

"Ladies, it's noon, our meeting with the third realtor is at two thirty. Let's get some lunch and discuss the two we've seen so far." I turned to our guide. "Gabriela, thank you for your time. We'll contact you shortly either way."

******

Jess picked at the fried rice on her plate, watching me eat stir fried green beans with chopsticks. She had something on her mind, she just wasn't ready to say it. Or she was waiting for permission.

"So, your thoughts?"

"I didn't want to speak before the others."

Sarah reached over and held Jessica's hand, looking at me for confirmation. "There are three kids that have to live in that house for the next few months. You're their mother. Your and their needs matter a lot."

I nodded. "Just tell me what you think."

Jessica smiled. Melissa came back with her second plate just as Jess started in, so everyone got to hear her contribution. "The ranch house would do, but all those hallways, everything stretched out would get cumbersome fast. The two-story was amazing. I wouldn't mind living their forever if it weren't for the Rock."

"What about the pool?"

"As long as someone is with the kids when they are outside - at all times - it should be fine. At least until we get a fence up. How long do you think that would take?"

"Two, three days max after we have the materials" Melissa chimed in. "We set the posts in concrete the first day. Second day we attach all the fence segments. The extra day is just incase there's a problem with the concrete set. If we use a fast-setting mix, we could start attaching fence panels later that day, but I'd recommend waiting until the next day. Then the fact we used a fast-set mix just means there is a very low chance of needing a third day."

"I can get the materials fairly quickly after the sale. We've been given a government account with four different national DIY type stores. I don't know what deal they made with the companies, but we can order whatever we need to make the place secure and make whatever improvements we deem necessary while we are there. Leslie, that includes any automation and surveillance we think we might need. Be thinking about how you would network that, what room space or closet space you would need to occupy for the hardware." Leslie nodded, thinking.

"Then I think the second house is perfect" finished Jessica.

"I absolutely agree" said Melissa. "Plenty of space inside and out, nice pool, pretty views. That would be really nice right before we go into a cave for ten or twenty years." Sarah and Leslie both voiced their agreement.

"To be fair, I thought this one would be the final choice eventually. The next two are not this grand. One is smaller than the first one" Sarah said.

"Would we hurt our negotiating position by cancelling the other showings and start hammering out compensation with the owner of this house?"

"A little, maybe. But it's known we are under a time crunch already so we're already some with that expectation. Being decisive and not dithering about with lesser choices could improve our position."

"Ok. Tell Gabriela to arrange a meeting with the seller. His ask is out of the question. We'll need to meet face-to-face in order to find something less that is mutually acceptable."

"He might just have made a big request initially, since most final agreements are less than the starting position in any negotiation."

"We'll see. I hope you're right. Something bugs me about the request. Not just what was requested, but the way it was phrased or sequenced."

"Care to share with the rest of the class?" The others grinned at Sarah's jibe.

"I don't want to poison the well. Let's just see what develops for now."

******

The seller wasn't able to meet that afternoon, but tomorrow morning (Saturday) was fine with them. We arranged to meet at the realty office.

The five of us stopped off at the grocery store to get the ingredients for a family cook out - chili dogs, grilled corn, and watermelon. I hunted down some newsprint and started loading up the chimney starter while Belinda cut up the corn and showed Nelly how to load them into foil packs with butter, salt and pepper. The newsprint burned out, with flames licking out the top of the chimney when the back door creaked open. I turned to see Nell stepping out on the back porch with me. Her young face clearly hosting a question.

"Mr. Ansen?"

"Hey lil bit, how are you?"

"Are you my daddy now?"

I grinned. "Do you want me to?"

"I don't know yet. I think I need to wait longer to make up my mind."

"That's quite alright, take all the time you need. Can I ask why you asked that question?"

"Bel said we are stepsisters now. Because you and mommy are together. What does that mean together?"

Ah crap. Jess and I have not yet coordinated how to handle this. Of course, Nell's just seven years old, so the only appropriate answer at this point is fluffy and vague anyway. "It means we choose to spend our lives with each other. We laugh together, and sometimes cry together. We sit on the couch and hold each other, or we go out and do fun things together. When we think about what we want to do tonight or next week or next year, we think about doing that together."

"Do you sleep in the same bed too?"

"Um.."

"I remember going to mommy's room in the mornings a long time ago and my daddy was in the bed with her, but that was before he went away forever."

Nice opening for a dodge, kid, thank you. "Do you remember him?"

"A little. Mostly I remember mommy smiling and being happy."

"Hold on to those memories Nell. Those memories of him are precious. Don't worry about what you can't remember, just hold on to what you do remember. That man loved you. He loved your mom. Whether you choose to call me daddy later or not, I hope you always remember your first daddy. Until then, you can call me Kevin."

"Ok." Nell came up to me, buried her head in my stomach and hugged me around the middle. I hadn't gotten a hug like this since Belinda was this age. I savored it, placing on hand lightly in the middle of her shoulders. She looked up at me. On a whim, I hooked my hands under her armpits and lifted her up to my side.

"Ooch. You are almost too big for this, but only almost." She giggled through a big goofy grin and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. I carried her back through the door that way and came to a dead stop in the kitchen. Jessica was standing there, her face glowing and tears brimming at the bottoms of her eyes. That's when I remembered Bel had opened the windows that morning as we left. It was cool enough outside that the breeze blowing through was pleasant and made the A/C unnecessary.

"Hi Mommy!" Nell scampered down, rushed the four steps to Jess and wrapped her arms around her.

Jessica knelt to be face to face with Nell.

"having fun?" Jess asked her. Nell nodded. "Being good?" Jess asked with a farcical glare. Nell nodded again.

"Mommy, are you sad?"

"No baby. Sometimes a person gets so happy all at once it comes out funny, like it's trying to get out and share with the world, but gets kinda stuck."

"Mommy?"

"Yes baby?"

"I like seeing you happy."

Jessica hugged her and sent her off to play. Then Jessica strode two swift steps to me and wrapped me up in a fierce hug and a passionate kiss. Breaking the kiss, she took my hand in hers and led me upstairs, sashaying her hips with every step. Leslie saw us, and rose, heading towards the back. She'd used my grill before and knew how to employ a chimney starter. Entering the bedroom, I closed and locked the door as she turned to me.

Jessica pressed her body against me, kissing earnestly, but slowly, savoring the contact. Her hands roamed my chest and back. I kept my hands to her back and sides, until the kiss grew hungry. Then I began softly running my thumbs up her abdomen to her ribcage. I rubbed in lazy circles just below her breasts. She whimpered and slid her hands to my shoulder blades and squeezed lightly. The hunger in her kiss grew. I raised my hands to cup her breasts and firmly held them, rubbing my thumbs across her nipples languidly. She broke the kiss to moan.

I reached, grasping the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head. Just as the collar cleared her nose, I held the shirt there a moment and leaned in, kissing her exposed lips while her eyes remained obstructed. She hummed as she responded. I lifted the shirt the rest of the way off and tossed it to the side. Jessica pulled my shirt off and hungrily kissed my chest. My hands continued to caress her sides but massaged her breasts at the top of each stroke, spending more and more time on the lovely orbs each time.

We both kicked off our shoes while still kissing. We grasped at each other jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them, then shoving them downward. My steady weight loss prior to this situation and all the stuff in my pockets had my jeans falling straight to the floor as soon as Jessica had them unzipped. Jessica had no weight to lose, and her jeans were practically painted on, so I knelt as I pulled them all the way to her ankles, leaning in to inhale the aroma of her panty-clad sex. I rubbed my forehead and temple against her stomach.

Jessica reached down, getting her fingertips beneath my jaw and applied just enough pressure to signal her desire for me to stand. She met me with a kiss and we stumbled to the bed. We rolled and writhed on the bed, kissing and groping each other like a couple of teenage lovers. Along the way, we removed each other's undergarments.

Coming up for air, we lay there, panting, enjoying the feeling of lying nude in each other's arms. As our breathing calmed, She rolled me on top of her and spread her legs wide. She began rocking her hips, using her pelvis to massage my already firm cock, and calling, in raw primal terms, for me to enter her. So I did. I didn't plunge, I didn't take it particularly slow, I simply pushed in with firm steady pressure penetrating to the hilt in one smooth stroke. Her response was a soft, primal moan. We made love slowly, unrushed, unworried, reveling in our union. Afterwards, we lay there, holding each other.

A knock at the door pulled us from our post-coital haze. I slipped out of bed, threw the dangling side of the comforter over Jessica's nude form, and managed to slip into my boxers I'd retrieved from the floor as I walked to the door. I unlocked it and opened just a crack. "Yes?"

Belinda stood there. "Leslie's pulled the last of the hot dogs off the grill. Everyone's already had one, a few are already on their second. You two should come down while the dogs are still warm."

"Thanks Baby girl. And Bel?"

"Yes sir?"

"That was a good thing you did with Nell today, making her feel like a sister."

Bel gave a short nod and smiled before turning away and heading back downstairs.

******

As Jess and I descended the staircase, we could hear a movie playing in the living room.

"I'm just going to have to find myself a new giant, that's all." I smiled as I recognized one of my favorite movies. Jessica's smile signaled her recognition as well. Then a young sweet voice piped up just as we reached the bottom.

"He's a meany, I don't like him." A light laughter ensued. The comment also broke their attention from the screen long enough to notice Jess and I emerging from the stairs.

"I see you're introducing them to the classics." I said to Sarah.

"Well you suggested it for last night, but neither of us was here to set it up."

"That's right, I took you out on that wild and crazy date." Sarah rolled her eyes, then hummed when I leaned in a planted a kiss on her lips.

In a not very good whisper little kids seem to excel at I heard Nell saying "Mommy, he's smooching her. I thought boys were only supposed to give smoochies to one girl."

Jessica looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, baby, that is how things have been. But a lot of things are changing and one of them is that one man will smooch with more than one woman. In fact, every woman in this room smooches with him. Well, not Bel, she's his daughter."

"I beg your pardon, I can smooch my daddy any time I want." Belinda stood, walked swiftly tome and planted a big wet kiss on my cheek. Chuckles rolled around the room. Then Bel turned to Nell. She took the younger girl's hand and led her back to me. "And since we are step-sisters, that makes him your step-daddy" she cupped one hand to the side of her mouth "but you can shorten that to daddy if you want and he won't mind at all." Belinda picked Nelly up. As soon as she was at my height, Nell kissed my cheek. All the ladies cheered and clapped. Then Bel and Nelly kissed me simultaneously on opposite cheeks. I saw a flash and realized Jennifer had snapped a picture.

"Family pictures." was all she said. I nodded, with grudging acceptance of a man that does not enjoy having his picture taken, but bows to the rationale for it. The two girls had repeatedly kissed me on either cheek.

"Okay that's enough you two. Back to the movie." I went to the kitchen and made a plate with a chilidog, some chips and two slices of watermelon. I carried into the living room and handed it to Jessica, who looked scandalized and appreciated simultaneously.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Not sure if I'm eating two slices of watermelon though."

"Oh that's okay, the second slice is for Smoochie here." I snatched up one slice and handed it to Nell. She giggled and started munching. Went back to get my own plate. Standing in the entry to the living room with my plate in my hand I took in the tableau. My family. What a difference a week makes.

******

That's it for chapter 4 folks. I hope you've enjoyed it. Please rate and comment below. I'm turning my attention next to the first chapter or so of another story, which I hope to have out in less than two weeks. I may have it submitted to the admins by end of this week. We'll see. That's means I'll divide my efforts between two stories going forward. My original plan had this story closing within a day or maybe a week of the Ansen family entering the bunker. I now have ideas leading through their first Christmas there, so you will get to see some of their family life while riding out the disaster, locked away underground.

Once again, thank you to BreaktheBar for reading chapters one through three and giving me feedback. I think this chapter benefited from the input.