The Proposal Ch. 04

Saturday morning Rick and Giselle are on the courts early, wanting to get in a set before Todd and Charlie arrived for their foursome. As Rick and Giselle cool and rest after their games, the Rose's arrive. Rick studies them as they approach and notices there is something different in their manner. He can't put his finger on the difference, but there is certainly something there.

As Todd and Charlie greet them, Todd walks to Giselle and hugs her like a long lost friend, then turns to Rick and grips his hand in a firm handshake, adding a slap on the shoulder that he holds for just a moment. It is odd that Todd would shake his hand in this situation as they have been friends long enough that the handshake has fallen out of use between them in such casual circumstances. Still holding Ricks hand, Todd gives it one more pump adding, "You are a lucky bastard, do you know that?" before he releases Rick's hand. Rick, somewhat addled by Todd's manner, smiles but says nothing.

Giselle speaks up as she watches Todd greet Rick, "We're doing a foursome this morning, right?" Everyone turns to look at Giselle. Still watching Todd, Giselle continues, "Is it me and Rick against you and Charlie or men against women ... or what?"

Todd spins Rick around by the shoulder and steers him toward the court. "Come on buddy, let's show the ladies how men play the game."

Charlie looks at Giselle as they turn to their side of the court and smiles, "Let's kick their ass," Charlie says brightly.

It starts out as a long day for the men, with the ladies besting them not only in the first game, 6-0, but the second game as well, 6-4, causing the third game to become deadly serious. All four players were serious competitors and were playing for pride, the men to salvage some and to avoid going down three games, and the woman to prove the first two games weren't luck. The game was at deuce and all four players were breathing hard and sweating in the mid-morning heat.

After an extended rally, Giselle drops a little lob in behind a sprinting Todd, running the wrong way, for the game. Todd, knowing he had been set-up, falls onto his back dramatically, and lies there panting until Rick offers him a hand up. Todd, getting to his feet looks to his sweaty, panting, beaming wife and says in mock victory, "I guess we showed you!" while pointing his racket at her tauntingly.

Charlie looks at Giselle and in a voice full of honey and cream says, "I like the way men play the game." The guys, their spirit broken, go on to lose five of the six games of the set.

The friends typically play a best of three match, taking a breather after each set, so after the final game of the set the group gathers their gear and moves to the shaded tables to cool and catch their breath. Sitting at the tables Todd is mesmerized by a single droplet of sweat that survived Charlie's towel as it slowly ran off one lovely breast into her cleavage. "Todd!" Charlie says loudly.

"What?" Todd answers with a start.

"I said, would you hand me a water. Please. And quit staring at my boobs."

Flushing furiously Todd mumbles, "Sorry. I was distracted." He comes up with a bottled water from the cooler and hands it to Charlie with a wan smile.

"Uhh ... yeah, we could see that," Rick says with a laugh.

Todd, trying to save face looks to Charlie, "It's hard to believe how good you've become, and so quickly." Turning to Giselle, "Will you give me lesson's next? Please? It's going to be hard on my self-esteem if she," he nods to Charlie, "kicks my ass every time we get on the court." Charlie beams at the complement.

"I can, I suppose, but I suggest you let Charlie help you. Her style of play is the same as yours and it will help her improve her game as well," Giselle says, dabbing at her sweaty neck with a towel.

"I don't want her to improve her game. I want to improve mine," Todd objects good naturedly.

"What's the matter? Don't think you can handle me?" Charlie asks with a glint in her eye.

"My love, I've never been able to handle you," Todd says with a leer. Then he brightens as if another thought has struck him. "Oh, wait! Are we still talking about tennis?"

"Oh for God's sake!" Rick exclaims with a chuckle. "Do you guys want to forget the next set and get a room?"

Todd and Charlie look at one another and go "Hmmm" at the same time, but then Charlie says, "Nooo ... I think we're good. For now anyway."

Rick looks to Giselle and rolls his eyes. Charlie and Todd have always loved the double-entendre, but this is ridiculous. Giselle offers him a slight widening of her smile and a quick raise of her eye-brows. "Okay, what gives? You two are acting like hormone sopped teenagers. Well, more so than normal. What is going on?" Rick demands.

Todd looks around and realizes this is a bit too public, "Why don't you and Giselle join us for dinner tonight. We'll tell you all about it then. Deal?"

"That will be fun, thanks," Giselle joins the conversion. "Can we bring anything?"

"Just yourselves," Charlie supplies. "About seven?"

"Perfect," Giselle says. "That will give Rick and me time to take care of a few things."

"I bet it does," Todd says slowly with suggestion dripping from his voice. Charlie slaps him on the shoulder. "What? We have laundry to do ourselves. Why are you hitting me?"

Giselle looks into her lap, her smile broadening while Rick just shakes his head in mock disgust.

"I'm going to do more than hit you if you don't straighten up!" Charlie informs him.

Todd opens his mouth to say something, but then suddenly turns serious. He looks solemnly to Giselle, "You're right. I'm sorry. I had no right to suggest that you have dirty laundry at home. I apologize."

Giselle looks at Todd's oh-so-serious face for a moment and bursts into giggles. Rick simply closes his eyes. Oh yes, something is certainly different this morning and he is beginning to get an inkling to what it is.

* * *

The second set went much as the first set had except Rick and Todd won the first game. Todd, ever the clown, strutted around on his side of the net, full of swagger, after their win. "You know they are going to make us pay for that?" Rick said as they settled in for the second game.

"I know ..." Todd replies.

And pay for it they did, losing the next two games. The men won the fourth game in a squeaker to tie the set at two games apiece but then lost the next four in relative blow-outs. Where Todd was all swagger after the first game, he was the picture of dejection after the last, shoulders slumped, head hanging low, racket almost dragging as he slowly walked off the court. "Woe unto me," Todd wails, "I have been emasculated by own wife."

"Not to worry," Charlie says sweetly, "I have something at home that will make you feel better."

Todd had nearly reached where the group was putting away their equipment and patting dry with towels when Charlie speaks, causing him to stop his slow dragging walk. After just a moment of thought Todd suddenly appears vibrant and full of energy. "Okay people, let's get a move on!" he says, energetically putting away his equipment.

Rick and Giselle look at one another, Rick not quite able to hold in his chuckle when Giselle winks at him. "Todd," Rick says in mock seriousness, "did you forget to take your meds this morning?"

Todd quickly looks around and, realizing that there is no one within hearing, says quite seriously, "No. I just found something I didn't even know I had lost ... all thanks to you," he says before turning to address Giselle, "Well, you and Giselle." Looking past Giselle Todd sees a couple of guys approaching their court, "I will tell you more about it later, tonight, but I want to tell you both thanks for what you did. Seriously." With that Todd returns to loading his bag and zipping it up.

Rick and Giselle look at one another, not knowing what to say.

* * *

Rick and Giselle throw their tennis gear into the trunk of Rick's Ford, not bothering to clean up since they came to the game in Rick's everyday car. Had they come in the Aston or Giselle's Audi, that would have been a different matter, but Rick would rather shower at home in private when he can.

"What did you make of those two today?" Rick asks as the car starts.

"I see two people hopelessly in love," Giselle states.

"They weren't like that last week. Or even Wednesday," Rick points out.

"And why do you think that is? Or a better question, what do you think has changed?"

"Okay, I know what you are driving at, but why would that make a difference?" Rick pauses while he backs the car out of the parking spot. "Why would the immersion make him fall in love with Charlie?"

"Remember what he said, 'I found something I didn't even know I had lost ...' or something like that. It didn't make him 'fall in love,' it just ... I don't know ... sparked something in him. Her too."

Rick says nothing, watching for and opening in the traffic. Turning the car right into traffic he accelerates the car smoothly to speed then pushes the autocruise button when the autocruise available light illuminates on the dash, locking the car into the grid embedded in the roadway so he can pay attention to Giselle. Once the car is locked onto grid he releases the wheel, allowing the car to drive itself until he has to take control to exit the autodrive road onto the side roads. "I just don't understand why our immersion would affect them so. I suppose I could understand why he might fall in love with you, but Charlie? I can't get my mind around it."

"You said it yourself. The chip can't read thoughts, only emotions, sensations. He couldn't tell the emotions you were feeling were for me. I suppose at some level he knows, after all it was just the two of us there, but he loves Charlie, so that is where his feelings go."

Rick thinks about what Giselle said. "I get what you are saying. I think. I wonder what happens if there isn't a person for the emotional spillover, for lack of a better term, to attach to?"

"I don't know," Giselle says. "It might be interesting to find out."

"But how?" Rick responds. "Everyone we know is married. At least anyone we know that I would even consider sharing this with." Rick thinks some more. "Actually, there isn't anyone else I would share this with. Todd was hard enough and I have known him forever."

Giselle says nothing, watching the scenery go by outside the car, until finally she says, "You're probably right. I'm not sure I want anyone else to experience it myself." Giselle sits quietly for a few minutes more. "I still think we should have the Roses do an immersion, to see if the emotional impact is there or if you caught something exceptional in our immersion."

Rick disengages the autocruise and takes control of the car, preparing to exit the boulevard onto the side streets. "Now there's an idea I can get behind. Turnabout is fair play."

* * *

Walking into the house ten minutes later Rick begins pulling his shirt off as soon as the door to the garage shuts. Throwing the shirt onto the floor in the laundry room he exclaims, "I reek! You want to take your shower first, or shall I?"

"Are those my only two options?" Giselle asks.

"No ... I suppose not. What else did you have in mind?" Rick asks with a twinkle in his eye.

"I thought you would wash my feet."

"Wash your feet?" Rick asks in surprise. "Uhh ... is there some special procedure to washing your feet?"

"Well ... you start at the top and work your way down," Giselle says, turning toward their bedroom.

"Oh! I think I can handle that."

"I thought you might," Giselle says, pausing in the door to their room and the bathroom beyond.

When Rick arrives in the bath Giselle was just turning on the second showerhead in their two person shower. Rick walks up behind Giselle, takes her in his arms, and kisses her gently on her neck as she tips her head down and to the side to give him better access. Giselle enjoys his attentions for a moment then turns to face him, "You're right. You smell. Into the shower," she says with a gentle push.

Rick removes his shorts, adjusts the water temperature then steps into the shower, pulling the glass door closed. Giselle reopens the door and steps into the shower a moment later, taking her place under the twin streams of hot water.

Giselle hears the snaps and clicks of the shampoo bottle and as soon as she steps from under the blasts of water she feels Rick's hands in her hair. She turns her back to him and tips her head back a little to help keep the soap from her eyes as he lathers her hair generously before gently turning her and guiding her under the water. Eyes still closed, head back, Giselle feels Rick step in close as he works the soap from her hair. The feel of the soap running down over her breasts, knowing Rick was standing only inches away in front of her, begins to warm her in a way the hot water couldn't. She tips her head back a bit more, letting the water wash any soap from her face, before stepping out from under the strong streams of water and wiping her eyes, looking at Rick as he runs his hand through her hair, making sure no soap remains.

Seeing Giselle looking at him Rick says, "You said start at the top."

"So I did," Giselle acknowledges.

Rick picks up the soap bar and begins spinning it in his hand, working up a lather. "Eyes closed," he says and she complies. Giselle feels his hands on her face, washing the sweat away, very gentle around her eyes, more vigorous on her forehead, cheeks and neck. "Rinse," Rick commands and Giselle steps back under the water, head back, allowing the water to sluice away the soap, becoming aroused by Rick's attention and slippery feel of his hands upon her wet skin.

Giselle steps out from under the water and once again wipes her face and eyes as Rick pulls her to him and begins scrubbing her back, his soapy hands on her back and his erect penis pressing into her lower abdomen feeling very nice indeed. Rick scrubs her back, shoulders, ribs and bottom before crouching down and continuing down her legs. Rick kisses her, once, very suggestively, on the stomach as he works his way down her left leg before very gently lifting one foot to wash it. Normally ticklish on her feet, Giselle is surprised that the feel of Ricks fingers on her feet, fingers slithering between toes, didn't tickle, but did make her want to squirm for other reasons. Doing first the left foot then the right, Rick then begins to soap Giselle's right leg, working his way back up her body. Reaching her womanhood Rick stands and works the soap bar between her legs, causing Giselle to gasp and place one hand on his shoulder and the other on the wall for support. He spends only a moment scrubbing her womanhood before continuing with his washing, his soapy hands sliding easily along her body. Rick's hands travel out along the arm on his shoulder, the feeling of his hands sliding on the underside of her arm sending waves of tingles singing through Giselle, causing her to twitch and twist. He switches arms and washes the other from wrist to body, finishing up once again on her shoulders and neck, then down her front to her breasts. Giselle can't take it anymore, Rick's hands causing her to have dirty thoughts while he cleans her. Giselle's right arm, already on Rick's shoulder, wraps around his neck as her left leaves the wall and joins it, pulling him into a soapy embrace.

Rick continues to wash Giselle's breasts, now pressed tightly to his chest, the soap and water acting as a lubricant, allowing his hands to move easily. As Giselle pulls Rick's mouth to hers for a deep, passionate kiss, Rick's pulls his hands from between their bodies, dropping the soap bar into the dish before putting his hands on her buttocks and pulling her more tightly to him.

Rick takes a half-step forward, never breaking their kiss, forcing Giselle back under the water. As the water pours over their bodies Giselle breaks their kiss and pulls back from Rick, just a bit, allowing the water to flow between their bodies to wash away the soap before slapping at the shower control, killing both streams of water. Rick looks at her in surprise when the water stops.

Giselle wrings water from her hair, then turns and walks out of the shower. Sensing he isn't following, Giselle turns and looks over her shoulder at him, "Are you coming? I can't do this alone," she says before continuing into the bedroom, dripping the entire way.

Rick uses his hands to wipe the water from his face and squeegee his hair before following Giselle into the bedroom. Giselle is tossing the top linens of their bed into the floor when Rick comes into the room. Turning, Giselle embraces Rick as she settles into the bed, still dripping wet, pulling him into the bed with her. "I need you. Now," she purrs, steering him between her legs.

A good hard game of tennis, especially if she wins, always gets Giselle's juices flowing. Rick would never throw a game for the consolation prize, he was too much of a competitor for that and Giselle would be pissed if she found out, but Giselle's affections made winning all the sweeter and losing not such a bad thing. Rick climbs into the bed and without a word, slides himself into her, Giselle gasping and pulling him down onto her. The house is comfortably cool, chilling the water droplets on Rick's skin, though the coolness of his skin no match for the heat of his passion as Rick begins to thrust himself into Giselle.

Giselle feels Rick slide into her womanhood and the pleasure of his insertion rips through her, causing her to gasp and pull at him. The thrill of not just winning, but dominating Rick and Todd in tennis, along with Rick's oh so pleasurable wash of her body and the delicious contrast of the cool air and Ricks heat has her on edge, in need of release. She kisses Rick on the mouth, neck, chest, everywhere, rubbing his arms, back and buttocks as his thrusts drive her to orgasm.

Giselle's frantic kissing and stroking fans Rick passions. He stops briefly to reposition himself before driving into her with new speed and force, Giselle's back arching as he pummels her, her hips thrusting to meet his own, making little whimpering noises as her pleasure builds.

Giselle feels Rick reposition himself before he begins his frantic, driving, thrusts, shoving his dick deep inside her, where she wants it, where she needs it. She begins to tense, striving to bring her orgasm, reaching for it, grasping for the release it will bring her. It's there, so close, but she can't reach it. She begins to keen for it, her body growing tense, twisting as the pleasure of Rick's thrusting cock burns through her, Rick hovering above her, using his arms to push himself up, giving him the leverage to drive himself into her with the power she wants. Giselle grabs him around his neck and hauls herself up, clasping herself to him.

Rick feels Giselle's arms snake around him as she pulls herself to him, her soft keening in his ear as she rides her wave of pleasure higher and higher causing him to lose himself in his pleasure as he drives into her, slipping over the edge. Too soon! It has only been a few minutes and his orgasm is building out of control, beyond his ability to stop. Rick's back arches even more as he gives one last thrust into Giselle, driving himself deep, as his cum flows from him.

Giselle is tottering on the edge of her orgasm, holding tight to Rick as she waits for it to crash over her, when Rick's wetness fills her. The heat of his breath on her neck, his deep thrust, held tight to her, the sudden heat and wetness of his release, push her over the edge and she falls, falls deep into her orgasm, quaking as the orgasm rushes through her. She tries desperately to hold to Rick but his still wet skin and her orgasm conspire against her and she falls back to the bed, her back arching, hands pushing against the headboard as she tries to drive him deeper still, her keening changing to a moan.