The Proposal Ch. 04

"Mmmm... no, but I'm sure I could find something at Alberto's." Fortunately, Alberto's, her favorite wine shop, is more or less on the way to the Rose's.

"Well... I guess if you asked nicely I could be persuaded to stop on the way," he says, his tone serious, though he knows full well they are stopping whether she asks nicely or not.

Giselle rises slowly out of her chair and, with a slightly enhanced swing to her gait, leisurely walks to him. Kneeling down in front of him she puts one hand on his inner thigh, near his crotch, and leans in close, placing her lips near his ear.

"If you'll agree to stop at Alberto's... I would be sooo grateful," she purrs into his ear, her voice dripping sex.

Rick pulls back and looks at his wife in surprise. Giselle has always had a reserved sexiness about her, but this is pure sex-bomb.

"How was that?" she asks brightly in her normal voice. He starts to say something, but words fail him as she answers the unasked question. "Charlie! I've been practicing!"

He finally finds his voice. "Oh. Well, okay. But don't do that anymore, okay?"

She looks crestfallen. "Okay, but why?"

"Because, Giselle," he says gently, "I can't be walking around with a boner all the time."

She looks at him in confusion for a moment then smiles brightly. "I was good, huh?"

"Uhh... yeah," he says, drawing out the last word. "What, where..." he begins, but then stops.

"I told you, Charlie," she explains, rising to her feet. "She picked me up for lunch a couple of weeks ago, and when we came out of the restaurant it was pouring. We were in Charlie's car, so I assumed we'd make a dash for it, but she turned around and went back into the restaurant. When she came back, she said, 'Wait here a minute. Donnie is going to bring the car up.' I'm thinking, 'Who is Donnie?' when our waiter shows up, takes Charlie's keys, and brings the car right up outside the door. Poor guy was soaked, but he positively beamed as Charlie thanked him. I thought I was going to pee, I was trying so hard not to laugh. Once we were in the car, I laughed my ass off at the way she played him. Charlie didn't understand why I thought it was so funny. As she said, 'You can get a lot if you just know how to ask.' And Charlie certainly knows how to ask. When she thanked the guy, she didn't do or say anything much different than I would, but the way she said it... it made me want her and I'm not even a lesbian. Anyway, on the way back to the office she gave me a few pointers. I've been waiting on a chance to try it out on you."

He stands up beside her. "Well... I think you learned the lesson well. But I hope you know that all you have to do is ask, right? I'll do anything for you. You know that, right?"

"I know, Rick. I wouldn't be comfortable doing that to a perfect stranger like Charlie does, but I wanted to see if I could do it, to see how you would react. I thought it would be fun. You didn't like it?"

"I didn't say that. I didn't say that at all, and hell yes, I liked it, but I want you to know that you didn't have to act, be someone you're not—not with me." He picks up her left hand, holding it so she can see the ring he'd given her. "I meant it when I told you that you are flawless." He holds her hand for just a moment before kissing her fingers near the ring.

"I know, Rick," she replies, her voice soft.

"Will you do me one small favor?" he asks, almost as quietly.

"Of course. Anything."

"Will you do that to Todd tonight? I want to see his, and Charlie's, reaction."

She begins to giggle and pulls her hand from his. "We'll see."

***

A few hours later Rick and Giselle arrive at the Rose's, a pair of chilled bottles of white wine in hand. They've come in the Aston with Giselle behind the wheel. The Aston is an old-fashioned car that has none of the modern telematics, such as autocruise and collision avoidance, but he loves this car like no other. Purchased as present to himself with stock from NIT, the 2010 Aston Martin DBS, though more than seventy years old, still exuded sex appeal.

Rick pings Todd as they turn into the drive, and Todd pings back he has unlocked the doors and for them to come straight in, that dinner is almost ready. Even though Todd has told them to come in, Rick still raps the door and sticks his head with a 'Hello!' before entering the house. He doesn't think he'll ever be comfortable simply striding into some else's house, invited or not.

Todd, knowing Rick will be hesitant to enter unless greeted, is in the kitchen and waves them in as soon as Rick's head appears in the door. Giselle follows him into the house as Charlie strides into the kitchen. Rick hands Charlie the wine while pleasantries are exchanged about the gift and the wonderful smell of the lasagna baking in the oven. Charlie's maternal grandmother is Italian, or partially Italian—Giselle isn't sure which—and Charlie had learned to cook at her grandmother's knee.

Todd offers Rick a beer, which he declines in lieu of water with lemon. He will have a glass of wine with dinner, so Giselle won't look at him funny, but he will stick mostly to water tonight. He takes his driving seriously because he knows if they are involved in a crash, and Giselle is hurt, he'd never forgive himself, especially if he isn't as sharp as he could be.

Twenty minutes after arriving, they are sitting down at a cozy four-person table draped with a white cloth. In addition to the lasagna, Charlie has prepared a zesty Italian dressing for their salads and homemade garlic butter for the bread. Todd points out that it is he who went to the market and purchased the bread, sliced it, and spread it with the garlic butter before Charlie placed it the oven to warm. With much laughter everyone compliments him profusely on a job well done.

And so the meal goes, full of laughter and conversion, the full-bodied Italian white Giselle selected complementing the lasagna perfectly.

After the meal, while Todd scurries about the kitchen cleaning up, Rick props on the counter while the ladies talk and laugh in the other room, telling tales about Todd and himself, he suspects. They chat about this and that with Todd doing most of the talking. Rick always likes hearing about Todd's work because it seems so much more interesting than his own rather dull job.

As Todd finishes the last of the cleanup and starts the dishwasher he pulls a beer from the refrigerator and silently offers it to Rick. When Rick shakes his head no, he twists the lid off for himself.

"Rick, I want to thank you again for sharing the immersion. I know it wasn't easy for you, but I really do appreciate it," Todd says as he leans back against the counter as Rick is doing.

"Yeah, about that. Giselle and I talked about it on the way home. What did you mean 'you found something you didn't even know you lost?' Oh, and you're welcome."

"It's kind of hard to describe, but what I meant was that after your immersion I remembered what it was like when I first fell in love with Charlie. I didn't even realize how I was... taking her for granted, maybe... until that immersion reminded me of how strong an emotion love can be. I thought I loved her before... but now..." he trails off. "It is amazing. Try to hold onto that feeling. I think it leaks away a little bit over time, so slowly you don't even realize it... until you get the feeling again."

Rick studies Todd. "I don't know what to say."

"Nothing to say. I'm just thankful that I have the feelings back. So, thanks buddy. I really mean it."

"Well..." Rick begins, "I'm glad... uhhh... I could help?"

Todd chuckles and takes another sip of beer. "I'll take that. You did help, even if you didn't know you were at the time." He pauses again, before continuing, "And another thing. I know what Charlie means about being able to read Giselle's thoughts. I know you say it isn't possible, but I swear I knew what you were thinking. Like how you felt unworthy when Giselle didn't accept right away. How's does that happen?"

"How did you know that?" Rick asks, more sharply than he intends.

"I told you. I felt like I could read your thoughts. When Giselle just sat there, I could feel myself begin to burn. I remember thinking how stupid I felt asking her to marry me. It was... uncanny. Not like any immersion I've ever had before."

"I guess," Rick says slowly, trying to work it out, "that given the situation, that flush of fear could only be interpreted one way, the fear of rejection. But that's pretty deep and subtle stuff."

"You're the expert. All I know is that's the most amazing immersion I've ever experienced. Charlie and I tried an adult immersion once. No, not an adult immersion—it was porn. And yeah, it got my blood flowing, but it left me flat somehow. Like watching people neck. Interesting to look at, but you really don't feel anything. Your immersion, however, is different. When I came out of that, I had an entirely new outlook on my marriage. I suddenly found myself more in love with Charlie than ever, or at least for as long as I can remember."

"I wonder why that is?" Rick asks aloud, not really expecting Todd to answer.

"Oh, that's easy," Todd replies. "In porn the people are simply there doing a job. A pleasant job, a fun job, but a job nonetheless. There is no connection between them. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, where's my paycheck? That's porn. Yours, I don't know what to call it—adult, maybe—is as different from porn as War and Peace is from nursery rhymes. The sex, that's only a part, a small part, of it. It's the... connection... between you and Giselle that makes it what it is."

Rick thinks about it. "Shall we join the ladies?" he finally asks just to have something to say.

"I think that is a good idea. No telling what lies Charlie is crafting about me in there." As the two men round the corner and enter the comfortable den, Charlie and Giselle look at them and suddenly stop talking. "See what I mean?" Todd says to Rick with a grin.

"What?" Charlie asks

"Nothing, sweetheart," Todd replies, "Just an observation I made to Rick in the kitchen."

The men sit down next to their wives, Todd on the couch with Charlie and Rick in chair across a small table from Giselle. Rick notices that as soon as Todd settles on the couch, Charlie leans in a bit closer.

Looking at Todd, Charlie says, "Giselle was just telling me how she and Rick want an immersion of our lovemaking and..."

"What?" Todd interrupts loudly.

"Giselle and Rick, our best friends, you know, the ones that shared their most intimate moment with us? They'd like an immersion of our lovemaking to see how it affects them," Charlie says as if Todd is a little slow. "It's an experiment, to see if our immersion affects them as profoundly as theirs affected us. I said sure. I'd like to have the immersion anyway, for a little pick-me-up, in case we need it in a few years."

Todd hesitates, clearly torn. "I don't know, Charlie. It's kind of personal, you know?"

"More personal than the immersion from Rick?" she asks rhetorically.

"No, of course not. But..." he says, his voice trailing off.

Giselle glances at Rick, then moves to crouch down front of Todd. "Todd... would you please do this... for me. It would mean a great deal to me," she says, using the same seductive voice she tried on Rick earlier in the day. Todd's mouth drops open slightly as looks at her.

The room is quiet for a moment before Charlie begins to splutter then bursts into full laughter. "Damn girl! You're good!" she exclaims, drawling out the first word.

Giselle waits, looking into Todd's eyes until finally he relents. "I'm sorry. Of course. I don't know what I was thinking. I was just caught a little off guard, I guess."

Giselle rises up and kisses Todd on the cheek, "Thank you. It does mean a lot to me that you'll do this," she says normally before returning to her chair.

Todd looks at Rick with exaggerated expression of surprise as he fans his face with one hand while tugging at his collar as if hot with the other.

Rick grins lopsidedly back at him, then stands up. "I'll be right back," he says before leaving the room to fetch the recorder, returning a few minutes later with the case in hand. "This is the recorder," he says as he unpacks the unit. Plugging it into the electrical outlet he waits for it boot before continuing. "Okay. The unit is online. You should see it on your network." He waits while both Charlie and Todd zone out to check.

Todd is first back. "I see it," he says.

"Good. You and Charlie go ahead and log on." He waits until both Charlie and Todd access the machine.

"Done." Charlie and Todd say almost together.

"Okay. The unit is ready to record. You will be logged in automatically when you come into the house. You will need to open a hole in the house's firewall for me, so I can access the machine from outside the home, to check on it occasionally, but other than that it is a self-contained unit," Rick explains.

"I've cleared you through the firewall," Todd says.

"Okay. Now, when do you normally... uhhh..."

"At night. After we go to bed," Charlie supplies so Rick doesn't have to continue. "We normally turn in about ten-thirty or eleven."

Rick's eyes defocus for a few seconds. "You're all set. I have set the machine to record from ten until one, one night in the next two weeks. If you need longer than that let me know and I'll extend the time."

"I wish," Todd says as Charlie laughs.

"I can't record every night because the unit doesn't have that much capacity... and besides, I think a key part of this is not knowing the unit is recording. It makes things more... natural, like candid photographs are usually better than posed ones."

"So what night are you recording?" Charlie asks, missing the point.

"I'm not going to say. Just one night sometime in the next two weeks between ten and one."

"You know, that brings up an interesting question," Todd says. "Why did you record you and Giselle on the beach that night? It's so unlike you."

Rick begins to blush. "It was a field test of our first recorder," he explains. "I told Giselle that I was going to record our dinner on the beach. She didn't know about the proposal. Then I... uhhh... forgot the recorder was running," he says, his embarrassment clear on his face.

"As did I," Giselle offers. "By the time we finished eating I didn't think about it again until Rick mentioned it. You should have seen his face. I wish we had left that in the immersion, but he cut that part out."

"I was just sick," Rick says, taking up the story again. "I just knew Giselle would be mad. She surprised me though. I was going to erase it, but she convinced me to keep it. All of it. She said she wanted to remember that night when she was a hundred."

Charlie looks at Todd and gives him a gentle push on the shoulder. "Now you see why I want this?"

Todd nods slowly. "Yeah, I can see that, I guess. It's like we're newlyweds again. Or at least I feel like that. In a few years we can take another hit off the loooove machine to spice things up again." Todd is quiet for a moment before adding, "I'm starting to warm up to this idea."

"If you don't mind sharing, I want to experience your immersion to see how it affects me," Rick says. "I admit I don't understand how, or why, you say our immersion is so... powerful. But you say you feel like newlyweds, so maybe it just that the emotions are unusually strong? I don't know but it will be interesting to find out." He pauses, then looks at Charlie. "In the name of scientific progress of course," he adds.

"Of course," Charlie acknowledges. "Now," she says, clearly changing the subject, "I want to ask you a favor."

Rick's groan causes Giselle to giggle. "What is it Charlie?" Giselle asks.

"I think you have something special in this immersion. I remember how Rick said once that his company needs a breakthrough, a blockbuster I think was the term he used, immersion to put the company on the map." She looks at Rick, "Do you remember that?"

"No," Rick says, "But the statement is true enough."

"Okay. I think you are looking at your blockbuster right here. Think about it. Beautiful woman, good looking guy, romantic setting, incredible sex ... I mean, my God, I have never come as hard as Giselle did in that immersion, ever... I'm telling you there isn't a woman alive that won't want to experience this."

"No. No way in hell," Rick says firmly.

"Just listen for a minute," Charlie says just as firmly. "All I want to do is let a couple of my girls, people that don't know you and Giselle from Tom's house cat, experience Giselle's immersion, if she is willing, of course. I want to know if the power of the immersion is because Todd and I know and love you both, of if it affects a perfect stranger the same way. I suspect it will."

"Giselle and I are not starring in a porn immersion, Charlie. Forget it!" Rick says, his voice hard.

Charlie meets his steel with some of her own. "If you don't want to share it, that's fine, but don't you dare call that porn. It most certainly is not porn. I don't know what to call it, but isn't porn." Her voice softens, "Rick, it's wonderful. It's... I can't even describe it. Giselle was so... vibrant, so alive. I am, and always have been, very happy with Todd, my marriage. Life. But imagine all the women who have never had what I have. What you and Giselle have. Think of the joy you could bring them, even if it is only a fantasy. Sometimes fantasy is all you have."

"Charlie, I understand what you are saying, but..." Rick says, his voice trailing off.

"Rick, think of Giselle—if she hadn't found you, the way she felt after her first marriage." Charlie looks to Giselle. "What would have given after your first marriage to feel like you feel now, if only for a short while?"

"Anything," Giselle answers almost in a whisper, her eyes shiny with impending tears.

"That's low, Charlie," Rick growls.

"It's not low, Rick. It's the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts. Life sucks sometimes. I see it all the time in models. They are hunted and bagged like trophies. I have two girls, just two, that I want to experience this immersion. One of them is... hurt, Rick, but neither have been as lucky as me. As Giselle. I want to give them something, even if it is just hope that someday they will find someone that will care for them for something other than their looks or as bragging rights. I was incredibly lucky when I found Todd and didn't have to deal with any of that, but not everyone is as lucky."

Charlie pauses as she gathers her thoughts. "Rick, I'm not going to try to make you do this. Or you, Giselle," Charlie says, looking into Giselle's eyes. "I just want you to think about it, okay?" As Rick watches he can see Charlie tear up. "There are a lot of damaged women out there that you and Giselle could bring a little spark of happiness to. So just think about it, okay? That's all I ask."

Rick is touched by her compassion. "Why is this so important to you?" he asks.

Charlie sniffs once and wipes her eyes. "Because, Rick, I have been modeling for more than twenty years and I have seen a lot of women get sucked into the whole drug, sex, and rock and roll scene, mostly because, I think, they never found anyone who loved them, only people that wanted to use them." She looks at Todd. "Do you remember Tip?"

"I remember," Todd says quietly.

"Tip?" Giselle asks.

"Tip—Madeline Tipton, but Tip to her friends. She was my best friend... a long time ago," Charlie says quietly.

"Tip hung herself," Todd explains. "She left a note. It was sad. Basically, she got tired of being treated as a sex object. I remember the last line of her note said something like, 'All I want is someone to love me.' Something like that."