The Proposal Ch. 04

"Nice digs." Markus looked around the apartment, surveying the collection of posters, second hand furniture, and really nice bar chairs that made up the girls interior decorating. At least they had their priorities down.

"You want a beer, or something?" Amber seemed nervous, and he could only smile at the girl. Despite her ongoing relationship with his best friend, she could never really relax around him, or his wife for that matter. Little Jonathan reported that on the weekends when his godfather picked him up to hang out, she was a much more carefree spirit, the kind that would roll down the hill at the park with him, who would do cartwheels in the shopping mall, and eat ice cream with him until their tummies hurt. So he nodded, and watched her pop the top of the Corona bottle, and slide the slice of lime into the neck.

"I need your help. Ahem…Jonathans birthday is coming up, and I was just wondering what you guys normally do. I mean, he never talks about birthdays, and when I ask about it, he always gets really defensive."

"He's not a big BD fan."

"I can tell. Why is that?"

"The root of all evil." That's what they called Angelina amongst friends, and she picked up on it. Nodding her head slowly, she had to admit that the revelation was not all that surprising. The woman had an amazing ability to get under his skin.

"So…do I ignore it? Do I do something special for it? What?"

"Well…Margie and I usually take him out to dinner, since he can get a bit depressed. Sam always made a huge deal of his birthday, and so he really misses her around those times."

"Well…I don't think he knows that I know that his birthday is coming up. I had to look on his drivers' license to figure it out. So I want to do something special for him."

Markus nodded, taking another pull from his beer. The whole situation was a bit surreal to him, standing in the young woman's apartment, discussing how to pull of a surprise for his friends' birthday. Wow. It was like something out of a bad book, except that his friend was not married, and Amber was what he would genuinely consider a good girl. Despite his earlier misgivings about her accepting money for sex, basically.

"Well, I tell you what." He dropped the empty bottle into the trashcan, coming to a decision. "You been down to his place on the beach?"

"No. I knew he had a boat, he didn't tell me about a beach house."

"Boat?" Markus smiled. Yacht did not adequately describe the custom made vessel that graced a custom built slip down on the coast. "Yeah, well, we haven't been down there in a while. Used to be…in the days prior to your magic…that when he wanted to relax and get away, he would go down there. Last year we went down and fished the weekend after his birthday. There's a little island out of the coast, have a barbecue, hang out, do whatever comes natural." Which meant running in circles for his kids, and drinking beer for him. Until his wife winked at him, and they tried to see if they could have another one.

"So…I could propose going down there, he won't think anything if it's coming from me. But we won't make it. So you guys can go down there and…well…I'm sure you can handle the rest of the plan." He grimaced at her, and she smiled back. He understood how Jonathan could have fallen for those eyes.

He watched her hands, the clenching and relaxing of the muscles in her beautiful calves, the shifting of her eyes across the road, listening to the engine roar and growl under her instructions as they flew down the interstate. She saw him watching her, and blew him a kiss, but then her focus was back on the road.

The BMW owned the left most lane, racing down the interstate at well over eighty miles per hour. His eyes regarded the radar detector for what was probably the hundredth time, still trying to decide if he had made the right choice in letting her buy it.

When Markus had approached him about the trip, he had been weary. He could tell by the unrestrained energy in his little call girl that something was up. She was not very good at the whole secret thing, her boundless ambition and uncontrollable giggling giving her away. But he had played along, even acting surprised when Markus begged off at the last minute. So when he came home that day and she was sitting on the stairs to his house with their bags already packed, he just threw them in the trunk, let her slide into the driver seat, and let her go.

He must have coached her pretty well, or she had been to one of the nearby beaches before, as she navigated the concrete cloverleaves that lead into downtown Charleston with no problem, having hoped interstates with practiced ease, and shaved a full forty-five minutes of his normal trip time. But she was relentless, and apparently pee breaks were not required for the two hundred mile journey.

They came out on the other side, hoped the new bridge out onto one of the barrier islands, and she rolled to a stop at the Marina gate. Finally he felt like a part of the game again, having to hand over his membership card. The security guard nodded at them, then the metal slid aside, and they rolled past rows and rows of vessels.

"Which one is yours?"

"Go all the way down to that big building." He pointed it out, and she almost floored it, but then thought better of it. He thanked her silently, and then indicated a parking spot with his name on it.

"You have your own spot down here? Let me guess, you own part of this place, too, don't you?"

"Not directly."

"Such a cutie man." She grabbed his face, kissing him hard on the lips, leaving him gasping for air. "You sure you can handle a weekend with just me out on the water?"

"I don't know, you might kill me."

"I'm going to try my best!" She hoped out, and he took her hand, leading her inside.

The building was easily three stories high, and the length of two football fields. There was a small office in the front, but the rest of the cavernous interior was filled with boats of all shapes and sizes, sitting in large racks that kept them out of the water and elements. Down at the far end huge bay doors stood open, and a steady flow of boats was floating down the canal in the center of the concrete pad, coming in and out, the massive overhead cranes sliding back and forth moving boats to and for, in and out of their beds.

He walked past the office, and down past the racks. She had never seen so many beautiful boats before, but to him it was all routine, and she realized that he did not even notice anymore. She kept up, figuring they would be back at some point.

On the other side of the building, a large lagoon had been made through the addition of an artificial levee, where owners could climb aboard their just released yachts.

"There she is."

He pointed to the gleaming white boat sitting in the water, her long, low slung form elegantly swaying back and forth in the water. Even sitting still it looked fast, the hull and topsides formed to reduce drag and air resistance, with the chrome fittings and trim that shone brightly.

"Wow." She walked up to the railing, and looked down at what looked like a massive cigarette boat. The top was painted the same white, with a flame motive along the edges. The word "Ambition" had been written in highly stylized writing on the back, beneath what looked like some kind of radar dome.

He took her hand, and they walked down the plank, stepping onto the aft deck. There were stairs on either side leading up to the open bridge, with what looked like a massive roll bar above and behind it, with more antenna looking thingy's. There were benches, and what looked like two huge storage lockers recessed under her feet.

"Permission to come aboard?" Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him on the lips again, and he held her close, laughing at her request.

"Be honest." He kissed her back, and the realization that he knew was written in her eyes.

"What, I wanted to do something nice for your birthday!"

"I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Jonathan Games."

He shook his head, then gave her a quick tour, during which they discovered that Markus had been good to his word, and the vessel was fully stocked in the galley. Jonathan grunted, but she beamed, and he let it go. Finally they reached the cabin, and she returned to the car over his objections to grab their bags while he got the boat ready. She returned shortly later, and he could see her from the bridge, looking like a Sherpa, fending off helping hands from the dock help.

He watched her disappear below, knowing better then to offer assistance, and waited for her to slide into the bench on the back of the bridge, now suitably dressed in a very nice white bikini.

"A birdie told me this would go with the settings."

"A birdie, huh? You know, with the do-it-yourself attitude, you are never going to make a good trophy wife."

"I'll work on that."

She watched as he pulled away from the dock, out into the open water, and away from the beach, heading out to sea.

"Where are we going?"

"There is a sandbank a couple miles of shore were we can anchor for the night, set lights, and then fish or do whatever in the morning."

He looked down at her again, something seemingly slightly off. She was smiling at him with her eyes half closed, looking out towards the sun setting behind them as they headed east out into the ocean.

"What's up?" Even when she talked, something was off. He pulled back a bit on the throttle, his eyes now focused on her face, trying to discern what it was.

Amber realized the look, and stood slowly. Looking around, she gauged their distance from any other marine revelers, and the fading land behind them. Well, why not now?

"You're about to figure me out…so here is my first gift for your birthday."

Before he could say anything, she dropped to her knees, pulling down his shorts. He almost tripped over himself as she inhaled his cock, swallowing him whole. A cry raced across the water as he gripped the controls, feeling her tongue slathering across his cock.

School, work, and his lovely girlfriend had conspired against him for this moment. It had taken all her self-control to pull it off, but she had managed to stay away from him for a larger part of the week. So on Tuesday she had found herself Winged Dragons Tattoos & Piercing downtown, with a clamp on her tongue, and tears in her eyes.

Now the barbell that had become a part of her dental work was softly tickling the underside of his shaft, making his eyes bulge out and his breath come short. His hands gripped the wheel, her hands stroked his cock, and he blew his load before he fully realized what was going on.

He watched her swallow, then climb up his body, wrapping her strong legs around him, and hold him tight with her arms, kissing him softly, letting her tongue slip past his lips, teasing him with her new toy.

"You like that?"

"What's not to like?"

"I considered a diamond, since you seem to like those so much, but the dude that did it warned me that it might cut you."

"Flat tip grinding could alleviate that. You had a guy do it?"

"Jealous?"

He had to think about that one for a moment, as she continued to kiss him, slowly easing her legs down to stand on her own feet, and sat back on the bench behind him, digging in the cooler for something to drink.

"Well…I guess not."

"Still afraid?"

"Afraid of what?"

"That I might leave you for some twenty year old stud."

"Who told you that?"

"Margie." She pulled out a bottle of peer, twisted the top of, and slid it into the cup holder mounted next to his control station, then placed herself in the captains chair, and pretended like she knew what all the dials and read outs before her meant.

"I thought she was my friend." He took the beer, thanking her with a kiss before taking a long pull from the bottle.

"She is. That's why she told me. And like I told you, you need to stop worrying, and start accepting the fact that you bought yourself a call girl for a long, long time."

He pulled her into his arms, kissing her full lips, hugging her close to his body. Wrapping her arms around him, she squeezed back, kissing his chest, feeling his heartbeat. They stood like that for what seemed like a short eternity, and then she felt the boat slow, and turn slightly sideways.

"We're here."

He moved to the front, dropped one anchor, then back aft, and dropped another. She watched as he secured the vessel for the night, set the lights, then they went below, and slid into the narrow galley. He started to make dinner, but she pushed him out of the way, stripped down naked, and started cooking.

"My own naked chef."

"What you always wanted."

"Can you cook?" He could not help himself, and her reply was to give him the finger.

Maybe it was the rocking of the ship. He wanted to believe it. Maybe it was the new place, the fact that they had never done it on his boat. Sure, why not, he told himself. Maybe it was the teasing that had gone on all through dinner, or that she had sucked him off without getting any gratification herself. Or the long car ride without sex. Driving and cars tended to make her horny. But as he lay quietly next to the woman that he had fallen head over heels for, he knew that it was none of those. The happiness he felt inside was not related to the awesome, mind blowing sexual experience he had just had at all, as much as he wanted to believe it. It was because for the first time in a long time, he was truly enjoying his birthday.

Leaning down, he softly kissed her warm skin, listening to her rhythmic breathing, snuggling down against her soft body and warm skin. She seemed slide across him, naturally embracing her daddy, snuggling against him. She liked to lay on top when she slept, a position her body moved to naturally. "I love you Amber Matthews, and one day you will be my wife." She purred, drooling on his chest, and he smiled again.

"So how did it go?"

"Great. She tried to kill me." The driving range was lit up like the Fourth of July, a by-product of all the spotlights. It was Thursday, and all four of them were there, drinking beer and losing money betting against Markus on precision drives. Even Jonathans luck had run out, and he was already forty bucks in the hole.

"Sorry we had to miss that." Markus grinned at his friend, teed up, and whacked the ball right into the center of the three hundred and fifty yard sign. Everybody paid up, and he made a slight bow.

"So you all settled into relationship mode now?" Randy was freshly tanned from his trip to the Caribbean, with that healthy glow. That, and he had made it clear that he could not stay long. His wife was waiting at home.

"Yeah. I think so. We are meeting in a bit to go out."

"Where are you meeting?"

"Some club down the road from her school. Now that she's got me into this dancing thing, she wants to do it every week. I told her that ain't gonna fly. I need to work." Jonathan stepped up to the tee, pointed out the two hundred yard sign, and fired the shot off. The ball hit the upper right edge, bouncing straight up. There was soft appreciate applause from his friends, so he shook his hands like a champion, and dropped down onto the bench next to Markus.

"Happy Birthday. Glad you had a good time."

"Thanks."

Banana Joe's would never compete with Reflections for Ambiance. But it did have three clubs, each of them with a distinctly different theme. The Speakeasy featured the dueling pianos, something she could never really get into. But apparently her friends liked it, so every now and then she indulged them. But not tonight.

Tonight they were on the dance floor of the Tikki Torch, a beach themed affair in which all the bars were predictably outfitted, and girls in short shorts and t-shirts tied around their waist served beer out of tubs. She had worked as one of those girls for a while, until she had gotten into her Accounting Internship. It had been a good time, and a wonderful opportunity to meet cute guys. But she didn't need that anymore, so she did not miss it.

Jessica was not much of a dancer, so she had let Amber borrow Rick, and the two were grooving on the wooden boards that had once been painted with scenes of water, sand, and palm trees. But shoes had long since scuffed all that away, and they were working hard to add their own friction to the aging wood.

Finally they decided to take a break, and she checked he watch. He should be here any minute now, and she could not wait. Dancing made her horny, even if he was not really all that good at it. She didn't mind, she loved him too much for that. He tried, what more could she ask for in a man?

She watched as Rick lifted Jessica out of her chair, kissing her hard. Tammy was standing by the bar, flirting with the bartender she had been trying to get a date with for the last three weeks. Amber was starting to suspect that he was gay. Who could hold out this long against her friend?

"Drink?"

The voice pulled her back, and she turned towards the source, finding herself face to face with a young man. She had seen him earlier, so she looked slightly past him, to the table he had come from. His friends were all looking their way, waiting to see what she would say, so she smiled at them, and accepted the cup with the red slush in it.

"Thanks. What do I owe this to?"

Directing her eyes back towards the buyer, she took a closer look at him. He was blond, with the cut so stylish right now, a bit much on top, and faded down to nothing at the neck. The black button down shirt was not tucked into his khaki shorts, but it was sized so that one was not mistaken that he saw the inside of a gym on a fairly regular basis. His blue eyes had a piercing quality, but somebody should have told him that the fierce gaze was not really the key to a woman's heart.

"Well, the dude you were dancing with is probably not here with you…"

"How do you know, maybe we get down like that?"

"Ahh, yeah, you might."

"In which event he'll probably be over here in a minute, whooping your ass. Rick benches 405 for reps, how much you put up?"

"Ahhh…"

"Probably not that much, huh? Well, that's ok."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Because he really is here with my friend."

He seemed to visibly relax at that, exhaling long and low, his shoulders returning from being hunched to their normal position. She found that funny, and her smile told him so. Or so she figured, since he was starring at her again.

"Well, I'm Jack."

"Pleased to meet you Jack. Listen…"

"Hold on now. Let me get my line out first."

"Go ahead." She even looked receptive.

"Well, I was just going to ask for your phone number, and tell you that you are one hot lady out there on the dance floor, and I would love to dance with you some time."

She smiled, then indicated the dance floor with her head. "Let's go."

He pushed through the crowd, always feeling a bit awkward at first. He was easily one of the ten oldest people in the packed place. She had told him to meet her by the front most bar, the one right by the dance floor, and he knew what that meant. She was in a frisky mood. Thank fully he had stretched after running that morning, and felt nice and limber.

He spotted Rick first, the massive black man easy to find even in the twilight that dominated the place. He waved towards him, then had to push his way over, finally coming to rest at the high top table that his friend had taken over. Jessica and Tammy were sitting on the high stools that surrounded the table, and Rick slid him a beer.

"Thanks, where's Amber?"

Jessica pointed out the dance floor, and he followed her finger, spotting the auburn hair out in the middle of the mass of people, dancing with some young guy. Taking a sip of his beer, he suppressed the feeling in his stomach, and watched his baby dance.