by N. M. Silber
“Again, without even asking me,” I said, getting seriously annoyed. I saw him pause and take a deep breath. He was getting annoyed too. He turned and put the grapes down on the counter. He was more than annoyed. He was angry. Uh oh. Just like old times.
“Lily, do you not want to go see our friends tonight?” he asked, sounding exasperated.
“I do want to see them, Adam, but I want you to ask before you answer for both of us.”
“Look, if it were something like, should we buy a house, should we have kids, then yes, I obviously see the merits of discussion. But I knew you would want to be there if your friends were getting together.”
I could see that he was pissed off. In the past, I would have held my ground, but the point I was trying to make was about communication, and fighting wasn’t communicating. I took a deep breath myself and counted to ten mentally. Then, I walked over to him and put my arms around his waist, looking up into his angry but still beautiful brown eyes.
“You’re right. I do want to move in with you, and I do want to see our friends tonight, and I’m glad you know me so well. But I need to have a voice in this relationship. I fought enough battles with my parents over the right to have my own opinion. Please, will you just ask? I’ll probably agree.” He just stared back at me for a moment, and then I saw the anger fade.
“Okay. I’m going to go watch some football. How do you feel about that?” he asked. I couldn’t help myself, I smiled.
Chapter Three
As I walked up the drive to his parents’ front door later that afternoon clutching my Entemann’s pound cake, I turned to Adam nervously. He had proposed the previous Saturday night, and we had agreed to hold off on telling them until we saw them in person today.
“Now, I think we should wait until we’re all relaxed and sitting down …”
“Uh huh …” he answered, sounding like he was only half listening. He reached out to push the bell as I shifted my weight from foot to foot and felt my palms begin to sweat even in the November chill.
“And we’ll stress that we haven’t discussed the details …” I went on, my voice sounding higher pitched than normal.
“You had better let me hold the cake,” he said, relieving me of my contribution to dessert.
The door flew open and Adam’s mom stood there beaming. His dad stood beside her with a friendly smile. They invited us in, and the second we cleared the doorway, Deb Roth’s eyes flew to my left hand as if angels had tipped her off.
“Oh my God!” was all I heard before she clutched me to her bosom in a death grip that could have earned a World Wrestling Federation belt. I gasped and tried to hug her back but my arms were pinned to my sides. I now understood why Adam had wanted to hold the cake. Luckily, he intervened before she cracked my ribs.
“Mom! Come on, let her go. She’s turning blue.” Mrs. Roth immediately turned her attention to her youngest child and only son.
“My baby! My sweet little boy!” She clutched onto Adam like a drowning woman to a life raft. I grabbed the cake back just in time.
“Congratulations,” Mr. Roth said pleasantly. “It’s about time.”
“What’s going on?” Adam’s sister, Abby interrupted before I could explore the meaning of that comment further.
“Look!” Mrs. Roth let go of her baby boy and gestured toward my engagement ring. It might as well have been the Ark of the Covenant there on my left hand.
“Oh, wow,” Abby exclaimed, sounding amazed. “Is that an engagement ring?”
“She finally caught me,” Adam replied smugly and I gave him a raised eyebrow.
“That’s wonderful!” She ran over and hugged us both. Then she called out to the rest of the family in the other room. “Hey everyone, Adam popped the question!”
After a second of what I can only imagine was stunned silence, the next room erupted into a cacophony that sounded like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. So much for my carefully laid plans. Then a wave of family members joined us in the foyer and the hugging began in earnest. Adam’s other two older sisters, Hannah and Sarah, were there, along with Hannah’s husband, Nate, and their four year-old, Josh. There was also a guy I didn’t recognize, who just seemed to be taking everything in. I assumed that he was Sarah’s new boyfriend, Seth.
“I always knew you two would get married,” Hannah noted triumphantly.
“We were always fighting,” I pointed out, a bit confused by this observation.
“Exactly,” Hannah replied with huge grin.
“He had your picture in his drawer all during high school,” Mrs. Roth said cheerfully. Suddenly, everyone turned to stare at her, including Adam, who looked positively violated.
“That was a picture of my friends,” he said defensively.
“And Lily was standing off to the side, looking very lovely. Now, come on everyone, it’s time for dinner.” I looked up at Adam with smug smile of my own and followed along behind his mom.
We spent the next hour being interrogated about our plans and being inundated with details about venues, caterers, bands and florists. I had expected no less, but I still hadn’t really been prepared for it. By the end of dinner my head was spinning. Weirdly enough, the anxiety this conversation caused made me feel horny. By the time we got to the pound cake, I was seriously jonesin’ to get it on with Mrs. Roth’s baby boy. We finally got a moment alone in the kitchen as we helped out by loading up the dishwasher.
“So, I know that was probably enough to make your head implode …” he began.
“Let’s have sex,” I interrupted. He almost dropped the glass he was holding.
“Now? Here?! In the house I grew up in? Where my mother lives?”
“It’s psychological. Considering all of these details is stressful. Stress makes me want comfort. That makes me want to get really freaky with you, just like this morning.”
“I’m happy I can comfort you,” he said, with an amused and slightly turned on expression, “and I’m thrilled by how you want me to do it, but can’t we wait until we get home? Trying to get it up with my mother around might make me need therapy. Her proximity is like a cold shower for me. There could even be shrinkage, and neither one of us wants that.”
“We’re not going right home, though. We’re going to Jess and Cam’s place. Hey, maybe we can fool around in the backseat of the car,” I suggested hopefully.
“Just wait until we get home, and I’ll lick cranberry sauce off of you, and do you on the dining room table if that’s what you want.”
“Hmm. That sounds like it might be fun. I don’t know if I can wait, though. I’m really horny.” I gave him a lusty look and gently squeezed his package. Shrinkage, my ass.
“Okay, come on! That’s not fair,” he said, laughing and backing away from me. “Keep it up, Lilith, and you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
“Promises. Promises.” I flirted back.
“Let’s get out of here before you traumatize me, saucy wench.” He dried his hands on a towel and headed for the door.
“Adam,” I said and he paused and looked back at me. “This has been a really great Thanksgiving so far.”
“Yeah,” he said with a happy smile.
Chapter Four
Jessica and Cameron lived in a nice, three-story townhouse in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. As we approached, I could see into the kitchen window, which was at sidewalk level. The scene looked warm and inviting. Jess, was in there putting together trays with snacks, and Gabrielle and Beth were laughing about something together. A feeling of well-being came over me. I really enjoyed being with my friends… our friends. Adam and I had joint friends now, thanks to Gabrielle and Braden’s marriage. That had worked out well.
We climbed up the stone steps from the sidewalk to the front door, and I grabbed the brass knocker just as Adam leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“We don’t have to stay long if that need for my comfort is still urgent.”
“Maybe I’ll just snea
k you off to a dark corner,” I whispered back, as the door swung open and Cameron Clay stood there, looking as handsome as ever.
“Hey, there. If it isn’t Mr. and Mrs. Cocky Prosecutor,” Cam joked, standing aside so that we could come in. “Let me take your coats, and relieve you of that wine.”
Adam handed him the bottle he was carrying and helped me out of my jacket. It was the little things like that I appreciated the most about how he treated me these days, like helping me with my coat, and not calling me a nasty wench or a demon harpy anymore.
“Nice place,” I said, looking around the stylishly decorated townhouse.
“Thanks. The women folk are downstairs. I would like to have your fiancé here join the other guys up in my man cave, where we can drink some good scotch and smoke a celebratory cigar in his honor,” Cam said patting Adam on the back.
“Great,” I said rolling my eyes at Adam. “I hope you brought your Tic Tacs.”
“As a matter of fact I did.” He smirked. “Would you like one?”
“No thanks. I know how precious they are to you.” I smiled back. “Inside joke,” I explained to Cam, who was looking confused.
With that, he led Adam off to the land of scotch and tobacco, and I headed downstairs. My friends greeted me with warm smiles and a happy yip. That was Bruno, Gabrielle’s Chihuahua, who was actually male, but was hanging with the “women folk” anyway.
“Hey honey! Come on down,” Jess called out. “We were just talking about you.”
“Hi there!” my friend, Beth, said enthusiastically, coming over to give me a big hug.
“Hi! Long time no see. How’s it going?”
“Great. I’ve been in D.C. observing a couple of legal non-profits to get a feel for how the development end is run.” We walked over to the breakfast bar and took a seat by Gabrielle.
“We’re going to be working together,” I told her.
“I heard, but I also heard even bigger news!” Beth said in an excited voice. “I can’t believe that you and Adam are engaged. Congratulations!”
“Thanks. Sometimes I can’t believe it myself.” My insecurity-fueled nightmare popped into my head for a moment before I pushed it back out. “Were you nervous before your wedding?” I asked Gabrielle, who was sitting across from me.
“Not really, but we did wind up getting married at our engagement party. So, it wasn’t like I had all that much time to worry. Why? Are you nervous?”
“Tense is more like it,” I answered. “It’s just that it’s such an important day, not only for Adam and me, but for his family too. There are so many details and I want it be perfect.”
“What about your family?” Beth asked.
“My family is just my parents, and nothing I do is ever perfect in their eyes, so I’m not even going there.”
“Lily, honey, that day is for you and Adam. Period.” Jess said, giving me a serious look. “Don’t worry about anyone else.”
“Adam and I haven’t discussed many details. There’s so much we need to talk about, but sometimes, it’s like he assumes that he’s the designated decider for both of us.”
“Well, you need to just sit him down and tell him how you feel about things,” Gab said.
“I’m not even sure how I do feel,” I replied honestly.
“Well, let’s figure it out,” Beth chimed in. “Change your name? Yes or no?”
“I think so, but I want to keep Adler as my middle name.”
“Where are you going to live?” Gab asked.
“With him. We did actually talk about that one. Sort of.”
“Two decisions down,” Beth said. “How about kids?” That one stopped me in my tracks.
“Kids?” I asked, startled.
“Little people who kind of look like you?” she teased.
“Wow, kids. Me … a mom. I don’t know if I would be good at that. I’m not used to kids. I was an only child. I can’t even cook.”
“You don’t cook them, honey, you raise them,” Jess joked.
“I was an only child, and I can’t cook, but Braden and I are thinking about trying to start a family, maybe a year from now,” Gabrielle chimed in.
“But your mom is really warm and nurturing. My mom’s nickname is the Ice Queen. She’s not much of an example.”
“Isn’t Adam’s mom nice?” Beth asked. “Spend more time with her.”
“She is,” I replied. “She’s incredibly nice, and his oldest sister has a four year-old …” Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. “I’ll be right back,” I said, hopping down from my stool, and heading off in search of Adam. I followed the scent of cigar smoke until I located Cam’s man cave, and I peeked in the doorway, but Adam wasn’t there.
“Looking for hubby?” Mark asked cheerfully, lounging in a chair in front of the biggest television I have ever seen, with a cigar in one hand, and a scotch glass in the other.
“He’s using the facilities, straight down the hall,” Cam added, just before he shot a pool ball into the side pocket. So, this was a man cave. I thanked them and continued my search. I got to the bathroom door just as Adam was coming out. He almost jumped back in surprise.
“Well, hello.” He smiled.
“Do you want to get me pregnant?” I asked urgently, pushing him back into the bathroom, and closing the door behind us.
“Shouldn’t we at least wait until we get home?” he asked, furrowing his brows.
“Not now! Just in general.”
“Why are we talking about this in a bathroom?”
“I think we should borrow Josh. Just for a night.”
“Borrow a four year-old?”
“Yeah, to see how we do. To see if we can feed him and wash him and stuff.”
“How much have you had to drink already?” he asked suspiciously.
“Nothing! We just got here. Although, I will note, that you already smell like scotch and cigars.”
“Maybe I should gargle while I’m in here. Why are we in the bathroom again?”
“Because I wanted to talk to you right now. Beth asked if we were going to have kids, and Gabrielle and Braden are talking about it. We haven’t talked about it. I don’t know if I would be any good at it and it worries me,” I blurted out and his expression softened.
“Come here you nutty broad,” he said and pulled me into his arms. “You worry too much. There’s no rush, but for the record, yeah, I’d like to get you pregnant someday, but not in Cam’s bathroom.”
“But …”
“Lily, both of us would figure it out. That’s what most people do.”
“So, what about watching Josh for a night, like to practice, you know?”
“I’m sure Hannah and Nate would be thrilled to have a night alone together, but I wouldn’t put it quite like that when we offer.”
“I love you.” I smiled and relaxed against his chest.
“I love you too. Can we leave the bathroom now?”
“Yeah. I’m feeling amorous again, though. I think that the anxiety is making me horny.”
“You’re an interesting woman, Lilith.” He laughed. “I promise that when I get you home I’ll bang you so long they’ll send out a search party for you, but can you just hang on for a couple of hours more?”
“Okay,” I answered and hugged him tightly before letting go and swinging open the door, just as Mark came walking down the hall. He gave Adam an amused look.
“Bathroom’s free,” Adam said with a smirk as we left.
Chapter Five
Adam spent at least an hour upstairs with the guys before our two groups intermingled. I was happy to see that he was relatively sober. I caught Beth stealing glances at Mark a couple of times and paying close attention whenever he said something. At one point when she and I were in the kitchen alone I asked her about it.
“So, I noticed you checking Mark out a few times. Any interest there?”
“I’ve always thought he was really hot, but I think I may be off-limits because I’m Braden’s little
sister.” She smiled, but didn’t offer anything else, so I decided to let it go.
After a couple of hours of talk and laughter, Adam and I finally said our goodbyes and headed for the car. I wrapped my coat tighter against the chilly night air and Adam put his arm around me. I leaned in and sniffed him. I would never get tired of that.
“What were you guys talking about up there for so long?” I asked curiously.
“I was filling them in on all the ways I had you this morning,” he replied and I stopped walking. “Come on! You know I’m kidding. We were talking about a lot of stuff, sports, work, women, Scotch. Not necessarily in that order.” We started walking again.
“Do you think that Mark and Beth would make a good couple?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know, maybe. I’m not sure he’s really looking for a girlfriend, though.” “Maybe he’s not ready,” I said glancing up at him as we got to the car and he opened the door for me. I clearly remembered both when Adam told me he wasn’t ready, and when he finally told me he was.
“Maybe not,” he replied and surprised me by kissing me softly on the lips before he helped me in.
“I’m beat,” Adam said as I let us into his apartment and hung up our coats. He had given me my own key after our discussion earlier.
“You are?” I asked, feeling disappointed. I still wanted sex. His laughter told me that he wasn’t planning to leave me hanging. He went to go put the leftovers in the refrigerator.
“Hey!” I called out. “Where do you think you’re going with that?” He stopped and turned giving me a questioning look. “You promised to lick cranberry sauce off of me and do me on the dining room table.” I smiled a sexy smile and started taking off my clothes right there in the middle of the living room.
“Why, Lilith, would you like to get stuffed?”
“What do you think?” I was already down to my bra and panties.
“I think I know a fun way to eat cranberry sauce.”
He was using that low, sexy, firm voice again and it was making ache for him. He stripped down himself in record time as he watched me remove the last of my clothing. I loved looking at Adam naked. He had a six pack and that V that was just made for tracing with my tongue. God bless his gym. Then there was that big, beautiful cock that was ready to play. God bless us all, everyone.