Out of The Box Awakening

by Theriot, Jennifer

He chuckles at me “See, you can do it! Liv, are you honestly uncomfortable with this?”

  “Yeah, I really am. How long are you going to pee anyway?”

  “Long enough for you to stand here and help me…here help me shake off!” He smiles that damn sexy smile and winks at me.

  Dear God! His body is, without a doubt, perfect.

  “Ash, you are too much! Shake this!” I shake my behind at him and, feeling embarrassed, I quickly go into the dressing area to get my nightgown.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting my gown.”

  “You know you won’t be needing that tonight, don’t you? And by the way, when you have to pee, are you going to lock the door?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I usually do.”

  “Well, don’t from now on. I’d love to come in on you while you’re peeing and see how you’ll react.”

  “Well, don’t count on it, because I’m pretty modest when it comes to my privacy. I can almost guarantee how I’ll react. I’ll probably slam the door in your face.”

  “Really? Well, we’ll just see about that. You need to open up and quit being so uptight. It’s me, Ash…not Alan. And we’re working on intimacy remember? I’ve seen you in worse situations and I would love to see you sitting on the commode peeing!”

  “Ash, you’re really perverted!”

  “Not perverted, hon, just hopelessly in love!”

  “Well, I have to admit, you did look pretty hot while you were peeing!”

  “Oh really? You liked what you saw?”

  “Yep! I loved it and the man it belongs to!”

  “Now that’s what I wanna hear! I think you’re finally getting it. Come here!”

  He takes me into his arms and I can feel the giant calling me. And he is all mine for the entire night…bliss, again and again.

  After we make love, I turn on my side, wrapped in Ash’s arms and find myself smiling. I think of all the “firsts” I’ve experienced in the past few months and chronicle them…

  Let’s see. I’ve met a guy with his penis pierced, I’ve been left by a man I thought I loved, I’ve been bathed by a beautiful man, had my hair washed by same beautiful man, rubbed down with lotion by the same said man, had my teeth brushed by, again, same man, danced with gorgeous man while barely dressed, had my legs shaved by same man, given incredibly amazing oral sex to same amazing man (with no regrets, I might add), received amazingly great oral sex from same said man, been truly loved and felt love from this man, experienced multiple orgasms from same gorgeous man, looked forward to more sex from this man, had said man buy me amazing clothes and lingerie and modeled for him, and tonight, watched said gorgeous, amazing man pee!

  Ash, sensing I’m still awake, puts his hand on my face. It’s dark. He can’t see me and I can’t see him.

  “Liv?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you smiling?”

  My smile becomes wider. “Yes, I am. How can you tell?”

  “I just can. Why are you smiling?”

  “Just thinking”

  “Good thoughts, I hope!”

  “Oh, you have no idea what great thoughts I’m thinking!”

  “Are you thinking of how hot it was to watch me pee?”

  “Ummmm, yeah, something like that!”

  “Well, quit smiling, go to sleep and I just might let you watch me pee again in the morning. I love you, Mine!”

  “And, I love you back, Yours!”

  My firsts, it seems have gone from bad to good and they seem to keep getting better. This man makes me smile no matter what. Deep down, though, I still wonder what the damn call was all about.

  Saturday is finally here, and I can’t wait to get to the airport to pick up Lainey and Kel. Bradley will be in later, and said he’s gotten a rental car, so will just drive to the house. I hop out of bed and see that Ash is already up and must be in the kitchen getting coffee ready. I go into the bathroom and damn! He’s brushing his teeth. “Mornin’, Sunshine! Going to pee?”

  “Ahhhh, yeah that’s kinda where I was headed.”

  “So, you gonna lock the door or let me see?”

  “You’re out of luck today, love of my life; I’m closing and locking the door!”

  “Olivia! Come on! Leave the damn door open. I won’t bite. Come on, chicken!”

  “Ash, you are incorrigible! Why do you want to watch me pee so badly?”

  “Well, why not?”

  “Okay, sicko, you asked for it!” I leave the door open; sit on the commode and pee. “There, you happy?”

  “Totally! You look so damn cute sitting on the pot peeing… you’re adorable!”

  “Yeah. Me on the pot…adorable? I don’t think so!” This actually isn’t so bad, but I still don’t get what the big deal is.

  “I made the coffee, so finish peeing and we’ll go down for our morning ritual.”

  “So, that’s it? You just wanted to watch me? You happy now?”

  “Yeah, you just made my damn day!” He winks at me and is gone in a flash.

  I go into the kitchen and we have our ritual morning coffee and paper.

  “Ready for an awesome weekend?”

  “Oh, my God! I can’t wait. I could hardly sleep last night!”

  Ash seems preoccupied, so I ask what’s up.

  “Just trying to get logistics worked out. I think we’ll head into the city around four. We’ll drive to the condo and drop off the cars, so we don’t have to worry about parking or driving. I’ve got a driver coming to the condo to pick us all up and take us around.”

  This man thinks of everything.

  I’m cleaning up the kitchen when I hear the front doorbell ring.

  “Are you expecting someone, Ash? It’s awfully early for company“

  “Nope, not me. Would you mind seeing who it is?”

  I go to the door and peek through the leaded glass. I can make out that it’s a guy but can’t tell who it is.

  “Mom?” this person calls.

  I recognize the voice—it’s Dalton. OH, my God! I open the door and he yells, “Surprise!”

  He drops his bags, picks me up, and gives me the biggest, best-est hug!

  “Oh, my! What a great surprise, son! Wait! What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t be back until New Year’s. Is everything okay? You didn’t lose your job, did you?”

  “Mom, no. I didn’t lose my job. Let me come in and I’ll explain.”

  He tells me that Ash and Dalton have been cooking this up for a while now…pretty sneaky, guys. Now I’m thinking that is what the mystery call was about last night. This is the best surprise.

  “Hon, who is it?” Ash calls from the kitchen.

  “Ash Harper, you know damn well who it is!”

  “We got you, Mom, didn’t we? The company decided to send me back early, so Ash and I cooked up this little surprise. I had vacation time that needed to be burned up before the end of the year, so here I am! I’ll probably have to leave before New Year’s, though. I have to be at work the day after New Year’s, so I’ll need to get back to my apartment in Tulsa.”

  We talk for a while and he says that after the twenty-two hour flight, he’d like to go nap for a bit. “I just need to cop a few hours’ sleep and I’ll be ready to go, Mom, I promise!”

  I help him take his bags up, get him tucked in, and go back downstairs.

  “So, got any more surprises, Mr. Harper?”

  “Not that I’m telling. You happy?”

  “More than you know! Ash?”

  “Yesses?”

  “Thank you!”

  We leave Dalton to sleep, and head to the airport to pick up Lainey and Kellan. Once I see them, I just lose it!

  “Mom!” Lainey runs into my arms and I am, without a doubt, the happiest woman on the earth right now. She has that lovely mother-to-be glow and Kellan is ever so caring with her. He is loaded down and has all of the carry-on things, her purse included.

  “Mom, he won’t even let me carr
y a friggin’ coffee cup…can you believe him? So, Ash, where do we need to go to get Bradley?”

  “Huh?” I ask.

  “Well, Olivia, that’s another little surprise we have. Bradley’s plane will be here in about an hour and a half, so I thought we’d grab a bite to eat somewhere in the airport and then we’ll mosey over and meet him.”

  All of these surprises are a bit much to take in. I have so many things to be thankful for.

  Lainey hugs me and says, “Mom, so I hear Dalton is already here. Pretty slick, he and Ash are, huh?”

  “Oh, my God! You have no idea how surprised I was when I answered the door this morning! He’s catching up on his sleep at the house after that dreadfully long flight. We’ll let him sleep until later in the afternoon.”

  We have a wonderful brunch at the airport; then, finally, Bradley’s flight is called. I’m pacing back and forth like an expectant father. I see him coming down the escalator and I run really fast to hug him. He runs over to me and, just like Dalton did, lifts me up and gives me the second best son hug I could ask for!

  “So, all of your kids are here,” he says. “You happy, Mom?”

  “Bradley, you couldn’t get me off of cloud nine right now if you tried! This is unbelievable. I’m just speechless!”

  “Well, that’s a first, Mom!” We take Bradley to get his rental car, which he’s decided to keep since they will need the extra vehicle. I tell Lainey that my Lexus arrived, so they are welcome to use that as well. I tell her that our things are all in storage, and we decide to take a day next week to go to the storage unit and have a look around. I haven’t been there since they delivered everything. Ash offered to go with me, but I just couldn’t face going through things and facing those memories. It’s funny how I’ve made do with the few things I have from my old life. Mainly my clothes. All the furniture, dishes, pictures and other material things seem so inconsequential now.

  I would like to go and get the pictures. Lainey said she would love to have a picture day, and go through them. She promised to help me organize them, as I was never one to keep them organized by date or event. I found that it was all I could do to just put the envelopes in a box. Lainey, quite the organizer, promises me she will do just that.

  Ash stands against the wall in the airport just looking sexy as hell, watching me with the kids. He’s smiling his ever-so-beautiful smile.

  “You guys all go over there and let me take a picture!”

  We all line up and he takes a picture of us with his phone. I’m beaming! Some random stranger walks by and tells Ash to get in the picture and that he’ll take one of us all. He hesitates at first, but the kids encourage him. “Ash, get your butt over here and let’s take a family picture with mom and her boyfriend!” Lainey chides. I remind Lainey not to post this on her social network. “You can’t be posting things like this until after the divorce sweetie.”

  “Oh, yeah, you’re probably right, Mom, totally forgot about that. Speaking of the divorce, have you talked to Dad?”

  “Well, as a matter of fact, we ran into him with Kelly, his girlfriend, at dinner the other night.”

  “No! Really?”

  “Yes, really! It was so awkward. Kelly said it was cool meeting. Ash and I…!” I dissolve in giggles.

  “Cool?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what she said. I swear!”

  “She said that we should all meet for dinner one night when y’all get in for the holidays.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so, Mom.”

  “That’s what we were thinking. Ash told them that they should call you guys and arrange to take you to dinner with just the two of them.”

  Bradley growls, “OH, hell no! I have no desire to see him or his whore.”

  “Bradley, please, don’t talk like that.”

  “Well, she is a whore, don’t y’all think so?”

  Dalton shrugs his shoulders nods in agreement.

  “Well, just think about it. It’s up to you, and I won’t be mad if you decide to meet them. Whatever you want to do is fine with me. Just promise me you won’t be rude to your father if he calls.”

  “Yeah, whatever!” Bradley says.

  I have a feeling that when Alan does call, he’ll get an ear full from Bradley. He’s the most verbal of my kids and is always first to express his opinion. I can’t worry about that though. I’ve asked the kids to be nice, but I can’t control their feelings, nor do I want to.

  In the late afternoon, after we get back to the house and drop off the luggage, we wrangle everyone together and head to the city for our Christkindlmarket evening. Ash has the driver, Rocco, come pick us up at the condo. He is promptly on time and arrives in a beautiful black limousine. He’s got a bottle of champagne for us, and some sparkling non-alcoholic bubbly for Lainey. We are dropped off in style.

  The Christkindlmarket is far beyond my expectations. We see vendors selling everything from ornaments to beer steins. It is incredible! They guys find a spot to grab a beer and do whatever it is guys do, and encourage Lainey and me to go do what we do best, of course which is shopping…

  And shop, we do!

  Ash tells us to meet them back at a certain stand in two hours. “We’re going on a Chicago Architecture Foundation boat tour. It lasts about an hour and a half. After that, we have dinner reservations.”

  The boat tour is fabulous. We go up to the top deck, and while it’s cold and windy, it is an incredible tour! The docent knows Ash, and makes sure we’re well taken care of and receive the Cadillac tour. Lainey, of course, is impressed with all the architectural wonders in the old Chicago buildings.

  “Tomorrow, you and I will come back and do the CAF tour and some more shopping. You up for that?”

  “Oh, Mom! Of course! I can’t wait!”

  Ash has reservations for dinner at the famous Charlie Trotter’s. He’s had the boys bring sports jackets and leave them in the limo to wear at dinner. This restaurant is fabulous and world famous! In Ash Harper-style, he’s reserved the whole north dining room for us, which is private and exquisite! The owner and staff, of course, know him well, and we’re treated like royalty.

  “Good evening, Mr. Harper! Great to see you again! Your room is ready…if you’ll just follow me.” The Maître D’ leads us into the private room. We walk past the crowd of customers who curiously stare as we walk by. I’m getting used to this royalty treatment thing. Ash is so in control of everything. It’s so nice to let someone else take care of the details. He has impeccable taste and everywhere we go, he commands respect. People love him and go out of their way to please him. My kids are duly impressed and Ash is the consummate host!

  “Liv,” he murmurs as we’re seated, “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve invited Tommy, Emily, and the guys. I know this was supposed to be a night for you and your kids, but just thought it would be nice if everyone was here.”

  “Oh Ash, no, of course I don’t mind!”

  Shortly after, Tommy and Emily arrive. They are brought into our private area and they look absolutely adorable! I stand and introduce Emily.

  “Lainey, Bradley, Dalton, Kellan, I want you to meet Emily. She and Tommy are dating.”

  “And, your Mom hooked us up,” Tommy smiles and says.

  Emily and Tommy both give Ash and me hugs. I’m elated that they’re here.

  “Olivia, I hope you don’t mind if we intrude and hang out with you guys tonight.”

  “Tommy, you’re family, for heaven’s sake! This is an awesome surprise. I’m so glad ya’ll are here! God knows, I’ve had my share of surprises today!”

  “Yeah, Dad said he and your kids had a few up their sleeves.”

  Tommy goes around the table talking to the boys and Lainey, catching up. Emily is right behind him, and he’s very attentive to her. It’s so nice to see they all get along and care about each other. Emily sits by Lainey and they strike up a conversation immediately. A few minutes later, the guys show up. I’m totally blown away, because they’re all w
earing nice sports coats. Nice jeans, too! Todd comes up to me and gives me a hug.

  “Damn!” I say, “You clean up well!”

  “You think so, Olivia?”

  “Yeah, something like that!”

  “Olivia, you are too damn funny! And just to let you know, we don’t dress like this for just anyone. Matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time I wore a fuckin’ sports coat!”

  “Todd, I am truly honored!”

  The guys all give Emily hugs, and I can tell they are glad she came. Ash has ordered nothing short of the finest wine for us, and a non-alcoholic for Lainey. The sommelier opens and pours our wine. He does the same for Lainey’s. The first taste goes to Ash and he nods his acceptance of the selection. He pours Lainey’s and she signals her acceptance.

  Ash stands and raises his glass. “I would like to propose a toast to us all. First of all, thank you all for coming tonight. It means so much! We are all so very blessed to have such a wonderful family that includes each and every one of you. I’m also happy and honored to have this most amazingly wonderful woman sitting next to me in my life, and I just want you all to know that I love her with all my heart. We were brought together in an unconventional way… a way that, unfortunately, has torn apart a family. I’m so sorry for the way this came about. We both had no control over this, but we were thrown together, and I am so thankful that we found each other. I think you all may know by now that we are an ‘item’ If not, then here’s your notice. We are an item! I love Olivia, and I can only hope she loves me half as much as I love her!”

  Todd gets up and raises his glass. “Mr. H., I F-ing knew it! You have impeccable choice in women, and I couldn’t have picked a better one for you!”

  “Hear hear!” Tommy says. He stands with his glass raised. “Dad, man! You don’t know how long I’ve wanted for you to find someone to make you happy, and I agree with Bert…ummm I mean Todd…sorry, Olivia! Seriously, though, I haven’t seen my dad this happy in a long time. Olivia, you are without a doubt the kindest, most beautiful, most thoughtful lady, and we all love you so much. You share the love of music with Dad, and I think that is so cool! I hope you know that we’ve formally adopted you as our mom. Bradley, Dalton, Lainey, and Kellan, we hope you don’t mind!”