"I don't really want to have another fight tonight, there's so many more entertaining things to do after we leave here", and I batted my eyelashes furiously.
Maddy's lips pursed together in a line and she wrote down our order, stomping off to the kitchen straight away.
"Well," James said, "Nice bit of territory marking there Audrey".
I blushed and was about to apologize, when I thought again and instead said:
“Well, I’m really not sorry. Maddy had her chance with you, and didn’t want you then, but she wants you now? No, that’s not going to work, you’re with me now, and she’s got a cheek if she thinks that wiggling her arse is going to be enough to win you back – am I right or not?”
James
I stared at Audrey, and started to laugh. She looked so annoyed, that I really couldn’t help myself. It had been a big surprise to find Maddy waitressing at this pizza parlour – she must have started work there after I had left on the trip, as I had bought some pizza there only the week before I left and hadn’t seen her there. Obviously things hadn’t worked out the way she wanted, but that wasn’t any of my concern. My concern was Audrey, who was looking a little peeved. I squeezed her hand across the table.
“I’m with you, Audrey. No amount of arse wiggling by anyone” – I had to struggle to keep the smile off my face when I repeated Audrey’s description of Maddy’s walk – “is going to change that. Thank you for remembering what pizza I like by the way”, and I winked.
Audrey looked a little disconcerted, then annoyed, then finally smiled back at me.
“Cheeky man”, she said, “When we get back to your flat-“
Unfortunately I never got to hear what Audrey planned for me, as our pizza arrived just then, delivered by a surly Maddy.
Audrey and I didn’t eat much of the pizza, we spent too much time playing footsies under the table, then Audrey ran her foot up my inside leg and I quickly called for a takeaway container to take the leftover pizza home.
I barely acknowledged Maddy as I paid, and when we got back to the flat, I shoved the pizza quickly into the fridge, and grabbed Audrey’s hand, whisking her back into my bedroom.
“You think you’re funny, teasing me like that? Remember what happened in Seal Beach?” I asked as I quickly dispensed with her clothing, tossing her on the bed and following her down.
“Actually, I did remember”, Audrey said a little breathlessly, “I was hoping you would too”, and she opened her legs wide, inviting me in. I was quick to oblige, leaning over her and kissing her deeply while arousing her with my fingers, and then kissing my way down her body, lingering at her abdomen while she whimpered and writhed. When I thought I had teased Audrey enough, I moved between her legs and dipped my tongue into her, tasting the sweetness that was Audrey. She bucked and clenched the sheets with her hands, and I moved so that I could stimulate Audrey with my tongue to the point where she was almost climaxing.
Suddenly Audrey pushed me away, and sat up, lifting her hands to my shirt and quickly pulling it over my head. I helped her to take off my jeans, and suddenly found myself getting pushed onto my back. Audrey positioned herself over me, and ever so slowly lowered herself down, slowly taking me deeper, smiling down at me as she did. I let her play at teasing me for a while, then bucked upwards, drawing a little gasp from her. After that we writhed in rhythm with each other, as Audrey pushed down, I thrust upwards, and as soon as I saw Audrey’s breathing change, and watched her throw back her head in ecstasy as I felt her inner muscles clench around me, I thrust upwards one last time as I climaxed as well.
We slept that night curled up together, and as I held Audrey, listening to her breathing change as sleep claimed her, I realized that I didn’t want to not have her here next to me every night. I wanted to wake up in the morning with Audrey, and spend the evenings with her after work. We were going to have to talk, but in the morning. I was still a bit jet lagged, and I was tired.
I woke the next morning, feeling the empty space in the bed and looking over at the bathroom door, wondering if Audrey was in there. Then I realized that I had been woken up by a wonderful smell coming from my kitchen. I pulled on a pair of shorts and wandered out of the bedroom.
Audrey was in the kitchen, wearing one of my t-shirts which barely covered her luscious behind. She must have found the bacon and eggs I had put in the fridge the night before, because she was cooking it, and doing quite a good job of it apparently. She must have heard me approach, as she looked around and said:
“Take a seat, it’s almost done”.
Instead I approached her and slid a hand up the back of her leg, cupping her behind, and she slapped my hand away.
“Breakfast now, sex later. We didn’t eat much dinner last night remember? I’m starving”, and she slid some food onto two plates.
I ate appreciatively and quickly, not realizing how hungry I was until I was actually eating. I made a comment about how Audrey had actually cooked, even though she stated she couldn’t, and Audrey had the good grace to look embarrassed before saying:
“Well, basic stuff like bacon and eggs I can do, but very little else, so don’t get your hopes up!”
We spent the rest of that day together, making love and going out for walks when we needed some air.
Most importantly, we talked. I told Audrey that I hated her going home to her parents, and wanted her to call my place her home, but Audrey said that she wouldn’t move in with me until she was sure that her new job was going to work out, as she didn’t want to be in a position where she was supported by me. I understood that. Besides, I obviously needed to meet her parents properly first, and make sure they knew that I was going to treat their daughter with the respect that she deserved.
So in the end, Audrey and I agreed that we would start out by just dating, with Audrey spending as much time as she could manage at my flat. Although I had met Audrey's parents in Las Vegas, the circumstances there meant that they were preoccupied with Emily's welfare, even when they were with Audrey and I. I had assumed that they barely remembered me, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they not only remembered me, but apparently approved of me. So, that was one hurdle over! Audrey's father even went so far as to thank me for taking care of his daughter so well, telling me that she had said lots of nice things about me. Clearly Audrey had been laying some groundwork on my behalf, for which I was grateful. Due to Audrey's new job, Audrey and I were able to spend lots more time together than I had initially hoped for. We lunched together most days, and Audrey spent a lot of evenings at my flat. The first time she came over, I managed to cook a meal without burning it, and we then fell into an easy routine where I would cook, and Audrey would clean up the kitchen afterwards.
I cleaned out some space in my wardrobe so that Audrey could keep some spare clothes at my flat, so that she could stay over whenever she wanted, which thankfully, was frequently. I stopped pressuring her to move in, as I knew it made her uncomfortable, and I decided to be patient as eventually Audrey would trust in us enough to take that plunge.
One day, a few months after our return home, Audrey came over after work with some news that was going to change our lives.
Audrey
One day when I was at work, I received an email from Emily. We had been corresponding a lot about the wedding, although she was still unable to set a date. Emily wrote that she had a favour to ask of me:
“Richard is getting a lot of offers lately, and is taking on lots of projects. He wants to start investing for our future, movies are pretty fickle, and in case he stops getting work, he wants to us to be ok financially. We’ve been looking at some properties, but we want to set up a trust and get someone to manage them for us. We’d rather have you do it, than a stranger. We will pay you for your time in managing the properties of course, that’s another thing – we’d like to keep the money in the family! We think you can manage this part time after work, but if it’s too much, let us know.
If you’re interested, I
've listed some of the addresses we're interested in below, can you go and have a look at them for us? And tell us what we need to do to get the financial stuff sorted?
Tell Mum that picture of a cake she sent us is lovely, so she can go ahead and order it…” and her email continued.
How exciting was this? The extra money that Emily and Richard were going to pay me would come in handy, my salary from my job was more than enough to meet my expenses, but this extra money would be a good boost for saving towards getting my own place one day. Not only that, but with the added security of a second income, I could finally move in with James – after that first time he hadn’t exerted any pressure, but I knew that he still wanted me to move in with him, and I knew that I wanted it too.
Without a shadow of a doubt I knew that I loved James, and had done for quite a while, I really couldn’t decide when I had fallen in love with him, but I knew that I did.
So that evening after work, I went to his flat, kicked off my shoes and told him my news.
“….so, if you still want me to move in, I think I’m ready now, I…”
I didn’t get to finish as James picked me up and whirled me around.
“When? Tonight? This weekend? Shall we go and get your things now?"
I swatted at James' arms to make him put me down, and when he did I put my fingers on his lips to stop him talking.
"James, the weekend will be fine, I need to tell Mum and Dad first, I can't just not turn up and not think they are going to worry! What's the rush?"
James then proceeded to show me what the rush wash, and he made a very convincing argument for me moving in sooner rather than later!
The next few months passed in a blur of activity. James and I immersed ourselves in the luxury of finally being a "couple" as we were living together, and spent a lot of time planning our futures together. Although James' flat was ok for the time being, it was small for two people, we often found ourselves having to clear our laptops and paperwork off the table before we could eat. So we discussed getting a bigger place eventually, but decided we would leave that until after Emily's wedding. Mum kept me busy with dress fittings and arrangements, as Emily wasn't around much, I was consulted a lot about flowers, food and all other wedding type things, and even felt a little bit wistful that all this fuss wasn't for my wedding.
Finally Emily's big day arrived, and she was beautiful. True to her word, she didn't expect me to dress in something frumpy to make her look good, and my dress was simple but elegant. Richard, bless him, had asked James to be a groomsman, which meant that we could spend the day in each other's company, and we were paired for the formal dances at the reception later that evening.
As I marched down the church aisle with the other bridesmaids ahead of Emily, I saw James standing with Richard and the other groomsmen, looking devastatingly handsome in his suit. I had never seen James in a formal suit before, and he took my breath away. I could not take my eyes off him, and indulged in a little fantasy that he was actually the groom, and I was the bride, and the wondrous look of love on his face was there for his soon-to-be wife. As I stood beside Emily I realized what I had seen. Even though I had imagined our roles, I had not imagined James' expression, of that I was sure. He loved me. The only question was, did he know it?
During the reception, James and I were seated side by side at the bridal table. We spent as much time as we could in soft conversation, and when the time came for the rest of the bridal party to join Emily and Richard after they led the dancing for the bridal waltz, I happily moved into James' arms. A plan was beginning to come to mind, and I decided that it was time for James and I to go away for a weekend together. We had not been away from our routine lives since our return from our holiday, and Hallowe'en was coming up in just a few weeks. Although it was not a holiday in Australia, it fell on a Friday, so I thought if both of us could organize the day off, we could have a long weekend away together. I thought I knew of the ideal place - there was a holiday resort in the mountains where each cabin was surrounded by shrubbery so that it appeared to be the only property around. It was time for James and I to have some time alone together, in order for me to put my plan into action.
On the Monday after the wedding, I booked a cabin for James and I, and when I met James after work - for we often traveled home on the train together - I told him that my new job was more stressful than I had expected, so I had booked a short break for us, and that I hoped he could get the Friday off so we could get away early. James asked me the date and I told him it was October 31st, and although he look confused for a minute, he didn't make the connection between the date and the event. I thought if he did, I could laugh it off, as I didn't want to let him in on my plan. Thankfully James thought a weekend away was a great idea, and the next night he told me that his employer was happy for him to take the day off as he had worked so many extra hours recently. I had only commenced with my employer after our return from America, but I had also worked a lot of extra hours on a big project, so with a bit of negotiation was able to get the day off, and so the evening before, while James was busy on his computer I went into the bedroom to pack the small bag I was planning to take. When I was done, I called out to James to not forget to pack, as I wanted to get away early the next day.
On the Friday morning, we threw our bags in James' car, and headed out of town. It was only a few hours' drive to the resort, but we took our time, stopping for a lovely lunch in an old country pub in a little town off the main highway.
After checking in at our resort, we were given a map to our cabin, and parked the car in the resort parking lot, then followed the map to our cabin.
It was lovely. It was completely surrounded by lush plants, so that it really did appear isolated. The windows were also tinted, so that from the outside, a person couldn't see in unless the lights were left on, which I noted as a plus for privacy - James and I could sometimes forget little things like closing the curtains! James let me go in first, and I was happy to see that my instructions had been followed - there was champagne chilling in the fridge alongside some chicken and salad for an in-room dinner, and a huge bouquet of roses on the table. As beautiful as they were, I had other plans for those roses. Now, all I had to do, was to get James to vanish for a few minutes.
As if reading my mind, James suggested we explore the resort a little, and I saw this as my opportunity.
"Actually, I just want to go to the bathroom, so is it ok if you go on your own?"
As soon as James left the room, I ran to the roses. I picked up the bouquet and carried it to the bedroom, plucking petals as I went, leaving a trail from the bedroom door to the bed, scattering the remainder of petals on the bed. I sucked on the finger that I caught on a thorn, and threw the stalks into the bin. I then picked up the champagne from the fridge, grabbed two glasses and carried them all into the bedroom. I returned to the lounge room and waited.
When James returned, he hesitated in the doorway, looking at me for a moment.
"What's up? You look a bit distracted", he said. Before I could reply, James came to where I was sitting, and then in a flash, he was kneeling at my feet. I stared at him in shock.
"Audrey, I've never done this before, so I'm sure there's a more romantic way of doing this, but will you marry me?"
I stared at him for a moment, then began to laugh. James looked crestfallen, and that made me stop laughing straightaway.
"James, of course I will marry you".
"Then, why were you laughing?" He asked, understandably confused.
Without saying anything, I stood up, and taking his hand, led him into the bedroom. James surveyed the room and then turned to me, still looking confused.
"James, I was going to ask you to marry me, you just caught me by surprise, that's all.”
Now it was James' turn to laugh.
"Great minds think alike and all of that," he said, chuckling.
"When you suggested this weekend, I thought it would be the ideal opportunity t
o propose, I've been thinking about it for a while, but didn't know how to go about it".
I reached up to kiss him, and as I stepped towards him, I must have crushed some petals underfoot, as the fragrance, which had previously been quite subtle, suddenly became quite strong, and suddenly I could not think of anything but rolling around with James on the bed, releasing more of the strong rose perfume into the air.
James must have had a similar reaction, as with a low grumble, he lifted me up and took the few steps to the bed, dropping me onto it and following me down. I inhaled deeply, the scent of crushed rose petals stronger than ever. James began to kiss me slowly, and trailed kisses down my jaw, my throat and into the vee of my shirt. I felt the cool air on my skin before I realized that James had opened my shirt, and I lifted myself up to help James remove my bra and the shirt. As I did so I grasped James' t-shirt and pulled it over his head so that when we again laid down, I could feel the roughness of his chest hair against the soft skin of my breasts. James made a soft sound as I brought my hands to the button on his jeans, and with an ease borne of much practice by now, I quickly undid the button, the belt and the zip and pushed the jeans down enough so that I could cup his buttocks with my hands and pull him into me. James growled and raised himself up enough to undo my jeans, and then he moved down to the cuffs and with one swift move, pulled them off me. I squirmed until my panties were also off and watched James remove his underwear. James' eyes registered with satisfaction the expression of anticipation in mine, and he laid down again, this time by my side, pulling me slightly sideways so that my leg was over him. As James continued to kiss me, his hand insinuated itself in between us, so that he was able to delve into my depths with his fingers, and begin his slow strokes which always had me writhing with pleasure. In return, I placed a hand on his erect manhood and stroked, softly and slowly at first, but with greater urgency as his fingers brought me to a state where I was in urgent need.
Audrey's Road Trip Page 11