Chapter 45: Dinner and a Show

“You know you do,” I said. David kissed me and went to the fridge to get us drinks.

The microwave chose that moment to ding, and I gratefully pulled steaming hot plates out, and promptly burned my hands.

“Ow! Dammit!” I shouted.

“What happened?” David asked, turning around.

“I hurt myself, hence the ‘ow’.”

David rolled his eyes at me. “I figured that part out, smart ass. How?” he prompted.

“By doing something stupid, hence the ‘dammit’,” I quipped.

He growled at me, eyes dancing. “Woman, you are getting on my very last nerve,” he teased, advancing on me.

I skirted away from him, and he followed, chasing me down the hall. I squeaked when he caught me, and wrapped me in a hug so fierce I thought he would break my ribs.

“Hey, don’t bruise the merchandise, Joker,” I said to him, swatting at his shoulders.

David relaxed his grip, and leaned back to look at me. “You know that you mean the world to me, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, I know that.” I trailed a hand over his hair and clasped his neck. “You know that I love you more than own life, right?” I answered him.

He searched my eyes for a minute, and sighed, smiling. “Yeah, baby, I know.”

Once we had something to eat, and got David’s things settled in my room (and, made love again, if you must know) David headed to the shower, and I jumped on the board. I let the girls know he got there OK, and told them we were going out to dinner, then having “the talk”. I don’t know why I felt badly about not agreeing to marriage, but I do. I mean, we’ve only known each other a couple of months, though it seems like forever. It’s the battle of heart vs. head. I hate this one.



Hath and David set out for a nice dinner at a local steakhouse. After selecting their steaks from the meat counter, they settled into a quiet booth together. The waitress thought it was cute that they sat on the same side of the table, so they could sit next to each other. They whispered to each other, and shared light kisses, and David told Hath about Australia and New Zealand. His descriptions made the places seem wonderful and exotic, and Hath put them on the list of places she wanted to visit.

A few people approached them tentatively, to ask David for an autograph, and he complied happily, smiling and chatting briefly with the fans. They all slid sideways glances at Hath, who smiled and waved to them, making them chuckle.

After an excellent dinner and a quiet drive home, they settled on the couch in the living room. “Hath,” David started, “I’m sorry for the way I reacted when you told me about LJ.”

Hath looked at him, cocking her head. “What do you mean?”

“I went all caveman on you, telling you we had to find someplace to live and get married – I didn’t talk to you about anything, I sorta talked at you.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Hath said. “I bristled at that, and leapt right in without really talking to you.” She sighed. “So…” David interrupted.

“Wait a second, Hath, please.” He kissed her gently. “I just need to tell you a couple of things. I love you, and I want to raise this child together, no matter what. Whether that means we get married or not, whether we live together here, Jersey, somewhere else altogether, or not, I want to do this with you. I love you, and want to be with you forever, whatever it takes.”

Hath’s eyes teared up. “Oh David, I love you too, and I want the same things. I just got all nervous when you started talking about moving and getting married, and I was still reeling from the news of the pregnancy – I want to be parents with you, whatever that means.”

“So, what do you think we should do?” David asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Hath said, wiping her eyes. “You’re on tour through the summer, and don’t quite know what’s happening after that. I have things going on here at work that I need to be around for, so I can’t make major geographic changes right now, and I don’t really want to quit my job.” She let out a shaky breath. “I do want to be with you, though. To live with you, I just don’t know how that will work.”

David nodded. “I know, it won’t be easy. I will be gone a lot, and I know it’ll be hard, but we can work it out. I have some breaks in there, and I need to split my time between you and my kids.”

Hath agreed. “Yes, you do. You can’t let them think that you’re not going to be there for them just because of me and LJ,” she said. “Let me talk to my boss tomorrow,” Hath started. “We have an office in NYC, and I have a laptop. There’s no reason why I can’t spend some time in our New York space while you’re home, then I can see you and get to know the kids a little better, and still do what I need to do at work.” She shrugged. “I can take the train to work from Jersey just as easily as here.”

David hugged her. “That’s a great idea. Thank you. Then we can figure out what to do on a permanent basis, and not be rushed about it.” There was still a shadow in David’s eyes, though, and Hath knew what that was about.

She took David’s hands. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to spend my life with you – that isn’t it.” She ran an impatient hand through her hair. “I’m just not ready to take that step right now. I can’t handle that on top of everything else right now. My mother is pretty pissed at me for not jumping on the wedding wagon, but everything is happening so fast, I just can’t think.” She looked at David’s face. “You know I love you, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I know that.”

“But do you know that? Really, in your heart of hearts? LJ or not, I’m yours. You are a part of me now, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it – I don’t want to,” Hath was talking softly, and David could see she was struggling with her words.

He covered her hands with his. “Hath, look at me.” He waited until she did. “I know that you love me, and I know you know I love you. I want to be with you, whether it’s married or not, for as long as you can stand me. I can respect that you aren’t ready to get married, but know that I’m not going to give up. I want you forever, and to me, that means sharing my name with you.”

Chapter 44: He's Ba-a-ack!

After an uneventful weekend, and the slowest Monday in the history of recorded time, I was at my desk bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing Tuesday morning. I was pretty much a waste, though, because I kept looking at my phone, willing it to ring. David had talked to his family yesterday, and told me all about it last night. April wasn’t taking it well. I thought we had gotten along, but apparently, it was all an act for the kids’ benefit.

David was flying in and due to hit Logan around noon and he’d call me when he got in, hence my vigil with the phone. I knew it was hours away yet, but the damned thing just sat there staring at me. And sometimes David calls me from the air, and well, I wanted the stupid thing to ring!

When my Outlook pinged, reminding me of a meeting at 10am, I was thrilled. I bolted from my desk like my chair just bit my ass, and was racing down the two flights of stairs to the meeting room. I burst through the door onto the 3rd floor, and nearly collided with my boss.

“Where’s the fire, Hath?” he asked me.

“No fire, I just don’t want to be late,” I said, not looking him in the eye.

He just laughed at me. “You do know that this is a two-hour meeting with Legal and Compliance, right? Nothing to get excited about.”

I chuckled. “Yeah; I just needed to get away from my desk.” I blushed. “A watched phone never rings, right?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “You are too funny,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m a laugh a minute,” I said, leading the way to the conference room. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“Hey, are you gonna need the afternoon off?” His eyes sparkled, and I knew he was making fun of me.

I looked at him with a hopeful expression that made him laugh. “Can you do without me?”

“No,” he said right away, then laughed harder at my expression. We compared schedules on our blackberries, and he nodded. “Reschedule the three o’clock, and the rest I can cover,” he said, putting a hand companionably on my arm. “Take off after this meeting,” he said.

I so wanted to hug my boss, he was being sweet, but I refrained. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

We got through the two-hour session, though I have no idea what the hell we talked about. I took copious notes, though, so I’ll sort it out. Tomorrow. When I made it back to my desk, my phone was ringing, and I jogged the last few yards so I could pick it up before it went to voicemail. My minions were all smiling at me.

“Hath here,” I said, answering the phone, breathlessly.

“Hello, sexy Momma,” David said, and I laughed.

“Where are you, baby?” I asked quietly.

“Just rescuing my bags from baggage claim,” he said. “I’m going to be there in about half an hour,” he said. “Can you come down for lunch?”

“Absolutely,” I said, smiling. “I’ll be the one pacing the lobby, waiting impatiently, and wearing a groove in the marble.”

David laughed. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I know. Love you, baby,” I said softly.

“Love you too, darlin’.”

I hung up to find my guys all looking at me like I had two heads. “What?” I said, glaring at them, which only made them laugh and shake their heads. “Gimme a break,” I begged, blushing.

I wrapped up a couple of small things, answered some e-mails, set my out of office notifier, and at 12:31, was in the lobby, waiting impatiently. I saw the car pull up outside and raced out the door. David was barely out of the car, and I had dropped my backpack and laptop on the sidewalk, and launched myself at him. “Oh! I missed you,” I said, and he kissed me long and hard, and people walking by started applauding. I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead on his chest and blushed.

“I missed you, too,” he said, then dropped to his knees in front of me. He parted my coat and kissed my abdomen. “Hi there, LJ,” he said against my stomach. “I’m your daddy.” I had tears in my eyes and pulled David up and wrapped him in a hug. I never wanted to let him go.

“So,” he said, “where should we go for lunch?”

“Home,” I said. “Andrew gave me the afternoon off.” I leaned in and bit his earlobe. “I’m all yours until tomorrow.”

David hustled me into the car, tossed my bags in after me, and we were off.



Cursing the lack of privacy panel, Hath and David held hands and kissed tenderly as they rode through the streets of Boston. When they were on the expressway, and the driver stopped paying attention to them, Hath let her jacket fall across David’s lap, and she caressed him through his jeans. He hissed and his gaze flew to her. “Don’t,” he said under his breath.

“Don’t what?” Hath asked, pressing into him slightly.

He smiled at her. “Don’t make me do the same to you,” he whispered.

Hath chuckled softly, but didn’t remove her hand, a challenge clear in her gaze.

David laughed quietly, and leaned in to whisper to her. “You’re the screamer, do you really want us to get into an accident by shocking the shit out of the driver?”

Hath laughed out loud, and gave David a smacking kiss. “You win,” she said, and snuggled into his side for the rest of the ride home.

When the car pulled up, Hath had her key at the ready, and they had barely made it inside before they were on each other. They hurriedly stripped the coats and scarves off each other, and came together in a hard embrace, arms locking around each other. David slipped the suit jacket from her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor. He backed Hath against the wall and kissed her with all the pent-up longing the last weeks had accumulated. When David gently caressed Hath’s breasts through her thin blouse, her nipples pebbled instantly, straining to feel him skin-to-skin.

With shaking hands, David started to unbutton the top buttons of Hath’s blouse. She helped, undoing her cuffs then starting from the bottom. When her shirt fell open, she worked on David’s buttons. Finally, they dropped their shirts to the floor, and came together again for a hungry kiss. David fumbled with the hooks at Hath’s back, and soon her bra joined the pile. He leaned to take first one, then the other peak into his mouth, circling each tip with his tongue before sucking it deep into his mouth.

Hath arched from the wall gasping David’s name, and held onto his shoulders. He kissed her way down her chest to her stomach, and placed delicate kisses from hip to hip. His hands trailed after his mouth, and he gently rubbed at her belly. “I can’t believe there’s a little you in there,” he said reverently.

“Baby, LJ is a little ‘us’,” Hath replied.

David reached behind Hath to lower her zipper, and pulled her skirt to the floor. He groaned when he saw she had worn garters and stockings to work. He trailed his hands up her silk-clad legs until he reached the even softer silk of her inner thighs. Hath shivered at his touch, and when he tore her panties from her, and would have kissed her intimately, Hath stopped him, and urged him to his feet.

She gently turned them so he was against the wall, and she now knelt before him, unsnapping and unzipping his jeans and pushing them and his boxers to his feet. She pulled of his boots, and tossed them behind her, and David stepped from his pants.

Hath kissed his way up his leg, stopping just sort of his throbbing erection. David groaned, and pulled at her shoulders, and getting her to stand. He pulled her tight against her, kissed her hungrily, then scooped her into his arms. With her giggling, David carried Hath through to the guest room. There was no way he was going to make it all the way upstairs to her bedroom. Next time he would. For now, he just needed a bed.

David pulled back the covers with one hand while he held Hath to him with the other. Gently, he placed her in the middle of the bed, and sat back on his heels to take her shoes off her feet. Leaving her in her stockings and garters, he slid up her body until he had slid into her body. The feel of her around him, squeezing him, made him shudder. He could feel Hath straining to contain herself, and he chuckled.

“What’s the matter, sexy Momma?” he asked her, as he stroked slowly in and out of her.

“I missed you too much for you to be gentle with me now,” she growled. “I need you hard and fast, baby. Please,” she begged.

“Anything for you,” David said. He drew back until he nearly slipped from her, then thrust hard into her.

Hath screamed, “Oh, God, YES!” and writhed on the bed. David did it again, and got the same response. The third thrust had Hath bowing from the bed, and crying his name. With the fourth, he felt her constricting and pulsing around him, and rode the wave, pumping her hard and fast until he exploded deep inside her.

David slowed his motion gradually, then stopped altogether, and rolled off Hath. “I love you so much,” he said, kissing her temple.

“I love you, too,” she answered. They lay there together, legs tangled, completely happy. David was tracing lazy circles on Hath’s abdomen and she had her head resting on David’s heart while she played with the pendant she had gotten him for Christmas. They stayed that way until David’s stomach started to growl. Hath chuckled. “Man cannot live on love alone,” she quipped, and David laughed.

“Sorry, babe, I’m hungry.”

“Then it’s a good thing I did some cooking,” Hath said. She scooted out of bed, and took the sheet with her, wrapping it around her like a sarong. She went into the kitchen, and pulled a baked ziti casserole from the fridge. She portioned out two plates, and set them in the microwave to warm up. While it hummed and spun, David came into the kitchen, having snagged his boxers on the way.

“Good Lord, that smells good,” David said, and came to nuzzle Hath. “Not as good as you of course.”

Hath laughed. “You charmer, you. You do know you already have me, right?”

David sobered. “Do I?”

Chapter 43: LJ?

David was so glad to be back in the States. He had a feeling, though, that it was going to take a few days before he got over the jet lag. He felt like shit, and when he got to his place early on Sunday afternoon, after leaving late Monday night, he was all discombobulated. He gave Hath a quick call, but got her voicemail.

“Hey baby, it’s me,” he said. “I got home OK, and just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you something terrible, and will be counting the hours until Tuesday. I’ll be in around noon, and will swing by your office.” He checked his day planner. “I see you have meetings Tuesday afternoon, so I won’t keep you long, but God, I need to see you, baby, to hold you, and touch LJ.” He laughed. “You know that no matter what we name her, we’re going to call her LJ.” He yawned. “OK, I’m going to crash for a couple hours, and will try you later. Love you, sexy Momma,” he said, then hung up.

Three hours later, David woke up feeling worse than he did when he fell asleep. He groaned. “I’m getting too old for this shit,” he said, and went to go take a shower. When he came out, there was a message on his machine. Checking caller ID, he saw it was Hath and he smiled as he dialed up the message.

“Hi there, sweet Papa,” she said. “Sorry I missed your call, I didn’t hear the phone ring. I was at the stadium, joining 20,000 of my closest friends in giving my beloved Patriots a proper sendoff.” He could hear her talking to someone. “Carl says ‘hi’ and sorry in advance for your loss. Hahahaha. Anyway, I got to shake hands with Teddy Bruschi and Junior Seau!” she gushed, and David chuckled. She loved her team, there was no doubt about that, and he wished he could be there to watch her reactions when she goes to training camp in the spring. Coach had agreed to let Hath onto the field to warm up and run sprints with the team if she wanted to. She'd be close to six months pregnant by then, so wouldn't be doing sprints, but she could do light warmups. It was killing him, not telling her, but he promised he’d keep it to himself. Hath’s voice continued, “So, I’ve moved my 1:00 to 1:30 on Tuesday, so we can have lunch together or just neck.” David laughed outright at that. “Alright, I’ve gotta go and get supplies for my Superbowl party. I’ll talk to you later, my love. Bye, sweetie.”

David checked the clock. It was still early enough to go to his mother’s for dinner. He was going to tell her about LJ. He’d deal with April and the kids tomorrow, but he wanted to talk to his mother, and get her advice. He wanted to marry Hath, to raise this child together, and be with her permanently. Hath had balked, and David had agreed to table the discussion until they saw each other. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to get his way.

Picking up the phone, he dialed a number as familiar to him as his own. “Hi Mom,” he said, when his mother answered. “I’m back; got back a few hours ago, and just woke up from a nap. You up for some company?”

“Of course I am, you nitwit,” Flo said, laughing. “I always have time for my favorite son. Everything okay?”

“Yep, everything’s great, but I need to ask your advice about something, and thought I’d get a nice dinner out of it.”

Flo laughed. “You are going to ask me about Hath, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” David said surprised. “How’d you know?”

“You only ask me for my advice when it’s about a girl. Come. We’ll talk when you get here.”

“Have I told you Mom that you’re the best, and I love you?”

“Only every time you talk to me,” Flo said with a smile in her voice. “That doesn’t mean I don’t like hearing it.”

Now it was David’s turn to laugh. “I’ll be by in about half an hour. Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself. I’ll see you shortly.”

“Bye, Mom.”

“Bye.”

David pulled up in front of his mother’s house a short time later. He let himself in, and found her sitting in the living room, working on a crossword puzzle, with the blanket Hath had given her across her lap. He leaned down to gently kiss her cheek, and sat by her. Flo looked into her son’s face, and saw he was troubled. She decided to forego the small talk about the tour and the trip home, and got to the heart of things.

“What’s wrong between you and Hath?”

David laughed. “Nothing really, it’s just,” he took his mother’s hand. “She’s pregnant.” Even though David was a grown man, he still felt a little embarrassed that they were in this situation. To her credit, Flo didn’t do more than raise an eyebrow.

“And is that a problem?” Flo asked.

“No! We’re thrilled about LJ, it’s just that she doesn’t want to marry me.”

Flo shook her head. “One thing at a time. LJ?”

“Yeah, short for ‘Little Joker’. Hath and her friends came up with that instead of calling the baby an ‘it’,” David answered. “I kinda like it.”

“It is cute. So, OK, you proposed to her and she turned you down?” Flo found that hard to believe. She saw how the two of them were together, and knew there was more to the story than that. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” David started. “She told me about the baby, and I started talking about where we’d live, and when we’d get married, and,” he stopped as his mother slapped the back of his head.

“You idiot, you didn’t ask her to marry you, you told her to.” She shook her head. “I knew that Jon was going to be a bad influence on you. That’s something he would do. Did you talk to her about this? Or just at her?”

David thought about it, and sheepishly admitted that he had just gone off and spouted what they should and would do, without asking her opinion. Hath had put the brakes on the discussion quickly, and said she didn’t want him to be marrying her just because she was pregnant, and that if she weren’t, he’d never have said anything. He told his mother that Hath wanted to wait and talk in person, and he had agreed.

“So, what’s the problem?” Flo asked. “Talk to her when you see her Tuesday. She’s a reasonable woman, and she loves you. I’m sure you can sort this out.”

David shook his head. “She thinks it’s too soon, LJ aside, and I’m worried I can’t convince her otherwise.” He looked at his mother. “I love her more than I thought was possible. That she’s having my baby is just icing on the cake. I’d want her forever, regardless of whether she was pregnant or not.” He looked down at his hand, which still held his mother’s tightly. “She’s made me so happy these past couple of months, and I feel like I’ve known her forever. She’s always in my thoughts, and she makes me want to chuck it all in and just spend my days with her. She’s become my life.”

Flo looked thoughtfully at her son. She saw the pain in his eyes because he saw Hath’s reticence as rejection. She also saw that he meant everything he had said, and that last bit about chucking it all in? He had never felt that way with April. There was only one piece of advice she could give him. “Tell her that. Just like that.”


The next morning, David headed to his ex-wife’s. As he sat outside the gates, he thought about the best way to tell her and the kids about Hath and LJ. He was pretty apprehensive about talking to April. The kids, he was sure, would be fine with it. In fact, Lil would be thrilled she wouldn’t be the baby anymore. April, however, was a different story.

Though the split was amicable, her relationship with David wasn’t. She fluctuated between wanting to be friends to being completely ambivalent about him, to wanting to kill him on sight, and she did so usually without provocation. David was pretty sure that after this conversation, the latter would be the case.

He drove up to the front door. The door opened before he could get out of the car, and April appeared, smiling. “Hi David,” she called. “How was Australia?”

David made small talk with her for a few minutes on the porch, then sighed. “April, I need to talk to you about me and Hath.”

“What, you knock her up or something?” she joked, heading for the house. David didn’t answer or follow, and April’s eyes went wide as she turned back to him. “You did!” she exclaimed. Just like that, her face closed up. “Well, isn’t that a great example to set for your children. Nice going, Rock Star.”

“April,” David started, but she interrupted him.

“You aren’t actually going to marry that woman, are you?”

“I don’t know,” David said. “She hasn’t decided yet.”

“More likely she’s just waiting for you to offer your money to her, then she’ll send you away,” April said bitterly.

David blanched. “How dare you talk about her like that. You don’t know her, and – ”

Once again, April interrupted, laughing meanly. “And you think you do? For Christ’s sake, David, you’ve known her for what, all of two months? Yeah, I’m sure you know her REALLY well. Biblically, anyway, but do you really know her?” She shook her head. “Don’t think for a minute that I’m going to let her and your new little bastard interfere with my kids.”

“Bitterness is not becoming, Aip. And what do you mean, ‘your kids’? What the hell are you talking about? They are my kids, too.” David was trying hard to keep his cool, but it was quickly becoming a losing battle. “And OUR kids are a part of MY life. So is Hath, and so is our baby.”

April just glared at him. “You just wait and see how thrilled OUR kids will be when they hear Daddy has a new little kid to share his already meager attention.”

David sighed and massaged his forehead with one hand. “April, I don’t want to rehash old arguments with you. I just wanted to let you know about Hath and the baby before it hits the papers. With Jon’s fiancé pregnant, and now Hath, it’s only a matter of time before someone writes about it. I wanted you to hear it from me first. I’ll be back later to tell the kids, and I’m leaving for Boston tomorrow.”

“Will you at least be back for your birthday? The kids will want to do something special for you.” She was throwing out a challenge already, to see whose side he’d pick. He didn’t want to get into this kind of game with her; neither one would win.

“I don’t know what I’m doing yet,” David said, honestly. “We haven’t talked about what’s going on, and Jon still hasn’t decided if we’re doing the Grammy’s or not, so I just don’t know. I will let you know when I find out.”

April just shook her head in disgust. “And so it begins. Out with the old, in with the new, eh David? I’d have thought you’d at least trade up with the next one.”

David was fuming. “Believe me, April; I have,” he said looking at her, his eyes as hard as his voice. Without another word, he turned and left.

Later that evening, David went back to talk to the kids. The twins were taking their cues from their mother, and were sitting stonily. Lil was, as David predicted, happy that she was going to get to be the big sister for this new baby.

“When is the baby coming?” Lil asked.

“Sometime in the early fall, probably in late September or early October,” David said.

“Is it going to be a boy or a girl? Can we help name it?”

Gabby interrupted, looking so like her mother in this moment that it took his breath away. “Lil, you dummy, they don’t know what it is yet, and it’s not a pet. It’s a brother or sister that you’ll never see. It’s mother lives in Boston.”

David was getting angry – angrier still that April wasn’t correcting their daughter. “Gabby,” he said sternly, “We don’t call each other names, you know that. And THE BABY," he stressed, "is a brother or sister that you can see as much as is possible. Hath and I haven’t decided where we’re going to live yet or any of that. And as for naming the baby, I think your help would be a wonderful idea. We’ve already decided on a nickname, LJ. We just don’t have any ideas for boy names or girl names yet.”

April snorted and flounced from the room. David watched her go, wondering just when it was that she really started to hate him. He felt sad because they had so much history together, but he couldn’t make her be reasonable. He’d just have to shield Hath as much as possible from her.

“LJ?” his son asked. “What’s that for?”

David smiled. “You know my nickname is ‘Joker’; well Hath didn’t want to keep calling the baby ‘it’, so she started calling the baby ‘Little Joker’; ‘LJ’ for short.”

Colton nodded. “That’s cool. What if you don’t find any names you like with those initials?” David could see that with April out of the room, the kids were more interested than they were letting on earlier.

“Then we’ll pick something else, but we’ll still use LJ as a nickname.”

Gabby asked, “Can I help Hath pick out baby clothes?” She gave her father a wry look. “You won’t be any help to her,” she said, and dissolved into a fit of giggles.

David relaxed. His kids, the most important people in his life along with Hath, were going to be okay with this.

Chapter 42: Hath's Revenge

I had my revenge planned perfectly. I had called ahead to make sure they were open on Martin Luther King day. Apparently, porn doesn’t take a holiday. So, I went shopping at Adam & Eve. If you don't know what that is, it's a shop that specializes in sex toys. I thought what the hell: Jon didn't like the nickname Sam gave his package, so the least I can do is help him pick a new one! I also needed to do something that would embarrass him in front of his friends, but nothing that would be 'public'. I'm not trying to be mean, I just want to give him a taste of his own medicine. And I want to make him think twice about messing with Triple-G!

Keeping in mind his ideas of good names, and that the fact he has reminded us time and again that he thinks he's hung like a second grader; I gathered a variety of sizes, colors, and styles. I also picked one other thing from the shelf, then brought my selections up to be rung. The guy at the store just gave me a look when I brought my purchases to the counter. "Sorority initiation," I said, giving him my best, flirtiest wink, and he rang up my purchases without a word.

When I got home, I found my very largest boot box, and packaged everything up, carefully affixing the names of the products to them. Satisfied with the presentation they'd make (and laughing at the looks I imagine the guys will have on their faces), I moved on to the song. I had to pick a tune to write words to. I wanted to pick something that would get stuck in Jon's head (or Richie's or David's) so they'd whistle it once in a while sub-consciously, and drive Jon nuts LONG after this is done.

I want this recording to sound good, so I enlisted the help of my sister-in-law. She plays piano and has a friend who plays violin, and Sue has a wonderful voice. My dear brother had told Sue about the antics in the parking lot, and I privately told her what flash-bang really meant, and why this was my particular payback. I can trust her to keep this GF secret and take it to the grave. We're that close. I asked her and the violinist to lay down the music track, then Sue is going to sing it, if she can get through it without laughing.

* * * * * * * *

Jon received several little packages over the next couple of days. Hath must have spent all day Monday at the UPS store. He received little Hercules dolls or stickers or Terminator movies and posters, and he was starting to relax. This was annoying at best -- if Hath thought this was going to embarrass him, she was going to be disappointed.

Today was David's turn to get mail and messages from the front desk. He brought their stuff up to the suite while the others finished their lunch and talked about the set list for the next show. This box from Hath was bigger than the others, and Jon frowned when he took it from David. "What the hell?" he asked.

"I dunno," David said. "Hath wouldn't tell me what's in this one."

Richie said, "Maybe she sent you the video games, Herc."

Jon laughed and flipped off Richie. He dropped the box on the table, and picked up a knife to slit the tape. He opened the top flap of the box, and saw a note attached to a CD. It said "PLAY ME FIRST" in a firm but delicate hand. Jon saw the shoebox in the carton, and was curious, but he would be a good sport and follow directions.

Jon looked warily at his friends. "I don't know about this."

"Oh, c'mon," Tico said. "Man up. How bad could it be?"

Jon thought a minute. "I suppose you're right." He stood, sighing. "OK; but whatever this is, it doesn't leave this room."

"Yeah, yeah," the others said. They just wanted to see what Hath had done. Jon put in the CD. There was a hiss, then a soft, husky voice filled the room.

"Hey there, Jonny baby," it said.

"Whoa," Hugh said.

"Holy shit, that's Hath!" David exclaimed.

Jon just raised an eyebrow, and Hath's voice continued.

"I know that you're not quite thrilled with the name your wife-to-be gave your nether bits..." Everyone but Jon burst out laughing.

Jon grabbed the remote and clicked off the CD. "Out," he said.

The others just looked at him, shock on their faces. Was that a blush creeping up Jon's neck? Richie stood, like he was going to comply, then grabbed the remote from Jon, turned on the CD, and shoved the remote down his pants in one quick motion. "No way, man, we've GOTTA hear this," he said.

Hath's voice on the CD continued. "...and, seeing that I'm a benevolent Goddess, and gave David's a name he's apparently quite proud of, I thought I could do the same for you." There were snickers in the room, which Jon silenced with a glare. He was going to kill her. Baby or not. "Now," Hath said, "since I have no earthly desire to try out the merchandise like I did David's, sorry baby, you're going to have to help a Goddess out. Open the box, darlin'. I'll wait, but don't take too long. You've got about one minute."

With much trepidation, Jon took out an oversized shoebox – a boot box really – and put it on the table. He noticed there was something else in the bottom of the box, but was worried enough about what this package contained. The guys all gathered around, and Jon held up a finger. "Does not leave this room," he said. The others laughed and nodded, and Jon opened the lid as the strains of a violin filled the room. They all gasped, and burst into hysterical laughter. There, nestled in delicate tissue paper, was an assortment of dicks. They all had neat labels on them, and as the guys read them, their laughter got louder.

David said "Shhhh, someone's singing. It's not Hath; this voice is actually in tune."

(Sung to the tune of Turkey in the Straw. If you don't know it, it's the "Murphy's Oil Soap" song.)

If you're hung like you're in second grade, I guess dear Jon you'll find
That you compare well to the Slim Jim, but I may be being kind

So there's also Little Charmer, Mr. Thin is in there, too.
But I think you're dick is bigger, so I've sent another few.

Emperor is nice and thick; Rider's nice and long.
Crystal Cock, you must admit is one hell of a schlong

But Insatiable's my fa-vo-rite, it turns from pink to blue
And the Real Deal Hunk is kinda nice. I guess that could be you.

The Wonder Wand is wonderful, could really make her scream
Or perhaps you're like the Wallbanger? That's every woman's dream.

Creamsicle is kinda fun, but it's that last one that I trust
That you will identify with most. It's called the "Long John Thrust"

That's all the choices, for you, you see
Pick the one that's most like you, and you will agree

That it beats whatever name it is that Sam has picked for you.
And Dear Jon that is a special gift, from G-S-A to you.

The song finished, and everyone had to wipe tears from their eyes, even Jon. He had to admit, this was pretty fucking funny, and clever. The tune is one that would stick in everyone's head, and they'd torture Jon with it for a long time. "Touché, Goddess," he said softly.

Hath's voice came back on. "If none of those compare to yours in quite the right way, sweetie, there's one other package in the carton that I guarantee will help me pick a name custom fit for you. Open it up." Jon did, and bit back a curse. It was a "make a mold of your dick" kit. The CD finished with this. "If you make me a copy, I can see for myself what you should be named. Let me know baby. Peace, out."

Jon looked at David. "Don't look at me, man," David said. "This was all her." He shook his head, hardly coherent through his laughter. "Damn, that was great. I'm glad she isn't pulling pranks on me."

* * * * *

I was feeling quite proud of myself. I checked with the hotel, and the package had been delivered. I chuckled to myself all day Friday, and David had called me earlier in the day to congratulate me.

“This is Hath,” I said, answering the phone. I was distracted, having two different projects going at the moment, and was working both my computer screens and writing notes in my DayTimer.

“Hey, baby,” David said.

“David!” I said, then looked at the clock. I did the math quickly. “Did you just finish the show?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. I could hear laughter and chatter in the background. “Are you busy?”

“Never too busy for you, baby,” I said softly. Not softly enough, though. The guy next to me snickered, and David heard it.

Chuckling softly, he said, “Losing face in front of your minions again, baby?”

“Darlin’, that ship has long since sailed,” I answered. “What’s going on?”

“Jon got your present,” he said.

“How’d it go over?”

“The rest of us laughed our asses off. Who was that singing? She sounded really good, and didn’t laugh once.”

“That was Sue, and that was like the eighteenth take,” I said, laughing. “She couldn’t get past Insatiable. Was he mad?”

“No, no, baby, you did get him to blush; though he covered it pretty quickly. That was great. How the hell did you do that so quickly?”

“I had incentive,” I said. “He embarrassed me in front of my friends, I had to return the favor, and I had to do it quickly. I had the idea even before roo-boy finished his little dance.”

David laughed. “Yeah, but that SONG. Richie’s been whistling it all night, driving Jon up a tree. That was pretty good.”

“It just sort of poured out. I don’t remember writing it, really. It was just there.” David didn’t say anything. “Hello?”

“What do you mean you don’t remember writing it?”

I sighed. “I don’t want to get into it now, but when I write, it’s mostly a subconscious thing. While my conscious brain is doing something, the fingers are on their own, doing their thing. I look down on the screen, and BOOM! I have something written.” I looked around and saw that I was pretty much alone. “It was like that when I did my stories, too.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna talk about that,” David said, making me laugh. “Just be warned, he’s planning something else, so you’d better be ready.”

“What’s he planning?”

“Oh HELL no, I’m not getting involved in this. This is between you two.” I heard him talking to someone, then he came back on. “I just wanted to check in; I’ve gotta go in a minute. How are you and LJ doing?” I had told the girls on the board that I was calling the baby “LJ” short for “Little Joker”. We’ve been coming up with names, but nothing David and I were in love with yet.

“We’re fine, Sweet Papa,” I said. “In fact, I talked to my doctor, and he made arrangements for me to have an ultrasound in Chicago while we’re there so you can see it, too.” I was whispering now, since I haven’t told anyone at work about the baby yet.

“Oh, sweetheart, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy I get to do that with you!” I could hear in his voice that he really meant it. “What day?”

“The Monday in the middle of the Chicago shows. Right after lunch.”

“Oh, damn, Hath, that’s just wonderful. I am so glad you’re coming; that you don’t have to go to India.”

“Me too.” My Outlook pinged. I have a meeting in ten minutes. “Baby, I have a meeting with the veep in ten.”

“OK, sweetheart, I’ll let you go.” He blew a kiss into the phone. “Talk to you later, baby, OK?”

“Count on it, my love. I miss you,” I said.

“I miss you more. I love you,” David said.

“Love you too, baby.”

That night, Jon was on the boards for quite a while. After congratulating me on my prank, he told me he wasn’t quite ready for a truce yet. I rubbed my hands together, wondering what I else could do to him without pissing off Sam. I’m not sure if she found my box-o-dicks as funny as I did.

We traded smack talk back and forth in PMs about the bet and what we’d make each other do. He asked me if I can tune a guitar. Yeah right. Like he’d let me near those beauties. I told him he could be my secretary and take dictation. When he made some comment about not being able to type well, I told him that all my secretary really had to do was sit there and look pretty.

In the middle of all that banter, he dropped a bomb on me. He asked me what it was that made him such a big deal. I sat there stunned. He was kidding, right? He said he just didn’t get it. Why would Sam put up with everything his life entails? Well I answered him, face flaming, grateful that we were having this exchange in PMs rather than in person or on Skype. I’m pretty sure I would have hung up on him.

Before I could stop myself, I told him. I said that aside from the good looks (the gorgeous eyes and killer smile), the talent, the charisma and the philanthropy, the fact he isn't stupid – God, I sounded like a start-struck looney. I told him that none of this could really be a surprise to him.

I told him he’s a good man, and people know that. It's a very attractive quality. Sam saw he was 'just John'. She saw a regular guy from Jersey who was funny and sweet and thoughtful and playful, and who sounded wonderful and sexy on the phone. He still didn’t get it, but there wasn’t much else I could say.

Then the conversation turned to David and the sparks we threw off that first night. I told him that sometimes I still can’t believe he’s interested. Jon was incredibly sweet, telling me that I was beautiful inside and out, and that David loved me, and I’d been really good for him these past couple of months. It was a surreal conversation to say the least, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to look him in the eye come February. Queenie either. Jon asked her opinion too, and she told him, so the two of us are going to stick together and probably hide in the closet.

Chapter 41: The Bet

After the game, and the award ceremony, we left so we could catch the second half of the Giants/Peckers – I mean Packers – game. I made everyone go home instead of coming in to watch with me – I wasn’t ready to forgive their traitorous actions earlier.

I was so rooting for the Giants. I know, I know, it’s a Manning. That’s what’ll make it sweeter. I started watching the game on the board with the girls, but I wasn’t concentrating on the board at all, so I poured all my attention into the game. When Favre threw that last pick? I did a little happy dance around the room. This was going to be a hell of a Superbowl!

I jumped back on the board, and was all excited to talk to the Giants fans about the game. Sam was on, and relayed Kidd’s apologies to me. He said he’d never have gone through with it if he had known about the baby but it was too late to call it off. He was worried about getting another hormonal pregnant woman up in his face. I thought that was cute.

Honestly, his prank wasn’t all that bad. I was able to come up with a plausible reason why David was called flash-bang, and Dad and John seemed mollified. Besides, they were still reeling from the pregnancy news. I called my Mom from the tent, so I could tell all of them at the same time and BOY were they surprised. I mean, know they knew we were doing ‘it’, but I think they were happy pretending we weren’t – especially my Dad.

He got tears in his eyes, and gave me a big hug. My brother asked if I was happy about this or if he had to go break David’s neck. I told him I was quite happy, thank you very much, and leave David the hell alone. Mom asked when we were getting married. I pretended there was static and hung up on her.

Anyway, we were all congratulating the Giants on their win, and Sam said that Jon was interested in a bet. I thought about it. Last time I bet on a game (the last two times, actually) I won, and got some really good rewards. I didn’t want to enter into anything blind, though, so I asked what the terms were.

We bandied about the idea of naming our children for the winners (my son would be Jon, his daughter Hathor), but Sam wasn’t willing to do that to her kid. I can’t say as I blame her. Sometimes I wish I had a regular name. Then, when David hisses my name at just the right time, well, then it isn’t too bad. But I digress. That particular bet was out of the question.

Then, Jon said he’d put up his Chevelle against my Road Runner. I just about dropped off the couch. I was in love with that car, but I told him no way. Not that I didn’t have confidence in my Beloved Patriots, but that bet was way too steep. Not only was my Dad driving the car, but it was a gift from David. I couldn’t do that. Two bets ixnayed. He called me a chicken and I told him to kiss my ass. Then it got interesting.

Jon suggested the loser be the winner’s indentured servant during our stay in Chicago. I thought about that one. The first thing that came to mind was Jon in a little slave costume and I giggled out loud. Then I thought he’d probably thought the same thing, just to torture David, so I wanted to make sure that “no costumes” was part of the ground rules. I agreed.

Then Jon had to go and ruin it with his “stipulations”. He said...

1. I have to allow him to handle any business relating to the band and the concerts, and any other business relating to his other holdings.

2. No bowing and scraping, no costumes, and no David demands, just me.

3. I can't make him make any permanent changes that would affect the band or any of his holdings. (He said like trying to make him sell the Soul).

4. I can't affect his plans for the 29th. (thier wedding)

5. No interfering with interviews.

6. No sexual demands (that one's Sam’s)

Well, I was furious. Jesus, I just assumed it was going to be stuff like being his gopher and personal lackey if his Giants win. Where does this shit come from?

I wouldn't dream of interfering with his business or his personal holdings or the band or any of that -- not my style. Jesus, that's his job. This bet is personal. They don't cross. Shit, this stuff frankly never occurred to me. I won't ask him to buy me things or fuck with his businesses or screw with things that would be public. Jesus, what kind of woman does he think I am? He was taking all the fun out of this. I don't know if I wanna play anymore.

When Sam told him that, he backpedaled so fast, I felt the breeze. He said that his first thought as a business man is to protect what’s his. Shit, we weren’t conducting business, it was a friendly wager.

In the end, we decided that his stuff stays his, mine stays mine.

I won't fuck with his work, but I want to choose his stage clothes. Some of the stuff he wears to death. He’s GOT to have better stuff in his wardrobe. Sam said that she was going to do that, but I could help.

Nobody but the two of us can make the other do anything, and only harmless stuff we wouldn't be ashamed for our other halves to do. Things like doing something goofy at whatever bar/museum/touristy thing we go to; harmless things like fetching drinks, snacks, extra blankets, whatever when we're hanging out. Stupid stuff that's just annoying enough to make us grumble.

He was OK with that.

The bet was on.

Bring on the Super Bowl.

Chapter 40: Don't Cross Captain Kidd

At the game, it was cold.

Cold as in, “it’s cold as a witch’s tit”.

Cold as in, don’t pee outside, it may freeze.

Cold as in “Oh yeah, bring on the Chargers!”

My father, my brother, his friends, and I were set up in our usual spot in the parking lot by ten in the morning. We had our big tent up, and had the generator going, with a 35,000 BTU heater blowing blissfully warm air into our tent. Carl and the guys we usually hang with were coming in and out of the tent to get warm, but they said sitting in a heated tent was for sissies.

So, I guess I’m a sissy!

We were just settling down to breakfast. We had fresh fruit, and made pancakes on the griddle. We also cooked up a mess of sausage and bacon. It was a cholesterol free-for-all. Sam would’ve loved it, but Jon would’ve made her stick to the fruit. I had just poured the syrup on my pancakes when I heard a commotion outside the tent.

The crowd outside was louder than usual, then I heard someone talking over a microphone, and my blood ran cold.

"I'm looking for the woman called Johnson," the voice said. Shit. What the hell is this?

"Hey Hath," my brother said, poking his head out of the tent. "that guy over there on Tony's tailgate is looking for you."

I looked over at the vehicle in question and groaned. "Shit," I said under my breath. No way was I going over there. This smelled of Jon and paybacks. No way was I going to make this easy.

Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to be able to hide. John’s frat brothers gathered around me and began to push me toward the makeshift stage. I was SO selling their tickets. They were NOT going to the game with me anymore. John and Dad weren’t helping matters. They followed along behind laughing like children. None of them wanted to miss this! I tried to get away as they marched me forward, but every way I turned there was another big frat brother to push me back to the center of the circle. I had a freaking entourage! Shit.

A big crowd had gathered around Tony's truck, and I quickly found myself pushed through the crowd and into a vacant area in front of the tailgate, and I burst into laughter – I couldn’t help it.

I was looking up at a Crocodile Dundee-wanna-be and the guy in the kangaroo suit was wearing a Giants jersey. It was funny, but I had a sense of dread. This COULDN’T be good.

"Are you Hathor?" Crocodile Dundee asked.

"Nope," I lied with a straight face, "never heard of her." I turned my back and tried to get back through the crowd but they'd closed ranks and weren't letting me go any where.

"She's Hathor," my brother called out, "don't let 'er lie to you."

“You are SO not getting in to the game tonight,” I growled at him. “I’m selling your ticket to the lowest bidder.” Everyone laughed at me. They knew I would never do that to him. Sigh. They were right.

I swallowed my embarrassment and squared my shoulders. Time to Cowboy Up. Turning back to the "stage", I admitted, "Yeah, I'm Hathor. What about it?" I might as well get this over with and find out for absolute sure who did this because I wanted to know who I had to kill. If it was David, I was SO not going to Chicago; Harem reunion or not.

"I've got a little song for you," Jack the Crocodile man announced in a totally horrible Aussie accent. "And Petey the Kangaroo's gonna dance too."

I laughed as the kangaroo in question shook his head no at his partner, apparently deciding there wasn't enough room on the tailgate for him to dance. Good Lord, this was going to be funny. But it was going to be at my expense.

Jack just shrugged and started to sing. (To the tune of "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah")

Hello Hathor, we're in Melbourne
Swimming's great here, Joker's sunburned.
Don't worry about your lover,
Flash-bang's fine, but only 'cause he had him covered.

Oh my sweet Jesus. He didn’t just sing about Joker’s dick. Holy shit. This had to be Jon. He was dead. Sam was going to have to raise that sweet baby all by herself.

Oh sweet Hathor, not to worry
we all laughed, but we're not sorry.
It was very entertaining.
Sleeping sound, but he woke once it started raining.

There's some pain, and there's some chaffing
Thank God, Flash-Bang was worth saving.
That night's show was without hitches
Even though, he wore those skin tight leather britches.

I had seen the outfit from the other night and thought David’s smile look kinda forced. Now I knew why. Poor baby.

Now you can see, revenge is sweet.
I'll go hide now, 'cause I'm dead meat.
It's deepest sympathies that I bid
I know you're sorry 'bout this news from Captain Kidd

Jon did do this! Oh, there’s gonna be hell to pay. I was gonna kill Jon. Literally, hunt him down, push him to the ground, yank his head back by his fabulous hair, and slit his golden throat. Maybe twice.

Later, I’ll admit this is pretty funny, but for now, I’m mortified. Kirk, Andy, Noah, and Ed are never going to let me live this down. Neither is my brother for that matter. Frat brothers have a strange code. It’s OK to tease and otherwise be pests to your brothers’ sisters. They could never do that to each other, but to me? The one with their tickets? How could they?!?

I was still fuming at Jon. This was public humiliation. I so wanted to do the same to him, but I wouldn’t. No way would I embarrass him in public. I was going to have to think of something good for a more private retribution.

My mind was whirring, and I flashed on a perfect payback for Jon, even as the assembled crowd laughed and clapped. Petey the Kangaroo reached into his pouch and handed me a small, stuffed, red kangaroo and a card that had the words to the song written on it. I managed to whisper “thanks” before fleeing for my tent. My brother, his frat brothers, and even my dad all followed along making teasing comments as they walked. Thank GOD they weren’t paying too much attention to the words, so they didn't know that Jon just outed David’s dick’s nickname. Shit, my DAD was there!

And, Dad, dear man he is, invited Jack and Petey to hang with us in the tent. Maybe I’ll sell his ticket, too.

Chapter 39: Surprise!

So, in my haste to get to bed on Wednesday night, I broke my computer camera. I didn’t notice until I went to use it Thursday night. The A/V geeks at work couldn’t fix it on Friday, and I couldn’t get out to get a new one until Saturday. I tried to hook it up only to find I had bought the wrong cable. I was ready to cry and scream and kick my feet -- a full on Goddess tantrum. I didn't though. I took a deep breath and called David's cell, and left him a voicemail. I think by the time the tour is over, I’m SO going to hate voicemail.

By Saturday night, I was still unable to get the right wire to hook up my new camera. I was forgetful, and absentminded, and had trouble concentrating. I’d also had a strange dizziness all day – the last couple of days, actually. When I talked to Stephanie about it on the board, she asked me if I might be in the same situation as Sam. It took a minute for the light bulb to come on; for the real question behind her words to kick in. Holy shit! Was I pregnant? I checked my calendar and counted the days and it looked like I was a couple of days late. Well, four to be exact.

Well, it could be stress, I thought. Work has been hell the last couple of weeks, then there was the accident, and the broken toe which I don’t think is healing properly. I know I haven’t been eating right; all that could contribute, right? Steph agreed yeah, it could, but wouldn’t I want to know for sure?

I sure did.

I went out to my local CVS jut as fast as I could safely drive (thank God I had my car back), and purchased two different brands of kits. I wanted to be really sure. The woman at the counter smiled at me because I was smiling. “I take it this is good news?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise,” I said, “but yeah, I think it really is.”

I flew home and took the first test. I nearly peed all over my hand in the process, I was so nervous. I set the egg timer and hopped back on the board to wait. Ang was on now, too, and thankfully they had advanced the conversation. All I needed was David or Jon or Richie coming on and seeing THAT. I want to be sure first.

The timer finally went off, and I ran to the bathroom, with a huge grin on my face. It fell, crashing to the floor along with my stomach when I saw it hadn’t turned blue. Dammit! I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be pregnant until I saw that I wasn’t. I burst into tears and sat on the floor, arms wrapped around my knees. I heard the computer pinging; the girls were wondering what the answer was. I just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers up.

But, I got up, scrubbed my face, and got back online, just to tell the girls the bad news. They said to try again in the morning; the tests weren’t always reliable. Yeah, maybe I will. I don’t know how I’ll ever last that long.

* * * * *

Sunday morning, I woke with the birds, at the first rays of light slanting through the blinds. I sprang from bed, and rushed to the bathroom. I whispered “please, please, please,” as I peed on this stick, studiously avoiding my hand this time, ha ha. I sat on the edge of the tub and waited. And stared. And waited. And slowly, torturously, the little indicator in the window started to show. It was, looked like it could be, it WAS! A plus sign! I let out a whoop, and started crying for a whole different reason.

It was midnight in Melbourne, and I hoped to hell David was in his room. I called his cell (no way was I going to call through the switchboard and have someone listen in on this particular call).

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Baby?” I said. “It’s me; where are you?”

“Just hanging out in the bar in the hotel,” he answered. “Are you OK? You sound like you’ve been crying.”

“I have been. Oh, David, I need to talk to you. Can you go somewhere quiet?”

David’s heart sank. “Of course. Give me two minutes. Don’t hang up.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.

I heard David say something to Jon, though I couldn’t make out the words other than “hey boss”. I heard the noise recede, and the ping of an elevator. When the doors slid shut behind him, he said into the phone, “Just a minute more.”

“Hurry,” I said, willing the elevator half a world away to go faster.

I could hear David running to his room, and the door slam behind him. “Did you get your camera fixed yet?” David asked, Jon’s prank be damned.

“No,” I sniffled. “I so want to see you right now,” I said.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing at all,” I said. “At least, I don’t think so.”

David was confused, and more than a little scared. “Sweetheart, I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”

“Oh David,” I said, starting to cry from the joy of the news. “I think I’m pregnant.”

There was silence on the other end. “You think so, or you know so?”

“Well, one test said I wasn’t, but, oh, David, this one says I am!”

“You are?” I could hear the smile in his voice, and all the anxiety I felt at telling him simply vanished. “Really?”

“I’ll confirm Tuesday at the doctor, but yeah,” I wiped my eyes. “Really, I’m pretty sure. I’m several days late, and well, I’m usually not. You’re really happy about this?”

“No, baby, I’m ecstatic! This is wonderful news. God, I hope she looks just like you.”

I laughed. “We don’ t know it’s a ‘she’, dear.”

“I know, I know, but the baby isn’t an ‘it’; and I don’t want to keep saying ‘he or she’ all the time.” He paused. “I guess this would be a good time to tell you that the twins run on MY side of the family.”

I squeaked. “Oh my God!” I put my hands on my abdomen. “There could be TWO of them in there?”

“Could be,” David agreed.

“Wow,” was all I could think of. I realized that David was talking excitedly and I was missing what he said.

“What? Slow down, sweetie, I missed some of that,” I said.

David laughed. “Already having trouble concentrating, huh, sexy Momma?”

God, hearing him call me that, it made my toes curl. “Yeah, a little, Sweet Papa,” I said, and he laughed harder.

“Well, dearest, we have lots of planning to do! We need to figure out where to live, when we’re getting married, when to tell everyone – it was probably New Year’s wasn’t it? We forgot to suit up when we celebrated.” He laughed. “Tico will give us shit for that, no doubt.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa there, cowboy. Back the mule train up. Married? Where we’ll live? Sweetheart, don’t you think that’s moving a bit fast?”

David just laughed at me. “Baby, what else would we do?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about this over the phone. “We wouldn’t even be talking about this if I wasn’t pregnant. Let’s talk when we see each other. Really see each other – not on the camera. I have to get used to being pregnant first, telling my folks, UGH! I’ll see Dad and John tomorrow; they’ll know something is up when I’m not tipping a few. Oh well.”

David sounded hurt. “You don’t want to marry me?”

“That’s not what I said,” I said softly. “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have this baby with; to have this permanent connection to. If you were asking me to marry you and we weren’t pregnant, I’d think you were a nut. For heaven’s sake, David, though it feels much longer, it’s only been a little over two months! I’m just saying this is a lot for me to process right now, and I need you to give me a chance to wrap my head around it. Please.” I sighed. “This is why we need to talk in person. You have to see what I’m saying. I love you so much, and I don’t want to get this wrong,”

David was very quiet for a few minutes. I got a bit scared, but let him have his time. “I love you too. Alright; Hath. Alright. We will talk about this, though. I’m still very, VERY happy about this, you know; you can’t even imagine.”

“I am too. When Queenie ever suggested…” David cut me off.

“Queenie? She knows? Before me?” I could practically see the pout.

I chuckled. “Baby, she was the reason I went out to get the test. I told her I was stressed and feeling out of sorts and a little fluttery and absent-minded, and she asked if I was in the same condition as Sam.” I full on laughed now. “I’ve gotta tell you, that little ‘shock’ emoticon on the board didn’t come close to what I felt. But the minute she said it, and I realized the timing was right, well, yeah, she knew. You’re the first to know that it’s official, though. She just got the negative test result, and had to listen to me cry for an hour.”

“Oh, baby, you should have called me,” David said softly. “I would have been there for you.”

“I know you would have,” I said. “God I miss you. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure.”

“Well, I’m not keeping this to myself, you know,” David said.

“Sweetheart, as soon as we’re done here, I’m sending the girls a PM. Don’t EVER tell my mother that I told my friends before her. I will never hear the end of it, and I will kill you.”

Chapter 38: What's In a Name?

Monday afternoon, I was ready to play. I needed a distraction from the accident, and my broken toe wasn’t quite so painful. I lurked on the board waiting for someone to show up. Lucy and Kidd were on, and we had a spirited conversation about the girls’ various injuries. Lucy had fallen and hurt her gluteus maximus (that’s ‘ass’ to you and me) and Kidd was teasing her.

The conversation turned to the bizarre, as they usually do, and we ended up talking about the things women share. Jon was incredulous that I had told a friend her fake breasts felt natural. We girls had shrugged it off; I mean, who could a girl trust other than another girlfriend? Nobody, that’s who. Anyway, Jon made some comment about never having held another guy’s dick in his hand, and well, it went downhill from there.

JerseyCowboy7800:
I've never held another guy's dick in my hand and said... Oh, no man, it doesn't crook to the left at all.

FootballGodess:
Have you been asked? No? It's that male-homophobe thing. I can feel up a GF and not feel all Lezzie or worry about it. Either that, or ya'll think your dicks are all perfect (which is more than likely the case) and you'd never dream of suggesting otherwise.

Are we really having this convo?

JerseyCowboy7800:
Yes, we are really having this conversation! And Goddess, you've seen me with my "brothers", do you really think I'm the slightest bit homo-phobic?

AND... . I don't think my d*ck's perfect! I've said many times that I'm hung like a second grader.

AND unlike Zan, I don't have a little nickname for mine either.

FootballGodess:
Sam does.

And, I've seen pictures, (erm though not in all your glory), and I don't believe it for a second, unless you know some 22-year olds who are in second grade...

So, really, Jon started the whole nickname conversation. I just brought it around, and had a little bit of fun at Jon’s expense. I mean, he was already tired, it was the wee hours of the morning where he was, and I was feeling snarky because of the accident. It was fun, though.

JerseyCowboy7800:
Sam does? Are you shitting me?

FootballGodess:
Would I shit you? ME? A known smart-ass? Actually, I have no idea, but I assume she has one. We girls typically name all our toys.

JerseyCowboy7800:
Hey, I just realized it's about noon in Arkansas. Sam'll be on her lunch break. I'm gonna go call her and find out about this nickname shit. Later Ladies.

Well, Jon got all all indignant that we were talking about his meat-n-two-veg, and all but stormed off the board. I mean, I could practically see him stalking around. I felt bad, Sam was probably gonna get it. She did. Know how I know? Because she called me to tell me. Jon was all beside himself because he didn’t like the name Sam had picked out. She picked ‘Peppy’. As in always up and at ‘em. Enthusiastic. Well, Jon wasn’t happy with that at ALL. He suggested a couple other names that had me practically rolling on the floor in hysterics. My minions thought I was certifiable. What names did he pick? Hercules and Joninator. *cue the eye roll* Jesus, have an ego, why don’tcha? I was storing that little bit of information away for when I needed to tease Jon. Somehow I knew I wouldn’t have to wait too long.

* * * * *

Wednesday sucked. It totally, completely sucked. I was in meetings all frickin day. I was supposed to be working that night, to make up for lost time; but instead, I mixed up a batch of daiquiris, and logged onto the forum. Queenie and I were having a great time “singing” songs on the board, although every song that came up on the iPod reminded me of David and made me sad. It’s gonna be a long tour. Sigh.

So, after a few drinks, we were talking about Sam’s doctor’s appointment, and Jon PM’d us to tell us he and Sam were eloping at the end of February when they were in DC, and that we were all invited. I swear, I got a tear in my eye. They love each other so much, I’m so glad they’re getting hitched privately. We were talking about gestational diabetes and high cholesterol and how Sam’s doctor told her to lay off the fried foods, and Jon was being all smug. Queenie and I warned him about playing the I-told-you-so card, and he said he wasn’t stupid; that Sam was so emotional lately that she was mad or crying all the time – except for yesterday, when he made her laugh, and she’d been laughing all day. Now, I knew full well what she’d been laughing about, and having had a few in me, decided to channeled GSA (God, I missed her!) and razzed Jon about not being funny.

JerseyCowboy7800:
I swear to you that she cries over SOMETHING every time I talk to her. Well, except yesterday, and then she spent entirely too much time laughing at me... but I won't go into that!

FootballGodess:
You mean, you're funny? Witty? Amusing? Humerous? Really?

ha ha ha

Oh c'mon, get into it. I double-dog dare you.

Well, not having fallen off the turnip truck yesterday, Jon pretty quickly figured out that I knew the reason why Sam was laughing at him yesterday, and boy did that fiery Italian temper come out. He started roaring, and dammit, I couldn’t help it, I poked the tiger.

Jon went off on me. He was probably turning eight shades of red (thanks to his fair complexion) and was probably more mortified than anything else. I just thought it was funny. Queenie had no idea what I was talking about, and I was very careful not to say anything specific – the Jovi family does not air its dirty laundry in public. Jon knew exactly what I was talking about though. He went on about how he’s gonna kill Sam, and I made yet another brilliant remark, begging him not to go Terminator on her ass, and man, that set him off but good. He was swearing at me and threatening me with nothing specific if I didn’t keep my mouth shut.

I calmly told him that he didn’t scare me and to ask me nicely, and I just might.

JerseyCowboy7800:
AW FUCK!! She told you didn't she? Don't try to lie there's just something about you're sarcasm here that's quite telling!

FootballGodess:
Lips, zipped.

JerseyCowboy7800:
FUCK!! They BETTER stay that way!

FootballGodess:
And believe me, it's taking Herculean effort to keep 'em that way.
And don't swear at me, it isn't nice *sticks tongue out*
You don't scare me, and threats don't work.
Ask me nicely.

JerseyCowboy7800:
Herculean? Herculean? Dammit!! She told you about that too?!?!?!. I'm gonna kill her! Or at least make her pay big time!

FootballGodess:
You gonna go "Terminator" on her ass??

As with any bully (or at least a man used to getting his way all the time) he got blustery, and dragged poor David in from the hall. David told me later that Jon literally grabbed his arm and hauled him bodily into the hotel room.

David:
Joker here. Uh, baby, honey, sweetheart, please don't make him kill me. He'll do it ya know. He says he's got nothing to lose. Okay, seriously, baby, please play nice with Kidd. He's giving me a real icy glare right now, and I have to live with him for the next few weeks. So even though he won't ask nice, I'm begging here. I was just walking down the hall of the hotel, minding my own business when he roared from his doorway to come talk to my woman.

FootballGodess:
Hey baby! Why kill you? That's my job... You guys share just as much as we girls do (tapping foot impatiently). And, he'd have plenty to lose. He's never really had me go Triple-G on his ass. He thinks Zan punches hard? I ain't been boxing for three years to be a lightweight. Alright, for you, I'll stop teasing him. It's so damned much fun because he's easy to get a RISE out of. It's HARD to resist. You guys are no fun. Love ya baby, and miss you something fierce

David:
I miss you too, babe. Love you! And thanks! Will you be up for a skype session in about a half hour? I've got something I gotta go do right now, but I was going to give ya a ping in a few.

FootballGodess:
That'll be perfect. I've got a couple of phone calls to return, then I'm all yours baby, in all my glory...

So, I kept my word (except for a small Arnold reference when I had to hop off the board to take a phone call. I said “I’ll be back”. Sometimes I just love GSA!) and played nice with Jon. He kept saying how he was going to take it out on David, setting wakeup calls for him every half hour, and I told him to watch out because I knew where they were staying. I threatened him with male strippers, talking myna birds, and gorilla-clad balloon-a-gram people. He didn’t think I was funny, and reminded me that he knew where I worked. I reminded HIM that I work in a secure building, so ha ha on him.

Guess I told him.

Chapter 37: Accidental Goddess

That Sunday night, there was a terrific Nor’easter. By Monday morning, everything was crusted in ice. It was very Courier & Ives, but also potentially dangerous. As Hath made her way to the train station early that morning, an ice-crusted tree branch broke free from its trunk and fell onto her windshield and hood. Swerving instinctually, she plowed into a snow bank and came to an abrupt stop against a sign post. The airbag deployed, smashing into her face, and driving her head back hard against the headrest. There was a ringing in her ears, and her heart rate was in the stratosphere. In a panic, and with shaking hands, she beat at the airbag, and tried to get at her seatbelt so she could get out of the car.

A tap at the window made her jump. “Are you OK in there?” a concerned voice called. Hath couldn’t tell whether it was a man or woman; the echo from the airbag was still ringing through her head. Hath called out that she was, and asked the driver to call the police because she couldn’t find her blackberry. That done, the person called out again, “Can you get out?”

“I don’t know,” Hath answered. “I can’t seem to get the seatbelt undone.”

“Unlock your doors,” the person said. Hath complied, and the door opened to reveal a young kid, no more than twenty-five, clearly out enjoying the winter day, decked in a parka and ski pants. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Callum.”

“Callum, I’m Hath, and I’ll be your best friend if you can get me the hell out of this car.”

Callum looked at the seatbelt. “I’m gonna have to lean in to try to undo it. I’m not trying anything, okay?”

Hath laughed long and hard. “God, Callum, thank you. I so needed a laugh. Go ahead. I promise not to slug you.”

Callum leaned in and tried to work the mechanism, but it was jammed. “I can’t get it unfastened either,” he said, straightening. “I’ll bet the police have a knife or something they can cut it with.” He sat down in the snow outside the open door. “Are you warm enough?” he asked, noticing that Hath seemed to be shivering.

“I think so,” she said, as the events of the past several minutes finally caught up to her, and she burst into tears. Callum was to his feet in an instant, and awkwardly pat her shoulder. “It’s OK,” he said. “You’re OK; that’s the important thing. You can always get the car fixed.”

Hath sniffled. “I guess so. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it – hey you hear that?” A siren could be heard in the distance. “Sounds like the cavalry is on the way.”

“The cavalry is already here,” Hath said, patting Callum’s arm. “Thank you for stopping.”

“Are you kidding? My wife would have killed me if I told her I saw the accident but didn’t try to help,” he said, wincing. “She isn’t someone I want to make mad at me,” he finished, smiling.

The sirens grew louder, and soon, a police car, fire truck, ambulance, and flatbed pulled up. Hath rolled her eyes. “Jesus, what a mess,” she said. The EMTs checked her over while the police took her and Callum’s statements for the insurance company. The Tahoe was loaded onto a flatbed, and taken away, and the police officer was nice enough to take her back home. Once there, Hath called her car service, and went to work. She didn’t know what else to do. She certainly didn’t want to sit home and dwell on the accident.

When she got to work, a little later than she expected, the phone on her desk was ringing.

“Good Morning, this is Hath,” she answered, breathlessly.

“Hey baby,” David answered. He was lounging in bed, wanting to talk to his woman before going to sleep.

“Hey yourself,” Hath said. “What the heck time is it? Why aren’t you in bed?” David and the guys were in Japan, and they were about 14 hours ahead, putting it at close to one in the morning.

“I am in bed, baby,” he said seductively, “and I felt this overwhelming urge to call you, so I gave in. What’s going on?” Hath’s eyes got teary, and she didn’t answer right away. “Babe?” He asked, concern growing.

“I’m OK; just had a bit of a fight with a tree this morning.” Her voice was shaky, and she muted the phone to clear her throat and take a deep breath.

“WHAT!!” David jumped to his feet. He stalked over to the computer and punched the power button. “Are you OK? Get on the camera; I have to see you.”

“David, honey, I’m fine,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I was more scared than hurt.”

“Please, I won’t be able to concentrate until I see for myself that you’re OK.”

Hath sighed. “OK, let me get to a conference room. Gimme five minutes.”

“Hurry,” David said. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, and hung up. Less than three minutes later, she was on video conference with David. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, with the sheets wrapped around his waist. Clearly, he didn’t have anything on.

“Jesus, David!” Hath exclaimed, and hurried to turn the monitor. “I’m at work. For cripe’s sake, warn me you’re naked before I put you on screen!”

David didn’t answer; he was scanning Hath’s face. “You look OK, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Positive.”

“OK. You can un-camera me now, unless…” he started to stand and the covers dropped alarmingly.

Hath squeaked. “David!” she hissed. “Cut that out!” She looked wildly around. “I’ve gotta go. I have a meeting or something I have to get to.”

David laughed. “Yeah, sure you do. I’ll call you later, OK?”

“Sure thing, baby. I love you,” Hath said.

“I love you more,” David answered, and after blowing a kiss, was gone.

Chapter 36: Skype Adventure

David sent me a recording of my song when he got back to Jersey, and it’s been non-stop on the iPod ever since. I’ve been keeping it to myself; its way too personal to share. I will eventually, though, but not quite yet. We’ve been trading e-mails and playing phone tag; usually when he calls me I’m either in a meeting or so dog tired from catching up after my vacation that I’m dead to the world, and don’t hear the phone. We’re still managing to talk every day, which I cherish, because I know once they’re on the road, it’ll be tough to keep that up. I have no illusions, David’ll try his damnedest to call me every day, but sometimes it’ll just be impossible.

The weeks went by quickly, but the nights were long. I missed David terribly. I wasn’t going to let on how much, though. I don’t want him thinking I’m some clingy hanger-on. So, I got through the short week and the first full week at work without incident. I schlepped back and forth to work, got next to nothing done for all the meetings I was scheduled for, and ended up working most nights. The night before the guys left for Japan, David and I talked on the phone for hours. He was excited for the tour, but wished they were starting closer to home.

“You’ll be back Stateside before you know it,” I said.

“I know, but I’m gonna be half a world away,” he whined, “and I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too, baby,“ I said. But we’ll both be so busy, the time will fly. Soon it’ll be March, and we’ll hook up in Connecticut for the weekend.”

“I can hardly wait,” David said.

“Me, neither,” I answered.

“I really wish you could hook up with the girls in Chicago when we’re there,” he said. “It sucks that you have to go to India.”

“I might not,” I said, feeling bad about lying, but wanting to keep up the ruse. The Harem and Sam were getting together in Chicago for the concerts at the end of February. At that time, I thought I was going to have to go to India on business, but that fell through. I didn’t tell David, though; I wanted to surprise him at his hotel. It was really hard to not break down and tell him the truth.

“Really?” David perked up.

I smiled an evil smile. “Really. It may be Ireland instead.”

“You bitch!” he said good naturedly.

“You know you love me,” I teased.

“I know,” he said. “Alright, I’ve gotta get a nap, I think. I’m not sure. My body is all screwed up with the time difference.”

“I know. Alright, sweetie. Have a good night – day – whatever, and I’ll talk to you when you can.”

“You’ll talk to me tomorrow. Later today. Whatever,” he laughed.

“Yeah, babe,” I said, “Whatever”.

That weekend, I went to the Patriots’ playoff game, where we beat Jacksonville. Somewhere in there, a giant of a man stomped my foot, and I’m pretty sure my toe was broken. It was purple and swollen, and hurt like hell. It was a fantastic game though, and afterwards, I was on an adrenaline and endorphin high. Damn, I missed David. When I got home, I Skype’d David in his hotel room. It was mid-afternoon in Japan, and I hoped they hadn’t gone to sound check yet..

“Hey baby, how was the game?” he said, squinting. “How the hell many layers do you have on?” he burst out laughing. It was an 8:30pm game, so it was very cold. I had on several layers, and looked like the Michelin man.

“It was fan-frickin-tastic. We won! And, I have on lots,” I said, with an evil little smirk. “It’s freezing up there in the stands. I was going to get changed; wanna count the layers for me?” I winked as I peeled off my Johnson shirt, and David said, “Shit!” and bolted away from the camera. I heard him yell “Don’t move!” and his door open and close. Then a bolt and chain, and he was back. The whole thing took about thirty seconds.

“What did you do?”

“Set the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door. The guys think I’m still a bit jet lagged, and Jon will let me, erm, sleep, yeah, that’s it.” He wagged his eyebrows at me, and rested his hand on his chin. “That was one,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, and blew me a kiss.

I slowly stripped off three sweatshirts, David’s t-shirt that he left at Thanksgiving, a turtleneck jersey, and a man’s thermal undershirt. Finally, I was stripped down to my bra.

“Looks like it was seven,” I said to him, grinning, and sat down in front of the computer.

“I see one more,” he said, his voice getting husky.

“You’re kidding, right?” I don’t think I wanted to pursue this, but damn, I missed him something awful.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” he asked. Even with the crappy office-supply-store cameras, I could see David’s eyes darken. OK, I guess we were gonna play…



Still sitting, Hath unhooked her bra, slid it off, and waved it in front of the camera. “Eight,” she said smugly. Her breasts were well out of view of the camera, and she could see David peering into his screen, like it was a window or something. “Changing your angle won’t work,” she said. “The girls are well out of view.”

David growled. “I know that,” he said. “Show them to me.”

“Uh-uh,” Hath said; you take your shirt off first.

He hastened to comply and demanded again, “show them to me.”

Hath pushed her chair back from the desk, and asked, “Better?”

David groaned. “Oh, yeah.” He just looked at his woman for a few minutes. “How many layers did you put on so as to not freeze your ass?” he asked.

Hath’s pulse jumped. “Hmmm, I can’t remember.” She shrugged, but made no move to remove them. There was a little smile on her lips though, and David grinned.

“Maybe we should count those, too.”

“Maybe…”

Hath leaned down to unlace her hiking boots, giving the camera a view of her dragonfly tat and smooth expanse of back. She removed her boots, wincing at the pain in her toe, and tossed them aside and sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Hath laughed, making her breasts twitch. “Nothing. Some falling-down-drunk idiot literally fell on me and stomped my foot. I think he broke my toe. She removed her socks (both pairs) and bent over. “Yep, it’s bruised and swollen and a wee bit crooked. It’s broken.”

“Aw, Baby I’m sorry.”

“No worries. Now,” she said seductively, settling back into her chair. “What were we talking about?”

And just like that, David was aroused.

“We were trying to count how many layers you had on your ass,” he said, smiling.

“Ohhhh yeah,” Hath said, and stood abruptly, so her zipper was even with the camera. She unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. She had to sit to peel them off, and dropped them behind her. “That’s one,” she said, and stood again. This time, there was a pair of track pants, and they slid down easily to reveal thermal long-johns, which quickly joined the pile on the floor. She was left in thick tights, which she sat to peel off. She sat expectantly. “Looks like four,” she said, smirking, knowing what was coming next.

David knew too, and stood. He silently undid his own jeans, and pushed them to the floor. Hooking his thumbs into his boxers, he arched an eyebrow at Hath. She stood, and hooked her own thumbs into the sides of her panties. Together, they lowered the last garments. Each got a glimpse of the other before they sat down.

“Now what?” Hath asked, her voice a rasp.

“Now, you go get your toy from the nightstand,” David said softly, his eyes hungry.

“Oh!” Hath breathed. “OK, I’ll be right back.” She slowly got up, and went into her room to follow orders. She stopped off in the bathroom, too, for a towel to put on the chair. “What the hell am I doing?” She asked herself.

When she got back to the chair, her screen was empty. She watched as David reappeared from the bathroom with his own towel, and marveled at how aroused he was. It made her feel powerful, that she could do that to him. He strode purposefully back to the computer, and sat down. “Hey there,” he said softly.

“Hey yourself,” Hath answered, all traces of self-consciousness gone. Slowly, she pushed her chair back further, so her whole body was reflected in the camera. She locked the wheels and scooted forward to the edge of her seat, letting her thighs fall open. Idly, she started stroking herself with long, sure strokes. David groaned. This was a woman who knew how to pleasure herself, and wasn’t ashamed to do so. He thought that was extremely sexy.

Hath bit her lip as her hand moved over her. “What’re you doing, baby?” she asked, breathlessly. She could see his shoulder flexing, but couldn’t see his hand.

David scooted back a bit so Hath could see. He had taken himself in hand, and was stroking slowly from shaft to tip, over and over again. Hath couldn’t tear her eyes away. The sight was almost unbearably erotic. She moaned, and sped her motions. Hath felt the familiar tightening and knew her release was coming soon. She took the toy and held it up so David could see it, then slowly inserted it, groaning at the coldness. She met a little resistance, as she was tight, and with a little hard shove and a loud moan, she buried the dildo to the hilt

“Jesus, Hath,” David said. He had stopped what he was doing; his full attention on Hath. Her unfocused eyes saw this, and she pouted.

“No fair,” she said. “I’m not doing this alone.” She started to pull the shaft from her, and David stopped her.

“Sorry, baby,” he said. “I got caught up in watching you. You are so beautiful when you’re turned on.”

“So are you, my love,” she answered, and started moving again.

The phone rang in David’s room, but he ignored it, his eyes glued on Hath. She stroked faster and faster, and he saw the flush creep over her body. He stroked faster and faster, and fought against the urge to close his eyes. He didn’t want to miss a second. Hath started twitching a little, and he could hear her little moans, and it was nearly his undoing. The phone started ringing again, and David didn’t even spare it a glance. His legs were tensed on the floor, and he was hunched over a little, arm pumping furiously.

“Hath?” he said, his voice desperate.

Hath’s head dropped back, totally oblivious to everything else. Her other hand white-knuckled on the chair’s seat, Hath’s hand was a blur. The growl started deep in her chest, and exploded from her as the orgasm overtook her. She cried out loudly, “Oh my God!”, but couldn’t stop her hand. Hath’s head thrashed back and forth as she was gripped by the sensations attacking her body.

David growled too, and with a loud “Unh!” emptied into the towel he had draped across his lap.

A pounding on the door in David’s room made both of them jump.

“IT SAYS DO NOT DISTURB!” David shouted.

“I don’t give a shit,” Jon answered, and Hath burst out laughing. Jon could hear her, and smiled. “What are you doing in there?”

“Nothing!” David shouted back, shooting a warning glance at Hath.

Hath chuckled. “We’re celebrating my team’s win, Jon!” she yelled.

David hissed. “Jesus, what’d you do that for?” he complained, but started laughing when he heard Jon exclaim “Shit!” from the other side of the door.

“Uh,” Jon said. “Just meet us for sound check, D. Ninety minutes.”

“Yeah, boss,” David said, and he and Hath burst out laughing. “You are so gonna get it,” he said.

“I certainly hope so,” Hath said. Slipping the toy from her body, she twitched. “I know you have to go to work,” she said. “Go do what you have to do. I’ve gotta get to bed.”

David leaned in to the monitor, and traced a finger across Hath’s image. She shuddered as if he had touched her. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you more,” Hath answered, smiling.

“That just isn’t possible,” David countered.

Hath sighed. “Go to work, my love. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Count on it. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Chapter 35: New Year's Day

Hath woke early, before David, and pulled on her robe. She trailed a hand down his cheek, and set out to find coffee. She managed to find the kitchen on the second try, and walked in on Ali and Tico, sharing a steamy kiss.

“Sorry!” she said, as she started to back out of the room.

The pair laughed. “No worries, Hath, “Tico said. “You disappeared just after midnight; everything okay?”

Hath blushed, and Ali threw an elbow into her husband’s ribs. “TICO!” she said. “Jesus, man, don’t be so dense.” She looked at Hath, who was still trying to compose herself. A hand had crept up to hold the neck of her robe closed, and Ali felt badly for her. “Hath, don’t answer that. My husband is a man, and therefore he has no tact.”

“That’s alright,” Hath said. “Actually, with everything that’s been going on since we arrived, I forgot one important thing.” Hath approached the couple, and looked at Ali. “Con su permiso?” she said, opening her arms, and Ali nodded. Hath enveloped Tico in a hug, and his arms involuntarily wrapped around her.

“What was that for?” he asked, when Hath stepped back.

“That was for the beautiful drawing you gave me,” she said. “I will treasure it always.”

“I’m glad you like it, querida.” He kissed Hath’s cheek. “You’re entirely welcome.”

“Get yer mouth off my woman, ya bahstid,” David said from the doorway. He had woken when he reached for Hath and encountered only empty space. He had smiled, remembering their lovemaking from the night before. He was going to miss the hell out of her when they went back on the road. Speaking of getting back on the road, he looked at his watch and groaned. They were heading back to Boston today, and he needed to get his ass in gear if they were going to make their flight. He strolled into the kitchen to find T kissing his girl, and pulled out his best Claven to complain.

Hath laughed and floated across the kitchen to David. Kissing him soundly, she said, “Oh, that was hardly a peck. You should have come down a couple minutes sooner.” She winked at Tico and Ali, and went to pour herself a cup of coffee. David just stood there, with a stunned expression on his face.

Ali took pity on him. “Hath! You’re so bad. David she’s talking about walking in on us when we weren’t expecting her.”

“You bitch!” he said to Hath, laughing. Hath stuck her tongue out at him in response, and everyone laughed.

Tico just shook his head. “You guys act more like an old married couple than we do,” he said.

“That may be,” Hath said, smiling across the kitchen at him. “I know I feel like I’ve known him forever.”

“Ditto, babe,” David answered.

“Ooh, such a romantic,” Ali teased. “So,” she said, changing the subject, “how long can you stay?”

“Not much longer I’m afraid; I have to be back at work tomorrow,” Hath said, “and David is going back to spend some time with his kids before leaving for, wait, don’t tell me.” Hath’s eyes rolled upwards. “Japan, right?” David nodded. Hath continued, “so we have a flight leaving,” she looked at her watch, “shit, in an hour and a half to head back to Beantown, and David’ll fly home tomorrow morning.”

“So, we should probably get packing,” David said, winking at Hath. “You won’t believe all the shit she brought for one night.” He rolled his eyes at her.

“I didn’t hear any complaining last night at the party, or afterwards,” she said, blushing.

David grinned. “Nope, no complaints; just busting your ass.”

“Now who’s being a bitch, baby?” Hath said smilingly.

“You know you love me,” David said.

“I know.”

After an uneventful flight and trip back to the house, David and I dumped our stuff, and I listened to my messages. There was one from my mom, inviting us over to watch college ball with my dad, and to stay for dinner. I looked at David, and he shrugged. “Whatever you want, babe,” he said. So we went.

My brother and his family were there, and the TV was on in the living room. “Are we watching the Cotton Bowl?” I said, as we came in.

“And hello and Happy New Year to you too,” my dad said. “And no.”

“You’ve gotta put it on,” I said, kissing his cheek. “Happy New Year. We gotta call the hogs.”

My mother came up from the cellar. “What on earth are you talking about?” she asked.

I explained all about calling the hogs, and dad switched channels. They were not doing well against Mizzou. Not at all. Oh well, we could still cheer on our team, so we did.

Joanna sat on David’s lap while we grownups talked, and it was so sweet, seeing how he was with little kids. From what I’ve seen, he’s a wonderful father, and kids are generally good judges of character, so that fact that Joanna trusted and liked “bon-joe-bee-uncle-david” right off the bat only proves the point.

We settled down to a simple dinner of rigatoni and homemade sauce, garlic bread, sausage peppers and onions, and salad. David stared at the table. “How many more people are coming?”

My brother laughed. “None. Ma only knows how to cook for an army,” he said, earning a smack on the back of the head from his wife.

“Be nice,” she said.

After dinner, we headed out; we were still tired from the flight, and David was leaving in the morning for a month and a half. When we got home, no sooner had we shut the door behind us that David was dragging me down the cellar.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I’m not letting Bill have one up on me,” he said. I just looked at him, puzzled. He saw my expression and grinned. “He played something new for you. I’m going to do that, too.”

When I tried to speak, he stopped me with a kiss (that works every time). “Please,” he said. “Just come and listen.”

So I did. I sat next to him on the piano bench, and watched as he ran a few scales to limber his fingers, and he launched into an achingly sweet, soft melody. I watched his face, and the look of utter concentration, the little head shakes he made as he kept time with the music, were just beautiful. His fingers danced up and down the keyboard, and stroked each key as gently as he stroked me.

His shoulders hunched a little, and the melody became louder as he hammered the keys harder. It wasn’t sweet anymore, but rough and guttural and, I don’t know, sensual. It made me feel like I did when I’d walked in on Tico and Ali that morning – like I’d interrupted something incredibly intimate. The music softened some, teasing with little tinkles of the higher octaves. I felt my heart quicken as I watched his fingers striking the same keys over and over. This was absurd! I was totally turned on by this music.

Finally, there was a grand crescendo, and David stood, pouring all his energy into banging away at the keys, his muscles bunching and releasing, and I swear to god, I was wet just watching him. My heart was pounding, and my pulse racing, and when he finished and turned to me, I was flushed.

“Whoa,” I said to him, my breath a whisper.

“So you liked it?” he said, panting. His eyes took in my state, and smiled a wicked grin. “Better than Bill?”

“Hell yeah,” I said, and pounced on him. His ass hit the keys with a comical *plink* as I kissed him with all the heat his piece had risen in me. David wrapped his arms around my waist, and turned us so he was sitting on the bench, and I was straddling his lap. He held the back of my neck with one hand while the other worked at the buttons of my blouse. I could feel his erection pressing into me, and I started rocking against him.

David ripped his mouth away from mine to groan my name, and I pulled him roughly back to me. I wasn’t done kissing him yet. I don’t know that I ever would be. Frustrated with his lack of progress with my shirt, I helped, tearing it open, and worked on getting his shirt up and over his head. I pressed into him, and ran my hands over his shoulders and up and into those glorious curls. I grabbed hold and angled my head so I could thrust my tongue deeper, and ground against him harder. I was going to explode any second now, I could just feel it. David released the catch on my bra, and when my sensitized nipples met his warm chest, that was it. I arched and screamed into his mouth, and I’m pretty sure I ruined my pants. His too.

* * * * *

By this time David was in agony. He needed the release that only being buried inside this woman could bring him. When Hath peaked, he could feel the dampness through their clothes and it was the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced. He swallowed Hath’s scream and held onto her as she trembled. He stood, bringing Hath with him, and unfastened her pants, shoving them and her sopping wet panties to the floor, where she kicked them away. He pulled at his own trousers, and managed to get them all the way to his ankles before sat again, and brought Hath down onto him. Hard.

Hath called out David’s name as her eyes rolled back and her head dropped. David caught her inches away from banging her head on the piano. He chuckled which made him twitch inside Hath, and she responded by coughing discreetly, her walls clenching around him. David gasped and grabbed onto Hath’s hips, urging her, begging her to ride him. She happily complied, and David’s vision swam. When she ran her fingertips lightly over his Joker tat, reminding him of the first day she touched him, he hissed her name.

Hath looked into David’s eyes. “I love you,” she said, and brought her head down to kiss him. She ground harder on him, faster, until David’s arms were steel bands around her waist. She broke the kiss to sink her teeth into the muscle of his shoulder, and David exploded inside her, crying out her name.

“God, I love you, woman,” he said hoarsely, as he pumped his seed into her.

“I know,” she said, smiling. “So,” she continued. “Are you going to make me a recording of that song?”

“Hell yeah,” David said, laughing.

“What’re you calling it?”

“In Love With A Goddess,” he said simply.

Hath, with tears in her eyes, curled into David’s chest, and sighed.