Brianne’s Trip to Orlando
“JC.” Josh answered the chime of his cellphone.
“Hi, Josh.”
“Bree! Hiya, baby.” He was surprised and pleased to hear from her. Usually, he was the one making the call.
“How busy are you this weekend?”
“Kinda.”
“Oh.” She was disappointed. She had hoped they could be together.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked quietly.
“It’s nothing—“
“Wrong. Talk to me, Bree.”
“I was sort of hoping I could see you. I have Friday off—“
“Come on down, angel!”
“But if you’re busy—“
“I meant I couldn’t fly up there. I’d be happy as hell to have you here. You don’t expect me to entertain you or take you places. You just want to be with me,” he sighed happily. Brianne was coming without being asked. “Tell me what flight to book.”
“But this is my idea.”
“Don’t quibble, baby. I got the means. And I want you here.”
“Okay. I’ll call you later with the flight information.”
“Bree, what’s wrong? I can hear it in your voice. Talk to me, baby.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just missing you. It’s been a while. I don’t know. Maybe I feel sex deprived or something.”
He laughed at that. “The one-eyed crotch monster can take care of that.”
Brianne giggled. “I certainly hope so.” Ever since she’d gone on the pill, her hormones had been jumpy – that and the fact she was keeping it secret from Josh had left her in turmoil.
“But, baby, it can’t be sex you miss.”
“Don’t be too sure.”
“Can’t be. We’ve never had sex.”
“We haven’t?”
“We’ve made some wild, fantastic love, but we’ve never had sex,” he reminded her gently.
She let out a gusty sigh. “I love you, Joshua.”
“I love you, too, baby girl,” he assured her.
“I’d better let you go.”
“You’re coming in Thursday night, right?”
“If that’s okay.”
“It more than okay, Bree.” He wished he knew what was really wrong; but she wasn’t sharing what ever it was. “Never mind you calling for flights. I’ll do it from here. You get off at three-thirty, right?”
“Mmm-hmm. Make the return flight for Monday evening if you want. Denise’ll cover for me if I do some nights for her.”
Some thing was really up! Brianne usually didn’t offer extra days! “I’ll see you in two days, baby – and I’ll hold you close until what ever it is leaves you,” he promised quietly.
Brianne felt close to tears. “I just need to be with you, Josh.”
And he heard the tears in her voice. “Yes, you do.”
“I should let you go. You probably—“
“I’ve got nothing more important going on. Talk to me, baby. About anything.”
For half an hour, they talked about their day-to-day life events. Nothing grand or exciting. The end of the day stuff couples shared. Brianne seemed less upset when she was ready to ring off.
“Thanks, Josh.”
“For what?”
“For being you. How did you know I just needed to chat?”
“Because I love you.”
“See you in a few days.”
“I can hardly wait, baby girl.” And maybe it was time he brought marriage up again.
At the airport, they spotted each other at the same instance. Brianne fairly flew into his arms. Josh caught her up in his arms, laughing.
“Hey, baby!”
“Hey, Josh!”
Their mouths met in a soft, lingering kiss.
“I’ve missed the taste of you,” she whispered as she trailed her lips against his jaw.
“Me, too, Bree.”
His breath was stolen from his lungs. Brianne was looking up at him with such sweet, total love; he wanted to melt at her feet. He had been half-afraid this was a farewell trip when he’d spoken to her earlier. She’d been so quiet and distant lately – He could almost feel her restlessness over the connections.
“Have I told you l love you lately?” he asked breathlessly.
“Not since yesterday,” she taunted.
“How remiss of me.” Josh brushed his lips over hers. “I love you so much, Bree.”
“I love you, Josh. Let’s get my bag and go home.”
His heart gave a mighty thump! Whether she realized it or not, she had just called his house ‘home’! “You got it, baby.”
They were barely inside the door when Brianne reached up for a hot, hungry kiss. Josh dropped her bag as his arms came around her, lifting her from the floor. Her arms went around his neck as their tongues dueled and mated. Predictably, she felt him grow hard.
“Maybe we should take this to the bedroom,” he murmured against her neck.
“I don’t want to wait that long.” She nipped at his lips. “Now, Josh.”
“But—“
“I’m wearing this skirt for a reason – easy access.”
With one hand, he grabbed a fist-full of fabric to raise her skirt, then pulled her legs around him. Then he was able to walk her to the back of the sofa. Setting her there placed her at just the right height. She had never been in this much of a hurry! With shaking hands, he unbuttoned her blouse, only to find she wore a front clasped bra. “You really did make this easy fro me.” Pressing the clasp, it popped to free her breasts. He cupped them, stroking the nipples with the pad of his thumbs.
Brianne reached for the fastenings of his jeans. Soon pants and boxer-briefs were shoved down to release his throbbing manhood. She stroked him, making him moan with pleasure.
Josh pulled her silky panties down her legs, dropping them to the floor. Stepping between her open thighs, he pushed into her, holding himself still as she adjusted to his invasion.
“Oh, that’s what I needed,” she purred against his throat as she licked at the pulse beat there. “Go on, lover.”
He began slamming into her, knowing by her whimpers of encouragement she was enjoying every thrust. God, she was so hot! So needy! “Baby, you’ve never been like this.”
“I’ve never been this horny.” She pulled his head down for a hard kiss. “Don’t ask. I don’t know.”
“I’m not complaining, baby.” He could feel her begin to tense and clench him. “You feeling me, baby girl?”
“Yes!”
“Then come for me, angel,” he urged. “Let me see you fly.”
“Josh! Ah!”
Josh increased his plunges until she was crying out his name, then he released himself within her trembling body.
For a moment, he rested his forehead against hers. Catching his breath, while trying to make little soothing noises for her. This wasn’t like his girl at all. And though he had enjoyed it thoroughly, he was a little worried. What had made her like this? Certainly not their separation. They had been a part for longer periods of time before. Pulling up his pants, he lifted her into his arms to carry her to the bedroom. Tenderly, he undressed her and slid her between the sheets. Brianne held her arms out to him. Once undressed himself, he came to her, feeling her arms close around him. Nuzzling her neck, he felt her stroke his hair.
“Baby girl, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
It probably was not a good idea, but he decided to voice his theory anyway. “Could you be pregnant?” It would be an answer to his prayers.
She shook her head. “No, baby, I’m not.”
“I wish you were,” he sighed wistfully. He put a hand over her flat stomach. “I could keep you then.”
This was the time, she thought. She should tell him the truth. She couldn’t get pregnant until she decided she wanted to stay with him. But could she bear the hurt in his eyes? There was no question of their love, just of compatibility.
“Want to go to sleep?” she asked. “Didn’t you say you have a busy day tomorrow?”
“I’m okay. Talk to me, baby.”
“About what?”
“Anything. Everything.”
“You’ve been busier than me.”
“Studio work.”
“You don’t think I’d be interested?
He tucked her hair back in a tender gesture. “It’s not that, Bree. You’re my escape from all that.”
“Do you need an escape, Josh?”
Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I do sometimes – and you’re the best thing for me when I feel that way. Your deciding to come here for a long weekend was an answer to a prayer.”
Brianne kissed him softly. “Then I’m glad I came.”
“When are you going to come and stay, angel?” he asked quietly. “I need you with me for more than a few days at a time. I need you with me all the time, Bree. When will that happen?”
“When we’re ready.”
“I’m ready now.”
“No, you aren’t. You haven’t met Daddy and Jeff.”
“That’s what’s holding you back?”
“Mostly.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead, murmuring, “Then a trip up north will be necessary soon.”
”I’d really like that, Josh.”
“You couldn’t just marry me and then take me up there?”
”No. I wouldn’t do that to them.”
He sighed. It had been worth a try. He decided on another subject. “How’s been work for you?”
“Challenging. They want to cut our funding. Your computer gift came just in time. That’s less dollars we’ll have to beg for.”
“If you ever need anything, let me know. I’m more than happy to help those kids.”
“You’re a nice guy, Joshua.”
He smiled down at her. “I try, baby. Then realized she was turning the conversation back to him. “How’s Big?”
“Big. I’m lucky he and Jeff like each other so much with all the time they get to spend together.” Brianne emitted a sad little sigh. “He’s getting old though. His breed isn’t long–lived. It takes forever for them to mature and by that time, they’re middle-aged. He’s getting gray and I know even with the best of care, he’ll only be around a few more years.”
“He’ll have the best care money can get him,” he assured her.
“Thanks, but I also know that if he’s suffering, I won’t keep him alive just for my sake. There’s his quality of life to consider.”
“I wish I could help, baby.”
She gave him a sweet smile. “You do. Just by being you.”
“It’s been a long time since someone really wanted me for just me.”
“Out of all the craziness you call a life, you’re all I want.”
“I know. And you can’t possibly know how much it means to me to know it’s me you want, not all the trappings.”
“That must be very difficult.”
“That’s why I still have my old friends. They knew me when I was that ‘skinny dorky kid’,” he teasingly reminded her of how she had described him as a teenager.
“And as I said, it came together so nicely.”
“What kind of kid were you at that age?”
“Quiet. Studious. I commuted from college to home, so there were never any of those wild college years for me. And Jeff being the Neanderthal he is, I never dated much. But he’s usually a pretty good judge of character. Problem is I ignore him, because he’s so over-bearing. Jeff knew Nick wasn’t the right kind of guy for me. The fact that I met Nick through him tosed in that extra element of guilt. When things went south, Jeff blamed himself.”
”What will he think of me?” And would her big brother influence her this time?
“Oh, he’ll look at the hair and the clothes and the career choice and wonder what I could possibly be thinking.
”And you want to subject me to that?”
“I’ve met your family.”
“Yeah, but mine didn’t have any preconceived notions. They knew I was crazy about you – and took it from there.”
“Jeff will ultimately judge you by the way you treat me.”
“Do I treat you the way you need to be treated, angel?” Josh traced a finger lightly over her brow and cheek. “Do I give you what you need?”
She nodded. “But not often enough.”
“I want to change that. You’ve got to know that.”
“I do, baby.”
“It’s getting late and you’ve had a long day.” Josh pulled the covers over them” “You need to get some sleep.”
”Josh?”
“What, Bree?” he asked as he switched off the light. Turning back to her, he felt her hands on his chest, caressing him in a way that would lead to something that would keep them awake quite a bit longer. “Baby, that feels so good.”
“Make love to me, Josh,” she whispered against his throat, licking at the pulse there. “I want us to make slow, bone-melting love.”
“We can do that.” He lowered his mouth so it was a mere fraction of an inch from hers. “I want to do that.”
It was like a preview of marriage that weekend. Josh would return home in the evening to find Brianne ready to prepare his dinner. After dinner, he’d go into his home studio to work and some times she would join him. Unbelievably, he worked well. She wasn’t a distraction. He was content and happy just knowing she was close at hand. When he finished, they would either watch television or go to bed.
“I want this all the time,” Josh told Brianne one night as they climbed into bed.
“What?”
“The way it’s been this weekend.
Settling into his arms, she asked, “How’s it been?”
“Great. Comfortable. Knowing you’re right here, waiting for me.”
“But a lot of the time, you aren’t even here yourself.”
”That’s going to be happening less and less. I mean, I love performing. But as I get older, I’ll want to focus on writing and producing. We’re getting older. We all have things we want to accomplish individually. Chris won’t be doing back-flips forever.”
“Is that your way of telling me you won’t be a neglectful lover?”
“Husband,” he murmured against her neck. “I won’t be a neglectful husband.” He trailed kisses along her shoulder. “And father. I want to be around for our kids like our dads have been there for us.”
It was difficult for her to imagine an older Josh, watching little league games.
One hand dropped to her breasts, cupping them tenderly. “Will you breast-feed, Bree? That’d be so awesome.”
“I always thought breastfeeding was a good bonding experience for mother and child.”
“Then these won’t be mine to play with anymore,” he mused, bending his head to lick at a beaded nipple.
“Sick, Chasez,” she teased.
Chuckling, he came back to kiss her thoroughly.
Brianne reached down to stroke his hardening length.
“Oh, baby girl, that feels so good,” he moaned.
“Want me to stop?”
“Yeah, in about a hundred years.” Despite his words, he took her wrist, effectively removing her hand. “I’ll lose my load in the sheets if you keep that up.”
Probing her gently with his fingers, he found her ready for him. “Baby, you want me now?”
“Oh, yes!”
In a slow glide, he sank into her waiting, wet heat. He groaned at the pleasure being buried within her always gave him. “If I live forever, I’ll never get used to how good I feel when I’m in you, all hot and wet and tight. It’s like we were born to fit just like this.”
Brianne pulled his head down for a lingering kiss. “Maybe we were.”
“I want you to stay, baby,” Josh told her as she packed for her return trip home.
“Josh, don’t. You know we’ve got work to do first.”
“Seeing your family.”
She nodded. “That’s priority one.”
“Real soon.”
“Then we’ll talk about getting married in serious terms.”
“You mean you aren’t serious now?”
“I don’t think you are.”
He took her shoulders in hand and turned her to face him. “How can you say that? I ask all the time.”
“But you know what the sticking point has been and you’ve done nothing about it – for months.”
“So, you think I don’t really love you.”
“Loving me and making me a permanent in your life happen to be two different things.”
“No, they aren’t.”
“Yes, they are. You’ve been in love before.”
“It’s never been like this, Bree. What’s going on? When you wanted to come this weekend, first I was sure you were going to dump me. Then you acted like my sweet wife for a couple of days, making me crave it for every day. Now, I feel like you’re still ready to bolt.”
Brianne instead of arguing, wrapped her arms around his middle, laying her head on his chest. “I don’t know what’s happening with us, Josh.”
He held her close. “It’s because we’re apart so much. That’ll change and you won’t have questions. I love you, baby and I do want to marry you. I feel a wedding ring would do wonders for what ails you.”
“Then you know what you have to do to put it there.”
“And I’ll do it.”