by Dee Dawning
His grin was endearing. "Yesterday was da first time you said ya loved me and dat makes it easier to ask a question I've been meaning to ask you."
What a sweet man. They make love for the first time and what does he think is most important? That she told him she loves him. She lovingly caressed his cheek. "What's that?"
He lifted her hand and leaned down to kiss it. Then to her shock, he knelt. "Cheryl Alpern, love of my life, will you be my wife?"
She was too stunned to answer.
Thinking the worst, he said, "I understand if ya don't wanna, since I don't have a permanent job, but I'm working at it. I have an interview with a Dallas TV station next week en I have an open job offer from a Louisiana Televangelist in Baton Rouge."
She felt the bubbling of emotion in her chest, first, then the pain in her sinuses before the tears flooded forth. She rose, pulled him up and squeaked, "Yes."
"What?"
Her arms pulled him tight as tears deluged his shoulder with water. "I said yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"
He leaned back. "Really?"
"Really. I love you. How does Cheryl Parkson sound?"
"Pretty damned good. Correction, I just decided today is da best day of my life."
Cheryl laughed. Suddenly, she had the urge to be engulfed by Tommy's large hands. "Well, it's not exactly my worst day. Hurry up and finish eating. I feel like celebrating—in the bedroom.
He pushed his plate away. "I'm not hungry for food anyway."
She frowned. "No?"
"No really. I want ta try eating something else."
Cheryl raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"You!"
* * * *
"God dammit. Why'd you cum in my mouth? I asked you not to mess up my hair or make-up and who the fuck is Cheryl?"
Jamie Lee was mystified. "What are you talking about?"
She rose and stared at him. "When you came, you said Cheryl twice."
He shrugged. "She was a girl I went with for awhile."
She placed her hands on her hips. "Well, you must not like her much."
"Why?"
"You really don't remember what you said?"
He shook his head.
"I gotta go. I'll fix my hair and make-up at the studio." She picked up her purse and walked out, without a kiss or goodbye.
Jesus fucking Christ, what did I say?
* * * *
Jamie Lee was concerned. Not only had Missy avoided him by spending most of her time in her office, she hadn't said a word to him, made dinner or lunch for him. On top of that, she'd resisted his amorous advances.
Playing a video game, his mind churned as he did a slow burn. Fuck this! Who the fuck does she think she is? "Arrgh!" Suddenly, he rose and smashed the controls with his two hands. Heading toward her office with a tight-jawed grimace on his face, he planned to show her who was boss.
As he walked though the doorway, she looked up. Don't screw up what you've accomplished so far. Remember, you draw more bees with honey than vinegar.
Dwarfed by her oversized rosewood desk, her eyes were narrow and fiery, her nostrils flared. She looked extraordinarily beautiful. "What do you want?"
"I want you to come to bed with me."
"So you can shout out some girl's name. I don't think so."
"Babe, it was an accident. What did I say, anyway?"
Her eyes thinned even more as she snarled, "You said, 'so tell me, Cheryl, who's the cock sucker, now. I'm going cum right down your throat' and you did, only I'm not Cheryl."
Jamie Lee was stunned by the slip he'd made. "I thought I called her name twice?"
"You did. A little earlier you said, 'Cheryl, you're such a cunt.'"
He circled around her chair and started kneading her shoulders with his strong fingers. "Well, she was a cunt, but you're not. You're my sweet baby. I promise I'll never say anyone's name again, in the throes of passion, but yours and it'll be said with love."
Her head went backward and she sighed. He sensed her muscles relax as a whimper of pleasure echoed from her throat. "Mmm, that feels good." Her head lolled around so he concentrated on her neck. "Mmm, that feels good, too! How can you be such an ass sometimes and so sweet the next?"
Though she couldn't see it, he shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I'm two people in one."
"Well, I like this one."
He stooped beside her and turned her executive chair to the left until she faced him. With her leg on each side of him, he ran his large hands up the inside of her thighs, under her skirt and rubbed her sensitive bud with his thumb through her silk panties. She closed her eyes and moaned.
"You know what I'd like to do?"
"I can guess. What?"
"I'd like to shave your pussy clean, and then spend the afternoon licking it."
She stood, helped him up, and embraced him. "All afternoon?"
He nodded. "Unless my tongue gets tired."
For the first time, she smiled. Then she took his hand and led him toward the door. "I'd like that too."
Chapter Seven – Cheryl and Tommy Marry
Keep a good attitude and do the right thing even when it's hard. When you do that you are passing the test.
Rev. Joel Osteen
Tommy was so excited he headed straight to Cheryl's parents' house.
Parking in the driveway, he flung the driver's door open and without even shutting it, rushed to the front door. When his fiancé opened the door he pulled her into his arms shouting, "I got it. I got it." Then his mouth crushed against hers in a passionate kiss.
When he pulled away, she asked, "Got what?"
With his arms around her waist, he leaned back to let his eyes focus. "The job as a camera man at KXAS TV Dallas. I start next Tuesday."
Cheryl's eyes expanded to the size and shape of silver dollars. "Oh, Tommy that's exciting, but…"
His eyebrows furrowed. "But what?"
Her cheek rested on his chest. "That means, you'll be moving away."
He shook his head. "It's only a hundred miles and I want ya to move there wit me."
Her nose and mouth scrunched. "But Tommy, My classes start at the community college in two weeks."
Tommy wrapped his large hands around her arms at the elbows. "See if ya can get your money back. You could enroll in college there."
Cheryl whined, "But Tommy, we're not married."
"I thought 'bout that. I don't have to be there for a week. If we took turns driving, we could get to Las Vegas in one day, get married, honeymoon there for three or four days en drive back in time for me ta get to work. What'dya think?"
She looked off as if she was thinking. "I don't know. It's all so sudden."
"All ya have to know is dat we love each other and we need to be together."
* * * *
She opened her mouth and looked upward. She'd never thought about running away to get married, but it would be so much easier. And they could be together right away. She gazed straight into his eyes and smiled warmly. "Okay, but let's take my car. It's newer and gets better gas mileage."
"Good idea, pack a bag. Den ya can follow me to my place before we go."
Surprise etched her face as her eyebrows rose into her forehead. "You want to go now?"
"May as well. The sooner we get there the longer our honeymoon would be."
She thought about it. She'd never done anything so…spontaneous, but it sounded like fun and they'd be together immediately. "All right, let's do it. You get going and I'll pick you up in." She glanced at her watch. "In twenty minutes."
As Tommy drove off, she rushed into the kitchen, and scribbled a note on the scratch pad next to the telephone. Then she raced into her bedroom and tossed as many clothes and toiletries in one suitcase as would fit. Before she shut the lid, she dropped her life savings—nineteen hundred dollars—in it."
She felt an adrenalin rush as she thought about what they were doing, hurried to her car and took off.
She smiled. When she returned she would be
Mrs. Thomas Parkson.
* * * *
When Jamie Lee ambled into the Soldiers of the Lord offices from the elevator bank, Gwen looked up and smiled. "Hi, handsome."
He puckered his lips and hitched a kiss in her direction. "Hi, sexy."
Her smile brightened. "Go on in. He's expecting you."
As Jamie Lee entered the reverend's office, he rose and offered his hand. "Thanks for stopping by. Have a seat."
"Thank you, sir."
The reverend smiled. "I think since you're going to be my son-in-law we can dispense with formalities. Please call me Sonny."
"Thank you. I'll remember that." Jamie Lee sat and looked around.
"Would you like something to drink, coffee, orange juice, water?"
He lifted his left leg and crossed it over his right knee. "Orange juice would be nice, thank you."
The reverend picked the phone and punched in his secretary's number. "Gwen, would you bring Mr. Vincent an orange juice and get me a refill. Also hold my calls."
He said, "Thank you," hung up and turned his attention to Jamie Lee. While he'd been talking to Gwen, he'd apparently noticed Jamie Lee looking around. "You've never been here before, have you?"
"No, sir I haven't. Quite a view. Mighty impressive."
"Thank you. A lot of hard work took place before getting to this point and if you live up to my expectations, you'll get an office like this, next to Michael's. Now, the reason I asked you here is—"
He paused as Gwen came in and handed the fresh cup of coffee to the reverend. "Here's your coffee sir."
"Thanks Gwen."
Turning toward Jamie Lee, she flashed a seductive smile and handed the glass of orange juice to him. "Here's your fresh squeezed orange juice, Mr. Vincent."
Taking the glass, he felt a jolt of desire as his fingers accidently rubbed against hers. "Thank you Gwen."
She puffed her sizable chest out. "You're welcome Mr. Vincent. Just let me know if you want anything else." He watched out of the corner of his eye as she sashayed out of the king-sized office.
When she'd left, Sonny resumed. "The reason I asked you here is we have reconstructed your background to an acceptable level."
Jamie Lee frowned. "Acceptable level? What does that mean?"
"It means, while you're no saint, we've changed your police record until the worst thing against you is the bench warrant for two unpaid traffic tickets and we found you a father.
"Yeah, who?"
"William Stewart."
Jamie Lee's brow furrowed and he pursed his lips. "My second cousin? Isn't that incest?"
* * * *
She smiled broadly, as she opened the door. "Why Sonny, what a pleasant surprise." She stepped back away from the opening. She batted her lashes and said, "Come in please."
He stepped in and walked to the couch they'd shared a week previous.
She straightened up the pillows and picked up the open newspaper on the coffee table. "Would you like some tea?" She asked as he sat down.
He glanced up at her. She was dressed neat and prim, in a peach blouse, ivory slacks, and open toed three-inch sandals, however, instead of her raven colored hair being down, this time she wore it up. "I don't suppose you have coffee?"
She cocked her head inquisitively. "Would instant be all right?"
He nodded. "That would be fine."
As she spun and headed toward the kitchen, he felt a stirring in his loins from her divinely shaped posterior and wondered if she would be amenable to a reprise of their liaison of last week.
A minute later, she returned with two cups of coffee and sat next to him.
As she handed one cup to Sonny, she inquired, "So, is your limo driver around?"
He took a sip of coffee, then answered her, "No, I drove myself this time. I hope my Lexus won't draw any undue attention."
"It shouldn't. I wasn't expecting to see you again. What brings you here?"
Sitting on the edge of the couch, he angled toward her so he could better see and talk with her. "Two things, first, why didn't you tell me the boy you ran off to California with was your cousin?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Does it matter?"
He smiled. "Normally I couldn't care less about your relatives, but this one we were going to try to make Jamie Lee's father."
Her lips formed a tight-lipped grin. "Hmm, sorry."
"Don't worry, we'll figure something out."
Her brows rose. "What's the second thing you came for?"
He laid his palm on the upper third of her thigh and squeezed. "Honestly, you. I can't get you out of my mind."
She smiled and rubbed a finger along his lips. "I did have a lot of fun with you." She grasped the hand on her thigh and rose. Tugging his hand in an upward direction, she snickered. "This time, I get to be on top."
* * * *
Sonny sighed. "Connie, you are amazing. If your son is half as sexual as you are, I can see why my daughter is so consumed with him."
She laughed. "Jamie Lee would be very angry if he knew I've been to bed with you."
"Really, you're a grown woman."
"I know, but he's very possessive—irrational. Tell me, do you really need to find a father for Jamie Lee?"
"I'm afraid I do. We have to make his background normal. A few blemishes are fine, even good since the public doesn't seem to like perfection, but being born out of wedlock, especially not knowing who the father is, is more than a blemish."
"Well, I have an idea."
An eyebrow dipped. "Go on."
"I don't know if this would work, but the leader of the commune they took me to, raped me before he sent me home. Jamie Lee would still be born out of wedlock, but at least he'd have a father and a good explanation."
Sonny's eyes narrowed. "I like that. It paints poor little Jamie Lee as a victim of a crime. Being the son of a rape victim sounds ten times better than a fatherless bastard. What's more, the right to life crowd would laude you for not terminating the pregnancy. What's this man's name and where was the commune?"
"The commune set just outside of Fresno. I think they called it Loving Ranch and I didn't know his name, but everybody called him Rance."
* * * *
Once Tommy and Cheryl obtained the necessary marriage license from the Clark County Clerk, they tied the knot in one of the ubiquitous Las Vegas wedding chapels. After spending the afternoon in their Circus Circus honeymoon suite doing what honeymooners do, they were famished, and visited the restaurant, planning to use one of the coupons from their honeymoon package.
While glancing through the menu, Cheryl began to look through her purse. "Damn it, I left the coupon on the night stand."
She started to get up, but Tommy stayed her with a hand. "Don't trouble yourself sweetheart. I'll get it. Go ahead and order. I'll have the French dip."
A couple minutes later, when the waitress arrived, she ordered. When the food arrived several minutes later, her brand new husband hadn't yet returned. When he'd been gone twenty minutes, Cheryl picturing him mugged and hurt in a hallway, she became worried, so she went to the hostess desk. "Hi, I need to find my husband. Is it all right if I leave my purse here while I look for him so you know I'll be back?"
The bright-eyed middle-aged lady smiled. "You go ahead honey, I trust you. And make sure you check those tables."
Cheryl looked around confused.
The lady chuckled. "In the casino—the twenty-one tables. Ninety-nine percent of the time that's where they are."
"Thanks, but this is our first time here. My husband doesn't gamble."
The lady patted her on the hand. "Whatever you say, honey. You go find that man of yours."
Shaken, she rushed up to their room. The coupon sat untouched on the nightstand. She grabbed it and, panicked, she rushed to the elevator bank. After what seemed like an eternity, she rushed from the elevator lobby into the casino. One by one, she scrutinized the hundred or so blackjack tables. Suddenly, she saw him walking like a zombie in the aisle
that led to the restaurant. She ran after him. "Tommy. Tommy, I'm here."
When he turned, his appearance scared her. His skin appeared blanched, his eyes seemed glazed over, and he refused to meet her gaze. As she dashed up to him, tears fell from his eyes. "I lost it all. Everything I brought. Everything I have. Two thousand dollars. Our rent money, our honeymoon money. You married a fool."
For a split second she agreed, then banished the thought. This was the man she wanted, the man she loved. She took his hand, rose onto her tip toes, and kissed his cheek. "C'mon, our dinner is waiting."
"I'm not hungry."
"Well at least let me give them the coupon and leave a tip."
He nodded and they went back into the restaurant.
"Have a seat. Let me eat just a little of my BLT sandwich."
"How can ya eat? I just blew our honeymoon."
"I brought some money."
His eyes widened. "You did? How much?"
She glanced around and spoke under her breath. "Nineteen hundred."
His mouth fell open. "Let me have it. I need to win our money back."
"Absolutely not. You'd only lose it, too."
That night, Cheryl woke from a noise in the bathroom. She opened her eyes, but, except for sliver of light that escaped from under the bath door, it was dark. It was too dark to see if Tommy was in bed, but she knew he wasn't. She slipped out of bed and eased over to the bathroom. She opened the door slowly and saw the contents of her purse dumped onto the vanity top. In the mirror she could see him rifling through her suitcase, which he'd set on the toilet.
"What're you doing?"
Tommy had the look of a cheating husband caught in the act and in a way, he was. "I, umm… needed to borrow a couple hundred to win our money back."
Growing angrier by minute she rushed in. "I thought you were smarter than that." Pushing him away from her things, she zipped up her suitcase and turned to him. "What would you have done if you'd lost my money? Sell my car? And then what? I'm too young to be a cocktail waitress. Maybe, I could be a topless dancer. Hell, why not a hooker?" She started to put her things back in her purse.
"What're ya doing?"
