Just Two More Days...(attn: Drev, private)
Wren sat on the couch hunched over the coffee table going through RSVP's one last time. It was a much shorter list than she expected, but that was ok, she could deal with that. She sighed softly at the one returned invitation, but there was nothing she could do about it ow, it was the only address she had for Shay. She'd tried calling, but her phone had been turned off for over a week now. She was worried for her friend, but unfortunately had to push it to the back burner for a little while.
The caterer's list sat below the guest list, and below that was the dace roster. A great many of her friends were in town for this thing. They had rehearsed for several hours today in her three day finished studio, and were all safely tucked in bed at the Piazza. It was an extravagant expense, but Drev had wanted her friends to be impressed so he was footing the bill, telling her that he was being a patron to the arts and to think about it as a donation to The Studio. She'd laughed as, he'd intended and let it go. It was no use arguing with him anyway.
Beside her party lists were the files for her new clients. That stack was much thicker than she expected it to be and she was incredibly excited about that. She had twenty pre-registered, paid in full clients, twelve pre-registered clients with just registration fees, and five that had filled out the form but not set the payment.
So far everything was looking up up up and they got just a little better when the front door opened to admit the love of her life.
"I'm in the living room." She called out and went back to her lists.
It felt kind of strange, having someone specific to buy gifts for during the holidays. When was the last time he had a "significant other" to buy for? Too damn long, that's for sure. Truth be told, Drev was having a blast buying stuff for Wren. He'd been picking things up since well before Thanksgiving, squirreling them away. He'd spent several thousand dollars already, but he didn't care. So far he had things ranging from a warm pair of socks to a 1-carat diamond necklace. And he wasn't done. Not even close. He was working on renting a condo somewhere in the Caribbean for a week or two, and he'd continue to pick up little things that he thought she'd like. And of course, it would be worth every single penny when he saw her face on Christmas.
What have you done to me, Wren, he thought with a chuckle.
The chest locked, he pushed it back into the closet and hung up his jacket. He was wearing "the uniform" as Wren liked to call it: worn-out jeans, a gray heavy metal t-shirt that used to be black, a white long-sleeve undershirt, and his dreads tied back. He left his black Doc Martens by the bed. He went out into the living room and sat down next to Wren.
He wasn't going to interrupt her, but having been thinking about buying gifts for her and now seeing her beautiful face and ever-arousing body, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. His lips found whatever skin was accessible and moaned his greeting.
"You seem satisfied with yourself. What have you been up to?"
She set her pen down and snuggled into his hug. She liked the feel of him and her body was tired from rehearsals. She hadn't even bothered to change from the yoga pants, dance tank and zippered hoodie she'd left the Studio in.
"Do you still need to take a shower?" he asked hopefully. The thought of her body all wet and soapy made his excitement throb again. The closer he got to her, the more he wanted her. It was distracting sometimes, but right now he hoped he could indulge himself.
She grinned down at him and pressed her lips to his. Her muscles ached, in a way they hadn't since she left school and she found she missed the ache, but also she didn't relish it all that much either. She hoped Drev would indulge her just a little before they made love. She needed the extra bit of TLC, just as much as she needed the sex.
"C'mon, let's go get clean."
She crawled off his lap, gave her papers a little nudge into a neat pile and headed into the bathroom.
Drev helped to remove the last bits of her workout clothes, then pulled her naked flesh against his own. He found her lips again, and couldn't help but start the massage already. His strong hands worked the muscles in her lower back, gently but firmly. His hands moved up her back slowly, kneading the tight muscles as he kissed her. He rubbed her neck and shoulders for a moment, then managed to break the kiss.
"Come on," he said with a soft smile, and led her into the steaming shower.
Their love making was gentle ad amazingly satisfying. Wren always marveled at the things Drev made her feel every time they crawled between the sheets. She had never known her body could feel those thing, or that her heart could be so full. Drev literally worshiped her and she had always laughed at that description when used in the romance novels she liked to read, but now, now she understood what those women were talking about.
She returned his worship with her own version. In the months they had been together she had learned not to be afraid of a man's body. She had learned the joys of exploring someone who loved you and that sex was not just rudimentary rutting, but something warm beautiful and loving. Drev had given her life and confidence, and she could look back at her past and feel nothing but pity for the men that had hurt her. She could not forgive them, not yet, but she pitied them. She no longer hated them and was no longer afraid. Her fears were no longer centered around men and pain. Instead she could fear failure, and the loss of a loved one like a normal person and it liberated her. Liberated her in her daily life and in the bedroom with Drev.
They lay entwined in each others arms, the black silk of Drev's sheets tangled around them and resting across their hips in a semblance of lending warmth. She ran her fingers across his chest, making small patterns that traced the lines of well formed muscles. His hand moved up and down her back and she was content to lay there until sleep claimed her, but it was not in the cards for her this evening. Her brain had left the bedroom and was back on the stack of papers on the coffee table. She had planned everything down to the last detail, and everything was on target, but she still could not just put everything down and leave it be. She wanted to, but didn't know how.
She could let Drev keep her in bed for the rest of the night, or perhaps he would take her out of the house and away from her lists and files. She doubted any of it would work though. Not until the party was over and her studio was opened anyway. Sighing softly she closed her eyes and snuggled closer, determined to leave it be, at least for now.
Wren was the first woman that he could remember with whom the sex had actually gotten better over time. Most of the time there was a little improvement as he and his partner-at-the-time got to learn each others' bodies. But that usually only lasted a couple weeks or a month, then began to get stale. He was up for trying almost anything, but not a lot of girls have been as open as he.
With Wren, though, their lovemaking only ever got better. He'd enjoyed Wren from the first moment, but since then she's only grown more comfortable and confident. Where before he had to be careful what he did and how he did it, now Wren would take the lead sometimes, guiding him where she wanted, using his body with determination. He was proud of how well she'd gotten over her fears and inhibitions, and loved her all the more for it.
He pulled her tighter against him, and felt tension in her muscles. "Is something on your mind?" he asked in an exhaustion-induced whisper, and kissed the warm, smooth skin of her breast.
Her body began to feel restless and she wiggled around until she was comfortable again, but it didn't last very long. She turned onto her back and gave an exasperated sigh. She hated that her nerves and worry had ruined the mood of their love making.
"I'll be glad when this is over and I can get on with the important things."
She padded naked and barefoot to her bedroom and pulled thick black tights, wool socks, panties and a bra from one drawer, and a close-fitting baby doll t-shirt from another, and tossed them on the bed. From her closet she pulled jeans, a peacock colored sweater, and black wool lined Uggs. They joined the underthings on the bed. She dressed as quickly as she could, the went into the bathroom to brush out her still slightly damp hair. She came out of the bathroom with a smile.
"Ok, I'm ready. Maybe we could find some place to eat while we're out. I forgot to eat dinner and I'm kinda hungry."
"Yeah, food sounds good," he said with a smile, helping her into her coat. He put his leather jacket on while she finished bundling up, stuck his hands in a pair of fingerless gloves, and pulled a black stocking cap down over his head. It rested just above his eyes, and his dreads hung down like tentacles. He offered her his arm and they left the warm comfort of the condo.
The air was definitely cold, but it felt distant to Drev. It felt refreshing. His legs were still a little rubbery, but after just a few steps, he felt the strength returning. "Where do you want to eat?"
"I don't care, someplace with comfort food. Like soups and fried things."
Wren let her head drop to Drev's shoulder as she clung to him. Her mind had let go of her troubles in the face of the wind and it felt good to let him lead her down the road. After a couple of blocks they took a left turn and headed to what had become a favorite spot of Wren's. It was a simple little restaurant that served typical New England fair, along with some regional specialties and a few of the owners favorite recipes from around the world. The music was good, the atmosphere cozy and the prices reasonable. Lucky's Place, sounded perfect to her chilled fingers and hungry stomach.
against him, he knew she spotted a place she liked. He steered them for the door and held it open for her.
The warm air in the restaurant felt almost too hot to Drev, compared to the cold outside. "Is this going to be one of the times I get to see you pig out?" His smile was bright and mischievous. He actually enjoyed seeing Wren pig out; it meant that she was comfortable enough with him to let down yet another barrier.
Her shocked mouth broke into a smile as they found a table and pulled the menus from their holders. A waitress would be along soon to take their drink order, but it always took a few minutes for her to arrive. That was something about Lucky's all the servers were women. She didn't know if that was on purpose or if that was just who applied, but it fit in with the feel of Lucky's and so Wren never minded.
"Everything sounds good to me tonight. I know I want some of their chili, and maybe I'll have the cornbread chicken pot pie, but the shepard's pie sounds good too. What about you?"
Wren studied the menu flipping it back and forth trying to decide what sounded best, as the waitress approached their table.
"Hey, you two. What can I get ya ta drink?"
Wren looked up and smiled into the heavily painted face of their server. "Hey Julie. I want a cup of hot chocolate and a glass of lemon water, please."
"I don't know... I have a hankering for a big piece of grilled cow," he said as he looked through the menu. After a moment, he decided that the traditional burger and fries sounded just about right, so we put down his menu. The girl came back with their waters, but the hot chocolates would be another minute or two.
"How'd your day go today? Not too much stress, I hope."
"Not any more than usual. The choreography is rather simple for the dancers so that's not difficult, what's difficult is figuring out who's going to dance where. I'm not sure if the protective plastic for the dance floor is going to look nice and if the dancers will be able to dance on it. It goes down in the morning before rehearsals so we'll give it a try at our last rehearsal. If it doesn't work out then the party will have to be barefoot and I'll need to figure out the logistics of that. I'm telling you, Drev, Monday can not come soon enough for me."
Julie returned with their hot chocolate complete with a small pile of mini marshmallows on top.
"What can I get'cha tonight?"
"Oh, um I want a bowl of chili, a baked potato with everything and a grilled cheese, please."
"You want onions on the chili?"
"Oh, no thanks."
"Sure thing"
"Ready for vacation so soon?" he asked, carefully sipping the hot chocolate. In his gift-buying excitement, Drev hadn't considered the likely possibility that Wren wouldn't be able to take two weeks off to go be lazy on a beach with him. Hmm.
"We could take a couple weeks and go be lazy on a beach somewhere," he suggested in a jovial tone, though the question held more weight for him than he let on.
"I would love to. I have intro classes for the next two weeks then I'm closing the Studio for the last two weeks of the year. It's in the contracts and I figure I need to make sure I take time off for myself. So I plan to close for Easter, the last two weeks of August until the Tuesday after Labor day, Thanksgiving, and then the last two weeks of the year."
She sipped at her chocolate again, letting one of the marshmallows slide into her mouth.
"I think it would be fun to spend Christmas on the beach. Where did you have in mind?"
He smiled at her for a moment, then the grin slipped a bit. "You seriously want to do this? It kinda doesn't seem right, running off when you're just getting started...."
"The Studio will be closed anyway, and Joey will be here to keep an eye on things. I think getting away is exactly what I need right now. This is only my second Christmas away from home and that rather stresses me more than I like to admit. So throwing on a bikini and basking in the December sun on some tropical island sounds absolutely perfect."
She gave her hot chocolate another stir and sipped from it. She really missed her mom and had only been to see her once since moving to Nachton. She had thought to go home for Christmas this year, but still wasn't ready to be her new self in front of her brothers. She still feared them just a little.