Love and the White Wolf - Book 1

14. The Honeymoon Part 2 - Wakanda

We received word from T'Challa that his final meeting at the U.N. would be in the morning. Our pickup time was arranged for 2 pm. This gave us plenty of time to relax, pack and have some lunch. Or it would have if we hadn't received a phone call from Gus inviting us to breakfast with him and his wife. We couldn't say no as we truly enjoyed their company. They were to pick us up in an hour so we quickly showered and packed what we could before heading down to the front of hotel.

Gus and Maria pulled up exactly on time and he drove to a diner in Brooklyn Heights. We had to wait a few minutes for a table as the place was packed but once we were seated the service was fast and we placed our orders within minutes.

"You've got to stop taking so much time off from work, Gus," remarked James. "You might get fired."

"That won't happen," laughed Maria. "He owns the cab company and is supposed to be retired but showing you two around has been the first he's taken time off in a year."

We both looked at Gus and laughed with them.

"Well, thank you for doing that," I said. "We've truly enjoyed your help and your company."

"We just wanted to tell you the same," said Maria. "You're good kids, both of you. We think you've got the makings of a long and happy marriage."

I wanted to jump up and give them both a big hug and kiss but our food arrived. It was hot, tasty, and too much for me to handle. James finished my plate as well as his which amazed Gus. Maria explained about James metabolism and how it kept him fit. James did add that he worked out every day anyways.

"I'd like to see that," said Maria wistfully, then realized she said it out loud. "Oops, sorry Gail. I'm old, not dead, and James, you're definitely a looker."

"Thank you, Maria," he rewarded her with his brilliant smile. "I think you're pretty awesome, too."

Gus smiled at this flirtatious exchange as did I. He knew based on the time he spent with us that James and I were devoted to each other. As I looked at our new friends I hoped that they were right about our chances of a happy marriage. Life without James was unthinkable to me. When they dropped us off they extended an invitation to stay with them the next time we came, even with a baby in tow. They already had six grandchildren and would be happy to be surrogate grandparents for ours. It was the kindest thing they could have said to both of us and we both teared up. After they dropped us off we stood on the sidewalk and watched their car disappear into the distance before returning to our room.

As we packed I checked the drawers for leftover clothing. In one of them was a case full of sex toys. I was a little surprised and recognized the padded handcuffs from the day before sitting in the case.

"James, what's this?" I asked as neutrally as possible.

"They were supposed to be gifts for the stag and stagette that we didn't make," he blushed slightly as he answered. "I was supposed to share this with you but I was actually quite uncomfortable about it. I'm still a man of the 40's in some ways and most of these were over the top."

I looked over them and didn't recognize what most of them did. As I didn't have a lot of sexual experience prior to meeting James I had never got into that side of things. But I knew someone who did, Alison. She had tried a lot of things in college. I shared my thoughts with James and found that he had never envisioned Alison as having that much of an adventurous appetite.

"We should mail most of it back to her," I said.

"Most?" he arched an eyebrow as he replied. "What would you want to keep?"

"The vibrator, for starters," I began. "It should come in handy when you're on a longer mission."

He smiled and acknowledged the sensibility of that choice. He pulled out the cuffs.