Hey guys, I am so proud of all of you, the last time I checked, Chapter Thirty One had 23 votes. Incredible. <3 I just want to give mad props to RosiePaige who took the time to make me a cover/banner, which is shown on the side. If you'd like to make me something like this, feel free to, I love them(: I'm really glad you guys liked the previous chapter, and I'm sure you all are dying to see what happens next. ;D Hella sick song on the side, and author's note the end, remember! Sorry if this chapter is a little eh, I didn't have time to edit too throughly);
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Wednesday evening, I spent the night at Marshall's house hastily, and while it was unplanned and hurried, neither of us could bear to part, even temporarily. We slept in the nude, but our bodies remained disconnected because of how sore I had been as a result of our lovemaking. His arm draped around me protectively, our bodies sprawled in the middle of the vast bed, his toes curled against mine and rubbed unconciously while he slept. Taking in shallow breaths, his chest rose and fell, and I was left restless, body still throbbing with the disbelief of the previous few hours. I could still feel the tender kiss of his lips pressed against my own, and the gentle pressure of his palms on the skin of my sides and back, caressing the ink drawn into my flesh.
I closed my eyes and drifted off into slumber for maybe four hours. Then when the weakest sunbeam stretched through the balcony window and danced on the bed faintly, my eyes fluttered open and I crawled out of bed with the utmost care, so not to wake Marshall. I had work, and having promised myself that if I was to spend the night, I would leave early to make it on time. I wasn't about to slack out of an opportunity to raise money for my future.
I longed to stay with him, to dive back under the covers and feel him inside of me once more. But I accepted the possibility that if I missed work too frequently, I could be fired, and there was not much else for a young woman to do in North 8 Mile. So I dressed in my comfortably worn clothing, reminded myself to shower swiftly once I got home from purchasing the morning after pill I had promised Marshall, pinned my hair back messily, and snatched out a pen and slightly crumpled piece of paper from my purse.
Marshall,
I had to leave early; I had work. But I wish I could have stayed beside you for as long as possible. Text me or call me when you can. :)
-D.
P.S. I would have made breakfast for you like you did for me that one time, but I had to leave. :P
Smoothing out the crinkles in the paper, I tip-toed over to the area by the bedside and placed the note upon my pillow, where I was sure he would see it eventually. Glancing at my phone, I noted the time. It was 6:30, and it would take a decent amount of time for me to prepare for work, so bending my knees slightly to lower the creaking noises, I eased myself to his side.
He was peacefully asleep, and I caressed the knotted back of his neck with the graze of my fingertips. Bringing my lips to his temple, I kissed him lightly. I wanted to whisper my love to him, but when I went to speak those three words, my throat choked up, and I couldn't. I knew he wouldn't return it. Caught in the pleasure of slumber, he was achingly beautiful, even when he wasn't aware of his own looks.
Moving time-takingly to the doors, I clasped them shut behind me and descended the stairs. A muffled spoon against bowl sounded in the kitchen, and as I passed by, I caught a sight of Hailie seated, backpack by the legs of her stool.
"Morning," I whispered, smiling.
She glimpsed up, and flashed me a grin. "Hey, Dri. How did you sleep?"
She'd noticed my prescence in the house last night, after she, Whitney, and Laney had gotten home. By the time they arrived at the residence, our lovemaking was over and we were spread on top of plush towels out by the grand pool, completely clothed. The three of them had considerately left us alone so we could bond properly, and once we came inside, the cold becoming unbearable, the girls had already eaten dinner and were watching a movie in a seperate room. As a father, Marshall authoratively verified if they were full, and once the movie was over, Whitney was tucked into her bed, Hailie and Laney in their own private rooms. It was then that we warmed up homemade burgers that had been left over from a while or so ago, and following that, we retreated to his corridor for the night. The fact that I had not had a moment alone with Hailie to discuss the reason I dropped by in the first place was eating at me, and I decided to bring it up before I misplaced the thought.
"It was nice. How about you? You have school today? And oh, I need to talk to you about something."
"Yeah, it blows getting up so early. You're off to work? And yeah, sure, what is it?"
"Yeah, so yesterday, I actually dropped by to see you. I didn't mean to stay for so long and I was actually kinda shocked when your dad opened the door. I've been needing to talk to you about the party plans and I couldn't sooner because that would have made him suspicious."
"What is it, Dri?" Spooning cereal into her mouth, she chewed as her thin eyebrows burrowed thoughtfully together.
"It's about the decorations. I went to go look for the party streamers and I couldn't find blue ones. I tried calling you, but I didn't have your number so I had to drop by. And if your father brings it up with you, because I accidentally let it slip I came by to see you, don't say anything to him about it, okay?"
"Okay, I won't, but what did you tell him?"
"I just said I came by to see you. And nothing more."
"Oh, okay, that's good. Well here's my phone number so you can call me if you need anything else, alright?" She bent at the waist and retrieved a torn scrap of paper and a pen. Scrawling down her number, she pushed the paper into my hand.
"There. And what about the decorations? You didn't find them?"
"Yeah. And thank you."
"No problem. If you go the mall closest here, they have a store and it has all these party decorations. I'm positive they'd have blue too. Do you know which mall I'm talking about?"
"Yeah, yeah." Nodding my head affirmatively, I pictured the map of the shopping mall in my mind, and bobbed my head once more. "I'll get blue everything. Sounds good?"
"Yeah, that's great. You're going after work, right?"
"Yeah, I'm going to go today. And since it's Thursday, I should probably start gift-shopping for Marshall too."
"Do you know what you wanna get him?" Hailie dropped the pen back into the smaller pouch of her backpack and finished up her cereal. I heard the distant flush of the toilet upstairs, and I grimaced, hopeful that our event planned for Marshall wouldn't be tainted.
"Don't worry," she consoled, taking note of my anxious expression. "I told Whitney to go the bathroom before Dad takes us to school. She always forgets."
"Oh, okay. And no, I haven't really decided, but I have a feeling once I see it, I'll just know."
"That's great," she beamed, standing and taking her now empty bowl to the sink. "Everything seems to be working out perfectly so far."
"Oh my God, please don't jinx it," I begged supersticiously, chuckling. She emitted a small laugh too, and again I stole a glimpse at the time on my cell phone.
"Oh Christ, I should be going," I murmured absently, eyes still fastened on the screen.
"Okay well if you need anything, just text me or call me. And don't say anything to Dad, even if he bribes you. He's stubborn as hell sometimes."
"My mouth is shut. Have a good day at school, Hay." Drawing her in for a hug, I caught a whiff of her delicately scented lotion and the herbal shampoo she used. Her arms embracing me mutually, we both released hold and she led me to the front door politely.
"You too. I'll talk to you soon," she assured warmly.
With that last farewell, I spun on my heel and headed to my car, frantically rushing to make it home in time for my routine duties that took place before work.
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My plans to arrive neatly at work went relatively smoothly, and when I arrived, I was set busy directly. My knees buckled whenever my mind would drift to locked images in my mind of Marshall and several times I was caught unconciously smiling. If I closed my eyes and squeezed out reality, it was as if time had traveled back to last night, to the feel of his cool breath fanning over the stretch of my jaw.
Come the minute work ended, I was almost hurried to leave the building and make a needed trip to the mall in order to settle affairs for Marshall's stunning party. Popping into my car, I drove uninterupptedly back to my house, and when I entered the door, I saw that everything was as I had left it in the morning before I walked out frantically. Meaning the whole area was a god damn mess.
Before I could even step out of the house once more, my inner paranoia of filth sprung up and I was forced to delay my trip and instead, clean for a decent period of time. It was then that I also decided to dial Luna's number and speak to her. I knew she had been desperately awaiting news like the kind I had to offer, and I also had a topic secured in my mind that I also wanted to bring up.
Snatching up the dirty laundry scattered on the floor, I disgustedly held the articles of clothing with pinched fingers as I squished my phone between my ear and shoulder. A dial tone sounded as I waited for Luna to pick up, and in seconds, she did.
"Hey," she exclaimed. "What's up?"
"Hey Lu. Just cleaning the house, how about you?"
"Got off from work, hallelujah. You sound excited. Did something happen?" she teased before I had even hinted at the major event that had occurred last night.
"Oh my God, how did you know?"
"You underestimate me, Dri. I know you a hell of a lot better than you think. Now tell me what happened."
"Okay, okay. Well..." I began slowly. "Guess who's officially not a virgin anymore?"
"Oh...my...God."
"Is it really that surprising?"
"This is you we're talking about. You're the most innocent girl I know!" Exhaling a sharp gasp, she squealed. "Oh my God. I can't believe you fucked one of the hottest men of all time. If I didn't love you, I'd kill you."
"What can I say?" I joked. "I've only had one other relationship."
"Tell me how it was," she nearly implored. "Was he good? Did it hurt? Where did you do it? Did you use a condom?"
"One, I'd never had sex before that so I don't know if he was good, and that's so awkward to ask, Lu. Two, yeah, it hurt like a bitch. I bled a little. It felt like I was being split in half. Three, we did it poolside. No big deal." Smugly, I shrugged my shoulders as I tossed the items I was holding into a hamper positioned close to me. "And four, no, I took a morning after pill this morning."
She was silent, processing all the information. "Oh my God...I'm so happy for you!" As she laughed into the speaker, I heard another squeal of delight.
I chuckled as well. "Thanks. And now I need to ask you something." It seemed like a reasonable time to bring up the topic I could only confide in with Luna.
"Go for it, baby girl. You want some sex positions advice?"
"Um, no. Not quite yet," I smirked. "More like...I'm confused at where I am right now with Marshall."
"What do you mean?"
"Like we had sex and we do all these intimate things. I'm familiar with his daughters, he lets me come over to chill legitly whenever I want to, he's so romantic and dedicated...but we still haven't said I love you. And I know you told me not to worry about, but I can't not worry about it, because hearing that means a lot to me. You know?"
"Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. And I understand, because we have talked about this before. You just want something to prove to you this is real, right?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"Honey, all I can say is what I said before," she soothed. "You just have to wait. You can't make him say it, and I doubt it'll be worth shit if you force it out of him. If you want to hear him speak for himself and say it, you can only wait."
"I guess. I just kinda want to know if this is normal. How do relationships work? Is it sex first and then love? Or saying it and then sex?"
"Every relationship is different. And honestly though, I'm surprised he even opened up to you this much; like this is insanely close for him. I don't even know what you've done to him, this isn't like him at all. It's like Space Bound."
I ignored the confusing lingo she threw in there, and I decided to refer to it later if I was still interested. "I don't know...I think you're right. I'm kind of shocked he's so caring. I expected nearly the opposite."
"Are you happy with where your relationship is right now?" Luna asked.
And I pondered hard. He was more than I could have ever possibly wanted in a companion.
"Yes," I admitted honestly. "He makes my day, every day."
"Yeah, see? So don't worry about what he hasn't said. Think about all the sweet things he's said and done, and hold onto those. You'll never enjoy what you have now if you're always waiting for more. You know what I mean, Dri?"
"I do know what you mean," I confirmed softly, the realizations sinking in. Now that I had embraced, in a manner, the fact that the emotions leading to love could not be manipulated or controlled, I ultimately saw how needy I had been. But I wasn't to blame. I could sense he craved something more than just typical words and actions to secure our relationship down into stone as well.
"Just run with it. Every day might get you a little closer to it," she encouraged cheerily.
Smiling at her ability to raise my mood significantly, I decided to take her perspective on it, although a part of me would long for him in that way. "You're definately right. Thank you so much, Lu." Gazing around the room as I conversed with her, I was satisfied and standing, I retrieved my purse, preparing to leave the house.
"No problem."
Before I could bid her a good-bye, I heard the weak sound of her house phone ringing irritatingly and at a high volume. Muttering under her breath, she spoke sooner than I could.
"I got to go, Dri, someone's calling. I might text you later."
"Okay, bye Lu."
We hung up, our fingers disconnecting the calls at the precise moment and a mood of anticipation set into me, causing my heart to pulsate. I was about to go party-shopping for Monday evening. This was my chance to prove to Marshall my appreciation of everything. For the meaningful concert we attended together. For meeting his daughters. For saving me from a rape. For introducing me to his friends and being comfortable around me in general. For taking the time to repair our relationship when it seemed everything had simply been torn apart and our actions were irreversible. For always doing his best to maintain a tender touch and steady bond between the two of us. These recollections were all things I could've never imagined happening to me, of all people. There were only so many things I could attempt for him. This was one of them, and I was damn proud to give it all I could.
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The shopping center was near deserted for a sullen Thursday night, and I breezed through the mall Hailie had notified me of until I located the vast party store. Inside, it was packed with a variety of decorations, from solemn colors such as black and grey to more spontaneous shades, such as teal and pink sequins. The area of blue stood out effortlessly, and enthralled with what I was viewing so far, I grabbed up a customer-offered basket and moved through the aisles.
By the end of my short trip, my hand basket was crowded with various blue streamers and decorations, including amusing blue bags filled with confetti that would explode after you blew air into it and applied pressure. I checked out my items, and balancing a large plastic bag and my purse, strolled through the mall in order to cross the distance between me and my car.
In the corner of my eye, as I walked by a display representing a store, I saw what I'd been looking for to purchase as Marshall's gift. It was nearly too good to be true, and I halted dead in my step, whirling around and peering through the glass. I wasn't imagining it; it was definately there.
A surge of glee rolled through my stomach as I approached the glass so forwardly, my nose skimmed the cool surface. Fingertips resting on the display, I stared focusedly at the object. It was genuinely crafted, and although it brought back memories both of us could spare to recall, it showed him that we'd make it through the most dismal of times, and we always had so far.
I inspected it for a number of minutes, wanting his present to be the ultimate perfection, and when I was absolutely positive it was what I had envisioned in the first place, I proceeded inside and bought the object. It was small, but I could picture the stunned and joyfully facial expression he would have upon opening it.
Beyond content with my purchases, I left the mall area and made my way home. By the time I arrived in my abode, dusk had fallen gradually, and I threw together a hasty supper for one. Exhaustion set into my body, and after a heated shower, I redressed in a more sloppily casual pair of clothes and crawled into bed with a romance novel, tomorrow's work plans arranged precisely.
It was around 10:00 when my phone began to buzz. Anticipating Marshall's call, I stretched out my arm, grunting with effort as my fingers barely grazed the phone, but after scooting over and lifting my phone, I hit the 'talk' button and moved it to my ear. It was him. I knew it even before he had the chance to speak.
"Hey baby."
All the previous weariness I had had before melted away and my knees started to knock slightly with delight. His tone was silky and low, sounding as equally weak as I felt.
"Hey," I smiled shyly. "You sound tired. You okay?"
"I'm doing good. Had a long day, but it wasn't bad at all. I got your note, Dri. It was sweet." A pause and a deep, sensual chuckle. Those chuckles drove my hormones insane. "You should have woken me up before you left though."
"Why?"
"So I could have seen you and said good-bye."
"No, no," I chided softly. "You were fast asleep. And I was going to be late anyway. I didn't want to wake you up just to say good-bye."
"Oh, okay. And, are you feeling okay? Since last night?" he brought up, referring to the pain I'd experienced as he'd penetrated me.
"Oh, oh yeah. I'm okay."
"And you got the morning after pill?"
"Yeah, no worries. I took care of it."
"Okay, thank you. How was your day, baby?"
"Good." I was vague with my answer, but my fingers curled with sly elation.
"What did you do?"
"Just did some shopping after work, and I talked to Luna a little."
"Oh, that's good." An awkward pause as he decided on his next choice of words. "So guess what, Dri?"
"What?"
"I'm taking the girls to the zoo tomorrow, to the Detroit Zoo. And I was thinking it could be like a father-daughter thing with them, right? But they want you to come too. So it could be like, an outing with all of us, for the first time. If you wanna come though. I mean, a zoo isn't exactly the coolest shit ever, but the girls thought it would be fun." He had a nonchalant voice, and I could almost see him shrugging his shoulders with indifference while his cheeks brighened, telling a different story.
"Tomorrow, right?" I thought out.
"Yeah. The zoo opens in the morning, but it's only open until five in the afternoons. So is there anyway you can leave work early? We were planning on going there around two."
"I could manage that." This plan of sorts was something I'd wanted to participate in with the girls, and it gave me an oppurtunity to experience a whole new environment with them and be a part of their lives more frequently, if only for a few hours.
"Wait...you really want to come?" He seemed to be alarmed, disbelieving.
"Well, yeah, why not?"
"You don't mind being surrounded by a billion screeching kids, walking hella miles to go see animals you can see on the television, when half of the time they're sleeping and not even visible? I mean, I'm a dad and I still don't love the zoo." Another silky chuckle.
"If the girls want me to be there, I will be there," I simplified, smiling warmly to myself.
"You really will?"
"I really will, love. When and where do you wanna meet?"
"Let's meet at two. It only takes about ten minutes to get there. We'll come pick you up from your house, alright?"
"Alrighty."
"And Dri?"
"What?"
"First of all, get some rest, baby, I can tell you're tired. Second of all, thank you. This'll mean a lot to them. And to me too. I like having you around the girls."
"Soon as I can. And I like being around all of you. They're amazing girls."
"I know," he murmured. "And you're a pretty amazing girl too."
Folding up my romance novel, I placed it on my night stand, and stood drowsily, moving to the light switch mounted on the wall. With a flick, the light disappeared from the room, and I hobbled back to bed, positioning my body on the pillows and under the sheets. Easing my head onto the pillow, I held the clutched phone in my hand, the device still at my ear.
"I can hear you breathing," he remarked softly after a minute. "Reminds me of a few nights ago."
"How we slept," I commented sluggishly.
"I would have changed nothing," he reminded me before becoming caringly firm. "And as much as I want to talk to you, you need to go to bed. I can even see in my head exactly what you're doing right now."
"Oh really? What?"
"You're in bed. I can hear the sheets. And your eyes are so close to closing, they burn."
It was utterly well-predicted, and I beamed crookedly. "Nice guess," I complimented, awed.
"I know. I know you well. I'd know you anywhere. It doesn't matter what color your hair, your skin, your eyes, whatever. It's not about that. I can find you in a crowd. Just by the way I can predict you." He was becoming sleepy as well as I was, and stifling a yawn, a quiet set over us, our minds beginning to detach from our fading bodies.
"Marshall?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's go to bed. You hang up first."
"No. You first."
"No. You."
"I'll say good-bye and then you hang up."
"I'll say good-bye and we'll both hang up, okay?"
"Okay, Dri."
"Good-bye, Marshall."
"Good night."
And the muteness continued as we waited patiently, eyelids drooping over our eyes as we awaited the other to make the first move politely.
"Good-bye," he mumbled.
"Good-bye."
"Last good-bye for the night? Even though I wish it wasn't?"
"Yes. Last good-bye."
"Bye, sweetheart." The tenderness in his voice pulsated with affection, and even my mellowed heart skipped more than a single beat at his words.
"Bye."
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How did you guys like that? After the next chapter comes the party chapter, and I can't even wait to start writing it(: I thought a zoo would be a cool and creative family/Marshall and Dri time thingy, and anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry if it was a bit of a filler, but an important one at that! <3 Love you all, my little Marshall minions. What do you think the gift will be?! c: -Parisa.