Chapter 226: Debbie VI—Awakened
The tickle on her forehead was what woke Debbie up but she didn’t open her eyes. She knew the feel of her husband’s fingers, of his hand, and that’s what was brushing over the skin of her face. She resisted the urge to grin as she felt his lips follow his fingers. He kissed her softly and then the warmth of his closeness left her. She opened her eyes, not wanting him to leave her just yet.
“Good morning,” she said, gazing at him in the morning light. He was shirtless, on his knees, leaning over her.
“Hey,” he said softly, “I didn’t want to wake you, sorry.”
Debbie smiled and reached her hand out. Joe clasped it in his and kissed it. “You can wake me up,” Debbie said, “I like when you do it.”
Joe leaned forward again and Debbie accepted his kiss, not a brotherly, polite kiss but a deep, open mouthed one. How early was it in the morning? Debbie wondered as she slid off the bed, into Joe’s lap on the carpet. The sunlight was bright but her body was tired, almost sore. Cecile more than likely had Mitchell in the bath; the twins would be restless soon. But none of that mattered in this moment as Joe’s strong hands held her tenderly, and she clung to him, rocked in his lap reveled in the ecstasy that was her right to enjoy.
What had happened? Something had changed so distinctly had awakened so clearly in Joe. Debbie had seen it in her husband’s face when she had picked him up that first day home from the roadtrip. He had looked sleepy but there was something different about his eyes, almost a metallic glint in them when he had looked at her, and there was an unusual hardness when he had kissed her. It was almost as if his kiss were demanding something from her like a harsh word would.
“You okay hon?” Debbie asked. It sounded like a stupid thing to say as soon as she had said it. It was almost something that had no weight other than artificial meaning.
Joe hadn’t replied. In fact he was silent in the car the entire way home. For awhile Debbie had thought that perhaps he was asleep but then she would sense him look around, sometimes she could feel him looking at her. Debbie didn’t try to talk to him she only wondered, what had been on his mind.
As soon as they were in the house, they were barely in the bedroom when Joe did the unthinkable. He pounced her! That was the only word Debbie could think of to describe it. He had said something in a low, mumbling voice and before she could ask him to repeat himself he had jumped on her, pushed her on the bed and had her clawing, yes clawing his back through his shirt, and gasping in carnal heaven.
They said nothing through the entire thing, she was almost afraid that if she said a thing he would come to his senses, remember he was Joe, and crawl off her body, arrange her clothes and apologize for his behavior. He would then try to forget the entire incident. Debbie hadn’t wanted this to end because she knew better than to take it for granted.
When he finished, he groaned as if he were in despair and he rolled off her body, he was breathing heavily. Debbie had licked her lips and rolled onto her belly, rubbed her hand over his chest. “Hon?” she said.
Joe had looked at her, there was not a ghost of that shame in his eyes that he sometimes carried whenever he made love to her, there was no flicker of the pain he sometimes showed. All she could see was that glint, the glint she had noticed earlier. It was almost creepy. He half smiled. “God I love you,” he said. “You know that?”
Debbie swallowed, had felt frightened for a moment as if this man was not her husband, as if her husband had been kidnapped and possessed by some strange, forceful, erotic being. “Sure,” she said.
He fell asleep within that minute leaving Debbie to wonder about the whole absurdity of the situation. It hadn’t ended there, however. Once more during that night she had awoken with him nuzzling her and she had not protested. When would he ever be in a mood like this again? She had thought, and so she had returned his passion, drunk it in.
She had been mistaken, however. This didn’t seem to be a mood that was lifting and over the next few days Debbie had been surprised at the oddest times during the day, almost as if she were being stalked by him and Joe just would not let up. Debbie giggled, lightly protested but overall she didn’t try to question him directly about this sudden change in his appetite for her.
By herself,
though, Debbie did wonder what brought about this awakening in Joe. Had it been
that earthquake in
“I don’t ever want to be that close to losing you ever again.”
It took the near crumbling of the world above his head to force him to appreciate her. Go figure.
“I love you!” Joe gasped and Debbie felt emptied and limp as a ragdoll as she trembled and relaxed against his chest. She could hear the children skittering in the hallway outside and as much as she hated to, she stood up off Joe’s lap, smoothed her nightclothes around her legs.
“Joe,” Debbie said, “Don’t ever stop.”
Swift
Current,
It was freezing outside, of course it was, it was near the end of December and the world was a pale sheet of ice. It meant heavy coats; it meant things that were flannel and fur lined. It meant that outside there was no difference between the sexes. There were teenagers round and fluffy like polar bears, pale faces, red tipped noses. The difference only showed itself when there were snow balls thrown and one could hear the squeals and laughter of the girls.
Joe’s hand was warm, even though he had forgotten his gloves. Debbie held onto it tightly, kept it warm with her mittened hand as they walked carefully down the sidewalk. He wasn’t saying much, she could just hear his heavy, deep breathing.
Ever since that fall morning when she had felt his lips on her knee, on the inside of her thigh, his hand like a vice on hers pressing it against THAT place, that overheated, monstrous place, he had done nothing more. Debbie had been thrilled, excited that he would be claiming her now but then he had backed off. It was infuriating, what kind of tease did he think he was?
He would ask permission to kiss her, sometimes he nibbled on the inside of her wrists, but it was never more than that. She had no lurid tales to tell her friends, nothing to hide from her mother. There were no trophies for her to rest her sighs on.
The house was empty when Debbie led Joe into it. She had assumed mom would be there with something hot to eat or drink. There was only a note on the table that she needed to go to the store.
“Want some hot chocolate?” Debbie asked.
Joe shrugged and instead Debbie noticed a funny look on his face when she slid out of her heavy coat and scarf and mittens. He seemed almost predatorial. Debbie blushed and then grabbed him a beer from the fridge, if her dad asked; she would tell him that she never touched it. He always believed her. Joe thanked her and drank it far too easily. All the Broncos drank like that, more than anything, Debbie had been curious to see if Joe did as well.
It happened in the living room as they were watching an after school special on teen suicide. Joe had asked if he could kiss her and Debbie grabbed him, kissed him and something awakened him. She didn’t know what had but she didn’t complain when his hands fumbled with her blouse, and then her panties. Debbie had closed her eyes, it was going to happen finally and then there was the sound of her mother’s voice.
“Debbie I’m home….”
Debbie shoved Joe off her and he fell hard onto the floor with a thump. By the time her mom entered the living room with a quizzical look on her face, Debbie had gotten most of her clothing intact.
“Hon you okay?” her mom asked. “Joe?”
Joe grinned, scratched at his raven hair, “I fell,” he said.
Debbie exchanged a brief look with her mom, knew somehow that she understood exactly how Joe had fell. She looked sad somehow but Debbie refused to feel guilty.
The next day Debbie said goodbye to Joe. The team was going on a mini roadtrip and it disappointed her because she was sure that if Joe left now, she might not get him back exactly as he had left her. What if he collected his senses felt as if he had been taking advantage of her and came back sheepish and more of a gentleman than ever? It was selfish of her to think so, Debbie thought, but she didn’t care.
It happened and Debbie had felt cold and prickled when her mother grabbed her and dragged her to the television set. The Broncos’ team bus, the bus Joe had been on, the wreckage of it was on the news. There were boys dead, there were boys injured and there were no details yet on the identities.
“Debbie!” her mother gasped, “You don’t think?”
“No,” Debbie said, clenching her fist. “Not if he loves me.”
Links to other sites on the Web