Click (10/12/2008)
© 10/2008 By: Ree
The Saturday dance was a success, I thought. Ed danced with all my sisters and they seemed enchanted. We all are with new brothers, but he definitely poured on the charm, too. And there wasn’t a word more to anyone about a hoax or us keeping him here. Was he finally beginning to adjust?
Sunday was family day. We explained to Ed that our typical Fall Sundays consisted hanging out: reading newspapers, eating, and watching football or baseball . . . or basketball . . . or hockey. 
Helps to be a sports goof to live here. He expressed interest in football, so he and Johnny scanned the schedule and planned what to watch.
As the day wore on I grew more concerned. It just wasn’t clicking. It was like he was a guest visiting for the weekend. He was devouring information about us, I could tell that, but he seemed stuck in the observer mode. Was it because of the big household? Maybe I should have spent time alone with him. But that didn’t seem right, I wanted him to grow close to his brothers more than anything. Then there was the other elephant in the room. When would we hook up? I knew my sisters were waiting for me to break the ice, but I didn’t want to just ‘do the deed.’ If he was to be in my family, I just wanted it to be . . . meaningful.
Or maybe I was thinking too much again.
The day sped by and dinnertime arrived once more. It was a lively table with several different conversations going on simultaneously. Ed took it all in, occasionally offering a sardonic aside. Talk turned toevery one’s plans for the next week, and someone asked Ed what he’d like to do.
“You tell me. Can I leave the house?”
“Of course!”
“The village?”
“Sure, if you want, do you want to go somewhere? Santa Barbara?”
He nodded. “Yes, they have an airport.”
“Airport?” The eight of us must have said it all at once.
He nodded and stood. “I appreciate your hospitality the past three days. And Lord knows I’ve considered sticking around to see how far that hospitality extended.” He addressed me with a wink. “But I think I’ll just head out tomorrow.”
“But where?”
“Home. Washington. Maryland.”
“Leave? You can’t leave!” I looked at the others, hoping they’d answer too.
“Why can’t I, honey? You said you weren’t keeping me here.”
“Because this is your home now. Didn’t Sir Richard explain everything? Didn’t you read the history? Talk to your brothers?”
“Yep, heard it, read it, talked about it.” He shrugged. “And it’s not for me.”
“Ed, did you hear a word I told you the other day?” Johnny asked “Your life is here now. We’re your brothers, we’re all cut from the same cloth.”
“I have important things to do out there. I can’t be wasting time here, as tempting as it is.”
“No, Ed, I mean you really can’t leave.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Explain it to him guys!” This was the last thing I expected. I thought it would be easier for him, not harder.
“Ed,” Jimmy stood and put his hand on his shoulder. “Your life as you knew it isn’t in this world. Look at Nash, there’s a real John Nash still living. Same with Jeffrey, and Richie.”
“And you’re pretending to be them for some reason.”
“Ed, we were all brought to life by the same guy,” Steve said. “Everything we are, everything we remember is because he thought of it. Now the how and when happened differently for each of us, but you new guys, you’re brought straight here.”
“Look at us, for fuck’s sake!” Johnny gestured to the others.
I shook my head, not sure that would work. They can actually look quite different. Ed looked from one to the other. Couldn’t he see? He shook his head and ran his hand through his short hair, his head jerking up when he saw Steve make the same gesture. “Wait.” He staggered back and fell into a chair and looked anew at the others. It was like he was seeing them for the first time. “Fuck. What would happen if I left?”
I looked at the others. “What would happen?”
Everyone looked at Nash, he always seemed to know things. “He’d disappear. And another one would be brought in. Maybe one who’d accept things the way they are.”
I held my breath. Disappear? Brought back? Not to my house. Not a second time. If I couldn’t keep this Ed Hoffman here, I wouldn’t get a second chance, I was sure of it. Ed stroked his chin as he looked from brother to brother.
“But what could I do? Stay here all day?” His wry chuckle couldn’t disguise his unease.
“Ed, a lot of guys don’t do what they did before. Hell, some would be in jail if they did,” Johnny said with a soft chuckle. “But we’ve all found something. Jimmy has his gym, Steve still does photography. John teaches. And me and some of the others have the Agency. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s good. You could join us.”
Ed nodded, as if considering his suggestion. “What do you do? Background checks? Missing people?”
“Some security audits, too. Your counter-terrorism knowledge could help with that, lot of people are worried about that these days.”
“Yeah.” He stood and looked around at everyone again. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I need to . . . I think I’ll just go upstairs to the room. My room?” He shook his head again before abruptly taking his leave. We heard a quick creak-creak-creak of the stairs as he went up.
“Damn, who’d a thunk that?” Jimmy said.
“Do you really think he’ll try to leave?”
“I should go talk to him. Tell him how it was for me.”
“Could you Jimmy? That’d be great, thanks.” I bounced up off my chair, feeling full of nervous energy. “I’ll get the dessert. Cookies and ice cream anyone?”
“Babe, no.”
“No cookies?”
“You go talk to him.”
“Me? What can I tell him? I don’t know what it’s like for you guys.” The truth was, I was afraid if I talked to him, he would leave.
“Bella, he’s right. You go.”
I took a deep breath and looked at the others. I wasn’t sure what good it would do, but they were all nodding their heads. “Okay, but don’t eat all the dessert.”
“Yeah, Ed may want to leave, but he won’t want to miss dessert,” Jeff said with a laugh.
I climbed the stairs slowly, wondering what I could tell him to keep him here. I knocked on his door.
“May I come in?”
He opened the door but didn’t wait for me to enter. “It’s your house, honey.”
“This is your house too now.”
“So I’ve been told.” He looked at me from over his glasses.
“Ed, please don’t leave. What’s bothering you about us? Is it something I’ve done?”
He shook his head. “No, honey, not at all.” He sat down on the edge of his bed and ran his hand over the bedspread. “You wanna know what’s been bothering me?” His voice barely above a whisper.
I walked in closer and took his hand in mine. “Tell me.”
“I said I had to leave to get back to work.”
“Something important, right?”
“I don’t know what it was.”
“What?”
“I remember what I was doing before . . . I remember it, so clearly . . . then I was here. I don’t know what I was supposed to do next, exactly. There are lots of things it could be . . . ” his voice trailed off and he looked at me with wide eyes. Gone was the bluff and bluster of the last couple of days. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
He pulled back his hands and gestured to the room around us. “So this is it?”
“No,” I leaned over and kissed him, tasting the sweet bow lips that I’d been watching all weekend. “This is it.”
“That’s all it is?” His eyes twinkled, teasing.
I shook my head and smiled. He reached his hands around my waist and pulled me to him for another kiss. Sweet first kisses: testing, teasing, slowly getting deeper and deeper until we had to come up for air. “Damn.” I nodded in agreement, still too breathless to speak. “You sure you want to kiss an old man like me?”
“You don’t kiss like an old man.” I ran my hands over his shoulders and down his back. “You don’t feel like an old man.”
“Well I don’t feel like one either, but you’ve got all those younger guys.”
“So? What’s wrong with a little experience?”
“Hmmm. I like smart in a girl.” We fell into another kiss, this time we brought our hands into play. One hand slid down my back to cup my bum, the other covered my breast. “Now here I’d expected more teasing like you did last night. That dress was something else.”
“Is that what you want me to do? Tease you?” I tried to step back but he kept me from doing so.
“Hell no, I had a helluva time hiding the boners I got just reading about you.
“You hid them?” I batted my eyelashes at him and pressed closer. “Like this one?”
He wiggled against me, and I heard soft intake of breath when hard brushed against soft. “Yeah, what do you think?”
“I think I want to touch it.” I reached between us and felt his girth between my fingers. I heard another soft grunt in my ear. “Maybe even run my tongue along it, pulling it between my lips until you just want to start rocking into me.”
“Fuck, honey, yes.” He flipped my skirt up in the back and started to make small circles over my panties.
“Or maybe you should just pull my skirt up, yank the panties aside and plunge in.” His hand went lower and a finger slipped under the edge. “I’d be ready.”
“God-damn you are.” We kissed again, our hands busy below making us both moan. He pulled back, looking up and down my body before drawing close again. This time his hands went up to my breasts again and his lips went to my neck, kissing down to the sensitive hollow at the base. “You really did everything that I read about?”
“I suppose.” I felt my face flush. “You probably think it’s too much, huh? Like a professional or something?”
“That’s not exactly what it makes me think.”
“Then what do you think of it, of me?”
“Where should I start, honey?” He chuckled and began to kiss my breasts over my dress. “Makes me want to share in the fun.”
“And what fun would you like to share, baby?”
“Start by getting this dress off.” His voice had gotten lower and huskier and everything he was doing was driving me to distraction. The dress was off in a flash, and he asked me to stand back so he could see me in my underthings.
“You’re overdressed now.” I stepped back next to him and started unbuttoning his shirt. He reached around and unhooked me in a flash. “Done that before have you?”
“Experience, honey.”
“You don’t get to take the panties off unless you use my name, though.”
“Leave ‘em on like you said then.” I pushed away from him. “Laurie. Laurie-honey.”
“There, isn’t that better?”
“I won’t make you say mine to get my pants off.” His grin just made me laugh.
“Stand up, big-boy.”
“Hey! None of that, now.”
“But you are, you know.” I covered his cock with my hand again as I unbuckled him with my other. “And now, the grand unveiling . . . oh my.”
“You can’t be surprised.”
“No, but still . . . something about the way it springs up.” I leaned into kiss him again and he lifted me up and onto the bed.
“And something about a girl lyin’ in my bed.” He tugged down my panties and threw them somewhere. “You’re just so beautiful.” My heart beat like crazy to see the look in his eyes.
I held out my arms to him and he covered me, kissing down my body, taking one nipple between those sweet bow lips.
“Wait, Ed, your glasses!” I reached to take them off, he smiled but didn’t take his mouth off of me, either. My hands went to his broad shoulders and back, and when he went lower, into his hair. Experienced he was all right. Each flick of his tongue had me crying out in pleasure. But before I could reach my goal, he stopped and crawled up my body. “Ed?”
“Now don’t you worry, Laurie-honey, I know what I’m doin’. Just want to be up close for this the first time, all right?”
“Yes, please!” He slid his fingers back down between us and he moved his body against mine, his cock slowly rubbing against my belly. I writhed beneath him, crazy with want. “Ed, please . . .”
“Want it honey? How bad?”
“So bad, so bad . . . ”
“One thing first.” He buried his face in my breasts, and when his lips went around my nipple again, I was overcome with an exquisite rush, red and orange waves undulating in time with me. Just the best high there is. “Fuck, that’s it.” He kneed apart my legs, and hefted up my ass. I nodded at him to go ahead and he pushed in, making me gasp again. “Sweet sweet sweet,” he sighed, brushed my hair off my face and started kissing me as his hips began their movement. Sweet it was, his lips never left my body until he’d suddenly jerked up his head and looked me in the eyes. I watched the pleasure in his face as I felt a thick shudder and a warm burst inside. I felt the heat course up to my heart.
He collapsed on top of me and we chuckled, kissed and kissed and chuckled some more. He rolled over and brought me on top of him. I sat up, straddling him. “Want your glasses back, baby?”
He shook his head. “I can see just fine from here.” Our hands didn’t keep still. I just wanted to touch him to make sure he was really here. He apparently just wanted to touch me. “Mind if I do this for a bit?”
“All night if you want.”
He grinned. “You just trying to keep me here?”
“Are you going to? Stay here?”
“Seems like I have no choice.”
“Oh! Well, you have a choice.” My heart sank, even after what we just did he still didn’t want to be here?
“Uh-uh, got important things to do here.” He grinned again and his eyes traveled over me. I got shivers with the way he looked at me. “Cold, Laurie-honey?”
“No, but hold me anyway.” I lay back down on his chest, and he held me. Held me close.
“Told you, important things.” I nodded and exhaled a happy sigh. “Tell me, honey, think that Agency deal would work? Who’s in charge there?”
“Charge? I don’t know!” I giggled at the thought. “Who ever’s case it is, that’s who’s in charge, I figure. But you’d have to ask Johnny.”
“Hmm, I’ll check it out. Could be fun.”
“Fun? Oh-oh.”
“Oh-oh what? I’m a fun guy.”
“Mmm, yes you are, and it would be good for them reap the benefits of all your experience.”
“Like you just did, honey?”
“Not like that, I hope. That’s for my sisters.”
“Ooh, right, right. Are you sure I just didn’t die and go to heaven? Of course in my heaven there wouldn’t be any other guys.”
“In mine there is.”
“Oh, so I’ve died and gone to your heaven, have I?”
“Yay for me! Oh, Ed, I’m glad you’re staying.” I rolled off of him and stretched. “Excuse me, I need to use the facilities. Damn, hope Johnny isn’t in there.”
“Still early, honey.”
“Oh it is! I’ll be right back.” I dashed in to do a bit of business, and as I was washing up, I remembered the dessert. I grabbed the robe on the back of the door and when I came back into the room I headed for the door.
“Where are you going honey?”
I turned to around. “Thought you might want dessert, you left before we served it.”
He shrugged as he considered. “Wait! Don’t move yet, I’ll come with you.” He tugged up his pants without his undies, and pulled on his shirt without buttoning.
“Okay, ready?” I turned to open the door but his hand forced it shut. “Ed?”
“I’m ready. You ready?” He reached around to my front and tugged the belt of the robe, opening it. “What were you saying before? What I could do?”
My heart started to pound in anticipation. “But I’m not wearing a skirt, or panties, for that matter.”
He slid his hands between my legs and nudged them apart. “I’ll make do.”
Boy, did he. We didn’t leave the room until morning, where we found they’d saved dessert for us after all. Ed fixed us each a serving and we dug in. Steve walked in to see me sitting on his lap spooning ice cream into his mouth.
“Well, look who’s still here. Morning, babe, Ed.”
“Hello there Buddy. Yes, still here, your girl here is quite persuasive.”
“Yes she is,” Steve chuckled. “Cappuccino, Ed?”
“That’d be mighty nice of you, buddy.”
Steve made us the coffee and sat down with us. “So, given any thought to John’s suggestion?”
“Steve, don’t rush him, he’s just got here.”
“I know, but he seemed to want something to do.”
“Actually I have been thinking about it. I like that stay-at-home Dad idea.”
“Ed? But you said . . . ” I started to interrupt but he hushed me and gave me a wink.
“Yeah, you pups need looking after. And all those errands, not fair to have Laurie do them all. She’s got things to do, too.”
“We all pitch in, actually. But whatever floats your boat, fine by me.”
“Glad you approve. ‘Cause if I’m the Dad, buddy, I should get the master bedroom with Mom here.”
Steve nearly choked on his coffee. “What?!!”
“I’m just yanking your chain, buddy.”
“The fuck you are! Of course it wouldn’t work, she’d be sneaking out to be with me every chance she got anyway.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Shh, Ed, he’s got a point.”
“Can’t blame me for trying.”
“No, no, I really can’t.” Steve laughed. “Glad you’re staying, Ed. Can I get a kiss from my girl though?”
“Ah, the sharing.”
“Yes, Ed, you don’t have to share when we’re alone, though.” I kissed him; he gave my bum a squeeze.
“I’ll leave you two love birds alone.” He patted Steve on the shoulder and put his mug in the sink. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He said as he headed for the door. He turned round to add, “Of course, that leaves you free to do just about anything.” He winked and left for upstairs.
“That must have been some night babe.” Steve pulled me to his shoulder and I snuggled in.
“It was a very nice evening, but it wasn’t just that. You guys convinced him too.”
Steve wrapped an arm tighter around me. “Whatever it was, looks like he’s here to stay.” I grinned into his shoulder and held on tight. Here to stay. Had a nice ring to it. “But why does he call me Buddy?”
I have a feeling that it’s one of the things we’ll just have to learn about Ed. But at least now we’ll have the chance.
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