Winter's Role, page 18
With one hand, Stephanie reached around and unsnapped the bra. She slid it down the tanned arms, exposing Jessie’s breasts to her. Taking one into her mouth, she began nipping at it gently. The other hand slowly slid down to begin unbuttoning Jessie’s jeans at the same time. Within minutes, she had one hand inside Jessie’s underwear and Jessie was now writhing to the rhythm of her hand, moaning with pleasure.
Her hands tangled in Stephanie’s hair, Jessie was past the point of coherent thought. The only thing she was aware of was Steph’s hands and mouth everywhere. Struggling, she managed to gasp out, “God Steph! Oh, my God…” she felt her muscles contract, and she shuddered in Stephanie’s arms with her release.
Stephanie smiled as Jessie let go and fell into oblivion. She loved to watch her in the throes of passion. She was so beautiful…head thrown back, eyes closed, calling her name. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. As Jessie relaxed, she pulled her close, wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her back until she was more coherent. “You okay?”
Jessie nodded against Stephanie’s shoulder. When she finally caught her breath, she whispered, “My God, I can’t believe we just did that in the car!”
Stephanie smirked. “I told you I had plans for you.”
She backed away and began pulling her shirt back on. “That’s a Hell of a welcome,” she said, smiling at Stephanie as she buttoned her shirt.
“Wait till we get back to your place,” Stephanie said, looking at her with lust and raw need in her eyes. “That was just the beginning.”
Jessie slid back into the drivers’ seat and started the car. As she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home, she said, “God help me, it’s gonna be a long weekend.”
Neither one of them noticed the non-descript tan Oldsmobile that pulled out of the lot and followed them back into town. Nor did they notice when that same vehicle parked at the end of the street, yet no one emerged to enter any of the nearby homes.
Chapter 15
Jessie rolled over, her arm flailing for the phone. Answering it on the third ring, she was surprised to hear Stephanie’s voice on the other end.
“Jessie? I’m sorry I’m calling so late…” Stephanie began.
Blinking rapidly and inhaling deeply to wake up, Jessie looked at the clock. The LED display read 2am. She knew it was only 11 in LA, but Steph never called this late, allowing for the time difference. She sat up immediately. “It’s okay. Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no…no, nothing’s wrong. I just…well, I need to ask you something about Thanksgiving,” she said, stumbling over the words. “I wasn’t going to call you until tomorrow, but…”
“Hey, it’s all right.” Never able to sleep well without Stephanie next to her, she was wide awake now. “What’s going on? You are still coming, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Yes, absolutely. I was just wondering…would you mind, if I brought someone with me?”
By the tone of her voice, Jessie could tell she was biting the inside of her cheek, nervous about asking her. “Like who?” she asked curiously.
“Umm…well…Linda called me a few minutes ago. Kate’s mother isn’t doing very well, and they need to go to Texas,” she explained hesitantly.
Understanding immediately, Jessie said, “Steph, Tommy’s more than welcome to come with you. I’d love to see him again.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Stephanie relaxed. “You’re sure it’s okay? I know you were looking forward to it being just the two of us.”
“Steph, it’s fine. I told you before…I love Tommy and I will always treat him like he’s my own. If they need us to help out with him, I’m more than willing. And…the twins will love having another kid around to play with.”
“Oh, that’d be great. I hadn’t even thought about that.” Her voice had risen with happiness at the suggestion. Then, she remembered their plans for the weekend. “Hey, how do you think your Mom’s going to feel about him? You did tell her about Tommy, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did,” Jessie said. She didn’t blame Steph for asking her about her mother. Julie wasn’t exactly known for her patience and tolerance for some things. She was, to say the least, hypercritical at times. To set Steph’s mind at ease, she said, “I told her about Linda, Kate and Tommy a while ago, Sweetheart. She’ll love meeting him.”
“And your grandparents?” Stephanie asked.
“They’ll love him,” Jessie reassured her.
“Thank you. I feel better now that I’ve talked to you,” she said, relaxing. “I am sorry I called so late and woke you up, though.”
“Don’t be. I just lay here and doze when you’re not with me, anyway.”
“Well…I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Please try to get some rest. I love you,” Stephanie said.
“I love you, too, Sweetheart,” Jessie said, hanging up the phone and turning out the light. As she lay there in the dark she rolled her eyes at herself. She was never going to get back to sleep, now. Eventually, she got up and went downstairs to work in the studio until she had to get ready for work.
* * * *
Stephanie’s plane landed at 7:30 Friday evening, and Jessie was there to meet her at the gate as promised. She watched as Stephanie came through the gate and smiled to herself when she saw her. Her hair hidden under a baseball hat, she was walking with Tommy by her side, clutching his hand. His wild blond curls had been cut shorter since she’d seen the boy last, but he looked healthy and happy.
Sighing as she watched them walk toward her because she had just realized: This is her family. For all intents and purposes, her wife and son. She smiled and pulled Steph into a hug when she got close enough. “Steph, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed you so much.” She kissed the actress and then bent down to hug Tommy. “Hey Tommy, I’m glad you’re here, Buddy. Did you enjoy your flight?”
“Hi, Jessie. Yeah, it was kinda scary, but Momma Steph told me a story and I wasn’t scared anymore,” the boy said, hugging her back.
“Your Momma Steph’s good at keeping the scary things away,” Jessie said, standing back up and glancing over at Stephanie lovingly. “She always takes the monsters away for me, too.” She turned her attention back to the boy. “So, you guys hungry? I thought we could go for pizza on the way to my house?”
Tommy nodded. “Can we get extra cheese and pepperoni?”
“Sure, we can get whatever you want,” Jessie answered, ruffling his hair.
Stephanie caught Jessie’s hand, smiling at the way she dealt with Tommy. Jessie just seemed to have a connection with the boy that she couldn’t quite explain. It made her extremely happy to see them together. “Let’s grab our luggage and get going. Pizza sounds great, I’m starved.”
“Right this way, my lady,” Jessie said, heading for the baggage claim area. Tommy reached up and caught her left hand, and she suddenly felt her heart go all warm and fuzzy. She wanted this, she realized. She wanted the whole package; the wife, the kids…everything. She’d said so when they were in Greece. Now…She just had to make it happen.
Two hours later, they’d finished dinner and arrived back at Jessie’s. After watching the movie ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ they had Tommy get ready for bed. After tucking him in and making sure he was comfortable on the couch, Stephanie joined Jessie in the bedroom.
As she climbed in, Jessie rolled onto her right side. “So, it’s Momma Steph now? What happened to Stephie?”
Stephanie leaned in and kissed her. When she backed away, she answered. “He said ‘Momma Stephie’ sounded like something a baby would say. Since he’s a big boy now, ‘Momma Steph’ sounded better.”
“Well, it makes sense to me,” Jessie agreed. She changed the subject slightly. “How’s your family doing? Did they do okay with Tommy?” she asked, playing with Stephanie’s hair.
“Everybody’s good. They missed you, though. Everyone was looking forward to meeting you,” she answered, staring into Jessie’s eyes. “Mom said to tell you that you’d better be there for Christmas.”
“I wouldn’t dream of missing it,” Jessie said, leaning over and kissing her. “You still didn’t answer me, though. How did they do with Tommy?”
“They did great. It’s been even longer than five years since they’d seen him last.” She reached up and caressed Jessie’s cheek with the back of her hand. “Mom’s still worried, though. She thinks I’m setting myself up to get hurt, again.”
“Well, it was hard on them too, losing him. I’ll bet they had a good time getting to know him again though, didn’t they?”
“They did. Dad took him to the store and had him helping just like he does all my brother’s kids. They all seemed to have a good time.”
“I knew they would. It’ll take some time, but I think this is gonna be great.”
“I hope so. They always loved Tommy, and I think it broke their hearts too, when Linda and I broke up,” Stephanie said, sounding a little sad.
“Trust me,” Jessie said, kissing her again. “It’s gonna be wonderful. So…when were you planning on leaving for New York for Christmas?”
Stephanie shrugged. “I’d like to get there a few days early, if you don’t mind. Maybe the 22nd? I thought we could take a day and go into New York City and go shopping?” She reached over and tucked some hair behind Jessie’s ear.
Jessie nodded in agreement. “Sounds good to me. I’ve never been to New York City before.”
“In that case, we definitely have to go. I want to take you to Central Park. It’s one of my favorite places,” Stephanie said, getting excited about the prospect of sharing it with Jessie.
Jessie kissed her again. “Mmm, I can’t wait, Sweetheart. Spending the next few weeks with you sounds like absolute heaven.”
Stephanie wrapped her hands in the dark hair and pulled Jessie to her, kissing her again. Even though they’d just seen each other, she’d missed her so much. It seemed like the longer they were together the more she needed to be with her. She had really been hoping to spend the entire week with just the two of them, but she couldn’t turn Linda and Kate down when they’d asked her to take Tommy. Not willing to waste a single minute of their time together, she kissed Jessie again.
Sometime around three, Jessie woke up. Stephanie, lying next to her, had her arm thrown over her stomach, her head resting on her shoulder. Desperately in need of something to drink, she carefully slid out from under her arm, trying not to wake her up. Heading out to the kitchen, she heard an unusual noise coming from the living room. Making a detour, she heard the noise again and realized that Tommy was crying quietly. “Tommy?” she bent down next to the couch. “Hey, you okay, Bud?”
The boy sniffed and nodded. “Yeah…”
“Are you having a hard time sleeping out here?” Jessie asked, understanding that a new place can be pretty scary; especially if you’re a nine year old boy.
Tommy nodded again. “It looks like there are things moving outside,” he said, his lower lip quivering.
Jessie glanced back at the front window and saw the shadows of tree branches swaying with the breeze. “I’ll tell you what…why don’t we go get your Momma Steph and we can all sleep out here tonight? Would that make you feel better?”
“Could we really? Like camping?”
Even in the darkened room, Jessie could see the brown eyes light up. She smiled. “Yeah, just like camping. Come on.” She took hold of Tommy’s hand and led him through the house, stopping in the kitchen first, for a glass of water. “Did you know your Momma Steph is magic, Tommy?” she asked, as she passed a glass over to him.
“Magic? She is not. There’s no such thing,” he said, obviously doubting what Jessie was telling him.
“She is too,” Jessie insisted, taking the now empty glass and putting it in the sink. “When she gives you a hug, it takes away all the scary things.”
“It does not,” Tommy said, clearly not believing her. “Nobody can do that.”
“Really? That’s funny,” Jessie said. “Because every time she hugs me, I’m not afraid of anything anymore.” She ushered the boy down the hall. “Come on, I’ll prove it to you.”
When they got to the bedroom, Jessie opened the door quietly. With Tommy by her side, she sat down on Stephanie’s side of the bed. Shaking her gently on the shoulder, she whispered, “Steph?” When Stephanie didn’t wake up right away, she tried again. Stroking her hair this time, she said a little louder. “Steph?”
Stephanie drew in a deep breath, opening her eyes and blinking slowly. “Jess? Is something wrong?” she asked, trying to sit up.
Jessie caught her on the shoulder again, rubbing it with her thumb. “Shh, it’s okay. Nothing’s wrong. But umm…Tommy was having a hard time sleeping out there. I told him we would sleep out there with him tonight.”
She looked past Jessie to see Tommy standing to her left. “Oh! Tommy…Of course we can.” She flipped back the covers and got out of bed.
Jessie stood up. “I’ll be right back. I have some sleeping bags in the basement. Tommy, why don’t you come help me?” He nodded and followed Jessie from the room. By the time they returned upstairs, Stephanie was in the living room, waiting.
“I told him about your magic hugs,” Jessie said, handing Stephanie a sleeping bag and bending down to spread hers out.
“What?” she asked, crinkling her nose and looking at Jessie.
“You know…I told him how every time you hug me all the scary things just disappear,” Jessie said.
“Jessie said you’re magic,” Tommy said, handing Stephanie a pillow.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it magic, exactly,” Stephanie said, hugging Tommy and tucking him back into bed on the couch. Smiling, Stephanie kissed him on top of the head. “All better?”
“Yeah. Jessie was right.”
“Right about what?”
“Your hugs are magic,” he said, drifting down into sleep.
Chapter 16
Sunday morning, they swung by and picked up Julie on the way to Jessie’s grandparents’ house. When Julie climbed into the back seat of the Xterra next to Tommy, Jessie introduced them. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Tommy, Stephanie’s son. You remember, I told you about him?”
Julie’s brow rose toward her hairline. She did indeed, remember. Jessie hadn’t mentioned anything about the boy coming with Stephanie for the holiday, though. Turning to Tommy, she said, “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Tommy. I’ve heard all about you.”
“You have?” the blond boy asked, wide eyed.
“I have,” Julie said, smiling at him. “Jessie told me that you take Karate. She said you’re really good, too.”
“She did?” the boy asked, taking to Julie right away. Within minutes, the two of them were deep in conversation.
In the front seat, Stephanie smiled at Jessie, reaching over and taking her hand. She’d wondered at first, about Julie’s reaction to Tommy. Jessie, however, had reassured her that her mother would get along with him just fine. Listening to their conversation, she couldn’t help but feel good about the decision to bring him with her. The more caring adults he had in his life the better, as far as she was concerned. Especially considering the fact that Linda’s parents refused to have anything to do with him.
Jessie, watching her mother in the rear view mirror, couldn’t help but be a bit surprised. When she’d first told Julie that Stephanie had a son, the woman had, in typical fashion, had more than a few snide comments to make. She had been particularly upset that Stephanie had neglected to tell Jessie about her ‘son’ when they first got together. She had been under the false assumption that Stephanie was looking for someone to help her take care of him. But, after listening to the entire story, she had calmed down and been more agreeable, apologizing to Jessie for her behavior. In fact, she had even felt bad for Stephanie.
Now, Jessie felt a huge grin come over her face as she listened to them talking in the backseat. Squeezing Steph’s hand, she smiled over at her and breathed a sigh of relief. She knew her mother would like Tommy. Despite what she may have thought at first, Julie always managed to rise to the occasion.
Driving through the Ohio countryside, they arrived at the farm by ten thirty, just as Jessie had promised. Pulling up to the house, they were greeted by Jessie’s grandparents, Michael and Marion O’Rourke. As they climbed out of the SUV, her grandparents hugged Julie first, and then Jessie. “So, is this the young woman who’s captured your heart, Jessie?” her grandmother asked, looking toward Stephanie when she released her from the hug.
Jessie stepped back and caught Stephanie around the waist, smiling as she did. “Grandma, Grandpa, I’d like you to meet Stephanie Winters.”
“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Marion said, pulling Stephanie away from Jessie and into a hug as well. “Jessie’s told us all about you.” Her eye caught Tommy standing next to Stephanie then. “And who might this adorable young man be?”
“Grandma, this is Tommy Morrison…Stephanie’s son,” Jessie said, introducing the boy to her.
Marion’s brow rose slightly. Neither Jessie nor Julie had mentioned a son, but she bent down and hugged him, too. “Welcome, Tommy. I’m so glad to meet you,” she said.
When she released him, Tommy remembered his manners and replied, “I’m pleased to meet you, too, Mr. and Mrs. O’Rourke.”
Jessie’s grandparents smiled at the boy in unison. “Tommy, you don’t have to call us Mr. and Mrs. Anything. We’re Grandma and Grandpa.” Jessie’s grandfather reached out a hand and waited for the boy to take it. “Come on. Let’s head out to the barn. I’ve got some horses out there needin’ some attention.”
