"Manda, are you ready?" Lee called to his wife as he moved up the stairs. Pushing the half-opened door aside, he stopped and leaned against the doorframe, sliding his hands into the pockets of his trousers as he observed the view before him.
Amanda Stetson, his lovely wife of no more than two years, stood facing the full-length mirror that graced the far wall of their Maplewood bedroom, clearly dissatisfied with the image she was reflecting by the expression on her face. Lee, despite the negative vibrations her body stance clearly dictated, thought she was beautiful in the full-length dark blue dress. She'd only worn the dress once since he'd picked it up on his recent trip to Paris for three days and he was more than ready to see her display it for him again.
With her dark auburn hair drawn back in an elegant bun and tiny ringlets streaming down to frame her face, he was forced to suck in his breath to keep the wolf whistle forming in his throat at bay. She was an image from the Gods and he was more than willing to stand there and drink in her beauty all night long. Unfortunately, they had a commitment to go to and unless she increased her pace, he knew they were going to be late.
"Procrastination is only going to allow us to make a rather late but flashy entrance," he teased from his position near the door.
"Or we could just not go at all," she threw back at him, pulling her earrings out of her earlobes and dropping them unceremoniously back into her opened jewelry box on the dresser. "You know I'm not all that comfortable with this."
"No, we're going," he returned pushing off the wall and moving into the bedroom. Stepping up behind her he tenderly caressed her bare shoulders just above the soft material of the dress and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "Go pick out your shoes and I'll find the perfect jewelry to accent your beauty," he breathed, kissing her throat. "I think your black heels would look stunning, they make your legs absolutely edible," he suggested.
"Lee, I've changed my mind. I don't want to do this," she rebutted shaking her head.
"Sure you do," he whispered, trailing tiny kisses down her jaw line toward her ear. "It'll be fun Amanda. You've been talking about this for two weeks." Feeling her muscles tight beneath his touch, he sighed, inhaling the wonderful sweet fragrance of her perfume as it engulfed him. "Why are you so tense?" he questioned, kneading her shoulders with the well-practiced ease his fingers knew by heart.
"Because I don't want to go," was her quiet response as she lifted a hand to cover his. "Please don't do that," she protested softly, referring to the gentle massage he was giving her upper body. "You know what that does to me."
Lee smiled against her skin, glancing back into the mirror to discover that not only had she leaned her weight back into him, but she had also closed her eyes in quiet submission to his touch. He chuckled softly to himself all too aware of the effects his massages had on her body.
"Yes I know what this does to you," he purred in a low sensual tone. "And as much as I would love to take you there… we have a commitment," he continued, drawing his hands and mouth slowly away from her body. "One you're going to make us fashionably late for."
"Lee… " she protested, giving him a look as he quickly set her balance back to her feet and stepped away toward the dresser.
"Now I myself think that your silver necklace and diamond earrings would look absolutely gorgeous with that dress," he continued, looking through her jewelry box quickly for the items. "And the bracelet the boys bought you for Christmas would be perfect to complete the ensemble."
"You're going to make me do this, aren't you?" she questioned posting her hands along her hips.
"Yep, I sure am," he returned grinning as he continued his search. "You wanted to go, I bought the tickets and now I'm not going to let you back out of this. Besides if you don't go, you're going to be disappointed that you missed it."
"Somehow I doubt that," she muttered, stepping to his side as he retrieved the earrings proudly from their compartment.
"Ta da…" Turning he held them to her ear, observing their look. "These are perfect," he beamed, giving her a quick kiss. "You're absolutely breathtaking Manda. Don't you want to show me off?" he teased.
Unable to keep the disapproving scowl on her features she smiled warmly at his compliment and took the earrings. "Fine, if we're going get out of here and let me finish up," she commanded, shooing him away.
"Okay, but don't be too long, the clock's ticking," he agreed. "I'll be downstairs giving the last minute instructions to our dynamic duo." Blowing her a quick kiss, he headed back down the hall with a smile.
"Mom's still not ready?" Jamie asked in surprise when he stepped into the kitchen where the boys had congregated for an early evening snack.
"No, she's putting on the finishing touches, I hope," he breathed, swiping a carrot stick from the small plate Phillip had sitting on the counter.
"Man you guys are going to be sooo late," Phillip piped in shaking his head. "You know, I remember her doing the exact same thing ten years ago… or was it twelve?" he muttered trying to think back as he used one of the short orange sticks to emphasis his statement. Unable to pinpoint the time he shook it off and glanced back to his waiting stepfather. "Anyway the point is… " he continued pointing the carrot toward Lee. "Once she realized she was going to be late, Grandma couldn't talk her into going for any amount of money."
"Well she's going this time," Lee corrected strongly. "I'm ready, she's nearly ready… we're going even if we have to make a grand entrance in the middle of the festivities."
"There you go," Jamie laughed patting Lee on the back as he rose to refill his glass of milk. "Be firm, be the man of the house. Show her who's boss," he giggled.
"Oh you're a laugh riot tonight, aren't you?" Lee questioned giving him a smirk. "Seriously though, your mom needs a night out and I'm going to do everything in my power to see that she enjoys it. Now," rubbing his hands together quickly he looked back to Phillip. "You're in charge tonight until your Grandmother comes home. She said she'd be in around eleven…"
"Don't sweat it, I've got it covered," Phillip assured him around a carrot stick shoved in his mouth.
"No parties…" Lee pressed, holding his fingers up as he counted off the rules. "No female companions…" this made Jamie snicker again and shoot a look toward his older brother. "No leaving the house…"
"No drugs, no booze, no guns, no gang fights," Phillip teased grinning.
"No locking your brother in the hall closet," Jamie added laughing.
"No Satanic rituals in the garage," Phillip continued with a nod toward his brother. "No making of bombs in the den, no skinny dipping in the back yard…"
"We don't have a pool…" Jamie informed him quickly.
"Okay, no running around butt naked in the back yard," he corrected as Lee sighed, giving them both a look. "Does that about cover all your do's and don't's? " he asked with a smile.
Lee grinned shaking his head. "Okay, so you've got the idea. Behave yourselves," he returned. "We'd like the house to be in the same condition when we come home."
"Do you mean standing or clean?" Phillip inquired innocently.
"Very funny. Now the number of the hotel where we'll be is on the refrigerator. If you have any problems contact us there. Depending upon the layout of the buffet, I may take your mother out to eat afterwards. Lord knows what they're going to serve us," he muttered rubbing his neck. "We should be home around one at the latest."
"Just go and have a good time Lee, we'll be fine," Jamie assured him with a smile. "We're just going to order some pizza and sit around watching movies."
"Yeah, Mark and Brett's coming over about eight. They said they'd bring the movies if we supplied the pizza," Phillip informed him. "You have a good time with mom and we'll have a boy's night around the t.v."
"No skin flicks," he warned them sternly as he pulled his wallet out and handed over two twenties. "This should cover the pizza's. You tell Brett if he drinks that entire case of soda in the icebox I'm going to hunt him down and hurt him," he teased. "I just bought that damn thing yesterday. I'd like to have a couple before he devours them. I swear I think the only reason those boys comes over here is to eat us out of house and home," he muttered shaking his head.
"You want me to padlock the icebox?" Jamie asked snickering.
"I'm ready," Amanda called coming downstairs quickly drawing their attention as she stepped into the kitchen. "How do I look?" she asked nervously.
"Wow mom, you're a knock out," Phillip whistled.
"A total fox. That dress is rad," Jamie agreed nodding his approval.
"You're sensational," Lee added smiling.
"Thanks guys," she returned with a small smile gripping her small purse tightly in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she nodded toward Lee. "If we're going to do this we'd better go before I change my mind."
"Your chariot awaits," he breathed, leaning in for a quick kiss then turned her toward the door.
"Have a good time," Jamie called, waving them off.
"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," Phillip added following them through the house to the front door.
"Just remember what I said," Lee pressed opening the door for her.
"You boys behave and stay out of trouble until your Grandmother comes home," Amanda called toward them as Lee led her down the walk toward his car.
"We'll be fine mom, have a good time," Phillip hollered back then waved once more and shut the door.
"They're going to be just fine Manda," Lee assured her yet again, helping her inside the car. "I gave them the do's and don't's, they're capable boys. Phillip's big enough to watch his brother without you worrying about them."
Shutting the door he hurried around to his side and slid in, starting the engine. "Besides, we're just going to be across town and Mark and Brett are coming over to keep them occupied," he continued.
"Hmmm… that means the cupboards will be bare when we get home," she muttered shaking her head as Lee backed the car out of the driveway and proceeded down the darkened street.
"They'd better not be," he said laughing.
TBC
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.