His adoration for this strong little woman is bright enough to light up the room.
“Hi, Mountain Man,” Elsie says almost breathlessly. The mere sight of him breathes hope and love into her.
John takes a step towards her.
She lifts her face to him.
That is all the invitation he needs. John slips one big hand behind Elsie’s neck, tilting her face towards his, and pulling her close with the other one, wrapping it all the way around her small waist, and kisses her. This hungry possessive kiss has waited for months, simmering, the need growing while time gave them the opportunity to come back together. This is a kiss that you long for your entire life, and if you’re lucky, once, just once, you’ll get it.
Their lips separate and John touches his forehead to Elsie’s as their breaths dance together, their hearts beat against each other, and they relish the feel of each other.
“Hi Mountain Man, have you got any more surprises for me?” Elsie asks him, as she stands on her tip-toes and pulls John’s ear closer to her so she can whisper in it.
John holds Elsie tightly as he leans in closer, so close he feels her warm breath licking his ear.
“Maybe one with the crop or my present?” she whispers quietly so no one can hear her but him.
Hope, desire, passion, and love burst within John, “Anything for you, Angel. I’ve got so many surprises planned for you, every day for the rest of your life, I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers to her. There are so many promises in the words they’ve shared. And they’re everything both of them have been waiting for.
They have gone through the fires of hell together, and are stronger and more in love than they were before.
“Let’s get a bottle of champagne,” Marco says.
“Make it two,” Brian adds in.
Everybody takes a seat, Janie shifts down one seat, to make room for John to sit next to Elsie.
Elsie starts the conversation.
“How are things going with the case, Rico?” Elsie asks.
All eyes turn to her. No one was expecting the topic of the attack to come up tonight.
She shrugs her shoulders.
“I haven’t talked to him in a while, and I know you guys want to know as well,” Elsie begins. “I’m fine, really.”
Rico takes a deep breath as he leans back and crosses a leg over a knee.
“Well, now that we’ve got convictions on everyone I can talk about it. And just for the record,” he scans each face at the table, “I’m not the total dickhead I made myself out to be.” He pauses, “Just half,” he laughs.
This lightens the mood at the table a bit, which makes everyone feel more comfortable talking about the night Elsie got attacked.
“As it turns out, Bambi was dealing heroin. I’d been watching her at the gym, so I ran a few checks on her. Things were not adding up on how she was supporting her expensive lifestyle. So, I became friendly with her,” Rico rolls his eyes.
“But she wasn’t the street guy,” John adds in.
“That is correct. Her cousin was, the one that worked on the set with Elsie, he was also at the exhibition fights in Myrtle Beach. He had the degenerate running for him, Elsie’s attacker,” Rico’s tone has gone into formal mode.
“It turns out, according to testimony, Bambi had asked the two men to pay Elsie a little visit on set, to shake her up a little. Apparently out of jealousy. But all three testimonies confirm that Bambi didn’t order the attack. So the attacker is going down for that alone.”
John has his arm around the back of Elsie’s chair, and draped across her shoulders. He pulls her in closer when he feels her tense under his arm from the conversation. He would give his life to take away all of the pain she’s gone through, to blot out all of the misery she’s endured. But he can’t. All he can do is love her, protect her, and spend the rest of his life adoring her.
“So, are they all in prison now, Rico?” Elsie asks tightly.
She wants everything out in the open. She’s sick and tired of people walking on egg shells around her, afraid if they say the wrong things, that she’ll snap. But what Elsie wants most of all is for this to be finished and behind her, so she can get on with her life.
“Yes, the convictions came in last week. They’ll be gone for a while,” Rico says looking at Elsie with understanding in his eyes.
“Dude,” Brian begins, laughing and shaking his head, “When it came out you were a detective, I think I can speak for us all when I say, you shocked the shit out of us. We thought you were a lot of things, but never a cop.”
Rico chuckles and lowers his head shaking it.
“Then I did my job, that is exactly how we needed it to be. No one could know what I was doing here. In fact, I’m going to be here a while,” Rico smiles at them.
“And Bro, I’m sorry I was such a dick to you,” Rico continues, turning to John. “You know, man, when you want to be a bad-ass you’ve got to take on the biggest guy. That, unfortunately, was you. Believe me, I was not happy about it. And that pulled Elsie in by default. For that I will forever be sorry. I can’t tell you how many nights my heart broke for this woman and the shit that got thrown in her lap,”
“It’s ok Rico, it’s done and over with, it’s not your fault the bitch was crazy,” Elsie cuts in, not wanting a pity party to start.
The champagne arrives and the rest of night is spent with friends enjoying each other’s company, laughing and joking, without a care in the world.
Just for tonight.
And when the night
