The Perfect Weapon: Chapter 2013: Part 1
Chapter 2013: Part 1
Vaughn stared at the door as it slowly closed behind him. For the second time tonight, a woman had closed the door in his face. Earlier, Jack had opened an office door and had told him to get out. That was...supportable. But this? Twice, he had been kicked out of homes. The first time, he had gone. This time? Should he stay or go? He looked back at the door. Was Sydney standing on the other side of it, waiting or had she gone herself?
He remembered Sydney opening that glass door from the deck earlier tonight, before the party started, before time had truly begun to run away from him.
“Vaughn!” Sydney had whispered in surprise as she and Susan had preceded her parents through the deck doors. Her laughter had faded the moment she had seen him. “You came-“
Vaughn had begun to smile in return, but when her happiness changed to wariness, he felt something, what was it? Something thud in his chest, as he realized she was bracing herself for hurt. Was he doing this to her? Guilt - He looked up as Dr. Barnett slammed the door, which was unusual enough itself to make him blink. Then she made some comment to Irina that caused the two women to laugh. What was up with that? He shook his head and turned to Sydney. Yes, that’s what he needed to do - stop focusing on Irina and focus on Sydney. “Yes, I came. I helped Weiss buy out the grocery store for Susan-“
“Excellent!” Susan beamed at Weiss and stood on tip toe to kiss his cheek. “Thanks so much for running those last minute errands for me.”
“No problem-“ Weiss grinned down at Susan and shifted the grocery bag in his arms to flick his finger across her bangs. He liked her bangs. He liked how she blew up on them when she was frustrated or concentrating or irritated. He liked irritating her until she did that.
“Come into the kitchen and help...” Susan urged, pulling on his arms and sending a sidelong glance toward Sydney and Vaughn who were staring silently at each other until Vaughn looked down at his feet. There they stayed, locked in silence, both searching for the key. Sydney cocked her head and wondered if she should quit looking for a key and begin searching for a blunt instrument. Speaking of which...There was Susan. Sydney turned away from Vaughn and followed Susan up the stairs, smiling once again when she saw what Susan was holding.
Judy shook her head as Irina tried to foist some clothing on her for the party. “Your clothes won’t fit and I really shouldn’t stay and I definitely shouldn’t be borrowing clothes from you - that is crossing a line that-“
“Would wearing your own clothes be crossing a line?” Susan asked, holding up a plain brown paper bag.
“My own clothes?” Judy snatched the bag away from Susan. She looked at it and then at Susan again.
“Don’t hit me!” Susan giggled. “You don’t have a pencil.”
“No, but I could assign you mandatory overtime for the next month.” Judy tossed the bag onto the bed and glared at her assistant.
Susan groaned. Judy didn’t make casual threats. “All for taking your spare set of casual clothes from the office?”
“Get real,” Judy scoffed. “I’m talking about the fact that somehow, someway when Dav- Dr. Caro called me you told him every time that I was busy, that you’d give me the message and yet-“
“Oh, that.” Susan looked at Sydney and winked.
“Yes, that.” Judy turned to Sydney. “And you!”
“What did you do, exactly, Sydney?” Irina asked eagerly, until Judy turned a dark stare in her direction. Irina clamped her mouth together, then allowed a small smile to curve her lips.
“I may have - and that was a conditional tense, you’ll notice...” Sydney began. Then she looked at Susan and began giggling herself. “I - with Vaughn’s help - may have rerouted calls from Dr. Barnett’s office to my phone so that whenever she called down to talk to him, she got me -“
“And Dave was always busy, but would return the call?” Irina nodded. “Good play.”
“Why are you really angry?” Susan asked Judy. "If you're really angry, that is."
“I...I don’t like being manipulated.”
“I apologize. I just thought-“
“We thought,” Sydney amended. “That since you're somewhat...reserved on the surface, it might be more illuminating for Dave to see the real you?"
Susan nodded. "Yeah. Save time? Save pretense? I mean, Jude, you're not getting any young--" She stopped when Irina cleared her throat pointedly.
“The real me?” Judy scoffed, ignoring the comment about her age. Susan was definitely going to be spending the next week catching up on filing until the wee hours. Might as well, might as well keep her company as she stayed in the office fretting aboutt the repercussions of the big game plan on Jack. She had to show Irina and Sydney the reality of the chain of events they were setting in motion. Again. “The real me? You think you know the real me better than I know the real me?”
“No, we thought...”
“You thought you knew best?”
“Okay, so I’m guilty!” Susan threw up her hands. “But tell me - do you like him?”
“He...has moments.” Judy admitted, smiling to herself. Actually, not that she’d admitted it to the Bobsey Twins here, she had had more fun on that beach arguing with Dave than she’d had having sex with men before. Which made her wonder---
“Moments?” Susan smiled slyly. “Like when his tongue is-“
“Susan!” Judy looked down at the bag.
“C’mon, Judy, don’t try and lie to me. I saw how you were clutching his tshirt, preparatory to tearing it off, I assume.”
“Stop it.”
“And you know what I was thinking-“
“I live in fear of hearing it-“ Judy grabbed the bag and left the room.
”So, Jack, where do you think I went wrong with her?” Dave asked as he finished washing up in his bathroom and began changing into a new shirt.
“We don’t have that much time before the party starts.”
“Then cut to the chase,” Dave urged impatiently. “Time is wasting.”
“My guess is that Judy’s a private person and doesn’t like what the kids call public displays of affection.”
“Oh.” Dave blinked. “It was just a kiss.”
“I know that. Hey...” Jack laughed. “You’re talking to the man who might have conceived his daughter in the parking garage. Then there was that other parking garage-“ He grinned. “It’s a wonder I don’t have an erection every time I’m in a parking garage thinking of what else I'd like to be in.”
“Parking garages? That’s a really weird kink, Jack.” Dave wrinkled his nose. “And it totally lacks ambience.”
“My wife doesn’t need ambience, she needs-“
“A husband with a shred of discretion!” Irina exclaimed as she stood in the doorway to Dave’s room. “That’s what I need.”
“I know what you need.” Jack leered at her. “We can go into our garage and pretend it’s downtown and I can throw your purse and you can grab my tie and-“
Dave coughed into his hand. “Did you ever consider even the concept of too much information?”
Irina stroked Jack’s chest with her fingertips. “We don’t really consider the concept of too much anything between us.” She dipped her fingers inside the waistband of Jack's pants. "Take this, for example..."
“Take it somewhere else! Geez!” Dave flung himself down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm.
“Get your wet, sandy jeans off of the bedspread!” Irina ordered, removing her hand from Jack’s pants to shove at Dave. “Now. And shouldn’t you be changing those anyway?”
“You do know, Mom, that he’s pushing your buttons so you’ll stop the inappropriate displays of affection.” Sydney smiled from the doorway as her mother gave her a look as if she’d just spoiled their game. She shook her head as she watched the three of them. It was much better in here, where it was safe, than out there, where... “Because Dave is so retiring and reticent himself.”
“Yeah, sure, Princess. And do tell me all about pushing buttons, why don’t you? Tell me all about why Judy called but never got me and she never got my messages?” Dave asked, while massaging the aching thigh above his damaged knee.
“I have no idea as to what you are referring,” Sydney taunted, with a sidelong look at her father.
“You know, Sydney, I’m not really angry with you about your meddling,” Dave began in a slow drawl as he sat up on the side of the bed.
“Okay, what is it?” Sydney sighed. “In a shocking turn of events, you’re leading up to some meddling of your own?”
“Just a bit of advice-“
Jack snorted. “Like the San Andreas fault is just a bit of a crack?”
Dave grinned. “Shut up, Jackie. I’m talking to Sydney. You -“ Dave pointed his finger at her. “Stop hiding in here and go confront your boyfriend.”
“Here? At the party?” Sydney protested. “That’s hardly what Susan wants or deserves-“
“True, but-“ Dave stopped at Jack’s glance. Okay, he knew when to stop meddling. For the moment, anyway.
“True. But I’ll suggest that you...” Jack watched his daughter’s face pale and pulled her close for a hug. He said softly. “I want you to do this for me. Later tonight, I want you to go back to your apartment and fight with him. I want you to pick a fight with him and for your relationship-“
“I shouldn’t have to-“
“You shouldn’t have to. I agree. But should has nothing to do with this step in the game between a man and a woman.” Jack paused and looked at Irina, standing next to them. “At this point, what’s most important is that you have no regrets. No feeling, years down the road-“
“No if onlys,” Irina said firmly. “Your father is right. We both speak from experience.”
“The experience that it’s better to fight?”
Irina touched Jack’s cheek with her fingertips, sliding her index finger to the corner of his mouth. “Yes. That’s what he did in Panama. He fought with me. He fought for us, for our family. He gave it everything he had, heart, soul, body, everything to reach me because...he felt I, we, all of us were worth it. So yes. Go and fight. One last time.”
“I...” Sydney gulped and looked over her father’s shoulder to Dave. “That’s what you think too...”
“I think your parents are correct. You have to at least try. If it doesn’t work, at least you know you’ve tried.”
“But if I fail?” Sydney asked in a small voice.
“If you fail, you will hurt. But you know what? You’ll get back up and we’ll all be there to help you,” Jack reminded her. He hadn’t been there when some ass**** boy like that Noah had broken her heart before so he would certainly do it now. No doubt followed by breaking some asshole boy’s nose, but Sydney had to come before the pleasurable sound of bone cracking under his fist. “I promise.”
Sydney nodded. “Okay. If you promise.”
“I do.”
Sydney nodded, leaned into her father for a moment, then stood up straight. Irina touched Sydney’s hair. “Consider this. Will it hurt any less than if you didn’t try? Long term?” She asked, then shook her head. “No, it would actually hurt more if you didn’t try.”
Dave nodded. “It’s not the falling down, it’s the getting back up that counts. As all of us here know. But don’t worry about that just yet.”
Sydney nodded slowly. “Yes. I...in the field sometimes...you just have to focus on surviving this moment and then the next.”
“Exactly,” Irina agreed. “Break it into bearable moments. As long as...you keep your eyes on the goal.”
“Is that what you’re doing tonight? With this more public debut of Irina from Iowa?” Sydney asked her mother, deliberately changing the subject. “Are you nervous about tonight? About starting the lie that will become the truth for the rest of your life?”
“No. I’m far more concerned about the next step in the game plan. This party?” Irina shook her head, then frowned in concentration as she saw Jack’s gaze turn inward at mention of the game plan. “It’s nothing. I hesitate to point this out, but I did pretend to be Laura from nowhere for ten years. Or rather, I pretended to a backstory. Laura, of course, was mostly me. As will be Irina from Iowa.” She turned to Dave. “Honestly, did you have to be from Iowa?”
“You match me in stubbornness, so it’s perfect,” Dave noted, also noting Jack’s preoccupation. “Did you forget that, or would you rather I break into a song from The Music Man?”
“The only thing I’d like you to break is-“
“Ooooh, my leg...” Dave moaned melodramatically, clutching his knee.
“You’re not Danny Kaye and this isn’t White Christmas, you dolt,” Irina laughed.
“I always liked the red dresses they wore at the end,” Sydney added, ever eager to join in movie talk with her mother and Dave as she remembered more and more times the two of them had dragged her to the movies with them.
“That’s because you unconsciously remembered your mother wearing red dresses,” Jack said abruptly, paying attention to the conversation once again.
Sydney put her hand to her temple, seeing her parents in a younger incarnation, dressed in those clothes from the seventies, her mother in some red dress - always a red dress, she would have sworn. A red swirly dress, yes, that was it, with a handkerchief hem and made out of some silky fabric, what was it called? Qiana. That was it. “Are you going to wear a red dress?”
“No. Do you actually remember how often I wore a red dress?” Irina asked, always pleased when Sydney recalled something about her, making their past seem more real to them all.
“Yes. Dad...you liked her in red, didn’t you?” Sydney tried to smile. “You thought she was...hot in red?”
Jack shook his head and bent down to rub his cheek against Irina’s. “No, actually, I thought she was warm. I was always cold and...your mother warmed me. That was-“
“One reason he fell in love with me.” Irina smiled and looped her arms around Jack’s neck, nuzzling into his open collar.
Jack pinched Irina’s butt before circling her waist with his hands. “Well, and you were hot. You almost melted the ice on that rink you knocked me down--”
“Oh, for the love of god...” Sydney groaned, then paused. She liked that story too, so...Then she saw the look on her parents’ faces and held up her hand. If she didn’t keep tabs on them, they’d never make it to the party. “Stop it. Mom, what are you wearing tonight?”
“Black. I want to...blend.”
Jack snorted. “Good luck. You don’t blend into the crowd, honey.”
Irina smiled fondly at Jack as she patted his arm. “Not everyone sees me the way you do.”
“And they won’t if you don’t wear that BOB dress tonight-“ Jack began, his eyes narrowing at the far-too-innocent look on Irina’s face. “Honey...” Jack said warningly.
“You don’t blend into the crowd, Irina,” Dave agreed quickly to forestall another of the endless arguments the Bristows enjoyed. He wanted to get out there and enjoy Judy and their own arguments. He resumed massaging his leg muscles, hoping to revitalize them sufficiently that he could use the cane and not the crutches tonight. “Even when you were Laura, you didn’t blend. If Jack wasn’t with you, you were tense. Noticeably tense. And if he was with you, you were busy glaring daggers at any woman who might dare to look at him-“
“I did not!” Irina protested, glaring at Dave, then at Jack’s amused face. She shoved back. “I...Well, some might say that my behavior appeared so normal as to elicit no suspicions,” she said in a prim voice imitating Judy.
“Yeah, that possessiveness was all part of your game plan. Judy. That voice doesn’t work on you.” Jack rolled his eyes. “So don’t worry, Sydney. Your mother has this party under control. I fully expect some poor woman’s wrist to be broken and-“
Sydney nodded at her mother, who looked as if she couldn’t decide between killing her husband or their friend. “Of course, you’ve done this before, long term. I’d forgotten. Somehow.”
“You have a lot on your mind.” Irina shrugged. “Are you okay?” she asked as she watched Dave press his leg.
“Yes. I just overdid it.” Dave looked up at Jack. “Go ahead. Say I told you so. Say that I strained my muscles when I pulled Judy into my arms and --“
“Put a strain on muscles that haven't been used for a while?” Jack quipped.
Irina laughed, Dave groaned, and Sydney squeaked. “Daaad!”
“Speaking of unused muscles...” Irina said in a throaty purr as she hooked her fingers into the waistband of Jack’s black jeans and pulled him toward her. “Last night was last night. We have fifteen minutes at least-“
“Mommmm!” Sydney threw up her hands and fled the room. Facing Vaughn was less scary than her parents in this kind of mood.
“Good job at getting her out there,” Dave noted as he stood up and reached for the button on the top of his blue jeans. “Now you two leave. Unless Irina wants to see-“
Irina laughed. “No. All I want to see is-“
“I think I know...” Jack leered at her as he wrapped his hand around her waist and rubbed the skin in little circles.
“What I’m going to wear tonight.” Irina pulled Jack toward the door. “Come with me so that I can show you-“
“Ugh. Clothes?” Jack groaned. “I’m really only interested in them when I’m taking them off you.”
“Jack, I hate to point this out, but she does need to get undressed before she can get changed...” Dave hinted.
“My god, I’m losing my touch!” Jack rolled his eyes. “I guess I must need to reread that manual.”
Irina stopped and pulled Jack abruptly into her. “You really want to be punished, don’t you?”
“How did you guess?” Jack grinned.
“Maybe I’d like to be punished...” Irina purred as she pulled Jack along with her toward their bedroom.
“Oh?” Jack asked, surprised. “As in-“
“It will be a surprise. Now, however, it’s your turn.”
“I can’t wait,” Jack agreed, his voice growing lower and deeper. He laughed huskily as they reached their bedroom and Irina pushed him down on the bed.
Marshall smiled at Carrie as they worked on another recording to send to Arvin. “Piecing together the dialog when Irina hadn’t been able to get Emily to speak the correct words is a challenge-“
“But so doable...” Carrie grinned, then wanted giggle as Marshall turned bright red. He was awfully cute. “Are you going to Susie’s party tonight?” she asked, touching his hand.
Arvin groaned as he hit the play button again. How long had it been since he’d heard that sound? What risks would he take to hear it again?
Emily giggled. “Laura! You still don’t tease Jack with-“
Irina’s much huskier voice laughed. “Some things never change. Like the game between a man and a woman.”
Irina tossed Jack’s clothes aside. She would pick them up later. Now, she had other priorities. She slid off the bed and stood looking down at Jack, lying there naked and waiting on the bed. Waiting for her. She sighed happily, her eyes scanning up his long legs and over his body until she reached his face, the picture of male impatience. Well, it wasn’t only his face that was impatient. She smiled again.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jack asked in disbelief as Irina stood there, still clothed and smiling at him in a way that made his warning sensors go on red alert, to match another part of his body also on alert. "Come over here. Now--"
“Time is growing short...” Irina noted, running her hand down the middle of Jack’s chest, over his hips and then, just as he hitched a breath in anticipation, she pulled her hand away abruptly and took a step backward.
“That’s about all that’s growing short,” Jack growled, grabbing for her and missing by a fraction of an inch as she darted away into the closet.
“I want to be efficient-“
“What does efficiency have to do with-“
“If I’m already partially dressed for the party, then we can take longer...” Irina popped the top half of her body back around the closet door and scanned down Jack’s body. “And longer is better, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. I know I love it when your nipples get nice and long.” Jack smiled as he watched her nipples respond to his words. “Like that. Yes.”
“Shut up.”
“Get undressed or half dressed or whatever and get back over here!”
“I don’t think I like your attitude,” Irina said firmly in a voice she hadn’t used in a long time with Jack.
Jack smiled. “Oh, so it’s the school teacher who’s going to punish me?”
“No. We don’t have time for that kind of game. It’s your wife who’s going to punish you-“
“Then get on with it already!” Jack demanded. “Or I’m going to come in there and I do mean, come-“
”I was going to punish you by showing you clothing, wasn’t I?” Irina looked out of the closet and swung a lacy black bra in front of her. “I need to get-“
“Lingerie?” Jack rested on his elbows and looked eagerly toward the closet. “If you’re wearing black tonight, I like those black stockings with the lacy tops-“
“I know...” Irina said in a sing song voice. “But I’m wondering if you’re going to like this-“
“I’ll love anything as long as it’s on your body, honey. And if you show it to me now!” Jack ordered impatiently.
“Good!” Irina popped back out of the closet wearing a black dress and held up two more black dresses, waving them like flags. “So...This one or this one or this one? A, B, or C? We need to debate my options. In great and excruciating detail. This one, you’ll notice, has an asymmetrical hemline, while this one--”
“You have got to be kidding!” Jack groaned and fell back on the bed, covering his face with his arm. “You are evil-“
“I’ll show you evil. Do you want to go shoe shopping with me?” Irina retorted. She tossed the dresses on the floor, climbed on the bed, and pulled his arm away from his face.
“God, no. Anything but that!” Jack groaned again partly in faux fear and partly in frustration as his clothed wife climbed on top of him. “You and Sydney already punished me with that once. Really, I don’t know why the Agency doesn’t employ that as a torture protocol, following women around while they debate endlessly and uselessly over three identical pairs of black pumps-“
“It was Option A, B, and C-“ Irina punctuated each letter with a short slam of Jacks shoulders into the bed. She rolled her eyes as she noted that Jack’s eyes were glued to the movement of her breasts. Men. Yes, this man....She rubbed her breasts against his chest, before lowering her head to kiss his mouth three times. “Options are important, as is doing extensive research...”
“About shoes? Are you insane?” Jack attempted, not very hard, to roll Irina under him. He grinned up at her as she rolled her hands around his bare shoulders. “They were black. Heels. What the hell is the difference that necessitated a solid hour of discussion about the difference between stiletto and spike and...some French king’s name-“
“Louis heel. Louis. Pay attention to the details, Jack,” Irina taunted.
“The fact that some type of women’s shoe heel is named after a French king is never going to come in handy. I can assure you of that-“
Irina smiled slyly and looked toward her closet. “Really? And are you done babbling?”
“Are you going to give me anything more interesting to do with my mouth?” Without waiting for an answer, Jack pulled the skirt of her dress up and planted his warm lips against the silk of her panties.
“Jack!” Irina gasped in surprise as Jack hooked a finger in the panties and pulled them down, following with his lips. “I thought you didn’t like...ooooh....quickies-“ Her fingers clenched on his shoulders as his mouth made that movement, that little circle, that would send her... “Jaaack...A quickie?”
“They are not my preference, but given that you’re...” Jack bent his head to hide his face and gently kissed the skin above her curls. “Given what’s going to happen in a few days, I need, want to take every opportunity...”
“To save up the memories-“ Irina whispered, feeling a tightness in her throat. She ran her fingers through his hair before resting her hand at the back of his head, supporting him as he gave her pleasure. He pushed back and in his eyes she saw that he didn’t want tenderness right now. He wanted...to torment her. Hmm. She could play that game too.....
“Yeah, since for a while I’ll be saving up my c-“
“Why aren’t your parents coming?” Susan asked Sydney, as Sydney reentered the kitchen while the others raced around finishing up preparations for the party.
Dave burst into laughter, opened his mouth, and then shut it abruptly. “Where are your parents?” he asked Sydney.
Sydney rolled her eyes. She’d gone upstairs and heard her mother laughing in a manner that told her that her father hadn’t been regaling her with knock-knock jokes. “Taking a...shower.”
“Ah. What everyone does right before hosting a party.” Dave rolled his eyes as well. He remembered another party at their house, his party for his PhD, and how long it had taken Jack to answer the door.
“Yeah. Ah.”
Dave smiled. “I have never known two people who so eagerly enjoy... each other’s company the way your parents do.”
“Nice euphemism, Uncle Dave.”
“So was the shower business. Do you want me to take you out to the Cone Castle for ice cream, Princess?” Dave asked with a wink.
“Was someone mentioning ice cream?” Judy asked as she tentatively poked her head into the kitchen. “Do you have chocolate?”
Susan laughed and opened the freezer door. “Give Judy chocolate ice cream and a spoon and she’s set.” She lifted two round scoops of double chocolate chip into a yellow bowl and handed it to Judy. “A peace offering? Your favorite. And I have whipped cream too. The Reddiwhip in a can....”
Sydney grabbed the can from the refrigerator and squirted a generous amount onto the ice cream, before tipping her head back and squirting it directly into her mouth.
Judy sighed happily as she spooned a small dollop of ice cream and whipped cream into her mouth and let it melt slowly on her tongue. “This is better than sex.” She heard her own words blurting out. Ohmigod, what had she just said? Apparently the right thing, judging by the intrigued look on Dave’s face. Hmm. Realizing her hands were shaking slightly, she put the ice cream down on the kitchen table.
“If so, then clearly, you haven’t been having sex the right way." Dave's deep baritone seemed to echo around the room, stopping all movement and sound.
“Oh, really?” Judy snapped into the pregnant silence to hide the fact that his taunting words spoken in that deep voice made her want to make him prove his words. Immediately. Now. With the whipped cream. On the table in the kitchen and... She crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Seconds. Until Dave’s eyes dropped, discreetly enough, down then back up to her face.
“Really.” Dave leaned against the counter, putting his crutches next to him.
“Hmm. Well, let’s see.” Judy looked down as she searched for a way to regroup and gain some control. She looked back up and said in a bland, professional voice, “Let’s ask some questions. That is, by the way, still the standard therapeutic technique.”
“How relieved I am to know that some things never change.” Dave smiled. She was trying to get control by retreating into professionalism. How long would that last? Or what could he do to make it last no time at all? Which was about how long it was going to take him to- Control. He was the one who needed control.
“I...suppose not,” Judy admitted quietly as she absorbed the frisson of excitement racing through her veins. How long had it been since she enjoyed the heightened awareness that grew from flirting with an attractive, interested man who gave as good as he got? She wondered how he would give her... “Ahem. I meant...”
“To ask some questions?” Dave grinned. He had recognized the look in her eyes as they’d dropped, ever so quickly, down his body before coming to rest once again on his face. She was interested. And interesting. “So, ask away.”
“Perhaps I’ll ask the women first. In your experience, which lasts longer - sex with the typical guy or an ice cream sundae?”
“The sundae,” Susan said promptly. She winked at Weiss. “Present company excepted because you are, of course, not the typical guy.”
“What a good answer.” Weiss sighed happily as he flicked Susan’s bangs, before running his fingers along her face to pinch an ear lobe and watch her shiver. She liked that. Good. He’d do it again later, when he accepted his reward for helping her with the party.
Judy smiled at the couple. They were a good match. Speaking of a match...She dared to look over at Dave. Yes, he was still as handsome as he’d been earlier and the amused intelligence in his eyes as well as the character in his face were just as compelling. He looked like he was having too good of a time. She shrugged and dragged her fingertip through the whipped cream and then slowly licked it clean. In reward, she watched Dave’s eyes dilate. Not that she was paying that close of attention, of course. She licked her lips and smiled, watching his eyes drop to the whipped cream. She knew what he wanted. Without thinking, she once again covered her fingertip in the cream and then, this time, very quickly licked it, then asked, “Another question. Which lasts longer - a man or an ice cream cone?”
“Judy!” Dave whispered in surprise. Then he colored as he noted that everyone looked confused by his shock. Except Judy. She touched her tongue to her bottom lip and looked away. Yes, she looked away with a smug little smile. That little... Dave began to take a step toward her and then stopped as he realized he needed his crutches. Not a smooth move. And she would be so smooth, he thought, gazing at the skin of her arms. Smooth and soft and...Control. Yup. He needed control.
Sydney answered in a tight voice as she looked toward the living room where Vaughn was hiding. “I can tell you. It’s an ice cream cone. You can lick that for so much longer before it...disappears.” Susan and Weiss both patted Sydney’s shoulder.
Judy nodded at Sydney and waited until Sydney nodded back. “True enough, Sydney.” Judy swirled her spoon through the ice cream, scooping up a dollop. Turning the spoon upright, she brought it to her mouth and licked it slowly, before sliding it into her mouth, sucking it clean and then withdrawing it. Holding it up, she added, “And then with ice cream, you can always go back for more right away...”
Dave grabbed and shifted a crutch around until it stood in front of him. “Believe me,” he muttered. “Coming back for more right away won’t be a problem.”
“How incredibly relieved I am to hear that.” Judy began to lick her spoon once again. She blushed as Weiss began to chuckle. She had forgotten for a moment that anyone else was in the room besides her and Dave.
“Geez, Dave. You’re a lucky man...” Weiss whispered into Dave’s ear. “She knows how to lick that spoon, as that ...uh...crutch in front of you will attest.”
“Maybe you should leave...” Dave suggested, glaring at Weiss. He liked the kid, he really did, after all the time Weiss had spent visiting him in the hospital acting as his personal time capsule, but no man wanted another one to see him making a fool of himself. At least Jack wasn’t here or he’d never hear the end of it.
“I’m not leaving!” Weiss laughed. “Nope.”
“I think...I will,” Judy whispered, and turned quickly, taking her ice cream with her. Dave sighed as she left the room. He was going to follow. He looked down. Well, he would follow as soon as he didn’t embarrass himself to do so. Day-um, he was glad she'd stopped licking that spoon over and over or he might have--
Arvin pressed the play button over and over, unable to stop himself from listening to that last conversation with Irina. She had hinted, teased, half-promised until he wanted to kill her himself to extract the information from her. Just as she had acted with Jack when she was Laura in one of her moods, wanting - so obviously - for Jack to reach a breaking point. Well, he supposed she’d won in the end. Jack had nearly broken. He understood it better now, now that he was getting close to that point himself. Wanting, needing...
Irina had chuckled. "You think I don’t know Emily? Then or now? What do you think we did in Rome? Stand around outside on the sidewalk eating gelato?"
"What do you want?" Arvin asked wearily. Irina never did anything for free. There was always a price.
"People have patterns. What do I always want?"
"An extraction."
“Very good.” Irina smiled coldly. “I’ll contact you with the date. Here are the coordinates.”
“Jack...” Irina growled, pressing her hands into his hair, trying to increase the pressure. “Right there. There! Will you just-“
“I know where to go, I just don’t want to yet-“ Jack abruptly ripped the sides of Irina's panties and flung them aside. Then did nothing. He waited. 1, 2, 3....
“You can go to hell, if you don’t-“
“You don’t mean that...” Jack whispered, his tongue flicking.
“Yes, I do!” Irina moaned as his mouth abruptly fastened on her needy flesh and began suckling before sliding his tongue against her.
Jack taunted, “No, you don’t. I can see your face-“
“You could see it better if we’d installed those mirrors like I wanted-“ Irina complained. She wanted her mirrors back. And the portfolio of photographs she’d hidden behind the mirrors. But right now, she’d be extremely happy if he’d just move his mouth...Oh, forget it, she decided and moved her pelvis, pressing it onto his mouth the way she wanted.
Jack grinned against her skin and nipped at her soft flesh with careful teeth. She bit her lip to keep from screaming and instead pinched the bare skin of his shoulders, urging him on. God, he loved her like this. “So demanding of my time and my tools...”
Irina smiled down at Jack, digging her nails into his shoulders. There was no one else in the world she could imagine or wanted to imagine laughing with while making love. “Yes. Let me tell you which tool I want right now-“
“I think it’s my drill to screw in that mirror...” Jack laughed, lifting her to press her down his body. He’d love to watch her butt move, he decided, to say nothing of seeing his hardness disappear insider her body. She had a point about the mirrors. He’d add it to his ‘honey do’ list. Right after he enjoyed another kind of honey. He slid one hand in from her hip toward her center, sliping and sliding before bringing it to his mouth and sucking it clean.
Judy lifted a trembling hand up to the glass and her reflected image. What the hell had she just done? She never acted like that. Never. Why now, with him? She wondered. Had she reacted so strongly to Dave three decades ago because she’d felt this same intense attraction and at that young age been unable to handle it? It could be; she could barely handle it now in her fifties. She wanted to grab him and...
“Good god,” Dave moaned. “If I had two working legs, I’d...”
“I’d say you have two working legs, it’s that third one...” Weiss pointed to Dave’s knee. “That’s holding you back. Or uh down, as the case might be.” He winked.
Dave grinned. “Luckily for me I’ve never had a problem being on the bottom. But if I could...I’d use that swing chair of mine-“
“Whoa, bud. Too much info!” Weiss laughed.
TBC at Chapter 2013: Part 1 cont’d