Author: Kristbethke

**Micah and Kevin from last week are back again.  This time, it’s Kevin who makes the mistake.  Enjoy!**

I stood on the porch, my hand on the doorknob.  I took a deep breath, and told myself to open the door.  My body didn’t obey.  I fought back a few tears, took another breath, and finally made myself open the front door and walk into the house.

“Kev!  Hey, there you—” Micah cut himself off when he caught sight of my face.  Instantly, he was up and at my side.  “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

I shook my head as he led me to the couch.  “When you kill me, will you make it look like an accident?”  My laugh was weak, my attempt at humor not even remotely funny.  Micah’s eyes were filled with worry and his thumb made soothing circles on the back of my hand.

“What happened?”

I had to suck in a breath, then release it slowly.  There was no use in avoiding the truth.  I needed to be the one to tell him.  I couldn’t let him find out on his own.  That would just lead to a huge fight.  I couldn’t keep this a secret.

“I’m sorry!” I burst out.  Another deep breath.  “I was online today, making my quarterly donation to Make-A-Wish.”

Micah nodded.  “Okay,” he said slowly.  “You do that all the time.”

He didn’t understand, but he would in a minute.  And then he would probably strangle me to death.  I’d deserve it.

“I was rushing, and I wasn’t paying as close attention as I should have been.  I’ve done it so many times, you know?  It’s like my fingers know exactly what to click.”  I peeked at Micah out of the corner of my eye.  He was waiting, not exactly patiently, for me to spit it out.  So I did.  “I meant to donate fifty like I usually do.  But I didn’t put the decimal in.”

“Kevin,” Micah said, his voice low.  “What happened?”

“I donated five thousand dollars,” I all but whispered.  “Our vacation fund is gone.”

Silence.  It took me almost a full minute before I could lift my gaze and look at him.  Micah was staring at the far wall, his face entirely blank.  I wanted to reach out and touch him, wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but I knew better than to say anything.  I needed to wait while he processed that information.  I couldn’t rush him.  I tried very hard not to fidget.

“You didn’t tell them it was a mistake?” Micah’s voice was dangerously low.  I swallowed hard.

“How could I?” My voice was soft.  “I clicked too fast, it was done and complete before I realized it and…” I trailed off, and sighed.  “How could I take that away from kids who really need it?  I just—”

Micah stood up fast and I stopped speaking.  He walked across the room, leaning his hands on the mantle, and hanging his head between his arms.  I wanted so badly to hug him, for him to hold me back and tell me it was okay.  I hadn’t meant to do it, and I regretted that basically every penny we’d been saving for months for a cruise was gone.  But I didn’t regret that the money was going to a worthy cause.  So I remained still and silent, waiting for Micah to start yelling.

“Okay,” he said finally.  He blew out a breath and lifted his head, but he didn’t turn around to look at me.  “It’s okay.”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.  I cleared my throat.  “It’s okay?”

Micah sighed, and finally turned around.  “Well, what are we going to do about it now?  Nothing.  There’s nothing to do.  Hopefully, that will help make some poor kid’s wish come true.”

I almost couldn’t believe the words he was saying.  “You’re not mad?”

He shook his head, and I nearly sagged in relief. But then he spoke and my muscles went taut.  “Oh, I’m plenty mad.  I’ve been looking forward to this vacation for months, and I’m pissed as hell that now it’ll be even longer before we go.”  His eyes were swirling with emotion, and I tried to say something, but Micah cut me off by lifting his hand.  “But I also know you didn’t do it on purpose, and that you’ll be much, much more careful in the future.”

I nodded fast, and Micah finally graced me with a hint of a smile.  He shook his head, then pinched the bridge of his nose.  “Yeah, I’m upset.  But I’ll get over it.  And because I know you weren’t trying to be a jerk and mess up our vacation, I’ll forgive you for this gross oversight.”

A laugh of relief bubbled up, but I managed to check it before it escaped.  That wouldn’t do us any good right now.  Instead, I stood and slowly crossed to where he was standing.  I cautiously reached out a hand, and Micah took it after only a second’s hesitation, then pulled me into his arms.  I sighed as I snuggled into his embrace.

With my face smooshed against his neck, I said again, “I’m really sorry.”

I felt him nod, and he squeezed me tightly.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said fervently.

“But you’re not allowed to play with money for a while, huh?”

I laughed because I couldn’t help it.  “Yeah, okay.”

It was the least I could agree to.

**A birthday deserves a special story, right?  So for Carla (who helped a bit with this as well) Happy Birthday!!  May your day be filled with awesome!**

I’d always wanted to visit Paris, and Etienne had made that possible.  I swore up and down to anyone who asked I hadn’t started dating the Frenchman so that he’d take me home with him, and it was mostly true.  Etienne was gorgeous and kind, and he’d caught my attention before I’d ever heard him speak or known that, for all he’d been living in the States for fifteen years, his heart and home were still in France.  Now, after a year and a half of dating, we’d finally gone on vacation to visit his relatives.

Standing outside the Palais du Louvre near the Pont des Arts, I waited for him to finish a phone call that couldn’t wait.  He’d been really good about ignoring the phone when he could while we’d been here, so I didn’t fault him for the occasional time that he couldn’t.  Besides, it was good people-watching.  The courtyard wasn’t overly fully, but there were enough people milling about the pyramid to make it interesting.  Family groups, couples, and a whole mess of tourists had my imagination wandering, wondering what their stories were.

With my attention diverted, I was nearly bowled over by two young children, a boy and a girl, as they ran past.  Shouting and chasing each other, I smiled as I watched their antics.  A woman chased after them, harried looking but smiling as she called out, “Nell!  Viggo! Reviens ici, imbéciles. Ne t’enfuis pas de moi.”

They seemed happy, even if their mother looked ready to cheerfully strangle them, and I stepped out of their path and meandered a few feet away.  A glance at Etienne showed he was still rather engaged in his phone call, but he had one eye on me and made an apologetic face.  I blew him a kiss, and moseyed further inward, taking in the sights, and soaking up the atmosphere.

“Tu es un homme merveilleux.” A deep voice said close to my ear.  “Tu devrais me laisser te ramener à la maison.”

I wasn’t very good with French—Etienne was teaching me but it was slow going.  I didn’t really have an ear for language—but I understood the gist of it.  Since that wasn’t Etienne, I opened my mouth to decline but the words dried up when I caught sight of the man speaking to me.  He was absolutely stunning in his beauty, but he held himself with a smarmy air that let me know he knew it.  I shook my head.  I wouldn’t have gone with him even if I wasn’t already in love.

“Il est à moi,” Etienne growled, stomping over to where we stood, his face a dark mask of anger.  The stranger held up his hands and backed away slowly, like he didn’t mean any harm, but Etienne didn’t stop his menacing stare until the man was well and truly gone.  I smiled up at my boyfriend.  His possessiveness should have been a turn off, but I just found it hot.

“I wouldn’t have gone with him,” I said softly, staring into his deep brown eyes.  He nodded quickly, and his smile turned both indulgent and apologetic at once.

“Oui, I know,” he said.  Then he held up his phone.  “Je suis désolé.”

“It’s all right,” I said, meaning it.  I grinned.  “How about you show me what you wanted to show me now?”

He nodded and took my hand, leading me toward the Pont des Arts.  It was one of the things I’d loved about him from the start, that he wasn’t afraid to show his connection to me.  Etienne was an incredibly tactile person, and he touched me whenever he wanted, no matter where we were.  I was more than happy to let him.

Once on the bridge, Etienne pulled me to a stop about half way along, and then drew my attention to the railing.  It was only then that I noticed the padlocks.  Thousands upon thousands of locks were attached.  We moved closer and I could see that they had names written on them.  I cocked my eyebrow at Etienne in question.  He smiled.

“Cadenas d’Amour,” he said in his deep baritone, pulling me closer.  “Love locks.  It is a tradition that lovers attach a lock to the bridge, and then throw the key in the Siene.  It is said to represent a couple’s committed love.”

I smiled, my gaze barely able to take in the multitude of padlocks.  “That’s a lovely sentiment.  I can’t imagine it’s good for the bridge, but I don’t think I care.  I love the romanticism of it.”

Etienne nudged my arm, and when I looked at him, he reached into his pocket and produced a gold padlock.  It was a hefty piece of hardware, the shackle thick and sturdy.  And then he turned it over to show me the other side. Michael and Etienne was engraved in elegant script.  My heart gave a thump, and my breath caught in my chest.

“Oh, Etienne,” I began, but I couldn’t get any more words out.  He cupped my jaw with one big hand, his smile full of love, and then we turned our attention to the railing.  Together we found a spot, though it was a challenge, to attach our padlock.  Etienne was careful to make sure it was secure before he removed the key.  He handed it to me, and I kissed him softly before I tossed it over the side and into the Siene.

We stood there for a long moment, just absorbing the moment, before he once again took my hand and we continued our journey.  Across the bridge and toward the rest of our life.

**This week’s challenge went through a couple of incarnations before I finally got it written.  But here’s what happened with driving under the influence and the morning after.  Enjoy!**

The squeal of tires and the sound of the garbage bins being knocked over jerked me from sleep.  I’d been lounging on the couch waiting for my boyfriend to come home from his friend’s birthday party, and I must have dozed off.  But the shock of awaking to those noises had adrenaline pulsing through my veins.  I hopped off the couch and scrubbed my hands over my face even as I walked as quickly as I could toward the front door.  With a quick twist of my wrist, I had the deadbolt unlocked, and I pulled the door open.  Micah was on the porch, swaying unsteadily, his hand raised toward the door with the wrong key extended.   He smelled like a distillery.

“Jesus,” I whispered, reaching out a hand and grabbing hold before he could fall over.

“Hey, baby,” he slurred.  He leaned heavily against me, and since I was several inches shorter and thirty pounds lighter than he was, I grunted under the strain.   His smile was wide, and his eyes were unfocused.

“Christ Micah, what the fuck?”  I ushered him into the house and made sure he was supported against the wall before I turned to shut the door.  When I caught sight of his car in the driveway, with no other occupants, and the garbage cans lying on their side, my blood started to boil.

“You drove?” I hissed.

Micah’s grin just grew wider.  “Yep!”  He seemed pleased with himself.  He gave a belch, then patted his stomach.

“What in the fuck were you thinking?” I bellowed.  I was beyond angry.  He could have killed himself!  He could have killed someone else!  What the fuck was he thinking?  Clearly he hadn’t been, and I was honestly surprised.  This was not something he’d ever done before, and I knew he knew better.

“Shh,” he whispered, wincing at my tone.  “I’s fine, Kev.  No big deal.”

Yes it fucking was.  But there was no point in arguing about it now.  He’d get an earful in the morning.

***

The next time I woke up, it was to the sound of Micah retching in the bathroom.  I waited until he stopped, and I heard the flush of the toilet, before I burst into the room, letting the door bang against the wall.

“Good morning, Sunshine!” I shouted.  “How are you?”

“Jesus fuck,” he muttered before hauling himself upright and shuffled to the sink.  “Kevin, sweetheart, keep it down.”

“Nope!”  I was using my outside voice on purpose.  He’d pay for what he did last night with more than a hangover.  “I want to know what in the fuck you were thinking driving yourself home last night.”

“I was fine.”  He voice was quiet, and he scowled at me.  “I only had three beers.”

I snorted.  “You had more than that.  You came home reeking of alcohol and barely able to stand up.  Micah, what the hell?  You know better than to drive like that.  You could have been killed!  Worse, you could have killed someone else.  Tell me what was going through your dumbass head that you got behind the wheel!”

“Please stop shouting,” he said, sounding miserable.  He brushed his teeth, and then sipped some water before he turned to me.  I had my arms crossed over my chest, and stared him down.  I couldn’t believe he would do something this stupid, this dangerous, and I wanted an explanation.

“I thought I was fine,” he amended his earlier statement.

Not good enough.  “Well you weren’t.  You scared the holy hell out of me when you got home.  Thinking of you driving all that way intoxicated—”

“But nothing bad happened,” he interrupted.

“Oh my God, really?  That’s your defense?  You know damn well that was probably the stupidest thing you could have done.  If there was no one sober, you could have called a cab or me, for fuck’s sake.”

He winced again, and I saw the shame all over his face.  Good.  He deserved it.  “What do you want me to say, Kevin?  It won’t happen again.  Ever.”

I squinted at him.  “How about you don’t drink again unless I’m there and sober to drive us?”

His eyes widened.  “I’m being punished?”

If not drinking was a punishment, then he needed to grow up.  I nodded, and stared hard, not backing down even a little.  Finally he sighed, and his agreement was a grunt and a nod.  Three years into our relationship, I knew that was as good as a promise out loud.  Finally satisfied that I wouldn’t have to go through this ever again, I relaxed.  Micah’s smile was pained but genuine, and he opened his arms.  I went straight into them.

“I’m sorry I scared you.  Thinking about it now, I scared myself a little.  It won’t happen again, Kev.”

I nodded against his chest.  “I love you.  I can’t lose you.  To death or prison.”

His kiss to my forehead was sweet.  “I love you too.  And you’re stuck with me for a long time.”

I sighed contentedly.  That was exactly what I wanted.

**Hope you aren’t sick of my boys yet! 😀  Joshua and Will are here one more time, to tell you what happened when they reached a turning point in their relationship, and there was a surprise…in the grocery store.  Thanks for reading along.  Enjoy!**

Sadie Mae was seven pounds, ten ounces of perfect angel.  As I watched Joshua hold his brand new niece, my heart just melted at the sight.  He was so big and she was so tiny, trustingly nestled up against his chest.  I knew how safe I felt why I laid against him like that.  I could imagine how protected Sadie felt in those big, strong arms.

Joshua’s gaze finally strayed away from the infant he held and found mine.  And there it was all over his face.  He wanted one of those for his own.  I tried to smile, and I was pretty sure I succeeded.  But inside, I was panicking.  I never thought of having children of my own, and though we’d never discussed it, it was clear that Joshua did.  Could I deal with a kid?  Was it a deal breaker if I couldn’t?  Would I lose Joshua if I said I didn’t want children?  Did I actually feel that way?  I wasn’t sure.  About any of it.

My thoughts were racing, my brain churning a mile a minute, and I actually jumped when Joshua touched my arm and told me it was time to go.  I barely paid attention as we said our goodbyes and left the house.  I was even more lost in a daze when Joshua pulled the car away from the curb.  Christ. How was it that in more than two years of dating, the topic of children had never come up?

I startled and jerked when Joshua stopped the car, and I looked around in surprise when I realized we were in the parking lot of the grocery store.  Joshua was already out of the car and moving before I realized what was going on, and I scrambled to catch up.

“What are we doing here?”

Joshua gave me a sidelong glance.  “I told you I wanted to make a couple of casseroles so Sarah and Lucas didn’t have to worry about food.”

I shook my head.  “Right, right.”  If he’d said it, I hadn’t been paying attention.  But there was no need for him to know that.  When he selected a cart and turned it toward the first aisle, he gave me another speculative look.

“Will?”  Joshua bumped me with his shoulder.  “You all right?”

“Yeah, sure,” I responded quickly.  We both winced as my voice came out high and squeaky.  I cleared my throat.  “Just, you know, thinking.  About Sadie.”

Joshua’s smile went soft and sweet.  “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”  His tone was filled with awe.

“Yeah, she is,” I agreed.  And then I was relieved when he sent me over a couple of aisles to pick up some soup.  I wandered in that direction, nearly running into an end-cap display, and having to apologize to an octogenarian in a motorized scooter type shopping cart.  She glared at me and gave me the finger.  I couldn’t even be amused because I was so lost in thought.  This was a pivotal moment in our relationship.  How was the world not standing still?

When I caught up with Joshua again, he gave me a critical look.  Then he slid the cart to the side and took my shoulders in his hands.

“Will, what’s going?

“What do you mean?” I tried for innocent and failed miserably.

His eyes narrowed as he studied me.  “I asked you to get two cans of cream of mushroom soup.”

“Uh huh,” I agreed, nodding like a bobble head.

Joshua was silent for a minute as he pursed his lips.  “This is chicken noodle.”

“Shit,” I whispered, my cheeks heating.

“Yeah.”  Joshua pulled me a little closer so I had no choice but to look into his eyes.  “Will, baby, talk to me.”

“Do you want kids?” I blurted.

For a long moment, Joshua just blinked at me and said nothing.  My heart was rioting in my chest, and I could barely breathe while I waited.  Finally, he shrugged.  “Yeah, I guess so.  I mean, it’d be nice.  To have a little you or a little me running around.  If that something we decide to do, down the road.  After we’ve talked about it a lot.”  The last was said pointedly, and I did not miss his intent.

But somehow, that made everything clear in my head.  He wanted me forever, kids or not, and I no longer knew what we were waiting for.  We’d lived together for almost a year.  Our lives were fully entwined.  I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.  When I tried, I just couldn’t get the picture to form.  I took a deep breath, and dropped to my knee.

His eyes widened in surprise.  “Will!” he hissed.

“Marry me,” I said sincerely, not detered by his tone or our location.  I knew, to the depths of my soul, that this was the perfect moment.  We’d reached a turning point in our relationship, and as far as I could see, there was only one way to go.  “I love you.  More than anything.  Marry me.”

Joshua’s blush was sweet.  “Yes, of course, you idiot.  I can’t believe you just proposed to me in a grocery store.”

“I’m just full of surprises,” I said cheekily.  I stood up fast, and hugged him tight, loving the way I fit in his arms.  “I have the rings at home already.”

“Christ,” he said with a chuckle.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

“You’re going to marry me,” I said with confidence.

“Yes.  Yes I am.”

And I knew, without a doubt, that we would live happily ever after.

**More Joshua and Will for you.  They continue their journey here with a missed date, a make up gift, and rain.  Enjoy!**

The temperature had unexpectedly warmed and while the forty-five degree weather was a nice surprise, the pissing down rain left much to be desired.  It was melting the snow, and that was good.  But it was still cold enough to chill me to the bone, and I was fucking drenched.  I’d run out of gas—which had never happened to me before—and I’d had to walk five blocks.  I was soaked, and coupled with the fact that I’d been held up at the office for two extra hours rewriting an opinion, I was also miserable.  I just wanted a hot shower, warm clothes, and snuggle time on the couch with my man.

I was shivering hard when I finally made it through the front door, and I started peeling off clothes right in the entryway.  No sense in tracking all that water through the whole house.  I was half out of my pants when Joshua appeared.  I opened my mouth to tell him about my miserable day so he could make it better, but I snapped it closed when I saw what he was wearing.  The three piece suit in charcoal gray with the light blue shirt and gray and blue tie was something he only pulled out on special occasions.  Like tonight was supposed to be.

I closed my eyes and groaned.  How could I have forgotten?  We were supposed to go out for a fancy dinner, just the two of us.  I was two and half hours late, and our reservation had been more than an hour ago.  I’d missed it.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, feeling the shame heat my skin.  At least I was no longer shivering.  I let the pants drop to the ground.  “I’m so sorry.”

Joshua just stared at me, his face impassive.  But I could see the sadness and disappointment in his eyes.  “What happened?”

“I had to work late, and…” I trailed off, shaking my head.  “I spaced.  The judge needed an opinion rewritten and I completely forgot about our dinner.  I didn’t even think to call.  There’s no excuse.  But I am sorry.”

He nodded.   “And you look like a drowned rat because?”

I pulled a face.  “Ran out of gas down on Miller Ave.  At least I was able to pull to the side of the road.”  I looked up at him, searching his gaze.  “I really am sorry, Joshua.”

He nodded again.  “Let’s get you warmed up before you catch pneumonia.”

Joshua all but shoved me into the shower and left me to it while he went to change his clothes.  I felt like shit.  We never did things like this, and the one time we’d gone out of our way to plan something, I’d completely forgotten.  I was awful of me.  I needed to make it up to him somehow.

When I emerged from the bathroom, he’d laid out a warm pair of sweatpants and one of his sweatshirts for me to wear.  My cell phone was pointedly laying on top of the clothes pile, and when I touched the home button it lit up to reveal several missed calls and texts.  Now I felt even worse.  How had I missed him calling?  I nearly smacked myself when I remembered I’d turned the phone to silent so I wouldn’t be interrupted while I fixed the opinion.

As I got dressed, I wracked my brain trying to figure out how to make it up to him.  Slowly an idea emerged.  By the time I was clothed, I knew what I was going to do.  It would take a hell of a lot of planning, but I thought I could make it work.  Tomorrow, I’d start making phone calls.

 

***

When the alarm went off at four A.M. on Saturday morning, I rolled over and plastered my body to Joshua’s.  He chuckled and kissed me, then tried to gently extract himself.  When I wouldn’t let go, he started laughing in earnest.

“Will, honey, I have to go to work.”

“Nope.”

That earned me another laugh.  “Yes, I do.”

I cracked one eye open and looked at him.  “Actually, you don’t.  Lucas, Maggie, and the rest have it covered for the weekend.  You’re not to set foot back in Pounds and Grounds until Monday morning.”

He squinted at me. “What did you do?”

“I had to do it,” I responded fervently.  I gave him my best early morning grin.  “After Wednesday night, I needed to make it up to you.”

His gaze softened and he leaned over.  “Baby, you don’t have to do that.  You didn’t do it on purpose, and you apologized.”

“Yeah but I have this!”  With a flourish, I reached for the plastic bag I’d stashed beside the bed.  I had a feeling that he’d protest.  He was too forgiving.  Most of the time I loved that about him.  But right now, I needed to do whatever I could to make up for my mistake.

He peered cautiously into the bag, and then his eyes just lit up.  With the glee of a five year old on Christmas morning, he upended the bag and spread out the contents.  All seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  On Blu Ray.  My man had a huge crush on Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

“You do love me!” His tone was full of teasing, but my response was not.

“More than anything.”

Joshua pulled me across the bed until he could kiss me breathless.  When we were both panting, he leaned back far enough to grin at me.  “And we have the whole weekend to do nothing but watch.”

I nodded fast, grinning back.  That was the plan.  But I pushed the sheet off my body, showing off, and hoping we’d get to that later.  Joshua’s gaze turned heated, and he carefully set his presents on the bedside table.  Later was definitely in the cards.