Matrimonial Surprises (4a/?)
Summary: What happens after Jeff and Annie's unplanned Las Vegas wedding.
Rating: M for this chapter (sexy times)
Word Count: 7,066
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: I forgot to mention this before, but for the sake of this story, let's pretend that Alan was lying about Ted being eaten by sharks and Jeff is going back to his old job, okay? Good.
One Friday night toward the end of April Annie met Jeff at his apartment after he got out of work. Before he went to change out of his suit and into casual clothes he took everything out of his pockets and threw it on the breakfast bar then headed to his room. Annie rolled her eyes at the disorganization started to sort it out.
She picked up a scrap of paper and her entire body went stiff as she read the loopy writing. ‘Hey Sexy, give me a call 303-555-9836. XOXO Amanda’. She stared at it with her jaw on the floor until Jeff came out of the bedroom wearing jeans and a black thermal shirt. “What do you want for dinner?”
Annie’s eyes flew from the paper to him, “What the hell is this?”
“What the hell is what?” He asked confused.
She shoved the paper at him, “This!”
Jeff read it and his eyes went wide. “Where did this come from?”
“It was in the pile of stuff you took out of your jacket pocket and threw on the counter. Well?” She demanded.
“I have no idea, I swear. I didn’t even know it was in there.”
“Sure you didn’t,” She scoffed. “So who’s Amanda? Some older sexy red head with legs a mile long?”
Jeff was starting to get defensive and pissed off that she didn’t believe him. “I told you I have no idea!”
“Right, some mystery woman just randomly slipped this into your pocket without you ever knowing.”
He wracked his brain for the origin of the slip of paper that was clearly about to ruin his entire night and came up with only one explanation. “I went to a fancy restaurant with some guys from work today, maybe the coat check girl put it in there. That’s the only thing I can think of.”
Annie rolled her eyes, “What kind of restaurant still checks your coat, especially for lunch?”
“The kind of restaurant that high paid lawyers and their even higher paid clients go to!”
“What a convenient excuse, there was a coat check girl.”
“Would you like me to call one of the guys I was there with? He’ll tell you!”
“Yeah because I’m really going to believe another lawyer about this. You’ve told me enough stories about how some of those guys cheat the second a pretty girl bats her eyes in their direction!”
“News flash, Annie! There are those guys in every profession, it’s not just lawyers! Why are you being so jealous all of a sudden?”
Annie’s mouth dropped open, “Jealous?! You want to talk jealous?! You were ready to punch the guy in my health class who asked me out last month! And then you were lurking around outside the room when class got out for like a week!”
“You didn’t even tell me he asked you out, I found out from Shirley!”
“Because I knew you would over react! Let’s say you didn’t actually know about this, would you have told me when you found it?”
“I…I honestly don’t know. Maybe.”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Maybe? Just maybe?”
“Well maybe is better than not at all! You know, like how you never told me about that guy at all,” He shot back.
“Because there was nothing going on with us! He asked me out and I said no!”
“Just like there’s nothing going on with me and this woman, I don’t even know who the fuck she is! You don’t trust me do you?” He questioned.
“I never said that!”
Jeff set his jaw. “You don’t exactly have to, Annie,” He ground out. “Accusing me of cheating on you because you found a phone number in my pocket then not believing me when I tell you I knew nothing about it kind of does that for you.”
“Yeah well then you obviously don’t trust me either since you reacted the way you did!” She countered.
“No, I trust you, it was that guy I didn’t trust!”
Annie stomped her foot, “That doesn’t even make sense!”
“I never thought you were cheating on me with him!”
“Stop turning this around and trying to make me be the one to feel guilty! This is about you and Amanda.”
Jeff growled in frustration and ran his hand over his face. “Listen to me, there is no me and Amanda. For fucks sake I don’t even know anyone named Amanda!”
“You honestly don’t see why I would think there would be a possibility that something was going on?!” She asked in disbelief.
“No, I honestly don’t! The only thing I see is you losing your shit and screaming at me when I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“You know what, I can’t do this right now.” She grabbed her purse and keys as blew past him and out of the apartment.
Jeff stared at the closed door in her wake with his hands on his hips and his jaw tight. “What the fuck just happened?” His feet mindlessly carried him to the couch and he flopped down with a groan before running a hand through his hair. He sat there in silence, the only sound the tick of the clock hanging in the kitchen, and felt the tension gripping his stomach. Once the initial anger from the argument began to fade it was replaced with a shitty feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. The coat check girl really was the only explanation he could come up with, he hadn’t wanted to do anything with anyone but Annie since even before they got together. He was pissed she didn’t believe him, but he knew he couldn’t exactly fault her for the whole jealousy thing. Finally he pushed himself up from the couch and grabbed his keys, wallet, and threw on the first hoodie he saw. He was going to do something he had never done before, put effort into repairing a problem in a relationship.
Once he was outside he headed to his car only to stop mid-step when he noticed Annie’s car still in the parking lot and immediately changed direction. Her silhouette was visible sitting in the driver’s seat as he got closer, he rapped on the window lightly with his knuckle to get her attention. Annie nearly jumped out of her skin and her head whipped around, when she saw it was him she let out a breath and hand went to her chest.
“Can you come out so we can talk? Please?” Jeff called through the glass.
Annie looked at him for a few seconds before opening the door and climbing out of the car. She shivered in the cold night air when the wind blew so he took off his hoodie and put it on her then zipped it up. She shuffled her feet a little and folded her arms with her eyes on the ground, “Thanks.”
Jeff stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “You’re welcome. I thought you left. I figured you were headed back to your place and came out here to follow you.”
“I was going to. But then, I don’t know…it didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” She said with a shrug and her eyes still downcast.
“I’m glad you didn’t.” Even in the dark he could tell she had been crying by her red eyes and the slightly stuffy sound of her voice.
She sniffled and shifted her weight again. “I don’t think you’re cheating on me.”
“Good, because I’m not and I have no desire to. I would have thrown out that note as soon as I saw it. I love you, Annie.”
Annie nodded and finally looked up at him, “I know. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”
“How about we go back inside and talk about it? It’s cold out here and someone stole my sweatshirt,” He teased as he gently tugged on the sleeve of the hoodie.
She cracked a tiny smile at that, “Okay.”
“Okay. After you,” He said with a nod of his head in the direction of the building.
She grabbed her purse from her car then began walking back with Jeff staying just a step behind her until they got to the elevator. As soon as they were in it and the doors closed Annie broke the silence. “I was going to give it a couple more minutes before came back inside. You beat me to it.”
Jeff looked down at her and noticed she was staring at their blurry reflection in the metal doors. He wasn’t sure what to say so to test the waters he reached out and cautiously rubbed between her shoulder blades. When she didn’t shrug away from his touch he figured it was a good sign.
Once they were back in his apartment he sat her down on the couch then grabbed a box of tissues off the counter and handed it to her before sitting down next to her. She pulled one out and put the box on the side table, “Thanks.”
Jeff sat silently while she blew her nose and tried to figure out how broach the subject by saying anything other than what was on the tip of his tongue, which was ‘why the hell did you freak the fuck out like that.’ “So, we obviously have some issues to talk about. Should we start with why you reacted like you did?” He finally asked.
Now it was Annie’s turn to sit quietly while she gathered her thoughts. After a minute she took a deep breath and explained it the best she could. “I know you love me but I also know that you’re Jeff Winger, ladies man extraordinaire. Part of me is scared you’re going to get sick of being with one woman. I know this is the longest you’ve ever been with the same person and maybe I’m nervous you’re bored of it already. Or you’ll decide you want someone who’s older and more grown-up, like a woman who’s more sophisticated with tons of confidence or whatever, enough confidence to shove a note like that in the pocket of a man she doesn’t even know. I guess I just don’t fully understand why a guy like you who could have anyone wants me,” She admitted as she twisted and picked at the tissue in her hands nervously.
Jeff shifted on the couch to face her head on. “Annie, I want you because you’re you. I’ve been with those women that you’re talking about and sure I had fun with them for a quick lay but that was it. Going back to that is not worth losing you over, trust me.”
Annie looked at him and sniffled again. “So you’re not bored with me?” She asked quietly.
Jeff couldn’t help but chuckle at that and he reached out to stroke her hair with a flat palm, “No baby, I’m definitely not bored with you. I’m happy with you.”
She gave him a small smile at that before it disappeared again. “But if you ever do get bored, tell me okay? We’ll find a way to fix it or you know…end it…just…I could handle that better than you cheating on me.”
He nodded and let out a breath. “Deal. And that goes both ways you know.”
“Of course.” Then she took a deep breath and sat a little straighter, “So there was my reason for the burst of jealously. Now you.”
Jeff groaned and let his head roll to the side.
“Jeff,” She said in a stern tone.
He sighed as he ran a hand down his face. “Alright, alright, I know. I guess…I guess I’m worried that some guy will steal you away from me so I try and scare them away so that won’t happen. It’s not that I don’t trust you, because I do. But my insecure side is scared that one day you’re going to realize you’re with a guy who is closer to 40 than to 30 and you’ll decide you want someone younger. Someone who doesn’t have random aches and pains when he wakes up sometimes or regularly checks the mirror for gray hairs and crows feet.”
Annie’s eyes softened and she took his hand. “Jeff, I don’t care about how old you are or how close you are to getting gray hairs and wrinkles. Honestly I think someone my own age would drive me crazy pretty quickly. Most guys in their early 20’s are way too immature for my tastes. Besides, I already have a guy who plays video games in his underwear at 2am and looks better than any of those 20-somethings while doing it.” She brought her free hand up to his face and gently ran her fingers over his temple, “And you know, some women think a few wrinkles on a man can be sexy and I happen to be one of them.”
A small smirk formed on Jeff’s lips, “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I especially love the way the corners of your eyes wrinkle when you smile, like really smile. No one is going to steal me away from you.”
Jeff’s smirk turned into a smile as he pulled her into his lap and was relieved when she let him and settled into his embrace.
“I’m sorry for jumping down your throat like that and accusing you of lying about it.”
“Apology accepted. And I’m sorry for yelling back.”
“Thanks, but I think I was more wrong in this case.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow, “Can I get that in writing? And maybe notarized?”
Annie laughed and swatted his chest, “Shut up.”
X-X-X-X-X
A couple of weekends later they had agreed to spend a Saturday apart to get some stuff done on their own. That night Jeff was sitting on the couch playing a video game when he heard a key turn in the lock and the door open. Annie came in and put her purse down on the barstool. “Hey, sweetie.” She leaned over the back of the couch and gave him a kiss.
His eyes never left the screen, “Hey, babe.”
She went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge, “So what did you do today?”
“Not much. You?”
Annie came back to the couch and sat next to him, “Started studying for finals. What are you playing?”
“Ghost Recon.”
“Ugh, again?”
“Yep.”
She nudged his leg with her foot, “Jeeeffff come on, I haven’t seen you all day.”
He moved his leg away. “Ten more minutes, I’m almost done with this mission.”
Her head dropped back to the cushions, “Fine.” She was quiet for a minute before she noticed something out of place on his built-in bookshelf. She lifted her head and stared at it. “Jeff?” He grunted out an acknowledgement. “Why is there a fish tank on the bookshelf?”
Jeff paused the game and smiled at her, “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to notice that.”
Her eyes went from the five gallon tank to him, “What?”
“Remember how you said you’ve never had a pet?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, now you do.”
She stared at him in confusion for a second before she got up and went to get a closer look. There were two small beta fish swimming around, one a purplish color and the other teal, a couple of plants at the back of the tank, and pink and black gravel. Jeff got up and came to stand behind her. She spun around to face him again with her eyes bright and sparkling. “You got me fish?”
“I know it’s not exactly a dog or cat but I figure you’re new to this pet stuff, you have to work your way up.”
Annie laughed and jumped into his arms. His heart skipped at the sound of her happy laughter and he held her to him, pressed so tightly that her feet were off the floor. She kissed him before shimmying out of his grip and turning back to the fish. “They’re so pretty. You even got me a purple one.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d like that. They’re betas.”
She cocked her head to the side, “I thought betas had to be kept separate because they fight?”
“That’s what I thought, too. But the guy at the pet store said that’s just the males and that females can live together without a problem.”
“Oh, so they’re both girls?”
“Uh huh.”
Annie bounced excitedly and let out a little squeal. “So what should we name them?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the arm chair. “They’re your fish, name them whatever you want.”
She put her finger on her chin and considered it carefully. “Hmm. The purple one is Delilah.”
Jeff huffed out a laugh, “Random, but okay.”
“You name the other one.”
“Babe, I told you, they’re yours so name them whatever you want.”
“And I want you to name it, that’s what I want. But I get veto power.”
His lips quirked up, “Of course you do. Okay, umm, Penny.”
Annie pursed her lips and considered it for a moment. “Okay. Delilah and Penny, I like it.”
He reached out to wrap his fingers around her wrist and gently pull her towards him so her back was against his chest. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and kissed her neck while she melted into his embrace and hummed happily. “Is this what you were doing all day?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder and let his right hand slide down to rest on the curve of her left hip. “Mmm hmm. I’ve been planning it for a few days but wanted to surprise you, so after you left this morning I went to Petco. I was originally going to set it up in your room but figured you’re here more than there anyway.”
She turned in his arms then reached up to scratch her nails through his hair gently, letting her hand come to stop so she was cradling the base of his head. “Well I love my fish, and I love you even more for getting them for me.”
Jeff did nothing to stop the wide smile that spread across his face; he never got tired of seeing her happy, and even better was knowing that he was the one to make her so happy. “It’s just a couple of fish, Annie. Not even a hamster or anything.”
Annie giggled as she got on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I know but that’s not the point. You put in the time and effort to do something like this for me and that makes it even better.”
His smile faltered slightly and his voice dropped, “You’re still not used to people doing things like this for you, are you?”
“I guess not,” She admitted. “My dad did it for me sometimes when I was little but after things got really bad between him and my mom…” She trailed off with a shrug.
Jeff brought a hand up to trail through her hair and sighed, “Annie. You deserve so much more than what you were given.”
She looked up at him through her eyelashes with a playful smile, “Maybe, but I think I’ve got it pretty good now.”
He leaned down to place a light kiss on her forehead. “I was considering waiting and getting them after we moved so we didn’t have to worry about how the hell to move a fish tank, that would have been the smart thing to do but I’m impatient.”
“We’ll figure it out, it’s not like it’s one of those huge ones.” She slid her hands down his shoulders to come to rest on his pecs, “Speaking of moving, I decided what I’m going to do about school. I’m going to wait a bit and try to get a job at a doctor’s office like you suggested. On Monday I’m gonna to talk to my heath care professor to see if she has any suggestions about where to apply.”
“And how terrified are you about this?”
She smiled bashfully, “Very, but I think in the long run it’ll be for the best.”
“For what it’s worth, in my opinion you’re doing the right thing. I don’t think you’re supposed to have your future all figured out at 22.”
Annie nodded, “Thanks for talking it through with me though.”
He pulled her flush against him and kissed her head, “No problem, babe. So, I guess the next step it to start looking for apartments in Denver.”
“I’ve never lived in a big city before,” She mumbled into his chest.
“The area I have in mind isn’t so downtownish, it’s close to where I used to live and more upscale. If you can survive living above Dildopolis for two years you’ll be fine in a nice part of Denver.”
“Upscale is all well and good but it takes money I don’t have,” She reminded.
“But I do, especially after I go back to work for real.”
Annie let go and pulled back to look at him, ignoring his sudden pout at the fact that she was no longer pressed against him. “Jeff, I told you, if we’re going to move in together I want to help pay.”
“And I told you its fine, save your money for school.”
“Honey, I don’t expect you to support me. I want to contribute, especially if I get a halfway decent job.”
Jeff sighed and leaned back against the chair again. “Okay, okay, I get it. How about this, we’ll split expenses 70/30.”
Annie eyed him, “60/40.”
“On an apartment where rent alone will be roughly $1,300 a month?”
Her jaw dropped, “Plus utilities?”
“Uh huh.”
She bit her lip and considered it, “65/35.”
Jeff laughed and wagged a finger at her, “Deal. But you have to figure that math out.”
“You know, Shirley told me a big part of marriage is negotiation.”
He smiled and high fived her, “Then look at that, we’re on the right track.”
X-X-X-X-X
Part 4b
Rating: M for this chapter (sexy times)
Word Count: 7,066
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: I forgot to mention this before, but for the sake of this story, let's pretend that Alan was lying about Ted being eaten by sharks and Jeff is going back to his old job, okay? Good.
One Friday night toward the end of April Annie met Jeff at his apartment after he got out of work. Before he went to change out of his suit and into casual clothes he took everything out of his pockets and threw it on the breakfast bar then headed to his room. Annie rolled her eyes at the disorganization started to sort it out.
She picked up a scrap of paper and her entire body went stiff as she read the loopy writing. ‘Hey Sexy, give me a call 303-555-9836. XOXO Amanda’. She stared at it with her jaw on the floor until Jeff came out of the bedroom wearing jeans and a black thermal shirt. “What do you want for dinner?”
Annie’s eyes flew from the paper to him, “What the hell is this?”
“What the hell is what?” He asked confused.
She shoved the paper at him, “This!”
Jeff read it and his eyes went wide. “Where did this come from?”
“It was in the pile of stuff you took out of your jacket pocket and threw on the counter. Well?” She demanded.
“I have no idea, I swear. I didn’t even know it was in there.”
“Sure you didn’t,” She scoffed. “So who’s Amanda? Some older sexy red head with legs a mile long?”
Jeff was starting to get defensive and pissed off that she didn’t believe him. “I told you I have no idea!”
“Right, some mystery woman just randomly slipped this into your pocket without you ever knowing.”
He wracked his brain for the origin of the slip of paper that was clearly about to ruin his entire night and came up with only one explanation. “I went to a fancy restaurant with some guys from work today, maybe the coat check girl put it in there. That’s the only thing I can think of.”
Annie rolled her eyes, “What kind of restaurant still checks your coat, especially for lunch?”
“The kind of restaurant that high paid lawyers and their even higher paid clients go to!”
“What a convenient excuse, there was a coat check girl.”
“Would you like me to call one of the guys I was there with? He’ll tell you!”
“Yeah because I’m really going to believe another lawyer about this. You’ve told me enough stories about how some of those guys cheat the second a pretty girl bats her eyes in their direction!”
“News flash, Annie! There are those guys in every profession, it’s not just lawyers! Why are you being so jealous all of a sudden?”
Annie’s mouth dropped open, “Jealous?! You want to talk jealous?! You were ready to punch the guy in my health class who asked me out last month! And then you were lurking around outside the room when class got out for like a week!”
“You didn’t even tell me he asked you out, I found out from Shirley!”
“Because I knew you would over react! Let’s say you didn’t actually know about this, would you have told me when you found it?”
“I…I honestly don’t know. Maybe.”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Maybe? Just maybe?”
“Well maybe is better than not at all! You know, like how you never told me about that guy at all,” He shot back.
“Because there was nothing going on with us! He asked me out and I said no!”
“Just like there’s nothing going on with me and this woman, I don’t even know who the fuck she is! You don’t trust me do you?” He questioned.
“I never said that!”
Jeff set his jaw. “You don’t exactly have to, Annie,” He ground out. “Accusing me of cheating on you because you found a phone number in my pocket then not believing me when I tell you I knew nothing about it kind of does that for you.”
“Yeah well then you obviously don’t trust me either since you reacted the way you did!” She countered.
“No, I trust you, it was that guy I didn’t trust!”
Annie stomped her foot, “That doesn’t even make sense!”
“I never thought you were cheating on me with him!”
“Stop turning this around and trying to make me be the one to feel guilty! This is about you and Amanda.”
Jeff growled in frustration and ran his hand over his face. “Listen to me, there is no me and Amanda. For fucks sake I don’t even know anyone named Amanda!”
“You honestly don’t see why I would think there would be a possibility that something was going on?!” She asked in disbelief.
“No, I honestly don’t! The only thing I see is you losing your shit and screaming at me when I haven’t done anything wrong!”
“You know what, I can’t do this right now.” She grabbed her purse and keys as blew past him and out of the apartment.
Jeff stared at the closed door in her wake with his hands on his hips and his jaw tight. “What the fuck just happened?” His feet mindlessly carried him to the couch and he flopped down with a groan before running a hand through his hair. He sat there in silence, the only sound the tick of the clock hanging in the kitchen, and felt the tension gripping his stomach. Once the initial anger from the argument began to fade it was replaced with a shitty feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. The coat check girl really was the only explanation he could come up with, he hadn’t wanted to do anything with anyone but Annie since even before they got together. He was pissed she didn’t believe him, but he knew he couldn’t exactly fault her for the whole jealousy thing. Finally he pushed himself up from the couch and grabbed his keys, wallet, and threw on the first hoodie he saw. He was going to do something he had never done before, put effort into repairing a problem in a relationship.
Once he was outside he headed to his car only to stop mid-step when he noticed Annie’s car still in the parking lot and immediately changed direction. Her silhouette was visible sitting in the driver’s seat as he got closer, he rapped on the window lightly with his knuckle to get her attention. Annie nearly jumped out of her skin and her head whipped around, when she saw it was him she let out a breath and hand went to her chest.
“Can you come out so we can talk? Please?” Jeff called through the glass.
Annie looked at him for a few seconds before opening the door and climbing out of the car. She shivered in the cold night air when the wind blew so he took off his hoodie and put it on her then zipped it up. She shuffled her feet a little and folded her arms with her eyes on the ground, “Thanks.”
Jeff stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “You’re welcome. I thought you left. I figured you were headed back to your place and came out here to follow you.”
“I was going to. But then, I don’t know…it didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” She said with a shrug and her eyes still downcast.
“I’m glad you didn’t.” Even in the dark he could tell she had been crying by her red eyes and the slightly stuffy sound of her voice.
She sniffled and shifted her weight again. “I don’t think you’re cheating on me.”
“Good, because I’m not and I have no desire to. I would have thrown out that note as soon as I saw it. I love you, Annie.”
Annie nodded and finally looked up at him, “I know. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”
“How about we go back inside and talk about it? It’s cold out here and someone stole my sweatshirt,” He teased as he gently tugged on the sleeve of the hoodie.
She cracked a tiny smile at that, “Okay.”
“Okay. After you,” He said with a nod of his head in the direction of the building.
She grabbed her purse from her car then began walking back with Jeff staying just a step behind her until they got to the elevator. As soon as they were in it and the doors closed Annie broke the silence. “I was going to give it a couple more minutes before came back inside. You beat me to it.”
Jeff looked down at her and noticed she was staring at their blurry reflection in the metal doors. He wasn’t sure what to say so to test the waters he reached out and cautiously rubbed between her shoulder blades. When she didn’t shrug away from his touch he figured it was a good sign.
Once they were back in his apartment he sat her down on the couch then grabbed a box of tissues off the counter and handed it to her before sitting down next to her. She pulled one out and put the box on the side table, “Thanks.”
Jeff sat silently while she blew her nose and tried to figure out how broach the subject by saying anything other than what was on the tip of his tongue, which was ‘why the hell did you freak the fuck out like that.’ “So, we obviously have some issues to talk about. Should we start with why you reacted like you did?” He finally asked.
Now it was Annie’s turn to sit quietly while she gathered her thoughts. After a minute she took a deep breath and explained it the best she could. “I know you love me but I also know that you’re Jeff Winger, ladies man extraordinaire. Part of me is scared you’re going to get sick of being with one woman. I know this is the longest you’ve ever been with the same person and maybe I’m nervous you’re bored of it already. Or you’ll decide you want someone who’s older and more grown-up, like a woman who’s more sophisticated with tons of confidence or whatever, enough confidence to shove a note like that in the pocket of a man she doesn’t even know. I guess I just don’t fully understand why a guy like you who could have anyone wants me,” She admitted as she twisted and picked at the tissue in her hands nervously.
Jeff shifted on the couch to face her head on. “Annie, I want you because you’re you. I’ve been with those women that you’re talking about and sure I had fun with them for a quick lay but that was it. Going back to that is not worth losing you over, trust me.”
Annie looked at him and sniffled again. “So you’re not bored with me?” She asked quietly.
Jeff couldn’t help but chuckle at that and he reached out to stroke her hair with a flat palm, “No baby, I’m definitely not bored with you. I’m happy with you.”
She gave him a small smile at that before it disappeared again. “But if you ever do get bored, tell me okay? We’ll find a way to fix it or you know…end it…just…I could handle that better than you cheating on me.”
He nodded and let out a breath. “Deal. And that goes both ways you know.”
“Of course.” Then she took a deep breath and sat a little straighter, “So there was my reason for the burst of jealously. Now you.”
Jeff groaned and let his head roll to the side.
“Jeff,” She said in a stern tone.
He sighed as he ran a hand down his face. “Alright, alright, I know. I guess…I guess I’m worried that some guy will steal you away from me so I try and scare them away so that won’t happen. It’s not that I don’t trust you, because I do. But my insecure side is scared that one day you’re going to realize you’re with a guy who is closer to 40 than to 30 and you’ll decide you want someone younger. Someone who doesn’t have random aches and pains when he wakes up sometimes or regularly checks the mirror for gray hairs and crows feet.”
Annie’s eyes softened and she took his hand. “Jeff, I don’t care about how old you are or how close you are to getting gray hairs and wrinkles. Honestly I think someone my own age would drive me crazy pretty quickly. Most guys in their early 20’s are way too immature for my tastes. Besides, I already have a guy who plays video games in his underwear at 2am and looks better than any of those 20-somethings while doing it.” She brought her free hand up to his face and gently ran her fingers over his temple, “And you know, some women think a few wrinkles on a man can be sexy and I happen to be one of them.”
A small smirk formed on Jeff’s lips, “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I especially love the way the corners of your eyes wrinkle when you smile, like really smile. No one is going to steal me away from you.”
Jeff’s smirk turned into a smile as he pulled her into his lap and was relieved when she let him and settled into his embrace.
“I’m sorry for jumping down your throat like that and accusing you of lying about it.”
“Apology accepted. And I’m sorry for yelling back.”
“Thanks, but I think I was more wrong in this case.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow, “Can I get that in writing? And maybe notarized?”
Annie laughed and swatted his chest, “Shut up.”
X-X-X-X-X
A couple of weekends later they had agreed to spend a Saturday apart to get some stuff done on their own. That night Jeff was sitting on the couch playing a video game when he heard a key turn in the lock and the door open. Annie came in and put her purse down on the barstool. “Hey, sweetie.” She leaned over the back of the couch and gave him a kiss.
His eyes never left the screen, “Hey, babe.”
She went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge, “So what did you do today?”
“Not much. You?”
Annie came back to the couch and sat next to him, “Started studying for finals. What are you playing?”
“Ghost Recon.”
“Ugh, again?”
“Yep.”
She nudged his leg with her foot, “Jeeeffff come on, I haven’t seen you all day.”
He moved his leg away. “Ten more minutes, I’m almost done with this mission.”
Her head dropped back to the cushions, “Fine.” She was quiet for a minute before she noticed something out of place on his built-in bookshelf. She lifted her head and stared at it. “Jeff?” He grunted out an acknowledgement. “Why is there a fish tank on the bookshelf?”
Jeff paused the game and smiled at her, “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to notice that.”
Her eyes went from the five gallon tank to him, “What?”
“Remember how you said you’ve never had a pet?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, now you do.”
She stared at him in confusion for a second before she got up and went to get a closer look. There were two small beta fish swimming around, one a purplish color and the other teal, a couple of plants at the back of the tank, and pink and black gravel. Jeff got up and came to stand behind her. She spun around to face him again with her eyes bright and sparkling. “You got me fish?”
“I know it’s not exactly a dog or cat but I figure you’re new to this pet stuff, you have to work your way up.”
Annie laughed and jumped into his arms. His heart skipped at the sound of her happy laughter and he held her to him, pressed so tightly that her feet were off the floor. She kissed him before shimmying out of his grip and turning back to the fish. “They’re so pretty. You even got me a purple one.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d like that. They’re betas.”
She cocked her head to the side, “I thought betas had to be kept separate because they fight?”
“That’s what I thought, too. But the guy at the pet store said that’s just the males and that females can live together without a problem.”
“Oh, so they’re both girls?”
“Uh huh.”
Annie bounced excitedly and let out a little squeal. “So what should we name them?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the arm chair. “They’re your fish, name them whatever you want.”
She put her finger on her chin and considered it carefully. “Hmm. The purple one is Delilah.”
Jeff huffed out a laugh, “Random, but okay.”
“You name the other one.”
“Babe, I told you, they’re yours so name them whatever you want.”
“And I want you to name it, that’s what I want. But I get veto power.”
His lips quirked up, “Of course you do. Okay, umm, Penny.”
Annie pursed her lips and considered it for a moment. “Okay. Delilah and Penny, I like it.”
He reached out to wrap his fingers around her wrist and gently pull her towards him so her back was against his chest. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and kissed her neck while she melted into his embrace and hummed happily. “Is this what you were doing all day?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder and let his right hand slide down to rest on the curve of her left hip. “Mmm hmm. I’ve been planning it for a few days but wanted to surprise you, so after you left this morning I went to Petco. I was originally going to set it up in your room but figured you’re here more than there anyway.”
She turned in his arms then reached up to scratch her nails through his hair gently, letting her hand come to stop so she was cradling the base of his head. “Well I love my fish, and I love you even more for getting them for me.”
Jeff did nothing to stop the wide smile that spread across his face; he never got tired of seeing her happy, and even better was knowing that he was the one to make her so happy. “It’s just a couple of fish, Annie. Not even a hamster or anything.”
Annie giggled as she got on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I know but that’s not the point. You put in the time and effort to do something like this for me and that makes it even better.”
His smile faltered slightly and his voice dropped, “You’re still not used to people doing things like this for you, are you?”
“I guess not,” She admitted. “My dad did it for me sometimes when I was little but after things got really bad between him and my mom…” She trailed off with a shrug.
Jeff brought a hand up to trail through her hair and sighed, “Annie. You deserve so much more than what you were given.”
She looked up at him through her eyelashes with a playful smile, “Maybe, but I think I’ve got it pretty good now.”
He leaned down to place a light kiss on her forehead. “I was considering waiting and getting them after we moved so we didn’t have to worry about how the hell to move a fish tank, that would have been the smart thing to do but I’m impatient.”
“We’ll figure it out, it’s not like it’s one of those huge ones.” She slid her hands down his shoulders to come to rest on his pecs, “Speaking of moving, I decided what I’m going to do about school. I’m going to wait a bit and try to get a job at a doctor’s office like you suggested. On Monday I’m gonna to talk to my heath care professor to see if she has any suggestions about where to apply.”
“And how terrified are you about this?”
She smiled bashfully, “Very, but I think in the long run it’ll be for the best.”
“For what it’s worth, in my opinion you’re doing the right thing. I don’t think you’re supposed to have your future all figured out at 22.”
Annie nodded, “Thanks for talking it through with me though.”
He pulled her flush against him and kissed her head, “No problem, babe. So, I guess the next step it to start looking for apartments in Denver.”
“I’ve never lived in a big city before,” She mumbled into his chest.
“The area I have in mind isn’t so downtownish, it’s close to where I used to live and more upscale. If you can survive living above Dildopolis for two years you’ll be fine in a nice part of Denver.”
“Upscale is all well and good but it takes money I don’t have,” She reminded.
“But I do, especially after I go back to work for real.”
Annie let go and pulled back to look at him, ignoring his sudden pout at the fact that she was no longer pressed against him. “Jeff, I told you, if we’re going to move in together I want to help pay.”
“And I told you its fine, save your money for school.”
“Honey, I don’t expect you to support me. I want to contribute, especially if I get a halfway decent job.”
Jeff sighed and leaned back against the chair again. “Okay, okay, I get it. How about this, we’ll split expenses 70/30.”
Annie eyed him, “60/40.”
“On an apartment where rent alone will be roughly $1,300 a month?”
Her jaw dropped, “Plus utilities?”
“Uh huh.”
She bit her lip and considered it, “65/35.”
Jeff laughed and wagged a finger at her, “Deal. But you have to figure that math out.”
“You know, Shirley told me a big part of marriage is negotiation.”
He smiled and high fived her, “Then look at that, we’re on the right track.”
X-X-X-X-X
Part 4b