The Difference-Chapter 35 and Epiloge: The END

35

Authors note: This is it- the final chapter of The Difference

Thank you to all of you for all the praise, feedback, and kind words over the past year. 

 

“Lisa it’s time to go.”

Fuck ‘em.  I go when I’m good and ready. Never would be good.

They weren’t allowed in with him.  So, she knew they couldn’t pry her away.  She was calling the shots. For once.

The cold stone floor must have long ago killed every nerve ending- or at least euthanized them.  Why could the rest of her not simply follow?  There it was again- that deep, hollow, endless sorrow. 

No, not this again. Come on, Lisa….wake up…

No, it was so real. This time it had to be real. She touched the flowers one more time. Sunflowers. His happy flowers in the vase she had made just for him. It would be almost easy to assume this was for Daddy. But no… In the past, every time she visited, she had afforded herself that small reprieve – one second of pretending it was not Michael’s tomb she had to stare at.  But, over the months, it became more and more difficult for her mind to confuse the cold, serene tomb with her father’s lush resting place.

Why did they put him here?  He hated being cold.  He also hated being alone.  This was all wrong.

Yeah, listen to yourself- you’ve been through this how many times?

Lisa raised her eyes to the gorgeous stained glass window, and suddenly was reminded why.  In a small miraculous display, the sun had managed to burst through the grey clouds.  That same, dreary, heavy smoggy sky over LA she had run to escape.  To another dreary, foggy place.  Like she didn’t  deserve sun. 

Aint no sunshine when you’re gone….

She smirked knowing he’d appreciate the song.

The room became wrapped into a luminous rainbow glow as if God himself had dipped his hand into a bag of shining, sparkling crystals, and had lovingly sprinkled them down on one of his most beloved.

Her beloved.  Now bathed in miraculous radiant light.  Maybe this place was fitting for him after all.  Cut off, isolated, otherworldly beautiful, surrounded by darkness.  And yet crowned by eternal, divine light.

“Ok, babe. I know you love to have my undivided attention, but I gotta go. Till next time.”

Her body must have somehow made the attempt to rise, however, she could simply not move. Every time she left him, a piece of her heart remained.  How often could she separate from her lifeline until she finally was allowed to rest as well?  It was not fair.  Why did she have to go on?

Tears blinded her and blurred the boundaries of the scene before her. Not that it would do any good- she had tried. Sheer saltwater could not wash the canvas clean. 

“Gosh, I wish I could be here with you. Forever. But you know, you’d probably moan and groan, going on about how you need your space.”

Lisa looked around.

“But you know, if I promised I’d make my sarcophagus not as ostentatious as that thing you hide out in, maybe you could fit me in.  How ‘bout an urn, hm?  Or a coffee cup.  Ashtray?”

She tasted her tears now- oh, what a familiar diet in the last two plus years. Helped her shed the pounds, too.

“And you know, if nothing else, just think of how freaked out my mother would be once I tell her that I found a new resting place.  I always thought it was too fucking weird to be staring at my predestined grave since I was eight.”

Lisa bit her lip. “Shit…I probably shouldn’t say ‘fuck’ in here.  Might go to hell or something.  Except, I live in hell every day, Mike. Every single day since that day…” Her voice trailed off.

“Lisa! You’re gonna miss your plane!”

Why had she allowed her mother to accompany her, again?  Fuck the plane, and fuck her mother. Fuck everything.

“Lisa- it’s not like he’s going anywhere.  You can see him next time.”

The insensitive comment forced a humorless laughter from her- the sound startled her as it echoed off the marble. 

“Yeah, I know, you’re cracking up in there as well. You and your sick sense of humor.”

Lisa swallowed and took a deep breath, blowing it out through dry lips.  God had decided to cut off his flashlight and the tomb had fallen dark again, only lit by the candles. 

One more time, she ensured the flowers were arranged the right way and the inscription of “Eternally Yours” was in just the right place. 

Shaking, her hand reached out and she touched the cold, intrically carved stone wall. As always, the surface seemed to incandesce under her touch.  The power of imagination. Ever so slowly, she rose, as if in a dream.

There you are- catching on….

“Till next time, handsome. Don’t’ be messing ‘round with any other exes who might traipse by.  I can always tell, you know that.”

Oh, she almost forgot!

She turned back, lifted the huge crown decorating the coffin and retrieved a piece of gum.  That man had such a sick, lasting idea of what would be cool. Even in death.

“Seriously, I don’t even know how you kept eating this shit! It’s so fucking nasty sweet.”

Shaking her head, and wiping her tears away one more time, she finally turned.

“Not as sweet as you, Princess…”

How long was she sentenced to hear his voice as if it was right there before her.

Another step. The echo filled the hall.

“Lisa, don’t leave. Don’t go. You promised you’d stay this time.”

Lisa almost choked on the gum. What the fuck? That was not the voice of a memory.

She froze.

Her senses registered the darkness suddenly dipping the hall in obscurity.  The clouds outside must have gathered one more time.  Suddenly, a white flash of lightening dipped everything in spooky hues.  Her heartbeat started to race.  She hated thunderstorms. 

Automatically, she started to count, and still almost jumped out of her skin when the droning thunder tore into the fabric of serene silence.

Her body jerked backward and she encountered what felt like a body behind her.  Impossible. She was alone in here. Nobody had come in after her.

Unless…

 His scent and the touch of his hand on her shoulder raced through the network of her nerves and arrived at the perception centers in her brain at the exact same time.  The reward was a scream…

She jerked around.

“What’s the problem?”  His laughing eyes….

“Michael!”

With a start, she sat up. Hysterical breathing wracked her and rendered her on the verge of hyperventilation. Trapped between sobbing and attempting to catch her breath, she was simply not able to form a rational thought. Fear gripped her tightly.

“Lisa- don’t tell me you dreamt of him again...You know I’ve been patient, but this is getting ridiculous. How long’s a husband supposed to put up with this?”

Oh God!  Almost! She had almost thought she’d escaped the nightmare. But no….Tears rose and she felt like screaming again.

Lockwood?

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Still panting, her voice was deep and hoarse.

The pale eyes seem to measure and weigh her sanity. Finding her a few ounces short of a passing score, too, seemed like.

“Lisa.  We’re married. Where else would I be?  Let me get you something to calm you down.”

“No, no…I don’t need shit to calm down. Don’t talk to me like I’m fucking retarded. Why are you here?  Where the hell is Michael…This is all wrong.”

Her voice broke. She had sounded like a little girl again… The little girl running downstairs, finding her Daddy dead on the bathroom floor.

She held her head in her hands, shaking it, mumbling to herself. This was new. This was not supposed to be how she woke up.

Wrong….it’s all wrong…

“Yeah, you’re correct, my dear. It is wrong that, after fucking two and a half years, you still cannot make yourself have closure on that man’s death. And I wager all the boozing doesn’t help, my dear.”

Fuck this shit! Why did he treat her like she was a rebellious teenager? He wasn’t even supposed to be here. He wasn’t even supposed to be part of her life!

Run, Lisa. Get away! You know where the escape hatch lies….Come on, girl, you can do it…

Throwing her blanket to the side, Lisa leapt out of bed, and raced toward the bathroom.

“Lisa! You’re gonna fall! Stop!”

Don’t listen. It’s all a trick. 

The thud of the bathroom door sounded like a gunshot and she braced herself against the sink.  Somehow, she must have turned the water on, as she perceived the calming rushing and felt cool water trickling down her face.  Obviously, she was on auto-recovery mode.

There you go. Ground yourself.  Touch the water. Feel the granite of the sink.  Come on, Lisa. You can do this, wake up.

But she was awake, wasn’t she?

Take a deep breath, then open your eyes. Stop being a fucking coward!

But what if it was true? What if this was reality? What if Michael was gone? Dead and gone. Leaving her with nothing but a lifetime of regrets? Leaving her with unspoken volumes upon volumes of words she had wanted to inscribe into the book of their lives. Had thought she’d have a lifetime to say to him.  Unspoken truth weighing her down, drowning any possibility of life…of sanity.

Lisa. Remember the difference?  You did something different, didn’t you?

She thought she had. But it had all been a dream.  Was this it?  Was this God’s revenge for turning her back on him as well?  He granted her a view into heaven, only to rip it all from her? 

“Well, if it’s real you got nothing to lose then, right? Open your eyes.”

She made a silent bargain to go on three and almost startled herself when her eyes flew open and were drawn to her huge pupils forcing out the blue of her irises.

The hard swallow caused her throat to burn.  Another sensation establishing her tentative link to what had to be reality.  Ok, now the question was, who shared this version of realism? Which Michael would she find? The dream or the nightmare? And what if she didn’t want to know?

The sudden light blinded her. Fucking hell! Someone obviously had turned the light on.

“Well, this is new! Now you’re sleep walking? Woman! As if you didn’t almost kill me fucking my brain out, now you almost gave me a heart attack jumping out of bed like someone was after you with a lightsaber.”

Her eyes immediately opened and focused on the miraculous image of her man in the mirror.

Michael.

Tears came without warning, as gratitude and relief broke the damn.

“Oh, God…it’s you. Baby… Oh God…”

She turned and threw herself into his arms, not even taking time to worry about his startled, shocked face.  She’d explain later.  For now, she had to hold him, hear his heartbeat sing to her, be revived by the warmth of his skin, inhale him…

Shaking and sobbing, she cried against him as he simply held her, his hand now in her hair, cradling her head, his voice soothing her with words she could not comprehend on anything but an emotional level.

All she knew was that he was here. Alive.  Her life and her lifeline.  Her sanity.  Her everything.

Michael must have picked her up as minutes later, she realized she was in his lap, on the bed.

Sniffling she looked up at him through the curtain of tears which finally had decided to run dry.

“Are you alright, Lise?  You better say something before I call 911 and have you carted off.  You didn’t even act like this when we found out they weren’t gonna give us a baby.  What in the world is going on?”

Shoot, compared to the nightmarish trip into time and space, the adoption agency’s crap was nothing.  But yes, that’s right.  She was here. With Michael.  In their new house, their new home…. Only weeks after the lady from the adoption agency had raised her ugly head.  Now that she thought of it, that visit had been the kick off to this round of nightmares – with the pinnacle being tonight. 

Maybe unraveling the Gordian knot from the beginning was the way into understanding how to get rid of those fucking nightmares and step into the future…

+++++++

4 weeks earlier:

“Well, since it’s obvious this isn’t going anywhere, I think I need to go and return some phone calls.”

The door slammed behind Michael, betraying his calm demeanor. Not like Lisa had been fooled, though, anyway. She knew he was boiling under that tightly controlled surface.  Michael became like a beautiful marble statue when he was the right kind of angry- a statue with an internal atomic reactor. 

It broke her heart to see how upset he was. Maybe it had all been a horrible mistake. Her mistake.  She was, after all, the one pushing the adoption issue.  She should have known better.  Intoxicated from that pure cloud of love and happiness she had been floating in, she forgot her previous basic tenet: Humans are basically fucked up and evil.

Michael was the sole exception and he kept getting shit on over and over. It made her blood boil.

“I’m sorry, Miss Presley.  I really wish… I mean…I wish things were different.”

For a second, the room temperature dipped.  Lisa felt her jaw tightening and her hands fisted.  While that bitch here was just a brainwashed pawn of a system that had set out to eat from Michael like vultures from a sacrifice tied to the cliff, she was a perfect target right now.

“No, Miss Carter, cut the crap, will you? You are not sorry. Who do you think you are, coming to our home with your innuendos and your lame excuses? How dare you treat my…treat Mr Jackson like you did?”

The woman’s already thin lips tightening even more. It reminded Lisa of playing with a hand puppet and pulling the mouth in. And this person had just about as much brain as a puppet, so it was an apt comparison.

“Miss Presley. I did not treat Mister Jackson in any way.  All I did was explaining to you why you and he will not at this time qualify as adoptive parents with our agency.”

At this time?  Well, cool, let’s put that to the test, shall we…

And why in the world had she not been able to say that over the phone and spared her, and especially Michael that kick in the nuts?

Why, Lisa, really?  You know the villagers like to come and gawk at the Beast. No matter how much they fear him.

Anger lit the gasoline dipped fuse.  That bitch had no clue who she was dealing with.

“Okay, yes, I heard you. And you said it is because we are not married, correct?”

The woman swallowed and seemed to relax.

“Yes. We always give preference to married couples.”

“So, if we got married tomorrow, that would remove the problem, right?”

The catlike smile Lisa directed at the woman never reached her eyes. 

“Well…I mean…that would move you closer…to…to…”

She knew it! This was nothing but a contrived pile of crap.

“So, you’re saying it is not just because we are not married, then. Or are you confused about your own job and the agency you so ineptly represent? Or are you just embarrassed I caught you in a lie?  Since you came traipsing by with news that you very well could have conveyed on the phone? What? Did you think you’d score an autograph from Michael? Did he satisfy your curiosity? Is he as weird as you imagined?  Or do you feel like shit now that you have seen that he is a human being?”

Since the question was delivered with honey sweet voice, it took the woman a second to catch on. The resulting bug-eyes almost made Lisa laugh.

“Miss Presley.  Please… There is no need for your…attitude.  You have to see that this…this situation is …quite irregular.  I mean, it is not every day that we see this complicated… a situation as…ah… this one.”

Complicated, my ass.  It’s so simple: two people with a lot of resources trying to give a child a perfect home.

If she had to be met with ignorant prejudice, why in the world could the twit not be upfront? Just come out and say you don’t want to give a baby to a pedophile. No matter that said pedophile had just been found not guilty before a court of law.  Which probably made the policy illegal.  But obviously, ‘not guilty’ and ‘innocent’ were galaxies apart. Lisa felt like screaming. On the other hand, she wanted to see how far she could push this.

“What’s all that complicated? You know, I really don’t want to play the race card here, but I seriously hope this is not due to Michael being black and me being white.”

“He’s not all that black anymore, is he?” As soon as the words had tumbled out, the woman turned beet red and averted her gaze.  If Lisa didn’t have to fight the urge to slug her, this would almost be comical. So the bland little cow had some hidden spice after all. Not enough though to keep her from running back behind her sanctimonious, fake mask.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Presley.  I- I really am.  I think it is better I go now.”

“I agree. And just so you know. My fiancé has been found innocent of all the ridiculous charges leveled against him. And despite the circus the media produce and market to empty brains like yours, he is the most amazing father out there. So, you can march yourself and your fucking agency out of here. We don’t need you.  We will have our family on our terms.”

“I hope you do. And since he is such a great father, as you said, I am sure it will be no problem for you to give him children.  Maybe it will work out for you two, this time around.”

Riley came into the room before Lisa could give the woman an answer very unbecoming her new serenity.

“Mom-everything ok?”

Obviously, her daughter’s ‘impending disaster alarm’ had gone off as soon as she had entered the room.

“Sure, sweetheart. It will be.” Lisa put an arm around her daughter, refusing to expose her to the now toxic atmosphere in the room.  That hateful, prejudiced pain in the ass paper-pusher was not worth her stress hormones.  And Michael could not afford headlines about a catfight on his estate.

“Please see yourself out, Miss Carter. And do not get lost on your way off the property. We wouldn’t want you to be wandering around on the grounds of a public enemy Number One. You might run risk to be infected by all the weirdness that keeps you from depriving a child of a great home.”

Lisa led Riley out of the room, and informed the new nanny to please make sure that woman did not make off with anything valuable. Bad enough she had trashed her hopes and had once again reminded Michael that he was a pariah.

“It went that good, hm? I saw Michael race over to the studio- he looked pissed as hell.”

“Oh, baby. Yeah, it went rough. It was so stupid! I’m so stupid! I should have known better than to try and go the conventional route. I’m starting to sound like Michael, but maybe he is right in that hardly anyone in this country will ever give him the time of day again.”

“Mom! Maybe y’all just gotta give it some time. People are stupid. They don’t know him. They just know what they are fed by the tube.”

“How did you get so smart, kiddo?”

Lisa reached out and put an errand long strand of hair behind Riley’s ear. When did her baby grow up? Time was such a slippery treasure!

“Not sure, but I think I got it from my Mom.”

Riley kissed her on the cheek, which was about as common as floods in the Sahara. The small miracle brought tears to her eyes and made her feel all mushy inside.  When she held her teenager just a moment too long, Riley cleared her throat. End of miracle.

“Ok, Mom- you’re squeezing me and messing up my hair.”

Oh goodness! Two capital sins in one. The freeing laughter was such a relief.

“Heaven forbid! I do love you, Ri!”

“Love you, too – Mom. Go see your man.”

“My man, hm?”

“Well, you keep stalling on the marriage thing. So yeah…”

Lisa rolled her eyes! What was it with everyone ganging up on her about this? 

What indeed, Lisa? And what are you so afraid of?

+++++++

“Are we going to talk about it? I know you were hurt.”

He has been amazed Lisa had managed this long to simply sit there and watch him play with a song he was working on.

Well, she was obviously talking about it, which, if memory served him well, meant they had to talk about it. He was not hurt. He was pissed as hell. Those people couldn’t hurt him anymore.

Michael played with some knobs on the control board and did his best to convey a nonchalant attitude. He could not decide if he was annoyed or happy that Lisa had followed him.  When storming out, he had thought he needed to be alone. Then, as soon as he was, the sound of his thoughts bouncing off the resonating walls of his mind, threatened to drive him mad as well.

Maybe he should not have left Lisa alone in the house. Hopefully, she was alright. What was she doing? Was she attempting to explain his rather rude exit? Or was she tearing the ignorant chick a new one?

A smile relaxed his features. Yeah, more than likely, that’s exactly what Lise would be up to. Maybe he should have sent security in- to protect the agency flunky.

“I’m more worried about whether you sliced Miss Carter up with that deadly tongue of yours and now I have to find a place to bury her…Why would I be hurt? I knew how it would go down. I’m a child rapist, remember? And a freak. And I probably have you here to improve my image- as I’m stealing your father’s legacy. It’s my newest one-man conspiracy.  Maybe Janet Arvizo can lend you that imaginary hot air balloon to escape my clutches. ”

The bitterness in his tone obviously made a liar of his protestation to not be affected. He didn’t care. 

“I have you know, Miss Carter is alive and well. You should be proud of me! I wouldn’t fuck up our groundwater with her poison. And yeah, I know you’re a vile monster. Lucky for you, I go for the freaks.  If I had lived in another age, I’d be married to the bearded, three-headed woman with the alligator tail.”

That was just funny enough to make him halt his effort to pretend he was consumed by the sliding lever before him. Looking over at Lisa, he saw right through her silly smile and caught the concern in her eyes.

“How do y’a now that’s not me?” He reached out and raised her hand- kissing it.  Maybe it was nice to have someone around to snap him out of his nasty moods after all.

“Well, Mike, if you are a woman, then kudos to you, dude. You had me fooled for years. And you got one hell of a strap-on. Unless it’s an alligator tail…!”

Their laughter filling the room sounded better than anything he had been able to coerce from the soundboard earlier.  He reached over and framed her face with his hands.

“How do y’a do it, Lise?  Here I am, fucking sick and tired of the thought of having to deal with these people- these excuses for human beings- and here you come. Making me forget everything…Making the sun shine again.”

“Magic” She threw a lopsided grin his way.

“You’re magical alright…”

Leaning forward, he captured her lips. When they broke apart from the kiss, his index finger traced her cheek before kissing her once more.  This was all that mattered.  Nothing else was important.  The inner peace he felt when with her was worth the constant sandstorm around them.  As long as she was his center, he was made of Teflon and the sharp shards fashioned from corroded hatred could not touch him.

“I don’t know, Michael. I was pissed, too. Then I thought why let those people dictate what we can and can’t do? Who are they? We don’t need no fucking agency. We do like your buddy Madonna and just get a baby.  If she can do it, so can we.”

“She’s white. Married to a white guy. One that has not been branded ‘worse than Hitler and Attila the Hun.”

“So? She has a history of liking it hot and dirty. Surely that should count as some kind of moral exclusion to adoption. You own handcuffs and you’re out.”

“Guess the police is fucked then.  And yeah, she does have a set or two. Not to mention the dungeon and the whips…”

“You been to her dungeon?  You sly little….”

Her pretend horrified face caused him to giggle again.  Lisa knew full well, there had always only been one woman who he enjoyed to get freaky with like that. Not that back in the day, Madonna hadn’t tried to chain him up. In more than one way.  Back then, she had scared the living shit out of him. The very thought of giving someone power over him turned him off.  There was only one woman he trusted while being shackled to a headboard. And she was sitting right there with him.

The thought brightened his outlook and somehow chased away most of the bitter taste in his mouth.

“Don’t worry, girl, I’ll recreate if for you later. Who knows, maybe she taught me a trick or two.”

Lisa reached forward and held his chin, narrowing her eyes, glaring at him through this jealous haze he loved.  It was really sick how it turned him on that she wanted him only for herself. Not like she ever had to worry about that. When they were together it had only always been her. 

“You better be fucking kidding, buster.”

She leaned in closer and now hovered above his lips. 

“As if you don’t know. You’re the only sick depraved woman who gets me all tied up. And who has me shackled to her body and her heart for eternity. And to our bed…”

Their lips met in a sweet kiss.  Would he ever get enough of her? Not likely.  Not while she kept his body and mind occupied.  After several light smooches, he just had to go in deeper and explore her mouth.  It had been at least six hours since he had tasted her thoroughly.  Time for the next dose before the shakes would start. Good thing he didn’t have to kick his Lisa habit.

When his tongue glided along hers in a lazy drag before hers circled around his again, their moans played off each other.  This room did have the most amazing acoustic qualities.  Maybe he should record them in here…or tape them…  For some reason just listening to their love noises was almost as much of a turn on as watching them fuck on tape.  Which, by the way, they had not done in the new house.  As a matter of fact, they had not done that since the divorce. Too many trust issues. The new house might be perfect.  The lighting in some of the room was perfect for a dirty little tape…The intriguing thought made his cock grow.  All kinds of creative contemplations suffused his mind, flooding him with images and sweet possibilities.

Michael placed his hand over Lisa’s, interlacing his fingers, rubbing her warming skin.  The kiss went on, given and taking, tasting, and tempting…and he took her hand and placed it on his thigh as she turned to face him fully. Her eyes opened lazily and she smiled at him between kisses.

“Something you want?”

The mysterious darkness of her eyes illuminated by that certain spark provided the hint he was not the only one with wants and needs.

“Yeah, I wanna show you my alligator tail. It’s been a while.” He checked his watch. “Five hours by my count.”

Her hand crept up his leg despite him not being the driving force anymore.  It was all about magnetism as he recalled.

“Yeah…forever… I mean, we did have to fuck earlier than normal today, given we had to be cleaned up and decent before that wasted appointment.”

“Maybe we should have just shown up in our robes.”

“Yeah, the reality that Michael Jackson screws his woman would have shocked her into giving us a kid.”

“Maybe we don’t need her anyway. We’re making our own kid. Or  we go and adopt from Russia or China or wherever.”

There it was again. Every time he mentioned they might just be able to have their own baby, Lisa had that fleeting, yet haunting look in her eyes. It broke his heart.  Would she never get it? It simply didn’t matter if they had biological children or not. He loved her and any children they would raise together…just as he loved Ben and Riley.  And she loved his three.  If adoption wouldn’t work out, it was God’s plan and he’d be just as happy with the kids they had now. His family as it was now. Perfect.

“Yeah, we don’t need her.  And really, we have five already. Speaking of… Are you ready to head back to the house?  I am not sure the Gloria is completely ready for her job yet.”

How stupid! He had killed the mood.  Well, he’d have to work extra hard to share his movie making plans with her later.  Funny how quickly his ideas had morphed into a plan.

“Who is Gloria?”

“The new nanny?  You need to work on that name memory of yours.”

“Oh, the black Mrs Doubtfire?”

“Michael!” Lisa laughed and slapped him playfully.

“What?” He giggled back, doing giving her his best innocent face. “She is a tad bit homely. I bet she can do a mean vacuum cleaner dance though. And I would not be surprised if she turned out to be a man.”

“What am I gonna do with you?” Laughing, Lisa pulled him up and hugged him tightly.

“Well, obviously, you won’t have to be worried about me running off with the nanny.”

“Yeah, your nanny shagging days are over, dude.” The side glace conveyed she was only half-kidding.  Ouch- seemed she was still sour about Grace.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Uhum…Come on, sexy, let’s go check on Blanket. He has a tendency to charm people into giving him exactly what he wants. Wonder, where he gets that from?”

Relinquishing her hold on him after one more quick kiss, she held his hand, pulling him toward the exit with her.

“No clue.  Hey, by the way, I had some really good ideas about expanding our private home-movie collection.”

Stopping cold, she turned and shot him a hot look. “This time, it’s me who has NO clue what you are talking about.” 

The blushing of her cheeks and the darkening of her eyes told a different story.  When she turned her back to him again, taking several more steps, he could not help but notice the sensual sway of her hips.  That woman was pure seduction.  And despite her acting all cool and unaffected, he knew it was her goal to drive him crazy- and keeping him on that sex induced high he had been sailing on.

Before she opened the door, he pulled her close and kissed her deeply one more time.  Lisa moaned against him again, reaching around and pulling his ass close into her.

“You still owe me a glimpse of that alligator tail- don’t think I forgot.”

“I do more than show you.  Let’s go feed you so you’re up for it.”

“Whatever you say, old man. Maybe we should hook you up to your Gatorade, since you tend to fade out on me here lately. I know hydration is a problem.”

“Oh yeah? Well, seems like I had you begging for mercy, but guess you forgot. Told you, I better start capturing it all on camera.  Evidence.”

“You have a one track mind.”

“Do you think we should buy a new video camera?  - What did you say?”

Lisa kissed him again before pulling him outside toward the house. Hurrying after her, he managed to swat that round behind, biting his lips in anticipation of what awaited later.  After he’d check on the new nanny. And write a seething letter to that adoption agency, possibly threatening a law-suite.  It might be fun to sue someone else for a change.

+++++++

4 weeks later…

Lisa pulled her jacket closer, watching her breath swirl like blue smoke before her. Looking over at Alecia, she had to laugh, as her friend’s nose had turned beet red.

“Ok, Lise. Your new property is really grand and impressive and all, but I’m ready to head back to the house and some Hot Toddy in front of the fire. If you’re done showing off, that is. Before I have to sue you for giving me hypothermia.”

Lisa laughed. “Yeah, there is that drawback to moving out here. It does get cold, seems like.”

“Fuck that four seasons bull crap! Well, since you and that man of yours don’t exactly qualify for welfare, I think y’all should invest in a winter home in Florida or back in Cali.  I really miss my girl, you know!”

Lisa turned the golfcart back up the path toward the main house.

“I miss your crazy ass, too, Lish.  But Mike ain’t going back to Cali. No way.  So, neither am I.”

“Does that explain the presence of his mother and brother here? Had I known they’d be here, I would have picked a different time to come visit. I just thought since I was in the City, I’d swing by. Everything is so cozy and close out here.”

 “Well, Katherine’s visit was announced. Jermaine was the bonus gift. But no- your visit is perfect. I was so happy when you called.  Despite having just had Jermaine waltz in on us and turn Michael’s mood all kind of sour.”

Lisa must have made a face, which was pretty difficult given it felts as if she was frozen, and Lish burst out laughing.

“What the fuck is up with Jermie’s hair?  Is it real?  Is it lacquered?  What is hiding in it? – I’m just shitting- I do think he is sexy. Held up pretty good to the test of time. So you think he had work done?  Hope he doesn’t share your mother’s surgeon or it’s downhill from here. I mean, sorry, but…  Anyway…so maybe it’s good he’s here.  Maybe it’s time for me to check out those Jackson charms I heard so much about.”

Lisa almost veered off the path.  Lish better watch out or her silly comments would kill them both.  She was surely kidding.  At least, Lisa hoped so.

“You need to lay off the wacky weed, Lish.  You better stay away from him- he’s poison for everything with a vagina. And you’re close to my heart already, you don’t need to hook up with my brother in law to become family.”

“Hey, is he married?”

“Not sure. I can’t keep up with his marriages.  Too complicated. And Michael doesn’t talk about him much. Even though they do get on better since the trial. If Jermaine can stop being jealous for two minutes, it might be a peaceful visit.”

“Speaking of marriage… Any news on that front between you and the former Mr. Presley?”

“No, Danny and I are just friends.” 

Lisa winked playfully at Alecia, knowing full well whom her friend had jokingly referred to.  She just wanted to make it clear- even in kidding around- that Michael was never, ever interested in being Mr. Presley.  As for marriage… hell, if she knew.  Michael seemed to have given up or in and had stopped pressuring her during the past month. She almost missed his daily complaints about her not having agreed to make things legal.

Maybe he likes to have his cake and eat it, too. Maybe I waited too long? Maybe he realized he doesn’t need to marry me to have it all.

Or maybe it was her own stupid fault for having stalled in the first place. She was not the dating kind- she loved to have a stable relationship, and she adored the concept of marriage and family- especially if Michael was the man.  There was no doubt she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. And she had been pretty sure he shared that dream- unless he had changed his mind.

“No, shit! You are so bad. I was talking about the King of Pop shooting you hot and smoldering looks all the fucking time. You two make me sick, by the way.  You have been back together for what, three, four months now? Can you become human and at least pretend you bore each other?”

Their laughter once again created pretty plumes of swirling condensation.

“I can’t act that well, Lish. And no, he doesn’t bore me. Nothing about him is boring. Not one single inch.” She could simply not contain the satisfied grin. Or the dark and dirty tone in her voice.

“Yeah, and we all know there isn’t just one single inch in those indecent pants he used to wear. Hey- can you ask him as a favor to don them gold things for dinner tonight? I wanna make sure there was no false advertising, and my friend’s not getting chipped.”

Lisa laughed out loud. Lish was a mess. And she had missed her.

“No worries. I make it a point to check on that daily- at least once. But thanks for being selfless. I tell you what, you lust after Jermaine all you want, but you leave my man alone.  I love you and all, but I ain’t sharing- even if there is enough to go around.”

“Fuck that shit, you tease.  You’re getting old and respectful on me. I think you should allow one threesome at least.”

“Dream on.  I’m simply not sharing. As in ever! But don’t worry too much; nothing respectful going on in my bedroom.  Even if it’s just him and me.”

“Well, since you’re reaping all the benefits, you could ask about them pants?  All I wanna do is look. Cross my heart.”  Lish playfully drew a little cross over hear parka.

“Cut it out! And by the way, Katherine would probably not approve of her baby boy being wrapped in foil before my slobbering best friend.”

“Dammit! Maybe next time. Right?”

“Keep on dreaming.”

They both chuckled.

“Speaking of: how are your nightmares?”

Lisa parked the cart by the house and made sure she took the keys out so none of the kids could escape on a nighttime pleasure ride again.  They had caused her and Michael almost a heart attack a couple of weeks back when they had decided to stage a nighttime picnic.  It had been their first foray into having to discipline them as a parental unit- and it had gone smoother than expected.  Regular life finally seemed to find them. She had been afraid how things would go down once one of the kids acted up and they had to pull the discipline card- especially if it involved her and Michael’s three, or him and Ben and Riley.  How helpful of the kids to be in trouble all at the same time- with the exception of Blanket, who, in his disappointment to have been left behind, had been the whistle blower.  Things went down quite natural and her and Michael had backed each other up fully.  And the boundaries had been accepted.  Amazing!

“Lisa?”

That’s right. Lish had asked about her nightmares.  Odd, she’d bring it up as they indeed had started to raise their ugly head a gain.  She had hoped that with the new chance at love, her fears of losing Michael would subside, but in the past weeks, she had woken bathed in cold sweat several times- each time having been either at his funeral, or in some loveless marriage with Lockwood, knowing Michael had died and she’d never see him again in this world.  How fucked up could her brain be?

“They’re alright.”

She walked in ahead of Lish, hanging up both their coats. The blood shooting back into her frozen skin felt as if she had fallen into stinging nettles.  Hopefully, Michael had the fire going in the family room. And a hot drink wouldn’t be turned down, either.

“Meaning they are gone, or meaning they are alive and well?”

Lish knew her too well.  Well, maybe it would help to talk about it. She had not wanted to burden Michael – despite him repeatedly asking what had woken her up in tears, or had her calling out his name, clutching to him in panic.

“I have them on and off. I guess my brain is just used to running that way. Or I am still traumatized from having almost lost him for good.  Not sure.”

“You think you’re still afraid of losing him? Seems to me you made that difference when you fought for him.”

“Yeah. I thought so, too.  Not sure what’s going on. Other than they got worse after the dragon from the adoption agency set our plans on fire. Maybe I’m afraid he will leave without a kid. I know it’s stupid…but hey…” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, maybe you need to get some more certainty.  As in- marry the poor man. You know he wants to make an honest woman out of you. So stop fighting him. Listen to me- advocating boring married bliss! I need to retire.”

Lisa bit her bottom lip, then sucking on it before answering.  Maybe Lish was right. Maybe the nightmares had gotten worse as she was once again afraid to lose him. Not getting a baby might have ignited the old insecurity time bomb.

“Well, he hasn’t asked lately.”

She hated her insecure, whiny tone. 

“Oh, you poor wallflower, you. How ‘bout you set him straight and tell him you want to sign on the dotted line one more time. And use the name Lisa Marie Jackson Presley once again.”

“But what if he really doesn’t want to get married anymore?  I don’t wanna pressure him.”

“Get me some wine, Lisa, before I smack you silly. How many brain cells did you lose when you fell into that pool?  Where is the brave chick I love so much- the one who never hesitates to say what needs to be said- and who goes out and gets what she wants?”

They had arrived in the kitchen, and Lisa reached for a bottle from the huge wine-rack. Lish was right?  Where was all her fierceness?

“I don’t know. I seem to have lost all that bravado when it comes to him. God, I love him so fucking much, Lish. It is scary as shit- to love someone with that deep, killing kind of love.”

“Yeah – no one can hurt you like the person you hand yourself over to like that. But Lisa- remember when you flew out to London after your surgery.  I remember how scared shitless you were. And you did it, anyway. You can stay safe and hold back- or you can risk it all- and win the jackpot.”

Just thinking of that flight made her knees weak.  God, that had been in another life-time. Yes, she had been on a kamikaze mission to get her man back then.  She wanted to be near Michael, with Michael…whatever that had meant.  Come hell, highwater, or Debbie.  She had donned her sexiest outfit, her diamond belly stud- and had put that iron face on- marching into battle. Claiming him, promising she’d mend his heart even if it would take a life time.

Well- it had taken slightly longer than expected- but less than a lifetime.  So, why, indeed was she afraid now?  On the other hand, what was so wrong with how they lived now? They had it all, didn’t they? Maybe it was best not to rock the boat. After all, maybe all the lifeboats had already been used up.  And she was not ready for a dip into the frigid waters she might encounter.

+++++++

“Mike, man, I’m glad to see you so happy. I really am.”

Suspicious, Michael glanced over at his brother.  The visit, so far, had gone pretty good. It had taken a while for him to recover from opening the door and finding Jermaine had accompanied their mother, but Katherine had with one glance conveyed that she wanted no nonsense between her children.  So, for Mother’s sake, he’d play nice. But he didn’t have to like it.

Over the past year, things had improved slightly between him and Jermaine, and he had certainly been a rock during the trial.  Of course, as soon as the verdict was announced- possibly already between count 8 and 10 being read, Joseph and Jermaine had devised an idea for a tribute  concert while they “had the attention of the world.”  It would have been unbelievable, had it not been those two.

“That’s how they cope, Michael.  It’s how they show their love,” his mother had sighed when she had detected his exasperated eye roll.  Had he not been so absolutely depleted he would have kicked Jermaine’s ass.  As it was, he simply reminded himself it was best to stay away.  He had accepted that he while he loved all his siblings, it was not wise to be around some of them. 

Showed their love?  What a joke.  Things were better with him and Joseph than they had been, but he was still convinced the man lacked the love center in his brain. And Jermaine?  Things were more complicated there- they had been so close as boys.  But since then much jealousy, envy, and resentment on Jermaine’s part, and much isolation and silent anger on his side had erected a solid wall.  The last year had brought the additions of some glass windows in that barrier- but it was still a sturdy obstacle.

“Me being happy does not mean I’m gonna go and perform with you and the brothers.”

“Did I ask you, to?”

“You probably struck some deal with Mother to be quiet for 5 hours before you spring your newest plan on me.”

“5.5, actually.”

Staring at each other, they both had to crack a smile. 

“I missed seeing you smile, little bro.”

“Well, yeah… Here lately I’ve been doing a lot more of that.” His eyes automatically trailed toward the exit as if looking for Lisa.

“Seems like the little lady’s got you wide open.”

“Yeah- never thought I’d be this foolish over anyone again.”

“She always was the sweetest thing. And Mother is totally in love with her.”

“Mother was the one not giving up on us when I was too dense to see that Lisa and I had one more chance in us.”

“The kids seem real happy, too. I noticed Blanket calling her Mom.”

“Yeah- they love her.” The very words filled his heart with such warmth.  Where was Lisa? He missed her and needed her next to him.  

“Hey, what’s the deal with Lisa’s friend?”

Michael started to laugh and fell back into the couch. That sly dog! He had noticed the glances exchanged during dinner.  Alecia must be crazy to play with fire like that. Jermaine never needed any encouragement, and he didn’t want to see Lisa’s best friend hurt.

“Dog, you cut that out. She’s with her on-again, off-again husband.  Don’t get in that mess. And last I remember you’re taken, aren’t ch’a?”

Jermaine laughed and raised his hands. “Mike! I’m just asking, that’s all!”

Michael shook his head. “Sure you are.  No nasty business in my house. Remember that.”

“You’re so full of it! Like you and Lisa behave. I seen those looks you two exchange. ”

“That’s different.”

“What’s different?”

Katherine came back into the room, followed by Paris pushing a tea tray and some sweets.

“Michael was just saying how he and Lisa have separate bedroom and lead a totally chaste life.  And I said that was different from what I imagined him doing…”

Michael threw a pillow at his giggling, stupid older brother.  Oaf!

Paris looked from her uncle to her father.

“What’s chaste?  And Lisa and Daddy share a bedroom, Uncle Jermaine.”

Thanks, Jermaine. Why don’t you go mess with the head of your own kids?  Like you did when you gave them fucked up names. Poor Jermajesty.

“Isn’t it too late for sweets, Princess? I hope you didn’t browbeat your grandmother into this.”

“She asked very politely, and assured me it would be okay since she’s allowed to stay up later tonight.”

Michael raised an eyebrow at his crafty daughter. “You are? That’s news.”

“Well, we do have guests, Daddy. Please?”

“I’ll talk to Lisa about it. Where is she, by the way?”

“Putting up some more things in the kitchen. So, Daddy- what’s chaste?”

Jermaine was chuckling, while Katherine poured her granddaughter a cup of milk and handed her a plate with cookies.

“It means pure, baby girl. Don’t worry. Your Daddy and uncle are just playing around.  Nothing they say makes sense when they act like this, so just ignore them.”

“ Daddy, can I take the cookies upstairs to the boys? I think they started watching a movie and Riley just took some upstairs, too.”

“Yes, if Lisa said it was ok, you can take some up. But don’t take them into the bedroom. Just the playroom.”

Katherine helped Paris set up a tray of cookies to take up, and then held the door open for her.

“So, what are you boys really up to here?  I hope you’re not fighting again?”

“Who? Us? For sure, Mother. Michael was just sharing how his new family is run. Must be hard to get used to stepchildren again.”

“We can’t all have stepchildren that also are our nephews and nieces, Jerm.”

“Michael be nice. Jermaine, stop goading your brother.”

Funny, how Mother’s soft, but determined voice reduced them to teenagers again in the blink of an eye. Michael was utterly tempted to stick his tongue out at Jermaine, then maybe kicking his leg and running for cover.  Old habits and urges came rushing back with force.

Lisa and Alecia’s entry cut his thoughts short.  As a matter of fact, all contemplations of horsing around with Jermaine evaporated, and he became enthralled by Lisa’s laughter, the sparkle in her eyes, and the way her jeans hugged her hips.  A quick glance was directed at his mother, making sure she could not read his less than chaste thoughts. He had missed Lisa all afternoon, as he had shown his mother and Jermaine around, giving Lisa some catching up time with her friend. 

Lisa seemed to read his thoughts as she met his eyes and winked at him, melting his heart and hoping Mother and Jermaine would want to retire early. 

When Lisa started to sit down on the loveseat across from him- he cleared his throat and patted the spot next to him.  No way- he had shared his woman long enough. She better get her tight little ass right next to him.

Lish fell into the love chair, giggling, and Lisa raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Something you want, Mike?”

Yeah, right now, he wanted to blink his eyes and have his visitors fall asleep.  Did Lisa have to look so absolutely sexy in them jeans?  And that sweater…hugging her curves just right…

He had to clear his throat one more time and shifted in his seat.  Oh God- could nature really be this cruel? It was simply not kosher to get sprung with his mother right here in the room. But damn… This morning, right before Lish and then mother and Jerm had descended upon them, a package had arrived.  His brand new, very cool and very technologically hip new digital film camera.  Talk about timing from hell!

Focus, man! You have all your lives to film her on her knees…sucking your dick… before she gets up on all fours, her ass toward you…begging you to claim her in all the right ways…

This was simply not right! 

Clearing his throat again, he squeaked out, “Yeah, Lisa- come sit with me.”

Giving him the sweetest smile, she came over, bent down to kiss him, and snuggled up close. God, he wanted nothing more than to have her like this always- right by his side, where she belonged. Weird to think there ever had been a time when it had annoyed him to have her seek him out all the time. What the hell had been his problem?

Not knowing the agony of losing her. Not understanding she was his other half. Not trusting her enough with her judgments.  His arm went around her and he pulled her close.

“You two get a room!”

“Shut up Jermaine- we got a room. By the way, aren’t you tired yet?  It’s been a long flight. Gotta watch out at your age.”

“Nope, only afternoon in Cali. I’m just waking up.”

Great! Even jetlag worked against him.

“Mother- you should make sure you get plenty of rest… I know these flights can be deceptive…”

Lisa laughed and looked up at him, her eyebrows pulled together. “Michael! What is your problem…?” Her hand was on his thigh and instinctively, she looked down for a second- then back up, her eyes wide open.

Oh, good. She had caught on as to the nature of his problem.  He gestured and she had to look away to avoid bursting out laughing.  Women were so frigging lucky! Not like they had to hide stuff when they got frisky.

“Oh, it’s ok, Lisa.  He is right. Especially, since Alecia has invited us to her condo in New York tomorrow.”

Oh, that was news.  The women filled him in that since Jermaine had some short business in New York, and his mother had planned to stop over for a shopping trip, Alecia had offered her condo as well as her skills as a city guide.  To make the news even sweeter, mother asked if he minded if they took the kids along as Prince and Paris, as well as Riley and Ben had been talking about a trip to FAO Schwarz.  They obviously almost had given Blanket a heart attack as he had started jumping up and down- so how could Michael refuse the request? Especially since Black Mrs Doubtfire would go as well.

And how would he deal with having an empty house?  The smile was difficult to suppress and when Lisa elbowed him with a subtle nudge, he knew she also would be in tears to have everyone gone for the next couple of days.

“Kate, let me write down the address to the Saint Regis.  The kids used to love to go there for tea after the toy store.   I have such wonderful memories of their cakes, as well. Well, except for the last time when I almost choked on a tart.”

She gifted him with a sweet smile, which almost caused him to choke.  Evil woman!

“Oh, I remember. It’s where you ambushed me right?” He batted his eyes, feigning innocence.

“Yeah, that’s right- I went to get my man back. And you can wait for like ever for me to say I’m sorry.”

Her pretend standoff was too cute, and he captured her chin and pulled her close for another kiss.

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry.”

The deep love he saw in her eyes was more the most intoxicating stimulant. One more kiss.

“Mike, seriously! Get a grip! You two will give me diabetes!”

“Jermaine- your brother and Lisa deserve happiness. They worked so hard for it. And suffered so much.”

“They wouldn’t have suffered if that one didn’t have a rock hard head- right Applehead?”

“Well, Miss Lisa here also has been known to be a bit dense when it comes to knowing what’s good for her…” Alecia got into the mix, too. Great.  Were they all not tired yet?

“Well, it seems she has a gorgeous and wise friend in you, Alecia- or can I call you Pink?”

Ok, now Jermaine was turning on the charm, which was hazardous as he had not distributed barf-bags yet.  What a day!

“Can we just go to bed before I throw something at him?” When Jerm and Lish were exchanging compliments, Michael whispered in Lisa’s ear.

“That would be rude. Stop it- you’ll get some extra dessert later. Promise.” She whispered back, her sweet breath teasing against his ear stirring his desire for dessert- and more- to crazy heights.

“Rude? I think it would be polite- I might have to tell him he could be Lish’s father…”

Lisa chuckled. “Stop it. Behave.”

“But I like to misbehave. I’d like to be very, very bad.”

He bit her earlobe slightly, making sure his mother was engaged in joking with Alecia.

“Stop it, or I’ll have you shackled”

“Promises, promises…”

Lisa laughed that time, drawing everyone’s attention to them. He grabbed a pillow and placed it strategically over his lap.

And so the torturous evening continued, before everyone finally decided it was time to put him out of his misery.  He accompanied his mother to her room, making sure she had everything she needed for the night.

“Michael- I am so happy for the two of you. Seeing you two like this- it’s all I ever wanted for you. All I imagined and dreamed of.  Don’t let it go.”

“Don’t worry, mother. Not planning to.”

“You haven’t said anything other than the adoption won’t happen for now- how about a wedding? Will that happen soon? I mean really, seems like that should be taken care of first. You need to stop getting the order of things mixed up.”

“Mother, I don’t wanna pressure her. I wanna give her time.  I rushed her last time. And we know how that worked out.”

“Son, from the way she looks at you when you’re not looking, I can tell that woman doesn’t need no pressure. She loves you. She’s eat up with it. I don’t think I ever saw someone love like that. But thankfully I see the same thing when you’re looking at the gal.  So don’t be an idiot. Women wanna be wooed…she would probably like a little pressure.”

Giggling, he kissed his mother’s cheek.

Did she just say ‘wooed’? And yeah, he planned on giving Lisa some good pressure tonight- maybe enough to push her into action and finally agree to getting hitched. Unless she changed her mind…

That night, the love-making had to be quick and hard- due to Lisa’s fears that the houseguests would listen in. And really, it would not surprise him in the least,if Jermaine had some kind of ear- horn or glass pressed against the walls, hoping to hear some action. So, despite having to be quiet and making sure Lisa’s screams were contained, it was enough to take the edge off and allow him to sleep, even as his mind was going into overdrive about the new camera. 

Lisa stirred and cried out several times during the night and he sat up, looking at her, watching her, gently stroking her hair, humming softly for a while before she calmed again.  It tore him apart to know her nightmares had returned as of late.  She didn’t like to talk about them- but she had hinted they were similar to the ones she had before- the ones that had sent her into her quest to seek him out. It broke his heart to be witness to her struggles almost every night.  Not wanting to press her, he’d give her a little while longer, but then he’d insist she unburden herself.  She needed to realize she didn’t have to suffer all by herself any longer and that loved to share her burden with her.  And she also needed to believe he was stronger now- strong enough to weather any storm. And certainly strong enough to be her rock.

+++++++

“Ok, girl. Behave yourself.  Don’t do anything I wouldn’t. “ Lish winked at her before she scampered off into the SUV.

Lisa had to smile as she stepped back.  Michael immediately grabbed her hand, and gave it a little squeeze.

“What she say?”

They both shouted a couple of more good-byes to the kids and started waving as the small caravan pulled off.

“She wished me happy fucking.”

Michael’s wave froze in the air and he looked over, shocked.  Lisa maintained an innocent smile. “She did what?  How’d she know? Do you have to discuss everything with her?”

Lisa laughed and continued waving.

“You’re so gullible.  You don’t think people know why we just about helped them pack and carried them to the cars?”

“Did not…”

Lisa laughed again, refraining from answering.  The cars disappeared from their view. 

“I hope they’ll be ok.”

“They’ll be fine, mother-hen.  They got my mother and Doubtfire. That should combat the stupid that is my brother.  I wouldn’t trust him with a dead sloth.”

“Michael!” Lisa laughed. “He seems to have been on his best behavior.”

“It’s because his brain can only focus on one thing at a time. And right now he picked up the scent of Alecia.”

“Well, he might as well forget that. She was faintly intrigued, but then got a hot and heavy phone call last night – so she is all back in love with her drug of choice.”

“Ok, good. She don’t want no kids called ‘Jermagnificence’ or some shit like that. And Jerm spreads his sperm as if it’s his mission to triple the Earth’s population problem.”

“Speaking off…”

Lisa started to pull him inside, closing the door.  The house was so quiet.  Other than the ever-present music.  Well, she aimed to add some human cries to that pretty soon. Mike might think he was sly about the package he received yesterday, acting all secretive and coy, but she had received her very own special order the other day- and could not wait to share her new finds with him.  He so loved toys. 

She must have started to grin, as he stopped and looked down at her with his eyes darkening.

“What’s going on behind those blue eyes, Princess?  You look like a cat about to devour a mouse.”

Lisa put her arms on his shoulders, getting into his personal space, almost allowing her body to touch his.  It was enough to feel his radiating heat.

“What I aim to devour is slightly bigger than a mouse, Daddy.”

His eyes widened. “Slightly? ‘Scuse me?”

“Well, let’s see how big we can get is, shall we?”

With that, Lisa wasted no more time and slowly sank to her knees as her hands glided over his body, until they arrived at the waistband of his pj’s.  Had she ever been annoyed by his tendency to wear them around the house at all times? She must have been crazy! Easy access central!

“Holy shit, Lisa…Right here? Oh, baby…”

Was he protesting or urging her on?

Well, since one hand held his growing dick out to her hungry lips while the other was in her hair, guiding her forward, she strongly suspected it was the latter. Her eyes locked to his when her tongue gently licked his length, enjoying the feel of the blood extending his bulging veins as the quickly rock- hard rod jumped toward her.

“Hm…much bigger than a mouse already, Mike.”

One hand found his tightening balls and she fondled and cradled them, making him moan even more as he pumped himself. Within seconds, a glistening pearl of precum became visible and Lisa licked her lips as she felt her pussy swelling and being flooded with her own juices.  Yes, that love making session last night had taken the edge off, but she definitely planned to spend the day enjoying Michael and his extensive talents as she had not been able to do in a while.  The kids, the house, their future plans; all had rendered her distracted and worried.  Now, all she wanted to do was focus on him, celebrating that immense sexual connection which was second only to their strong emotional bond.

Her tongue captured the salty treat, and she followed up by dipping into the sensitive hole, causing him to shiver and to increase the pressure on her head.

“Lise- stop… shit…”

“You want me to stop?” Her eyes were swallowed by the ebony heat of his.  Her teeth gently pulled on his foreskin, teasing him as she knew he loved- and hated…

“Fucking shit- I’m gonna cum right here and I haven’t even fucked that hot mouth yet.  Shit….”

His voice became lost in sighs and moans as she finally rectified the situation and took him in as far as she could, allowing him to hit her throat.  His hand surrendered his penis to her, and she gripped it with a firm hold, applying pressure to the base as her mouth started to glide up and down the iron shaft.

Michael threw his head back now, and she almost came herself from the expression of pure abandonment on his face.

Ok, Lisa….take it slow…

His penis was now huge and turgid, so decided to allow his hips to drive the rhythm, using her freed hand to dip into her yoga pants.  Good thing she somehow had forgotten to put on panties that morning.  Psychic premonition, no doubt. Or simply knowing the force of nature she was in love with. She found her flooded pussy, and went straight for the thumping, distended knob, applying pressure, using the fluids to glide over it, pinch it, before circling her opening.

Within seconds she came hard, still having his cock at her mercy.  Her moans and noises caused Michael’s eyes to fly open.

“Fuck, Lise- did you just….No way…” His deep laughter caused her to spasm again. To tell the truth, she had been a bit surprised herself.  But man- nothing turned her on like giving him head.  And from the jumping of him in her mouth accompanied by growing slightly more, seeing her climax did a number on him as well. As soon as she was able to, her moist hand found his cock again, and she pumped him hard, her free hand still holding his balls, then tracing his perineum, before applying more soft pressure.  His hands gripped her hair harder now, and as much as he tried to hold back, his sobs and moans testified to his impending climax. He became frozen for a second and she felt his balls constrict even more. Relaxing her throat, she prepared to swallow what he had to give.  When he started to yelp and call her name, she knew it was time as he released in hot, salty spasm into her mouth, climaxing so hard part of his cum started to drip out onto her chin.  Fuck if she cared right now.  She was too close to almost getting her rocks off again, watching his every expression, listening to his sexy sounds.

When he finally relaxed, she licked him clean, watching him trying to catch his breath. 

“Hm…baby…that was…intense...”

“No shit….Crap, Lisa…I wanted to take it nice and slow this morning…” He looked down at her lovingly, his face flushed, his eyes bright.  His fingers traced her cheek, then her lips and her chin, collecting the evidence of his eruption. Lisa captured his hand by his wrist, then sucked on his finger, licking him, enjoying his taste all over again.

“You’re some kind of wild, woman…”

She allowed the finger to leave her mouth with a plopping sound.

“Complaints?”

“Yeah. You didn’t let me make you cum.  And I don’t believe in not doing my job.”

With that, he bent, pulled his pants up, and picked her up, taking her squealing and giggling to the stairs, depositing her two steps up from him.

“Lift your ass and take those pants off.”

The aggression in his tone caused her to once again feel her juices escaping from her love canal. From the sounds of this, she better make sure to get hydration breaks.  When Michael got into the zone like this, he was unstoppable. 

Obliging, she lifted her hips, making sure to seductively gyrated while wiggling out of the pants every so teasingly.  She threw them from her, closing her legs in a very ladylike manner.  Who said you could not be a lady sitting half naked on the stairs of your house half an hour after your children left? 

Michael shook his head slowly, raising his sexy long index finger, wagging it at her.

“Ts, ts.  Nope.  None of that. Spread ‘em wide, Presley. No false modesty now after you sucked my dick like an expert.”

Wordlessly, she obliged, her thighs falling apart, granting him an unobstructed view of her arousal.  Lisa swallowed, her throat going dry as her juices dripped out, running down her soft skin, tickling her.

“Wider.”

His eyes bore into her and again she obliged.

“Take your fingers and spread those juices, baby girl. I see you dripping out.”

His voice was deep and velvety, caressing her, stoking her fires even more.

“There you go.  Rub that pussy, girl.  I wanna make sure it’s all plump and ready before I eat you and make you cream against my mouth.”

As always, his dirty talk was added fuel. Fuck, if he kept it up she’d cum before his heavenly tongue would find her. She better play this conservatively.

“Take a finger and stick it in- now another one…prepare it for me…I plan on stretching it like you haven’t had it in a while, baby girl.”

“You know, you’re gonna make me go off like a rocket talking like that, right?”

“Well, you better control yourself then, because cuming again without my permission will earn you severe punishment, my lady.”

“And what if I wanna get punished, Sir?” Her lips pouted and she regarded him from behind hooded eyes.

“Then the punishment shall be to not spank that gorgeous ass till its pink.  Pink like that pussy…Girl you’re ready to go, ain’t ch’a?” Michael licked his lips, causing her insides to flutter in response.

“Are you gonna talk all morning or put that tongue to better use?”

“In my own time, baby…looks like you enjoy letting it sizzle too much right now…And I got some nice surprises, too.”

Lisa laughed lowly.  “So do I, Daddy…So do I…” Raising an eyebrow and smiling, he ignored her comment for now.

“Lise- take them fingers out now- Girl, you’re so fucking wet.  Go a bit further south, lube up a bit there, baby girl…you never know when that might come in handy…”

Holy shit! He was definitely planning on killing her! That last comment had her insides fluttering more and pushed her even closer to the edge.

She did as she was told, allowing her fingers to spread the already flowing juices around her ass as well.  God, she could not even remember last time they had… No, Lisa, don’t think about it.  You’ll cum and you know he knows how to make you suffer. Take it one step at a time… Breathe…

“Good girl. Now, spread those pussy lips for me, so I can eat you out properly.”

With that he sank onto his knees before her, his tongue lapping at her with decisive, strong strokes, driving her to distraction, having her writhing on the stairs, his hands now cupping her ass, lifting her up toward him to give him better access.

“Michael…shit…fuck…oh God…” Her moans became little whimpers in no time.

“Hmmmm….so good…sweet and spicy…Nothing like your taste when you’re hot like this…”

The vibrations from his voice sent her into overdrive. Her legs were splayed wide open. Her back was arched toward him, her fingers still held herself open to him, granting her no defense, no hiding place. She was totally at his mercy.  Her clit ached and pulsed as he managed to tease it just enough on each bypass, then leaving it to the surrounding air as he teased her clenching opening.  She noticed he placed her back onto the stairs- one hand on her thigh, stroking the quivering flesh, the other competing with his tongue, stroking her folds, dipping into her clenching heat, moving around, hitting that internal spot making her scream out his name.

“Almost there, baby…I’ll send you flying, don’t y’a worry.” The words were whispered against her before he replaced his finger with his tongue, testing the rippled internal walls. His fingers travelled south, rubbing her tight hole, causing her to lift off the stairs. His free hand pressed on her abdomen now, holding her steady.

“Shht…relax baby girl…lemme make it good…”  No time to regret the loss of his tongue as his finger circled here there,  entering her carefully, making her see stars.  His tongue started to fuck her at the same time his lips played with her clit and his finger glided in and out of her backside, sending her nerves into some sort of electric fire.  Lisa could no longer distinguish if she froze first, screamed his name, or started to climax wildly against him, as he held her to him, not easing up the triple torture until she weekly collapsed, panting, her heart threatening to burst through her heaving chest.

Michael eased up a bit, withdrawing his finger, then his tongue, now placing soft kisses against her swollen sex, allowing her to calm down before scooting up to kiss her, feeding her the juices she had seconds earlier bathed him with. Lisa greedily kissed him back, feeling her insides clench one more time when she tasted herself on him.  That man was going to be her death. And she’d gladly go to the grave if he only kept up this heavenly treatment.

“Ready for a break?  How ‘bout a bath before I show you my surprise. And by the way- don’t think I didn’t catch you said you got something to show me as well…”

“Does the break include a hydration drip?” She grinned up at him slyly.

“I had the cook stock up on Gatorade. I been planning for a while, you see…”

Michael pulled her up and scooped her into his arm, taking two steps at a time.  Funny, how his back seemed to have improved with regular exercise.

+++++++

Thank goodness that camera was so quiet and had motion stability control.  He enjoyed the image before him too much to let Lisa in on it for now. 

“Michael, come on… Please…”

Her body was covered in goosebumps, and he knew full well, they were not due to being cold.  The fireplace in their room was blazing and he also was aware of tiny droplets of perspiration on her chest and forehead.  Right above her blindfold. 

Lisa’s arms were stretched above her head- secured tightly to the headboard with the new handcuffs she had acquired.  Her back arched as she spread her legs, undulating on the sating sheets, grating him and the camera a perfect view of her hot, swollen, pink pussy.  After having watched her play with her new toys, he had tied her up, blindfolding her. Quietly, he had retrieved the camera and started to record.  It was a bit tricky handling the camcorder and driving her crazy with the dildo and the vibrator bullet, but he managed just perfectly.  Watching her climax as he fucked her with the smooth glass while letting the vibrating cool steel bullet play at her ass required creativity- and control. He found a perfect spot for the camera and had to apply all the deep breathing in the world to not shoot his load from watching her, listening to her moans and screams.  As soon as she sank against the bed, her body flushed and trembling, he scooted up and kissed her gently, taking time to allow for a short recovery before deepening the kiss.  Lisa responded, sucking on his tongue, moaning in that provocative manner driving him nuts, so he rewarded her by feeding her a bit of his dick.  Again, he was amazed he didn’t lose it, watching her suck him on the high definition display screen of his new toy.  Oh, he could not wait to share this with her!  He pulled back just in time, and Lisa tried to go after him, but was held back by her restraints. 

“Mike, fuck me…please…fuck me hard…Give it to me...I need you…”

Who was he to upset or disappoint his captive audience?   Making a mental note to research prime spots to place tripods for future use, he sank onto his knees, holding himself out to her budding flower, teasing her until she squirmed and begged, before plunging into her with one hard thrust.  Lisa was forced backward by the power of his attack and for one moment he worried he might cause her pain.

“You ok, Lise?  You let me know if I hurt you, ok, baby.”

“Daddy, you hurt me so good.  Please…fuck me…give it to me hard…”

He pulled back, enjoying the view of his wet, straining erection plowing into that tight pussy over and over, watching her juices drip out, down to her ass…

Take it slow…don’t think about going there…not yet…

The images in his mind, memories of past, forbidden play, and future possibilities urged him higher and higher.  As soon as Lisa screamed out, clamping down on him, squeezing him with her deathgrip, he pummeled into her, his read hot ejaculation making him feel as if he was being turned inside out and left with nothing but raw nerves to cover his being.  Thank goodness he put the camera down- didn’t want to damage it on his first night of play.

Now, minutes later, he was just about ready to let Lisa in on his little secret.   

“Just a moment baby.  I’m enjoying that body of yours.  You are so amazingly beautiful, you know that…You drive me absolutely crazy…”

“You drive me crazy, Daddy. Will you finally let me know what you got? I filled you in…”

Shit, had she ever!

After their bath which included just about everything but fucking her, Lisa insisted she go into the bedroom first.  She told him to give her five minutes- which, by the way felt like fifty hours.  All the playing in the soapy water had left him fully erect, but he also ensured his lovely soon to be wife would be going crazy with need for him- having brought her close to another climax several times without granting that release she craved.

When he entered the room and found her propped up on several pillows, her legs open, her hands holding a gorgeous glass dildo with red and blue internal color helix up to her lips, licking it like a popsicle, he had stopped cold, his dick immediately filling to full capacity.  

“Stay there, Daddy.  Watch me play…Stroke that cock for me…”

Oh fuck, as if he needed encouragement!

“Can I sit?”

He pulled up a chair, a good distance from the bed.

“As long as I can see you play with yourself, I don’t care what you do.  Here are the rules.  No cuming… We gotta back off when we get close.  If you cum, you lose.  Winner gets to do with the loser what she wants.”  Her head motioned over to the handcuffs and blindfold on the nightstand.

“You meant to say, what he wants, right?”

“Game?” That cocky smile made his dick jump.

“Game…go…”

He had no idea how he had survived the next thirty minutes, watching her insert the cold glass, fucking herself, then playing with a silver steel virator bullet.  Lisa allowed him some measure of control, as she granted him direction rights.  And he was full of good ideas of where she should place what toy…

Lisa, by the way, predictably lost that game- and she came like champion, causing him to shoot his load over his belly and down his thighs. But since she went first, she lost, no doubt about it.  Her punishment, or reward, were the blindfold and the handcuffs.  What a day!

“Michael…”

“Ok, I’m gonna undo the handcuffs…then you can take the blindfold off.”

He quickly released the lock, then stepped back, not wanting to miss her reaction.

Lisa blinked against the light and it took her a second to focus.  Michael zoomed in on her gorgeous face- not wanting to miss that freshly fucked look and her swollen lips.  The expression in her dark eyes turned from surprised to dark, smoldering heat. She licked her lips, then grinned in a decidedly dirty, approving way. 

“You! Seriously? How long you’ve been recording?”

He moved the camera slightly and grinned down at her.

“Long enough…”

“How long?”

“Since right after I blindfolded you.”

The grin widened. “You are such a nasty pervert, Jackson.”

“Yeah?  So?  You don’t look too upset…”

“Was it good?” She sat up and crawled towards him, approaching like a feral cat, before rising onto her knees, her hands traveling up her abs and rib cage as she lifted her breasts, her fingers playing with her nipples. 

Talk about pervert… He focused on the tightening rose colored buds. 

“Oscar worthy.”

“You aint seen nothing yet…” One hand dipped south…

Shit- once again, he loved he stability control as he reached down to his erection.  He’d probably be in a wheelchair tomorrow, but it was so fucking worth it!

Lisa turned slowly and got onto her hands and knees.  If they had been married he’d now worry that she planned on killing him to collect his insurance. Damn! She had the finest, roundest ass he had ever seen on a white girl! Or on any woman really…

“Prepared for the sequel? I’m ready for my close up, Mr Jackson.”

With that, she dipped forward onto her elbows, causing his heart to skip a beat as all remaining blood drained to his cock.

Her position granted him a perfect view of the already tender, swollen, newly dripping pedals of her sex. She turned her head, tossed her hair, licked her lips and winked at him, almost causing him to drop his camera.

“Dammit, woman! You have no idea what you do to me…”

“Come and show me then, big Daddy. Make me say your name…”

“You’ll scream my name, woman, once I’m done fucking that tight snatch. If you can take it…”

Lisa reached under herself and played with her nipple.  Fucking shit!

“Talk, talk, talk..how’ bout you show me some action, man!”

Her ass wiggled at him provocatively, and he got behind her, letting his free hand rub over the warming globes lightly, delighting in the resulting goose-bumps and moans.

Without warning, he smacked her, causing her to whimper and dip down lower, biting her arm.

“Daddy…come on…gimme more…”

He swallowed hard, steadying the camera one more time, panning over her body before concentrating on her ass once again, then changing the angle, catching her dripping juices as they cascaded down her legs. 

Oh yeah…one more time on the other side…. The smack had her moaning his name again and he knew she was more than ready.  He reached over, placing the camera on the chair he had moved earlier, turning the display LCD screen so they could both see the action.  Perfect.

Lisa looked over, then turned her head once more, her eyes dark, mysterious, glowing… Her mouth a perfect mirror image of the juicy fruit before him..pouting, moist…welcoming…

“Bring it home, Michael. Action. Hit it.”

Giggling he bit his lip in concentration, while gripping her hips hard, teasing her a bit, watching her squirm.

“Beg for it, girl.”

“Fuck me. Please.” Her bootie was an all-out open invitation as well.

Holding her open, he surged forward, starting one more round of the crazy dance marathon they had been engaging in all day.  Dipping into her heat, cause them both to moan and he held her close to him, allowing himself to enjoy her tight walls and that incredible molten feeling before his control snapped and he fucked her hard, spreading her ass cheeks, watching his steel stretch her, causing more moisture to slip from her with each withdrawal. The added stimulation from watching them fuck on screen while it was happening was almost too much.  He noticed Lisa’s eyes were glued to the screen as well and he had her moaning and whimpering in no time. 

“There you go, baby. I know I’m hitting it right…I feel how close you are…Let it go…”

To encourage her further, he reached over and turned on the little bullet vibrator, letting it dance on her skin, before teasing the puckered hole exposed to him with it, using her juices to lubricate her, using just a little amount of pressure to cause her to take a deep breath and relax, stilling her movement.  Fuck! He felt the small device vibrating inside her through the dividing wall, making him almost go crazy.

“Oh, god…oh fuck..Michael….” Her voice gave out as she spasmed beneath him, almost causing his heart to stop when she squeezed him hard, making it almost impossible to withdraw. The torture from her shudders combined with the buzzing of the toy half inside her caused him to avert his gaze and squeeze his eyes shut.  Almost there…make it last just a little while longer.  One more thing he wanted to try….

As soon as she calmed down, he used gentler, gyrating movements to build her back up, and within minutes, Lisa was fully engaged once more.

“God girl…that ass up to me like that….you have no idea…how hard it is…”

She pushed back into him, changing her angle slightly, granting him deeper access yet.  Shit…

“I can feel how hard it is…Mike…I love you so much. I trust you…If you wanna..you know…do…that…you can…I want you to…”

Her eyes met his and he read the deep desire, passion, trust…

God, did he want to?  It had been on his mind all day.  This was not something he did lightly- and he had never done with anyone but Lisa.   It had been his deep, dark fantasy, driving him mad as a teen and young man, both with the forbidding allure and the feelings of guilt at his perceived depravity.  But with Lisa it as simply a sign of the deep trust and love…

“You sure…”

“Not sure I can take you…but I’m sure I wanna go there…”

Lisa reached over and handed him the lubricant.

Who would have thought it as possible for him to grow further? She might have a point about it not being physiologically possible…

Michael took the lubricant and started to prepare her gently, working very hard to not let the actions get to him as he continued to fuck her.

Don’t look at that damn camera.  Whatever you do.  Don’t do it.  You gonna lose it… Just keep steady…

The mantra helped to tune out Lisa’s moans and sighs…

When he felt her relaxed, he placed little kisses on the small of her back and up to her shoulders. He withdrew slowly, his fingers still in her other place.  He felt sweat drip down his chest and placed one knee on the bed.  Withdrawing his fingers, he applied more lubricant, then coated himself, despite being all kinds of wet and slippery from her juices.  This was it…

He placed himself at her opening and felt her hold her breath..

His hand was on her back… “Ok, baby, deep breath, relax…I won’t go further than you want me to…” His hand found her dripping pussy and he stroked her folds, teased her opening, and played with the clit.

“Oh God…fucking shit…” she hissed, pushing back against him as he breached the barrier.

His own breath came ragged and forced…he about died as he inserted himself into the vice of her body. 

“Fucking hell…you’re so damn tight girl…”

Lisa’s skin was slippery and her body trembled with the effort to take him. 

He took his time, taking her inch by inch…watching her react to him with abandon, having her call his name, trying his best to not end this before he was good and ready… Either that or die of a heart attack.  Which would be horrible for Lisa… How would she explain that to the paramedics…

Lisa reached back and used a hand to play at her clit…her voice now nothing but a string of “ohmygods” and whimpers. His name was in there somewhere as well.

“Touch yourself, baby… use those fingers...”

Fuck! As soon as she did, he thought he would die from the feeling of her fingers in her cunt against his iron dick inside her.  Obvioulsy, he had not been able to breach her with his whole rod, but he was still about to go crazy, thrusting into her gently but with determination, being almost painfully squeezed.

When Lisa came apart, she did so with a force that almost caused him to see stars.  She collapsed and he had to catch her, bringing her up and against him, as he cradled her, allowing her to ride out her orgasm before he surrendered to the earthquake and the lava laden tidal wave taking him to another universe, forgetting about everything but the amazing woman he clutched to him as he ejaculated over and over, fearing he would pass out.  Somehow he heard her cum again, obviously triggered by his own climax and at some point, after he withdrew, he gathered her against him, kissing her shoulder and her hair, telling her over and over how much he loved her. 

“Holy shit….” Her voice was breathless, dark, hoarse… Her pulse fluttered under his hands.

“You ok?”

“OK? You have no fucking idea what you just did to me… I don’t remember last time I came like this. I thought I’d never stop.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling…”

They laid there for a while, attempting to control their breaths…

“The camera still on, Michael?”

“Oh, I think so…”

“Better turn it off- don’t’ wanna waste battery power…for …you know…another sequel.”

“Shit woman- I think I need to go to some kind of rehab after what you just did to me…”

“Oh yeah…blame me…”

They both chuckled and rested, drifting in and out of sleep.

“Lise….”

“Hm?”

“I think we need another bath…”

“I don’t think I can make it that far…” She turned and snuggled against him.

He snickered and kissed her. “Want me to carry you?”

She looked up at him with sleepy eyes. “You got that much strength left?”

“Ahhhh…not sure.”

“Maybe we should rest first…”

“Yeah, maybe…”

He could barely make out her voice and felt her breathing go deep, her body get heavy.

“Lise?”

“Hm…?”

“Marry me…”

No answer. 

Sighing, he pulled her close and before he knew it, sleep had also overwhelmed him.

+++++++

Everything had seemed fine.  They had woken a bit later, taken a lovely bath, followed by dinner which they prepared together.  Then, to end the day, one more slow, languid, deep love making session.

When Lisa had stormed form the bed, he had thought someone must have broken in or one of the kids had a nightmare.  Then he noticed the house was quiet, the alarms were set, and the kids were in New York with his family.

Finding her a shaking, pale mess in the bathroom had been a shock to his system.

What the fuck was going on with her? That was it! He was not going to allow her to escape anymore. She would just have to open up and lay it on him.  Whatever it was seemed to have rattled her to her core.

When she finally stopped crying and could talk again, he left her to make her some tea, then returned to find her sitting in the bed, a blanket wrapped around her.  She still looked pale.  Her eyes were huge and dark.

“Ok, you better tell me what’s been going on. I have listened to your nightmares for weeks now.  I know you don’t wanna seem weak and you don’t wanna upset me. But enough is enough.  We gotta solve this.”

She looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. “’Kay, Doctor Jackson.”

He scooted in next to her, handing her the cup of tea, holding her as she finally opened up about the nightmares.

She told him about the repeated night terrors of him being dead, and this time, she had not been able to wake herself, and the trip down hell had continued with her waking up, thinking she was married to Lockwood.

Her voice tore his heart out. She sounded like a scared little girl.  No wonder she kept vacillating back to the horror of finding her father, of having him ripped from her life. And she was right, they had been so close to losing each other for good.  Which was why they needed to stop wasting time.

“And you said it’s been getting worse since the adoption shit?”

“Yeah…not sure why. Guess I…I feel guilty for having started it...for having brought this hope back into the house. Having allowed this woman in.  I know how she hurt you- how she was a reminder of what people say about you.  I’m so sorry, Michael. If I could take it back…”

He pulled her close, fighting his own tears. “Baby, baby! Stop it. You got nothing to feel guilty for.  You gotta stop it.  Enough guilt.  You make me so happy- doesn’t that erase some of that guilt?”

Lisa stared up at him, seemingly debating if she should express her fears.

“Mike.  It’s all on me. I lost our baby.  I pulled back about having more.  I filed for divorce.  I collected enough losers to populate some sort of dysfunctional reverse harem. I told you I was indifferent. I had this fucking cyst and now am shriveled up and barren and can’t give you the babies you want.” Lisa’s voice broke and she started crying again. First, he held her close, kissing her tears away, hugging her tightly.  Then, after several minutes, he pulled back, holding her by her shoulders, making her face him square on.

“Lisa. You didn’t wanna lose our baby. I know how devastated we both were.  And I very highly doubt you special ordered a cyst just to prevent me from having babies with you.  As far as the other shit.  We let go, remember?  At least I have.  Yeah, you did those things, but guess what? That’s not what I see when I look at you.  I see the woman who came after me in New York. I see the sexy crazy loon in that scandalous dress, daring me to look at her and face my fears and my love for her.  I see the woman whose eyes met me in the mirror that night after we made love- and the woman who came back despite me having treated her like a cheap whore- something I can never forgive myself. I see the woman sending me that amazing painting,  and I see the woman who talked me through one of the darkest hours of my life- being my only life-line.  I see the woman making me face that I had a problem and get help.  I see the woman my son calls Mommie,  the woman who brushes my stubborn daughter’s hair, the woman sitting with Prince, helping him with his homework.  I see the woman who brought stability back to my kids by keeping them from losing their horses. That’s who I see. And don’t you dare mess with that woman, Lisa, because she is my heart and my soul.”

Lisa stared at him and silent tears streamed down her cheeks.   

“You’re nuts.”

He kissed her and she returned the kiss.  He noticed he was crying as well.

“So?”

“Michael, you gotta face it. I might never be able to give you children.”

“Lisa Marie: cut the crap.  We have children.  Five of them.  I don’t give a flying fuck whose DNA they have. They are yours and they are mine.  They are our family.”

“You say that now. What about later? What if you get bored once the newness of this family wears off?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Can you let me be in charge of my feelings?”

Lisa laughed. “When did you grow up?”

“When I lost everything. And now I ain’t letting you go. And I ain’t letting you off the hook. I know what your nightmares are about.”

“Oh, you do, do you?”

“Yeah. You’re scared.  You think I will leave you again.  You think that at some point my love will just die.  But guess what?  You’re dead wrong.  I love you. I wanna be with you. Additional kids or not. You are so scared you don’t even see what’s right infront of you. Like the fact that I wanna marry you so bad I’m about to explode.”

“You do?”

Now, why did she have to look at him as if he just grew an extra head?  Was she not paying attention?

“Yeah- I even asked you again today- before we passed out.”

“Well, shit- can you make sure I’m lucid when you ask?  You fucked me into a coma! Not fair to ask then!  I…I…I thought you stopped wanting that….that I was pressuring you…”

He had to laugh.  Oh God! What a set of idiots they were.  A perfect match!

“Yeah? And I stopped asking ‘cause I didn’t want to pressure you.  Except, I ran out of patience with you, woman.”

He got up, kissed her and went over to his dresser, pulling out a ring box he had been hiding for months now.

“Michael….”

“Shut up, woman! My turn.  You had your chance…”

He got up on his knee- but due to his physically taxed state did so on the bed next to her.

“Lisa Marie Presley ex Jackson and whatever other names you had that don’t count.  Will you finally stop being a stubborn brat and marry me again.  Choose wisely- because I will never, ever, let your difficult, sexy, stubborn, exasperating ass go again.”

“You don’t have to do this, Mike…I…”

Her eyes were glossing over again.

“Dammit Lisa! I know I don’t. I wanna. So?”

The smile spread slowly at first from her eyes down her face to her lips. Then it became a scream and a bubbling laughter.

“Yes, yes, YES! Oh God, YES!

She grabbed his face and they kissed in-between laughing and crying.

Finally, Michael broke away.

“Hold still for a minute, so I can put that ring on.”

He placed the huge chocolate diamond surrounded by pure smaller bright white, perfect diamonds on her finger.

“Oh shit- it is stunning!”

“Nothing compared to you…”

Lisa held out her hand admiring her engagement ring, and he admired the returned spark in her eyes. 

“See Lisa- you did that. You made me face that I can’t live without you.  And I don’t ever want to.  Hope despite the night, remember?  We did it- we made it through.”

“What the heck would I do without you?”

“No clue.  But I ain’t gonna let you find out. And I will send you the bill for curing you of your nightmares.  You’ll see- they’ll be gone.”

“Bill, hm?  Is there any way I can make a payment plan? I hear you come expensive.”

“Not sure ‘bout that. But I can think of a way you can work it off…”

“Again?”

Lisa smirked at him.

“You can’t hang with an old man?

“Oh, well, we see who can hang with whom, big mouth…”

When Michael pushed Lisa on her back, he resolved to never let her go.  She had saved his life- and he would spend the rest of his making it up to her.  She had been right: some things are forever.  And forever would begin tonight.

Epilogue:

Connecticut, December 25, 2006

Lisa stared at the object in her hand, blinking again, making sure it was not wrong.  Well, if it was, the three other ones were wrong, too.  Holy shit!

“Lisa, you’re gonna be late to your very own first anniversary party.”

The attempt to say something failed miserably. Oh, she was late alright.  Had though it had been the stress or hormones…or …anything but this…

“By the way- that was pretty clever! My Mom now forever has to celebrate Christmas as it’s our anniversary.  You are one sly woman.”

No, she was one surprised, slightly overwhelmed woman.

“Lisa! Did you pass out?  I know we’ve been going at it a bit rough last night, but you were so insatiable…”

Yeah, pregnancy will do that to you.  Holy shit!

“Mike….”

“What- Hurry up! Doubtfire said Aaron is crying and needs his mommy.”

That’s right. They had adopted their son three months ago through a private adoption.  And now…now…this…

Lisa stared into the mirror and suddenly could not contain the biggest smile.  God, everything had come together like a puzzle once she had let go of the fear.  They had been married- she had left the Church- no drama- no threats…just utilization of some possibly damaging material against some of the leaders Michael had been able to dig up.  Her mother had actually gotten over it- and had managed to survive one visit for Thanksgiving – a visit that had gone surprisingly well. 

Michael was recording for a label he and some friends had created.  And she was working on her own record- one that was characterized by songs of joy intermixed with works processing her dark days of the past.  

Michael opened the door to the bathroom.  Her heart skipped a beat, seeing him with is perfect suit, his hair shorter now, not using any wigs.  Just his splendorous self.  More beautiful than any human had a right to be.

“Lisa..” He giggled. “You’re not even dressed yet.  Get to it, woman!”

Her eyes met his in the mirror.

The smile faded. Worry was reflected in the dark depths.

Oh no! He must think something was horribly wrong.   When really…it was a miracle.

“Michael…”

“Baby, what’s wrong?” He had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.  When he looked down he saw the stick in her hand.

“Lisa…what in the world?”  His mouth fell open as she raised it, clearly granting him a view of the blue ‘plus’ sign.

“Michael, I gotta tell you something. Seems we need another nursery.”

The question in his eyes gave way to a smile rivaling the most perfect sunrise.    Light and love - the antidote to death and darkness.  Life sustained.  Sustained by a decision to make a difference in what had seemed like a final outcome. There it was- his star warming her universe with his love and light.

Now and forever. Into all eternity.

And beyond.

~~~THE END~~~

 

©2012 Erika B Michaels. All Rights Reserved. This story is a work of fiction. Any names, places, and other identifying features are used in a fictional manner, for entertainment purposes only, and are in no way representative of actual events. This work may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted, or stored without expressed written permission by Erika B Michaels. All photos and images, mentioned songs or song titles are copyright their creators. 

The Difference is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.