Trivial Pursuits Ch. 20

At some point in the afternoon, most of the family members made their way out onto the smooth lawn to begin set up for the family games that had become a tradition in the River family over the past half-century. Alessa was helping Kat hang up the autumnal designed banners above one of the tables when her phone rang.

Pulling it from her back pocket, she saw it was her mother, and though a hesitancy to answer the call rose up, she knew there wouldn't be a better time to speak with her over the busy week. She excused herself and swiped her thumb to answer.

"Hi, Mom," she greeted as she began slowly walking across the yard to stand near the edge of a meadow of tall, golden grasses.

"Hi, there. How's it going?"

Alessa could hear the weariness in her voice. "Oh...just fine. I'm helping hang decorations. Apparently, they have a big lawn-games competition every year, and so we're setting up for it now."

"Sounds exciting."

"And I think this evening we're going to start on some of the food prep. There's a lot of us so that means a lot of food. Apparently, Denny's mom and grandmother are excellent cooks, and I've been enlisted to help."

"That sounds nice," she said weakly.

"How's it going with you?" Alessa asked tentatively, though she didn't want to hear the truth.

"Well, this past week has been rough. I've had a headache now for the last four days that won't go away, and of course the pain meds just make me sleep all day long. Plus, my stomach's on the fritz again, so I've had constant diarrhea, which you know me, now I'm dehydrated."

"M'sorry to hear that," Alessa responded staidly, as she watched her foot dig at a small lump of dirt in the otherwise manicured turf. "Are you getting enough fluids?"

"Well, I'm trying, but probably not."

Silence.

"Well, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"We had planned on going to his sister's, but with the way I'm feeling, probably won't make it. And because we didn't plan on doing anything here, we probably won't have any traditional foods, like the turkey and stuffing."

"M'sorry to hear that," Alessa repeated more softly.

"Well, what are his parents like?"

"They're nice, mom. Very nice. The whole family has made me feel right at home."

"I'm so happy to hear that, sweetie. You'll have to bring him over here so I can meet him one of these days," she invited.

A pause before, Alessa nodded. "Sure. I'm sure he'd like to meet you. I mean, of course he wants to meet you. Yeah, we'll have to look at our schedules to see when we can make it out and spend the day."

"Sounds good. Well, have a nice time. Happy Thanksgiving."

"You too, mom. Happy Thanksgiving," she said, forcing a smile to stall the tears forming in her eyes.

"Love you. Talk soon. Bye."

"Love you too, mom. Bye."

She closed her eyes, but was unable to stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks in a silent brokenness. Minutes passed as she allowed the anguish of her mother's condition, the hopeless misery of it all, to wash through her. When she again opened her eyes, she dried her cheeks and stood looking out over the golden field in a torpor. When she turned around, she saw Denny carrying a large wooden box before he sat it down and stooped over to position it to his liking.

The knot.

How could she feel so complete and happy with Denny when her mother's own life was so destitute of any good thing? And then she understood the weight deep inside. Guilt. She felt guilty that she was happy and that her mother wasn't.

While she wrestled with the new awareness and the unknowing of what to do about any of it, Denny turned, scanning for her. When he spotted her he stood watching and then raised a hand.

She returned the gesture, indicating she was good. As she took a shuddering breath, she knew it was a lie.

That evening, the family had grilled tri-tip with a ranchero sauce and mashed sweet potatoes. "I know we're having them tomorrow for the traditional meal, but it's a sin to serve this beef and sauce without them. They perfect it. Best combination," Pima defended as she instructed Alessa how to prepare them. And when Alessa took her first bite of the succulent beef with the spicy sauce, she couldn't agree more that the sweet potatoes were the perfect complement.

After dinner, much to Denny's quiet chagrin, Pima pulled out the family photo album, and the women all gathered around as Pima and Alessa snuggled on the couch. The listener smiling ruefully across the room at her boyfriend as the teller of great, embarrassing tales shared the stories behind the images captured in the album. And by the time Alessa hugged Pima goodnight, she felt warm kinship that surprised her in its nature and strength.

Early the following morning, Denny woke her up for a run along the road into town and back. It was quiet at that hour, with dawn just breaking over the fields and bathing them in a pure golden hue, bleeding away the blue ink of the night. And the cool mist that rises from the warmth of the earth clung low to the ground, casting it all in an ethereal net of white. There wasn't any talking between them, just their honestly earned breath pounding out in the still morning air.

They showered when they returned before joining the rest of the waking family. The day was filled with ongoing excitement and enjoyment as everyone was paired off in teams to participate in the lawn games, with the women occasionally ducking inside to complete a meal prep task or two. And as the time for the feast drew nearer, Alessa began to feel like Pima's right hand, helping her out more than she had anticipated.

It had been her experience in the past, that when you offered assistance to the hostess, she more often than not handed over a menial task that would take only two minutes if she didn't outright claim she had everything covered. And while Alessa had always thought that was what a good hostess did, being so heavily utilized by Pima made her realize the sharing in the burden and responsibility of preparing the meal was the most effective way to make the guest welcomed.

Once everyone had gorged themselves, numerous times, on the abundant and delicious food and the men had cleared the table and run two loads of the dishwasher, the family members milled around, some taking up games at the tables, some watching football. During conversation, it came out that Alessa was a modest chess player. Hollis, wanting to test that claim, challenged her to a game. The match was slow to start, not much happening besides a reshuffling of players on the board. Conversation started idly, Hollis asking more and more about her cases, about her schooling, about anything related to law.

"Check," she stated simply.

Hollis studied the board and moved his queen's bishop, though he knew it was just prolonging the inevitable.

"Yeah, I still think about it, about what sort of law I would have liked to practice. Definitely not that corporate law you and Denny got yourselves into."

"Hm," Alessa mused thoughtfully, her attention divided between the board and Hollis' conversation. She moved a knight.

"Of course, my life here has been great. Hard work of course, but a good, happy life. But it's hard to not regret it. And as you can tell, Pops is a great man and he really set us up to have this great life."

"Check," Alessa stated again after she'd captured a rook.

Hollis looked at the board and frowned. He saw the execution coming, but wondered if he could side step the guillotine. He moved his king.

"And of course it's hard to resent a good life. But sometimes..."

"I wonder if that's how Denny feels," Alessa pondered out loud, and then moved her knight one more time.

"Hm?" Hollis asked, not certain he heard her correctly.

"Checkmate," she declared and looked up at him, his brow creased in confusion.

"Good game," she said with a smile. "It's been such a long time since I've played, but I hope I proved myself. But I'm beat," she yawned. "I should probably go to bed. Goodnight." She smiled sweetly before leaving him to ponder the play of the game and words.

"Oh, there you are," Alessa said in surprise as she rounded the corner to find Denny standing there, quiet and serious-eyed. She stepped up to him, slipping her arms around him to lay her head on his chest. "I'm tired. Bed?"

Denny nodded. "Sure, Sweetheart, let's go." He took her by the hand and they wished everyone a good night. Once they were in the guest house, Denny turned on the fire and dropped her hand. Turning to her, he softly, slowly cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes. His thumb traced her lips once or twice before his head dipped to caress them with his own.

Alessa's stomach flipped as her blood filled with liquid fire when his lips touched hers. She had wanted sleep, but found herself instead opening her mouth to his gently prodding tongue, welcoming him in. Denny's other hand snaked around her back and down to cup her bottom, pulling her tightly against him and his growing need. Her own arms threaded up and around his back, enjoying the firm play of muscles she found there.

After his sensual kiss had effectively communicated his intent, his hands found the bottom of her sweater and slowly pulled it off, her hands lifting above her head. Denny shucked his shirt and tossed it aside. She then removed her shoes as her hands went to the fastener of his pants, effectively undoing it while his hands slid up and down her arms. His hands then slid over her chest, exciting her skin through the satin camisole, causing her nipples to harden satisfactorily. Next was the button of her jeans. Looking into her eyes, he popped the button free and then agonizingly slowly pulled the zipper down. His hands then skimmed down her sides and into her pants, peeling them off her hips. She wiggled back and forth, but before she could bend down to take them off, Denny had gone down on his knees before her.

He pulled them down her legs until she could step out of them. Denny's eyes and hands devoured her long legs as his gaze made its way from her feet, up her shins, past her knees, along the smooth curves of her thighs, all the way to her eyes. And though she was sexy as hell in just her satin camisole and matching panties, he slid his hands under her top and took off the last layer, leaving her torso bare to his ravenous eyes.

With just his tantalizing fingertips, he traced the curves of her breasts, skimming the slopes, caressing the contours, scraping a nail over the turgid tip. And then he pinched one, causing a gasp that died into a moan. When he treated the twin likewise, she leaned into his hand, her own hands reaching out for him, needing to pull him closer.

Denny departed from her breasts, trailing his hands down her sternum, over the smooth ridges of her ribs, drawing invisible paths of discovery on her skin. And then, unable to resist any longer, he leaned in and placed a chaste, reverent kiss on her stomach. First one, and then another, until soon his mouth bathed her in unending love.

Alessa's fingers were woven into his hair, and as she looked down at her lover and his mouth French kissing her skin, she shivered from the aching need for him. Only him. Denny's hands had moved to her back and were treating her skin with the same nerve-wracking awakening, causing an endless tidal wave of sensation to surge through her. When he had kissed all the skin within reach, he looked up at her, and cupping the nape of her neck, pulled her down to him for a soul rending kiss.

His hands guided her to join him on the floor, all the while his lips and tongue never separating from her. His own fingers were embedded in her dark hair, the tips firmly massaging her scalp and sending more delicious ripples of pleasure through her. At length, he urged her to lie back on the fur rug beneath them, and then loomed over her. He continued his affectionate attention to her body, kissing her shoulders and arms, the sides of her chest and down her rib cage. He did pay more attention to her breasts, kissing and biting, nipping the thinnest layer of skin before engulfing and sucking as much as he could.

"You are the most amazing, beautiful creature in the world," he confessed. "I could eat nothing but you for the rest of my life." He then urged her to turn over, and when she was on her stomach, he swept her hair to the side and began again with the nibbling, worshiping kisses on her neck.

Alessa laid a cheek on her folded hands, her eyes closed as she was bathed in love. Eventually, Denny had made his way down her back until at last he was hampered by the edge of her underwear at the top of her buttocks. His fingers slipped under the satiny fabric and pulled down, revealing her glorious ass.

Alessa arched her lower back, raising her hips off the rug, presenting him with the most erotic view of her sweet body. Slowly he pulled the fabric down, at first revealing the crack of her bottom and then the crease of her cheeks, and then her plump and wet folds. He continued until he had slid the panties all the way down her legs and off her feet.

Crawling back over her, he continued with his kisses, his lips enjoying the firm but fleshy feel of her bottom. He licked and bit, testing the weight and density. He moved from the top, out around the edges, and toward the inner surfaces. Alessa tensed momentarily when she felt his strong hands cup each cheek and spread them apart and gasped when she felt his tongue stroke down the sensitive tissue there. But he didn't stay long, and though he almost reached the aching lips of her sex, he didn't linger, but continued his way on down her legs, treating first one, and then the other to the same reverential treatment he'd given the rest of her body.

When both feet had been thusly treated, he spoke. "Turn over, Sweetheart."

At first, Alessa just turned her head and shoulder, causing her trunk to twist and leaving one leg to drape over the other. Denny squeezed a big toe. "All the way," to which she complied. He gave a soft, half smile as she lay with her arms draped above her head and her body contorted and angled just enough to look like an alluring boudoir photograph.

On his hands and knees, he continued his loving way back up her body, setting her aflame wherever his lips touched her. She was panting by the time he reached the tops of her thighs, her legs moving restlessly in need and desire. As he crept nearer, she kept her eyes trained on him, watching with a dark hunger. Unconsciously, or perhaps very deliberately, her thighs splayed so he could settle between them, so he could continue to make love to her with his mouth.

At first, he circled around his target, kissing and tickling the sensitive skin between her hip bones, skimming it with the rough stubble of his cheek. He drew a lazy fingertip around the delicate skin of her groin where his lips weren't touching, carving maddening designs there.

"Denny, Denny please," she begged, knowing she needed so much more.

"Patience, my love. Good things come to those who wait."

Alessa's hips rolled up toward him, inviting him, pleading with him. And then, in mercy, Denny at last parted her folds with his fingers, revealing her very red and weeping core, the nub of desire turgid and reaching up to him for attention.

At first he trailed the pointed tip of his tongue along the glossy tissue of her open sex, relishing in the silky feel and taste. After attending to the length of those lips on either side, he moved in towards that button and grazed his tongue over it, drawing a whimper from her. Alessa propped herself up on her elbows to watch, the anticipation nearly killing her.

"Denny," she pleaded. Only his name.

The open purity of her need for him set him on fire, burning his gut, hardening his cock completely. But he was not to be rushed. Not tonight. Not when he didn't want to simply tell her, but show her how much he loved her.

He had overheard her statement to his father, and her simply worded pondering was proof enough that she cared for him, that she thought of him and defended him and his happiness. And in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to declare his own affection to her. He wanted to be the source of all her joy, all her happiness, to be the answer to all her questions, the solution to all her problems.

He suckled and licked, nibbled and stroked the center of her pleasure, angling himself so he could look up her body to the beautiful agony of need in her eyes. He held her gaze as he conducted the most thorough, powerful assault on her body. He wanted to watch ecstasy overtake her, wanted to bear witness to the greatest rapture she would ever know.

A finger entered her tight and clenching channel, hitting all the needy places. Alessa's hips were undulating desperately against him, and he laid a strong forearm across her lower abdomen to pin her to the floor, to make her a victim to the pleasure he would conjure in her. He added a second finger, so amazed that he ever fit in her tight body.

Not being able to move, not able to shy away or rush after the sensations his mouth and fingers produced, made her feel wonderfully weak and happily used. And then she was there, catching the rising wave that would float her into shore.

"I want you to come for me, Sweetheart. So hard. I'm going to make you come so hard for me," Denny murmured against her, hearing her increasingly frantic moans and rapid breathing. "I need you to come for me, baby. Be such a good girl for me and come."

Alessa cried out, his words acting as the catalyst that sent her soaring. Her tight passage clamped down on his fingers, over and over, her hips straining against his restraining arm to move and quiver and quake. Her hands were gripping the same arm that kept her immobile, her sob of relief filling their small corner of the world. Alessa's eyes shut as her body seized and arched off the floor. And Denny watched hungrily through it all.

Reverently, he licked clean all the fluid that gushed from her body, gingerly using his tongue to delve into her tender and still trembling depths. Her moans were a trickling stream of sensual repletion and they filled him with an animalistic pride that demanded equal satisfaction.

Slowly he crept up her body, more kisses as he went, keeping her tethered to him through the light and easy pleasure of his roaming mouth. Her head had fallen to the side, her chest heaving as his lips skimmed up her slender neck and across the angle of her jaw. She turned to him, opening her mouth to welcome him, her arms echoing the sentiment by sliding up his arms and pulling down on his back. He settled down on top of her, kissing her tenderly. His fingers raked back the dampened hair around her temple as her hands wandered down his back.

"You're still in your jeans," she said against his mouth.

"Mm, so I am," he replied, his contentment to stay as he was evident in the unaffected tempo of his words.

"I want you out of them."

"Why?" he asked, his mouth falling across her cheek to nuzzle under her ear.

"Because I can't fuck you if you're in them," she replied tartly, though the edge of her tone was softened in her post-coital euphoria.

Denny chuckled against her ear. "Oh, Sweetheart, I'm not fucking you tonight."

Alessa finally pulled back away from him. He lifted up to gaze down at her. "Tonight I'm making love to you," he explained softly, before kissing the tip of her nose.

Instantly, a heat beyond the pleasures of the body rose up through her, causing a tightness in her chest. If it hadn't been for the flush from her recent orgasm, she would be blushing from the promise in his words, the meaning they held.

Kissing her once more, Denny reluctantly kneeled in away from her body and shoved his jeans down past his butt, effectively springing him free. When they were to his knees, he gently lay back down on top of her and kicked his pants free. He was nearly perfectly positioned in the junction of her thighs, his thick penis smashing against her open sex.