CHAPTER TWO

Alec Mercer threw down his cell phone with a low curse.  He leaned back in the leather office chair, placing his elbows on the arms of the chair he crossed his feet on the corner of his desk and closed his eyes.

It had only been a week since they parted but he missed Mary.  He called her twice and received her voicemail.  Why wasn’t she picking up his call?  The very minute her father insisted that she fly back to Alabama with them instead of returning to Seattle with him and his parents he knew this would happen. 

Joe Christmas was still very upset about the position he found Mary and him in upon his arrival.  Alec had thought up some stupid ideas over the years but that one had taken the cake, and it also took Mary away from him.  He knew the man wouldn’t be happy until he made him suffer a little bit. 

He couldn’t blame him.  Once he and marry had a daughter, if he were to catch her making out with some guy, he probably would kill the guy.  So Joe taking his daughter far from him until they married was probably a good idea; or so he thought it was as long as they were going to go to Las Vegas soon and tie the knot. 

What if she changed her mind?  He wondered.  “No, Mary loves me.  I know she does.”

“Then why are you sitting here in the dark worrying about it?” 

Alec opened one eye slowly to peep up at his best friend Allison James.  He made out her brown lovely face in the darkness.

“I’m not worried,” Alec countered.  “Besides, what are you doing here in my office this late all up in my business?”

She reached over and cut on the desk lamp and he squinted.

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Uh-oh.”

Ignoring his sarcasm she continued.  “If I’m to be your best man/best woman I think I should have a say in the matter don’t you.”

“You don’t want to stand up for me?”  A light frown puckered his brow.

“Mary was a virgin right?” Allison asked.

“What does that have to do with anything?”  He tilted his head to the side in question.

“Alec, I may be a Dyke, but I’m still a woman and I can’t see any girl waiting this long to lose her virginity to the man she loves happily wanting  a quick ten cent wedding in Las Vegas.”

“You’re point.”

She rolled her dark brown eyes.  “I’m saying she deserves a wedding; a real one.  It’s not like you can’t afford to give her something wonderful and unforgettable.  Don’t you think she is worth it?  Or is this some ploy to appease your guilt from taking her innocence?”

“Of course Mary is worth it!”  He snapped.  “The only thing I feel guilty about is not asking her what kind of wedding she wants.  I assumed she was as anxious as I am to begin our life together and there was no way her father was going to allow her to move in with me until we married.”

“Does she want to move in with you?”

“Mary isn’t the type to do the “living together” thing,” Alec said.

“I meant does she want to move to your place, or does she expect you to move into hers, or are you two planning to look for a new home together?”  Ally asked. 

Alec released a long sigh.  He rubbed his fingers across his eyes wearily.  How could he be thinking of a wedding when there was so much he and Mary had yet to discuss?

“We haven’t discussed it.”

“Then why are you rushing her to marry you?  You knock her up?”

“Of course I didn’t.”  Alec paused.  His attractive face became contemplative before he answered.  “At least I don’t think so.”

“Oh, damn Al!  The more I hear you talk the more I think you had no business messing around with the “good-girl” type, like Mary.”

Alec stuck up his middle finger and pulled a face at her.  Allison has been his best friend since they were kids.  They had hooked up once and after him she realized she was a lesbian.  Every time he thought about it he wasn’t sure if he should feel insulted or not, but feeling no sexual connection to Ally, made remaining friends easy.  There was no awkwardness between them and they talked about everything including the fact that until Mary came along they had the same taste in women’ big hips, thighs, and curvy.

“I didn’t ask to fall in love with Mary, Ally.”  He shrugged and grinned.   “I just do and she makes me happy.”

Ally returned his smile and nodded her head.  “I can see that and I know I’m fussing at you, but someone has to be the voice of reason when your head is in the clouds.”

“You are right, you know.”

“I usually am, but I rarely ever hear you say it.”  She snorted at him.  “So tell me what I’m right about?”

“Mary deserves a wedding.  A real wedding,” he conceded.  “When I came up with the Vegas idea it was because I was doing everything within my power to keep her with me, but her father made her feel guilty and she was force to leave me anyway.”

“Old man Christmas wasn’t having it; was he?”

 “I knew by Joseph Christmas’s reaction after catching us together that there was no snow ball’s chance in hell that man was going to allow me to get my hands on his daughter again without a wedding certificate.” 

They shared a knowing look and laughed.

“So, we are going to have a wedding.  Damn.   I’ll get to throw you a bachelor party and everything.”  She clapped and rubbed her hands together.

“Keep it tame, Ally,” he warned.

“You want the usual super models? Or maybe we can have some drag queens.  That will keep things tame."  She gave him a teasing wink.  "At least for a few of us.  A few of our down-low straight dog friends don't let a penis stop them."

Before Alec could reply his cell phone rang and he hurriedly picked it up to look at the screen and saw the words “My Curvy Sweetheart” on the mini screen.  A big smile came to his lips. 

“Ally, I meant tame like a poker game, band video tapes from the old days and pizza?”

“You’re kidding right?  Your final night of freedom and you want just a bunch of dicks in breeches playing poker and reminiscing of the good old days?”

“Unless, you want to strip for us,” he teased.

“You’re fucking hen pecked already,” Ally muttered.

Alec was too happy to disagree.  He answered the call.  “Hey sweetheart…not at all.   You know you can call me anytime.  I miss you very much.  When can I see you?”

Ally snickered and mimicked the mushy loving change in his voice.

He cut his eyes at her and lowered his legs from his desk to swivel around his desk chair and look out at the skyline view of Seattle from his 33^rd floor office. 

“Before you tell me what you want to tell me.  I need to apologize to you,” Alec continued.  “For, being selfish in doing what I wanted to do without asking you what you want.  Neither one of us have ever been married before.  I want to spend what’s left of my life with you, so I think we need to do this right.”

He paused and listened. 

Laughingly he said, “Is that relief I hear in your voice?  Ah, it stands to reason that your parents would want you to have a proper wedding.”

Listening the smile turned into a look of gloom.

“Mary, please tell I didn’t hear you say you promised your parents that you will remain with them until the wedding?”  His voice grew louder.  “How long did you say?”

Alec was momentarily distracted by Allison’s laughter behind him.  His scowl deepened.  “Ally, is being a pain,” he explained when Mary asked.  “Huh?  What am I going to do about an assistant until May?  Yeah I can ask her but suddenly you don’t mind my having super models for assistants?”

“Oh for you I have matronly assistants ready to help.”

“Huh?”  Surprised Alec swiveled the chair back around to look at Allison but it was Mary that supplied the answer in his ear.  “You, talked to Ally already?  When?  Ah…I see.  You were giving her advice because you felt she was discriminating in her hiring practices."  Alec repeated with a grin at Ally’s expression.  "That's my Mary.”

Allison nodded at him with a serene smile saying.

“Yup, Ally likes you to.  I’m sure you will be great friends.”

Allison winked at him and murmured, “Kissing friends.”

Alec squinted a silent warning.  She better not even think about turning that dangerous female prowess charm of hers on his Mary.

“No Mary, I’m not upset because I want this time to be special and memorable for everyone.  I want the photos for our children to look at and giggle at how funny mom and pop’s hair looks.”  He chuckled as she threw in her dreams about their future.  His chest tightened.  He wanted to see her, to hold her and kiss her full mouth until she was breathless and his knees knocked together. 

He missed the cushioned softness of her curves pressed against his body and the feel of being deep inside her tight moist warmth.   Three months?  Oh God.  He groaned inwardly not wanting her to feel any worse about the wait.  He could hear in her voice she was as disappointed as he was, but he could also hear the barely contained excitement in her voice as she talked about a wedding scrapbook she’d had since she was a little girl.   How could he deny her anything?

“I want you to have everything you dreamed of Mary.  I will extend my help to your parents.”  He smiled again.  “Yup, I know…I know…but it’s my wedding to and I should help pay for it.  I’m not going to argue with you about this Mary.”

“I told you a virginal woman would want a big wedding, dumb ass.”

He glared at Allison.

“We can discuss it,” Alec spoke into the phone.  “When can I see you?  I miss you.  You miss me too don’t you?”

Allison stuck a finger in her opened mouth and pretended to gag.

But Mary was crooning words of love in his ear with a little dirty talk thrown in that immediately brought his cock to attention so Allison was just a blur in front of him as he smiled and closed his eyes.  He pictured his future wife’s wide grin with her short spaced teeth, her full cheeks and heart shaped mouth.  The round curved of her dark eyebrows, long lashes over puppy brown eyes. 

Her beautiful warm eyes caused him to take a second look at her.  Mary thought she could hide her loveliness behind the glasses she wore.

She hadn’t fooled him one bit.  He could see behind her modest style of dressing, the demure way she sometimes wore her shoulder length hair in a bun at the nape of her neck she had the feminine roundness a man could get a hold of and sink into.  She had a sexuality that was potent, yet she had no idea that men found her attractive.  Her being a virgin had been a pleasant surprise and as selfish as it was for someone as promiscuous as he had been to think it, he was arrogant in his pride at being her first lover.

Clearing his throat he opened his eyes.  “Uh sweetheart, I’m not alone.  Ally is here, remember?”  A deep soft laugh escaped his throat.  He felt childish and silly but he loved the feeling.  “Are you trying to distract me for a reason?  I notice you didn’t say when we could see each other.”  He listened.  “What the hell?  Your father is making me suffer painfully, is he?  I’ve already apologized a hundred times over since Christmas.”

His face went blank.  Apparently, comical even; since Allison fell to her knees out of her chair in silent laughter pointing at his face.

“Mary you tell him I’m apologetic but I have my limits.  I’m not waiting until our wedding to spend some time with you.  There is much we need to talk about.”

His eyes closed and he released a long sigh.  “I’m not yelling.”

“Yes you are.”  Ally said expressing Mary’s exact words.

“I’m sorry,” Alec apologized sheepishly.  “Did I tell you how much I am missing you?”  He nodded as she spoke even thought he knew she couldn’t see him. Alec knew better then to try and out speak a woman.  “I love you too and I will call you once I get home.  I’m not done with this, Mary.  I am not going to wait three months to get some alone time with my fiancée.”

“You’re yelling again,” Allison warned in a sing-song voice.

“Okay, but when I call you later I want an answer as to when I will be seeing you.”  He rubbed the throbbing place over the bridge of his nose.

“I will be calling your cell phone. If I call on the house phone your father probably will put us on a timer.”

He laughed with her when she agreed.

“You want to do what?”  He could feel his ears turning red.  Alec turned his chair away from Ally again and quietly spoke into the phone.  “I’ll make sure I recharge the phone before I call so we don’t have to rush ourselves.  You know I do, sweetheart.  You better take a nap.  I’m going to keep you up late.”

He waited for Mary to hang up first then slid his phone close. With a lingering grin on his lips she remained on his mind.  His breathing became labored as he pictured their intimate times together; seeing her eager responses to his kisses and touches.  Love was real.  Who knew that this crazy feeling really existed?  He had joked and teased others never believing it was an emotion he was capable of and here he was in such a short time, feeling as if he was truly living a fulfilling life for the first time.

Turning back around in his chair Alec was startled for a moment.  He had forgotten Allison was still sitting there. 

“Shit, you got it bad, boy.”  Alison grinned shaking her head in disbelief.

“Yup,” Alec nodded and he couldn’t stop smiling.  “I really do.”

“Is it Minnie Riperton’s, “Lovin’ You” good?” She asked.

“More like Journey’s, “When You Love a Woman” good.”  He replied.

“Oh my damn.” Allison let out a low whistle.  “That’s a deep gooey nobody want to hear about it kind of love.”  She teased, not hearing Alec rate a woman with a song since junior high. 

“Yup…yup.”  He nodded and exhaled a long sigh of contentment.