But It Isn't Right (Duskwood Fanfic)

Unexpected Help

Back to Colville.  I'd never thought I would be living here again, but here we were. Jake drove his SUV and Thomas followed us in Richy's truck. Thomas offered to drive my car, but Jake insisted that he and I would never be apart, so there wouldn't be a need for two vehicles. It didn't really matter to me. Over the past year, I'd gotten pretty used to having the (over-)protective men in my life bossing me around. It made them feel better, so I just let it happen because it didn't make much difference in the long run on issues like these.

After Richy's truck was unloaded, Thomas headed off to the prison to see him while Jake and I put our stuff away. It took about an hour. "That was easy," I commented.

"More time for other things," Jake replied, pulling me into our bedroom. He had been even more insatiable since the proposal, and I had no complaints. He also seemed to get especially turned on by talking about our wedding, which was hilarious. We'd be discussing flavors of cake and he'd get this look in his eyes and say, "I love strawberries," or something like that, and then start ripping my clothes off. I didn't get why he reacted that way at all but it was funny, and I enjoyed the side effects, for sure. Today, he reversed order on me by starting off with sex and then went into talking about the wedding after.

Jake also wanted to be involved in every aspect of the wedding planning. He began talking about plans the very night he proposed and said that since he's only getting married once, he wanted the full experience. His latest topic was to ask me to not have a stripper at my bachelorette party. "Why don't we just have a wedding shower, then?" I asked him. "Then we can have the party together. I'm not really into some crazy night of drinking and stuff anyway." Actually, the last time I'd had any alcohol was when I had my virtual date with Jessy, followed by a virtual drink with Dan when he'd been stood up by Jessy because I kept her talking to me; Dan then ended up in a horrible car accident, and I stumbled into the arms of psychotic Phil. That put me off of alcohol for good.

Jake's eyes lit up. "Yes. That is better." I laughed. I knew he would just be worried about me the whole night if I went out without him anyway.

"The only thing you can't be present for is wedding dress shopping," I told him. "Non-negotiable."

"I agree. I want to be surprised by your dress."

"And, we can't pick a date until we know Richy can be here for it."

"Of course, Li. I wouldn't dream of excluding him." He was getting ready for round two when we heard a knock at the door.

"That's probably Thomas," I said, so we quickly got dressed and went to greet him.

"Hey, guys, I picked up some Thai food on my way back. There's more than enough to share if you want."

"Thanks, Thomas! How was Richy?" I helped him unpack the food while Jake brought out dishes and utensils.

"He looks really worn out, and I think he lost some weight," Thomas said.

I nodded. "I noticed that, too. He says he's fine, but I'm worried." I glanced at Jake.  I had agreed to give him some time to think about me talking to Phil, but he still hadn't said anything. He saw my look and nodded slightly. He knew what I was thinking, and we would talk about it soon.

"I'll have to try to come back more often to see him," Thomas said. "And...maybe I'll bring Cleo if she's free."

I smiled and put my hand on his arm. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. We'd love to have you both here."

"Thanks." He glanced over at Jake, then back at me. "I have to admit that I have more of an appreciation of what you went through now. Except..." his eyes got red.