Chapter 25: The Decision
Jocelyn woke up Saturday morning to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking from downstairs. She lifted her head from the pillow and sniffed the air; she moaned contently and laid back down smiling as she closed her eyes. She came over to Lance's last night, after not being over since Wednesdays morning. She had spent the remainder of the week thinking...a lot. About what she was going to do, if she would move back to Mississippi or go back to California. She wanted to talk to Lance about it, but she couldn't. The words would not come out. A few minutes later, Cocoa came wondering into the room and crawled up onto the bed lying beside her. Jocelyn smiled, and patted her head.
"Hey Cocoa" she said "Good morning"
Cocoa barked in response
"Cocoa! Get down" Came Lance's voice as he walked into the room with a tray of breakfast food.
Cocoa watched him, wagging her tail, tongue out. Lance shook his head "Down" he said
She got off the bed and went to sit on the rug by the foot of the bed. Jocelyn sat up and rested her back against the head board as Lance walked towards her with the tray of food.
"A little breakfast for you?" he said putting the tray on the bed
Jocelyn looked at it, then at him and smiled
"Why thank you" she said,
He sat down next to her, and she put her arms around his neck, moving their faces together as Jocelyn kissed him. Lance kissed her back, as he moved the hair from her face. They soon broke it.
"So," he said smiling "Ready?"
She laughed, as she picked up a fork and looked at all the things on the plate: eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, toast, fruit, a glass of Orange Juice, and hot cocoa.
"Hmm..." she said and took a fork full of hash browns eating it. "MmMm"
Lance smiled "You like it?" he asked
She nodded as she continued to eat her breakfast.
"I didn't know you could cook so well" she said
He laughed as he watched her, she was never afraid to eat when she was hungry, she never cared about the impression she made on people, all she knew was that she was hungry. A few minutes later she wiped her mouth on the napkin as she finished and drank her OJ.
"That was really good" she said "Thank you"
He smiled, "No problem, glad you enjoyed it"
She nodded, and put the napkin down. "Did you eat?" she asked
"Yea...this morning with Cocoa" he said
She smiled, as she saw Cocoa sprawled out on the floor.
"So, what's the plan today?" he asked
"Well, Allyson and I are going shopping in Jackson" she said "While you and Joey finish up this house"
"Sounds like a plan" he said
"Then when I get back we'll have a nice dinner...just the two of us" she said with a smile
He smiled and leaned toward her and kisses her lips lightly, taking her hand in his as he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.
"I love you Jocelyn" he said truthfully
Jocelyn looked into his green eyes, falling into them and smiled "I love you Lance" she replied with just as much truth in her words then ever before.
He smiled, and moved in to kiss her again. Jocelyn kissed him back, as she moved towards him. Lance leaned back on the head board, as Jocelyn moved to straddle his lap continuing their hot steamy kiss. She had a hand on each side of his face, as his hands rested on her sides his thumbs rubbing her skin. Cocoa barked as she watched them, which brought Jocelyn out of the moment and she broke the kiss, Lance groaning at the separation.
"What time is it?" she asked breathless
He looked at her, hungry for her "Why does it matter?" he asked equally breathless
"Allyson's gonna be here soon..." she replied
He groaned and hid his face in her neck, totally frustrated. Jocelyn sighed, and ran her hand through his hair
"I'm sorry..." she said "Tonight ok?"
He looked up at her, pouting. She smiled and kissed his head
"Promise" she said, and got off of him and the bed,
She went to get her things, then head to the bathroom to shower and get ready. Lance watched her leave, and sighed laying his head back on the head board. He really couldn't live without her, not again.
~*~
Lance headed out to do some last minute errands before Joey and Allyson came over. He had some things he needed to do before he finished up this house. He got into his truck and headed back into town, a meeting was called for right about now. He drove to the Corner Store, and parked in the back. He took out his cell phone, and called the person he wanted to meet.
"The Corner Store" came a voice
"You have a break coming up?" Lance said
"Yea, 5 minutes why?"
"Meet me in the back of the store..." Lance said "We need to talk"
"Ok...see you in 5"
Lance got out of his truck, and walked to the back of the building and sat down on an old log. He ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath. About 5 minutes later, the back door to the store opened and Justin walked out looking around. He saw Lance sitting on the log, and walked over to him.
"What's this about?" Justin asked "And make it quick, I gotta get back soon"
Lance stood up, and was face to face with him.
"I'm just letting you know, I’m asking Jocelyn to move in with me tonight..." he started "I know this goes against our deal...but I can't lose her again"
"We had a deal Lance...you can't do this" Justin said
"Want to bet?" Lance asked starting to get angry "You're the reason why I’ve been so miserable all these years...and Jocelyn-"
"She's been fine, if you hadn't noticed...she had a life without you back in California" Justin said
"Yea...the guy fucking accused her of cheating" Lance said "How is that a life?"
"She's a well known writer now" Justin said "Practically a celebrity"
"She can write anywhere Justin" Lance said "She belongs here...with me...with her family"
"You can't do that!" Justin practically screamed "We had a deal, you signed an agreement"
"Well FUCK the agreement" Lance said taking a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket, he ripped it into screeds and threw it back at Justin. "There's your agreement Justin" the pieces of paper going everywhere
Justin watched him, "You still fucked April Lance, and beat the crap out of me" he said
"Yea...I did" Lance said "but she forgave me for those things, and I’m never going to hurt her again"
Justin was quiet, he had lost.
"So what? you're gonna beat me up again?" Justin asked "Cause she'll find out about that too you know"
"Yea...and she'll find out the reason for it too" Lance said looking Justin square in the eyes
"And don't you dare say anything to her... because she will find out about your little plan to get her to leave" Lance warned "She WILL know the truth if you ever try anything like that again"
With that Lance walked off back towards his car, Justin watching...helpless.
~*~
Lance just got out of his truck after running his errand as Joey's trucked pulled up. Joey honked and waved, Lance smiled waving back. Allyson got out of the passenger side, getting the now 1 year old Jenee out of the back, putting her on the ground.
"Unckle Lance!!" she squealed as she rushed towards him, they had gotten a lot closer the past couple of months.
"Hey cutie" Lance said as he bent down picking her up, flying her into the air. Jenee squealed with laughter as she flew into the air.
Jocelyn walked out of the house, and smiled at the sight.
"Hey Allyson, ready to break the bank" Jocelyn said with a smile
Allyson looked up from Lance and Jenee to Jocelyn and smiled.
"Got that right" she said winking
Pretty soon, Allyson had Jenee buckled into the back of Jocelyn's truck and they said good-bye to the guys before heading out to Jackson to do some major shopping. Lance and Joey meanwhile got started on the house, it needed to be finished today, Lance had something planned for that night.
~*~
Joey and Lance waited until Jack got there to get started. Jack was up on the roof, scanning it making sure everything was on right. Joey was putting the last coat of white paint on the balcony that was in the back of the house, while Lance was down in the back yard, chopping up the last of the wood to stack it on the side of the house. He was working furiously; thinking about Justin was making him even madder. Joey watched him, as he painted the railing, worried. He had never seen Lance so worked up before.
"Hey!" Joey called "are you ok Lance?"
Lance took one final swing at the log, cracking it into two pieces. He had sweat rolling down his face, and his breathing was uneven. He looked up at Joey
"Fine" was all he said, as he moved the logs to the side and grabbing another
"You sure?" Joey asked "You look a little pissed off"
"I'm ALRIGHT!" Lance practically yelled which caused Cocoa to sit up from her spot on the porch and bark.
Lance took a deep breath and looked at her "Sorry Cocoa" he replied
She was content with that remark, and laid back down playing with her tennis ball. Lance looked up at Joey, and Jack who were now both watching him skeptical.
"I'm fine you guys...I just want to get this house done" he said "So I can move on..."
"What do you mean?" Joey asked
Lance wiped his sweaty forehead with his arm, and took a breath trying to calm down.
"I'm going to ask Jocelyn to move in with me tonight..." he said
"Oh wow Lance," Jack said "That's great!" obviously having no idea about his partners plan
Lance semi smiled "Yea..." he said "And Will's comin over tomorrow to take the final photos...so this needs to be done"
"We understand" Joey said "We'll get it done"
Lance sighed in relief "Thanks guys..."
"No problems" Joey said "Ok, lets get to work!"
With that, the guys went on their way to finish up what was needed to get the house ready. It practically took all afternoon. They stopped at about 1:00 to have some lunch and relaxed, then finished up. The girls got back at, about 4:30, by that time they had been done and Lance was showered and changed into clean clothes. They all stayed for a little to chat, then thanks to Joey for making the hint that they were heading to his parent's for dinner, everyone left. Jocelyn had gone upstairs to shower and change, while Lance prepared their dinner and set up for their romantic evening.
~*~
An hour or so later, Jocelyn walked down the stairs in her long robe, a silky night gown under it. She smelled the incredible scent of BBQ cooking out back. Cocoa was sitting at the bottom of the stairs chewing on a bone, as Jocelyn walked by and patted her head. She walked towards the dinning room and saw the table set for two, wine glasses, a dozen roses in the middle, all set up. She smiled, and walked through the dinning room towards the kitchen. Lance was coming into the house with a tray of BBQed food, and looked up at her kind of surprised.
"Oh hey, done already?" he asked
She smiled, and walked towards him "Did you plan this?" she asked
He put the tray down on the counter, as she wrapped her arms around his waist hugging him close. He rubbed her back; as he leaned down to kiss her head smelling her hair.
"You hungry?" he asked
She nodded "Starved" she said "I forgot how much of a shopper Allyson was"
Lance laughed
"You think I’m kidding..." Jocelyn said "We couldn't even stop to rest our feet" looking up at him pouting
Lance kissed her head "Well maybe I’ll give your feet a rub later" he said
She smiled "You don't have to do that..." she said
He smiled, and broke the hug.
"Well, let me get dinner set, and we'll eat ok?" he said
"Anything I can do?" She asked
"Oh no, jus go sit down and relax I have everything covered" he said
She smiled, and turned walking back into through the dinning room to the living room where she sat and read a magazine while waiting for Lance to finish up. Soon the table was laid out with grilled corn, baked potatoes, garlic bread, and all kinds of BBQed food (chicken, ribs, and steak). It was really a feast fit for a small army. He had a bottle of wine chilling, along with a couple of beers and wine coolers. Jocelyn sat down at one end of the table, as Lance sat at the other. They said grace before starting to eat. Jocelyn loaded her plate with food, Lance watched her laughing. She defiantly was not shy when she was hungry. She was busy eating some steak when she looked up and noticed Lance watching her. Her cheeks turned red, as she chewed and wiped her mouth with the napkin.
"Sorry..." she said "I told you I was hungry"
He laughed "It's ok..." he said "I'm just glad that you like it"
"Of course" she said "Your cooking is great"
He smiled; she picked up her wine glass swishing it around, smelling it, then taking a sip. Lance watched her; he had never seen that before.
"Where did you learn that?" He asked
She looked up at him, as she put her glass down "What?" she asked confused
"The swishing of the wine" he replied
"Oh" she laughed blushing "Something...I uhh...picked up from Josh" she said embarrassed
"Oh..." Lance said, sorry he asked
"He was a big artsy, wine drinker type" she replied "So we went wine tasting, and art galleries and parties, and such"
"Hmm..." he said continuing to eat, thinking about what Justin had said earlier
"Do you enjoy those things?" He asked "Wine tasting, and art galleries"
She shrugged "It was okay" she said, she knew he was uncomfortable
"Everything is great Lance" she said smiling
He smiled "Thanks" he said, as he took a gulp of his wine
"I'm sorry I brought it up" she said bluntly
"Oh no" Lance said "I asked, its okay"
She pursed her lips, as she looked down at her food.
"So the house looks great" she said looking around
He smiled "Thanks..." he said "I'm so happy we're done"
She nodded "You've done it all Lance" she said "Everything that you said you would do"
He smiled and looked at her "Almost" he replied
"Oh yea?" she questioned "What else?"
"You'll see" he replied, pouring more wine into his glass
Jocelyn giggled, as she put another piece of chicken on her plate. They continued to eat the rest of dinner, and talk about each others days, and of course memories. Soon they were both stuffed, as Jocelyn insisted on helping Lance do the dishes since he cooked. So they spent an hour or so cleaning up. As Jocelyn was drying the last plate, Lance went behind her putting a bandana around her eyes. She gasped, freezing.
"Shh" Lance whispered into her ear "Follow me"
He grabbed her hands, holding them as he walked her through the house. He walked her into this little room on the far left side of the house. He sat her down on a couch, and then walked away. Jocelyn sat, frozen. She had no idea where she was. Lance went and set himself up, at the piano.
"Ok..." he said "Take it off"
Jocelyn reached up, and pulled off the blind fold. It took her eyes awhile to adjust, when they did she gasped. It was his recording studio/music room. On the right side there was a recording booth, with all the fixings, it was amazing. Then on the left side where Lance was sitting at the piano there were mic's, and his guitar sitting on the stand. Jocelyn was speechless as she looked around.
"OMG" she replied "This is awesome"
Lance laughed; he then padded the seat next to him. She got up and walked towards him, and sat down next to him on the piano bench.
"I know I’ve done this already...but this song...expresses everything I need to tell you" he replied
She smiled, and watched him urging him to go ahead. He put his hands on the keys, starting the soft piano music and then started to sing.
Every time that I’m with you girl
I can’t believe you share my world
But it’s real
And every time that I hold you close to me
Forever’s all that I can see
How it feels
See I don’t give a damn what my homies say
Don’t matter anyway
See I never felt this way before
You leave a brother wantin’ more
[Chorus:]
I hate to see you go
Even though I know when you’re comin’ back
It’s hard to breathe without you girl
And baby that’s a fact
I know sometimes you have to leave
But I wish you could stay
Every time you go away
From the very first time that I touched you babe
Couldn’t find the words to say you set me free
And every time that I kiss your lips
Nothin’ ever tasted quite like this
Or got so deep
See I don’t give a damn what my homies say
Don’t matter anyway
See I never ever felt this way before
You always leave me wantin’ more
[Chorus]
You’re the sunshine of my day
You brighten up my night
You take a piece of me with you
Every time you say goodbye
[Chorus]
Jocelyn watched him as she sang, she practically melted right there and then. She always felt like putty in his hands whenever he sang to her. The feeling was magical. As he finished up, she was practically crying. She wiped her eyes, and he laughed as he put his arm around her.
"Don't cry..." he replied
"That was so beautiful" she replied
He smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her tears away.
"I have one more surprise for you..." he replied
She looked at him "Lance...this is too much" she said
He smiled "What's one more thing..."
He got up, and took her hands walking with him towards the back of the room, where there was another door.
"Ok...close your eyes" he said
She sighed, and did so grabbing his hand. He laughed and opened the door turning on the light, and walked her into the room.
"OK..." he said "Open!"
She did so, and gasped again. It was a complete home office. Her laptop was sitting on an oak desk with a nice office chair behind it. A mountain of books on the shelves, anything you could imagine in a home office. She looked around, more tears escaping her eyes as she turned and hugged Lance tightly practically jumping in his arms. He laughed hugging her back tightly,
"You're welcome" he replied
"Thank you soo much" she replied "I can't believe you would do this for me"
He smiled, and took her hand brining her to the book shelves.
"I bought the first class Encyclopedias; for research, dictionaries, thesauruses, I even called Brandon and got him to send me all your books in hard cover and soft cover," he said pointing to the bottom shelf
Jocelyn ran her fingers across the books, she was in total shock.
"What this whole night was about really..." he said "Was so that I could ask you a question"
She watched him, he was nervous, this had to be big.
"What is it?" she asked
He smiled, "Jocelyn...I love you so much, and I want to be with you forever..." he said "Will you move in with me?"
Jocelyn blinked her eyes for a couple seconds, letting the words Lance said sink into her brain.
"Lance..." she replied "Wow"
He stayed silent, as he watched her. She looked around, taking a deep breath. Her decision was made.
"Yes" she replied smiling
Lance watched her, shocked. Jocelyn giggled and jumped into his arms again
"Yes!!" she practically screamed
Lance laughed, swinging her around; a weight being practically lifted from his shoulders. He put her down and they faced each other.
"I love you Jocelyn" he said truthfully
Jocelyn smiled "I love you too Lance" she said "I always have"
He pulled her into a passionate kiss. They spent the rest of the night basking in each other's love...just the two of them. ( *wink* )
Everytime You Go Away - Brian McKnight
Chapter End Notes:
*&*Traci*&*
Comments? Questions? E-mail me at Spacey1141@hotmail.com
Comments? Questions? E-mail me at Spacey1141@hotmail.com
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