Chapter 58

Through circumstances beyond their control (meaning Baylee had the stomach flu and then gave it his mommy), Brian and Leighanne didn't have a chance to talk about things until Saturday when everyone was finally healthy again. He waited until Baylee was in bed for the night before sitting down across from her at the table where she was balancing her checkbook.

“Leigh, can we talk?”

Leighanne looked up at him and immediately put aside what she was doing. “Sure.”

Brian thought carefully for a moment, making sure to pick his words carefully. “I just want to start by saying I'm sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I'm sorry I took off so suddenly. I know it hurt you and I really didn't want to make it seem like I was running away, I just was trying to get my head straightened out and I couldn't do it here. I needed a neutral space to be able to think clearly.”

“Since when are you not able to think here, around me? I mean, we used to help each other get our heads straight and now it seems you're so angry with me that you can't even be around me to think about this.”

“I know. I'm sorry. I don't like being so angry all the time, but I am. And I don't think it's totally unreasonable either.”

Leighanne opened her mouth to protest and Brian stopped her before she could.

“Just hear me out before you argue with me!” he said. Leighanne closed her mouth. “I just don't see why it has to be all or nothing. Why can't we have both a baby and work on a new album? A compromise!”

“Because I know what happens when you do an album, Brian. I'm not an idiot!”

“What happens?”

“Well first you start out in lots of long meetings with your label and managers and producers. Then you're locked up at home working on new songs and then you take off for days at a time to the studio and when you are home you're either still writing or you're exhausted from working so hard. Then the album's done and the promotion begins. Next thing I know you're traveling all over the place doing concerts and appearances. It takes a lot out of you and it doesn't leave much for the rest of us. I could do it. I could have another baby but I only wanted it if you really wanted it too. If you aren't going to be that excited about it then there's no way I'm going to. It's bad enough you missed out on so much of Baylee as a baby, if I let you miss out on it again you'll really regret it someday. And so will I. It's lonely without you. It wasn't so bad when Baylee and I could follow you around but that isn't an option anymore. He needs to be in school and traveling with him and a newborn would just be too much for me to handle. I know what I'm capable of and I know I'm not capable of that.”

Brian thought about what she'd said and he knew she was right. But that didn't mean he was wrong either.

“Is there any way we can compromise? A way for us both to have what we want?”

Leighanne thought for a moment. “Would you really be willing to put your album on hold until the baby is at least a year old?”

“Leigh that's like, two more years! I mean we aren't even pregnant yet. Couldn't I just get started on it now and cram it all in and be done by the time the baby is born?”

“No, because I've heard that line before. You know how long it takes, Brian. Don't kid yourself that you can do it in ten months. You know those record execs will have you by the balls the minute you sign the papers.”

Brian once again knew she was right, he just refused to believe the only compromise was for him to wait two more years. In two more years he might already be a forgotten pop icon. Unless that was what she was hoping for!

“Well why is the only compromise for me to be the one to wait? Why can't you wait to have a baby until after the album is done?”

“Because that's what I've been doing! Ever since we had a miscarriage when Baylee was two we've been talking about having another baby and the timing was never right. There was always an album or a tour and you kept promising me that when it was done we'd do it. And once again you're trying to break that promise!” Leighanne was starting to realize his goal in talking to her had not been to work this through but rather to find a way to convince her to let him get what he wanted.

“Well if you've been doing it all these years. what's a few more?” he said, raising his voice.

“Because I'm tired of waiting! I'm tired of waiting for you to support me in the things that I want to do for once!”

“What are you talking about? What about Baylee?”

“Baylee wasn't planned and you know it. You got forced into being supportive of it, you didn't do it on your own will.”

“So just because you want another one means I'm obligated to want it as well?”

“I thought you said you did?” she said, surprised.

“Yeah well, maybe I changed my mind!” he said.

Leighanne was silent. “You changed your mind.”

“Maybe. I don't know! I didn't know having a second child was going to come with so many strings attached. Jesus Leigh, you're making it seem like I've been a terrible husband and father, never around and you know that isn't true or fair. I've done the best that I can. I have provided for our family and I've given you everything you've ever wanted. Until now.

Leighanne knew he was partially correct. For the most part, he had been there as much as he could and had it not been for his career, they wouldn't lead the comfortable life that they led. Maybe she was just being too selfish.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply our whole marriage has been terrible for me. I just....thought you wanted this. But if you really don't, then I really don't either.” she said, her voice full of disappointment.

“Are you really going to be ok with that?”

“I'll find a way.” she answered, and walked away from him.

Saturday night in New York was a little less tense than it was in Atlanta. AJ and Emily had decided to stay in and make dinner together. The only problem was AJ couldn't seem to keep his hands off of Emily while she was trying to cook.

“Is it ready yet?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her neck. “Because I'm getting really anxious to skip to dessert.”

Emily put down the spoon and turned to face him. “Yes, dinner is ready. And if you'd like, we can let it simmer and keep warm while we go enjoy dessert.”

“Really?” AJ didn't actually expect her to let him to make love to her before dinner.

“Well, you know, they say you shouldn't spoil your dinner but I believe they do encourage you to work up an appetite before you eat.....”

AJ didn't wait for her to change his mind. He grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom. He kissed her softly for a moment before he began to undress her with a particularly devious look on his face that could only mean he had something in store for her. He stripped her down completely and then undressed himself.

“Go lay down, I'll be right back.” he said.

“Where are you going?”

“To get dessert!” he said.

Emily got into bed and a minute later he appeared with a bottle of chocolate syrup. He smiled as he uncapped it and knelt down beside her on the bed.

“You're going to get chocolate all over the sheets!” she laughed.

“Fuck the sheets!” he said as he began to drizzle the syrup down the middle of her chest.

Emily shuddered at the sensation of the cool chocolate landing on her skin. He took his time putting it in just the right places so that she would most enjoy it when he licked it off of her. Then he took his time slowly licking it up, starting with her extremities and working his way to the more sensitive spots. Every so often he'd stop to kiss her on the lips giving her a slight taste of chocolate before he continued on his dessert. He made extra sure to get all the chocolate off of her nipples, sucking them hard and licking them with his tongue. He continued down her naval to his final destination. Emily was already breathless and when she felt his tongue run over her folds, what was left of her breath caught in her throat. She enjoyed it so much that when he tried to stop, she grabbed the bottle of syrup and poured more over herself, forcing him to keep licking her clean.

AJ grinned as he watched her drizzle more syrup over her warmth and decided a little more chocolate never hurt anyone. She held his head in place until she came in his mouth. He kept on, building her back up until she was ready for him. After a few more minutes he felt her body start to quiver again and he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him as he did so. Emily immediately sunk onto him and they both groaned loudly as she began to swirl her hips around him. He reached up and toyed with her nipples, now sticky from the syrup. Emily was so close to the edge that she held herself back until he was ready to fall over with her. As soon as she felt him spasm inside of her, she let go, both of them moaning loudly.

“So, did you spoil your appetite eating all that chocolate syrup?” she asked when they'd come down from their high.

“No, as a matter of fact, I could use a little more!”

Emily laughed. “How about some real dinner first?”

“That sounds wonderful.” he said, kissing her. “But perhaps after a shower.”

Emily looked down at them and realized they were both covered in smears of sticky chocolate. “Good idea.”

That night, they slept in the guest bed after realizing their sheets were in fact covered in chocolate.

Leighanne came over to Emily's house Sunday evening after she got home from New York.

“I was just going to call you!” Emily said as she let Leighanne inside. “I was worried when I never heard from you!”

“I'm sorry. We didn't even get a chance to talk about it until last night. Baylee and I had the stomach flu and things were kind of crazy when Brain got back.”

“Ew. How did the talk go?”

“It didn't go so well. We didn't exactly fight but we certainly didn't work it out like I'd hoped.”

“What happened?” Emily asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

“He kept saying we needed to compromise but it seemed like the only compromise he was interested in was the one that got him his way.”

“Well what did he suggest?”

“Well first I asked if he'd be willing to wait until the baby was at least a year before he started his album and he said it wasn't fair to ask him to wait two more years. Then he asked why couldn't he just start it now and cram it all in before the baby comes and I said I knew better than that, no way would he be completely free by then. He'd still be running off for shows and promos. So we were at another stand-still and he basically said he doesn't want another baby anymore. He changed his mind awhile ago. So I guess now we're not having another baby.”

Emily was stunned. She'd always thought of Brian as such a family man, she couldn't imagine him refusing to have another baby. Not after she'd seen how much he loves Baylee. “Are you ok with that?”

“Honestly? No. But I'm not ok with having a baby that he doesn't want either so I guess I'm stuck.”

“But that's hardly fair!” Emily exclaimed. “What about what you want?”

“Exactly! But even if he were to give in, I wouldn't want a baby now. Not knowing it wasn't something he really wanted to do. So I just have to find a way to be ok without.”

“Can you really do that?”

Leighanne sighed. “You mean will I end up hating my husband for this?”

Emily nodded.

“I hope not, but I'm afraid that right now I do.”

“So, now what?”

Leighanne shrugged. “I have to try and forget about it I guess. I love Brian. I don't want to hate him, so I need to just put it out of my mind and try to move on as best I can.”

“I'm sorry sweetie.” Emily said, giving her hand a squeeze. “What can I do to help?”

“You can help me plan Thanksgiving dinner.” Leighanne said.

Emily realized there wasn't anything she could say to ease Leighanne's pain, what she needed most from her was distractions and projects, something Emily could definitely handle.

“I can bring pies!” Emily said. “I love making pies.”

“I thought you said you weren't coming!” Leighanne said, pleasantly surprised.

“Well, I really thought we weren't.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I asked AJ about inviting his mom to our house and he said she'd be on vacation with some friends and I said I'd make a dinner for just the two of us and he asked me why I didn't want to go to your house. So then I had to awkwardly explain to him that Randy would be there and I just figured he wouldn't want to go.”

“So how did you convince him?”

“I didn't, that's the strange thing! I was all set not to come and he said he knows how much I love big holiday gatherings and that he realizes Randy is going to be around for awhile and that he'll see him eventually, he might as well get it over with now. He figures there'll be enough people there that it'll be less awkward.”

Leighanne was shocked. “Just like that? He actually volunteered to go?”

Emily nodded. “And I'm a nervous wreck about it! I mean I'm thrilled we're coming, don't get me wrong, I'm just worried that he'll see Randy there and all of a sudden he'll remember how much he hates him and he'll do or say something he shouldn't.....”

“You're worried there'll be a brawl over my dining room table?”

“Yes! Or, you know, what if seeing him there reminds AJ of everything that happened?”

“Emily, you both left that in the past. You trust AJ that he let it go, right?”

Emily nodded.

“Then stop worrying about it. I think AJ is just trying to prove to you that he has in fact moved forward, that's all. You'll both have a great time! Now, help me plan the menu so we can make a grocery list!”

Emily and Leighanne discussed side dishes and desserts for nearly an hour before they compiled a massive grocery list.

“Now onto our top secret project. How are we going to fix my sister?” she asked.

Emily laughed. “I think we just need to get her to open up for some girl talk. Let's see if she wants to go out tomorrow night with us. We'll pour some booze down her throat and ask her all kinds of questions about her and Randy so we can get a feel for what's going on. Then we can formulate a plan after that.”

“Perfect!” Leighanne took out her phone and sent Amanda a text message inviting her out. Amanda replied a few minutes later saying she'd love to and would see them the next evening. Emily then shooed Leighanne out so she could get to bed at a semi-decent hour before going to work early in the morning.

Chapter 59

Leighanne woke up Monday morning with a resolve to forget all about her desires to have another baby. She told herself that she loved her husband and she needed to move on to do what was best for her marriage. Brian, on the other hand, was not at all prepared for that. He kept expecting Leighanne to come home and fight with him but she never did. He'd felt so guilty after seeing the look on her face after they talked on Saturday. He hated that he didn't want to give her what she wanted. So he was understandably a little weirded out when his wife was suddenly back to being nice to him.

“Morning!” she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek when he walked into the kitchen. “There's pancakes on the table, coffee in the pot. I'll take Baylee to preschool today, I'm already dressed.” she said, cheerfully.

Brian looked at her very suspiciously, wondering if she'd poisoned his pancakes or something. He decided they were safe when she gave some to Baylee to eat in the car as they were running late.

“Listen I'm going to go to the grocery store after I drop him off to get everything for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. If you think of anything you need, just give me a call I'll probably be there for awhile. Oh, and Emily and I are taking Mandy out tonight so I won't be home for dinner but I'll pick up a frozen pizza for you and Baylee if that's ok. Gotta run, see you later!” and she flew out the door. It was the most she'd spoken to him in weeks outside of when they were arguing.

It got even more weird that night before she left for her Girls Night.

“Hey, you should wait up for me, we're going to be having some cocktails and I'll be all loosened up when I get home!” she winked at him.

Brian blinked slowly. Was she really suggesting she wanted to come home and have sex with him? They hadn't made love in over a month! Something just wasn't right. He and Baylee ate their pizza and watched a movie before he put him to bed. As Brian sat down to watch some basketball he was still a little freaked out by Leighanne's sudden change in behavior. She was acting like the past few weeks had never happened. She'd been so angry with him over having another baby, how in the world was she able to just turn it off?

Unless she hadn't.

Brian suddenly realized that maybe her turnaround was all a ploy to make him think she'd let it go when really she was trying to trick him into agreeing or something! After all, she had hinted at having sex that night.....

He shook his head. Leighanne wasn't like that. Some women were, but not his wife. But just to be on the safe side, he decided he should “accidentally” fall asleep on the couch.

Emily volunteered to be the designated driver that night, so Leighanne drove to her house and Emily drove them over to Randy's to pick up Amanda. They had agreed earlier that Leighanne was going to pretend to drink more than she really was to encourage Amanda to do the same when really, Leighanne wanted to stay more in control. On their way, Leighanne filled her in a little more on Amanda's insecurities since her fiance had cheated on her.

“She calls me at least once a week with some kind of relationship crisis.” Leighanne said. “Most of the time, I don't even think Randy is aware that she's flipping out.”

“Well that's kind of good, isn't it? I mean it shows that on some level she recognizes that it isn't completely rational otherwise she would take it up with him.”

“Good point.” Leighanne said. “But I also think she's afraid to let him see how damaged she really is. She's afraid he won't want to deal with it. And he may not if she keeps this up.”

“Well what kinds of things does she call you about?”

“Last week, apparently they hired a new nurse and he came home one day raving about how helpful she'd been and she wondered if he was attracted to her. The week before that, he had to work late almost every night and she thought maybe he was avoiding her.”

Emily shook her head. “What about this week? Anything yet?”

“Well....actually.....yeah.” Leighanne admitted.

“What? It's about me, isn't it?”

“I'm sorry, look don't take it personally. Amanda thinks you're great.”

“But.....”

“She was a little worried when I told her you were coming on Thursday. So she had to go into the whole thing about did I think he still had feelings for you, was that why he was dating her to be around you. I pointed out that if he was, it wasn't working because you've only seen him a few times since they've been dating and that he never introduced you to his parents.”

Emily felt a little bad to be one of the things making Amanda feel insecure. “Well, I really hope we can get her over this. You know, it's not that I have feelings for him but I do care about him and he's such a good guy that he deserves to be with someone and I'd hate to see his heart get broken again, you know?”

“I know what you mean. And I'd hate to see Amanda walk away from probably the greatest guy she's had. He's so perfect for her! If she ruins this I really think she'll regret it later. That's why we have to figure out a way to make her stop feeling so insecure and suspicious.”

Emily honked the horn when they pulled into Randy's driveway and Amanda came out right away.

“Hey girls!” she said. “Ready for another wild night?”

“Hell yeah!” Leighanne said, grinning at Emily.

They went out for burgers and fries and then they hit up Amanda's favorite bar, Stampede. They discovered that it was ladies night and they could get draft beer for $1 a glass. They ordered a round right away and instructed the waiter to keep 'em coming. They made small talk until they got through their third round and had loosened up. Emily cut herself off claiming she had to drive home in a few hours.

“So Amanda, how are things going with Randy? I'm surprised you managed to tear yourself away from him for a night!” Emily teased.

Amanda laughed. “He has to work late every Monday now. He's either doing a prenatal meet the pediatrician thing or helping host some of their new workshops the office is hosting.”

“Oh really? What kind of workshops?”

“I guess they have a different topic, they have 2 a month. So far they've talked about vaccines and autism and whether or not there's a link, they've talked about different baby food options like organic, regular and homemade, they've done first aid, they did one all about cloth diapers. Some kind of interesting stuff if you're a parent I guess. He says they've been pretty well attended.”

“That sounds kind of interesting. It kind of sucks though that he's late every Monday.” Leighanne said.

“I know. It's really hard dealing with his schedule sometimes.” Amanda admitted. “I mean Steve used to say he was working late a lot too and now I always wonder if it was because he was screwing his assistant or if he really was working.”

“Well let's be honest.” Emily said. “It was probably both. He was a scum bag.”

“Yeah but Randy isn't.” Leighanne pointed out. “You know that right?”

Amanda sighed. “Mostly, yeah I do. It's just, you know, ok you guys might not have noticed this before because I never talk about it but Steve really screwed me up.”

“No!” Leighanne and Emily said.

Amanda laughed. “Come on, you guys. I'm being serious! Look I loved Steve a lot. I never doubted him because I thought he was a good guy. And so did everyone else.” she said, looking at Leighanne. “So now I have a bit of a hard time believing that someone actually might be a good guy, you know?”

“Well what are your options?” Emily said. “You can either never trust another man as long as you live and die alone having lived a very lonely life, or you can take the risk and trust again and have a great relationship.”

“You forgot an option.” Amanda said. “I can take the risk to trust again and get cheated on again.”

“But isn't it worth the risk?” Leighanne asked. “Isn't it worth it to be loved?”

“I don't know. Is it?”

“Absolutely!” Emily said. “Look you and I haven't known each other all that long but you should know that I've been in your shoes before. Before I moved to Atlanta I was engaged to an asshole named Joe. We had a baby together that was born sick and rather than stand by my side through that, he left me to watch our child die all alone. I also dated a guy who cheated on me with my best friend right after my father's funeral. I have been in your shoes. And when I met AJ, I was not about to let myself fall in love with him. I pushed him away more times than I can count.”

“Yeah but he stood by you, right? He didn't let you push him away.”

Emily and Leighanne laughed. “Mandy they broke up more times than most Hollywood actors do.”

“Hey!” Emily said.

“Well it's true.”

“Yeah...you're right.” Emily admitted. “Ultimately, I pushed and AJ pushed back until he couldn't do it anymore. That was our last time apart before we got married. For seven months.”

“Was that when you dated Randy?”

“Yes.”

“So how did you know that AJ wasn't going to hurt you the way all the other guys did?”

“At first, I didn't. That's why I was so resistant to moving on with my life. But at the end of those seven months I came to see that I was just hiding. I knew I wanted to be with him, I was just scared and I realized that fear was not a good enough reason to hold back from someone who loves you. And obviously you know it hasn't been easy but I sit her today to tell you that I still think it's completely worth it.”

“Jesus, Emily. You sound like a self-help book.” Amanda said, looking gloomy.

“I know. Look, all your sister and I are trying to say is that we both know Randy is a great guy. Guys like him don't come around all that often and if you walk away from this because you're scared of getting hurt, you're really going to be sorry some day. He's not one to hurt you. He's too good of a guy.”

Amanda nodded. “And you know what else?” she said as she finished her fifth beer. “He's really good in bed!”

The women laughed as the conversation lightened up.

Leighanne was impressed with Emily's skills at interfering and realized that the two women could accomplish a lot of they put their skills together. Amanda really seemed to consider the things Emily had said to her. Whether or not it was enough remained to be seen but it was a start. She only wished she could fix her own marriage as easily.

When Leighanne got home that night she fully intended to at least be a little frisky with her husband. It had been so long that she was definitely feeling the desires to be with him and she really thought it would help her move on and stop being so mad at him.

Her plans were spoiled, however, when she walked in and saw him asleep on the couch with the tv on. She didn't even bother to wake him up. She'd offered it to him and if he decided he'd rather fall asleep watching basketball than get some action with his wife she wasn't going to try and convince him otherwise.

Brian was actually awake when Leighanne had come home but he pretended to be asleep so that he wouldn't have to get out of having sex with her. He figured she'd leave him alone if he was asleep and he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her go upstairs and shut their bedroom door.

Chapter 60
Emily flipped on the tv Tuesday morning as she drank her coffee just in time for the latest on the hurricane.

“The National Weather Service has officially issued a hurricane warning for Savannah. Hurricane Randal is expected to make landfall sometime Friday morning. Right now Randal is a category 3 but is expected to weaken to a category 2 before then. Now what that means for those of us here in Atlanta is that this is almost guaranteed to be a tropical storm as it rolls over us. Expect a lot of heavy rain and very heavy wind gusts. Be prepared to stay home this black Friday instead of shopping as some streets will flood and power will most likely be knocked out to many citizens out there.”

Emily picked up the phone and called Leighanne.

“Emily, you ok? Why are you calling so early?”

“I don't have a good feeling about this.” she said.

“About what?”

“This hurricane coming.”

“Why not?”

“Ok first, Hurricane Randal?” Emily said.

“So?”

“Randal? As in Randy's real first name, Randal? It's an omen!”

Leighanne laughed. “Emily relax. AJ was right. You do just need to get this over with. If things seem tense there will be plenty of people to run interference.”

“Aren't you nervous about the storm?”

“Not really. I mean it does put a damper on my shopping plans but I don't think it'll be a huge deal.”

“Leigh, it's a tropical storm in Atlanta! I mean shouldn't we be boarding up our windows or something?”

“Emily, everything will be fine. I'm sure you've experienced storms just as bad before, they just weren't called tropical storms because they weren't part of a hurricane system. You don't need to board up your house, just make sure to put away your deck chairs and things.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm positive. But hey, I have kind of a cool idea!”

“What's that?”

“How about having a Hurricane Party? We can all ride out the storm at our house. They're saying it's going to start getting yucky Thursday evening and if you just stay at our house that night we can hang out Friday during the storm. Kevin and Kristin will already be staying here, they should be here in a few hours actually.”

“You want me to spend the night? With my own Hurricane Randy?”

Leighanne sighed. Emily was certainly being very dramatic. “Amanda and Randy are going to leave a few hours after dinner on Thursday. They were going to fly to Chicago Friday morning but they changed their tickets so they don't get stuck by the storm. My parents are going to do the same thing with Baylee. They're taking him to Disney World for the weekend, they were also going to leave Friday. Seems everyone is going to dine and dash on me!”

“Well, I'll talk to AJ and see what he says but it does kind of sound fun. I'll call you later tonight.”

“Ok. And try not to worry too much, ok? I promise, it's going to be fine.”

Emily really wished she believed her.

She called AJ on her way home from work.

“So I see its official!” AJ said.

“What is?”

“Hurricane Randal!”

Emily groaned. “Don't remind me!”

The irony of the name didn't escape AJ either but he chose to laugh about it instead. “It'll be fine. Let's just enjoy our Thanksgiving! Will you be there when I get home tomorrow night?”

“I sure will! I even get off work early tomorrow. The office is closing at 3. Then I have to go home and bake the pies for dessert Thursday.”

“I'm so excited to come home!” AJ said. “And to sleep with you in my own bed.”

“Oh hey that reminds me. Leighanne thinks it would be cool if we spent the night there on Thursday and have a hurricane with them and Kevin and Kristin on Friday. It's supposed to start getting nasty Thursday evening. I guess Amanda and Randy changed their flight to Chicago to after dinner instead of Friday and so did her parents to take Baylee to Disney. I wasn't really sure, I mean, I don't get to see that much of you but then I see even less of Kevin and Kristin and with the storm we won't really see them Friday.....”

“I think it'd be fun!” AJ said.

“You do?” Emily was surprised.

“Yeah! When I was little and there'd be a hurricane in Florida my mom and I would go stay with my grandparents just to keep each other company. And besides, if its storming, no one will hear us having sex in the guest room!” he joked.

Emily laughed. “Come to think of it, we never did have sex at their house, not even when I lived there!”

“You see? We're over-due!”

Leighanne had breakfast ready for Brian again when he got up.

“Who called?” he mumbled into his cup of coffee.

“Emily. She's worried about the hurricane being a bad omen for AJ and Randy being in the same room together.”

“Is it still expected to hit Savannah?”

“Yeah, sometime Friday morning. I hope you don't mind, I invited AJ and Emily to spend the night Thursday and have a hurricane party on Friday so we can all hang out together.”

“That sounds like fun.” he said, still freaked out by the fact that she was being nice to him.

“Look, I know you've taken to falling asleep on the couch with the tv lately, but could you not do it while we have guests? It might look bad.” she said, awkwardly.

Brian gave her an odd look. “Yeah, sure.”

“Great! You can turn on the tv in our room if you want to. I'm sure I'll conk right out.”

Brian studied his wife, almost as if he was trying to figure out if she had turned into some alien pod person or something.

“What?” she asked.

“Why are you being so nice to me? How can you just pretend like nothing happened?”

Leighanne sighed. “I'm trying, ok? I'm trying to let it go and the only way I can think of to do that is to pretend it never happened. Maybe you should do the same.” With that, Leighanne walked out of the room.

Kevin and Kristin arrived in Atlanta later that morning. Kevin really hadn't heard much from Brian since his surprise visit the week before and they weren't quite sure just what to expect when they got there. Much to Kristin's dismay, Kevin never told her the things that Brian confided in him. He knew Brian was right, it shouldn't get back to Leighanne unless Brian himself decided to tell her. They were both pleasantly surprised to find both Brian and Leighanne in good spirits.

Brian could feel Kevin watching him. He realized he owed his cousin an update on his situation and as soon as he could, he managed to get Kevin to go out back to “check out his new golf club.”

“So what's going on?” Kevin asked.

“She's freaking me out!” Brian admitted. “I came home from LA and we talked things over and I told her I wasn't even sure I wanted to have another baby anymore and she said that if I didn't, she didn't want to anymore either. I thought for sure she'd be furious at me. But the next day, she started being really nice to me. Like, the way things used to be. It doesn't make any sense! How can she just pretend it never even happened?”

“Did you ask her about it?”

“She said she's just trying to forget about it. But that isn't like her. Usually, if she's mad at me, she lets me know. So now I'm really paranoid, like she's planning some sneak attack or something.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know. I mean it isn't that I think she's scheming or anything, I just can't believe she's really ok with it. I'm even afraid to sleep in the same bed as her in case she tries to trick me into making love with her so she can try and get pregnant behind my back or something. Which is stupid, I know. But then she went out last night with the girls and before she left she said I should wait up for her, she'd be all loosened up from cocktails or something like that.”

“So what did you do?”

“I pretended to fall asleep on the couch.” he admitted, sheepishly.

“Brian, give her some more credit. Maybe she really is just trying to move on for the sake of her marriage. Maybe having a good relationship with you is more important than her dreams of a new baby.”

“Yeah, I know. It's still weird though.”

Kevin laughed.

Meanwhile, Kristin was inside trying to grill Leighanne.

“Oh come on! I know somethings been going on! Kevin wouldn't even tell me what Brian wanted to talk to him about!” Kristin whined.

“He wouldn't?” Leighanne was surprised.

“No! He said Brian asked him not to tell. What's going on? Are you guys ok?” Kristin asked, worried about her friends.

Leighanne smiled. “We will be. Things are on the right track now.”

“That's all I get?”

“For now.” Leighanne said. “I just really don't feel like talking about it. I'm trying to move on.”

“Alright.” Kristin conceded.

Emily woke up Wednesday morning feeling incredibly excited to have AJ home with her for a few days. Her mood was so good that not even the long lines at the supermarket after work could dampen it as she bought all the ingredients to make her pies.

By the time she got home it was nearly 4:30. AJ's plane would be landing at 6 and he was going to take a cab to their house so she figured he would probably get home around 6:45. She quickly got organized and decided to make the two pumpkin pies first because it would take less time to make the filling. She'd made her crusts the night before so she wouldn't have to mess with them. As much as she loved baking pies, she hated making pie crust and trying to roll it out. Yet she refused to use the store bought kind.

Another thing Emily detested was pumpkin pies that cracked. She fully admitted to being a perfectionist but she was painfully careful not to overbeat the filling and as she was peeling and slicing apples for the apple pie, she kept a close eye on the pumpkin pies in the oven to make sure to get them out at just the right time. She carefully carried them to the table and covered them with towels to slow the cooling before checking her watch. AJ would be home in twenty minutes!

Suddenly, she had an idea. She'd hoped to surprise AJ by waiting in bed for him but she completely ran out of time. So instead, she settled for surprising him naked in the kitchen. As soon as she put the apple pie in the oven, she stripped off all her clothes and wore nothing but her apron. She was working on her pecan pie when he walked in the door.

AJ froze when he saw her standing at the counter wearing nothing but her green, striped William Sonoma apron. He dropped his suitcase and walked over to her.

“What on earth are you up to?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a kiss.

Emily smiled. “Well, I wanted to have a sexy surprise waiting for you but I told Leighanne I'd bring the pies tomorrow and I just ran out of time so I thought I'd just finish up baking like this so that I'd be completely ready for you when you got home!”

AJ grinned. “I like it. In fact, I thought you should cook like this more often!”

Emily reached her arms around his neck and kissed him seductively. “Well, I do know how you feel about dessert.....”

“Mmm.....yes it is the most important meal of the day.”

Emily cleared her throat. “Well we only have fifteen more minutes before the pie is done.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Fifteen minutes? I can think of a few things I can accomplish in fifteen minutes.”

They stared into each others eyes for a moment before they began kissing each other feverishly. Emily pulled his shirt off and as she was undoing his pants, AJ slowly untied her apron and helped her out of it. He helped her down onto the kitchen floor and lay her down on top of him, their lips returning to kissing as his hands wandered all over her soft skin. He gave special attention to her nipples, loving the way she moaned when he did so. He gently rolled them over and lay her on the floor. He lay on his side next to her and slowly slid his hand down her chest, pausing just below her belly button. Emily closed her eyes and held her breath in anticipation of his touch. He stroked her so softly at first that she almost didn't feel it. He gently slid a finger inside of her, loving the way her face exploded in pleasure as her hips arched up for more. As he swirled his finger, he used his thumb to rub on her clit getting her nice and close to the edge. As much as he loved being with his wife, he knew if her pie burned because of him there'd be hell to pay so he knew his time was limited! When he was sure she was right at the brink, he slid out his finger and quickly thrust himself inside, kissing her deeply while he did so. Emily spread her legs wider and took him in deeper, loving the way he filled her up.

“Em, look at me.” he whispered after a few minutes.

Emily opened her eyes and found his looking right back at her. As soon as she looked into those beautiful brown eyes of his, she lost all control as her pleasure took hold of not only her, but him as well. AJ lay beside her and cuddled her against him.

“You know, as soon as I take a bite of your apple pie tomorrow, I'm going to think of this.”

Emily laughed. She was thinking the exact same thing.

When the timer rang, she got up to take the pie out of the oven.

“Don't burn yourself!” he warned.

“That'd be interesting to explain to a doctor, wouldn't it?” she chuckled.

AJ got up and put his boxers back on while Emily put her apron back on to finish her pecan pie before putting it in the oven.

“Babe, just how many pies are you making?”

“Two pumpkin, one apple and one pecan, why?”

“There's only going to be 7 of us!”

“I know, but everyone likes different kinds and I wanted to make extra pumpkin so there'd be leftovers for me to eat later!”

While the last pie was baking, AJ ordered Chinese food and Emily put on a nightgown instead of an apron and they sat down at the table to eat.

“Did Kevin and Kristin get in ok yesterday?” he asked.

“I think so. I haven't actually heard anything from them since I talked to Leighanne yesterday morning.”

“How are things with Brian and Leighanne?”

“Well...when Brian got back from LA they had a talk. Now I only got her side of the story, I don't know what his side is. But she said that he kept saying they should compromise but the only compromise he was willing to do was one that got him what he wanted and not what she wanted. Basically she wants a new baby and she wants his full attention. He wants an album, he wants to try to squeeze it all in before it would be born or something. Then, apparently he said he didn't really want to have a baby, he just would be willing to do it because she wanted one. So Leighanne told him that if he didn't, she didn't either. And so now apparently she's just trying to pretend like the whole thing never even happened.”

“Jesus!” AJ said. “What's gotten into Brian?”

“I don't know. Doesn't sound like him though, does it?”

“Not at all!”

“And I think the whole baby/album is just the scapegoat for a bigger problem. I just don't know what that problem is yet.”

“It could potentially be a very interesting hurricane party, couldn't it?”

“Yeah. Hopefully they'll be civil. Leighanne swore that we don't need to board up our windows, but I did manage to move the lawn chairs into the garage so they don't blow away.”

AJ laughed at his wife. “Sweetie it'll be ok. Are you really that nervous about the storm?”

“Well I didn't grow up in Florida, ok? I'm not used to these kinds of weather systems, I don't know what to expect!”

“Expect a lot of rain and wind. Nothing out of the ordinary, I promise.”

As Emily looked at the upcoming holiday, she thought it was anything but ordinary. Dinner with AJ and Randy at the same table? Brian and Leighanne in some kind of standoff? While they're all trapped in a storm? What could possible be ordinary about that?