Water Ch. 198 - Where Young Love Never Dies

Jon looks at her with fear in his eyes, "What?"

"Our commitment ceremony, Jon" Beth looks at him with shock in her eyes.  Grabbing his hand, she pulls him around the side of house, so he can see how beautiful it will be.  "Look, isn't it gorgeous?"

"You have it all planned?" 

Nodding, she tells him, "Yes, it's all planned.  All you need to do is be here at 5:30 tomorrow night."  She holds her breath.  He pulls her to him and plants a kiss on her lips.  She pulls away laughing and adds, "You need to say I DO, too."

His arms go around her neck and he holds her close, with his face buried in her hair he mumbles, "Baby, I do, I do, I do."  Beth wraps her arms around his waist and they stand there on the riverbank, in the middle of all the chaos that will be their commitment ceremony tomorrow.

Beth, breaking the embrace looks up at Jon, "Are you okay with it?"  She was pretty sure that he wouldn't care and would go along with whatever she had planned, but she needed to ask him.

Jon looks around and smiles.  He sees that she has even the smallest of details thought out and planned.  "I've never seen the grounds look this alive.  You have it all done?"  He rubs her back and shoulders, resting his his hand on the small of her back.

"It's all done.  Like I said, all you need to do is be here and say I do."  Beth is starting to wonder if maybe she crossed the line.  That's twice he's asked her if it was all done, was there something that he wanted to do?  Something that he wanted done?  "Is there something you want me to change, something to add?"

Jon looks around, turns in a circle and wonders, "Who's the band?" Pointing to the stage that was set up on the far edge of the property. 

"Honey, is there something you want to done, something you wanted to add?"  She places her hand on his chest, "Did I step over the line here by assuming you would go along with all I planned."

"I am game for whatever you have planned, you're silly for thinking otherwise."  Hand in hand they walk around the grounds, watching the people that are setting the whole thing up.  The day started with the lawn care and as soon as they were done, the chairs, tents, tables and archway were hauled in and being set up.  Beth was relieved that they weren't there when they went to court earlier.  She was worried that one might be early and mess up the whole rhythm of things, plus she didn't want Jon to see just before court and have that on his mind when they were in court.  The stress was enough to kill her, she didn't want anyone else do have to deal with it too. 

The only ones that knew what she was doing was Jon's mom, dad and Stephanie.  Invitations were sent with the RSVP's going to Jon's parents house.  Beth was relieved that she made it to the day before and Jon hadn't found out.  She worried that someone might say something to Jon in passing and ruin the surprise, the moment. She had pulled it off and he had no idea.  She was pretty proud of herself and Jon could see that.  As they walked, Beth told Jon that Stephanie was going to stand up with her and that his brothers would be standing with him.  "I figured it would be a hard decision for you to make, how could you pick one brother over the other?  So, they both are standing up with you."

 

"I'm glad you made that call.  I wouldn't be able to decide." he exhales hard, "They're my brothers, I couldn't pick."

 

"It's all taken care of."

 

"What am I supposed to wear?"

 

"It's hanging in your closet, in a garment bag."

 

"What is it?  A purple tux?" he jokes with her.

 

"It's exactly how I pictured you to look on our wedding day.   You are going to be so sexy, I hope I can make it through the ceremony." she jokes back, but he can tell that there is a hint of truth in what she just said.  And he thinks he has an idea of what she has picked out for him to wear. 

 

Running his fingers through his hair, as he realizes that they don't have rings.  "Babe, we don' have rings."  He feels a little bad about that, he didn't want rings to ruin her day.

 

She stops him, places a hand on each side of his face, "Jon, I thought of everything.  We have rings."

 

"You even picked out the rings?"

 

"We picked them out." she tells him. 

 

"When?  What are you talking about?"

 

She smiles her biggest smile and confesses, "We picked them out in Greece.  Do you remember that little jewelery store we stopped at and the set of rings we both oogled over?"

 

He nods his head.

 

"I went back and bought them before we left."

 

How can he not love her?  She was always a step ahead of him, with nothing but best of intentions in mind.  She loves making him happy and he loves making her happy.  "You amaze me.  I love you so much."  He leans over and kisses her cheek.  "But, I have to ask, who is going to walk you down the aisle?"

 

"Oh, I have that worked out too.  And that was an easy decision for me."  She tells him, and it warms her heart when she does.  "I've asked your dad and he was honored, he said."  She could see Jon's smile start as the words came out of her mouth.

 

"You asked my dad?  Really?"

 

"I did.  He and Romeo are going to walk me down the aisle."

 

With his arm around her, they head back to the house to have some lunch.  The kids are at school and Romeo is with his mom.  Pete took him into the city when court was over.  Dorothea usually has Romeo during the day, when he's not at school, and even though it pissed Jon off beyond words - he couldn't keep his children from their mother.  He would only be there for the afternoon. 

 

In the kitchen Beth makes the both of them a salad, with some chicken that was left over from the night before.  Sitting at the island together, enjoying their afternoon Jon couldn't help but wonder, "How many people did you invite?  And how did you do this all without me knowing?"

 

Sipping her wine, she just smiles.

 

"Did you hire a planner?"

 

Beth winks at him, sets her glass down and informs him, "When I tell your mother that you asked me that, she's going to kick your ass."

 

"I should have known my ma was involved." he chuckles.  "How many guests can we expect?" 

 

"I only invited 150 people, not counting the guys or any close staff.  I don't want this huge event that we can't enjoy."

 

"I agree.  Did ma help you with the guest list?"

 

"Yeah, she made sure no one in the family was missed.  We got it covered, babe."

 

He puts his hand on hers and asks, "What about a honeymoon?"

 

"Ok, Jon - you need to stop.  It is ALL taken care of." she takes her free hand and pats that hand that he has on hers, "Relax, I have it all planned.  We leave tomorrow night and are only gone for the weekend."

 

He looks at her with a crooked eyebrow, "Why only the weekend?"

 

She gets up and gets the bottle of wine and fills their glasses.  "Well, honey - we have kids, plus you have a tour that you need to get ready for.  Plus, I start back at Deloitte on Monday."

 

And there it was, Beth just let the air out of his balloon.  She can see that he isn't happy with  what he had just heard and she hoped that they wouldn't have a big discussion over it.  But she wasn't keeping it from him.  "Are you serious?  You're going back to work already?"

 

"Yeah.  I'm ready." she tells him, with a smile on her face and a little bit of anxiety about it.  It's been a while and she wonders if she's gone soft after all that she's gone through.  She thinks about what co-workers have seen the sex tape and it causes her anxiety to go real high.  But, she wasn't going to be paralyzed by it.  She needed her life to continue, not live in the shadows of what has happened.

 

He leans back in his chair, with his glass in his hand and informs her, "I'm not ready for you to go back to work."

 

"What?  You're not ready?" she gives him her what the hell are you talking about look.

 

He has to be honest with her, he has to share with her how he sees their life together, and what he expects from her.  "Babe, I don't want you to go back to work."

 

"Why?"

 

"I want you here with the kids."

 

Beth looks at the time, "I am going to go shower before the kids get home.  When will Pete be back with Romeo?"

 

"Probably about 4 oclock, why?" he gets up and loads their lunch dishes into the dishwasher.  Maria had gone to the grocery store to get some things that Beth needed for tomorrow, things that she didn't want the caterers to handle.  Things that were important for her to have at the reception.  Things that caterers don't want to be bothered with.

 

They both head upstairs.  In the master bedroom, Beth drops her suit jacket on the bed, pulls her silk blouse and camisole off.  Just then, she feels his warm hand on her shoulder and then his soft, moist lips on her skin.  She turns to him and they kiss.  A kiss that they feel, from the tips of their toes to the top of their head.  A kiss that speaks volumes and a kiss that leaves them wanting more.  More kisses, more of each other - just more.  Jon takes his finger and works it under the strap of her bra.  Sliding it over her shoulder, he kisses what he's exposing.  Working his way to her breast.  She stops him.  "Are you showering with me?"

"Shhh!", with her nipple in his mouth.

She grabs a handful of hair, and pulls his gaze to hers, "Are you showering with me or not?"

"I'd love to, but can I get you dirty first?"

Beth takes a step backwards and chuckles at the man that has her heart.  She loves the school boy crush that she can see in his eyes.  "The kids will be home soon and I think I just heard Maria downstairs."  She takes another step back as she unfastens her bra and drops it on the floor.  Jon is slowly following her, knowing in his mind he's going to have her.  But Beth still tries to dodge it, "I don't have time to get dirty."  Using air quotes she reminds him, "I'm getting married tomorrow.  I have a ton of stuff to do."

She can see it click with Jon, as she works her way backwards into the bathroom.  Slipping her skirt off, she kicks it in his direction.  He's able to see her lacy boy shorts and that was all he needed.  Beth could see the desire on his face, so she quickly turns around and heads to the bathroom.  Seeing the lace at the crease of her cheek, he moved a little quicker.

"We have time to get dirty.  I'll help you with what you need help with after our shower."  She works her panties off so slow and watches him quickly remove his clothes.  He practically ripped the buttons off of his shirt and his slack were a hindrance that was pissing him off.  Stepping out of his pants he walks to Beth and slides his hands around her waist.  Flesh to flesh and in love, the two of them enjoyed one another in the best way they new how.

Jon picks her up and she immediately wraps her legs around him, locking her feet.  The kisses were passion unlike anything they had felt before and the sexual tension was equally high.  Their day was mentally exhausting and they needed to get lost in one another, for them it was the best stress relief.