'Tis confusion!

two in the closet

The music in the living room was turned up considerably since we'd left. Sal and Barbara were on the couch, quite literally on top of each other. They both seemed pretty tipsy at this point, and were giggling at everything the other one said. It was actually a pretty cute sight. Joe's wife had arrived in the time Q and I had been gone, and she and Joe were now snuggled up to each other, wrapped in a giant fluffy blanket. I headed into the kitchen for some water, and noticed Emily and Murr were in there. Emily was sitting at the table, scratching Benjamin behind the ears with one hand. Her other hand was firmly clasped in Murr's, who was sitting next to her. They were discussing Yanni. 

Yeah, I've seen in him in concert, like, seven or eight times. " Murr said.

Emily giggled. "I've seen him twice. I was at the last show he did here a few months ago."

"So was I!" Murr exclaimed. "That's funny. I wonder if we passed each other that night without ever noticing..."

Emily shook her head. "Believe me, if I'd seen you, I would have said something. No doubt."

Murr smiled. Neither of them seemed to even notice I was in the same room. I shrugged and grabbed two waters out of the fridge, then went back to the living room and handed one to Q. He took it and chugged half the bottle within seconds. "Thanks. I needed that." 

"I figured as much," I told him. "That was quite the workout we had back there." I kissed his cheek, then sat down next to Sal and Barbara on the couch. "So, what'd we miss?"

"Lots of smooching," Barbara joked. "Passionate, slobbery kisses, right Sally boy?" Sal laughed. "You got me. But Q- I promise, we didn't slobber on your couch."

"MMh. Slobber. Great visual Sal, thanks, " Q groaned. "Between you and Murr...I swear you guys act like you've never been in the company of beautiful women before."

"Well it's not like James and I have the same option here as you," Sal shot back. "We can't just take them to the bedroom and hide away for an hour." 

I blushed. Q shrugged. "That;s true, but all I'm saying is, try and keep it clean. Maid service won't be her in the morning to change your sheets, if ya get what I'm saying."

Sal nodded. "I promise, We'll be careful." He looked at me. "I'd ask if you were having a good time tonight, but the marks on your neck make that question redundant."

"THE WHAT?" I jumped up and power-walked to the mirror hanging in the hallway. "Q!" Sure enough, there were not one, but two bright red bite marks on my neck. Q came and stood beside me. He leaned into the mirror and scrutinized his reflection. "You don't have room to talk, sweetheart," Q teased. He pointed to a similar red mark on his neck. "Looks like you marked your territory too." I laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did. Whoops." "No big deal," Q said. "But I guess I really can't give Sal crap now, can I?" I shrugged. "I doubt that's gonna stop you." Q flashed that heart-stopping grin in my direction again. "Got that right." We rejoined Sal and the others for what felt like the millionth time that evening. I decided to go introduce myself to Joe's wife. She and Joe were still sitting on the floor, but they weren't cuddled up next to each other anymore, so I decided it was probably safe to go talk to her. "Hi guys, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" I sat down gingerly. The rum shots were still making seeing straight a challenge. Joe smiled at me. "You're fine. Mara, this is my wife Bessy. Bessy, this is Mara, the birthday girl, and Q's girl to boot." Bessy reached out and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you. Happy birthday." I smiled. "Thanks. It's actually not til Friday, but the guys were so sweet to organize this whole thing for me. I feel so special."  Q joined us just then. He plopped himself on the floor next to me and squeezed my leg. "Murr's in the kitchen with Benjamin on his lap. Every other time he's been here, he complains about how much cats shed, and here he is with Benjamin snoozing on his lap." Q shook his head. "You know, I really don't understand that man at times." He grinned at Bessy. "Hey there! Nice of your work to let you free early, eh?" She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. Did Joe tell you I've been working every night for the last two weeks? I'll be so glad when I have a night to myself to just not have to worry about deadlines or papers or anything of the sort." Joe squeezed her hand. I noticed he was staring at her with such total admiration, it made my heart melt. He was looking at her like she could move mountains, and I just loved that. I wondered offhand if I'd ever catch Q looking at me like that.

Bessy, Joe, Q and I chatted for a few more minutes, then Sal and Barbara joined us. Q spread out the blanket Joe had been using and had us all sit around it, then headed into the kitchen and returned with Murr, Emily, a bottle of wine, and wine glasses. He passed off the supplies to Joe and Bessy, then gently pulled me to my feet and led me down the hall to the laundry room. "I've got more blankets in here, " he told me. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized I liked the idea of a big-ass nest kind of setup. So that's what we're gonna do. Like I told the guys before, I have a thousand blankets in here. " "Why?" "Ehh, I like to be comfy," he said. "There's some extra pillows in here as well." "Cool. " I reached for the stack of blankets on the shelf in front of me, but Q stopped me. "Before we do that..." He kissed me, then slowly ran his hand up my thigh and under my skirt. I twitched. He ran his nails down my thigh. "No fair..." Q grinned. "I never said I play fair." He kissed my neck and leaned me up against the closed door.  We had round two then and there. It was much quicker this time, but was still plenty enjoyable. Q and I were both sweaty messes by the time we'd finished. He grinned. " God, you really know how to make a man crazy." I brushed his hair out of his eyes. " Don't be so modest. You have the moves of a god, I swear. " I grabbed the stack of pillows and blankets and handed a few off to Q. "Let's go make this nest."