Here it is, the long-delayed sixth and final part of "Love Among the Stacks." I jumped us quite a few years into the future - I wanted to wrap the story up for those of you who've been sticking with it (and giving it such high ratings - Thank You!), but the key parts of the story were done, and there's other ones in my head.
As always, feedback is most welcome. All sexually-active characters are over 18.
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November 27, 2003
1.
"We have to be super quiet in case Daddy's still sleepin'."
"Okay. Shhhhh. Let's go on our tippie-toes."
A thunk. A giggle. Another giggle.
I fought to keep from smiling as I felt them approach me. I'd been up for a good half-hour but hadn't gotten out of bed yet. Today would be a busy day - our guests would arrive around lunchtime, but I'd be busy in the kitchen well before then - and I saw no reason to rush into it.
Besides, I knew if I stayed in bed, eventually the cutest alarm clocks ever would come looking for me.
I waited until they were standing right in front of me and then reached out to grab them to pull them up on the bed with me.
"Daddy, Daddy! You're awake!" They laughed and I gave each of them a big kiss.
"I am! And what day is it?"
"Thanksgiving!"
"That's right! And I've got to get up so I can get you two turkeys into the oven!"
"Daddy! You don't cook us! You cook the birdy dat's in the fridge."
"Oh, silly Daddy. That's right." I gave them each another kiss. "Alright you monsters. Let me get up and get dressed and we can start all the fun."
Miles and Jacqueline grabbed each other's hand and ran out of the room, calling out for their mom. I made my way to the bathroom, knowing that I'd better get out there quickly before Kellie came to get me. As I turned on the shower, I smiled at memories of Kellie joining me in the shower, going back to the first time I saw her naked. She'd been gorgeous then at 19 and she was more gorgeous today at 32.
I showered and got dressed in my cookin' clothes - the ones I didn't mind (much) if they got stained. I'd put on my "guests are comin' over" clothes by noon.
By the time I left our bedroom, I could smell the pumpkin pies Kellie was cooking. She knew that the oven would be mine most of the day and got up early to get the desserts going. It was a small price to pay, she'd told me back when we first hosted Thanksgiving, to not have to spend the day cooking.
Kellie happened to be leaning over the oven to check on the status of the pies when I reached the kitchen.
"Mmmm. Looks good."
She turned to me, a smirk on her face. She knew what I was talking about, and it sure wasn't the pies. Her ass gave a little shimmy, then she pushed the pies back into the oven and stepped into my arms. I gave her a quick smooch and she gave me a longer one.
"When these are done, I'll go take my shower and get ready for your parents to come over."
We'd long since moved away from Chicago, but my parents hadn't wanted to only see their grandchildren on special occasions, so they moved out to the Pacific Northwest with us. They were more than happy to let us host big events, spoil the twins, and leave us to clean up the mess. This year, they'd be joined by Kellie's Aunt Jenny and her husband Luis. We hadn't seen them since their wedding, since they lived down in Miami. How Kellie convinced them to come hang out in the drizzle when they could have been on the beach was beyond me.
In due course, the pies were ready and I took over the kitchen. I was glad the kids could now entertain themselves a bit so I could cook without running back and forth from the kitchen to wherever they'd wandered off to or to handle a diaper blowout. Sometimes it was hard to believe they were almost five, other times it seemed like they'd been part of our lives forever. Miles had been named after Kellie's dad, of course, and Jackie after my grandmothers (Jacqueline Elise, if you must know), and they were currently cutting a swath a mile wide through their kindergarten.
I was getting elbows-deep in chopping various vegetables and potatoes and...when Kellie came back out after her shower. She was wearing a green sweater and blue jeans - simple clothes, but the kind that always made my heart jump when I saw her. Her hips were a little wider and her breasts a little fuller than they were the day we first bumped into each other in the library - the result of carrying a couple of kids and not, y'know, basically still being kids ourselves - but she was always my Kellie. We hugged and exchanged another kiss. From the spark in her eyes, I knew I wasn't the only one whose engine just started up. I knew that someday our bodies probably wouldn't respond quite like this anymore, but that wasn't going to come anytime soon.
Kellie reached between us and cupped me through my jeans. "Later," she mouthed, and left me alone with my knives and veggies.