Chronicles Of Chris Ch 08

My thanks to DrBob80 for his fine editing touch. Also, thanks to Leftylooo for looking at this and listening to me whine about the struggles with my muse.

I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. As I mentioned above the muse abandoned me for a while. The style of the story is more romantic that my previous stories and it was a struggle. It didn't help when I lost a great deal of the story when the flash drive on which I keep my writing decided it wanted the story for itself.

I hope you enjoy this and please vote and/or comment.

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I awoke in the morning when I felt Joni squirm away, once again. I raised my head and watched her put on her robe, unlock the door and slip through it. I let my head settle back down and must have immediately fallen back to sleep because Joni scared the shit out of me when she jumped on the bed. I hadn't heard her return to the bedroom and she took advantage and was now howling in laughter at my reaction.

I sat up shaking my head. "Nice, really nice." I muttered as I grabbed my shorts.

Joni's eyes got wide when she realized I was getting dressed. "Chris? I didn't mean anything, you know? Don't leave!" Her voice was trembling a little.

I stopped and looked at her, continuing to shake my head. Her eyes looked fearful and I couldn't help it, I had to laugh.

She growled, "You asshole! What's so funny?!?"

I leaned back down and kissed her full on the lips, startling her, her eyes going wide. "You are." I said standing back up. "You can dish it out, but can't take it, even when it's unintentional. I have to go to the bathroom, knucklehead!"

She was sitting there with her mouth hanging open as I walked through the door dressed in just my shorts. I went into the bathroom, relieved myself, splashed some water on my face, and started back to Joni's room. Right then, Charlie stepped out of her room in a pink, sheer, short nightgown and robe. My gaze was drawn to her nipples, which were clearly visible. She was evidently not expecting to see me, as she jumped when she did. Her sudden movement made her obviously still firm and perky tits bounce and jiggle nicely. I smiled when I saw that and looked back up at her face, finding a frown there.

"Chris!" She hissed, "What are you doing?!?!?"

I chuckled, "I'm just going back to Joni after using the bathroom. Why, what do you think I'm doing?"

She turned bright red, having to decide whether to confront me about staring at her tits or just ignore it. It was a little funny watching an adult struggle with a largely meaningless decision. Then she straightened up, defiantly thrusting her perky little tits out and me and marched on past, deciding to ignore me altogether. I turned to watch her walk away and down the stairs and she must have realized that I was staring because her hand drifted back to cover her fine little butt as she practically ran down the stairs. I turned and went down the hall and I was laughing as I walked into Joni's room.

"What's so funny, Studley?" Joni asked, with a smile, from her perch on the bed. She was lying on her tummy, naked, with her chin on her hands, her legs swaying behind her and she looked good enough to eat.

"Your mom." I said, still chuckling.

"What about my mom?" Joni asked, her smile faltering a little.

"I ran into her in the hall," I explained, "Almost literally, and she was in a shorty nightgown. She didn't expect to see me and it obviously startled her. She was embarrassed about being seen nearly naked by me and she couldn't decide what to do. I thought it was funny when she nearly ran down the stairs." I finished by shrugging.

"Oh." Joni said, a funny look clouding her beautiful face.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly, kneeling in front of her.

"Are you after my mom, now?" Joni asked in a whisper.

"What?!?!" I was stunned and sat back on my heels.

Joni hung her head and muttered, "You were looking at her

'nearly naked'

body and you seemed kinda excited."

"Jeez, Joni!" I said sharply. "I just thought it was funny that she was that embarrassed. I didn't mean anything by it."

Joni's head dropped and she just let it hang. "It's just driving me crazy." She continued to whisper.

I was genuinely confused now. "I have no idea what you're talking about. What's driving you crazy?"

She raised her head and the tears on her cheeks startled me. She sobbed as she began to explain, "I know that you are leaving, I know what we agreed about us, and I know that we're

never

going to be together long term. I know all those things. What I

don't

know is whether or not I can live without you. I love you more every minute of every day and I fear Friday more than anything I have ever known. Every single thing that you do that might take you away from me, even if only for a minute, scares me. If I think you might want to fuck my Mom, it scares me. The feelings you may have for Teddi or Sara scare me. Even any feelings you may still have for Mrs. P., scare me." She smiled a little when she mentioned Eva's name.

I was stunned, speechless. The depth of Joni's emotion completely overwhelmed me. I just sat on my heels staring at her.

Joni was looking at me, tears still streaming down her face. "Don't you have

anything

to say?"

"J-J-Joni?" I stammered. "I-I-I d-d-don't know wh-wh-what t-t-to s-s-say."

Joni whispered, "For now, even if you don't mean it, tell me that you love me. Let me have that until you leave. OK, Studley?"

"J-J-Joni W-W-W-Williams, I love you with all my heart." I started gaining control of myself. "You are the sweetest, sexiest, most exciting, beautiful girl I could

ever

know. I'm not just saying that. I have been resisting telling you that all week because I haven't wanted to hurt you. I hope I'm making you feel better, because I cannot bear to think that I'm hurting you." I crawled to her, kissing her as softly, gently and lovingly as I could.

"Come up here and hold me." Joni whispered. "I want our naked skin together. I want to celebrate our love, even if it's for a short time." She was smiling, her awesome green eyes were shining, and my heart swelled with love.

I slid my shorts off as I stood and slipped into bed beside her. She rolled over to face me as my body slithered along her length as I settled in. Her silky smooth skin made me tingle with desire, just as it had every time I touched her. Joni met me with a soft kiss that deepened as she rolled us over. Joni ended up lying on top of me. She broke our kiss, pulled back, looked into my eyes and smiled before rubbing her nose against mine, Eskimo style.

Looking into my eyes with her emerald green eyes, Joni murmured, "Do you know what I want, Chris?"

Lost in the deep pools of her eyes, I just hummed, "Hmmmmm?"

"I want to go on a honeymoon." She murmured before kissing me again.

My eyes, which had been drifting closed with the soft intimate contact flapped wide open in surprise. "Mmmpfh?!?!" was all I could manage into her lips, in my shock.

Joni pulled out of the kiss and started laughing. "Mmmpfh?!?! Mmmpfh?!?! That's all you've got? I'm disappointed Studley! I was hoping for a

'Holy Shit!'

or a

'Are you fucking nuts?'

and all I get is

'Mmmpfh?!?!'

"

I stared at her for a minute before I asked, rapid fire, "Holy Shit Joni! Are you fucking nuts? A freaking honeymoon? Don't you need a wedding before you have a honeymoon? What happened to not getting serious?"

Joni was now laughing so hard she rolled off me and there were tears rolling down her cheeks. "There he is! There's the dopey guy I know and love. Kiss me you fool!"

I rolled over on top of her and kissed her, still not entirely certain what was happening. She was still giggling as we kissed. Abruptly, she rolled us back over and sat up on my stomach.

"Studley," she said softly, "I know I took you by surprise and it seems like I'm going back on what we talked about. But, I'm really not doing that. I know you and I will

never

have a true honeymoon. But, I want to have a day and night where we pretend that we are on a honeymoon. Let's go to Chicago and go to the zoo or museum or something and then spend the night at a fancy hotel."

"Uhhh, Joni," I mumbled, "I-I-I d-d-don't have any m-m-money."

Joni smiled and said, "I know, this is on me and my parents."

"What?!?!?" I exclaimed. "Your parents!?!?"

"Yeah, Studley, my parents." Joni giggled. "My Dad does a lot of business with the Palmer House. He gets a bunch of nights free every year. I can talk him into letting us use one. I have some money saved that I want to use. If we can use your Mom's car, we can do this."

I was speechless. I didn't know what to think, let alone what to say. Joni jumped up and pulled a robe on over her glowing body.

"I'll be right back, Chris." Joni leaned down and kissed me. "I'll talk to my Mom about this. Why don't you go take a shower?"

"Uh-huh." I answered, figuring I should keep my mouth shut.

Joni walked out and I got up. I was

still

not sure I understood, but I would go along. I pulled on my shorts and ducked into the bathroom. I took a quick shower and went back into Joni's room. Joni was back, bouncing excitedly on the bed and grinning.

"Mom talked to Daddy and he said he'd take care of it." Joni squealed. "We're gonna have a room at the Palmer House

and

a nice dinner in our room. We'll find out when we get there. I'm gonna take a shower now and get ready. You need to go home and get your stuff and be back here in about an hour. OK?"

"Uh-huh." I said.

"Chris?" Joni's smile was faltering. "Is this OK? I thought you'd be excited."

"I'm just still confused." I said. "I want to spend this time with you; I'm just not sure why we're calling it a

honeymoon."

That brought a dazzling Joni smile back to her face. "Because I love you and I want to pretend, that's all. Can we do that?"

I smiled in return. "Sure, whatever my blushing bride wants."

She squealed and leapt into my arms.

(There are some very real benefits to being with a cheerleader. Her athleticism allowed her to land perfectly and I caught her with little effort. It was cool.)

Her legs were wrapped around my waist and her wetness was bouncing on my rapidly hardening manhood. She obviously felt it and slid down off my body.

She grinned mischievously and started wagging her finger at me. "Now, you have to be good, Christopher Peters. I won't have you taking advantage of me before my wedding night."

"I've heard of this happening," I teased, "as soon as you marry a woman, the sex stops. We've been married five minutes and I'm cut off. This sucks."

Joni was laughing at me and then wrapped her arms around me. "You big goof!" She said before getting on tiptoes to kiss me. "I love you. Now, you need to go and get ready. Pick me up in an hour, OK?"

"Sure, babe, I'll be back, soon." I kissed her briefly, grabbed my shirt, and put it on. When I looked back at her, her mouth was in a pout. I stepped back to her, took her in my arms, kissed her and said, "I love you, too. I don't know if I can wait an hour."

Joni's dazzling smile was back and she started pushing me toward the door. "Well, if we both hurry, it won't seem as long. Be back as soon as you can."

I went through the door and Charlie was in the hall again. I don't know if she was waiting for me, but she was just standing there. "Chris, could we talk for a minute?"

"Sure," I said shrugging.

"John and I did what Joni asked, but, we're a little concerned." Charlie said slowly. "I thought you guys were not going to get serious, with you leaving and all."

"Yeah, you're right." I said, simply leaving it for her to go where she wanted to go.

She huffed, seemingly frustrated that I didn't volunteer more information. "OK, what's going on?"

I smiled, "Look, Charlie, Joni wanted to pretend that this is our honeymoon. She knows that there is

no

future for us. She's gotten in deeper than I wanted, but she still understands, because I keep reminding her. This is just going to be fun, nothing more. I'm still leaving on Saturday and we'll be over and done. I wouldn't worry about it."

Charlie still looked worried, but seemed to accept my explanation. "Just please try not to hurt her."

"Charlie, that's the last thing I want to do." I said firmly. "I will make sure that I do everything I can to not let her get hurt."

Charlie sighed deeply, "OK."

"OK, I gotta go." I said before heading down the stairs.

As I was walking home I thought, '

Holy Crap! This is

exactly

the emotion about which Mom warned me. Jeez, I hate it when she's right. I hope I don't screw this up

.'

I took another shower when I got home and dressed in slacks and a casual, button up shirt. I then went about my simple packing. I packed a dress shirt, slacks and nice shoes. Just in case, I put in jeans, sneakers and a polo shirt. I hung out for a few minutes before heading back to Joni's house.

I was a little surprised that Joni wasn't outside when I got to her house. She had seemed so excited before I left; I figured she wouldn't be all that patient. I guess I was wrong.

I went to the door and almost immediately, Charlie opened it. She was dressed far more conservatively than she was earlier. I looked her up and down and grinned and she flushed red, slapping me on the arm.

Taking on a bad English accent she said, "Cheeky bastard!" then she laughed. "Come in, she's about to vibrate into tiny pieces. I can't remember the last time I saw this much excitement from her."

Charlie leaned in close and whispered, "Please remember, don't hurt her." Then she kissed me on the cheek.

Joni came around the corner from the kitchen and my breath caught. She looked absolutely beautiful. She had on soft crème colored slacks that fit her perfectly. Her shoes matched the slacks and the color blend made her look like she was floating. Her blouse was black silk that hung off her perfect breasts and swayed as she slinked toward me. Her hair was curled, bouncy and hung softly to her shoulders. On second thought, beautiful really doesn't convey the right feeling about her appearance in that moment. She was breathtakingly, heart stoppingly, gorgeous. Once again, I stood before her slack-jawed.

Joni and Charlie giggled at my bug-eyed visage and Joni sidled up to me and, putting her fingers gently under my chin, pushed my mouth shut. "You're gonna catch a fly or something." She said, giggling, before she pulled my head down into a kiss. Her now familiar soft lips met mine, gently, tenderly and I was completely in her spell. Her lips parted, slightly, and the tip of her tongue traced my lips, quickly, lightly before she withdrew. She left me breathless.

Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at me. "Studley? Are you OK?"

"Uh-huh." Ever the eloquent conversationalist, I fired back my witty retort.

She and Charlie giggled again. "You've really got an amazing vocabulary there, Chris." Charlie said.

"Come on, Chris," Joni said as she pulled me toward the door. "I want to get going. I don't want to waste any more of the day."

I looked helplessly at Charlie who was laughing. When Joni looked away from Charlie, she repeated in a light whisper, "Don't hurt her, please." I just nodded.

I grabbed Joni's suitcase as she dragged me through the door. Joni was so excited that even though she was dragging me along, she was virtually at a dead run. She stopped when she got to the car and I nearly ran her over.

"Jeez, Joni," I gasped, "are you excited or what?"

She turned and hugged me. "Yes, Studley, I am. I can't wait to start our honeymoon! Hurry, let's go!"

I opened her door and she slid to the middle. I put her suitcase with mine, scrambled around the car, and dove into the driver's seat.

Joni snuggled right up to me and grabbed my right hand. "I love you, Chris," she whispered for the umpteenth time this morning.

"Me, too, baby girl, me, too." I answered softly.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a wad of cash, pressing it into my hand.

"What's this for?" I asked, puzzled.

"All the singles are for tipping." She explained. "Daddy says you need to tip just about everyone at the hotel."

I panicked. "Joni, I don't know anything about tipping, other than at a restaurant. I don't want to waste your money!"

She giggled, "Daddy said you'd say something like that." She pulled a note out of her purse. "Here are the acceptable amounts. Two dollars for the doorman, one dollar for each bag for the bell man, and the only tricky parts are if we go to the concierge or room service. They are more percentage based on whatever you are spending. Just slip the money to them, don't make a production out of it."

(Remember, this was the seventies.)

"What the hell is a concierge?" I mumbled.

Joni was laughing out loud now. "Daddy said you'd say that, too. He's a guy that helps you get tickets and reservations and stuff like that."

"Oh," I said quietly, getting more embarrassed by the moment, my head dropping and I could feel that my face was beet red.

"Chris," Joni said softly.

I didn't look at her, I felt like a country bumpkin. I just looked at my hands.

"Chris," Joni repeated. "Look at me."

I just shook my head.

"It's OK, Chris." Joni said sweetly. "Daddy told me to tell you all this because he knows your Dad couldn't be here to teach you. He was just trying to help."

Joni put her fingers under my chin and pulled my head around to look at her. "Chris, really, it's OK. Nobody just knows this stuff,

somebody

has to teach them. Really, Daddy was trying to save you the embarrassment that he suffered because his dad died young, too. He didn't know these things and Grandpa, my Mom's dad, had to help him out."

I raised my eyes to look at her. She was smiling, not because she was making fun of me, but because she wanted to ease my embarrassment. I smiled in return, "Thanks, Joni, I owe you and your dad."

I kissed her and sat up straight. After I backed out and put the car in drive, she took my hand and held it, softly.

We drove for the nearly two hours it took to get to downtown Chicago. Joni just watched the road go by, saying little, fiddling with the radio and occasionally kissing my cheek or lifting my hand to kiss the back of it.

We pulled up to the Palmer House just after noon. The doorman was immediately at Joni's door and held her hand while she gracefully exited the car. As I was getting out, another guy handed me a parking stub, so I dug in my pocket and handed him two dollars. He grinned and said he'd take good care of the car. Still

another

guy pulled our suitcases out of the back seat and took them through the grand entrance of the hotel. Joni was standing with the doorman and by the time I got to her, the car was gone. I slipped the doorman two dollars and he walked us to the door and held it while we walked through, holding hands. I glanced at him and he grinned, winked and tipped his cap. I just grinned back.

We walked up to where the bellman (I assumed) was standing with our bags. I slowed, but Joni kept walking to the front desk.

"Good afternoon, I am Gerald. How can the Palmer House help you today, young man?" The man behind the desk asked politely.

Embarrassingly, my voice cracked when I started to answer. "Iaawwk, ahem, we have reservations."

"Very good, sir, the name?" So polite, so very polite, there wasn't even a glimmer of a smile when my voice cracked.

I didn't have a clue and looked helplessly at Joni. "Peters." She said simply.

He looked down; his eyes widened for a moment and glanced between Joni and me. "Mr. and Mrs. Peters! Congratulations! Regretfully, the penthouse suite was booked when your father called this morning, Mrs. Peters. However, we have a perfectly lovely suite for you. It has a magnificent view of the skyline. Raymond!" The bellman with our bags stepped to the desk. "Take Mr. and Mrs. Peters to Suite 2200. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Peters, for choosing the Palmer House for your happy occasion!"