Jasmine was toying with the pendant at Ashley's throat, just as Ashley was toying with the matching one at Jasmine's. They were coming down from their highs after grinding on each other's legs. Joe was asleep on the other side of the bed, a side effect from the long day, and also Ashley's ability to satiate him quickly after they came home.
"Does it bother you that we do this so soon after that gorgeous Mass?" Jasmine asked after kissing Ashley's shoulder.
Ashley looked over at her, amazed that Jasmine seemed to be in her head again. "I don't know. Sometimes it does, but usually not. You?"
Jasmine shrugged. "Sometimes. But somehow this doesn't feel like it should be wrong. Religiously, you know. Why do you think that is?"
Ashley sighed then propped herself up on an elbow to face her girlfriend. "Well, I think of it like this: God is like a parent, right? He lays down what he wants us children to do. But like all kids, there are some things I don't agree with, and break the rules. I still love Him, and do my best to obey. But, life is happier with you and Joe, which makes it easier to love Him." She let out another sigh, not sure if her point was clear, then laid back against her pillow.
Jasmine smirked. "You know that rationalization probably won't fly on Judgment Day, right? But I like how you think." She let go of the pendant to pet Ashley's chest and ribs, leaving the fleshy mounds be for now. "Living a fair life with happiness, kindness, and respect of others is the best way to worship and praise Him on a daily basis."
"You turning into a Jesus freak on me, Jazz?" She cut her eyes over toward Jasmine.
Jasmine let her hand rise and fall on Ashley's ribs in a tap of admonishment. "No," she giggled. "Just that Mass was fun, if a lot of work to prepare for, and it got me thinking...after my head cleared of naughty thoughts of you." She caught Ashley's frown. "No, I still think those things of you. Just not quite as urgently as a few minutes ago," she added with a grin.
Ken had decided to spend Christmas with Jill, and the pendants were apparently popular tonight, as he was fiddling with hers. "Careful," she warned. "That's very special to me."
As beautiful as Jill's naked frame lying next to him was, Ken still couldn't help another glance around the guest room that could have been a set for a decorating magazine. "So this is Joe's house," he said in wonder, having arrived earlier that day to see the Mass that Jill kept talking about. "Wow."
Jill smiled and turned into him, snuggling closer. It was getting late, and another big day was tomorrow. In her weariness, she explained through mumbling the history of the house. How Joe's parents had it built with entertainment in mind, the company parties held there, her and Jasmine's role in helping with the parties once Joe befriended them freshman year in high school, Jasmine's employment as maid there, and how it became a safe place for any of Joe's "Angels," should they need the escape for the night. She recapped how Joe inherited the house through his parents' sudden demise, and how Ashley nearly threw everything away to be with him then. "He thinks of this as her house now," she concluded. "With Cindy as the caretaker."
"You mean curator," Ken offered. "I recognize some of the pieces downstairs. Good Lord!"
Jill recently discovered that he had an eye for art when he took her on a date to a gallery show, not that he advertised the hobby. She chuckled weakly, well on her way to sleep. "You're more right than you know. Cindy's been bored, I guess. There's a few new ones on some of the walls."
Ken was still playing with her pendant. "This must have cost a fortune. I've never seen anything like it."
"There's only seven," she said plainly. "You've seen four of them." She opened her eyes in time to see his confused expression, and Jill was secretly happy that he didn't check out her friends hard enough to notice. "Mine, Ashley, Jasmine, and Kim's," she clarified. "They're all identical and hold some secrets."
Ken searched his memory of her friends and was surprised he hadn't noticed the other pendants before. "What secrets?" he asked. He knew she was drifting off, but this fascinated him, and she didn't seem to mind answering in her half sleep.
"The names under the onyx, the diamond..." His thumb centered over the mentioned jewel on the piece. "Don't push that..." There was a dull click. "...too hard. Ugh," she groaned as she sat up and reached for her cell phone on the night stand.
"What's wrong?" he fretted.
Jill put her finger up to hush him, hoping that the system had been turned off after all this time since Joe all but left Carter. The phone rang a second later, and she shook her head in disbelief that the concealed device still worked. "Hello?" she answered.
"Identifier, please," came the curt reply on the other end.
"Sapphire."
"Good morning, Jill. What's the emergency?"
"I'm sorry. My boyfriend accidentally triggered it. He'll know better now." She added the last part with a sideways glance toward Ken.
The male voice chuckled slightly. "Very well. We'll be right here if you need anything. You and Ken have a Merry Christmas." Then the line clicked dead.
Jill sat on the edge of the bed, piecing together the puzzle behind the short conversation while putting the phone back on her charger.
"What is it?" Ken asked, seeing Jill deep in thought.
Jill knotted her eyebrows, still thinking about what just happened. "You found out what one of the secrets is on this pendant," she explained distantly. "It's a panic beacon. A security team from Carter calls me if it's pressed. I have different code words for different days. If I don't answer or answer incorrectly, they come in, SWAT style."
Ken grinned in disbelief. "Yeah, right."
Jill ignored him, went over to the dresser, pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and put them on, not bothering with underwear. She was mumbling to herself as she left the bedroom. "It works. They know Ken's name. 'Be right here.' I wonder..." She padded downstairs barefoot and found Kim in the music room at the front of the house, staring out the window with her arms crossed.
"I wonder what happened," Kim mused when Jill hugged her from behind.
Tail lights flashed through the trees as a car drove by. "Ken hit my button." Then Jill laughed at what that sounded like. "I mean the one on my pendant," she clarified quickly.
"Oops," Kim giggled. "I wondered who's boyfriend would be first." She welcomed the embrace by stroking Jill's forearms.
Jill rested her chin on Kim's shoulder. "Well, mine being the first one made, it doesn't have the oops-proof sequence like yours. But, that doesn't explain why they're here." She nodded toward the window and pondered that silently with Kim for a moment. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow."
"You mean later today," Kim corrected while glancing at the grandfather clock.
"Yeah. Try and get some sleep. We gotta be at her parents' house by 10." Jill kissed the back of Kim's head. "Merry Christmas."
"Hey Doug," Joe greeted the uniformed man who entered through the side door. "And I thought I was up the earliest to see what Santa brought," he grinned while neatly folding the second omelet of the morning.
"Oh no. I was Santa. At least for the admiral's family this morning." Doug looked at the food Joe was busy with. All week since Joe got there, Doug felt like he was living at a restaurant. "What are you making this morning?"
Joe handed him a laden plate. "Three-egg omelet, griddle cakes, cheese grits, and bacon. Maple syrup is in the nuker, would you mind getting it to the table?"
