Expectations

"Honey, if we keep seeing each other you're going to have to talk to Ryan and let him know."

"Why? He already likes you."

"Yes, but he likes me as the person who helped him. He may not like the fact that we're seeing each other."

"Raija, I have no intention of letting Ryan decide who I can and can't date."

"That's not the issue. I have a relationship with Ryan based on trust. I don't want that broken and I don't want us to get too much further into this relationship before we find out that if it's a problem for him."

Galen sighed and looked at Raija. They were spending another weekend together, this time at his home and were sitting in the backyard on lounge chairs. They had been reading in silence until now. She was curled up with a book about vampire, werewolf and monster hunters having sex while he was reading the latest book by a conservative columnist.

"We're also going to have to talk about your reading material Galen."

"What?"

"How can you read that garbage? It's all about maintaining the status quo. I didn't realize that you were a conservative Republican."

"I'm not. I'm a fiscally conservative socially moderate Republican who happens to like this

particular columnist."

"How can you be fiscally conservative and socially moderate, with the current administration in power?"

"I don't agree with everything that comes out of the administration, but I do think they have some good ideas that fall in line with my beliefs."

"Even so, their agenda isn't focused on your beliefs."

"I take it that you're a liberal Democrat?"

"I'm liberal, but I'm not tied to any particular party. I vote for whoever best represents my

beliefs."

"We're going to have to agree to disagree. If James and Mary could do it, so can we. And

speaking of garbage reading material, you're reading about werewolves and vampires having sex."

"It's called chick literature and it's good. So there." She stuck her tongue out at him and buried her nose in her book.

As they spent more time together, they learned more about one another's beliefs and values and their relationship grew beyond the bounds of sex.

"So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"I'm flying home to New Hampshire to visit my family. What about you and Ryan?"

"He's spending Thanksgiving with his mother and Christmas with me. I'll probably go over to my parent's house."

Raija looked at Galen for a moment. "You're welcome to come home with me. I'm sure they'd love to have you there and I know I would."

"Are you sure?

"I asked you, which means that I'm sure."

Galen grinned to himself; he'd wanted to spend Thanksgiving with her and whether here in Texas or in New Hampshire, it didn't matter. He was looking forward to meeting her family and seeing her in her native environment.

"Galen, have you ever skied?"

"No, is it a requirement to be in your family?" He paused for a second. "Not that I'm asking about being in your family, I just wanted to know." Hell!

Raija ignored Galen's discomfort. "Well, we do all ski in one form or another. My parents are

cross-country skiers and my sister, brother and I are downhill skiers. New Hampshire is supposed to get a ton of snow the day before turkey day and we normally go skiing or ice-skating after dinner."

* * * * *

On the flight to New Hampshire, Galen grabbed Raija's hand and held tight.

"Problems with flying Galen?"

"No. Problem with small planes." They were seated on a small regional jet and Galen could swear that he felt each and every bump as the plane raced through clouds

Raija laced her fingers with his and turned to stare out the window. She loved flying and everything associated with it; airports, checking luggage and watching the planes taxi.

* * * * *

Raija and Galen picked up their rental car and argued over who would drive. "Galen, have you ever driven in snow?" Snow was falling slowly, but from experience Raija knew that even a small amount of snow could be disastrous on the roads.

"Nope." Galen continued holding the keys over her head.

"Then why can't I drive?"

"Because I'm the boy and it's my job." Galen laughed at the disbelief on her face

"Fine, but if you get us stuck in the snow, I'm not helping you dig us out."

On the ride to her parent's home, Raija pointed out landmarks of interest. "That's where we would go every summer for ice cream." "Oh, that's where we get our clam rolls." "That's where we get our apples in the fall."

"Okay, does every memory for your family center around food?"

"Of course. It does for every New Englander. Apples, maple syrup, cranberries, blueberries, ice cream, clam rolls, chowder, lobster bisque."

At the last mention, she had a dreamy look on her face.

"I thought you only made those sounds and had that look when we make love?" He frowned in mock disappointment.

She smiled. "Is that what we're doing Galen? Making love?"

"It's what I'm doing and I hope you're not just fucking some white guy." Galen howled when she punched him on the arm.

"Of course not. Oh crap, the farm stand is already closed." She was so adorable with her bottom lip pouting out.

They pulled into the driveway of her parent's saltbox colonial and she ran up onto the porch. She waited for Galen who was carrying both their suitcases. She twisted the front door and held it open for him.

"Do your parents always leave the front door unlocked like that?"

"Of course. They've had this house for forty years, I'm not sure that they even know where the keys are anymore. Galen, this is New Hampshire, the whole state is pretty much one big country town."

She thought for a moment. "Except for Nashua, Salem and Portsmouth, and we've pretty much given those over to Massachusetts."

"Hey, I'm home."

Raija's parents came out of the kitchen giggling. They both had grey hair and wore glasses. Despite the grey hair, they looked very young and energetic. Her mother's hair was cut short and fit her head like a little cap. She also had a floured handprint on the one of her butt cheeks and the front of her shirt, immediately over her right breast.

Raija smiled before sternly telling them, "I'd expect the two of you to show some decorum when you know I'm bringing someone home with me."

Her mother spoke up. "We could get in the habit of that if you'd ever brought someone home with you before."

"Hey baby, come give your old man a hug." Raija went into her father's arms and nestled deep. Her father stared at Galen for a long while, the message on his face clear to Galen.

From the stairs a voice piped up, "They've never shown any decorum when we've brought anyone home with us, so why start with you?"

A petite blonde waif floated down the stairs. She turned her attention to Galen and almost purred. "I'm Lauren." She winked at Galen before turning her gaze to Raija. "I see you're still going with the natural hair thing." The comment was made dismissively and the hurt shone in Raija's eyes for a moment before being overcome by resignation.

"And I see you're still doing the I'm a bitch, thing. Looks like nothing has changed then."

Raija walked into the kitchen at the rear of the house and Lauren once again turned her gaze on Galen.

She licked her lips and Galen secretly thought that given the amount of frosted lipstick she had on, she would probably be sick to her stomach in a while. "So, you're dating my sister. Why?"

There was a subtle emphasis put on the word sister but Galen caught it nonetheless and he wanted to raise his hand to her. He'd never struck a woman before, but he was a believer that if a woman hit you, or hurt someone you cared about, that they could be dealt with the same way as a man.

He left her standing in the hallway and followed Raija into the warm kitchen. She had her back to him and was staring out the window into the wooded backyard. He stepped up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her back into his embrace.

"I'm sorry but she is a horrible person. How could your parents just stand there and let her spew her bitterness?"

Raija sighed and turned around to face him. "They've always fostered a hand's off approach to their children's problems, letting us try to work them out on our own. Lauren has become more difficult since she lost her husband in an accident a couple of years ago." Raija stood on her tiptoes and kissed him briefly on

the mouth.

"Hey now, I heard you were home and you didn't come to find me?" Her brother was a male version of Lauren. Just nicer. Much nicer.

"Hey, you must be Galen or else I'm in trouble." He grinned before shaking Galen's hand and sticking his hand in Raija's hair.

"Larry, I've told you before, get control of your HIF disease before I chop your hand off."

"HIF disease?"

"Hand in 'fro disease. He can't keep his hands out of my hair."

"And I've told you not to call me Larry. It's Lawrence. Why they couldn't name me something else don't know." This was Lawrence's yearly protest against his name. It had been happening every year since he turned 12 and felt that Larry was too geeky. "I put your bags up in your room."

Galen looked uncomfortable, "Maybe I should stay in a hotel?"

"Galen, you're the first guy she's ever brought home, don't worry about it. Plus Mom and Dad will be making so much noise that any thoughts you have about sex will be immediately and permanently driven from you while you are in this house."

Raija shuddered. Her parents were not shy about their sex lives and were often quite vocal. That any of the kids had ventured into sex at all was a miracle.

Raija spent some time helping her parents with dinner preparations for the following day until they shooed her out of the kitchen. She walked into the family room to find Galen sitting in the lone chair in the room, with Lauren sitting opposite him on the sofa and Lawrence on the floor fiddling with the TV. She didn't trust the gleam in Lauren's eyes when she looked at Galen but she did trust Galen.

"It's late and I think I'm going to head off to bed."

Galen jumped up from his chair and stood next to her. They said goodnight to everyone and headed

upstairs.

Raija's old room was similar to her current bedroom. There were mirrors on the sliding doors of the closet and a big pillow laden bed.

She went to the bathroom across the hall to wash up and put on her pajamas and slid into bed as took her place in the bathroom.

He wandered back into the bedroom dressed in long flannel pajama pants that she'd bought him before the trip.

"Galen, lock the door."

He engaged the lock on the bedroom door and slid into bed next to her.

"Don't even think about it Galen."

"What?" Although he knew very well that she was ordering him not to put his cold feet on her.

"Thanks for coming home with me."

"Where you are, is where I want to be."

They listened to the sounds the rest of the family made as everyone made their way to bed. When all was silent in the house Raija turned to him, resting on her side. Her eyes drifted over his strong features, lingering on his lips. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his chin before settling her nose into the hollow at the base of his neck. She stroked his skin lazily with her tongue, relishing his unique taste.

As much as Galen wanted to keep things quiet in her parent's home, her tongue was driving him crazy. He felt himself grow heavy and thick with need and couldn't keep from reaching for her. He took her mouth with an almost desperate intensity, sucking on her tongue and lips.

Raija broke their kiss and moved to stand next to the bed, on the side facing the closet. She held out her hand and he followed her. Standing next to her he allowed her to take the lead in their lovemaking and she directed him to sit on the straight-backed chair next to the bed.

Going up on her toes, she straddled his lap facing him, stroking herself along the length of his

hardness. He could feel her pouring her juices out onto his shaft and restrained himself from taking over.

She slid off his lap and straddled him again, this time with her back to his chest. They could both

clearly see their reflections in the mirror and he felt himself grow harder. She wrapped one hand around his shaft and held it as she slid down onto him. His hands automatically went to her waist to steady her and she began rising and falling on him.

"I love what you do to me'."

With that admission, she turned her head to seek out his mouth. Galen's hands stayed her hips from their pattern as he held her down so that his entire length was inside her.

She mewled as she tried to move against him but he'd had enough of letting her have her way. He spread his thighs, which forced hers open even further. The lips of her pussy opened and he stared, entranced by the vision in the mirror. Her darkness surrounding him, the glint of her hood jewelry flashing in the moonlight that streamed into the room through the blind covered window. Her nipples proudly pointing outward, begging for attention.

He circled one arm around her torso and his long fingers plucked at her left nipple. Stroking and then pinching. She tried moving her hips against him but he stilled her. He watched his other hand in the mirror as it made it's way to her pussy. Fingers combing through her curls before tapping her clit.

That tap stroked everything feminine inside her. She wanted to feel him stroking inside her, bringing him pleasure. He circled her clit, varying speeds until her head fell back against his shoulder.

"Galen don't tease me. Please." He placed a kiss along her shoulder.

"I'm not teasing you darlin'. I just need you to cum for me."

He picked up his pace on her clit while his other hand migrated to her other breast. More pulling pressure that made her moan.

"Shh darlin', you don't want them to know what you're doing do you?"

Raija's legs began to tremble and he knew that she was close. He picked up his tempo on her clit began licking her neck. She cried out and he felt her spasm around his cock. Before her orgasm had ended, he'd started moving his hips, urging her to move up and down on him.

The sight of the two of them in the mirror was one of the most erotic things he'd ever seen. He loved the play of their skin against each other. He loved having her and the way she gave herself over to him without reservation.

"I'm going to cum baby." It happened at the same time he said it. His body emptied itself inside her and he placed his hands over her abdomen. They'd each been tested for STDs and once those results came back clear, they'd forgone using condoms and instead relied on her hormonal patch to avoid pregnancy.

When she made to move off him, he stilled her. "Just let me stay inside you for a while."

At some point in the night, Galen wound up inside Raija. She woke to him softly pumping his hips with sounds of pleasure spilling out of his mouth. He had a soft pant and groan that made her weak in her knees every time she heard it.

"What a nice way to wake up."

He groaned as she reached behind her and cupped his testicles. "I'm sorry, I needed to have you."

"You don't ever have to apologize for loving me Galen."

Galen continued his pumping, unable to wait for her to catch up with his arousal. This would be the first time he'd cum without making sure that she had cum first. Emptying himself into her body again, he sighed deeply. He felt as though he could spend the rest of his life loving her.

"So what's going on with your sister?" His words broke the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"She seems a little hostile to you having me here."

"She's always thought it had to a competition between us. Whenever I would date someone she would immediately start hitting on them, trying to get their attention. It's as though she needed to prove that she was better than I was."

"Fat chance of that."

Raija smiled in the darkness and Galen could see her teeth shine in the mirror. "You don't have to worry about her with me you know."

"Never thought I did Galen, never thought I did."

* * * * *

The next day was a lazy one, full of nibbling on food and lying around the house. At 3, her father decided that not enough snow had fallen for skiing and announced that he and her mother wanted some time to themselves. The group of kids headed out to the discount movie theater, Raija, Lawrence and Galen in one car and Lauren in another. She had plans to visit a friend later. At the theater, the group debated what to watch. Raija and Lawrence wanted to watch a previously released action movie while Lauren wanted to watch a romance movie and Galen wanted to watch a movie about penguins.

Raija teased him mercilessly about the penguin movie but gave in and watched it with him while Lawrence grumbled non-stop about being stuck watching a romance with his sister. The way he grumbled, you would have sworn that he was 16 and stuck babysitting.

On the way home, the group passed by an adult toy store and Lawrence pulled into the drive. "Every

other store is closed but this one?!"

Raija laughed and got out of the car. "Okay, at the register you have to turn your head so you don't see what I'm buying."

Galen looked at her, "Why do I need to turn my head?"

"Not you, Lawrence!"

Lawrence turned to look at her, "Whatever."

As they entered the brightly lit store, Galen looked down at his feet. Raija grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her. She stopped in front of a display case of brightly colored glass dildos.

"Glass, wouldn't that hurt?"

"They're supposed to retain body heat. But I'm not paying that much for one."

"Why would you need one at all darlin'?"

Galen looked genuinely hurt.

"Honey, you're not with me all the time and sometimes I replay our lovemaking in my mind or I just start thinking about you and then I need to take myself."

She then dragged him over to the section that held all the restraint gear. "Uhm, honey, I know you like a little pressure but I don't think I can tie you up and beat you."

"Then how about you let me do you. No, just kidding, I'm looking for something specific."

Raija grabbed a package before Galen could see what it was. She wandered off to look at something else and Galen went back to the dildo display. She met up with him as they each finished checking out at the registers. They were in different lines so they couldn't see what one another had purchased, but she noticed the gleam in his eyes.

They had to wait a few minutes before Lawrence showed up at the car, with a lipstick smear on his jaw and Raija wanted to know where he'd managed to pick up a woman in an adult toy store.

"You just have to know where to look kiddo."

The rest of the week flew by and on Saturday, they were homeward bound. She'd made Lawrence promise to come visit her and extended the same welcome to Lauren who stared pensively at Lawrence.

Raija was busy for two solid weeks with an influx of child court cases and didn't see Galen at all. She talked to him every night and they argued about which version of Rudolph was better, if Fruitcake was actually meant to be eaten and whether you could be a vegetarian if you still ate fish.

Galen invited her to his parents' Holiday open house and she accepted. He agreed to come down and spend the weekend with her before the Holiday party and she ordered him to bring his purchases from the toy store with him.

They ordered in pizza and curled up in her bed watching "A Toy Story". At the end of the movie, she invited him to open his bag so she could see what he'd bought. He pulled out the blue and white swirled glass dildo. She grew wet just thinking of him usingit with her that night. He had also purchased a beginner's butt plug and plenty of lube.

She held up the butt plug and grinned at him. "Is this for you?"