Chapter Thirty Two: My Happiness Lies with You - Part Two

Warning: This chapter is NSFW

****Jeff****

The dull ache I felt in my arm as I started to wake up signaled me that I had been asleep for a while. The exact amount of time alluded me though since there was no way to tell for sure with there being no clock in the tree house; but as I fully woke up the dull ache turned into a shooting pain and I knew that we must have slept there for at least several hours.  I didn’t dare move it though since it would wake her up and I could more than live with the pain if it meant that I got to hold her. I smiled from feeling her naked body against mine and slowly opened my eyes to see her peaceful sleeping face. She had a tiny smile on her irresistible, slightly parted lips and I forced myself to turn my attention away in an effort to resist kissing them; letting her sleep for a while longer.

I averted my attention to the doorway and tried to determine what time it was. A small hint of light had started to make its appearance along the horizon and even though I didn’t know the exact time, I knew that if either of us intended to make it back to our houses before anyone woke up, we needed to get moving. I looked back down at Star and took a moment to take in the sight of her lying next to me before reluctantly deciding to wake her up. Her soft lips called out to me again, and this time I didn’t stop myself from gently placing my lips on hers. Her legs began to move and as I pulled my lips away, her eyes started blinking rapidly as she tried to get them to focus on me.

“Morning.” I breathed against her lips while my hand gently stroked her cheek. She let out a happy sigh as she smiled up at me and started to wiggle her arms out from under the blanket so she could stretch out her lean body. I took the opportunity to move my aching arm and to also admire the parts of her that were now revealed from her out-stretched arms. As my eyes scanned her perfect form, I couldn’t stop my hand from reaching out to touch her soft olive skin, but even though I wanted to run my hands all over her body, I willed myself to rest my hand on the curve of her waist. The second my hand made contact with her skin, her body relaxed and she smiled up at me. 

“Morning.” She whispered and I soon felt what I could have easily mistaken as ice cubes rubbing against my legs.

“Oh my God! Are those your feet?!” I never imagined anyone’s feet getting that cold, but as she continued to try to poke them in between my legs trying to find warmth, I was forced to face the fact that people’s feet could be the same temperature as an iceberg. As her feet continued to seek warmth, I worried that sleeping there had given her a chill. “Are you cold?”

“Only a little. . .you’re very warm.” She again smiled at me and I thought of other ways that I wanted to help warm her up, but there wasn’t time. I sighed my frustration and looked back outside at the taunting, rising sun.

“We should probably get moving. People will be waking up soon. . .” I hinted and she shook her head so hard that waves of hair flung in the air.

“We need to figure out where we want to sleep the rest of the time we’re here.” I hesitated and stared at her for a moment, wondering if I heard her right

“You mean. . .together?” She nodded as a smirk appeared on her lips but I still wasn’t fully convinced. “But, what changed your mind?”

Her smirk disappeared as she continued to look deep into my eyes. “I realized last night, after you walked me back to my house, that the possible moments of uneasiness caused by having that discussion with any of our parents were outweighed by the happiness I feel being with you. And as last night proved, the late night hours might be the only time we have any moments alone. . .” She joked but the serious expression quickly returned. “Unless you don’t want to. . .” She quickly added and I violently shook my head.

“No! I do!” She smiled at the forcefulness of my declaration and as I looked back into her amber eyes I got completely drawn in by them.  The warmth and golden color of them beckoned me to stay and gave me such a comfort when I stared into them that I didn’t want to think of looking away. As her eyes captured mine, my hand reached up to touch the soft, cool skin of her rose colored cheek. She was so beautiful, even just moments after waking up and as my mind grasped the reality of waking up next to her every single day, my breath caught and it didn’t escape her notice. 

“Are you okay?” She rested her hand on my bare chest and even though her hand felt as cold as her feet, it burned into my skin and threatened to distract me from reassuring her that I was okay.

I tried to instead concentrate on her concerned face. “I’m just thankful that I get to wake up next to you. I would have been okay with us sleeping apart, but I would have missed you; more than I would have let you know.”

Her lips spread into a sweet smile that seemed to make her eyes grow even warmer. “I don’t know if that would have lasted more than one night.”

I chuckled and nodded. “Probably not.” I then noticed a ray of light that slowly started to appear on the tree house floor behind her, and as the sunlight continued to threaten our time together, I wanted nothing more than to have the sleeping arrangement conversation with our parents. The sooner we did, the sooner we could be together and we wouldn’t have to worry about being caught sleeping together on uncomfortable wood floors. I turned my attention once again to her and pulled her body closer. “While I’m more than happy to have the discussion about sleeping arrangements with our parents, one thing that would be somewhat uncomfortable is having a discussion about sleeping in the tree house together. . .”

Chapter Thirty Two: My Happiness Lies with You - Part One

Couple notes:

- NSFW (I love being able to put that for a Jeff and Star chapter) :)

- The quote at the beginning of this chapter is the same one that is included under the title picture and sums up Jeff's journey. 

The best feeling in the world is realizing that you’re perfectly happy without the thing you thought you needed. - Unknown

****Star****

Eventually everyone started to settle down after learning about Jeff and me. As the questions started to dwindle, I glanced over at Mom and Dad and their genuine smiles reaffirmed what I already knew, they approved. I wanted so much for Jeff to know that, not just from me, but also from each of them and when Dad announced he needed to leave, I mentioned to Jeff that we should walk outside with him.  We talked about plans for the week and other light topics as we approached his car, but that stopped when we reached it and Dad turned around and looked right at Jeff. After several seconds of unbearable silence, Dad slowly smiled at him and nodded as he looked at me. “You both look happy, and I’m glad.” I noticed the subtle clues of the relief that had swept over Jeff; the way his arm and chest muscles slowly relaxed which caused his shoulders to slightly drop, and I quickly looked at his cheeks and saw those muscles relax too. 

We said our goodbyes and as I watched Dad’s car travel down the road, I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic and peaceful. Even after his car disappeared, I continued to glance around and let the memories associated with the sights, sounds, and smells to bombard me and when a light breeze began to blow, I closed my eyes and tilted my head up so I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face. At that moment, I felt completely relaxed; something that I had yearned for in the past couple of years, but hadn’t experienced very often.

As I heard another breeze start to ripple through the air, I took in a deep breath and another familiar smell caught my attention and the gentle touch of his hand on my arm pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced back into his eyes, briefly noticing the tenderness in them before their expression quickly became more serious. He slowly moved closer until our bodies nearly touched and I felt the familiar effects of being so close to him, ones that I had tried for so long to deny but had occurred for so long that I couldn’t remember when I first noticed them.  My inability to breath, the rapid beating of my heart, how I felt the heat that radiated from him, and the constant pull that I felt towards him that seemed to originate in my heart and spread through the rest of my body; they all occurred simultaneously and completely overpowered me in such a way that I wondered how I could have ever willed myself to ignore them.

The slow movement of his head as it lowered towards mine made my heart beat even faster and as his lips gently started to touch mine, I closed my eyes and everything else faded away until I was only aware of him and his gentle touch.  I felt his hands rest on my back for a moment before he tenderly pulled my body closer and I wrapped my arms around his waist as our kiss deepened and I got even more lost in it. The return of a breeze seemed to bring both of us back to reality and as we slowly parted, a smile appeared on both our faces and we each let out a happy sigh. 

We stood for several moments holding each other, eventually looking away and as he glanced around, just as I had done after Dad left, I lightly laid my head on his chest and smiled as we both looked out over the two front yards that we had played in as children.

“I miss being here.” His voice broke the silence that had been between us and I lifted my head off of his chest so I could look up at his face.

“At the ranch?”

Liebster Award

Thank you to the wonderful and kind DandyLion author of Not so Ordinary Life for nominating A Ray of Sunshine for this award. I appreciate it so much!

The Liebster Award is a way of bloggers supporting other bloggers. The rules for receiving this award are to:

• Post the award on your blog.
• Thank the blogger who presented the award and link back to their blog.
• Nominate 5-11 bloggers whom you feel deserve this award and have fewer than or equal to 3,000 followers.
• Answer 11 questions posted by the nominator, and ask your nominees 11 questions.

Nominations:  
MsMidnightBlonde for Another Life to Live
MischiefTheKitten for Whispers in the Wind
NightlockFallen for Until My Color Fades Away
Daijah V for Cold Blooded
Lckygrl for Painswater Point


DandyLion's Questions:
1) Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
 From reading other Sims stories and just reading in general. Reading great stories makes me want to improve my writing and inspires me to do better.

2) Do you use the sims as a basis for your stories or do you use it to illustrate the story?

Both. None of my stories would exist without the Sims so it's a basis for my stories but at this point, the game is used more for illustration purposes.

3) Do you ever base your characters off of real people you know?

Yes, Amanda, Carson, and Star are loosely based off of real people.
 

4) Do you plot out your stories from start to finish? or are you a seat of the pants writer? Writing what comes to mind without any plot?

I plot and then plot some more. Lol! I have rough outlines for all of my stories but every once in a while a character will throw me a curve ball and it takes the story to a place that I never imagined. It's happened more than once with Jeff and Star's story.
 

5) What is your favorite character you have ever written?

I love Trev and he's my favorite as far as personality but my favorites to write for are honestly Jeff and Star. Can I pick all three? Lol.
 

6) Which sims game do you like best? 1,2,3 or 4?

In my opinion, nothing comes close to 3. I liked 1 and 2, have tried to like 4, but there's just something that sets 3 apart for me.
 

7) Do you have a favorite town you like to use for your stories?

Appaloosa is a favorite of mine. I like all the trees and nature. 
 

8) Which POV do you prefer to write in?

I personally like to write in first person POV, but I really admire people who write in third. I tried it and was horrible at it.
 

9) Do you write out character profiles? If you do, do you do it before or after you've started writing for that character?

I always write out character profiles, well, at least for all of the main characters. I do the profiles before I start to write their stories. I didn't used to but ever since I started doing character studies, I've found that it helps me know the characters more fully which helps when writing for them.
 

10) Where do you come up with the names you use for your characters?

Since Listening children all have British influenced names and all my other stories are side ones of that, I look at the young adult version of the sim and decide which British name looks like it could belong to them. For side characters, sometimes I use an online name generator.
 

11) Do you have a set schedule to write?

No, I usually write when I'm inspired to and have time. But I do tend to write better earlier in the day.

My Questions:

1. Do any writers inspire you? Blog writers or novel writers?
2. When you have writers block, do you plow through it and keep writing or do you take a step back and take a break?
3. Are there other types of stories you're interested in writing? Some other genre that you'd like to try writing for?
4. Do you do any character development before you start writing for a character or do you figure the character out as you write for them?
5. How much editing do you do for your story? Is it an ongoing process? Do you have many drafts for your chapters?
6. Where is the weirdest place you've ever gotten inspiration for a scene for your story? 
7. If you could live with any one of your characters who would you choose, where would you live, and why?
8. What was the thing that sparked your interest and pushed you to start writing your story?
9. If you write a legacy, which is your favorite generation and why? If you write a story that isn't a legacy, what is your favorite chapter and why?
10. What is your favorite line in your story? Why?
11. What is one thing that has surprised you about your story? Has it taken a different direction than you thought? Have readers reacted different than you imagined?

Chapter Thirty One: It's Our Time

****Jeff****

We had stood at that very same spot hundreds of times in the last twenty one, almost twenty two years. Sometimes we had wondered if we would get in trouble after walking through the front doors; like the time Mom and Dad had told us to stay away from the water troughs and I accidentally fell in. We had stood at that spot with water dripping off of me wondering if we could keep the truth from them, eventually realizing that we couldn’t and had marched in to face the music. Then there had been times we stood there wondering if we could sneak in and grab a snack, usually Mom's cookies, and had developed complex strategic strikes to get said cookies; more likely than not succeeding in our mission. But none of those times had produced the uncertainty, nervousness, and feelings of excitement that the present moment did.
 

"My Mom's going to freak." Star finally broke our silence as she stared at the front door.

"Yup." I kept looking straight ahead at the house and expected a mob of excited family members to converge on us at any moment.

"You're Mom's going to freak."

"Mmmhmm." I agreed.

"My sister is going to flip."

"Definitely."

She turned and looked at me. "Your sister. . ." She started but didn't finish.

". . .I know." I slowly turned to look at her and smiled before placing my hand in hers. We both took a deep breath like we had always done as kids before we faced things together. "It'll be fine. They'll freak out, and then it'll blow over. . ." I said not sounding very convinced. 

She quickly laughed, a sound that especially now filled my heart with joy. "How many times have I heard that before. . .it'll all blow over. I should have started collecting nickels from you every time you did." She teased me and I shrugged while grinning.

"Kind of like you and Hey Jeff, watch this!" She playfully punched my arm and I chuckled. "Truth hurts, huh? How many times did you hurt yourself after you said those words?"

"Hysterical. That's what you are. . .absolutely hysterical." She playfully rolled her eyes and then glanced back at the front door. I watched her face for a moment as different emotions flashed across it.  Her mind had always processed things quickly and she could jump from one thought to the next in blinding speed. Most people missed the subtle changes in her expression and had no idea that her calm exterior hid a flurry of thoughts and reactions; the slight drop of her gaze, the brief flare of her nostrils, or even how her lips barely twitched all provided clues that she felt nervous. I gave her hand a squeeze and she turned to look at me again as I gave her a reassuring smile.  The intense glare in her eyes softened and the smile that appeared first on her lips, quickly traveled across her whole face. Satisfied that she felt less nervous, I squeezed her hand one last time before letting go and reached into the car to get Maggie. 

"I'm surprised no one’s come out to welcome us." I commented as we started walking to towards the door.

"We are early. . ." I nodded and agreed with her possible explanation. Maggie had woken early, and since we had already packed for our trip, we decided to head home a little earlier than planned.

"Still, Mom has always had this uncanny ability to know when we had company; even if we didn’t expect it." We briefly stopped in front of the door and when no one opened it, Star reached for the knob and we walked into the hallway. I quickly turned my head and checked each direction but still saw no sign of anyone. Four adults,  two children and two toddlers lived there, Star's parents should have also been there since Mom had mentioned having both of them over for breakfast. . .the house should have been bustling with activity but it was quiet, too quiet.

Chapter Thirty: Honesty

Like many chapters, this one was partially inspired by a song and of course I'm providing it for you to listen if you'd like. Y'all, thank you for being patient! This chapter and the ones following should have been published months ago but life got in the way. I hope you enjoy finally seeing these two together. :)

 

 


****Star****

As my eyes started to flicker open I saw the white stone and brick of the fireplace, and for a moment it confused me. I tried to think through the sleepy fog and slowly started to put the pieces together; I could see the fireplace, which meant that I had fallen asleep on the couch, but I had no memory of doing that. As I continued to groggily become aware of my surroundings, I started to notice how stiff my arm felt from lying there and as I thought about moving it, I was shocked by the realization that the hand which belonged to that arm was resting on another. . .it was at that moment that I completely woke up. My eyes slowly moved from the fireplace to his hand and I felt a smile slowly creep across my lips as I studied it for a moment.  

My hand seemed to dwarf his and the realization caused me to flash back to the night before and I remembered how those same large hands had gently held mine and had tenderly wiped the tears from my face.  I closed my eyes for a moment and imagined what it would feel like for his massive hands to hold me close and to lovingly caress my body. Until recently I would have tried to stop such a fantasy from entering my head, and if it had, I would have felt such unbelievable guilt and would have beaten myself up about allowing it to enter my mind.  

I would sometimes remind myself that it wasn’t wrong to have those thoughts; when I imagined being so close to him that I could feel every muscle in his body, and as I felt his chest rise and fall from breathing, I became very aware of the closeness of our bodies. I noticed how his curved around mine and how safe I felt, how our bodies seem to fit perfectly together as we lie there, how his arm wrapped protectively around my waist. I may not have remembered what it felt like to fall asleep next to him, but I then knew what it felt like to wake up with him and I didn’t want to spend another night apart. But how did I tell him that? How did I admit to him, the person I had yearned to be with for so long, that the thought of being separated from him even for a minute caused so much pain that it literally made my heart hurt? I still had so many unanswered questions and uncertainties when it came to us that I wondered if such a declaration would push him away, especially if he didn’t feel the same.

I shook my head knowing that those had been some of the same thoughts that had kept me from talking to Jeff about my feelings. I had hoped that if the time ever came that we talked, that the uncertainty and fear would completely disappear. I should have known better; one night of admissions didn’t erase years of uncertainty.  We had made a start, and talked about things that we needed to talk about; but we had barely skimmed the surface. I knew from therapy that my emotions ran deep when it came to what happened between him and me and how I felt about him, and I felt certain that the same held true for Jeff. It would take time to sort through those feelings but I hoped that we could do that, together.

All I had to do was remember our kiss to prove the depth and strength of our emotions. After he had told me he loved me, I had been overwhelmed from actually hearing it and had barreled into him, unable to hold in the feelings that I had felt for so long. After his initial shock, he had responded in the same way and for a brief moment, we had fully connected. Our thoughts, desires, and bodies were in harmony and it felt glorious. As it ended though, the uncertainty had returned and I worried that my reaction had been way off, even though he had responded the same way. It was a constant battle that raged inside me; on one side laid all my dreams and desires that screamed out and wanted to break free, but on the other lay the worry and doubt that always threatened to silence them.

I knew that in order for my worries and doubts to lessen we needed to really talk and be completely honest about our fears and the scars that had formed on our hearts, but I also knew that thinking about doing that scared the crap out of me.

I froze as I suddenly felt his arm that had been resting around my waist move slightly and soon felt his breath on my neck as his face nuzzled into it. "Morning." He whispered and his breath and hairs from his beard caused a tickle to travel from the spot on my neck down my back, and I was surprised to hear a small giggle escape from the sensation. He chuckled and I turned around to look at him and his expression instantly changed from a sleepy smile to his brows coming together and his lips curving down. "What's wrong?" He asked.

I didn’t even have time to tell him good morning before he had sensed that something seemed wrong.  I started to panic, wanting more time to think about how to approach talking about. . .everything. " Why would you think something's wrong?"  I purposely didn’t answer his question and tried to stall for more time.

He smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. "Because even though there are times that I don't know what's going on in your head, I've known you for almost twenty two years and I know that look in your eyes. You're worrying about something."