'Til Death Do Us Part

The next morning, I awoke with a groan. My head was throbbing, and the sunlight coming through the window was not helping at all. Next to me, something moved — startling me a bit — but I calmed down once I realized who it was. Jimmy, who was usually awake before me, was still sound asleep with his arms wrapped securely around me. Because of the gel he had in his hair the night before, his hair was sticking up in all kinds of weird angles, making me smile at the catastrophe. He wasn't wearing anything more than his boxers, which led me to discover that I was also in only my underwear. Jimmy always looked so cute and peaceful when he was asleep that it almost made me wish he was asleep all the time — but I said almost. He's much more fun awake.

Pushing his arms off of me didn't exactly succeed in waking him up. All it did was cause him to move and bring me closer to him. Jimmy likes to move and talk in his sleep, and even though it can kind of be annoying in the morning — especially when I have to pee — I think it's [strike]kind of [/strike] adorable.

Reaching up, I started running my hands through his hair as I placed a few kisses here and there along his jawline. I heard him groan as he began to wake up with fluttering eyes. I pulled back from his face to see him grinning at me, groggily.

"Is that what I miss when I go to the studio?" He mumbled, pulling my body on top of his. His hands were laced together and resting on the curve of my back.

"Oh, you miss much, much more than that, love."

"Don't tease me, Serenity." He groaned, letting go of me.

"Okay, okay," I huffed, moving my legs so that I was straddling his waist. "Come take a shower with me,"

"Do I have to be a good boy?" He grinned as I climbed off of him and the bed.

Turning to him with a smirk, I knew a seductive twinkle could be seen in my ever-changing eyes. "Who said you had to be good?"

He looked at me with lust-filled eyes. "Come here!" I squealed as he practically jumped at me, running into the bathroom with Jimmy hot on my heels.



A few hours later, Jimmy and I were watching movies from our places on the couch. Jimmy was stretched across the cushions of the couch, lying on his back with me lying comfortably on top of him. One of Jimmy's favorite movies — a weird show called Beetle Juice that I found intriguing — was playing on the flat screen before us. We were having one of our cuddling sessions, and I loved it. It was during our cuddling moments that Jimmy showed a different side of his self — a softer, more affectionate side that I absolutely adored. It's this side of him that makes me fall in love with him more and more every time I see it.

Jimmy's left hand moved to trace random patterns on the exposed skin of my hip while his right hand went to play with the ends of my curly brown hair. My head was resting on his clothed chest, allowing me to hear the rhythm of his heart that seemed to match my own in synchronized beats. Our legs were haphazardly entangled together at the end of the couch. My left hand was folded underneath me while my other hand was placed on Jimmy's chest.

The two of us were lounging around in nothing but our underwear, somehow able to remain nonsexual. Jimmy was wearing black and red boxers paired with a black muscle shirt and socks on his feet. I was wearing a black tank top with leopard lace panties, and a pair of unmatched socks on my feet.

In public — or in front of our friends even — we were loud and didn't show much affection towards each other. We don't kiss or hold hands, and we rarely say 'I love you' to one another. Our relationship is mainly personal and confined to closed doors. We do sit together and share secret smiles in public. We just have our own way of showing affection that no one else seems to understand.

Our marriage isn't based completely around being together 24/7. We give each other space to breathe. He spends time with the guys, and I spend time with the girls. We never have to worry about the other one finding someone else to go home with, because, believe it or not,
we're too caught up in each other; and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Behind closed doors, when it's just the two of us, we are completely different. We kiss, we cuddle, and we make love. I guess you could say our soft sides come out when it's just the two of us.

"You know what I just realized?" Jimmy piped up, moving his attention from the movie to me.

"What?" I asked, tilting my head up to look at him.

"You never talk about your time in New York when you were a model." He stated, making me cringe. "Why is that, Sereh?"

I sighed against his chest, trying not to think about that part of my life. "It's not exactly something I'm comfortable talking about." I explained, avoiding eye contact with him.

Jimmy put his finger under my chin, using it to push my chin upwards so that I was facing him. "What happened?" He asked, concern deep within his blue orbs.

"Well," I began. "Once it went public that I was a lingerie model, people went crazy. Wherever I went, there was always someone trying to manhandle me. Guys would try to take advantage of me, always making some kind of sexual comment about me. Then, I started getting stalkers. I would get scary texts from people I didn't even know. And, none of it was happening to the other models — only me." I continued on, noticing the array of emotions in his eyes. "The last straw for me was when a photographer hit me, busting my lip open. Being only 21, I quit modeling to attend college in California. And you know the rest . . . "

"Wow, Serenity, I had no idea." Jimmy murmured, rubbing my back soothingly. "I'm sorry."

"It's all in the past." I shrugged. "Without it, I never would have met you."

Pushing myself up, I leaned over to press an innocent kiss on his lips. When I moved away to lay back down, Jimmy flipped us over so that he was leaning over me instead. He moved his hands to my hips,
smirking down at me as I moved my arms around his neck. This time, Jimmy hungrily pressed his lips to mine, allowing our tongues to battle for dominance. Like most times, he won until it was time for
the both of us to breathe.

He placed his forehead against mine, moving his hands to cup my cheeks. "One day, you're gonna be the death of me," He sighed, closing his eyes momentarily.

"I think you have it all wrong, Jimbo." I chuckled. "It's more like you will be the death of me."

"Really now?" he retorted, moving so that he was straddling my waist.

Before I could object, his lips were spread into a full-blown smirk and his fingers were dancing across my skin. I squirmed and squirmed some more, trying to escape his tickling charade, but he didn't let up. I was extremely ticklish, and he knew I was. It was something he would, sadly, never forget. He knew all the places I was extremely ticklish, the places I was most sensitive, and the places to kiss. He knew just what to do to drive me insane; good ways and bad. He knew what buttons to push — only he usually chose not to push them.

Just when I thought I couldn't breathe anymore, the house phone saved me. Jimmy reached over the back of the couch to grab the cordless, his other hand pausing in it's place upon my hip.

"Hello?" He called into the receiver. "Yeah, hang on. She's right here." Then, he handed me the black cordless device not even two seconds later.

"Hello?" I asked, wondering who it could be that was calling.

"I don't even want to know what you were doing before I called." I heard my cousin say.

"Well, hello to you too, Whittier."

She laughed, "Hey, Chica."

"So, what's up?"

"Well . . . I miss the beach!"

"Yes, I know you do." I chuckled. "What's new about that? You always miss it here."

"It means I'm coming to see you!" She exclaimed, excitedly.

"When?" I asked her, getting excited myself. I hadn't seen her in forever.

"Saturday,"

"Aw," I pouted, making Jimmy laugh. "It's only Monday!"

"I know but Saturday is the soonest my agent would allow me to leave."

"It's all good, I guess. You'll be here soon enough." I shrugged, though she couldn't see me.

"Oh, I cannot wait! I feel I haven't seen you in forever!"

"You were down here for my wedding."

"Yeah, but that was almost a year ago." She told me, matter of factually. "So, how is Jimmy?"

Whittier Ann Marshall is the best cousin I could ever ask for. She lives in Los Angeles, but we rarely see each other. She's a famous backup dancer, and her schedule keeps her pretty busy. When we do get to see each other, it is all fun and giggles. We've been more like sisters than cousins ever since we were little. She's always been there for me, no matter what. I don't know what I'd do without her,
sometimes.

"He's pretty good," I told her, smirking at the man in question.

Whittier had lived here in Huntington Beach for a while before her career got big. Back before Jimmy and I started dating, Whittier, Veronica, and I were inseparable. We did everything together.

"Oh! I gotta go! I'm sorry for cutting this short, but my agent is calling. I'll talk to you later, Serenity! I love you," She exclaimed, followed by the dial-tone.

Pulling the phone from my face, I quickly pressed the end button to silence the more than obnoxious sound. Jimmy, who was still straddling my waist, took the phone from me and placed it on the charging base. When he was done, he looked down at me with dark, clouded eyes that let me know just what he wanted from me. He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine hungrily. He ran his hands along my hips, using his thumbs to trace patterns along the exposed skin. I placed my arms
around his neck, running my hands through his dark hair. Our bodies were practically molded together, fitting like two puzzle pieces that didn't want to part.

My mind began to cloud over with lust as Jimmy's lips fell in sync with mine and his fingers worked their magic on my skin. Jimmy could make me hot by doing the simplest of things. Just a simple touch
leaves me wanting more nine times out of ten.

His lips moved down to kiss along the line of my jaw and further down to my neck, where he began to run his tongue along the contours of my neck, biting here and there to leave his mark and entice a moan out of me.

"At least someone is getting laid!"