Kiss the Flame

Beth unlocked the door to Mike’s house and pushed it open wide enough for Mike to walk through as he carried a sleeping Stella. It was 11pm and she had fallen back asleep on the way home. After trick or treating everyone went back to Sabrina’s for hot cider and hot chocolate and to check through the children’s candy. By the end all the kids were sleeping before they left her house and Mike had to carry Stella to the car and now into his house.

Beth smiled as she watched the man carry his sleeping daughter up the stairs and disappear into her bedroom. She just closed the front door when Mike poked his head back out of the bedroom for a minute, “Beth?”

Glancing up at the sound of her name she spied Mike and smiled. “Yea?”

“I’m bushed; I wanna go to bed as soon as I get Stella taken care of.”

“Sure,” Beth responded but smiling to herself since sleep was the last thing on her mind. She quickly went up the stairs; pausing to give a quick kiss to Mike who was still standing by Stella’s door before heading down the hall to his bedroom. She paused for a minute, ‘Our bedroom,’ she thought as she corrected herself. Smiling she continued inside and rummaged through some bags to find what she was looking for. Chuckling out loud when her hands came across a plastic bag, Beth quickly yanked it out from its hiding place and ran from the bedroom only to disappear into the nearby guest bedroom with her bounty.

Mike softly closed Stella’s bedroom door and stretched his arms up over his head and cracked his back. Yawning loudly as he walked toward their bedroom, quickening his pace as he thought of finding her already in bed. He opened the door and frowned as he glanced toward the empty bed. Cocking his head to the side in puzzlement he walked through the doorway as he pulled his shirt off, up and over his head. The noise of the door shutting behind him made him spin around on his heel. He blinked and rubbed his eyes as if not truly believing what he was seeing.

When Mike came into the room Beth pushed the door shut from where she was hiding behind it. She watched as Mike spun around at the sound of the door clicking shut and had to suppress an outright chuckle at the comical look that graced his face when he saw her standing there; in her second Halloween costume of the night. This one was a little more adult themed than the tamer costume of earlier. He strawberry blonde hair was brushed until it gleamed and fell in waves about her shoulders. The Amazon outfit that consisted of a barely there top and bottom set, not unlike a bikini and was topped off by wrist and ankle bracelets. “You may pick your jaw off from the floor now,” she said with the hint of a smirk.

Mike was dazed and confused at the sight before him. All thoughts of being tired left his body as all his blood seemed to settle south of the border. The sound of her voice finally jarred him back from where ever his brain had suddenly taken a vacation to. “Wha-what?” he stuttered as he tried to regain some sort of control over his body, knowing that if he didn’t he would last longer than some young teenage boy. When she smirked again this time at his lack of verbal skills, something went off in his head as his thoughts became crystal clear. “To what do I owe this outfit too?” he said as he began to erase the distance between them.

“Oh I don’t know…” she said as she playfully shrugged her shoulders. “I thought that since you did the dad thing earlier you might like to do the wild thing later.”

Raising an eyebrow at her simple yet complex reasoning he smiled almost predatorily. “Oh did you now,” he replied with a smirk of his own. Quickly turning on the balls of his feet he changed his direction while raising his arms and giving what sounded like the fakest of all fake yawns. “I guess you thought wrong. I’m too tired…” he never got to finish his sentence as something that felt like a bee all of a sudden stung him in the ass. “What the fuck?” he cried out as he tried to turn around to view what had bit him on the ass.

“Too tired huh?” Beth said as the ‘bee’ stung Mike on the ass again.

Yelping again at the sting Mike turned quickly and caught a glimpse of something behind Beth’s back, “What’s that you’re hiding there?” he asked as he rubbed his sore buttock.

“Nothing,” she replied cheekily. “I thought a saw a wasp or something flying around.”

Frowning Mike nodded absently as he turned once again to walk toward the bed. When he felt the ‘sting’ again he whirled around and made a mad grab for what was causing him the slight pain. He heard a throaty laugh and looked down at what was caught in between his hands and when his brain registered it; his eyes went wide for a moment. Nestled in his hands was the business end of a bull whip. Still holding it tightly his eyes traveled down the length to the woman wielding the other end with such precision. “Where the… what the fuck…” he started to say until he was interrupted by the woman’s laughter again. Narrowing his eyes he started to pull on his end and like a fisherman reeling in the ‘big one’, Mike reeled in his prize.

Beth didn’t bother holding back the chuckles as she watched Mike pull her hand over hand closer to where he stood. When they were nose to nose, figuratively speaking, Mike kissed her gently on the lips. Within moments he heard her soft moan and without making an additional sound he quickly wound the bull whip around her wrists like a rope. Breaking apart and breathing slightly heavy himself he grinned that wicked grin at her, “You Jane?” Breathlessly she nodded her agreement. “Me Tarzan; you Jane.” Before she could squeak out another syllable he swooped her up and over his shoulder and carried her to their bed; roughly tossing her down upon it.

Beth landed with a soft thump and she gazed back up into Mike’s eyes and returned his grin with one of her own. “Bring it on monkey boy; show me why you’re called King of the Jungle.”

Back across town Sabrina had a warm washcloth and was wiping off the chocolate stains from a certain young Wright’s mouth; well really not his mouth but rather his whole face. They were alone in the Oakland house; everyone including Tre had already left and gone home with sleeping children in tow. A small chuckle escaped from the woman as she wondered how on earth the kids actually fell asleep after consuming what was a huge amount of sugar and chocolate.

As her own child slept she quickly washed him up as best as she could. Once done she quickly peeled TJ out of his once cute and pristine cow costume which was now dirty from chocolate stains around the hood and down the front. She tossed the ruined cow outfit across the room and watched as it landed with a quiet thump in the dirty clothes basket. With the speed of a parent she changed him out of his dirty diaper and got a clean one in record time.

She grabbed a clean wet wipe and made sure that her son was chocolate free before getting his little footie jammies on. Picking up the still sleeping infant Sabrina thanked the gods that TJ slept like his father did; like a log with nothing waking either of them up for anything. She placed him on his back in his crib and kissed his cheek. Straightening up, her back cracked and a grimace came over her face as a twinge of pain reared its ugly head in her back. “I’m getting too old,” she muttered out loud to herself as she massaged the small of her back. Glancing down at the infant she wondered how long she’d be around for him and blinking back the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes she pushed the thought right out of her head. She sighed as she felt her back calm down and with one last look at her son, she turned on his monitor and grabbed the receiver and quietly left the room.

November then bullied its way through the Oakland area. Everyone seemed to blink and all of a sudden Thanksgiving was upon them. Sabrina sat at her kitchen table sipping a rocks glass of Jack Daniel’s as the nearing empty bottle sat next to her on the table. It was around 7 pm Thanksgiving night and it was dark out and she was all alone. She thought about everybody and how they were with their family and she was not. She chugged the rest of the glass of JD and didn’t even feel the fire burn down her throat.

Mike, Stella and Beth went to his mom’s place to dinner with his family which included Maya driving up from LA with her husband and kids. They planned on staying the night so they could eat their fill and not have to worry about driving home. Billie and his family had gone out to Minnesota to visit Adie’s family for the holiday; they had left a few days ago and weren’t expected back until next week.

Tre’s parents had invited everyone including Sabrina up to the hills for dinner and an overnight stay but when Jill pitched such a fit and threatened to make life miserable for Tre’s parents; she had taken the high road and offered Tre to take TJ and she would stay behind so Jill wouldn’t ruin dinner for his family. When Tre showed up early that morning to pick up TJ, Sabrina had him all ready to go and had a diaper bag ready to go. Sabrina closed her eyes at the sight of his sad eyes as he took their son and left her behind.

Linda, Tre’s mother had called a few hours ago to let her know that TJ was okay and that she and Frank Sr. missed not having Sabrina there but thanked her for allowing TJ to visit. In the background Sabrina could hear Jill’s voice bitching about Linda calling her and as to avoid trouble for the older woman Sabrina quickly ended the conversation. After hanging up with tears stinging her eyes, Sabrina got up and grabbed the half empty bottle of JD and a glass and sat back down and tried to drink her loneliness away. By the time 7pm rolled around, the bottle was just about empty and Sabrina was just about gone.

Tre’s birthday began as any normal day for Sabrina and TJ did except this day Tre was taking TJ alone with Ramona, Frankito, Claudia and Jill out for an early dinner; or rather they were taking him out. As Sabrina was getting TJ’s jacket on she heard Ramona shout through the house, “Mombee? Where are you?”

Smiling at the sound of the young girl Sabrina picked TJ up and walked out of his room and looked down to where Ramona was waiting. “Hurry Mombee, Dad’s got the truck running and is waiting for me to get TJ.” She had already grabbed the small diaper bag and waiting for Sabrina to come down the stairs. The now 12 year old girl waited and took TJ from the woman at the bottom of the stairs. “Bye Mombee, we’ll be back later,” she said while turning around and heading out the door with the infant.

A couple hours later Sabrina was on the computer when Tre strolled in with TJ, “We’re home!” he shouted sounding like Ricky Ricardo. Shaking her head Sabrina got up and walked out into the great room where Tre was placing the now 8 month old on the floor and pulling off his jacket before he started to crawl away. “God he’s getting big,” he said as he watched TJ motor away on all hands and feet.

“Yea he is. He just started doing that a week or so ago. Pretty soon he’ll be trying to say Momma as he pulls himself up on the couch to stand up.”

Tre stood for a minute watching his son before turning back to Sabrina, “Soooo.”

Sabrina looked back at the man before her with a quizzical look on her face. “Huh?”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“Like what?”

“I dunno…” the man said looking innocent and digging his toe into the floor. “Or maybe give something to me?”

Sabrina stood there shocked for a minute before the anger seeped its way into her heart. Clenching her fists she walked over to pick TJ off of the floor. Turning around she went to walk past Tre but stopped to face him, “You asshole; I don't expect much if anything out of you anymore, so don't expect gifts from me...you made your choice in Jill. Our bond ends with our son and that's as far as it'll ever go again.” She brushed by him as he stood there speechless. “You know where the door is,” she said as she climbed the stairs not looking back, leaving Tre standing there.

The holiday season came and Sabrina decided that she wasn’t going to spend another holiday alone. Calling Chris at the farm she found out that he planned on spending Christmas at home since they went to Tanya’s parent’s house for Thanksgiving. Smiling she made plans to come home for the holidays and spend it with her family at her home. When got done calling home Sabrina called Beth to see if she wanted to hitch a ride back to New York so she could visit with her family. The two women soon made plans and went about informing the others of their trip back to New York.

When the 22nd came the women packed up their bags and Mike drove them to the airport so board Sabrina’s jet. As the flight attendants grabbed suitcases, Sabrina unhooked TJ’s car seat from the back seat of Mike’s BMW leaving the boy still strapped in since he was sleeping. She turned to Mike and went to say goodbye but saw Beth and him having a private moment so she just went to the jet and boarded without saying goodbye.

When Mike stopped the car and popped the trunk he quickly got out and went over to Beth’s door to open it and help her out. He offered her his hand which she took and climbed out of the front seat. They stood there still holding hands just looking into each other’s eyes. “I’ll miss you,” Mike said as he brushed his lips against her ear. “Promise you’ll call when you get into Albany safely?”

“I will. I’ll even call when Maia and I get up to Peru tomorrow night too.” She brushed her lips against his lightly, “And if you’re lucky I’ll call you each night.” Smiling Mike dropped his lips to hers as they said good bye properly.

A couple days after Christmas, Sabrina and Beth were back on the jet; but instead of heading back to the west coast, they were heading down to the city that never sleeps for some much needed ‘girl power’ time. TJ was being watched by his Uncle Chris and Aunt Tanya for the couple days the women would be in New York City. Beth had decided that Sabrina needed some pampering so she suggested New York City and they could catch a Broadway show, spend the day in a spa, put a dent in their plastic; basically hang out and not worry about anything but themselves for a few days. They even decided to stay at The Carlyle instead of the penthouse to totally get the hedonistic mood going.

The first night they stayed in and ordered room service and basically just lounged around. Beth had made some phone calls upon landing and told everyone that they were not to be disturbed with the exception of death and even then it better be a pretty important person to have died before calling them. Beth was damned and determined for Sabrina to re-charge her batteries.

When they woke up the next morning they decided to go out on the town. Sabrina made phone to the concierge and promptly was found a pair of tickets to Wicked which was one of the hottest shows in town. Beth just shook her head at what could be had for a celebrity of Sabrina’s stature when it asked for. Grabbing walking shoes and their pocketbooks the two women got ready to spend the day on the town.

The two woke up late the next morning. After the play was over they went out to a bar and proceeded to get hammered and somehow found their way back to The Carlyle. They just had enough time to get around and get ready for their day at Metamorphosis Day Spa. They were getting the full treatment and it was going to be heaven on earth.

The morning of the 31st came and with it came calling in a favor from a friend. Sabrina had made a phone when they first got into town and made arrangements with a famous hair stylist and his team who were in town already to come to the hotel and do Beth’s and Sabrina’s hair. Around 11am Jonathan Antin and his crew showed up with a BravoTV film crew to work their magic on the women. After their hellos which for Jonathan didn’t include those fake Hollyweird air kisses; the crew settled in and got their gear around in order to beautify the women.

The process took all day and most of the night and after saying good bye and a bit of ego stroking for Jonathan; Beth and Sabrina were just boarding the jet at 7pm. With the time difference and flying back to pick up TJ, they would end up at Oakland International Airport by 11pm west coast time the pilot assured the women.

True to his word they jet touched down at 11:05pm and by the time they taxied in and disembarked it was just 11:15. The attendants loaded the suitcases into the truck of the limo waiting for them and within minutes they were heading back into Oakland to Billie Joe’s house where the New Year’s Eve party was happening.

By the time the limo got across town and pulled up in front of Billie Joe’s house it was 10 minutes before midnight. Sabrina got out and unsnapped TJ from his seat and followed Beth through the front door of the house. When they walked in the party was in full swing. Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve was on every TV on the first floor and people were gathering around the sets waiting for the final countdown. Beth scanned the crowd for the one person she was looking for and within moments spied him leaning up against the fireplace mantel with a glass of champagne looking quite forlorn. She smiled and made her way through the crowd and came up beside him without making a sound and stood there waiting for him to react.

Mike was bored stiff without Beth there at the party. He kept checking his watch and trusted what she had said before issuing cell phone silence; that they would be back in time for the ball to drop. Glancing again at this watch then at the TV screen he noticed it was 3 minutes till midnight and she still wasn’t there. He went to sigh but when he inhaled he smelled her perfume and realized with a start she was standing next to him. Smiling he placed his glass on the mantle and turned toward her. Smiling he noticed her now dark colored hair and the new cut she sported. Bending his knees he picked her up and held her against him; soaking in her warmth and scent. Kissing her lips quickly he set her down and handed her his glass.

“Didn’t think I was going to make it; did you?” she asked with a smirk.

“Nope never doubted you at all…” he murmured into her hair taking in the scent. She nudged him out of his day dream to point towards the TV. The final countdown was on and the ball was dropping.

“10…9…8…7...6...5...4...3...2...1…HAPPY NEW YEARS!” the crowd shouted to everyone.

Mike claimed Beth’s lips at the stroke of midnight, giving her his heart and soul for ever at that moment.

Across the room by the front door, nobody noticed a blonde woman holding a sleeping baby. As she watched the ball drop Sabrina dropped her head to breathe in the baby scent emanating from her son. As everyone shouted she whispered to the room, “Happy New Year everyone.” And she turned and walked out to the waiting limo to be brought back to the Oakland house.