Boswell, LaVenia (15 page)

            “Jenny, you’ve got to stop that!  I can’t take it,” he complained to her wearily.

            “What’s courting?” she asked him as the color returned to her face and she began feeling normal again.  She realized what she thought courting was, but what he thought it was might be two different animals.

        His face immediately lost its upsetness and replaced it with bewilderment.  “Don’t you know what courting is?” he inquired with disbelief.

       “I know what I think it is, but what do you think it is?” she retaliated with a serious expression.  No way was he gonna get her confused about this!  This was way too serious to allow confusion - at least it was to her.  Biting her lip the thought struck her that maybe it wasn’t all that serious to him, she was perhaps putting false hopes and ideas into her own head.  An ache entered deeper than her heart at the thought he might not be feeling that serious about her after all.

       Sitting down beside her on the grass, they had the tree for back support.  He began shaking his head and then started laughing, out loud.

       “What?” she asked.

       “I find this whole day so bazaar.  It’s my dream come true in many ways, yet, it’s so different from what I’d expected, or even hoped for.”  He looked up and said, “Thank you, Father!  Help me to handle this the right way.”

       Turning toward her he picked up her hand, kissed it and said, “Jenny, courting is usually a prelude to an engagement.  If the couple finds they are compatible and they have mutual feelings for one another then their marriage is planned.”  He paused allowing her to comment.  She remained quiet, but nodded her head.

       She thought about this for a few minutes and got miffed, she didn’t know why, but it annoyed the daylights out of her that he wanted to “court” her.  “Sooo,” she said, speaking low and clear, “you’re not sure about me yet so a courtship will help clear away your doubts?”

       His squinting his eyes heavenward and heaving a big sigh didn’t help her irritation.  “No, Jenny.  I already know how I feel, and I have no doubts, not a single one!  It’s for your sake I suggest this.  To give you time to see if you might learn to care for me, seriously, for a lifetime,” he explained, talking very slow.

       Talking real slow back at him she stated, “Well, Mister Zonelli, that courtship stuff is fine but I already know how I feel about you too?”

       “Are you positive?” he asked with his eyes as serious as a Supreme Court Judge’s giving a verdict.

       “I love you too, Jason Nathaniel Zonelli, always have, just felt undeserving of you or something,” she stated with a load of emptiness leaving her.

       His eyes twinkled brighter than the clear night sky above them, and the smile on his face would make the morning sun jealous she realized as he took her into his arms and gave her the tenderest, sweetest, most loving kiss any female could ever hope for in her life.

       With a sparkle in her own eye, Jenny asked brightly, “Mister Zonelli would you say that we are courting now?”

       With a grin as bright as the full moon overhead he answered, “That we are Miss Franks.  Now, since you are allowing me this wondrous opportunity, let me explain a few rules.”

       Looking into her eyes and making sure she is being attentive and not distracted by the cars coming in and going out, he stated, “There will be no hand holding and definitely no kissing of anyone else, no flirting with others . . . .”

       Jenny released her suppressed laughter when she asked, “Aww, Jas, you mean you’ll have to curtail that effervescent flirty nature of yours?”

       Smiling he admitted, “That one’s mostly for you, we both know.  But, seriously Jen, we are to keep ourselves pure.”

       Jenny frowned.  “Pure?  You mean courting doesn’t allow hooking up?  Gettin’ it on?  Playing please and thank you?”

       He shakes his head no while looking unsure at a couple of her phrases, but shaking his head no for safety’s sake.

       She grins wickedly.  “Even when my big brother has already given you his permission for you to take care of my baser needs?”  She leaned in, and to his surprise she kissed his ear, licked the rim and gently tugged the lobe with her teeth.

       His breathing picked up.  Jenny smiled knowing, oh, he liked that!  She’d leaned in to repeat it on his other ear when he stopped her as he returned the deed to her.  The kisses and caresses continued for a while, getting better and better until Jason grabs her by the shoulders lends back and says, “I’m sorry Jen.  Forgive me.  I got carried away.  We can’t do that.”

       Jenny was just starting to really, really enjoy what he was doing.  “What?”  Her head was spinning again.

       “I should be a stronger man than what I’m discovering I actually am.  I’m sorry I let myself run amuck like that.  It’s hard Jen, but I have to have boundaries for us.”

       “I love your running amuck!  Lets run amuck together some more,” Jenny whispers in a half tease.

       “Seriously, Jen.  We must have boundaries!” he states in his serious voice while she notices his hands have a slight tremor.

       “Are those boundaries part of courting?” Jenny asked as she leaned in closer and kisses his jaw and chin.

       “Yes,” Jason answered trying to get his breathing back under control.           At the same time he was busy trying to get Jenny to behave herself.  She seemed to know every spot on his chest, arms, neck, ears and face where her gentle touch created a burst of fame.  He also had to move her hand that was sliding just above his knee and burning a hole in his skin.  All the while she gave him a look that made it difficult to concentrate on anything but her.  He had often thought about her giving him such a look, but now that it was reality it was so much harder to resist than he ever dreamed.  But he must resist, for them both.

       “Well, let’s not court and just date, would that take some of those rules away?” she asked with a wicked smile.

       “Jen, we are courting, not dating.  Courting is most serious,” Jason admitted taking a few deep breaths to calm himself and to be more diligent in resisting her touch.

       Running her fingers over the rim of his ear and trailing it down the side of his face before she outlined his lips with a finger tip he began stuttering and finally hushed as he took her fingers and kissed them.

       “I love you with my whole being Jen,” he shared, “And being the man I have to look out for us both.  Don’t make it too difficult for me.  Please.  I can only resist so much, because I am only human you know.”

       Feeling guilty, a little, seeing he’s sweating, she gives him a light kiss and stands up and heads for the car. 

            The man has more will power than she’ll ever have, she realized with an irritated snort.

Lives Changing . . .

10 – COURTING & ENGAGEMENT

Jason announces to her parents that they are now courting.  Her parents are a little confused until Jason explained it’s a prelude to an engagement, if they continue to be in love and find they are compatible with each other then in time an engagement will be announced. 

            Jenny knew her parents were thinking that a courtship may last for years, since on all the television shows about the olden days they tended to show people courting forever. 

            She sure hoped it wasn’t going to be years, she didn’t think she could wait that long.  Her desire for Jason was growing daily.

            Some time later, one night after Jason left, Jenny went to shower and get ready for bed.  They’d done homework together this evening, when Jenny wasn’t teasing him terribly.  She realized she grieved over his absence.  He was such a hunk!  Not knowing how long this courting stuff was supposed to last she was feeling a little flustered.  Never had she allowed herself to be so stimulated by any guy before.  She seemed to have no control over it.  He took her breath away. 

            It wasn’t that he was male, it was because he was Jas, the man she adored and loved and wanted in so many different ways, not simply for sex, although that would be pretty fantastic all by itself, but it wasn’t enough, she now wanted more.  When he was gone she missed him terribly.  Hearing his voice gave her peace.  Looking into his eyes was more fascinating than anything she’d ever known.  He was everything any woman could ever dream of, except for the hands off rule.

            The next courting date he took her bowling.  Though Jason was a golfer like his dad he enjoyed bowling now and again.  There were a few guys there who flirted with her pretty boldly over on the next lane.

            She tried not to notice, but couldn’t help it, they were so blatant with it.  Jason got angrier and angrier with the three men.  His eyes glared at the men and it got so bad Jenny feigned a sore arm muscle so they could leave early.  She was afraid Jason might lose it and take a swing at one or all of them at any moment.

            With his arm wrapped around her back and a concerned look on his face he asked, “How’s my babe’s arm.  Do we need to put some heat or ice on it?’

            “It’ll be fine when I rest it a while,” she answered.  Looking into his loving eyes she said, “Jas, you know I love you now, don’t you?”

            He nodded.

            “Well, I wasn’t flirting with those men.  When they asked if I was married, I wasn’t gonna lie, though I probably should have.  So I just ignored them and they took that for a no.  I’m sorry, Jas.  I didn’t mean for it to spoil our whole evening.”

            Giving her a hug he said, “You didn’t spoil a thing.  They were just trying to make me get physical.  Some guys simply like to fight.  They were sure pushing it!”

            Jenny looked into his eyes and stroked the side of his face.  “Jas, don’t worry over me.  I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.  And I don’t ever want you getting physical with any of those brutes!”

            Jason leads them to a bench under a tree in the adjoining lot.  Looking directly into her eyes he asked, “Jenny, do you think you could learn to love me forever?”

            “Without a doubt, big guy, you’re so easy to love, I’m having no problem.”

            “Then wait here.”  He turned and hurried to his car.  Jenny admitted to herself for the millionth time as she watched him, even his walk was sensuous to her.  He opened his trunk and got something from a briefcase, closed the trunk and returned to her side.

            He squatted down in front of her and said, “Jenny, please allow me to finish before you say anything, okay?”

            She nodded.  For the first time
ev
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she noted his voice had a slight tremor and his hands were trembling a little.  This was certainly new for her to see and it touched her heart in a way nothing else on earth could.

            “Jennifer, I have already told you how much I love you and for how long.”  He paused, so she nodded.  “My life is simply incomplete without you.  You are my soul mate - I’ve known it for over two years.  I understand this is still sudden for you and you should probably want to wait or simply to tell me no.  I will accept your answer no matter what it is and give you all the time you need.”

            Taking a really deep breath and letting it out he looked into her eyes and asked, “Jenny, would you give me the greatest honor a man can receive from a woman - your agreement to become my wife?  I will do everything in my power to make you happy.  Really, I will.  Will you marry me, please?”

            In horror he saw her face color change.  “Breathe Jen, for Heaven’s sake, breathe!”