George - Chapter Seventeen: Happy Birthday, Steph - Part Two: Only A Woman Like You

****A little early, but I figure it's Wednesday somewhere. ;)****

- Once again, NSFW (nudity, adult situations, etc)

- Like part one, this is named for a song and I've supplied it where it occurs. 
- Part 3 will be posted on Friday and is a little shorter than the previous two parts.

- Thank you again for reading! 

****Steph****

I woke up and my first thought was how it was my birthday, and I always dreaded my birthday. Every year it was just a painful reminder that I was basically alone since most years I had either spent my birthday working or by myself in an apartment, trying desperately to forget what day it was. My birthday had never been anything special; there hadn’t been any parties with friends when I was a little girl, no well wishes from my parents or any other relatives, and most definitely no presents.

 

The only people who wished me happy birthday were the very few friends I had in school and more recently, a couple people here and there that I had gotten to know over the years living in Bridgeport.  So when George’s grandmother had first mentioned me coming to Appaloosa for my birthday, I had wondered how she knew when it was. It didn’t take me long to realize that someone must have asked Charlotte, who was one of the few people who knew. At first, I was leery about the idea of coming to Appaloosa for my birthday, once again questioning why the Davila and Hobble families would bother.

But soon I started to wonder what it would be like to spend my birthday with a real family, even if it wasn’t mine and after reading Amanda’s last letter, I had almost talked myself into accepting her offer for me to spend my birthday in Appaloosa. Then she had passed away.

Fast forward to yesterday; I had expected George to show up around his normal time of five o’clock. He hadn’t mentioned much about my birthday except that he was coming into town for it and that we were going to spend the weekend together. I honestly didn’t care what we did; we could have sat on the couch all weekend and I would have been ecstatic!

When there had been a knock at the door that morning, I had no idea who it could have been. Charlotte always called before she came over and I wasn’t expecting anyone else. When I saw George standing there I was so shocked, I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t believe that he had surprised me by coming into the city early. Then I was surprised again to find out he was taking me somewhere, and not just any somewhere, but to Appaloosa. When we had arrived here, I was so excited that we were going to be able to spend the weekend together that I didn’t even think about Amanda’s offer for me to come here for my birthday.

Then George told me what had given him the idea to bring me here and for several moments I couldn’t breathe. I hadn’t told anyone about what she had offered and when I had given the letters to George for him to read, I didn’t even think about me staying here being mentioned. Many people would have read that and not taken much notice; but George wasn’t most people. He not only noticed it, he had honed in on it. I had seen him do this with others, with Trev, Charlotte, and other family members where he had this sense about what someone needed before they themselves realized it; and because of him, I woke up on my birthday and for the first time that I could ever remember, I actually smiled.

I rolled over and saw that George wasn’t in bed with me and I sat up to look around the room. What I saw about my heart jump out of my chest. 

In front of the fireplace was a small table that had two chairs and rose petals sprinkled around them. On the table was a vase of flowers and a card and after putting a robe on I walked over to inspect them. The card had my name written on the envelope and I stood frozen for a moment, trying to figure out if this was all real or if I was dreaming. 

My hand eventually moved towards the envelope and I picked it up and unsealed it. Inside was a card with flowers on the front and I smiled as I opened it. Written inside was a hand written poem from George:

I almost couldn’t read the last lines through the tears that had formed in my eyes and as I felt his arms wrap around my waist, I broke down. 

He turned me around and held me, gently stroking my hair and as I stopped crying, he put a finger under my chin and tilted my head up to look at him. Somehow, he knew; he knew that I was crying because of his poem, because I was overcome with emotion since I hadn’t experienced anything like this before. He always knew, sometimes even when I didn’t.  He never said a word though, instead he brushed away the tears that were still on my cheeks and then slowly kissed me. 

He smiled down at me and whispered. “I love you. Happy Birthday.”

I buried my head in his chest. “I love you too.”

I had no idea how long we stood there in each other’s arms, but eventually I remembered the table, rose petals, and vase of flowers. I slowly lifted my head and looked over at the table and then back up at George. He smiled and grabbing my hand, he led me over to a chair and pulled it out for me to sit in. I sat down and then watched as he left the room to quickly return with a tray that had plates of food and cups of tea. He placed a plate and tea in front of me and then placed one in front of the other chair and then finally sat down.

“You didn’t have to do all of this.” I tried to reason with him.
 

He reached over to hold my hand. “I wanted to.” He squeezed my hand and I smiled at him.

We eventually started eating and as we did, I tried to take it all in, the fire, the roses, the incredible man sitting across from me. . .I couldn’t imagine anything better. 

When we had just finished eating George looked at the clock. “We need to get ready.”

“What are we getting ready for?” I couldn’t imagine that he had planned anything else after this.

He smiled at me. “And ruin the surprise. . .?”

I chuckled and shook my head at how persistent he was at keeping a secret. “Can you help me figure out what I should wear?”

“Pretty much what you did last night, or at least what you wore to the bar.” He mischievously smiled causing me to laugh.

Like I had done the night before, I watched him get his clothes out and noticed that his outfit was very similar to what he had worn the night before, including the cowboy boots. I had little trouble finding something to wear, since Charlotte had packed half my closet, and as I laid out the last of my clothes I heard George start the shower.

I waited until I heard him open and close the shower door before I walked into the bathroom. He was faced away from me and I was pretty sure he didn’t hear or see me enter the bathroom.  He was standing there with his eyes closed, letting the water fall over him and I immediately thought back to when he had given Charlotte and me a tour of the house, including the bathroom. I had looked at the shower and fantasized about walking in on him taking a shower.
 

I smiled as I let the robe fall to the floor and quietly opened the shower door. If he heard me, he made no indication and I winced as I closed it, hoping it wouldn’t make any noise. When I was successful, I inched closer to him until our bodies were touching and wrapped my arms around him.

“What are you doing?” He playfully asked.

“Living out a fantasy.”

He quickly turned around to look at me. “A fantasy. . .?”

I nodded and seductively looked up at him. “You have no idea how long I’ve fantasized about being in this shower with you.”

He smirked. “Well then. . .” He paused as he pressed his body against mine. “. . .I’m  happy to help with that.” 

He lips crashed into mine and it wasn’t long before I swore that the room was spinning. His hands  began to caress by butt and I did the same. Just before I thought I would lose consciousness from lack of oxygen his lips started to make a path of kisses to my ear. “What’s next?” he whispered and I smiled as I slid my hand forward and started to caress him. He sharply inhaled and closed his eyes as he placed a hand on the shower wall. As I continued to stroke him, he let out a low moan and I moved my lips to his ear and started to nibble on his earlobe until I whispered in his ear. “And then. . .”

His hand moved from the wall and moved slowly down my chest, briefly stopping to caress one of my nipples before it continued down my stomach, finally arriving in between my legs. As his finger continued to teasingly rub the sensitive spot there, I could feel my legs start to weaken and I had to wrap my arms around his neck to keep from dropping to the floor. 

“I’ll be right back.” He whispered and I watched as he quickly walked out of the bathroom and then quickly returned. “We could have gotten out of the shower.” I offered as he got back in.  He devilishly smiled. “Then we wouldn’t be living out your fantasy.”

His lips claimed mine and as he picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. As we continued to kiss, he stepped forward until my back was against the wall and as I felt him enter me, I opened my eyes and looked into his. I continued to look deeply into his eyes until I reached my breaking point and as I gave into the pleasure that I was feeling, I hung unto him; and like I had every time we made love, I heard a loud moan escape from deep within.

****George****

I carefully backed away from the wall and held onto her until she was able to place her feet back on the floor and as she wrapped her arms around my neck, I wrapped mine around her waist while we kissed for several minutes. 

For a split second I thought about calling off our plans for the day and instead staying in the house; but as tempting as it was, I knew that if we did, I would regret not taking her. I pulled away and stroked her cheek with my hand. “I’ll let you finish taking a shower.” I offered. She kissed me and then smiled before stepping under the water.

I walked out of the shower and finished getting ready. As she was starting to fix her hair, I mentioned to her that she might want to pull her hair up. I watched as she tried to put what little pieces of the puzzle I had given her together, and chuckled. When she was finished, I grabbed her hand and we walked out of the house. I looked over at her as we kept walking past my car and she got a confused expression on her face.

“Aren’t we taking the car?”

I shook my head as we crossed the street and I entered the code to open the gates to the ranch. “We could, but it would be a very short trip.” I admitted.

I continued to lead her past the house and around the side of the barn where Uncle Charlie and Grandpa were standing with two horses.

“There they are.” Uncle Charlie exclaimed.
 

“Sorry we’re late.” I apologized. I once again looked over at Steph and she was looking between the three of us, looking very confused.

“You still haven’t told her, have you?” Grandpa asked.

“No, he hasn’t. I’ve tried to get him to tell me, but as I’m sure you both know, he can be very stubborn.”

They both laughed and Uncle Charlie looked at me. “Yup, he’s always been a little stubborn.”

I smiled as I nodded. “Don’t let her fool you, she’s got a stubborn streak too, and it hasn’t been easy to keep things from her.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She played innocent and I smiled down at her.

“Can we have a minute?” I asked Grandpa and Uncle Charlie and they walked the horses to another area of the grounds. I turned to look at her and started to explain what we were doing. “Do you remember how Grandma mentioned that if you came here for your birthday that someone would teach you how to ride?”

Her eyes got huge. “Really? You’re going to teach me to ride?”

“With a little help from Uncle Charlie.” I admitted.  “Unless you’d rather not.”

She looked over at the horses and then back at me. “I’ve always wanted to learn to ride.” She whispered before hugging me.

We walked over to Grandpa and Uncle Charlie. “We all set?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes, sir.” I answered him.

He looked at Steph and smiled. “I’m leaving you in very capable hands. I’m sure between Charlie and George we’ll have you riding in no time.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He tipped his hat at her and started to walk back to the house. The three of us watched him until he disappeared around the corner and then Uncle Charlie spoke up. 

“So we’ve got Buttercup and Midnight. I’m going to let you take Midnight, George.” I took the reins from Uncle Charlie and started to scratch Midnight’s nose.

“Buttercup is a little older than Midnight and a very patient horse. Good for someone who’s learning to ride.” He informed Steph.  “Some people learn from doing and some learn from doing and watching. I figure since we’ve got George here, we’ll let him demonstrate and then you can try, Steph.” He turned and looked at me. “Hey George, why don’t you climb up on Midnight.”

I stopped scratching Midnight’s nose and walked over to the side to put my foot in the stirrup. I pulled up and swung my leg over and looked down at Steph who had a huge smile on her face.

“Steph, why don’t you give it a try.” Uncle Charlie suggested.

She walked over to side of Buttercup, and after Uncle Charlie and I helped her with where to place her hands, she had very little trouble climbing onto Buttercups back.

“You’re already doing better than George did his first time.” Uncle Charlie joked.

“Hey, I was five.” I argued.

“Yeah, we’ll use that excuse.” Uncle Charlie kidded and Steph started to chuckle. He turned back to Steph and explained how to make the horse move and stop, having me demonstrate and then letting Steph do it herself. She had no trouble with either and Uncle Charlie was impressed.

 “You’ve never ridden a horse?” Uncle Charlie asked her.

She shook her head. “Nope; never.”

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow before continuing. He next explained how to turn the horse and I once again demonstrated, before Steph took a turn.

“I think we have a natural here, George. She did everything right the first time.” I looked over at Steph and she slightly blushed. “That’s pretty much all there is to it. Unless you want to trot or gallop, which isn’t something you learn to do until you’ve ridden for a little bit.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Yup. Well, except for getting down, but I figure George can help you with that.” He winked and her and then smiled at me.

“Thanks, Uncle Charlie.”

“No problem. Are y’all going to ride around for a little while?”

“Yeah, I thought we’d go to the meadow and ride there.”

“Sounds good. We’ll be ready when you get back.” He told me and I nodded. We watched him walk back to the stables and then Steph looked over at me. “What did he mean, about being ready?”

I smiled at her. “You really think I’m going to tell you?”

“No, but you can’t blame me for trying.”

I laughed and looked over at the gate. “We’re going to go through that gate and then over to that meadow over there.” I pointed and she nodded.

We rode in the meadow for about thirty minutes, talking and looking around at the scenery, and then we returned to the stables.

“How was your ride?” Uncle Charlie asked as we rode into the open area of the stables.

“I loved it!” Steph exclaimed and I climbed down off of Midnight.

“Glad to hear it! We’ll take care of Midnight and Buttercup.” Uncle Charlie said as I helped Steph climb down from Buttercup. “We’ve got Starlight ready for you George. She’ll be waiting by the gate.”

“Thanks, Uncle Charlie.” 

“No problem. Have fun!” He led the horses further into the stables and I grabbed a hold of Steph’s hand.

“Have fun doing what?” Steph wondered.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” I assured her. I led her into the house and into the kitchen where Aunt Kate was standing with Mom.

“Well, there they are!” Mom declared. She jumped up from sitting on the stool and gave Steph a hug. “Happy Birthday! Did you enjoy it?” She asked Steph.

“I did! It’s a completely different perspective.”

“That it is.” Aunt Kate agreed.

“You’re all set. The basket is in the dining room.” Mom informed us and I looked at Steph. 

“Thanks!” I kissed Mom and Aunt Kate on the cheek and we walked into the dining room where I grabbed the basket. We walked back out to the gate where Starlight was waiting for us and I attached the basket to the saddle.

“Let me help you up.” I offered. Steph climbed onto Starlight and looked down at me. “Where’s your horse?”

“I don’t need one.” I opened the gate and walked Starlight out and then closed the gate back. I gently took Steph’s foot out of the stirrup and after putting mine in it; I swung my leg over and sat behind her. “We’re going to share one.” I whispered in her ear and I kicked Starlight.

It didn't take long to travel to our destination, and as we started to arrive, I started to explain where we were going. 

“Most people from here know Cinnamon Crest Falls, and it’s really pretty. But there’s another waterfall that is actually at the very back of the ranches property that is even better. Since it’s on family land, most people don’t visit it.” I turned Starlight onto another path and the trees and bushes started to enclose on it. 

“Not long  after Dad passed away, I started to come here to get away from everything and everyone. It’s a great place to think and relax.” The path curved and all of a sudden the trees opened up to expose a large pond with three waterfalls. 

“Wow. . .”She breathlessly said as I stopped Starlight in front of the water. Her response made me smile and we sat there looking at it for several minutes before we both dismounted. As Steph continued to stare at the waterfall, I untied the basket from the saddle and then pulled out a blanket.

 “Are we having a picnic?”

I smiled at her as I laid the blanket out and then placed the basket on the end of it before pulling her onto the blanket to sit down. “What about Starlight?” She wondered.

“She won’t go far.” I assured her and started to pull food out of the basket.

“Breakfast by the fire, horseback riding, and a picnic. . .How did you plan all of this?” She wondered as we ate.

“Are you ready to bow down to my awesome surprising powers?”

She laughed. “I’ll admit it, you’re good.” She got serious for a moment. 

“Thank you. You’ve helped me believe that my birthday can be a happy thing.” I had wondered if that was the case, if she hadn’t had many happy birthdays and I wished that I could go back in time to save her from what she had experienced before; save her from the brokenness, heartache, and rejection. But at the same time I knew that the different roads we had taken, the uphill ones, the crooked ones, the broken ones, had led us to each other.

We took our time eating and then relaxed as we enjoyed viewing the scenery and spending time together. 

I eventually looked at the time and I knew that if the next thing planned was going to happen when it needed to, we needed to get back. I mentioned to Steph that we needed to head back and she helped put the items back in the basket. I tied it to the saddle and after we arrived back at the stables, a ranch hand took the horse from us and we walked back to the house.

“You’re probably going to want to take a shower after all that riding; and you might want to wear one of the dresses that Charlotte packed for you.” I hinted.

“You have something else planned? What else could there possibly be?” She wondered.

I kissed her and held her face in my hands. “One last thing.” I promised her. She smiled as she shook her head and went into the bedroom. I quickly pulled out my cell and sent the text that everything was a go and ran upstairs to take a really quick shower. . .