George - Chapter Sixteen: Fears and Dreams

A few notes before the chapter and there will also be several after.

***This chapter is NSFW***
- If nudity and sex aren't your thing, do not continue. You've been warned. :)
- This begins a story arc for Steph. She had a mini one at the beginning of this generation, but now we'll begin to follow her through this new transition of hers and George's relationship.
- Shouldn't be a big surprise that this is a long chapter since that's what I tend to write, but I thought I'd warn for it anyway.

Thanks for reading!!

*******

****Steph****

I couldn’t keep myself from pacing back and forth between the kitchen and living room while keeping an eye on the door. George had called almost two hours ago to tell me that he was leaving the rehab facility and I had no idea how he was still going. When I had talked to him earlier in the morning, he hadn’t slept at all. Trev had spent the rest of the night in and out of consciousness and when he was awake, George had said that he was hostile and irritable. He had also said that was normal and that he expected Trev to change his mind about going into rehab by the time he was discharged, but he and everyone had been surprised when Trev had said he still wanted to go. 

Beyond that, I didn’t know anything. George had called me long enough to tell me that he was riding with Trev to the facility and that he’d call me back when he left.  That had been around one in the afternoon. When he did call, he had been up 36 hours and I could only imagine how exhausted and emotionally drained he was.

I had gone into a trance as I paced back and forth and barely heard the knock on the door. It didn’t take me long to walk over and open it and what I saw was shocking. 

 
He was standing there slumped over and there were dark circles under his eyes. He quietly made his way into the apartment and placed his bag down while I hurriedly closed the door. He leaned against the wall and it looked like it was all he could do to stand there even with the wall holding him up.  

I grabbed his hand and led him into the living room to the couch where he tried to sit up but I gently put my arm around his shoulder and eased him down till he was lying down with his head in my lap.

He looked up at me as I started running my fingers through his hair. “Did he get there okay?” I asked him and he nodded. There were so many other questions going through my head but I knew he needed to sleep. In less than a minute he had closed his eyes and I continued to sit there and run my fingers through his hair as I looked down at him. I had never seen him asleep and I had to fight the urge to touch one of his cheeks, not wanting to wake him up.

  

I lost track of how long I sat there, running my fingers through his hair and listening to him lightly snore but eventually my legs started to hurt from sitting in one position too long and I began to wonder if I could get up without him waking up. I eased my hands underneath his head and tried to keep it level as I tried to scoot off the couch. He moaned a little as I finally got free and placed his head down on the sofa. 

I stood there for a minute and looked down at him sleeping peacefully and hoped that one day Trev and even others in his family would realize and appreciate all that he did for them, sometimes even to the point of exhaustion.

I heard my stomach complain and glanced at the clock. It was seven o’clock and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I turned and looked at George again, wondering what I should do about eating. I didn’t know if he had eaten recently or at all, and I didn’t want to eat now only to have him wake up and find out that he was hungry. I came to the only compromise I could think of, I’d eat a salad and if he woke up in the next couple of hours I’d make both of us something else at that point. That made me think about the book of family recipes that George had brought me the previous weekend and after I finished eating, I walked into the study and picked the notebook up from my desk. I hadn’t looked at it since he had given it to me; I almost felt like if I did I’d be snooping through someone else’s things. I still didn’t understand why his grandmother had left it to me. They belonged to them, the family, not to some outsider. For the last week I had tried to understand why I had been given this book of recipes. If I had had a grandmother or mother who I loved and had taken the time, love, and  effort to gather that collection of recipes, ones that were my own family recipes, I couldn’t imagine just handing them over to a non-family member. I would want to hold on to them and cherish them. And that’s why I couldn’t look at them; it would seem like I was intruding on their private family moments, moments that were made while sharing in the meals that were handwritten in that book. 

I sat down in the chair that was across from the couch and looked over at George. With him there I didn’t feel like looking at the recipe book would be intruding, especially if I made him something from it, something that he would like. I looked at how thick the book was and I had no idea how I was going to be able to pick one out of it and wondered how I was supposed to figure out what he liked.

I sighed and very carefully opened the book. There was a pocket on the side that contained some loose papers that looked like they were probably notes and the copy of the last page of his grandmother’s will. I read the lines that George had read to me just a little under a week ago and shook my head in disbelief.  I wasn’t surprised to find that the recipes were organized and that it appeared that the notebook was very well maintained. It seemed that would have been something that she would have done.

I eventually gave in and opened the section that was labeled entrees. I looked at the first recipe and saw that she had not only written out the ingredients and instructions; she had also kept track of when she had made it and who liked it. I found myself smiling realizing that I wasn’t going to have to guess which recipes George liked because she had already written it down. I looked up and mouthed ‘thank you’ hoping that wherever she was she knew how thankful I was at that moment.

I carefully skimmed each recipe till I found the first one that had George’s name; it was Goopy Carbanara. I had made that several times but I was sure that she would have made it different.  I read the ingredients and the instructions and although there were some differences in the way I would make it, it was pretty similar. I made note of what I would need to get and I was about to close the book when I noticed that there was a little note next to his name. Favorite. Not only had she written who liked the recipes, she had also indicated which ones were people’s favorites. I looked at the other names she had written and I saw his dad’s name; Carson – Favorite. I felt a tug on my heart and looked over at George still sleeping on the couch and like I had several other times, I wished that I could have known his dad.

After skimming through some more recipes I walked into the study and put the book back on my desk. I had just placed it down when I heard George’s phone ring. I rushed over to the coffee table and picked it up to silence the ring hoping that it hadn’t woken him up. I was relieved to see that he kept sleeping. After what he had just been through he didn’t need anyone bothering him and as exhausted as he was it didn’t seem anything was going to wake him up for a while. I walked back into my room and looked at his phone, immediately recognizing the number as his mom’s cell. I walked over to my nightstand and picked up my phone to text her.

George is here at my apartment but he’s asleep. I saw where you called his phone and didn’t want you to worry. 

There was soon a response from her. 

Thank you! I was wondering. He told me he’d call when he got there but I never got a call.

He fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting here. I’ll tell him you called when he wakes up. :)

Thank you! I’ll let everyone know that he’s okay and to not call him.

I couldn’t help but smile at her response. I guessed that by everyone she meant the family and I found myself touched at how they all kept tabs on each other, even after all that had happened in their family. With the knowledge that neither one of us were going to be interrupted I decided to get ready for bed and read a book.

The smell of tea brewing and food cooking woke me up and I looked over at the clock.  The last thing I had remembered was reading while in bed. I wondered how long George had been up and I rushed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where I was slightly surprised at what I saw. 

George was standing in my kitchen without a shirt, cooking breakfast.  I smiled as I looked from his exposed back to his butt and back up again. I watched him until he had put the food on the plates and then walked up behind him feeling him straighten from surprise as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Morning.” I whispered in his ear.

He turned his head slightly. “Morning. I didn’t hear you come out here.” He admitted.

“You really should work on those Tiger senses. . .You know, hearing, sight, maybe even reflexes. . .” Before I could continue he swung around and dipped me.

“What were you saying about my reflexes?” He teased and I laughed. He gently lifted me up and pulled me closer as he bent down to kiss me. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to feel his bare chest, I placed a hand on it.  I was getting completely lost in his kisses when we were interrupted by the sound of my stomach rumbling and he looked down at it. “So I guess we can add your stomach to the things that has interrupted us.”

I laughed. “You can’t blame me for being hungry.”

He grabbed both of our plates and cups of tea and placed them on the counter for us to eat. “You didn’t have to cook breakfast.” I offered.

He smiled. “I think your stomach would argue with you.” He teased and I found myself once again laughing. I had a flashback to the morning at his house when he had surprised me in his kitchen. He had been more relaxed and more playful that morning and I wondered if that was a normal occurrence in the mornings, and if there was a way for me to keep finding out if that was really the case.  “Thank you, for the breakfast.” I said as he pulled out the chair and I sat down.

“How long have you been awake?” I asked as we started to eat.

“For about an hour; I couldn’t find my phone so I got up and looked around for a while. I finally ventured into the bedroom and found it on the night stand.” 

“You should have woken me up.” 

“But then I wouldn’t have been able to watch you sleep.” He admitted as he playfully smiled at me.

I smiled and nodded. “I guess that’s fair since I did the same thing last night.” We sat there staring intently at each other and I would have sworn that the temperature in the room had gone up ten degrees.

My stomach growled again and reminded me to eat which caused George to laugh again. “So, did you call your mom? She called last night.” I asked him.

“I did. I was a little panicked when I called her since I had told her that I would when I got here.  I still can’t believe that I didn’t.”

 “You were exhausted, George. You didn’t sleep for what, over 36 hours?”

He thought for a moment. “I think that’s right.” He rubbed his forehead. “Everything during the last two days is starting to blend together. I still can’t believe that Trev checked into rehab. It’s like it was a dream.”

I didn’t want to push him to talk to me about what all had happened since I had seen him at the hospital the previous night, but I was curious. He squeezed my hand and I looked over at him. “I’ll tell you about it after breakfast.” He said and I was surprised by the fact that he was able to figure out what I was thinking. 

“Anyway, she told me that you texted her and that you let her know I was here.”

“I was hoping that it would keep people from calling you so you could sleep.” 

“Thank you.”

We finished eating breakfast and he started to get the dishes together. “I’ll clean up. You cooked.” I tried arguing with him.

“I got it.” He stopped long enough to smile at me and then continued with cleaning up. I figured there wasn’t anything I was going to say that was going to convince him to stop. While he cleaned up, I took a shower and tried not to take too long since I was anxious to hear what had happened with Trev. When I was finished getting ready I hurriedly opened the bathroom door but saw no sign of George. He wasn’t in the kitchen or living room and as I rounded the corner to look in the study, I realized that he wasn’t in there either. I saw movement on the balcony and him leaning on the rail. 

I would have stood there enjoying the view but I caught a glimpse of his face and he was obviously distressed. I walked out onto the balcony and placed a hand on his back and started rubbing it. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” I offered.

He sighed and I saw his jaw tighten. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen if he can’t beat it this time. I’ve seen people in that condition before and many of them don’t get better. They’re so far gone, they can’t. I knew he was in bad shape, but I had no idea. . .” His voice cracked and he swallowed hard as he slowly straightened.   

I reached over and held his hand while he continued to stare ahead, laying my head on his shoulder waiting for him to finally speak again. When he did, I barely heard the words he spoke. “He could have died, Steph.” I quickly looked at him.  “They ran tests on his heart and he had a heart attack sometime last night.”

“While he was at the hospital.”

He shook his head. “No, before that.” He continued to look straight ahead but I could tell that he was starting to tear up. “If this doesn’t work, if he starts drinking again. . .What if next time he doesn’t make it. . .”His voice trailed off. I stepped in front of him and hugged him hard while he buried his head in my shoulder and hugged me back.

“Did you tell your mom that?” I asked him after several minutes, wondering how in the world someone would even begin to tell their mother something like that.

He nodded as he kept his head on my shoulder. “I lessened it, made it sound better than it was, but she still understood the seriousness of it.” When he eventually lifted his head, he started looking around and stopped when he notice the bench.  “Why don’t we sit?” He suggested.

We both sat down and he put an arm around me while I rested my head on his shoulder. “Do you think he’ll stay there?”

“I’m not sure. Whatever happened to him, it shook him. I’ve never seen Trev like that. He was scared and confused and it was so bad, he was convinced that he saw Dad and that Dad was upset with him for the way he’s been living his life. He kept hearing a voice that said ‘We’ll be true to ourselves.’ He tried to explain it to me several times but it made no sense to me. I really think he was hallucinating. He even thinks that Dad’s been watching out for all of us.”

“But if he had a heart attack last night isn’t it possible; to have seen your dad? Maybe?” I didn’t know if George really thought such a thing was possible, but I did; and I slightly smiled thinking that his dad could be watching out for all of them still.

He shook his head. “I really just believe that he was hallucinating. But what matters is that it scared him; maybe even enough for him to realize that he needs to get help. Right now, he seems genuine in his desire to beat this but only time will tell if it’s a short term commitment or a long term one.”

“What’s the place like that he’s at?” I wondered.

“It’s a nice place but they’re very serious about what they do. They won’t go easy on him like the other places he’s been to. I think some of the people at those places were a little star struck with him. That won’t happen where he’s at. They won’t care that he’s a big time pro football player.”

“How did he get in there? I would think a place like that would be hard to get in to.”

He nodded. “It is. A guy I knew in college works there as a therapist. We’ve stayed in contact since we graduated, sometimes seeing each other at seminars. I called him after I talked to Trev last night while I was driving into the city. He pulled some strings and was able to convince the administration to let Trev go there; said he called in a bunch of favors. To say I owe him is a big understatement.”

The more he talked about what had happened, the more I realized what he had done for his brother. How much he had invested into Trev getting better, and while I was touched to see how much he cared for Trev, it also slightly scared me. What if something bad happened? What would happen to George if something happened to Trev; after he had invested so much time and energy into him getting better? 

“You know that if he slips again it’s not because of anything you did or didn’t do. . .?” I asked as I reached over to hold his hand.

He nodded. “I know. I’ve told him several times recently that it was his decision. It’s his responsibility. But as his brother, I’m going to help him in any way that he’ll let me.” He looked at me. “You’re worried about me, aren’t you?”

I rested my head on his shoulder again. “I’m worried about both of you.” I admitted. He put his arm around me again and neither one of us spoke for a long time. I let out a heavy breath and closed my eyes, wishing that this was something that could happen every day, that we could sit together and talk about how our day had been, or how we were feeling, or even just sit like we were then. It wasn’t the happiest moment, but we were together and trying to help each other through it.

“So, what should we do the rest of the day?” He asked. “We can’t stay like this the rest of the day.” I figured that was his way of trying to change the subject.

“Can’t we?” I asked and pulled away to look at him.

He smiled. “We could, but you know something’s going to interrupt us; the phone, someone at the door. . .your stomach.”

 

I playfully narrowed my eyes at him. “You know, I was going to cook you dinner tonight but if you’re going to keep making fun of the noises my stomach makes, maybe I’ll just let you go hungry.”

He laughed and I was glad to hear it. “You don’t have to cook me dinner. I could help. . .”

I interrupted him. “Nope. You made breakfast, I’m going to make dinner. But first, I need some things from the store.”

“What are you making?” He wondered.

“It’s a surprise.” I said as I stood up and then pulled on his arm to get him to stand up too. He finally gave in and stood up, inches from me and I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Are you okay?” I asked as I looked up at him.

He got a very serious look on his face and his blue eyes looked even more intense. “I am when I’m with you.” He said dead serious and I was sure I stopped breathing.  He leaned forward and kissed me, once again exhibiting his crazy ability to be passionate and tender at the same time.  As we stopped kissing I rested my hands on his chest and closed my eyes as I tried to catch my breath. I finally looked back up into his hypnotic eyes and for a split second I thought about uttering what my heart was feeling; that I loved him. I was sure he would think I was stupid or silly to think that though. As serious and logical as he could be, he would probably didn’t think it was possible to love someone after only knowing them such a short time.  

Instead I said the only other thing that came to my mind. “Me too.”

 It was the truth. With him I felt secure enough to be myself. That it was okay to be me without putting on a brave face; the face that I had put on since the day I walked out of my parents’ house, the one that I showed when anything bad happened, when I had been beaten by a previous boyfriend, or almost been beaten in an alley. I thought back to the night that George and I met and how I was so determined to not let what, at that time I thought was a strange guy, see how hurt I had been that night.  But even that night, I had known there was something different about the mysterious guy who had come to my rescue in the alley.  I had always dreamed that someday I would meet a great guy; but bad relationship after bad relationship had convinced me that it was a lost cause. That I was forever going to be stuck with guys like Tony. But somehow, for whatever reason, one night George Davila walked past an alley and my life hadn’t been the same since.

I honestly didn’t know what he saw in me. He was a successful psychologist and I was just a server at a club. He had to have thought I was a mess when we met, being in a relationship with someone like Tony, plus my past with my family. And yet, for whatever reason, one that eluded me, he had chosen to look past all of that. I looked away quickly, hoping he hadn’t been able to figure out what I had been thinking of, and quickly changed the subject.

“So. . .” I started. “How about I go get what I need to make dinner and you get cleaned up.”

He pretended to be offended. “Are you saying I stink?”

I chuckled. “No, but as much as I’m enjoying this whole. . .” I motioned towards his bare chest. “. . .sight, I just thought you might want to, you know, take a shower.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t mind taking one.”

We walked back into the apartment and he headed into the bathroom as I headed to the store to get what I needed to make dinner.  It only took me thirty minutes to get what I needed and as I unlocked the door I figured he might have just finished getting ready.  I was surprised by him rushing towards the door to help me carry in the groceries. He placed the bags on one of the counters and I noticed a different bouquet of flowers on the counter.

“Where. . .?How. . .?”

He smirked at me. “I told you, I have my ways.”

I shook my head with disbelief. “You didn’t have to. . .”

“If you can cook dinner, I can get you flowers.” He interrupted me.

“Thank you.” I conceded.

We unpacked the groceries and I started to make dinner. He tried several times to help but I would shoo him back out of the kitchen.

I had written down the recipe on a piece of paper so he wouldn’t know what I was making or that it was even a recipe from his grandmother’s book. When dinner was about ready I looked into the living room and saw candles spread throughout the room. I had been so focused on cooking, I had never noticed him placing them there. He came walking into the kitchen with more candles and placed them down on the counter before lighting them and then turning the lights down. At that moment, I remembered that I had a bottle of wine stashed in a cabinet and while I put food on the plates, he opened the bottle and poured two glasses. I placed the two plates of food down on the counter and he pulled my chair out for me before sitting down himself. I watched him as he looked at his plate and smiled as he blinked several times before looking at me; completely confused. “How. . .?”

I shrugged. “I have my ways.”

He smiled and nodded. “I’ll tell you my secret if you tell me yours.” He offered.

“Agreed.” 

“There’s a flower shop around the corner.” He confessed.

“Really? I’ve never noticed.” I thought for a moment. “So that’s how you’ve been able to get flowers so quickly.”

He smiled and nodded his head. “So how did you know that this is my favorite? Did Charlotte tell you?”

I quietly got up and walked into the study to retrieve the recipe book. I placed it down on the counter and turned to the recipe for Goopy Carbanara. “She marked when people ate certain recipes, whether they liked it, and even if it was their favorite.”

I watched as he gently touched the page. “This explains so much.” He quietly remarked and looked at me. “We always wondered how she remembered what people liked to eat, even visitors. It was always this big mystery that no one ever figured out.” He gently closed the book and walked into the living room to place it on the coffee table.

“So I guess we’re both sneaky.” I offered as he sat back down.

“I guess so.” He smiled.

We both started eating and after his second bite he looked shocked. “What is it?” I asked, worried that he didn’t like it.

“Did you do something different; different from her recipe?”

“Yes. . .” I winced waiting for him to tell me it was horrible.

“Steph. . .I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it’s better than Grandma’s.”

“You’re just saying that.” I said thinking that he was being way too nice about it.

“No; I’m not. And I would never admit it if Grandma were here.” He took another bite. “What did you do differently?”

“I added some red pepper flakes to give it a little kick and a little nutmeg in the sauce.” I admitted.

“It’s delicious.” He said and paused before he continued. “Have you ever considered working with food?” 

I didn’t want to admit that I had dreamed of doing that since I was a teenager. “You’ll think it’s silly.”

He shook his head. “No, I won’t.” He put his hand over mine and patiently waited for me to tell him the one thing that I had never told anyone; the one dream that I had kept to myself.

His eyes were pleading with me to tell him and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fight telling him. I looked into the kitchen, unable to look at him as I told him what I was sure was going to be the silliest thing he’d ever heard. 

“Soon after my Mom made me cook all of the meals at our house, I started to fantasize that I was cooking for other people, important people. I would imagine that the mayor, or the president, anyone other than my parents were coming over for dinner. Then, as I got older, I started dreaming about opening my own catering business. I probably would have given up on it a long time ago but it’s actually one of the few things even my parents admitted I was good at. The one time I remember my Mom bragging to someone about me was when she was telling one of her “guy friends” that I was a good cook. It’s silly, really. Just a silly dream.”

He squeezed my hand. “It’s not silly. Why do you think that?”

I looked at him. “Because there’s no way it will ever come true. I don’t have any culinary training and I wouldn’t have the first idea of how to start a business.”

“You don’t need culinary training to start a catering business. As far as the business aspect, you could always take some business classes or even just ask for advice from some people in the business.”

“Maybe, but it would be incredibly hard for me to afford to do it, let alone find the time.”

He nodded. “But that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t happen at some point.” I gave in and nodded, only so we could stop talking about it. 

We continued to eat and talk and when we were finished, he once again offered to clean the dishes. I watched him as I sat at the counter drinking the glass of wine thinking about how nice it was that we had spent the day together without any interruptions. I almost couldn’t believe it; and now that we had experienced it, I didn’t want it to end.

I felt his hand on mine and was startled from my thoughts. “What were you thinking about?”

“Just how much I’ve enjoyed spending the day with you.” I admitted as I stood up.

He pulled me closer and looked deep into my eyes. “Me too.” He said right before leaning down to kiss me. I felt my legs weaken and if I hadn’t caught myself, I probably would have melted from his kiss. When he pulled away he looked over at the couch. “Do you want to go sit down?” 

I nodded, not being able to quite catch my breath and I was sure that he probably thought I was acting like some silly girl. I walked over to the couch and he followed with the glasses of wine, placing them on the coffee table and then sitting down next to me instantly putting his arm around my shoulders and I laid my head on his. 

 

He was the first to break the silence. “It’s been nice not having any interruptions today.” He admitted and I chuckled at the fact that we had both thought the same thing within minutes of each other.

“I’m still trying to figure out how that happened.” I wondered out loud.

“I told Mom I was turning my phone off for the rest of the day; told her that if something came up to call Charlotte and she’d find a way to contact me.”

I turned to look at him in disbelief. “You actually turned your phone off?”

He shrugged. “I told you last weekend, in order for us to not be interrupted we were going to have to be someplace where there weren’t phones, doors, or people. I took care of the phone issue.” He said with a smile.

I realized that I hadn’t seen my phone in a while. I started to turn my head to look around the room. “What are you looking for?” He asked.

“I just realized I haven’t seen my phone since I got back from the store.” I started to stand up to look for it but was stopped by him grabbing my arm and pulling me back to the couch.

“I turned it off too.” He admitted as he looked sheepishly at me.

“You. . .turned it off?” He nodded. “Not that I’m upset, but where is it?”

“It’s safe. I figured turning them both off was the only way that we had any chance of us spending time alone.”

I laughed at the thought of him sneaking around the apartment, finding my phone and then hiding it; all so we could be alone together.

“So when do I get it back?” I half joked.

“I haven’t decided yet. I thought about holding it for ransom.” He had the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face.

“There’s no way.” I continued to kid with him. “I’ll figure out a way to make you give it back to me.”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I’d like to see you try.” He challenged.

Before he had time to think I lunged at him and started tickling him. I had no idea before I started if he was, but I soon found out that he was ticklish, very ticklish.

“OH MY GOD!” He cried out between laughs. “STOP.” He pleaded.

“Not until you give me back my phone.” I informed him as I continued to tickle. “Just hand it over and it will all stop.”

“NOT. . .A. . .CHANCE. . .” He exclaimed as he kept laughing from my unrelenting tickling. He suddenly grabbed my hands and tried to keep me from tickling him. In our struggle we tumbled off the couch with our faces ending up inches from each other.  As we stared into each other’s eyes I placed a hand on his chest and he gently started to caress my arm. I inched my face closer to his until our lips finally touched and I felt a jolt run through my body. 

I felt his other hand move to my back and he pulled my body closer to his as we continued to kiss, each one becoming deeper than the one before. I felt my heart beat even faster when his tongue started tracing my lips and our tongues began to explore each other’s.

The most we had ever done was kiss, so when I felt his hand go under my shirt and touch my back I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat jealous at the same time.  The only way to remedy it was for me to take his shirt off.  When he realized what I was doing, he sat up slightly and I was able to accomplish my goal. I moved my leg over to the other side and straddled him as we continued to kiss.

With both of our hands free, we were able to explore each other more. Both of his hands moved up and down my back and I took the opportunity to do something that I had been wanting to do since the morning I first saw his bare chest in his kitchen; I slowly let my hands move along every inch of it, feeling his muscles flex as I let my hands glide up and down. 

His hands slowly made their way forward until he rested them on my sides and he pulled his head back to look at me;  unsure if he should continue. I smiled at him as I took off my shirt and he gently started to caress my stomach as he took a moment to look at me without my shirt on. 

His eyes eventually made their way back to mine and I would have sworn that my heart had skipped a beat. He sat up and started to kiss my neck while I ran my fingers through his thick blonde hair, his lips gradually moved down to my shoulder and I once again felt a jolt run through my body. 

I could feel myself sliding further and further away from having any realization of anything but him when I was startled back to reality by him quickly moving; and before I realized what was happening, he was carrying me into the bedroom. 

He gently placed me on my feet and instantly started kissing me again. I was thankful again for the opportunity to rub my hands over his chest and my heart started to beat faster as I felt his hands slowly move from my waist down to my butt. 

He rested his hands there and then pushed me even more into him causing me to let out a quiet moan. I let my hands wander from his chest and ran my hands down his sides, stopping them at the tops of his jeans. I pulled back slightly and moved them to his belt, undoing it as we continued to kiss.  When I had succeeded, I began to unbutton and unzip his jeans which caused him to pull back suddenly. 

“Steph. . .” He once again looked at me, trying to determine if this was really something that I wanted to do. 

I once again smiled at him as I moved my hands back to his jeans and finished unbuttoning and unzipping them, never once taking my eyes away from his. When they had fallen to the floor, I looked down at them and then back up at him, smirking. He smiled down at me as he kicked them away and started to undo my belt. He continued to stare intently into my eyes as he unzipped and unbuttoned my pants and soon they had also fallen to the floor. I again smiled at him as I kicked them over to where his pants were and he chuckled lightly. He moved closer and as our bodies came together, he reached down with one hand and gently guided my leg up. He started to caress my thigh and I saw him smile again before he leaned in to kiss me and I was once again feeling myself beginning to slip away from reality. 

Not once in any of the times that I had slept with someone, had I ever felt this way. There was an intensity and an electricity between us that I didn’t even know could exist between two people; and as we continued further and further, the electricity and the pull between us kept growing stronger and stronger.

His hand left my thigh and both of his hands stopped at the clasp of my bra. He had no trouble getting it undone and as the straps started to fall down my shoulders, I reached up to take it off and flung it across the room. 

We continued to kiss as I placed my hands on his back and eased them down until they were in his underwear and I was grabbing his butt. He let out a low moan and stopped kissing me as his hands moved to my panties and he pulled them off. I was going to return the favor but he made fast work of taking off his own underwear and adding it to the pile of clothes.

As I looked from his feet back up to his face, I marveled at his body. I had envisioned what I thought his naked body would look like several times, but my imagination hadn’t done him credit. As I looked over his body again I accidently voiced my thoughts and whispered, “Shitfire.” 

I met his eyes again and expected him to laugh or show some amusement. Instead he had a dead serious expression as his eyes traveled up and down my body before replying, “Exactly.” 

I felt myself blush as we made eye contact again and he took a couple steps toward me.  His lips gently kissed mine and I had to wrap my arms around him as I felt my legs almost give out. He gently picked me up and placed me on the edge of the bed which made me wonder if he had noticed my loss of balance. 

I expected him to get on the bed, but instead he knelt down and started to kiss my neck and shoulders as he placed his hands on my lower back and pulled me closer to the edge of the bed. His hand slowly moved from my back, along my side, and began to softly caress one of my breasts. I moaned as he rubbed his thumb against my nipple and felt my body shudder a little from the pleasure that he was sending through my body. He slowly started to move his kisses down the middle of my chest, in between my breasts and I held my breath as I waited to find out where his kisses would stop. I was disappointed when I felt him stop abruptly and I looked down at him. He smiled at me and stood up, pulling me to him again. I was confused until he picked me back up and then laid me down on the bed.   

He lay on top of me and continued his downward kisses which caused my back to arch. He got to the spot in between my breasts that he had previously stopped at and slowly made his way to my other breast. He teasingly ran his tongue over my nipple causing me to arch my back even more and moan with pleasure. His tongue continued to tease me and I wondered if it was possible to go insane from the sensation he was sending through my body. 

I heard myself say his name and his kisses slowly started to return back up to my shoulders, throat, and then mouth. I felt him rub himself between my legs and he let out a low moan. I wasn’t sure if he was going to continue to torment me or if he was going to end my agony, but I suddenly became aware that we needed protection. I stopped kissing him and tried to reach over to the night stand.

“I already took care of that.” He whispered in my ear and I glanced down to see that he had indeed already taken care of it. He started kissing me again and any thought about how he had managed to put protection on and me not notice went away.  I once again felt him rub in between my legs and we both moaned. 

“George. . .” I begged him.

I felt him enter me and I slowly opened my eyes. He was looking down at me and as we started moving together, we continued to look at each other until it was too much for both of us. 

As we both came to the height of our pleasure a sound escaped from me that I had never heard before, one that I was sure could be heard far beyond the walls of my bedroom. 

He fell on top of me and we laid there for several moments trying to catch our breath. I reached my hand up and started to run my fingers through his hair as he laid his head on my chest. When he didn’t move for a while, I began to wonder if he had fallen asleep knowing that he was probably still tired from all that he had been through the last two days. I let out a heavy breath and he turned his head to look at me. We smiled at each other and he changed positions so he was lying next to me.

He lifted his hand and started to stroke my check and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the sensation of him gently touching me. He scooted closer to me and then pulled me against him. As I rested my hands on his chest, I looked down at it, watching my hands move along it and admiring it. I eventually lifted my eyes to his face and saw that he was watching me and we continued to stare at each other, neither one of us able to say anything after what had just happened. 

I had wondered if he had felt the same thing that I had when we were making love, and by the look in his eyes, I knew he had. I reached up and started to stroke his cheek and wanted so badly to tell him I loved him; but I once again talked myself out of it, sure that he would think that I had some silly girl notion about what love was. And before that moment, I had. I had dreamed my whole life of not being alone. Dreamt of finding someone who I loved, and loved me; someone who somehow saw past my past and instead, saw me for me.  As I lay in George’s arms, I knew that George was the man that I had been dreaming of. As if sensing what I was thinking of, he pulled me closer and I nuzzled my head into his chest and as I felt myself falling asleep, I smiled and realized that for the first time in a long time, I felt safe.

****George****

Before I even opened my eyes I smiled; something that I hadn’t remembered doing in a long time.  My arms were wrapped around her and as I breathed in, I could smell the scent of her; lavender, she always smelled like lavender. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her smiling, sleeping face and I wondered what she was dreaming about.  

She had fallen asleep in my arms soon after we had made love and I had lain awake for a while, listening to her breath and enjoying the feeling of her being in my arms.  I had never experienced anything like what had happened the previous night and it had completely taken me by surprise. The range and intensity of emotions that I had felt were nothing like any I had ever felt. I almost couldn’t describe it, it was almost as if I had been asleep and being with her had woken me up; that I had been missing a piece in my life and she was it. 

I looked back down at her and gently started to stroke her arm, causing her to stir a little and she slowly blinked her eyes, trying to get them to focus. When her eyes finally did, she smiled and snuggled even closer.

“Morning, Sunshine.” I whispered in her ear.

“Morning. . .Tiger.” She responded and I chuckled. “Takes on a whole new meaning after last night. . .” She hinted and I was shocked to actually feel myself start to blush.

She giggled and buried her head into my chest as she intertwined her legs with mine. “I don’t want to get up.” She complained. 

“Why couldn’t we stay?” I asked.

She looked up at me. “You know that the second we turn those phones back on that we’re not going to have long before we’re interrupted.”

“Then maybe we should leave them off.” I jokingly suggested.

“And which family member would be the first to worry about the fact that you weren’t answering your phone?” She teased.

“Good point.” I conceded. 

“Anyway, I want to know where you were hiding my phone. . .” She deviously smiled at me.

“If hiding your phone leads to what happened last night, you’re never going to find it.” I returned her smile and she laughed.

“I don’t think you’re going to have to go through all of that. . .” She hinted and kissed me, sending what felt like a shock through my body. 

After several minutes of kissing, she pulled away and I sighed as I looked at the clock. It was already nine o’clock and I knew that I needed to turn my phone back on, just in case someone from the rehab facility needed to contact me.

I sighed again as I got up and walked over to the clothes closet, opening one of the drawers and pulling out our cell phones.

When I turned around I saw her watching me with a smile in her face. “I didn’t really want my phone back; I just wanted to enjoy the view.” She admitted and smiled as I tossed the phone near where she was laying.

“You can enjoy it any time you like.” I offered and I watched as her face turned a shade of red that I had never seen. 

I chuckled as I sat down on the bed and looked over at her. “Are we sure we want to turn these back on?” She put her phone down and took mine back out of my hand before scooting closer to me and situating herself between my legs. We started kissing and soon she was lightly sucking on my bottom lip. 

She suddenly pulled away and mischievously smiled. “To be continued later. . .” She promised and I grunted.

“That was just wrong.” I complained and she laughed.

We both grabbed our phones and looked at each other before we turned them on.  She placed them on the night stand and we laid back down with our arms around each other as we listened to the phones chime their alerts from missed text messages, calls, and voice mails; mine ending long after hers.

When they had finished she reached back over and grabbed both of them. She held mine out for me to take but instead, I gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for another kiss. We were interrupted by my phone buzzing in her hand and she chuckled.

“It’s almost like it’s trying to steal you away from me.” She kidded.

I placed my hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Not going to happen.” I seriously replied and she kissed me again.

We simultaneously looked at our phones and besides a message from Mom telling me she wasn’t going to call or text me yesterday, one from Charlotte from sometime last night wondering if I had turned my cell phone back on, and several voice mail messages one from Mrs. Greene about rescheduling my appointments that I had missed; I was surprised at how little I had missed.

“Did you miss anything important?” She asked as I put my phone down.

“No, I would have though, if I had kept it on.” I admitted and she smiled. She stretched and I took the opportunity to admire her body.  When I had first viewed it last night, I had been floored by the sight that had been in front of me. There was no denying that she had an amazing body, but seeing her completely naked had made me realize that nothing I could have imagined could have come close to the actual image.

She stopped stretching and stood up and I watched as she walked to my side of the bed and held her hands out for me to grab. I put my hands in hers and she started trying to pull me up off the bed. I was more than willing to comply, thinking that we were going to continue kissing but instead, she started walking towards the bathroom as she continued to hold my hand. I watched as she turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. When she got it the temperature she wanted she stepped inside and started washing herself. I stood there getting very turned on as I watched her hands travel over her body. Once she had finished washing her legs, she stood back up and looked over her shoulder at me, wickedly smiling.

“Aren’t you going to join me?” She asked and as much as I was enjoying watching her, I wanted to join her even more. I stepped into the shower and as soon as I entered, she took the soap and started washing my body.  She started with my chest and I noticed her smiling as she did so. She moved next to my arms and then my back, spending a little more time on my butt. She slowly moved her hands back to my chest and as she moved her way down my stomach she looked up at me and I knew from her smile that I was in trouble at that point. As she gently grabbed me I closed my eyes and placed a hand on the wall, steadying myself. She did a thorough job of washing me and then after placing the soap down, took her time running her hands all along my body,  making sure all the soap was gone. 

She smiled at me before she stepped in the water and began to wash her hair. While her hands were occupied, I let my hands wonder over her body. She tried to jokingly protest and I moved closer to her. 

“I’ve told you before, paybacks are a bitch.” I whispered in her ear. She had just finished rinsing her hair and got an expression on her face that I had become very familiar with. “It goes both ways, you know.” She smirked.

 

I turned her so her back was against the wall and began to kiss her neck.  I felt her nails dig slightly into my back and I slowly made my way up her neck and stopped to look into her eyes; the very first thing I had ever noticed about her. I was still sometimes surprised by the intensity of them and had begun to notice that they were like a reflection into her soul, revealing what she thought and felt. I gently reached down and pulled one of her legs up so I could run my hand up and down her leg, the second thing I had admired about her body, and was somewhat startled when she wrapped both of her legs around my waist. 

I didn’t have any protection and I knew that as much as I wanted to, I didn’t want to do anything in the heat of the moment that we might end up regretting later.

I made sure I had a hold of her and carried her into the bedroom.

“The water. . .” She tried to protest. 

“I’ll turn it off later.” I reassured her as I laid her down on the floor. She chuckled and I walked over to my bag and then quickly made my way back to her. I lay down on top of her and she immediately wrapped her legs around me and as much as I tried to tell myself to slow down, the moment she wrapped her legs around me, I lost control. 

I entered her and I felt her tighten around me, causing a moan to build from deep within and as we both gave in to the climax we each experienced, we both vocalized the release we felt.

I didn’t want to crush her and soon rolled to the side and she smiled up at me. “I think I’m going to have to soundproof my apartment.” She said with a smile and I laughed.  She looked around at the floor. “And perhaps buy a really good mop.”

I looked around at the floor and noticed the puddles that had formed from the water dripping off of our bodies.

“Or just not invite me to join you in the shower. . .” I jokingly suggested.

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I’d much rather buy a mop.” She admitted and I again found myself laughing. I stood up and offered her a hand and helped her up. She smiled up at me and I kissed her. 

As tempting as it was not to, we eventually got dressed and while Steph finished getting ready, I made breakfast. The pancakes had just finished cooking when I heard my phone ring. Not recognizing the number I put my phone back down on the counter and turned my attention back to the pancakes. 

“Was that your phone ringing?” Steph asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah, I didn’t recognize the number though. If it’s important, they’ll call back.”

As if the person heard me, my phone started ringing and it was the same number calling. Steph glanced at it and looked surprised. “That’s Ethan’s number.” She confessed and she quickly handed me the phone. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, George?” I heard Ethan ask.

“Yeah. Is everything okay?” I couldn’t imagine why he would be calling me unless something had happened to Charlotte.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess it is odd that I’m calling you. Everything’s fine, but I was wondering if there was any way that I could maybe meet you for lunch, maybe today. . .”

“You mean the four of us?”

There was a pause before he answered. “No, just you and me.”

It was my turn to pause. I was quickly trying to go over all the possible reasons why Ethan wanted to meet me, and only me for lunch. We had hung out several times in the last month but never us alone. It was always as a group.

“Umm. . .sure.” Steph looked at me and I shook my head and shrugged. “Where do you want to meet?”

“How about the café near the stadium? Do you know where that is?” He asked and I smiled.

“Yeah, I know where it is. What time?”

“Is twelve thirty okay?”

“Sure. I guess I’ll see you then.”

“Sounds good. Thanks!” He hung up and as I took the phone away from my ear I stared at it until Steph pulled me out of my thoughts.

“What was that all about?” Her question snapped me out of my head and I looked at her.

“He wants to meet me for lunch. I figured he meant all of us but he said he only wanted to meet with me. I like Ethan and all, but I don’t understand why he wants to meet with only me. . .” Then it hit me. “You don’t think he’s planning on proposing to Charlotte, do you?”

Steph  stopped placing food on the plates and slowly turned around. Her expression slowly turned from shocked to happy. “Oh my God, George.” She whispered.

“But even if that’s it, why does he want to meet with me?”

She walked over to me and placed a hand on my arm. “Because you’re her brother, and. . .” She stopped herself and bit down on her lip before she could finish.

“. . .He can’t ask our Dad. . .”

“That would be my guess.” She whispered.

I nodded and looked down at the floor. I felt her hand on my cheek and I looked at her, noticing that she had a sad smile on her face and I knew that she knew that I was wishing that Dad was there. These were the moments that I missed him the most, whenever milestones happened and I wished that what Trev thought was true; that Dad was watching out for us and had been ‘around.’ I felt Steph squeeze my hand and I squeezed back.  I sighed and walked over to the plates of pancakes  while she grabbed our mugs of tea.  I moved her chair out so she could sit and then sat down, continuing to think about Dad and Charlotte.

“What time are you meeting him?” She asked and I was once again glad that she had snapped my out of my head.

“Twelve thirty.” I was still in shock thinking that he might really be asking me for permission to ask Charlotte to marry him. I heard Steph chuckle and I glanced over at her.

“You look like a deer that’s been caught in headlights. Are you really that worried?”

I shook my head. “I’m just in shock. You mentioned just a week ago that you thought he might propose soon but. . .I guess I was figuring it would be in the next couple months, not a week later.”

“Has Charlotte shared with you anything about them meeting and then the transition between them being friends to dating?”

“No.” I admitted. “She’s honestly probably afraid that we’d make fun of her. That, and Charlotte’s always been a very private person.”

“You should ask her or even Ethan about it. I’d tell you, but like you said, she’s a private person and I don’t want to say anything that might upset her.”

I nodded, the last thing I wanted to do was put Steph in the middle of Charlotte and me. We finished eating and we spent the next hour and a half sitting out on the balcony talking. At twelve o’clock I got ready to head to the café to meet Ethan.

Steph walked me to the door and before I could open it, she grabbed my arm, causing me to turn around.  She placed a key in my hand and I looked from the key to her before she closed my fingers around it without saying a word.   

I took a step toward her and closed my eyes as I rested my head against hers, eventually looking into her eyes and gently kissed her.

“I’ll see you in a while.” She said after we stopped kissing.

I kissed her again and walked out to my car. It didn’t take long for me to drive to the café and as I pulled up, I saw Ethan waiting outside. I couldn’t help but smile as I got out of the car; I knew that there was always a chance that there was some other reason he wanted to meet with me, but the more I had thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that the chances of that were slim. Steph had been right the previous weekend when she had mentioned how obvious it was that the two of them loved each other. 

As I approached Ethan I noticed how nervous he looked. He saw me walking toward him and he smiled as he offered me his hand to shake. 

“Hey Ethan! Thanks for inviting me to lunch!” I said as I shook his hand.

“Thanks for coming.” He looked at the door behind him and then back towards me. “Do you want to eat in or out?”

“Either is fine with me.” As nervous as he looked, I wanted him to do whatever he was more comfortable with.

“How ‘bout we grab a table out here.”

“Sounds good.” We sat down at a table and soon a server came over and took our order. After she left Ethan started talking again. “Do you not like the food here? You didn’t order much. . .”

 

“I do, I’ve been here once before and liked it. Steph and I woke up late and had a late breakfast.” I noticed that he smiled big and I immediately realized that I hadn’t really slipped up but I had just admitted that I was staying at Steph’s; something that if Charlotte got a whiff of, she would tease me relentlessly for.

“I won’t tell her, but you know she’s going to figure it out eventually.” I smiled and nodded. He got a serious look for a moment. “How’s Trev? Charlotte said he made it okay to the rehab place.”

“He did. Only time will tell if he’s going to take it seriously this time.” I thought back to several nights before when Ethan had been at Trev’s apartment and I had been extremely grateful that he had been there. “I wanted to thank you for being there, at Trev’s apartment. I know Charlotte really appreciated you being there, and I did too. We actually all owe you; you’ve looked out for all of us at one time or another. Thanks.”

He nodded. “I like Trev and want to help, but I might also have selfish reasons for doing it.” He smiled and I chuckled.

“Still, I do appreciate it.”

 

The server came back with our food and I noticed that he didn’t start eating. Instead he looked out at the building across the street. “Something on your mind?” I asked him and he turned his head to look at me.

“I actually. . .There was something I wanted to talk with you about.”

I nodded as I took a bite of my sandwich. He quickly looked down at his plate and then back at me. “I know Charlotte and I haven’t been ‘dating’ long, but, they say when you know, you know. . .” He paused for a moment and squared his shoulders. “I’m planning on asking Charlotte to marry me next weekend and I was hoping that I could do so with the blessing of her family.”

I fought the urge to smile and instead looked at him seriously. "I think that as long as Charlotte’s happy, no one would have any objections; and I have to admit, she seems pretty happy.”

“So no one would have any objections?” He hopefully asked.

I smiled this time as I shook my head. He bolted from his seat and started shaking my hand as he smiled at me. “God! I’m so relieved.” He sat back down and it was hard not to notice that he instantly acted more at ease.

“So how are you going to propose?” I asked him.

“Well, I don’t think she would want a big production. . .” 

I agreed. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like her.”

“I had thought about having a quiet romantic dinner at my place.”

For some reason that made me think back to something Steph had said. “I’m still trying to put the pieces together. How in the world did you convince her to finally start dating you? We gave her the hardest time about how it was obvious that you were interested in her. It seemed to take her forever to want to admit it.” The second I heard myself say it I realized that once again, Charlotte had shown just how alike Mom and her were and how Ethan was very much like Dad.

“I hoped that if I was patient enough, that eventually I would wear her down and she’d give me a chance.” He looked a little embarrassed as he admitted the next part. “The first day she walked into the club, I can’t describe it, I saw her and I was instantly drawn to her. Things really changed right after she, Trev, and Steph came back from Christmas in Appaloosa; sometime in late January. I occasionally flirted with her before that and nothing much happened from it. All of a sudden, things changed. I’ll never forget the first time I flirted with her and she flirted back. I didn’t know what had happened, it was so unexpected. We started to flirt more and more and by the time of the party, we had been on several dates. We didn’t want many people to know since I’m technically her boss. I guess after next weekend, if she says yes, it will be obvious.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s already obvious. People would have to be blind to not see that you and Charlotte are together. Hell, they would have had to have been blind to not see that you were interested in her from the beginning.”

He smiled. “I guess that’s true. Kind of like you and Steph.”

I thought back to when Steph and I first met and I was finally willing to admit the truth. “Yeah, it’s crazy how you can meet someone and instantly your life is changed. . .”  I looked over at Ethan and continued. “So, have you picked out a ring?”

As we continued eating he described the ring he had gotten her and more about how he planned to propose. An hour later I was walking up to Steph’s door and was shocked when she flung it open. 

“So?” She asked as she pulled me into the apartment.

I smiled and couldn’t help but chuckle at her excitement. “He’s planning to propose next Saturday. He actually was worried about me telling you, that you might accidently let it slip to Charlotte. I then reminded him that you were the one who surprised Charlotte and me at our party.” She had a huge smile on her face. “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about paying you back for that.”

She playfully narrowed her eyes at me and moved closer to me until there wasn’t any space between us. “I’d like to see you try.” She challenged me. Little did she know that I had already accepted that challenge and that plans were already in motion. . .

******

Sometimes, as I'm proofing a chapter, I think of some questions that readers might have about why I chose to write things a certain way. This is one of those chapters that I ended up doing that with. So for a moment, I'm going to address a couple of things.

- You may have noticed. . .that George and Steph's bedroom antics are more detailed than in previous generations. This is for two reasons. 1) I hate writing sex/love scenes. It's just not one of my favorite things to do so I haven't done it until now. 2) However, I think it's obvious (at least I hope it is) that George and Steph don't have the same type of relationship that Amanda/Chuck and Bridge/Carson had. Whereas the previous relationships were a sweeter kind of romance, George and Steph are a more passionate couple and I was basically forced to write that way for them. Got to love when the characters force you to step out of your comfort zone!

- I had previously mentioned that I added a chapter (Chapter 14: Dust to Dust) since it helped transition George and Steph's relationship in a new direction. Imagine that chapter not being there and all of a sudden they've slept together. . .just made no sense. So I hope that chapter makes a little more sense now. :D

- Many of you have commented about Steph and her reactions to certain situations; this story arc will help explain some of what she's been thinking and feeling and I hope, in the process, show just how connected the two of them have become. We've seen how George has overcome his past to be with her, now we get to see her attempt the same.

-I'm sorry that the chapters are a little slower coming than they have been in the past. I'm finding that in order to tell the story that George and Steph want to tell, that I can't find poses for them. So I've ventured into pose making and about 85 percent of this chapter are poses I made. It's pretty time consuming for me to do but I do enjoy doing it. I hope you find them acceptable. lol They're not prefect but I think they are good enough to just pass.  

- I'm also sorry that I have been MIA on replying on so many stories! I'm finding it hard to do on a consistent basis and usually read in spurts. Now that this chapter is finished, I'm hoping to make my way to several stories to do some major catching up on. :)

-Holy Moly! That was a lot of notes! Sorry! I apparently had a lot to say. lol! Thank you again so much for reading! The next chapter is broken into three parts.I haven't decided if I'll release each one on three different days, or if I'll just release them together. What I can tell you is that they are all titled Happy Birthday, Steph... and they make my heart happy. :D (And if you ever want some spoilers about what's coming up, click on the chapters tab at the top and scroll down to George's chapters. The next several chapter titles are given. . . :)

- Oh! I forgot! Sorry! I've never credited Steph's/Charlotte's apartment! Here's the link for her apartment (I've redecorated it, of course.)  Amsterdam Abode by fredbrenny on The Sims Resource. And here's the link for the cafe that George and Ethan ate at La Petit Cafe by sims_freak_2008 on the Sims Resource

Thanks so much again for reading!!