Dinner And Hormones

By: Jamie Sommers

Rated: PG13

Synopsis: Jamie’s in her fourth month of pregnancy and Landon’s having a very difficult time dealing with the rise and fall of her hormones.

Dinner And Hormones

“How are you feeling today?”

“Pretty good actually,” Jamie replied cheerfully. “Last night was the first night in a long time that I didn’t get sick so I’m taking that as a good sign.” She giggled and rubbed her belly. It was still flat but her clothes were getting snug on her now, and yesterday she couldn’t button her jeans.

“Well,” Landon’s mom said brightly. “You look wonderful.” Placing a kiss on her cheek she asked, “Would you like something to drink or a snack perhaps?”

“A snack would be great,” she said with a blush. “I’m starving.”

“Starving?” Landon asked with raised eyebrows. “We just ate lunch an hour ago.”

“Landon!” his mother scolded. “She’s eating for two now. I’ll go and whip up a little something for you dear,” she said then turned to make her way into her house.

“Yeah…” Jamie lifted her chin and tilted it to the side. “I’m eating for two now.”

“So I see,” Landon said playfully. “It’s funny though… I thought you’d be showing more by now.”

“Me too,” she said dejectedly. “I can’t wait to get fat.” Her nose crinkled and her eyes squinted in a cute expression. “I was hoping it would’ve happened by now.”

“Well you’re only in your fourth month so give yourself time.”

“I know but I was just hoping…” she shrugged her shoulders and stood up, turning to look at the water. Her hand went down to caress her stomach and she smiled when she felt Landon’s hands circle her waist.

He laid his hands upon her belly and rested his chin on her shoulder. In her ear he began to sing softly, “There’s a song that’s inside of my soul. It’s the one that I try to write over and over again…”

Jamie’s heart swelled with love, as Landon continued to serenade her and their unborn child.

“So I lay my head back down. And I lift my hands and pray…WHOA! What the hell was that??”

“I…I don’t know.”

Landon took his hands off of Jamie’s stomach and walked around to face her. “Was that…could that have been…”

“OH! OH Landon! There it is again.”

Landon put his hands on her belly and felt the slight flutter underneath his palm. His child…their child, was moving.

Tears of joy slipped down Jamie’s cheeks as she enjoyed the feeling of their baby stirring within her. “Ooooh…there it goes again.”

Landon dropped to his knees and knelt in front of her, placing his cheek against her abdomen. The baby kicked once more and this time there was no doubt whether or not it was moving. It was as though someone was punching from within, trying to make it’s way out.

“Wow,” he said in a mystified tone. “That’s our baby.” He lifted his eyes to meet hers and smiled. “That’s our baby.”

Her fingers threaded through his hair, her palms cupped his cheeks and she smiled back at him. “Yes it is,” she said softly.

The baby’s actions only lasted a few seconds, but Landon stayed on his knees waiting for any sign of movement until his knees grew numb with pain. Lifting his head to look into her eyes, he breathed softly against her belly, “I love you, Jamie.”

“I love you too, Landon.”

He lifted himself from his knees and placed a soft kiss upon her lips. Their eyes were still opened as his fingers weaved through the hair at her temple. He brushed his lips against hers in invitation, and she responded in kind.

He felt her eyelashes close upon his cheeks as she settled in for the kiss. His eyes drifted shut as her hands fell to his shoulders.

Breaths mingled, lips parted until their tongues touched. A soft stroke, a brush, a flick, and finally… submission.

She sighed into his mouth, pressing her chest against his and circling his neck with her arms.

He pulled her head closer to him enabling his tongue to delve deeper into her mouth. Tasting her…his wife--the love of his life.

It was in that position, that his mother found them: in a passionate embrace, kissing one another as though no one else in the world existed, and in that moment…no one did.

She cleared her throat, and placed the tray down upon the table. She smiled at them for they didn’t even budge. Not one movement to suggest that the kiss would end anytime soon. She leaned back on her haunches and smiled a knowing grin, enjoying the beautiful sight God had put before her: the sun shining upon the water, and two people, her son and her daughter-in-law, completely in love.

“I love you,” he whispered into her mouth before continuing the kiss.

“I love you back,” she said in a strangled whisper.

Her lips parted and her tongue slipped out between them. Stroking the inside of his mouth. She tasted a sweetness about him with just a hint of cinnamon. Her fingers trailed down his arms and cupped his elbows. “Landon,” she said breathlessly. “We have to stop.” She could feel the desire building up within her. She wanted nothing more than to make love to her husband at that very second and from his reaction to her she knew he felt the same way.

“Oh baby, I don’t want to stop.” His arms went around her waist and he drew her in letting her feel the evidence of his desire against her stomach.

“Mmmm,” she said throatily. “Oh Landon.” Their heads tilted again and their mouths began to slide back and forth across the others.

“Landon. Listen to your wife,” his mother chuckled and watched as the pair parted with startled expressions upon their faces.

“Mom! When did you…uh…”

“Oh Mrs. Carter I’m sorry. We didn’t mean…”

The both spoke at once trying to cover their embarrassment.

“Oh,” she flipped a hand at them and began removing some cold sliced meats and cheeses from the tray onto the table. “Don’t be silly. I was young and in love once too you know.”

Jamie’s cheeks flushed with color as she turned her head towards the water.

Landon cleared his throat and coughed slightly, trying to hide his excitement from his mother’s view. “Mom, uh… could you give us a minute here?”

“Oh…sure. I forgot the iced tea anyway.”

“Hey,” Landon’s hands cupped Jamie’s jaw in a tender embrace. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just a bit… flustered.”

“I know. Me too.”

“We should’ve never done that out where anyone could just walk in on us. I mean… there’s a time and a place…”

“Jamie it’s not like we were…” the look in his eyes finished his unspoken sentence.

“Well we might as well have been. It’s just…” her hands began trailing up and down his chest, over his arms and around his collar. “I don’t know what’s come over me lately. I’ve been so…” she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and leaned in to place a kiss against his neck, whispering in his ear, “…I don’t know…”

Another kiss and the flick of her tongue against his earlobe and Landon’s body began springing to life once again. “Jamie, you have to stop this. My mother is going to be out here any moment and…Oh geeeeeez.” Her hand began trailing down his back and her fingertips lightly grazed his buttocks.

“You’re right,” she said softly against his neck. “We should stop.” She playfully smacked his left cheek and said, “Let’s eat Carter.”

Landon stood staring at her back as she strode off towards the table to make herself a sandwich. He was in shock at the way she could switch moods so easily. One moment she wanted nothing more than to throw him down and make love to him and the next all she wanted was to throw down a sandwich.

“Oh good,” his mom said turning the corner with a pitcher of iced tea and three glasses in hand. “You’re eating. Can’t let my grandchild go hungry now can we?”

“Hmmmph,” he snorted. “Women,” Landon mumbled to himself and plopped down to make a snack before Jamie ate it all.

He was becoming more and more frustrated with her moods lately. He knew it was all part of pregnancy and that it was only going to get worse from here, but how was he supposed to cope with this? Maybe he should take advantage of this time with his mom and bring up this whole mood swing thing. Maybe she could make Jamie realize that she’s driving him nuts and that she should just… Landon lifted a piece of cheese up to his mouth. From the corner of his eye he saw her, Jamie. His heart stopped beating for a moment.

She sat there with a gob of mayonnaise in the corner of her mouth. Three different types of meats, two different types of cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and crushed up Doritos adorned the thick slices of sour dough bread to create the perfect sandwich. She had to squeeze the contraption down with both hands in order to fit it into her mouth. She refused the iced tea saying the caffeine wasn’t good for the baby and instead drank a large glass of milk.

Suddenly all of Landon’s frustrations were washed away. It no longer mattered that her moods were up one minute and down the next. All that mattered was that she was here, alive and well, and she was his.

“Were you going to eat that piece of white cheddar or are you waiting for it to turn into bleu cheese?” asked his mom sarcastically.

“Huh?” At that moment Landon could’ve been the poster child for dazed and confused.

“Bwa chwwweeez,” Jamie said with a full mouth and little pieces of bread flew out of the corners of her mouth. “Ooof… ‘cooof me.”

“It’s okay baby,” Landon smiled and bit into his cheese with gusto.

His mom chuckled and began reminiscing about her pregnancy with Landon. “I remember when I was pregnant with you Landon. Ohhhhhh how I craved bananas.” She turned to face Jamie and asked her, “have you had any cravings yet?”

Jamie shook her head no with a mouthful of food as Landon’s mom continued.

“I couldn’t get enough of them. I’d dip them in melted chocolate and put them in the freezer. Oooooooooh that was sooooo good.” She closed her eyes and put her hand over her stomach as though she were going back in time and enjoying one right at that very minute. “Banana ice cream was another one and banana fritters. Oh and banana pancakes. But the best,” she reached out and put her hand on Jamie’s. “The absolute best were the ultimate banana splits we would get at the dairy freeze. Landon’s dad and I would go there all the time and get them, with extra cherries of course, and I would devour the entire thing in less than a minute. I swear it.”

“Yeah but weren’t you worried mom?” Landon asked with a look of concern on his face. “I mean all that junk food probably wasn’t very good for you during the pregnancy was it?”

She rolled her eyes at her son and looked at Jamie with a knowing grin, “Men. They just don’t understand do they?”

Jamie shook her head no and nibbled on a piece of cheese with a slice of pepperoni.

“Well dad’s a doctor, you would think that he of all people would’ve…”

“Yes but Landon, your father was a man first.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well let’s just say bananas had a…certain…affect on me.” She wagged her eyebrows and giggled.

“WHAT??” Landon choked on the cracker he was trying to eat and said, “Mo…mom!!!”

Jamie began laughing and said quietly, “Peanut butter. I get that way with peanut butter.”

“Really?” His mom asked.

“Well I’ve been getting that way a lot more often lately and I don’t even have to eat peanut butter first. I’m not sure why it’s happening.”

“Hormones dear. It’s the hormones. They’re all over the place during pregnancy. One minute you want sex more than the air you breathe, and the next minute you want nothing to do with it.”

Landon’s eyebrows shot up to the top of his hairline, “I cannot believe you’re talking about this. I mean…” He reached down and picked up some slices of bread and sandwich meat letting them flop around aimlessly in his hands to accentuate his point. “…we’re eating here! This is NOT proper mealtime etiquette.”

“Oh Landon. Get over it.” His mother rolled her eyes at him again and patted Jamie’s hand between her own. “So tell me dear, how are your breasts?”

“OH GEEEEEEEEEZ!” Landon rolled his head to the side and let the luncheon meat drop from his fingers.

“Well they’re still a bit tender,” Jamie was a bit embarrassed about sharing this type of information, but Landon’s mother was the closest thing she’s ever had to a mom in her whole life and she adored the woman. “Sometimes…” she flustered a bit.

“It’s okay dear you just go ahead and say it, we’re all family here.”

Jamie looked at Landon and then back over to her mother-in-law, “Well, sometimes…uh…during…um…”

“Oh for cripe’s sake,” Landon muttered under his breath. He was completely shocked that Jamie was talking about this out loud, and with his mom of all people.

“Oh Landon,” his mother said, “You just hush up. I’d like to see you deal with the changes in your body like she’s dealing with and not talk about it with someone that’s been through it. Now if you can’t be a supportive husband then go… go sit by the water, but if you’re going to be the good and kind man that I know is in there underneath that stupid boy, you’re more than welcome to stay and learn a few things.” Landon smirked at his mom’s last statement just as she finished up with. “I meant that with love Landon.”

“I know you did mom.” He turned to Jamie and said, “I’m sorry baby. You go ahead and talk to mom about it. I couldn’t think of anyone better to talk to if I were you.”

“Are you going to sit here and be good or are you going to be stupid by the water?” Jamie asked with the most angelic smile upon her face.

He chuckled and said, “I think I’m gonna be good and learn a few things. Now…” he crossed his legs at the ankles and rested his elbows on the table acting as though he were his cocky young self from his early high school days.

Landon’s mom and Jamie exchanged silent looks that said, he thinks he so smart.

“You were saying something about your breasts during…”

Jamie called his bluff by picking up the conversation and saying, “Yes… during intercourse my breasts are exceptionally tender to Landon’s touch.” She watched Landon’s Adam’s apple bob up and down out of the corner of her eye. She turned her face, trying desperately to hold back her laughter, and looked directly at Landon’s mom, “I’m not sure if it’s me or if he’s being too rough.”

Landon’s mother bit her lip and watched Landon swallow…hard as she said with a straight face, “Perhaps he’s being a bit too aggressive when he shows affection?” Turning to face him head on she forced herself to keep her cool and said, “Landon, why don’t you demonstrate for us on this fruit how you do it?” She picked up one of the navel oranges out of the fruit basket on the patio table and held it out to him, navel side up.

“WHAT???” He pushed back from the table falling off of his seat and landing flat on his backside.

Both Jamie and her mother-in-law looked at one another and cracked up laughing. Tears were coming out of their eyes as Landon lied there with a shocked look upon his face.

“Oh I get it… You two,” he pointed back and forth at them and forced a laugh out. “You thought you had me but… Yeah… I’m onto you two. You know… I think... I think,” he stood up and began to walk backwards tripping over the potted plants and steps. “I’m just gonna go sit by the water and be stupid after all. Yeah… sit by the water…” He turned and began mumbling to himself as he walked towards the water.

“Oh that wasn’t nice. And young lady,” Landon’s mom smacked Jamie playfully on the forearm, “ I can’t believe how you played along. I do believe I’m a bad influence on you.”

“Well every now and then I have to shock that son of yours and you’re right, I do believe you are a bad influence on me, but I like that,” Jamie smiled. “Oh his face when you handed him that orange…” their schoolgirl laughter echoed over the water and onto the breeze.

~ ~ ~

They rode most of the trip in silence. Every now and then Jamie would giggle and Landon would look at her as though he were angry. He hadn’t been angry with her for a while now, but he was enjoying this little game they were playing.

While they were still at his mother’s house he would feign disappointment and she would try to cajole him out of his foul mood with pecks on his cheeks and whispers against his skin. “We were just teasing Landon. I’m really sorry. You know I would never really do anything like that to you on purpose, it was just…a spur of the moment thing.”

During their journey home she took to trailing her fingers up and down the back of his neck. It went around his earlobe and down the side of his throat, then she removed it and laid it on his thigh squeezing it every few minutes and giving him that look that said, ‘don’t worry. I’ll make this up to you when we get home.’

Landon hadn’t said a word to her until they arrived at their house. Jamie had unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for her car door when Landon said, “I’ll get it. Stay there.” As was his habit, he walked around the car and opened the door for her, helping her out of the car and then walking hand in hand with her to the steps.

Once inside Jamie turned into a completely different woman. Landon wasn’t sure who she was. Their front door was barely closed and Landon’s back was already pressed up against the wall adjacent to it.

Her mouth was meshed with his and her hands began tearing at his clothes. His jacket had to go, and so did his belt. She began toeing off her shoes as he reached behind her to unbutton his sleeves at the wrists.

They didn’t speak; there was no need to.

His hands plunged into her hair and he pulled her closer so he could plunge his tongue deeper into her mouth. Her tongue was velvety soft and tasted of the peach she had eaten right before they had left. His tongue massaged hers in a fiery kiss as her fingers began undoing the buttons on the front of his shirt. His fingers joined hers in a frenzied race.

Once his shirt was opened Jamie’s hands pushed it aside to reveal Landon’s t-shirt stretched over his taught muscles.

Their lovemaking was unlike anything they’d ever experienced before. Wild and frenzied, satiating a side of both of them that they never knew existed.

They lied with one another on the floor, just a few feet from the front door. Jamie’s back was curled into Landon’s chest and belly. Landon’s legs were tucked between Jamie’s and his arms were holding her close. Skeins of her hair were drying against patches of their sweaty skin. They hadn’t said a word to one another since they had collapsed afterwards. Both of them were struggling to regain control of their bodies. Eventually their breathing regulated and they began spooning.

Landon didn’t know what to say. He almost felt like he should apologize. He didn’t know what had come over him. He glanced down at Jamie and noticed a dark smudge on her hip. He reached down to brush it away.

Her breath caught when he touched her. “Ouch.”

“I’m sorry baby. Did that hurt?” he asked her.

“Yeah. What is that?” She lifted her head up and looked down towards her hip.

“I thought it was just a dirt smudge but,” Landon sat up a bit and stared at it. “It looks like a bruise.”

“Oh.” Jamie shrugged her shoulders and lied back down not giving it another thought.

Landon’s voice began to tremble, “Oh baby, baby. I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I had no clue I was pressing you that hard.” He threw himself back and let his arm flop over his forehead. “I can’t believe I did that to you.”

“Oh Landon. Don’t worry about it.” She reached back and took hold of his hand, wrapping it around her securely.

“Don’t worry about it?” He laid his forehead against the back of her hair. “Baby I swear I’ll never do that to you again. I’ll never…”

“Landon. Stop. Stop it right now.” She rolled over to face him and put her arms underneath his. “Do you think I didn’t enjoy tonight?”

“Well I know you didn’t enjoy me hurting you.”

“You’re wrong.” She squeezed his back and said quietly, “I enjoyed all of it. Landon what we did wasn’t out of rage or anger, it was out of love and passion.” She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, but it was important that she let him know that tonight was more than thrilling for her. “I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant when you…” she took a deep breath and continued, “…when you started to kiss me down there, but I really liked it. It was very sensual and…ummm…I was kind of hoping that maybe…” she grinned.

He looked down into her adoring eyes, “Maybe?”

“Well…”

A rose colored hue had adorned her cheeks and all thoughts of guilt melted away as he asked, “Would you like to try that again sometime?”

‘Yes,’ she nodded. “I think I’d like that very much.”

They lay there for a moment or two when suddenly Landon felt Jamie begin to tremble. His first thought was that she was cold, but then he heard her giggle. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing really,” she chuckled. “I was just thinking,” she looked up at him with innocent eyes. “These hormones can be a good thing sometimes, huh?”

“Well, I must admit,” he placed a kiss atop her forehead, “they do have their moments.”

Jamie snuggled her head under Landon’s chin and said not so shyly, “We should do it that way more often. I liked it.”

Her body was worn out, yet exuberated all at the same time. She had experienced something tonight that she had never dreamed of. She discovered a side of herself that she had no clue existed. In fact, she had been experiencing more and more of life’s wonders since her marriage to Landon.

She trailed her fingers up and down his spine, feeling the ridges, memorizing every curve, every bump. In her mind she said a silent thank you to him. Thank you for being so patient with me Landon, for understanding my misgivings and my concerns, but most of all thank you for being so willing to accommodate a pregnant woman’s fluctuating hormones. She smiled against his chest and fell asleep in his arms minutes later.

“Your welcome,” he replied.

She hadn’t realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud.

He carried her up to bed shortly after, thinking that the draft from the front door couldn’t be good for her, or the baby, and laid her on their bed. Looking at the clock he realized that she would probably want something to eat for dinner soon so he quietly crept off of the bed to retrieve a pair of pajama pants, but she awoke the moment the warmth of his arms left her body.

“Where are you going?” she asked groggily.

“I thought maybe you might be hungry.”

“Mmmmm,” she licked her lips seductively and said, “I think I am.”

Landon knelt on the bed as if to get off of it.

“Where are you going?” Jamie asked again.

“Well,” he said with a confused look upon his face. “You just said you were hungry. I thought I’d go make something to eat for you.”

“Oh,” she reached out and trailed her fingers down his thigh. “That’s not really what I’m hungry for.”

Her Cheshire cat grin was one that Landon will remember forever. His smile matched hers as he leaned over her and reached for the phone.

“Landon! Who on earth are you calling at a time like this?”

“Mama Rosa’s pizza. Trust me baby. I know you and after this you’re gonna want to eat.”

He ordered two large pizza’s knowing that she’d want a midnight snack and then he gladly helped to accommodate his wife’s fluctuating hormones late into the night.