Sabrina straddled Jack’s hips, smiling as she gazed down at him.

“So...this is my proposal, huh? Me half-naked; you with a hard on,” she teased, lightly grinding against the evidence of his arousal. Stretching out along the length of his body, her head came to rest atop his chest; as she listened to the slow, steady thrum of his heartbeat, a purr of contentment fell from her lips when she felt Jack’s strong arms envelop her. “I can’t wait to see how you’ll answer our kids when they ask you, ‘Papa, how did you ask Mama to marry you?’” she laughed. “That’s gonna be priceless.”

“I’ll tell them the truth. That Papa had serious morning wood ‘cause Mama didn’t have on any underwear…” he cracked. Deftly, his hand slid from the small of Sabrina’s back to sweep across the smooth expanse of her ass, palming a toned globe before giving the supple flesh a resounding smack.

“You wouldn’t!” Sabrina gasped.

“Of course I would, Babe,” he nodded, kissing her on the temple. “You know I’m kidding, Bri,” he laughed. “I’ll simply tell them Mama and Papa were on the couch. It’s the truth.” A wry smile eased across his ruggedly handsome features. “I’ll just have to leave out that part about how we’d just finished screwing like weasels the night before…”

“Jack!” Sabrina shrieked, her head snapping up.

A playful wrestling match ensued with Jack quickly emerging victorious, his fiancée’s laughing, writhing form gladly pinned beneath him. As the opening strains of soft guitar began to waft from the Bose music system, the impromptu battle was halted.

“Ohhhh, wow! I remember this song!” she exclaimed. “Do you remember it, Jack?”

“Yeah,” he nodded knowingly. “What I remember most, though, is your reaction to it. And mine...”

Out for their third dinner since they’d slept together – not a “date,” as Sabrina was quick to always point out – at the urging of a CTU colleague who swore the best peach pie on the West Coast was to be found there, Jack and Sabrina journeyed to an out of the way L.A. diner. Courtesy of a patron’s jukebox selection, the familiar strains of a classic James Taylor tune soon filled the cozy, low-key establishment.

~*~
Hey, girls, gather 'round
Listen to what I'm putting down
Hey, baby, I'm your handyman
I’m not the type to use a pencil or rule
I’m handy with love and I’m no fool
I fix broken hearts
I know, but I truly can
~*~

“C’mon, dance with me,” Jack stood and offered his hand. Bodies pressed close, the male heat wafting off him was inescapable. His gaze, unrelenting.

“I knew the moment I had you, Bri…”

~*~
If your broken heart should need repair
Then I am the man to see
I whisper sweet things
You tell all your friends
They'll come running to me
~*~

A knowing, supremely male smile began to ever so faintly tickle the corner of Jack’s mouth. He said nothing but watched Sabrina battling (successfully, but just barely) to keep her expression neutral, aloof.

~*~
Here is the main thing I want to say
I'm busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, I know
But I truly can
~*~

The song’s lyrics seemed innocuous to her.

She enjoyed the lazy rhythm of the guitar, even swaying her hips slightly. The feel of Jack’s hand at the small of her back was even more pleasant. When he pulled her closer, she didn’t resist. Instead, determined, she held his gaze.

Even while inside her alarms were sounding.

She began to wonder why did she suddenly feel so…naked? After all, she’d had sex with this man. In every position imaginable. There was no area of each other’s body they had not explored or tasted.

Yet as the song played all she could think to do was run!

~*~
Come, come, come, come, come, come
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Come, come, come, come, come, come,
They’ll come running to me
Here is the main thing that I want to say
I’m busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts
Baby, I’m your handy man
~*~

The entire time, Jack continued to hold her gaze; the small half-smile still in place. He accepted the truth the moment he laid eyes on her for the first time at CTU New York when she performed the emergency surgery on Heller.

This woman, she was The One.

“Say what we both knew…what we both felt.” Without warning, Jack deftly flipped Sabrina onto her back. His lips brushed against hers. “Say it,” he demanded, his voice low.

~*~
Come, come, come, come, come, come
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Come, come, come, come, come, come
Yeah, yeah, yeah
That’s me…
I’m your handy man…
That's me...
I'm your handy man...
~*~

He wouldn’t try and soothe her, or dispel her fears; instead, he’d let her run. Not because he knew he could easily overtake her. To do so would defeat his ultimate purpose. Her submission. No, he would sit back and watch because he knew why she was running. He knew she was fighting, desperately, to deny what her heart had already begun to realize.

“That I was finally beginning to admit to myself what I knew the moment we met…”

That he was The One.

“Tell me.”

“You’re “it” for me, Jack,” Sabrina whispered, her voice as tremulous as her touch. “Then. Now. Forever.”

Song Credit: Handy Man—by James Taylor

The End

(Thanks for taking the ride!)



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