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                                               Chapter 1

    "We've reached our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet and
    the captain has turned off the seatbelt sign, so you're
    free to get up and move around the cabin.  However,
    when you're in your seat, please keep your seatbelt
    securely fastened.  Our first feature film will be entitled
    ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’ Headsets are in the seat pocket in
    front of you.  Dinner service in the main cabin… "

    "Did she just say ‘Dukes of Hazzard’?"  Josh turned to
    Donna.

    "She did."

    "What kind of third-world airline is this?  Can't they get
    anything newer than that?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "That has to be 20 years old! I remember that show
    when I was in college."

    "Exactly, you remember watching the TV show. This is
    the movie, which is recent.  I remember seeing the
    previews for it on Showbiz Tonight."

    "Why does CNN even waste their energy on
    entertainment news?" Josh asked with mild annoyance
    aimed at the broadcaster.

    "Because some people-"

    "Aren't monomaniacal," he interrupted with a sigh. "I
    get it."

    "That's not what I was going to say." She laid her hand
    on his arm and squeezed.

    "Oh… what were you going to say?"

    "I was going to say… that some people are voyeurs who
    like to hear about the pretty, whiny people that make
    gawd awful movies, and those whom they sleep with.
    Simple as that."

    He watched her out of the corner of his eye before
    stifling a grin and saying matter-of-factly, "You're one of
    those people."

    "Yes, I am."

    "That's not what you were going to say."

    She watched him for a minute and then shook her head
    with mock sadness. "No, it wasn't."

    "You said that for me."

    "I did." She chuckled. "But now I'm more interested in
    knowing why you and your future Ivy League diplomas
    were watching a show like Dukes of Hazzard when you
    were in college.  I watched it, but even at 7 years old, I
    knew it was bad."

    At that comment, he brought one hand to his heart and
    balked. "7 years old? You're killing me here, Donna."

    She smirked, but kissed him on the cheek by way of
    apologizing for the egregious age-difference reference.
    And then looked at him expectantly, waiting for his
    explanation.

    Josh sighed. "As I remember, it had car chases and a hot
    girl.  However, I wouldn't necessarily say I watched it.  I
    was a little busy, you know, achieving academic
    excellence at Harvard while being a man about campus.
    But I've seen it."

    "Well, it's your lucky day; you can revisit your horny
    youth."

    "I'm much hornier now," he quipped.

    She wagged her eyebrows at him. "Lucky me."  Turning,
    she reached for her bag and brought it to her lap.  
    Sounding well-pleased with herself, she announced,
    "Speaking of, I have a present for you."

    "For me?" Josh asked, suddenly sounding a bit eager and
    quite young.

    "Yes."  She pulled out a smaller shopping bag and
    handed it to him.

    He glanced down at it and then over at her.  "You got
    me a present?"

    "I did."

    "Something that has to do with me being horny?"  He
    sounded excited.  Too excited.

    "Just open it," she commanded with mock annoyance.

    "When did you have time to get me a present?"

    "Ten minutes of power-shopping before I got to your
    place."

    "You were ten minutes late getting to my place."

    "Now you know why."

    He looked to the bag and then to her again.  "But I
    didn't get you anything."

    Her lips tugged upwards as she shot him an incredulous
    look.  "This trip is kind of a big something."

    He brightened. "That's right! That is a big something.  A
    really big-"

    Rolling her eyes, she interrupted him before he could
    really get his ego rolling. "Just open it."

    Gingerly, he reached into the bag and pulled the
    contents out.  A red string bikini fell into his lap. He
    stared at it for a few seconds and then the corner of his
    mouth curled.

    "A bikini, you got me a bikini?"  Smirking at her, eyes
    dancing, he held the top against his chest. "I love it;
    however did you know my size?"

    She snorted softly and grabbed the garment away from
    him. "Stop it.  That's for me. Keep digging."

    He looked from the skimpy garment in her hands to her
    eyes again. He felt his pulse elevate just thinking of her
    in that.  "You're going to wear that?"

    "Yes."

    "In public?"

    "I thought you said you wanted to ogle me in a bikini?"

    "Oh, I do, I do. That will work.  That… is a really good
    bikini," he finished as he reached into the bag again.
    This time out came a pair of men's swim trunks.  They
    were two-toned gray, light and dark, with a red stripe up
    each side.

    "Swimsuit for me?"

    "Yes," she replied as she studied him uneasily. "Are they
    alright?  Dignified enough for you?"

    "Yeah, they're perfect… thank you." It was his turn to
    lean over and kiss her on the cheek.  He held them up
    to examine them closer.  "This is great. I couldn't find
    any to pack."

    "I figured as much."

    "At least, not any that Sam would give me approval to
    wear.  I had an old pair, but Sam didn't think I could
    pick up women in them."

    Donna knew it was ridiculous, but for some reason that
    comment stung.  She was quiet a moment before asking,
    "Sam was giving you tips on how to pick up women?"

    Without hesitation, Josh replied, "That was before I told
    him about us."

    "So you told him?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of
    her voice.

    "Yeah… is that okay?"

    Internally, Donna felt veritable relief.  Knowing that he
    was okay with telling people seemed like a big step, at
    least for them.  "Of course.  I'm glad Sam knows.  
    Though people are probably going to put two and two
    together when we're both gone at the same time,
    anyway."

    "Right." Josh bobbed his head.

    "I told Helen," Donna blurted.

    "Yeah?" Josh asked with keen interest.

    "She wasn't very surprised."

    "Really? I thought we were so stealthy."

    "Apparently, not so much," Donna replied dryly.

    "So, if Sam and Helen know…"

    "Everyone knows," Donna finished for him.

    "Yeah," he agreed, and they both sat staring straight
    ahead for a moment.

    A second later, Donna turned abruptly towards him. "Do
    you think they're all talking about us?"

    He thought about it a minute before waving her off.
    "Nah, they're not interested in gossiping about us."

    "Right, they've got better things to do."  Donna nodded
    in agreement, knowing that was probably not even
    remotely true.

    He glanced over and was suddenly struck by how happy
    he was that she was there with him.  Before he knew
    what he was doing, he was saying, "Aren't we supposed
    to…"

    "What?" she asked brightly.

    "Talk," he replied carefully. "Aren't we supposed to do
    some talking of our own?  I promised you talking
    tonight."

    Her lips curled into an irrepressible smile. He was telling
    people and offering to talk.  Everything would be okay.
    "Yes, you did. That was very sweet.  But we're not
    talking right now."

    "Why? Do you really want to watch some Hollywood
    abomination that badly?"

    "No. We're not going to talk now, because you need to
    sleep."

    "Sleep?"  He said it as if he didn't understand the
    concept.

    "Yes."

    "Now?"

    "Well, soon."

    "How am I supposed to sleep?"

    "Has it really been that long since you've done it?" She
    sighed theatrically and reached back into her carry-on
    again, this time pulling out a fancy travel neck pillow.

    "Where did you get that?"

    "Remember when we were getting in line to board and I
    said, go ahead and find our seats and I'll be right there?"

    "Yes, you went to buy a book."

    "And I also got you this pillow."

    "Why?"

    "So you could sleep on the plane. You always jerk your
    neck. This will help with that."

    That gave him pause, but it also warmed his heart.  "You
    know that I jerk my neck?"

    She cocked her head at him before replying, "I've spent
    time on a plane with you before."

    "That you have."  He looked at her and his eyes danced.
    "That was very thoughtful of you, but I can't sleep on
    planes, so we might as well talk."

    "If your head isn't jerking, you'll be able to sleep," she
    said matter-of-factly.  

    "How do you figure that?"

    "Because usually when you're jerking, I'll wedge a pillow
    between your head and your neck and you'll drift off for
    at least a few minutes."

    In awe, he watched her. It was one of those things that
    he'd had no idea she'd done.  Except when he thought
    about it he knew it was true.  If his heart was warm
    before, it now bordered on melting.

    Blushing slightly at his expression, Donna continued.
    "We'll have plenty of time to talk on the island, but
    you're exhausted.  You haven't had any decent sleep in
    weeks and I need you fully rested for this vacation."

    "So you'll tell me when it's time to talk?"  Josh watched
    as she grabbed an airline blanket off of the empty chair
    next to her.  Before he knew it, she had it over his legs,
    the pillow around his neck, and his seat reclined.

    Once she'd finished, she smiled happily at him and
    pulled out her book. "Yes, I'll tell you when."

    "Okay…" he replied, suddenly feeling very sleepy
    indeed.   Maybe it was the jet engines that were lulling
    him with their dull roar. Or maybe it was the fact that
    he was suffering from exhaustion, and had been letting
    go of the adrenaline and beginning to relax since the
    moment she'd agreed to join him on the trip. Or maybe
    it was her mere presence, offering absolute comfort
    beside him.  Whatever it was, he was fast asleep within
    the half hour.  He missed the movie and even dinner
    service.  Lasagna, by the way.

    ***

    "It's time," Donna whispered as she began shaking his
    shoulder.

    "It's time?"  Josh asked groggily as he entered more into
    the waking state.

    "Yes."

    Josh opened his eyes and found Donna leaning over him,
    watching him intently. "Time for what?"

    "Talking."

    "Oh…" With vigorous movement, he tried to rub the
    sleep from his face with one hand. "What do you want to
    talk about?"

    He blinked several times and then refocused on her.  
    She didn't answer, but was giving him a look. The look.

    "Oh, you mean *the* talking?"

    "Yes."

    "Right… okay, you want to do it now?" He questioned,
    still trying to clear the sleep from his mind.

    "Yes."

    "It's early."

    "It's 7:45.  Last night was our second night in the hotel,
    and today will be our third day here. We've gotten
    acclimated. We've been to the ocean, and we've had
    umbrella drinks by the pool, and we've had a couple of
    great meals. Not to mention lots of fun activities…" she
    blushed slightly. "Here in the hotel room, but now,
    before we go any further, it's time."

    "Okay."  Josh swallowed hard.  It was time.  The talk. He
    felt his anxiety level, which had bottomed out in the last
    two days, start to tick upwards.  "Go ahead."

    "Excuse me?"

    "What?" He asked innocently.

    "Go ahead?" Donna asked a bit huffily.

    "Yeah, sure, I'm listening."

    "You're listening?  I am not giving a book report this
    morning."

    "Really, 'cause that book you were reading on the plane
    had an Oprah Book Club seal, so seems like it's ripe for
    a report."

    She sat up in bed and glared down at him. Trouble with
    that was that she was naked, so now her breasts were
    uncovered.  Which was fine with Josh. Extra fine.  Super
    fine.  He had no problem with that whatsoever.  Donna's
    problem with that was that it was hard to 'talk' to
    someone when they were staring at your nipples.  

    "Okay, maybe I was hasty."  Donna quickly jumped out
    of bed and headed for the bathroom.

    "Wait, Donna, where are you going? I want to talk.  
    Seriously, don't go.  Where are you going?"  Josh
    watched her head to the bathroom. As the door closed,
    he called, "Donna?"

    A minute later she re-emerged, now wearing her
    underwear and a tank top.  She scooped up a pair of
    boxers and a T-shirt from where Josh had haphazardly
    discarded them the night before. Or maybe that had
    been where she'd thrown them after tearing them from
    his body.  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from
    smiling.  If he caught her smiling, he would use that to
    his advantage; he would use it to distract her.  She
    would not be distracted this morning.

    "Talking and nakedness just don't go together."  Tossing
    the boxers and T-shirt at him, she expanded, "We can't
    have this talk while naked.  It's too distracting.  You
    need to focus."

    "But I like naked.  Or more specifically, I like you naked.
    Very naked.  As for me, I'll wear whatever turns you on."

    "Whatever?" One eyebrow rose in question as she
    climbed back into the bed.  Now she was carrying two
    bottles of water that they'd purchased the night before.  
    "What if I told you I'm turned on by you in a tutu and
    high-hee-"

    "Donna." Josh pressed his fingers to her mouth in order
    to silence her. "I beg you not to give me that image."

    "Heels," Donna finished with a mischievous smile,
    despite his hand over her mouth.

    "That's it.  Now you must be punished."  He lunged at
    her playfully and pulled her onto his lap. Before she
    knew what had hit her, his hands were everywhere,
    tickling her, and she was squealing and laughing
    uncontrollably.  Since she was still holding onto the
    bottles of water, she was utterly defenseless for the first
    few seconds of the attack.  Finally, she dropped the
    water and tried to grab at his hands in order to still
    them. When that failed miserably, she tried fruitless to
    crawl away.  He didn't allow that either, hugging her to
    him with one arm and tickling her with the other.

    "Josh… Josh… JOSH!"  She panted through her giggles,
    trying to get him to stop.

    "I like it when you say my name like that," he whispered
    huskily into her ear from behind.

    So Donna did the only thing she could do to get his
    attention.  She wiggled on his lap until she could
    maneuver to the side, and then grabbed his crotch.

    Instantly, Josh's hands fell away and he squeaked.

    Donna moved all the way off of his lap, but didn't let go
    of her bargaining chip.  Still breathless, she eyed him
    suspiciously.  "If I let go, can we call a truce?"

    With an impish gleam in his eyes, Josh returned, "Are
    you sure you want to let go?  I kinda like what you're
    doing down there.  If you squeeze-"

    "Josh…" Letting go with a groan, she swatted his arm.
    "Seriously, we have to talk."

    "And I told you, I'm listening."

    "See, no," Donna replied firmly. "This isn't going to be
    me talking and you listening.  This is going to be a
    conversation where we both communicate and figure out
    what we're doing."

    Resigned that the time was finally here, Josh ran his
    hands through his hair roughly.  "Okay, okay.  Can I
    have my water first?"

    Donna rolled her eyes at his stalling.

    "Did you just roll your eyes at me?"

    "I did," she answered as she found the discarded bottles
    of water in the bed sheets.  "You're stalling."

    "I'm not stalling," Josh huffed with mock indignation
    before opening his bottle and taking a swig of water.  
    "I'll have you know, tickling you is thirsty work."

    "Okay, you're not stalling. You're thirsty."

    "Thank you."  Josh leaned over to set the water on his
    bedside table.  When he turned back over, he found that
    Donna had settled back on the bed. Lying on her side,
    facing him, her head propped on her elbow.  She looked
    serious.  And serious about talking.  Damn, she was cute
    when she wanted to talk about their relationship.  Her
    cheeks and nose were slightly red from the two days
    they'd already been there.  No amount of sunscreen-
    rubbing could completely protect her skin, and he'd
    tried.  He'd been all about the reapplying. Any excuse to
    get his hands on her.  

    "You do remember that I was the one who wanted to
    talk on the plane?" he began.

    "I do."

    "And I'm the one who called you from California and
    broached the subject of talking?"

    "That rings a bell."

    "And I'm the one who tried to communicate on Election
    Day after the first time we had sex."

    "That's a little fuzzy."

    He looked at her pointedly.

    "Okay, okay, yes, you did try a little on Election Day. Or
    should I say, Election morning. What's your point?"  

    "My point is that you're acting like I'd rather gnaw my
    arm off than have this conversation with you.  And I just
    wanted it stated for the record that that's not true and I
    have made some effort, no matter how small."

    "Are you saying that tickling me just then was an effort
    at sincere communication?"

    He grinned wolfishly at her.  "No, that was a sincere
    effort to get you to squirm around on my lap."

    She scowled playfully at him, but finally admitted,
    "Okay, okay, some of the stalling in having this talk has
    come from my side."

    "Why?" He asked with rapt attention.

    TBC…
Go to Chapter 2
Talking Series
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