Chapter 13: If These Walls Could Talk
Chapter 13: 'Twas the night before the wedding
The next morning, Luis walked into the bedroom carrying a tray of breakfast for Sheridan. He couldn’t get last night’s events out of his head and he had a smile on his face that wouldn’t go away. It seemed like it was permanently attached. He’d never seen that side of her before. It was completely uninhibited and wild and he loved every second. He noticed she was still sleeping and he hated to wake her, but they had a lot to do before the rehearsal tonight. He put the tray on the floor and got back into bed next to her. He picked the rose he had for her up off the tray and ran it down her bare back lightly. “Wake up baby,” he whispered in her ear.
“Hmm.” Sheridan didn’t move.
“Come on, Sherry. It’s time to get up,” he said gently shaking her.
“Uh-uh. Sherry sleeping,” she said groggily. Luis laughed. She was impossible to wake up in the mornings. He leaned in and gently placed kisses on her face. She stirred slightly and let out a sigh, but didn’t wake up. Luis sat up and straddled her legs. He began massaging her back and kissing her neck. He trailed succulent kisses up and down her back until he got a response from her.
Sheridan moaned at feeling Luis’ lips work their way up and down her back. She rolled over and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She saw Luis sitting on top of her legs smiling down at her and she felt a smile of her own playing on her lips. Sheridan let out a big yawn and stretched out her arms. When she did, her hand hit something hard and cold. She held up the handcuffs and smiled bashfully upon remembering what happened the night before. “Hi baby,” she said, her voice raspy from just waking up.
Luis grinned at her. “Hey, Officer Sherry is finally awake.” He watched her cheeks blush a deep shade of red. He laughed and leaned in to kiss her. He then laid back down next to her, propping himself up on one elbow. He absentmindedly began rubbing her stomach and just watched her. ‘She is so beautiful.’ He thought she was her most beautiful and sexy when she first woke up in the morning. He told her that once and she thought he was crazy, but it was true. Her hair was out of place and her lips were swollen from sleep, but he loved that. And the way her eyes twinkled first thing in the morning made his heart do back flips. Sheridan was completely awake now and rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow to meet Luis’ gaze. “How’d you sleep?” Luis asked softly as he brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.
“Mmm, very well thank you. I was exhausted when I finally went to sleep last night,” she said with a rascally grin. “How about you?” She saw the look in his eyes as they sparkled back at her and his cheeks blushed slightly.
“I slept quite well myself. Lots of…satisfying dreams,” he said playfully. He kissed her again and whispered “I have a surprise for you” against her lips.
“You do?” Sheridan whispered.
“Mmm hmm. Close your eyes.” Sheridan smiled and did as told and waited for Luis to tell her it was okay to open them. He picked up the tray and sat it beside her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly. “Okay.”
Sheridan opened her eyes and looked down finding that he fixed breakfast in bed for her. “Luis…you think of everything,” she said with a sweet smile. “And you made my favorite blueberry pancakes.” She looked up at him and stroked his face with her hand. “What did I do to deserve this?” she asked impishly.
Luis chuckled, “Oh I think you know exactly what you did.” Sheridan grinned and took the bite of pancakes he was offering her. “I don’t know how you do it.” She raised her eyebrows questioningly as she sipped her juice. “I don’t know how you manage to keep coming up with surprises that completely floor me. Just when I think I have you pegged, you throw another curve ball at me. It’s one of the things I love most about you.” Luis brushed her cheek with his thumb and looked adoringly at her.
Sheridan smiled and fed him a bite of pancakes. “Luis…in the words of BTO, ‘you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!’” They smiled at each other and Sheridan leaned in to meet his lips again. “I love you, Ponch.”
Luis rested his forehead against hers. “I love you too, Sherry. I’m going to love you forever.”
Theresa woke up and walked into the kitchen where she found Miguel sitting at the table and her mother fixing breakfast. “Good morning, family!” she said cheerfully as she sat down at the table.
Miguel just looked at her. “Why are you in such a good mood today?’
“Oh Miguel, can’t a person be in a good mood?”
“Sure, but you’ve been Miss Mopey all week long. What brought about this sudden change of moods?”
Theresa just smiled and took a sip of her juice. Pilar looked over at her daughter and smiled, knowing it had something to do with Ethan. “Theresa, before I forget, I found this outside with the newspaper this morning,” she said handing her an envelope.
“Hmm, I wonder who it’s from,” Theresa said as she tore the envelope open. Pilar and Miguel watched intently as Theresa read the note trying to gauge her reaction. Theresa saw that the note was from Ethan, and a small smile played on her lips as she read it.
Theresa,
Good morning! I wanted to apologize for my drunkenness last night. I hope that the things I said didn’t offend you or cause you anymore pain. I do remember some things that I said, and I meant them. When I said that I don’t intend to give up on you or on us, I meant that with everything in me. I love you, and nothing can change that. I also want you to know that I don’t want to push you and I want to be able to give you the space you need. I really felt as though things somehow changed for the better last night, but maybe that was my state of being…I don’t know. All I do know is that after you dropped me off, I felt better than I had all week. I hope that things won’t be awkward between us this weekend at the wedding. Save me a dance.
Love
Ethan
Theresa smiled and folded the note up and placed it back in the envelope. She looked up and noticed Miguel and her mother staring at her. “What?”
“Who was that from?” Miguel inquired.
Theresa just played it off and put a fork full of eggs into her mouth and chewed them happily.
It was a little after 5:00, and Sheridan and Luis had been running around all day getting last minute things done before the wedding. They had to be at the church at 5:30 for the rehearsal and Luis was waiting on Sheridan to finish getting ready.
“Sheridan, we’re going to be late,” Luis called through the bathroom door.
“Two minutes, sweetie.”
Luis walked over to the bed and finished packing the things he needed for tonight. He was going to spend the night at his house and Gwen and Theresa were staying with Sheridan at the apartment. He was growing very anxious for the wedding, but in a good way. He simply couldn’t wait for Sheridan to be his wife and leave for their honeymoon in Spain. Luis was lost in thought and didn’t hear Sheridan coming up behind him. She cleared her throat to gain his attention. He turned around and noticed how gorgeous she looked. She was wearing a fitted, light blue, a-line dress that had thin shoulder straps and fell just above her knees. It matched her eyes perfectly. She had on white sandals and silver jewelry that sparkled against her tan skin.
“Wow! You look…stunning.”
Sheridan’s shiny pink lips parted and revealed a toothy grin. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Sorry I took so long.”
Luis grinned at her, “It was worth the wait.”
Sheridan blushed. “Did you get everything you needed packed?”
“Yep. So, shall we go?” Sheridan nodded and grabbed her purse.
A few minutes later they walked hand in hand into St. Margaret Mary’s where everyone was awaiting their arrival.
“There’s the happy couple now,” Theresa said once she spotted them. Everyone in the church turned around and greeted them.
Father Lonigan announced that they should get started and they did a quick walk through of what the ceremony would be like.
After the rehearsal everyone was going to the Lobster Shack for dinner. Theresa was on her way out of the church when she spotted Ethan. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him yet and she really wanted to. She walked over to him where he was talking to Miguel and Hank.
“Ethan,” she said softly. Ethan turned around and a smile formed on his face when he saw her.
“Hi."
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Ethan nodded his head and excused himself from the guys. Miguel gave his sister a knowing smile but she played it off. They walked outside so they could talk privately. “Thank you for the note,” she said earnestly.
Ethan smiled, relieved that he didn’t overstep some boundary. “You’re welcome. I meant everything that I said.”
“I know you did, and it meant a lot to me,” she said as she placed her hand on top of his. She hadn’t meant to do that, but it was habit. Ethan turned and looked at her and she nervously pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Theresa.”
The two sat in silence for a moment and Ethan was the first to break it. “Um, do you want to ride with me to the Lobster Shack?”
Inside Theresa was elated and screaming yes. She was still conflicted about the decision she made at the beginning of the week when she adamantly declared she needed her space from Ethan…but now she wasn’t convinced that was the right thing to do. She loved Ethan with all of her heart and it was hard to not want to be with him. “Sure.”
“Great. Let’s go then.” Ethan stood up and offered his hand to help Theresa up and she took it willingly. They walked to his car and drove to the restaurant.
Everyone was enjoying their dinner at the Lobster Shack, yet Sheridan and Luis had hardly touched their food. They couldn’t take their eyes off one another and kept whispering sweet nothings back and forth. Those around them couldn’t help but smile seeing how in love they were. Sheridan got a forkful of lobster and fed it to Luis just like she had on their very first date. Luis smiled at her before eating the bite, and then leaned in to kiss her, forgetting all the people that sat around them. They were so lost in each other that it took Hank clinking a fork on his wine glass right by their ears several times for them to look up.
“Oh, sorry…I guess we, uh, got a little carried away,” Luis said with a roguish grin. Sheridan blushed and squeezed his hand under the table.
“We really want to thank all of you for all of the hard work and everything that you’ve done in helping us plan the wedding. Without you, we don’t know where we’d be right now,” Sheridan said.
“Probably getting hitched in Vegas,” Luis interjected. Sheridan smacked his arm playfully. “Seriously though, we really couldn’t have done this without all of you and we want each and every one of you to know how much you mean to us and how much we appreciate and love you.”
“So, Luis and I want to propose a toast to our family and friends. Thank you for all of your love and support you have given us through the years.” Sheridan and Luis raised their glasses and everyone followed suit.
Several people made toasts to Sheridan and Luis, and then suggested to the happy couple that they should probably get going since their big day was tomorrow. Luis and Sheridan said their goodbyes to everyone with hugs and handshakes, and thanked them for a wonderful evening. They had one last thing to do before they left…say goodnight to each other.
Luis held his hand out for Sheridan and she took it and followed him outside. Luis led them over to his Jeep and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her close to him. “So Miss Crane…tomorrow is the big day huh?”
Sheridan smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Mmm, it sure is, Detective. You’re making an honest woman out of me,” she teased. Luis chuckled and leaned his head in to kiss her sweetly on the lips. They shared several short, sweet kisses and they gradually became more ardent and passionate. Sheridan had her fingers in his hair and Luis’ arms were still wrapped snugly around her waist. They pulled away for air and Sheridan wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. “I don’t want to say goodnight to you,” she murmured. She felt his arms wrap farther around her and he buried his face against her shoulder.
“I don’t either,” he whispered back as his hands traced soothing lines on her back.
Sheridan pulled back as to look in his eyes and held his face in her hands. “We haven’t spent a night apart in such a long time. It will feel strange sleeping without you.”
“I know. I can’t imagine not waking up next to you in the morning. But just think…24 hours from now, we’ll be married and we can spend every night together.”
Sheridan smiled at the thought. She was giddy inside. “And the first two weeks our nights will be spent in Spain,” she said with raised eyebrows. She watched as the grin stretched across Luis’ handsome face. That smile made his entire face light up and it always had the same effect on her…making her weak in the knees.
“Spain will be something, Sherry. I’m so excited that I can hardly wait. Did you, um, pack last night’s attire by chance?” he asked with a mischievous tone.
Sheridan giggled. “You never know,” she said nonchalantly. She leaned in to kiss him and their mouths began their dance once again. Sheridan broke the kiss long enough to say ‘I love you’ against his lips and resumed kissing Luis. Luis did the same moments later. After a few minutes of kissing and short bits of conversation between kisses, he pulled back slightly to look at her and gave her a sly smile. He then began singing to her.
“Girl, your lookin’ fine tonight…and every guy has got you in his sights…what you’re doin’ with a clown like me…is surely one of life’s little mysteries. So, tonight I lie, stars above…how did I ever win your love…what did I do…what did I say…to turn your angel eyes my way?” Sheridan looked adoringly at him as he sang her song. He had started doing that a long time ago, and she never got tired of it. His voice wasn’t the greatest, and he wasn’t going to be a rock star anytime soon, but she loved him and cherished the sweet significance of the song. His voice was deep and raspy and he sang it just loud enough for her to hear. She could feel his breath on her cheek as he continued the song and it made her heart soar.
When he finished the song, she held his face in her hands and kissed him sweetly. She rested her forehead against his and sighed contentedly. “It still gets to me,” she said softly.
Luis felt a smile pulling the corners of his mouth upwards. He flashed his million dollar smile and pulled her in for a heart stopping, passionate kiss. Sheridan responded in equal measure and the two were oblivious to everything around them…including the approaching footsteps.
Gwen, Theresa, Ethan, Hank, and Miguel were approaching Luis’ jeep and saw the two engaged in lip lock. “Hey you two…it’s time to say goodnight,” Gwen said loudly.
Sheridan and Luis were startled by her voice and broke their kiss to look up and see an audience. Sheridan giggled and leaned up against Luis, embarrassed. Luis wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him and ran his fingers through her short blonde hair. She tilted her head up and began planting sweet kisses on his mouth, not caring that they had five pairs of eyes on them.
“Sheridan,” Gwen sang, “you have an eventful day tomorrow and you need some sleep. You can see your Prince Charming tomorrow at 5:30. Time to say goodnight.”
“Gwen’s right, bro. We need to go home,” Miguel chimed in.
Luis pulled back a little. “Goodnight,” he said playfully with no intention of leaving her yet.
Sheridan picked up on that and smiled widely. “Goodnight,” she responded, just as playful. Luis leaned in and began kissing her again.
“Ahem!” Gwen cleared her throat loudly and Sheridan and Luis held up their index fingers indicating they needed a minute. Gwen laughed and rolled her eyes. The rest of the group shared idle chit-chat while they waited on Sheridan and Luis to finish “saying goodnight.”
After five minutes, the onlookers decided they had to be separated. Gwen walked up to Sheridan and Miguel walked over to Luis. “Okay you two…either you separate now, or we’ll turn the hose on you,” Gwen joked. Sheridan and Luis pulled apart long enough to laugh and then begin kissing again. Gwen shook her head and called Theresa and Hank over. Ethan had left a few minutes ago since he was not staying with the guys tonight. Gwen took a hold of Sheridan’s arm and attempted to draw her away from Luis. Miguel did the same to Luis, but the couple was reluctant to move anywhere.
They continued to stare amorously at each other, almost in a total daze. “Say ‘bye bye Luis’,” Gwen told Sheridan.
“Can’t we have five more minutes,” Sheridan whined.
“You guys have been out here for 45 minutes,” Miguel said.
“So,” Luis said emphatically, not removing his eyes from Sheridan. Luis moved closer to her and whispered something in her ear and she nodded with a smile on her face.
“Goodnight, Luis. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Sheridan. Goodnight.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips and removed his free arm from around her waist.
Gwen took Sheridan’s hand and led her to the car. Sheridan watched Luis the entire time and Theresa opened the backseat door for her and she got in. Luis stood outside his jeep with his arms crossed and a goofy grin on his face as he watched the ladies get into the car and Miguel and Hank hopped into the jeep. Sheridan waited until Gwen and Theresa were in the car and she opened the door and ran out. “Ugh! We are never going to get that woman home tonight,” Gwen said. Theresa laughed. “I’m going to be waiting with a big ‘I-told-you-so’ when she’s falling asleep at the altar tomorrow,” she said humorously.
Sheridan ran over to Luis who was waiting with open arms. She eagerly ran into them and he picked her up and swung her around, kissing her fervently. Sheridan pulled away for air and grinned at Luis. “Good plan, baby. That was too easy.”
“I knew it would work,” he said before kissing her.
Miguel and Hank laughed and hopped out of the jeep.
“Hey good plan, McGuyver. No wonder you made detective,” Hank said sarcastically with a laugh. “Seriously buddy, time to leave your beautiful bride-to-be for the evening. Say ‘night night, Sheridan’.”
Luis groaned as he was annoyed with the fact that he had to leave. He sat Sheridan down but didn’t let go of her yet. He looked into her bright blue eyes and said, “I’m marrying you…tomorrow, 5:30!”
“You bet your ass you are,” Sheridan said with a furtive grin. Luis laughed and kissed her one last time.
“Goodnight, Sherry.”
“Goodnight, Ponch.”
Luis watched as Sheridan walked to Gwen’s car. She turned around and blew him a kiss and mouthed ‘I love you’ before she got in. He smiled and got into the driver’s seat of his jeep and headed to his childhood home.
Sheridan opened the door to the apartment and Gwen and Theresa followed her inside. She hadn’t said much the entire ride home because she was so entranced by her thoughts of Luis and the wedding. She sighed blissfully and threw her purse on the counter. She turned around to see Theresa and Gwen smiling at her.
“What,” Sheridan asked, suspicious of their silly grins.
“Nothing. Gwen and I were just talking about how happy you look,” Theresa stated.
Sheridan sighed again. “I AM happy. Deliriously happy. I can’t believe that I’m getting married tomorrow. When we got engaged, it seemed like the wedding would never get here, but it has. And tomorrow, at 5:30, I will walk down that aisle and marry the man of my dreams.”
“We’re so happy for you, Sheridan,” Gwen countered.
“Thank you for staying here with me tonight. I need you here to keep me in check. I’m sure if you weren’t here, I’d stay up all night and then I wouldn’t be the “blushing bride” everyone expects me to be tomorrow,” Sheridan said dramatically, which caused Gwen and Theresa to giggle.
“How about we put on our pajamas and watch ‘Father of the Bride’,” Theresa suggested.
Sheridan smiled and nodded favorably for that idea. She went into her bedroom to put on some pajamas. She found Luis’ old Harmony High Basketball t-shirt and put that on along with some boxer shorts. She brought the shirt to her face and inhaled deeply. It smelled like Luis and that was the closest she was going to get to him tonight. She brushed her teeth and went out into the living room where Gwen and Theresa were waiting to start the movie.
Luis, Hank, and Miguel were sitting in the Lopez-Fitzgerald living room talking and deciding which movie to watch. Luis went to the kitchen to grab a couple of beers and there was a knock on the back door. He opened it and found Kay standing outside.
“Hey Kay,” Luis said with a smile. He moved out of the way to let her walk inside.
“Hi Luis. Big day tomorrow, huh?”
“You got that right. Miguel’s in the living room. We’re about to watch a movie.”
“I’m not intruding on a guy’s night am I? I can leave,” she said as she started to turn towards the door.
“Don’t be silly. Miguel would kill me if I let you leave. You are always welcome here, you know that.”
“Thanks Luis.”
Miguel yelled from the living room for Luis to bring him a soda. Kay told Luis she’d get it.
Luis handed Kay the soda and she walked into the living room. He grabbed a beer for himself and one for Hank. He closed the door and saw the wedding announcement that was in the Harmony Herald hanging on the fridge. He closed his eyes and tried to picture what Sheridan would look like tomorrow walking down the aisle. He had done this a thousand times, yet he knew that she would look ten times better than she did in his dreams…she always did. He heaved a happy sigh and walked into the living room.
Kay walked up behind Miguel, who was sitting on the couch. She leaned over him and let her long chestnut hair fall around him. “What’s the matter, brat…too lazy to get up and get your own soda,” Kay teased.
Miguel felt a huge grin spread across his face. Kay walked around to sit on the couch but Miguel grabbed her, pulled her to the floor, and started tickling her relentlessly. “AAAAHHHH! Miguel, STOP!” Kay was laughing, squealing, and begging him to stop tickling her. Miguel knew how ticklish she was and thought it was endearing.
“Apologize for calling me a brat,” he told her.
“Never!” Miguel went for her particularly ticklish spots and Kay had tears rolling down her face because she was laughing so hard. “Okay, okay! I give! Please stop tickling me!” Miguel stopped the tickle fest and grinned impishly at her. “You’re mean,” she pouted and stuck her bottom lip out.
Miguel thought she looked incredibly sweet and sexy at that moment. “Aww, baby I’m sorry.” He swept the hair away from her face and leaned down to kiss her. Kay responded willingly and placed her hand behind his head pulling him down on top of her.
Luis walked into the living room and grinned when he saw them. When Hank saw the two on top of one another he yelled at Luis, “man, your little brother is groping my niece!” Luis didn’t do anything but express amusement.
Kay and Miguel heard him and started cracking up, however, he didn’t move from his position.
“Miguel, would you kindly remove yourself from Kay?” Hank asked. He was getting extremely overprotective and it was so out of character for a goofball like him.
“No, but thanks for asking,” Miguel said. Kay started giggling and had to cover her mouth with her hand. The look on Hank’s face was priceless.
Luis was sitting in a chair watching this scene. It was making him laugh. He wondered what it would have been like to meet Sheridan when they were younger, and if they would have ended up where they are now. He decided that Theresa’s favorite word “fate” had brought them together and everything was just as it should be. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and the wedding. Luis was lost in his thoughts until he was shaken from them by the sound of Hank yelling and Miguel and Kay laughing.
Hank started to walk towards Miguel and Kay and he had every intention of pulling him off of her. Miguel wrapped his arms around her tightly. “No…she’s my Kay!” Hank had a distressed look on his face and it was so out of character for him that everyone around him found it hilarious.
“Oh come on, Uncle Hank. Don’t you remember being eighteen?” Kay asked in hopes that he would back off.
Hank’s eyes widened and forcefully pulled Miguel away from his niece. “Yes I do, and I’m sitting between the two of you when we watch the movie!”
At that statement, Luis burst out laughing. He couldn’t contain it any longer. “Are ya kiddin’ me, Hank? You know you were ten times worse than they are when you were eighteen.”
“I most certainly was not. I walked the straight and narrow…” he tried to go on, but three voices simultaneously overpowered him.
“LIAR!” Luis, Miguel, and Kay said vehemently.
Hank started to protest, but realized attempts were futile. “Okay…FINE! Yes, I pulled some sneaky stuff in my day, but that doesn’t mean that YOU TWO need to be like me,” he said pointing to Miguel and Kay. Hank turned around and Kay stuck her tongue out at him which prompted laughter from Miguel. He whipped his head around to see why he was laughing, but all he got was two cheesy grins from the giddy teenagers.
“Hank, let’s watch a movie. I have to get some sleep tonight. I am getting married you know,” Luis egged him on.
“Yeah, what movie are we watching, Uncle Hank?”
“Something Disney for you two,” he said glibly.
“Funny. How about ’10 Things I Hate About YOU’,” Kay asked tartly.
“Oh niece, how sweet you are!” Hank was laying the sarcasm on pretty thick, but he enjoyed going head to head with Kay. She was just every bit as headstrong as he was, and neither wanted to back down first.
Kay was about to comment again, but Miguel squeezed her hand and she stopped. “Just pick a movie, Uncle Hank. Luis has to get some sleep tonight.” She turned to Miguel and whispered, “it’s not like we’ll see much of the movie anyway.” He flashed her a sexy grin and pulled her towards him so they could snuggle. Hank finally put in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. Everyone seemed pleased with that selection and they started the movie.
Kay and Miguel were cuddled on the couch together stealing glances and kisses, Hank was snoring in the recliner, and Luis wasn’t paying much attention to the movie as his thoughts were of a certain blonde. He decided he would go into his room and give her a quick call. He needed to hear her voice before he went to sleep.
Once Luis left the room, Miguel gently eased Kay onto her back and lowered himself on top of her. He noticed that Hank was still sound asleep in the recliner and turned to smile at his girlfriend. “I didn’t think we’d ever get some alone time,” he whispered. He kissed her and then pulled back to look at her.
Kay smiled at him. “We’re not exactly alone, Miguel,” she whispered back.
“That just makes it all the more exciting,” he said in a low, husky voice.
She raised her eyebrows, surprised by his comment. “Are you my little bad boy now,” she asked lightheartedly.
“Wanna see just how bad I can be?”
The look he was giving ignited a fire within her. “Show me.” That was all Miguel needed to hear and he kissed her wildly. Kay pulled back when she could no longer breathe and his lips worked their way down to her neck. She had her fingers in his hair as his lips worked the sensitive areas. “Mmm Miguel,” Kay moaned a little more loudly than she intended to. Miguel looked at her and put his finger against her lips. He knew that Kay had a tendency to be loud, and even though he loved it, he certainly didn’t want to get caught by her uncle considering he was initiating these sounds.
“Shhh.” Kay kissed his finger and drew it into her mouth, eliciting a groan from him. Miguel grinned slyly and kissed her again. “You’re bad,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Is it my turn to show you how bad I can be,” Kay asked with a wicked smile. He let an approving moan escape his mouth and flashed his million-watt smile.
He kissed her quickly and lowered his head to whisper in her ear. “Can you show me in my room?”
“That’s the plan.”
Miguel saw the look in her eyes and he felt a rush of warmth through his body. He stood up and helped Kay to her feet. They crept quietly past a still sleeping Hank and walked into Miguel’s room and locked the door for more ‘alone time’.
Sheridan turned the TV off after the movie was over. Theresa was asleep on the couch and Gwen was already asleep in the guest room. She walked into her room and got into bed. She saw the picture she kept on her nightstand of Luis and picked it up. She looked adoringly at his face and then sat it down in its place. She snuggled under the covers and tried to get comfortable. The phone rang and she picked it up quickly so it didn’t wake Gwen or Theresa.
“Hello?”
“Hi gorgeous…what are you wearing?” Luis asked mischievously with an unusually deep voice.
Sheridan giggled and decided to play along. “Handcuffs and a smile.” She heard Luis trying to suppress his laughter on the other end.
“Really? The thought of that sends the mind into overdrive. I can be there in ten minutes.”
“I don’t think that my fiancée would like that too much. He’s a big time detective in this town you know…and he carries a gun. Plus, I think it’s only fair to tell you we’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Well that’s a shame. Is he good looking?”
“Eh, he’s all right,” Sheridan said flatly. She was trying so hard not to laugh. She thought Luis was the most gorgeous and sexy man ever and to say otherwise was completely ludicrous.
“HEY!” Luis feigned the hurt in his voice.
She was laughing out loud. “Oh, Luis! That was YOU on the phone? I’m so sorry, baby. I thought it was my other boyfriend,” Sheridan said playfully. “My mistake.”
“Cute, Sherry, cute.”
“I am, aren’t I?” She waited for his response and she heard him laughing.
“Yes, you most certainly are.”
“I miss you, Ponch. This big ol’ bed seems empty without you.”
Luis smiled. He was happy to hear that she missed him as much as he missed her. “Well, I certainly miss my lady. She’s really beautiful and great to snuggle with.”
“I bet you can’t guess what I’m really wearing right now, Luis.”
“Oh, the handcuffs and a smile thing was just a joke? That’s disappointing, Sherry.” He heard her giggling on the other end. “Hmm…what are you wearing? Genie PJs?”
“Nope.”
“The black ones?”
“No.”
“Well, we can sit here all night while I try to recall the fifty pairs of pajamas that you have, or you could give me a hint.”
Sheridan laughed. He was right. “Well, I really wanted to feel close to you tonight, so...I put on your Harmony High Basketball t-shirt and boxer shorts.”
Luis closed his eyes trying to picture her in bed wearing that and a smile crept across his face. “I bet you look sexy.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“I do. You’d make a garbage bag look sexy.”
Sheridan felt her cheeks blush. She didn’t know how he always got to her, but he did. “You’re sweet, Luis. I’m so glad I’m marrying you tomorrow”
“Me too, Sherry, me too. I can’t believe that it’s finally here.”
“Me neither…you have no idea how excited I am.”
“Oh, I think I do. I’m just as excited as you, if not more,” Luis exclaimed. He heard her yawn on the other end and realized it was getting late. “Sweetie, you’re tired, I guess we should hang up.”
“I don’t really want to, but I do need my beauty sleep if I’m going to knock your socks off when I walk down the aisle tomorrow.”
Luis could envision her beaming face as she spoke those words. “Don’t you know by now that you do that every time I see you? You are the most beautiful person, Sheridan. Inside and out…and I can’t wait to see you walk down that aisle tomorrow.”
She smiled for what seemed like the millionth time that day. “I love you, Luis. Thank you for calling. I really needed to hear your voice before I went to sleep.”
“Ditto. Goodnight, Sherry. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ponch. Goodnight.” Sheridan hung up the phone and had a huge grin on her face. ‘I can’t wait to become Mrs. Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald.’ She snuggled under her covers to try and get some sleep.
Luis waited for Sheridan to hang up first and he turned his phone off. “Sheridan Crane…soon to be Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald.” Luis smiled widely as he got comfy under his blankets. He wasn’t sure how he was ever going to get to sleep that night, but he had to try.
To Be Continued...
