Chapter 7 - The Obvious Choice

James was in the kitchen refilling his limeade, tequila bottle in tow, when he heard the chime of his doorbell. He heard Mrs. Garcia answer the door to a booming voice that could likely be heard all over the house. "My goodness! A beautiful young lady! This might sound sudden my dear, but would you like to run away with me?" James could not hear his housekeeper's response to the guest, but imagined it involved a fair deal of eye rolling. "Ah, I see I've rendered you quite speechless. Perhaps I'm a little too handsome for the lady. It has certainly happened before" said a stocky man with sandy blonde hair, trailing behind Mrs. Garcia into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Garcia was muttering her annoyance with the visitor's antics under her breath. James was fairly sure he heard the word "pendejo", meaning "idiot', and he couldn't help but chuckle. Still, she smiled affectionately as she set out chips, salsa, and guacamole for the pair before returning to her work.

The man shoving chips into his face sitting before James was none other than his best friend, Daniel Becker. They were freshmen roommates in college and had been close ever since. Daniel had bought into several forms of crypto currency early and had made out quite well. As a result, he didn't really have to work and made most of his money through stocks and investments. "Damn, Mrs. G even gave us homemade chips. Remind me to offer her double whatever you're paying her. I could get used to this" said Daniel. James playfully glared at his friend saying "Try it and you're dead." Daniel put his hands up as if in surrender before adding a generous amount of tequila to the limeade James had set out for him. "So, what's the deal? I'm assuming I'm not just here for an impromptu Thirsty Thursday" asked Daniel. With his playful personality, Daniel was often underestimated as a bit of a witless meathead. In reality, he was extremely perceptive, and had astounding instincts that carried over to many areas of his life. "I need your help picking a wife" James stated. It was rare to see Daniel taken aback, and James was enjoying the dumbfounded look on his face. Daniel's mouth quickly took on a curious smile and he said "I'm going to need a little more information, Jimbo."

James laid out the situation to Daniel and sat back to gauge his reaction. Daniel had a pained expression on his face as he said "Hey, I'm really sorry to here about your grandad. I know how important he is to you." James was startled by his friends words. He'd purposely rushed through the part about his grandfather's condition, wanting to avoid dealing with the most painful part of the whole situation. He merely nodded in response, not sure he could say much on the matter without breaking down. Luckily, Daniel seemed to understand and said "If you're not ready to talk about it, I understand. Just don't wait for it to eat you up inside." A meaningful silence was held between them, just for a few moments. "Okay, now let's talk about getting you hitched. Show me the lovely contestants!"

James and Daniel spent the next hour debating the pros and cons of each woman. Even Mrs. Garcia joined in on the deliberations after coming out to replace their snacks with some leftover flan she'd made the day before. Unsurprisingly, she argued heavily against Danica, saying "I just have a feeling you won't be a good match". Neither man was willing to argue with her assessment. "I think Whitney should be out too" said Daniel. This genuinely surprised James, which was evident by the skeptical look on his face. "Look, she's just too similar to you. You'll either drive each other up the wall or be bored to tears. Neither one will make for a pleasant year of marriage." "Well, then it looks like we have our three" said James, eager to be done with the deliberations.

"Hold on Jimbo. I'm not too keen on the remaining candidates for you" said Daniel. James sighed deeply, realizing they weren't done. "Christina's lovely but you hardly know anything about her that doesn't revolve around tennis. That makes her a wild card - not exactly what you'd want for a year long commitment." James nodded; the same thought had certainly occurred to him. "Hannah is awesome, but she's also probably the only person you're genuinely close to in town besides me. I'd hate to see this business transaction turn complicated. The last thing you need is to lose friends over this" continued Daniel. This was something James had not considered. He hadn't thought about it before, but he supposed Hannah really had become a good friend to him. "Now, you might be tempted to put all your money on Alicia at this point, but it seems you need to be reminded of how conservative a background she comes from. Her family is mostly devout Catholics. I don't think she'll jump at the chance to be your temporary wife" Daniel finished. James rubbed his face and said "Well, shit. What now?" At this point, Daniel got down on one knee and with as serious a face as he could muster said "James, will you marry me?"

Mrs. Garcia pulled Daniel up and smacked him lightly on the head. This was good, because James had enough tequila to actually consider Daniel's proposal seriously. Mrs. Garcia grabbed the tequila bottle and hid it in a cabinet while the two men were distracted laughing at each other. Once the laughter subsided, Mrs. Garcia observed James's despondent face and decided to put forth what seemed like the obvious solution. "What about your Miss Cadence?" she asked with a confident stance. "What?" James asked, clearly not understanding what she was suggesting. "Fuck, why didn't I think of that?! That's brilliant Mrs. G! Do you think she would go for it James?" asked Daniel. Still not up to speed, James asked again "What are y'all talking about? Go for what?" Mrs. Garcia and Daniel traded exasperated looks. "James, listen to me. Cadence is the answer. You should ask Cadence to marry you." Realization finally hit James as he looked from Daniel to Mrs. Garcia. He took his time to taste this new idea. Perhaps it was the tequila continuing to do it's work, but in that moment, he made his decision.

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Meanwhile, in a small apartment several miles away, Cadence let out a small sneeze in her sleep. She had settled in early, knowing that she'd have a lot of work to catch up on the next day. Her thoughtless slumber slowly blurred into the hazy image of sunlight and greenery. An instant later, the picture focused and she found herself in a familiar spot. She was walking down a trail in the Greenbelt, compelled to follow the path in front of her. The way was smooth, with only a few gentle twists. She kept walking, never tiring, and stopping only when she came upon a small grassy clearing. She suddenly became aware of another presence, a man next to her. She thought she had begun this journey alone, but it seemed perhaps this man had been with her all along. She blinked and breathed the scent of him in deeply. Suddenly they were sitting on blanket he must have spread out. Finally, she looked up, feeling silly that she could not remember what this man looked like. However, before she could manage to see him properly, he leaned in. She'd only caught a flash of dark hair before he was grabbing hold of the back of her head. His fingers quickly became intwined in her loose curls while he claimed her lips with his own. His other hand gently slid the straps of her dress off. She hadn't even registered that she'd been wearing a dress until that moment. She let the dress slip down to expose her bare breasts, knowing that her nipples were already pert and ready for his attention. The man obliged, fondling each breast in turn and lightly pinching her nipples. He deepened his kiss, meeting her tongue with his own and she began to writhe with desire. Her own hands found his muscled chest, which already seemed to be bare. He released the hand from her head and began to slide it up her thigh, inching ever so slowly up to Cadence's center. He was almost there when Cadence was suddenly pulled from her dream by her own very real and delightful shudderings. She rode out her surprising orgasm, without realizing she had one hand on her breast and another between her legs. As she laid there, not wanting to miss any of the aftershocks as her body calmed down, she desperately tried to bring forth an image of the man's face. However, it proved to be a fruitless effort. Even though she was disappointed in not being able to return to her dream, she decided it was a pretty decent way to begin her Friday.