Chapter 179: The Dive
Two quarters of a game to cool down, get their minds off of
Tony's past, and relax back into the idea that this is supposed to be fun, and
that there's nothing he can do about the man he used to be was a good thing.
And it was a good game. The Buckeyes were evenly matched
with UNC, so the game stayed close the whole time, keeping the four of them
interested.
And when Ohio State won it with a three pointer that
whispered through the hoop less than half a second before the buzzer, they were
all shouting (Tony jumping up and down) with excitement.
Late night drinks and barbecue went very well with
basketball.
Honestly, it looked like a dive. It's the dive-y-ist dive
Tim's ever seen. A ramshackle, beat the hell up, the only reason the health
inspector hasn't closed it down is they spend more money bribing him then they
do on décor shack of a place. He's honestly nervous about bringing them here,
let alone eating anything.
But it also came up over and over again on the list of
barbecue joints you absolutely had to go to if you were anywhere near Chapel
Hill.
And it smells like absolute heaven.
And they are men, engaging in a sacred male ritual, and
sacred male rituals need meat that has been cooked over fire.
And since Tony is convinced that barbecue is hot dogs and
burgers on the grill, Tim is considering it his duty, as both his friend and
best man, to make sure he gets introduced to the joy that is spice rubbed slow
cooked pork.
So it's late. They're in a dive. But the beer is cold and
delicious, and the pulled pork and ribs are come-in-your-pants good. Tim loves
food. He really does. But this is the first time he's ever honestly considered
food to be almost orgasmic experience, and he's also very glad that this place
is eight hours from home, because otherwise he'd be 210 again in about six
weeks.
Tony is sucking the rib bones it's so good. (He'd tried to
follow the rules. He started with the chicken, and that was awfully tasty, but
he saw Gibbs' ribs and decided that God would probably forgive him some
decadence for his bachelor party. Especially since there were no strippers
involved.)
Gibbs, who usually isn't a big eater, has ordered seconds
and thirds.
And it's not that Jimmy can't eat sugar, it's just that he
has to adjust his insulin levels to do so, and thus usually avoids sugar so he
doesn't have to inject himself. But he was happily gnawing away, telling them
that this was totally worth the shot.
And, as in the past, when a certain amount of beer has been
consumed and the girls aren't around, the conversation turned to sex.
Tony's looking at Gibbs and finally says, "So… not
until your wedding? Really? Just, twenty years, seems like a really long
time."
Gibbs just shrugs. He was eighteen when he met Shannon, and
while it's true he was ambivalent on the yes sex or no sex before marriage
issue (He's Christian and his church had been pretty clear about the only with
your wife thing, but he was also eighteen, so having sex was something he was
deeply interested in.) Shannon wasn't, and once he met her, the idea of doing
it with someone else just made him sad.
They wait another beat, but Gibbs doesn't say anything, just
eats more of his rib.
Then Jimmy elbows Tony and says, "You can't miss what
you've never had. You want to talk about a long time, Breena made me wait until
we got married. So, at thirty-two, long after I had thought I was done with
terminal blue balls, I was back to being bestest friends with my right hand.
That was hard."
"I think you mean you were hard," Tim says.
"That, too." Jimmy smirks and takes a drink.
"Anyway, waiting until you get married when you get married before you're
even old enough to drink, please."
"Drinking age was eighteen then."
Jimmy flashes Gibbs a you're missing the point look.
"Great. Still, no sex to lots of sex, easy. Somewhat regular sex, start
dating the hottest, most desirable woman on earth, and knowing exactly how
good it's going to be and what you're missing, and because she's evil, making
out with her on a regular basis but not having sex, that's har—difficult."
Tony's laughing at that. "I didn't think she was that
religious."
"She was deeply religious, but that wasn't why she made
us wait. Our first date she said to me, 'I've known a lot of guys over the
years, and one thing I've noticed about all of you is that you're pretty
possessive and you like to know that when something is yours it's really
yours.' So I nodded at that, because, well, yeah, that's true. So she says,
'Look, I love guys. I love the way they feel and smell and look and touch me. I
love kissing and making out and rubbing up against them, but I'm a virgin. I'm
not having sex with any guy until I get married. That's my wedding present to
my future husband. He'll know, absolutely, that I'm his and only his. And when
that ring's on my finger I'm going to absolutely rock his world.' And she just
smiled at me, and wrapped her lips around the straw in her drink, took a sip
and finished up with, 'If that's not something you respect, well, this was fun.
If it's something you do, then I'd like to see you again.'"
"What did you say to that?" Tim asks, smiling.
"You mean once some of the blood got back to my brain
and I could form words?"
Tim nods.
"Marry me."
All three of them laugh at that.
"Then she said, 'How about we go on a second date
first?' And we did, and it was the longest most sexually frustrated two years
of my life. And then because God hates me, Dearing blew up NCIS on my wedding
day, and since I'm a decent guy who wanted her to have a good time, too, we
waited another week, until I was able to crawl out from under the mile-high
stack of paperwork I had to deal with, get enough sleep so I could keep going
for more than two minutes, and take the time to do it right."
"It was worth it," Gibbs says, sharing a look with
Jimmy, one that understands what waiting for something you desire above
everything else and then finally getting it is like.
"Oh yeah." He grins and shakes his head in wonder.
"And, yeah, there's a real kick to knowing she's only been with me. It's
stupid, because we aren't supposed to feel that way, but… I do. I'm the only
guy who's gotten to see her naked. Only one who's ever enjoyed her body. And
she was dead right, that was one hell of a wedding present."
Gibbs nods at that, too, agreeing. "It was expected
when we got married. You'd be her one and only. And yeah, maybe you fooled
around before you got married, but she didn't, or if she did, it was with you.
And you didn't feel bad about liking it. Didn't feel like there was something
wrong with you if you got a kick out of letting her learn what to do with a guy
on you. Didn't feel like it was wrong to say she was yours. Bunch of guys were
jerks about it, and that wrecked it for the rest of us, but we all feel it. Hell,"
he tips his head at Tim and Tony, "those two feel it, even if it's not
quite the same."
Tim nods along with that, swallowing his beer and putting
the glass down. "Certainly got a kick out of everything I've done with her
that no other guy has."
"What have you done with Abby that no other guy
has?" Tony asks, rib paused midway to his mouth. Sure, he knows that Tim's
not vanilla about sex, but he's also fairly sure that if Tim's ever imagined
it, then Abby's done it.
Tim smiles wide and fairly dirty. "Got her pregnant
among other things, and 'other things' is all you get to know about that."
Tony, Jimmy, and Gibbs laugh.
"And there's definitely a thrill to everything I've
done with her and no one else. It works both ways."
Gibbs smiles at that, eyes the waitress, looking like he
might be thinking about fourths, but decides against it. "Yeah, it
does."
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Jimmy's phone buzzes. He reaches for it, taps the screen,
and smiles. "Speaking of the girls who make our lives worthwhile. Breena
just sent me these." He turned the screen so they could all see. The first
shot was Abby and Ziva, looking like they were taking a break from dancing. The
next was Breena with Ziva, putting a little sparkly tiara on her head. There
was a dim, grainy shot of all three of them dancing together.
Tim's looking at them, and says, "So it looks like a
good time and minor hearing damage has been had by all."
"Yes."
"So, they home, or just taking a break?" Tony
asks.
Jimmy flashes a quick text to Breena and thirty seconds
later says, "Home. The pregnant matron of honor needed some sleep."
Tim checks his watch; it's 12:48. "She's going to be
pissed about that. She hates how tired she is these days."
Tony notices that their waitress is sort of glaring at them.
"I think we're overstaying our welcome."
So they settled up and headed to their hotel.
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