A Little Heat in the Night

She woke up suddenly, hot and sticky, in a room which had somehow been converted to a blast furnace while she slept. There seemed to be not a breath of air left in the place. Well, there probably was, but her snoring husband was sucking it all up.

Abbey threw back the sheet and reached over to switch on the bedside lamp. Pushing on her glasses, she crossed the room to the thermostat and jiggled the temperature control. There was no rush of air from the cooling vents to correspond with her gesture.

Damn! The system had been working inefficiently for the last few days. Now it appeared to have gone off completely, apparently taxed beyond its capacity in trying to cope with a Washington heat wave.

She pulled on her robe and went to the door. Maybe it was cooler in the hall. She opened the door to see the agent standing guard just as usual, but his habitually pristine appearance was marred by the trickle of sweat sliding down his jaw.

"I suppose it was too much to hope that the air conditioning was working out here," Abbey said with a sigh.

"Yes, Ma'am," the agent replied. "It's been down about two hours. Maintenance is trying to get it repaired, but in the meantime..."

"In the meantime, you can ditch that coat and tie, before you suffocate."

"Thank you, Ma'am, but regulations require us to wear suits while on duty."

"Be that as it may, you can't protect the President very well if you pass out from heat prostration." She reached down and flapped the front edges of her robe, trying to get some air moving. The agent responded only by loosening his tie a quarter of an inch, and that might have been caused from his glimpse of the First Lady's cleavage as much as from the oppressive heat.

"One of the stewards went down to the basement supply room to check for fans. We'll get you one just as soon as we can," he told her, shifting his eyes as he tried not to look at the tiny bead of perspiration slipping down her throat to places he didn't need to think about.

"Thanks, that would certainly help."

Abbey turned and went back into the bedroom. The atmosphere was stifling and the thought crossed her mind that they were certainly reaping their just rewards. This heat could only be the prelude to hell.

But, judging from his continued snores, Jed was totally oblivious. She muttered "Jackass" under her breath, but admitted that there was nothing he could do to alleviate the current situation, unless he could conjure up a huge palm frond to wave over her.

Her eyes went to the windows and she decided to give them a try. After repeated attempts to open them, and one broken fingernail, she was forced to concede defeat. They were all either painted or nailed shut, or they had never been meant to open, effectively closing off all avenue escape for the Commander in Chief. She wondered briefly about the tunnel that Jed occasionally blathered about, and if it was any cooler down there.

Abbey stood in the middle of the room, tiny rivers of perspiration sliding down her body, gaining momentum as they trickled down the backs of her legs. She looked at Jed in amazement. How could he still be asleep in this heat?

Of course, this might be a good thing. His midnight awakenings were often accompanied by the urge to fool around, and, right now, the idea of another sweaty body on top of hers was unthinkable. Well, almost.

More than a little aggravated, she realized that her head was beginning to ache. Intent on getting aspirin, she went into the bathroom, stopping dead in her tracks at the site of the large bathtub. Relief was in sight. Abbey had discovered her oasis.

She turned on the taps and added bubble bath. While the tub filled, she swallowed the aspirin with a large glass of water, then pulled her hair up into a clip and got out of her clothes. Slipping into the water, she found it deliciously cool and soothing.

She spared a momentary thought for those less fortunate, still suffering in the heat. Poor unconscious Jed, wrapped in sticky sheets. Poor secret service agent, standing guard, trapped in his sweaty suit. Of course, she had tried to help him. It wasn't her fault that he refused to take off some of his clothes. Wait, that didn't sound quite right...

Her head ached and it was suddenly too much trouble to think about the others. Swirling the water with her hand, Abbey was very grateful that she, at least, had found respite.

She rested her head on the back of the tub, reveling in the cool water. The pounding behind her eyes was already beginning to ease off and she felt distinctly drowsy. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

"What are you doing?"

She opened one eye at the interruption, then closed it again. Why wasn't poor Jed still unconscious in the bedroom? She just wanted to lie here in the cool water and drift off...

"Abbey?"

She opened both eyes and saw he was still there. "I'm trying to cool off."

"Well, you can come back to bed now. They just brought in a fan."

"No, thanks, I'm fine right here."

He came over and sat on the edge of the tub, reaching down to ruffle the bubbles.

"I see you are," he said, dipping his hand further into the water and splashing it gently. Jed knew that under the foam her body was cool and slick, almost weightless in the water. The mental image was instantly seductive.

Abbey looked up and noticed that his face was shiny with perspiration and his hair was damp at the back of his neck. But it was his smug smile that really got her attention. She watched as he peeled off his damp t-shirt and motioned for her to move forward in the tub.

"Move over, I'm coming in," he said, as he stripped off his boxers.

"No," she said, not moving an inch. "Take a shower."

"But, Abbey, it would be a cold shower, and that's not what either of us really wants, is it?"

Her eyes moved down his body. Well, he was certainly running true to form. The air conditioning might not work, but all of Jed Bartlet's equipment was functioning.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but her body moved of its own volition, sliding forward so there was room for him to join her in the tub. Jed eased himself down into the water behind her, putting a leg on either side of her body, then pulling her back to rest against him.

"There, isn't that better?" he asked, bringing his arms around her waist and sloshing water over the edge of the tub.

"You don't listen. I told you that I was fine before."

"This is better."

She relaxed and decided that he might not be a bad pillow, if he would just stop talking. But he was still speaking. "Did you try to open the windows?"

Abbey nodded. "They're stuck."

Jed chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Would you believe that some Presidents have actually tried to sneak out?"

"I can't imagine why," she mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Well, first off, they probably didn't have someone as nice as you in the bedroom," he said softly against the top of her head.

She smiled and said nothing, content just to settle deeper into his embrace and run her hands over his legs. They lay comfortably in the water as the minutes passed slowly, the quiet broken only by the sound of their breathing and the almost imperceptible pop of the bubbles collapsing.

She roused slightly as she felt Jed's lips come down to kiss her shoulder and his hands slide up to cover her breasts. Her nipples tightened as he slipped his fingers over them, teasing just the tips, tugging gently. A soft sigh escaped her lips as he moved one hand lower, slipping down her stomach to reach between her thighs. He found the right spot immediately, swirling his finger over her with insistent pressure. Abbey lifted her hips the meet his hand, causing an unexpected surge of water to slap her chin.

She raised her head and struggled to sit up, annoyed at breaking the sensual contact, but suddenly remembering that people had drowned in bathtubs with less water than they had. Jed laughed and tried to pull her back against him.

"Nope. I'm getting out," she said, looking at her puckered fingertips. She held them out for his inspection. "See, I'm all shriveled up."

He laughed again as he watched her brush the last of the tiny clinging bubbles from her breasts and thighs. This was even better than the mental image he had envisioned earlier.

Abbey looked back at him as she stepped out and wrapped a large towel around her body. He seemed happy to continue lounging in the tub, but she had other plans.

"Apparently the word 'shriveled' means nothing to you," she said with a grin.

As she had expected, her words were enough to send him scrambling out of the tub. Jed stepped out onto the tile floor, dripping profusely. She grabbed a towel and started drying his back, pausing to press soft kisses along his spine as she worked her way down his body. She rubbed the rough cotton briefly over his hips and the backs of his legs before he turned and sat down on the side of the tub.

"Lazy," she said, as he stretched out his arms to be dried.

Abbey brushed the towel lightly over his chest while she leaned over to kiss him, light little pecks that quickly grew into a sensual melding of lips and tongues. The towel slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor as he pulled her closer. She finally broke the kiss and moved away slightly.

"I'm not finished yet," she told him.

"I'm dry enough."

"Sit still." She picked up another towel and knelt on the floor at his feet, gently patting the cloth over each of his thighs, then planting soft kisses on his newly dried skin. Abbey moved slowly, teasing and tormenting him. He reached down and pulled the clip from her hair, letting it cascade over his fingers as he tried to pull her head closer. He drew in a sharp breath as she finally moved her mouth to the tip of his erection, her tongue darting over the still wet skin. She moved downward, sucking gently, feeling him become even harder. Her lips and tongue moved relentlessly from tip to base and back again, gliding over his hot skin, until she heard him moan.

With a final flick of her tongue, she pulled her head back and admired her handiwork. Jed grinned and stood up, grasping her hands to help her to her feet. Pulling her close against him, he parted her towel and slipped his hand between her thighs, moving upward to once again find the small nub of nerves and stroke her to pulsing arousal. He looked down into Abbey's flushed face and smiled at the tiny beads of perspiration on her forehead.

"You're getting too hot," he said, pulling back his hand.

"I didn't think that was possible," she replied with a mocking lift of her eyebrows.

"I meant temperature, not passion. There's a fan in the bedroom."

For the first time, she noticed that the bathroom was now hot and humid. Abbey walked into the bedroom and found it much cooler. A fan now buzzed as it oscillated from side to side, sending currents of cool air across the room. As she dropped her towel by the side of the bed, the breeze touched her still damp skin and sent little shivers through her body.

Jed pulled her down onto the bed and covered her body with his. As he parted her thighs, her little shivers merged one large shudder of anticipation. Whatever it was, temperature or passion, it was hot and exciting, and she wanted more of it. She arched her hips, mutely demanding his touch. His response was immediate, as he entered her with one long, deep thrust of possession.

Jed raised his torso from hers, leaning on his arms so that the cool air could swirl between their warm bodies. As the breeze from the fan moved over them, it caressed her breasts, tightening her nipples. She gasped as the chill fought against the heat spreading through her lower body, the sensations threatening to overwhelm her. Jed continued to moved slowly, rocking back and forth, in and out, as she clenched her muscles around him. Finally, she gave in to the intense ache and reached up to pull his hips tighter against hers, urging him to a faster rhythm. In seconds, she felt the ripples of orgasm begin to burst through her, exquisite and warm, to be quickly complemented as Jed stiffened and pushed himself deep inside her, throbbing in hot release.

He relaxed his arms, lowering his head to kiss her with slow, lingering passion. She held him close, rubbing his back, surprised to find that they were both damp with sweat. Abbey couldn't remember feeling the heat in the room; her only memory was of the passionate warmth driven by their desire.

Jed murmured, "I love you," and rolled away, keeping one arm around her.

Before she could respond, she was asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The air conditioning was back on early the next morning. However, the temporary disruption of service seemed to be a source of inquiry in the Press Room. Abbey had turned on the television to catch CJ's briefing and had laughed out loud to hear the Press Secretary fielding a question about the situation the night before.

CJ was remarkably poised as she stated that "despite the lack of air conditioning in the Residence, the President and First Lady spent a comfortable night". Abbey found that hilarious in view of the tumbled bed covers, the mass of towels on the bathroom floor, and the bathtub still full of scummy water.

Considering the circumstances, she should have been glad when the steward arrived later in the morning to retrieve the fan. But she stopped him from taking it and put it in the back of her closet instead.

Who knew? This heat wave might go on for days. There might be yet another service malfunction. Barring either of those occurrences, she was certainly capable of cutting off the air conditioning herself.

Abbey smiled. A little heat in the night could be very nice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~