One Who Understands

"I told you!" Stephanie said to her friend.

Ed grinned and grabbed a roll and some butter.

"Oh my god Edward! This is delicious!" Rachel gasped.

Grace was grinning ear to ear until she took a bite of her steak as well. She was expecting the delicious flavors of his homemade basting mix, spicy hot for her, but the meat was so tender and juicy it seemed to melt in her mouth. "This is so good!" she moaned.

The others were soon chewing the delicious meat and smiling. Zoe also had the spicy seasoning and her eyes locked on Ed when she tasted the steak. When she finally swallowed the piece of meat she wiped her mouth and turned to Ed.

"Where did you get the recipe for your basting mix, Ed?" she asked quietly.

"The cuts of meat we could afford weren't so good so I experimented with different spices and oils I thought would go together well. Eventually I found this mix and a mild version. I have a nice marinade as well but the steaks would have had to soak in it for eight hours and these were already tender enough."

"May I try some of your spicy steak?" Stephanie asked Grace.

Grace cut a piece off her steak and Stephanie traded pieces. Grace popped the meat in her mouth and smiled. "That's really good too! Similar flavor but without the heat!"

Stephanie nodded vigorously but her eyes were watering. She waved at her tongue and giggles erupted around the table. Ed tore off a piece of bread and placed it directly on her outstretched tongue.

"Bread absorbs the oils and spices," he said with a smile.

She smiled gratefully at him as she took the other half of the dinner roll from his fingers.

Zoe cleared her throat again. Her nervousness was back. "Ed, I own a steakhouse downtown. I get a lot of executive business from the offices in the neighborhood as well as wealthier tourists but the competition is fierce. If I could serve steaks with this seasoning it would be an incredible differentiator for my restaurant. If your marinade can tenderize less expensive cuts and add such rich flavor I could introduce a whole new value price line to my menu and bring in a higher volume of customers."

"You should taste his hand-cut French fries. He has a seasoning for them as well! Really complements a steak. So yummy!" Grace sighed.

Zoe's eyes lit up. She looked back at Ed.

"What's in it for Ed?" Rachel said with a grin.

"Oh oh, here comes his agent." Angie teased.

"I'm ok with that. Rachel can be my agent." Ed smiled.

Rachel and Zoe looked at each other with grins.

They all turned their attention back to enjoying their meals though the small talk continued.

After Ed had indulged in a third large scoop of Stephanie's Jello salad he pushed back from the table and patted his stomach. The woman was looking at Carolyn with a very self-satisfied smile because Ed had eaten half of the salad by himself.

He yawned mightily as the food and his medication was making him groggy.

"I think it's time to send Ed to bed," Grace smiled.

Zoe approached him. "Could I speak with you before you go?" she asked timidly. Ed nodded and she led him out onto the patio for privacy.

"First I want to apologize for what my daughter did to you. I am horrified by her actions," she began and Ed nodded. "I also want to apologize for how I behaved the first time we met. I was overly aggressive because I did not understand your true nature. If I made you uncomfortable I am truly sorry. For me, it was incredible, perhaps the best ever. I know you probably don't feel the same way. You are a much gentler person than I expected you to be which makes the intensity of the experience so much more special for me."

Ed frowned as he recalled how he'd felt when she'd pushed him beyond his comfort zone. "I'd never behaved that way before. I mean, I'd been with a woman who wanted me to use her for my own pleasure but that was my first time ever and I was nervous about everything. You pushed me pretty hard and I found myself reacting in ways I never thought I would, or could. It was a little frightening to be truthful. Like discovering someone else living in your head."

Zoe looked sad and dropped her eyes. She nodded, knowing that she would never again experience the big man's rough touch but understanding his fear.

Ed's fingers slid into the thick silky hair on the back of her head and took a grip. He tilted her head up so she could look into his fierce eyes. Her eyes widened with shock.

"You bring something out in me Zoe. Some primitive... need and I'm not sure if I'll ever be comfortable with this side of me. But I can't deny it. I need to know more about it. Do you understand?" he rumbled softly.

"YES!" she gasped breathily as lightning shot through her nerves setting her body aflame.

He kissed her hard and she whimpered into the kiss, overwhelmed with the sensations crashing through her. He pulled back suddenly, his desire raging as he struggled to control himself.

"The doctor said not to do this so you'd better go inside while I try to settle down." Ed choked out, his deep voice trembling with repressed lust.

She nodded quickly and rushed back to the house, wobbling slightly. Grace and the others saw her come in and conversation died immediately. Her lipstick was smeared, her lips slightly puffy, cheeks flushed and she had a wild look in her eye. Grace picked up two napkins and handed one to her as she went towards the patio doors. She heard the others begin to interrogate Zoe as she stepped outside. Ed was standing there, staring up at the stars.

"You ok Ed?" she asked carefully.

"yes," he sighed.

"Did Zoe force herself on you again?" she growled.

"NO! No. It- the opposite happened," he mumbled.

"What?" Grace jolted.

"Have you ever surprised yourself?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Found something in yourself that you weren't expecting and weren't sure you were happy with?" he continued as he looked skywards.

Grace remembered the first time her rage overwhelmed her. She'd had an argument with her mother about something stupid as she left for school one morning. On her way there a boy from her class and a friend of his began to taunt her about her boobs which had begun to grow quickly that year. Grace broke his nose and dislocated his friend's elbow before they managed to get away. Until that day she'd never been in a fight. Ever.

She looked at Ed. "Yes."

He relaxed and turned to her. He held open his arms and she pressed herself against his broad chest as she was wrapped in his big arms. She sighed happily.

"That's one of the reasons I love you Grace. You're the one who understands. Everything I've been through, everything I'm feeling, you get it. When I'm confused you're there to explain things to me without making me feel stupid. I know I'm not very smart. I'm OK with that as long as I have you with me. I need you. I love you."

She felt her heart bursting and she hugged him tightly. "I love you Ed!" she whispered against his chest. He kissed the top of her head.

When they pulled back Grace wiped Zoe's lipstick from his lips. "No kissy stuff for a week!" she scolded him gently and he smiled. They walked inside and once more conversation died. Five pairs of wide eyes looked back at him.

"How are you feeling Ed?" Rachel asked gently.

"Tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep now. Thank you very much for the lovely barbeque! Good night!"

A chorus of good nights sounded and he made his way upstairs.

-=-

Grace turned to Zoe who looked at the young woman and bit her lip. "I didn't come on to Ed-"

"I know Zoe, it's OK. He told me what happened. Ed is full of surprises tonight," she smiled. That comment got some smiles out of the ladies.

Rachel smiled at her friends. "Another reason I wanted to get together tonight is to ask if any of you would like to be involved in shopping for a new wardrobe for Ed. Aside from the outfit he had on tonight everything he owns is..." She glanced at Grace who answered for her. "Cheap shit and ugly as hell!"

The redhead smiled and nodded. "I want to take him to the boutique district tomorrow, make a day of it," she said.

"Ooo! Count me in!" Angie said.

"Me too!" Zoe gasped.

"I'll have to sit this one out." Stephanie frowned. "I have to see my lawyer and accountant tomorrow."

"I'm out too. I have to make arrangements for Rick." Carolyn said.

The ladies once more gave her their condolences and a hug. Then each made their way home except for Zoe.

"Do you think Ed could come by the restaurant one night this week to show Marcus the recipe for that seasoning mix and the marinade? We could have dinner afterwards," she asked.

"Are you thinking of a one-time payment or a percentage of sales?" Rachel asked.

"This is going to be fun!" Zoe said with a grin.

Grace snorted and moved to the kitchen to tidy up while the women negotiated.

-=-

Ed sat in the passenger seat of Angie's Land Rover as he took in the area they'd be spending their day in. He'd never been in this part of the city before and was surprised by how many pretty women were walking in small groups. Not too many men though. He saw some older men browsing or following the women carrying their shopping bags.

Grace bowed out of the trip at the last minute when the college called her to adjust the schedule for some classes she had registered for. She decided to go to the college to take care of that instead.

So the trip was just Ed, Rachel, Angie, and Zoe. The way the three women interacted Ed got the impression they hung out together frequently.

They parked in a lot at the far end of a block of small three story brick buildings. There was a small four story shopping complex in the middle of the block which was under construction. Ed's eyes were immediately drawn to the construction site but Rachel tugged him into one of the shops.

They made their way from boutique to boutique, each of the women taking turns selecting an article of clothing or an outfit for Ed to try on. The trio would critique the clothes and make adjustments (there was a lot of touching) once he exited the change room.

Each woman had a distinct idea of how they wanted to dress him. Rachel loved a more sleek classic style while Angie leaned towards a more relaxed casual look which Rachel called Bohemian. The outfits Zoe chose had a tendency to emphasize strength and aggression and all three ladies got a little fidgety when he'd exit the change room in these 'bad boy' clothes, Angie's term. Even with the different styles they would listen to the other's assessment and they most often came to an agreement. Only when there was a consensus were the items taken to the cash desk. It was a little tiring for Ed but the ladies seemed to be having a really good time. He recalled the days of playing dress up with Grace and supposed this was a lot like back then. Except now he wasn't putting on dresses.

Each of the ladies only wanted hugs as thanks for buying him the clothes and he ended up giving them a lot of hugs which made him happy too. By the tenth shop Ed was wobbling a little so they stopped for refreshments at a little café across the street from the construction site. Ed drank his expensive imported lemonade and ate his muffin while he watched the trucks delivering components for the site. He saw men in suits and hardhats standing in a group looking at construction plans while the site foreman gave them an update.

When Ed saw a flatbed truck come in with the air conditioning equipment he stood up in surprise.

"What's wrong Edward?" Rachel asked.

"I'll be right back," he muttered and exited the café to walk across the street.

"Excuse me!" he called out.

The group of men turned to look at him.

"You weren't going to install these air conditioning units were you?" he yelled over the noise of the site. He didn't enter the property as he didn't have the appropriate safety gear.

"Hey! Mind your own fucking business! We're working here!" the foreman yelled back.

"These are faulty units! They are supposed to be properly disposed of, not installed," he continued to press.

"What does he mean by that?" the man in the dark grey suit asked the foreman.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about! The units are brand new! They're fine!" the man replied and turned to one of his workers. "Joe, get rid of this guy."

"All Shenzchun HC-4300 units are considered to be environmentally hazardous due to their inferior quality seals which degrade within the first year of operation." Ed explained as the big construction worker approached him.

"Don't make me knock your teeth out. Get lost!" Joe growled at him.

"I'm not on property you have control over-" Ed began then yanked his head back to avoid the man's fist as it swung past. His head swam from the sudden movement, the world tilted and Ed went down on his ass.

Joe was laughing at the fallen man when he suddenly had three well-to-do but angry women screaming in his face. He backpedalled until his back hit the chain link fence. The worker didn't know how to deal with this and glanced over at the foreman who was looking seriously pissed. Grey suit was arguing with him then turned with the two other men in suits and walked up to Ed who was carefully picking himself up off the sidewalk.

"Who are you and how do you know about these air conditioners?" he asked tersely.

"My name is Ed Walters. I have Universal Certification for HVAC systems. It's my job to keep track of this kind of information. Shenzchun Industries made thousands of these, sold them at discount pricing then dissolved the company and disappeared. Our shop had six of the units and when we heard about their failure rate we safely disposed of them. I'm sure it cost the company quite a bit but it would have been far worse had we installed them. They leak. The coolant is an environmental hazard. If you're caught you get heavily fined. You'd have to replace them within the year anyway as they can't be fixed." Ed looked at the truck. There was easily a dozen units on the flatbed. "Why are you installing so many individual units instead of one high efficiency unit rated for the square footage?"

The man's face was red from suppressed anger. "We were told our operational costs would be lower and we'd get a deal this way. What's the name of your shop?"

"Drakos Heating and Cooling."

"And you'd never try selling one of these units to a customer?" the man asked.

"No sir. That's unethical and just plain bad business." Ed insisted and his head swam a little more. Angie and Zoe were there instantly and took his arms to steady him. Rachel kept her eye on Joe until the goon turned and went back into the site.

"What's wrong with him?" asked the man wearing the dark blue suit and a silver and black tie.

"He's recuperating from an injury. It's just a little low blood pressure. He shouldn't get so excited," Angie responded to the gentleman and smiled. He smiled back.

"Thank you very much Mr. Walters. I'll be contacting your office today," grey suit said and walked away. The foreman looked like he wanted to kick Ed's ass then he turned and quickly walked back to his trailer when he saw grey suit talking to someone angrily on his cell.

The third man who was also wearing a dark blue suit but a deep red tie stepped forward while his partner made the call. "Did you know they were installing these units today?" he asked Ed.

"No, I just saw them on the truck as I was having a snack in the café across the street. I'm on medical leave this week. My friends brought me down here to do some shopping," Ed answered the man.

"It was a damn lucky thing for us then. This job has been one surprise expense after another. This sounds like it would have been very costly."

"Yes, it would. I don't understand why they told you it would be more cost effective. Just the maintenance fees for all these separate units would have been very high. They'd need separate ductwork which is an extra cost and considering the length of the runs needed some of these wouldn't be delivering sufficient cooling. Then there's the operational energy costs which would have been much higher. Nothing about this is right." Ed frowned in confusion.

"Has your company done any larger projects?" Mr. black and grey tie asked.

"Yes and we just completed our work on the North Ridge Mall expansion." Ed said and felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. He looked over at Rachel and she instantly read his expression.

"OK, that's enough excitement for today. It's time to head home." Rachel said with a no nonsense voice and the men stood back while the ladies guided Ed back across the street to collect the parcels from their waitress. Rachel settled up the bill as Ed watched the man in the grey suit take pictures of the truck with the bad air conditioner units in front of the construction site.

The group made their way back to the SUV. Angie drove them back to Rachel's place and they walked Ed out to the patio to rest on the lounge chair under the umbrella. He was out in seconds.

The ladies sat in the family room where they could keep an eye on Ed.

"It was kind of exciting watching Ed at work!" Angie smiled. "He certainly seems to know his business!"

Grace walked into the room as she'd just returned from the college. "Ed went to work?"

Rachel smiled. "No, he just schooled some developers on how to properly install a cooling system on their new construction site downtown while we were shopping."

Grace grinned as she looked out the patio door at the sleeping man. "Ed knows his shit!"

A cell phone started chirping from the kitchen counter and Grace walked over to pick it up. It was Ed's and the call was from his work.

"Hello?"

"Hello... is this Grace?" a gruff voice asked.

"Yes, hi Mr. Drakos," she replied recognizing the voice of Ed's boss. "Ed's taking a rest after his busy morning."

"Did he tell you about meeting with the Klein Group?" the man asked.

"No, but I just heard he 'schooled' someone about their cooling system."

Drakos chuckled. "He's such a good boy! They are coming in to speak to me about taking over the project. They fired their foreman and some of the contractors and are looking for us to quote on the work. I just called to thank him and to tell him to get better soon as we are going to be very busy."

"I'll make sure he gets the message when he wakes up."

"Thanks. Goodbye!" he said and hung up.

Grace turned to the curious ladies. "Ed's boss called to thank him and to tell him to get better soon as it's likely they are going to be working on that construction project downtown."

Angie looked at Grace in surprise. "His company is getting the project just because Ed informed the developers they were being given defective air conditioning units?"

"More likely it's because Ed was honest with them." Grace shrugged.

"How did it go at the college?" Rachel asked.

"Really good! I'm all signed up," she replied. "I'm so excited about going. I never thought this would happen!" She looked out the patio door at the man she loved.

"I have to head home. It was a lot of fun today!" Angie said.

"I'm off too." Zoe added.

Hugs were exchanged and the two women went home leaving Rachel and Grace sitting in the family room. After a short time Rachel leaned forward.

"May I ask a personal question?" she asked cautiously. Grace nodded.

"You... you haven't been with Ed yet have you."

Grace looked surprised but shook her head.

"Have you been with a man?"

Grace looked even more surprised but shook her head.

"Ed is... big. The first time can be a little painful even with a man of regular proportions. Take it slow. I know he will be as gentle as possible. He loves you. I can see it in his eyes."

Grace blushed and beamed a smile at the other woman.

Chapter 40

Ed rested for the remainder of the week and saw Mishka at the hospital again on Friday. She assured him that there didn't appear to be any long term damage. He was off the pills and by Monday he would be able to go back to work. He was very pleased to hear that. He'd call his boss to let him know when he was out of the hospital.