Every day after school, she looked around to find him lurking behind a tree somewhere, but he wasn't there. She later found out from Samuel that he was working on some cabin in the woods. "Can you tell him I'm looking for him?" there was a hint of sadness in her voice.
The thing about Tommy was he sometimes disappear for days without any news, and left her wondering if he was ghosting her. "Can you ask him if he's coming to the town's gathering this weekend? Because I'll be there, with my family too," she added. Samuel assured her, everyone in town will be there, including Tommy.
She was excited for the weekend, mostly because she hadn't seen Tommy for an entire week. She wasn't particularly excited to conceal her relationship with her parents if it was even a relationship. Her father was officially going to be a very important figure in town, possibly their next Mayor. He was well known for his contribution to Bluebridge and the community, but to be elected as Mayor would be a major leap.
Literally, everyone in town gathered at the Town Hall for the announcement. Even though the hall can only accommodate about 100 people, everyone else scattered outside the building in the bazaar area, the tents for dining areas, dancing, raffles, and other activities for the event. It was the first time Charlene ever attended an event like that.
She was seated in the front row alongside her mom and important town's people. The Mayor delivered a speech with praises for Bill Ludlow because he was the number one supporter of the new candidate as his tenure will soon expire.
Bill Ludlow was admired and well respected for his credibility, his success in his career and businesses, and also his family. His reputation was flawless, his influence in Bluebridge was vastly appreciated, it was a losing game for anyone to be his contender in the next election. The Mayor's office was already his.
Charlene was engaged in her father's speech when the corner of her eye caught him leaning against the wall by the door on the right, one foot on the wall, one hand in his pocket, and a toothpick on the corner of his lips. His ice-blue-eyes stared at her, a wide smile bloomed on her face. Mrs. Ludlow noticed the change in her behavior and looked to find Tom Raven on the other side of her attention. She elbowed her daughter, she returned her attention to the stage and Tom went out the door.
"Mom ... can I stay for a while?" she asked after the formal gathering was done, her dad was getting ready to go to the Mayor's house for cocktails with town officials. Her mom hesitated, she tucked her daughter's hair behind her ears while contemplating on an answer. She knew it was 'that boy' that her daughter wanted to stay for. "Oh come on, Catherine, the kids love the fair ... let them stay here and have some fun, after all, Bill's gonna be Mayor next year, she should get to know her own town," the Mayor's wife persuaded her mom.
Catherine Ludlow put on a half-smile, "I guess you can stay for a while," she took a glimpse at Mandy and Kayla who were there too. "I'll have Travis wait for you at the parking lot," Travis was the driver. "You'll come straight home afterward, alright?" her mom made sure. She hugged her mom with joy. "We'll be at the Mayor's house, not sure when we'll get home, but you are not to stay too late young lady," Mrs. Ludlow added.
"Thanks, mom, I'll see you later," then she disappears with Mandy and Kayla.
They went straight to the dining tent and tried all different kinds of delicious food, most of them were potlucks from local residences, others from local restaurant owners who went out of their way to contribute to the community. As she was stuffing her face with fried chicken and mac and cheese, Tom went over to her from behind and spoke softly in her ear, "Hey there, beautiful." He laughed at how adorable she was as she was trying to swallow everything in her mouth before she could even say a word.
It's always nice when he calls her beautiful, all the while she was swooned by how good he looked in a casual T-shirt underneath a flannel shirt. "Tommy! Where have you been?" the first thing that came out of her mouth was a protest of his absence.
"I was fixing a cabin by the woods, were you looking for me?" he taunts her.
She landed a soft punch on his chest to state the obvious.
"'I'm sorry ... it was a lot of work, but it's almost finished," he took her hand and held it tight.
"Can I visit you while you work?"
"You can come when it's finished in a few days." He then told her what the cabin was, and how excited it was for him to finally get it fixed.
He took her and the girls to the bazaar, bought her cotton candy, played the carnival games. The town's people recognized who they were, an odd couple for sure, raised a few eyebrows especially from the girls whom Tommy had been with and some older ladies who knew exactly who they were. Charlene looked comfortable hooking arms with Tommy, leaned her head on his shoulder as they walk around the areas.
Couples were seen holding hands, showing public display of affections, courting on garden tables. Soon enough, they were separated from everyone else and made their way to an empty tent that was used for storage. They went inside to be away from the prying eyes of small-town people and found themselves alone, finally.
Their hands were still clasped together, she felt close to him as she wrapped her arm around him like he was hers. She never felt that way before with a guy, she was falling in love with him. "I really like you, Tommy," she wanted to make sure that he knows.
They were facing each other, he smiled shyly, "I think I liked you first."
Her heart was racing when their eyes locked, she took both his hands, "Then why haven't you kissed me yet?" He pressed his lips together, he was wondering the same thing.
"Because ... " he tried to pick the right words, "If I do ... " he looked away briefly, "I'm afraid that I may not be able to stop," it was honest truth.
She was amused by his answer, "I don't mind," she dared him. He glanced at her, she was pulling him closer. "Kiss me already, then," she said. Her heart was about to jump out of her head.
He stepped forward, pushing her to step back to a pole, "Okay," he looked her deep in the eyes, "Here goes ... " he wrapped her arms around him, leaned his head closer to her, and gave her a kiss.
She held her breath for that few seconds their lips touched. They locked eyes and wondered what the other one was thinking. His lips were soft, tender, and moist to the touch, his hand was warm on her cheek. He pulled himself back for a moment to see her response. She loved it. She cupped his face with both hands and pulled his face close to hers. He went for the second time, pulled her waist toward him, their breathing was heavier this time and when her lips were slightly parted, his tongue made its way inside her mouth.
Her heart was pounding, her head felt light, she responded to his tongue so naturally as if she had done this many times before. She tasted him and loved the way he felt inside her mouth. A sigh escaped in her breath. Everything she had read in books, and all the scenes she saw in movies, she had imagined how it would be, but it was nothing compared to the real thing.
They were lost in that kiss, they were tightly wrapped around each other but it just felt like they weren't close enough. She lifted her leg around his hip, pulled him towards her, her long beautiful leg was exposed as her dress hiked up from the gesture. He slid his hand along her thigh and felt the hair on her body stood up. When a strap of her dress fell off her shoulder, he almost lost it, he ran his lips to her cheek, made it's way past her ear and down to her neck. Her whole body shivered, she wanted him to kiss her everywhere, she buried her finger in his hair as his head was now lower near her shoulder.
One little flick of her hanging dress would've exposed her undoubtedly gorgeous breast, but he lifted the strap back to her shoulder, buried his face in the curve of her neck, with his breath still heavy from the surge of passion that was still building up inside him, "Charlie," he called out to her. Her eyes were hazy, she went for his lips and was not ready to let him pull away from her. "Charlie," he said under his breath, he broke the kiss.
She was panting and dazed, she didn't want to stop. He looked at her face, flushed with desire, if she only knew how much he wanted her, right there and then. He kissed her forehead, "I think we should get out of here before somebody finds us," he exhaled deeply.
"No one's gonna find us here," she didn't want it to be over.
He let her leg down and tidied her skirt, "I don't trust myself with you here," he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. She was much too precious, it wasn't a proper place for her.
She held him close and put her head against his shoulder. He felt her in her embrace, she cared for him as no one has ever cared for him before. He held back his urges, it was far too soon, he was afraid of how much he felt for her, and how little confidence he had of it ever going to work between them. He kissed her shoulder, "Come on, let's get you out of here," he said.
It wasn't easy for a girl who was falling in love for the first time to not see the boy she dreamed of every day. But that was often the case with Tommy. He was unreachable. The only way she can get to him was through his friends if she happened to bump into them. Tommy wasn't finished with his cabin just yet, and she was not patient enough to wait around without hearing from him. She got into these mood swings and lost her appetite, thinking that Tommy was busy with other things while she can hardly function without seeing him.After almost another week, she was determined to find him. She got the direction from Kelly when she met her at Mrs. Cooper's store, and she went there alone. The cabin wasn't too far into the woods, but there was no other building close to it. She walked into the area surrounded by the tall trees, the further she went, the more distant the sound of people and their activities were and the more silent it gets. She doubted herself for a moment, but the
She blazed inside him like a wildfire. He watched her naked body after every time they made love and dwelled in his thoughts. He studied every inch of her, she was his instrument, he was honing his craft. She shivered beneath his touches, and he wondered if it was another guy, would she lit up the way she did with him. Was it all just for him? These thoughts kept going around in his head like a mild obsession, and when she so much turned to look at him with her bedroom eyes and her dreamy smile, it was enough to drop him to his knees and he would hold her close in his arms and drowned her with his deep passionate kiss. She was his, he wanted nothing more and nothing less.Summer had finally arrived, she told him that she was leaving for Gastonburry with her dad for two weeks. He had made his own arrangements to go to Goldstone for some work and to meet up with Jeremy Stone, a guy he made friends with. Jeremy was a singer-songwriter who was trying to make his way
The Silver Tongue is one of the most popular clubs in Goldstone. The long queue to get into the bar every night was a view that some tourists would capture through their cameras, just to stand and took pictures of themselves in front of the club was a good enough experience for them. A huge silver neon tongue on top of the building can be seen from miles away. It is the center of the nightlife in Goldstone, and Goldstone is a city that never sleeps.It's situated in a rather shady part of the city, but that never prevented anyone to go there and stood for hours just to get a taste of the Silver Tongue experience. Public figures went there as regulars, actors, actresses, celebrities, athletes, everyone who was Somebody in the city went there. They have a VIP lane to let their distinguished guests in, while Tom had a back door passage for delivering supplies regularly to the place.Jeremy Stone had tried for years to be able to land a gig at T
The room was filled with visitors just like her, some came with their parents, some in groups of friends. She was there with Landon to listen to Professor Aaron Dover who was giving an introduction to prospective students on University life. He emphasized how independent learning would hold the key to success in any field the students choose.He gave a presentation on how the syllabus looked like, the credits that they needed to take in order to achieve the most with the least time spent in the faculty. He gave inputs on how to manage time for students who would consider taking up a part-time job while studying in the University, and other life advice that they needed to hear before entering higher education."Ask yourself this ... if you never have to worry about money ... what is the one thing that you would do in your life, for free? I hope the answer is what you have chosen to study here in UOG. But if you haven't got the answer to that,
When they had finished lunch, Landon took her on a walk along the avenue. There were shops that sold clothes, bags, and shoes. Even though they're not designer brands, those apparels were pretty pricey. Charlene went into a few of the stores and bought herself some dresses, and also something for her mom and sister. Landon waited outside most of the time, patiently, knowing that it was what he was supposed to do for her.It was almost sundown when Charlene decided that she was done for the day, they have walked quite far to the other end of the avenue from where Landon had parked his car. They had to walk all the way back, Landon offered to carry all 8 of her shopping bags. "You know, we look like a typical couple with all this?" he lifted both his arms decorated with 8 shopping bags."No we don't," she refused to admit it."It's true, why don't you take a look around, all of the guys who carry shopping bags are carrying
"Sweetheart ... I heard you're going to the party at campus tonight?" her dad greeted her in the dining room. She managed to avoid real conversations with him for the past week, but it seemed like that wasn't the case that morning."What party?" her tone was flat.Landon was sitting across from her father, eating a pancake with a knife and fork, "I was just telling your dad about the pre-summer party on campus since everyone is going home for summer on Monday, it's a tradition we have at UOG ... it's gonna be fun," he explained.Charlene took a seat beside Landon and put a napkin on her lap."Since you're also leaving on Monday, I thought it'd be nice to enjoy a party before you leave ... get a taste of the campus life," he elbowed her lightly."Sounds like a party for 18 years and older," she commented coldly."Well, since this is a special occasion, I will
Landon was right, yet again, she had a massive hangover the next day, she could barely get out of bed. When she didn't come down for breakfast, he knocked on her door to check if she was alright. She let his knock went unanswered. She packed her suitcase instead. She couldn't wait to go home the next day. He came knocking again after a while, she finally opened the door, gave him the cold shoulder."Water?" he lifted a big jug of water which she immediately grabbed from his hand."Thanks," she chugged it in."Are you okay?" he was being nice."No ... my head is about to explode, but thanks for asking," she closed the door on him.He knew she remembered what he had tried to do the night before, thus her unfriendly gesture toward him. She avoided contact with everyone in the last two days she stayed there. She kept her goodbye short and cold, both to her dad and Landon.&nbs
The cabin door was unlocked, but there was nobody around. She decided to step in and called out for Tommy. She heard the shower was on, she closed the front door and walked towards the bathroom door. "Tommy?" she called out, the shower was turned off. The door opened from the inside, and those blue eyes greeted her. She bolted into the door and jumped on him, he was wet with only a towel wrapped around his waist.She wrapped her arms and legs around him, and kissed him. He was the most beautiful sight that she'd been yearning to see for the past two weeks. "I missed you too, Charlie," he told her under his breath. She took her clothes off, he carried her up the stairs to the bed under the ceiling. No other words were exchanged, their lips locked in a long passionate kiss. They made love to each other like the world was going to end if they don't. She was back to the reality that she had chosen for herself, back to Tommy, to whom her heart would always come home