Five: Goldstone and Gastonburry

Despite what her mother said to him, he couldn't resist the urge to see her again. She was the only thing he could think about when she's not with him. He waited behind a big tree, not far from her school, biting on a toothpick with his back and a foot up against the tree and one hand in his pocket.

He has a noticeable appearance, other than his visible good looks, he has a presence that distinct him from a crowd. She was starting to get familiar with him that her eyes would easily find him. She had butterflies rushing to fly away from inside her stomach as he was approaching her. She knew when he came to her school that day, he was pursuing her. Something most boys wouldn't dare the soonest they found out she was Bill Ludlow's daughter. He had a devil-may-care attitude that was most attractive to her, yet the minute he was in her presence, he would shrink into an awkward harmless little boy that made it hard for her to believe that he was as bad as the things she heard about him.

"I wanted to make sure you got home safe yesterday ... from your mom, that is," they laughed lightly.

"Apart from my mom nagging at me all night, yeah ... I was safe." Mandy and Kayla fell behind and walked at a slower pace.

"I heard your birthday is in four days? You'll be having a party?" Tom brought it up.

"Yeah, it's more like my parents' party, though, they invited more guests than I do ... I wish you could come," she said.

"And have your mother kill me ... or worse, your dad?" they chuckled as if they weren't even worried about being forbidden to see each other again.

"It's probably going to be a dull party anyways," she said.

He never had a birthday party before, his way of celebrating a birthday was entirely different from what Charlie was used to.

"What do you really wanna do on your birthday, Charlie?"

She took a deep breath and thought about it for a moment, she never really had a choice to do anything other than what her parents had planned for her, "Oh I don't know ... something fun and exciting, something different, what did you do on your 17th birthday?" she asked.

He twisted his lips and curled up his nose, "Oh ... God ... I can't tell you that," he blushed.

"What? Why?" there was an innocent look in her eyes that genuinely wanted an answer.

Tom was wondering how on earth would she take it if he'd told her that he was running around drunk and naked after a truth or dare game just before he had sex with a random girl who happened to be there at the time.

He scratched his head, "It wasn't a traditional celebration ... the kind I wished I hadn't done if I'd known you would be asking me about it," he laughed nervously, "It was just a gathering with friends, and we did all sorts of stupid stuff," he continued.

"No birthday cakes or anything like that?"

He chuckled, "No, nothing like that, no gifts, or toasts, ... there was some dancing, drunk dancing, mostly just friends doing silly stuff," he cleared his throat.

"That sounds like something I want to try ... I mean I've been having the same kind of party for sixteen years, it gets kinda old," she complained.

"I wouldn't recommend it though, you're a nice girl, you should have a nice party," said Tom.

She smiled, "You don't know me, Tom Raven, I may not be as nice as you think I am," she said with a playful tone.

He looked at her, "Really? I highly doubt that," he was amused by her remark.

"Is it true what they say about you?" she finally asked the question that was bugging her.

His chest clenched, whatever she has heard about him, can't be good, "I told you ... I'm bad," he wasn't going to hide behind a lie. He could see curiosity in her prying eyes, "Whatever they say about me ... I don't have any bad intentions toward you, Charlie, but I'd understand if you don't believe me," he was being serious.

"What are your intentions towards me, Tommy?" he was struck dead when she asked with a slight smile that was taunting him yet innocent enough to tell him that she was just teasing.

He shook his head, "I have yet to find out ... but it's all good, I can promise you that," he said.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Tommy?" there she went with another cheeky question that was driving him crazy.

He shook his head slowly, "No ... I never really had one." This was a surprise for Charlie, given the fact that he didn't deny having to sleep with all those girls, none of them were ever his girlfriend.

"I've never had one either ... boys are scared of me because of who my father is ... are you scared of me?"

He looked deep into her light brown eyes, his heart was throbbing faster, his breath shorten, "Terrified ... but it has nothing to do with your dad, though," he said.

She laughed, "My mom then?" She was playing with him, and he was helplessly mesmerized by her, he shook his head, lost for words.

"I think you shouldn't go any further than this, my mom might have her shotgun by now and she'll shoot you all the way from the front lawn," she joked.

Tom stopped his step as he watched her walking further away from him, he bit his lip, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She giggled and waved. Mandy and Kayla walked pass him, "Bye, Tommy," they said in a girly way. "Bye, girls."

The more he's gotten to know her, the further their distance seemed to him. He knew what he's done, where he's from, he's not the least bit worthy of her. But his heart was already robbed of any right to deny what it feels for her, and she was opening up a door that he's now daring himself to enter. It would've been so much easier for him if she had turned him down, told him to 'fuck off', instead, she was challenging him to come closer.

So he waited by the big tree every day since, to walk with her from school. Each day they grew closer, not as close as he wanted them to be. She has a way of luring him in, then drew a line where she didn't want him to cross. It wasn't intentional, it was her way of wanting to know him better without letting him get too close. If only she knew how that had made Tom falling deeper for her with each passing day. The poor boy had already drowned in the gutter while she was still deciding how she feels about him.

"I have work tonight," Tom told her.

"What is it exactly that you do, Tommy?" she asked.

"Anything ... everything ... well, I have to deliver some stuff tonight, it's muscle work, nothing fancy, but it pays okay," he wasn't proud of his way of living but it was fair for her to know about it.

"Do you have to go away for that?"

"Yeah, every now and then I get delivery orders to the city, and stayed there for a couple of nights to wait for the goods and come back here."

"I've always wanted to go to the city, I hear Goldstone is an exciting place for young people to start out, instead, my dad wants me to go to college in Gastonburry, which is a dull little town for students with nothing else to do but study," she confided in him.

"Goldstone is definitely a lively city, it has a lot of opportunities for all kinds of work especially in the entertainment business ... I think I might try my luck there when I turn 21," he said.

Charlie smiled, "That sounds a lot better than 4 years of law school in Gastonburry, I'm so sick and tired of studying, trying to fulfill my parents' dreams instead of my own, there are so many options out there, but mine has already been chosen for me," her smile turned to a frown.

"What are your dreams, Charlie?"

"Not law school ... that's for sure ... I have many dreams, all of which does not have anything to do with law school, so I'm not gonna bother myself fighting with my parents for that, ... anyways, does that mean you'll be leaving Bluebridge after your 21st birthday?"

Tom nodded hesitantly, "That's the plan, there's not much I can do here, but there are lots of things I can do in Goldstone, I've looked into it every time I went there ... and you'll be leaving for college next year?"

Charlie exhaled deeply, "That's my dad's plan for me."

They were silent for a moment when they realized they were both going away at around the same time. "When will you be back from work?" she broke the silence.

"In a few days," he said. She pouted, her birthday is in a few days. "I want to be back for your birthday, but I'm not invited, remember?" he teased her.

"I'd like to see you anyway," she said.

"You will."