He was good with his words, but then again, Charlene was not allowed to go to the store again after that day. After a few days, she had accepted that she might never see him again. She walked to and from school with her friends, always looking around to see if she can find a familiar face along the way. But she never did.
There are many walk paths to get from one place to another in Bluebridge, most people go by bike or motorbike, the most common was by foot. The only time people go by car was to go out of town, or if you're a Ludlow or the very few upper-class families in that very small town then you get to go around town by car with a driver.
She was walking home from school that day, she and her friends Mandy and Kayla took the usual route past the lake near the woods. There were people swimming in the lake, they heard them laughing, jumping into the lake and splashes of water. They were teenagers, a bit older than them, not from their area, sure enough, her eyes were immediately locked with those ice-blue-eyes, staring at her from the water. Something surged inside her, she didn't realize how much she wanted to see him again until she finally did.
"Charlie!" he shouted and came out of the water. His friends looked her way and made gestures to each other because they recognized who she was. Some of them were girls, all soaked and wet in their dresses.
"Is that him?" whispered Mandy. Charlene nodded. Tom was half-naked and wet, his body leaned and muscled like it had been doing a lot of labor work. She noticed scars on his arms, back, and some on the sides of his abs. It was the first time she had ever seen a male body up close without clothes on, and she thought it was a beautiful thing. Tom's body was a beautiful thing. Just as they were enjoying the view, Tom put on his shirt to greet them.
"Sorry, ladies, as you can see we were enjoying a nice day out at the lake," he excused himself for indecent exposure.
"Hi, Tommy," Charlie greeted him.
"Hey ... I haven't seen you in a while," he mentioned the same thing that was running through her mind.
"This is Mandy and Kayla, we were just walking back from school ... where have you been, Tommy?" Tom shook hands with her friends who seemed a bit flushed at the sight of him.
"I went to Goldstone, working, I just got back last night, say, ladies ... do you want to join us in the water?" he took a chance. The girls were giggling, they never dipped into a lake before.
"I don't know ... we should really get back," Kayla hesitated.
"Oh, come on Kayla, it'll be fun," said Charlie. There was a wide smile on Tom's face.
His friends were starting to call on him to get back to the water. "Do you wanna come, Charlie?" his tone of voice was soft and calm, he offered her his opened hand as she looked at it and grabbed it. Mandy and Kayla went along with her, it seemed like something worth trying. They took off their shoes and trotted into the water with their clothes still intact. Charlene was giggling in excitement as the water started to splash on her dress, it's a good thing she was wearing tight bicycle pants underneath her dress like her mom always told her to.
"I have to be careful, 'cause I can't swim," she said still holding his hand firmly, Tommy immediately regretted his invitation.
"Your mom is so going to kill me," Tom said and made them laugh.
She had always wanted to dip in the lake, although if it weren't for Tommy, she might never have tried it. Despite what her mom had told her, Tommy's demeanor didn't suggest that he was anything other than an ordinary teenage boy.
His strong arms were guiding her in the water, something she wasn't familiar with. His warm body was constantly shadowing her as the result of her telling him that she couldn't swim. Getting her into the water was one thing, but if she was injured in any way, it would've been a death sentence for him. He was so cautious up to the point where Charlie couldn't really do anything.
She liked the way he feels around her, when their wet skin grazed against each other, it made her shiver, her body never done that before. But he was suffocating her, she pushed him gently, "Tommy, it's okay, please stop hovering over me!" she said it casually.
"Sorry ... I was just ..." he lifted his arms and stepped back.
"Yeah, Tommy! Leave her alone!" Samuel teased him.
Charlie was jumping from the swing to the water, she tried to leap from the small cliff. It didn't take long for her to get used to it. She was laughing out loud with her new friends like they've known each other for a long time. Mandy and Kayla seemed to enjoy themselves as much as she did. They choked on the water a few times, but that didn't prevent them from jumping off the cliff four more times. Charlie was about to take another jump when Tommy tried to stop her, "Charlie, don't you think you had enough jump for today?"
"What? Are you trying to tell me not to jump?" she felt challenged. Before he could answer, she was already leaping into the water. When she didn't emerge from the water, Tom's face was drained of blood. He ran as quickly as he could and dived in to look for her. She was pretending, of course, and she jolted out of the water and burst out laughing.
"That's not funny, Charlie, you really scared me there," he wasn't laughing and walked away with a long face.
She thought it was adorable how he was being protective of her, even though they've only just met. She had no idea he wasn't trying to be cute. "You know, Tom's brother died in this lake," Samuel confided in her when they rested at the shore.
"Oh my God, I had no idea," she gasped.
"Yeah, Teddy drowned when he was 9 and Tom was 13, they were out here playing in the water by themselves, Tom never really forgave himself for that," Samuel was one of Tommy's closest friends for the longest time. Charlie turned to look at Tom who was goofing around with the others in the water, she didn't realize how tragic his childhood was. "That's probably why he was very protective of you in the water, he still has nightmares about it ... but don't tell him I told you that," he patted her on the knee and went back in the water.
The day was almost ending, they've been in the lake for more than two hours, it was time to go home. "I'll walk you home." Tommy offered.
"No! That's suicide," Charlie declined.
"It's fine, I'm already dead," he didn't really care about the consequences, he was happy enough to have spent that afternoon with her.
"I'll be fine, Tommy, I'll go with Mandy and Kayla," she persisted.
"Can I see you again?" he asked. Charlie was putting on her shoes, all dripping wet, the lines of her body were visible through her wet dress and he took a deep breath for thinking what he was thinking at that moment.
She smiled, "I don't know ... we'll see," she said and waved goodbye.
He helplessly let her go with her friends, even though he wanted to be with her for much longer. Her beautiful face was what he couldn't stop thinking about when he first saw her, but then he just found out how adventurous she was, how easy she blends in with his friends, how easy she made him feel something for her and every curve of her body had made him felt all the things he knew he was not supposed to around this girl.
They were half running to her house which was a 15-minute walk from the lake, they made it back in less than 10. Her mom was frantic when she opened the door and found the girls soaking wet. "Charlene Ludlow?! Where on earth have you been? I'd been worried sick for you, I even called Mrs. Cooper and God forbid, I almost called your dad! You're all wet! What were you doing? You couldn't let me know you were running late?" she went on and on without letting her say anything.
She finally stopped and put one hand on her waist, "You were with that boy, weren't you?" it was her mother's instinct that put two and two together.
Charlene was squeezing water from her dress, "What boy?"
"Charlene? You better tell me the truth or I swear I will tell your dad!"
"What boy, mom? We were passing by the lake and thought it was a nice day to try to dip in the water," she lied.
"The lake??" her Mom squealed and started to rant about the germs she might get from dipping in dirty water. Mandy and Kayla didn't say a thing about 'the boy', they excused themselves to go home before Mrs. Ludlow burst out into flames. "Scrub yourself nice and clean, young lady, wash your hair and clean yourself up before your daddy comes home," she kept going until Charlene was out of sight up the stairs to her bedroom.
She couldn't stop smiling when she bathed and washed in the bathtub. At least she got away with a lie that she wasn't with 'that boy' at the lake. She found out something new about him, something sad. The more she found out things about him, the more she wanted to know him. She loved the way he gave special attention to her, the way he looked at her. She often found him looking her way, even though he sometimes pretends that he wasn't. Then, she wandered away in her thoughts, his face, his lips, his beautiful body, his hands touching her, how good it must feel like to be held in his arms, how much she wanted to see him again.
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
The house was transformed into a party venue. Workers have been working since morning, putting up lights, flowers, setting up tables, inside and outside the house. The lawn had been mowed, tents were hoisted. The kitchen had been cooking non-stop, caterers have arrived with more variations of dishes to serve throughout the night.Her parents had invited 150 guests aside from Charlene's friends. The caterers provided 20 waiters and waitresses to make sure the food and beverages were prepared and served properly. There will be at least 250 people crowding the party. She looked stunning in a white halter neck dress that her mom had chosen for her. She put on some make-up and earrings. She brushed her hair casually because her naturally wavy hair looked gorgeous on any occasion. She finally came downstairs with Mandy and Kayla when it was almost dinner time. The guests were already gathered up under the staircase, having hors d'oeuvres and champagne. They all looked up to see her
Landon emerged from the crowd and came over to where Charlene was sitting with her friends. Inside, the music was playing, and people started to make room for a dance floor in the center of the main hall. "Hey, Charlene ... it's time for your dance, your dad asked me to look for you here and do the first dance together," said Landon, extending his hand to Charlene."Oh, my ... I'm not very good at dancing," she looked at her friends to bail her out, but they were actually encouraging her to go for it."I can help you out with that, don't worry," he assured her.She took his hand and nervously walked inside. The guests were clapping for them, Landon turned her around to face him, they touch palms, and put his other arm around her waist. He put her other arm around his waist, their faces almost touched. She had never been that close to a guy before, she turned her face to her right, and saw her parents smiling widely looking at them starting to sway on the dance f
"Okay ... it's time to get you back home," Tommy said after she finished her second beer."What? No!!" his friends shouted."Oh, come on, Tommy! It's not that late," Charlie whined.He laughed, "It is for you, Birthday Girl," he stood up, extended his hand to her. "Come on, you're not supposed to be here in the first place, you're putting me on the spot here," he said.She took his hand and stood up, "Well, okay, fair enough," she agreed. She felt a little light-headed but managed to walk straight after she said goodbye to everybody."You comin' back here, man?" Ryan asked."Yeah, I'll be back."Tommy put his hands on her waist when she wobbled, "Are you okay?"She nodded, "I'm okay, it's the beer, I guess?" and then she laughed out loud. He lets her go as soon as she managed to steady her walk. "I never drank before in my life, I didn't know it had a really funny side effect, I mean ... I knew but I never experienced it before
The dilapidated cabin looked gloomy amongst the towering elms. He ascended the front steps toward the door, already had ideas of what he was going to do with the steps and the small veranda. He put the key in the keyhole and turned it. It still smelled like old tobacco and wet wood. He entered carefully, the floor creaked, the hinges squeaked. Everything was still at its place, nobody had been in there since old man Bob's funeral.He sat on the two seated ram shacked sofa, he took a small picture frame from the side table next to it, a picture of the old man and him when he was about 15 years old. He remembered how Bob used to show him magic tricks that were obvious to him, but he kept his mouth shut, pretended that it was the cleverest trick he had ever seen.Bob asked him one day, "Do you believe in magic, Tommy?"He said, "No."Bob smiled and said, "You will ... when you see her," with a pat on his shoulder.He never really understood what it me
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 w
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