by Audrina Lane
“Yeah, I’ve been up for ages” Mitch said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
“You could have shouted me” Charlie replied “What have I missed?”
“Oh, I’ve been telling Mitchell all about your annoying habits” I laughed, as I watched her turn to look at Mitch with horror on her face until she realised that I was teasing her and she gave me a look that said it all.
“We’ve been talking about music and dancing” responded Mitchell “although I would like to hear about your annoying habits” he finished.
“So what are your plans for the day?” I asked
“Thought we might go round the town and Mitch can see what a boring place we live in, then I have dance practice this afternoon for a couple of hours so Mitch can come along if he wants”
“Is that wise, he is your rival in the dance competition”
“Yes, but I trust him not to steal our routine, anyway I may have a plan for him to help us out” Charlie said cryptically.
“Oh yes” said Mitch “And when were you going to tell me about this?”
“Well later when we’re out” she replied, smiling shyly at him.
“Bacon sandwiches then?” I asked “since you will need to eat to give you some energy for later”
They both nodded and I left them to their conversation as I set to work at the stove, pleased to see my daughter so happy.
“What time are you heading home Mitchell” I asked.
“I promised I would be home by nine so as long as I leave here about eight that should be fine” he replied.
“Ok I’m doing lasagne for tea so I’ll feed you before you head off” I finished.
Walking into town Charlie knew it would be pretty deserted on a Sunday but it was nice to just walk around together as she shared her knowledge of the different places. They walked through the car park towards the swimming pool so that they could continue through to the river bank.
“My dad used to work there?” Mitchell suddenly said, looking at the tired façade of the leisure centre.
“Really” Charlie said “My Mum met her first boyfriend there, isn’t that strange”
“Yes” Mitchell said “What was his name again?”
“James” she replied, as the sudden realisation hit her “What’s your Dad’s name?” she said, holding her breath.
“James” Mitchell replied
“Do you think that my Mum’s James is your Dad?” Charlie exclaimed.
“That’s just what I was thinking, how weird if it was”
“I know a way we can check” Charlie responded, after a large pause as they both considered this information.
“We’ll need to go home as I have a photograph of the two of them together” she finished, grabbing his hand as they turned and quickly headed back to the house. The river bank walk postponed until further notice.
Grabbing a cold drink they headed upstairs, her Mum had gone shopping so the house was deserted. As Mitch sat down on her bed Charlie pulled the photo album out from under her bed and turned to the back page before handing it to Mitchell.
“Oh my God it is my Dad” Mitch breathed, almost dropping the photo album from the shock of this realisation “This is so mad” he finished.
“So do you think that my Mum was his true love then?” Charlie said, sitting down beside him and gazing at the now familiar photography.
“I guess so as my brother Darren is 23 and the diaries are from 1988 and he was born in 1989 and then me in 1991 before my Mum left us” Charlie watched the shock in his eyes; this was a massive discovery for both of them.
“I think I need to read some more of Mum’s diaries to see what happened between them before we dare mention this” Charlie breathed “but I haven’t got that far with them yet and it’s such a compelling story that I don’t want to spoil it by just turning to the end pages” she finished.
“Ok, but I think you had better start reading faster as the dance competition is not far away and my Dad is coming to watch”
“Yes, so is my Mum” Charlie responded.
Looking at the clock Charlie realised that it was time to head over for her dance session and she hadn’t even talked to Mitch about what she was planning. Grabbing her dance bag and Mitch’s hand they started back down the stairs
“Can we go on the bike?” she asked Mitch
“Sure, is it far?”
“No but I want to be there before anyone else so I can talk to Mrs Grantley about what I am planning”
“Yes, and I would quite like to know what I’m letting myself in for too” Mitch replied as he grabbed the helmets and they headed for the bike.
Once they arrived at the school and were walking towards the entrance for the main hall Charlie turned to Mitchell.
“Ok, what I want to do as part of our dance is to fall from a fair height and have someone catch me but as we are a group of girls there is no one who would have the strength to do this so I wondered if you step in?”
“I would catch you any day” Mitch replied, as we both thought back to yesterday’s visit to the lakes
“I would love to do it” he finished, grinning down at Charlie and giving her a quick kiss on the lips, before they headed through the doors.
Inside Mrs Grantley was already there and setting up the music system so she looked startled to see Charlie heading through the door accompanied by a tall young man who looked vaguely familiar.
“Hi Charlie, you’re early?” she said, as they crossed the hall.
“Hi Mrs Grantley, this is Mitchell” she said, introducing them.
“I’ve had an idea about our dance to Take my Breath Away and I want Mitchell to help us with it. By the way he is in the dance group from the college in Rugby who are also in the finals” she finished, glancing nervously between the two of them.
“Ah, that’s where I recognise you from?” Mrs Grantley said smiling “Ok tell me what you are thinking then” she said.
Putting the CD in the system Charlie found the music and played the song through highlighting the section at the end of the song where she thought the drop would fit in.
“I like your idea” Mrs Grantley finished, “It will certainly give our dance a dramatic ending”
“I’ll just pop and change into my dance clothes and can we have a couple of practices before anyone else turns up” Charlie asked, eager to put her idea into practice.
“Ok” both Mitchell and Mrs Grantley said at the same time.
When she returned Charlie explained that they may require some stage props at the London venue and then the music started. Charlie couldn’t help but run through the first part of the routine as she built up to the point where the drop would come in. As she flitted up the steps at the side of the stage area and taking this as a cue Mitchell headed to the point below Charlie on the floor.
Mrs Grantley paused the music and then headed over as Charlie explained that she would launch herself backwards off the stage and then Mitchell would catch her, lift her above his head whilst she was still in that position with her arms outstretched and then slowly she would slid down his body and finish wrapped around Mitchell’s feet.
“Ok…I’m ready” Mitchell said, glad he had taken his trainers and socks off and could plant himself firmly on the wooden flooring. Then he watched as Charlotte very gracefully with arms outstretched fell into his arms, holding her around the waist he lifted her directly above his head. As she was there she could feel the full strength of his body as it trembled slightly underneath her but she remained still and then started to slide down him. However she never reached the original ending spot on the floor as suddenly she was being cradled in Mitchell’s strong arms as he knelt down and she was draped over his knee, his one arm holding the top of her thigh, the other cradled under her head.
All this time Mrs Grantley had been both holding her breath and marvelling at this young man’s strength and skill on the dance floor as well as how wonderfully fluent the two of them danced together.
Charlotte bought her head up and looked straight into Mitchell’s eyes, her breathing ragged and quick.
“That felt fantastic” she breathed, as Mitch carefully placed her down so she was sat on the floor, he joined her there.
“It was Charlie” he replied.
“Beautiful” was all Mrs Grantley could exclaim “You two look fantastic together I was so carried away with it all” she finished.
They tried it a couple more times and then Mitchell went to find some water as they waited for the rest of the class to turn up.
Mitchell sat at the back as the girls all got together at the front and Mrs Grantley explained that the dance would change slightly at the end and then she introduced Mitchell to them. Julia recognised him immediately and a few of the other girls just drew in a sharp in take of breath at the sight of him, Charlie just held his hand tightly and smiled. They all knew that she was the exceptional dancer in their group so after going through the dance as a group a couple of times they all sat back and watched the proposed new ending. Before Charlotte took up position on the stage Mitchell gave her hand a squeeze
“Knock ‘em dead” he said.
“You too” she replied, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks at the look in his eyes that said far more to her than the words.
Then once more she was dropping then soaring as their bodies connected and he slowly lowered her to the ground, managing a stealthy kiss on her cheek as he finished the move to a resounding applause from the small audience.
“It’s brilliant” Julia said, over the clapping.
“So are we all agreed on including this for the final?” Mrs Grantley said.
“Yes” came the response as all the girls were eager to have one more dance through before they finished. “Good idea girls, we’ve only got six weeks until the competition so we must crack on”
Chapter 26
After having a quick chat with Julia at the end of the session Charlotte grabbed Mitchell’s hand and they headed back to the bike and the short ride home. As they opened the front door they were hit with the wonderful smell of lasagne cooking and realised they were starving as it had been a long time since the bacon sandwiches at breakfast.
“Hi Guys” I said, as they both appeared in the kitchen “How was your day?”
“Great thanks” Mitch said
“Fantastic” breathed Charlotte, as she moved to the fridge and reached for a cold drink for the both of them.
“How was dance practice, did they like your idea?” I continued
“Oh yes it looks amazing apparently” Charlie replied.
“Yes it is a great routine, they might even beat our group” he said, grinning over at Charlie.
“Oh I doubt it, your other routines are far more technical than ours so you might end up winning” Charlie responded.
We ate dinner and then Charlie and Mitch headed upstairs for an hour before he had to leave. Once in the bedroom he pulled her to him and they kissed long and slow as they lay down on her bed together.
“So bearing in mind we have only six weeks until the dance competition do you think you might like to come up to mine for a weekend?” he murmured between kisses.
“That would be great, as we can always practice the lift at yours” Charlie replied, returning his kisses with enthusiasm.
“I’ll check with my Dad when I get home and then drop you a text and you can ask your Mum”
“Talking of my Mum and your Dad, I’ll try and get on a bit further with the diaries as it’s no good us trying to introduce them again if it sounds like the parting was really bad” Charlie said “I would hate to cause a scene, although obviously they are going to end up meeting at the Dance competition in London”
“Yeah, it’s a tricky one, but I will see if I can find out anything more from my Dad and let you know”
“Deal” Charlie responded “but enough talking I need some more kisses before you have to leave”
Mitchell didn’t get a chance to reply as she pushed him back and jumping on top of him she bought her lips down to meet his in a kiss so sensual it made her feel light headed as the blood rushed to other areas of her body.
Then all too soon she was standing on the doorstep watching him climb on his bike, feeling the strange mix of emotions flowing through her, part happiness that he was well and truly hers and wondering how she was going to get through the time they were apart. At least she had text, email and Face Book to allow her to keep in touch with him so it wasn’t all bad, it would just be the physical contact and boy was the physical contact mind blowing.
I waited for the roar of the engine to fade away as Charlie wandered into the lounge and plonked herself down on the sofa next to me.
“You ok?” I asked, knowing exactly how she was feeling.
“Yes Mum, a bit tired so I’m going to call it a night” she replied, as she reached over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek “Night Mum”
“Night Charlie” I replied.
Once she was in her room she took one final look at the photograph in the album and shook her head at the enormity of the situation, wondering how something like this could have happened. Then she slipped under the duvet, which still felt warm from the hour she had just spent with Mitchell and opened the diary. She kept her phone close as Mitch had promised he would drop her a text when he reached home. She flicked through another couple of weeks, which just described her Mum’s work experience at the hospital, she was tempted to linger whenever she spotted her Dad’s name but realising she needed to know how things ended as soon as possible she skipped to the next weekend when her Mum was with James again.
Friday 19th August, 1988
As I was working the afternoon shift on the radio I had taken my weekend bag with me so that James could just call and pick me up from there. By the end of the show I was so excited to be seeing him that I positively ran down the corridors and almost floored Mark again, who shouted “Hi” to me as I passed by in a blur. Outside I scanned the parking area and soon spotted James standing by his red mini as I ran over to be enveloped in a huge hug.
“Are you a sight for sore eyes” he breathed
“You too” I replied, reaching up so that my lips would meet his quicker.
“How was your day? he asked, as he grabbed my bag and popped it into the boot.
“Great, the show is huge fun and I’m getting loads of requests so it makes it all worthwhile when the kids phone in or want me to go and visit them on the ward” I responded as I got into the car.
“What about you?”
“Felicity is making my last month hell, I had to beg and plead for this weekend off so I could see you” he replied, as he fired the engine into life.
Why did he have to mention her I thought, but I let it go as he grabbed my hand and deliberately placed it onto his knee.
“Anyway, I only have another twelve days to go so I couldn’t care less” he finished as we sped off up the road, Madness playing on the stereo as we sang along to ‘House of Fun’
When we reached the house it was time for dinner and I enjoyed telling Peter and Pam about my radio show and how much fun it was. Then as soon as we could we headed upstairs to James’ bedroom and at last I could relax into his embrace. I reached for him as he pulled me close and our lips met slowly at first but then with more urgency as slowly and carefully James started to remove my clothes and with every layer that fell the more turned on my body was under his caress. Then when I was naked he lifted me up and carried me the short distance to his bed and once he had slipped out of his jeans, t-shirt and boxer shorts he slid in beside me. I revelled in the feel of his touch as he gently trailed kisses down my throat and then to my nipples, taking each of them in turn and I almost felt as if I would come just from the sensations that were now running through my blood and veins.
Then his tongue went lower and his head was between my thighs as I sighed and felt his hot kiss followed by the coolness as he blew gently in between every
lick. It was mind blowing as my body arched to meet his finger as it plunged into my wetness.
“Please, now” I whimpered softly, as his finger withdrew. As he moved up to kiss me again he plunged into me and within a single breath I was coming so much that I felt as though I was floating on a cloud, weightless and out of control as all I felt were the convulsions through my body. They spread like ripples on a pool, widening from the core of me to the tips of my fingers.
“I love you” I gasped, as I felt James join me in this bubble of sensations that made up both of our bodies.
“I love you too” he finally replied, when we dropped back down to earth from where we had both been flying only moments before. Then still in his arms he hugged me tighter and feeling so content with my whole world I fell asleep.
Saturday 20th August, 1988
I woke up before James and revelled in the time I had to just gaze at him as he slept. Then I decided that I had enough of gazing as I ran my fingers down his chest before I encountered his erection that had already sprung up from nowhere. Taking it in my hand I gently stroked it and then carefully manoeuvred myself so that I was straddling James. Looking down into his face I spotted a smile spreading over his lips but he remained still and kept his eyes closed so I took that as a cue to continue. Feeling this empowered only enhanced my own feelings as my body responded too and I slowly lowered myself onto him and started to move. Leaning forward I started to kiss him, small butterfly kisses lightly rained all over his face before he could lie still no longer and his arms reached up to run through my hair and bring me closer to him so that his lips could capture mine.
“Keep riding” he murmured urgently in my ear, before he exploded inside of me as I kept going and joined him a few minutes later.