Love Renewed (Love Trilogy)

by C. S. Janey

  “Ha. Yeah, I did. It was very sweet and he was practically blushing while talking about your mother so I told him it was okay even though I still feel awkward.”

  “Aww. Well, it’s very sweet that you support him even if you feel weird. I’m sure they will appreciate it and it doesn’t detract from our friendship at all. Does it?”

  He chuckled. “No, I suppose it doesn’t. And speaking of, I was hoping you would go out on a date with me tomorrow night? I hate that I can’t do this in person but I’d like to give you at least twenty four hours notice to have someone watch Douglas.”

  She was pleased at his thoughtfulness, her heart beating a little bit faster at the prospect of being alone with Trevin. “Yes, I’d love to. I will let you know for sure this evening.”

  “Great! I will look forward to your call. Drive safe!”

  “I will. Thanks!” Hanging up, she made sure Douglas was ready to and then exited the parking lot to head home.

  ~*~

  Trevin knocked on Charlotte’s front door the next evening. Her mother had, according to Charlotte, “eagerly agreed” to watch Douglas while they went out this evening. She had seemed rather surprised at her mother’s support which made Trevin assume that her mother still had not told her about the phone call she’d had with him the morning after Charlotte left. He decided that since everything was going so well, it wasn’t really worth mentioning at this point either.

  Looking at the flower in his right hand, he was trusting that she would appreciate the meaning of it and with it, they could move forward with their lives - and hopefully, their romance.

  Lost in his own thoughts, he jumped when the door finally opened. Feeling unprepared, he was glad to see that it was Anna standing in the doorway.

  “Trevin, come on inside! You didn’t have to knock, you could have just come right inside,” she informed him with a smile, stepping back to let him walk past her.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Reylin. I didn’t mind waiting, though.” She closed the door behind him as he stood awkwardly in the hallway as he didn’t know where to go.

  “Charlotte should be down in a few minutes. She was just putting Douglas to bed since seven p.m. is his bedtime.”

  “Oh, great. I wanted to thank you for watching him.”

  “It’s my pleasure, even though he will be sleeping the whole time.” Noticing the flower in his hand, she smiled as her eyes lit up. “Is that for Charlotte?”

  “Yeah, it is. I hope she will like it. And uh…thanks for making my father happy,” he coughed, not knowing if he had said the proper thing for this kind of situation.

  She laughed as if she knew why he was awkward. “It is no problem because your father is a great man. And I should really be thanking you. After all, you are kind enough to let me date your father.”

  “What—?” He stared at her in confusion.

  She winked at him. “I’m just kidding. You should go have a seat in the living room,” she commented as she walked away, chuckling. “I will let her know you are here.”

  Heading to the living room, he shook his head, laughing at her joke as well. He had always liked Anna, even after she had gone off on him after Charlotte had left. She had simply been upset at her daughter leaving and since Charlotte had placed the blame on him at the time, so had her mother. He wasn’t one to hold grudges.

  Sighing softly, Trevin took a seat and waited for Charlotte to come downstairs, the flower lying in his lap. He focused on the flower, the memory of the first time he had given her a flower fresh in his mind.

  He had given her flowers the night before her first day of high school when they had gone on a date. He had shown up at her door and held them out to her as the door opened.

  Her eyes had went wide at the sight of them, no doubt surprised that he would have thought of such a thing. “Are these for me?”

  “Yes, of course they are,” he replied, holding them out towards her in order for her to take them out of his hands. “I hope you like them.”

  She had taken them from his hands and lifted them up to her nose to breathe them in. “Thank you, I do love them. They are my favorite flower, but you knew that.” She stepped close and gave him a peck on the lips.

  Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear Charlotte come into the room until she spoke up.

  “Are you okay, Trevin?”

  Shaking his head, he stood up abruptly and turned towards her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Hi there.”

  Looking her up and down, he grinned as he took in her outfit which consisted of a strapless emerald green dress with a ribbon just under her breasts to accentuate her waist, the skirt just long enough to reach her knees. She wore white dress shoes that were shiny in the lighting and went with the white clutch she held in one hand along with the pearls in her ears. “You look fabulous.” Watching the blush go up her face, he chuckled as she stepped closer.

  He held out the flower and she stopped walking, her dark brown eyes widening as they flew up to meet his green ones. “Is that for me?”

  “I don’t see anyone else around here to receive it.”

  “You’re right. That was a silly question,” she remarked as she took the flower from his hands and held it up to her nose. Then she looked at him from underneath her eyelashes. “You remembered what my favorite flower was. I know that I probably shouldn’t be surprised but I am.”

  Stepping closer and lifting a hand to cradle her face, he leaned closer. “I would never forget that your favorite flower is a red Poppy, Sprite. Hell, I still remember the time you told me what it was in the first place.”

  Her mouth curved upwards as she licked her lips, making him stare at her mouth again with the desire to kiss it. “That day we went on the picnic - the summer before high school started. Then you brought me some the night before the first day of classes. It was the first really sweet thing you had done for me.”

  “What?” His voice rose incredulously and only when she laughed did he realize she had been joking. “Very funny. That was good.”

  “I know.”

  Neither of them moved away from the other, standing close to each other with her head cradled in his hand. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, relishing the ability to touch her once again.

  Her eyes closed as he leaned in to whisper. “Are you ready to go?”

  Licking her lips, she opened her eyes and stared into his. “Yes, I am. Are you?”

  He pulled away as he grinned, intentionally avoiding the chance to give her a kiss and she scowled at him. Offering his arm, he winked at her as she took it.

  “Let’s go then!”

  As they left the house and got into the car, Charlotte asked him, “Where are we going?”

  He continued to smile as he shot her a glance full of mischief. “You’ll see. I know that you will appreciate it as much as I do.”

  ~*~

  As they pulled up to the place and parked, Charlotte turned towards Trevin and lifted a brow at him. “We are going to your house?”

  He just laughed at her and hopped out of the car, coming around to open her door for her. As she stepped out of the car and then closed the door, he went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Walking towards him, he closed the trunk before she could see what he had taken out of it.

  “Seriously, Trevin, what are we doing?”

  Stepping in front of her, he held up his arms and she saw that he was holding a picnic basket. She could feel her face just split into a wide grin, her heart squeezing with the pleasure she felt at his thoughtfulness.

  “You are taking me out on this first date to the same place we had our actual first date?”

  “Yes. Does that make me really lame?”

  “No, not at all. Shall we?”

  She wrapped her hand around his arm as they walked on the path towards the lake.

  Looking around at the trees surrounding the path, she stopped to stare straight up at the dark sky, stars scattered across it. Trevin stopped and looked sideways at her.


  “It’s still amazing, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it certainly is. It was always the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen…and still is.”

  They started to walk again and came to the end of the path when he stopped walking this time. “Pick a spot. It’s up to you where we sit.”

  Pointing out one that was relatively close to the water, Charlotte pulled off her sandals as they walked towards it. When they got close, she watched Trevin pull out a blanket to spread out on the sand and then take a seat, patting the spot next to him indicating that she should sit next to him, which she did.

  Opening the top of the basket, he stuck his hand in and left it there.

  “What do you think I brought with me?”

  She laughed softly. “I would guess you brought crackers and cheese cubes like the first time.”

  “No, although I did think about it. Instead, I brought this,” he admitted, pulling out a container of strawberries and green grapes. “I hope you didn’t suddenly turn allergic to these on me. I figured they were perfect for snacking on in the evening instead of having another meal.”

  “That was a good thought and I’m not allergic, so you can breathe easy.” When he chuckled, she poked him in the side. “What did you bring to drink?”

  She watched as he took out two wineglasses and then a bottle of sparkling cider, holding it out to her. “Will this do?”

  “It looks tasty to me. Do you not drink?”

  He shook his head. “No, I haven’t drank in a long time. You?”

  “I never did, actually.”

  She giggled as his eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

  She shrugged. “You know I never had an interest in it and I never really changed my mind enough to change it.”

  “True. Well, we will enjoy this cider and stay totally sober!”

  Opening it up, he poured her a glass and then himself, putting down the bottle before opening the container holding the strawberries and grapes. Picking one of the strawberries up, she stared as he put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly and moaning rather loudly as he did so.

  She playfully slapped his arm as she took a sip of her cider. “Stop being a perv.”

  His mouth curving up, he raised a brow at her and picked up another strawberry, bringing it close to her lips and holding it there while chewing his own.

  Her heart raced at his blatant flirting, especially when he started rubbing the strawberry across her lips. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, catching the taste of the strawberries with her tongue, her mouth opening just slightly as he moved it back to the middle of her lips so she could take a bite.

  Biting into it, a little bit of the juice escaped and slid down her bottom lip. His eyes narrowed at this and as she slowly chewed, he leaned in close to her and with his tongue, licked her lips while catching the juice before gently kissing her mouth.

  Swallowing quickly, she placed her glass on the sand beside her and got up onto her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck slowly and kissed him back, her mouth automatically opening to give his tongue entrance. The groan he released thrilled her, one hand gripping her hair to keep her in place. He set his glass aside and returned the embrace, his arm coming around her to bring her body flush against his as he moaned once again.

  As he pulled away to readjust, she giggled before speaking, her voice coming out low due to her desire. “I don’t remember this being part of our first date.”

  He looked into her eyes before asking, “Are you complaining, Sprite?”

  Charlotte knew she wasn’t. She also knew that if she let him kiss her again, they were going to end up in bed together. Her heart warred with her head.

  Why not? Her heart was saying. He loves you and always has. He isn’t going anywhere and it’s been so long…

  Because you aren’t sure it will go anywhere again, her head argued. Have you considered how you will feel in the morning?

  Don’t be silly, her heart admonished. You love him and you always have. Put the poor man out of his misery.

  “Charlotte? Do you want to stop?”

  Searching his eyes as much as she could in the dark, she knew how he felt about her. She could feel his arousal against the front of her and ever since she’d seen him again, she had wanted to touch him as much as she was sure he wanted to touch her. Nothing had changed since the day she had went to his house, she admitted to herself. She still wanted him just as much then as now, so she made a decision to jump and hope she landed where she wanted to.

  “No. No, I don’t want to stop,” she whispered, pulling his head down to hers so their lips were close again. “Let’s go inside, please.”

  “Are you sure?” She saw his eyes searching hers to make sure this was what she wanted.

  Her heart beat faster. “Yes, I’m very sure. I want you, I want this.”

  “I want you too,” he assured her, his lips kissing hers one more time before he released her, standing up slowly. “I always have and always will. Let me pack up this stuff and then we can go inside.”

  Soon, they were headed to the house, hand in hand.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Placing the basket on the ground, Trevin unlocked the door to his house before swinging it open and stepping back to let Charlotte go inside first.

  Stomach churning with nervousness, he picked up the basket and went inside as well, softly shutting the door behind them both. She had stopped just inside the door and turned to wait for him, her hands clasped together tightly in front of her. Grinning he nodded towards the kitchen.

  “I need to go put this stuff away in the kitchen. Follow me,” he winked at her as he walked away, hearing her dress shoes tapping against the floor as she did just as he bid.

  It didn’t take long to put the food away. Trevin placed the fruit and cider into the fridge, making sure they were both closed tight before shutting the door. Turning around to face Charlotte, he walked slowly towards her.

  He saw her gulp as he got closer to her, but she didn’t take a step back. Cocking her head to the side, a small smile was playing around her lips as he stopped right in front of her.

  “Which way to your bedroom?”

  Just hearing those words from her lips made him stomach tighten in anticipation. Grabbing her hand in his, he pulled her towards the steps. “This way. Are you sure you don’t want a tour?”

  She laughed, squeezing his hand with hers. “That’s not my main priority right now but I would definitely like a tour at another time.”

  “Good,” he said, winking back at her as he started up the steps. “I was hoping you would say that since you are my only priority right now.”

  As they reached the top of the steps that lead to the bedroom, Trevin turned to face her. Staring into her face, he lifted a hand and slid it along her cheek before clasping her neck and leaning close, bringing their faces near to touching.

  His voice was low when he spoke. “I’m nervous.”

  She leaned back a little and gazed up into his eyes, his face mostly shadowed due to the low lighting. As he saw her tongue dart out to wet her lips, he couldn’t resist dropping his gaze to stare at them in earnest. Pulling her close, she let out a gasp as she started to speak.

  “Honestly, I’m a little nervous too,” she whispered. “It’s been a long time for me.”

  Trevin rested his forehead against hers, stroking her cheek with his thumb lovingly. “Me too. Over ten years ago, actually.”

  He watched her eyes widen. “But…you said you had dated after you gave up looking for me!”

  Pressing her lips against his as he gave her a quick peck before pulling away slightly, their mouths almost touching. “I did say that but that doesn’t mean I ever got close to being that serious with any of them. You are, and always have been, my one and only. I don’t want anybody but you, Sprite.”

  Seeing her eyes begin to water, he tightened his hold on her as he brought her body flush against his. Her eyes fluttered closed as she br
eathed in sharply, her arms coming up to grasp his collar. As his hand gripped the nape of her neck, she opened her eyes, tears shimmering as her lower lip trembled.

  “I made such a mistake, didn’t I? I was such a fool.” A tear slid down slowly down her cheek before it was stopped by the pad of his thumb brushing it away. Turning her head, he put his mouth next to her ear.

  “You are not a fool but even if you were, it has all worked out, hasn’t it? You are here in my arms where you belong and I could not be happier than I am right now.”

  Feeling her smile against his cheek and then nod, his mouth found hers as he kissed her with a passion he could no longer deny. Her mouth opened instantly, letting him swoop in with his tongue and conquer her mouth with all due haste. Their tongues waged a war between the entrances to the others mouth, making Trevin groan with lust as Charlotte sighed with pleasure.

  Within seconds his body was aflame as hers cradled against his, moving in a way that was only inciting him to take her right then and there in the hallway. Backing up until he felt his body meet the wall, he released her head and used both hands to push her lower body against his, moaning at the exquisite feel of her ass in his hands.

  She had wrapped her arms around his neck and was holding on for what seemed like dear life, her fingers grabbing his hair and holding him still as she kissed him back with her whole heart. Trevin wasn’t sure at this point who was the aggressor but realized that it no longer mattered, as long as Charlotte continued being in his arms like this.

  Releasing her mouth, he brought a hand up to steady her as he spoke. “Lets continue this in my room.”

  As she smiled up at him, he took her hand and led the way.

  ~*~

  Trailing behind Trevin as they entered the bedroom, Charlotte could feel her heart flutter with anticipation.

  Coming to a halt, he faced her. She was unable to stop her breath from hitching as he lifted an arm and leaned to reach over her shoulder, shutting the door and enclosing them in darkness.