by Angel Marks
“I can appreciate that. You definitely surprised me, and other than being half wasted for you and worried about you getting home and thinking about your ride to my place, I’m glad you came.”
“Yeah, I’m glad I saw you last night, but I should have known better than to ride with Joel …” She drifted off into that memory gazing out at the water. “He’s a jerk, but I’m the bigger idiot for calling him.”
“That’s taken care of,” he replied. Noelle shot him an alarmed look. “What did you do?”
“Don’t worry about it, but for the record, he was never your friend. Block him on your phone and let me know if he ever tries to contact you again.”
Noelle sighed, “I already blocked him. Thanks.”
She sat with Will’s rod between her legs, wearing an old fitted V-neck T-shirt, old ripped Levi’s, and European brown nubuck ballet flats she had picked up at T.J.-Maxx in Boston.
She stretched her legs out on the rocks, noticing the solitude of the reservoir. Being here, it was hard to imagine a world that moved quickly and competitively. A world she had been swept up by in her four years of college and just as quickly forgotten by a year later.
“When do you plan to take off on a motorcycle?”
“Not any time soon.”
“What about college?”
“I’ve never liked school.”
Will noticed his line was tugging and reeled in a sunny. He carefully removed the hook from its mouth, showed the little pan fry fish to Noelle, and slipped it back in the water where it stayed nearby.
“Why? What is it about school you dislike?”
Will flashed a smile. “Everything.”
“Hmmm … I guess we really are opposites then. I love school,” Noelle said dreamily as she eyed her Tolstoy novel peeking out of her bag. She had brought it just in case there was a moment for reading—as if she would be able to get her brain around Tolstoy when she was on a first date with Will!
“You’re book smart, Noelle. I appreciate that.”
“Hmm …” She wondered if she should take it as a compliment or an insult, but silently acknowledged the truth of his remark.
“Yeah, I suppose if I was also street smart I would not have moved back home to nowhere town, USA.”
“But then we never would have met, and you wouldn’t be who you are.” Will cast off and Noelle watched his line glide effortlessly through the air. He continued, “I like who you are. You’re beautiful, smart, kind, and there is something so innocent about you. You’re vulnerable.” She sat there on the rocks, knees pulled to her chest, resting her cheek and watching him as he finished his statement. “I have this feeling that I need to protect you.”
“Really? Why?”
“I think you understand.”
“Maybe, but I’d like to leave this town. I did live in Boston for four years. I don’t plan to waste the rest of my life in the country.”
“You won’t, but you may not be cut out to do it on your own.”
“Ha-ha, thanks for your vote of confidence, Will. You should tell that to my mother.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“She wants all my dreams to come true. It’s like she didn’t so I should, but I wasn’t ready to go to New York on my own last May. Still, I can’t stay here forever.”
“What about your father?”
“What about him?”
“What does he want for you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. He’s pretty laissez-faire if you know what I mean, though he did encourage me to buy the car I just totaled. Growing up when he would speak to me it would be to say ‘You’re just like your mother,’ and he wasn’t giving me a compliment. For the most part, when he’s around, he doesn’t say much.”
“When is he around?”
Noelle frowned. “Never, and yet they’re still married and my mother likes to pretend they’re in love. I hope they are, but there’s a part of me that knows better.”
Will looked over at her, “I kind of wondered about your father. A girl needs a strong man in her life or she can get into all sorts of trouble.”
“Yeah, you know it, too. I, unfortunately, did, and told you all about it. Now if only you could forget.”
“I will never be able to forget what you told me, Noelle, and I’m glad you told me.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk about it. I just wish I could move on from it…” Will watched Noelle but didn’t press on a topic he was all too familiar with. Instead, he politely listened as she steered them away from what she was so uncomfortable with and he was so angered by.
“What about your parents? Are they in love?”
“They’re still together, but it wasn’t always easy for them. When I was a kid they had some fights that weren’t pretty, and I would mediate.”
“Really? How old were you when you were doing that?”
“Since I can remember I’ve been intervening with them, but it got a lot better by the time I was twelve. My dad left the DA’s office and went back to private practice, and my mother dropped down to part-time hours at the hospital. The stress was killing them. That’s one thing I’ve learned from my childhood. I’ll never allow my career to harm my family.”
“Do you want to have a family?”
“Definitely. Someday. I’d like to have two sons, both juniors.”
Noelle laughed at him. “And a wife?”
“Of course.”
“What if you had a daughter?”
“I don’t make girls.”
“Yeah right. You have no idea what you make.”
“True, I don’t, but if I did have a girl, I would be a big part of her life and she would be my little girl. Nobody would be taking advantage of her.”
“I’m sure that would be the case. It might be nice to be your little girl.”
“She would probably have me wrapped around her little finger, but like I said, I don’t think I’ll have a daughter.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. It hurts more when you’re wrong.” Just then a bald eagle circled overhead and they both watched as it came closer, down to the water, and scooped a fish from the reservoir with its talons. “Wow,” Noelle exclaimed.
“I know, right?”
“People think they have to go to Alaska to see this kind of stuff, but the eagles are right here,” Noelle noted.
“Sometimes you discover what you’re looking for isn’t as far away as you think. If you were my girl, you wouldn’t be putting yourself in dangerous situations like you did last night, or the ones you’ve told me about that I will never forget.”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.”
“So what are you suggesting?”
“That we continue to spend time together.”
“We are right now. Do you want something else?”
“Just you.”
“Well, what if you can’t have me?”
“That’s all right. I can wait.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’ll wait for you.”
“All right then.” Noelle stood up and walked up to the water that was softly lapping at the rocks. “How do you skip a stone?”
“First, you want to find one that is nice and smooth.” He handed a stone to her and threw another across the water. “See, it’s all in the wrist movement. How you flick it and let it go.”
Noelle mimicked Will’s stature and watched her stone go across the water, two jumps to Will’s six.
“Maybe you can teach me something.” She picked up a rock and her line jerked. She had a bite.
Whatever it was on the end of her line, it was strong enough to dislodge her pole from the rocks and pull it into the water before she grabbed it. Will went running after the fishing rod, splashing into the water, quickly entering into a drop off, and ending up in water up to his chest. The pole, with the mystery catch, slipped underwater and was gone forever. Will came out of the water in his jeans, T-shirt, and Timberlands dripping wet.
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br /> “I thought I could get it. Whatever is on the end of that is pretty strong.”
Noelle was horrified with the trouble she had just caused, but managed to eke out a very sincere “I am so sorry! This is my fault. I should have been holding the pole. I’ll buy you another Ugly Stick,” she bumbled, referring to the brand of his fishing rod. “You have to be freezing. Let’s leave.”
“It’s all right. I thought I could get it. Man, that water’s cold!”
They gathered up the tackle and remaining pole and headed back to Will’s car where he pulled a blanket out of his trunk to keep his seat dry. She slipped her hand in his and “Winds of Change” by The Scorpions came on the radio as he drove them south back to Perry.
Will stopped in at his house to change before taking her home. Pulling into his driveway, Noelle wanted to get out, but a big part of her knew if she went in, she wouldn’t be able to get herself to leave. Not yet, she told herself, control yourself! Will Martin had completely hooked her and now just needed to reel her in. She wondered whether or not he realized this, and waited in his car while he changed. When he returned, in less than five minutes, she slipped her hand back in his, and he leaned over and kissed her. The trip back to Andes was rock and roll, laughter, and hand holding.
Pulled into her long driveway, Will leaned over and gave Noelle another soft, firm kiss. She melted into his seat feeling giddy with desire and longing to be a part of him, but somehow she managed to slip her hand out of his and temporarily back to her Andes life.
Chapter Eight
Work got out early on Fridays, 2:00 p.m., giving Noelle time to drive home, get ready, and be at Will’s by four.
After a careful shower of exfoliating and shaving, and then moisturizing and painting her toenails, she slipped into her period week “granny panties”, white satin high legs with a wide elastic lace waistband. The attraction she felt for Will was too much for her to trust herself in sexy underwear. Somehow, she figured her vanity would trump her desire, and there would be no way she would let him see her in these underwear.
Noelle tried to convince herself that her only motive for going to his house was to do a good deed, a service to the world—helping someone who was extremely gifted, intelligent, and handsome, apply to college, so the world would see what a great asset he was.
“Ha!” Noelle thought as she looked at herself in her closet mirror. Tight white jeans, fitted baby blue cotton T-shirt, and brown leather heeled slides. If she said this to herself enough, maybe she would believe it was her only intention. Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about what might happen. Still, she vainly felt that attending college would make him more acceptable boyfriend material. Not only did he make her melt, he had goals. Noelle sighed and wondered why she was so compelled to think of Will not just as boyfriend material, but as “husband material.”
She arrived at the house Will rented, a little blue saltbox, at exactly 4:00 p.m. He was waiting for her in his living room, and answered the door with his signature perfect, dimpled smile.
A little black dog that she hadn’t seen two weeks before was jumping up and down like he was on a trampoline. Adding to the circus was a tiny calico kitten that sat daintily on an end table only to pounce on the dog’s head when he jumped by, creating a chaotic scene of spirited little dog and conniving kitten.
“Hey, welcome. Come on in.” He opened the door for her to the adorable pet scene. Both were his, Richard and Barkley—a female kitten. Meanwhile his roommate, Steve, was out of town in Cape Cod. How bloody convenient. No, wait, how deliciously convenient, Noelle thought, blushing inside at the thought that they were all alone.
“Thank you.” She smiled at Will and he smiled back, offering her a seat on his couch.
“Your application?”
Will left the room for a moment, and he came back with a small postcard. He sat down next to her on the sofa, dimples showing in his smile as he handed the postcard to her.
“Do you think you could help me fill this out?” There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
Noelle looked down at the card with surprise. It asked for your name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and to check if you had graduated high school. Then write the name and address of the high school you had graduated from and mail it in, no postage necessary.
“What?” She quickly recovered. “All right, I can help.” She decided to play along. “I’m going to need a pen.” Will gave her a ballpoint pen.
“Are you Will or William?”
“Will.”
“All right, did you graduate high school?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s mail this.”
The post office was just down the street, so they popped out of the salt box and went for a walk together, he on the outside, she on the inside, side by side. Will reached over and gently grasped her hand in his, his thumb pressing ever so slightly down on hers. It was a signal she had read about in Cosmo. He was the power player in the relationship. He liked to be in control. She turned to look up at him, raised her eyes, and smiled.
The card had been dropped in the box, and now they were free to spend their day in any way a young, newly together couple may.
After walking back to Will’s house, Noelle asked to see his room. It was exceptionally clean and uncluttered, the sign of a well-organized mind.
She sat down on his carefully made queen size bed, dangling her feet and looking across at a shelf displaying sports memorabilia. The window was open and the scent of blossoms and freshly mowed grass wafted in with the sunshine that spattered on the cherry wood floor.
“Hmmm.” She purred like a kitten who was snuggly in the nest. His room was a happy surprise to her. His independence and the way he carried himself made him the oldest twenty-year-old she had ever known, and he had turned twenty just a week ago.
The privacy and desire for him were too much for her personal resolve to resist, but she promised herself she would not pounce on him. She would not come across as that girl. She wanted him, but her heart was begging her to behave and not get hurt.
Noelle felt giddy and sleepy simultaneously after the work day and long drive from Andes to Perry. “Do you mind if I take a nap?”
Will, always a gentleman, agreed it would be fine, and he placed a folded soft, fluffy sports blanket next to her, and then stepped out of his room, leaving her alone on his bed. He clicked the door shut behind him.
Noelle had already left her shoes by his front door, so she swung her bare feet with blue toe nail polish onto his bed and snuggled into his maroon pillow, pulling his blanket around her. She closed her eyes and thought about Will, wondering how long it would take for him to come to her.
It wasn’t long. A half hour passed, and Noelle had drifted into a slight slumber, when she heard the click of the door opening. She didn’t move but slowly looked up at him and their eyes met. He smiled down at her and she returned the greeting.
“Can I sit here?”
Daring to look directly in his eyes, Noelle gave him a shy smile, nodding her assent. He sat down in the space between her knees and shoulders where she was curled up on her side. Closing her eyes, she inhaled his presence, feeling that same excitement that came to her the moment she laid eyes on him more than six months ago.
He didn’t touch her, but caught her eyes and waited. How long would they stay like this in such a palpable silence? When would he make a move? She knew he was a gentleman and wouldn’t touch her without her consent, but would he ask or would she need to intimate more? Her heart ached in need of him as he forced her ask for him. Finally, Noelle couldn’t take it any longer. Granny panties or not, she needed him to touch her.
She held her hand out to him and felt his strong, warm hand take hers. Slowly, his thumb began to circle and stroke her hand.
She responded to his caress by stretching out her fingers and pulling them up to be interlaced with his. He pressed down on the back of her hand with his palm, and she turned her hand to b
e enveloped by his. Palm to palm, he pressed down and her whole body felt a jolt as his warmth and energy ran through her.
For the next hour, Noelle lay there as he coaxed her into a state of mindless oblivion regarding any justifications she had made to not fall into bed with him.
Each time his hand dared to touch and stroke her more boldly, she lost her half-hearted resolve to put off responding to him sexually. It was unavoidable. Her body felt like a live wire under his touch, and she had never wanted a man so much.
He was happy to spend all afternoon on foreplay as though they had all the time in the world. For being so young, Will was quite experienced, and appeared to know the importance of patience, coaxing Noelle out of her clothes and into his arms. He was enjoying every moment of getting her there, to be his. From the moment he had begun to pursue her, he had felt that they were supposed to be together. He had an overwhelming urge to take care of her, to be the man that she needed. So he was more than happy to take his time and not rush her into anything she may regret. His careful, tender treatment made her glow in innocence, despite her dark past, as he slowly glided his hand over her body, gauging her response.
His hand slipped to her waist, intimately stroking her taut stomach, testing her response, slipping to the top of her jeans. When he slipped his fingers into her jeans at the button and she remained calm and relaxed, he knew that he was taking care of her right.
He meticulously watched her as he unzipped her jeans and caressed her soft skin below her navel. He slowly lowered his hand and Noelle gave no resistance.
She nodded consent and he moved his hand down further, finally cupping her pussy in his hand and stroking her while looking in her eyes. She didn’t resist his hold, and he felt her wetness through the satin of her panties.
Will pulled her up to sitting. Looking at her gently, he lifted her shirt over her head as she raised her arms for him, like a child being undressed. He reached around and unhooked her baby-blue cotton bra. Slipping it off, he took a moment to gaze at her as she sat there before him. His eyes lingered on her soft, small, round breasts and small pink nipples.