Interrupted (The Progress Series)

by Queau, Amy

  With a sniff, she smiled and wiped her eyes.

  “Thanks, Pops.” She laughed. “Now, eat your damn sandwich.”

  He laughed and picked up his plate to take a bite.

  *

  It was so close to Sunday she could taste it. And though she felt as though the timing may have been inappropriate due to her father’s condition, she also considered that she had stayed a virgin for twenty-three years. Perhaps she could forgive herself for the desperate need she felt for Samuel, every second of the day.

  It was different, somehow. The idea of sleeping with Samuel wasn’t because she wanted to get rid of her virginity. It wasn’t because she had been pining over him for over a year. It was merely because she wanted to share that part of herself with him.

  *

  Sunday, Charlie woke refreshed and every day her arm was less achy than the day before. Her parents had already decided to spend the day together alone, so she didn’t feel as guilty going to see Sam.

  Hey, you. Charlie smiled when she read his text.

  Hey yourself. May I see you today? Lord, he better say yes. I’ve shaved every inch of my body.

  Don’t be mad. But, I have some work to do. Deadline tomorrow. Need to see you tonight, though. Can I call you later?

  I’ve never hated someone’s job so much in my life.

  I suppose. :(

  Don’t be mad. I WILL see you today. <3 Sam

  Okay, so the heart helped.

  Now what am I gonna do? Well, it’s a perfect day for a walk. Since I can’t seem to get my ass off the couch to exercise—and even if I could, I have a very inconvenient cast placed on my right arm—I might as well do something active. I’ve gained six pounds since I started dating Samuel. So much for my metabolism.

  The spring air was starting to feel more like summer. The sun shone down on Charlie just long enough for her to miss it after Minnesota’s long winter, but not enough to where she overheated. After a leisurely two mile walk, she arrived at home where there was a note on the door written on the back of an envelope:

  Hey you. Finished work early and came to pick you up. But you weren’t here. Call me. Xx

  Charlie raced through the door and turned on the shower. Within seven minutes she was out again, drying herself off while she texted Samuel.

  I’m home. Come get me.

  By the time she put on her dress and deodorant, Samuel was pulling into the driveway. She threw on a light coat and met him outside.

  “Where’d you go?” he asked.

  “For a walk. Someone ditched out on me today, so—” she trailed off.

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry. Are you angry?”

  “No.” She winked.

  “Come here,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her close. “You look…” He stepped back to look at her dress, the hem of which rested six inches above her knee. “You look exquisite.”

  “Does this mean you might consider breaking the rules again?” she asked.

  “I might.” He smiled. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “What are we going to do tonight?” she asked, setting herself down into the truck as delicately as possible.

  “A friend of mine makes his own wine. So, I got a couple of bottles. I thought we could get some food delivered and just…talk.”

  “Talk?”

  A smirk played on his lips, “Yeah, Charlie. Just talk.”

  *

  Conveniently, Gabe was gone for the evening. Samuel had set up the dinner table with white candles and pink tulips. Just outside the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard, Charlie could see the lilacs blooming and a crabapple tree with bright pink petals. The yard was surrounded by a tall wooden fence, squaring off the property. The sun was just going down, so it made everything appear to have a purple, hazy shade.

  “So, Chinese or pizza?” he asked.

  “Mmmm. Definitely Chinese.”

  “Take a look at the menu, I’ll grab the wine.”

  After placing their order and pouring two large glasses of wine, Samuel joined Charlie on the couch, where she had her legs tucked under her.

  “Are you shivering?” he asked.

  “A little. I probably should have worn some pants.”

  “Here.” He passed her the blanket that was on the back of the couch.

  “How long until the food gets here?” she asked.

  “Too long.”

  She smiled, taking a sip of wine. “Well, you wanted to talk, so let’s talk. And you’re obviously not interested in cuddling, or you wouldn’t have handed me a blanket.” She smirked, assuming that he was just as eager as she was for the last half of the evening.

  “No, Charlie. I don’t want to cuddle.”

  Oh, okay…

  “If I touch you, I won’t be able to stop this time,” he mumbled.

  Oh! Okay!

  “Well then, let’s just sit back and try to enjoy the evening,” she said with a wide grin, and took a seductive sip of her wine.

  *

  After dinner, Charlie and Samuel walked to the backyard, where he had another two empty glasses and the second bottle of wine set atop an old quilt in the grass.

  “Oh, well, this looks planned. Were you expecting something tonight?” She smiled, letting the buzz in her head reach her mouth.

  “Well, three out of four ain’t bad.”

  She furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

  “Three out of four weeks—” Not even able to finish his sentence, his hands were on Charlie’s cheeks before she blinked. He took charge of the embrace as her head eased backward with every nudge of his tongue onto hers. He was taking his time tonight, not as eager as he had been before. Reveling in the taste of her lips, he moved his hands to her back, slowly dipping down to her backside and back up again.

  Charlie tucked her thumb into the waist of his jeans, but her cast bumped his stomach and he let out a grunt. “Ha! Sorry!” She continued trying to kiss him, both of them giggling over the clumsy embarrassment.

  Now ignoring the fumble, she rubbed gently against the hair on his navel. Moving outward, tickling the skin near his hips, she tugged on his belt loop and smiled. Undoing the button on his jeans and unzipping his fly, her hand moved down the front of his boxer briefs.

  “Slow, Charlie. Slower. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Lying down beside each other, they continued kissing, slowly and profoundly. Charlie could feel a clench between her thighs as he continued his deliberate torment.

  Charlie rolled over and slung her leg over his hips. She aligned herself on top of him, straddling his torso. She ran her hands down his chest and pulled back from kissing him briefly so she could pull his shirt over his head.

  Breaking away from his mouth and straightening her posture, Charlie pulled off her dress. Sitting up in only her red satin bra and matching panties, she whispered, “I want you to look at me.”

  Taking his hand and putting it between her legs, she guided his fingers, slipping them underneath the satin. His eyes closed as he swept his fingers across her sex, releasing another rush of impatience. “Can you feel what you do to me?” Her face toward the moon, she thrust her hips deeper until his fingers were completely buried inside of her. Her insides constricted just as he pulled his fingers out again.

  Moving her back down to the blanket, he swiftly removed his jeans and boxers. He pulled down her panties and unhooked her bra in the front.

  “I need you, Sam,” she whispered. “Please. I can’t wait any longer.” She could feel his erection firmly against her thigh.

  He spread her thighs with his knees and eased into her. Her back arched and her nipples hardened as he was now resting in the deepest part of her. She wrapped her legs around him as he slowly propelled himself in and out.

  He slid his arms behind her back, lifting her while he got on his knees. Face to face, his desire was immense as their torsos locked. Allowing their chests to brush against each other, she planted her knees on the ground and t
ook control.

  She raised her hips up once and down again. Placing her hands on his face, she whispered again, “I want you to watch me.” Her eyes boring into his, she lifted once more, and clenched down again. He moaned and she smiled. “This is all for you.”

  She picked up pace, her breasts springing against him, then stopped again. He groaned in agony. “Am I teasing you?” she said, smiling and staring into his eyes. She lifted once more and back down.

  “Yes.”

  Taking him down to the quilt, she straddled him. Her pace was tantalizing as she didn’t want the feeling to fade. He watched her circling hips against his, gripping them to deepen his penetration as he flexed his thighs. “I don’t want to come yet, Charlie.”

  The words echoed in her ears as her smile left her face. “But I want you to. I need this.” With those words, she began again, her head tilted back and her breasts following each burst of momentum. He grabbed her hips tighter and found her eyes.

  “My beautiful Charlie.”

  Her pulse became rapid as she found the spot that would be her undoing. It mounted quickly and she could feel herself verging on climax just as she could feel him stretching her further. “I’m going to come, Sam.”

  “Don’t stop,” he breathed.

  And with her last constriction, Samuel arched his back and came inside of her.

  *

  Barely catching his breath, Samuel covered her with his shirt and poured a glass of wine. Propped up on his side, he lay on the blanket and watched Charlie try to collect herself. He smiled and exposed one of her nipples as she giggled. He poured a small amount of wine on it and sucked it off, nipping at her sore and sensitive breast.

  “Ah! Knock it off,” she laughed.

  He sat back, grinning at Charlie’s curvaceous form in the moonlight as a single pink petal from the crabapple tree fell to her side. In the air was a fine mist, and he looked up only to see that the moon was now invisible behind a cloud cover.

  “You amaze me,” he said.

  Charlie reached for his glass and stole a sip of his wine. “You’re not so bad, yourself.”

  He smiled. “I’m just waiting for you to go all crazy on me.”

  She laughed. “Oh, you haven’t noticed it yet? I’m crazy, all right.”

  “Well then, you’re my flavor of crazy.” He approached her lips, and inches from her face, whispered, “I love—,” just before closing his lips to hers.

  Charlie’s eyes fluttered and her breath caught.

  “Oh god. I’m so sorry. It’s too soon. It was the moment…” he said after seeing the panic on Charlie’s face.

  She shook her head. “No, Sam. I don’t know what it is that I feel, but I know I never want it to go away. And, if that’s love, then…” she spoke softer, “then, I love you, too. It’s just a bit of uncharted territory for me.” After a pause, she continued in a whisper, “It’s too soon for me to say it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.”

  He wrapped himself around her.

  “Samuel, I…I think I should tell you something.”

  “What?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing about us. At least, I hope it won’t affect us.” The light rain threatening her warmth, she grabbed his shirt and put it on.

  “Okay. Tell me.”

  “But I don’t want you to look at me as something…well, as a victim. I don’t want you to think of me as something used and frail.”

  “Jesus. What is it?”

  Letting out a sigh, she spoke. “I was raped. A very long time ago, when I was still a little girl.” She stopped and searched his face for a reaction. He pursed his mouth with a quick blink and she continued. “And, I think something in me snapped. At first, it was confusing. I was terrified.” She lowered her head. “But eventually, after realizing that it wasn’t my fault, I was able to cope with it. I recognized that I was a victim, but then I refused to be one. I even still considered myself a virgin after that. I didn’t want to believe that someone had taken something so sacred from me. And it wasn’t me that he got that night, it was just my body.” She shook her emerging tears away. “I guess in some way, I’ve always had to be a fighter.”

  She lifted her head to him and his eyes weren’t filled with worry. He didn’t seem uncomfortable, nor did he seem to pity her. So she continued.

  “I still carry it with me today. It will be something I always remember. But it was because of that day that I’ve been able to snap when I need to. I disconnect myself from the emotions. When I’m backed into a corner, I’m able to dig into my mind and pull out tenacity that…that never surfaces until I really need it. Which has actually been much more frequent in the past few months. Like that night at the hospital with that doctor.” She scratched her temple. “Am I even making any sense anymore?”

  “Yes. I understand. And I don’t pity you, Charlie. I’m not ashamed of you and I don’t consider you used and frail,” he whispered softly. “Did they ever catch the guy?”

  “No. I mean, he was a friend of the family, but no one that I have to see often. In fact, I think I’ve only seen him once since that day. There are really only two people that know about it…well, besides him and me. I never told my family, although I think Sabrina knew something happened.”

  Sam threw himself onto his back and sighed. “I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t kill me to hear that someone hurt you. I’m not going to sit back and tell you I don’t want to hunt him down and kick the living shit out of him. I’m actually using all the restraint I have right now to keep this a calm and sensible conversation.” Charlie could hear the frustration in his tone. “It makes so much more sense now—you know, where your backbone comes from.” His thoughts seemed to linger before he continued. “Almost like that saying, adapt to survive.”

  Charlie’s face softened, knowing that he understood.

  “The way you spoke to that doctor, the way you hold yourself with such confidence, and the way that other people look up to you—” He pulled a loose hair behind her ear. “You’re a beautifully amazing, stunning, and mature woman, Charlie Johnson. And I can say, without a doubt, that I am completely in love with you,” he said as he pulled her down to the blanket again with gentle kisses.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Several months passed. Charlie and Samuel rarely spent a day apart. She moved into her new apartment, and eventually Samuel did, too. After her cast was removed, she dove into her new job effortlessly.

  She successfully quit smoking with Samuel’s help, and her impressive performance on the job took her from a Caretaker to a Leasing Consultant to a Property Manager. She and Samuel lived on-site at Willow Hills in Eagan, the property she ran. The eighty-eight unit building had few amenities, but it was her baby. In her mind, she had found something worthy of a grown-up, full-time job, and she was good at it. Willow Hills had started as a 1970s-constructed, run-down fixer-upper, and Charlie was told to hold a higher standard than the previous manager had. She followed through to such an extreme that even the president of the company had no idea how she had done it.

  She continued to spend lazy weekends with Samuel. Some days they lay in bed all day watching movies; others, they went into the second bedroom where they had set up two easels and would draw together. Her job required her to work some weekends, but she continued to visit with her father as often as time allowed.

  They had settled into a comforting routine, and Charlie was holding out the hope that some day Samuel would ask her to marry him. He gave her a feeling of solidarity and contentment, and he continued to find new ways to make her stomach flutter. More than anything she knew that she loved him and he loved her.

  *

  Christmas was in two days. Bill was in the hospital trying to recover from surgery to remove his colon, but things weren’t looking good. The doctors couldn’t stay ahead of the cancer, and it was completely consuming both his body and his mind.

  *

  With Christmas gifts bund
led up in both their arms, Charlie and Samuel made their way through the hospital doors. Silence occupied the elevator. Charlie was trying to work up the courage she needed to pretend like everything was normal, and that it might not be the last Christmas she would spend with her dad.

  Sabrina and Karen were already in the room when they turned the corner. Sabrina brought a small lit Christmas tree made from green feathers, and she was putting tiny bulbs on it when they entered.

  “Merry Christmas!” Sabrina said, hugging Charlie.

  “Oh, what a good idea! I love the tree, Sabrina,” said Charlie.

  Bill, lying in the hospital bed, looked up and smiled weakly. He lifted his arm to wave, but that only made the machines connected to him beep louder. He quickly put his arm back down.

  “Hey, you two,” Bill said.

  “Merry Christmas, Pops.” Charlie bent down and gave her dad a hug.

  “I brought some banana bread and some cheese and crackers,” said Karen.

  “All right! Then let’s get this party started!” Charlie handed out each gift to her family. Hospital staff had brought folding chairs to the room, and they circled the bed.

  Bill looked weak and gray. He hadn’t shaved for several weeks, and his beard was almost white. Most of his hair was gone due to the radiation treatments, and he didn’t touch a morsel of food the entire afternoon.

  “Where’s your Manhattan, Pops?” Charlie asked with a wink.