Passing Hearts Chapter 1

Passing Hearts

Chapter 1

Trenton

            As our boat docks in Galveston, I look down the beach to see my old house. I would still be living there if I liked living in this tourist disaster of a town. I don’t want the memories that house has inside either. Better to live where I do. Alone!

            “You gonna get out of the boat or just stare at your ex-old lady’s place?” Ben nudges me.

            I shake my head. “Yeah, Man, ready to go home.”

            I get out of the boat, put my head down, and go straight to my truck. It’s good to be home after spending almost ten weeks out on the oil rig. Ready to park myself on my worn leather couch and catch up on some much needed R&R. I’ve never spent that much time out on the rig before, but I needed to be away from my now, ex-wife and my family. The men on the rig know to leave me alone and let me do my work. I’m usually stuck in my office doing paperwork, but this time I needed to be a roughneck and get my hands dirty. Drives my dad crazy when I work on the rig, since he is the owner of the oil company, but I love it. It’s where I started and where I plan on working until I have to take over the company.

            When I get into my truck, I let out a sigh of relief. Not sure if it’s relaxation setting in or the fact I’m rid of that cheating ex-wife of mine. Either way, I’m free to live how I want.

            Ben knocks on my window. I roll it down, “Yeah, what’s up?”

            “You wanna go out for a beer?” He looks at me with pity in his eyes.

            “Nah, Man, I’m ready to head home tonight. I’ll give you a call. Besides, you have your beautiful wife and kids to get home to. Giv’em all hugs from their Uncle Trent.” I start my truck.

            Ben slaps his hand on my left shoulder. “Will do. See you soon.”

            I put up the window, crank the a/c, and pull out. Ben and I have been friends since birth. No greater friend. He was the one that pulled me off of that sniveling weasel of a fitness instructor, Garret, when I found him giving my ex-wife extra lessons. We had come off the rig a day early last year. I walked in and they were doing a lot more than exercising. Hit that  S.O.B. across the face and kicked his naked butt out of my house. Then, he made some snide comment about me not taking care of my wife and I went after him down the beach. I tackled him, punched him again, and that’s when Ben grabbed me and pulled me off before I killed Garret. The little prick cried and finally ran away without another word. My wife came running out, spewing the apologies, but I couldn’t even look at her. I got in my truck and drove straight to my parent’s ranch in a small town just outside Houston. Moved back into my little, one bedroom house that sits on the back of the property. Then, I let the lawyers take care of the rest. My dad made her sign a pre-nup before we were married, so she got nothing and was left penniless. I allowed her to stay in the beach house for a while until she started spreading lies about me. Saying I was banging one of the women that work on the rig. She was shut up quick by those women, too. I would never cheat on my wife and I have never gotten involved with any women that work for my company. The beach house was in my name only, so I kicked her out. Stopped being the nice guy and a pushover when it came to that woman. Haven’t seen or heard from her since. Good riddance!

              When I get near my house, I see my mom’s car in the driveway. She’s probably making sure the house is clean and stocking the fridge. I’ll be the first six-foot-three inch, two hundred and forty pound man to openly admit that I’m a Momma’s boy. She gave me life, has tried to take it away a few times, and is the only woman who has loved me unconditionally. Momma is the only woman I care to have in my life right now. I pull in the driveway as she’s coming out of the house. She’s a little woman at five-foot-five inches and a hundred and ten pounds, soaking wet; wearing her old blue jeans, t-shirt, and straw hat, which means she did some weeding of the flower beds while she was here. We have people that take care of the upkeep of the land, but mom insists on doing some of it herself. I know she gets bored not having any of her children in the house. I’m the only one that stuck around. Well, I left to try out the big city after high school, but there were too many people and too fast paced for this country boy. I moved back and agreed to take over the family oil company after Dad retires. Working the rig is what I know and enjoy anyway. I get out of the truck and mom wraps her arms around me.

            I lift Mom off of her feet. “It’s great to be home!”

            After I set her down, she swats me on the chest. “You were gone too long, Young Man.”

            “Just needed some time to think is all. I’m back for a while.” I lean down and give her a kiss on the cheek.

            She smiles. “Well alright. I put your mail in there on your table, stocked the fridge for you, and put you some dinner in the oven. Just a warning, your ex, Linda, has been driving by here a lot lately. Your Daddy ran into her in town a couple of weeks ago and he told her to leave you alone. Now that the divorce is finalized, there’s no reason for you to see her again. Last I heard she was moving up to the city. I hope she does, awful sort of woman.” Mom shakes her head in disgust. “Well, I’ll get on so you can rest. I put you some of that special soap that gets all of that oil off of you. Scrub up before your Daddy sees you. He doesn’t like it when you roughneck like he did.”

            “It was good enough for him.” I put my hands behind me head and stretch.

            Mom pats the side of my face. “He just wants better for all of his kids. That’s why he worked so hard, so you kids didn’t have to.”

            “Momma, I like the work.”

            She puts her hands up in defeat, not wanting to get in the middle. She stands on her tip toes to kiss my cheek. “Come for dinner up at the house, tomorrow night about six?”

            I nod yes. She gets in her small blue car and drives off. I just stand there grinning while watching her drive off in her Ford Focus. Daddy tried to buy her a fancy car and she refused. She just wanted a little car to putter around in. He gave in and told her to get what she wanted and that little thing is what she chose. No matter how much money my parents have, they live modestly. I look at my small house with white siding and a white front porch and realize I’m no different. My ex only wanted the best, I just want simple.

            I step inside, into my living room. I’m greeted with fresh wildflowers on my coffee table and the smell of pot roast from the kitchen. My stomach growls in anticipation. I turn to the right into my dining and kitchen area. There on the table is a huge stack of mail. On top is a larger white envelope with a local address in the corner. That’s strange. I open it and pull out an invitation to my twenty year high school reunion. It’s this weekend at the school. I throw it on the table not very interested in going this year. For the last twenty years I have gone to all of the reunions they have had in hopes to see one person. She never shows. There’s no way she’ll show this year. Heard she was working somewhere overseas. I grab a plate and put it on the counter, pull the roast out of oven and pile my plate full of roast, carrots, onions, and potatoes. Mmmmm, comfort food. I sit down at the table with my food and begin shoveling it into my mouth. Then, I look over at the invitation again. What if she shows this year? Ugh, I finish eating and go crash on the couch. I lay down on my soft, worn leather cushions and think of Amanda Waters as I drift to sleep.

Summer of Regrets Chapter 3 & Conclusion

Summer of Regrets

Chapter 3

Lilly

I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by! It is already the middle of August. I have spent every day since the Fourth of July with Bobby in some way or the other. During the week, mom usually drops me off at Mona’s on her way to work and John picks me up on his way home from work. Mona is usually somewhere nearby and so is Bobby’s sister Melissa, but, for the most part it is usually just me and Bobby. Technically speaking though, mom thinks I am spending time with Melissa. On the weekends we all go to Mona’s. Mom and John have always wanted me to get along with John’s family. The more time I spend with Bobby, the more I tend to agree that I like spending time with John’s family! I am just very glad that I don’t think of Bobby as my cousin. I haven’t seen Margie much this summer. We talk on the phone every day. She doesn’t approve of me spending time with Bobby. She thinks that I am “two-timing” Shawn but we are pretty much over any way, so I don’t see it as two-timing anyone. I don’t know what her problem is.

Bobby will be leaving for college tomorrow morning. I’ve had such a good time with him. He doesn’t treat me like I’m some weird, little girl. He treats me like I’m his age. He makes me feel like a woman when he looks at me. I have never been able to talk to anyone the way that I can talk to Bobby. I don’t even talk to Margie the way I talk to him. He just gets me and nobody has ever taken the time to do that before.

As I pull my t-shirt and shorts on over my bathing suite I am having a really hard time believing that today is the last day that I will be with Bobby till next summer. He doesn’t have time during the school year to come to Mona’s during small breaks, only during the summer. He did promise me that he would be back here as soon as school was out next May. I just wonder if he will still find me that interesting a year from now. Bobby and I are going to spend most of the day at the pool. Mom has agreed to let me spend the night at Mona’s to cook-out with them tonight and then ride to the airport with them tomorrow to drop Bobby off.

When mom drops me off at Mona’s I just let myself in the front door like I have every day this summer. I don’t see or hear anyone at first so I start through the house. I find Bobby standing at the counter in the kitchen putting frozen waffles in the toaster.

“Hey beautiful!” He tells me as smiles his full on, gorgeous smile. “Want some breakfast?”

“Sure!” I tell him as I sit my bag down by the back door and join him at the counter.

Bobby lays two waffles out on a plate and hands them to me. “There’s butter and syrup over here.” He points to a spot on the counter on the other side of him.

“Thanks!” I walk around him and set my plate down on the counter. As I start to put some butter on my waffles Bobby moves around behind me and wraps me in a hug. This hug seems like more this morning. He hugs me at least once every day, but never like this. I just keep working on the butter and waffle thing because I am starting to feel a little awkward.

“Mmmm, you smell good.” He tells me as he puts his face in my hair and inhales. “I can’t believe today is our last day together.”

“Me either.” I agree with him. He squeezes me tight against him once more and then lets me go just as the toaster pops up two more waffles. Thankfully he sets off to fixing his own plate. We stand there at the counter and start to eat in silence. I haven’t seen nor heard Mona yet so I am really beginning to wonder where she is so I ask. “Bobby, where are Mona and Melissa?”

“Grandmother and Melissa left earlier to go shopping all day. Looks like you’re stuck with me today girl!” The look in his eyes changes for just a brief moment almost like a mask slips away and then quickly fits back into place.

“Ok. So what are we going to do?” I hope that my voice doesn’t sound as shaky as it feels but something just does not feel right today.

“Well, we could go to the pool for a while and then just hang out. I just want to spend every minute of my last day here with you.” This time he looks absolutely sincere, and he gives me that smile of his, so of course I melt and agree.

Bobby and I spend biggest part of the morning at the pool. We jump off of the diving boards together, splash each other, and laugh as the other one tries to do some funny flip in the water. We laugh, talk, sit in the sun, and just play.

“Come on, let’s go back to the house for lunch. It’s too hot out here to think about eating.” Bobby tells me as we try to decide what we want to eat.

I pull my t-shirt back on over my wet bathing suit and then just wrap my towel around my waist. When we get back to Mona’s we hit the kitchen to find some lunch. We decide to make BLT sandwiches. Bobby finds a bag of potato chips for the taking. We eat our sandwiches on Mona’s sun porch, where we’ve got all the sunshine but the wonderful comforts of the air conditioning.

“I am going to miss you, you know?” Bobby tells me as he pops another potato chip in his mouth.

“I am going to miss you too Bobby.” Suddenly I feel really, really shy.

“I have never had a summer here that I have enjoyed this much. I really don’t want to leave tomorrow.”

I don’t know what to say to him so I just smile back. Bobby is just sitting across the table looking at me. Neither one of us talk any more. We finish up our lunch and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

“Would you like to just stay in and watch a movie or something? It is just too hot out there to go back to the pool.” Bobby turns to me, steps in close and takes both of my hands in his.

“Sure. I’m going to go put on some dry clothes though.”  It really is too hot to go back out there right now.

As I start to step away from him, his grasp tightens on my hands. He lets one of them go as he grabs my chin between his thumb and forefinger. Next he leans down and gives me a soft, quick kiss right on the tip of my nose. “Hurry back.” He tells me as he lets me go and I stumble out of the kitchen down the hall to the bathroom.

I shut and lock the bathroom door and just fall back against it. I can’t believe he just did that! I don’t know if I feel weirded out by it or if I am absolutely amazed by it. I ponder everything while I change my clothes and hang my bathing suit up in the bathroom to dry. When I get out to the den, I notice that Bobby has changed clothes too and is working on putting a movie into the DVD player.

“Pretty Woman ok?” He asks me as he holds up the box it came out of. “This is pretty much the only thing that Mona has in here.” He rolls his eyes a little bit at that.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I like that one.” I tell him with a smile. Suddenly I feel all nervous inside. Bobby just smiles back at me as he walks over toward the couch.

“Come on then. Sit down and I will get the show started.” He pats the seat right beside him and I go sit beside of him. I curl my legs up against my chest and wrap my arms around my knees. This is my normal movie watching position.

We sit there side by side and watch the movie. Just as Richard Gere snaps a big jewelry box lid on Julia Roberts’s fingers Bobby moves a little closer to me. The heat coming off of him feels good. I was actually starting to get a little cold. As Richard Gere and Julia Roberts are getting ready to board a small jet on the television screen, he puts his arm around me.

“You look like you’re cold.” He tells me as a way of explaining his action.

“I am actually.” I smile up at him and settle into his embrace a little more for the warmth.

Before I can get settled good and back into the movie, Bobby’s free hand comes up to the side of my face and pulls me around to look at him. The next thing I know he kisses me, right on the mouth. “I’ve wanted to do that all summer.” He says in a lower than normal voice. I’m beyond shocked so I don’t say anything back to him. I don’t know whether I liked being kissed by him or whether I should get up and move. I just sit there and stare at him. He searches my eyes for a moment then leans in and kisses me again. This time he kisses me harder and even harder still until his tongue slowly parts my lips and finds its way inside my mouth. He moves his hand from my face to around my back and pulls me closer to him. There is a voice in the back of my head screaming at me to push away and stop but I cannot. There is still another part of me that is enjoying the kissing.

I don’t know how long we kiss like that. It feels like forever when he finally pulls back and looks at me. He leans his forehead down against mine and just looks into my eyes. We’re both breathless. Bobby stands up off of the couch and in one move grabs both of my hands and pulls me up with him. He doesn’t say anything, but he starts backing out of the den, leading me with him. We step inside of his room. He pulls me far enough in that he shuts the door behind me. The next thing I know he has me pushed up against the door, his hands are on both sides of my shoulders pinning me in. He looks at me for a moment and then starts to kiss me again. He goes straight for the deep kisses this time, there is no slowly working up to it.

My mind is still trying to figure out what to do; the two sides fighting against each other of whether to stop or whether to just enjoy. Suddenly I feel one of Bobby’s hands move down to rest on my waist. His fingers reach under the hem of my shirt and start to brush against my skin. After a minute or so of just rubbing the skin just under my shirt his hand starts to move higher up my side. I reach down and grab hold of his arm to stop his hand from moving any higher.

“No. Don’t.” I say to him as I pull my head away from his kisses.

“Shhh. It’s ok. Nobody’s here. Nobody but us will know.” He looks me right in the eyes almost like he’s pleading with me.

I don’t know how to answer him or what to say so once again I just stare back at him. He starts kissing me again and his fingers start to rub against my side again. I am still holding on to his arm so his fingers are held in one place. He pushes the arm that I’m holding around behind my back and pulls me up against him. Then he wraps his other arm wrap around me and I am lifted off of the floor. My arms are trapped down by my sides; I can’t move them to push him away. I am just about to start freaking out when he starts moving, carrying me as he goes.

With my arms still trapped he puts me down on his bed. I manage to get my mouth away from his. “No Bobby! Stop!” I plead with him. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to do this. The kissing was one thing but this is going way too far. He loosens his hold on me and I am able to get my hands up in between me and him. He is too heavy for me to push away so I start to struggle a little against him, but he still has me pushed down into the mattress so hard that I can’t move very far. He moves so fast; in one swift move he has pulled my shorts and underwear down my legs, dropped them into the floor, and has and has pushed his shorts down and now lays down on top of me.

“No! No! Don’t do this Bobby!”

Summer of Regrets

Conclusion

From the way that Chapter 3 ends, we are sure that you can form your own opinions as to where this story goes next. It is an intense story and one that we are afraid happens too often to too many people – young girls and young boys alike. When we were trying to come up with ideas for a new story, we wanted to do something more real instead of the fantasy fiction that we had done with the previous two stories. We also wanted to do a short story where there was a meaning or a lesson from it. That’s when we came up with the plan for ‘Summer of Regrets’. We intended to finish this saga out by the next chapter being the incident from Bobby’s point of view, as Mona and Melissa return home and thankfully interrupt things, and then the last chapter being several years later from Lilly’s point of view. We wanted to show how this event in her childhood has affected her adult life. We were going to have her run into him in this chapter and he was going to be bald, fat, divorced, and just utterly awful and she was going to tell him off, leaving her vindicated and giving her a little closure on that part of her life. Unfortunately, neither of us could put ourselves into a frame of mind to write Bobby’s point of view for a Chapter 4. This has been the hardest story for either of us to write up to this point.

Rather than destroy the whole story, we thought we would simply write a conclusion and hopefully move on to next adventure living in our heads. Lilly’s story is fictitious. There is no Lilly nor Bobby in either of our lives. Also, Lilly’s story does not end in an actual rape, but in what you could say (for lack of a better way of saying it) was a close call. None the less, it was a scary and scarring experience for her and is no less troublesome than if it had been an actual rape. Our intent to this story was to bring to light that things like this happen and that it is in NO way ok. It is not ok for anyone to touch you in any manner that makes you feel uncomfortable. It is not ok for anyone to force you into doing something that you don’t want to do. Adults should know better than to put a child, and that’s what Lilly was in this story, in a situation like this. So while there wasn’t really that big of a difference in Lilly and Bobby’s ages, Bobby should have known better than to ever try to entice a child. The one thing that we would  have hopefully addressed in further chapters would be to say that if you find yourself in Lilly’s shoes, you’ve got to know that one, it is not your fault regardless of the circumstances leading up to the incident (no is no regardless); two, you need to talk to an adult about what happened; and three, you cannot let this hold you back in any way, shape, or form, nor can you let it run and ruin your life. Find help, talk to someone, and do the best that you can to work through the emotions and the past and seek out a future for yourself that doesn’t involve being bogged down with bad things.

So, to those of you who have been loyal readers of our stories, Thank You for your patience and continued support of our work. Also, please accept our apologies for not completely completing this story but accept our conclusion in its place. Stay tuned for more to come from StephanieAndLauraBooks.

Sincerely,

Stephanie and Laura

Summer of Regrets Chapter 2

Summer of Regrets

Chapter 2

Bobby

Getting ready for another boring family function! I thought when I moved out and started college I would be able to skip these events. What was I thinking? My grandmother has my balls in a vice. She controls my college tuition, future, and inheritance. With out her I would actually have to work a real job. Not going to happen! I’m too accustomed to my leisurely lifestyle. I give myself a quick check in the mirror and start for my bedroom door.

There is a soft knock. “Darling, guests are starting to arrive.” Grandmother tells me through this door in her soft voice.

“I’m coming.” I open the door and she looks me up and down.

I threw on my dress khaki shorts, maroon polo, and brown leather flip flops. Figured this was appropriate enough for a Fourth of July picnic and grandmother.

She looks down at my feet and shakes her head. “I really wish you would wear different shoes.”

“It’s a picnic grandmother and it’s hot.” I lean down and kiss her forehead.

“Oh alright then. Remember your cousin Lilly will be here. I want you to be nice to her.” She says with her do it or else voice.

I nod my head yes. “She’s not really my cousin, but I will play nice. You should tell Melissa to play nice. You know how she can be.”

“I’ve already talked to her. Not that she listens to me.” The doorbell rings and Grandmother walks off to answer the door.

I go to the back door and walk outside to greet some family that has already arrived. I do my rounds of handshakes and hugs. Answer fine to the repeat question of “How’s college.” I’m so glad I only have to see some of my family once per year. Boring!!! If it hadn’t been for grandmother insisting I stay with her this summer I would be in Cancun soaking up the sun and getting smashed with all of my frat brothers. There were going to be some hot girls in bikinis! This better be the last summer I have to entertain the grandparents. I’m not sure why I get stuck with them every year. Melissa, my sister, gets to do whatever she wants. The only reason she is here is because grandmother told her she had to this year. My parents have taken us on vacation the last couple of years, but this year my grandparents insisted we all be here. I have yet to find out the reason.

I look over at the far end of the yard and see my sister, Melissa. She’s lying on a blanket in the sun reading a book. I purposely walk and stand in front of the sun to block it.

“Bobby, sit or get off of my blanket you jerk!” She kicks my leg, but never looks away from her book.

I sit. “So Uncle John is bringing his step-daughter. Grandmother wants us to play nice.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. You play nice. I’m only here because I was forced. Me being nice to some kid was never in the agreement for me showing up at this bore fest.” Melissa flips onto her stomach to continue reading.

I look up just as a little vision in pink walks through the back door. “Hey, she doesn’t look like a kid to me.” I point to where John and his step-daughter are standing.

“Oh please, look at that old sundress she’s wearing. What did Uncle John see in her mom anyway? She’s not from good family and has no money of her own. For that matter he didn’t even want kids.” Melissa shrugs and looks back down at her book. “Be careful big brother. She is technically your cousin by marriage and I’m sure she will be at more family functions in the future. Don’t go slumming it while we’re here this summer.” She bookmarks her book and sits up.

Grandmother walks over and introduces the little beauty in pink as Lilly. She has to be at least sixteen or seventeen. I normally wouldn’t go for the long dark hair, hazel eyes, and smallish chest, but there’s something about her I like. Lilly, being polite, puts her hand out to Melissa to shake, but Melissa is rude as usual and walks off. I put on the charm as thick as possible and it works. We hang out all night and watch the fireworks together. I lean into Lilly during the fireworks on purpose and whisper in her ear about stupid stuff. I have hopes she will want to go further later, but I’m pretty sure Lilly is too sweet and innocent for that. She will be a challenge. I am stuck here for the summer so I might as well make it interesting. She agrees to the pool tomorrow. Yes! This summer will be very interesting and a bit more entertaining.