UNDER CONSTRUCTION, CHAPTER 13

 

         Now, it was Charlie’s turn to think about a relationship with Adam. She hesitated at her driveway, tempted to follow him to his cabin and jump his bones whether it wanted it or not, but instead, she turned into her own driveway. She sat in her truck for a while wondering whether or not she wanted to pursue any kind of a relationship with Adam.

Ever since high school, she’d stayed independent and any kind of a liaison she developed, whether it was with the high school football star or like the one she’d just ended with Bradley had been loose and free and fun. She’d known at the beginning and tried very hard to make sure the boy/man she’d been involved with knew she didn’t want any kind of a long-term commitment. Adam was the first man she’d encountered who wasn’t interested in just jumping into bed and having sex.

Charlie got out of the truck and went inside. She poured herself a shot of her favorite bourbon and went to the porch swing. Nestled in her pillows with a soft blanket on her legs, she sipped and enjoyed the quiet. Someone, maybe across the lake had a fire and it smelled like burning leaves. Autumn was definitely replacing summer.

Charlie made an admission to herself. Yes, she was lonely. She missed her parents and all her friends, especially the closest ones had husbands and children. She thought about how happy Sandi was with Les and how adorable their little ones were and wondered if she actually wanted that for herself. She’d always thought she didn’t and wouldn’t, but maybe if the right man came along, she’d change her mind.

Adam could quite possibly be the right man. She’d never experiences the sensations she got when he took her hand, touched her or was even just nearby. And, he felt something too because he’d admitted that. He’d even admitted, more or less, that he wanted a relationship otherwise why would he want to talk about their histories or their futures.

Damnit, this was all so annoying. Charlie tipped her glass, only to find it was empty. She was so annoyed, she almost heaved it out into the yard, but didn’t. Another thought had popped into her head and she didn’t like it one little bit. Could it be she was afraid to commit to a relationship with Adam, or anyone for that matter, that was about more than just enjoying the pleasures of sex and not much else. She shook her head. She couldn’t possibly be afraid. She wasn’t afraid of anything. Look how she’d managed school and then taken on the company and made it even more successful.

Charlie began making a list of all her accomplishments and how fear would have made it impossible to achieve everything she’d done. Still, list finished, back patted, there was still a little wiggle of fear when she thought about Adam and making an effort to engage in the kind of relationship he’d told her he wanted. She tried to envision what it would be like to see him every single day, to share her innermost secrets, both old and new, with him. What if she fell in love with him and he didn’t fall in love with her? That would absolutely suck and the only way to make sure it didn’t happen was to avoid Adam altogether.

Charlie fell asleep on the porch swing and it was late and chilly when she woke and stumbled into her bed. She didn’t remember reaching a decision about Adam before she fell asleep, but when she woke up, apparently her inner self had decided because after she showered and dressed, she called Adam.

“Hi Adam. It’s Charlie. I’ve thought about what you had to say last night, about us getting to know each other better.”

“Hi Charlie. Yeah?”

“Maybe it’s not such a bad idea, but I want you to know I’ve never had a commitment that lasted longer than a few months. I don’t know if I’m capable of sustaining one.”

“You won’t know until you try Charlie,” was Adam’s response.

“I know, so why don’t you come to dinner tonight at my place. I’ll whip up the one thing I’m capable of making that’s edible….”

“Don’t you remember I told you how much I like to cook?” Adam interrupted. “If you don’t, it’s a fact I love cooking and it’s not much fun just for myself. So, instead of my going to your place, why don’t you walk on over here at dinnertime? You can save your masterpiece for another occasion.”

“Well, if you’re sure. What time do you consider dinnertime?”

“We’ll eat around 7:00, but you can arrive anytime after 5:00. How’s that?”

“Just fine. Can I bring anything, wine, beer, flowers?”

“Nope, I’ve got it all handled. Just bring your appetite.”

“Okay, see you then Adam. Bye.”

“Bye Charlie.”

As she disconnected, Charlie realized she had butterflies in her tummy. She’d never ever had butterflies about a date with anyone in her life…until now. Part of her wanted to call Adam back and cancel the dinner, but she forced herself to put the phone down and get busy. She needed to do some laundry, look at some plans she’d brought home with her and make a grocery list because her freezer was almost empty and she hadn’t had any cheese, crackers or yogurt to take for lunch the day before.

Charlie hadn’t walked the pathway between the cabins for years. She knew various animals used it and kept it from being overgrown by weeds. Adam had used it, but not all that much. She took her time, the bottles of wine she’d decided to bring in a shoulder bag. You just didn’t go someplace for dinner and not bring a hostess, or in this case, host gift. The bottles clinked softly when she’d stop to admire a particular shrub or tree or colorful leaf. The butterflies were back in her tummy because this was totally unexperienced territory, but she told herself she’d be just fine.

Charlie stepped out of the woods to find Adam on his cabin’s porch, smoke drifting lazily from a Weber grill. “Hey Adam,” Charlie called. “Something smells delicious.”

Adam pulled her in for a hug when she climbed the two steps to the porch. He heard the bottles clink and asked, “What’s this?” and took the bag from her shoulder.

“You know no self-respecting person goes to dinner at someone’s home without bringing something. Surely, you’ve noticed that during your time down here?”

“Yep,” he responded, pulling the bottles from the bag. “I think this red is going to go perfectly with the pork butt I’ve been cooking all day long. I’m so glad you called early enough for me to get it going. It’s not a large one, but it still takes some time for it to come out perfect. That’s unless you want beer with your pulled pork sandwiches.”

“I think I wouldn’t mind the beer. It’s still a little warm, so a cold one would be tasty.”

While Adam took the wine inside, Charlie sat down on the top step. When he returned and handed her a beer, he joined her. She wasn’t exactly sure how to begin the conversation or what to talk about. She figured she’d let Adam lead the way, throw out a topic or something. She’d never felt this uncomfortable with a man in her life.

“So, you don’t cook all that much I take it?” Adam more or less asked.

“Nope. My mamma’s a wonderful cook, but no matter how hard she tried to teach me how to make food that tasted absolutely yummy, whatever I made always fell far short of what she produced, even if I followed the recipe perfectly or she stood at my shoulder telling me exactly what to do.” Charlie laughed. “I think in some ways she was relieved when I declared I wasn’t going to have another lesson. What about you? I sort of had the idea you had a cook or chef growing up.”

“My family did have a cook and my, oh my, what a wonderful cook she was too. It wasn’t that my mother couldn’t find her way around the kitchen, because she could and did at times, especially when we went to the cape in the summer. The thing was she was far too busy with teaching and the various organizations for which she volunteered.”

“So, did you just take up cooking when you left home then?”

“No, I wasn’t into sports like my brother and sister. I didn’t care about a single professional team and the idea of playing football or soccer, getting knocked around and filthy dirty wasn’t my idea of fun. Basketball wasn’t much better because everyone got all hot and sweaty and I just found exchanging sweat to be quite disagreeable.”

Charlie laughed, “I bet that went over real well. What happened? Did everyone assume you were gay?”

Adam chuckled and responded, “Some folks took exception to my likes and dislikes, but I was a quick and dirty fighter. Call me a faggot at your own peril. It only took a few fights during middle and high school to convince my schoolmates I was just as virile and manly as they were.

“Our cook’s name was Gladys, or Ms. Gladys to me. I think my mom hired her when I began kindergarten because she was able to return to teaching with all her kids in school. When I’d come home, Ms. Gladys would always have milk and fresh cookies waiting. It didn’t take long before I hung around the kitchen and asked questions and offered to help. Usually, once she realized I was truly interested, she would allow me to help and eventually to take over the making of an entire recipe. By the time I left home, I was capable of making a five-course meal for the entire family. Of course, living alone since then, I haven’t made many meals that require that kind of attention and detail.”

“I’m impressed. My mamma would probably love you to bits if she knew all that.”

“Anyway, what’s the only edible dish you’re capable of making?”

“Curried chicken and broccoli. Fresh broccoli in the bottom of a casserole topped by cooked shredded chicken…and I cheat on the chicken because I buy it at the deli…covered by a cheesy curry sauce, topped with croutons and baked in the oven. I can also throw together a salad to go with that, but I think anyone can make a salad unless they are totally hopeless.”

“We didn’t have much in the way of curry dishes back home, but I look forward to trying yours. I’ve eaten Indian and Thai food with curry and liked it a lot. Now, excuse me for a few minutes while I work on our dinner.”

While Adam was busy on the porch and probably in the kitchen, Charlie got up and wandered around his cabin, noting what needed repair and making a mental list. She didn’t think he could really make it through another winter without replacing his roof. It looked pretty sad. Eventually, she wandered down to the dock and sat on the edge, letting her feet dip into the water. She loved this time of day when everything seemed to be winding down. It always seemed like the breeze became warmer and gentler, the call of the birds and other animals softer and longer.

“Charlie, c’mon up. It’s ready and I really hope you’re hungry.”

She put her sandals back on, picked up her empty bottle and moved quickly toward the cabin. She was definitely hungry and the smoke that had been lingering ever since her arrival had only whetted her appetite.

“I thought we’d eat inside and that way those pesky bugs will stay out of our food.” Adam told her, holding the door open.

Charlie was surprised to see how beautifully Adam had set the table. It was covered by a red cloth and large white plates rested on black place mats. There were two lit candles in glass candle holders, red napkins and a small spray of flowers in a black vase. There was also a small tray that held what had to be pickled onions, butter and a variety of barbeque sauces.

“Wow, pretty fancy for a bachelor boy. I think I should wash my hands before I sit though.”

Adam directed her to the sink and held her chair when she came back to the table. “Now, this isn’t a fancy meal, but it’s something I absolutely love and figured you would too because you like Ebenezer’s so much.”

Adam brought her another beer only this time he poured it carefully into a beer glass. Then, he returned from the counter with smaller black plates on which he’d placed huge buns, one half covered by the best looking and smelling pork Charlie had ever seen. It was accompanied by baked beans and cornbread.

“Oh, my goodness,” Charlie breathed, “this all looks delicious and if it’s as good as it smells, well, I may think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

Over the next little while, they ate and drank and murmured to each other about what they were eating. More than once, Charlie closed her eyes and a small moan escaped as she swallowed another bite of the pulled pork. When she’d finished the first plate, Adam made her a second sandwich and brought another beer.

“Oh my God,” Charlie exclaimed, “and please excuse my burp, but I think I may explode. I really should not have had seconds, but Adam, it was so damn good I just couldn’t say no. Well, actually, I didn’t say yes either since you just put it in front of me.”

“Well, Charlie, I do love a woman who loves to eat. I liked watching you eat what I made. One of these times, once we know each other better, I’ll have to suck the sauce from your fingers and lick it from your chin.”

“Does that mean I’ll be dessert?” Charlie asked flirtatiously.

“I hope so, eventually. Meanwhile, lets move to the couch. It’s too buggy and cold to sit on the porch. I laid a fire earlier and I’m sure it will feel good.”

Adam joined Charlie on the couch once the fire was lit. It felt comfortable to sit there side by side until Adam said, “Why don’t you turn and lean against that pillow and put your legs over mine. I’ll give you a nice foot rub while we talk.”

Charlie loved the way his hands, neither soft nor hard with callouses rubbed her feet and moved up her calves. She really wanted his hands to move higher, but he always stopped just below her knee. She hoped she’d have the patience Adam seemed to want or need.

“I gather you’re the baby of the family from what you said earlier? How much younger are you and what are your sibling’s names?”

Adam had been rubbing her feet and legs while staring into the fire and started a bit at her question. “My parents were careful to have their three children each three years apart. My brother, Ben, is six years older than me and Susan is three years older. They were horrible influences on me and did everything they possibly could to get me in trouble.”

“Like what?”

“It was never anything major. For instance, Ben put a snake in Susan’s bed and blamed me. Susan let all the air out of Ben’s bike tires and blamed me. They got into Christmas presents, and lots of other stuff for which I was always blamed. They could both lie with completely straight faces while even when I was telling the truth, I somehow looked guilty. I don’t think I ever got the opportunity to actually get even with either of them for the crappy stuff like that.

“You never got away with anything?”

“Of course, I did. I had my own band of miscreants and we did lots of stupid stuff for which we should have been beaten or that could have resulted in one or all of us dying. But you know when you’re young, there is no death concept.”

“What did you do that was so bad?”

“Every single one of us had a BB gun. We discovered we could drop stick matches into the barrel and fire them. If you held a war in a pitch-dark basement, when the matches hit the concrete wall or floor, it would light and you could see your enemies and quick, shoot off another one. Looking back, it’s amazing no one lost an eye. And, oh yeah, you had to go to war bare-chested. Some of those matches did hurt.

“Then there was the time, about five of us managed to sneak quite a few bullets from our fathers’ stash. We managed to open them up and pour all the gun powder into something…maybe a prescription bottle. I don’t really remember now. Anyway, we then wrapped the bottle with duck-tape until it was the size of a softball. Oh, I forgot, we included a fuse and I don’t remember what we used for that either.”

Adam was so caught up in his story, he’d stopped rubbing her feet and was gesturing with his arms and hands. “Anyway, we took it quite a few blocks away from our houses and put it under a shrub on someone’s parking strip. Then we lit the fuse and ran and hid where we could watch what happened.”

“Did it blow up?”

Adam snorted and shook his head, “Did it blow up. You bet it did and we were so lucky there weren’t any cars nearby or that we’d stayed in the vicinity. It blew that shrub to pieces and left a hole in the parking strip that was about a foot deep. We thought it was the best thing we’d ever done but heard later the police came out and maybe even the FBI.”

Charlie laughed. “I’ll bet if your parents knew about that you wouldn’t have been able to sit for a month.”

“You know it. Now, scootch over and let me lean on the pillow too.”

Charlie scootched and Adam laid down on his side facing her. His hands, those wonderful hands began to rub her head beneath her hair. His lips kissed her forehead, down her cheek to her ear and back up the other side. Charlie wanted to grab him and pull him in for a kiss that would surely leave them both breathless, but forced herself to stay still, to let Adam lead the way.

Eventually, but not soon enough for Charlie, Adam asked her to raise her head and he put his arm beneath her neck. Charlie turned toward him so they were pressed against each other on the couch. While Adam continued to tease her with little kisses and licks, none of them below her shoulders, Charlie put her one free arm around Adam’s chest and rubbed his back.

Finally, Adam’s mouth found Charlie’s, but he didn’t give her the soul-searing kiss for which she’d been waiting. He nibbled and kissed and licked at her mouth until she thought she would go crazy with wanting him to kiss her. Then, his mouth covered hers and his tongue entered to twine around hers. She tried to suck on his tongue, but he was too quick, but did suck hers when she pushed it into his mouth.

This lip interplay seemed to go on forever and Charlie found herself thinking she could manage to participate in this way for a very long time. It felt wonderful. She felt treasured and wanted and special in a way she’d never felt before. Maybe taking their time wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

Just as she reached that conclusion, Adam gave her one last kiss, turned and sat up. “It’s getting kinda late. Let me get you the container of pork I set aside and my flash. I’ll walk you home.”

Charlie couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Sheesh, how in the hell did he just turn it on and off? One minute she was being kissed senseless and the next it seemed like she’d been doused with cold water. She huffed and sat up when Adam went to the kitchen. Fine, just fine. She’d never ever wanted sex as much as she wanted it right now, but she’d be fine, just fine.

They didn’t talk much as Adam walked Charlie home through the woods. At her door, he handed her the container of pork, only to lean in and give her another soul-searing kiss. It was only her mamma’s training that kept Charlie from pouring the pork over Adam’s head.

He stepped back, saying, “Thanks for coming to dinner Charlie. I really enjoyed the evening. Good night.”

“Thank you for dinner Adam. I enjoyed hearing about your childhood exploits. See you later.”

Charlie watched as Adam and his flash disappeared into the woods. She wondered how long this sexually charged dance they were doing would last. She sincerely hoped it would be worth it when it came to an end or she was afraid she might have to murder Adam. Her defense would be long-term frustration.