The billionaire's reluctant mistress

Chapter 9: Remember you

Chapter 9:

It wasn't until more than three years later, when Rachel was in 11th grade, that she finally had a chance to meet Flynn again. He still went back to their town every summer vacation, but there was no excuse for them to see each other. She only heard his name appear briefly on the lips of some certain friends.

At this point, she was almost done with puberty. Her face no longer had acne and her braces had also been removed. She knew how to dress well, to wear makeup, and had dated a few boys in town.

It was early autumn, when the last sunny days of the year still lingered. One afternoon, she and her friends went to the beautiful Mald Lake which lay at the foot of Mald Mountain. The town's teenagers had gathered there all summer to swim, play water sports, and grope each other surreptitiously under the water. Mald Lake was like an open water park. Everyone loved to swing on the old tire hanging over the lake (she had asked Uncle Hardy to let her bring it here) and then plunge into the cool water. By that time, she had already given her first kiss to Liam, the captain of their school's soccer team. Although she liked the feeling of kissing and touching him, it was just a youthful fling. Their relationship didn’t seem to be going anywhere because Liam was often extremely jealous and selfish.

As usual, she put on her green swimsuit under her T-shirt and told her aunt she was going to her best friend Lyanna's house to do homework.

When she got to the lake, her friends were already there. After a few sips of warm beer, she and Lyanna climbed up the cliff. Seen from above, Mald Lake looked like a beautiful crystal clear emerald.

“I'm gonna jump!” A rush of excitement surged, and Rachel yelled at Lyanna.

Lyanna giggled: "No, you won’t!"

A few boys noticed Rachel standing in front of the cliff with her arms stretched out, and they started jeering at her: “Jump! Jump! Jump!”

Rachel took a deep breath. She had never done anything this crazy. The excitement grew stronger. And, now, everyone was watching her. It was too late to back down. Rachel closed her eyes and threw herself off the cliff.

The feeling of freefall made her panic at first, but strangely enough, she quickly regained her composure and adjusted her body to enter the water on her feet. The water suddenly enveloped her, soothing her hot head. And she faintly heard people cheering. Rachel emerged from the water, brushed her hair behind her head and whooped, letting her wild joy escape.

Lyanna ran over, panting: ", I didn’t think you’d dare to jump! You're crazy!"

They both looked at each other and giggled. Out of nowhere, Liam hugged her, "That's my girl."

His warm embrace made her realize how cold the water was. The three and the others once again entered the water and continued to play for a while. Then the sun went down and the water became too cold. They got out of the lake, walking together towards the hut where the group was gathering .

A gust of wind blew her goosebumps up. Rachel trembled in the cold.

“There’s hot tea over there.” One of Liam's football teammates pointed to the balcony where a large thermos with paper cups was lined up.

"I don't drink tea, I want to drink beer." Lyanna said.

“So do I.” Liam followed.

Rachel, alone, walked over to the balcony. She was struggling to pour a cup of tea and not to burn herself when a towel suddenly appeared.

Thinking that it was Lyanna, she smiled and asked: “Are you sure you don't want hot tea?

Take a sip, it’ll warm you up.” Rachel turned, about to reach out for the towel. However, she was so surprised that she almost dropped her teacup.

"Flynn." She exclaimed. “Why are you here?”

He shrugged: “I’ve been back since summer.”

"Oh." She replied confused.

Flynn, the guy who worked part-time in her uncle's garage for years, now looked like a real man. He must be graduating from college soon, she thought. He looked taller than she remembered, and his muscular chest jutted out from under his thin T-shirt. And he was more handsome than she remembered. Rachel involuntarily blushed. More than three years had passed since she had last seen him. She wasn't exactly an adult yet, definitely not as mature as the girls he would have dated in college, but she wasn't the naive little girl she used to be anymore.

Confused, she reached for the towel: "So, when are you coming back to London?"

He smiled lightly: "Next week."

Pausing for a moment, he asked, “How's Uncle Hardy? How's the garage?"

"My uncle's health is not as it was, but the workshop is still operating well."

Together, the two walked towards the fire where everyone was chatting. Rachel recognized several of Flynn's friends. They must have come here together.

Turns out, Flynn's best friend Craig was Liam's cousin. They were chatting happily. Craig showed off a trick he learned while working at a bar in the city centre, starting a fire with orange peels. The teenagers seemed impressed. Like Rachel, they were curious about university life in London, about the brilliant world beyond the town boundaries. Craig and Flynn would be graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics, and they had many bold ideas. Together, they had planned to open a motorcycle garage and develop it into a global motorcycle brand.

After a while, the group decided to play a game of Unicorn. Flynn killed her unicorns several times before she could win. They laughed so much that Rachel felt a spasm in her upper stomach. It was one of the most enjoyable evenings Rachel had ever had.

Liam drank so much that he fell asleep on the wooden floor halfway through the game. Normally he would never drink this much, but today he was acting more extreme than usual. It was something she didn't understand, this feeling of competition between boys. Perhaps, in front of older boys like Flynn and Craig, he felt the need to show off more.

By the middle of the night, the teenagers were all ecstatic, and Craig and Flynn had to split up and take them all home. At her worried expression, Flynn smiled reassuringly: "It's okay, I didn’t drink tonight."

Rachel was secretly glad that she and Flynn shared a part of the path home. After dropping Lyanna and Peter, there were only two of them left in the car. His car smelled of coffee from the air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. Rachel felt her whole body throb. She had been excited and restless all night. She wanted to sit close to him, to better smell the musk emanating from his body. She wondered what brand of cologne he wore, or if it was simply his own scent.

At sixteen, she was a virgin. But she knew about s*x, she knew the excitement that ran through her body when she was hugged and kissed by a guy, she knew what it felt like when two lips merged, filling her up with sweetness and warmth.

The thought of a kiss, a kiss with Flynn made her shiver. She let her mind wander, imagining the feel of his full lips against hers. Rachel gazed at his muscular arms, tanned and bulging with veins. His hands looked big, steady, and warm. Rachel's whole body heated up. She dared not look at him any longer. She pulled down the window to let the cold night air in. They were quiet the rest of the way. Soon, the alley leading to Rachel's house appeared. Not wanting the sound of the engine to wake her aunt and uncle, Rachel asked him to stop the car a few hundred meters away.

"Thank you." All she could say were these words.

But he said, "Let me take you to the door."

He got out of the car. She wondered if he felt the same desire as she did. Rachel had never thought about Flynn (or anyone) in this way. He was much older than her. When he was working in Uncle Hardy's workshop, he had always been nice to her, but it was a gentle regard, like an older brother looking out for a little sister. She suspected that even though she wasn't a little girl anymore, he still saw her this way.

They walked in silence until they came to the hedge at the front of her aunt and uncle’s garden.

Their pace slowed down. Rachel turned her head to look at him, knowing that it was time to say goodbye. The two stood opposite each other, as the dim yellow light stretched their shadows across the street.

"So, I'm going in." She said.

"Ok." He simply replied.

Suddenly she felt in her heart something she couldn't bear, she wanted to linger in this moment. She mustered the courage to look up at him. His face was dyed amber by the streetlights. His lashes were so long and smooth. This was the first time she had actually looked into his eyes, and found herself sinking deeper. The expression on his face was kind and gentle. Until now, she still clearly remembered the feeling she had had that day. Her heart seemed to have forgotten to beat and the air was so thick she could barely breathe. For a brief moment, his eyes fell to her wet, parted lips. She wondered if he wanted to kiss her. If he kissed her, she would reciprocate. Did he know that?

Just when she thought he was going to lean down to kiss her, he took a sudden step back.

He smiled and said, "Good night, frizzy hair."

Initially, Flynn called her ‘frizzy hair’ to tease her, but years later, he whispered that name as he kissed her neck. His voice would grow hoarse while he discovered entirely new ways to tease her. But that night, he left her standing in front of the hawthorn hedge with a longing heart.

And now, under the yellow light reminiscent of that night, Dalziel's eyes were also dyed a gentle amber color. She realized she had been immersed in it. This was probably the first time she had actually looked him in the eye since seeing him again. No matter that his name had changed, his person had changed and his social position had changed, his gaze was the same. Despite everything in the world telling her it wasn't him, she was sure now.

Her heart skipped a beat. She sobbed softly, "Flynn?"