A little too young

Chapter two: The connection

Summer had come early, and sophomore year at NYU was finally over. Tedious semester curriculum and numerous project work left Esther thinking it would never end, but the day came finally, and she could not wait to have a summer to remember. A trip to the Maldives with Abigail, Peggy and Ana, Esther's childhood friends, and college mates would be so much fun, Esther thought. She had it all planned out, buying tickets online and making reservations at an expensive island resort, with all the luxurious things money could pay for. Esther's eighteenth birthday was in a few weeks time , and what better place to mark it than on the most beautiful island, with friends?. Esther was totally psyched up for the trip and she planned to surprise the girls with the two-way first class tickets she got them, by the end of the day when she got back from working at her mother's bakery. She had promised earlier to help her mum sort out the books and balance all that needed balancing in the accounts. "Felicity bakers" had big shot accountants on their pay roll, but Esther majored in accounting at NYU herself, and Felicia needed someone she could trust going over the financials every now and then, hence the idea of having Esther over at the bakery whenever she could spare the time.

It was a warm morning at the mansion, fresh summer breeze blew across the two acre nolayout of the mansion. The sun beamed lightly on the trees and flower beds in the garden, casting shadows all over the place, creating a grove like scenery, but a really colourful one with red and purple and yellow flowers of different sorts blooming peacefully all around. The garden was parted in between by a long, narrow marble floor driveway into the main yard that could contain only one vehicle at a time, until it reached the main yard where a wide parking space was available. When Esther was little, and they hosted galas and balls at the mansion, she liked to stand at her room window on the third floor, looking and counting cars on a straight line as they drove slowly through the long, narrow driveway into the yard and wondered why the driveway was so long and narrow. The mansion building had big round pillars reaching from top to the bottom of the three storeys, with large windows, and a big front door isframe, housing two large brown oak doors with gold plated metal handles. Two rose flower pots, one to the left and the other to the right of the large entrance gave the front porch life, and a welcoming appeal. It was past seven and Esther was still fast asleep in her queen size bed, mounted directly opposite the window of her large bedroom. Green wallpaper draped the walls of her childhood bedroom, with glitter, and star shaped ribbons pinned all over on all four walls of the room. Green was her favorite colour, she always said it was nature's colour and she lived for nature and everything that comes from it. Every now and then, she would volunteer to plant a tree at the city park as her own contribution to the movement of keeping nature alive. An exotic chandelier hung from the ceiling at the centre of the room with dim light. Esther hated total darkness, so she dims the chandelier lights a little and never turns it off before going to bed. Alarm clock rings, and her beauty sleep is cut short. Oh no! Esther said with a yawn, "Morning already"? Never one to sleep early, so every time the alarm rings, she was the saddest person, as she would have only had a few hours of sleep and would immediately regret staying up late watching that show on the television or being on social media and texting the night away, only to do the same thing over and over again, night after night. Reluctant, and contemplating to snooze the alarm, and catch a few more hours of sleep, but quickly jumping out of bed on remembering that she had to be at the bakery and wrap things up early so she could travel across town to visit her friends and surprise them with what she had planned for their summer. She could just do it over the phone, but she wanted to see the look on their faces when she hits them with the news. Abigail, Peggy and Anna werent from wealthy families, but they were fairly comfortable and they had all the basic things. Abigail and Peggy are sisters and both their parents are teachers. Anna is the only child of her single mother "Sally", who was left to cater for herself and her baby all by herself by her teenage boyfriend who got her pregnant and ran off when she was only sixteen. She got by quite well, thanks to the inheritance she got from her grand parents, two years after she had the baby. All four friends met at summer camp in third grade, and they have been inseparable ever since.

"I don't know why I need to go through the books at the bakery, when they have all those accountants there, Esther murmured, putting on her fluffy bedroom slippers, and walking staggeringly to the bathroom. "Breakfast is served honey"!, Felicia's voice echoed through the halls from the kitchen. Are you up yet? Pretending not to hear, Esther took a quick shower and got dressed. Esther never spent much time in front of a mirror but she was indeed a sight for sore eyes, with an appearance and body much more mature than her age, she has had to ward off countless, older male counterpart who flirted with her innocently, never imagining she was barely up to the legal adult age. Curvy in all the right places, and stunningly beautiful, she has had her fair share of attention from boys with both good, bad and ugly intentions for her and she always fell the hardest for the bad boys, and a heart break was inevitable. Esther had noticed how handsome Charles was from the other night at the restaurant, even though he wasnt neatly dressed, she saw something in his appearance, and person she hadn't seen or experienced with any other person before and she secretly hoped they would meet again, so she could see if she would feel the same way, or if it was just her eyes deceiving her. It was probably her eyes deceiving her, she thought, as Charles was clearly, atleast a decade older than her and she was barely an adult. Why was she thinking so hard about him though? why couldn't she just get him off her mind and focus her mind on the vacation, she thought as she rubbed lotion all over her pale, delicate skin, chose a black silk gown and applied light makeup on her face. Blood red lip stick, and a soft touch of blush on her cheek. Esther had the wildest feeling she might bump into Charles anywhere, so she tried to look her best. " Eww, get a room" , Esther teased on getting to the kitchen and finding her parents making out, and fondling each other right there on the kitchen dining table. Larger than most dining tables you would see in living rooms, the table had eight chairs, and a flower vase at the centre with a bowl of assorted fruits. Esther picked an apple and bit hard and deep into it, hurting her gums a little as she chewed. Get your own husband, Felicia said, smiling, and planting one last kiss on Craig's lips as she got off him and pulled down her skirt trying not to reveal the fact that she didn't wear panties. She had taken it off and thrown it in the corner when things got intense between her and Craig, but it was all cut short when Esther walked in, and she wished her daughter would come in, at least five minutes later. Hello baby, Craig said, grabbing Esther for a tight hug. " How was your night"?, he asked. Not as good as yours, I'm sure, Esther replied, crossing her eyes, making a face, and poking out her tongue in between her peace sign fingers. Craig burst out laughing and shaking his head, knowing how naughty their daughter could get, and never hesitating to tease them at every chance she got. Bacon and eggs were served with toast, dark brown, and hot, coming out of the toast maker. The sweet aroma of the food filled the air and they loved having breakfast together. Coffee brewed in the coffee maker, and Esther poured some out for herself and her parents. " Dark with no sugar or cream for you dad right"? Yes please baby, Craig answered, with sugar and cream for you my lady, no? Esther said with a french accent playfully, and Felicia bowed, received her cup with a smile. Esther loved her coffee with sugar too, and a lot more cream than was necessary.

They talked, and laughed, and teased each other while they had their meal, and Esther reminded her mum they had to leave early, so she could be done at the bakery in time to be able togo out of town to see her friends. She was usually the tardy type, and always needed to be scolded by her parents about it all the time, but the reverse was the case this time, as Esther helped her mother out of the dining chair and led her to her bedroom to help her get dressed as if she was an hospital patient in need of such help. Craig took the day off to go golfing with partners from the company and potential investors to seal a deal that had been in the books for quite some time now, so he wasn't going to the office today, and had instructed Charles over a telephone call, to submit his proposal, quotation, and copies of the forms he had his secretary mail over to the cleaning agency, signed and filled at the bakery before the end of the day. In less than five minutes, Esther had helped her mother get dressed, and they set out to leave. It was a thirty minute drive to the bakery. Located at one of the busiest streets in new York, "Felicity bakers" was on the ground floor of a twenty three storey sky scraper complex building. It had glass doors and windows revealing the display of assorted cakes and pastries in covered glass shelves with air conditioning. Round tables, surrounded by chairs, for customers who would like to have their treats there, and long leather sofas for others who waited for their orders to go with.A large kitchen area was in the first room on the left of a long passageway, accommodating a state of the art oven, a long cabinet desk, a giant steel shelf for placing cutlery. It had several sophisticated cutlery, and large and small baking utensils. A cold room was directly opposite the kitchen, on the right side of the passage, filled with sausages and assorted meat, three whole pigs, skinned and gut removed, hung from a hook in the center of the cold room. The other rooms to the left and right of the passage were offices and restrooms and the boss's office was the last on the right. "Good day maam", Alice, the receptionist greeted Felicia, miss Esther, nice to have you around again, she added with a smile. Good morning Alice, they both replied, "How was your night"? Felicia asked, Fine, maam. The bakery opens at nine, so there was no one around by the time Esther and her mother got there, except Alice and Greta; the middle aged european woman who cleans.Hey there, Greta, Felicia said, waving at the cleaner lady who was cleaning in one of the rooms, and didn't notice Felicia and Esther passing by. On seeing Esther, Greta paced out of the room she was cleaning and picked Esther up from behind, and raised her up in the air, laughing wildly. Greta was a Macedonian immigrant who came to America, fleeing her country during the war, around a decade ago. She was in the military, hence her strength and bulky build. Esther, totally startled, screamed and laughed. Greta, I'm not a baby anymore. Greta had been with the family since Esther was eight, and when "Felicity bakers" started out in a smaller store across town ten years ago, Greta was their first employee, and she has been loyal and dedicated to the family ever since. The Craigs loved her and have helped her settle quite well in America. "We need to get to work mum, I don't have all day"." Alright, here are the files on my computer, and the the log books are here on this shelf" Felicia said, pointing to the shelf positioned by the wall beside her office table. "Let me know of anything suspicious, if anything doesn't add up, we have to get the the bottom of it". Esther got to work, tapping buttons on the keyboard, and clicking the mouse, raising an eyebrow every now and then as if she found something strange. " I need a drink, mum " she said, "I'll get one from the fridge in the kitchen" , making her way towards the door, only to run into Charles at the door. He had come over to the bakery with the proposal, quotation, and forms as Craig instructed, and he was early. "Hello miss" Charles greeted, offering a handshake. "Hi there", Esther said, stammering a bit, Her heart racing. "Hi, ummm" "Charles, I'm Charles, "I met with you and your parents, with Bobby at that fancy restaurant the other day, from the cleaning agency". " Oh yes, I remember now" Esther lied. She recognized Charles, and even remembered his name. She just played it that way so she wouldn't seem aware of him. "What are you doing here, Mr. Charles"? "Call me Charles please". " I have some paperwork here for Mr. Craig, he told me to come over. I don't see him anywhere, where is he?" Charles asked, looking away from Esther's steady gaze. She was really beautiful, and she was staring at him, and he felt kind of uncomfortable. "Good morning Mr. Charles", Felicia cut in, "My husband is not here, but you can leave those here for him", stretching her hand to collect the file from Charles. "Oh ok yes ma'am", thank you".

Esther sat on the office table, stealing a glance at Charles, as he spoke with her mum. He was better dressed now, wearing a tailored suit, and God, did he look breathtaking!?. Chiseled face, with high cheek bone, hair tied in a bun. Esther was beginning to imagine how Charles would look shirtless, with his hair flowing. Blue piercing eyes of his, shot through her, weakening her to her knees. "I'll be on my way now ma'am, Weston county is a long drive from here, and iv got lots of work lined up for me today". "Did you say Weston county"? Esther asked, excitement, and anticipation building in her head. "Yes miss", Charles answered. " You know there?", " Err yes, I know there and I'm headed in that direction, soon as I'm done with some little work here. Mind if I tag along"? " I don't know miss", Craig hesitated, scratching his head lightly, looking at Felicia, waiting for her to approve first. "It's alright" Felicia said, walking out of the office. It was almost nine, and customers would soon start swarming in in their dozens, and she needed to make sure everything was in order. " I'll be ready in ten minutes" , Esther said, "please bear with me", she added. " No problem miss, so what takes you to Weston county, miss"? Charles tried to start a conversation, as the silence in the room was beginning to get awkward. " I have childhood friends there, and I'm paying them a surprise visit". Charles looked at Esther intensely, as she got to work on the computer, and concluded again, she was really beautiful. His eyes going from her hair to her pale, delicate skin, down to her tender breasts, a cleavage revealing in that light black gown she was wearing, and her curved hip made his mouth water. "Good lord" he thought, as he looked away from her, looking around the office, trying not to get a hard on from the dirty thoughts that were beginning to cross his mind. He had to stop thinking those thoughts. "I'll wait outside in my truck, miss", " please call me Esther" " Alright, miss Esther", he answered with a smile, and Esther could swear, she hadn't seen a sexier smile all her life. Standing by the truck, soaking in the fresh summer air and morning sun, Charles couldn't get his mind off Esther, and he wondered why. She wasn't the first pretty girl he was meeting, but something about her got him love struck already so soon and he couldn't wait to find out what it was exactly. Was it the fact that her smile could light up every room, or that he got lost in her eyes, whenever their eyes met? She would definitely be in her early twenties, Charles thought, but he wasn't about to risk a once in a life time opportunity for romance, so he warded off every dirty thought in his head, and walked to the driver's side of the truck to get in, only to have his jaws dropping, on seeing Esther walk out of the bakery towards his truck, parked across the street. Looking delicate, yet confident, she had a certain grace about her, and Charles hated himself for letting his mind stray off in the first place, as it wouldn't be tamed now, no matter how hard he tried. Driving for thirty minutes, they were on the highway out of town, and had two hours to drive, to get to Weston county. " Do you drive, Esther"?, Craig asked. "I do in fact, and I'll show you", pull over!. They switched seats without getting out of the truck, and caught each other's scents while doing it. They both knew something was happening between them, and neither of them was ready to shy away or back down as they were far away on a lonely highway with nothing but a transmission gear and a few inches separating them from grabbing and exploring each other's bodies. "I'm hungry, Charles, aren't you hungry"? "I sure am, but a fuel station is still miles ahead", he answered. Esther smiled at him, knowing she had packed them treats for the journey from the bakery. "Tada" , she sang, as she pointed to the picnic bag in the back seat, beckoning on Charles to open it. "What's in there" , he asked, pretending like he didn't get the message. "That's our food".

The case was love at first sight for these two, and things seemed to be moving fast between them. They had just met, and they were already on a trip together, although unplanned, but they both could have turned down the possibility of being on this trip together, despite the fact that they were headed in the same direction, but they obliged, because of the connection they both knew they had. Esther, never being in a real relationship, or ever having s*x, was sure about Charles, maybe because he was the sexiest man she ever met, and her tender heart skipped a beat like it never had before, for any man and she knew in her heart, she was infatuated. She would play it cool, and try not to make it so obvious, she thought. Charles knew the effect he had on her and he would have her trembling, and satisfying his urges whenever he wanted, so he asked her to pull over and leaned over to kiss her, as soon as the tires stopped, but she rejected him and told him they had to take things slow. He agreed, but was shocked. He had been rejected for the first time, and he wondered why he longed more for her . Esther, surprised she was able to do that, got a little scared she had ruined her chances to be with her first love, not knowing that that little hesitation on her part , got Charles wanting her more.