Time and Again

No Time like the Present.

Chapter 4

The next few days went by in a blur. The regular routine each day, taking Selena to school, working, picking her up, making dinner, go to bed, repeat. I hadn’t run in to Charlotte again, much to my disappointment. We had chatted briefly over text a couple of times, flirting and making small talk. I wished the days would fly by so I could see her Saturday. When Friday night finally came, I was delighted. I picked up Selena and dropped her at my moms house for the night I planned to bring her with me to Charlotte’s the next day, but mom wanted to take her to the movies. It was regular Friday night event, as was the work crew meeting up at Ben’s for barbecue and beer. Not all the guys came, but I usually did, along with Mal and John and a few others. It was just a work crew thing, so I had no expectations of Charlotte being there.

I stopped by the store on the way out to Ben’s house and picked up a six pack of my favorite beer, and some chips and salsa to share with the crew. I don’t drink much, but I do like a beer or two on Friday’s. Mal usually ended up finishing my six pack, as well as his own, and half the time I had to drive him home because he was too drunk to drive. I headed down the long back roads to Ben’s with the windows down, enjoying the spring temperatures and the fresh air. I had the radio cranked up with my favorite country station playing, and sang along as I drove. I had been told I had a decent singing voice, but mostly I just sang along with the radio.

I pulled up to Ben’s place within about 20 minutes, and pulled my lawn chair from the truck bed. He had tables and benches around the yard and under the covered pole barn with the shop attached, but after a long day, I preferred my lounge chair with foot rest. I was the first to arrive, Ben was outside talking to Sammie about the food by the grill.

“ What’s on the menu tonight boss?” I asked.

“Fajitas! I’ve got some skirt steak simmering here and some veggies on the top rack in the foil. Sammie just went inside to get the sour cream and her famous guacamole.” He replied with a knowing grin. He knew I loved her guac. We chatted for a few minutes about the day, them the guys started showing up. I popped open a beer, and made my way around talking to the guys, and catching up on their lives. As their manager I felt it was important to build a rapport with them, and let them know they were important, as well as their families. A few of the guys were single or had girlfriends, but most were married. Once a month all the families were invited out and the kids played in the yard on the old swing set Ben kept around for his grandkids. Ben also liked to make sure the guys knew their family was important and that he understood how life was for them.

Around six the food was ready and I helped Ben and Sammie put it all out and arrange everything. Most guys brought some kind of side dish with them and their own beer or drinks. I looked up when I heard a car coming down the road and realized Charlotte was in her way home. I didn’t think she could see me so I didn’t bother to wave, but I smiled knowing she was close by. I sat in my chair with my plate and ate while talking with Mal and John. Ben joined us for a few minutes then went to make a phone call, and walked behind the barn.

After about 30 minutes I looked up and Charlotte was suddenly standing in front of the barn.

When did she get here? Damn, she looks good.

She was dressed in a white tank top with a long flowing skirt and sandals. She had several beaded necklaces that hung just below the V neck of her shirt and some dangle earrings in a cross hatch pattern. Her hair was pulled half way up, and the rest flowed down her back, almost to her butt. I must have been staring because John hit me lightly on the shoulder. “Damn man, snap out of it.”

“Oh, s**t. Am I that obvious?”

“Just a little,” he said with an eye roll. “Why don’t you go talk to her?” I nodded and made my way over to her without another word to John. I heard him chuckle behind me.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked casually. She turned to me with a smile.

“Hey you. How’s it going?” she asked back.

“Not bad, I didn’t know you were coming, I would have put my good shirt on.” I winked at her.

“Oh really? You’d change your shirt just for me?” She asked with a grin.

“Dad called me just a bit ago and invited us over. I just got back from picking up Grayson.” She pointed to the boys playing on the swings. “I guess he figured we might be hungry.”

I realized that’s who Ben must have been calling when he walked around the building. “Can I make you a plate?” I asked her.

“Oh no, I can get it. The boys had McDonald’s on the way back, but I’m pretty hungry.” She replied.

“ Well, would you like to sit by me? I could grab you a chair.”

“Sure, that’d be great.” She told me with a smile and walked over to the food table. I grabbed her a chair, and put it next to mine, without being too close. She walked over, hips swaying gently and sat in the chair placing her plate in her lap. I talked mostly while she ate, and I noticed John and Mal had made themselves scarce. Thankfully. When she was finished eating I took her plate for her, and sat next to her again. I watched her hair blowing gently in the breeze, and asked her about her drive to pick up Grayson.

“Its not too bad I might have to adjust the time once work starts because of traffic. We meet half way, so I can’t complain too much. Its worth it to get my son though.” She explained. I didn’t want to pry too much, so I changed the subject.

“So, what rooms are we painting tomorrow?”

“Well, if we can get it all done, I’d like to do the living room, entry, and the hall. Hopefully its not too much.”

“Nah I bet we can knock it out. No problem.”

“Okay, well I’ll make us some super, and we can work as long as you’re available.”

“I’m all yours. All day.” I said softly, and looked in to her eyes. She smiled and blushed, then looked down and fiddled with her drink.

“Okay,” she said quietly. Grayson suddenly came running up excitedly.

“Mom! Can we go for a walk?” He almost yelled.

“Sure, that sounds fun.” She looked at me, “would you like to walk with us?” She asked me.

“Absolutely.” I replied.

“Grayson, have you met Jessie?” She asked looking at him.

“Nope. Hi Jessie.” He said turning to me.

“Hi there Grayson, its nice to meet you.” I said putting my hand out to him. He took it and we shook hands. He looked slightly awkward bout it. I chuckled a little about it knowing he was just young.

“ Ready?” Charlotte asked.

“Sure, lets go.” I replied.

Charlotte

When we lived up north, I had always hated the drive to and from picking up Grayson, but somehow the move back home made it seem more bearable. I hadn’t seen him in two weeks, and while I was sort of used to the feeling, I missed my son terribly. Every Friday was the same for us Will and I would wake up and remind each other today was the day we picked up brother. As we drove to the meet up spot, music turned up, we sang our favorite songs, and Will, played in his tablet. We pulled in to the parking lot of the McDonald’s, and parked near Grayson’s dads black SUV. I got out of my car and he ran to me, “Hi mom!” he said and I pulled him in to a big hug.

“Hey bubs! I missed you so much.“

“Me too.” He replied. I checked in with his dad, and we hopped back in the car to go home. I asked Grayson a million questions to each of those he responded “Good" or “fine". It was like pulling teeth to get details from him. When we were about half way home dad called and asked if we wanted some Fajitas. Which I of course said yes to because Mexican is my favorite food. I heard music in the background and wondered what he had going on. I decided we would just walk over to dads since it was early. So we parked at home, freshened up quickly and headed over to dads house. The boys were excited to see him, and play on the swing set. When we arrived, I realized there were quite a few people there. Dad met us near the driveway and explained what was going on. It suddenly dawned on me that Jessie was likely here. I suddenly had butterflies in my stomach. The boys ran off to play and I walked over to the barn where I saw my old friend Danny standing. I gave him a big hug and we talked for a few minutes before I left him to search for some food. Just as I turned around, Jessie was right behind me.

“Hey, how’s it going?” He asked me with a be the smile. I smiled back and after a few brief words he invited me to sit with him. I made my plate and headed over to where I saw him sitting. I sat next to him with my plate on my lap eating and listening while he did most of the talking. I stopped and answered questions occasionally. When I finished he took my empty plate for me.

Such a gentleman. I said to myself.

We talked for a little longer when Grayson came over with Will and asked if we could go for a walk. I decided to ask Jessie to come with us, thankfully he said yes. It occurred to me that Grayson didn’t know Jessie, so I quickly introduced them and we got up to take our stroll.

We walked through the crowd of people standing and sitting around. Jessie following behind me and the boys leading the way. We received several odd looks from a few of the guys. The boys ran ahead of us, and Jessie moved to walk beside me. We chatted easily about my childhood out here, and how things were different back then. Jessie asked me how I was liking my new place, and I told him about my love for chickens. The boys asked about climbing the big oak tree, so we stopped there for a bit and while Will and Grayson ran around playing Hide and Go Seek, and climbing in and around the branches.

“This is a great tree.” Jessie commented. “I would have loved this when I was a kid.”

“Yeah its been here forever. My cousins and I used to play here too.” I said remembering how much I loved playing here as a child. As we stood side by side, our hands brushed together, and Jessie stole the opportunity to take hold of mine. Simply intertwining our pinky fingers.

He turned to me not letting go. “Is this okay” He nearly whispered. His touch, however small did something to my body. I felt my face flush, and a warmth spread over me.

“Yes,” I said simply. I gazed into his eyes for a moment when I remembered the boys. I turned to watch them, not letting go of Jessie’s pinky. I was having a hard time concentrating. But I knew I wanted to keep touching him. I leaned a little closer to him so that our hips were almost touching as well. He seemed pleased with that small motion and smiled down at me. I smiled back and turned back to watch the boys.

Will came running back over to us and told me he needed to go “big potty”. So we decided to head back to dads house. We walked with our pinkies hooked together back towards the house, and I reluctantly let go so I could go in and help Will find the bathroom. When we finished up, Sammie came and found me and asked if she could take the boys home to get ready for bed and spend a little time with them.

“Take as much time as you need.” She told me and took the kids back to my house in her car since it would be after dark when I got back.

“Thanks so much!” I said when they walked away. I sat back down in my chair after grabbing a wine cooler on my way back. Jessie popped the top off the bottle for me, and I sipped it slowly while Jessie and I talked and he drank his beer. By the time people started heading home it was nine o'clock and I had drank 3 wine coolers. Jessie was on his third beer.

“I should probably get going, I’m sure Sammie wants to go to bed too.” I told Jessie.

“How about I drive you home, so you don’t have to walk in the dark?” He asked.

“Sure, that would be nice.” I said with a smile. We said good night to everyone, and hopped in his truck. It was a nice truck Chevy Silverado, crew cab. The interior was dark gray, and it smelled like his cologne. We had a comfortable silence on the way back to my house and he came around and opened my door, then held his hand out to help me down. Once I was down, I didn’t let go of it. He walked me to the door, and I asked him to come inside for an bit.

“Hey Sammie, thanks for bringing the boys back. Are they asleep?” I asked her when we got in to the house.

“Yep. They both had a bath, and we played Trouble then they hit the sack. Passed out pretty quick.” She said with a grin. She made a quick exit, which I was thankful for. I turned to Jessie and asked him if he wanted another beer?

“Sure, maybe just one.” He said. I went to the kitchen to get the drinks, and pulled them out of the fridge. When I stood up to turn around, Jessie was right behind me. Turning around caused me to be face to face with him. Before I knew what was happening, his lips were pressed against mine. I was surprised at first, but slowly melted in to the kiss. I pushed the fridge door shut with my foot, and Jessie took the bottles from my hands and placed them on the counter without taking his lips away. He gently pulled my hips closer to him with until our bodies were touching, and I snaked my arms around his neck. Jessie moved his hands up my waist, then around my back holding me close to him. I could feel my body responding to his touch, and sighed deeply. He took the opportunity to push his tongue into my mouth and deepened the kiss.

I was nearly standing on my tip toes because he was so tall, and he was bending over some when he suddenly bent lower and grabbed the back of my thighs and lifted me on to the kitchen counter. He stood between my legs and his body heat soaked in to my core. I was nearly breathless, but I didn’t want him to stop kissing me. I pushed my fingers into his hair and pulled his face to mine. Jessie let out a low moan, and I wrapped my legs around him and hooked my feet together. He moved his hands lower and I felt him touching the bare skin of my back where my shirt had come up, sending little tingles up my spine. His fingers traced small circles on my lower back, while his tongue swirled around my mouth. He pulled back slightly from our kiss, and I was momentarily disappointed, until I felt his hot breath on my neck. He planted soft kisses from my jaw down to the neckline of my shirt and back up to my ear. Making his way back to my mouth, I gasped when I felt his hand go further up my back in to my shirt. He kissed me again, but paused his hands. Wanting to encourage him, I moved my hands down his shoulders to his elbows and pushed his arms up my shirt a little.

Jessie groaned again, and I felt his hands move further up towards my bra, which he quickly unwrapped. I was excited beyond belief. I hadn’t been with anyone in over a year, and my body wanted this to happen. This time I broke the kiss and made my way down his neck to the opening of his shirt and undid aa few of the buttons, placing light kisses, and swirling the tip of my tongue in small circles. He tasted like salt, and smell so good.

I nibbled lightly on his neck as I moved back to his mouth. I realized I could feel his hardness pushed against me and it made me want him even more. Jessie’s hands left my back and moved to my stomach under my shirt never leaving my skin. When they met my breasts I moaned into his mouth and gasped. My back arched towards him slightly and my hips moved of their own accord. Our bodies were like magnets to each other, the pull was so intense, and I couldn’t get enough. Both of us nearly breathless, in my kitchen, entwined with each other, desperately seeking more.