This is the first chapter of a novella I am writing. I will post subsequent chapters on Steemit before I self-publish
PHASE ONE: SUMMER ROMANCE
I’m a bad person.
I just wanted to get that out of the way first, because by the time this story is finished you are going to say, “That guy is a bad person.” And you would probably be right.
This is a love story but not in the traditional sense. It’s a warped, taboo love story but it all started out with good intentions. It really did. But, like many love stories, it was doomed from the start.
Her name is Angie Flowers and I am in love with her, still, to this day. That is not her real name. It is a nickname that I gave her and she hated it. So, of course, I kept calling her that. And it stuck. Soon everyone was calling her that.
She is the absolute love of my life. She is also my cousin. Now, before you go off the deep end, we are second cousins. I think that makes it okay. And, just so you know, she seduced me. At least that’s my story.
Okay, so how did all this happen? To answer that we have to go all the way back to the 80’s.We were both teenagers and both children of divorce. Do you feel sorry for us now? I do not tell you this to use it as an excuse for our behavior, it is just one of the many contributing factors that lead us to the situation we are in now.
We were both in high school and it was summer time. Her parents were freshly divorced and her dad had moved into a condo that I absolutely loved. It was two-story and very modern. Plus there was a bar and her dad did not mind me helping myself. Just as long as I stayed away from the high dollar stuff. That was fine with me. So while I was drinking Popov and Coke, Angie was drinking wine coolers.
She would be at her dad’s place every other weekend, so it pretty much meant that I was there every other weekend as well.
In the beginning, there was not a romantic attraction, at least not on my part. And I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any on her part either. In the beginning, we would go out with her dad to pizza or go to the movies. But that changed rather quickly. By our third weekend together, we were left alone in the condo while her dad was out on dates. You could say I was a babysitter but I was only a year older than Angie. I was just there to keep her company.
But make no mistake, she was in charge. We did what she wanted to do. We watched what she wanted to watch, listened to her music, and we only kissed when she wanted to. Luckily, she always wanted to. I told you, she seduced me. Years later, she told me that I was the first guy she ever kissed.
In the beginning, we treated our time together like a date. We would have something to eat, knock back a few drinks and then watch some TV. Then we would cuddle together and make out. But no sex. We never went all the way. That was something she was adamant about. Like I said, she was in charge.
We always made sure to wind things down before her father got home. I was always asleep on the couch and she was safely in her room upstairs.
And then one day it all changed.
“I have a surprise for you,” she told me as I walked into the condo.
“What is it?”
“We get to spend the night together.” She gave me that smile that drove me crazy. Part innocent girl and part devilish seductress.
“What do you mean? Like sex?”
“No. Don’t be gross.” She was scolding me now. “I mean you get to sleep in my bed with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I told my dad I would feel more safe if you were next to me while he is gone, and he said okay.”
“Should we go to sleep right now?”
“Don’t be dumb.”
And with that, she led me into the kitchen and we started making dinner. We were good as a team. We cooked well and got all of our homework done when needed. There was a time when she was studying for her driving test and I would give her a kiss for every right answer. I have to tell you, she aced that fucking test.
By eleven o’clock we were ready for bed. I was actually ready long before that but there was no way I was going to force the issue and risk blowing the whole thing.
She had this huge Purple Rain movie poster above her bed and I remember always wanting one of those. There was an old coat rack in the corner that she used to hang purses on. There were dozens of shoes in the closet.
I was staring at Prince straddling a motorcycle when I caught a flash of skin out of the corner of my eye. She was getting undressed.
There she was, in bra and panties, like it was nothing. She caught me staring and covered up a bit.
“I’m putting on pajamas,” she said. “Don’t get any ideas.” It was too late. I had a bunch of ideas running around in my head. None of them good.
And she really did put on pajamas. Pink ones with little blue cartoon bunnies on them.
“You need to go brush your teeth,” she told me. Again, she was in charge. When I came out of the bathroom, she was already in bed. “Turn off the light,”
I did as I was told and then climbed into bed next to her. We didn’t waste any time. We were kissing as passionately as ever. Her tongue was in my mouth and I reciprocated. She was very aggressive. At one point I noticed she was biting my lip. “This is new,” I thought.
And like an idiot, it began to think that she learned this from kissing another guy. I was getting jealous thinking of her with someone else. May I remind you that she is my cousin. I was getting jealous thinking that my cousin was cheating on me. I told you, I’m a bad person.
“What’s the matter?” Her voice snapped me out of my stupidity.
“Nothing. Why?”
“You’re spacing out.”
“I am? Sorry.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“I can’t believe I get to sleep next to you. I wanted this for so long.” I was pretty good at thinking quick on my feet.
“No sex.”
“I know.”
And with that, we went back to making out. I will spare you the gory details, but after it was all over I never wanted to let her go. Ever. I was falling in love and I began to think if there was some way we could be together and everyone would be okay with it. I couldn’t think of any.
Around 2AM I I heard the garage door opening up. Her dad was home. I was nervous. What if he saw that I wasn’t asleep on the couch as usual? What if he changed his mind? What if Angie was lying to me? I began to panic.
I could hear him walking up the stairs. It sounded like mad walking. The crack on the bottom of her door lit up. The hall light was on. This was a bad idea. Angie was still asleep, oblivious to the hell that was about to take place.
I was about to wake her up when the hall light went out. I could hear the door of her dad’s room close. And just like that, it was over. Tragedy averted.
Angie had her back to me. I could see the face of a cartoon bunny on her shoulder staring at me. I slid up next to her and put my arm around her. Her hair was in my face and I could faintly make out the fragrance of her shampoo.
The next morning, I got up before everyone else and went down to the kitchen. I figured I could pretend that I was making breakfast if her dad came down. Angie came down instead.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I didn’t want to get caught in your bed” was all I could say.
“I told you, it’s okay. Come back to bed.” She grabbed my hand and led me back up the stairs into her bed. Her head was on my chest and she fell right back to sleep. I stayed awake, kissing the top of her head now and then. I didn’t want that moment to ever end.
“I’m never going to let you go,” I said softly. She didn’t hear me but I wanted to say it. I began to dream about marrying her, about being with her for the rest of my life. I knew I could find a way to make our families accept our relationship.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. We never spent the night together again. In fact, we started seeing less and less of each other until, finally, we stopped seeing each other altogether.
I later found out that one of her aunts, on her mother’s side, found out about our spending the night together and went and bitched to her mom. Her mom then went and bitched out her dad and that was the end of that.
To say I was devastated would be an understatement. The greatest love story ever told was over before it had a chance to begin.
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