A Hope and a Chance(7)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I grabbed her by the hand and removed her hold on me. “I don’t know about saving lives, but I’m glad you’re out of danger, Hope. I guess maybe I’ll see you around.”

When I climbed onto my bike I noticed Hope hopping over the seat to get to the driver’s side. She started her car and readjusted her mirror. I spotted her looking at me, but chose to ignore it. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or perhaps she was only thankful for me being there at the right time. It would have been a shame if something happened to her on the way home from such a problematic morning already.

I decided to wait until Hope pulled away before I left, and when she finally did I realized that I’d forgotten all about wanting that pack of cigarettes.

4

My mother hounded me from the moment I stepped in the door. I swear she must have made a list of questions to ask when I came through it.

“How big is the house?

What does the slut look like?

Does your father have any gray hair?

Has he gained any weight?

What kind of car does he drive?

How old is the new girl?

Was she nice to you?

Are you going back there?

Did he ask you to move in with him?”

After a while I couldn’t take it anymore, and locked myself in my room. The last thing I wanted to do was rehash the great morning that I didn’t have with my father. All of her other questions were completely irrelevant anyway.

Once inside the confines of my room, I inserted my ear buds and cranked up my music. My body plopped down on the bed while I stared at the ceiling. My day had started out horrible and eventually turned to shit. Within a matter of hours I was certain it had become one of the worst of my life. The only thing that made it more bearable was meeting Chance Avery.

It would have been nice to have been formally introduced with his clothes on, but seeing his naked backside left me with good visuals to focus on during my current bout of depression. He was so muscular and I was certain he must be athletic. When he finally turned around I saw his face, and was amazed how handsome he was. A part of me just assumed he couldn’t be a whole package, but instead his brown eyes accented his dark hair. When he grinned behind that glass of liquor, I noticed how white and perfect his teeth were. That smile could melt a girl’s heart, and probably did quite often.

I felt so bad about how I’d been around him. It was embarrassing to think back on how I reacted. The way I talked about his sister was uncalled for. How could he have sat there and listened to me making fun of her like that? Clearly he had more patience than I did.

He must have pegged me as such a spoiled little bitch. It didn’t help that I had a stupid bow in my hair. The idea of him just assuming I was some little girl was disturbing. I’d worked so hard to become a woman, and failed to display it when it really counted. At least he knew I had to be sixteen to drive a car; not that seventeen was much better. I hated that my birthday was on the last day of the year.

In my defense, I thought that when I pulled away from the house it would be the last time I ever saw him, but when he showed up on that motorcycle and saved me from that creepy man, I was flabbergasted. Talk about a knight in shining armor. Maybe he’d just been in the right place at the perfect time.

Then my mind went on a swooning frenzy.

I wondered how old he was. Did he have a girlfriend? Did he want a girlfriend? Maybe he was engaged? Maybe he was gay? He was definitely hot enough to be. Whoever was kissing him was lucky to feel lips like his touching them. I licked over mine just imagining it.

I was so jealous, and I didn’t even know this guy. What was wrong with me?

The thing was, I wanted to know him, but doing so would require me to go back to that house. I cringed at the thought.

I had the whole summer ahead of me, and that was the last place I planned on spending my time. My father had been such a jerk neglecting to spend one single moment getting to know the daughter that he’d basically left behind. He lacked personality and compassion, at least where it counted.

I promised myself that I wasn’t going to get upset over him anymore, but as the tension of today’s events overwhelmed me, I knew it was going to be impossible.

I wasn’t ready to tell my mother the truth about the visit. My father hadn’t given me the attention or the emotional connection I assumed he would. What had happened to the man that used to pick me up and swing me around every night he came home from work? How could he not have missed me at all? She would be appalled by his actions, and it would open up a can of worms that I didn’t want to be involved in.

Right now I wanted to scream. He broke my heart again and he probably hadn’t even noticed.

I started crying into my pillow, because the walls were thin and I didn’t want my mother hearing me. The last thing I needed was her trying to start a war with my father. I wasn’t ready to see him yet, but I couldn’t bear to have him leave the state again.

When I finally closed my eyes, I dreamed of nothing but Chance Avery. His tan skin and his big muscles wouldn’t leave my mind. I wasn’t sure that I even wanted them to. It was just a fantasy, but I appreciated the distraction.

I could feel his eyes on me as we strolled through the green grass. His shirt was off, while he sported a pair of black swimming trunks. I looked down and noticed that I was in a skimpy bikini, although I didn’t feel embarrassed. He pulled me close, sheltering my view from the sun with his tall body. From the moment our eyes met I couldn’t stop staring. Chance took his fingers and brushed them over my lips, causing me to inhale deeply as I accepted his warm touch. I could feel parts of me beginning to react to such an affectionate gesture. His breath was closer, instigating me to hold my gaze and watch his face approaching, slowly, as his lips brushed over mine. Suddenly everything around us became silent.

The wind had ceased.

The birds stopped singing.

There was nothing, but us.

I woke up to my alarm clock buzzing. I’d forgotten to turn it off again. My hands finally made contact with the little bugger and the sirens stopped sounding in my ears. I couldn’t believe that stupid thing had kept me from feeling a kiss that I knew would take me to new heights. Sure, it was an adolescent dream, but it was as close as I’d ever get to the real thing.

Just from habit, I reached over and picked up my phone. I’d already gotten six messages either late the night before or early in the morning.

The first few were from my best friend Rylee.

Hey Bitch, call me. We have plans for 2moro.

Call me hoe!

Where are you?