Charlotte's Tangled Web: L.B. Pavlov

by L B Pavlov

  I was stunned, and finally I said, “We were in kindergarten,” in a quiet voice.

  “Yes,” he said in a voice that told me he was aware of the time frame.

  “Daniel, I guess I’m asking for a more recent example, and it must be a time when we weren’t five years old,” I said, more interested now, although I was completely moved that he remembered what I was wearing and so many details about that day. I just remembered having a mouthful of sand and crying. Daniel was full of surprises. I waited for him to try to get himself out of this.

  “Hmmmm…how recent are we talking about?” he asked, flashing his very charming smile.

  “Um, fifteen years old or older please,” I said, certain that I would stump him.

  He did not hesitate for one second. “OK then, your fifteenth birthday. We decided to give you that surprise party. Your dad took you shopping, and Lenora, Jack, Eric, James, and I all decorated your house. We had pink balloons everywhere and a big pink cake. We had invited all of your friends, your grandparents, my family; everyone was there. When you walked through the door, and I remember it clearly, you were wearing jeans and a gray, long-sleeved sweater with a pink scarf wrapped around your neck, and your hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Everyone yelled, ‘Surprise!’ and you looked so stunned. Your face lit up, and you looked right at me with the sweetest look I had ever seen. And I wanted to kiss you right there, in front of everyone,” he said as if it had just happened yesterday.

  I could feel my eyes welling up with tears, and a lump formed in my throat. I was absolutely stunned by his recollection of events, but still not completely satisfied with the realness. I pressed on. “Daniel, when was the most recent time that you wanted to kiss me?” I asked quietly and cautiously.

  “The most recent before right now?” he asked, making sure he understood what I was asking.

  “Yes,” I said anxiously.

  “At the football game,” he said without a second thought.

  “Which football game?” I continued.

  “Tonight’s football game, Charlotte,” he said, just like that.

  “When we saw each other before the game or when we saw each other after the game?” I said nervously.

  “Both times I wanted to kiss you,” he said, looking right into my eyes.

  “Me too,” I said quietly.

  I looked back at Daniel. His eyes were wild with excitement. I felt my heart racing. He grabbed my hand to say something, but I had heard enough. I lifted his hand up and out of the way so I could jump into his lap. I pressed my lips to his. I could feel his quickly beating heart pressed up against mine. His lips were warm and soft. It was better than any kiss I could ever have imagined. We stopped for a minute, both of us panting, and he pulled me back to look at me.

  “Are you comfortable? I’m not hurting you, am I?” he asked in a concerned voice, looking at my eyes to make sure that I was OK.

  I was pressed between Daniel’s muscular chest and the steering wheel of his truck, and I was more comfortable than I had ever been in my entire life. I smiled, caressed his beautiful face with my hands, and started to kiss him again. If this was a dream, I hoped that I would never wake up. Daniel and I continued kissing for what seemed to be hours, but I had absolutely no concept of time. His lips were smooth and gentle, and I could feel his warm breath against me. His hands were soft, and he stroked my hair and my face. My hands were tangled in his hair and moving up and around his strong muscular shoulders. Our breathing was fast and frantic.

  Daniel pulled me back and started chuckling under his breath, trying to calm his breathing, and said in a very raspy voice, “Charlotte, let me take you inside. You can’t be comfortable with a steering wheel in your back. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  My lips felt like they were swollen from all the activity, which made me giggle inside. I wondered if everyone’s first kiss was this perfect. “I’m completely comfortable, Daniel. And I don’t want to stop kissing you.” I could feel my face flush as the words came out of my mouth, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to stop. And if I could tell anyone what I wanted, it was Daniel.

  He laughed out loud and put his hand under my chin to lift my eyes to his. “I don’t want to stop kissing you either, but let’s get out of the truck. I want you to be more comfortable. And, Charlotte, this may not be my first kiss, but this is by far the best kiss I’ve ever had,” he said, smiling at me.

  His eyes were smoldering, and he looked sexy with his hair all tousled on his head. He was beautiful. He jumped out the truck and came around to open my door. He lifted me out of the truck, which caught me off guard, and I gasped. As he slid me down his body to put my feet on the ground, our lips met once again. We stood in his driveway kissing for a few minutes, and then he took me by my hand and led me to his front porch.

  He sat on his mom’s swing and pulled me onto his lap. He looked into my eyes and grabbed hold of my hand. “Are you sure this is OK?” he said, with concern in his eyes.

  How could he wonder if this was OK? “Daniel, it’s so much better than OK. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. And I’ve never been happier.” I tangled my hands into his hair and pulled him close to me until our lips met again.

  I could never tire of this, I thought, and our lips came together again. We kissed for a long time. Once we were both panting and our kissing was growing more frantic and desperate, Daniel pulled me back again and looked at me. “Charlotte, let me walk you home now. I don’t want your lips to hurt tomorrow,” he laughed.

  He lifted me up and grasped hold of my hand. Our fingers intertwined. I stopped him and looked at him. “Is it bad that I don’t want to stop kissing you?” I asked shyly and looked at the ground.

  He lifted my chin up again to meet his gaze. “Charlotte, you’re not the only one that doesn’t want to stop. But if we don’t stop now, I am afraid that I won’t be able to stop if we continue. And just think, now we get to kiss each other every day, so we have something to look forward to.” He chuckled.

  He walked me to my front door. I did not want to say good-night. He looked at me with his seductive, green eyes and said, “Stop biting your lip.” He leaned over and very gently freed my bottom lip with his teeth, and then he pulled my lips to his again. “You’re killing me, Charlotte Ford,” he said as he pulled away and opened my door.

  We stared at each other for a few moments, just smiling, and we agreed to meet in the morning for our usual run. I closed the door.

  I walked up to my room and fell on my bed. This was the most amazing day of my life. My cell phone vibrated a few minutes later, and I pulled it out of my purse. It was a text from Daniel: Thank you for the best night of my life. How am I possibly going to be able to run next to you tomorrow without kissing you? Stop biting your lip. Save that for me. See you in the morning.

  I quickly responded: This was the best night of my life too. I am certain that I will not be able to run next to you without kissing you. But I will be happy just to be next to you again. I didn’t want to say good-night. Thank you for being the mature one. This must be a first. Ha ha. See you in the morning. Xxxxxx.

  I woke up early, and it took me a moment to realize that what had happened last night was real and not a dream. I got dressed for my run and went outside. Charlotte wasn’t there yet, so I crossed the street and walked inside. Lenora was singing along to her music and cleaning.

  “She must have overslept. She must be tired. I know how much you enjoy waking her up so get going,” she laughed, pointing me toward the stairs.

  I knocked lightly on her bedroom door and she didn’t respond, so I opened the door. There she was, asleep on her white fluffy cloud. She truly looked like an angel. I walked to the side of her bed and sat down. I could watch her sleep all day. I couldn’t help but stare at her full, pink lips, and the thought of them pressed against mine made my heart race. I thought back to the night before and all that had happened.

  I wondered if I should have told her that I loved her before
I kissed her. I thought about how I was about to say it to her when she jumped into my lap, and the memory made me laugh. Her eyes suddenly opened.

  “Daniel?” she said in a quiet voice. “Did I oversleep? What time is it?” she said anxiously.

  “It’s seven thirty, we have plenty of time, don’t worry about it,” I said calmly.

  “How long have you been here?” she asked sweetly.

  “A few minutes. I like watching you sleep,” I said softly and smiled at her.

  She started to bite her lip, and I leaned down and released it with my teeth and then traced the outline of her bottom lip with my tongue. She responded by pressing into a kiss.

  She quickly pulled back and covered her mouth with both hands, realizing that she hadn’t brushed her teeth. She sprung out of bed and ran into her bathroom. She yelled from the bathroom, “Sorry about that!”

  I shouted back, “I didn’t notice.”

  She came out of the bathroom dressed in her running clothes, and she had pulled her long, brown hair into a ponytail. She walked briskly over to me, grabbed my face, and gave me a long, passionate kiss.

  She pulled away and said, “Now I have minty, fresh breath, just in case you were wondering,” and she laughed as she led me down the stairs.

  “How far are we running?” I inquired. Running next to Charlotte was not going to be easy.

  “Ten-miler today—if you can keep up,” she giggled.

  We took off on our run, and we talked about what had happened the night before with Blane. She laughed about how absolutely crazy the night was.

  “Blane texted me four times by the way,” she said, annoyed.

  “Oh, did he?” I responded suspiciously.

  “He wanted to know where I had gone, if I could forgive him, and if we could talk today,” she said in an angry voice.

  “What did you say?” I asked cautiously.

  “I am not responding, Daniel. I don’t have anything to say to him, and the only boy I want to text is running next to me.” She smiled, and our breathing was calming down as we approached mile three.

  We then talked about her upcoming season and Katrina George. Katrina George would most likely be Charlotte’s biggest competition, just as she had been for the past three years. They were both seniors this year and had been competing against one another for the state title since they were freshman. Katrina was number one in her region, and Charlotte was number one in our region. The two would not face off until the state meet. Katrina was a big talker. She liked to do as many interviews as possible, and she liked to say how she was going to end Charlotte’s reign as state champ. She made promises every year but had yet to fulfill them. Charlotte didn’t look forward to racing her because Katrina played it out in the press as if they were enemies, but in all actuality they barely knew one another. Katrina was also well-known for playing dirty, cutting corners, and doing whatever it took to win. She just hadn’t succeeded with Charlotte, and it made her dislike Charlotte all the more.

  “I’m just glad I don’t have to race her until the end of the season. I’ll just have to read all of the horrible things she has to say about me until then,” she giggled.

  Our breathing had increased as we approached mile six and picked up the pace.

  “You just let her keep talking, and you can keep training,” I said, laughing.

  “Daniel? Can I ask you something?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Anything,” I said reassuringly.

  “You said that you had thought about kissing me many times. Why hadn’t you before now?” she asked.

  Reluctantly, I answered, “Because I knew then what I still believe to be true: that I am not good enough for you.” My breathing was more rapid now due to our pace.

  “Daniel,” she said firmly, which increased her breathing even more, “how can you say something so crazy? You are the best person that I know,” she declared with anger in her voice.

  “Well, to be honest, I don’t think I would ever think anyone was good enough for you. And seeing you with Blane made me realize that I couldn’t stay away from you any longer,” I explained.

  “Well, thank goodness,” she giggled.

  “We spend so much time together anyway, I wonder what will change now?” I pondered.

  “Well, the biggest change is that now I get to kiss you whenever I want,” she replied proudly, and she turned the corner and started to charge off down the last stretch toward our homes.

  I challenged her, and we raced all the way home. We were both laughing and breathing heavy as we tried to walk a little ways to the driveway. We talked about what we were going to do for the rest of the day. I intertwined my hands in hers, and I felt a rush go through my entire body. Just the touch of her hand had a powerful effect on me. I could tell by the way she looked at me that she felt it too.

  The weekend went by quickly. Daniel and I met some friends at the movies Saturday night. We went with Kathleen and her boyfriend Edward, Sean and his girlfriend Morgan, and Gomez. Everyone seemed to notice something different between Daniel and I, but nobody put us on the spot.

  Kathleen pulled me to the side at one point and asked what in the world was wrong with Blane. She told me that he was definitely not the right person for me, but by the looks of it, she said, it seemed I had things figured out. She gave me a sweet smile, and we walked into the movie theater.

  Sitting next to Daniel proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I did not appreciate public displays of affection; I always found it offensive when people made out in public places. I realized that was easy to say when I was sitting alone, but sitting next to Daniel in the dark while he held my hand and rubbed my arm, I desperately wanted to kiss him. I was not about to do that with my friends sitting right there next to us, but I definitely needed to exercise some self-control.

  Sunday was another wonderful day. Daniel wanted to read Charlotte’s Web to me out back in my hammock. He ran up to my room and grabbed my book. My backyard was one of my favorite places to hang out. It was large and lush and filled with beautiful trees, plants, and flowers. Our house backed up to a stream, and my dad had hung a hammock between two trees that stood right above the stream. Daniel and I climbed in the hammock. You could hear the rushing water, gurgling against the rocks and splashing around. It was the most peaceful place in the world. Daniel placed his arm behind my head for me to rest on.

  He gave the book a puzzled look. “I can’t find the page that we left off on,” he said, softly.

  “Didn’t I put the bookmark in it?” I asked and took the book to shake it in search of our page. A little bookmark dropped out of the book. I picked it up to place it back in the correct page, and I noticed that someone had written on it. It contained five simple words: I love you, Charlotte Ford.

  I stared at the paper for a minute, and then I rolled my body in toward Daniel and propped myself up on his chest to look at him. “Hmmmmm…did you happen to write this?” I teased, smiling.

  “I love you, Charlotte. I should have told you that before I kissed you,” he said softly.

  “I love you too. I always have, and I always will,” I said as I stared into his eyes.

  Our lips came together once again. His hands were caressing my head as he pulled me closer. I felt like we were in a cocoon as I pressed against him in the hammock. My hands began to explore, moving from his hair, down his face, and across the strong muscles on his back and his arms. I didn’t realize how badly I yearned to touch him until now. We spent most of the afternoon out in the hammock, alternating between kissing and reading Charlotte’s Web. I loved the way Daniel read to me. He understood what this book meant to me, and this was something that we had always shared.

  Sunday night Grace invited my dad, Lenora, and I over for dinner. It was nice to have my dad join us because his dinners with the family were few and far between. We talked about the football game, the upcoming cross-country meet, Dad’s work, Lenora’s famous brownies that she had baked, and Grace a
nd Tom’s weekend at Notre Dame. We talked and laughed for hours. After dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen, and Daniel took me outside to sit on the porch swing.

  He pulled me on his lap and hugged me tightly. “You know Grace is beside herself over this, right?” he said, laughing.

  “What? Does she know? She hasn’t said anything,” I said nervously.

  “She noticed me acting differently when I got home Friday night, and then she saw us Saturday after our run. I told her she can’t make a big deal out of this and embarrass you,” he said firmly as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

  “I wonder what my dad will say? My brothers…” I trailed off.

  “Everyone will be happy, but they’ll wonder what in the world you’re doing with me,” he said, laughing.

  Daniel walked me home and came inside to say good-night to Lenora. We walked into the kitchen, and she was staring at us strangely, smiling and giggling, and then she threw her arms around us both and warmly said, “I always knew this would happen. I’m so happy!”

  Obviously the cat was out of the bag.

  The week flew by just as quickly as the weekend. Daniel and I both were very busy with homework and practice, which left no time for kissing in the hammock, but were able to have dinner together every night. No one at school made too big of a deal out of our new relationship because things hadn’t changed that much publicly. Aside from holding hands under the lunch table, Daniel knew how I felt about kissing in public, especially at school, so we were still together in the way we had always been.