by K E Osborn
One day, Alistair was out of town with his parents Patty and Eleanor, so Callie and I took a walk up to old man Harris’ barn. She surprised me by taking my hand as we walked. In those days girls never made the first move; that was the guy’s role. I never thought she’d be into me, so I never tried. That’s the thing about Callie; she was never your conventional girl next door. She did what she wanted, and no-one would stop her. We made it to the barn and we climbed up the hay stacks to very top and sat watching the chickens roam around on the barn floor. She was always in awe of the baby chicks and the way she smiled whenever new ones would hatch.
It just melted my heart.
We were lying down on the hay looking up at the ceiling, talking about how Alistair and her have grown up together and how he’s kind of like her big brother. She held my hand and as her thumb slid across the back of my hand it sent a shiver up my spine. Callie did things to me, emotionally, physically – she made me feel and believe in a life I never thought I could have. She didn’t care that I came from a poor background; all she cared about was that I was there with her. I already knew I wanted to marry her, but in that moment I felt that maybe she wanted that too. The chemistry was undeniable, I’m sure we could have set that hay stack on fire with the sparks emanating from us.
I rolled on my side so I could look at her. She was so beautiful and it took every ounce of my strength not to lean in and kiss her. She rolled on her side so we were facing each other. She looked into my eyes and my stomach flipped. I never felt about anyone the way I felt about Callie. I couldn’t stop myself from touching her, so I swallowed hard and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then stopped to caress her cheek. She smiled at me and I swear I exploded; the way she made me feel just by smiling her gorgeous smile astounded me, every time.
“Callie, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” I said and she smiled again. I wanted so badly to kiss her, but I’d never kissed a woman before, and I had no idea what to do, or how to do it. She was willing me with her eyes; she looked so delightful I just wanted to smother her with my lips. Mine parted slightly as she licked hers inadvertently. She moved in closer to me, so close I could smell her beautiful hair. My hand caressed her cheek and I pulled her slowly toward me. I had intended on stopping and asking her if she wanted me to kiss her, but she didn’t give me the opportunity. She pushed me back down on the hay, leant over me and her soft, supple lips met mine for the first time.
Damn, it was like the fourth of July! My lips were tingling and my heart was thudding in my chest. Her mouth opened and my tongue found hers, and despite it being the first kiss either of us had ever had, it was perfect. I don’t know how long she kissed me for, all I know is that the sun was setting and I needed to take her home otherwise Bernard would have my kidneys for dinner, and trust me you didn’t want to mess with Callie’s father.
I slowly pulled away from her and it took everything in me to do so. I was breathing heavily and I wanted her so badly, but I restrained myself. With a girl like Callie you don’t go in all guns a blazing and take her straight away. You need to woo her and make her see why I was the right man for her… not Doug… not Alistair – but me.
“I’d better get you home,” I whispered against her lips as we both remained so close touching each other in every possible way. She frowned and then I frowned.
Was she unhappy with our first kiss? Was I too into it and turned her off?
“Hey, did I do something wrong?” I asked and she shook her head emphatically.
“God, no, Mike, you’re perfect. This is perfect. I just wish it didn’t have to end. Alistair will come back tomorrow and we can’t be like this around him. It would crush him. I just don’t know when I’ll be able to be like this again with you,” she said cuddling into my side.
I wrapped my arm around her and held her to me tightly. “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way, if it’s what you want.”
She looked up at me with desperation in her eyes. “Is it what you want?” she asked and I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me.
Her face contorted with hurt and I shook my head at her and took her hands in mine.
“Callie I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life. Since the moment I saw you at the park I’ve been waiting for our first kiss and it was perfect in every way. Just like you are,” I told her meaning absolutely every word. She smiled brightly, igniting me inside and I pulled her to me in a tight embrace. She pulled back and kissed me again, lightly and slowly, just teasing me with her caress.
“Okay, we really better be going,” I said, standing up from the hay and putting out my hand for her to take. I helped her up and she rubbed down her dress.
“Mike O’Leary, are you scared of my father?” she asked, smirking and I smirked right back.
“Um, Callie, have you met your father? I’m not scared of him - I’m petrified of him.”
She laughed and I smiled. I took her hand and led her toward the edge of the hay stack.
“Well, at least you’re always honest with me Mike, I can always count on you to tell me the truth,” she said, making me wonder why she would say something like that.
I guess Alistair does make up some pretty outrageous stories. I mean the guy was alright to hang around with, but he’s so up on himself. I honestly wouldn’t be friends with him if it weren’t for Callie. I started the climb down the haystack and made it to the bottom to see Callie climbing down after me. I averted my eyes just as she laughed and looked down at me.
“Mike, keep your eyes down, don’t you dare look up my dress, Mister,” she chided making me chuckle. I turned around and waited for her to get to the bottom. She wrapped her arm around my waist and I turned to look at her. She was glowing, practically radiating beauty and I couldn’t believe my luck.
“We should make this our place, where we come, just you and me. No Alistair, no parents telling us who we need to be and what we need to be doing. This is our place where we can do what we want and just be together, deal?”
I contorted my face trying to trick her into thinking that I was having a hard time thinking about the decision. She saw right through me and slapped me on the chest.
“Michael O’Leary, if you don’t want to be with me then you’d better get walking right now, Mister, otherwise it’s just you and me for eternity. You got it?”
I smiled and took out my pocket knife and walked over to the barn door. Her eyes lit up and she ran up behind me as I started to carve a heart in the frame of the door. I filled the heart with M + C and even carved little swirls into the heart. The perks of being a carpenter’s son. I didn’t get to see Callie’s face while I was carving, but I knew she was impressed by the way she stayed, wrapped around me the entire time.
“Do you mean it Mike?” she whispered in my ear, as I stood back and admired my handy work. I turned my face to meet hers and her eyes were brimming with tears. I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat.
I took her face in my hands and looked her in the eyes. “Callie Anne King, of course I mean it. You and me for eternity, and whenever we come here this symbol will remind us of our first kiss.”
She smiled brightly as a single tear fell down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb and leaned in kissing her again tenderly.
We walked home, hand in hand, knowing that tomorrow would be different. Alistair would be back and continuing to woo her. Their parents would make sure they were together and I would have to watch. But I had her heart and deep down I knew I always would, no matter the outcome.
Chapter Two
In the next two years, our little threesome grew strong. Even though I knew that Alistair was a dick, he grew on me and we became close. It was hard for Callie and I to keep things going the way we wanted them to, because Alistair was always with us, so our moments together were few and far between. But when I could steal a sly kiss I’d take the opportunity every time. Alistair was smart; he knew that something was happening between Callie and I,
even though we both denied it. We would have come clean at some stage, but I was worried about what Bernard would say regarding his only daughter going steady with the carpenter’s son. Bernard was a tough man, but fair, and in those days class meant everything. He was nice enough and let me be friends with Callie and Alistair, but if he got a whiff that Callie and I were locking lips at every chance we could get, he would have me hightailed out of there so fast I wouldn’t know what hit me.
Alistair’s parents, Patty and Eleanor, were always so nice to me. They, just like Bernard, treated me kindly and we spent most of our time at the O’Connell mansion, so I was glad that they liked me. Patty had to go out of town for a weekend and Eleanor was making us some afternoon tea when her oven broke down. I stepped in and figured out how to fix it as Alistair was useless with stuff like that. Callie was smiling at me the whole time and I noticed Eleanor watching Callie and how she was reacting toward me. I think that’s when things started to fall apart. Eleanor started asking if I could help her with a few more odd jobs around the house and she would pay me to do said jobs, kind of like a handyman. It would take time away from being with Callie and Alistair, but I’d have money and I’d be able to save up to buy Callie something pretty. So, I agreed that I’d work for Alistair’s parents and save up, so I could prove that maybe I was in Callie’s league.
When Patty came back and saw all the work I’d done, he was impressed and agreed to keep me on full time to work around the house and at his many businesses. Most of my time was taken up working, and damn hard, too. Callie would pop into the garage and see me when I’d be fixing Patty’s rust bucket that he wanted restored. She wouldn’t stay long, but long enough for a quick kiss before Alistair would take her off for another picnic or trip to the theatre. We were eighteen now and even though I still couldn’t afford a car, Patty taught me how to drive, in the old rust bucket I was fixing for him. He was a nice man, a little grumpy at times and definitely not going to win any husband of the year contests, but he was nice enough, or at least I thought he was.
One day, I came to work early and was in the garage when I heard him laying into Alistair. He was beating him with a belt and yelling about how ungrateful he was, and that he was doing him a favor by employing me. It would give Alistair and Callie more time together and eventually she’d stop talking and thinking about me. I was shocked. The people I was employed by only wanted me working for them to keep me away from Callie, so their son would have a better chance with her.
I wanted to quit immediately, but I thought better of it. Instead, I would work harder and longer than before, so I could be paid more. If I worked longer than the duration of time I’d needed to work, in the long run it would be less, and I could leave to be with Callie sooner. And, with a lot more money I could buy her the house she deserved, and all the things she would need to make her house a home. Everything I did, I did for Callie. But my plan backfired. Callie’s visits to see me were getting fewer and fewer. I was working so hard to get enough money for us, but she was spending all her time with Alistair.
I needed to make things right with her, so I asked for the night off and because I was working so hard, they let me have a night and even let me take the rust bucket. I knew there was a dinner dance being held at old man Harris’ farm that night and I thought it would be the perfect place to take Callie. I drove over to her house and picked her up. She had absolutely no idea I was even coming. I even wore a cheap suit that my mom had altered up for me. I knocked on her door and she answered wearing a cute little summer dress.
“Mike? What are you doing here?” she asked, with a look of complete shock, which was overshadowed by joy moments later.
She melts my heart.
“I’m here to take my lady to the dinner dance at old man Harris’ farm, if she wants to go that is?” I pulled the flowers I’d picked from her front yard around from their hiding place behind my back and handed them to her. She smiled and bit her bottom lip.
“Oh, Mike, you did all this for me?”
“Of course, I’m only working so I can save enough to make myself worthy of you,” I said and she threw her arms around my neck and giggled.
“You’re already worthy of me, Mike. I just thought that you didn’t want me anymore, and that work was more important than being with me.”
“Callie, no, I’m working hard so I can buy us a house… so, we can be happy together and then I can give you everything you deserve. So, how ‘bout it? Wanna dance with me?”
She leaned in and kissed me, on the front porch of her house. “I wouldn’t want to dance with anyone else,” she said and took my hand.
I walked her to the rust bucket and held the door open for her. The smile never left her face for the entire drive to the farm, even though it wasn’t that far from Callie’s place. We could walk there in thirty minutes, but I loved driving, especially with my girl in the car.
We pulled up at the farm and there were cars lining the driveway. I opened the door for her and she stepped out, then she stood up on her toes and back down in excitement.
“Oh, Mike, it’s my first real dance, and I’m so glad it’s with you. I tried to talk Alistair into taking me, but he didn’t want to go. But it worked out even better in the end,” she stated, taking my hand and leading me off toward the back of the farm house. I tried not letting that comment about Alistair get to me, but the truth is, it did. The fact that she asked him instead of me hurt, but I guess she thought that I cared more about work than her, so maybe I deserved it. I needed to show Callie just how ‘in this’ I was… just how committed to her I felt. She was the reason I existed and my sole purpose in this life was to make her happy. So, I swallowed my pride and led my girl to her first dance. I had no idea what I was doing. I hadn’t danced a day in my life, but I’d do it for her, whether it be badly or not.
Her face was lit so brightly that I’m sure her cheeks must’ve been hurting from the massive grin. We turned the corner and the band was playing and people were dancing. Her eyes looked around the yard. There were lanterns strung out all over the place, giving the dance floor a light and a romantic feel. She looked up at me and I could see the excitement in her eyes as they glistened brightly.
God, I was so in love with her, her energy, her spark, everything about her, I adored. I pulled her to my side and walked with her to the dance floor, I could feel how excited she was from the way she was bouncing up and down. I took her to the edge of the makeshift dance floor and held her tight to me. Luckily for me the music slowed and I was able to just hold her and rock her in my arms. I was so grateful for the slow music, because in that moment it gave me time to adjust my body to the rhythm and try to get this dancing thing down pat.
Her head rested on my shoulder as the band played and nothing felt more right than Callie being in my arms. I loved every second of it. And I guess dancing isn’t so bad, not one of my finer or favorite moments, but not my least favorite either. I looked down at her and noticed her eyes were closed as she nuzzled into my shoulder. I smiled and moved my hand to caress her cheek. Her eyes opened and looked directly into mine. It doesn’t matter how many times she’s looked at me in the past, every time feels like the first. Her beautiful blue eyes staring up at me, lovingly, only made me fall for her more.
“Mike,” Callie said softly.
I smiled and raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.
“Can you take me to the hay stacks?” she asked and bit her bottom lip.
I smiled as I knew that meant she wanted to make out, and I was more than happy to oblige. I took her hand and started walking toward old man Harris’ barn. It wasn’t far from the dance, we could still hear the music, but it was far enough away so that no one would be able to hear two teenagers fooling around.
I was nervous, Callie and I hadn’t had a full on make out session, since our last one, in this very barn nearly two years ago. We’d stolen kisses as often as we could, but we were never alone long enough for it to go any further.
I opened the barn door and Callie’s favorite baby chickens were running around, she made that excited noise she always makes when she sees the chicks. I couldn’t help but smile. I shut the barn door behind us and only the moonlight crept in. I took her hand and lead her to the haystack, she climbed up first so I could catch her if she fell, and luckily she didn’t. I followed her up and once we were on top of the haystack, I laid down and patted the hay beside me. She looked nervous, which only made me nervous. We were alone and no one knew that we were in our ‘special place’ and all I could think about were her lips locked onto mine. But I wasn’t going to push her. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her off by being too forward and showing her just exactly how much I wanted her.
She moved in beside me and rested her head in the crook of my arm. She fits there perfectly, like every inch of our bodies were meant to fit together. My heart was pounding in my chest; I didn’t know whether she wanted me to kiss her or just to cuddle. My head was saying take it slow but my heart and, well, my pants were telling me to move things along. I listened to my head and wrapped my arms around her holding her tightly. I could smell her hair, and her beautiful natural scent. It was driving me crazy. I was eighteen, my hormones were running rampant and all I wanted to do was to make love to her, but I couldn’t. I knew her father wouldn’t approve, not that I’d have told him if we did, but to me sleeping together meant a lifelong commitment. Once our bodies were joined they’d be that way for eternity. I knew that I wanted that, more than anything, but I wasn’t sure how Callie felt. She was spending a lot of time with Alistair and that concerned me.
“You’re awfully quiet. Tell me what you’re thinking?” Callie asked, disrupting my thoughts as she traced circles on my shirt.
I nuzzled into her hair and inhaled. I hated lying to her, but if I told her what I was really thinking she’d think I was a sleaze ball. “Just thinking about how beautiful you are, and how lucky I am to be here with you in our place again.”
