Burnt

by Lacy Hart

  “Anything else?,” I asked. It sounded like a lot of work to me.

  “We still need to looking inside,” Danny told me as he walked up to the front door. I walked over and unlocked the door, and we stepped inside. It was still hard to believe just how immaculate the place looked inside. Danny checked the wood floors as he made his way across the living room towards the kitchen. He checked the walls, the appliances, and the cabinets, and was impressed by what he found.

  “So far everything looks pretty good,” he said to me. “Some of this stuff is practically new, maybe less than a year old, so you’re in good shape there.”

  I was relieved to hear that much as Danny made his way around the kitchen and through the doorway back into the hall. He went up the stairs to check the bedrooms up there, and I followed close behind him. He looked at both bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs, paying special attention to the smaller bedroom.

  “This is all new in here Travis,” He said to me.

  “You mean the paint?” I asked him.

  “Not just the paint, but the walls are new too. Someone put up all new sheetrock, probably new wiring too. And the flooring in here is new, too. They did nice work,” Danny noted.

  “I wonder who did it,” I commented as we walked back down towards the stairs.

  “I wish I knew,’ Danny told me. “They’re either good competition or someone I should hire,” he said as we went down the stairs. He checked the bathroom in the hallway, and then came out.

  “I have to tell you, Travis, the inside of this house is fantastic. I didn’t see one thing I would change,” he told me. “That will save you a bundle on the work to do. You thinking of fixing the place up and selling, or are you going to live here?”

  I paused when he asked me that question.

  “I haven’t decided yet,” I answered honestly.

  “Well, I know houses don’t sell for the high prices here like they do in other areas, but if we fix up the outside of this place, you could get good money if you wanted to sell. I don’t think it would take long either,” Danny said as he took his cap off and scratched his head.

  “Of course,” he then added, “it’s the perfect place for just two people to live, or maybe three,” he said as he grinned at me.

  “Let’s not get too far ahead of things Danny,” I told him. “Sophie and I haven’t seen each other in a long time, and… well, there’s a lot of history to get passed still.”

  “I get it,” Danny said to me. “ Just seems like maybe it’s fate to me. You come all this way, maybe looking for a new place to start, here’s this house just waiting for you, and the girl you want in your life is here after all these years, lives down the street, and wants to see you? It doesn’t get more perfect than that if you ask me.”

  “I guess we’ll see how it goes,” I said as I slapped him on the back and started walking towards the door. Danny followed me out onto the front porch as I turned and locked the door.

  “No one locks doors in Canon, Travis,” Danny said with a smile.

  “Force of habit,” I said to him as I turned the lock. “So can you get me an estimate for the work?” I asked him as we went down the creaky porch steps.

  “Sure, I’ll work something up for you. I can drop it off at your Mom’s later today or tomorrow, and then if it works for you, maybe we can pick a day next week to start working. You should call Carl Peterson if you want someone to clean up this lawn for you. He can get his crew over here and make it all look nice,” Danny said to me. We had reached his truck, and he opened the door and reached in and grabbed his leather case. He pulled out a card and handed it to me with Carl Peterson’s number on it.

  “Thanks, Danny,” I said to him. “Thanks for everything.”

  “Glad I could help,” he said as he got in his truck and started it up. “I’ll get you that estimate. Enjoy your date tonight,” Danny winked at me as he backed out of the driveway.

  I took a quick look down at my watch and saw that it was only 10:30. I still had plenty of time before the date and figured I could get over to Mom’s house and maybe catch a nap before I started getting ready.

  I was back at Mom’s house in no time at all and walked in. I called out to Mom and Abby, but they must have already left to go to the restaurant for the day.

  I’m surprised Mom could get Abby out of bed, I thought to myself.

  I slowly made my way up the stairs, feeling a twinge in my leg as I got to the top of the stairs. I had done more walking in the last two days than I had done since they had me doing physical therapy, and I was feeling it. I kicked my boots off and laid back on the bed, letting out a deep sigh. I closed my eyes, feeling the faint breeze in the room coming from the window. It was still a little early before it would get too hot outside, and the breeze felt good.

  I tried to put all the thoughts out of my head so I could get some rest, but it seemed like every time I started to drift off, something would pop back in to catch my attention. Whether it was worrying about Abby, Mom, my job, our future, the house, Dad’s secret life, or Sophie, there was always something there.

  Eventually, my exhaustion got the better of me. I was dreaming, a good dream for a change. Sophie and I were together in Dad’s, now my, house, sitting on the couch together, while Abby was on the floor with her headphones on, her head in a book. The three of us were there, happy… more so than I had been in a very long time. I slid my arm around Sophie and pulled her close to me, kissing her deeply, feeling her lips pressing softly against mine. We slowly broke the kiss, and I could see her smiling at me, telling me she loved me.

  The dream seemed to just go on casually, with not much happening, as we moved through the house, having dinner, getting Abby off to bed, and then finally going to bed ourselves. I could see myself taking hold of her and making love to her like I had always wanted to but never got the chance to. She was so responsive and reciprocal with her moves and motions, and the whole experience was amazing. The passion was there, it was intense, and it felt so real that when I was jolted awake by the sound of a text message coming to my cell phone that I couldn’t believe my bad luck for not getting to see it all through.

  I glanced over at my phone and saw it was 4:30. The text message was from Abby:

  “Have a good time on your date while I slave away working, LOL. Love you.”

  Even though we had been here for just a short time, Abby seemed much more relaxed and happier, and she was even talking to me more than she had in weeks.

  Maybe this is the place for her, I thought.

  I sat up in bed, feeling sweat on my body as the day had gotten warmer while I slept. I walked down to the bathroom to take a shower to start getting myself ready. I cleaned myself up quickly in the shower and glanced at myself in the mirror. I had a little more stubble today, but I liked the idea of not having to shave every day like I did when I was in the department. It made me feel a little more badass than I had been lately, so I decided to leave it. I splashed on a little cologne for good measure and walked back down the hall to get dressed.

  I hadn’t brought any fancy clothes with me for this trip, and it’s not like I had that much you would consider fancy outside of the one suit I owned. Anyway, I didn’t think I had any need for anything fancy, let alone that I would be going out on a date, so it was going to be jeans, a white button-down shirt, and my boots, and that was going to have to do.

  It was about 5:15 and I was ready to go. I decided maybe it would be a good idea to pick up a bottle of wine, so I headed over to the one liquor store in town and picked up a bottle of pinot noir to bring along. I didn’t know much about wine, but the lady in the liquor store seemed to think this was a good choice, so I went with it. As I walked out of the liquor store and was walking back towards my car, I passed Rainbow Bouquet, the local flower shop. I decided to head in and see if I could get some flowers for Sophie.

  I walked into the small shop, the bells on the door jingling as I entered. I was hit with the sweet mix of flo
ral smells as I made my way up towards the counter, where the woman behind the counter was putting together a bouquet for an older gentleman. The older man turned to look at me as I came up behind them, and he did a double take.

  “Travis?” he asked, like he was greeting an old friend.

  I had a little trouble placing who he was as he faced me.

  “Yes?” I replied.

  “I’m Fred Perkins, I own the dry cleaners down the street from your Mom’s place,” he said to me as he held out his hand for me to shake.

  I took his hand and shook it, vaguely remembering the place since it was where my Mom always brought the uniforms for the restaurant.

  “How are you Mr. Perkins,” I said politely. “ I apologize, I didn’t recognize you. I haven’t… I haven’t been around much lately.”

  “Oh don’t worry about it Travis,” he said to me as I released his hand. “ And call me Fred; you’re a grown man now. It’s nice to see you back in town. I’m sure it makes your mother very happy.”

  “Yes, I think it does,” I replied as the woman coughed politely to get Mr. Perkins attention. She handed him the nicely wrapped bouquet of a mix of red roses and lilies.

  “Nice arrangement,” I said to him, pointing at the flowers.

  A blush came across his cheeks. “Oh, these. Yes, well, hopefully, it will make her happy. You have a nice night, Travis.” He said as he smiled and started to walk away.

  “You too, Fred,” I smiled and turned to the woman at the corner.

  “He comes in every week and gets the same arrangement every Saturday,” she said as she watched him walk out the door. “It’s very sweet.”

  “Yes, it is,” I said, thinking that it is nice that he does that.

  “What can I help you with these evening?” she asked me as she cleared the counter off.

  “Well… I have a date tonight, with someone special, and I wanted to get her some nice flowers,” I said feeling a little embarrassed.

  “It’s nice to see some young men still think it’s important to make a lady feel special,” she said with a big smile. “Did you have anything in mind?”

  “I know she likes daisies,” I said to her.

  At least she used to like daisies, I thought, hoping she still did.

  “Okay,” the woman said to me. I have some nice white daisies. How about if I mix in some pink roses and make a bouquet for you?”

  “That sounds perfect, please,” I responded.

  She went over to her refrigerated case and got the daisies and pink roses out.

  “Are six roses okay?” she asked me.

  “I guess that’s fine,” I told her, not knowing what seemed right or not. I watched as she expertly arranged and cut the flowers, so they created a beautiful bouquet. She then wrapped the flowers in white floral paper and handed them to me.

  “They look fantastic,” I complimented her. I paid for the flowers and wished her good evening.

  “Enjoy your date,” she commented as I walked out.

  It seems like everyone is wishing me a good date tonight.

  I made my way to my car, placed the bottle of wine and the flowers on the front seat next to me, and looked down at my watch. It was 5:45, so I guessed it was time to head over to Sophie’s.

  Better get going now, so I don’t get stuck in traffic,” I said to myself with a laugh. I could already see some of the shops closing up for the night, and there were hardly any people on the streets, even though the sun was still shining brightly on the late August day.

  I slowly drove over towards Sophie’s place, passing my house on Collins as I went. I pulled up in front of her house and turned my car off. I got out and walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the car door to take out the bottle of wine and the flowers. I closed the car door and looked up at Sophie’s house. I could see the front door was open and could faintly hear some music playing, coming through the screen door and down the walkway.

  I made my way up the walkway, and the front porch steps, hearing my boots scuffle on the boards beneath my feet. I knocked lightly on the screen door and waited for Sophie to reply.

  Here we go.

  18

  Sophie

  I had spent the rest of the afternoon getting the house ready, doing prep work for dinner and setting the table, then getting myself ready for the date. I went up and took another shower, even though I had taken one before Mary and I left to go shopping. I think it was more out of nerves than anything else. I made sure to dry myself off well and wrapped the towel around myself as I left the bathroom, just as always do. I was standing before the mirror at my vanity, looking at my reflection, when I smiled and impulsively tossed the towel to the side. I looked at my naked reflection in the mirror, something I rarely did and looked at my body. I felt good about how I looked, happy with my body and that I had kept myself in good shape.

  My body looks pretty good, I thought to myself as I put my hands up into my hair, shaking it around a bit. I let my hands travel down my body, watching myself in the mirror the whole time, touching myself lightly. I closed my eyes and imagined Travis was standing there with me, standing behind me, and it was his hands gliding over my body. I could feel his strong hands starting at my shoulders and working their way down my arms, making the hair on my arms stand up and send shivers throughout my body. His hands would come to rest on my waist as he lightly rubbed his fingertips on my waist and hips. He would then wrap his arms around me as his hands came back up my body, cupping my breasts in each hand, squeezing them gently.

  I could feel his hands slowly working their way back down me again, retracing their steps down my breasts to my waist, but this time they kept going lower. His fingertips grazed just inside my thighs, and I could feel myself shiver again from his touch. He touched me lightly, again and again on my thighs. I could feel his warm breath on my neck as he began to kiss me. His fingers moved slowly from the outer parts of my thighs in, getting closer and closer until I could feel them around me, before one finger, and then two, gently and easily slipped inside me and I gasped in delight. His left hand’s fingers moving in me, the kisses on my neck, and then his right hand, oh his right hand, caressing my right breast. Everything was moving in such good rhythm, and my body was responding perfectly to each touch. Before I knew it, I could feel my body tensing on his fingers, and I felt a huge release inside me as he turned me around and kissed me on the lips, holding me tightly against his body.

  I opened my eyes as my knees felt weak. I looked at my reflection and could see I was flush, nipples erect and my right hand lightly petting myself now after a tremendous orgasm. At first, I felt a little embarrassed having done that since I almost never touch myself like that, but it had been so long, and it felt so good, that I smiled back at my reflection and relished the way my body felt.

  I sat down at the vanity, my legs still feeling wobbly, and I picked up some lipstick and applied just a light coat of red to my lips. I didn’t put any other makeup on, though I grabbed my favorite perfume and gave myself a light spray of the lilac-scented liquid, so there was just a trace on my body.

  When I felt like I had finally composed myself, I stood up and went over to the bags of clothing I had bought earlier today. I took out the white bra and panty and laid them on the bed, and then put the white dress next to it. I stepped into the panties and pulled them up my legs, feeling the cool satin against my body. I was used to just wearing cotton all the time and enjoyed the soft feeling against my body. The bra was next, and I put it on and made adjustments just like Penny did in the dressing room earlier at Simmons so that the bra fit perfectly and gave me just enough boost so that it would look good in my dress. I was already feeling more girly than I had felt in a long time.

  I picked up the dress and lifted it over my head, letting it fall onto my body before zipping it up in the back. I turned to look in the mirror and could not believe what I saw. I loved the way the dress held my body, and just the hint of cleavage showing through maybe
me feel just a tad naughtier than I had ever felt, particularly after what I had just done. I gave myself a small twirl in the dress, feeling the skirt spin beneath me. I slipped into the white flats I had purchased and knew the outfit was perfect.

  I took a quick look over at my alarm clock and saw it was 5:30. Travis would be here soon, so I rushed downstairs to make sure everything looked just right.

  I walked through the living room and flipped some music from my iPod on, trying to find something quiet, soothing and maybe just a tad romantic. The classical music would do for now, and I could always change it if Travis wanted to hear something else.