A Love to Remember - Chapter 9

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Jane
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I was very much afraid of the thunder and when I simply blurted out asking Fred if he could sleep with me, I felt embarrassed for a moment since I used the wrong words. But thanks to him since he didn't take it any serious. But he did lie beside me and I liked the fact that he cared for me, orelse who would accept to it?

I turned in my sleep and there was a thunder again and my eyes fluttered open in fright. Then I noticed Fred beside me sleeping peacefully. his face was lightly looking boyish in the dim candle light that was about to go off. There was a smile in the corner of his lips and I absent mindedly raised my hand to touch his cheeks and stopped myself before I did and lowered my hands. I tried to free my other hand and couldn't. Something was pinning it to the mattress. I moved a little to see that it was his hand holding mine protectively. As I looked at it, tears collected in my eyes and I tightened my grip on his hand. Then I turned again to him and moved away the hair that fell on his forehead and ran my fingers through it. I just laid there looking at him and wondered if I was falling for him.

The next day was no better. We both stayed inside all the time chatting about something and occasionally he would go to check if the animals were alright. He was talking about going into the rodeo practice along with some of the villagers and the very thought of him being hurt scared me. I knew it was his dream for his father and didn't oppose the idea since I knew how determined he was about that. The night was worse than the last and we both sat near the fire place to warm ourselves and Fred suddenly chuckled looking at it.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked him smiling myself.
"Just thought about yesterday" he said still smiling. I certainly was relieved when he didn't act weird like he did few days ago after the fest. and now he was smiling telling me he was thinking about yesterday. Crazy man. I'll never understand him.

"What about yesterday?" I asked confused and he turned his head to me slightly dropping it on his right beaming. "what's so funny?" I asked reaching him to punch his arm but he caught it.
"Its you that's funny" he said defending himself from my arm that was still trying to punch him.
"Am not funny" I said moving closer to him so that it'll be easy for me to attack.
"Yes you are" he said laughing now.
"And what's the reason?" I asked resting my weight on both my ankles looking confused at him. I knew I didn't do anything to make a fun out of myself and I didn't know why he was laughing so hard.

"You should definitely see your face in the mirror when there are thunders" he said. "Did you know how it was like?"
"How?" I asked him slightly amused and slightly embarrassed.
"Like this" he said and made funny faces and it made me laugh harder than I had laughed in the past few months. He was keeping on doing that and I knew my face didn't look a bit like that.
"No I'll never look that" I said and he kept on teasing me. I started punching him and he got up and ran around the house and I was on his heels chasing him.

He ran into his room and I followed without knowing it. I had never been inside his room before. It had a king size bed with lots of pillows that was dominating and whoever sees it will want to lie on it immediately.

"Caught you" I said chasing again.
"Never" he said standing beside his bed. I ran to him but he protested with me and he lifted me off the floor and threw me on the bed to escape. but I caught him and pulled him with me falling on the bed. I breathed heavily and opened my eyes and felt his weight on me. He was looking down at me lovingly and he was breathing as hard as me from the running we did. His face was only inches away from mine and if I moved a little forward, his lips would touch mine. From the way he was still looking at me, I thought he was going to kiss me.
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Fred
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When I woke up in the morning, I felt something under my arms and it didn't feel like any pillow. I opened my eyes to look at it properly and it was Jane lying next to me with her back to me. I was hugging her in my sleep thinking it was a pillow. Her auburn hair was slightly brushing my face and it smelled of something sweet.

I didn't take away my hand from hers enjoying the feel of it. She was sleeping so close to me. I propped up one elbow and leaned to see her face. As if my movement disturbed her, she turned to face me fully and pulled my hand back to its place thinking it was something else. I smiled at it quietly afraid she'll wake up. her eye lashes were caressing the top of her cheeks and I felt jealous of it. I smiled to myself again thinking how I now felt jealous of even her caressing eye lashes. it was so silly of me.

I longed to caress her cheeks like that with my lips. Since when she had come here nothing had changed in my life yet everything changed. I became so much used to having her around. I gently touched her cheek and leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. It was just a small brush but something inside me fluttered. Before I would do something I would regret later, I got up and went to my room.

That rainy day was worse than the day before. But I sat talking about my dreams and listened to what she said about her own. I also planned to join the rodeo practice before it was too late. But though I talked off something else my mind was constantly occupied with her thoughts. I constantly registered every move of her without her knowledge. I cursed myself sometime for doing that and constantly reminded myself not to fall for my rescuer. Was I falling for her? That's was a million dollar question to me.

When we sat by the fire place, however I tried her thoughts wouldn't go. I chuckled remembering how her face was so horrified yesterday and so peaceful this morning. I was surprised that I didn't fell awkward sleeping beside her, so close. I felt it as if it was my usual thing to do. Jane then asked me what I was laughing at and I couldn't control it any longer and when I told her. She chased me around the entire house. Finally she caught me in my room and I threw her on the bed to escape but she pulled me with her gripping me tight. When I breathed so hard, I felt her hot and fast breath on my face too. That's when I noticed how close our faces were. I looked into her eyes savoring its beauty. she smiled a little and I responded to it with a laugh. She laughed at our silly play too, but didn't push me from her. Her dimples very much distracted me as much she did.

I once again looked into her eyes and she stopped laughing looking the same loving look at me. I didn't know if she knew how beautiful she looked when she did that. And she did look incredibly beautiful to me just for the past few days. I wanted to kiss her and rectify the mistake did at the fest. Though I had never wanted such things to happen to me, even I was a red blooded male as the next man was. I too had all those feelings in me, only it never came out since I didn't want to. But now helpless, I leaned in and as I did she closed her eyes. I kissed where her dimples just disappeared and I felt her fingers burying deep on my shoulders. I leaned back to look at her and she opened her eyes to look at me lovingly again.

I didn't know what got into me because the next thing I did surprised me as much it did her. I kissed her on the lips. She opened up to me and I slid my touch into her mouth deepening the kiss. She was responding with the same passion I had. When the first time I kissed her, I never thought I would be so much turned on when I kissed her the second time. The wedding kiss was nothing and this was everything it wasn't. This time I liked her more than any woman I knew. Even my aunt grace came second. Only this time I was ready to admit to myself that I might love her. The thought scared me. I pulled back abruptly ending the kiss and looked at her. Jane I saw now looked more beautiful than the Jane I kissed just now. She was fully red from the blushing she had done while kissing me. Yes, I kissed a girl. I had taken the initiative to kiss a girl, whole heartedly.

"Fred" she whispered touching my cheeks. "What are we doing?" She asked me, but I could see that she was hiding a smile. I wondered if she enjoyed the kiss as much as I did and wondered if she liked me the way I liked her.

"I guess we were kissing." I teased her with a smile as soon as I got composed. Still she didn't take any move to move me from above her. I enjoyed the feel of my whole body on top of hers, Very much.
"I think we should get out of bed." She said looking at everywhere except me. Only then I got up and went out, so we could both get sometime to take in what had happened.
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Jane
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After Fred's wonderful breathtaking kiss, each time I saw him I remembered it and wanted him to kiss me again. That night I was afraid to ask him to sleep beside me and hugged the pillow for help. I remembered the day before when I was in his arms. Then a shadow danced in front of me and Fred walked in with a candle and placed it in the dresser lie the night before and looked at me with his hands in his jeans pockets.

"Um... do you want me to sleep with you?" He said and we both chuckled at the same mistake of words.
"I surely do. Am a scared kid." I said smiling at him and he came to bed smiling again. I placed the pillow on the mattress and he slid beside me pulling up the covers and placed his hands behind his head. We both didn't say anything and just stared at the ceiling where the candle light was dancing and the only sound was the pounding rain on the window.

"Jane" he said softly. My name sounded sweet and different to be just called by him.
"Yeah" I said turning to him and he was already looking at me.
"I was thinking about the kiss we shared earlier." He said and my stomach flinched at the thought of it.
"If you wanted to know if you are good kisser or not, I would vote it was incredible." I said softly smiling at him and he chuckled.

"Am not gonna ask that cos I knew it from what steffy told me." He said and the thought that he had shared the same kind of kiss with another girl made me jealous and angry.
"I just wanted to ask you if you l-like me?" He asked and his eyes flashed a sign of longing for a moment.
"Yes Freddy." I said and he smiled at his favorite name.
"I like you very much." I said turning fully to face him. "Why do you ask?"
"I wondered if the liking was mutual from the way you responded to my kiss." He said turning fully to face me. So, he liked me. This made my heart make a tap dance inside me.

"So you like me too?" I asked to hear it from him and he just nodded.
"And where am I placed in your likes list?" I asked again smiling.
"You top the it" he said looking at me lovingly.
"Really? Why?" I asked feeling happy that I was liked so much by the person I was falling for unknowingly and uncontrollably.
"I don't know." He said and I could see the honesty in his eyes.

We just lay there looking at each other and suddenly he raised his hand to caress my cheeks. I've never thought Fred to be such a lovely person from the way he gave me a first rude impression. His touch did funny things to me and I winced for a second savoring the feel. his thumb moved right and left still caressing. Fred was so loving. everybody who talked to me about him were wrong. everybody saw him as a tough, unloved boy. But he was so caring, so loving, and from the way I had noticed him look at his father's frame, he had been yearning for a father figure and his love. His mother hadn't helped a bit and his aunt had told me that she and her husband could never replace parent's love. All I now wanted was to hug him and kiss him telling I cared for him and loved him very much. But I just couldn't. I knew I had to go sooner or later. I knew I would die. and the most important thing I didn't want was Fred yearning for love again after I was gone. So it was better for him to stay emotionally away from me.
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Fred
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As I was lying beside Jane and caressed her cheeks, I wanted to kiss her badly. I wanted to feel her lips under mine once again. I tucked a strand behind her ear and leaned closer and kissed her forehead once again. When I saw her she had her eyes closed. I kissed her cheek and looked at her again. This time she was staring at me. I leaned again to kiss her lips and this time she put her fingers in the middle. I pulled back and looked at her questioningly.

"No Fred. Please." She said shaking her head.
"I thought you said you liked me." I said with a twinge of hurt in my voice. Because deep down I did get hurt from this slight rejection.
"I like you very much Fred. but I can't kiss you." She said swallowing tears.
"Why? it doesn't hurt, right?" I asked again still hurt.
"It's just I can't." She said and pushed my hand from her cheeks.

I lay on my back again and felt like nobody really liked me. But this really hurt more than I was hurt by my mother. But I decided to give it some time. this might be too soon for her. And I too needed some time to figure if what I did was right.

"Am sorry" I said even before I thought of apologizing.
"Don't say that Fred. you did no wrong." She said with a shaken voice and I turned my head to look at her crying.
"Hey. What's wrong?" I asked worried that it was because of me.
"Nothing." She said wiping it.
"Talk to me Janie." I said softly. I now realized that this was the first time I asked someone to talk their worries to me. Usually it was the other way round.
"It's just...its j..nothing." She said smiling at me and I pulled her for a hug. I soothed her while she cried into my shoulders.

Then there was a big thunder again and she hugged me more tight. Our hands were all over each other. I pulled back and lifted her chin to make her look at me. When she did there was another thunder and she chuckled. I bent down and before we both knew we were kissing again. She was now totally irresistible. The mental vows I took to give us both enough time went flying in the air. She was responding again in such a way that I wanted more than a kiss. I wanted to claim those lips mine forever. She pulled back this time and didn't look at me. She even pulled out of my grip and turned the other side as if facing me was a difficult thing for her to do. I loved closer and circled my arms around her and caught her fingers in mine.

"Good night." I said kissing her hair at the back of her head.
"Good night." I heard a faint reply.
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@Lucy...Now you no longer have to wait...just read and am sure you'll like this one too.
@Rachel....Am sure you'll aw even after this chap too...keep commenting.
@Forever....I don't know about the ending and if Jane dies r not...am sure the story will go a bit longer and wait patiently and read continuously to know how it ends...keep commenting.
@Zax...Tks on commenting...am happy tat u like my story line and am also writing a story $ love includes everything $...I hope you'll read and comment on it too... looking fwd for more of your comments in both the stories and even another commentator maria has given u a suggestion to read a story $ but why so soon? $ written by her friend .
@Me...Even I like them very much...hope you'll enjoy this chap too.
@Tiffy...Tks dear and am eager to know if you liked this chap too..
@Maira....Yeah. They are definitely falling for each other but they are not sure of it themselves since they don't want to...and I've conveyed zax of the story you said in case he/she didn't see your comment..
@Ria...He's a very nice guy and what did you expect dear. Read and comment on this too..