[8] Romance in Aisle 3: The Tampon Section

Summer bolted out of her bed and frantically began to search for something to wear. It was still winter, but this year hadn't been as terrible as the last. It was late December and there were barely any remains of snow on the ground. Deciding it was best to dress lightly, she pulled on a long-sleeved, plain black shirt overtop her head. In all that disarray of clothing, Summer managed to pull out of her drawer a torn and severely tattered pair of jeans. They were her all time favourite and regardless of its state, she felt luck was within them. Getting dressed and prepared for the afternoon wasn't the trouble; it was doing so in five minutes that had Summer in a fit. The doorbell rang and Summer mentally groaned.
That kid just couldn't wait could he?
Running down the steps with one hand on the railing to keep balance and the other in her dishevelled hair attempting at making it look relatively appropriate, she yelled at the top of her lungs,
"Daddy don't worry, I'll get it!" But, by the time she had reached the bottom of the steps, her father had already opened the door.
"Nathaniel?" Her father asked.
"Mr. Lee, sir." Nathaniel replied, coughing. He outstretched his hand to shake her father's hand. It was the best idea he could come up with in a situation like this. Try and be as professional and sophisticated as possible. This was, after all, his manager's daughter.
"Oh, just call me Edward. No need to be so formal out of work, but then again I always knew you were a good kid. . ." Mr. Lee praised, accepting the hand shake anyways. Summer snorted from behind.
Nathaniel peered over her father's shoulder and glared at her. A wicked grin played on her face and Nathaniel rolled his eyes at her immaturity. He returned his attention to the man in front of him and straightened his posture.
"Now son, you take good care of my little girl over there. I know she's a bit of a hassle, but I know you'll do just fine. I want her back and inside my house by 8 o'clock sharp. Do you understand me?"
"Daaaaadddddddyyyy. Could you not?! You're embarrassing me. Contrary to your popular beliefs, I'm not 7. I'm seventeen-- teen being the keyword there." Summer whined.
"That's exactly why I've got to be on guard for every single teenage boy walking past your path. It's a simple safety precaution- a dad thing, you wouldn't understand." Her dad explained.
". . . Clearly not," she muttered.
"What was that?" Her father inquired, raising a brow.
"I said that I love you, but I've gotta go. Bye!" Summer pecked her father on the cheek and scrambled out the front door as quickly as possible.
"Be back by 8 o'clock and I MEAN it! Not 8:01 or 8:05 pm, 8 o'clock!" Her father reminded.
Summer flicked her hand at him and nodded her head as if she were actually paying attention and got into the car, driving off with Nathaniel. Five minutes into the drive and the scenery started to change, Summer questioned where he was taking her.
"Sorry to ask, but seriously, where are we going? For all I know, you could be taking me to some abandoned house in the middle of nowhere to possibly. . . rape me." Summer sarcastically remarked.
"Are you always this immature? Or is it only with me?" Nathaniel asked.
"Pretty much always." She beamed at him.
"Jesus, what have I got myself into." Nathaniel joked.
Summer rolled her eyes and chose to ignore his last comment. Nathaniel pulled into a narrow gravel road and drove onto the side where dead patches of grass scattered the ground. Summer shifted nervously in her seat, unsure of what was happening. He looked over at her and grinned. She blushed and constricted in her seat.
"Are you planning on getting out anytime soon or are you just gonna stay in your little corner all afternoon?" Nathaniel asked, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut.
"It's just. . . I'd feel a lot safer if you just told me where we were going." She explained, trying not to come off as worried.
Nathaniel walked around to the other side of the car and tugged on the latch, holding his hand out to her, "If there's no trust, there's nothing."
That was all it took for her to outstretch her hand and place it into his. Even so, she hesitantly allowed herself to be pulled out of the car. Letting go of Nathaniel's hand, she allowed him to lead and her to follow slightly behind. Nathaniel pushed aside tree branches allowing Summer to enter the forest ahead with ease, but his courteous manners still failed to remove the knots dwelling at the pit of her stomach and the lump caught in the core of her throat. When he had finally led her to a clearing, Summer exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Just beyond the clearing there was a small lake that had melted from its solid state of ice. Summer stood in front of the lake and smiled to herself; this notion was so corny it almost made her grin.
Nathaniel pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it aside to a nearby willow tree. Summer tried not to glance over, but being only a few metres away from him made it nearly impossible. From the corner of her eye she stole glances at the bare upper portion of Nathaniel's body. He had a masculine frame, to say the least, with smooth and defined lumps rippling his lower abdomen. He was no muscle man, she had to admit, but he sure as hell had enough to make the girls stare. Summer got so caught up in her own little world that she completely forgot that she'd been staring, only to snap out of her daze with Nathaniel staring right back at her.
"Are you going to just standing there gawking or are you going to take off your clothes?" Nathaniel asked while unbuckling his belt.
"I.. what are you talking about? I was not gawking or whatever the hell you just said." She incredulously defended.
"Okay fine. So you weren't gawking. You were intently engrossed in observing me." Nathaniel grinned deviously.
"Wow. I'm surprised you managed to cough out that many words without hurting yourself." Summer sarcastically remarked.
"Some call it talent, I just call it natural ingenuity."
Summer blinked. What. The. Hell. Was. THAT? He's adorable, has an incredible charm, wits
(A bit too much) sarcasm (an odd sense of one) and he's ALSO got an extended sense of vocabulary? I'll be damned if he's anything short of perfect.
"Summer.. Summer? Seriously, you've got to stop zoning out on me here. Take your clothes off." Nathaniel repeated again. He walked closer towards her and gave her a good nudge on the shoulder, accidentally shoving her to the other side unaware of his own strength.
"What in the?! I'm not zoTHE FUCKING HELL?! You sick bastard. Is this what you made me come here for? To take advantage of me? And to just think seconds ago I thought you were.. never mind, that's beside the point." Summer rambled, agitated and frightened.
"You need to calm down. We're going swimming. In the lake." Nathaniel said, holding his hands above his head in his defence.
"Oh."
"Oh yes."
"Well.. how was I supposed to think of THAT?" Summer grumbled.
"The same way you thought up the idea that somehow I'd try to rape you." Nathaniel grinned.
"Shut up, just shut up." Summer said, now feeling completely idiotic and irrational.
"You know, after all that you'd at least think I'd get some sort of 'I'm sorry' out of this, but no."
"Immasorry" Summer quickly said so quietly it was almost inaudible.
"I didn't catch that one, you're what?" He teased.
"You damn fucking well know what I said!"
"How would you know? I didn't hear you, you were mumbling." Nathaniel pressed, knowing that he'd get an apology out of her soon.
"I'm sorry. Happy?" Summer finally said.
"Yes. I'm content." Nathaniel answered, in a false serious tone.
Summer rolled her eyes again, something she did often, and turned around. "Well, what are you gawking at? Turn around."
"Oh come on, what is this... second grade or something? Get over yourself." Nathaniel argued, but turned around so he wasn't facing her anyways.
"Thank You." Summer genuinely smiled, pulling off her shirt and slipping quietly out of her jeans. She swiftly and with quick precision tip toed along the grass, making her way gently into the lake water without so much as a stir.
"You're free to turn around now."
Nathaniel turned around with a smirk on his face, only to be wiped clean off with a slight pout, "That's completely unfair." He argued.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Summer smirked, whirling her arms in the water creating small waves.
With gritted teeth, Nathaniel reluctantly headed towards the water and allowed the chilling sensation of the water to tingle at his senses. The water was still cool, and it took him a bit of effort to calm the goose bumps rushing up along his forearms. To his surprise, Summer swam closer towards him, closing in on the vacancy between them. As she drew near, he could feel the water heating up with the simple body heat penetrating from her. Nathaniel, with all the caution her could muster, gently held her along her hips and drew her closer towards his body. She didn't pull back or hesitate like he'd thought she would, but instead allowed him to pull her in until their skin touched. Their noses touched, and Nathaniel gave a small smile. Just being this close to her, warmed his insides.
"Funny, we've only known each other for a few days." She mused, smiling as she rested her head lightly upon his bare chest.
"Yeah. Seems much, much longer."
Summer gently pushed herself away from him with a perplexed expression. The wheels in her head began to turn furiously. "Don't you think we're going a bit too fast?"
"Only if you think so." Nathaniel replied, looking right back at her with equal intensity.
He had her stumped. It had never been up to her to decide how fast or slow the relationship should flow. Could she even call this a relationship? He certainly hadn't asked her nor had she hinted or implied that they were. She burned with shame and reopened the space between them. Nathaniel reached for her hand in the water but she wouldn't allow him any closer.
"Is it something I said?" Nathaniel asked, worried that she'd be second guessing herself.
"No. It's everything we haven't said. I don't know anything about you. At all. Besides the fact that you're an employee for my dad's business, I don't know anything. And I should, shouldn't I? Isn't that what makes a friendship, a relationship a. a bond? The simple truths and random facts strung together to create the big picture?"
Nathaniel contemplated this for a minute before speaking, ". What is it, exactly, that you'd like to know?"
"We will raze their cities to the ground." -Adolph Hitler





Thank you trix-r-4-kids <3

Next chapter will be more "up close & personal" per se. It's where the characters start to really know each other. =]

Thanks for reading! -Kirsten