Some Things Change Pt. 01

She didn't look up. "Instead, he made my life hell." Then she shook her head. "No, I did that."

"But he shouldn't have thrown you out and cut you off," I firmly stated. "What kind of father does that?"

"I don't know. Now I don't have a father, and neither does Zeke."

"I'm sorry I left," I told her. "If I had realized how you really felt, maybe... maybe things would have been different." I couldn't say I wouldn't have left. But if I'd left on better terms, maybe Lara's life wouldn't be as bad. "And yes, you were a bitch three years ago. But now I see a loving mother, who's kind and beautiful."

She sniffed, and looked up at me again. "You think I'm beautiful?"

I chuckled. "Remember when I first came back? I called you pretty?" She nodded. "I remember thinking it was my lucky day to stumble upon a pretty girl like you. It wasn't until we recognized each other that we fell into our old childish habits."

She finally cracked a tiny smile. "I'm sorry. I really am. For everything. For high school. For yelling at you in the diner. For calling you a stubborn mule."

I smiled at her. "I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I am stubborn. And so are you. When we get something in our heads, it's hard to change our minds. It's just like this stupid little town, nothing ever changes."

"Some things change," she said, and she kissed me. And in my vulnerable state, I kissed her back. Lara was the first woman I'd kissed since I'd gotten back to the States, and it felt... right. Despite arriving back in Gideon weeks ago, now was the first moment I felt truly at home.

I broke the kiss, and stopped her from starting another. "Lara, I don't want to take advantage."

"You're not," she said. "I've wanted you for three years, Charles Williams. I can't wait one more minute." She put her hand on the back of my head and brought me in for another kiss. She pressed her body to mine, and I felt her soft curves and body warmth through our clothes. I gave in. I held her close to me, placing one arm around her back, and the other on her cheek, kissing her back with ferocity now. There was a little voice in my head that said 'This is too soon, you're going too fast', but I shut that voice down.

Lara's trailer wasn't very big, so I assumed the one door I saw led to the bedroom. I wrapped my arms around Lara and lifted her, keeping her lips locked to mine, and carried her in that direction. I set her back on the floor near her bed. She started un-buttoning my shirt. I broke our kiss for a moment, just to ask her, "Are you sure?"

She gave a breathy "Yes," and resumed helping me out of my shirt. I reached behind her and found the zipper to her dress. I slid it downwards as she went to work on my pants. In mere seconds, there was a whirl of clothes flying and falling, and soon I was beholding the beautiful Lara in her underwear, and she was looking at me in mine.

For someone who had a child, her body showed no evidence. Her stomach was flawlessly flat, leading upwards to her pert round breasts. I wanted to see those first. I helped her out of her bra, then laid her on the bed. I took one of her hard, brown nipples into my mouth while my hand played with the other. She moaned her approval as her hand played with my hair.

I made my move southward, tugging her panties off to reveal her sex to me. "I haven't kept myself trimmed lately," she admitted, but I didn't care about a little hair at that point. Lara was a beautiful woman who needed proper attention, which she'd gone far too long without. I decided to use a tongue trick I'd picked up in Europe, and was soon driving her wild. If Lara had had close neighbors, they would have heard her scream as she came on my face.

"Charlie!" she called out as I was going to go in for another round, "I need you. I need you in me."

I needed that too. I found my pants that had been thrown across the room, and dug out the condom that was in my wallet. I quickly slipped it on as she watched, then climbed over her. I rubbed my now-protected dagger over her wetness, getting us both ready. "Okay?" I asked, checking with her one more time.

She nodded, then her eyes widened as I gently pushed myself inside. "Ohhh. Oh Charlie," she gasped. I leaned in and kissed her again, then pulled out and pushed in again, making her moan into my mouth. She was so tight inside, I had to go so slow. It was clearly evident to me that she hadn't had any sex in a long time, probably since the conception of her son. I whispered into her ear, "You're so amazing," and the sensation made her body shudder beneath me.

Eventually, I had stretched her enough to pick up speed, and I heard her beneath me, softly cooing, and uttering small one-syllable words, "Yes, oh, oh, fuck, fuck, oh, yes, yes." I took this as a good sign and kept going. I was still trying to be gentle, but she started to egg me on. "Fuck me, Charlie, fuck me!" So I picked up my pace and really gave it to her, and soon she was squealing louder than before. Then she yelled, "FUCK!", her whole body clenched up and her eyes shut tight, and I knew she'd climaxed hard.

I stayed inside her while she rode out her orgasm, until she opened her eyes again. "Oh my God, Charlie," she said, gasping for air, "I've never come like that before." Then she looked down to where we were still joined at the hip. "You're still hard?"

I nodded, "More?"

She grinned at me. "More. But, can I... can I ride you?"

I thought the question was funny. "Can you?"

"I've never done it before," she said, blushing.

I slipped out of her and laid back on her bed, bringing her to straddle my lap. "Go at whatever speed you want," I told her, thinking she'd be apprehensive. She clearly wasn't. She lined herself up with my member and plunged down, maybe faster than she anticipated, but it made both of us moan out loud.

"God, you're so big in me. I've never felt full like this before," she told me. The she raised herself up a few inches, and back down. Then again, and again.

It felt great to me. I could have easily just laid there and watched this gorgeous woman ride me, but I felt like I wanted to be more active. I reached up and cupped her breasts, kneading her nipples between my fingers while she rode, and she leaned into my hands. "Oh yesssss," she groaned for me.

The vision and the feel of her was pushing me over the edge. "Lara, I'm close," I said to her.

"Just a litte more," she muttered, not letting up at all.

I slid one hand down her tight stomach, down to find her clit and rub against it. "Oh!" the sudden attention there made her cry out. "Yes! Keep doing that! Keep... I'm... I'm cumming!"

Her pussy clenched me tightly, and it made me climax too. "GAH!" I grunted, and I filled that condom with burst after burst of my spunk. She lifted off from me, and laid down over my body. We kissed again as she rubbed her naked body against mine.

We probably could have laid like that forever, if it weren't for the rest of the world. Lara's phone rang shortly after we finished, and she quickly jumped up from the bed to answer it. "Mama? Hi, sorry. I'm on my way. Bye." She hung up and looked at me.

"You have to go get Zeke," I said for her, while I reached for my clothes.

"Yeah." She and I both got dressed in silence, but I could tell neither of us wanted this first time to be the last time. Once we'd dressed, I held her in my arms for a second. She buried her face into my shoulder. "I still love you, Chuck. Or Charlie. Whatever."

"And now I know it," I said. "And I'm not leaving. Thanks for telling me, finally. Can I come over tomorrow? I'll bring lunch."

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. I'd like that. Thanks."

I kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Lara."

"Goodnight, Charlie."

----

That next morning was Sunday, and Mom and Pop were heading for church. They dragged the twins along too. I had already gotten into an argument about why I wasn't going to go. They feared for my soul, of course, but I argued that I wouldn't attend a church where not everyone was welcome. At that point, Mom called Pop off.

Mom eyed me funny as I was assembling and packing lunch, as I hadn't told her about my plans for the day. But she didn't say anything. Jenny was the one who asked, "Why are you making so many sandwiches?" but Pop ushered her out the door before I could respond, saying they'd be late for the service if they didn't leave now.

I packed sandwiches, a bag of potato chips, and some fruit into a basket. I didn't know what Zeke would like, but I figured even a two year old boy would like a PBJ and and an apple.

When I got to the trailer, I found Lara setting a blanket out on the lawn, and her son running around it, as fast as his little legs would go. "Hi," she called to me as I walked up with my lunch basket. "I thought with the weather so nice, we can have a picnic out here."

"Sounds great to me."

"Zeke, do you remember Mister Charlie?" Lara called to her son.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. "Hello Mister Charlie."

"Hi Zeke. Do you want some lunch?"

He nodded enthusiastically and dove into a sitting position on the blanket. I sat with him and started pulling out the food, while Lara produced a few juice boxes.

I held up a sandwich, "Zeke, you do like peanut butter and jelly?"

"No. I don't like jelly," he simply answered. So my guess was wrong, but luckily he did like turkey and mayonnaise, and he definitely liked apples, so it was all okay with him. I made a mental note to make him sandwiches with only peanut butter, if the opportunity ever came up in the future.

Lara asked me to tell stories from my time in the army. With the little ears present, I skipped over most of my time in Iraq and focused on the beautiful things I saw in Germany and the rest of Europe. I saw castles and historic sites. I told her about my short trips to France, Switzerland, and northern Italy when I had been on leave. Lara's attention hung on my every word. So did Zeke's, at least for a while. After he had finished eating, he drifted off to sleep with his head in his mother's lap.

When he was asleep, I asked Lara, "So, enough about me. What's life like as a mother?"

She smiled. "I love this little guy," she said, gently stroking his hair. "I'm sure you heard about my ill-fated trip that caused him."

I nodded. "I've heard rumors."

"Seems everybody knows in this town." She sighed, then continued, "It happened right after you left. I was so mad. And sad. And I just had to get away from here. So I took my dad's car to the city, and found a party at the local college." She chuckled a bit. "I had just turned eighteen the day before, and I got all dolled up to go flirt with those frat boys. They had me pegged as a virgin as soon as I walked in the door. After a few hours of drinking, one of the guys led me to his room, and..." she trailed off, making a hand gesture.

"And that was that?"

"And that was that. I didn't even know his name. And it wasn't even good sex, it was drunk, sloppy, inexperienced sex, and it only lasted a minute. Pretty much the exact opposite of last night."

"Did you ever try to find him?"

She shook her head. "No. I was mostly trying to forget that night. When I missed my period, it was too late. School had let out for the summer, and all those boys were gone. The worst part was when Daddy found out. He kicked me out. Mama tried to stop him, but he got his way. She bought me this place out of her own money," she gestured to the trailer, "and I've been here ever since."

"I'm glad your mother still supports you."

Lara smiled. "Me too. She takes care of both of us." She looked down again at her sleeping child. "Mama wants me to finish high school, you know, online? But I don't have internet out here. And I don't have the time anyway, between motherhood and waitressing."

"Before all that happened, what did you want to be?" I asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I guess I didn't really think about it. I was the mayor's daughter. Daddy just expected me to get married, and have kids, and stay in town for the rest of my life. I guess I ended up getting two of those." She chuckled again to herself, then said, "As far as the third one goes, this is my first date since... " She abruptly stopped, putting her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry."

"What?" I asked. "Oh, you mean the 'first date' part?" She silently nodded. "Don't worry," I told her, "You can call this a date. Although, I admit it's the first date I've been on with a woman with a kid."

"You done much dating in Europe, Charlie?" she asked with a sly grin.

"A bit," I nodded. "But it was different with those girls. They were just looking for a good time with a nice boy in a uniform, nothing more. Real dating should mean more." I looked into Lara's eyes, and found her looking back into mine. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah," she whispered. I leaned in and kissed her. Just like last night, it felt right. This was a girl who wasn't all dolled up for a night on the town. She didn't expect to be wined and dined. For me to simply be here was enough for her. It was easy and effortless.

After a few minutes of kissing, Zeke stirred in Lara's lap. "I should take him inside," she whispered. I nodded, and cleaned up the remnants of our picnic while she was gone. When she came back out, she kissed me again. "I have to work the rest of the week," she told me, "can we do something next Sunday?"

I smiled. "Of course. It's a date."

----

My bedroom was empty that week, as Steve was on his honeymoon. Otherwise, I expected him to privately grill me about my picnic with Lara. Since he was gone, I kept most of the details to myself, but I did tell a bit of it to June when she called on Monday evening.

The worst part was that, with Lara's car fixed, I needed a new project. I helped Pop around the house with normal chores, but it wasn't enough to occupy my time and my mind. So on Thursday, I drove to that old garage again. This time, when I entered the old building, I found stairs going upwards. Office space maybe? Certainly worth a look.

There was more there than I originally thought. Not office space, but living space. It was like a big an apartment. Three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. It was in poor condition, just like the garage space below it. But with some time and effort into rehab, and some money for new floors and appliances and such, it could really be something.

----

"How much is that old building at 200 Maple?" I asked the secretary in the town hall. Betty was probably 75 years old, going on 900. I'm kidding. She'd worked in the town hall since Mayor Jim Hammond Senior. If anyone needed information on anything, ever, she was the best source. But despite her age, she showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, she was still as whip-quick as a teenager.

Betty pulled out a folder and lay it on her desk. "You interested in the old garage?"

"Just curious."

"Well, the building itself is owned by the town. It's valued at $100,000."

"That's all?" Far lower than I'd thought.

"And you could probably pick it up cheaper if you make some kind of deal with Jimmy."

I smirked. She was probably the only person in town with the gall to call Mayor Hammond by his childhood nickname. "I'm not on great terms with 'Jimmy' right now."

She leaned in. "You don't gotta be his friend. I heard you helped fix that poor girl's car."

"I did."

"She doesn't deserve what she got. No one does," she said quietly, hoping the mayor didn't hear. "But that's none of my business, of course."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"Lotta people think it. Not everyone says it," Betty said with a wink. It made me realize that the mayor's power might not be as absolute as I thought it was. "Anyway, I'm betting you can get it for $60 thousand."

"That cheap? What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. It's just an eye sore. Empty building on an otherwise nice street. In my opinion, Mayor should pay you to fix it up."

The very next day, I went to the city and found a bank willing to give me a small business loan. The banker was a veteran himself, which was nice. I was now authorized to spend up to $150,000 to start a garage. That is, if I pulled the trigger.

It's funny: I thought I'd only stay for the summer, but now I was thinking of making Gideon my permanent home. I wondered how much of that had to do with Lara.