Love, English Style (Chapter Four)
Caroline Woodson

 

CHAPTER FOUR

Hannah jerked her eyes up to find Jared staring at her intently. Finally he spoke, “I’m sorry about your grandparents. I know how much you loved them and they you.” Hannah relaxed a little. “Thank you, I appreciate that. I did love them but I’m glad they’re together now.”
 There was a slight pause as they stared at one another then Jared jerked his thumb toward the empty trailer hitched to the back of his truck. “Your grandpa had been letting me use his tractor for my garden and I was just wonderin’ if it’d be ok with you if I continued to use it ‘til mine is delivered. Or will you be needin’it?”
While he’d been talking Hannah noticed his eyes kept straying from her face. He seemed to be looking everywhere but at her. “No I won’t be needing it. You may keep it as long as you need to,” Hannah replied. “Why didn’t you just keep it at your place?”
   Jared began walking toward the barn with Hannah at his side. “Well my barn is not finished and I didn’t want to leave it out in case it rained so I brought it back each day. By the way, I was mowing the grass here for your grandparents in payment for use of the tractor. I’d be happy to keep doin’ that if that’s o.k?”
 “Sure”, Hannah replied.
 
Hannah watched as Jared climbed onto the tractor and backed it out of the barn. He looked down and said, “Wanna ride back to the truck?” Hannah remembered the fun she’d had standing behind her Pa on the tractor as he’d driven it up and down the rows of his garden. Without a word she climbed up behind Jared and grabbed hold of the back of the seat with both hands. She knew immediately that she’d made a mistake because as soon as the tractor started over the uneven ground her hands slipped and she was forced to wrap her arms around Jared’s waist, her breasts pressed against the warmth of his back. She felt Jared’s sharp intake of breath. Mercifully the ride was short and it was beginning to get dark. He wouldn’t be able to see her embarrassment. She jumped down as soon as Jared stopped and watched as he loaded the tractor onto the trailer. She felt Jared’s

gaze on her again and turned to find his eyes roving hungrily over her body. Her body responded, her nipples tightening. Jared’s eyes flew to hers.
“Did you get caught in the rain or something?” It was then Hannah remembered she’d been sitting in the rain before Jared arrived and her clothes were plastered to her body.
“Uh yeah, something like that,” she managed to say. She crossed her arms over her breasts, hoping the coming darkness had hidden her body’s response to his stare. A smile split Jared’s face and Hannah could’ve sworn she saw the devil dancing in his eyes. It was then she knew that Jared had been witness to her bodies’ traitorous reaction and was enormously pleased.
She didn’t want to admit it but that excited her. And it made her brazen. She dropped her arms to her sides once again, giving Jared another eyeful of her in that clinging wet shirt. She saw him swallow hard and try to look away, but he couldn’t. This time it was Hannah who had the devil in her smile as she bade him goodnight and walked slowly up the steps and into the house.
Holy shit! Jared struggled to keep the truck on the road the short distance between the houses. She might as well have been naked, he thought, the way that shirt clung to her like a second skin. His stomach clenched. Damn, she was even more gorgeous than he remembered. Even with her hair matted to her head and rain dripping down her face, she was the most beautiful thing he’d even seen. She had definitely filled out in all the right places and man, he’d thought she’d had a killer body six years ago. He shifted in his seat trying to ease the tightness developing in his jeans. His thoughts turned once again to that clinging shirt and all that it revealed. He’d wanted so badly to reach out and cup those breasts so plainly visible through her thin white t-shirt. The sheer bra she wore underneath had been soaked too and her nipples had been clearly evident. His body hardened even more. He sighed. God, he wanted to taste her skin. But first he wanted to explore her mouth with his tongue again to see if she could possibly be as sweet as he remembered. He pulled into his drive and sat with his head pillowed on his hands as they gripped the steering wheel. He took a deep breath. He remembered the heated look in Hannah’s eyes when she removed her arms from across her chest, as if she were daring him to keep looking. Opening the truck door he stomped into the

house. He walked through his bedroom and into the bath. Stripping off his clothes, he stepped into what he was sure would be the first of many cold showers thanks to his sexy new neighbor. Shit.
 
With Jared gone Hannah wandered through the downstairs absently checking doors and switching lights off. She climbed the stairs and flipped the light on in the bathroom. She turned the taps and water gushed into the old claw footed tub. Hannah added a generous amount of her favorite bath salts and soon the tub was full of warm fragrant bubbles. Hannah undressed quickly and sighing deeply slipped into the tub. The water felt like warm hands caressing her body and Hannah closed her eyes. Instantly a vision of Jared appeared in her mind and suddenly it was Jared’s hands sliding tenderly over her sensitive skin. Hannah’s eyes flew open. No, she told herself, she would not start that adolescent fantasizing about Jared English again. She quickly finished her bath and slipped into a soft, knee length t-shirt. It was one of Hannah’s favorites and the soft material felt like a caress. Hannah climbed into bed but after only a few minutes she knew she wouldn’t be falling asleep any time soon. She padded down the hall to the bedroom where her grandparents had slept to see if there was a book that would interest her among the wide selection her granny kept.
Hannah stood for a moment just inside the door to her grandparent’s room. Waves of melancholy washed over her. She missed them so much. As she walked to the bookcase she saw a thin, leather bound book on the bedside table. There was a bookmark in it. It looked as if her Granny had just set it there. She must have been reading it just before she died and her Pa couldn’t bear to move it. She picked the book up, her fingertips sliding over the smooth surface. The title printed on the front simply read, “Love, English Style. “ The author was J. C. English. This was a book of Jared’s poetry! Heart pounding, Hannah went back to her room and opened the book. Immediately her eyes were drawn to the strong handwriting on the inside cover. It read,“To be bound for eternity to the one you truly love is surely the greatest gift of all.” It was signed simply J. Hannah was soon swept away by the beauty of the poems. She couldn’t put the book down. Each poem was more beautiful and heart felt than the previous one. And some so erotic they made


Hannah blush. Then Hannah reached the point in the book where the bookmark held her Granny’s place. This poem was different from the others and it took Hannah’s breath away. It read,
         The Boy who will become the Man
               Sits alone, having lost all his smiles
She loves me; She loves me not

Plucking the petals from a yellow flower
For the little girl who caught his eye
 
Who never notices him, no matter what he tries

So not knowing the secrets of her heart
And feeling unworthy of touching her hand
He reaches for another flower; watches the last petal drop
She loves me; She loves me not

The Man who is still the boy
Sits alone, having lost all his smiles
She loves me; She loves me not
While the falling petals never stop
For the woman who caught his eye
Has shared the secrets of her heart
He just knows it not

Beyond his hopes, beyond his dreams
She has reached out and touched his hand, his heart


Not realizing, in her touch, she shows his worth
He begins again his hopeless count
She loves me; She loves me not.
 
‘Til in her Love, her wisdomYshe takes his hand
 
And places it on her breastYher heart
Letting him know the boy was always the Man
Hannah sighed, tears in her eyes. No wonder her granny had marked this particular page. The poem reminded her so much of her grandparents. She was sure that it brought back sweet memories for her grandmother too. Her grandparents had been so young when they married, her Granny just sixteen, her Pa seventeen. Hannah couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her grandmother to be married at such a young age. She remembered how naïve she’d been at sixteen and how Jared’s kiss had totally rocked her world. Hannah shook her head in bemusement. How had her grandmother reacted on her wedding night? Had anyone even explained what was going to happen to her? Hannah drifted slowly into a deep sleep, her mind fixed on a marriage bed and two young lovers locked together in an age old embrace. She dreamed of Jared.

 

 

Copyright © 1995 Caroline Woodson
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"