Thanksgiving Break Part 1

Written For "A Romance Contest - winners announced"   by Osirantinous

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Picture Prompt 2

Adam snatched his phone out of his pocket and went into his text messages. He was certain she said to meet him at this spot an hour ago, yet the sun was already going down and no sign of Chelsea. He scrolled through older messages, laughing at some of the cute emoticons she’d sent when she was frustrated with professors, or feeling miserable about tests she wasn’t prepared for. It had been three long months since he’d seen her, and now he was back, but she was nowhere around. He contemplated going to her house, but after the last run in with her father, he wasn’t up for another round of heavy stares and muttering about city folk taking advantage during trips to the coast.

Darkness began to take over as the sun descended, a golden ball of fire disappearing into the inky stillness of the water. He stared at the phone in his hand, willing it to ring, or see her name flash over the screen—anything. Frustration set in now, turning his excitement into anger. He only had the four days to spend with her, and the first was drawing quickly to an end.

“Where are you, Chelsea?” he whispered, before turning to head back to his uncle’s house. If she wanted to see him, she would need to make the effort.

Adam traipsed across the sand as autumn’s chill made its presence known, his head low and thoughts in a whirl of what if’s. Maybe she met someone at college. Maybe she decided a long distance relationship was too much. Maybe she had a sudden change of heart. Maybe he’d been an idiot and said something that offended her, though none of those things really made sense.

“Hey,” Chelsea said, making him stop in his tracks.

He looked up at her, the slight smile tugging the corner of her sweet mouth beckoning him forward, still he didn’t move closer. Oh he wanted to. Wanted to run to her, wrap her up in his arms and swing her around, listen to the sound of her laughter, to kiss her breathless and not waste one more moment of this brief trip, but his feet refused to cooperate.

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry. Family stuff.” Chelsea shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.

He watched as she shifted from one foot to the other, and back again, the nervous habit still quite adorable. He didn’t understand why she would be uneasy since she’d been sending him happy texts for the past two days. Had something changed?

“If now’s a bad time.”

Chelsea stepped forward, leaving only a foot between them. “It’s not that. Have you had dessert yet?”

Adam shook his head. “No, I left right after Thanksgiving dinner to meet you.”

“Great!” Chelsea grabbed his hand, pulling him with her as she moved at a rapid pace from the beach to the main drag.

Her excitement made it impossible to stay mad. Adam enjoyed the warmth of her hand, the way her fingers fit between his, soft, yet firm as she held his hand, pulling him along. He remembered the sweet sound in her voice when she called him and said she missed him, and all the countless text message where he just knew she was close to saying the forbidden L word.

They moved down the street together, brown leaves crunching beneath their feet, the cool breeze blowing her brown hair in a wispy mess, turning toward the diner. He should’ve known she was leading him there, back to the place they first crossed paths, shared banana splits and milk shakes after days of fun in the sun. He released her hand opening the door for her, his eyes traveling over her curvy figure. Chelsea headed straight for the corner booth that let them look out over a field that met the ocean.

Before Adam could even protest, she ordered a lava cake and hot fudge sundae, piquing his curiosity. His stomach churned at the thought that something was seriously wrong because she never ordered more than one rich dessert. Two just spelled trouble. Was this to be their last hurrah? Would she ply him with sweets and then let him down gently?

“What’s going on?”

She shifted her brown eyes to the table, folding her hands over one another within his reach, her thumbs circling each other.

“My father,” she mumbled.

Adam closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that her change in mood from earlier probably had to do with him as well. Opening his eyes, he looked at her face, wishing she’d look at him, open up to him like she had all summer. He reached forward and rested his hand over hers, his index finger tracing a vein to her knuckles and back again, loving the feel of her soft skin.

“Chelsea,” he said. She looked up, gave him a half-hearted smile.

“You know how he feels about outsiders and long distance relationships. I stood on the steps listening to his blather the last time you came to pick me up,” she confessed.

His jaw dropped. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” It was bad enough Adam had to listen to her father’s assumptions about him, not to mention his threats to physically hurt him if he touched his daughter, but knowing she heard it all was like a punch in the gut.

The waitress returned setting the two desserts in the middle of the table. Adam sat back, wondering how long it would take her to answer the question.

Chelsea grabbed a spoon and dug into the lava cake, letting the steaming chocolate sauce ooze out and cover the plate. Next she dug into the sundae, took a big scoop and ate it. Adam stared, waiting, his mind whirling. If this wasn’t a serious conversation they were about to delve into he would be laughing right now watching her.

She ran her tongue over her lips, catching the hot fudge that didn’t make it into her mouth. For months he thought about kissing her, being with her, holding her, and knowing there was an elephant in the room seemed to be putting a damper on things already.

“What?” she asked, looking at him as a smile enveloped her pretty face. “Aren’t you having any?” Chelsea pushed the other spoon toward him.

Adam grabbed his spoon, filled it with lava cake and looked her right in the eye. “Tell me why you kept it to yourself all this time.” He filled his mouth with the delicious dessert, pretending to be more interested in the cake than her, and waited for her answer.

“Because I didn’t want it to ruin things between us.”

“Only we can do that.”

“I’ve seen the fallout here with some of my friends, and my Aunt is his prime example why summer flings turn to lifelong regrets.” Chelsea shrugged. “But. I’m smart enough to know that you’re different. So not the wham bam playboy.

Adam laughed. She had him pegged right. “Not my style, you’re right.”

They focused on finishing the dessert. Adam left money on the table, and grabbed her hand, pulling her out into the cool Autumn night. When they rounded the corner, he stopped and pulled her close. She looked up at him, excitement and shock mingling in the depths of her brown eyes.

“I’ve missed you,” Adam whispered before his mouth brushed against hers.

Chelsea’s arms wrapped around his waist, her fingers digging into his back. She moaned when his tongue slipped past her teeth, the fudgie sweetness lingering in her mouth as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues glided against one another, igniting the same excitement their first kiss had. He loved the feel of her soft body pressed against him, the way she matched him stroke for stroke, going up on her toes and melting into him. They fit together well, better than he remembered.

He broke the kiss, looked down at her swollen mouth and smiled. “Hi there.”

Chelsea laughed and buried her face in his chest. “I really missed you, Adam. You have no idea how much I’ve missed spending time with you.”

He held her tighter. “Oh, I think I have some idea. Listen, I know your dad has issues with me, but I’m not the type to take what I want with no disregard for your feelings.”

“I know,” she mumbled. “It’s why I didn’t say anything about that conversation. I also know what we have is different.” Chelsea pulled out of his arms and looked up into his face. “I love you, Adam.”

Adam’s heart raced at the words, wondering if he just heard what he thought he did, what he wanted to hear from Chelsea. It was possible he was reaching, expecting to hear those three words from her. She looked up at him, and he realized Chelsea waited for him to say he loved her too.

To be continued…



WC: 1494
Want more Chelsea and Adam? Check out "Summer Love"   by Purple Despises Orange
"Thanksgiving Break Part 2"   by Purple Despises Orange