"Hey," Sharon called out to us. She tried to calm herself by pulling her lower lip into her mouth and looking nervously around the room. "I knocked, but you didn't answer when I called your name. I, um…Since I still had your keys and everything else, I decided to come check on you and make sure you were okay. "I'm fine," I said while lying.She cocked her brow in question.She said, "Well, I'm not," to the question.Fuck.What had transpired a few hours earlier was of much less consequence to me at this point because she was back with me, and the image of her resting her head on my chest was the thing that kept running through my mind. This is where she was. She made her way back. She continued to visit despite the fact that I had been a jerk and warned her not to come again."I'm sorry," I said. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to freak out on you," the speaker said.Sharon's lips curved into a wry smile, but her eyes retained their sad expression throughout the exchange."I'm sorry, too
Even for Ron Jones, there was nothing really fascinating that transpired. Simply the fact that he was a member of the council and had two daughters, both of whom were adults. I did not know my way around town other than how to get to the shopping mall, but at least I was able to obtain an address. As I previously stated, the citizens of the town did not have a favorable opinion of the Phanuel's, which is why I avoided the town as much as possible. My father was of the opinion that I should not become involved in political matters and should instead let him handle all interactions with political figures. However, it was the extent of his involvement with me in soccer-related activities. There were occasions when he would bring me along to rub the soccer stuff in their faces. When I had gone out with him a few times, it was abundantly clear that we were not welcome at the social events we had attended.Obviously, it could have been because I had raped one of the alderman's daughters in
I wasn't an idiot at all. I'd watched shows that aired after school. I understood that a lot of sh*t about my life was messed up: my mother had passed away, my father had to cope with the challenges of being a single parent, and I had no real knowledge about what a connection between a man and a woman was meant to be beyond putting tab A into slot B. However, I did know that a lot of sh*t about my life was messed up. When everything was said and done, I was aware that my father should not have punched me in the face.And I was aware that he was aware of it as well.When I was fifteen years old and desired to attend an all-night party at the beach, the only other time I had ever used his remorse as a weapon against him was. He refused to let me go because I had a workout scheduled for the next day, so I moped around until he eventually lost it. Then I proceeded to tell him that I was meant to go the weekend before, but I had been unable to do so.I couldn't go out in public because I h
"I know," Sharon murmured, "but she still believes she loves him." I have no doubt that she adores the child, but given that Murphy and I are the only two individuals who are aware of his existence, their options for assistance are somewhat limited. When she needs to work, I take care of the children since Ron has so many obligations with the council that he can't miss. It's not like he could bring Timmy with him to a conference or anything like that.I was curious, so I asked, "So why the disappearing act?""Sophie works at the diner," she informed me. "Occasionally, when the loggers come through or a bus stops or something of the sort, they get slammed, and they call her in. She is unable to let them know that she won't be able to make it because of the baby because then everyone would know. "So Ruth has come to the rescue.""Or something along those lines." Sharon smiled in her dry way at me.My worries began to go away as I leaned back on the couch. I was relieved it wasn't what
I responded with "Yeah," after which I cleared my throat so that I could repeat it once more, this time more clearly. "Yeah, I'd like that."“Cool.”I had to tilt my head to the side to gain a better angle before I could look down at her. In the gentle early morning light that was cast by the sun as it rose over the trees, her cheeks had a faint pinkish hue to them. As I did so, I couldn't help but smile to myself as I stroked my finger over one of her cheeks. I sighed out the last one after taking a few long, deep breaths to help me regain some control over the various portions of my body that were acting on their own volition. "I suppose it's my responsibility to ensure that you make it to class on time," I said.Sharon concurred and stated that "it would probably be a good idea."I reached down and picked up the ball, then tucked it into the crook of my arm. I extended my hand and grasped Sharon's hand in mine before leading her and the other person into the structure with our arm
I wasn't sure whether it actually improved who I was as a person, and I'm pretty sure it didn't, but if I was talking to a female, I made sure to be very honest about my goals. I never said anything to the effect of "I'll be your boyfriend" or "Gimme a little, and I'll take you to the dance" or anything else along those lines. I explained my objectives to them, and they either had an interest in pursuing them or they did not. The majority of them were only using me to claim that they had already fucked me in any case, and that I was only using them to get off. I wasn't exactly the model of chastity when it came to the ladies, but at least I was honest with them. Sharon's ex-boyfriend had cheated on her, lied to her, and used her in a very different way than she had been used to in the past.And it was obvious.I'd been with timid girls and reluctant girls, particularly virgins who weren't sure what to anticipate, but Sharon was the only one who acted the way she did. Sometimes she wou
I rolled onto my back and breathed deeply for a few minutes while I was there. Although I could feel my cock deflating, it was also the one spot that was able to reassure me that I still had a pulse. The remainder of me had the sensation of being submerged in a vast ocean of Sharon's hair.She had a pleasant aroma even now.When I attempted to get up and fetch us a towel, Sharon pushed me back against the bed and proceeded to do it herself. I could hear her going into the bathroom and turning the water on in the sink. A few seconds later, she emerged from the room with a hand that was less sticky and a towel that was somewhat damp, both of which she handed to me. After cleaning up, I brought her back down to where I was standing.Between each kiss, I murmured, "You are so...fucking...fantastic..." I could feel a grin creeping into the corner of her mouth."Did you like it?""I told you it was f*cking fantastic," the speaker said.I sneaked my hand back behind her back and cupped her b
I required something plausible and quick to come up with. I reapplied my poker face and gave a dismissive shrug. As soon as I stated, "I think I can talk her into anal," I felt a knot form in my gut. In the very back of my throat, I could detect the taste of bile. "She indicated that she could." He narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at me, and then he glanced at me. I did not move, and I did not take my eyes off of him at any point. I just kept staring directly into his eyes and making an effort to slow down my breathing as much as I could. The skin around the corners of his eyes scrunched up, and just as I thought I was going to burst, he flung his head back and laughed. I thought I was going to pass out. "I can hear it now!" he exclaimed as he laughed once again. "I can hear it now!" "Hey, Sheriff! I've heard that your daughter is a real pain in the rear end!" He shut the refrigerator without taking anything out of it, and as he moved out of the kitchen into the living room
EPILOGUE "Oh, come on! You can do it! You can do it!I did a half-jog down the side of the field while yelling at the seven first graders who were running up and down the pitch in a tiny clustered shape. It looked like the ball was the queen bee, and the kids were the worker bees. It made no difference which position they were meant to be in because in the end, they were all within three feet of each other."Spread yourselves out!""Stay on your side!" is a command.“Jonathan! You're on defense! Get back!"Jonathan Walsh did not stop chasing after the ball until he noticed his mother standing on the sidelines with his younger sister and a pouch of Capri Sun. Jonathan was surprised to see his mother in that position. He came to a stop directly in front of her."Do you have any juices available?"Maria greeted the youngster with the words, "Here you go, sweetie," as she passed the child a bag containing sugar water. While he was there, the opposing team went right past him and scored a
That evening, I sketched a drawing of Sharon's hand, depicting the ring that she was wearing on her ring finger. She admitted that the tears she shed were happy tears, but it was still enough to make her cry. I was the one who held her, and we both came to the conclusion that we would wait until after we had graduated before we actually did the deed.Words from Shakespeare that I had never pondered before found their way into my head: "When this ring parts from this finger, then parts life from hence." [Shakespeare] "When this ring parts from this finger, then parts life from hence." Simply having the awareness that it was present made a world of a difference to me.At this point, I am willing to hold off."Are you okay?""No," I answered. I laughed, but it sounded more apprehensive than happy and there wasn't much delight in the sound. "Is it absolutely necessary for me to be here?"Gardner nodded his head in agreement as he stated, "It's rather customary." They aren't just going to
Once more, he turned his eyes to look at me, and the space between his thick, dark brows was tightly knit together."I already missed so much of your life," he whispered to her. "I'm sorry." "I don't want to miss out on anything else."I was completely at a loss for words regarding my response. When I was trying to think of something that my dad, Lou, had ever done that was even remotely comparable to this, thoughts of him kept popping into my head. Despite the fact that he had repeatedly brought to my attention the extent of the things he had given up for me, nothing could even come close to competing with what he had done.I gave in and said, "That's not something you have to do."His response was, "I know I don't have to," and he was right. When he saw that I was sitting on the opposite side of the bed, he got up and walked around to that side. Before continuing, he sat down next to me and resumed his conversation. "Williams, I am interested in doing this. I long to be in physical
I responded with, "Bullshit," "I'm going to walk again—Danielle even predicted I would. Even though it will probably be another few weeks until I walk, I will walk. I won't be able to play again... at least not to the same level as before. I am aware of that. I have come to terms with it.""I know you say that," she remarked as she walked back over to the bed and clasped my hand in hers. "but I also know that it still has to get you down."I shrugged."Occasionally," I was honest enough to say. "However, I am also aware that despite what my father has always said, it is not the entirety of my existence. I really hope that I'll be able to...I don't know, at the very least I should run around and kick a ball again at some point in the future, but if I don't, I'll just have to learn to live with it. Perhaps I'll try my hand at coaching or something. You wouldn't be in my life if I weren't the way that I am. When compared to that, losing at soccer is a pretty fucking tiny setback.Sharon
"This is complete and utter hogwash!"When I was in that situation, I would have given almost anything to be able to get out of my chair and punch a hole in the wall that separated me from Justin's office in the rehabilitation center where we were both working. I did nothing but sit there with my hands clenched into fists and pressed on my eyes instead.My resentment for Lou, my father, surfaced from deep within me, as it had been doing so frequently in recent days, and poured out in the form of tears.It was the worst thing ever.I looked over at Justin, who was seated in the chair directly across from me. He had leaned back in the chair, which caused the front legs of the chair to raise up off the floor a little bit. When we chatted, he never had a notebook, a clipboard, or anything else with him, so I always wondered a little bit if he just recalled everything or if he wrote it down afterward. He never had anything with him when we talked.There were times when I, too, despised him
“Yeah.” When I looked up at him, I noticed that he was smiling for the very first time since I had met him for lunch."Thanks, Williams," was the response he gave.My response was, "You're welcome," and I meant it. “So, um, what should I call you?”His forehead wrinkled up in concentration."Um, what do you want to call me?" "Whatever you want.""I don't know," I confessed to myself. "I have always referred to Lou as Dad. I really don't want to refer to anyone else by that name.""I'm not so sure I'd be completely comfortable with that, either," he said. "I'm not so sure I'd be completely comfortable with that."I remarked to him, "I've just been calling you Gardner in my head," and he laughed.He let out a laugh."Since I've been playing in the band, I can't say that anyone has really called me that, but if they did, I wouldn't mind.""Cool," I said. I extended my hand and we exchanged handshakes. "Gardner it is."Soon after that, I had pretty well had it with sitting in the fucking
I did nothing but sit there as a busboy cleaned up the shattered glass and a server attempted to remove all of the water that had accumulated on the table. I didn't know what to make of the situation, and it made me anxious. The toes on my right foot continued to twitch, as they had previously done on occasion. Danielle explained to me that it was only a habitual response. In spite of the fact that she claimed it to be a positive omen, the event drove me completely insane. It was impossible for me to make it stop.My…father…Dad…Williams…I was at a loss as to how to properly address him or even think about him. Within my head, I had recently begun referring to him as Gardner. That appeared to be working about as well as anything else could have. Gardner was also just sitting there, but he had his hands balled up into fists, and he had hardly no food left on his sandwich. He was completely silent up until the moment the server walked away.“How?” When he spoke, though, it was in a raspy
"No," he responded. "I don't believe that to be the case, at least. She stated that it was imperative that she do it once more. I simply could not...fuck...I had such a hard time recalling her name that it was embarrassing! However, there she was, insisting that I was the only one for her, and...and...shit!I was startled when he slapped his hand down on the table with such force. He leaned in close to himself and rubbed the backs of his hands in front of his eyes."You have my utmost respect. She shared with me how much she admired my work and that she had seen each and every one of my Hamlet performances when I was playing the title role. Even though she thought the band's music was terrible, all she cared about was seeing me. I was completely at a loss for what to do. She had traveled all the way from the western shore just to discover that she had no method of getting home. I invited her to remain with me, but she was only here for a few weeks. I should have known things wouldn't
"You want me to come in?" I asked. When Sharon inquired. "I can just wait in the lobby or something," she said. "I have no problem with that.""It shouldn't take long," I remarked to myself. I think it would be easier for me if you could simply, I don't know...hang out here for a while? I could give you a call if it appears that the process is going to take longer than expected.As she examined me, Sharon's eyes become somewhat constricted at one point."All right," she murmured in response. "You can find me in the car.""Thanks," I said. I made an effort to grin at her, but I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm for it. I had to roll quite a distance away from the entrance on one side in order to access the wheelchair ramp, and then I had to push myself quite hard in order to make the angle. I had not yet gotten acclimated to climbing steep slopes, therefore doing so was not simple for me. When I arrived to the door, there was one of those buttons that you could push to make the door