Charlotte's Tangled Web: L.B. Pavlov (12 page)

“Well, don’t forget to cheer for me, if Coach Pank decides to play his secret weapon,” he said, chuckling, and he winked at me. It made my skin crawl. He finally walked away after a long, awkward moment.

“He is so weird with you, Charlie,” Steph said, concerned.

“I think he is just a weird guy,” I said quietly.

Even the way he looked at me gave me the creeps. His texts were still coming, and I continued to delete them without ever responding and without mentioning them to Daniel. It would upset him, and he didn’t need to deal with this.

During lunch, Daniel presented the table with chocolate cupcakes with pink icing. Everyone loved it because they all got to have a cupcake. Daniel insisted that everyone sing to me before they ate. I could feel my face flushing hot with embarrassment. Daniel beamed as everyone sang to me. He was passing out the cupcakes when Crystal Bryant walked up to the table with her best friend, Jessica Volata.

“Oh, is it someone’s birthday?” she said in a nauseatingly phony voice.

Daniel snapped at her, “I think you know it’s Charlotte’s birthday.” He was obviously annoyed with her.

“Oh, you didn’t mention that to me on the phone last night, Daniel,” she said, staring at me.

I could feel my face turning red again, and I looked down at the ground.

“That’s because I didn’t have anything to say to you, just like I told you last night after I told you not to call me any more,” he barked at her, his voice growing angrier.

“Hmmmm, I don’t remember that. Must have slipped my mind. How old are you, Charlie? Twelve?” she simpered, and she burst out laughing.

I guessed that was supposed to be a jab at my less-than-womanly figure. I just stared at her, feeling shocked that she could hate me so much. When had I ever done anything to her?

Daniel was about to lash out at her when Sean jumped up and said, “Crystal, why are you here? Walk away. No one here wants to talk to you.” He was calm, but there was ice in his voice.

Kathleen looked right at Crystal and said, “Uh, you heard him. Buh-bye now,” she finished sarcastically.

Crystal and Jessica started to laugh and stormed away from the table. Daniel grasped my hand under the table. He looked at me and said, “Sorry,” solemnly.

I tried to shake it off because I was having such a good day. I tried to fake a smile, but something inside of me was seething. This must be jealousy, I thought. Did she really call him last night? Why hadn’t he mentioned it? Everyone was eating cupcakes, and Daniel was staring at me with a worried look.

“Hey,” he said, “is everything OK?”

“Yes, of course,” I said coolly.

He pulled me close and so only I could hear him. “I didn’t tell you that she called because it’s your birthday today, and I wanted the day to be perfect,” he said. “I only answered because she has called a few times before, and I tried ignoring her, but she has continued to call. I answered her call last night and told her that I wanted her to stop calling me.”

“What did she say?” I asked nervously.

“Charlotte, do you really want to talk about this today?” he asked, trepidation in his voice.

“Yes,” I said.

“She asked if you knew that I had hooked up with her before,” he said shamefully.

“What? Why? Daniel, did you sleep with her?” I said, dreading the answer. I could feel my blood begin to boil.

“No, of course not, but I told you that I hooked up with her once. She wanted to use that to break us up because she threatened to tell you,” he said, anger oozing from around his words.

“Why?” I asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know, Charlotte. I think she would have liked to have more with me. I’m sorry that I ever got together with her. It was a stupid thing to do,” he said in a remorseful tone.

“You have a past, Daniel, I’m aware of that. I just don’t like that she is playing games. And I don’t like that she wants to be with you because I don’t ever want to lose you.” I could feel my eyes filling with tears.

Daniel hugged me and assured me that I would never lose him. He promised that he would tell me if she ever called him again. I felt a huge wave of guilt come over me.

“Daniel, I have to tell you something,” I said nervously.

“OK? What is it?” I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

“Blane has still been texting me. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to be upset. I have never responded. I just delete the texts,” I said repentantly.

His eyes had a dark and angry look, and I could see an overwhelming look of concern come across his face. “How often?” he asked firmly.

“Um, maybe once a day, sometimes twice,” I said timidly.

“What the hell does he want?” he snapped, and a few people at our table looked up to see what was going on.

Daniel and I never argued. We just didn’t have that type of relationship. This wasn’t even really an argument because we weren’t mad at one another—at least I didn’t think we were.

“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” he said calmly.

We walked outside, and he turned me towards him. “I’m sorry for getting upset. I don’t like the guy. I never have. I don’t trust him,” he said while trying to contain his anger. “You have to promise me that you’ll tell me every time he texts you from now on, OK?” His voice was softening now. “It’s your birthday, we can’t let people ruin it, OK?” He said again, and he pulled me into an embrace.

Daniel was right; I would not let Blane and Crystal ruin how special today had been. I grabbed him and pulled his lips to mine. I kissed him for just a minute because we were still at school and quickly pulled away and smiled.

“Wow, a public display of affection, Charlotte. I’m shocked,” he said teasingly as he winked at me. We clasped hands, and he walked me to my final class.

After practice, we walked together to the truck. He hugged me again and planted a kiss on my lips before opening my door and placing me inside. He told me to get showered and to come over hungry. He had a bunch of surprises in store for me tonight.

I wore my jeans and my cream, off-the-shoulder sweater. I walked over and rang the doorbell. He opened the door, and he was beaming. He had on baggy jeans and a fitted, black, V-neck sweater with a white T-shirt underneath. He looked absolutely gorgeous. He was clean-shaven, and when he hugged me, he smelled so good it sent a shiver through my body.

He walked me into the dining room. There were candles lit everywhere, and several bouquets of pink roses in vases were placed all around the dining room. I just stared in absolute wonder. He pulled my chair out for me and guided me to sit down.

“I’ll be right back,” he said with a wink.

I tried to calm myself down. My heart was racing and my hands were shaking. No one had ever done anything so grand for me.

When Daniel went to the kitchen, I looked around the room. “Where are Grace and Tom?” I called out.

“They are actually gone for the night. They drove up to Notre Dame. Preston and Devon have a football awards banquet tonight,” he said. “They will be back tomorrow night.”

My heart rate picked up again. We were all alone in the house? Why was I suddenly nervous? Or was it excitement?

Daniel walked back into the dining room. “Dinner is served,” he said, laughing. It was my favorite meal: chicken marsala over rice.

“You made chicken marsala?” I said, impressed, and I started laughing. Daniel was a romantic, but the most I had ever seen him cook was pasta or toast.

“Well, maybe Lenora gave me a little help,” he admitted with a wink.

“I thought she went out with Carl tonight. She is such a sneaky little lady,” I said, laughing.

“Well, she did, but she cooked us a beautiful dinner first,” he explained, smiling.

I wasn’t surprised. Lenora would do anything for Daniel, and obviously anything for me. But I was happy she went out with Carl afterward. She and Carl had been dating for the last four years. He was a sweet older gentleman. They were both in their sixties, and his wife had passed away the year before he met Lenora. They were well-suited for each other, and I always encouraged her to spend time with him.

The dinner was incredible. We talked and laughed as we ate. When we were done, Daniel cleared the table, refusing to let me help him. I moved into the family room, which was attached to the kitchen, so we could continue talking. He apologized again about Crystal, and I apologized for not telling him about Blane’s texts. He finished cleaning up the kitchen and joined me on the couch.

“Are you ready for your present?” he said, teasing me.

“There’s more? You know, you really set the bar high for birthdays. Well, you set the bar high in everything that you do. Thanks for making my birthday so special,” I said, smiling at him.

“I have something that I want to give you, but I want to explain the reason that I got it for you first.” He continued, “It’s meant to represent a promise that I want to make to you. I know that we’re going to be far apart next year, but I’m promising to stay true to you, to us. I promise not to let the distance come between us. I promise to come see you every chance that I get. I want you to have faith in that. It’s very important for me to know that you believe we will be OK. I know that you worry, Charlotte, and the thought of you being worried, or lonely—I can’t function if you’re feeling that way. So I’m giving you this gift as a sign of my commitment to us.”

He reached in his pocket, pulled out a box, and handed it to me. He watched as I opened it, and I actually gasped when I saw what was inside. It was a beautiful silver ring with a petite, square-cut, pink diamond in the middle. It was stunning. I looked up at him, and I felt my eyes filling up with tears. I was just amazed at all that he had done to make today special.

“Now listen, you don’t need to wear it on your ring finger. The last thing we want to do is send your dad over the edge. We are not getting married at eighteen.” He laughed out loud. “Wear it on your right hand. I just want you to see it as a commitment to stay together, no matter where we are. Does that make sense?” he asked cautiously.

“It makes perfect sense. I will wear it all the time so I will always have a piece of you with me,” I said, and I threw myself into his lap and hugged him tightly.

We decided to go sit out back, He lit the fire pit, and we snuggled up on the couch out by the fire. Daniel lit some candles, and he brought a few blankets outside to keep us warm. He pulled me onto his lap, and our lips came together, pressing passionately against one another. My hands were clutching at Daniel’s hair and running down his back. I loved the way his muscles felt under my touch. He gently tilted my head back and began kissing my neck, caressing me with his tender touch. I felt my breathing become more rapid as his hands traveled down my back. I moved my hands to his chest and again felt his strong muscles through his sweater. I found the bottom of his cozy sweater, and I slid my hands beneath the fabric and ran them up his stomach. My hands were roaming around against his warm skin. I could feel my heart racing as I touched his body. His hands found the bottom of my sweater, and they began to venture underneath my sweater and up my back, across the strap of my bra, and around my shoulders. I loved the feel of his hands against my bare skin. I felt a moan escape my throat as he continued kissing down my neck and around my ears, using the tip of his tongue to guide the way. Our lips came together again, and this time I turned my body to face him, now straddling him on his lap. I began to move my mouth down from his face, my lips running down his neck, to his ears, and heading closer to his chest. His hands were still caressing my back, and his touch ignited little fires along my skin. I leaned back to bring his hands around to the front of my body. We were both panting now, and several moans escaped from both of our throats. His hands were gently touching my stomach, and I could feel his hesitation. I put my hands on top of his hands and guided them up my body, over my bra, and to my chest. I pressed my lips to his again, gently pushing my tongue forward in search of his. He pulled me back, and his eyes were blazing with passion.

“Charlotte, I think we need to stop,” he said breathlessly.

“I don’t want to stop, Daniel. Please don’t stop again,” I said desperately.

“I won’t be able to trust myself if we keep going. I think we need to take this part of our relationship slowly. Please don’t make this harder for me than it already is,” he pleaded.

He slid his hands back around to my back. He continued rubbing my back and pulled my body against his chest into a tight hug. We both calmed our breathing, and he kissed the top of my head.

“Don’t you want me?” I asked sadly.

He pushed me back so he could look at me. He was completely shocked by my question. “Charlotte, I want you more than I have ever wanted anyone or anything. But I’ve told you before that I don’t want you to do anything that you’ll regret. This is all new for you. If we move too quickly, I am afraid you’ll regret it,” he said very sincerely.

“We aren’t moving too quickly, Daniel. I want to be with you in every way. Can’t you give that to me?” I pleaded.

“Charlotte, you have told me a million times before that you were going to save yourself for when you were married. I don’t want to take that away from you. I don’t want to do anything before you’re ready. And I don’t think that you’re ready,” he said sweetly.

“Maybe I changed my mind,” I said quietly.

He started to chuckle. “You haven’t changed your mind, Charlotte. You’re responding to your body. You are feeling things that you haven’t felt before, and that is confusing you. There are lots of things that we can do without having sex. I want to take it slow and make it special for you. Can you please trust me on this?” he firmly requested.

“OK, as long as I can kiss you whenever I want,” I said back determinedly.

“Yes, I’m OK with that,” he admitted, laughing some more.

I yawned and wrapped myself up in the blanket.

“Are you tired? Do you want me to take you home?” he fussed over me.

“Not yet, please don’t make this night end yet, Daniel,” I said as I looked down at my beautiful ring on my right hand. It sparkled in the firelight,; it was the most beautiful thing I had ever been given.