Free Southern Belles, a Novel About Love, Purpose & Second Chances (9781310340970) by Sarah Anderson Page A

cologne on the sweater as I brought the sleeves up to my face.
Making my heart skip a beat the smell brought me back to the
cabana. The smell was intoxicating. I closed my eyes and time
stopped all over again. I felt the butterflies fill my stomach,
remembering his kiss on my lips, and for a few quiet moments I
smiled reliving our unforgettable night. I couldn’t believe that
I’d met someone that I imagined a lifetime with. People talked
about having soul mates—people who were destined for each other. I
was sure he was mine. I was still floating, thinking about him, our
conversation, and how he made me feel. While waiting for CeCe, I
pulled the folded paper out of my pocket that Skylar placed in my
hand. On it were his number, Skylar, and a message that read olive juice? Seeing his handwriting made my face break into
an unending smile. I squeezed his sweater and inhaled Skylar’s
cologne again.
    “Char, where have you been?” CeCe asked,
interrupting my moment of joy. “I’ve been looking all over for you.
It’s almost four in the morning.”
    “CeCe—I met someone.”
    “Good, we need to go. I hope your mom’s not
still waiting up for us; she’ll be worried.”
    “I know, I lost track of time and I didn’t
care about anything else for once.” I said, glowing.
    CeCe stopped dragging me along and looked at
me, surprised. “You can tell me all about him on the way home.”
    Still intoxicated by the hormones pumping
through my body, I felt good and woozy. As we drove through the
quiet streets with our windows down and my hand waving through the
rushing summer air outside the car window, I told CeCe all about
Skylar. I told her how we made love in the private cabana under the
moonlit sky and that I thought he was the one .
    “Charlotte Renee Buchanan—you had sex!
Father John is going to be shocked! You better start on those Hail
Mary’s now!”
    “CeCe!”
    How was it? Was it good? Was he sweet? How
are you feeling? Did you use protection I hope?” CeCe blurted out
question after question.
    “CeCe! Yes it was incredible and yes we used
protection and yes Father John is going to be shocked. I still
can’t believe I did it. I don’t know what came over me. It’s not
what I planned.”
    “Well, are you going to see each other
again?”
    “Of course, we will. We exchanged phone
numbers. He also wrote olive juice on my paper. I’m not sure
what that was about. I’m already dreaming about the next time I’m
going to see him although I’ll probably need to tell him my real
name at some point.”
    CeCe giggled excitedly. “Char, mouth the
words olive juice without saying a sound. He’s saying I love
you.”
    Quickly mouthing the words I wanted to
believe that Skylar was trying to tell me he loved me…
too.
    Sneaking quietly into the house, I saw my
mother sleeping on the couch. She had fallen asleep while waiting
for us to come home. I pulled the throw from the back of the sofa
and covered her before turning off the light and TV. By the time I
slipped into bed, it was almost five AM. I laid in bed, wearing
Skylar’s sweater, with my windows open watching the remaining
journey of the moon as the sun quickly chased him away. I hoped he
was watching the same moon thinking of me too. I envisioned Skylar
and me on the beach until I fell asleep.
     
     
     
     

Chapter 5: The First Day of the Rest of Our
Lives
    Morning
came early that day. I was still dreaming about Skylar when my mom
came in my room to wake me up. I was so tired but happy. I’d only
slept about three hours by the time she sat on my bed and began
stroking my hair. She did this from time-to-time on lazy weekend
days to wake me up. As I turned over I saw my mom’s big smile.
Looking at her suddenly reminded me of one of the last things she
said before we left the house last night—not to do anything that
we couldn’t do if she were in the same room with us . I smiled
back at her, thinking about last night, and wondered if she could
see