Free Nothing Like the First Time by Keren Hughes

I’m sorry I haven’t spoken to you in a while. Could you call me sometime maybe? Carls x
     
    My phone rang straight away. I smiled a little as the photo of Grey flashed on the screen.
    “Hi, Carls. What’s up?” he sounded happy, was it because I’d broken the silence between us?
    “Hi , Grey. Nothing’s up, I just wondered if you were free sometime to get together and talk?”
    “Sure. When were you thinking?” he asked in an even happier voice.
    “Umm… whenever you’re not busy.”
    “I’m free now ,” he said.
    “I’ve just been by your house and your mother said you were at the lake house with Tim and Naomi.”
    “You came by to see me?” Now he sounded surprised.
    “I did.”
    “Well, you could always drive over here. Tim and Naomi won’t mind.” He covered the microphone on the bottom of his phone and said something I couldn’t make out “Yeah, Tim and Naomi said its okay by them.” I heard him walking out of the room.
    “Are you sure? I mean , you guys don’t need me turning up out of the blue.”
    “Carls, honestly, it’s fine by them and as for me, I’d love to see you. I’d come home but I’ve had a beer with lunch and don’t want to drive for a while.”
    “Okay, I’m at the park, so I’ll see you in just over half an hour.”
    “See you then, Carls .”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    I arrived at the lake house and all was quiet outside. The sky looked beautiful across the lake at this time of day. All I could hear was the sound of crickets chirping somewhere and a bird singing. I was taken back to the many summers I had spent here growing up with Grey. We had stayed for days on end down here in this peaceful retreat. I could see why Tim and Naomi had moved here. I closed my eyes and let the memories play like a movie in my head.
     
    It was the last weekend of the summer and Grey had invited me to stay at the lake house. We had the place to ourselves for the first time all summer. The other weekends had been a mixture of coming down here with Grey’s family and inviting our friends down to party.
    It was Friday night, Grey and I were snuggled together in front of the open fire in the inglenook fireplace. Grey moved a stray lock of my hair from my face and kissed me tenderly.
    “I’m going to marry you someday, Carly Summers ,” he said.
    “Mrs . Carly Sterling, has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” I replied.
    “It sure does , baby, and one day in the not too distant future, I’m going to make it a reality.” He smiled down at me with that beautiful smile he reserved only for me and moments of pure happiness.
    We d idn’t know that in three short days’ time, that future would be torn from us.
    Grey and I spent the weekend making love and cozying up on the dock or by the fire. It was as though we were two halves of one whole.
    Grey had brought his camera with him and he took some beautiful photos of the lake house, the sky at night, all manner of things. He took photos of me and some of the two of us, memories that would last us a lifetime.
     
    Someone clearing their throat brought me out of my reverie. I opened my eyes and saw Grey. He was a mere foot away from me, so close I could reach out and touch him.
    “You made it ,” he said with a smile.
    “I sure did ,” I replied with a small smile of my own. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. We were both here, I finally knew what was going on with Maggie, and now it was time to stake my claim on the man that owned my heart. Trouble was, I was frozen to the spot.
    Grey came closer and stood so that there was barely room for breath between us. He reached out his hand to move a lock of my hair that had been blown by a wind I hadn’t felt. He brought his hand down to my cheek and left it there. It seemed like he too wasn’t sure what to do in this moment. Someone had to do something, but I felt paralyzed with fear, what if I was making a mistake?
    “I’m really glad you