Adam entertains an old flame.  Could it be love the second time around?

Rating:  Teen   Words:  750

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A SHADY ENCOUNTER

 

In a small private room on the far side of town

Sat a lady of mystery who wore a blue gown

A handsome young cowboy dressed only in black

Toasted her, smiling, with a warm “Welcome back.”

He was charming, disarming; she was coy and demure

They talked of old times, things simple and sure

Their laughter was poignant, remembering the past

A young love so wondrous, too fragile to last

The wine did flow freely, as did a few tears

Recalling the sorrows and joys of those years

Now older and wiser, a friendship so true

Is all that remains for the Black and the Blue

A kiss on the cheek so sweet and so tender

And then she departed leaving him to remember

What he’d forgotten about his long lost lady –

A peach of a friend, but at cards she was shady!

~*~

It was the moment he’d been dreading since the day he started thinking she might actually be the one after all. That night at the hotel, when they toasted old times, he could feel something happening between them that was too big to ignore. She felt it too, but like him, she was cautious. After all, they’d tried it once before and it had left them both stung.

He was surprised she’d never married, and he wondered why. She couldn’t give him a definitive answer anymore than he could give her one. It all came to down to the fact that the right person hadn’t come along at the right time. But they were older now, and hopefully, wiser. And while it was certainly not the most important thing, she was still a beauty.

The evening had ended rather abruptly after a game of high stakes poker. Though he didn’t call her on it, he was pretty sure she’d cheated. She laughed and told him to let her know if he wanted a chance to win back his money and hoped there were no hard feelings. “None at all,” he assured her. It turned out the be the best $150 investment he ever made.

Not that it was all that easy to convince her. The woman had never been a pushover. It was a while before he even got a kiss. She wanted to be certain, she told him. It was worth the wait. After that, things moved pretty quickly in the direction he’d hoped they would go. This time they both appeared ready to take the next step.

But there was still this one thing, and he had every intention of making a clean breast of it but kept putting it off, waiting for the right moment to tell her. The right moment never came, and now it had blown up in his face. She’d found out on her own. This was not good.

“Well?” Her eyes and her tone accused him as she waited for an explanation.

He flinched. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you. I just…”

She cut him off. “You lied to me.”

“I never lied to you.”

“And you just did it again!”

“What are you talking about?”

“You knew what I thought, and you let me go on thinking it. That’s the same as lying, isn’t it? Why?”

She held the incriminating evidence in her hand. He stammered an explanation that sounded shallow even to him. “I was worried…that you might change your mind about us.”

The look on her face was incredulous. She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you have so little faith in me.”

“You’re right. I was wrong. I’m sorry. All I can do is ask you to please forgive me so we can put this behind us and not spoil the rest of the evening. You will forgive me, won’t you?”

Her expression softened, somewhat. “Of course I forgive you, you stupid man.”

He leaned in for a kiss. “Can I have it back now?”

“No.” She stepped away from him with a smirk. “Vanity, thy name is Adam Cartwright. I’m keeping your little secret. Wear your hat instead.”

Mustering dignity, he shoved his hat over his ears and made his way slowly toward the door. He could hear her laughing behind him, and he had a feeling he’d overplayed his hand and she was about to call his bluff.

“You’re not going anywhere, are you, cowboy.” It wasn’t a question.

She was right. So was he. She was definitely the one. Even if she did cheat at cards.

END?

If you’re wondering how everything turned out for these two, you can read more about them in Story Time