(Author's Note: This story is a love story which eventually includes sex. One of the characters has a lot of baggage that the couple must patiently deal with in order to open the door to a loving, fulfilling physical relationship. Please enjoy the buildup and getting to know them.)
***
Chapter 1: But That Mall Sucks
One cool mid-September day, I complained to a co-worker about being bored with the local lunch fare. We'd both worked there long enough to have explored everything nearby. It was the same few restaurants with the same, unchanging menus. I needed something new in my life.
"Try the food court at the mall downtown," he suggested. I started to object, but he interrupted. "I know, I know. It's been renovated. Yeah, it's a longer drive, but it's got some new restaurants." He shrugged. "Maybe you'll find something you like."
Without a better plan, I went for it. The choice was easy enough: same old boring shit versus
not
that. So yeah, I pulled into the mall parking lot and found a spot near the food court. It'd been years since I had last been here, and from the outside, it didn't look like anything had changed. Inside was better, and I wandered around for a while, hoping one of the new restaurants would catch my eye.
This mall didn't have much else going for it anymore, despite the renovation, except for the movie theater. The food court was connected to one of the better theaters in the area, so it still managed to get busy on weekends, but the Tuesday lunchtime crowd wasn't deserving of the name.
I made my choice, more or less at random, ordered my food, and paid. I figured this would be my lunch destination for a while. Soon enough, lunch in hand, I turned to the common seating area and looked for a good spot that wasn't right next to other people, because sitting next to strangers as a solo diner has never not felt weird.
I picked an empty table and sat down. As I took my first bite, I looked around idly and noticed a table directly ahead of me with a group of girls sitting around it. Attractive girls, who looked to be my age, or at least close to it, so of course they now had my attention. The girl who was facing me was, in fact, watching me, and because I was watching her watch me, I noticed when she said something and made a subtle gesture in my direction.
I immediately dropped my attention to my food so I wouldn't be caught staring at the girls, who, if I guessed correctly, were now sneaking glances at me. I hoped it was because the first girl thought I was cute, and not some other--
"Rob?!"
I looked up instantly at the sound of my name, trying to figure out who had said it. It was definitely one of the girls, and it sounded familiar. Did I know one of them?
Oh shit. Had I
dated
one of them?
I sought out each of their faces, but then one of the girls stood up, drawing my eyes. She brushed her hair behind her ear as I studied her face, and then recognition set in. My stomach dropped. My mouth hung open.
It was
her
. The one that got away. The one I never thought I'd see again. The one I hadn't seen, in fact, for five years. And here she was, randomly sitting two tables away in the food court of a mall I don't go to anymore.
My mouth regained its use. "Natalie?!" I blurted out, but I was way behind the times because she had already crossed the distance and was reaching for me.
I stood up just in time, my arms reflexively closing around her. I marveled in the feel of her against me and the smell of her hair and... and realized this was literally the first time we'd ever hugged. And yes, that was a weird thing to think about 'the one that got away.' I realized it as soon as I thought it, but my brain was still trying to make a three-point turn in traffic.
"Hi," she said. I took her in, her look, her sound, everything. "So..." she said, trailing off, eyebrows climbing as she waited expectantly for me to say something.
I pushed her back a bit so I could see her face. She had dark eyes and long dark brown hair, but smooth, pale skin, like someone who didn't spend much time outside. She was about five-six or so, and thin, or in really good shape. Five years older, but considering how young we'd been the last time we'd seen each other, that was no problem whatsoever. The baby fat was gone, and she was drop dead gorgeous in a no-longer-a-teenager way. She was wearing what looked like some sort of uniform, but I didn't spare any thought for that. Also, she wore a pair of earrings. I distinctly remembered she was
definitely
not allowed to have those before.
"Yes, it's me, you dork," she said around a huge smile, and then, in a quiet voice meant only for me, "I've changed."
"So I see," I said just as quietly. I realized I had my hands on her shoulders. I didn't remember how they got there, but I took the opportunity to give her slim shoulders a little squeeze. "I can't believe it's you."
"Yeah," she sighed. "I don't even know where to start. I'm so sorry we lost contact. My parents..." She shuddered. "There's so much to tell. When they found out I had gone on a
date
, to a
dance
, and
held hands with a boy
... well, I was grounded for life, basically."
I said nothing as I let all that sink in. My brain was rebooting and logic and reason were on their way back.
Her eyes were welling up with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry... I tried to look for you..."
"No need to be sorry," I said, giving her shoulders a good rub, then I deliberately let go because it was honestly starting to feel a little awkward. "I tried to look for you, too."
"But you didn't know where I lived. My parents didn't let me have a phone. They didn't let me share my email address." She actually managed to crack a weak smile. "It was pretty hopeless."
I coughed. "Yeah... I asked your friends, but nobody knew anything. You just disappeared."
The other girls from the table had circled around us as we spoke, but none of them had said anything yet. I glanced around at them, but Natalie seemed fine with them being there. "So... what happened?" I asked.
"My parents," Natalie practically spat. "That's what happened. You couldn't find me because we
moved away
the very next day."
"Moved? But, how?" I was stunned. "Who can move so fast?"
"They own a second home in Los Angeles. They packed some things and we left on a plane the very next morning. They set me up in a private girl's school and I started there the day after that."
One of the girls, a pretty, petite blonde, finally couldn't hold back anymore. "Holy shit, that really happened?"
Natalie looked hurt. She turned to her friend. "You didn't believe me?"
One of the other girls, a curly-haired brunette, had the grace to look embarrassed. "It's just that it's so extreme. It's hard to believe your parents would overreact so..." She fished around for the words. "That they'd be so..."
"So fuckin' crazy," said the third girl, who had very long, black hair and reminded me of someone I worked with. Curly girl nodded emphatically.
"So Rob is real, too," said the blonde, looking at me. "And taller and cuter than you said, Nat."
I winked at her. "Well, I've been eating my vegetables and really working out my cuteness muscles."
The girls giggled.
"Let's join tables," said curly girl. They brought their trays to me even though I insisted it would be easier if I moved since there was only one of me, but they were already in motion. One of them grabbed a chair and we fit all five of us around the table without making it too tight. Natalie, of course, ended up right next to me, which was just how I liked it.
Natalie introduced her friends. The blonde was Ashley, the curly-haired brunette was Monica, and the one with long, black hair was Brooke.
"So..." I said, trying to figure out how to continue this conversation. "You moved to L.A. overnight. What happened after that?"
She let out a long breath. "There's so much I haven't told anyone."
"Oh god," Ashley said, her eyes wide. "What
didn't
you tell us?"
"Yeah," said Monica. "If you thought the stuff you did tell us was bad, I'm dying to know what you left out."
Natalie spilled the beans while her friends and I listened in horror. Once we got used to the general level of awfulness her parents operated on, the girls and I remembered our food and we managed to eat and listen. The lecture Natalie had received had been in multiple stages over two whole days, and her parents forced her to meet with several religious leaders who lectured her more. They'd made her read and recite bible passages about purity and deceit and other things that really didn't seem to apply. They'd forbidden her from even talking to boys, and the girls' school was an easy way to make sure there were no boys around. No phone, of course. No unmonitored internet usage. She wasn't allowed to go out with friends, and she ended up so depressed she didn't have friends anyway. She was told repeatedly how worthless a "used" woman was, how no man wants a slut, and plenty of other crap like that.
And just when I thought she was done, she kept going. "One time, my mom heard a rumor that girls were wearing thongs and 'sexy' bras to school, so she wouldn't let me out of the house without checking my underwear first. And, oh yeah, I forgot this one. They set a rigid daily schedule for me and if I didn't follow it, they'd punish me by taking away my stuff. Something different every time, and I'd have to earn it back. They took away my bed and I had to sleep on the floor. It took a month to earn that back."
She put her head down to take a bite of food, and I took the opportunity to share horrified looks with the girls. Brooke spoke up tentatively. "Uh, Nat, that kinda sounds like abuse."
Well that killed the conversation. Everyone just looked at each other uncomfortably. Nat still had her head down, but she wasn't eating, just sitting there in stillness.
I cleared my throat. "So let me get this straight," I said in a desperate attempt to salvage things. "The date with me, in which I took you to a high school dance, and held your hand, and--" I fixed her friends with a serious stare. "Where
nothing else
happened, was, in your parents' eyes, such a serious crime that they instantly took you a thousand miles away and changed your entire life?"
Natalie was just toying with her food, but she nodded. I placed my hand atop hers.
"I'm really sorry, Nat," I said. "It sounds like I totally messed up your life."
"Oh come
on
