Author's Note: So I lied a little. I didn't intend for these to be chronological, or to all string together neatly, but now I'm catching myself writing little filler chapters to (loosely) string them together, so there's that... Their exact ages get revealed in the next few chapters. Honestly the age gap is less than in some of my other stories, but since it's modern day (and American, I think.) standards, it's still a big deal.
I want to say I'm sorry, for the stuff I haven't done yet.
Things will shortly get completely out of hand
But I will walk down to the end with you
If you will come all the way down with me
~ Old College Try by the Mountain Goats
Cedric wiped his filthy hands on the worn rag as his eyes swept over Sofia, half tempted to send the girl away. She looked so pleased with herself as she held out the glass of lemonade that it was hard not to appreciate the gesture.
"Thanks, princess." He mumbled, accepting the ice cold drink. "I suppose it was about time for a break, anyways." They ambled down the gravel driveway, turning at the walk to climb the grey steps, where they both sat down. Her bare upper arm brushed against his, and he tried to ignore the tingle it elicited in the flesh that covered the spot as he drank the overly sweet beverage, listening to the ice clink against the glass.
"How much sugar did you put in here?" He complained, but she wasn't bothered by the criticism.
She opened her mouth to answer, but their attention was diverted by the approach of Roland's old Cadillac Castilian. The tires sent small stones spitting in all directions as it turned into the drive, and her father turned the engine off, climbing out to greet them.
"Are you done with that Delta, Cedric?" He called over, and Cedric suppressed the urge to argue that he had literally just sat down.
He'd been working for Roland for a few months now, and on a personal level they got along well enough, he supposed, save for the fact that he made Cedric inexplicably nervous - a situation not at all helped by Sofia's near constant visits to the garage. But when it came to work, the man could be rather unreasonable, and was constantly nagging at Cedric whenever he suspected him of 'slacking off'.
"He was just working on it, Dad." Sofia supplied for him, and silently he thanked her. "It's too hot in the garage, so I made him take a break." Roland frowned in the direction of the workspace, but finally relented. Cedric had noticed over the brief time he knew them that the older man struggled to refuse Sofia anything.
"Alright. But I expect it done by the end of the day." Cedric nodded, and Roland climbed the steps beside his daughter, mumbling excitedly about getting himself a lemonade.
"Yes, sir..." Sofia whispered sarcastically after the screen clattered closed, and Cedric nudged her to keep her quiet, afraid her father was still close enough to the front door to overhear.
He downed the rest of his lemonade with a gurn while Sofia languidly sipped away at hers. She took the empty glasses inside and he leaned back against the step behind him, fishing out his cigarettes and fighting with his lighter until he managed to get one lit.
"Let's go to the creek!" Sofia bubbled as she came back outside, flopping down next to him. He eyed her warily, wondering if she had somehow missed the fact that he had work to do.
"If I don't get that Delta running, your dad'll have my head." He reminded her, but Sofia just rolled her eyes as she claimed his free hand, tugging him to his feet.
"You have all day for that! It's barely past lunch time." She whinged, and for some reason he allowed her to lead him back behind the house. "Come on, it'll be fun!" She grinned back at him over her shoulder, though there was no real purpose in trying to persuade him now that he was already following her lead.
...
They came to the wooded bank of the creek, well beyond the wide grassy field that stretched behind her house. In fact, he realized as he looked back, he couldn't even see her house anymore.
"Is all of this land your dad's?" Sofia glanced around, too, and he realized that she simply took for granted that she had so much space to wander during her carefree summer days.
"Most of it, I think..." She answered with a slight shrug. Before he had a chance to catch on to what she was doing, before he could convince her not to, she lifted the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head in one quick, fluid movement.
He knew he shouldn't look, that the image would only torment him later, but his eyes memorized the pale expanse of her flat stomach and the mounds that spilled over the moulded striped cups for the moment that she stood there in her bra and shorts, before she turned and took a running jump into the murky green water, drawing her legs up as she plummeted to cause the biggest impact possible. She could have mentioned that she wanted to come here for a swim. He wished she might have planned ahead and changed into a proper bathing suit, though he supposed she had more fabric on than some of the bikinis he'd seen at public pools back home.
She resurfaced and stared up at him expectantly.
"Cedric!" She called out impatiently when he didn't move. "What are you waiting for?"
Brought back to reality, he motioned for her to turn around, and she rolled her eyes but complied. This is insane. I should just turn around and go back. Instead, he stripped down to his boxers and jumped in after her, a wave of relief hitting him as the water cooled his overheated body, a welcomed change from the late summer heat.
Sofia clasped her hands together and slid them through the surface of the water, sending a large splash in his direction and giggling as he shook his shaggy hair out. His heart fluttered as she peeked at him through her thick copper lashes, and he reached over and dunked her head under just so he could have a break from her unbearably adorable face. This girl is going to be the death of me.
Beneath the surface, she hurled herself into his chest, knocking him back until he was submerged with her, and he stared at her through the water as she tried to hold her breath instead of bursting out laughing. She looked so beautiful, with her darkened fiery hair floating around to frame her face, and her eyes dancing with amusement. She was everything he'd ever wanted, and she was right there within his grasp.
He was an idiot. He was an idiot and this was a huge mistake and he was painfully aware of the fact even as he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in to kiss her as best as he could without drowning them both. Fate had another idea, though, as she was taken so off-guard by his advance that she let out her held breath before their lips touched, and he had to release her so she could go up for air.
He closed his eyes, hating himself for what he'd very nearly done, and for startling the girl, then kicked up after her. He wouldn't mention anything. Maybe she had no idea of what had come so close to happening. Besides, talking about it would make it real, and he would much rather pretend it had been just his imagination.
