* Please Review! So for the first time ever, I was told that my stories are bland and that all my stories have no actual plot, just sexual plots. Funny but untrue. My stories have sex, yes but they have plots too. I put a lot of time and thought into my stories. I'm sorry if this story seems bland, there is a plot and action to come but I think Van and Avalon need to get to know each other. If I just jumped right into the action, you won't connect with Avalon and it wouldn't make sense for Van to care about her. And Also, I was asked how to say her name, it's Av-A-Lawn.*
" So where's your mom? You heard from her yet?" Jason asked as he and Flip roamed through the dining room and kitchen of Van's old house. Van sighed and suddenly felt like he had made a big mistake. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about his mother with Avalon. He looked over at her as she looked out the window and over the dark lake.
" I don't know." He said. Avalon turned and tilted her head as she looked at him. " I haven't heard from her in years." He said, meeting her eyes. Avalon nodded, understanding went over her face.
Van, Flip, and Jason started talking together but most of Van's attention was still on the girl with him. She had started to lean against the window, putting her back against it, to watch the three interact. Van's eyes would dart from his friends to her. There was no judgment in her eyes as his friends talked about their life on the road, selling pot, sleeping in tents and robbing houses. Her entire attention and focus seem to be on him.
After almost an hour, the group decided to leave. Flip and Jason mounted their bikes, promising to see their friend the next day and waving to Avalon. Van and Avalon hang back, waiting until the boys pulled out before they started walking. Van was unsure of what to say. She didn't seem to mind Flip and Jason but he was still unsure. What if she had been thinking about everything and now that they were alone, she decided she didn't like Van or want to be around him?
" Your friends are hyper." She said, taking his hand in hers. Van looked down as her small fingers linked with his. He smiled in the darkness.
" Yeah." He said, looking back at the road while they walked. " They're alright guys though." Silence. She moved closer to him until she was almost leaning against him. Van slowed their steps down. They were close to her house and he wasn't ready to end the night.
" My mom left my dad and I too." Avalon said. Van looked down at her but she let her head come to rest against his arm.
" When?" He asked, looking back at the road.
" When I was real little. I barely remember her, it was so long ago. I think I was four or so." Avalon answered. Van nodded even though she couldn't see him. He started to gently rub his fingers against hers.
" Do you know why?" He asked.
" Not really. For as long as I can remember, my dad always said she just couldn't handle things and she just left. The day after we finished moving here, him and I got into a huge fight though and he yelled that she left because of me. He said that I was a whiny toddler who cried all the time and she hated me."
Her voice was so quiet that Van could hear the slaps of the waves against the lake bank and the insects that only came out in the night. Cicadas cried out from all around them and a few bats flew overheard. The sun had set but the night was still hot and sticky. Van frowned in the darkness. It was hard enough for him to handle that his mom left him as a young teen, he couldn't imagine being a young child and having her leave, let alone being told it was because she hated him.
" Wow, I'm sorry, Avalon." He hated it when people said that to him and yet he found himself saying it to her.
" That was the day you and I met." And it all make sense now. She had been upset, so upset that she wanted to end it all. " Isn't it funny how the parent who left becomes the one you idolize?" Avalon lifted her head up from his arm and started to lightly swing their arms. " I mean, when I was young, I went so far as to pretend that my mom was taken away from me, instead of leaving." Again, Van looked at her.
" What do you mean?" He asked. Avalon shrugged and raised up her head so she was looking straight ahead of them.
" Well, I pretended that I saw a man come into our house in a mask and grab my mom, like snapping her neck. I pretended that she was killed because I couldn't accept that she'd just leave me, I guess. Well, that's why my dad said I did it. I pretended it so much that I created a memory with it. Someone came in, killed her and dragged her out. A few hours later, my dad came in and took me away from the house." She said.
" How do you know that didn't happen?" Van asked.
" Because as the years went on, I added more and more to it so that the pretending became real to me. At first I decided she had just been kidnapped and my dad couldn't find her, then I thought, well she must have been killed and that's why she never came back. Then one day, I invented the mask man." Avalon explained. " My dad said I always had a huge imagination. I guess he took me to a doctor for the 'memories' and the doctor said that it was my way to cope with my mom leaving, you know? The doctor said that my little mind couldn't handle the fact that she had left us so it came up with a reason why."
" That actually makes sense. I mean, when you're a kid, how are you supposed to deal with grown up shit?" Van said. They fell silent as they walked, each thinking about their missing parent. She was right, he did idolize his mother to a certain degree and blame his dad for her leaving. And inside, Van knew that was stupid. His brain knew it was wrong but his heart needed to blame someone. It wasn't long before Avalon replaced her head on Van's arm. " My mom, dad, and I lived in that house since I was born. We had the perfect life, I thought. White picket fence and everything, then my dad got into an accident and lost his legs. My mom couldn't take it so she took off." Van said.
" When?" Avalon asked.
" A few years ago, when I was sixteen. She took off and took most of my dad's money with her. My dad couldn't stay in the house, not with all the stairs, and memories. So we packed up what she didn't take and moved into a small, one level house across the lake."
Avalon stopped walking and looked at him. For a few seconds they just stared. They were so much alike, had the same feelings about their parents it seemed. He was upset with his dad, Avalon could hear it in his voice. He missed his mom. He felt alone and she understand that. Avalon left go of Van hand. She took a hold of him by his shoulders and pulled him into her. His arms went around her waist as they hugged each other tightly. She stepped up on her toes and closed her eyes. Van turned his face into her hair and breathed in her scent. They took comfort in each other. They enjoyed being close together. They took in the warmth the other offered. Her arms tighten on his shoulders, making him squeeze her by her waist. They were pressing into each other, touching from their chest to their shoes. Avalon sighed loudly and pulled away just enough to give him a small kiss.
" I like you." She whispered.
" I like you too." Van admitted. She gave a small laugh before pulling back to take his hand again. They started walking back to her house and didn't talk again until they were at her door.
" I want to see you tomorrow." Avalon said, making Van nod and smile. " Come over for breakfast."
" Are you sure your dad will be okay with that?" He asked.
" I do the cooking and he won't mind." Avalon said. " Now kiss me again before you leave." And that was a request Van was quick to fill.
NRNRNR
In the morning, Van was walking down her driveway when a movement on the balcony caught his attention. He looked up with his steps slowing down at the sight of her dad. He had noticed Van at the same time. His eyes narrowed down as he put a lighter to the cigarette he had in his mouth. Van nervously put his hands in his pockets.
" Hello again." Gideon called down.
" Hello, Sir." He said, coming to a stop so they could talk.
" Did you mind your manners on your date last night?" He asked.
" Yes, sir." Gideon drew on his cigarette hard, causing the cherry to glow bright red. He nodded as he exhaled, holding Van's gaze with his own.
" I noticed you had her home at a decent hour and I didn't notice any marks on her neck. Her clothes were in place and her hair was still as it was when she left." The father said. Van nodded, unsure of what he should say. Did her dad really think Van would jump on her the second they were alone? Thankfully, the door to the house open and Avalon smiled out at him.
" Hey you, come on in." Van looked at her with a smile, almost forgetting about her dad, almost. His eyes shot up at the other man quickly when Gideon cleared his throat. Avalon frowned and stepped out. She walked out from under the balcony and looked up at her dad.
" What are you doing?" She asked with her hands on her hips.
" Just talking to, Van, is it?" Gideon asked.
" Yes, sir." Van answered.
" Daddy, stop it." Avalon snapped. She took a hold of Van's wrist and started pulling towards the house. " He's only had one cup of coffee, he's still cranky." She said. Van smiled and let her pull him into the house, making sure he closed the door behind them.
" After we eat, you want to go out on the lake?" He asked.
" Yeah, that will be fun." She said. " We can take out the little row boat we have."
" Okay." Van said. They started to climb the stairs with her still leading him by his wrist.
" I hope you like pancakes. I make them with cinnamon and vanilla in the batter." She said.
" Yeah, pancakes are cool."
Through breakfast, Van and Avalon sat side by side and across from her dad. She had made coffee, pancakes and bacon. Avalon made small talk with Van and Gideon. Van smiled and answered when he needed too, feeling uncomfortable with the looks her dad kept throwing at him. The man wasn't outworldly rude but the look in his brown eyes told Van that he wasn't happy the younger man was there with his daughter.
After breakfast, Gideon went upstairs to work in his study while Van helped Avalon clean up the plates. They rinsed them off then placed them in the dishwasher together. Avalon took Van to the living room, set him up with the TV than ran up the stairs to change her clothes. She wanted to put her swimming suit on under her tank top and shorts. She was back down with him less than fifteen minutes later. Ten minutes after that, Van was rowing the little row boat out onto the lake.
" Where is your favorite place that you have lived?" Van asked as he rowed hard. It was late morning but already it was getting hot and he was starting to sweat. He could feel the back of his shirt starting to stick to his skin.
" Ah...well, I really loved Georgia." Avalon said. She looked at his arms, watched how his muscles worked and smiled. She really liked living here so far. She really liked how the sweat was starting to gleam off his tan, nicely shaped arms.
" Yeah? Was it hot? I heard it gets real hot there." Van said.
Both and forth they talked until Van had them in the middle of the lake. She took her tank top off and Van couldn't believe his luck. She was toned and tan, like she took care of her body and laid out. Her stomach was flat and made his mouth water. Van had to force his eyes away from her stomach and breasts and over to the dock located in the center of the lake. He grabbed the oars and started rowing them towards it. He was going to tie up the boat to the dock and either swim or just sit and talk with her. And maybe score a few more kisses.
" So what do you want to do?" Avalon asked. All sort of dirty things flew through his head at once. The last time he had had sex was over Christmas break and yeah, he was a guy, sitting with a hot girl. Van cleared his throat and smiled.
" You wanna go swimming?" He asked.
But swimming with Avalon wasn't like swimming with other girls. The second they tied the boat to the dock and got into the water, she latched onto his back with her arms around his neck. Van tilted his head to the side to look over his shoulder at her with a smile. Not that he minded that she was all over him, he just hadn't been expecting it. Of course, he hadn't expected her to kiss him as much as she did, hold him hand like she did or hug him.
" Can you swim?" He asked, looking forward again.
" Yeah. I love swimming. I just wanted to touch you." Avalon said. Van laughed and continued swimming them through the lake. She loved swimming and just wanted to hold onto him and he wanted it too. He really liked that she wanted to touch him. After a few minutes, Van turned and took a hold of her hips. He pulled her towards him, grinning when she wrapped her legs around his waist. " Hi." She said with her own smile. His legs slowly kicked through the water, making sure to keep them afloat.
" Hi." They moved into each other at the same time.
And just like before, their kissing was slow and deep. Just lips pressed against lips. One of her hands went into his hair while her fingers spread out and through the strands. He moved his head to the side ever so slightly as both their lips parted. Just the tip of their tongues touched, testing, teasing and tasting. She squeezed him with her legs, pulled him close in with her arms then completely opened for him and Van took the advantage at once. He moved into her mouth, kissing her as fully as he could. It felt good to kiss her. It felt good to have her body pressed into his, her soft breasts against his chest. She made him feel wanted and that was something Van realized he hadn't felt in a while, not even when he and Julie had been good.
" Spend the day with me." Avalon whispered. They opened their eyes but kept their faces close together.
" Yeah, okay." Van whispered. " Can we keep kissing?" Avalon laughed but give him what he asked for.
They stayed floating around together for a little while longer, talking, laughing and kissing, before Van swam them over to the dock. Now they were laying on the dock, on the towels Avalon had brought for them, holding hands. Their heads were touching and they were talking quietly, again. He loved talking to her. Van felt completely relaxed for one of the first time in a long time. She laughed at the stories he told and that made him smile. He liked hearing her describe more of the places she had lived.
" Van!" He lifted his head up then rolled to his side while Avalon looked towards the shore where the shouting was coming from.
" Are those the guys from last night?" She asked.
" Yeah. Jason and Flip." Van sat up and gave them a wave.
" What the fuck are you doing?" Jason yelled out.
" What are you doing?" Van yelled back.
" Looking for something to do. Get over here!" Jason yelled with a smile. Van looked down at Avalon who was looking up at him.
" Do you mind hanging out with them?" He asked. She shook her head and smiled.
" No. Let's go see what they have planned." She said, pushing herself up.
Van and Avalon held hands as they walked around the lake and woods and talked with Jason and Flip. More stories went around. The boys teased each other and tried to throw one another under the bus a few times, making her laugh. They pushed each other and play fought. She watched with a smile, commenting when they pulled her into the conversation. The afternoon passed by quickly and before they knew it, evening was setting in.
" Do you want to go home and change or something? The bugs will start biting soon." Van said quietly to Avalon.
" I'm good." She said.
" You sure?" Van asked.
" Yeah." She said with a squeeze on his hand.
The group roamed around the lake bank and through the woods again. They had a few drinks and smoked a few joints together. It was almost midnight by the time Van decided he should get Avalon home. Flip and Jason followed the couple while they walked, keeping a respectable distance from them. They still pushed at each other and laughed while Van and Avalon talked.
" I have shit I have to do with my dad tomorrow night but we could hang out in the afternoon or something." Van offered.
" I'd like that." She said as they reached her door.
" Is your dad gonna be pissed that it's so late?" Van asked. Avalon smiled and shook her head.
" Don't worry about him. I'll see you tomorrow." She took a hold of his shoulders and kissed him gently at first. Then Van's hands touched her hips and his fingers dug into her skin as he drew her in closer. Again her lips parted and he moved into her mouth.
" Ahhh! Van's making out" They heard Flip tease.
" How cute!" Jason called out. Avalon smiled against his lips then started to laugh. Van stuck his arm behind him and flipped his friends off, making them laugh.
" I have to go and get this assholes out of here." He said before he kissed her lightly again.
" I'll see you tomorrow." Avalon said.
* How sad is it that Norman has a girlfriend now...*