had once again, gone askew.
Slowly backing away and down the steps, Dylan waited until she had shut the door and turned off the ugly yellow bug light. He could see Natalie peeking out at him from behind the old lace curtains in the front picture window. Only when she finally backed away and turned out the interior light, did Dylan pull out and head to his own home. But when he pulled into his garage, he looked at the Cuda and for once had no yearning to work on it. He didn’t want to get his hands dirty with oil, or to assemble specialized pieces to make this rare driving machine closer to completion. All he wanted to do was head inside and get directly into bed. The sooner he went to sleep, the sooner Dylan would be able to see Natalie again. With that final fleeting thought, Dylan walked over to the shell of the great piece of American automotive craftsmanship and delved in where he left off last night. After all, he was Dylan Cross, the man who didn’t do permanent, and wanting to change his usual routine for another had permanence written all over it.
~SEVEN~
A fter tossing and turning most of the night, Natalie decided it was time to get up. The rare snippets of sleep she got involved vivid dreams, showing a pure sinless damsel being deflowered, both erotically and sensually, by a ferocious beast. Looking at the bedside clock and realizing she had hours before Dylan would be arriving, she decided to attack her closet. Before she knew it, she had everything from her closet and dresser piled onto her bed. After feeling beautiful in her new clothing last night, Natalie was determined to rid herself of her previous unflattering, unappealing, dowdy, and ultimately dull wardrobe.
She bagged everything that she was purging herself of and was giving to Goodwill. Natalie looked at her few pairs of jeans, the couple of sweaters and one work dress, which remained. She realized that on her agenda for this weekend would be more shopping. But, it would need to be someplace more economical than the boutique from yesterday. She pulled on a pair of the jeans. As she slid them over her utilitarian white cotton underwear, she pledged to herself some new under garments would be purchased as well.
Natalie pulled on one of the sweaters and liked how the simple lavender color looked, casual, yet still girly. She applied a small amount of makeup and, once again, promised herself this would become part of her normal morning routine. Once she had carried the multiple bags out and placed them in her trunk, she went back in and decided a cup of tea and bowl of cereal were called for. As she turned the kettle on, she went over to grab a bowl out of the cupboard when she saw the roses. As beautiful as they were last night, they were absolutely stunning this morning. They smelled of sweetness and thoughtfulness. Still stunned that he bought them for her, she ran her fingers lightly over the delicate petals and imagined how wonderful it would be to receive such a thing often. She finished making her tea and ate her cereal standing while she leaned against the countertop. She had just placed the two empty dishes in the sink when the doorbell rang. Natalie walked over to the door and was completely surprised when it was not Dylan, but rather her brother Reginald.
“Reggie. What are you doing here? Is Mom ok?” Natalie asked, with dreadful thoughts running through her head.
“Yes, Mom is fine. I thought I would come by and pick up some of her things she may need,” he explained, as he took in his sister’s not usual choice of clothing. “What are you doing dressed like that?”
Natalie looked down at her attire and said with quite a bit of bite, “Dressed like what? I’m wearing perfectly acceptable clothes for a Saturday. And what do you mean things she needs? She took some things with her when she left with Sam and she said she would be giving me a list of things to bring over after she got settled.”
“Look Natalie, I don’t
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