The House that I Grew up In

“Are you still hanging out with this loser?”

“Hey,” Quinn replied jokingly to Forest’s greeting. “Don’t talk about Annabelle like that. She’s standing right here.”

Rolling her eyes at Quinn, Annabelle gave Forest a warm smile. “I’m not sure why,” she shrugged as she responded to the boy in front of her, who was swathed in a leather jacket and jeans, as usual. “I guess it’s merely out of convenience.”

Laughing, Forest’s eyes glanced downward enough to notice that Quinn’s arm was resting around Annabelle’s waist. He lifted his gaze and smirked at his friend, then nodded in approval. He liked the ways his friend had changed since the summer began, and he knew it had almost everything to do with Annabelle.

The three talked in the corner of the living room of the house they were at. A small party was going on, and Quinn had been excited to bring Annabelle to meet more of his friends. “Hey, do you have a smoke?” Forest asked Quinn a few minutes later. “I ran out.”

Flushing, Quinn glanced over at Annabelle momentarily before answering. “Sorry,” he said to Forest, his voice a bit embarrassed. “I kind of quit.”

Looking at Quinn’s pink cheeks, Annabelle couldn’t help but smile to herself. While she had noticed that he hadn’t been smoking around her recently, she had half believed he was only refraining when he was around her. And she knew that she was probably at least part of the reason for dropping the habit. Nonchalantly, she reached for his hand and squeezed it. When he looked over at her she smiled, and he grinned back.

“That’s cool. I should do the same thing. Well, my girlfriend is in the kitchen,” Forest turned his attention towards Annabelle. “She’s been gone for the past couple weeks on a family vacation. I want you to meet her.”

“I’d love to,” Annabelle smiled happily at Forest, and she and Quinn began following him into the other room.

“I just have to warn you,” Forest told Annabelle over his shoulder as they moved between the bodies of the people at the party. “Katy can be a little… rude to new people. It’s nothing personal. She’s just like that.”

Nodding, Annabelle felt Quinn squeeze her hand a little and glanced over at him. He had a look of pure bliss on his face, and his eyes were shining. “She can’t be any ruder to me than Quinn was when I first met him,” Annabelle teased, laughing when Quinn stuck his tongue out at her in response.

Entering the kitchen, Forest walked up to a small group gathered near the sink and put his arms around the waist of a girl with fire-engine-red hair who seemed to be telling an animated story to the interested listeners. “Katy, sorry to interrupt. But I want you to meet Annabelle,” he said. “Quinn’s friend.”

Turning around, the girl took one look at Annabelle and her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God!” her voice was filled with shock as her eyebrows shot up, the silver ring through the left one shining in the fluorescent lighting of the kitchen. “Holy shit! Annabelle!”

“Katy!” Annabelle pulled from Quinn’s grasp and rushed to the girl, throwing her arms around her in a huge hug. Both girls squeezed each other hard, obviously delighted to be in the other’s presence.

“Well, I was hoping you wouldn’t be a bitch to Annabelle, like usual,” Forest said with surprise to Katy, watching the two girls still hugging before him. “But I wasn’t expecting that.”

Katy swatted at Forest, missing by an inch, and both girls laughed, their arms still around each other’s shoulders. “No, you ass,” Katy rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, a huge grin plastered across her face as she looked between her boyfriend’s and Quinn’s confused expressions. “I used to be good friends with Annabelle, back in elementary school.”

“I thought you were joking when you told me you used to hang out with Christine,” Quinn said to Katy, shock evident in his voice as he suddenly remembered a conversation they had shared at school the previous year.

“She used to be totally different,” Katy replied with a shrug. “Before she became a raging bitch.” Turning towards Annabelle, she grinned happily again. “Anyway, I can’t believe it’s you! Forest told me Quinn was hanging out with a girl named Annabelle who was visiting for the summer, but I never in a million years thought of you. I can’t believe how retarded I am; after all, Quinn lives in your old house! So how’s Mexico? How’s your mom?”

As the two girls started catching up, oblivious to the outside world, Forest moved over next to Quinn and leaned back against the sink, crossing his arms over his chest. “Weird, huh?” he motioned at Annabelle and Katy as they continued talking.

“Totally,” Quinn agreed with Forest, but he was smiling despite himself. Somehow, Annabelle only got better in his eyes the more time he spent with her. Aside from how close she had gotten with his mother, and how much Forest and his other friends liked her, she even had an existing friendship with Katy, who Quinn adored. She had been his first friend in high school, and the person who introduced him to Forest. The fact that she and Annabelle seemed crazy about each other only made things better – which is what Annabelle seemed to do with everything in his life.

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“I had fun tonight,” Annabelle told Quinn later that evening as they stood on Christy’s front porch. The sky was overcast, so the only light came from the small porch light in the corner. “And it’s so amazing that you’re friends with Katy. I can’t wait for the four of us to hang out again this weekend.”

Encircling her small waist in his arms, Quinn looked down into Annabelle’s smiling face. “I’m glad you had fun,” he told her, admiring how her skin was glowing, even in the limited light. “I always have fun when I’m with you. Especially when we do this…”

Leaning his head down, Quinn captured Annabelle’s mouth with his own. He felt her reach up to wrap her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. He loved how soft her lips were and the way she was scratching the back of his neck gently as the kiss deepened and she pressed her body closer to his. He wished he could hold her like that forever, but he could already feel his body starting to respond when he heard a soft, barely audible moan come from the back of her throat. He didn’t want her to notice his impending arousal, so he hesitantly pulled back.

“So, I’ll see you in the morning?” Quinn asked, lifting one hand from Annabelle’s waist to push a stray piece of hair from her face. Her eyes were heavy-lidded as she looked up at him, and for a minute he could tell that she was feeling much of the same desire that he was at that moment.

“Yeah,” Annabelle bit her bottom lip and looked into Quinn’s eyes. Since their first kiss, every time he touched her, she felt new feelings fluttering inside her body. She was glad that they had already decided that this was how far they were going to go together, because if left to their own devices, things could get very serious very quickly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Kissing Quinn chastely once more, Annabelle headed inside and closed the door behind her. Christy was sitting on the couch in the living room watching some reality show on the television, and looked up as Annabelle entered the room.

“Have fun with Quinn?” Christy asked, her voice less hostile than it used to be when she said his name, but still showing her displeasure. She glanced back at the TV, but then looked back at Annabelle, smirking a bit when she saw the flush that was slowly dissipating from her friend’s cheeks.

“Yeah,” Annabelle replied, aware of the heat in her face as she took a seat next to Christy. Kicking off her flip flops, she pulled her legs under her and looked over at the blonde by her side. “You didn’t go out?”

“Nah,” Christy lifted a chip from the bowl perched on her lap and frowned as she looked at it. “Josh is visiting his brother in Jersey until tomorrow, and I just wasn’t up for hanging out with The Girls again.”

It wasn’t normal for Christy to be so disheartened when there wasn’t something actually wrong, so Annabelle was concerned. She didn’t want to push, though, so she decided to turn the topic to happier thoughts. “Guess who I saw tonight?” she asked as Christy flipped through channels during a commercial.

“Who?”

“Katy Anderson!” Annabelle had been so excited about seeing her old friend, she was taken aback to see Christy’s face turn bright white at the statement. “What’s the matter?” she asked, concerned.

“Nothing,” Christy swallowed hard, obviously trying to keep control of her emotions. Hitting the ‘mute’ button on the remote, she turned slowly towards Annabelle, but wouldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. “So, um… did she say anything about me?”

Thinking back over the evening, Annabelle realized with embarrassment that she probably shouldn’t have said anything. After all, the only comment Katy had made about Christy all night had been to call her a ‘raging bitch’. “She mentioned you guys don’t hang out anymore,” Annabelle said slowly, knowing that was a VERY liberal interpretation of what Katy had actually said. “But that was it.”

Studying Annabelle uncertainly for a moment, the color in Christy’s cheeks finally returned as she let out a soft sigh. “Yeah, we totally drifted after junior high,” she turned back to the television set, but kept glancing over at Annabelle nervously, as if expecting to hear more. “We run in different circles.”

Nodding, Annabelle felt like she wasn’t getting the whole story, but decided that wasn’t her business. “Well, it was really nice to see her,” she told Christy cautiously. “We’re hanging out again this weekend, since her boyfriend and Quinn are friends.”

Still looking nervous, Christy bit her lip but nodded. “Just… just try to avoid talking about me,” she said, and then blushed. “I mean, I don’t think she likes me very much, considering I stopped hanging out with her…” her voice trailed off, as if wanting to say more, but then Christy turned to Annabelle with a small smile. “I just don’t want you to have to deal with any animosity. You’re only here for the summer; you deserve to hang out with anyone you want.”

Seeing how strained the look on Christy’s face was, Annabelle knew not to push. “Well, me hanging out with other people doesn’t mean you and I can’t still have fun together,” she ssid, reaching over to give Christy a friendly pat on the shoulder. “After all, you’re still my best friend, right?”

“Right,” Christy agreed with a small nod, her smile turning more genuine. She seemed to study Annabelle for a moment before her smile grew wide. “ So how do you feel about ordering a pizza and watching some bad movies on TV?”

“That sounds great,” Annabelle replied, although deep-down she felt a bit concerned for Christy. With Christy and Quinn, there seemed to be a mutual dislike. But in regards to Katy, Annabelle got the feeling Christy was keeping something from her. But, as always, Annabelle had no desire to push anyone into talking about something they were uncomfortable about. If she could keep her friendships with Christy and Katy separate, that was fine with her.

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“This is too much,” Quinn’s breath was catching in his throat, and he swallowed hard, looking at Annabelle the next day, noting that her cheeks were flushed. “We should stop…”

“No,” Annabelle insisted with a shake of her head, her breath as labored as Quinn’s was. “We started this; let’s finish it.”

With admiration, Quinn looked over at Annabelle. They had been hiking for nearly six miles now, but it was obvious she was determined to reach their mark. “How far are we?” Quinn asked, praying they were close.

Pausing for just a moment, Annabelle looked ahead of them at the trail. “Five minutes, tops,” she promised. “And I swear, it will totally be worth it.”

Considering how much his body hurt at that moment, Quinn wasn’t positive he agreed with Annabelle that hiking any further would be worth it. But seeing the excited look in her eyes, he couldn’t help but follow her further up the trail. He was helpless.

Anyway, Annabelle had been honest; in less than five minutes, she and Quinn reached the peak of the trail. Dropping her backpack onto the dusty ground, Annabelle looked over the peak with an expression of amazement before turning back to Quinn. “Wasn’t this worth it?”

Seeing how thrilled Annabelle was, Quinn had a hard time disagreeing. But when he finally reached the peak of the cliff where she stood, even he was left breathless. “This is beautiful,” he said softly, looking below him at the waves breaking on the sharp rocks. “I can’t believe this place is less than twenty minutes from our house.”

Blushing at Quinn’s referral to ‘our house’, Annabelle simply smiled at him. “Almost nobody knows this is here,” she told him, holding his gaze as he looked at her with admiration. “That’s why Julia and I like it so much. It’s so out of the way, and so peaceful.”

Quinn watched as Annabelle gazed at the water for a moment more, and then turned towards her backpack. Dropping to her knees, she opened the zipper and started pulling out its contents.

As Annabelle spread out a blanket, Quinn studied his surroundings. When Annabelle had suggested earlier that morning that they take a hike that day, he had been hesitant. A long walk over difficult terrain didn’t sound like the most romantic way to spend a day. However, watching Annabelle sit down, stretching her long, toned, tan legs before her, he had to correct himself.

“Are you hungry?” Annabelle asked innocently, looking up at Quinn from the blanket. She had pulled a couple of bagged lunches from her backpack, and was holding one out to him in offering.

Nodding, Quinn took the bag from Annabelle with an appreciative smile and joined her on blanket. Pulling out their sandwiches, they ate in silence as they took in their surroundings.

“I really didn’t think there was an area around here that I didn’t know about,” Quinn admitted as he rolled up his empty paper lunch bag. “But thank you so much for bringing me,” he added as he laid back on the blanket. “It’s beautiful here.”

“It is,” Annabelle agreed with a grin as she pushed their two empty lunch bags back into her backpack. Nervously, she laid back on the blanket beside Quinn. “I wish you knew Julia better. I mean, Karen knows her, but you’ve never even met her. She’s so amazing.”

Leaning up on one elbow, Quinn reached out to stroke Annabelle’s cheek. “So, with all the great stuff you’ve seen your mom do, and all the stuff you’ve already done,” Quinn’s admiration was evident as he continued. “Do you want to follow in her footsteps? Be a doctor, or something, traveling the world?”

“No,” Annabelle replied Quinn, the quickness and finality of her statement taking them both by surprise. “I mean… I’m amazed by my mother. She does such good. But I don’t think I’ve got it in me to travel my whole life, to leave places and people behind each time.”

Annabelle was looking right into Quinn’s eyes as she said her last statement, and he felt his heart sink a little. Although they hadn’t talked about it much since the day in his room, Quinn was pretty sure they were both constantly aware that their time together was limited. “So how does your mom do it?” he finally replied, trying to turn the subject a bit from thoughts of Annabelle’s impending departure.

Sighing, Annabelle closed her eyes for a moment and just concentrated on feeling Quinn’s fingers stroking her cheek gently. “I think that after my dad died,” she spoke softly, her eyes still shut. “My mom felt lost. I barely remember him – I was only five when he died – but I do remember how in love they were. I think my mom was lonely, completely lost without the one person she wanted to be with for the rest of her life.” Her eyes fluttering open, she saw that Quinn was studying her with a sad stare. “I think now, it’s easier for her, traveling around and changing the world.”

“How did your dad die?” Quinn ventured to ask. “If you don’t mind talking about it.”

Inching over a bit, Annabelle rested her cheek against Quinn’s hard chest. “It’s okay,” she told him. “It was just a freak thing. He was 32, a doctor – they met when they were residents at the same hospital – and in totally perfect health. But it turns out he had a heart defect no one ever knew about. He went out jogging one morning, and didn’t come back. At least, that’s how I remember it.”

“I’m so sorry,” Quinn innocently ran his hand over Annabelle’s arm. “Your poor mother – she was a widow and a single parent that young.”

“I know,” Annabelle snuggled closer to Quinn. It was always hard to tell the story of her father’s death, but she felt safer this time, in Quinn’s arms. “But like I said, I think that’s why Julia does what she does. If she’s out traveling, saving the world, she doesn’t have to think about how much she misses him.”

Leaning over, Quinn kissed the top of Annabelle’s head, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. “So what do you want to do, then?”

“I still want to help people,” Annabelle replied, not surprising Quinn at all. “But maybe as a teacher. Do you think I’d be a good teacher?”

“You’ve taught me a lot,” Quinn immediately told Annabelle.

“What did I teach you?” Annabelle grinned, pulling herself from her sad memories and looking up into Quinn’s green eyes.

“How to cook,” Quinn answered quickly with a grin, pulling Annabelle closer to him, glad to see her happier.

“Barely,” Annabelle smiled wryly.

“Hey,” Quinn jokingly objected. “I make a mean baked potato now.”

Resting her head on his shoulder, Annabelle giggled. “Yes, yes, you do.” She paused and nuzzled into Quinn’s neck. “So that’s all I taught you? How to bake a potato?”

There was so much Annabelle had taught Quinn over the past few weeks; he didn’t know where to begin. “No, you taught me to be nicer to my mom. And to try to forgive myself for shit I’ve done. And you’ve taught me that I shouldn’t pre-judge people,” his voice was teasing now. “I am a much better human being now, all thanks to you. So what have I taught you?” he asked suddenly. “Anything?”

Leaning up on one elbow, Annabelle looked into Quinn’s eyes. “More than you know,” she said with a smile. “You taught me about skateboarding, and where to get the best crab sandwich on Long Island, and how to win an infinite amount of free games on that one video game at the arcade.” Suddenly, Annabelle’s her voice became so soft it caused Quinn’s heart to jump a bit as she leaned closer to his face. “And you taught me how to kiss…”

As her last word trailed off, Annabelle closed her eyes and gently pressed her lips to Quinn’s. “That last one wasn’t too hard,” Quinn murmured against her mouth, pulling Annabelle until she was lying directly on top of him. “You’re a natural.”

Quinn’s words faded as Annabelle kissed him again, deeper this time. She knew it probably wasn’t smart, to have allowed herself to start caring so deeply for him, knowing she had to leave in just over a month. But as his tongue ran across her bottom lip and his hands traveled gently over her back, she couldn’t stop herself.

Although he had been very careful so far in their short relationship, Quinn felt himself getting lost in the moment. He gently turned them so that Annabelle was now on her back and he was above her. He kissed her warmly, his mouth moving down to her jaw, then her throat. Just as he was about to check himself, he felt Annabelle reach below the hem of his t-shirt and begin scratching his back.

Their bodies were intertwined as Annabelle allowed herself to run her fingers over the skin on Quinn’s back. It felt so good to touch him, and she made no objection when she felt his lips move down from her neck to her shoulder. Here, in the quiet seclusion of nature, she allowed herself to push aside all other thoughts besides how good it felt to be close to Quinn.

There was no doubt Annabelle was enjoying this as much as Quinn was, so he pushed aside his doubts as his lips ran over her collarbone. His hand raised nervously, sliding over her shirt from her stomach, slowly over her ribcage, to just below her chest. He paused for a moment, giving her the opportunity to say something. When she didn’t, he finally let his hand slide over her soft breast, both careful and eager as he touched it for the first time.

As Quinn touched her, Annabelle unconsciously arched her back and let out a soft moan. It felt even more wonderful as Quinn’s lips danced further down over her skin, his tongue darting out to moisten it, until his lips reached the neck of her top. She was sure he was about the move the fabric out of the way when they suddenly heard something.

Sitting up quickly, Quinn paused to listen. ‘Damn,’ he thought. He could definitely hear hikers coming up the trail. Blushing, he looked down at Annabelle. “I guess more people knew about this place than you thought,” he shrugged, looking embarrassed.

Biting her lip, Annabelle felt her own face fill with heat. Swiftly, she and Quinn rose from the blanket and began gathering their things. Just as they were closing up Annabelle’s backpack, a middle aged couple came into view. “Beautiful day for a hike,” the man called out in a friendly tone.

“It sure is,” Annabelle replied, not looking at Quinn. They began walking back down the trail towards his car, not saying a word the whole way.

The drive home was just as silent. As Quinn pulled into his driveway, he looked over at Annabelle. “Listen, I’m really sorry…”

“Why are you sorry?” Annabelle looked surprised to hear Quinn’s apology. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know,” Quinn looked down at the steering wheel, feeling shy suddenly. “It’s just… we had agreed to not… make this harder. And I hope I didn’t push you into anything-”

His last word was suddenly cut off, as Annabelle leaned over the seat and kissed him softly. Placing her hand on Quinn’s cheek, she smiled at him nervously. “You didn’t push me into anything. And I know what we agreed – and it’s a smart thing, considering the circumstances. But we just… went a little off track today. But it was NOT one person’s fault, okay? We just have to be more… watchful, in the future.”

Looing into Annabelle’s dark eyes, Quinn nodded. He was glad she wasn’t angry, but he was also a bit sad. It had felt so right earlier, touching her, feeling her respond. After the decent number of girls he had been with in his young life, this was the first time he really felt connected with somebody. And there was no way he could pursue that feeling without hurting her.

“We will be more watchful,” Quinn promised unhappily, hoping Annabelle couldn’t hear the disappointment in his voice.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READS, AND ESPECIALLY YOU AWESOME PEOPLE WHO REVIEW! NOW A FEW WORDS FROM OUR SPONSORS:

MISTRESS LUNA: I PROMISE, THERE’S PLENTY MORE ABOUT CHRISTY TO COME IN THIS STORY.

ANONYMOUS POSTER: I WILL CONTINUE THE KIRSTEN STORY SOON. I’VE GOT A BIT MORE FREE TIME NOW, SO I WANT TO FINISH A COUPLE STORIES I’VE STARTED.

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