Kissing Cousins
folder
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
2,084
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
2,084
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Kissing Cousins
Kissing Cousins
Chapter One- Rude Boys with Green Eyes
It wasn't even afternoon yet, when it got hottest, and her hair was damp with sweat. Kate cursed her mother's genetics, from whom she had gotten her thick dark hair- wonderfully receptive to sunlight. She hated heat, and she hated her mother, too. The airplane had been air-conditioned, but the taxicab that Kate had managed to get wasn't. Even with the grimy windows rolled down all the way, there wasn't much relief from the searing summer day.
The seventeen year old girl tried to ignore everything, wishing she could retreat into a corner of her mind where everything was a cool shade of blue, where nothing could reach her, and she could sleep forever with a blanket of serenity. But Kate knew she couldn't. She had to face the facts, and the facts were these.
Her mother had left her. Kate shouldn't have been surprised. Marianne Donovan had never been a maternal woman. As a kid, Kate had eaten stale cornflakes and plain water for breakfast and peanut butter sandwiches for dinner because her mother couldn't rustle up anything worth eating. Even if she could, Marianne wouldn't have bothered. She was too busy with her tarot card reading, or painting her nails to match whatever outfit she was wearing, or finding some useless shit at thrift-stores.
Still, at least Marianne had been there. She could remember some days when Marianne had been almost normal, with her black hair washed for once, and wearing a nice dress. Once, on Kate's seventh birthday, she had actually bought a cake at a bakery store, a white frosted one with yellow roses and pink icing. It was the best cake she had ever tasted, the only cake that had ever been hers.
But a week ago, Kate had woken up. It had been a weekend, so the sun had been long up by the time Kate opened her eyes. And she hadn't found Marianne. She wasn't worried. Marianne almost never was home when Kate was. Then, Kate had found the note.
It had said in Marianne's stumbling writing that she was going away to find herself. Whatever that meant. And Kate was to go live with Marianne's cousin, Sophie Westley who lived all the way down in Louisianna, in some nobody town called Dirksville.
Which was why Kate's thighs were sticking to the stinky leather seat of a stinky little cab winding its way down to some cousin of her mother's she didn't even know. It was a hell of a world.
*
Ewan just looked at his mother, one eyebrow arched up as he stoically ate his way through seven layers of blueberry pancakes. Sophie Westley sighed in frustration, her hands on her slender, jean-clad hips, and aqua eyes settled on his face.
"I'm sorry that you would have to miss a date with your girlfriend, but I really would appreciate the help," his mother said pleadingly. "I need you here, Ewan."
"Mom, I'd love to help you but come on... it's Laine Ashby. You don't say no to Laine Ashby," Ewan said, his eyes glazing over a bit as he thought of Laine's gorgeous blue eyes, the sexy little smile she had going on for her, the loads of amazing reddish-blonde hair that bounced (along with other pertinent parts of her anatomy) whenever she did her cheerleading kicks... he shook his head to clear it.
"If you're done drooling all over my nice linen tablecloth," Sophie said sarcastically, "I really would consider calling up Laine and telling her you have some family business. Unless you don't want that car on your eighteenth birthday, like we were talking about..."
He glared at her. "Come on, Mom. That's just being totally unfair," Ewan grumbled, his brows furrowing.
"Yes, I know, but this is important. Don't you want to make Kate feel welcome?"
"I don't even understand why she's coming here. Doesn't she have a home?" Ewan scoffed. He could care less about some fancy little girl from New York City who would most certainly treat him like an unworldly piece of crap just because he came from a town of less than 10,000 people.
His mother sighed again, running her hand through her dark hair. "I explained the circumstances to you, Ewan. Her mom was my cousin- we shared the same maternal grandmother, you see, and our moms were sisters. Anyway, Marianne and I were close at one point... before she started going downhill, and I realized that she would never grow up. Kate is alone in this world. Her father has remarried and doesn't seem to give a damn about her. I'm not going to let her be alone again. No matter how distantly we're related- we're still family."
"I understand, but I don't need to be here. It would probably just make things more awkward for her," Ewan said, trying to sound convincing. He would probably never get a chance at Laine again. All the boys were crazy over her, and Ewan wasn't exactly the most popular boy around.
Sophie gave him the look. Ewan groaned. It meant he was going to have to stay. His jaw hardened. All right, he'd stay, if just for the car. But it didn't mean he was going to be nice to that little intruder.
*
The house that the address belonged to was a three-story Colonial, white shingled, and surrounded by other houses close by. Still, it was more open than Kate was used to, with more green, more softly rolling hills, and the sweet smell of country air. The taxi driver agreeably hauled out the few bags and boxes that held all of Kate's worldly belongings, and accepted a large portion of her savings for the ride out to her new home.
No, it wasn't a home. It was a residence. Temporary. And that was just the way she liked it, Kate reminded herself.
This house had a porch, though, and that was nice. There were a number of white wicker chairs out on it, and a swing that could hold two people. On the windows, there were pots of flowers that lent color to the white house, and a friendly air.
As Kate's eyes drank it in, sweat pouring off her in buckets, the door slammed open, and a boy stepped outside. A tall boy. A handsome one, at that.
Messy dirty blond hair haloed a face carved by angels. His skin seemed to be a darkly apricot color all over, and it was complemented by eyes like blue-green jewels. She wasn't one to drool over boys, but all the same, Kate had to admit he was very good looking. There was such a relaxed, laid-back feeling about him, in the way he wore his khaki safari shorts and worn out cotton shirt, it made her want to weep for no reason at all. It might have been because she herself was so wound up, so bottled up that she didn't even know how to breathe sometimes. She longed for that kind of peace; ached for it.
She could have slapped herself. He must have thought she was staring at him like an idiot, which she had been. Kate fixed a glare onto her face.
"Is this the Westley residence?" she asked him, fanning her face rapidly.
He didn't say a word, but nodded after a moment.
"Well, my name is Kate. Katelyn Donovan," she said, feeling foolish and overheated. That darned boy. All he did was look at her. Well, through her, to be more accurate. She was starting to feel annoyed.
Finally, she said, "Aren't you going to help me?"
The boy reacted at last. With a self-satisfied smirk that made her want to slap it off his face. "No," he said, then walked back into the house without a look back.
Kate counted to ten. Slowly. Then she walked up to the house, and knocked on the door. It was going to be a very long year.
Chapter One- Rude Boys with Green Eyes
It wasn't even afternoon yet, when it got hottest, and her hair was damp with sweat. Kate cursed her mother's genetics, from whom she had gotten her thick dark hair- wonderfully receptive to sunlight. She hated heat, and she hated her mother, too. The airplane had been air-conditioned, but the taxicab that Kate had managed to get wasn't. Even with the grimy windows rolled down all the way, there wasn't much relief from the searing summer day.
The seventeen year old girl tried to ignore everything, wishing she could retreat into a corner of her mind where everything was a cool shade of blue, where nothing could reach her, and she could sleep forever with a blanket of serenity. But Kate knew she couldn't. She had to face the facts, and the facts were these.
Her mother had left her. Kate shouldn't have been surprised. Marianne Donovan had never been a maternal woman. As a kid, Kate had eaten stale cornflakes and plain water for breakfast and peanut butter sandwiches for dinner because her mother couldn't rustle up anything worth eating. Even if she could, Marianne wouldn't have bothered. She was too busy with her tarot card reading, or painting her nails to match whatever outfit she was wearing, or finding some useless shit at thrift-stores.
Still, at least Marianne had been there. She could remember some days when Marianne had been almost normal, with her black hair washed for once, and wearing a nice dress. Once, on Kate's seventh birthday, she had actually bought a cake at a bakery store, a white frosted one with yellow roses and pink icing. It was the best cake she had ever tasted, the only cake that had ever been hers.
But a week ago, Kate had woken up. It had been a weekend, so the sun had been long up by the time Kate opened her eyes. And she hadn't found Marianne. She wasn't worried. Marianne almost never was home when Kate was. Then, Kate had found the note.
It had said in Marianne's stumbling writing that she was going away to find herself. Whatever that meant. And Kate was to go live with Marianne's cousin, Sophie Westley who lived all the way down in Louisianna, in some nobody town called Dirksville.
Which was why Kate's thighs were sticking to the stinky leather seat of a stinky little cab winding its way down to some cousin of her mother's she didn't even know. It was a hell of a world.
*
Ewan just looked at his mother, one eyebrow arched up as he stoically ate his way through seven layers of blueberry pancakes. Sophie Westley sighed in frustration, her hands on her slender, jean-clad hips, and aqua eyes settled on his face.
"I'm sorry that you would have to miss a date with your girlfriend, but I really would appreciate the help," his mother said pleadingly. "I need you here, Ewan."
"Mom, I'd love to help you but come on... it's Laine Ashby. You don't say no to Laine Ashby," Ewan said, his eyes glazing over a bit as he thought of Laine's gorgeous blue eyes, the sexy little smile she had going on for her, the loads of amazing reddish-blonde hair that bounced (along with other pertinent parts of her anatomy) whenever she did her cheerleading kicks... he shook his head to clear it.
"If you're done drooling all over my nice linen tablecloth," Sophie said sarcastically, "I really would consider calling up Laine and telling her you have some family business. Unless you don't want that car on your eighteenth birthday, like we were talking about..."
He glared at her. "Come on, Mom. That's just being totally unfair," Ewan grumbled, his brows furrowing.
"Yes, I know, but this is important. Don't you want to make Kate feel welcome?"
"I don't even understand why she's coming here. Doesn't she have a home?" Ewan scoffed. He could care less about some fancy little girl from New York City who would most certainly treat him like an unworldly piece of crap just because he came from a town of less than 10,000 people.
His mother sighed again, running her hand through her dark hair. "I explained the circumstances to you, Ewan. Her mom was my cousin- we shared the same maternal grandmother, you see, and our moms were sisters. Anyway, Marianne and I were close at one point... before she started going downhill, and I realized that she would never grow up. Kate is alone in this world. Her father has remarried and doesn't seem to give a damn about her. I'm not going to let her be alone again. No matter how distantly we're related- we're still family."
"I understand, but I don't need to be here. It would probably just make things more awkward for her," Ewan said, trying to sound convincing. He would probably never get a chance at Laine again. All the boys were crazy over her, and Ewan wasn't exactly the most popular boy around.
Sophie gave him the look. Ewan groaned. It meant he was going to have to stay. His jaw hardened. All right, he'd stay, if just for the car. But it didn't mean he was going to be nice to that little intruder.
*
The house that the address belonged to was a three-story Colonial, white shingled, and surrounded by other houses close by. Still, it was more open than Kate was used to, with more green, more softly rolling hills, and the sweet smell of country air. The taxi driver agreeably hauled out the few bags and boxes that held all of Kate's worldly belongings, and accepted a large portion of her savings for the ride out to her new home.
No, it wasn't a home. It was a residence. Temporary. And that was just the way she liked it, Kate reminded herself.
This house had a porch, though, and that was nice. There were a number of white wicker chairs out on it, and a swing that could hold two people. On the windows, there were pots of flowers that lent color to the white house, and a friendly air.
As Kate's eyes drank it in, sweat pouring off her in buckets, the door slammed open, and a boy stepped outside. A tall boy. A handsome one, at that.
Messy dirty blond hair haloed a face carved by angels. His skin seemed to be a darkly apricot color all over, and it was complemented by eyes like blue-green jewels. She wasn't one to drool over boys, but all the same, Kate had to admit he was very good looking. There was such a relaxed, laid-back feeling about him, in the way he wore his khaki safari shorts and worn out cotton shirt, it made her want to weep for no reason at all. It might have been because she herself was so wound up, so bottled up that she didn't even know how to breathe sometimes. She longed for that kind of peace; ached for it.
She could have slapped herself. He must have thought she was staring at him like an idiot, which she had been. Kate fixed a glare onto her face.
"Is this the Westley residence?" she asked him, fanning her face rapidly.
He didn't say a word, but nodded after a moment.
"Well, my name is Kate. Katelyn Donovan," she said, feeling foolish and overheated. That darned boy. All he did was look at her. Well, through her, to be more accurate. She was starting to feel annoyed.
Finally, she said, "Aren't you going to help me?"
The boy reacted at last. With a self-satisfied smirk that made her want to slap it off his face. "No," he said, then walked back into the house without a look back.
Kate counted to ten. Slowly. Then she walked up to the house, and knocked on the door. It was going to be a very long year.