New friends - Ch. 5.2

It's been a few months now, since I moved in. I've worked five days a week with not much time to do other stuff during the week. Life may be busy lately, but I really love it.

Just like fishing, I like to read. I have always loved reading outside in the natural light, and I found a great place to do it too. There is this abandoned looking house close to my work that has a bench there. I frequently visit after work to read a book, or just sit and relax. I only have a few hours before nightfall to have some fun or whatever I want to do.

One night I got quite a surprise. I had decided to continue to sit there after it got too dark to read, I watched the sunset and the moon rise. It was the first time I had done that in this town, and it was beautiful. It happened to be Friday, and I don't work weekends, so I didn't mind staying up later than usual. As I was sitting there, listening to the crickets chirp and the wind blow through the trees, a car pulled up and a man got out. Well, I hesitate to say 'man' because he almost looked like a teenager, he seemed so young. He started toward the abandoned house, but then saw me and stopped. I stood up when he started walking toward me.

Rosetta was nervous about the guy approaching her, it was night and she was alone. Also, she only just now started to think that maybe the house wasn't as abandoned as it seemed. She thought maybe she'd get in trouble for trespassing.

"Hi. I've seen you sitting out here a few times this week. Though usually not this late." The man said. "Since you're still here, I figure I should introduce myself. I'm David."

Wow, his eyes are so captivating and beautiful, even in the dark I can see that plainly. "Um, I'm Rosetta. I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, I just like to sit here and read. It was just such a lovely night, I thought I'd stay for a while. I'll go then, again I'm sorry." As she was just about to walk off he held out his hand and stopped her.

"No, no, don't be silly. I was going to invite you inside." He said, gesturing toward the house.

Rosetta looked at David. "You live here? Really?"

David laughed, "Yes, I know it's a little run down. I have my reasons for choosing such a house. Anyway, come inside. Wouldn't want you to get eaten up by anything."

She shot him an odd and questioning look. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Mosquitoes mostly, but maybe a vampire bat too."

So I went inside with him. We talked for a while, about where I came from, how long I'd been here, where I worked and basically everything about me. I don't know why he wouldn't talk about himself much, anytime I'd ask something, he'd skirt the question and pop another one on me. He overall seemed like a very... strange person. But oh so cute. He seemed rather young to me, but from everything I could tell, he was about my age. His last name was Fuller, so I deduced that he must be related to Velina somehow, but didn't ask.

The only thing he did tell me about himself was that he was a magician, and wanted to become the best, before he got too old. He hardly worked here in town but was known as David the Daring wherever he put on a show. We talked for a few hours actually, before I bid him goodnight and headed home.

That night, I didn't dream of Nicholas at all, just David and his beautiful eyes. What is it with these Hidden Springs men, they just bury themselves into my subconcious and take root? Not saying that I mind so much, just curious.

The next day being an off day, it was a day to play catch up on the cleaning that needed to be done in the house. Scrubbing the counters, the stove, the shower and toilet, also the sink. The garden hadn't been fully tended in a few days, so Rosetta caught up on her gardening as well. Bills were waiting in the mailbox, she paid those.

Even though the house was small, cleaning it seemed to take forever. The garden, since she wasn't too experienced took a good bit of time as well. Rosetta had about 11 plants growing now and they seemed to be coming along quite well. She had slept in that morning, and in addtion to all the work, it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon before she knew it. Since she had finally finished all her chores at home, she tried calling David to chat but there was no answer. So instead she went fishing.

Just a few days prior, she had located the second pond that the mailman had told her about in her first week. It really was a beautiful and peaceful spot. Full of flowers, plants and animals. It even had a small bridge.

This had quickly become Rosetta's favorite spot to be when she had extra time. Most times, no one else was there. It was as if she was the only one who knew about it, but knew that couldn't be true. A place like this did not go unnoticed. This particular day actually, she was proven correct in her assumption. After she cast her line, she saw through the bushes that Nicholas was there as well. Her heartbeat quickend.

Damnit. Why do I have to do that whenever he's around? I can't help it. He's just so...enticingly sexy and I think he knows it. That's why he's so sure of himself. Oh good spirits help me control my urges. I don't know if I could control myself alone in the woods with him, if he got close. On the other hand....

Cassidy came slightly into view just then and then smacked Nicholas. She called him a jerk then walked away, toward her house. Rosetta was pretty sure that neither of them had seen her yet. She assumed then that Cassidy and Nicholas were still on the rocks. She started to put her fishing pole away and leave when she heard his voice call her name. It only took a second for her to imagine that same voice, saying her name under her blankets in bed. A small sigh escaped her lips before she shook her head to rid herself of the thought. She promised she wouldn't get in the middle of Cassidy and Nicholas. Rosetta turned to greet him.

The next day was Sunday, and Rosetta, after she tended her garden, had planned to go somewhere quiet to read a book that her work had given her to study. She thought orignally about going to the pond that she loved so dearly, but she had just been there the night before, and decided to go to the bench next to where David lived instead. When she arrived, she found a puppy already there. She smiled and pet it, scratched behind it's ears and pet it's belly, where she discovered that it was a girl.

"Do you mind if I sit here and read cutie pup?" Rosetta asked.

The puppy barked her response, and Rosetta laughed. She sat down and started to read, but it wasn't long before the yapping from the pup got too annoying and she couldn't concentrate. She pet the pooch and went to the performance park nearby. Hoping to see a good show. Unfortunately for her there was no show playing at that time. Rosetta wondered if there would be one later.

"Hello gentlemen, mind if I interrupt?" Rosetta had approached a group of guys sitting on a picnic blanket.

All three of the men looked up in sync, and a brief stunned silence. Rosetta looked back at them and noticed that they all had the exact same eyes. She figured that hey must be related. The oldest one stood up to greet her. He was very handsome and that didn't get past Rosetta.

"Hello, my name's Bruce Chesterfield. These are my sons Dennis and Scott. Don't worry about interrupting, we weren't talking anything important. How can I help?"

"I was just wondering if there was going to be a show tonight." Rosetta asked.

Bruce told her that there wasn't, then the two of them fell into chatting. He was a very interesting man, he moved from the city, just as she did, wanting to be closer to nature. Just like her. He really loved the outdoors, and anyone could probably always find him out there. He had a career with the police, and overall, seemed like a perfect guy. So naturally, Rosetta asked if he was single. Much to her dismay, she found out that he was seeing a woman named Laila.

"Well, Rosetta, it was great to meet you. Be safe out there, and have a good night. My sons and I have to get going. See you around." Bruce actually gave her a quick hug before leaving. That startled Rosetta, but she enjoyed it none the less.

My first harvest came in this morning! Well my first big one anyway. The first thing I planted, the apple tree, has given me apples for a couple days now, but the rest of my plants finally matured and sprouted some produce. I am thrilled that the plants lived long enough to do so, also, can't wait to make an Autumn salad with all my fresh ingredients.

At work, I've gotten a few promotions over the last month that I've been there. I believe my title is now 'Carnivorous Plant Tender' or something crazy like that. This will be my first day working in that department though, so I don't really know what I do yet.

I've been talking to David on the phone lately, he's a really awesome guy and, including his random crazy talk, I have come to really like him. He's fast approaching my best friend. I invited him over to my house the other day but he said he was working and was out of town. He said that was the reason I hadn't seen him around for a couple of days.

When Rosetta got off of work this day, she was very surprised to see Nicholas standing there waiting for her to come out. She smiled.

"Well beautiful, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Nicholas said with his little secretive smile.

"Hi Nicholas. It's nice to see you too." Rosetta had come to get used to that line, he said it every time they saw each other, without fail.

Nicholas stepped closer to her. Rosetta's palms got cold and sweaty. No matter how much she tried, she still couldn't stop this reaction whenever he got near. Lately she'd been trying harder than normal too, because she was quickly becoming more and more interested in another man.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on Rose, go do dinner with me. I know you're hungry - me too. So let's go eat."

He was so close that she could smell him. He made her hungry, but not for food. She blinked away her thoughts. "Sure, yeah let's hit the diner. I really need some chocolate, I think I'll get a milk shake."

Nicholas had ordered chicken tenders, french fries, a side salad and a bowl of fruit for his dinner. Rosetta duplicated his order adding a chocolate milkshake, but with the tension she carried and the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, she only finished the fruit and shake. She did get the rest of it boxed up for later though, to eat when her hormones were back in check.

"Well, hey, thanks for dinner Nicholas. It was great. We'll do it again sometime soon." Rosetta stammered, her heart racing. Half of her prayed that he would invite her home, the other half hoped he never would.

The secretive smile that she was beginning to know so well, played on Nicholas's lips. "Of course we will Rose. I hope your..chocolate craving has subsided," he chuckled.

Nicholas then pulled her into a friendly hug. Rosetta tried to keep most of her body off of him, so kind of leaned forward to accept the hug, keeping her butt sticking out a bit. It may have seemed easy, to someone on the outside, but emotionaly it wasn't so easy for her. She wanted so much to give in and slam herself up against him, then start kissing him all over. On the other hand, she didn't. This was getting very frustrating.

It was that moment that she decided to swear him off completely. She wouldn't call him, and would not accept calls from him. That was it. At least, as much as she could she would ignore him, they were neighbors. After all, she couldn't see herself in a relationship with him, and she really didn't want to be the one thing that kept Cassidy and him apart. They seemed like a good couple. Even though they fought a lot.

Nicholas hailed a taxi to take Rosetta home, and saw her into the car. He waved before it pulled away, then drove himself home.

Rosetta came home to find a deer munching on one of her plants. When she stepped out of the taxi she shouted and started waving her arms around wildly, trying to frighten it off. Unfortunately, this deer was highly used to people, and didn't scare easily. Rosetta dropped her hands in defeat, but pulled out her cellphone.

The next day, contractors came to fence in part of her yard so she could keep the lovely wildlife from her plants.  Rosetta made sure to tell them to install a fence that she could lock as well. She also hired some professional gardeners to move all of her vegetation to the new area.

While Rosetta was gardening just a day or so later, a deer (she wasn't sure, of course, if it was the same deer) showed up and examined the new fence. It stared at Rosetta for just a moment before bounding off into the woods that it had come from.

"Ha. You won't be getting at my vegetables anymore deary." She said as she plucked a potato from the bush.




To be continued on the 14th...