The Charlene Chronicles Continued

Tammy and her new boyfriend, "Mr. Huge Cock" she always call him, had been dating for awhile. Charlene resisted asking him if he ever spoke to Kaz. Tammy knew she wanted too, so one day when they were all out together, she asked him.

"So whatever happened to your friends from Fredericksburg?"

Charlene wasn't expecting this and found herself get warm. She was embarrassed and she gave Tammy a stern look. Tony either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Rick is still working at the office. His wife runs the business and he just hangs around doing a whole lot of nothing."

"What about the other guy. The one that Charlene knew?"

"Kaz? I don't know. He was pretty cool though. He gave me and Rick a couple of first class tickets to Maui. I would've invited you but we didn't know each other that well. So we went golfing, fishing, sight seeing at the beach. It was only a couple of days, so we didn't get into too much trouble"

"Kaz didn't go?" Charlene asked unexpectedly.

"No, I think he had someone in mind, but, well, I don't know. He just asked me and Rick if we wanted the tickets. I guess the hotel was free too because we didn't pay anything when we got there. We checked in and they told us we were all set. Good time."

Charlene suddenly felt awful. He invited her, she said no, so he didn't go. Now he's gone. Charlene had told Tammy about the moving van. Tammy knew Charlene was upset even if she pretended not to care.

"So I heard he moved?" Tammy asked Tony.

"Yah, I guess so. Something about things having changed. I guess he got another job with some other company. He was a good guy, I liked him."

Tony was oblivious of Tammy's efforts to get information about Kaz, he only knew what he knew and nothing more. Women keep in touch, men don't Tammy assumed.

Charlene hadn't tried to call or text him in weeks. She pulled out her phone and started typing. Tammy noticed, but said nothing. The text went unanswered. After another try, she just decided to call him. She heard the distinctive sound of a recording:

"The number you are trying to dial cannot be reached at this time. Please hang up. Goodbye" said the recording.

Tammy watched her best friend slouch a little. She knew that Charlene had more than a passing interest in Kaz. She knew that when Charlene saw the moving van she was hurt.

No matter what Tammy or Charlene's other friends might say or do, they all noticed something different. Tammy slowly began to let it out that Charlene was interested in someone, had a fling and then he left. "Typical" , they would all say, but Tammy knew better.

It was summer and the weather was typically hot in Dallas. Charlene's real estate career was booming. She had three closings in one week, three more scheduled the following week and a couple of open houses.

She was feeling good as she set up the open house sign on the front lawn. Several couples and some single people and came and went. While no one looked like potential buyers, she was still happy to show them around the large home.

She found herself repeating the features, Beautiful Southlake home on almost a half acre cud de sac lot. Lovely master bedroom with ensuite plus a guest bed and full bath down stairs. Two bedrooms and shared bath upstairs, plus a game room.

Great open space and a three car garage.The backyard was an oasis, beautiful landscaping, upgraded lighting. The huge kitchen included appliances, granite counter tops, double oven and solid cabinets. All open to the large family room.

The open house lasted for a little over two hours. A nice way to stay out of the heat of the midday sun, Charlene was ready to call it a day, meet her friends and have a glass of wine and unwind.

There was a knock on the front door, She heard a male voice from the outside say;

"I'm sorry I'm late. I'm new to town and got lost. Is it still possible to see the house?"

She had heard those words before, the voice sounded familiar. She opened the door swiftly.

"Hello gorgeous." he said looking her straight in the eye.

"Hi yourself stranger, um, I mean sir. Won't you please come in?"

She opened the door wider to let him in. As she turned to close the door behind him, she asked,

"You said you're new in town?"

"Yes, never been to Carrolton before. My company transferred me down here and I need a place to stay."

"Will this be a permanent stay or are you just passing through?"

"If I leave, there's someone I'd like to take with me, but I'm thinking this is a permanent position."

He stood at the front entry, looked around the house and whistled. It's a bit larger than my previous home. Not sure I can afford it. Do you maybe have something a little more intimate?"

"What did you have in mind?"

He took a chance. Looked at the floor for a moment, hesitatingly, he asked;

"Dinner? And a long conversation."

"Well, I am hungry. As to the conversation, let's see how that goes. I might have a recommendation for you".

Kaz opened the door for her and reached out his hand. Charlene hesitated, her heart jumped a beat.

"Why did you leave?"

"Dinner first? I'm starving"

She took his hand into hers. looked into his eyes. She held his gaze, emotions flooding, she could feel her insides shaking. He still had that same intense hold on her. She tried to look away but couldn't. She knew it was a mistake, she hoped it wasn't.

She started to turn away, to leave, she didn't want to see him again. How many times had she lied to herself. He didn't let go of her hand, pulling her back close to him. He put his free hand behind her neck. Gently pulling her closer. She wanted to push away, but she also wanted to kiss him.

Her emotions in flux, she let her heart talk. She reached up, standing on her toes and kissed him like never before. If there were a list of best, most passionate kisses in the world, this had to be in the top three.

Charlene looked down and softly said,

"I'm sorry"

It was his hearts turn to skip a beat. Afraid she would leave and not want to see him. He knew it was a chance, but hoped it wouldn't. Now, he wasn't sure.

"Sorry? For what?" he asked,

"I'm sorry I didn't go to Maui with you"

Kaz heaved a sigh of relief. Forgetting about his hunger, he stood there, his forehead touching hers. There was so much to say.

"Should we skip dinner and just go someplace to talk?" he asked.

Charlene was feeling all sorts of emotions and was rescued from breaking down by the constant ringing of her phone. It wasn't a number she recognized and thought it might be one of the people she showed the house too earlier. When she answered, she heard a scream of delight.

"Char, it's Tammy! Guess What?"

She heard laughter and loud noises in the background and knew there must be a party going on somewhere. Tammy was good and finding the best places to go.

"Calm down Tam. So what's up?"

"He's back in town. Tony said he got a call and wanted to know where he might find you. I told Tony that you were having an open house this afternoon and he just texted him. I know it's too late for the open house, but he's back in town! Aren't you excited?"

Charlene was in a playful mood. She knew perfectly well who HE was, but she wanted to string her out a little.

"He who?"

"Kaz you dope. Kaz is back in town and he's asking about you."

"Oh, really? Well, I don't care. I'm over him."

She looked right at Kaz as she was speaking, shaking her head at the same time. Tammy knew her friend too well.

"Bullshit! I say it again, B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T"

"Um Tammy, I'm with someone right now, can I call you back later?"

"On my God. I'm sorry, I didn't think you were going out with anyone. Is he cute?"

"Yah, it's a client" again she looked at him, this time questioningly.

He smiled and nodded.

"Shit girl. I'm sorry, but you be careful. Do you want me and Tony to meet you somewhere?"

"Actually, that would be a good idea. I'd like to you meet him"

She covered the phone with her shoulder and ask him if he cared if her friends joined them.

"He said he'd like to meet you as well."

Charlene told Tammy where they were at. It was only a few miles away and Tammy had Tony drive her there fast. Tammy burst through the door. She looked at the man sitting with her friend. Puzzled, she turned to Charlene. Just then Tony walked in, he saw Tammy, Charlene and Kaz.

"KAZ!" He yelled out loud.

Kaz stood up and hugged Tony, giving him a big slap on the back. Tammy and Charlene looked at each other.

"Um, one thing I didn't tell you Charlene. Tony and I have been friends since we were teenagers. I asked him not to say anything about our friendship if he was ever confronted. I kept in touch with him over the past months."

He paused staring at Charlene. He took a deep breath and continued.

"When you said no to Maui, I was more than a little shocked. It hurt. I didn't ever expect you to say no. So I pouted like a little kid and told Tony to go instead. He tried to get me to go along, but I didn't want too anymore. I wanted to be with you. An opportunity opened up to move north so I took it. Hated every minute of it. Tony told me he started going out with Tammy, so I asked him about you. Constantly."

"Yes he did. I had a hard time keeping it from Tammy" agreed Tony.

Tammy slugged Tony's shoulder calling him a jerk. Then looking at Kaz and told him how much he hurt her. Charlene was still processing her feelings. She didn't know exactly what to say. Tony was spying on her? No, not really, she hardly ever saw him. He must've been getting info from Tammy.

"Did he ask about me much?" she asked her thumbing towards Tony.

"No, not really all that much. I usually just told him stuff. You know, how I thought you were hiding your feelings for a guy. I never mentioned names."

"Old friend, I think you're about to get in trouble." Kaz said to his longtime friend. To diffuse the situation, Kaz took all the blame.

"It's all my fault. I was hurt, I pouted, I left and I asked my friend for information. Don't be mad at him. Hate me if you must. I think that perhaps I made a mistake. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

He took Charlene's small hand, looked at her intently and added.

"I'm truly sorry."

Kaz got up and headed for the door. Tammy looked at Charlene, then at Tony, who just shrugged his shoulders, then back at Charlene. A whirlwind of thoughts flooded both women's minds. Tammy couldn't let her best friend see this man walk away again. She grabbed Charlene, by the shoulders and said,

"Go!" she pushed Charlene towards the door.

They spent the next several hours talking, laughing, sharing a special moment. He didn't ask about her life other than the business, she asked him a million questions. He answered each one, leaving nothing out. When he took the transfer to Canada, he thought it would help take Charlene off his mind. He was miserable and he quit.

He drove around the U.S. some, visiting some old friends, some old lovers, and basically trying to forget about her. When his new employer posted a position in Carrolton, he immediately applied. They saw he had worked in Texas before and promoted him right away.

Kaz said how nervous he was thinking that she would have moved on and not wanted to see him and that's why he had Tony feed him information. Then it occurred to him. He never asked if she was seeing anyone. If she was, he'd not interfere.

Charlene took advantage of his vulnerability, something she had never seen before. She teased about not having time, turning lesbian and not into men anymore, anything she thought might make him feel miserable for leaving. It was working. They barely acknowledged Tony and Tammy leaving.

Instead, they took her car to her house. They stayed up all night and into the morning talking. As the sun came up, Kaz walked up behind her and placed his arms around her waist. She put her hands on top of his, leaned back feeling the strength of his arms holding her. He leaned closer and said:

"I negotiated a couple of weeks vacation with my new position. I have two tickets to paradise. Would you like to go to Maui?"

She turned to look him in the eyes, she got on her toes, kissed him and said,

"No"

She paused to gauge his reaction and added, "I'd LOVE to go".