Cherry Apple (pronounced Sherry Appall) had never been so excited. She was about to meet her friend's boyfriend. Laran was Tina's newest. And cutest, supposedly.
Ring, ring.
Cher jumped. She had been so busy hoping Laran would make Tina happy, that she hadn't heard the phone until the fourth ring. She dove for it right before the answering machine clicked on.
"Cher here," she breathed.
"Hey, Cher!" chirped a familiar voice. "I can't make it tonight, but Laran is coming anyway."
Cher smiled. "Hey Tina, that's fine. I guess I'll have more time to talk to him all about you!" she joked. "When I'm through, there won't be a thing he won't know about your adorable childhood!"
After a minute of girlish gossip, Cherry hung up. She smiled to herself, trying to assure her racing heart that there was nothing to be afraid of.
After all, Cher told herself,
Tina knows him, so he must be really nice. The truth was, though, that Tina was usually meeting her guys at clubs or bars. Cherry started to sweat, but before she could call and cancel, the doorbell rang.
Trembling, Cher opened the front door, and instead of finding a bum with long hair and torn jeans, she saw a well-built man with blond hair, a silk black shirt, and a pair of tight denim jeans. Her breath came in short gasps now as she looked at the person in front of her.
He smiled, then asked, "Are you okay?"
She suddenly realized she was shaking uncontrollably, so she tried to stop, with little success.
"Hi," Cher said, sticking her hand out awkwardly, "my name is Cher; of course, you probably already knew that..." She trailed off silently as he shook her hand.
"I'm Laran," he boomed in a deep, rich voice. An almost sensuous voice...
"Uh-umm," Laran cleared his throat, cutting into her thoughts. She looked at him dumbly before realizing his intention.
"Oh! Would you like to come in?" Cher squeaked, then turned red as he laughed.
The night started smoothly as dinner was served while they chatted politely. She grew very respectful of him when he told her his hopes for the law firm he worked for.
After dinner, the two friends sat in the living room on the couch sipping wine and talking more openly. She had learned that Laran grew up in California, and also that he was very flirtatious. Cher wondered, as Laran told her about his hometown, where Tina could have met such an intelligent man.
"Laran, where did you and Tina meet?" Cher asked. Laran looked a little puzzled.
"Tina met me when she started working as my personal secretary. Didn't she tell you?"
"No," Cher admitted, "Tina hardly ever tells me where she meets her boyfriends."
Laran gaped. "Her boyfriends?! Where did that come from?"
"Well," Cher started, "whatever you want to call yourself; you two are dating, aren't you?"
"I'm not her boyfriend, and we're most certainly not dating! I was told BY HER that
you were my date."
Cher leaned back from the blow. Tina knew she wasn't ready to get a new boyfriend since her other one died in a wreck. Tears forced their way to the surface as the wound of the tragedy was torn open again.
"Excuse me," she choked, and ran to the bathroom, letting the tears flow. Sobs rocked her body as the minutes passed. What seemed like hours later, a soft knock sounded at the door.
"I'm sorry, Cher, was it something I said?"
She didn't answer, but instead unlocked the door and opened it.
"Look, I apologize for the way I acted, because I know this must be extremely awkward for you; I mean, you don't even know what happened when..." she started, but trailed off and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop the chill invading her body from the memory.
Suddenly, she shook herself and looked up at Laran, who was staring at her, concerned.
"Cher," he started, but Cher quickly brushed past him, and headed for the front door, with her "date" following along, surprised.
"Thank you for coming," Cher said, reaching the hall and throwing the door open. Laran looked at Cher hesitantly, but he walked out anyway, shutting the door softly.
Cher heaved a huge sigh, crashing against the door and sliding down to the floor. Teary-eyed, she hugged her knees to her body and closed her eyes.
Cher regretfully recalled everything she had seen in Laran. His eyes were a deep blue that she could drown in any day; his smile made her head swim; his laugh was a deep, rich sound that had her wishing he could do it forever, and his touch...oh, his touch; it felt like fire to her skin, and left a tingling that warmed her fingertips. A tear rolled down her cheek.
Cher needed Laran to stay; she needed him to hold her and heal her pain. She needed to tell him what had happened that night; she needed him to understand...
Ding, dong.
Cher jumped up and threw open the door. It was like he was an angel that was sent down from heaven.
"Oh Laran," Cher choked as she threw herself in his arms.
"Cher," Laran whispered comfortingly.
Cher didn't realize what happening until she lifted her head from Laran's coat. Apparently, he had let her cry her eyes out while he sat there holding her to his chest. Her legs were draped across his thighs, and her back was to the wall.
"Oh Laran, your silk shirt," Cher started, her hands already checking the damage. BIG mistake. As soon as she touched him, her skin was on fire. "Thank you," she whispered thickly. "I needed that."
Slowly, she looked up into his eyes, trying to read his reaction. It was one of compassion, relief, and...love?
"Cher, will you please tell me why you were crying? I mean, can you tell me yet?"
Cher sighed. She wanted to, didn't she? "I, um...that is...my latest boyfriend, Ryan, went out to a party at his friend's house, and I heard where he was, so I called him and told him to come home. I was really selfish and possessive, really immature. Anyway, he said okay, but I couldn't hear one that I should have - I was so stupid - he was drunk. Well, he got caught in a storm..." Cher stopped talking as a new batch of tears came up, and Laran held her close until she couldn't shed another drop.
"That was three years ago, and I haven't dated since. Ryan was a good person, and I always regret what I did. I mean, I killed him; I should have picked him up, or let him stay there, but instead I had to open my mouth..."
Laran squeezed Cher and interrupted. "Cher, you couldn't have possibly known that he was drunk, and you were young, you said so yourself. PLUS," he said loudly, drowning out her protests, "he had plenty of friends there that didn't offer to take him home, so don't feel responsible."
Cher looked at Laran, then stood abruptly, pulling him up with her.
"I need to tell you something, and I think we need to go somewhere else."
Laran looked at her, puzzled, but she smiled reassuringly, and led him to her favorite room, the den. Now that she had told someone about her boyfriend's death, she wanted to show Laran something very important. And very special.
"This," Cherry said, dropping a gold -
(A/N: This is where it ends. Obviously, I read too many romance novels in middle school. So cheesy.)
