Summer in Dawson Ch. 01

The cards flew across the table and I picked up my hand. Instantly I felt my blood go cold. A pair of aces and a pair of eights. The infamous dead man's hand.

Having played in the back alleys of the big city, I was well aware of the dangers that came with these types of games the superstitious players believed that getting the dead man's hand at any time was a sign of impending danger or doom.

I wasn't superstitious, but a lot of them had lived a lot longer than most, so their word was worth hearing at least.

Then I felt Charlie's hand rub small circles into my back, and I relaxed. Somehow, knowing that she was there, that she had my back made me feel better. Then, realization dawned on me. I had only just met this girl today, and already I had been though several months' worth of stuff with her. Now here she was, trying to calm me liked a concerned girlfriend. Oh my God, I was falling for her.

I was falling for Charlie Peterson.

The dealer asked me if I wanted any new cards, and I tossed out the one I had to spare. My hand may have been unlucky, but it was still a winning hand. I picked up the new card that was slid to me and looked it over. My well-practiced poker face hid the surprise and delight at the sight of the new card.

Now came the betting. There were four other players besides me. Two of them folded instantly, their hands being obvious crap. The guy to my left bet small, and I raised him, while the guy on my right in turn raised me. By a lot. The guy on my left folded, not willing to take the risk. I looked at my hand again before I looked at the pot. There was a couple of hundred dollars' worth of chips sitting there, and I had entered only with the twenty dollar bill I had in my wallet.

"I call," I said, throwing whatever I had into the pot to meet his bet. He smugly lay down three kings, while I sat down my pair of eights and then my pair of aces. A chuckle escaped from his throat as he reached for the pot, but he froze when I threw my last card into the center of the pile.

The ace of spades landed face up in the middle of the pot.

My full house beat his three of a kind. I couldn't help but shoot him a grin as I slid the pot in my direction.

"Gentleman, another hand?"

*

The ride back to Dawson was almost completely silent. I had made some decent money from the table, but the time had come for me to walk away. Charlie was quiet the entire time, speaking up only to give directions to her house.

The sun was sinking by the time we pulled up in front of her place. It was a low ranch style house, looking like it was mostly made of wood. A few trees surrounded it to give the farmyard some shade.

"Thanks for today, and for handling Donnie," she said without looking at me. I grunted.

"I should be the one thanking you. I was expecting this place to be mind numbingly boring. Today was just full of surprises," I replied.

She smiled at that.

"Glad to have helped out."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked. After everything that had happened, I found myself enjoying Charlie's company a lot. The tomboy leaned over and placed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"See you tomorrow," she said with a smile before throwing open the truck door and hopping out into the evening. As the light in the cab faded and I watched her run up to the front door, I couldn't help but reach up and brush the spot where she had kissed me.

In a daze, I put the truck into drive and started toward my grandparents place. I found myself grinning like an idiot the whole way, even after I set foot in the backdoor.

"Look who's just in time for supper. Did you have a good day?" Grandma asked as I hung my hat on a hook by the door. She was standing over a pot of vegetable soup, gently stirring the reddish brown liquid with a wooden spoon.

"It was...interesting. Randall at the meat market sent you this," I said as I placed the package of dried beef on the counter next to her.

"He's such a sweet man. Did you meet anyone else while you were out?"

"Charlie Peterson." My grandmother's face brightened at the name of the girl who had taken up so much of my mind.

"Oh, Charlotte is a nice girl. I hope you two got along fine." I thought back to her kiss, and felt my cheeks heat up a little.

"You could say we hit it off," I said, scratching the back of my head. Grandma smiled.

"Well I'm glad. This stuff is done. Grab a bowl, you look famished," she said. I did an instructed and proceeded to the dining room table with a bowl full of the steaming liquid. It smelled delicious, bringing up memories from my childhood.

Just as I was starting to dig in, the phone rang. My grandparents still had a land line, which was a corded phone that hung on the wall in the kitchen. Grandpa was the one who answered it.

"Clarks," he said, taking his ever present pipe from his teeth. After a few moments he held the phone aloft.

"Jason, phone for you." Puzzled, I stood up and walked over to him. Who could be calling for me? The only person I could think of was my mother, and she would have called my cell. I gave Grandpa a questioning look as he handed the phone over. All I got was a mischievous look in return.

"Hello?" I asked, placing the receiver to my ear.

"Jason? It's Charlie." That explained it all. I had never bothered to give her my cell number, so she had called my grandparents place, knowing this was where I was staying.

"Hey Charlie, what's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just wondering, since it's supposed to be as hot tomorrow as it was today, if you wanted to go swimming tomorrow?" I thought back to our trip down to the creek and the sight of Megan's body clad in that tight purple bikini.

"You sure you wanna go after what happened with your sister?" I asked. It wasn't that I was opposed to seeing Megan again, it was just that I cared about Charlie and I didn't want to see her get upset again.

"Don't worry about that. I know a different swimming spot where we can go, just the two of us," she said.

"Just the two of us? You mean like a date?"

"I...um, err...well." I could help but grin as she stuttered over the line. For once, I had caught her off guard, and it was a feeling I was going to relish.

"Relax. It sounds like a plan," I said like it was no big deal. It really wasn't. We had already made plans to meet up the next day, now we were just choosing an activity.

"Really? Um...okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

"See you tomorrow, Charlie," I said before I hung up the phone. Finishing my bowl, I placed it in the sink before I made my way upstairs to my room.

Flopping down on the bed, I kicked my boots off and stared at the ceiling, letting my mind wander. I thought about the day's events, and how things had changed since I had woken up that morning. My summer was actually starting to look up now.

As I lay there, a new series of thoughts crept into my head. What would swimming alone with Charlie be like? Would she wear shorts and a t-shirt to swim or would she have a bathing suit? What did she look like under all those baggy clothes? I forced myself to stop as I started to get hard. My mind wanted to run free with all kinds of fantasies, but I wouldn't allow it.

I would get my answers soon enough.

*

The next day didn't start out spectacular, or even remotely entertaining at that. I woke up, showered, ate breakfast, and was outside helping Grandpa by ten.

By the time three in the afternoon rolled around, I was drenched in sweat. Throwing square hay bales around the barn with no fan or any sort of breeze was hotter then hell, so I practically fell to my knees and praised Jesus when he finally turned me loose for the day.

I went back into the house and changed my jeans for a pair of swimming trunks. Grabbing up my phone and a towel, I was out the door and into the truck like a bolt of lightning. The drive into town passed by quickly, and just like the day before there was no one to be seen on the sun baked streets. I went to the filling station rather than Charlie's house, figuring that the tomboy would be there rather than sitting at home.

Sure enough, Charlie was sitting on the step into the main office. Her appearance hadn't changed since yesterday. Upon hearing the roar of the truck engine, she looked up from what she was doing and a broad smile appeared on her face. Standing, she shouted that she was leaving into the shop before she hurried over and climbed into the cab.

"Ready to swim?" I asked.

"Sure, we just gotta stop by my place real quick," she replied. We rode in silence to her place after which she quickly hopped out and ran inside. I put the truck in park and let it idol while I played on my phone. It wasn't that had to figure out that she was changing to go swimming. She may have been a tomboy, but I doubted that even she considered overalls as proper swimming attire.

The sound of the truck door opening caught my attention, and I looked up from my phone. Charlie had changed clothes. Gone were the grease stained and sun faded shirt and overalls.

In their place was a royal blue t-shirt and a pair of gray Nike shorts that stopped at her knees. She had a towel folded in her arms. Her ball cap still rested on her head, but her hair dangled down rather than being tucked up underneath it.

"So where is this private swimming hole?" I asked.

"It ain't far," she replied as I put the truck into drive. Charlie guided me down a gravel back road that lead away from town, and then a small minimum maintenance road that spurred off from the main road. It was little more than a dirt path that led into the woods, but I trusted that Charlie knew enough not to get us lost.

"Stop here," she said suddenly. I slammed on the breaks, but we hadn't been going very fast to begin with so the truck just bounced to a halt.

Just ahead of us, the road dipped down a steep embankment and crossed the creek in a low water crossing. It was basically a slab of concrete that had been dumped into the middle of the stream so vehicles could cross without sinking into the mud.

I pulled the truck over to the side of the road a little so that if anyone came down the road they could slip past. Based on what I had seen so far, I doubted that anyone would be coming, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

"So is this where we're swimming?" I asked as I shut the truck off and climbed out of the cab. Charlie followed suit, both of us carrying our own towels.

"No, it's a little further downstream," she said. I held my hand outward, gesturing for her to take the lead.

She rolled her eyes and led the way down the embankment to the water's edge before turning right and following it down stream.

Not too far from the low water crossing, the creek made an S curve of sorts. Just past that, the water went over a small waterfall into a large round natural hole of sorts.

The sides of the hole were limestone, and the only vegetation growing around it was the trees and their gnarled roots. A natural path led down into the hole to a small landing near the waterfall.

Overall, the place looked like a hidden paradise. The tree canopy provided ample shade from the sunlight, and the bend in the creek hid the place from the road.

"Whoa," I said as I took in the view. Charlie smirked at me before she led the way down the path to the water's edge.

Finding a large flat rock near the water, I saw my stuff down and began preparing to go swimming, namely taking off my hat, shirt, and shoes. As I pulled off the last of my shoes, it occurred to me the possibility that there might be snakes here. Charlie had been here before, so obviously she would be the one to ask.

"Hey, Charlie, I was..." I started as I turned to face her. But my voice died in my throat as I took in the sight before me. Charlie had stripped off her t-shirt and shorts to reveal a magenta colored one piece swimsuit.

The speedo clung to her body, leaving little to the imagination. Her breasts were larger then I had imagined, a nice firm and round C cup. Her body was toned from swimming and other sports, and her hips were wide, giving her a well-defined hour glass figure.

"Did you say something?" she asked, looking up at me. The only response I could form was a small croak as I stood there gawking at her like an idiot. She waved her hand in front of my face.

"Earth to Jason, you in there?" I blinked and swallowed, remembering what I was going to ask her.

"Um...yeah. I was wondering if there were any snakes down here," I said. Charlie shook her head at that.

"No, there's not enough vegetation for their usual prey, so they stay clear," she said. Her eyes trailed down my body, taking in the view like I had been doing with her.

"Then again, there's a first time for everything," she muttered as her eyes reached my groin. I glanced down and quickly realized what she was talking about.

My cock had hardened as I had stood there ogling her, leaving a massive lump in my trunks. I blushed in embarrassment and turned away quickly. From behind me, I could have sworn I heard a small giggle before large splash.

Looking back, I realized that Charlie had jumped into the water. When she broke the surface again, it was like watching a goddess emerge from the depths.

Her short hair was pulled back and water shined as it cascaded down over her body. Apparently the water was cool, as I could easily see her nipples harden against the fabric of her swimsuit.

My cock got harder still, to the point where it was almost painful. Deciding to save myself from further embarrassment, I threw myself into the pool. I opened my eyes as I sank to the stone bottom of the pool. It was deep, maybe six or seven feet depending on how close you were to the center of the pool. The water was clear, much to my surprise.

If I had to guess, the pool was spring fed based on how cool and clear the water was. As I settled on the bottom, my hope was the water would help my hard on go down.

My plan backfired almost instantly.

Charlie swam by, her body doing long and graceful strokes. She moved like she belonged in the water rather than walking on land. After a moment, she looked down at me and smiled. She swam down to me, her short brown hair trailing behind her before she took my hand and swam toward the surface.

My lungs were beginning to scream for air, so I followed her. We broke the surface at the same time, and I filled my lungs with a deep gasp.

"What were you doing sitting down there?" she asked, turning to me.

"I was...umm," I said, my ears starting to burn with embarrassment.

"Hoping the snake would go away?" she asked amused, cocking an eyebrow. My face flushed hot. I had no doubt that I was red like a tomato. Charlie smiled at me as she swam a little closer.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, it's a perfectly natural response," she said. I looked down a little.

"Yeah, except you probably think I'm a perv now," I muttered. The truth was I liked Charlie, a lot, and I didn't want to do anything that would scare her away. We had only just met the day before, after all.

"Actually, I think it's flattering," she said. Wait, what did she just say?

"Huh?"

"Jason, all I wear every day is those greasy old overalls. No one ever thinks I'm a young woman in her prime. Hell, newcomers always think I'm a guy at first. It's nice to know that I have what it takes to turn someone on," she said.

"Well, you succeeded," I muttered. There it was again, that expression of hers that I couldn't place. The one that put butterflies in my stomach. I decided that it was time to push my luck.

"Charlotte?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. She blinked and shuttered slightly at my use of her real name.

"Yes Jason?" she asked, her own voice as low as my own.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?" The tomboy leaned back slightly, her expression making it clear that she was studying me to see if I was joking.

Finding no indication that I was, she leaned in and kissed me. It was soft and gentle, and rather then look on like an idiot, I kissed her back. After a tender moment, Charlie broke the kiss and we both leaned back to gauge each other's reactions.

There was no going back now. The spark had already lit the gasoline.

We kissed again, this time more passionately. Our bodies pressed together as we deepened the make out session. I didn't care if she could feel my rod anymore. I'd gotten a taste of her lips, and all I could think about was getting more. After a while, she broke the kiss again, leaving both of us panting for breath.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" she asked.

"I've had some practice," I replied sheepishly. She gave me that look again.

"What's the furthest you've ever gone?"

"I um...I ate out my last girlfriend, but her parents came home before we could go any further," I said, looking down with embarrassment again.

"Why didn't you guys...you know? I figure if you got that far she would have been willing."

"She found someone she thought was better I guess," I said. We had broken up about a week after her parents had almost caught us, her reasoning being that we were in two different places and she needed to find herself. I was arrested two weeks later, so my chances of seeing her again were long gone.

And frankly, I didn't really care.

"Come with me," Charlie said after a long moment of silence. She took me by the hand and we swam toward the shore where our stuff was. When we reached the ledge, she turned and looked at me again.

Her hazel eyes bore into mine as she stared long and hard, seemingly considering something in her head.

"Do you trust me?" she asked. I gave a short, simple nod as I was unsure where she was going with this. Charlie took a deep breath before she haled herself upon the edge. She turned and looked at me as she sat with her legs dangling in the water.

"I actually have gone all the way before. I...I could teach you if you want," she said. Was she offering what I think she was offering?

"I wouldn't mind that one bit," I said, my voice containing way more confidence then I had. Charlie took another breath before she pulled both of her legs out of the water, firmly planting them on the edge of the ledge so that she was sitting, facing me with her legs spread. My mouth felt dry as mind tried to contemplate what she was doing.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Charlie leaned back on one elbow and gave me a smile.

"If I'm going to teach you, I need to gauge what your skill level is," she said as she reached down and pulled the fabric of her swimsuit aside, revealing her pussy to me. She was completely shaven, and her thighs around her pink slit were glistening, although I had no way of knowing if this was from her own juices or the fact that she had just climbed out of the water.

If I had any doubts about her joking before, they were long gone now.

"Come on, Jason, give me a kiss," she said, her voice containing a playful tone. I swam closer and studied her pink folds closely. She had a sweet musky sent to her, and for the first time I realized that the wetness was from her arousal, not swimming.

I gently reached out and began to rub against her slit with my middle finger. Her body jerked as if an electric shock had just passed through it, and I knew I was getting a good reaction from her. My finger ran down the length of her slit to her entrance and then back up again. At the last moment, it bumped against a little nub, and Charlie jumped again.

I smirked as I knew I had found my prize. Taking my index and middle fingers, I spread her pussy wide and looked over the gleaming pinkness. Her clit was hardening against the outside air, and I glanced upward at her once. My eyes never left hers as I placed a kiss on her clit.

Charlie jumped again, a gasp escaping from her lips as her face scrunched up in pleasure. Taking that as a sign to proceed, I began to lick her pussy.