Love's Desire

Chapter 1: Sleeping on the Job

         It was a bright, stifling summer day that found Chris Alvarez taking a break from her work.  She had dozed off after soaking up the sun and leaning back on the patio, her legs dangling over the edge.  Her muscles ached, sore from hours of digging and pouring cement.  Her breathing, shallow from the manual labor, slowed and steadied; her chest rising and falling evenly as she listened to the breeze.
         18 years old, Chris had been in San Angelo for six days now.  Staying with her grandparents for an indefinite sentence, she and her two sisters were to build a fence for their grandparents’ back yard in return for help with finances for college in the fall.
         Lara and Mackenzie had adjusted well, going out to parties every night with Gavin, their seventeen-year-old cousin, popular by any standards, regardless of his orientation.  They went out every night while still appearing to work, according to the agreement.  Chris, on the other hand, preferred to avoid social outings in general, as a personal rule, just serving her time as quickly and simply as possible, waiting and praying for August 15th to arrive and set her free.  It was safe to say she was steering clear of any social situations in San Angelo.
         And it was precisely one of these parties that had left Chris working alone for the better half of the day.  Around noon, the three adventure-seeking teens had traded their shovels and gloves for beach towels and flip-flops as they headed to a pool party at the house of one of many of Gavin’s friends, Morgan Zaragosa.  Gavin had many girlfriends, none of whom had any romantic interests in him, whatsoever, but who did keep our grandparents from seeing the truth and possibly disowning him.
         The trio had been gone now for a couple hours when Chris had taken her first and current break, interrupting almost four hours of constant work.  Her nap was disrupted by a petite blonde exiting the house and stepping out onto the cement patio.
         “I didn’t realize they were paying you to sleep.”  Her words jarred Chris from the depths of her slumber.  She brought down the arm shielding her eyes from the sun to look quickly around for the source of the voice.  Not only had the voice startled her to consciousness, but it had left her heart pounding, fast.
         She took in the blonde, leaning against the sliding glass door, from the legs up, or down from Chris’s point of view.  Even from upside down, Chris could admire the new arrival’s good looks.  Her skin was tan from countless pool parties the summer had already offered, and she was fit, obviously athletic.  Wearing a pair of tight jean shorts, and a tight, striped polo over her bikini, she looked good, and she knew it.  Chris’s eyes found the girl’s face.  Blond hair pulled back, she was smiling slightly, even if she didn’t realize it, and the smile was making her blue eyes shine.  Speaking of her eyes, they appeared to be raking over Chris’s form just as Chris’s had just done.  Chris became self-consciously aware of her exposed skin between her shorts and tank-top, that had risen with her arms as she slept.  The blond giggled as Chris finally responded from the ground.
         “I didn’t realize they were paying us to go to pool parties and hone our social skills.”  The giggle sent shivers up Chris’s spine, even though it was next to the sun-warmed cement of the patio.  She sat up quickly to hide the reaction, unsure of what had caused it.  Her heart was still pounding as the blond walked over and sat on the edge of the patio, next to Chris.
         “I’m Hailey,” she introduced, her smile conveying a good intention that would have put Chris at ease, had she not been asking herself why this girl was appearing to get comfortable, as if she intended to stay a while.  Chris caught up to the conversation immediately, as the smile directed at her had made her heart race faster.
         “I know.”  Hailey’s smile gained a quizzical look as her left eyebrow rose almost imperceptibly.  Chris noticed.
         “Gavin mentioned you a couple times.”
         “Oh.”  The explanation seemed fitting enough.  She didn’t seem about ready to say more and Chris realized she was waiting for her own introduction.
         “I’m Chris,”  she raised her left hand offering a smile at the same time.  Hailey shook her hand, sending shivers up her arm, and grinned.
         “I know.”  Chris smiled at the use of her own words from moments before, then became aware that they were still holding hands.  She glanced down, and Hailey followed her gaze, her grin widening.  Chris pulled her hand away and, hidden behind her body, attempted to flex the tingles away before leaning back on it.  Who the hell is this girl?
         Chris’s eyes had fallen with her hand and she was now staring intently at the ground below her feet, her mind still on her racing heart, the chills down her spine, and the tingles still running from her hand to her elbow and back.  She couldn’t figure out what the blond girl was doing here.  But then again, she still hadn’t figured out what she was doing here, either.  Hailey interrupted her thoughts.
         “So…you and your sisters are helping your grandmother out for the summer?” She inquired, trying to keep the conversation going.  She didn’t seem to want Chris to go back to her own mind.
         “Yeah,” the sarcasm was evident in Chris’s voice.  Well, at least I’m not making too much of an idiot out of myself.  “More like the hired help.”  She continued to avoid the blonde’s gaze as her words rung with surprising honesty.  They also seemed to catch Hailey somewhat off guard.
         “I don’t think anyone else sees it that way,” she was trying to convince the brunette.
         “Then they’re probably not looking.”  She finally looked back up at the blond, catching her eye, sending renewed tingles up her arm, and noticing the warm smile had disappeared.  Way to go, Alvarez.  You just met the girl and already you’re starting to scare her off.  Wait, why would it matter if you scare her off?  But the smile returned and the athletic blond made a second attempt at conversation.
         “I haven’t seen you at any parties with Gavin or your sisters.”
         She’s been looking?
         The thought sent another unexpected shiver down her spine.  The statement was innocent enough, as she turned to look away from Chris, but the question was implied.
         “Yeah, well…”Chris began, still unsettled.  “I don’t really like big crowds…or the witty repertoire required for conversation…”  She trailed off.
         Hailey smiled and looked back at Chris, her eyebrow raising once more.  Chris looked over at her, about to question the eyebrow, but she got distracted as the smile, again, lit up the blonde’s eyes.  This girl is way out of my league.  She suddenly became painfully aware of the girl’s close proximity.  Her heart began racing again as she noticed the girl notice her staring at her smile.  Or am I staring at her lips?  Hailey leaned forward, just an inch, but the tension rose perceptibly, as her eyes, too, dropped to Chris’s lips.  Chris would have asked herself what the hell is going on, but her mind was too mesmerized by the blonde’s bright blue eyes staring into her own.
         Hailey leaned back on her hands, successfully, breaking the tension, but also allowing her pink and white striped polo to ride up, exposing tan, toned skin.  Chris was staring, and she knew it.  She heard the blond giggle and looked up to see that she knew it, too.
         “You seem to be doing just fine with me.”  Hailey said, attempting to steer the conversation back to words, but only succeeding in flirting.
         “You’re also just one person.”  One incredibly toned and gorgeous person.
         Not able to stand any more of her own thoughts, Chris stood up, stepping away from the patio.  “I don’t do well when there’s a lot of people I don’t know.”  She spoke, not turning around to look at the blond.
         “How many is a lot?”  Chris could hear the smile in her voice.
         “More than one.”  She grinned and heard the most amazing laugh ever as she began walking back to the fence where she left off, before she had taken the break.
         Chris watched out of the corner of her eye as Hailey sat for a few seconds longer.  She then went back into the house, only pausing at the door to turn and take one more look at Chris while she worked.  She totally just checked you out.  And that thought did more to Chris than anything she had experienced since the blonde had woken her up.
         While Hailey Mitchell could drown out her thoughts with conversation about upcoming parties, Chris Alvarez was left to nothing but her own thoughts, all revolving around the blond who had left quite and impression on the prisoner who had previously only wanted a quiet, simple summer.