Spring Fest, Part One

For Mature Audiences Only

Just a little free read purely for your entertainment. Enjoy!

*****

The Annual Spring Fest at McCain’s Farm was one of the biggest events of the year in Alexandria. It signaled the official end of the winter and heralded the warmer weather with music and dancing, games for the kiddies, drawings and bingo for the adults. The whole town came out for it, dressed in their pastels and linens and Easter bonnets, to take a night off from the chores and the TV to just kick back with some lemonade (or perhaps something a bit stronger) and chat with their neighbors. See and be seen.

This was Julia’s first Spring Fest. She’d been in Alexandria about a month now, called there by the town’s only lawyer to claim the ranch that had been left to her by her mother’s uncle’s cousin’s brother or some such nonsense. Whatever the case, she was the last living relative and the ranch was hers to do with as she pleased. She only wished she had a clue what she should be doing with it. She was not going to keep it. Definitely not. Julia was a city girl through and through and all the quiet, the small town cheer (and nosiness), was beginning to wear on her nerves. She couldn’t wait to get back to New York. But paperwork and things she didn’t quite understand needed to be done and until that was all completed, she was stuck.

She twisted in front of her mirror, examining her outfit. The knee-length, wispy purple skirt was the only thing remotely festive she had packed, but it did go well with the blousy, white shirt she’d chosen. Not exactly a sex-goddess outfit, but simple and carefree and good enough for a farm dance.

Maybe Derek will be there, she thought and a little shiver of anticipation raced down her spine. Derek Cafferty was the lawyer’s only son and from all that she had heard, he was set to take his father’s place when the elder Cafferty retired. Tall and charming and devastatingly handsome, Derek was the one thing that made the town even somewhat tolerable. And he was 100% of the reason why she was going to the Fest at all. Julia knew she probably didn’t stand a chance with him, he was waaaay out of her league, but just looking at him was such a treat, so incredibly pleasurable, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

And maybe she did have a slight chance. She didn’t want to think about it too much and jinx herself or let the fantasies that kept her company on the long, lonely, country nights take control, but she had been seeing quite a bit of Derek around town. He always seemed to be where she was. Always with a smile and a complement and some witty banter. But maybe that was more a consequence of how small Alexandria was rather than any real interest on his part. Julia couldn’t decide, but regardless of the reason, she fully enjoyed each and every one of their encounters.

She didn’t see him when she arrived at the farm, so she got herself some lemonade and meandered around the property, smiling and waving when it was required of her. What a bust, she thought after an hour of aimless wandering and with a heavy sigh, she headed for her rented car.

“Leaving so soon?” a deep, rich, masculine voice said from behind her and a huge grin immediately blossomed on her face.

“Hello, Derek,” she said, turning to face him. Her heart fluttered just as it did every time she saw him and a tickling tingle stirred low in her belly. Dear Lord, he was gorgeous! It was almost criminal.

“Julia. I was hoping I’d run into to you,” he said, his smile devilish and so very, very sexy.

“Oh, yeah?” she asked, trying to sound casual and playful even though her heart was thumping in her chest. “Well, I was hoping to run into you too.”

“Good,” he said, his eyes trailing over her, pausing to linger over her breasts. For an instant, she felt naked before him, naked under that hot, hungry gaze and heat flooded her cheeks. Flooded other parts of her as well. His gaze moved slowly down and back up again and then he met her eyes once more. That tingling in her belly kicked up a notch. His smile said he knew it too. “Will you walk with me?” he asked, and held out his hand to her.

She laced her fingers through his and allowed him to lead her away from the festival, into the apple orchard. The trees were just beginning to show their first buds and the air smelled of fresh grass, blooming flowers and rich earth. It smelled of spring. The farm lights faded into the distance and Julia gazed up at the darkening sky, the stars just beginning to twinkle on the horizon.

Derek’s thumb traced delicious circle over the back of her hand as they strolled and Julia felt warm and giddy and wonderful. How many times had she dreamed of this very scenario? She glanced at his profile, unbelievably striking in the soft light of dusk, and then quickly away. She only hoped that it turned out the way it did in her fantasies.

But maybe that was awful. Maybe she was being too easy, too… whatever words the small town gossips would use to describe her. She glanced over at him again and decided she didn’t care. She wanted to get naked and sweaty and breathless with him. Let them say whatever they wanted. He was what she wanted.

They stopped at a waist high brick wall at the back of the property and sat down on top of it. The faintest hum of music floated through the orchard.

“This is my favorite time of year,” he said, looking over at her.

“Really?” she asked. “I always liked the beginning of fall best. All the leaves changing colors and that light chill that gets in the air around the end of September that’s always so refreshing after a long, hot summer. Apples and cider and pumpkins.” She smiled at him. “You know.”

He nodded, smiling back at her. He reached out and brushed her hair off her face, giving her delightful goosebumps. “You look very beautiful tonight,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said, feeling herself blush. There was nothing quite so thrilling, so exciting, so very flattering as the attention of a beautiful man.

He put his arm around her shoulders, a comforting, comfortable weight. His fingers dangled just above her breast. If she took a really deep breath…

And then he kissed her.

[To be continued…]