paramoreparafan

J.

  I came back to the plantation with only the purest intentions on my heart.  I didn’t want to hurt Miss Williams, but I didn’t want to risk my job for her, especially when we were only friends.  If I kept wanting or thinking about having something more with her, it might make her a little paranoid to be around me.  Though, throughout the entire weekend, I couldn’t help but tell my little brother Zachary all about Hayley, even though he just rolled his eyes at me.
  My run through in the morning was exactly the same.  I was greeted by Mr. Williams.  I got some food from the cooks, then headed outside where I was greeted by Jeremy.  I headed out to an area past the tree because he said that land needed plowing first, but as I passed the tree, I heard a rustle of leaves, and then Miss Williams jumped down from the tree.
  “Where are you going, Josh?” she asked eagerly.
  “I’ve been assigned to work out here, ma’am,” I told her with a small nod of my head.
  “But, who’s going to talk to me all day?” Hayley pouted, making a face at me.
  “Well, you can still sit down on that patch of grass and just talk to me,” I said with a small smile, but then gave myself a mental slap in the face.  I shouldn’t keep leading her on like that, it would make things difficult.
  “That could work,” as all Hayley said as she slipped down into the grass.  “Now, what were we talking about on Friday, right before you had to leave again?”
  “We talked about a lot of things,” I explained before I planted the hoe into the ground. “Irish girls, sweet tea, family, things that made us happy...” I said, letting my voice trail off.  I thought we had stopped on things that made us happy.
  “Oh, yes,” Hayley said with a small nod of her head.  “Things that make us happy.  I believe I told you almost everything.  What about you, Josh?”
  “Well, I’m a pretty simple man,” I said as I grunted, planting the hoe into the ground.  “Almost anything can make me happy.  I just like the simple life, sort of.  I’d be happy with just about anything.”
  “Do kisses make you happy?”
  I nearly stopped what I was doing; Hayley had been pulling these kinds of comments before I left.  Did I like holding hands? I said yes, and she held my hand for at least five seconds.  Do I like flowers? I had said yes, and after lunch, Hayley had appeared with some freshly picked flowers from her garden.  She had also asked what kinds of foods I’d like, and they had magically appeared on my plate.  It seemed like this girl was trying to please me.
  “Um,” I said slowly, not sure how to react.  “I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never been kissed.”
  It was the honest answer and hopefully it could keep me out of an awkward situation where I might be forced to push her away.  These were small feelings I was feeling towards her; ones that I could get over almost instantly, ones that would put my desperately needed job at risk of being taken away.
  Too late, though.
  Hayley had stood up and was now brushing off her dress.  She looked up at me with a soft smile and looked me dead in the eyes before asking, “I could change that, Josh.  Would you like to be kissed?”
  “Um...” was all I could say and I felt myself suddenly become very clammy and self conscious of everything.
  “What’s wrong, Josh?” Hayley asked, frowning at me.  “I thought you liked me.”
  It was like I had been struck with lightning.  Hayley knew my feelings for her, and it seemed like she had the same feelings for me.  I knew I loved her.  She was perfect in every single way, but if her daddy knew we had something going on, he would kick me off the plantation.  I wouldn’t have a job, and I wouldn’t have Hayley.
  “I do Hayley,” I explained to her.  “I like you a lot. It’s just...I can’t put this job at risk.  I need it.  That way I can get money and see you,” I explained softly.
  “He won’t find out,” Hayley said softly.
  By now, we were just inches apart.  Hayley sighed and looked down, very gently placing her hands on my chest.
  “Joshua,” Hayley said added.  “I have never met any man that has treated me as much of a lady as you have.  Plus, on top of that, you have the most wonderful and polite personality in the world.  I can talk about anything with you. It makes you almost irresistible.”
  That was enough for my ears.  I couldn’t control my emotions anymore.
  I leaned down and pressed my lips gently against her’s.  Her lips were soft, and I found them moving back with mine.  I’d never tasted anything so sweet and so incredible in my life.  It sent a weird, tingly feeling up the back of my spine, something that I had never felt before.  If I didn’t need air more than her love, I would’ve continued to kiss her forever.  The moment was absolutely perfect.
  “Um, gosh,” Hayley said with a small giggle, her cheeks lighting pink.  “I would say you’re a pretty good kisser, Mr. Farro.”
 “Oh. Thank you,” I replied, finding my cheeks suddenly ablaze.  “You’re not half-bad yourself, young lady.”
  “Young lady?  Oh, you’re going down,” Hayley said, and then the next thing that I knew, I was pinned on my back and onto the ground with Hayley on top of me.
  I laughed and then struggled to roll out from underneath her, but I felt her small hands grabbing at me again.  Instead, I twisted around and cupped her face in my hands, mashing my lips very gently against her’s.
  “You’re an unhealthy distraction,” I teased her, poking at her side gently.
  “Yes, but you love it,” Hayley replied, patting the top of my thigh.
  I tried to get some work down in the next hour or so, but with Hayley around, it was kind of hard.  We were all over each other, whether it was hugging or playing around or kissing.  I felt kind of bad that I was slacking off, but Jeremy said I had done a whole month’s work in that past week.  I could slack off some.
  Hayley and I were in mid-hug when I heard the lunch bell ring.  She awkwardly pulled herself up from off of the ground and brushed her dress of, nodding her head towards with me a small smile.  “I’ll meet you back at the house, Josh.  It might be best if we don’t walk in all together because we’d probably be all over each other.”
   I chuckled and nodded, letting Hayley walk on ahead of me.  Once she was a good distance away, I headed back to the house, my head entirely spinning.  I didn’t seem to really notice that it was earlier than usual for lunch.
  Well, at least, not until I got up to the house.
  The cooks were running around like mad, trying to set the tables up correctly and properly.  Apparently they weren’t ready for lunch, either.  They were carrying food in from the smoke house and trying to dish out the servants sandwiches.  It was chaos.
  “Farro! Come here!”
  My neck turned around sharply, and I saw Mr. Williams glaring at me.  With dread, I knew he probably knew something that he shouldn’t.  Though, I obeyed him and approached him, trying not to look intimidated.
  “Yes, sir?”
  I felt Mr. William’s arm wrap around me as a sinister grin appeared on his face.  “Look, boy,” he warned me.  “I’ve seen you out there foolin’ around with my Hayley,” he said.  “And since you’re new, I’m just going to give you a warning.  Stay away from my daughter, boy.  I don’t want scum like you hurtin’ her.”
  I swallowed hard, but looked him dead in the eyes bravely.  “I wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head, Mr. Williams.”
  “Doubt that,” he said, and then spat directly onto the kitchen floor. “Just remember what I said, boy.”
  Mr. Williams pulled away from me with a jerk, and then headed back into the family room.  I swallowed hard, hoping he wouldn’t be too harsh on Hayley.
  I completely lost my appetite after that, even though I knew I would need my strength as I headed out to the fields.  Of course, Hayley came right out after I was out there, and she seemed pretty unphased.  I gave her a bleak, sad look.
  “What’s wrong?” she asked, pouting slightly.
  “Your dad told me to stay away from you,” I explained to her slowly, looking her dead in the eyes.  “He saw us, Hayley.”
  “Oh.” was all she really could say.
  We just stared at each other blankly for what seemed like forever.  A million thoughts were running through my mind.  I’m sure a million more was probably going through her head at the moment.
  “Well,” Hayley said slowly, pressing a finger against her lip.  “My dad will be out of town two nights after tomorrow.  Unless he told my Grandmother to watch us, we can see each other,” she said softly.  “We can wait that long, right?”
  I sighed, and then nodded.  “Yeah. I can wait that long.”
  Though, two days and not being able to see Hayley might as well be a lifetime.