To All the Girls I've Loved Before No. 6: adult content
Isabella
I was 28
Izzy leaned over the counter in the convenience store her family operated in rural Kansas. She turned the pages of the "Thrifty Penny," an area publication that printed advertisements for people wanting to sell second-hand items. She liked to think of it as a garage sale in print!
In fact, one of her favorite hobbies was spending a Saturday morning going around to garage sales.
The familiar "ding" that alerted her to someone at the gas pumps drew her away from her reverie.
From the large picture window, she saw a familiar figure lifting the nozzle from the pump and waved to him when she hit the switch to power the dispenser.
"He has good posture," she thought while watching the young farmer wipe the sweat from his brow.
"Welcome to Michelli's," she called when the man entered. He headed toward the coolers in the rear of the store.
Isabella tried to engage with her customers, but this one always seemed so solemn and lost in his thoughts. He was pleasant enough, but drawing him into a conversation was difficult. She noticed that he was more receptive when her attractive cousin, Marlene, worked the counter.
It wasn't that she was ugly or anything, she carried a few extra pounds and didn't consider herself attractive to men, but she was working on the weight issue and tried to keep her spirits up. There was a good man somewhere out there that was meant for her, at least that's what she told herself.
The handsome man set a bottle of Coca-Cola on the counter and Isabel took his proffered credit card.
She positioned the plastic on the embosser, placed a blank slip over it, and cycled the roller over the paper. Isabel tore the carbon copy out of the receipt stack and handed the man his card and receipt.
After he left she examined the receipt, Martin Rascomb was the name embossed on the thin paper. She checked the name against the illegibly scratched signature. She knew a Mrs. Rascomb from her aerobics class and wondered if that was his mother.
It was Thanksgiving week when she saw him again.
This time she had agreed to be the designated driver for Marlene and some of her friends that were home from college. They found themselves at a nightclub that catered to the country crowd.
She was sitting at the end of the bar watching her cousin and her friends routinely being asked to dance by cute guys. She felt like a wallflower and told herself she didn't mind.
Isabel was idly stirring the ice in a tumbler of diet coke when she looked up in time to see the solemn young farmer walk in with some friends.
Martin's eyes adjusted to the dim light and he saw the girl from the country store sitting at the bar, he smiled and walked toward her.
Izzy looked around and found herself alone. The guy walked right up to her and tipped his ball cap back on his head then bent down close to her ear.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked over the loud music.
"Uh, sure," she said, and she let herself be led out to the dance floor.
Standing side by side, they each hooked their thumbs in their jean pockets and began a line dance with the others on the floor. When the music stopped, Martin followed her back to her place at the bar and took the empty seat beside her.
"I'm Marty, by the way," he said offering his hand.
"Izzy Mitchelli, well, Isabella, or Isabel, but everyone calls me Izzy," she said taking his extended hand.
It was hard to talk over the loud music but they passed small talk during the lulls, and he asked if he could have the next dance. It was a slow dance, and Izzy's heart fluttered when he took her in his strong arms. The smell of his cologne was intoxicating.
She couldn't remember what they talked about while they swayed, she only remembered the jealous look her cousin gave her when she saw her dancing with this cute guy.
They danced several more sets before Marlene, and her friends grew restless and insisted she drop what she was doing and drive them to another club.
Martin asked for her phone number and looked disappointed when she told him she didn't have a phone because of just moving into a new place. He took it to mean she wasn't interested so he didn't press the issue.
In mid-December Martin stopped at Mitchelli's to gas up his old truck, Izzy waved him over to the counter and handed him a business card on which she had written her name, phone number, and address.
Another young woman walked up behind her when he turned to go toward the coolers.
"Isabel, you're going to have to take my shift tonight because Lynn and Jimmy have asked Rob and me to have dinner at Roscoe's and I can't disappoint them."
Walking back to the front Marty saw the look of irritation the girl hid from her cousin. He set the bottle of Coca-Cola down on the counter and said,
"I'm sorry Miss?"
"Uh, Marlene," said the other girl.
"Well, Marlene, that won't be possible because Isabel and I have a date tonight and that would disappoint me!"
"Uh, okay, I didn't know, I suppose I could cancel."
Isabella took Martin's credit card and completed the sale.
"I'll call you later with the movie times, okay Izzy?"
"Uh, sure," she said.
Marlene stood with her mouth open as Martin left the store.
"You.....have a date tonight?"
"Yes, I do, is that so hard to believe?" said Izzy feeling her confidence swell.
At 5:30 PM Isabella's phone rang and she made herself wait until the third ring to answer.
"Hello," she said.
It was Martin, and he asked her if Papillion was a movie she might want to see. She told him sure. Anything was fine.
They chatted a bit, and he explained that he didn't want to seem forward but she looked like she needed rescuing earlier and it seemed like an opportune time to ask her out. She giggled and thanked him for "saving her."
The movie started at 6:45 PM, so they hung up and rushed to get ready.
Martin was standing on her stoop at 6:15.
She met him still slipping an earring into her pierced ear.
Martin smiled and hurried her to his truck.
He was very gentlemanly and open the door for her then rushed around to slide into the driver's seat.
"Whew, we're cutting it close Izzy, but I think we can make it."
After the show, Martin took her to his favorite restaurant, and the waiter found them a booth toward the back in a secluded corner.
He was easy to talk to, she found him completely honest, and unlike most guys, he was humble and seemed to be more interested in her than talking about himself. She found herself relaxing and enjoying her first real date.
He told her he was 28 and when she informed him she had just turned 20, he didn't seem to mind. She, on the other hand, thought that her friends would consider him too old for her.
At the end of the evening, he lingered on her threshold. She wondered if he expected a kiss and was unsure of how to respond if he did. He took her hand in both of his and thanked her for a beautiful evening and promised to call again soon. He asked if she wanted a repeat of the evening and when she said yes he smiled and shook her hand.
She glanced back to see his smile as he opened the door to his truck and waved to her before getting behind the wheel.
Izzy closed the door and leaning back against it put her hand to her heart and stared at the ceiling, she liked this guy.
Martin called again, two days after Christmas. She had given up any hope of hearing from him because it had been over a week since their date.
It was a Friday night, and he told her he had bought a new truck and was wondering if she would like to take a drive with him. Of course, she accepted, and they spent a pleasant evening cruising the town and the country roads in the area.
Time seemed to slip away, and it was almost 2 AM before he walked her to her door. He asked if she would consider going to the New Years Eve Dance at the local country club that weekend and she accepted.
Martin picked her up at 7:00 PM and she spent the most beautiful evening getting to know some of his friends. There were two other couples at their table, and they spent the evening laughing and dancing. One thing Isabella was skilled in was dancing. She knew all the moves and even taught a dancing class along with aerobics.
The pinnacle of the evening was during a long slow dance. The DJ turned the music off and began the countdown to ring in the new year. Three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
And it was, indeed!
At that moment the music restarted, and Martin leaned in and gave her the very first kiss she had ever had. It was a natural thing to return the kiss, and her heart soared with affection for this good-looking man.
On the way home that night he asked her to sit next to him, and she slid over the bench seat toward him. The heat from his body next to hers was exhilarating, and when he casually put his arm around her and pulled her closer, she was in heaven.
On her doorstep that night he lingered, chatting amicably, and from out of nowhere he asked, "May I kiss you goodnight?"
They shared many kisses afterward, but the first was the one she would always remember.
Isabella and Martin began a pleasant routine, he stopped by the store more often, and they made weekend plans, sometimes they even went out during the weekdays. Saturday mornings he was at her house by 6:00 AM to take her around to the garage sales.
There was nothing they couldn't talk about, and Martin was straightforward about everything. He was never condescending, and even uncomfortable subjects were natural to discuss with him. It was three months into their relationship when Martin said he loved her.
Nothing special, he kissed her goodnight at her door and said "I love you, Isabella Michelli," turned on his heel and walked back to his truck. It was everything to her.
Martin was truthful. She asked him about previous girlfriends, and he told her all she wanted to know. He never said an unkind thing about any of them. It was hard not to be jealous, but somehow she knew that wasn't something she had to worry about with him.
Sex was inevitable. The physical and emotional attraction between the pair blossomed.
Martin left for home many nights complaining of physical pain from prolonged sexual arousal. She thought he was kidding at first, but she looked the condition up, and sure enough, the situation was called epididymal hypertension.
Then one night she surrendered to his advances and gave him her virginity.
Martin tried to make her first time a pleasant experience. It was painful but sweet too. He was an attentive lover, and she considered him worthy of her affection. What started as painful soon became one of the most enjoyable things about their relationship.
Of course, sex became a common occurrence, and the bond between them deepened with each passionate episode. Then one day in June Martin took her to a secluded area where a stream ran under a full moon. He slipped a ring on her finger, and asked if she would marry him.
Her heart melted, she, such a dull girl and he so handsome, and this good-looking man wanted her?
She barely got the words out to accept when the flow of tears started.
Martin held her tightly in his arms, and after drying her tears, she had a good look at the two-karat diamond sparkling in the moonlight.
A year to the day later they were married.
The passionate love they shared evolved into a comfortable companionship as the years flew.
The once timid Izzy turned into a confident businesswoman who became the head of the Ericson Foundation. She spent her days confirming that petitions for the generous funds distributed to various people and organizations were worthy of consideration.
Martin was happy, they raised three healthy children, and he was content to work his family's farm. The same farm his Grandfather had left to his Dad years ago. Martin generously purchased the inheritance rights of his sisters and fixed it so that the farm became a Rascomb Family Trust asset.
There were no secrets between Isabella and Martin.
When he introduced her to Jennifer at his fortieth high school reunion, she knew that Jennifer had been his first love. She felt no jealousy because she was secure in the knowledge that his heart belonged to her. She was with her soul mate, without a doubt they were meant for each other.
Martin pulled her close as they walked out of the high school gym.
They made love that night. Afterward, Martin thought how lucky he was to have found a woman like her. She was indeed his soul mate, the only girl for him.
CARRY ON!
nice post @beekerst
Awww! Shucks! Such a sweet ending. The undergirl won his heart!
And the moral is, the undergirl will always love you with all her heart, and if you realize the effort she puts into her love then she becomes the overgirl in your heart every time!
Thanks for another good read!
Thank you, my friend, for taking your time to read! CARRY ON!
From Scifi to Romance.
LOL, but you started on the last chapter of the series! Thanks for reading.
Nice to know Marty finally found his soul mate and settled down.
Yeah, I was getting tired of all that pillow hopping! All he needed was the right woman to tame him down!
I see you are introducing folks to your Italian Moonshine! Haha, I bet it was always exciting in your household growing up!
From Scifi to Romance.
You have been resteemed by @resteemy, courtesy of @beekerst!
Want to increase your following? Read more about me here
Nice post you, i see, enjoy and i like, thank you for sharing.
I will flag you every time...DO NOT SPAM MY POST!
Very interesting friends,
Steemit steady
DO NOT SPAM MY POST numb nutz!
Thank you
You are very kind, happy to be friends with you
You are clueless.
You are very kind, happy to be friends with you