Just a couple things I wanted to share. I'm somewhat participating in NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month. I'm not actually attempting to write a novel in one month, but I am using this month to challenge myself to write something everyday, even if it's just a paragraph. I'm also looking up writing prompts to help with this goal. I won't post what I write every day, but I will share some of my work.
Also, I've added a blog archive option to the page. It's at the bottom, left hand side. Most of what I write and share this month won't be linked in the way I've done my other stories on the site, but if you miss a post or want to go reread something, the archive will probably be the easiest way to do so.
Alright, yesterday's Writing Prompt that I chose was this: Write about two people seeing each other for the first time.
I tweaked that prompt a little, and below is what I came up with.
****
Clueless. That was me.
Clueless, oblivious, dense…and the worst part, so self-absorbed that I
didn’t recognize it until this night of my twenty-eighth birthday. From this day forward I should be called Cruise
Carter, race car driver and egocentric idiot.
My friends had thrown me a
birthday party, and since I was a well-known…okay famous…race car driver, we’d completely taken over the large lake
house we’d rented. I’d guess upwards of
two hundred people filled the house, its large front patio, and the even larger
backyard and pool area. I didn’t know
most of them. If they lined up, I could
point out my six closest buddies—four from college and two who worked my pit
crew—and then another dozen or so who I’d met through them. The rest of the crowd were acquaintances,
friends of friends, a fair number of fans, and even a couple celebrities who’d
somehow become of part of my party-crew.
The night had been a blast so
far. Alcohol, music, and scantily dressed
people making use of the pool tended to make for a good time. I’d been working the crowd, tossing back drinks
with my guests, joining in the impromptu karaoke, opening the occasional gift
that was thrust into my hands, and thoroughly enjoying being the star of the
show. I won’t lie. I liked the attention.
I also like the attention of any
hottie I saw, male or female. I’d been
sharing the love with whoever struck my fancy for a few years now, and it hadn’t
gotten boring at all.
I was wonder who I might get to
share my bed that evening when my gaze landed on the ideal target. Twenty-something, black hair, blue eyes, slim
but with broad shoulders, and being a bit of a wallflower as he sat on a deckchair
on the outskirts of the crowd enjoying the pool and its diving board. I tended to fancy the shy ones. Drawing them out was a game I enjoyed playing…and
winning.
Maneuvering my way through the
crowd, it took a good five minutes to reach my destination. I’d purposefully come up from behind. The timid ones tended to take flight if they
saw me approaching, hiding nervously before I could even talk to them, so I’d
learned to be where I wanted—within touching distance—before they realized I
was there.
Now, standing behind the man I
hoped to have in my bed very soon, I took a moment to admire his dark hair and
mild scruff before crouching down next to him.
“Great night for a party,” I
commented, and couldn’t help grinning when the guy’s head turned abruptly in
surprise. He’d clearly thought he hadn’t
been noticed.
“Oh…uh…yeah, it is.”
His voice was lower than I expected
it to be, and I found that incredibly sexy.
“You’re not joining in much. How
can you know how good it is if you don’t involve yourself with anyone?”
His head tilted slightly, his eyes
narrowed slightly and he seemed to size me up in a way I wasn’t used to. “I’ve involved myself more than I should have
in the past,” he said in a way that felt cryptic. “Now, I prefer to watch.”
“Watching anyone in particular?”
His cheeks pinked slightly and
he looked away from me. I reached out to
gently grip his wrist, knowing what to expect, and not being disappointed when
the touch quickly brought his eyes back to me.
“Your expression says I might
have been the one you were watching,” I said with confidence. “Want to go somewhere private and have a drink
with me? We can watch each other all we
want then.”
I fully expected hesitation, and
then a nod or a shy yes. Then I’d take
his hand, and gradually get us to that private location. What I didn’t expect was the hurt that came
to his eyes and the question, “You don’t remember me, do you?”
I admit, that knocked me completely
off my game. I tried to reclaim my
faltering smile as I stupidly said, “We’ve met?”
He sighed, his head dropping to
look at the ground and I barely heard the words, “I knew I shouldn’t have come.”
He started to stand, but I
gripped his wrist harder and the action stopped him. “Hey, I’m sorry I don’t remember. I’m not always the best with names and faces
since I tend to meet a lot of people.”
“Yeah,” he said, that sadness
lingering in his voice. “I know you do.”
He did stand then, and reached
into the pocket of his shorts to pull out a folded paper and hand it to me. “Happy birthday, CJ.”
Shocked landed in my gut. I hadn’t been “CJ” in more than ten
years. Only a handful of people from my
high school years had ever called me that, mostly because I’d begged to be
called anything except my given name, ‘Charlie Jensen Carter’, which I’d never
liked. In college I’d picked the name ‘Cruise’,
always telling people to call me that so that very few knew my real name now.
I looked down at the paper in my
grasp and nervously unfolded it. As soon
as I saw the picture inside, I knew who the dark-haired man was—Tyler Jacob. TJ to my CJ.
My childhood friend who’d draw me pictures to make me laugh, my karate
partner for the one year we’d taken it together when we were ten. The first person I’d confessed I was bisexual
to after he told me he was gay. The one
who’d given me his virginity, and I’d given him mine when we were sixteen. He’d moved away just a few months later,
forced to relocate due to his dad’s job.
I hadn’t seen him in twelve years.
No one would judge me for not recognizing him.
I shook my head, knowing I should be judged…judged and found guilty,
because I knew what I’d done to him—both when we were teenagers and this
night. I’d once told him I loved him. When he had to move I said I’d never forget
him and that we’d be together again one day.
I’d never followed up on those
words, those promises. And now, I’d proven
how shallow my love had been by not even recognizing the one I’d first offered
it to.
Looking up, I desperately
scanned the crowd. I had to find
him. I had to make it right, somehow…but
he was gone.
