As my dad left me in the care of Aunt Tess, I felt free at last ... free at last to enjoy my own world without anyone bothering me!

Well, that's what I thought would happen.

Aunt Tess was happy that she had a man around the house again, and kept bothering me with household chores such as changing the light bulb upstairs or taking out the garbage.

It was something new for me to do, since my dad's servants always had the task of doing them. But I wouldn't complain, since Auntie never yelled at me. She was strict at times if I did something wrong, but other than that she was always willing to compromise with me.

For instance, one time she needed extra money to pay the bills, and since I didn't want to go to school for a year, Auntie arranged a job for me 

See a compromise here? That's what Oliver should have done with me.

Dad's personality was nothing like his sister's.

Anyway, I would walk our neighbor's two dogs every day, and in return, they would pay me $50 by the end of the week.

So, I quickly agreed with that idea, because I wanted to roam around outside, and play ball with the dogs.  Plus, it kept me busy.

However, that job didn't last very long.

One day at a nearby park, I met a gorgeous girl around my age sitting in a parked bench. She had long brown hair and big brown eyes. Her lips were the color of the morning sun that I just wanted to touch. 

If you get my drift, I was in awe of her beauty.

However, I was admiring her from afar with my sunglasses, so I didn't think she noticed me.  I wanted to talk to her, but remembered my responsibility - which was to take care of the Fletcher's dogs – a Golden Retriever named Boxer and a Jack Russel Terrier named Buddy.  I was warned not to engage in any other activities while the animals were with me, because the dogs were known to run like the wind.

I thought I had a good grip of their leashes, but Boxer suddenly ran after a cat that came out of nowhere. Soon Buddy joined the chase, and found myself being pulled by two strong animals! After a minute or two, I released their leashes, but in doing so, I fell head first onto the wet grass. The girl on the bench then laughed at the humorous incident, but just as I was going to approach her, someone else beat me to it.

I assumed it was her boyfriend, since the tall gentleman kissed her on the lips. He looked at me in an awkward way, and soon I could smell the scent of 'trouble' coming after me, as he got off the bench. But at the same time I needed to find the dogs or else Mrs. and Mr. Fletcher would kill me if I lost them.

So I started running around as I called out for Boxer and Buddy to come back, but that did not work.

Eventually, it took me an hour to locate them.

The two were barking near a tree where the scared cat climbed.

Then, a little girl by the name of Candace approached me, and asked if I could fetch her kitty down from the tree.

Apparently, she thought I was there to save her pet, and at first I was reluctant to do it, but I couldn't say no to the little girl with a sad puppy dog face.

So, I shouted to the dogs to keep quiet and to 'Stay', while I tried to climb up the tree to find Kitty. When I found the cat near a branch, I placed her in my arms, but she was a little fidgety.

As I climbed down the tree, the little girl quickly took Kitty in her arms and thanked me. She ran back to her mother, who we'd later know as our high school teacher, Mrs. Simril.

Don't you think that was quite a coincidence, Marlene?

Well, it seemed that my work was done as I took the dog's leashes in my hands, but Mrs. Simril walked over, and asked me why I wasn't in school. I had to come up with a perfect excuse, but none had entered my mind at the time.

So in the end, Mrs. Simril drove me home, after we dropped off the dogs to their rightful owners. She waited for my Aunt to come home, and explained to her about the importance of an education.

Obviously, the teacher's remarks persuaded my Aunt, and I would soon find myself attending Glaston High.

At the time it was around the month of May, so Aunt Tess enrolled me for the fall season. I was already fifteen at the time, and thought I would be able to start as a sophomore, but Mrs. Simril asked me to start as a first year freshman that semester.

~~

I still remember the first day I met you Marlene. You were an exotic beauty that had a feisty attitude. But I probably looked like a hot shot to you because of my attire.

Did you like it?

Aunt Tess bought me the jeans jacket for my first day of high school, and I wanted to look sophisticated. She dropped me off at school early in the morning, so I was able to find my locker and assemble all my items before your entrance.

I was combing my hair when you came and shocked me. It never occurred to me that you my friend, my Marlene, would change my life for the better.

~~

Okay, I need a break here. This is getting to hot and steamy for me. I placed the bookmark to hold my place in Owen's journal and went downstairs.

Joshua was probably upstairs in his bedroom, so I just tiptoed down the stairs to get a snack.

Suddenly, a hand touched my shoulder.

"Is that you Marlene?"

I turned around and gave out a sigh of relief.  It was only my brother.

"You scared me, bro! Don't creep up on me like that! I thought you were sleeping."

"I didn't mean too. Are you all right?

Not really. I miss him and can't get Owen off of my mind.

"I'm fine Josh, I'll be alright."

However, my big brother could read my facial expression and knew that I was bluffing.

"Come here sis, and give your brother a hug. I know things are complicated right now, but we'll pull through."

Josh then took me into the living room and turned on the stereo. He put on some soft music as we danced the night away.

It was just me and my bro. Brother and sister duo. Just like the singers, Michael and Janet Jackson.

~~

My fellow readers,

Thank you for waiting.  It took me some time to update my books due to constant editing.  This chapter was a big one for me, because this was exactly the pinpoint when Owen met Marlene in high school. If you have read my first book, you could compare it to Marlene's version (Ch. 18).

And if you don't realize it by now, this is the macho side of the 'player' my readers have been waiting for. From the start of boarding school, Owen learned on his own to become a social "magnet' for his female groupies, and let me ask you could you resist a man in uniform? If you can't, that's exactly my point! I can't either. LOL!

I dedicate this chapter to my fellow Wattpad author Rasheeda Gordon. I love sarcasm just like you Rasheeda and even though I don't own a turtle, I was compared to being a slow one long ago. But look who just won the race! LOL! Thanks for coming aboard.

Song for this chapter is "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars. Enjoy!