“How did we get here? Why, of all people on the planet, did you and I seek comfort in one another?”

“Honestly, I don't know. But I'd like to think the universe brought us together for a reason. That we're supposed to help each other grow into the people we were always meant to become.” - Amanda  Tortoni.

Song for the chapter: Wild Thoughts - Rihanna feat Bryson Tiller feat DJ Khaled.

Okay guys, here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for.. I'll try my best to make it as splendid as possible. After this, one more chapter to go and then epilogue. Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Five: Sliding Doors

The kiss was slow and passionate, Char thought. Daniel had kissed her so many times before, and in so many ways, but never had it been so sweet, so overwhelming. She lifted her hands and hung them over his shoulders, pulling him in, more closer to her.

Slowly, as they kissed, Daniel led her to the part of the lake he'd arranged an afternoon picnic, towels, food basket, drinks and everything. Using his feet, he pushed the basket out of the way carelessly as he laid Char down on the towel.

Char laughed.

She was laughing even as they kissed and kissed again. There is no better taste than someone else's laughter in your mouth.

He broke down her walls without her even noticing. And when he rebuilt the walls, he added windows to let the sunshine in. That was it. He was her sunlight. She was his everything.

Daniel's hands roamed. He sought, and eventually he found. “You have no freakin’ idea how I feel, Charlee Winston,” then he kissed her. Not gently or tenderly or patiently, the way he'd planned. There was no wine and cheese and fine words and promises. Just her mouth beneath his, her body under his, as he kissed with all the frustration, and passion and need in him. Her hands wrapped around him, Char slid her tongue alone his and pressed him harder into her, straining to get as close to him as possible.

He slid a hand down her shoulder to find her breast, palming it, rubbing her nipple with his thumb. She retaliated by grabbing his backside and pressing herself against his hard-on. He groaned and slid a hand around his waist and into the waistband of his jeans. He broke their kiss to jerk her T-shirt and push her bra down, tugging her nipple into his mouth. Her body jerked as he bit her nipple then soothed it with his tongue. She reached between their bodies, yanked his fly down and slid her hand inisde his boxer briefs, wrapping her fingers around his erection.

She stroked his length, once, twice, three times. Daniel groaned as she rubbed the tip of his hard length, spreading his pre-sprang.Pulling her hand out, she grasped his shoulders and pushed him onto his back climbed on top of him. He dragged her T-shirt the rest of the way off and reached for the clasp on her bra. She started peeling his jeans off and he lifted his hips obligingly. She made a small, needy sound as his erecrion sprang free and he lost it for a moment, grabbing her and kissing her so hard that their teeth clashed and they bumped noses. Her hands kept working at his jeans all the while, tugging them down his knees. He kicked himself free and reached for the stud on his jeans.

Char made and impatient noise and rolled to one side, unzipping her fly and sticking her thumbs into the waistband of his jeans, shucking them in one frantic, urgent motion. The moment she was naked, he rolled on top of her. She opened her thighs wide and he groaned again as his hips settled against hers and his erecrion nudged into her moist heat. She wrapped her legs around his hips and arched her back.

They were both gasping like landed fish, mindless, mad. He pressed his hips froward, greedy for more, wanting everything.

And somewhere in the back of his mind a thought flickered to life. He stilled and looked down into Char's hectic face.

“Condom,” he said shortly.

She frowned as though she didn't understand what language he was speaking, then shook her head. “I'm on the pill.” Her cheeks turned several shades of crimson, even though she didn't see the need to tell him she'd fantasied about this moment for quite a long time.

Her hands found his ass and urged him closer but the small moment of clarity had already led to a greater moment.

This was Char. And he was about to shag her on the ground of their childhood playspot with no finesse and very little thought beyond the quickest way to her get her naked. What the hell was he thinking?

“Bed. We should be in a bed.” he said.

“I don't care.”

“I do. I want this to be special. This is our first time.”

“Our first time,” she repeated.

“Yes.”

She smiled. She'd been waiting to hear that for a really long time. She almost gave way, but then realised that it didn't matter. Her hands shot up to cup his cheeks. “Hey, it doesn't matter where. It's always going to be special with you. First time or not.”

Daniel gave her a heartbreaking smile. “I guess you're right.”

They butted noses again as they kissed, her breasts warm against his chest, her legs tangling with his. Then she was spreading her thighs wide and he was nudging at her entrance and—finally—sliding inside her.

They both froze, the lake suddenly very quiet. He looked into her face and saw the need and wonder and truth in her eyes and wondered if she saw the same in his.

“Charlee,” he said, lowering his forehead to press it against hers. “Charlee.”

Her arms came around him and locked tight.

“Daniel, whatever you do, don't you dare stop or I will be forced to kill you.”

He laughed, as he stilled for her to get used to his size. She was awfully tight, a true virgin. Need took over and he flexed his hip and withdrew. Then he slid into her all over again and she dropped her head back and made a low, needy humming sound in the back of her throat.

Ten years.

Unbelievable, but it might just have been worth the wait.

                                         **********

Char felt Daniel’s backside flex beneath her hands as he bore down on her. Hot, hard strength filled her, stretching her. She forgot to breathe.

She'd wanted this for so long. Too long.

Daniel inside her, surrounding her. A part of her. Turn he found his rhythm and lust rose to swamp everything except sensation as he stroked into her, over and over. She rode with him, circling her hips to find the most satisfying friction. Clutching at his hard, beautiful body. Savouring every hitch in his breath, every brush of his hands against her breasts, her belly, her hips. Breathing and sighing and whispering his name.

Tension bowed her body. He kissed her breasts, licked her nipples, murmured things against her skin. She strained toward him, wanting everything he had to give.

And then she was there, her climax crashing down on her. She screamed with all her might, all sense of time deserting her. She'd barely come down to earth again when he tensed, pressing his face into her neck. He breathed her name over and over as he came, his body shuddering against hers.

Afterwards, he lay heavy and lax on her for a long moment, his ragged breath warm against her neck. After a while he withdrew and rolled to the side taking her with him. They lay facing each other and she ran her fingers through the dark silk of his chest hair, reveling in the freedom to touch him.

“I'm sorry I was late, Char. I just needed some time to figure how to get you back. And I also had to take some singing lessons. Couldn't risk the entire town bleeding through the ears all in the name of Tay-Tay.”

Char's laughter was sweet medoly to his ears.

“You're here now, that's what matters.”

He brushed his hand over her shoulder, skimmed his knuckles along the curve of her jaw.

“Charlee, about Abby—”

She held a hand to his lips. “Shh. Not tonight.”

He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He looked so familiar and so sexy lying beside her.

“Ahh. Pinch me,” she said. “I still can't believe this is real.”

“I can do better than that.”

He rolled toward her and slid a long, muscly leg over both of hers. His eyes cupped her breasts an she closed her eyes as he teased her nipple with his thumb and forefinger.

“You're so beautiful, Charlee.”

He lowered his head to her breasts, kissing the soft curve before opening his mouth over her nipple and rasping the rough of his tongue against her sensitive flesh. She opened her eyes and looked down at his dark head against her pale skin, watched him sucking and kissing her. She drove her hand into his hair and drew him close, running the sole of her foot along one of his strong calves. He had a wonderful body, strong and muscular, hairy in all the right places, unashamedly masculine.

He lifted his head and skimmed his hand down her ribs to her hips, his eyes following the movement.

“So soft...” he trailed his hand down her thigh and nudged her knee to one side. She caught her breath as he began to trail his fingers up the inside of her thigh. He shifted so that he could press a kiss against her belly.

“You know, when I was sixteen I used to watch you get changed from my bedroom window. When you had you blind down and your bedside lamp on I could see everything in silhouette. Well, almost gave everything. It used to drive me crazy.” he said it lazily, casually, his focus on her body.

She frowned. “It's okay. You don't have to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.”

“Sweet nothings. Was that what I was doing?”

“You don't have to tell me what you think I want to hear.”

He lifted his head and shifted onto one elbow. “You think I'm making it up? You don't believe I used to lie in the dark watching you take off your bra and pull down your panties and feel like the dirtiest, filthiest little pervert under the sun because of the things I wanted to do to you?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “I know I said a bunch of stuff before about being second best and a consolation price. It's okay, you don't have to try to prove anything to me or to make me feel better. Let's just..... be here. This is enough.” she said.

And it was. It was more than she'd ever thought she'd have from him.

He looked arrested. “You really don't believe me, do you?”

“I was there so many years ago, Daniel. You and Abby weren't fake dating.”

He sat up suddenly. “Get dressed,” he said, as he got up.

“Sorry?”

“Get dressed. There's something I want to show you.”

“But—”

He was already gone, padding down the lake toward his car. She grabbed her sweatshirt and tugged it on. Daniel was already pulling his jeans on when she reached him.

“Where are we going? I don't get it,” she said.

“Exactly.” he bent and picked up her jeans tossing them to her. “Get dressed, Char.”

There was a determined, stubborn note to his voice that she recognised. Frowning, she located her panties in the leg of her jeans. Daniel reached across and plucked them from her hands before she could pull them on.

“You won't be needing those.”

Five minutes later, they were in Daniel's car. Char was acutely aware that she was commando and that she still had no idea where he was taking her.

“This thing you're showing me, it isn't in a public place, is it?” she asked nervously.

He signaled as they approached her parents’ street and turned, stopping in front of their house.

“What are we doing here?” she asked stupidly.

“I'll show you.”

He rounded her car and took her hand. He flicked his flashlight on then led up her driveway. Bluish lights flickered behind the blinds in the living room, indicating her parents were still up watching television. Daniel led her past the window and into the backyard. The decorative gate between her mother vegetable garden and the more unruly bottom half of the yard squeaked in protest as he opened it.

“Okay, this is getting weird,” she said. “Why are we in my parents’ backyard?”

Daniel didn't say anything, only led her to the very bottom of the garden, into the long, damp grass where they used to play in years gone by. The flashlight beam slid over the grass and settled on the gnarled trunk of the apple tree.

“Hold the light steady for me, okay?” he said.

Bemused, she took the flashlight and aimed the beam at the tree trunk as he halted himself up onto a low branch and began to climb.

“You're crazy, you know that, right?” she said.

“Maybe. It's been a long time. It's probably — hah! Look at that. Guess I must be a better craftsman than I thought. Throw me the flashlight and come up here.”

Muttering under her breath, Char tossed him the flashlight, the beam arching through the night as it flew through the air. Daniel trained the light down the trunk and she swung herself up into the tree. He hadn't climbed very far, about halfway into the canopy. He was straddling a thick branch and she settled in beside him, one hand grasping an overhead brand for balance.

Daniel aimed the flashlight at the tree trunk, “Take a look.”

She glanced at him, then turned to study the rough, gray bark. It was well hidden, camouflaged by years of weather, but she could make out the faint outline of a love heart carved into the wood. Two sets of initial had been carved inside it. She reached out to trace them with her fingertips.

“D.M. 4 C.W.,” she read. She stared at Daniel, stunned. “How long has this been here?”

“I turned sixteen in O-seven, right? So I guess it's been here ten years.”

She started at him. All these years, she'd looked for proof that her feelings for Daniel were reciprocated. And all the time it had been right here in her parents’ backyard.

She reached out and pressed her hand against the roughnbark. For a moment she was overwhelmed. Then she swung around and scrambled down the tree.

Daniel dropped to the ground beside her a few seconds later.

“I don't understand, ” she said after a short silence. “Why didn't you say anything?”

“Why didn't you?” he countered.

“Because I was afraid. Because if I did say something and you didn't feel the same, things would have been weird between us.”

“Ditto. You were my best friend, Charlee. I didn't want to lose you.”

Wow. All these years, she'd thought the Daniel had chosen Abby over her. “Have you ever seen that movie Sliding Doors?”

“Does it have explosions and chicks in bikinis toting guns?”

She gave him a dry look. “It’s about the life you could have had if you made different choices.”

“Ah.” he was silent for a moment, and then he brushed a hand down her arm. “Great idea for a movie.”

“But?”

He shrugged. “Real life is more complicated.”

She understood what he was saying with those few words: he'd loved Abby. He'd married her, had been prepared to build forever with her. He wasn't going to say he regretted any of that as a sop to Char. He was too honest for that.

She caught his hand in hers. If he'd felt any other way, she'd like him a lot less than she did. And she like him a whole hell of a lot.

He pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and savored the closeness and the promise.

After a few minutes, Daniel cleared his throat.

“You know how I mentioned those dirty, horny, perverted fantasies I used to have?” he said. “One of them involved this particular bit of your parents’ yard and all this long grass.”

“Really?”

“To my shame.”

He didn't look very ashamed.

“Is that why you wouldn't let me put my underwear on?”

“I like to plan ahead.”

“Pretty confident, aren't you?”

He kissed her deeply, pushing her back against the old apple tree, holding her three with his hips and his flat belly. She shiveree as his hands slid under her sweatshirt to cup her braless breasts. He kissed her neck, then nuzzled the sensitive place beneath her ear. She slid her hands under his T-shirt and smoothed her hands across his back and chest and belly before finally the stud on his jeans and working it free.

One day, she would take the time to explore his body slowly and surely. But not tonight. Tonight she was too impatient, too needy, too desperate.

They sank to their knees in the grass and Daniel pulled his T-shirt off and spread it on the ground to protect her from the damp grass.

“So gallant,” she said as he eased her onto her back.

“Smart mouth.”

Suddenly the light came on at the back of her parents’ house, flooding the yard.

“Is there somebody out there? Char, is that you?” her mother called.

Daniel groaned. “No. Tell me this isn't happening,” he rested his forehead against hers. “Has she got a wirecap on you or something? I swear, she's like a walking hard-on detector.”

Char bit her lip, trying not to laugh. Daniel levered himself up on his arms.

“Mrs Winston, if you value your life, you'll go back inside and turn off the light right now.”

“Daniel? Is that you?” Leslie's footsteps sounded on the patio as she came to investigate. “What on earth are you doing out there in the middle of the night? I thought you were at the lake with Char.”

Chat stuffed her hand into her mouth.

“Well, I was kind of hoping to get your daughter naked. Then I was planning on spending the rest of my life making her happy,” Daniel said. “If that's okay with you and Mr Winston.”

There was a short silence, then the sounds of her mother's footsteps retreating. After a few seconds, the light went off.

Daniel settled his weight over her again. “Now, where were we?”

“You were living out your teen fantasy.”

“That's right.”

But instead of finishing undressing her, his expression suddenly became very serious. He traced the angle of her jaw, brushed his thumb over her lips, and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“All these years... I love you, Charlee. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I never want to lose you.”

Charlotte stared into his face, so well known and precious to her. She thought about all the challenges that still lay ahead —wroking things out with Abby, if that was even possible, that fact that Daniel worked in Boston and her career, plus all the small, everyday complications any two people faced when trying to build a future together.

“Then don't,” she said.

——————————-

Okay people, there it is! I'm quite proud of this chapter. Tis the longest I've written in a while.

Raise you hand if you feel like I deserve some(plenty) votes...🙋🙋

I just love happy endings... And honestly, for this chapter, I have Sarah Mayberry to thank. Her book ‘Her Best Friend’ was what inspired me to write Daniel and Char's story. I just love her.

One more chapter then the epilogue and we're out.

Piss out, bitches✌ .....(Lol...you know I didn't mean that.)

Gift.