Coming Home (Norris Lake Series) Read Free

that we were roommates since we could share the cost of living in both locations, school and work.  Over time, we became close friends, and found that though we had so many differences that we got along for some odd reason. 
    She was always trying to get me to go out with her friends and become more of a social butterfly.  I was willing to sit at the condo and read fiction trash or study every night. I cleaned up behind her, accepted that she forgot to pick me up at the airport and nodded politely as men streamed through the apartment.  We balanced one another and she was content to complement our friendship with her outgoing spark versus my serious nature.
    I loved her in the sense that she was a friend and had the best intentions for me.  I wanted to hate her because she was beautiful, brilliant and successful but couldn’t because she was also caring, honest and sincere.  I couldn’t say that I was the same. 
    So, it wasn’t a surprise when after weeks of hounding me, I let her talk me into going out one night with her new boyfriend and his best friend as a blind date for me.  Her boyfriend was tall, dark and handsome.  Mark was a senior at the University of Tennessee studying avionics and was a candidate for the U.S. Air Force wanting someday to be a fighter pilot.  He was a swashbuckling, fearless, chance-taker on a blue ninja speed motorbike. He was also a bartender at the country club in Oak Ridge which was about 30 miles south west of Knoxville. 
    Ben, his best friend was a lot like him but different in many ways.  He was shorter, about 5 ‘9” with a stocky, short, muscular build.  Dimples which cut deep in each cheek and the cleft in his chin made him a beautiful Kirk Douglas look-a-like. His red hair was short in a military buzz cut and he had beautiful azure blue eyes which twinkled when he smiled. He was also a daredevil with aspirations to be a Blackhawk chopper pilot and a red ninja bike to demonstrate his death defying attitude. 
    The fateful day came.  Sherry and her boyfriend chose a four-star restaurant in downtown Knoxville off of Cumberland Avenue called the Copper Cellar for the fateful night.  The restaurant boasted expensive, succulent dishes and an extensive wine cellar.  My date was arrogant and self-centered and I didn’t care for him much.  Ben just wasn’t my type.  None the less, I was determined to make the best of it so we drank wine and laughed with no cares, as only the young can do. 
    At the end of the evening my roommate went her separate way with her boyfriend and I was stuck for a ride home with the arrogant blind date.  He was irritating and had a smart mouth.  I knew that we didn’t have anything in common and was anxious for the night to be over.  He stopped in a parking space in front of my condo and I reached for the door handle wanting to be out and away from this asshole. It was obvious that we couldn’t stand one another, from both of our perspectives.  I said goodbye and put one foot out the door. 
    He reached over and held my hand pulling me close to him for a goodnight kiss.  I recoiled and jerked away but a consistent pull combined with the wine made me relent so it could be over and I could be out of the car.  I found myself pressed against warm, inviting lips and felt a hot flash of lightning race through my hand and lips straight to my toes.  It was nothing like I had ever felt before.  It was an instant of lust ignited by passion and a deep seeded need, all competing at the same time.  I pulled away breathless and panting. 
    Ben and I looked deep into one another’s eyes for a moment and then he smiled a sweet sardonic, self-confident smile as if he owned the world and knew it.  I pulled myself away and stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind me and double timed it down the steps to the front door of my condo.  With a twist of the lock, I opened the door stepped inside and closed the door behind me with a sharp