FicWad

Twelve years later, I was a small twelve-year-old living in Port Royal with my mother and father and sister. My parents were Madeline and Keith Smith. The sister was only seven-years-old and was named Alana. My childhood had been very easy. We were not rich, but we were not poor. Father worked for the East India Trading Company and mother stayed home with Alana and me.

Life was simple. I didn't have much to do. Mother had taught me sewing and knitting. For the most part, I was content with life. However, I did know for a fact that my life would not be complete without my best friend next door. I had known James Adams from when I was born. Mother was very good friends with Mrs. Adams and so it was only natural that James and I would get along.

I was a bit mature for only twelve years old. After all, twelve-year-olds were not suppose to go looking for serious relationships with people of the opposite sex, right? Unfortunately, I didn't feel like friendship towards James. I wanted much more from him. To be honest, I thought that he wanted more from me as well, but I didn't dare ask under the current circumstances.

It was a beautiful sunny day outside at the moment and I did not plan to spend it wilting away indoors. Peering out the window, I called to mother, "May I go outside and play? It's such a fine day out." Mother, who had been reading to Alana, looked up at me and asked, "You don't want to hear the ending of the story with Alana?" She looked almost hurt when I asked to go outside.

"I have heard that story several times before," I reassured her, trying not to smirk. Nodding, mother said, "Very well, but be back by noon so you can eat lunch. After that, I would like you to help me bake some cookies for our new neighbors." New neighbors? I wasn't aware of any new neighbors. Her comment immediately piqued my interest and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"New neighbors? I wasn't aware that we were getting new neighbors," I replied, no longer all that hasty to get outside. Mother nodded and replied, "Yes, new neighbors, dear. They're coming all the way from England, isn't that nice? The man is going to work for the East India Trading Company as well as his son apparently. I don't know their names yet though."

"That's alright. I'm sure we'll find them out soon enough," I commented. "Alright, I'm going to go outside now." I couldn't wait to tell James this new gossip about the neighbors. As I turned to leave, I felt mother's eyes on me. Wondering what she was looking at, I returned the gaze and raised my eyebrows at her, asking, "What is it? Do I have dirt on me?"

"No, no, nothing like that at all," mother replied. "You've just grown and matured so quickly. It's amazing that there are only five years between you and Alana." I looked down at my body and shrugged uncomfortably. It was true that I had developed rather quickly. I was not flat-chested and had small, round breasts. My hips had already formed curves and I already had pubic hair covering my intimate parts. I had always wondered why I had matured so quickly, but I could never come up with a reason why.

Feeling Alana turning and staring at me as well, I decided now was a very good time to leave. I waved to them and quickly scurried out the door. To the right of our house were swings where children my age were swinging and playing happily. Me? I was too mature for these things. I leaned up against a tree, closed my eyes, and felt sunlight beating down on my face.

The quick peck of someone's lips on my cheek immediately made my eyes pop back open. I was staring into the most beautiful green eyes as James looked down into my face. Smiling up at him, I said, "Hey James. How are you?" James leaned against the tree next to me and shrugged, "Not bad. How about yourself? You look beautiful today."

Beautiful? That was a matter of perspective. I didn't think beautiful was the appropriate word for me. On the other hand, James did look quite gorgeous. He was tall and thin, had those green eyes that I loved so much, and had tangled brown hair flopping all over. Trying not to stare too much, I said randomly, "Not bad, hey guess what?"

James raised an eyebrow at me and asked, "What?" Pointing to the large house next to mine, I pointed out, "I'm getting new neighbors today." James followed my gaze to the house and looked impressed. The house was immense and very fancy. The last neighbors who had lived there had been very stuffy and uppity. They never associated with us.

"New neighbors?" James asked curiously, "Well, let's just hope that they're not like the last neighbors!" James rolled his eyes and made a face. Wanting to give the newcomers, a chance, I replied, "They could be very nice. You never know." James gave me a what-are-you-thinking look and said, "If they're going to live in that mansion, you know they're going to be stuffy."

I assumed he was right, but I didn't want to judge. Shrugging, I commented, "You never know. We'll just have to wait and see. Mother and I are going to make cookies for them later. Apparently, the man moving in there and his son are going to be working for the East India Trading Company like my father does. Maybe we'll all get to be good friends!"

Not looking like he was all that happy about the idea, James wrapped an arm possessively over my shoulders and asked, "How old is the new boy?" Shrugging, I answered, "I'm not quite sure. If he's working for the Company though, I'd assume he'd be in his early twenties at least, don't you think?" Most people who worked for the company were at least twenty.

Looking a bit apprehensive, James asked, "You aren't interested in twenty-year-olds, right?" James and I were definitely a couple even though we had never confirmed it. It was just something that had happened. We both felt the same attraction for each other, so why shouldn't we get together? Being together didn't mean a heavily sexual relationship though. I was still a virgin and had only gotten as far as kissing with James despite the fact that I wouldn't mind doing much more than that.

"I'm only interested in you," I told James, leaning up seductively to get into his face. James tilted my chin up and murmured, "That's why I love you." He leaned down and gently pressed his mouth to mine. The children playing on the swings groaned and ran away. They always got annoyed by our kissing. I wondered why. I had never found kissing to be the slightest bit gross.

James deepened our kiss, prodding my lips with his tongue. Pressing my body up against his, I parted my lips and...suddenly felt someone watching us. James and I parted and blushed to see my mother looking down at us with her hands on her hips. Shit. Knowing that I should say something quickly, I replied, "Sorry mother, I was about to come right home."

"Hmph!" Mother said in a loud voice. "It's past noon. Come alone now." She gave James an expressionless look before grabbing my wrist and pulling me away. Looking over my shoulder, I waved to James. He mouthed back to me, "I love you." Smiling, I turned and followed mother back to the house. As we walked, she sighed with annoyance, obviously upset.

When we got inside, mother pointed to the counter where a sandwich was sitting. Going into the kitchen, she said, "Eat that and then come help me with the cookies." Knowing that she was pretty upset, I nodded and gobbled down the sandwich so I could help her sooner. Bursting into the kitchen, I started throwing ingredients together, feelings mother's eyes upon me.

"I know you're getting older," mother finally started, "but I still don't like to see you engaging in kissing like that." Damn. I knew that I had a lecture awaiting me, but I was hoping it could wait. Trying to get this to work in my favor, I replied, "James loves me and I love him. Does it matter if we kiss or not? At least we haven't been doing anything more than kissing..."

"Dear god!" mother exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart. "Don't tell me you were actually thinking of having intercourse with him!" Since that had been a thought going through my head, I merely shrugged. Sighing, mother said, "I still do not know how you even know of things such as intercourse. You are so mature for your age, Jenna. You should be twenty-two, not twelve."

I didn't answer and continued to stir the ingredients in the bowl in front of me. Finally, mother gave in, "I don't mind if you want to kiss that James, but do be careful with what you decide to do. You are listening, right?" I nodded and replied, "Yes, mother." I noticed that she didn't tell me not to have sex with James, which was definitely going to work in my favor.

Two hours later, mother called me, "Jenna? I'm going over to greet the neighbors. They've just arrived. Would you like to come?" I had been sitting on the sofa reading, but immediately jumped up at her voice. Definitely wanting to meet the neighbors, I called back, "Yes, of course I'm coming! Just give me two minutes. I'm going to go change."

If we were meeting new neighbors, I wanted to look my best. I hurried to my room and put on my lowest cut dress and stole some of mother's lipstick to smear on my lips. Mother didn't exactly approve of this, but I wanted to look my best just in case the neighbor's son happened to be somewhat attractive. A few minutes later, I met mother by the door.

"You know I don't approve of that lipstick. If you would wear something lighter, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Too late now I suppose. Come along," mother sighed, taking my arm. That was one thing I loved about mother. You could always talk her into something if you tried hard enough. The two of us stepped outside and went across to the mansion next door.

Taking a deep breath, mother reminded me, "Mind your manners." She knocked on the door and waited. A maid opened the door and peered out at us. Mother explained, "We live next door. We came over just to welcome the household here." The maid gave a stiff smile and brought us to the parlor. She motioned for us to sit on a soft, velvet couch.

"Wait here," the maid said. "The Beckers will be with you shortly." With that, the maid disappeared. At her words, I felt something strange within me. Looking up at mother, I asked, "The Beckers?" Mother shrugged her shoulders and looked around the living room, obviously awed by all the beautiful items. On the other hand, I was not concerned about the wealth. I just wanted to meet the newcomers. It seemed like we had to wait forever until two figures finally stepped into the room.

The first was old and a bit wrinkly. He was wearing a gray wig with many curls in it and had sober gray eyes and a thin mouth. The second was a different story. When I looked at him, I was immediately hypnotized. The second man was not at all like the first. He was almost a foot shorter than the first man and was looking quite posh with the clean white shirt, dark green velvet jacket, and shiny black boots. It wasn't his clothes that awed me though. No, it was his face. He had pale skin, full lips, and cerulean eyes. Despite the fact that he was wearing a white wig, I somehow knew he had brown hair under it.

A kick in my shins and a meaningful look from my mother reminded me that I should stand up. I quickly got to my feet and gave a curtsy with mother. Mother handed out the plate of cookies and said, "Welcome to Port Royal. I'm Madeline Smith and this is my daughter, Jenna Smith. I trust your journey from England went well?" She had a perfect smile on her face, looking very calm. On the other hand, my heart was beating frantically and a strange feeling was welling up within me.

"Thank you for the welcome," the man stepped forward to shake mother's hand as he said, "Yes, our journey was fine, thank you for asking. I am Alexander Beckers and this is my son, Cutler." Cutler? It was an odd name, but I swore I had heard it before. At the sound of his name, Cutler locked eyes with me and I got lost in a sea of blue.