Taken (Dark Desires 1)

‘You’re right. The problem is I’m not completely sure about what I want to do, it’s just that…’

‘That you don’t want to be railroaded by your parents.’

‘I worry if I make the wrong decision I’ll be stuck there, or else I would have accepted by now. What do you think?’

‘No one should feel trapped. Do you have any idea what else you’d prefer?’

‘Only vaguely. I think I’d prefer something more expansive. More… adventurous, I guess. Like what you do – but I’m not sure my parents will be very supportive about that.’

Kurt loved that she had used the word ‘adventurous’, suggesting there was something inside her yearning to break free. The evening was getting better by the minute, as his earlier summations of her character were being proven sound (he had been guilty of imagining such things before).

‘Are they a little overprotective of you?’ he asked.

‘In a sense,’ she admitted. ‘They’ve never been outwardly strict but I get a lot of silent pressure from them.’

‘Because they know you can read their minds?’

‘They’re pretty good at that,’ she nodded, acknowledging the weight of expectation upon her never to do anything that brought shame upon their orthodox ways. Presumably sneaking off with a young gentleman without getting their approval for whom he was came under that banner, but Kurt resisted saying anything to cause her further dilemma. Darlene was rebelling against her parents later than most but he was not about to be playing Devil’s advocate. He might be the temptation, but the risk was all hers to take.

There was something he was dying to ask about though and, feeling he could not do so directly, he used the context of her parents to give her the opportunity.

‘Were they supportive when you were with that guy at college?’ he asked, wondering if she would reveal more about why that had not worked out.

‘Erm… well, that was a little funny,’ was her curious reply and he sensed both a reticence to discuss the subject and also a need to explain something.

‘You mean they didn’t come around to the idea?’

‘No, I mean the circumstances were… untypical.’

‘Untypical?’

‘Yes, because it was his mother who masterminded the whole thing,’ she revealed.

‘Oh, really! How does that work?’

‘It’s weird, but I think she was on the lookout for a good Christian to be wed to her… to her precious son.’

‘That does sound weird.’

‘It was. Looking back, I can see that when he first asked me over to dinner it was at his mother’s suggestion. It was then that she urged me to tell my parents and invited them over – of course they got right on a plane and came around to stay.’

‘No kidding?’

‘Before we had even… before we really knew each other properly, our parents were organizing things.’

Kurt had been aware that she had been about to say something different then and had to bite his lip for want of asking what it was.

‘I guess it’s something to learn from,’ he suggested instead.

‘You got that right! I’m not making that mistake again,’ she insisted, and he could tell there was much more to it. However, he interpreted the discontent that had driven her away from… from whomever it was, to be something to do with religious habits. Though not anti-religious in a passionate sense, Kurt had heard numerous stories about people acting wacky because of their faith – even those who, to an outsider, might appear a bit harmless and boring.

‘Well, you’ve met my mother already,’ he told her. ‘So you know she’s a bit barmy but at least there’s no surprises there.’

Darlene offered him a big smile to acknowledge that and appeared to be relaxing a little as they headed towards the coast. Kurt was a little wary of himself from that point on, however, as eluding to some form of long-term intention so early in a first date was really not his way. Even though he had only mentioned the idea that their parents might one day find out about them in a light-hearted manner, he would have to keep an eye on what he was saying. Having never gotten to know her very well, the fact that they did go years back did clearly mean there was some familiarity there all the same. Which meant that his usual relaxed sweet-talking was subject to a few pitfalls. He would have to be on his guard and look out for them. As hot as Darlene was, thinking on bigger subjects, like long-term relationships, was just not his way.

Fortunately, if he guessed right, she was a little unused to the whole going out on a date scenario to pick up on subtle hiccups. Which meant that he could set the standards, without fear of not measuring up to whatever had come before.

It was all too easy, in fact. Despite that they belonged to very different families and lifestyles, the complicated part – in getting her to step out and meet him – had been achieved. A girl like her would not have been coerced outside of her comfort zone if she was not attracted to him in some way. As long as he did not behave like a complete letch there was no reason the evening could not be a success – though the question remained as to how far Darlene was willing to go. Was she going to slap him around the face and run to daddy the moment he tried to run his hand up her skirt, or was she a secret sex fiend who would teach him a thing or two?