The Challenge:
In 3,000 words or less write a story, or poem, about a girl that is trapped in an arranged marriage. Does she love someone else? What is her story?
The Result:
Calli's Arrangement by, Brandy Jones
Calli sat on the back deck watching the ducks play in the river. "Oh to be free to do what you please. Someday," she thought to herself. Checking her watch she reluctantly pulled herself out of the chair to prepare for his return.
The days for Calli never changed. They were very structured. Dean had every minute planned for Calli. Like now. She had already made breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, worked out, and finished the laundry. Now onto making lunch.
"Calli? Darling where are you?" Dean called coming into the house. "As if you don't already know the answer to that," she thought to herself while plastering on her best fake smile. Calli rounded the counter meeting him in the dining room. "Awww there you are."
Calli sat the platter of sandwiches on the table and waited for the inevitable slobber-fest to end. "Darling tonight I'm bringing a client home to dinner. Make something extraordinary would you? Not that you don't anyway, but I really want to impress tonight. The account if I land it will be worth tons."
"You got it. What time will you and the mystery guest be here?" Dean tapped his finger against his temple like he always did when he was silently calculating. "By seven we will both be here. Oh, and dress nicely too," he said with a wink and that crooked grin she hated. "Yes sir."
They ate lunch in silence. Dean continued to wear his signature crooked grin staring at her through lunch. Calli avoided eye contact. She loathed the nights he brought clients home to dinner. These were the nights that once the client was gone he wanted sex to celebrate a successful night of wooing the client and showing off his wife.
Calli cleared the table and put their dishes in the dishwasher. Dean snuck up behind her grabbing her ass. "I'll see you soon," he whispered against her neck. She nodded. He smacked her tight ass and left.
She leaned against the counter sighing deeply. "What to make for dinner?" Pushing away from the counter she went to her laptop in search of menu ideas. It would have helped had Dean given her some insight on the client. She scrolled through Pinterest and a few other sites before choosing something she would not need to go shopping for.
Calli checked her appearance one last time before heading downstairs to set the table. She locked her dark auburn tresses into a tight French braid, applied soft, barely there makeup, and completed the look with a casual summer outfit. The beige skirt was just tight enough to accent her curves. The three inch heels matched the skirt and showed off her well toned calves. The white short sleeved blouse pulled nicely against her breasts detailing the plumpness of each.
She jumped at the sound of the garage door opening. Calli quickly made her way into the kitchen wearing her best fake smile, the smile she had been practicing since she was seventeen when her parents introduced her to her husband to be. She quickly pushed that dreadful day to the back of her mind.
"Dinner smells wonderful darling."
"Thank you. Where is our guest?" she asked in hopes the client had canceled. "He will be here soon. Oh and he is not married and has no children." Calli nodded knowing this information was given to her as topics to avoid. "I'm going up to change. You look gorgeous," he said placing a peck on her cheek. "Thank you," she breathed trying to hide her discomfort.
Dean disappeared upstairs and Calli began setting the table. She was lost in thought about the mystery guest when the doorbell startled her from her daydream. She smoothed her skirt and opened the door. Staring back at her were the most amazing blue eyes. Only one other person had she met with eyes like this. Calli caught her bottom lip between her teeth. "You must be Calli. I'm Colt." His voice was deep, ringing in her ears like music. "Please come in," she stammered opening the door wider stepping aside to allow room for his tall frame to enter. She could tell by the cut of his grey suit that he was well sculpted under his clothes.
"This way. Would you like a drink?" Calli asked in a soft voice. "Thank you. That would be great. What do you have?" Colt asked watching the natural sway of her perfectly rounded hips as she lead the way. "Whiskey, wine, Corona, soda, and iced tea." Colt smiled and it was what Calli thought to be a Hollywood kind of smile. His smile was bright and lit up the room. She seated him in the living room to wait for Dean. "Corona please." Calli nodded.
She left Colt alone in the living room. "Fuck. Men are really made like that??!" she thought to herself thinking about his height, build, smile, and eyes. Colt's eyes were as blue as that of Christmas lights, perfect white teeth, nicely shaped lips, and strong bone structure to highlight everything else. She had wanted to reach up and run her fingers through his naturally black hair.
"I'll take a Jack and coke," Dean said coming into the kitchen. Calli nodded and smiled. "Tell me more about your client?" she asked pulling the Corona and Coke from the fridge. Dean quickly gave her the rundown on what his client did for a living and left her.
Calli quickly gathered the drinks and returned to the living room. She took a seat across the room and listened to the chatter. She looked from Dean to Colt and back again. Dean, at age 45, was still good looking. Salt and pepper hair, six feet tall, and well toned. But Colt, in comparison was made by the Greek Gods. Calli stirred in her seat then excused herself.
She tried to avoid eye contact with Colt but to no avail. Each time their gazes locked she thought there was something oddly familiar about him. And then it hit her. William Colton Davidson. She hadknown those eyes. Many years ago. Her mind wandered back to high school, back to the day she met her Chemistry partner her Junior year.
"Calli?" Dean said sternly. "Yes?" she asked bringing herself back to the here and now. "Colt was asking you a question," he said through gritted teeth. She looked up locking gazes with Colt again, smiling easily. "Yes Colt?" He smiled back at her. "Didn't we go to high school together?" Calli blushed. "We may have." Colt shook his head. "I'm pretty sure we did. I think we had one class together. I think you were a junior and my lab partner." Calli smiled a bit brighter at his detailed memory. "That was such a long time ago. I'm not sure."
Dean chimed in changing the subject. "Dinner was excellent Calli. Colt we have things to discuss. Come with me." Colt thanked Calli for dinner and followed Dean but not before getting one more look at Calli.
Calli waited until she heard the office door close before clearing the table. "He never married and took over the family business. Fuck!! What are the odds of this chance meeting? I have not been back home since the day my parents made me get married," she thought.
Calli finished the kitchen and went to Deans office. "Come in," he barked. "Refills gentlemen?" she asked sweetly. Both men nodded. She quietly exited trying to ignore the stirrings in her lower region.
She downed a quick shot of Patron before returning to the office. Both men thanked her. She turned to leave. "Stay," Dean told her. She nodded and took the seat furthest from the desk. "Colt invited us to his place next weekend. We have work to do and will need to eat. You mind being our chef? Colt was quite taken with your cooking tonight," Dean explained. Calli looked up at Colt smiling. "Sure. I'll be your weekend chef."
Dean wrapped things up with Colt and walked him out. Calli went upstairs to change and get ready for the inevitable. She took her hair down, ran a brush through her hair, and discarded the clothes in the hamper. She brushed her teeth then slid in between the silk sheets. "Colt. He went by Colt now and not William." Calli wondered why the change.
She willed away the urge to throw up as Dean came into the room. "Old school chums huh? Howwell did you two know each other exactly?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Not well. Like he said I was only a Junior and we only had the one class together. We had different friends and such."
Calli breathed deep trying to keep the urge to vomit at bay. The dread of sex with Dean churned her stomach every time. He slid in behind her grabbing her firm ass. "Mine. All mine," he growled in her ear. "All yours," she whispered as a tear slipped from her eye.
It was nights like tonight that made it hard to not hate her parents for making her marry a man she did not know or love. Seventeen and she had been bought and paid for like Tupperware. Dean came from money but had made plenty more on his own. He was thirty years old when he arranged with her father to marry her.
Calli's father had been a client of Deans. Calli's father invited dean to dinner. Calli was barely fifteen then. Dean had decided then the only way he would help Calli's father was by having Calli as his bride. The paperwork had been drawn up that week. Calli's father made it clear that Calli was not to marry until she graduated high school. Calli was wed four months before turning eighteen.
At eighteen she knew she legally could have left Dean, but Calli had no money, no access to money, and no job skills. Dean did not allow her to work and only gave her enough cash for what she needed when shopping.
Dean bit down hard on her ass bringing her back from the past. Calli whimpered. He rolled her onto her back making her look at him. "What are you thinking about?" She shook her head fighting back the tears that bubbled behind her eyes. "Nothing."
He crushed his lips to hers. She whimpered again at the taste of blood in her mouth. He groped her roughly while willing her mouth open. He pushed her knees apart with his knee and crawled between her legs, kissing his way down her smooth tanned belly. He nipped her belly making her arch her back. "That's right baby. Gimme what's mine," he chuckled.
Calli bit her lip letting her mind flood with images of Colt. The more she thought about Colt doing these things to her the wetter she became. Colts voice was all she heard and his face was all she saw. She closed her eyes tightly to keep Colt at the front of her mind.
Calli squirmed against him. He grabbed her thighs pulling her closer to him. She panted and whimpered as she came. Dean backed off of her chuckling. "That's my girl," he said pridefully as he thrust into her again.
Calli tried to keep her eyes closed, tried to focus on images of Colt as Dean began thrusting his hardness in and out of her. "Look at me," he demanded. Reluctantly she opened her eyes. He stared into her green eyes. The smirk on his lips shone through to his grey eyes.
Dean finished quickly as usual and began snoring. She lay awake thinking about Colt. He had matured well. In school he was the most sought after Senior. All the girls fell over themselves when he walked past them or sat near them. His bright blue eyes were easy to get lost in, then and now. His hair had darkened over time. In school it was a dark auburn much like Calli's but now it was naturally jet black.
She began to wonder what his house would be like and would he be bringing his own female companion the weekend of their next meeting.
Calli was startled awake by the alarm. She drug herself from the bed to start coffee and breakfast. Her silk robe was sheer and cool against her skin. She thought about Colt unwrapping her from it like a Christmas gift. Would he do it slowly savoring the moment or hurriedly like an eager child? She bit her lip and set the table.
Dean did not say much to her. He watched her quietly and mentally patted himself on the shoulder for the glow on her delicate face. "What's on your agenda for today?" he asked. She shook her head. "Nothing special." she answered leaving out as usual. "I want you to go shopping. There’s a list and money on my desk." She nodded and faked her smile.
Finally he was gone. She cleared the table, started the dishwasher and went to the shower. She dressed and did her makeup eager to get out of the house.
Calli past the time of her mundane days with thoughts of Colt. It was finally the day to leave. She had them all packed and ready when he got off work. Colt had moved from New Mexico to Colorado. They had a direct flight from New York to Denver.
Colt waited at the baggage claim for them. They explained pleasantries and made their way to his lifted four wheel drive Excursion. Calli soon understood why he drove a four wheel drive. It was quite the terrain to his house tucked away in the depths of the Rocky Mountains.
The log cabin was huge for just one person, complete with inground pool and hot tub. "Your home is beautiful," Calli breathed when the tour was over. "Thank you." She smiled shyly at him.
The next day Calli made herself at home in the kitchen while the men worked. After dinner Dean insisted she join them in the hot tub. Colt stared boldly at her in the green bikini that not only brought out the color of her eyes but showed off her well tanned, toned body.
"Calli, I have to leave in the morning. I'll be back late tomorrow night. You will stay here with Colt and be a very good girl," Dean told her. Calli nodded.
The next morning Calli woke to an empty bed. She glanced at the alarm clock. "Holy shit. I overslept." She jumped out of bed and found some jeans and a t-shirt to throw on. Colt was waiting in the kitchen for her. "Relax," he told her handing her a cup of coffee.
Colt insisted she let him cater to her while Dean was away. He made her breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and then they went out to the deck and caught up on time lost. Colt shook his head at her summary of life since high school. "He paid for you??! What kind of sick asshole does that?" he asked rhetorically.
Calli quickly changed the subject to him. "Why have you not gotten married?" He stared into her vibrant green eyes taking his time to answer. "Because the girl I fell in love with years ago had left. I never fell in love with another." Calli sucked in a breath seeing the pain in his eyes.
She longed to reach out and try to ease his pain. The urge was hard to resist when he reached out to brush the hair away from her face. Calli caught herself leaning in to his touch before being startled by her cell phone.
Dean. The only one who had her number. He asked how her day was before explaining that he could not get a flight until morning. He followed up with telling her he would know if she were a bad girl.
"Why don't you leave him?" Colt asked seeing pain in those gorgeous emeralds she sported as eyes. "Where will I go? How will I get there? I have nothing and no job skills. I've never worked," she growled through clenched teeth. Colt pulled her into him.
God he smelled good. Manly. He felt amazing under her. Hard yet soft; his arms, chest, everything. He held her tight letting her cry herself to sleep on his chest. He held her all night, held the very one that he fell for all those years ago.
Everyone returned to 'normal' when Dean returned. Colt made sure that Calli had his number before they left. Dean lived up to his word and thoroughly inspected his wife to make sure she was a good girl.
Calli, over the next few months began planning her escape with Colts help. She found his number hidden in her phone. She used pay phones while out shopping to contact him.
He set up a bank account for her and hired a lawyer to draw up the divorce papers. She made it clear she wanted nothing from the divorce except freedom. Calli went about business as usual.
Dean was served with the divorce papers the day he reported Calli as a missing person. He went ballistic burning her clothes, smashing anything he could, and drinking heavily.
In less than a week the divorce was finalized. Calli breathed her first real sigh of relief. Colt decided to take her away for the weekend. On a private beach in the Bahamas he finally made love to the only woman he ever loved. "I've waited an eternity to do that," he confessed.
Calli leaned up on her elbows. "Wait. What?" she asked confused. Colt smiled cradling her face locking gazes. "Calli it's always been you that I wanted. You are the one I fell in love with. You are the one that had slipped away. I've thought and wondered about you everyday since high school."
I learned this in Stephen King's book, On Writing, and from personal experience with various manuscripts. When you're working on a novel, you're so close and attached to it, that the thought of parting with any sentence is out of the question. .jpeg)
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