I got the idea from Tsubasa Rose to post my stories here in different colors so it's easy to follow each of them. So from now on..

Impatiens will be in RED
Fire of the Street Lights will be in ORANGE
Council's Elite will be in GREEN
A Collection of Love Stories will be in BLUE

Any feedback is welcome - I'd love to know what people think of my works! :)

Reserved just in case. :)

IMPATIENS
Chapter 1: The Introduction

“Wait, wait. Hold the camera straight.” Two soft hands enveloped the camera for a moment, and then released it to reveal part of a woman’s smiling lips and teeth. She backed up slowly, gingerly, and turned, hopping in the other direction. “Okay that’s great. Hold it just like that. Are you recording now?”

“For the past five minutes I have, yes,” the man behind the camera replied, joy and excitement apparent in his voice. “I’m ready and filming. Go ahead.”

The woman’s face lit even up more than before. “Okay! This is the house! Make sure to get the whole house in the shot!” She spread her arms out, motioning to the small country house before the two. White shutters concealed most of the windows and there was an obvious need to paint the structure, but there was certain warmth it couldn’t hide – a charming style, a welcoming garden, and the love of a family.

The camera nodded along as it neared the house, following the skipping woman. She occasionally looked back at the camera, blushing, and ran ahead. She brushed blonde bangs away from her eyes, skipping from one stepping-stone to the next, pushing her hair behind her ears when she landed.

She leapt onto the creaky porch and twirled to face the camera, leaning over a white railing. In an almost informational tone, she began, “This is the house Nana left me. As you can see, we have a little bit of renovating on our hands, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it in the end. This’ll be a lovely place to write. This porch especially. Just like the old days. We’d sit on the porch and drink lemonade and Grandpa would play cards with the boys over in that area... This is the first time I’ve been back since Nana passed away. I was little back then. I’m glad the garden was well kept though. I think one of the neighbors cares for it.”

She motioned for the cameraman to join her. The camera nodded from the bottom of the stairs, then ascended, following her every step. Her arms grabbed the camera once more and, after a moment or two of thinking, she placed it upon the rail carefully and backed up on the porch. The man checked the view from the camera lens, then joined her on the porch, his arm around her and holding her close.

“This will be our first house together. I know it’s a little far from our old home, and it’s a bit far from your college, but I’m sure we’ll work out the bugs later. Is there anything you want to say?”

The man pulled the young woman close and pressed his lips to hers. “Not especially. I just wanted to say that I love you.”

IMPATIENS

The Maryland sun shone down upon the small houses and apartments that lined a narrow road. Summer had yet to begin, but it seemed that spring was unusually warm and ready to give way to vacations and pools, air conditioning and ice cream trucks. The heat was intense enough to drive Finna Burke out of her home with a cold glass of freshly brewed iced tea and a cherry flavored Popsicle. Her boyfriend followed her slowly, careful not to slam the door. He sat across the porch, beer in hand, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Those freaking repairmen were supposed to be here soon, right, Fin?” he asked as he scratched his chin. Sipping his beer, he did not even glance over at the woman to whom he spoke, as though he had been asking the brick house.

Finna rolled her eyes and ran a fingertip through the condensation dripping from her glass idly. “Sometime soon. I hope they get here quick. I can’t stand to be awake when the house is as hot as it is out here. I’d rather sleep all day.”

Her boyfriend shrugged his broad shoulders and drank his beer again. “Freaking repairmen better get here soon.”

Sighing, Finna plopped back in the cushioned chair and finished the last bit of her Popsicle. She hadn’t really been expecting to be where she found herself at the age of twenty-two. Had she ever expected to be waiting for her air conditioning to be fixed on an early June morning, seated across from her loving boyfriend instead of next to him (for she couldn’t stand the smell of alcohol on his breath or from the beer can) and only a few blocks from her mother’s house. She had expected to be farther from home. She had wanted to travel far from where she grew up, where a drive to Harper’s Ferry was more of a hassle than an easy Sunday morning drive after church. And yet, she loved every moment of the time she had in her little house with her beloved Gregory, their small porch and the intricate detail in every room, a combination of Gregory’s strength and trade skills, and her creativity and sharp sense of style. Each room had a taste of their love and a unique look that awed visitors. It was something Fin found herself very proud of – something she could call her own.

Fin looked past Gregory at the hanging baskets of flowers. They continued to grow despite the fact that she was often too forgeful to water them. “Honey, when do you get home from work tonight?” she asked. The ice rattled in her drink as she set it down.

“Not sure. I told the guys I’d have a beer or two with them after we finish today’s work.” He noticed the concern on her face and quickly added, “We’ve got a designated driver, baby. We’ll be fine.”

“It’s not that, exactly,” Fin admitted, feeling just a bit ashamed, twirling her finger on the glass once more. “I was just hoping that we could do something tonight. That’s all.”

Gregory moved towards Fin and kissed her. She recognized the taste of beer on his lips and forced a smile at him. “I’ll tell you what – we’ll go out to dinner tomorrow night. For tonight, maybe you could go shopping with all your little girlfriends. I know how much you love to shop with your friends.” He kissed her forehead and returned to his seat.

“All right, I’ll find someone to shop with.” She smiled a half smile. It wasn’t as bad as she made it out to be, after all. There had been a time or two when she had to cancel plans with him as well. And it wasn’t as though she had asked him ahead of time. She placed a few of her fingers to her collarbone, where she realized there was something amiss. Her necklace – where did she put her necklace?

“Something wrong, baby?” Gregory asked, only half interested in Fin’s sudden shock. “You look like you saw a ghost or something.”

Fin shook her head. “The clasp on my necklace broke yesterday when I was at work. I took it off and I think I left it in my apron pocket.” She put a hand to her forehead as she stood up. “I’d better go back and get it. Will you be all right waiting for the repairman yourself?”

Gregory shrugged. “I guess so. He’d better get here soon. I’m gonna get sick of waiting for him. Are you taking the car?”

Fin reached into the doorway and picked up her light gray courier bag, heaving it onto her shoulder. “No, I’ll walk. I need the exercise anyway. And you need the car to get to work after the repairman leaves.” She kissed Gregory goodbye and descended the small stairs onto the sidewalk, waving goodbye to him as she went on her way.

hm.. i think you used that RESERVE for a good reason..
i like your story.. but it's a little- i don't know.. "Needs a catch" kind of thing. Like me? I'll read the back of the book and look for the problem...
Maybe in your reserve you could post the problem for each story, and then i'd REALLY want to read the stories. Yeah, i'm already raeding them...
Multiple times.

But you wanna like lure the fishy -in this case me and others- in a bit more.
So.. yeah- post a good problem.


Signed,
~Lavi~

(P.s. i owe you... i'm gonna start writing MY stories in chapters here.. thanks lots!)

Brava! I really like your writing style- very refined ^_^
I agree with Lavina though- not sure exactly where you are going so I'm not exactly pulled in yet. A summary or just general idea of information you want the reader to see- in the beginning here, especially because this is your first writing so there's no judge off other stories. But just a sentence or too would also help with giving feedback, because we will be better informed to what you are trying to get across.
Besides that I think do a great job with description of mood and tone. ^_^