Jasmine

By Sarah Pond

If you wanted to find out more about Jasmine from Citrus Blossom, this book follows her story, from a teenager to the moment she meets Olivia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sarah Pond
• Release date: Jan 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215153758

Sarah Pond

I am passionate about writing, it is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things that I have ever done. It is liberating in a way that I wouldn't have imagined. I love that I often don't know what I'm going to write until I see it unfolding before me!I also love reading. I've always got a pile of books on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I enjoy seafront walks and yoga. It's a good contrast to lots of sitting around when I'm writing!

Book preview

JASMINE

Sarah Pond

Jasmine

Copyright 2023 Sarah Pond

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events described in this novel are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This ebook may not be reproduced or used in whole or part without written permission of the author.

Cover design by Janet Nethercott-Cable

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To all of you who follow your heart and live your truth

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CHAPTERS

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

About the author

Other books by Sarah Pond

CHAPTER ONE

Jasmine had always drawn attention. Men and women just couldn’t help looking at her. She was tall from quite a young age, with bronzed skin, dark wavy hair and deep brown eyes. It wasn’t just her physical looks that people were attracted to, it was also something that seemed to emanate from within her. Interestingly, she didn’t see it herself, one of the reasons that made her even more attractive. She was always turning down date invites from guys. She liked men, but just not in that way. Women were a different matter entirely.

Jasmine realised she liked girls when she was at school. She had a crush on one of her classmates, although didn’t recognise it as such until a few years later. Her first experience was when she was fifteen. She was having a sleep over at a friend’s house, and Georgia had snuck a bottle of wine into her room without her parents knowing. In Georgia’s room, they drank from mugs, giggling at each other. Sitting opposite each other, Georgia’s gaze lingered, and she spoke softly, ‘I think you’re really pretty.’

An excited bubble sped through Jasmine’s body. ‘I think you are, too.’

‘Can I kiss you?’ Georgia was wide eyed.

Jasmine was hesitant, and her heart rate increased, ‘I guess so.’

They tentatively moved towards each other, kissing full on the lips. When they pulled apart, Georgia was giggling again. Jasmine no longer was. That was when she knew.

Georgia had kissed her again, this time a kiss that Jasmine felt herself falling into. It seemed to go on for an eternity, and Jasmine didn’t want the feeling to end. Eventually, they pulled apart, smiling at one another. Then Georgia said, ‘We’d better get some sleep. See you in the morning.’

‘Night.’

Jasmine lay awake long after Georgia had fallen asleep. She was excited, and kept replaying the kiss. It had felt so right, and now she knew for sure. She had never been happier.

The girls slept in late. The morning sun through the curtains sent a shaft of light and warmth across Jasmine’s face, and she woke up, her tummy tingling with excitement as she remembered the night before. In a sleeping bag on the floor, she couldn’t see if Georgia was awake or not. She whispered, ‘Georgia?’

A muffled response, ‘Um, uh?’

‘Are you awake?’

‘Well, I am now.’ She brushed her wavy brown tussled hair away from her face.

Jasmine scrambled up onto the bed. ‘Morning. You sleep okay?’

Georgia yawned, ‘Yes. I still feel sleepy.’

By now, Jasmine was wide awake. She was bubbling with excitement, eager to talk to Georgia. ‘So, last night then.’

Georgia rubbed her eyes, then stretched out. ‘What about it?’

‘You don’t remember?’ Jasmine was starting to feel annoyed.

‘Remember what?’

‘You kissed me.’ Jasmine waited for a response, feeling herself wanting to burst like an over-inflated balloon.

Georgia was dismissive, ‘Oh, that.’

‘Yes, that. So? Does that mean...’ Jasmine didn’t know how to finish the question, so left it dangling in the air between them.

Georgia shrugged. ‘It doesn’t mean anything. We were drinking and having fun. It didn’t mean anything.’ Although Georgia laughed it off, there was an edge to her voice.

Jasmine feigned a laugh too, as she tried to cover up her disappointment, and ignore the heavy feeling in her stomach. Then she said she needed to go home as she had to tidy her room, or some other lame excuse. In the safety of her own bedroom she had cried, and vowed to herself that she wouldn’t tell anyone about that night and what it had meant to her. After that, things had felt different between them. Georgia spent more time with other friends, and they gradually drifted apart.

Jasmine was an only child, and had a very stable upbringing. Being born in the middle of the eighties, she went through some interesting wardrobe choices as she was growing up. She had a close relationship with her mother, Grace, a kindly and loving person. Grace’s hair fell in soft waves around her face, and to Jasmine she seemed angelic. Grace was almost thirty when she met Henry, who was fifteen years her senior. She became pregnant very quickly, and at Henry’s insistence they married before she started to show. Jasmine found that Henry was not the easiest person to get along with. He was tall and imposing, with strong features, his dark hair swept back and neatly parted at the side. He was a serious and matter of fact kind of man, and old fashioned in many of his beliefs. Henry had high hopes for his daughter, and always made it clear that a good education and a respectable career was what she should strive for.

Jasmine was naturally hard working, it pleased her to get good results for herself, not because it was expected of her. Henry was proud that she was a good student, and she was no trouble at home. He didn’t spend much time with her, but he was happy that she was close with Grace. Jasmine often had the feeling Henry would have rather had a son. She once mentioned this thought to Grace, who told her not to be so silly. ‘He loves you. He just doesn’t find it easy to express himself. You mustn’t ever think that, darling.’

Despite her closeness with Grace, Jasmine didn’t talk to her mum about the sleepover at Georgia’s house. It was something so personal, she couldn’t ever imagine telling anyone about it. Sometimes she wished she was more like her mum, but she felt she inherited a reserved side from her father. The following day, Grace had said, ‘Good morning darling, did you have a good time?’

‘Yes, thanks. I’m off to do my homework,’ then disappeared upstairs.

Later that day, Grace asked if she was okay. ‘Yes, Mum. I didn’t sleep much, so I’m tired, that’s all.’

‘I expect you stayed up all night talking! Okay darling, maybe go to bed a bit earlier if you need to.’

Grace didn’t really have to lay down boundaries, she knew that Jasmine was a sensible girl, and would do what she needed to. Ah, how different she is to me at that age, she thought to herself.

Grace did notice over the coming months that Jasmine didn’t seem to spend much time with Georgia. She remembered when she was younger, girls were always falling out and changing friends. She was glad that Jasmine seemed happy though, and noticed that she didn’t seem too interested in boys at the moment. No doubt that would change once she started college, Grace thought.

CHAPTER TWO

After leaving school, Jasmine went on to do A levels in English Literature, History and Philosophy. She liked focusing on her favourite subjects and having more independence. Not to mention not having to wear school uniform. As with school, she kept herself to herself, socialising occasionally with a small group of friends.

It was through a book group that Jasmine met Stephanie. She was quiet, and often had to be encouraged to share her opinions of the current reading material. After a few weeks of book club, Jasmine went to talk to her at the end of the session. ‘Do you fancy getting a coffee? I’d love to hear your opinions on this week’s group.’

Stephanie smiled shyly, ‘Yeah, sure.’

This became a regular occurrence as they began hanging out more. Jasmine really liked her, and over time she knew she would like more than just friendship. But she wasn’t sure that Stephanie was interested in that way. It was a difficult situation, because Jasmine was private about her personal life and very much in the closet. So gauging how Stephanie might feel was going to be tricky. How could she broach it without coming right out with it, so to speak.

Stephanie really enjoyed hanging out with Jasmine. She was beautiful and smart, and from what she could tell, a very kind person too. She had really made Stephanie feel included with the book club. She looked forward more and more to each meeting, and any opportunity to hang out with Jasmine. She wasn’t sure whether Jasmine might be interested in her, or was just being a kind and supportive classmate. Maybe she could drop some hints. On one occasion they had been discussing films. Having shared some of their favourites, Stephanie said she liked to broaden her horizons and try films from different genres. She asked, ‘Have you seen Kissing Jessica Stein?’ She waited for Jasmine’s response. She could see that she had surprised her, and hoped that it was in a good way.

Jasmine was taken aback, and was speechless for a moment. Mentally kicking herself to reply, she said, ‘Yes, I have.’

‘And?’

‘I really enjoyed it. Did you?’

Stephanie smiled, ‘I did.’

They discussed it for a while, before moving on to other films. Still neither of them had given much away, but Jasmine took this as a strong hint. Why would she mention that film, otherwise.

The following week, they were eating a takeaway pizza at Stephanie’s house. Jasmine wasn’t sure whether to say anything or mention the film again. This was difficult. What if she said something, and it turned out she had the wrong end of the stick. Then again, what if she didn’t say anything, and it was a missed opportunity. As she was mentally wrestling with the matter, she reached for a slice of pizza at the same time as Stephanie, and their hands touched. ‘Sorry!’ They said in unison, then both giggled, embarrassed. Neither of them moved their hand away. Jasmine leaned in, watching Stephanie for a reaction. She leaned in too, their lips touched, and they kissed gently. Pulling back, they smiled shyly at each other. ‘I wasn’t sure...’ Jasmine began.

‘Neither was I.’

‘I was hoping, though.’

Stephanie smiled, ‘Me too.’

They kissed again, arms around each other. Chatting after, Stephanie asked, ‘Do your parents know?’

‘No. I’m not planning on telling them yet, either.’

‘Same here. I’m going to wait until I’m older.’

Jasmine was curious, ‘Have you had a girlfriend before?’

Stephanie shrugged, ‘Not really.’

‘How does that work? Either you have or you haven’t!’

‘Well, I sort of did, I suppose.’ In that moment, Jasmine thought that Stephanie had to be the most unsure person she had met. ‘I was friends with this girl, we were at school together. We kissed and held hands sometimes, but that was all. I’m not sure I would class it as any kind of relationship. How about you?’

‘No.’ Jasmine shook her head.

‘How long have you known?’

‘I suspected for a long time, but I would say for a couple of years, for sure.’

Stephanie was definite, ‘I knew when I was six.’

‘Wow, very young then.’

‘I knew I liked girls and boys, but girls the most.’

‘And is that still the case?’

‘Yes. Still girls the most.’ She pulled Jasmine towards her, kissing her again.

Jasmine and Stephanie decided to keep their relationship between themselves. The book club group knew they were friends and were used to seeing them hanging out together, so they didn’t draw any attention. Behind closed doors, however, they were most definitely a couple.

Their romance was rather short lived, and fizzled out for no particular reason. It had run its course, and they parted as friends. After that, they didn’t hang out together, but they both continued with the book group.

Jasmine started spending more time with Suzy from her history class. Then there was Phil. ‘Phil from phil-osophy, that’s brilliant!’

He laughed good-naturedly, ‘First time I’ve heard that!’

Jasmine was surprised, ‘Really?’

‘No.’ Phil deadpanned.

‘Oh, sorry. You must get idiots saying stuff like that all the time.’

‘Not as much as you’d think. And you’re very clearly not an idiot!’

Jasmine smiled, she liked Phil. That was the start of their friendship.

The rest of the year rolled out without anything of note happening. The time seemed to fly by, and before she knew it, Jasmine was enjoying her summer break.

Back at college that autumn, Jasmine hadn’t noticed the woman who walked past her in the canteen. ‘Jasmine?’

Turning around, she looked at the woman who had called her name, and for a moment was speechless. She could feel the colour drain from her face. Georgia.

‘It is you! It’s so good to see you. Surely you can’t have forgotten