Chapter 4 Charlotte
four
Charlotte
The shrill beeping sound of my phone's alarm startles me awake. It takes a moment for me to gather my bearings since I’ve never been much of a morning person, which will have to change now that I’ll be working at a bakery that starts at four-thirty in the morning.
I take a few minutes to stretch my body, noticing the new muscle soreness between my legs that I’ve never experienced before, and recall exactly how I got that soreness.
I reach out to Rhett’s side of the bed as I have throughout the night, both of us craving the other’s touch, only to find it empty and the sheets cold, as if he’s been gone for a while.
A sudden realization hits me, making me sit up in bed and clutch the sheets to my naked body. He’s gone. He left without saying a word.
Isn’t that what you wanted? One night and a clean break by morning.
His actions clearly showed his agreement with the plan—something I told him—by not being here when I woke up.
Then why does my heart hurt so badly when I think about leaving here to start a new life in a different town?
I blink back the tears forming in my eyes. I promised myself I would start a new life. Rhett was just a bump in the road as far as I’m concerned.
Turning off my alarm, I slide out of bed, put on my clothes, and try to tame my wayward curls with my fingers before heading into the daylight and the walk of shame I have to take to get my car, which is still parked in front of the Longhorn Bar and Grill.
The tight T-shirt paired with a short denim skirt and my favorite brown cowboy boots might not have looked out of place last night at the bar, but in the daylight, they stand out like a sore thumb.
A few of the more outgoing cowboys and mountain men in town honk or whistle as they drive past. It might be a short walk from the hotel to the bar, but it feels like it’s taking forever as truck after truck slows down to watch my embarrassment.
The men are harmless, but they seem to enjoy my downfall as the town's ice princess who never dates, now having to do the walk of shame in the bright morning light because she picked the wrong cowboy to hook up with last night.
Was Rhett born in a barn? Even someone who just got devirginized like me knows you should at least drive or walk your hookup home or give them a ride back to their car — not leave them to fend for themselves.
The more I walk, the angrier I get at Rhett. If this is what it’s like to do one-night stands, I think I’m a one-and-done kind of girl. I don’t believe my heart could handle that kind of life.
I bet the jerk wasn’t even a virgin. It’s probably his best line to convince women to sleep with him. The way he spoke and used his tongue, there’s no way he was a virgin.
By the time I reach my car, I curse meeting Rhett.
Luckily, I sold most of my belongings and had already packed my car before I went to the bar last night.
Once inside, I toss my purse onto the passenger seat, start my car, and pull out of the parking lot, leaving last night and Cherry Blossom Falls behind and a certain cowboy I hope never to see again.