Chapter 36
CHARLIE
I can’t believe I let it slip that Jane had told me about their brother’s death. It’s obviously a forbidden subject, yet I went and blurted it out. Fuck me .
Now Troy is acting cagey and moody. His sullen disposition is not only ruining what I was hoping would be an awesome day, but it’s also making me feel horrible.
My chest is tight as I imagine what it must have been like for him to lose his brother at such a young age.
My thoughts predictably wander to Ben and how I spent my entire life terrified something would happen to him.
My concerns haven’t lessened as we’ve grown older—if anything, they’ve increased—but I’m better at hiding my protectiveness for Ben’s benefit.
What I confessed to Troy on our date—my crippling fear that prevented me from applying for the exchange program—is something I’ve never told anyone, not even Blake.
When the sign for Golden Oaks comes into view, I let out a breath of relief. Hopefully, Ophelia, with her quirky sense of humor and no-bullshit attitude, will be able to get Troy out of his funk.
As I predicted, the place is full, but we’re not so late that we can’t find a parking space. I snag a spot as far away as possible from the main entrance. It’s tight, and if my car were any bigger, it wouldn’t fit. I turn off the engine and glance at Troy with a small smile on my lips.
“Ready?”
He looks at me, his expression unreadable.
My grin wilts as I’m blasted by his cold stare.
I begin to turn, but he swings his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him.
His mouth slams over mine, rough and desperate.
Wow, the boy is intense. I’m swept away by the passion of his kiss, melting against him.
When it seems I’m about to combust on the spot, he pulls back suddenly, leaving me bereft and also so aroused.
Ah shit.
“Okay, now I’m ready.” He smirks and then opens the passenger door.
Sweet baby llamas. I can barely think straight after that kiss, and he expects me to get out of the car and walk? I don’t even know if I can move my legs.
I pull the vanity mirror down and check my reflection. My lips are swollen, and my light pink lipstick is smeared. I can’t go in like this. I search for tissues in the glove compartment, but before I can actually fix my makeup, Troy opens my door.
“What are you doing, babe?”
I whip my face to his. “Fixing this.” I point at my mouth.
He chuckles, and immediately, my irritation dissipates.
I love when he laughs. My heart does a cartwheel, and a fuzziness in my tummy makes me feel strange.
All because I used “love” in a thought about Troy.
Does that mean I’m in love with him? My heart skips another beat as an answer.
My brain freezes, and a gasp escapes my lips.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his tone filled with concern.
Like a moron, I shake my head. “It’s nothing.”
Troy keeps staring intensely at me. It doesn’t help that my face feels warm, which means my cheeks are giving away my embarrassment.
I quickly wipe off the lipstick and slide out of the car.
He immediately places his hand on my lower back, sending ripples of heat up my spine and through the rest of my body.
Charlie, control yourself. You spent the night and morning fucking his brains out.
My inner pep talk does little to help me. It actually makes me even more hot and bothered. It won’t do to walk into Golden Oaks like this. I have to start thinking of something completely unsexy to rescue my mind from the gutter.
I can’t think of anything.
“I forgot to ask, what’s going on with the prank we’re going to pull on Andy? You didn’t forget, did you?” Troy asks, saving me from myself.
“Shit. I kinda did. Let me text Fred real quick.” I fish my phone out of my purse and send him a message.
I don’t expect him to reply right away—it’s too early for him—so when my phone pings with a reply, I’m shocked.
“What did he say?” Troy leans closer, peering at my screen.
“Hey! Stop peeking at my private messages.” I push him off, pretending to be offended.
“Do you want me to start developing jealous boyfriend tendencies? Because I will if you start sending private messages to your buddies.”
I glance at him, dreading to read truth in his statement. But Troy’s eyes are dancing with amusement, and his lips are upturned.
“I like some possessiveness… in the bedroom.”
Ah hell. I had to open my big mouth and put me right back into crazy nympho mode.
Troy groans. “Why did you have to say that? Now you’ve woken Junior.” He points at his crotch. There’s definitely a bulge there.
“Junior?” I snort. “I didn’t know you named it.”
“Babe, all guys name their dicks.”
“Oh yeah? What do Andreas and Danny call theirs?”
“Excuse me?” He arches his eyebrows. “I’m not going to discuss my friends’ penises with you.”
This moment is too surreal. I can’t believe we’re talking about male anatomy when we’re a minute away from meeting his grandmother.
We’re right in front of the entrance, so I have to school my features. “Okay, okay. Let’s try to behave.”
“You’re the one who started it,” he replies tartly.
“You’re the one who had to kiss me like you wanted to bang me right there in the car.” I poke his chest.
“Keep up with the sassy attitude and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Heat rushes through my face, especially when I belatedly notice a family right behind us.
They must have heard the tail end of our conversation, judging by the wife’s horrified expression and the husband’s smirk.
I let them go in first and won’t budge from my spot until I can’t see them in the lobby anymore.
Troy seems to have guessed why I’m stalling and doesn’t rush me. I take the lead when I’m ready, saying hello to the receptionist working today.
She smiles and then tells us that Ophelia is waiting for us in the gardens.
We continue down the corridor in silence.
Troy refrains from touching me. I’m glad he’s keeping his distance, but I can’t help but wonder if he’s acting nonchalant now because he doesn’t want his grandma to know about us.
Not willing to have a repeat of this morning and say what I shouldn’t, I stop in my tracks right before we’re about to walk out the back door.
“Do you want your grandma to know about us?”
He gives me a quizzical look. “Of course. Unless you don’t want her to know.”
“I have no reason to hide from her that we’re dating.”
“Good. Me neither.” His eyes seem to twinkle with mischief.
“What?” I ask, immediately suspicious that he’s up to no good.
“What if we don’t tell her right away, just pretend we’re nothing but friends until I sweep you off your feet and kiss you senseless in front of her?”
I stare at him without blinking for several beats until I finally say, “No.”
His expression falls. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to make out in front of your grandmother,” I whisper-shout.
He sticks his tongue out. “You’re no fun.”
Heavens above, why do guys have to act like toddlers sometimes?
We find Ophelia chilling in a lounge chair, sipping a drink that could be regular iced tea or a Long Island. Hard to tell. Her boyfriends aren’t around, which surprises me. She smiles when she notices our approach and sits up straighter, pushing her oversize sunglasses over her now pink head.
“Charlie, Wolfie. I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.”
I give her a hug and then Troy follows me, kissing Ophelia on her cheeks.
“Well, we almost didn’t make it,” he says.
“Why is that? Partied all night long?”
He gives me a naughty glance. “Something like that.”
Ophelia, who is the sharpest lady I’ve ever known, doesn’t miss the gesture. “Oh my. Have I inadvertently played Cupid?”
Hell . I’m blushing so hard now that it’s a miracle steam isn’t coming out of my ears.
“Gram, you’re making Charlie uncomfortable.” Troy sits on the lounge chair next to her, leaving me standing there to suffer my humiliation alone.
Jerk .
“What did I say? You’re young and attractive. You should be going at each other like ferocious bunnies. I know I would with my boys if my joints allowed.”
Kill me now.
Troy makes a face that clearly tells me he’s regretting putting me on the spot. Ha!
I pull up a chair on the other side of Ophelia.
“Speaking of which, where are Jack and Louis?” I ask.
“Oh, they’re out, running errands. I had to send them away because—”
“Jane? What are you doing here?” Troy sits straighter in his seat.
“You didn’t know I was coming?” She glances at Ophelia.
“Must have slipped my mind to mention it.”
Troy’s gaze travels over his sister’s shoulder, and he becomes visibly tense. “Oh great.”
Curious, I turn around, and see the source of his irritation is an attractive, middle-aged woman who is sashaying in our direction. Her hair is bleached white-blonde, and her sunglasses are even bigger than Ophelia’s. She’s way too overdressed for a visit at Golden Oaks. She must be Troy’s mother.
My spine goes taut, and sudden nervousness takes hold of me. I’m usually not bad with parents—Blake’s folks adore me—but I sense it’s going to take more than a sincere smile to win this lady over.
“Good morning. I see you beat me here, son,” she deadpans.
“Yeah, Charlie got me out of bed early.”
Gee, thanks, Troy, for throwing me at the shark without a warning.
She turns to me, and even behind the sunglasses, I can sense her eyes assessing me.
I try not to squirm in my chair. If I had known I’d be meeting her, I’d have picked something nicer to wear instead of my faded jeans, Chucks, and a vintage T-shirt.
At least my hair isn’t in a messy bun, and I put makeup on to hide the dark circles.
“Oh, is that your new roommate?” she asks him as if I wasn’t sitting right there.
I jump from my seat and extend a hand to her. “Yes, I’m the roommate.”
“Actually, she’s no longer my roommate. She’s my girlfriend,” Troy pipes up.
I swear the woman’s handshake tightens when she learns that, and then she drops my hand as if touching me burned her. I wonder if anyone noticed that or if it was just my imagination.
“Is that so? Does that mean you moved out?”
“Uh, no,” I say, looking at Troy for help.
Finally, he notices I’m floundering and jumps off his chair to come stand next to me. “Why would she move out?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to live with a girl you just started dating? Living together is a commitment, not a whim.” She turns to me. “No offense, darling.”
Yikes. Tell us how you really feel, why don’t you?
“Oh, sit down, Elaine, and stop raining on everyone’s parade,” Ophelia butts in. “Just because you couldn’t make your marriage work doesn’t mean your son can’t live with his girlfriend without causing the Rapture.”
She twists her face into a scowl. “I’m sorry.
I felt it was my duty to point out the obvious.
But you’re right; it’s not my place to comment.
Kids are so independent nowadays.” She glances at Jane.
“But don’t you get any ideas. You’re not going to move in with any boy while you’re still living on my dime. ”
“Gee, Mother, double standards much?” Troy retorts angrily.
“Oh, honey, society is full of double standards. I’m merely protecting my daughter.”
The small hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Did she just insinuate that my parents don’t care about me because they didn’t say I couldn’t live with Troy? To be fair, they don’t know I’m dating him, and I doubt they would bat an eye, considering their marriage is hanging by a thread.
Immediately, my anger dissipates, and it’s replaced by an overwhelming sadness.
If I knew how this day would toy with my emotions, I wouldn’t have left the bed.