Chapter 4
FOUR
CHARLOTTE
I kick off my work shoes the moment I walk through our apartment door and let them thud against the wall. I don’t even bother turning on the lights.
All I want is to crawl into bed and forget that I saw Koda tonight. Forget how he looked at me.
Forget how I wanted him to keep looking.
“There you are.”
Sarah’s voice startles me. She flips on the lamp and illuminates her curled-up figure on our secondhand couch. She’s already in her pajamas with her hair piled messily on top of her head.
“I’ve got wine and I need gossip.”
I drop my bag on the counter and force a smile.
“I smell like beer and desperation. Can the gossip wait until after a shower?”
“The wine waits for no woman.” She holds up a half-empty bottle of the cheap red we keep for emergencies. Two glasses sit on the coffee table, one already filled. “Besides, you’ve been texting me cryptic messages all night about your dad showing up. I need details.”
I consider making a break for the bathroom, but Sarah’s expression tells me I’m not escaping this conversation.
I collapse onto the couch beside her and accept the glass she pushes into my hand.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” I take a larger sip than intended. The wine is sweet and slightly warm, exactly what I need. “Dad just stopped by The Summit. Surprised me.”
“So why do you look like someone ran over your cat?”
“I don’t have a cat.”
“Don’t deflect. You’ve been weird since you texted that your dad showed up. What happened?”
I swirl the wine in my glass and watch it catch the light.
“Nothing happened.”
“Liar.” Sarah’s eyes narrow. “Your cheeks are flushed, and you’ve been staring at that same spot on the wall for two minutes. Either you’re having a stroke or something happened.”
The wine loosens my tongue before I can stop myself.
“He wasn’t alone.”
Sarah’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Your dad has a girlfriend?”
“No.” I drain half my glass in one go. “He was with his best friend. Koda.”
Recognition flashes in Sarah’s eyes. We’ve been friends long enough that she’s heard the name before.
“Wait, Koda? The guy you used to have that massive crush on when you were a teenager?”
Heat creeps up my neck.
“I didn’t have a massive crush.”
“Please.” Sarah rolls her eyes. “You spent an entire summer learning to fish just so you could go on their stupid camping trips.”
I can’t help the small smile that forms at the memory.
“I caught more trout than both of them.”
“Not the point.” Sarah refills my glass without asking. “So, your teenage fantasy man walked into your bar tonight. And?”
I stare into my wine and watch the burgundy liquid ripple.
“And nothing. He’s my dad’s best friend. He’s forty years old.”
“And apparently hot enough that you’re avoiding the question.”
The dam breaks.
“Ugh, Sarah, you have no idea. He’s... different. Or maybe I’m different. I don’t know.” I press my free hand against my flushed cheek. “He has this beard now, and his hair is longer. And his shoulders are like twice as wide as they used to be.”
Sarah leans back as a slow grin spreads across her face.
“Well, well, well. Look who still has a massive crush.”
“It’s not a crush.” I take another gulp of wine. “It’s... I don’t know what it is.”
Sarah leans forward again and sets her wine glass on the coffee table with a decisive clink.
“Charlotte, you’re not a kid anymore. There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to a hot mountain man.”
“But he’s my dad’s best friend.”
“So? You’re both adults.”
I shake my head and stand to pace our small living room.
“My dad would literally kill me for the thoughts I’m having right now,” I groan, covering my face with my hands. “Koda’s practically family. He’s been around since before I was born.”
Sarah snorts and takes another sip of wine. “Charlotte, he is not your family. He’s not your uncle or your cousin or your brother. He’s just a man who happens to be friends with your dad.”
“A man who taught me how to ride a bike and took me fishing and came to my sixth-grade graduation,” I counter, dropping back onto the couch. “It feels... wrong.”
“What feels wrong is how you’re torturing yourself.” Sarah sets her glass down. “Did he look at you differently tonight? Like, not as Jason’s little girl?”
I think back to that moment when our eyes locked across the bar. The way his gaze had swept over me, lingering just a second too long. How his voice had roughened when he said my name.
“Maybe,” I admit quietly. “But that doesn’t mean anything. He was probably just surprised to see how much I’ve grown up.”
“Or,” Sarah says, leaning forward with a gleam in her eye, “he was thinking the same things you were thinking.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I drain my wine glass. “He’s Koda. He dates models and athletes. Not hairstyling students who can barely pay rent.”
“You’re selling yourself short.” Sarah refills our glasses. “You’re gorgeous, smart, and funny. Any man would be lucky to have you.”
I shake my head. “Even if—and that’s a massive if—there was something there, Dad would never forgive me. Or him.”
“Your dad wants you to be happy,” Sarah says gently. “And you’re an adult who can make her own decisions.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It never is.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Look, I’m not saying you should jump his bones the next time you see him. But don’t beat yourself up for having feelings, either.”
I stare at our clasped hands. “What would you do?”
Sarah thinks for a moment.
“Honestly? I’d take some time to figure out if this is just a resurfacing childhood crush or something more. Real feelings don’t go away just because they’re inconvenient.”
The weight of the day suddenly crashes down on me, and I feel exhaustion seeping into my bones. “I’m probably overthinking all of this. It was one weird night at the bar. I might never even see him again.”
Sarah snorts. “I’m sure you will. Cooper Heights isn’t exactly a metropolis.”
The thought sends a flutter through my stomach. “Ugh, I hope not. I need time to process this.”
“Well, whatever happens,” Sarah says, “I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, Sarah.”
“That’s what friends are for. Oh, by the way,” Sarah sets down her wine glass. “I’m driving out to Denver tomorrow to see my mom. She’s having surgery.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, just a knee thing she’s been putting off. But the weather forecast is looking pretty bad this weekend.” She gives me a concerned look. “They’re saying we might get hit with a bad ice storm. Like power outage level bad.”
I laugh and push away from the couch.
“I’ll be fine.” I gather my wine glass and head toward the kitchen. “I’ll stock up on candles and ramen. Maybe catch up on some studying if we get snowed in.”
Sarah nods reluctantly.
“Okay, but promise you’ll call if anything happens?”
“I promise I won’t freeze to death or starve.” I rinse my glass in the sink. “Now, I desperately need a shower. I smell like beer and French fries.”
“And sexual frustration,” Sarah adds with a smirk.
I shake my head and laugh as I stand up.
“Goodnight, Sarah.”
“Night, Charlotte. Sweet dreams about your mountain man!”
I head to my room to change out of my work clothes and take a shower. Sarah’s words echo in my head as the door closes behind me. I step into the shower and the hot water feels amazing as it hits my skin. I close my eyes and let it wash away the smell of beer and bar food.
But it can’t wash away thoughts of Koda.
The way his massive hands dwarfed his whiskey glass. How his dark eyes followed me across the room. The rumble of his voice when he said my name.
I imagine they are his calloused ones as my hands slide over my soap-slick skin.
I’ve never done this before, never touched myself while thinking about someone specific, especially not someone forbidden.
But tonight, I can’t help myself.
My fingers drift lower, between my thighs, and I gasp at the contact.
I’m already swollen and sensitive, my body responding to just the thought of him.
I brace one hand against the tile wall as I circle my aching clit.
I imagine Koda’s beard scratching against my neck, his powerful body pressing me against this very wall.
I know it’s wrong, but I don’t stop.
A moan escapes my lips as I slide one finger inside. I imagine it’s Koda stretching me, filling me. My other hand cups my breast, and I tweak the nipple the way I imagine he would with his teeth. Then I add a second finger and pump faster, my palm grinding against my clit with each thrust.
The hot spray pounds against my back as the pressure builds. It coils tighter and tighter in my core as I picture Koda’s dark eyes burning into mine, his deep voice rumbling against my ear, telling me to come for him.
That’s all it takes to send me flying over the edge.
I cry out his name as my walls clench around my fingers and pleasure crashes through me in shuddering waves.
Shame and exhilaration war inside me as I finish my shower in a daze.
Did I really just get myself off to the thought of my father’s best friend?
As I towel off and get ready for bed, I try to rationalize it.
I haven’t seen Koda in years. It was just the shock of him walking back into my life looking like... that. Like every dirty fantasy I didn’t know I had come to life. Maybe I just need to get him out of my system, let the novelty wear off.
But as I drift off to sleep, it’s Koda’s face that fills my mind.
Morning comes too early and yanks me from another dream about Koda.
I dress deliberately in pale jeans and an oversized sweater, trying to armor myself against the restless energy that’s been building since last night. Sarah’s already gone, leaving the apartment eerily quiet except for the sound of storm winds rattling our windows.
The drive to Piney Creek Diner is short, but my nerves refuse to settle. The parking lot is packed with locals seeking refuge from the brewing weather, and inside, the place hums with nervous energy.
I step inside and find my way to the end of the line.