8. Charlie
Charlie
“ I haven’t seen her this way in a long time,” Jane says with an amused smile. The three of us watch Tess while she schmoozes with Senator Ross. She tips her head back and laughs at something the senator said. I’ve never noticed before how melodic her laugh is.
“She seems to be having a lot of fun,” I respond and Trey nods in agreement.
“How many has she had?” Jane asks, taking a sip of her Chardonnay.
“I don’t know. A few. She doesn’t seem drunk though. More like just energized.”
“That’s always been an amazing thing about Tess. She can totally hold her alcohol. She’s drunk me under the table numerous times over the years,” Jane interjects. “Be careful though. It will hit her at some point, and it’ll hit hard.”
“I just hope it doesn’t hit while Mom and Dad are watching. They’re so damn pleased that I finally brought a “respectable” date to a wedding.” Jane and I both laugh while we watch Tess head to the dance floor with the senator, daintily holding onto his arm.
“It’s like some magical elixir that turns an introvert into the most loquacious extrovert.” Jane grins up at me.
“I wish it worked that way for this introvert,” Trey says, rocking back on his heels. “These events are always torture for me.”
Poor Trey. He hates these things. Perhaps he should have thought about that before marrying my sister. She’ll whine and moan about them, but she always ends up having a great time and is one of the last people to leave.
I have more of a love-hate relationship with weddings. I love the social part but don’t like the business relationship-building part. Plus, except for a handful of them, most of my dates have been problematic, causing some kind of stir.
It’s a gorgeous day for a wedding though, sunny with a warm breeze and not an insect in sight. A huge white tent has been set up on the rolling green lawn, but most people are milling around on the outskirts of the tent, enjoying the rare western Washington sunshine.
Daphne is a beautiful bride in a very traditional over-the-top wedding gown.
She seems totally in her element, moving from group to group, chatting with friends and family.
Rence is glued to her side, smiling though looking somewhat distracted.
I wonder how he’s feeling right now. Is he happy he made the leap?
Or terrified? He looks a little shell-shocked.
I watch my buddy Stratton dance with his wife Ariel.
It wasn’t that long ago that I was in their wedding.
Standing by his side as one of his groomsmen, I couldn’t believe how calm and collected Stratton was right before the ceremony.
He seemed to be completely at ease with his decision, no second-guessing himself.
So far, they seem to be happy as clams, enjoying their life together with their daughter Chloe.
The song is about to end, and I head to the dance floor to steal Tess from the senator.
It’s a perfect opportunity to say hello to him; it’s been years.
As one of the most influential men around, he’s usually difficult to get time with.
Tess has done a tremendous job with that today though.
Can you blame him though? She’s stunning and totally charismatic.
Tess is wearing the floral dress Charlotte picked out. It hugs her in all the right places. She’s done her makeup and hair, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this beautiful. She’s always been pretty but, since she’s Jane’s best friend, I pretended not to notice.
“May I have the next dance?” I ask, smiling at her.
“Of course, Charlie,” she responds, her face flushed.
I turn toward the senator and hold out my hand. “Hello, Senator Ross. Nice to see you again, sir.”
“Hi, Charlie. Thanks for sharing Tess with me. You picked a good one here.” He gives Tess a kiss on the cheek and whispers something in her ear. She giggles and nods her head and he heads off in the direction of the bar.
We begin to sway to the song, loosely holding each other’s hands. “What did he say to you?’ I ask.
“He asked me to save him a dance for later,” she responds, laughing. “He’s quite the flirt. It’s surprising…he’s always appeared stiff and business-like to me. Like he wouldn’t be much fun to talk to.”
I’m guessing he’s stiff alright, I think to myself. But not in the way Tess is talking about.
“He obviously is taken with you…can’t blame him. You look gorgeous today, Cello.” As soon as I say the words I want to take them back. She’s Jane’s best friend. She’s practically family. She’s going to think I’m flirting with her. Genuinely flirting…not just fake flirting.
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Coffee.” She smirks at me and begins to follow my lead.
So far, the day has gone well as far as our pretend relationship is concerned. Mom and Dad were thrilled to see Tess and spent some time earlier catching up with her.
Dad is still annoyed that we haven’t been by the house for dinner yet but I explained to him that we’ve both been very busy and we’ll definitely do it soon.
Dad had patted me on the back before they moved on to socializing with some other guests.
“This is a good decision, Charlie. An excellent decision actually,” he’d said and gave me a pleased smile.
A smile like that is a rare thing from my usually very stern dad.
I felt a lump in my throat thinking about our eventual “breakup” and how disappointed my parents will be.
The jazzy tune playing ends and a slower song follows it. I take Tess in my arms and pull her close to me. She smells amazing, like some kind of floral concoction but with a bit of spice.
Because of her height, our bodies fit perfectly together. I’m guessing her heels make her close to six feet tall. I’m not having to stoop over like I usually do while dancing with a woman.
“Having fun?” I ask.
She tips her head back and quirks her lips up. “I am actually. Much more fun than I thought I’d be having.”
“I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”
I continue to guide her on the floor, trying out a few new steps and she follows me effortlessly.
“You’re a great dancer.”
She laughs. “All those years at Linda’s Dance School are finally paying off, I guess.”
“I remember you and Jane in your recital costumes. All those sequins and feathers.”
“Oh my gosh…did your parents make you go to our recitals? You must have hated that!”
“No, I never went to any of them, thank God. But didn’t you used to come to the house beforehand…to get ready or whatever?”
“Oh, of course. Yes. Jane always did a much better job with my makeup than I could do myself.”
I look closely at her perfectly made-up face now. “Looks like you figured it out.”
Her lips curve upward. “Took me a while but I finally got it.”
I hold her close again and she melts into me. We remain that way, swaying to the beat.
After a minute I hear her voice in my ear. “So, at the end of this song, I think we should kiss. Get it over with, you know?”
I look down at her in surprise. Is she fucking with me again? I didn’t know Tess was such a jokester, but she definitely showed me that side of her the night we met at Gonza.
She’s giving me a matter-of-fact look as if she just suggested we go grab another drink rather than press our lips together. She really wants me to kiss her? I feel myself becoming aroused at the thought of it.
She is my “date” so it wouldn’t be weird to anyone else around us. But I’m still not sure if she’s just kidding with me. I decide to call her bluff.
“That’s a great idea. Give ‘em all a little show,” I say.
The music ends and I move my face closer to hers, fully expecting her to push me away.
Instead, she tips her face up to me and closes her eyes.
As soon as my lips find hers, I feel a jolt of electricity.
I think she feels it too because I hear an almost inaudible moan escape from her throat.
I kiss her longer than I intended to—it just feels too good to stop.
Her lips are warm and soft, and I could kiss her for hours. I finally tear myself away from her.
She’s flushed but doesn’t look away from me. She looks right into my eyes and says, “I always wondered what that would feel like.”
“So what do you think?”
“I think I’d like to do it again,” she says in a breathy voice.
My heart thuds and I wink at her.
“That can definitely be arranged.”
She looks deeply into my eyes and gives me a small smile. “I look forward to it.”
And, with that, I need to move away from her before my half-hard cock turns fully erect. Thank God for my suit coat, which is covering up the evidence.
I’m not sure what’s going on with her. Is it the wine talking? Or something else?
“Grab another drink?” I ask, taking her hand, needing to move away from this spot and get my mind on something else.
“Yes, please,” she responds, squeezing my hand.
Jane and Trey are near the bar, and I drop Tess off with them before I get in the drink line. By the looks on their faces, they definitely witnessed the kiss. I can’t tell if Jane is pissed off or amused. Trey, on the other hand, looks like he’d give me a high five if I got close enough.
My dad is at the bar getting another glass of wine for my mom.
I’m sure he’s already had his allotted two drinks today.
Dad always says he can’t afford to lose a day of work to a hangover, so I’ve never actually seen him drunk or even tipsy.
It doesn’t matter that today is Saturday and he doesn’t have to work tomorrow.
“So when exactly are you and Tess going to come to the house for dinner? I’d like to see more of her.” His questions feel more like a business transaction than a dad wanting to get reacquainted with his daughter’s best friend turned son’s “girlfriend.”
“Let’s find a time soon that works.” I’m as noncommittal as I can get away with.
I don’t want my parents becoming too attached to the idea that Tess and I are a couple.
Plus, dinners with my parents are not included in our contract.
Not that there is any kind of formal contract… just our word to each other.
However, I don’t want to take advantage of what she’s agreed to.
Dad gives me a curt nod and I head back with the drinks to find the others. Jane and Tess are deep in conversation when I find them. The look on Jane’s face is not one of anger but rather concern. They abruptly end their conversation when they see me.
Stratton and Ariel have joined them and are chatting with Trey. I hug them both and take a little time catching up on what new things their baby Chloe is doing.
I give Tess her wine and sidle up next to her. “You doing okay?”
“Never been better.”
“So, how long have the two of you been dating?” Ariel asks.
Tess and I look at each other and smile before answering. “It’s been around three months now,” I reply.
“How wonderful. I had no idea,” Ariel says.
“Yeah, you and Stratton know how it is. Sometimes you’re not ready to share it with the rest of the world.”
Stratton and Ariel’s story started out with a lot of secrecy. Ariel dated Stratton’s son, Trevor, before falling in love with Stratton. Then she got pregnant. It was a rough time for all of them, but things are much better now.
Stratton gives me a questioning look as if he might not be buying all of this.
It’s been a while since we spent any time together.
With a little one, he hasn’t been able to make our regular poker games in quite a while.
I silently tell him with my eyes that we’ll talk about it later.
I haven’t decided who else I’m going to let in on our secret, but I know I can’t lie to Stratton.
He’s been through too much with me. But the fewer people that know the truth, the better.