Chapter Seven
Alex
I ran.
Like the coward that I was I ran as fast as I could and didn’t stop until I was safely shut inside my bedroom. I wanted to vomit. I couldn’t believe what had just happened, and I’d allowed it. Men had been jailed for less, yet I did nothing to stop it.
But the real question was, why?
The reality of the crime hit and landed like a punch to the gut.
My anxiety shot through the roof and I doubled over, fully prepared to vomit.
Two men were not allowed to be together, let alone touch each other in such intimate ways.
But it had taken every bit of strength I had to refrain from kissing him.
The desire was overwhelming, all I could do was run and put as much space between Charlie and me as I could.
Now, alone in my room, I couldn’t stop thinking about him—the way he knew how to stroke me, how his warm breath felt ghosting across my flesh. How my nipples reacted, painfully hardening with his every touch.
And how I wanted to do it again…
Dealing with my father after not having slept wouldn’t make for a great day. Seeing his face right as I stepped into the kitchen only made it worse. The groan that escaped couldn’t be helped.
“Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed,” he said, pointing out the obvious.
Mom kissed the top of my head after I sat. “Good morning, Alex.”
“Don’t you have to meet Charlotte at the bakery today? The wedding’s only a week away, son,” my father stated, as though it were something to be happy about.
Why did he feel the need to bring that up?
The last thing I wanted to do was see Charlotte.
As the wedding day neared, my desperation intensified the growing need to leave and never come back.
Between that and Charlie, I was ready to hop the next train out.
No matter what, I wasn’t marrying her next Saturday.
“Meet me at the store after you’re done with the baker. I’ll never understand why women can’t handle wedding details on their own. It’s not a man’s place,” my father said, shaking his head in disgust as he left.
The walk through town did nothing to clear my mind.
Why couldn’t I remember anything? No recollection of dating Charlotte let alone asking for her hand.
For all I know, that was decided for us and there was no formal asking.
Nothing of my childhood, though given the ass of a father I had, that may be my brain blocking that out.
But not remembering school or friends? None of this added up.
“There you are,” she screeched as she grabbed my sleeve. “I thought you were going to be late again.”
“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” This was not a great time to have a bad attitude, but I was beyond sick of this woman. I didn’t care what kind of cake she chose, I knew I wouldn’t be tasting any of it because there was no way in hell I was showing up to our wedding.
Thomas the baker greeted us as we stepped inside. “Good morning, you must be Alexander and Charlotte. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.”
“Please, call me Alex,” I told him as we shook hands. Charlotte glared at me and I realized that was the first time I’d ever told anyone to call me Alex.
He turned to Charlotte, gently taking her hand in his. “Wonderful to meet you both.”
“Good morning, Thomas. What do you have lined up for us to sample?” she cooed.
“Charlie, bring out the samples we made,” he hollered over his shoulder.
“Charlie?” I questioned. Sweat beaded on my forehead, my stomach muscles tightening in anticipation. It couldn’t be him, could it?
There he was, emerging from the back room with the sample tray in hand. Our eyes met, and my face heated as the memories of what’d we’d shared came rushing back. Charlie’s face matched mine, a warm blush filled his cheeks. Why had I found that to be alluring?
Stop thinking about him like that. This is not the time or place.
Was there ever a time or place for impure thoughts of another man?
“Hello, Charlie,” Charlotte said. “We met the other night. I’m Alexander’s fiancée, Charlotte.” She wound her arm through mine, a clear sign of ownership. The light blush on his cheeks deepened as the anger at her bold move surfaced.
“Um, the samples. Tell us about them,” I said to Thomas, trying to diffuse the situation. Charlie and I had a lot of talking to do, but that meant I’d have to come up with a believable excuse to escape Charlotte’s overbearing clutches.
We tasted more samples than my stomach could handle. She, of course, chose the most expensive option, an angel-food cake with a decadent chocolate ganache filling and marzipan coating. She didn’t care, after all her father was paying for it.
Charlie’s every move didn’t go unnoticed by me. From the motion of his hip to the nervous way he bit his bottom lip when he caught me staring. There was no escaping the previous night’s memories, not when being this close to him had me in the same aroused state.
How do I resist the pull when I’d never experienced it with another?
At least not that I recalled. I wanted suck on that bottom lip he’d abused with his teeth.
If I was going to be damned to a life in hell, I might as well enjoy it while I could.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind we’d be condemned one way or another for our unholy actions.
I’ll enjoy whatever this is one last time, then escape to Aberdeen before the wedding and start anew.
A sigh of relief escaped at having finally come up with a plan.
“Well, I think we’re done here. Thomas, please deliver it to the church before the start of the wedding next Saturday at four p.m. The reception is in the banquet hall. I trust you and your helper,” she said with great disdain, “will be able to set things up to my liking.”
“That won’t be a problem. We will be there, and it will be set up on time,” Thomas assured her.
Thomas and Charlie picked up the dishes we’d used and disappeared into the back room with them.
“Come, Alexander. Let’s go meet Mother and Father for lunch,” Charlotte ordered while putting her gloves on.
“I, um, I can’t,” I lied. “My father asked me to meet him at the shop. Something about inventory.”
“Well then, I will see you for dinner tonight.” She turned and left the bakery.
Seconds later, Charlie reemerged. He must have been listening, waiting for her to leave.
“We need to talk.” That came out a bit harsher than I’d intended. “Please.” He nodded and dried his hands on his apron. “What time do you get off?”
“Now. Thomas only had me come in to help out during your sampling. In case any other customers came in.” Nervously, he fidgeted with his apron strings.
“Okay, let’s take a walk, if that’s alright with you?” Suddenly I was the apprehensive one. Why was this starting to feel like an unchaperoned date?
“I know somewhere out of sight where we can be alone,” Charlie offered, hanging his apron on the hook.
“Lead the way.”
The walk was filled with silence, our hands buried deep in our pockets as though we were fighting the urge to touch one another. Ten minutes later, we were on the outskirts of town approaching an abandoned warehouse.
“This is where I planned to stay when I first came to town looking for you,” he told me.
“Looking for me? Why were you looking for me?” This just kept getting more confusing.
The thought crossed my mind as we entered through a broken lower-level window, that by breaking into this building I could potentially be walking right into trap. But in all honesty, Charlie didn’t make me feel unsafe. I couldn’t explain how I knew that, but I did. He wouldn’t hurt me.
I followed him into a room off to the side that must have been an old office, but even in the daylight it was still difficult to see in here.
There was a makeshift bed on the floor with a crate for a table and a broken wooden chair turned into a stool beside it.
This was probably where he slept. Out here alone, in the cold.
For some reason, that thought didn’t sit well with me.
“Did you really sleep here?” I was both stunned and concerned about his well-being, which was a bit of a surprise.
“I planned to, but then I met Thomas and he offered me the room above the bakery. So thankfully, I never had to. I have no idea who’s bed this is or was.
It’s disgusting, isn’t it?” Charlie turned and faced me and took my hand in his.
“Alex, you don’t belong here. Hell, we don’t belong here. Not in this year.”
“What do you mean?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. “This watch belonged to my father. It’s a time-travel device. We belong in the year twenty-twenty-six, Alex.”
His words made no sense, utter nonsense.
The ramblings of a madman. I walked across the room, taking a seat on the stool carefully contemplating my next move.
This was not how I expected things to go.
Resigning myself to accepting I had feelings for another man only to find he wasn’t of sound mind was heartbreaking.
Yet somehow some of what he’d said made sense. The not belonging here part that is. Did that make me not of sound mind as well?
Charlie crossed the room and crouched down before me. “I love you, Alex. We’ve been a couple now for seven years. We have a house and jobs and live in a day and age where men are able to marry men.”
Two men allowed to marry?
“Here, we would be condemned and hung for our love. Can’t you feel it in your bones? We don’t belong here.”
I stood and pulled him up with me and did something completely uncharacteristic. I think… I kissed him. Our lips pressed tightly together felt right, like we’d done this before. Having him in my arms calmed me, all other thoughts fled, leaving nothing but Charle.
From what he said – my Charlie.
Could that be true?
“Alex, I’ve missed your touch. I’ve missed you so much.” Tears formed at the corners of his eyes, cascading down his cheeks when he blinked. I leaned over and kissed one away. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the first day we met.” He nuzzled against my palm.
“Step away from my son,” my father bellowed, as he and the police barged in. I’d been so wrapped up in Charlie I hadn’t heard a thing. Guns drawn and focused on Charlie. An overwhelming urge to protect him kicked in as I moved in front of him like a human shield.
“Father, what’s going on? How did you know where I was?” I asked.
“When you didn’t show up for work, I contacted the Baker who told me you’d been seen walking around town with this man, and I immediately went to the police.
” He gestured between the two of us. There was no way they hadn’t seen us kissing.
“My God, Alex, what has he done to you? Arrest that man for attacking my son.”
“Attacking? Father, he did nothing of the sort. I’m fine.” I’d never hated my father more than I did right then.
“I don’t want to know what corruption this man has brought upon you.
I’m thankful you were spotted walking out of town or who knows what would’ve happened.
He will pay for his actions. You — young man, you’re coming home with me.
You’ll be lucky if that woman will still want to marry you when word gets around town about your indiscretions.
” He turned and walked away, fully expecting me to follow him.
The police cuffed Charlie’s wrists. I tried to convey my sincerest apologies to him without words, but the terrified look on his face killed me. They hauled him off, and my heart shattered.
Nothing about what we’d just shared felt wrong. But did I love him? How could I feel love for someone I’d only known a couple of days? The things he said about us not belonging here were mad ramblings, but he was so certain they were real.
As I turned to exit, something shiny caught my eye. Charlie’s pocket watch was lying on the dusty floor. I carefully scooped it up and slid it into my pocket before my father could ask what I had.