Chapter 19
Charlie
I was fortunate to have Oakley as an accomplice. When I told him to stop by the office at the end of the day because I wanted to talk to him, he read my expression right and winked rakishly.
Nic happened to witness the exchange. As soon as Oak was gone, she turned to me.
“What are you doing with the kid?”
I frowned. “What?”
“That was flirting.”
For a few seconds, I stared at her, then burst out laughing. “You think—” I might’ve lost it a little, laughing at her until tears were rolling down my cheeks. “Jesus Christ, Nic.”
“Well….” She looked embarrassed. “How was I supposed to know—”
“Because I’m your fucking best friend, Nicole! I’ve talked about nothing but Teague for weeks. How does any of that make sense to you?” I gestured at the door Oak had exited through.
She sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re not that guy, it’s… it’s possible I’m projecting.”
That made my brain screech to a halt. “Projecting how?”
Grimacing, she closed the office door, then pulled me through to their place, leaving that door open so we could hear if anyone came to the front desk.
I sat on a chair, and she picked the edge of the bed platform. “We might have a crush,” she said quietly.
I squinted at her. “I assume this is not a royal ‘we’ you’re talking about.”
“No, it’s not.” She leaned back until her body connected with the end of the bed and raised her gaze to the ceiling. “We might both be into Regan.”
Tilting my head, I tried to read her as best as I could, then asked the question I felt like was the most important one. “Together or separately?”
She sat up, looking confused. “What?”
“Are you interested in them together or separately? Like is this a crush you both have on them outside of your relationship or is this a crush you have on them as a couple?”
She let a small “huh” sound, her expression turning contemplative. “Together. Definitely together.”
I nodded slowly. “And are they into you? Both of you, I mean.”
“We think so? Like… they flirt with us equally at least?”
I smiled slightly. “Okay, do you want my real opinion or something less blunt?”
“Real opinion, please.”
“You do the adult thing of talking. Both to each other and to them, and then you figure out if it’s something you want to pursue. Who knows, it might be that everyone wants different things.”
“Dana and I are a couple first. We’ve never added a third before. I don’t know….” Nic sighed and threw her hands up. “Actually, all I do know is that you’re right. We need to talk. All three of us. Because the flirting is nice, but for me, it feels real, and I don’t want to be played with. And you know Dana. She’ll gut anyone who hurts me, so….” As she said the last part, she grinned.
“Now that I do know.” I chuckled. “I’m having a clandestine meeting with Oak because I need to know what kind of pizza his uncle likes the best. Or any other treats, really. I’m setting up a date night.”
Nic hung her head. “Of course, you are. I’m sorry, Charlie.”
“It’s okay. I get it.” I wasn’t new to the way she could jump to conclusions. We’d known each other for too long for this to be surprising.
I got to my feet and went to pull her into my arms. I squeezed her until she called me a brute and pushed me away.
“We good, Sweetie?” I asked.
“We good, Glasses.”
I tried to get Dana to let me cook the pizzas myself, but she wasn’t budging. Instead, she told me I could prep ingredients while she made the dough and the sauce, and then I could get the hell out of her way.
Oak called Regan to ask about some soft pretzels that Teague loved and then went to get them for me as soon as they confirmed they’d made a fresh batch. Not just for Teague, though. Oak came with two boxes; one was for Nic and Dana.
“Are they flirting?” I asked him when he told me he’d dropped off a box in the kitchen.
“Definitely,” he replied, snorting a little. “It’s a bit clumsy, but I think it fits all of them, you know.”
“Oh, I know.” I shook my head fondly.
“They’ll figure it out, I’m sure.” Oak glanced at the time. “Okay, I’m off. See you!”
“Thanks for helping me out on your off time!”
“Hey, for you and Uncle Teague, anything.” He gave me such a lovely, sincere smile that I almost choked up. I guess he must’ve sensed it, because he quickly backed away from the office.
I waited there until Dana texted me to come get my pizzas. She’d, naturally, made enough for Nic and herself, too. When I thanked her, she just shooed me away.
“Hope your pretzels are tasty!” I called over my shoulder, and she shot me a middle finger, but her cheeks were a bit pinker than a moment ago.
By the time I sat on the couch with Teague, I felt as if I couldn’t get close enough to him.
The bastard had dressed in gray sweatpants, and he’d done it on purpose. He’d found my kryptonite without even trying. He already knew I was constantly checking out his assets when he wore those molded-to-his-ass jeans. This? This was torture.
I wanted to devour him. Like he was doing to the pizza.
Instead, I started the movie.
After I practically cuddled Teague first. I was feeling brazen, like I’d had a couple of drinks of something other than Pepsi before he arrived. Which I hadn’t.
I got instantly sucked into the movie, and to my relief, so did Teague. We laughed at the same things, and he couldn’t stop giggling about “Baby James McAvoy” and the character he was playing.
At one point, while we had moved from salty snacks to sweet and I’d refreshed our drinks—and then promptly tried not to let myself climb onto his lap—I made a comment about how damn hot Paul Bettany was.
Teague hummed, then pointed at Kirsten Dunst. “She’s not bad, either.”
I grinned. “I’ll take your word for it.”
A while later, he snickered. “How did I never realize James McAvoy was such a twink when he was younger?”
“Have you not seen The Chronicles of Narnia ? Mr. Tumnus? That faun was a twink and a half.”
Teague laughed. “There’s a sentence I’ve never heard before and likely never will again.”
I cuddled up to his side and he hesitantly wrapped his arm around me, as if waiting for me to shy away from him. I didn’t, I felt comfortable in a way I hadn’t with anyone else, and I just settled into his occasional commentary.
“You know, this must be the second time I’ve seen Paul Bettany’s ass,” he murmured at the scene where Bettany’s character, Peter, was getting ready for his date.
“ A Knight’s Tale ?” I asked, trying to remember if I’d seen him naked in anything else.
“Yep. That’s another good movie.”
“Oh, definitely one of my other comfort ones.” After a while, I added, “I still think Ewan McGregor has been naked in more roles. It’s like he made a living out of that at one point.”
“And he didn’t even need to do porn!” Teague deadpanned, making me cackle.
Then, about halfway into the movie, he went, “Ah-ha!”
“What?” I looked at him and his delighted expression.
“I just figured out where I know that guy who plays Peter’s friend from!”
Chuckling, I said, “Nikolaj Coster-Waldau?”
“Yes! That’s his name!”
“ Game of Thrones ?” I made an educated guess.
“Yep. Jaime Lannister. The man who loved his sister a bit too much.”
I snorted and shook my head. “I guess you could say that, sure.”
We chatted about how neither of us really understood the rules of tennis, but we luckily didn’t have to in order to be able to enjoy the movie.
Sitting on the couch, cuddled up to Teague, I felt at peace. Then he started to play with my fingers in an absent way, as if my hand was a fiddle toy, and my heart lurched in my chest with this violent elation that choked me up.
I managed to hide it, barely, and he never noticed. This time, watching the scene where Paul Bettany’s character said that people had fallen in love before, and Kirsten Dunst’s character, Lizzie, asked, “Is that what we’re doing here?” hit me a bit differently. A lot differently.
Right after those words were spoken, Teague lifted my hand and kissed the back of it, then lowered it back so he could continue fiddling with my fingers. He didn’t make a big deal out of it, and that made my feelings swell in my chest even more.
Even though I must’ve seen Wimbledon about ten times and could quote it by heart now, I still tensed like Teague during the final tennis match of the movie. He got heated about the rules with the actors, and then cooed at the end when they showed Peter and Lizzie’s happily ever after.
I let the credits roll and leaned away from Teague just a bit.
“So, how did you like it?”
“Well, for one, I really want to go to England one day,” he started. Then he smiled. “But yes, I can see how this is a comfort movie. I really enjoyed it.”
“I liked watching it with you,” I admitted.
“Same.”
For a few seconds, we just looked at each other. I wasn’t sure who made the first move, but suddenly we were kissing.
Teague was still trying to figure out how and where to touch me, which was so damn frustrating to me, especially knowing that the care he was showing me was completely necessary.
I tore my mouth from his. “Above the waist, over the clothes is fine,” I managed to instruct, panting. “I’ll let you know if that changes.”
He nodded rapidly, then let out a startled sound when I did what I had wanted to do for at least an hour; I climbed on his lap, straddling him.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this, but I was going to go with my gut instinct.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I didn’t mind whatsoever.
I dipped my head to kiss him, grinning and then nipped at his neck. He moaned and tilted his head to the side to give me more room.
“Oh fuck, Charlie.”
The devil must’ve gotten into me, because I rolled my hips. I felt him hard against me, and my mouth watered. I hadn’t wanted so much in ages. Years, maybe.
Without thinking about it too closely, I kissed him like my life depended on it, then got off his lap. I carefully pushed the coffee table out of the way, then turned back to Teague and knelt between his feet.
“You don’t have to—”
“No, I know that.” I put my hands on his thighs, keeping my gaze locked to his. “But I want to.”
He seemed so torn. I hated it, but there was nothing I could do about that.
“If you’re sure?” The hesitance in his tone made me hate the damaged part of myself so much.
I took his hands into mine. “Teague, you need to trust me to know what I want. I….” I licked my lips and looked away. Taking a deep breath, I tried to come up with the words I needed. I exhaled. “I haven’t wanted like this in a very, very long time. I’ve done things I haven’t wanted to do. For other people’s sake.” I made eye contact again. “With you, I feel like what I desire matters.”
“Of course, it—”
I squeezed his fingers. “I know. You’re not all about what you want and need. That’s what makes you different.” I smirked and nodded toward his crotch. “And you know what you did, choosing these sweats.”
Teague smiled a bit sheepishly and didn’t deny it.
“So, can I?” I asked.
He nodded. “Okay.”
“I need a bit more enthusiasm, Teague.”
Frowning, he asked, “What?”
“Consent goes both ways.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, oh .” Then he grinned. “I’m giving you my enthusiastic consent to do whatever you want.” Then he got more serious. “I promise to tell you to stop if I don’t like something or change my mind.”
This time it was me who pulled his hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it. “Thank you. It means a lot to know you’re honest about these things and like I said, I know it’s important to you that we’re on the same page.”
I saw the exact moment when it hit him that someone—someones—hadn’t been so honest and caring. There’d been men before him who hadn’t cared, as long as they got off.
To take his mind off that fact, I pressed my hand over his cock that had deflated a little, but not much. I felt it flex under my palm.
“Now lift. As much as I like these sweats, I want them off you.”
Groaning, he did as told and let me pull them down with his underwear.
My mouth watered again. My gaze locked on his erection, I murmured, “Please don’t touch anything but my hands and arms while I do this.” Then I leaned forward, grabbed his cock, and licked the precum off the tip.
Teague slammed his palms against the cushions on either side of himself and let out an almost wounded sound.
I nudged his thighs further apart with my arms, then went to town on him like I wanted to.
I sucked him deep, swallowed around him, feeling a bit rusty but only because it hadn’t felt this good in so long. I was hard as nails, my cock throbbing in my sweats, and part of me craved to put my hand down my pants and jerk myself off while I made him see stars.
I bobbed my head and used every trick in my arsenal just to hear more of the delicious, dirty sounds Teague made as I drove him crazy. When I felt like he was getting close, I squeezed his balls with one hand, pulling on them just a little.
He made a choked up sound and whined, then started to come down my throat.
I swallowed, feeling so damn proud of myself. I’d made this man lose his composure, me .
Popping off his cock as soon as he indicated he was too sensitive, I clambered up his lap again, leaning in to kiss him.
Without looking, I reached for his hand, then pressed it against my cock through the thin fabric.
I felt his fingers twitch, but he didn’t try to take initiative. Instead, he let me rub myself with his flat palm as I rocked my hips a few times and started to come.
I moaned long and loud and wild into his mouth, bucking my hips until I felt as if someone cut my strings. Letting go of his hand, I slumped down, face against his neck as I panted, trying to get my whole being back together.
Teague wrapped his arms around me, and we just rested like that for a moment.
“That was…,” he murmured eventually.
“Yeah,” I agreed. I kissed his jaw, then pulled back a little. “Thank you.”
Instead of saying it back or downplaying it, he nodded silently.
I chuckled. “I’ll let you put your pants back on while I go deal with….” I slid off his lap.
I walked to my dresser and grabbed clean underwear and my second favorite pair of sweats, then went to the bathroom to clean myself a little.
When I glanced at myself in the mirror, I saw that my eyes were shining, my cheeks were flushed, and my hair managed to look as if someone had been holding onto it even though neither of us had.
I smiled and shook my head at myself. I was losing my heart to the kind, gentle giant of a man sitting on my couch. It didn’t worry me, even though maybe it should’ve.
It was still early days, anything could happen, and so I told myself to be mindful of protecting myself. Because I’d dived into relationships before and none of them had worked out. The fact that Teague felt different, good, even amazing, couldn’t be a reason to forget what I’d been through before.
I stepped out of the bathroom to see that he’d cleaned up some of the mess off the coffee table. He’d also righted it again.
“Another movie?” I asked.
“Yeah, sure. Let me take a leak while you find something for us,” he said as he took the few steps from the kitchen area to where I was standing by the couch. He gave me a kiss, smiled at me so damn beautifully that I knew my feelings were completely and utterly reciprocated.
“I think it’s your turn to choose,” I called after him when he went to the bathroom.
“I’ll think on it!”
I chuckled and went to get us new drinks. I needed to use the bathroom, too, and then we could cuddle some more. And demolish the rest of those amazing pretzels.