Chapter 31
Charlie
T his is wildly out of my realm. I don’t know how to slow dance. Shit, I don’t know how to dance in general.
I pulled Blythe onto the dancefloor and laced one hand with hers. I placed the other on the small of her back. I could feel her heart racing as I closed the gap between our bodies.
I leaned down so my lips were level with her ear, “You alright?”
Blythe nodded, “I’m just surprised you wanted to dance. This isn’t like you.”
“This is vacation Charlie, remember?” I winked.
Her green eyes stared up at me, “Oh,” she grinned widely, That’s right.”
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to grab and kiss her face. Maybe it’s the bourbon coursing through me, but I wanted to show Blythe how special she really is…even if it means I step out of my comfort zone. I’ve not been good about showing her off to the world because that also puts me on display. There’s one thing I don’t like, and that’s being in the spotlight. Right now, I’m directly in it.
I might never allude to it, but the slow country song blasting through the speakers right now is one of my favorite songs.
“Baby, last night was hands down
One of the best nights
That I’ve had, no doubt”
Blythe rested her head on my chest. Swaying back and forth on this dance floor, those lyrics rang in my ears like they never had before. I could ask her to marry me right here, but she would think I only asked because I was drunk.
That might not be the worst idea.
We rocked back and forth until the song ended, and we became painfully aware that we were the only couple still on the dancefloor. Everyone else had moved off to the side. It looked like something out of a movie.
“Now those two are in love!” The DJ commented into his microphone. The crowd clapped and cheered.
Blythe broke out of the trance she was clearly in as well and made eye contact with me. Her smile lit up the room, “We should head out.”
Not to sound sappy, but I didn’t want this moment to end. Tonight, despite the dinner reservation falling through, has really been for the better.
We’ve been able to eat more substantial food, no one is snooty, and we’ve finally just let loose.
“You sure you want to leave and don’t want to stay here?” I asked as the music started blaring through the speakers again and people joined us on the dancefloor.
She nodded, “We’ve been here for a while. Let’s go to the next stop on our adventure.”
Blythe grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the exit. We stepped through the heavy black door and the fresh air filled our lungs.
“I feel like I can breathe again,” Blythe observed as we made our way to the sidewalk. “I miss Wren. Do you think she’s still awake?”
I dug my phone out of my pocket. I silently prayed that my mom allowed her to stay up well past her bedtime.
“It’s after ten, she’s probably asleep…”
Blythe shrugged, “I think it’s worth a shot.”
That was all the encouragement I needed as I typed out a message to my mom.
Charlie: Is Wren still awake?
Mom: Maybe…
Mom: We’re watching a movie.
Charlie: Can we talk to her?
Mom: Are you drunk?
Charlie: No.
Mom: Then you can call.
The phone rang twice before my mom answered. “I’m assuming you don’t want to talk to me.”
“Not at this exact moment.”
I heard the phone shuffle hands. “Daddy?”
“Hi, Little Bird. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. What do you need? I’m watching a movie with Grammy and Pops.”
Ouch, my kid doesn’t need me anymore.
“Birdie and I wanted to say good night to you.”
“Where’s Birdie? I want to see her.” Wren demanded with a raised eyebrow.
I switched to a video call so Wren could see her beloved Birdie.
I looked over at Blythe, “She wants to see you.”
Blythe lit up like the string of Christmas lights above us. She grabbed the phone out of my hand, “I’ll take that, thank you.”
“Birdie! I miss you!” Wren’s face popped up on the screen. Her hair was freshly washed, and her curls were everywhere.
“I miss you, too! Are you having fun?”
I let them have their chat before I popped my head around the phone. “Have you given Marshy extra love from us?”
Wren rolled her eyes, “Duh!”
She’s learning so much in school and picking up on new phrases. Watching her learn and grow over the last few months has been fun.
“Daddy, why do you look like that?”
I took a look at myself on the screen. My eyelids were slightly droopy, and my eyes were glassy. I can’t explain why to my kid.
“Oh, I’m just tired.” I lied.
“You and Birdie should go to sleep.”
“When are you going to sleep?” I counterposed.
“After the movie is over!” I heard my mom yell from somewhere offscreen.
Wren got so close to the phone that all we could see was up her nose. “I wanna stay up until you get home tomorrow.”
“Absolutely not.” Blythe stepped in. “Wrenny, you have to go to sleep. The quicker you fall asleep, the quicker we’ll be home to see you.”
Wren sighed heavily before rubbing her eyes, “Fine. Did you get me any presents?”
My parents get her a present any time they go away, so now Wren assumes there will be a gift from anyone who leaves town for more than a day—a bad precedent to set if you ask me.
Blythe nodded at the phone, “It’s a surprise.”
“I love surprises!” Our six-year-old cheered.
“Wren, why don’t you let your parents go? You’ll see them in the morning.” My mom stepped into the frame.
Wren pouted, “Fine. I love you.”
“We love you more!” Blythe answered for the both of us.
I couldn’t be more thrilled that Wren and Blythe hit it off as well as they had. When Wren found Blythe crying on the bookstore floor, little did they know they would become best friends.
“Sleep well, Little Bird. We’ll see you in the morning.” I added before the call ended.
“She’s the best,” Blythe commented, speaking about Wren.
“Couldn’t agree more.”
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and laced my fingers with Blythe’s. “Where did you want to grab a water?”
We scanned the street before Blythe said, “There’s a convenience store down there. We can just run in.”
As we entered the store, the clerk at the register eyeballed us. The way he looked at us, you would think we were about to rob the place. We grabbed two water bottles and headed over to him.
“I bet you see a lot of people in here at this hour.” I tried to break the ice.
“Usually couples only buy condoms.” The clerk deadpanned.
“Ah.” I had no idea how to continue that conversation.
We paid and were out of there.
Blythe and I downed our waters while standing in front of the convenience store.
“Where to next?” Blythe glanced up at me.
I pointed two blocks up. “Do you see that blue neon sign?”
She nodded.
“Right there. Is that too far to walk with your shoes?”
Blythe laughed, “No, my feet are numb now.”
“We could head back to the hotel,” I offered an alternate solution.
“Oh hell no. We’ve already said good night to Wren. We’re golden.”