Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Charlie
I held Hope beside me and stared at the light fixture.
My naked body was relaxed and tight, still recovering from our last time.
Hope was the only woman who'd made me feel like this. She let out a sigh, and I knew she was still awake. I glanced at my phone, which read four in the morning. “It’s almost dawn.”
She ran her hands over my chest. “I’m not tired.”
“Me too.” I kissed her forehead and smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this satisfied.”
She laughed and turned to me. “I’m sure you say that to all the women.”
I rubbed the back of her head. “No, just you. Thank you for trusting me.”
She let me go and sat up. “Trust…”
My heart beat wildly. “Is that bad?”
“No… I guess it means we need to be honest with each other.”
“I’d like that.”
She pulled her legs to her face and hugged herself. “Remember that guy we ran into last night, Windell?”
Tense, I sat beside her. “Yeah.” If she was still in love with him, I had no shot.
She turned her face toward me, and her lip trembled.
My stomach twisted, then she said, “He, and then Patterson, my latest boyfriend, and every guy I ever met told me I wasn’t girlfriend material…
that I was an easy lay, a side piece who wasn't not someone a guy could be serious with. So it’s hard to trust in you… us.”
“I get it.” I took a deep breath. It wasn’t love.
And those guys were wrong. Hope was the sweetest woman I’d ever met.
I patted her knee as her hands were knotted inside the pretzel she’d made of herself.
“I’m not much different. I’ve had years of one-night stands, and I’m probably the worst choice for a boyfriend. ”
She laughed and unwound herself. Then she brushed my thigh. “So we’re both fucked up, huh?”
I laughed and nodded. “Yeah, but I like who I am with you.”
She curled into me again. “Charlie, you make everything feel so easy.”
I kissed her forehead. “Well, I don’t want to play hard to get for you.”
Her eyes were wide. “Why?”
I hated that anyone had hurt her. I took her hand. “Because you’re not a side piece or an easy lay. It took me two nights in Paris to get you to let me in.”
“Wow, two whole days.” She laughed again.
Then I claimed her lips with another kiss. We needed to be up soon, and I needed one more time with her before then.