Chapter 4 #2
The waiter flounced by them, placing their plates in front of them before quickly scooting away with the other orders on his tray. The food looked as good as it smelled, and Sam immediately scooped up the cheeseburger she’d gotten and took a big bite.
A giggle nearby caught her attention, and Sam glanced over to see a few girls, probably fresh from the salon down the street, whispering amongst themselves.
Giggling behind their hands and whispering to one another as they glanced in Charlie’s direction.
They were less than subtle about it, but Charlie seemed none the wiser.
Eagerly chowing down on the burger in his hands.
Sam fought an eye roll. It was far from the first time it had happened, and who could blame them?
Charlie had really grown into his features.
The once awkward set of his jaw had morphed into a sharp jawline that Sam sometimes wondered if he could cut someone with it if he wasn’t careful.
It was barely hidden by the thick five o’clock shadow that almost never went away.
Even down to how that growth spurt he hit when they were kids had made him more like an NFL linebacker than the gangly-limbed child he once was.
Yeah, Charlie was an attractive guy, so she couldn’t blame those girls for staring.
She just hated the light burning sensation in her chest whenever it happened.
“Oh, by the way,” she said, “my phone number changed again. I’ll text you the new number in a bit.”
Charlie scrunched his eyebrows as he swallowed. “Why’d you change your number again? Isn’t this like the third time you’ve changed it recently?”
“I’ve just been indecisive about the phone service I wanted to stick with, and they keep making me change my number every time I go to a new provider. Now, tell me about your conference. How was it?” she asked quickly before he questioned her.
He shrugged, the muscles of his shoulder rising enough that it raised the sleeves of his T-shirt and deposited it further up his arm. The light and breezy material was a stark contrast to the muscles that laid underneath.
Damn, she really needed to take him up on going to the gym.
“It was alright,” he said with an absent wave of his hand as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.
“It was mostly a bunch of presentations on earnings and projections, though I did manage to sneak into the table discussion they were having on some of the new technology they want us to try out next quarter.”
“Anything that interested you?” Sam shoved another handful of fries into her mouth.
Charlie, having taken an enormous bite from his burger, held up a finger as he chewed, causing her to laugh. A laugh that was quickly cut off when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
She froze for a moment before pulling it out long enough to see a new text message appear on the screen. It was from another unknown number, so she immediately silenced her notifications and shoved it back into her pocket before she could see the content.
She knew who it likely was but didn’t want to deal with that right now.
Charlie shrugged again, thankfully not seeing the exchange. “Not particularly, but I work in the lab most of the time, so I’ll only see the implementation of these things. I should probably at least be familiar with them.”
She swallowed down a few gulps of her drink before continuing. “That makes sense. Did you do anything else while you were out there?”
“Not really,” Charlie answered. “I went to eat with a few of the other guys at some of the restaurants at our hotel. It was a packed schedule, so we didn’t get to sneak out much.”
“You didn’t check out that book convention you mentioned before?”
He shook his head. “Nah, any time someone tried to sneak away, one of the managers would drag us back unfortunately.”
Charlie’s curiosity about her work never seemed to diminish, despite the years it had been since she’d published that first book.
It was understandable given the disparity between their professions—a clash of creativity versus practicality.
Her, the novelist, and him, the computer engineer.
Yet his interest extended beyond the boundaries of careers and even went beyond their friendship.
A dedicated reader himself, Charlie devoured mystery novels like his life depended on it, which only happened to include the ones she’d written. At least according to him.
“I’m sorry, Charlie, I know you were looking forward to it,” Sam said earnestly, seeing the disappointment flash in his eyes, an emotion that betrayed his smile.
“Well, I wasn’t there with who I would’ve wanted to go with, so it’s no big deal,” he replied, throwing a wink at her. “Anyway, are you going to tell me about whatever it is going on with your book stuff, or am I gonna have to drag it out of you?”
Sam gestured with her hand as she quickly chewed. “I have a loose idea of something that I want to start working on, though I still don’t know the plot or anything like that. It’s completely different from what I’m used to writing, so it’ll definitely be a fun challenge.”
Charlie chuckled. “I’m waiting with bated breath.”
“I’ve decided to write my first smut novel,” she announced, waggling her eyebrows for dramatic effect but making sure she kept her volume down, so the people around them didn’t overhear.
Charlie raised a thick brow at her. “Very nice, MacMillian. Sex sells. Have you ever written anything like that before?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, no. Angel and I brainstormed a few different genres I could try, and when she suggested a smutty romance novel, it just sort of clicked.”
“Question, does watching porn count as research for something like that?”
Sam buried her face in her hands, peeking through her fingers to see Charlie watching her with amusement, those dimples of his on full display with that cocky smile of his. “Oh my God, you are such a guy.”