Chapter 8 #2
She knew exactly what her stomach was craving at this time of day, her mouth watering when her eyes landed on the bowl of strawberries sitting off to the side. Still bright and inviting despite having sat in there for a few days.
There would never be a time that Sam would tire of strawberries. In her opinion, they were the superior fruit of choice by a mile. Juicy and perfectly plump, the best blend of a sharp citrus punch and a delicate sweetness that was hard to find in other foods.
Her collection of strawberry-inspired items had grown over the years, something she’d started back when she was a child.
Though it had taken a hiatus in her time living with her aunt’s family, her collection had grown quite extensive at this point, and she always felt like she was on the hunt for more.
She eagerly pulled the bowl out of the fridge and grabbed the can of whipped cream from the side door, another staple that she ensured she had in reserves.
The bitter sweetness of the strawberry combined with the artificially sweetened cream. Natural deliciousness that took weeks to cultivate and grow smothered in goo with more fake chemicals in it than she cared to think about. The irony.
After double checking to make sure she locked her front door, a habit she’d recently developed, she settled back into the comfort of her bed, placing the bowl in her lap and squirting a healthy portion of cream into the bowl.
She scooped up the first strawberry she laid eyes on and let her teeth sink into the sweet delight.
Fighting a moan of pure delight as the gush of flavor hit her tongue.
Without thinking, she grabbed her phone with her free hand and scrolled through to one of her recent chats with Charlie. Her thumbs tapped at the keys as she took another bite of strawberry.
Aunt called today. Celebrating with a bowl of strawberries and cream
She tossed the phone back onto the bed, not expecting to hear back until later. Charlie had his gym bag tucked away in his car for after work, so she figured he’d be busy for a while longer until a sudden notification alert dinged her attention back to her phone.
Someone needs to put that woman on a leash
Preferably with a muzzle
Sam smiled down at her phone.
If my uncle had the balls to, I think he would, but she’s had him on a leash of his own for far too many years to start now
You alright?
The pattern felt familiar at this point, unfortunately. Phone call with her aunt, as no one else in her family bothered to talk to her at this point, bowl of strawberries, text Charlie or Angel for a sanity check, rinse and repeat.
I will be after I demolish this bowl of strawberries
I can beat ’em up for you if you want?
Sam laughed wryly, feebly attempting to prevent herself from spitting the bite of strawberry out of her mouth.
No physical violence required at this time
The immediate offer for violence should be concerning but I’m not complaining
You know me, all bark and no bite
Ok, mostly bark, some bite
That aside though, you sure you’re ok?
Yeah, you just know how she can get under my skin when she starts ranting
The fact that Charlie’s parents had a Christmas stocking for her from how much time she spent at their house, just to avoid being around her own family, said enough.
It didn’t hurt that Charlie’s mom and her mom had started to become pretty good friends before her death, so she had an open-door policy for Sam that was more appreciated than Sam thought she even knew.
I know, don’t sweat whatever she said — you are a much better person than she or that little shit Tommy could ever dream of being
She smiled down at her phone once again, feeling a sense of calm wash over her. She couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly how he did it, but Charlie always seemed to know exactly what to say at times like this. Though, the years of practice probably didn’t hurt.
Thanks Charlie
Anytime
Are you working from the office tomorrow or remote?
Remote, meet in the coffee shop?
Yep!
My offer for violence still stands, though, if you change your mind?
Your aunt deserves a firm boot up her ass
Knowing her, she’d probably like it
Kinky
“So, I’ve given our arrangement some thought,” Sam announced as she plopped into the seat opposite Charlie’s the following morning, “and I think I have a plan.”
She’d been up most of the night coming with ideas—to the point that she’d only closed her eyes for a few minutes before her alarm had gone off. But she was too excited for that to bother her today, her mind racing with all the things she was going to write.
When Charlie had knocked on her door, so they could walk to the cafe together, she’d instead yanked him into her apartment and shoved him toward her couch. They had a lot to talk about, and she didn’t know if she’d want the people wandering in and out of the coffee shop overhearing them.
Charlie blinked a few times in surprise as he landed on the couch. “Well, good morning to you too.”
“Good morning,” she said quickly as she grabbed her notepad, “I was up last night working on my outline and…”
“Did you even get any sleep?” Charlie interrupted as his eyes narrowed at her, as if the bags under her eyes were large enough to spot from space. “And don’t bother lying. I hear the coffee pot brewing.”
She’d put the pot on only a few minutes before his arrival, thinking she had more time before they left.
“I was too excited to get much sleep, but that’s besides the point—”
“Coffee first. I’m not sure either of us are awake enough for this yet,” he interrupted again, moving to stand before she pushed him back down. She hurried into the kitchen to beat him there, with more energy in her system now simply with the promise of caffeine.
While her little coffee pot was nothing compared to the fancy drinks from their favorite shop, she couldn’t help but inhale the delightfully bitter smell drifting up from the now-steaming pot.
A contented sigh escaped her before she reached for two mugs from the cabinet, laced the handles through her fingers, and grabbed the pot with her free hand.
Charlie yawned from the couch, stretching out as she placed the items on the coffee table in front of him. A hint of his stomach showed as the fabric of his shirt lifted to reveal the sprinkling of hair leading down to his…
She blinked a few times, feeling her face heat as she quickly placed a cup in front of him and poured the liquid into it for him. Turning back quickly, she poured some milk into her own cup, knowing Charlie took his black.
“Alright,” Charlie said as she came to sit in the lounge chair opposite him, “what did you want to talk about? You look about ready to bust at the seams.”
She shot a frown in his direction as she started flipping through her notepad. “You agreed to help me, so you’re gonna have to deal with all that comes with it.”
“Is this where I see the writer behind the curtain? I’ve seen you as you’ve written your other books, but are you going to pull a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on me? One minute, you’re your normal self, and the next, you’re jumping up on the table, declaring our next adventure?”
Her frown deepened. “You really love to hear yourself make a joke, don’t you?”
Charlie grinned. “Come on. That was funny.”
Her frown slipped a bit as she fought a smile. “Okay, only a little. But we’re officially fake dating, so I need you to take this seriously. I need to explain everything I’ve been thinking, and then we can set up some ground rules.”
“But—” Charlie started but was silenced when she raised her hand up, palm facing him.
“I came up with a rough plot last night that I think will work really nicely as a romance. I’m going to just give a general idea of what I’m thinking for the book, and then we can discuss the nitty-gritty for our end.
Now, the plot is gonna revolve around my two main characters meeting in a coffee shop and hitting it off—”
“What do you know, we do that all the time. Done.”
She ignored him and continued. “They’re going to go their separate ways after exchanging numbers but expect the other to call first, so they go a while without talking.
But then they’re going to both be invited to a mutual friend’s wedding that they’ll be involved in, and they’ll end up being paired together for the wedding… ”
Charlie raised an eyebrow at her. “Wedding stuff? Is there someone we know getting married soon to help with that? Or are we taking an impromptu trip to Vegas?”
“Well, no, obviously, I’m just telling you about the story, so you have an idea of what I’m working with and so we can prepare dates and stuff.”
“Yeah? Like what?” he asked, leaning forward to take a peek at her notepad.
“I mean a lot of different stuff, but I haven’t decided on what activities they’re gonna do just yet. I just have a framework of what I want, and I’ll fill in the blanks as we go.”
“I see,” he said, looking a little more amused than she cared for at this time of day.
“I think I’m going to have it be a destination wedding to some tropical island for a couple of weeks, so—”
“I don’t know if I can afford a trip to Vegas and the Bahamas,” Charlie interrupted again. “You’re gonna have to pick one.”
“Shush! Let me finish!”
He chuckled, grabbing his cup and taking a healthy swig before holding his hands up in the air in defeat. “Sorry. Please continue.”
“Anyway,” she huffed, “the purpose of it being a destination wedding is that they’ll have to be around each other on a regular basis in between wedding stuff. They’re gonna be forced to share a room together so that it’s forced proximity and all that.”
Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, an unexpectedly roguish glint in his eyes that caused her chest to flutter. “Are you suggesting a slumber party, Sam?”
She swallowed as her entire body clenched. How the hell was she already struggling with this? No, she had to focus.