Chapter 4 #2
'Riley, I’d like to be honest with you, in case I gave you the wrong idea.
What happened the other night—it’s probably good we got it out of our system.
But I do not wish to pursue anything further and I’d like to emphasize that my romantic preference excludes women.
There is nothing wrong with what you are.
I don’t think any less of you and I have no judgment whatsoever, but I hope you understand, and we can continue our collaboration as friends. '
There. Crisis averted. She handled that really well. And she isn’t at all nervous about the three dots that appear in their message thread, not even when they disappear after a minute, quickly reappear, and then disappear again.
Thirty minutes later, her phone dings. Riley’s text contains three words:
'Loud and clear.'
She plans to stay the entire next day in bed too, but Gabi interferes with those plans by sending her a text informing her that she’s out on the porch.
Charlotte silently curses her friend’s caring nature but throws on a robe and waddles to the door.
She’s about to crack a joke when she swings the door open, but Gabi’s don’t fuck with me-stare stops her dead in her tracks.
“Have you been outside at all this week?” she asks sternly.
“Uhm—”
“Put on some clothes, we’re going for a walk.”
“Gabi, I’m sick—”
“I don’t care if I have to lift you over my shoulder in that robe. You have 30 seconds.”
Her friend legitimately scares her sometimes, but her brain is too foggy to fight her, so she complies.
They walk to a nearby park, where they stroll in silence for a while. When they are out of earshot from any nearby strangers, Gabi opens the conversation.
“So… how are you feeling?”
Charlotte sniffs loudly. “I’m… recovering. Thanks.”
“Still some flu symptoms?”
“Yeah. It’s really been going—”
“If you’re about to say it’s really been going around, Charlotte I swear—”
“Fine!” Charlotte throws up her hands. When an awkward silence follows, she forces out a cough to prove her point.
“Sucks that you got it so bad.”
“Mm.”
“Because… that’s all it is. right?”
For the first time, Gabi turns her head in an attempt to make eye contact, but Charlotte keeps staring straight ahead.
“Yeah.”
“There’s… nothing more going on?”
“Nope.” Charlotte plops her lips on the p.
“Good,” Gabi nods slowly. “Good. Because, you know, you really had me worried there for a sec—”
“Fucking hell Gabi, if you’ve got something to say, then say it.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me!” Gabi snaps. Charlotte whips her head around to look at her.
“Oh, and you know this, how, exactly? No—don’t say it. You can’t help it you're such an empath,” she fires back, childishly mocking her on the last word.
“I might be an empath, but you’re a nuclear factory.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
They come to a halt in front of a park bench; Gabi suggests they sit down. Charlotte follows sheepishly.
“When you feel down, Charlotte, everyone and everything within a three mile radius can feel it,” Gabi carefully explains.
When Charlotte wants to interrupt, she holds up her hand.
“I’m not saying there’s anything you can do about it, or that it’s your fault, but…
when you’re in your feelings, you’re like… really in your feelings.”
The corner of Charlotte’s lip jerks up. “So you’re telling me to stop being a gloomy ass bitch to stop distracting the neighbors?”
“Your sense of humor isn’t gonna save you this time, girl.” Charlotte’s jaw drops in mock offense as her hand flies to her chest. “I’m worried. We’re not gonna leave this bench until you tell me what’s going on.”
A sigh. “I hope you packed lunch because we’re gonna be here a while then.”
Minutes pass without either of them saying anything, until Gabi finds the courage to ask:
“Does this… is it possible this has anything to do with you and Riley?”
“What? Of course not. Why would it?” Charlotte responds calmly, really trying to mean it.
“Then why did your eye twitch when I said her name?”
“What the fuck? No it didn’t!”
“No, it didn’t, but that reaction tells me more than enough.”
Charlotte throws her head back, admitting defeat. “Fine. What more do you want me to say?”
Her eyes lock onto a robin perched on a tree branch above her.
“Did… did Riley do something bad to you? Should I talk to Lou?”
She carefully chews on Gabi’s words, trying to figure out how she’s going to explain what’s kept her up—or down—all week, when it suddenly clicks what Gabi’s implying.
Charlotte shoots up like an arrow and finds her gaze, horrified. “No!” she says firmly. “God, no, no, no. It’s not like that. It’s nothing like that.”
Or is it? she wonders for a brief moment, but she shakes the thought away immediately. No matter how she feels about it, everything that had happened had been completely consensual. And the rest of it—like being annoying and having a stupid face—those things are no criminal offenses.
Which is why it’s not really an issue at all, she suddenly realizes. Sure, the kiss had happened, and it made complete sense at the time. But then she’d gotten home, realized it wasn’t worth repeating, and so she’d handled the situation like an adult. Problem solved, really.
Something pops in her ears and someone turns the light on in her head. Just like that, her worries don’t make sense anymore.
She takes Gabi’s hand and gives her a squeeze. “Gabi, I need you to really listen to what I’m about to say, okay?” Her friend nods once.
“Okay. The… minor incident with Riley, it’s handled. You were right, something was bothering me, but Riley and I talked it out like grown women and we’re good. No need to pry, just trust me.”
Gabi leans back a bit, suspicious of this sudden change in demeanor. “Uhm, okay?”
“God, I feel so much better!” Charlotte sighs happily, as the feeling of the dark cloud that had possessed her mind for the better part of the week, dissipates. “Thanks!”
“You didn’t tell me anything! I said nothing!”
“Which is how I like you best,” Charlotte grins, and she pulls her in for a tight hug.
Charlotte gets back to work the next day. Riley slowly disappears to the back of her mind as she focuses on making up for lost time with her clients. She’s way better at talking to other people about their problems anyway, and it makes for a nice distraction.
Not that she needs it. Certainly not when the day of Lou’s party draws closer and Riley texts her a date, time and an address. And definitely not when it’s the third week of February all of a sudden, and she finds herself typing said address into her Uber app.
During the ride over, she reminds herself of what she had concluded earlier: there is no problem at all. She will see Riley again, it will be a civil reunion, and they will make sure Lou and Gabi have the best time ever.
Except, that’s not what happens. Upon meeting the group in front of what looks like an art studio, having greeted Lou and Gabi with a warm embrace, Charlotte’s eyes lock onto Riley’s.
She ignores the uncomfortable summersault her stomach is performing and decides she is going to be the bigger person and hug her too, but Riley just acknowledges her presence with a curt nod and turns away from her. What the fuck?
“Alright, looks like everyone’s here, let’s go inside,” Riley announces, and the group follows her.
They hang their coats up in the hallway and Charlotte can’t help but chuckle at the stark contrast in clothing from their previous gathering.
Everybody looked like a supermodel the night they went to the strip club.
Today, for Lou’s party, most of the women are wearing old clothes, like stained jeans or sweatpants with holes.
Charlotte had found a pair of jeans in the back of her closet that proudly displayed both of her knees—it was a different time back in the 00’s, even for her—that she'd paired with a faded but comfy sweater.
Riley is sporting denim overalls and screw her for making them look fashionable, because she almost makes it feel like a setup.
An older lady with curly gray hair and a colorful patched cardigan guides them toward one of the bigger rooms. Sculptures and paintings are scattered around the room and on the walls, and in the middle of the studio stands a long table.
As everybody scrambles to find a seat, Charlotte jumps into action too.
There’s no need for an encore of what happened at the strip club and she has no desire to be placed next to Riley again.
She quickly claims a corner seat and barely suppresses a sigh of relief when she’s able to tug on Gabi’s sleeve and yank her down into the seat next to her.
Good. At least that’s settled. No Riley—is what she would think, if the last available seat doesn’t happen to be across from her and now she isn’t just near Riley, but also has to look at her.
“Are we gonna do a pottery class or something?” Lou asks her, who’s sitting next to Riley and across from Gabi.
“Or something,” Riley replies innocently.
“Hello ladies! My name’s Rita. Which one of you is the lucky bride to be?” The lady with the cardigan stands at the head of the table and smacks down a slab of clay in front of her.
Lou and Gabi coyly glance at each other, and then put their hands up in sync.
“Oh,” Rita says surprisedly, and then it clicks. “Oh! Oh, well this is definitely going to be interesting then. Anyhoo, welcome to my humble little studio, and I’m honored you chose my penis sculpting workshop for your bachelorette party.”
“Penis sculpting workshop?” Lou cries out, sounding as astonished as Charlotte feels, and the other women around them completely lose it. Wait—are they in on it?