20. Charli
CHARLI
Am I completely desperate? I must be. Last night, I asked him to stay over and he slept next to me in bed all night and didn’t even try anything, not a nipple graze, not a butt grab. Granted, I was a hot mess, after telling him I fell apart from Tyler’s text.
I did wake up in the night with his massive boner pressed into my backside. It could’ve been a sleep hard-on, but I’ll take it as a sign that he’s at least attracted to me.
It doesn’t need to be awkward between us. Oliver gives me a weird look when we stroll into the café together at five till seven. I mouth, later, to him before I fix breakfast for Gage.
He and Oliver chat about the weather before Gage takes his breakfast to go. As soon as he’s out of sight, Oliver pulls me to the break room, leaving Bailey in front. He pushes me through the door and practically slams it shut.
I spin to face him. “Look, before you start, nothing happened!” I brace my arms across my chest.
“Then why did you two arrive together at seven in the morning?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.
I take a deep breath and back up to sit at the table. I hang my head in my hands. “Tyler texted me that he met someone else and I kind of freaked out a bit.”
He doesn't back down. “And?”
“I asked Gage to stay over.”
“More . . .” He taps his toe at me.
“We just cuddled and slept. He didn’t try anything. He must not like me.”
“Charlotte O’Brien, we talked about this. You were going to communicate with Gage like an adult. What’s he supposed to think? The night you danced, you saw Tyler first. Now, Tyler texts you about meeting someone and you ask him to stay over.”
I stuff my hands into my apron pocket and stare at my feet. “I guess I do sound pretty bad.”
He starts pacing the small room. “How would you feel if the roles were reversed?”
“I’d feel like crap.” I stand still as a statue. “So you know how this is my summer to focus on myself?”
“Sort of, when are you going to admit you're dating Gage?”
“We’re not dating. We’re friends.”
“You and I are friends.” He adjusts his dark-rimmed glasses. “I do not look at you with puppy dog eyes, hold your hand, pay for you every time we go out, and cuddle you all night.”
“Well, shit, when you put it that way . . .”
“Do you like him or are you just stringing him along to make yourself feel better after Tyler?” Right in with the kill, Oliver.
I cross my arms and glare at him.
“You know I don’t sugar coat it.” He waits for me expectantly.
“I do like him. He’s easygoing, up for anything, really cute, and also leaving here soon.”
“But . . .” He lifts his eyebrows at me while shaking his head.
“But, I’m afraid,” I admit.
“It’s ok to be afraid. You have to be honest with him too. He deserves it. He’s a good guy.”
“He is good.” I can feel myself smiling again at nothing, just thinking about him.
“Look, he’s my friend now too. And he deserves better. Do something special for him. And tell him you’re interested in more.”
“I should.”
He pauses at the door. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Shoot.”
“Now that Reid and I are living together, I’ve been saving up more.”
Oh God. I can’t do this without him.
“What do you think of us, me, investing here? In the café?”
I blink at him in utter shock.
He shakes his head and turns. “It’s okay, I understand if you want to stay sole owner.”
“No, that’s not it at all.” I stand and cross the small space to him, placing my hands on his shoulders. “It would be amazing.”
His eyes get watery. “Really?”
“Really.”
I wrap him in a big hug and he pats my back.
“We’ve come a long way from me living in your spare bedroom when my parents retired early and moved to Florida,” he says, his voice muffled.
“Yeah, and eating grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup every week.”
“What do we do next?” he asks.
I pull back and brush my hair out of my face. “We can talk to Ian and do the lawyer stuff.”
He nods. “Okay.”
I freeze with an idea.
“What?”
“We could expand to another location.”
His mouth hangs open before he recovers. “You’re right, we could.”
* * *
The next night it’s pouring rain, like Gage said it would be, so I take Oliver’s advice and make plans for us and vow to tell Gage how I feel.
He comes over in the evening so we can watch a movie at my apartment.
I wear soft cotton shorts and a tank top with only a bralette underneath, on purpose.
I spray on some vanilla perfume and leave my hair down. Maybe this will be it.
Me: I ordered the food. Can you pick it up on the way over?
Gage: Sure. See you in 15. Need anything else?
Me: Just you.
Gage: ;)
I’m so anxious, I wait for him at the door.
When I see headlights flash in the rain I grab onto the door handle tightly.
My outdoor light illuminates him in the driveway.
Light-colored athletic shorts hang down under his raincoat.
He jogs up to my place, skipping through the puddles, his head down to avoid the wet weather.
He looks up at me when I pop the door open for him.
His eyes flick from my chest to my face twice before he says, “Hey.”
I want to pull him into a hug, but instead I reach out to grab the bags, but he brushes past me. A shiver passes over me as little droplets of water make a splatter on my top. I absently rub a hand across my chest as he turns to take off his coat in the entryway.
“Want me to take those?”
His eyes widen at my tiny outfit, but he catches himself staring and looks at his feet.
“Um, sorry. It’s pouring out there.”
Maybe I should throw on something else. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah. What did you order?” He hangs his coat and kicks off his sneakers.
“Lo mein, spring rolls, and sweet and sour chicken.”
“Sounds delicious. It smelled so good in the truck on the way here.”
We fill our plates with the steaming food. “Oh nice, they added chopsticks. Do you want a pair?”
“Can I just use a fork?”
I put a hand on my hip and shake my head at him. “Come on, try it for me. I’ll help you.”
“I’ll do my best,” he says with heat in his deep brown eyes.
I lick my lips and pass him a pair from the bag. The nerves start in my belly with the way he’s looking at me. “What do you want to watch?”
He fiddles with his chopsticks again. “Whatever you want is fine.”
“How about The Notebook or The Princess Bride?” I wait for his reaction, my insides fluttering.
“Two good choices.” He leans back, but his eyes don’t leave my face. “I say The Princess Bride, there’s more action.”
Maybe we’ll see some action tonight too. “Perfect.” I queue the movie up as we settle on the couch to start.
He stabs his noodles with the chopsticks and can’t pick up any. “Okay, time for a lesson.”
I cover my mouth as I laugh while I’m chewing. He stares at me expectantly. “So the one on top needs to be a little more like this.” I show him mine. “Then you can move it around with your fingers. See?”
He crosses his arms. “Let’s see you pick up some noodles.”
I deftly gather a bite and bring it to his mouth. He presses his lips to the wooden stick as I slide it out, eyes trained on his full mouth. I lift my eyebrows at him as he chews.
Then he licks his lips. “Thanks.”
“Now you do it yourself.”
He leans down in concentration, the tiny chopsticks looking small in his large hand. He tries twice, curses under his breath, and finally gets a small pile of noodles for himself. He smiles at me triumphantly before eating them.
I grab his bicep as our legs brush together. “See, you can use them fine with a little more practice.”
“Whatever, I’m only doing this for you,” he answers before winking at me. “All you have to do is ask me.”
I chew my lip at what he just said. I admitted to him that I was trying to speak up for myself when we were lying in my bed the other morning.
Once we’re done eating, we take a break to put the dishes in the sink. I go to the bathroom and emergency text Andi and Sam.
Me: SOS. Gage and I are watching a movie and he hasn’t made a move.
Sam: Did you tell him you want a move?
Me: Not with words.
Andi: Just take your clothes off.
Sam: Too much.
Andi: Look, Rex and I are trying out a new couples sex toy in a while. This is not an SOS.
Me: Who’s Rex?
Andi: My Taekwando Instructor and fuck buddy.
Sam: I’m reading my book.
Andi: You do you. Good luck, Charli. Whip out the tits. You have nice ones.
Sam: Try talking to him. <3 Love you. I’m sure he likes you.
When I return, he’s sitting in the corner of the couch with his feet on the coffee table. Instead of sitting on the other side of the couch, I scoot in, right next to him.
“Uh, come here,” he says, spreading his arm so I can rest against him.
“I’m chilly.” I lean across him and he puts his arm around my shoulder then down to my side, as I rest my hand on his chest.
“Better?” he asks, his voice a low rumble. His heart thumps away at a steady rate.
“Yeah.” I inhale his scent: beachy mixed with his cedarwood soap. The longing I have for him is starting to feel like more than just lust. I love this part of our friendship and I don’t want to lose it if things change between us.
Despite all the cuddling, nothing happens. We watch the entire movie. I know he’s adjusting his shorts with his other hand, but he doesn’t make a fucking move for the whole show. He plays with my hair, but that’s it.
What do I have to do? Whip my top off like Andi suggested and straddle him, then shove my tits in his face?
If he didn’t go for that I’d be mortified.
For some reason I can’t bring myself to ask him for more.
I was ignored for so long that it’s hard to get the confidence to put myself out there for fear of getting let down.
I feel so awkward about it, I guess I’m being immature.
The movie isn’t too long and it’s not that late when it finishes. I sit up and trail my hand across his thigh. “I could go for some cookies. Want to make your favorite?”
Our upper legs are still pressed together and he looks a little sleepy. “Yeah, whatever you want.” He smiles at me lazily.