Chapter Thirty-Three #2
Perry was finishing a dedicated rendition of “I’m the Only One” by Melissa Etheridge.
Her voice was surprisingly good. I sank into the bench and squinted to see if Charlie and Kristen were still standing where I left them, but I only saw Kristen.
I followed her eyes as she watched Charlie try holding the mic in one hand and his drink in the other.
“One sec, guys,” he said into the mic, then jogged over to where I was sitting.
“Can you hold this for me?”
I caught Kristen’s eye as he walked back toward the small stage. I wondered if she had wanted this to be her night to reconnect with Charlie.
“Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me . . .”
I felt tiny goose bumps form on my arms. Charlie could sing, too, but in a different way from Perry. It was like watching someone who’d spent years perfecting an impression of one of America’s greatest folk voices. He knew every note by heart and went for each one.
When he finished, I jumped up for a standing ovation.
“That was like something straight out of America’s Got Talent,” Perry gushed.
“Jeez, Per, I always wondered if you hated me, but now I know,” he said, sitting down to catch his breath.
“Kristen ordered a round of birthday cake shots. Last ones, I swear.”
I knew one more shot would take me straight to blacking out in a cab.
Charlie caught the look on my face. “No more shots for us. But maybe we’ll do a birthday duet just for you.”
He looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
“Only if I get to choose the song!” Perry demanded.
Kristen’s shots came out as Bonnie Raitt came on. We both burst out laughing. Charlie coaxed me, barefoot, onto the stage. We were at that part of the night where neither of us had enough self-awareness to wonder if we looked stupid. We took turns belting the chorus while Charlie played air guitar.
The song finished, and Charlie high-fived me. My face hurt from smiling.
Perry’s last song came on, and she squealed all the way to the stage.
We both collapsed onto the bench and leaned against the wall.
“That was fun,” he said between sips of water.
I nodded, feeling like my face didn’t know how to do anything but smile. He looked over at me and laughed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this smiley.”
“Maybe you’ve just never seen me after this many drinks.”
“You were pretty toasted that night in the Catskills.”
“We didn’t have shots.”
“Think you’d beat me in Cards Against Humanity right now?”
“For sure.”
I stared ahead at Perry singing “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.
“She’s really good,” I gushed.
“She thinks I have a crush on you. She texted me this a few minutes ago.”
He took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.
Sam is awesome. I can feel ST a mile away
I turned my head to the side. “I’m scared to ask,” I said, handing him the phone back.
“Sexual tension.”
“Is there?” I asked, feeling like the room was spinning but in a pleasant way.
“Is there what?”
I nodded toward his phone.
He chuckled. “I can only speak for myself here.”
“And?”
“Sure.”
“Just tonight?”
“I think you can answer that one.”
It was difficult to process so many thoughts at once. It was as if by playing the role of his date, my brain had forgotten the danger of crossing a line with Charlie.
“Probably,” I said quietly.
Neither of us said anything. I could feel heat coming from my bare shoulder next to his.
“I’m really glad you came with me tonight,” he finally said.
I took a deep breath. “So what now?”
“Another duet?”
“Don’t tempt me. That was just a warm-up.”
“It was nice seeing you, Char,” I heard Kristen say as she waved and walked toward the door.
“You too,” Charlie said halfheartedly after her.
It was obvious that in Kristen’s world, I was going home with Charlie. I felt a faint sense of pride thinking that was what Charlie wanted her to think.
I turned to face him directly. “What happens Monday morning?”
He studied my face and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. The familiarity of it made me shiver, and I could tell he noticed.
“I guess I’ll treat you to Joe’s. It’s probably my turn.”
I never imagined Charlie being close enough to feel his breath on my face. I didn’t want to move away.
“But don’t you think . . .”
I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
“Want to get some fresh air? I keep thinking someone’s going to put on NSYNC or some other garbage song that’s going to turn you into a pumpkin.”
Charlie signaled to Perry that we were leaving. She came over and hugged me tightly.
“I hope we see much more of you,” she said affectionately.
I fiddled with the buttons on my coat as we waited for the elevator to reach the twelfth floor.
For what felt like the tenth time that night, I was acutely aware of my body. My heart was racing. I could hear both of us breathing. I felt shy and confident and hot and cold.
The doors opened, and we moved wordlessly into the elevator, each of us standing with our back pressed against the wall behind us. I was afraid of what would happen if any inch of me shifted forward. I could feel him looking at me as the elevator started to descend.
“Sam . . .”
Whatever anchor was holding me dissolved, and I suddenly felt his hands on my face, my hair, my shoulders.
I bit my lip and searched his eyes for a signal.
I felt his hands move to my lower back and press me against him.
His mouth grazed mine, and I pulled him toward me, feeling the weight of his body against me.
I closed my eyes and let myself kiss him, softly at first and then with an intensity I didn’t recognize.
The elevator opened. Neither of us moved.
“You’re shaking,” he whispered.
“I don’t want to stop kissing you.”
“Then don’t.”
He hit a random floor and cupped my face in his hands as he kissed me even more deeply than the first time. I could feel my heart pounding against his chest as the doors closed and he pressed me gently against the elevator wall.
“I want you,” he whispered, taking his lips off mine and brushing them softly against my neck.
My whole body was on fire.
He hit the stop button and stood back to look at me.
“I want you too,” I said huskily, not recognizing the sound of my voice.
He bent down and kissed me again gently, then hungrily as his hands firmly traced my shoulders, my arms, my back, my hips.
I watched him kneel down, his hands running over the sides of my legs down to my ankles, gently taking the hem of my dress and slowly pushing it up past my knees.
He kissed the outside of each knee, and I shivered.
He looked up at me as he carefully pushed the dress farther up toward my thighs, then my hips.
I met his gaze as he deftly held the dress up over my thighs with one hand and moved my thong to the side with the other.
I opened my legs slightly and watched him softly taste me.
I gasped as I closed my eyes and tilted my head back against the wall.
All thoughts stopped, and my body took over.
I came so intensely I almost couldn’t hold myself up.
“Take me home,” I whispered.
He took me in his arms and held me against him.
“I really, really want to.”
He stood back and looked at me. His eyes were bright. I resisted the urge to melt back into him.
“I want to take you home,” he echoed, taking a deep breath. “But not like this. I want it to be different with me.”
I nodded wordlessly, feeling a swell of affection as I realized what he meant.
He reset the elevator button.
“Can I come over tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
He put his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. I was struck by how strong his arms were. I reached up to kiss him one more time and told myself we’d figure the rest out later.