Chapter Eight #3
“Private?” he suggested, nipping at her lips.
He took her hand, tugging her out the door and back down the hall to that bank of offices.
Charlie had no idea where they were going, but Julian seemed to know the way.
He grabbed a doorknob, twisted and dragged her through, closing the door behind them.
The flick of the lock started her heart racing.
Julian twisted the blinds over the door. The room was dim, almost too dark to see anything but the hazy shape of furniture. He collapsed onto a small sofa, pulling Charlie down with him.
She wasted no time climbing into his lap and kissed her way down his throat.
He let his hands wander across her back and over hips, kneading her thighs. Charlie gasped into his mouth, the motion familiar. She ground down against him, and that was familiar, too. She pulled back a bit, breathing hard.
“You don’t have to stop,” Julian said.
He took her hips, guiding her movements more purposefully, and Charlie’s eyes fluttered closed. She remembered this. She burned for this.
“Let me make you feel good,” he whispered in her ear.
He’d been so wonderful at it. She bet he still was.
Charlie’s hands fell to his shoulders, anchoring herself. Her lips grazed his jaw lazily. Julian repositioned, getting his thigh between her legs. She rocked against him, and he flexed, putting pressure on all the right places.
A moan bled between her lips.
“That’s it,” he whispered.
She trembled in anticipation, imagining all the ways in which he might make her come undone. She wanted him so badly he might not even need to touch her, but she wanted him to. His fingers. His tongue. She wanted everything.
His hands inched beneath her shirt, counting her ribs with his fingertips, grazing the underside of her bra. Charlie’s head grew fuzzy. The haze was pleasantly warm.
But then there were voices in the hall, muttering about popcorn and the beeping microwave.
“Shit,” Charlie said, her eyes flying open. “We didn’t finish.”
Julian smirked at her.
“I meant the popcorn,” she muttered, almost breathless.
“I think they’ve already figured that out.”
“We should stop,” she said.
“We should.”
He dropped his hands, and she stilled her hips, feeling wholly unsatisfied. She grumbled, climbing out of his lap.
“Wait,” he said, dragging her back down. “Do you want to come?”
Her breath escaped her. She nodded, so close to him she could feel the stubble on his cheek.
“Okay,” he said simply, sliding his hand down the front of her pants, inching his fingers past her underwear and the wet heat that gathered there.
Charlie cried out as he dragged his fingers against her clit.
“Shh,” he whispered against her lips. “Hush.”
She nodded, biting down on her lip as he found a rhythm that worked, pressing his fingers against her. It was fast and frenzied, and Charlie came, shuddering in his arms.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she hissed.
“Good,” he said as her hips jumped. “Gentle now. I remember how sensitive you are after.” He pulled his hand out of her pants slowly.
Charlie came back to her senses, holding him close. She could feel his eyelashes against her cheek.
“We should probably get back out there before Maggie and Harriet send the patrols,” Julian whispered.
Charlie nodded, climbing out of his lap and gesturing to the door. “I’m gonna…”
“Yeah,” he said, leaning his head back on the couch. “I’ll be there in a second. Once everything is behaving.”
Charlie fought off a tiny smile as she slipped through the door and smoothed her hands down her shirt, making her way back to the auditorium. It felt like everyone knew what they’d just done, but that was impossible. Right? She tucked her hair behind her ears.
The projector was on, the big screen filled with an error message.
She spotted Gram sitting front and center with Maggie and Harriet. She hurried over and did her best not to acknowledge the moment Julian entered the room.
“Are you feeling okay?” Gram asked her, reaching for Charlie’s forehead. “You’re still looking a little flushed. You’re sure you aren’t coming down with a fever or something? It’s flu season.”
Charlie batted her hand away, sinking down in her seat. “I’m fine.”
She glanced up as Heather hurried across the stage.
“Hi, folks. Looks like we’re having some technical difficulties,” she said.
“I’ve put our more tech-savvy volunteers on the job, so things should be fixed in no time.
” She laughed uncertainly. “Until then, has anyone got any stand-up they want to run by an already gathered crowd?”
A few people tittered in response.
Then Julian called, “How about a song?”
Charlie twisted around, looking at him in confusion. He just winked at her.
“Be my guest,” Heather said, waving Julian up. “A joke, a song. I don’t think I’m in a position to deny, either.”
Julian hurried onto the stage. “Ladies and gentleman,” he called out.
Charlie shook her head. Please no. They weren’t ready for this kind of thing.
“I would like to invite you to enjoy the musical stylings of Glendale’s very own choir.”
Charlie glanced over her shoulder, taking stock of the room. The residents looked surprised but eager as Julian waved them up.
Gram elbowed Charlie out of her seat. “Go on. We need the choir director up there.”
“I thought your hip was sore?”
“It’s feeling much better.”
Charlie narrowed her eyes but allowed herself to be pushed along by Gram and Maggie. Harriet cajoled some of the less eager members toward the stage before waving to the crowd, hamming it up. Julian popped down to help wheel Frank up the handicap ramp.
“What are you doing?” Charlie said when she was close enough to Julian. “We didn’t rehearse for this!”
“I think this is called an impromptu performance.”
“Julian.”
“Can’t disappoint your fans.” He shot her a cheeky, dimpled grin.
“You are so annoying.”
“That’s not what you were thinking a few minutes ago.”
“Screw you,” she grumbled.
“I sort of wish you had.”
Charlie turned away before her entire body could light up like a Christmas tree.
It was only one orgasm. Get a hold of yourself.
But it was more than that. She knew it as she watched him rile up the crowd.
She’d let herself feel something for him again, and some part of her knew it was too late to stuff it back in the box.
She could try, but the truth was, she was falling, and she didn’t know where she would land.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Julian called. “Give it up for the Glendale Shakers!”
There was an abrupt round of applause.
Charlie turned to the choir. “Okay then,” she said, a finger pressed to either cheek, reminding them all to smile. “Let’s give them a show. And one…and two…and…”