by Haley Cass
Still, she was nothing if not reliable in a social situation, and she gamely quirked her mouth into a smile. “And how are you?”
Regan crossed her arms, leaning against the doorjamb as she sighed and opened her mouth to answer. Charlotte braced for it – for whatever harsh words might come her way – because encountering an angry Regan hadn’t even been in the realm of her thoughts. But people like Regan, as well as the assessing eyes of Katherine Spencer from earlier that day, came with the package of being Sutton’s friend.
Especially being Sutton’s friend who had slept with her. Just as Caleb and Dean, and her intense work schedule came along with being her friend.
But Regan snapped her mouth shut and rolled her eyes to send a look over her shoulder, somewhere into the apartment where Charlotte couldn’t see from her vantage point. Then she lowered her voice, “Look, let’s drop the pleasantries. Tell me this: what are your intentions with Sutton?”
A short, disbelieving laugh cut itself off in her throat as she shook her head. “Excuse me?”
Those were words she’d certainly never had aimed toward her. She was in somewhat of a state of disbelief that she was hearing them at all, but especially that she was hearing it from Regan Gallagher, who was somehow trying to stare her down.
“Your intentions. With Sutton.”
Despite the fact that Charlotte had dealt with some of the most intimidating politicians many times – her own grandmother was known to be one of the most intimidating! – she found herself actually impressed with the stare down she was receiving. Impressed by the very serious show of loyalty. Impressed, but she refused to be cowed by it.
Yes, she knew that there might still be lingering ramifications to deal with when it came to this whole situation, but she was certainly not going to engage in a serious discussion about that with Regan. She and Sutton had barely even spoken about what happened last night, which, Charlotte actually thought that they should at some point but she didn’t want to make Sutton panic even more.
So, no, she would definitely not be discussing it with Sutton’s friend.
Besides, it wasn’t as though there was anything to discuss with Regan. She wasn’t there to pick Sutton up for a date.
“My intention is to have dinner. A friendly dinner,” she stressed. She could feel the serious scrutiny Regan was giving her as eyes darker then her own raked up and down her face.
“I just want you to know that those who have mistreated Sutton in the past have experienced suffering at my hands. I might not look scary, but I have wrath,” she threatened.
It was actually threatening, which Charlotte commended her for. She wondered about those in Sutton’s past who had mistreated her, as she’d only heard small parts and put together a few vague conclusions of her own accord; she felt oddly satisfied that they’d suffered at the very least from Regan.
“I promise you that I have no intention of mistreating Sutton.”
It was the truth.
She thought that there might have been a modicum of approval in her gaze, but she couldn’t focus on it when she heard Sutton’s voice call out from somewhere in the apartment, “Regan? What are you doing?”
She couldn’t help the way her head perked up, peering over Regan’s shoulder.
Sutton blushed furiously as she came into view and she quickly turned to face Regan. “What were you doing, waiting by the door?”
Charlotte took the opportunity to hold back a groan, teeth digging into her bottom lip as honeyed brown eyes briefly rolled to the ceiling. Fuck. Me.
It really wasn’t a surprise, the hot and heavy slide of desire that rolled through her. Because she’d been attracted to Sutton for months, ever since they’d first met. The sheer magnitude of it wasn’t even surprising. Because she’d been so turned on, so ridiculously aroused by Sutton only the night before and Charlotte hadn’t been able to . . . work out her stress with Sutton the way she so wished she could have.
But god, Sutton wasn’t making this easy on her. She was still wearing those thickly black framed glasses that she’d been wearing earlier – which had given Charlotte a shock when she’d first seen her in the TA office. There was something about studious Sutton wearing her glasses with that long, vividly red braid pulled over her shoulder, in jeans and a loose sweater that was nearly hanging off one shoulder that really was working for Charlotte.
Last night, Sutton had been sexy – like, mouth-wateringly, stomach tied in knots hot – and that had truly worked for her, too. Clearly.
There was just something about Sutton looking cozy and relaxed, that was an unexpected turn on for her. She’d managed to take it in and push it to the backburner a few hours ago, and there had been a small hope that maybe Sutton would at least have taken off her glasses before dinner.
Still, there was also a measure of excitement that shot through her that she hadn’t. Charlotte was clearly masochistic, purposefully hanging out with Sutton the night after she didn’t orgasm.
She hoped she schooled her features quickly enough, because God only knew that Sutton didn’t need to see how much she wanted her. Talk about derailing the little bit of progress they’d made earlier.
“Well, maybe I was waiting by the door! Just a little?”
“I –” Sutton cut herself off with a huffed out sigh, before she turned from Regan to Charlotte, and she enjoyed the way she immediately flushed. “I’m sorry, I – do you want to come in?”
Charlotte nodded, shooting her a wink as she teased, “Well, unless we were going to have dinner in the hall.”
“If Regan had any manners, she would have already invited you in.” Sutton linked her hand under Regan’s arm when her friend remained standing in the same place, prohibiting Sutton from opening the door wide enough to let Charlotte in, and tugged her backwards. She gestured down the short hallway in invitation, and Charlotte walked by the pair, just close enough that her shoulder brushed Sutton’s.
She heard the soft intake of breath and refused to acknowledge the way her stomach flipped at it.
“Excuse you, I have manners,” Regan interjected, though Charlotte noted she didn’t look nearly as menacing when facing Sutton as she had moments ago.
Sutton shut the door and stared her friend down in a commanding way that Charlotte had yet to see from her, which was entirely too interesting. Before she lowered her voice to a murmur, “You said you weren’t going to say anything.”
Charlotte averted her gaze and instead focused on unbuttoning her jacket, sliding it off of her shoulders before folding it over her arm as she walked farther in enough to see more of the apartment. The walls were painted a pale, warm yellow, and the entire apartment smelled like spices that she couldn’t quite name, but it was delicious either way.
It felt homey yet refined in a way that reminded her of Sutton.
“I wasn’t – ugh, Sutton!” Regan complained, dark eyes narrowing in Charlotte’s direction, but she didn’t finish what she was going to say.
Sutton shook her head, lifting her eyebrows in a look that made her look very stern, especially with her glasses on, before she pointed in the direction over Charlotte’s shoulder, farther down the hallway. “To your room.”
The commanding tone she used made Charlotte shiver slightly, and she couldn’t help but turn completely to face them again just to see this. Her amusement only amplified when she saw Regan roll her eyes. “Come on.”
“We agreed that unless you could be friendly, you would hang out in your room during dinner,” Sutton scolded, firmly, which made Regan groan and Charlotte grin.
She couldn’t help it; commanding Sutton was simultaneously exciting and entertaining. And she was especially surprised when Regan sighed, then relented, “Fine. Yeah, I’ll be in my room.” She gave Sutton’s arm a gentle squeeze, before she turned to face Charlotte, eyes narrowed once again. “But I’m going to be keeping my ear on things.”
Charlotte’s smile didn’t falter in the face of her clearly serious threat –
promise? – though she did manage to have a handle on the amusement in her voice, “You do that.”
As Regan walked down the hall and into a doorway at the very end, Charlotte turned back to face Sutton, whose face was buried in her hands. She let out a muffled, “I’m sorry about her. I – she… she’s really…just, protective,” she finished with a deep breath and a shrug, as she lifted her head again to reveal brightly blushing cheeks.
Charlotte smirked as she shook her head. “There is no need to apologize. Though I can honestly say I hadn’t been expecting it, I find her loyalty appealing.”
Especially because the kind of person that inspired that kind of loyalty was more than deserving of it.
“Yeah,” Sutton murmured, thoughtlessly, before she bit her lip and adjusted her glasses, silence coming between them.
Which Charlotte had been prepared for. For all that being friends with someone she had sex with was new for her, having casual sex at all was new for Sutton. Who could be – delightfully – awkward under less stressful circumstances. Between the two of them, it was up to her to make their relationship comfortable again.
“I can’t believe you sent her to her room,” the laughter in her voice wasn’t false at all, “And that she listened.”
“Well, I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t happened before. That’s actually the tone that my mom used to use when we were kids. It gets a lot done. The first time my mom scolded Regan, she was terrified,” Sutton confided, her voice nearly a whisper.
Charlotte quirked a brow, because yes, she could imagine that. “How long have you and Regan been friends?”
It was something that she hadn’t really thought about before, assuming it had been some sort of lifelong relationship. But it couldn’t be, really, if Sutton remembered that.
“We met when we were seven,” Sutton told her, a fond smile pulling at her mouth as she walked toward Charlotte. Standing beside her, she gestured at a cluster of pictures in a multi-layered frame a few feet away. She walked even closer, curious, and saw that all of the pictures were snapshots of Sutton and Regan, from childhood into teen years then adulthood. It was unexpectedly sweet.
Sutton had also apparently completely missed out on any awkward teenage years. There was not one picture where she wasn’t absolutely precious. Charlotte herself had only experienced one – age twelve and thankfully before high school – but still.
Sutton came to stand beside her, and Charlotte could feel her warmth despite the fact that there were a few careful inches between them. “Regan moved to Newton when her dad got the job to be my dad’s chief of staff, and during her second week of school, she saw me being teased by this boy –”
“You were teased?” Charlotte couldn’t help but interrupt, but she couldn’t suppress her surprise. And odd annoyance at whichever little shit had been teasing that adorable younger Sutton.
Sutton’s eyes rolled, as she looked down at Charlotte, shuffling slightly on her feet. “Yeah. Just… I don’t know, for being shy and because of who my dad was. It was only ever by a few people, like Matt. Regan came out of nowhere and shoved him. He tripped and when he fell, he slammed his face into the ground and broke his nose. We’ve been best friends ever since,” she finished, an affectionate grin on her face.
Charlotte’s appreciation for Regan grew. “I guess she wasn’t kidding when she said that she had wrath for people who mistreated you.”
As soon as Sutton registered what she said, her eyes widened. “She said – what?”
Charlotte shrugged it off, and was glad that the awkwardness that could have wedged in between them instead faded to only a minor, background feeling. She was confident and hopeful that it would soon be gone.
“It’s not important. What is important is that I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” she asked, as she turned toward what she thought was the direction of the kitchen.
“Oh!” Sutton’s face lit up, “I made kind of a spread? It’s all Indian food, because, um, well because it’s your favorite. And you’ve had such a long day, which was super important to you. Plus you came to see me during your lunch break, so I thought you’d be really hungry,” she cut her ramble off, gazing at Charlotte as she bit her lip.
An unfamiliar warmth settled in her stomach. “You made my favorite food? You didn’t have to do that.”
Sutton blushed, before she tangled her fingers together in front of her. “It was – I mean, today was a big day for you, so. Besides, I like to cook. And maybe you shouldn’t thank me yet, because I haven’t ever made it before.”
Endeared, Charlotte shifted her jacket that was still draped over her arm, and before she could say anything, Sutton looked down at it. “Oh! Here, give me your jacket.”
She reached out to take Charlotte’s coat, before she quickly walked to a closet near the front door and hung it up with quick, deft movements. Then she slowed for a moment, smoothing her hands over the arm of it, her voice soft, “I – um, actually, I left my jacket at your apartment last night.”
Charlotte’s eyebrows lifted; she hadn’t expected Sutton to make any mention of the previous evening. Still, she nodded, murmuring, “I know. I’m sorry, I didn’t have it with me to bring back today.”
Actually, while Charlotte was very much aware that Sutton had left her jacket, she had deliberately left it at her apartment this morning. She was a strategic thinker; she knew that it could have been a possibility that she would need to have a potential bargaining tool in order to get Sutton to talk to her.
Sutton just shrugged. “No, it’s okay. I just, um. Never mind.” She blew out a quick breath before she closed the coat closet. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved,” she deadpanned, though she meant it. “And even though you’ve never made it before, I’m positive that it’s going to be amazing. My cooking repertoire consists mostly of coffee, cereal, and salad,” she admitted, and enjoyed the aghast look Sutton gave her.
The truth of the matter was that she’d never really learned how to make elaborate meals. She’d never spent much time in the kitchen with their maid who fixed dinner every night in her childhood; she’d been too busy keeping up with all of the extracurriculars that she took part in to care much for culinary exploits.
As it turned out, Charlotte was very much right about Sutton’s cooking – which was delicious and impressive. And she was more than grateful their meal conversation didn’t have any of those awkward lulls she’d worried about.
It was just nice. It was nice to have a meal with Sutton, who genuinely wanted to know about how her meetings went. Who listened intently as Charlotte told her all about her day. Talking about these matters with Dean wasn’t the same, as he was there with her, in the thick of things.
And talking about these things with her brother was entertaining, but Caleb was less of the sit-back-and-listen-while-making-insightful-commentary type, and more of the come-right-out-and-say-whatever-he-thinks-in-that-moment type.
It only reinforced the fact that Sutton was a friend she very much wanted to keep around.
Even when their plates were empty they sat side by side, and Charlotte took a sip of the spiced wine Sutton had bought to complement their meal. “And what about your day? I believe you mentioned earlier about watching your sister’s finals?”
An indulgent smile crossed her face, “She won. It was…” A slightly squeamish look took over, and Charlotte was fascinated. “Gross,” she finished with a small laugh. Her hand came up to play with the ends of her braid in the same manner she’d done earlier. Like she was unsure of something, before she offered, “Do you want to see it? There’s usually a highlight reel.”
Surprised by how much she actually did want to, she nodded. “I’m intrigued.”
She watched Sutton take out her phone and quickly shoot off a text, as she explained, “Alex always has her highlights saved on her phone.” For a moment, she hesitated, before she handed her phone to Charlotte. “She’ll send it to me, and then you can watch it. I, um, don’
t want to see it again so soon after dinner.” A small shiver of disgust worked over her and she shook her shoulders slightly.
Her eyes lit up in amusement. “So, you’ll see the fights in person and you’ll watch them live, but it grosses you out that much?”
Sutton shrugged, a light blush coming back to dust her cheeks, before she defended indignantly, “I’m there for support.”
Without thinking, Charlotte reached out to rest her hand on Sutton’s, much like she had earlier. And much like she had earlier, she felt the light twitch of Sutton’s fingers under hers and heard Sutton’s soft exhale. God help her, but she still enjoyed her reactions. She couldn’t resist stroking her fingertips over the back of Sutton’s soft hand before she let her hand drop. “I think it’s sweet.”
Sutton’s phone vibrated and she quickly stood, tugging her hands behind her back as they flexed. “Uh – that should be Alex. So, you watch the video, and I’ll clean up.”
Quickly, she shook her head. “Wait, you cooked everything. You shouldn’t have to clean up on your own.”
But Sutton was already stacking up their plates. “No, you watch,” she insisted firmly, before she ducked her head and made her way into the attached kitchen.
Blowing out a quiet breath, Charlotte watched her through the doorway. Perhaps the touching had been a bad idea; she might have to keep a better watch on that for a little while. As much as she enjoyed Sutton’s reactions, it wasn’t as though she didn’t get a reaction from it either. Then again, she’d clearly had a better time the evening before than Sutton had.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she reached for Sutton’s phone and thoughtlessly tapped on the notification that popped up. Instead of a message containing a video, though, she was looking at a Facebook message that popped up along with a friend request.
Alia Haddad – 9:38PM
Okay, it’s technically not advised for me to look
someone up from work events, but I figure that
since my mom owns it, I won’t get into too much
trouble, right? Besides, I feel that you, Sutton Spencer,