The Carol Wyatt Collection

by Carol Wyatt

“Where are you from originally?”

  “A small town outside of Philadelphia. What about you?”

  “I grew up here,” Charlie said as she reached for her drink. “So, is New York a for now thing or can you see yourself staying?”

  “I’d love to stay but as I keep reminding Jenny, we’re not getting any younger. We should be thinking about getting our own places but that probably means moving to Jersey. I’m not sure it’s practical for me to think that I can make it here. I’d like to have my own space… So, I’m not sure.”

  “You’ve got plenty of time to figure it out. You’re young.”

  “How old do you think I am?”

  Charlie paused and took the opportunity to blatantly look her up and down before holding her gaze.

  Honestly… I’d say she was twenty-seven maybe. So, seven years younger than me but I’d better knock off a few years to be safe.

  “I think you’re twenty-four years old,” Charlie said with a smile as she took a drink.

  “And you don’t care if I’m that young? Ten years younger than you?”

  “No… Am I right?” Charlie asked.

  “Close. I’m twenty-five.”

  Charlie nodded. Nine years younger than me and she has a roommate… “See, plenty of time,” Charlie said with a smile.

  “I know but I feel like I’ve stalled. I mean, I like my job but it’s not what I want to be doing for the next ten years.”

  “What do you want to do? If you couldn’t fail, what would you do?”

  “I’d compose music for movies,” Erica said without hesitation.

  “Do you play?”

  “Violin.”

  “Really?”

  Erica nodded. “I started when I was five… Classical mostly.”

  “Wow.”

  “So that’s what I would do…”

  “Do you do that in your spare time now?” Charlie asked.

  Erica laughed softly. “I don’t feel like I have any free time. I work as much as I can, so I have some money left over at the end of the month. I play… in Central Park mostly. I don’t want to piss off the neighbors. But I don’t write that often.”

  “You should.”

  “I know… What about you? I know you love your job but what else would you have done or what do you do in your free time?”

  Charlie smiled. “I don’t have free time… And I couldn’t see myself doing anything but real estate… Something I do like doing that I never really get to do anymore is staging apartments. I hire someone to do that because our company can afford it but if I was starting out on my own I probably would have had to take care of things like that myself.”

  “So, an interior designer maybe? Or a professional stager?”

  “Hmm… Interior designer I think. I see the pressure we put some of the stagers under. I don’t think I would want to be dealing with that. So yeah, an interior designer.”

  “I thought you were going to say professional whiskey taster or that you’d work at a distillery,” Erica said as she angled her body a little bit more so that she was closer to Charlie.

  “I think that might be too dangerous,” Charlie said with a soft laugh.

  “Probably… Speaking of whiskey. How would you feel about going to Fitzgerald’s?”

  “I would never say no to that,” Charlie said as she finished her drink.

  Charlie wasn’t sure where this night was going but she knew another whiskey wouldn’t hurt. Part of her wanted to invite Erica up to her apartment.

  Yes, technically this was only their second date but she felt like so much time had passed and if it felt right, so why wait?

  The logical part of her was urging her to call it a night and forget about Erica altogether. She was nine years younger than her.

  Nine years is nothing, really…

  “Ready to go?” Erica asked her, taking her away from her thoughts.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter 28

  Erica was glad to be back inside the warm pub and sitting beside Charlie in the booth that the bartender still referred to as ‘Charlie’s.’

  She shrugged her coat off her shoulders and left it on the empty seat across from them.

  They’d just ordered their drinks at the bar and Damien told them that he’d drop them down in a few minutes.

  Erica wasn’t sure where this night was going but she knew that she didn’t want it to end so when they were at the club she suggested coming here to delay things a little bit.

  She wasn’t sure if Charlie would ask her back to her apartment, but she hoped that Charlie would be able to tell that Erica wouldn’t be extending the same invitation only because she had roommates and well, she was embarrassed of her place.

  She couldn’t really say anything because she didn’t want to assume that Charlie was thinking the same thing. Erica would just have to see how the night played out.

  She didn’t know if there would be a point where she would cave in and ask Charlie back to hers.

  No. That’s not going to happen. My room looks like a tornado has passed through it.

  “What’s one of your favorite movie soundtracks?” Charlie asked her, turning her body to face Erica.

  “You’re going to laugh…”

  “I won’t.”

  “I love the music from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.”

  Charlie smiled back at her. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  Damien arrived with two tumblers and Charlie reached for her glass, lifting it up.

  “I think we should toast our friends,” Charlie said with a smile.

  “I agree.”

  “To Kevin.”

  “And Jenny,” Erica added.

  “For being the best friends that a person could ask for, even if they are a little interfering.”

  “Cheers,” they said as they clinked their glasses gently together.

  “So, what made you change your mind about getting control of the company?” Erica asked after they’d each taken a drink.

  “The look of disgust on your face.”

  “What? When?”

  “That night when you met me for a drink after our collision at The Mezz.”

  “Oh… I didn’t mean for-”

  “That’s the point. That was your honest reaction. I just felt like I’d been slapped across the face… And I would have deserved it.”

  “Don’t say that,” Erica said softly.

  “The way I treated Lara… You… What if we’d gone on a second and third date from the start and gotten serious? What if I proposed just with becoming CEO in mind? I was being so self-centered… And maybe I’ve always been like that, but it never affected anyone. It was about business. I could’ve done so much unnecessary damage…”

  “But you didn’t,” Erica said, her hand lightly resting on Charlie’s forearm that was resting on the table. “Maybe it was all supposed to happen the way it did.”

  “You’re one of those?”

  “One of what?” Erica asked, her eyebrows arched.

  “Everything has a reason, a purpose?”

  “I don’t know… Maybe. I’m positive… I try to see the best in every situation. And you’re the opposite? Thinking that life is random and that if something happens, there’s a person behind it that has their own motivations and desires?”

  Charlie reached for her drink. “That sounds like me.”

  “Maybe there’s something to be said for the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing.”

  Charlie nodded. “We certainly are very different…”

  “But…”

  Charlie met her gaze with a quizzical expression.

  “I just thought that was one of those ‘but’ situations… ‘We certainly are very different, but I’m really attracted to you…,’” Erica said as her voice trailed off at the end, her cheeks flushed. “Sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to apologize for… I am really attracted to you,” Charlie said softly. “And I’m wondering if it’s t
aking over the logical part of my mind that’s telling me this is never going to work.”

  “I know what you mean…”

  “But?”

  Erica smiled. “But I still want to kiss you.”

  Charlie’s eyes fluttered shut as she leaned in to capture Erica’s lips. Just as her lips brushed across Erica’s the blaring sound of a fire alarm rung out in the small bar and people started rushing passed.

  Erica grabbed her coat as she scooted out of the booth and reached for Charlie’s hand as they followed the crowd out and onto the street.

  It was snowing again and as they stood on the sidewalk across the street, putting their coats on and looking up at the rest of the building that the bar was in, Erica couldn’t see any smoke.

  “False alarm?” she asked Charlie as she put on her gloves.

  Charlie found Damien in the crowd and asked him what was going on.

  “One of the apartments upstairs,” he said, rubbing his hands together, trying to stay warm. “Just a small kitchen incident but it’s better to be safe.”

  “Of course.”

  Erica folded her arms across her chest as Charlie made her way back to her side.

  “It’s nothing to do with the bar. Just a small fire upstairs,” Charlie said.

  Erica nodded.

  “Do you want to come back to mine?” Charlie asked.

  Erica held her gaze as she tried to come up with the right answer.

  “What was your first reaction?” Charlie asked, sensing her hesitation.

  “To say ‘Yes.’”

  “Then maybe you should say ‘Yes.’”

  Erica laughed softly. “Okay… Yes, I’d love to.”

  “Come on,” Charlie said as she held out her hand to get a cab.

  Chapter 29

  Erica was dying to kiss Charlie again, but she thought she should at least try and exercise some self-control.

  Charlie had just sat down next to Erica and handed her a tumbler with her favorite whiskey in it.

  Erica almost blushed remembering the way Charlie had reacted to tasting that whiskey the last time she’d been here.

  Charlie had said that she hadn’t had it in a couple of weeks and she’d practically moaned when she’d taken a sip of it.

  Erica didn’t need any help tonight. She knew what she wanted whether she was drinking or not.

  She didn’t care if she was breaking her own rules of taking things slow before sleeping with a woman.

  Charlie was what she wanted, and she could already feel herself getting wet just thinking about kissing her properly.

  “It’s hard to believe that it was seven months ago,” Erica said as she took a drink.

  “Since the last time you were here?

  “Yes.”

  “I really should have text you back,” Charlie said with a weak smile as she brought her tumbler to her lips.

  “That would have been nice but… We’re here again anyway.”

  “Do you think that spark will still be there?” Charlie asked, her body angled towards Erica on the couch. “Or maybe it was just me…”

  “It was definitely not just you… I don’t know… There’s only one way to find out really,” Erica said as she leaned forward, to place her tumbler on the coffee table and watched Charlie do the same.

  Erica never sat back into the cushions. Instead she reached out to cup Charlie’s cheek, bringing her lips down to hers in a searing kiss that she’d been secretly dreaming of for months.

  Yes, they’d kissed in the bar, but they had kept it pretty casual, knowing that people would be watching.

  This was different. This was just the start of their night.

  Charlie’s hands moved to her hips and neck, keeping Erica close as their lips parted against each other’s.

  Erica moaned softly into Charlie's mouth when their tongues met for the first time, sending a jolt of electricity through her body.

  Erica didn't think that she would ever get enough of Charlie. Their lips fit together so perfectly, so easily, that Erica had to wonder was this it.

  She knew she was getting way ahead of herself, but she'd never felt anything like this before on any of the dates she'd been on or in the short-lived relationships she’d had.

  There was something special going on here, but Erica wanted to stay in the moment and keep her mind from wandering ahead.

  Right now, she was just enjoying the taste of Charlie's lips and the hint of whiskey that lingered on them.

  Charlie's fingers dug into the fabric of Erica's skirt just above her hip as their lips met again and Erica knew that she wasn't going to be leaving early tonight.

  Charlie broke the kiss, meeting Erica's eyes, before she stood up, holding out her hand.

  They didn't need to say anything. Both of them wanted this. They wanted it seven months ago.

  Erica stood up and let Charlie lead her into her master bedroom at the end of the hall.

  Erica's heart was already racing with anticipation. She knew what Charlie's lips did to her. She couldn't imagine feeling Charlie inside of her.

  Charlie backed her up against the bedroom door that she'd just shut behind them. Charlie's lips were on hers again bringing Erica right back to the moment.

  She didn't want to be daydreaming about what Charlie would do to her anyway. She'd find out in a few minutes.

  Their tongues met in a slow dance as Charlie pulled Erica’s top out from her skirt and started unbuttoning it as they continued to kiss.

  Erica’s hands moved through Charlie’s loose blond curls as their lips met again and again. Erica gasped when Charlie’s hands touched her skin, holding on to her hips as Erica shrugged her blouse off her shoulders and tossed it to the side.

  Erica felt like Charlie’s lips never left hers even though clothes were flying in every direction as they made their way over to the king size bed.

  Charlie backed Erica up against the edge of the bed, dipping her head to kiss Erica’s neck, making her way up to her ear lobe while she unhooked Erica’s cream lace bra, letting it fall to the ground as she found Erica’s lips again.

  Erica pushed off her cream panties and stepped out of them before reaching behind Charlie’s back to unclasp her black bra, tugging it off her shoulders as Charlie smiled against her lips.

  “Aren’t you eager?” Charlie asked in a husky whisper.

  “I doubt I’m the only one,” Erica whispered as she slid her hand inside Charlie’s black panties and ran her fingers through her soaking wet folds.

  Charlie’s only response was an involuntary groan as Erica’s fingertips brushed across her clit as she pulled her hand away.

  Erica pushed down Charlie’s black panties as her lips parted against Charlie’s. She could feel Charlie’s hands resting on her hips as she stepped out of her panties.

  Charlie gently pushed her back onto the bed and Erica didn’t know how much more waiting she could take. She knew she was dripping wet. She just hoped that Charlie wouldn’t take her time. She needed her right now.

  Erica could feel her cheeks darken as Charlie’s eyes roamed across her body before she climbed on top of her, easing Erica’s legs further apart so that she could rest her thigh in between them, pressing up against her sex, as she leaned in to capture Erica’s lips again.

  Erica pushed back against Charlie’s thigh, hungry for that pressure on her clit, as her tongue met Charlie’s in a fiery kiss.

  Charlie’s already rock-hard nipples were brushing across Erica’s skin as Charlie kissed her way down to Erica’s sex, across her stomach with her lips finally hovering over her before Charlie dipped her head, her tongue flickering over Erica’s swollen bud, causing Erica’s hips to jerk upwards, wanting more.

  “Right there,” Erica moaned, her hand lost in Charlie’s blond hair.

  Charlie seemed to know exactly what she wanted, applying just the right amount of pressure with her tongue.

  Erica’s free hand clutched at the sheets, grabbing onto anything s
he could. She never came this fast, but she could feel herself losing control as Charlie’s tongue continued to glide across her clit.

  Erica felt Charlie shift slightly, her fingertips running through Erica’s wet folds until she easily pushed two fingers inside.