by E. L. Todd
“Really?” she asked in surprise.
“Yeah. Charlie talked to her recently and told her that he wanted to ask you out.”
“Shut up! He did not.”
“Yep. She wasn’t thrilled about it, but he said it seemed like she understood.”
“Oh my god. She must hate me.”
“No. She and I aren’t on good terms…but you guys are fine.”
“Wait, what happened with you?” my sister asked.
I’d never told her about it because I had no explanation. I couldn’t just tell her that I knew Charlie had been hung up on her this long. It would make him look like a weirdo. “I told her that she needed to move on with her life and not stand in the way of you and Charlie wanting to get together. She didn’t like that, so we haven’t really been talking. I think she just needs some time.”
“Whoa… I don’t know what to say.”
“It was for her own good. Because she still has feelings for him, and he doesn’t feel the same way at all. I think it was a kick in the chest but what she needed to hear.”
She set her chopsticks on her plate and stared down at her food like she didn’t know what to do.
“Damage is done, Denise. You guys should just do what you want to do. You two would be perfect together, and everyone deserves to be happy.”
“Maybe I should talk to her about it—”
“No, just leave her alone. I know you guys are friends, but you’re only friends with her because of me, so I don’t think it really counts. I don’t think it’s the same thing as if I were to date Charlie…that would be weird.”
“I guess I just feel bad because I know how she feels about him.”
“Yeah. But they’re never getting back together, so it really shouldn’t matter.” It would be a lot easier to talk Denise into this if I just told her the truth, but that wasn’t an option. If Charlie wanted to tell her someday, that was his story to tell, not mine. “Go for it. Be happy. There’s not a better guy out there.”
“Not even Dax?” she teased.
“He’s a perfect man—for me. But I don’t think there’s a better guy out there for you besides Charlie. I think he’s exactly what you’re looking for.”
17
Dax
I approached the door and lightly tapped my knuckles against the wood.
“It’s open.” Carson’s loud voice projected across the room and penetrated the barrier.
I stepped inside and saw the two of them working in the kitchen, making dinner. “Hey, sweetheart.”
Charlie had his back to me as he stirred the contents on the stove. “Hey, pumpkin.”
Carson turned around and rolled her eyes. A platter was in her hand, so she set it down before she came to me, that beautiful smile on her face.
Charlie quickly abandoned what he was doing and ran across the room to get to me quicker. He moved into my chest and gave me a bear hug, gripping me tightly like we were long-lost brothers who’d finally been reunited.
I chuckled and patted him on the back. “What’s this for?”
He pulled away and gave me a dead serious look. “For getting her out of my apartment.”
I chuckled. “You’re welcome.”
“Uh, what?” Carson said from behind him. “What the hell, Charlie?”
“You know how long it’s been since I had sex on the couch?” He looked at her as he passed by her. “With you gone, there’s going to be so much kitchen sex, couch sex…even closet sex, if you can believe it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and walked up to me. “He’s going to miss me. Don’t let him tell you any differently.”
I glanced at him behind her.
He shook his head and got back to work on the stove.
I shifted my gaze back to her. “I’m sure he will, sweetheart.”
She moved into my chest and wrapped her arms around me, rising on her tiptoes to kiss me.
My hands snaked down her back until I gripped both cheeks in my large hands. My palms were always on her ass, but she liked it, so I continued to do it.
She melted at my touch, like she loved those big fingertips digging into her jeans. “You want to join us for dinner?”
“Why do you think I’m here?”
She pulled away with accusation in her eyes. “I thought to see me.”
“Of course, sweetheart. But if there’s a home-cooked meal…”
She gave me a playful smack before we sat together at the dining table, the fajitas in the center of the table with warm tortillas. We scooped the sautéed veggies onto our flour tortillas and ate. Carson ate her food quickly like always, and Charlie was a little more graceful about it.
“So, when is this happening?” Charlie asked in between bites.
“When are you going to go for Denise?” Carson countered.
Charlie shifted his gaze to her. “You really want me to fuck your sister, huh?”
“Well, she deserves some good D,” Carson said. “You give good D, right? Based on the noises I hear across the hallway, I’d say so. Plus, what Kat has said… So I want Denise to get her groove on, you know? Women should want other women to get good sex. It’s just classy.”
Everything that came out of her mouth amused me, so I smiled in between bites.
Charlie just looked at her like he had no idea what to say. “I’ll go over there after dinner.”
“To give her some D?” Carson asked in surprise.
“No,” Charlie said quickly. “To see if she wants to start something up. I mean, if she wants to do that, I’m not going to say no, but that’s not what I’m going for.”
“Great.” Carson turned back to her food. “It’ll be nice to have the apartment to ourselves.”
“Or you can just move out and have a whole penthouse to yourself,” Charlie countered.
“Oh shut up.” She balled up her napkin and threw it at him. “You don’t want me to leave. You said on a scale of one to ten, you were going to miss me at a solid five.”
Charlie looked at me and shook his head. “I don’t remember saying that.”
“You’re so full of shit. You totally said it,” Carson countered.
Charlie shrugged and kept it eating.
I believed Carson on this one, because I couldn’t imagine anyone wouldn’t miss her. Her energy was infectious, and she always made everyone around her feel good. I felt lucky that I got to be the one to come home to her every single day.
“Seriously.” Charlie looked at me. “When is she moving?”
I shrugged and turned to Carson. “Whenever she feels like it. I told her she can bring her furniture, but she said she didn’t want to, so…it’s just her clothes and stuff.” They were things she could move in a few hours on a Saturday, but she hadn’t done it yet.
Carson held my gaze while the fajita was in her hand. “It didn’t seem like there was a rush, so I’m taking my time.”
“Why?” Charlie countered. “You’re moving in to a penthouse. Why are you taking your time?”
“Maybe because I want to spend a little more time with you…dumbass.” She kept her eyes on her food as she kept eating.
Charlie watched her for a few seconds before a subtly soft look came over his face, like those words touched him. “I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you stuck around a little bit longer…”
“Getting cold feet?” I lay beside her in her small bed, right up against the window where the city lights came through the blinds. I was used to having a king-size bed all to myself, and now I shared a queen-size with Carson. But less space meant we were pressed closer together, so it wasn’t all bad. I would never make Carson feel self-conscious for what she had, but I was eager for her to move in to my penthouse where it was always quiet, where we were elevated above the city, so bright lights didn’t shine through the windows if we didn’t want them to. There was a lot more room, and I didn’t have to share the space with her roommate.
“No.” She lay beside me wi
th her leg hooked over my hip, her hand against my chest. “I’ve honestly just been so busy lately that the idea of organizing my stuff and making the move seems like too much.”
I’d offer to pay people to do it for her, but I knew her well enough to know that was a bad suggestion.
“And spending another week with Charlie isn’t so terrible. When I got married, I missed spending so much time with him, but I think this time, I won’t miss him so much. Even if we stop working together, I’ll still see him all the time. And I think he and Denise will probably get serious, so he won’t have all the time to spend with me like he used to.”
“Yeah.”
“And we’re going to have so much fun living together that he probably won’t be on my mind much.”
I smiled. “I’ll make sure no one else is on your mind but me.”
“Ooh…that sounds nice.”
“I just want to make sure you don’t feel pressured—”
“I don’t,” she said quickly. “If I did, trust me, I would tell you.”
That was one of the best things about her, that she would speak her mind so there was never any misunderstanding. Her bluntness wasn’t exactly always polite, but it made my life much easier. “Good. Because I can’t wait until you get your ass over to my place.”
She smiled slightly. “I hope I don’t turn into some stuck-up, rich bitch…”
“Never.” She would never let her surroundings go to her head. She was too down-to-earth for that. “I can always help you move if you want.”
“It’s really not that much stuff, but I probably will need to borrow a truck or rent a moving van.”
“The van sounds good. I can drive it for you if you want.”
“That would be nice, since my driver’s license expired and Charlie doesn’t have one.”
“Consider it done.” If my friends knew I was driving a moving van around instead of hiring someone to do it, they would talk so much shit. “So, how about next Saturday?”
She considered it for a while before she nodded. “Sure. Saturday.”
I’d finally gotten her on my line and reeled her in.
“I’ll have everyone over, and we’ll make a thing of it.”
“Great. I’d like them to see my place since they’re going to be over all the time,” I said.
“I don’t know about all the time…”
“Knowing you, yes, it’ll be often. And I don’t mind. Your friends feel like my friends at this point.”
“That’s sweet.” Her arm hooked around my neck, and she fingered my hair as she gave me a kiss. “Maybe I should try to be friendlier with your sister.”
“Eh. You don’t have to do that.”
“You guys seem close.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to be. And I know your initial meeting wasn’t all that great.”
Her forehead rested against mine. “I don’t hold grudges, so I don’t think about that. She’s your only surviving family member. It would be nice if we could be friends. You know, get our nails done, whatever girls do.”
“You don’t get your nails done.”
She held out her hand and looked at her fingertips. “That’s because I’m typing all the time, and they chip and stuff. I guess we can just drink together. That’s something everyone can do.”
I chuckled. “True.”
A sad look suddenly came on to her face, like she was thinking of something particularly heartbreaking.
I suspected I knew what it was. “She’ll come around. Give it time.”
“Yeah…”
“And if she doesn’t, it’s her problem and not yours. I think she totally overreacted, and she needs to mature and grow up.”
“That’s a little harsh,” she whispered.
“Or maybe someone needs to be straight with her.”
“It’s hard to be straight with someone when they’re heartbroken.”
“She shouldn’t be heartbroken. They’ve been broken up for almost a year.” Maybe I was being harsh, but it was only because I was biased toward Carson. She was the most amazing woman I’d ever met, and anyone who took her for granted was practically an enemy. “I’m just saying, if she’s smart, she’ll come around. And if not…that’s not your problem.”
18
Carson
Charlie didn’t come home that night.
During the week, he always made dinner. The only exception to that was Wednesday night, when we got pizza and wings after the game. Instead of waiting for him to come home, I prepared dinner for two and made him a plate so he would have it when he returned.
But the hours passed, and he never showed.
I texted him. Hey, you alright?
No response.
Charlie? I never checked in with him because he was a grown-ass man, but his behavior was peculiar. If he was out late on assignment, he usually told me where he was in case everything went south. He hadn’t checked in. If he had a date, he usually shared that information with me so I wouldn’t worry where he was all night.
Still nothing.
I’m starting to worry. Just let me know you’re okay.
Thirty minutes went by and still no response.
Was I just being paranoid? What if there was really something wrong? It was past nine, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep unless I knew he was okay. I decided to call.
It rang for a long time.
He answered just before I hung up. “Carson, I’m kinda busy right now…”
“Oh, thank god. I just wanted to check that you’re okay. You’ve never not come home before without letting me know. Are you on assignment?”
“No. I’m with Denise…”
My eyes widened at the revelation, and I cupped my mouth even though my gasp was silent. “Ooh…gotcha. Give it to her good, alright? And make sure—”
He hung up.
I grinned and put the phone aside, relieved that he was totally fine and something was happening with Denise—finally. This narrative had been going on for a long time, and I was glad it had some kind of forward movement at last.
I texted Dax. Charlie didn’t come home tonight, so I started to worry. Guess what he’s doing?
I think you mean guess WHO he’s doing. And I think that answer is obvious.
I can’t believe it. Charlie and my sister.
I can’t believe it took this long. So, you’re alone for the rest of the night?
Looks like it.
You want company?
I’m just going to watch TV and go to bed.
Well…we could have couch sex.
Hmm…not a bad idea.
I’ll be back there in twenty minutes, sweetheart.
Perfect. I’ll put on some lingerie.
His response was lightning fast. Make it ten minutes.
“Spill it.” I stepped into Charlie’s cubicle and hopped onto his desk.
Charlie looked up from his laptop and gave me an incredulous look. “You know I don’t kiss-and-tell.”
My legs swayed back and forth as I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t kiss-and-tell, my ass.” He told me about every woman he’d been with, fingering a date in the back seat of a taxi and doing it on a deserted beach at Coney Island.
“But you don’t know those women. You don’t even know what they look like, just have a first name. This is different.”
“At least that means there was some kissing not to tell.”
He turned back to his computer and brushed off my interrogation.
“She’s just going to tell me next time I see her, you know.”
“And you don’t think it’s weird to hear the intimate details about your sister’s sex life?” He turned in his chair and faced me.
“No.” I shrugged. “I tell her stuff all the time. You’ve never told your brother about nailing some woman in the back of a club?”
His shrug was an affirmation. “We had a great time—I’ll leave it at that.” A slight smile spread on his lips, a look of happiness accompanying it in
his eyes. Charlie had always been a positive person, but that smile made me realize how unhappy he’d been prior to this, and now…he was actually happy.
“Did you give her that D?”
He rolled his eyes.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at his face.
“Come on, I’m a gentleman.”
“You wouldn’t be the first guy she’s slept with on the first date, so you don’t need to protect her reputation. Come on, it’s the twenty-first century.”
He grinned. “Since you’re going to pull it out of me…she got that D—and a lot of it.”
“Woo-hoo!” I threw my hands in the air and made a scene, so the rest of the reporters turned to look at us.
“Shh!” Charlie slapped my knee.
I lowered my hands and dropped my voice. “I’m so happy for you guys. This was a long time coming.”
“You’re telling me…”
“You think she’ll join us on the court for basketball?”
“Not sure. I think she likes watching me play instead.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“I bet.” I chuckled then got off the desk. “Well, I should get back to work. Simon Prescott isn’t going to end up in jail by himself.”
“Has he contacted you since?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m sure he’s all talk.”
“Still, keep your eyes peeled, alright? Never underestimate anyone, just as someone should never underestimate you.”
I gave him a thumbs-up. “Good advice.”
When we walked onto the court, I spotted Dax in his black running shorts, his perfectly chiseled torso shiny with sweat. He had those sexy narrow hips with the tight abs underneath his tanned skin, and his veins ran at the very bottom of his stomach along with a thin line of hair. His hands moved to his hips before he wiped his forehead with the back of his arm.
Charlie and Denise walked behind me and moved to the bleachers.
“Look at her drool.” My sister took a seat and crossed her legs.
I snapped out of the stare and turned back to her. “Hey, you can’t blame me.”