by Ryli Jordan
I felt utterly floored, not sure how she was able to read me so easily. Unless… “You used to be a major slut,” I guessed. “You used to sleep around just as much as I do.”
For a moment, she actually looked hurt. But then, a storm overtook her expression. “No,” she snarled. “In no way, shape, or form.” She paused, staring moodily down into her drink. “But let's just say, I know someone who was.” She stood abruptly. “Look, I'm going to take a cab home. I'm not feeling so well.” She grabbed the folder of paperwork that I'd waved at her before. “I'll sign your contract and whatever else and bring it when you pick me up on Sunday. Don't be late.”
Chapter Four
I found myself inexplicably nervous when I picked up Charlotte to take her to Crystal's wedding. I knew it was probably because, as she'd surmised the other night, I didn't normally take girls home to meet my family. It was probably also to do with Charlotte's lack of response to nearly any of the texts I'd sent her that week. And really, I didn't know why I'd been texting her so much, it was just that any time anything of interest happened, she seemed to be the first person I wanted to share it with.
I guess in many ways, it was probably just a relief to meet a normal person. My friends were off gallivanting around the world and holding all sorts of insane parties while I was stuck here at home working and doing nothing with my life. My friends would have thought my texts were stupid—or worse, desperate.
Charlotte slipped into the car wearing a much more elegant dress than the one she'd worn on Tuesday night. The red satin made the color of her hair look even more beautiful, and the way that it fell into a ribbon on the left side only accentuated her curves. She looked classic and understated with her plain black heels and minimal jewelry and makeup.
I couldn't stop myself from reaching over and brushing back a bit of hair that had fallen loose from her coif, letting my fingers linger. Only this time, I wasn't just teasing her.
She shook off my hand and shoved the signed contract towards me, reminding me that this was nothing more than a business venture. “Half upfront and half after completion of the work,” she said matter-of-factly.
I sighed and handed over the first envelope, with $500 in it. “Let's get this over with.” I backed carefully out of the driveway and drove across town to the wedding venue, glad that at least it was local.
Things were a bit chaotic when we arrived. I thought about how I wanted to do this: did I want to seek out Elaine and introduce her to Charlotte right away, or did I want to wait until she found us? In the end, it didn't matter what I wanted: we ran into her as we were coming in the front door anyway.
I could see surprise in the way she raised an eyebrow nearly imperceptibly at me, and I wondered if she'd thought I wasn't going to show up with someone after all. If so, she had extremely underestimated me. I caught Charlotte's hand in mine and tugged her forwards.
“Charlotte, darling,” I said sweetly, hoping she could tell how serious I really was about this. “This is my Aunt Elaine. Aunt Elaine, this is my girlfriend Charlotte.”
Charlotte held out a hand. “It's lovely to finally meet you,” she said. “I've heard so much about you from Beau.”
Elaine raised an eyebrow noticeably this time. “I can only imagine the things he might have said to you,” she said, giving me a look.
I spread my arms. “Hey now,” I said. “I just told her how you were really there for me after my parents died and that you're probably the closest family member I have at the moment. And that you're the one she really has to impress, if she's hoping to join the family.” I laid a hand lightly on Charlotte's lower back and leaned in, whispering mock conspiratorily, “No pressure, though.”
Charlotte giggled. “Well, I love your scarf, Aunt Elaine, and I'm not just saying that. I take it you're an artist too? Or at least a fashionista with style.”
And...they were off. I watched in minor bemusement as they wandered away talking about painting styles and who knew what else. Go figure that Charlotte would really get along with my aunt. They turned around a corner and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to find the bar. I was in for a stressful day.
I finally found Charlotte again right when it was time to take our seats. She had somehow introduced herself to my cousins Lana and Rachel, and they were all giggling about something in the foyer of the wedding chapel. She grinned at me when she saw me and then frowned a little. “You've been drinking,” she accused quietly as she took my elbow.
I frowned as well. “Is it that obvious?” She rolled her eyes. “Well, I don't see how it's any of your business,” I said. “Again, you're not here to pass judgement on my morals or behavior.”
“Your aunt apparently thinks I'm helping you clean up your act, so you might want to think about acting like I actually am,” Charlotte said. “According to your aunt, there's quite a bit of money in this trust fund that you're trying to unlock—don't worry, I assured her that I knew nothing about the trust fund and that of course I wasn't just here as your bib, to make it seem as though you were cleaning up your act.”
I winced and looked down at her, but we didn't have time for a private conversation now; we needed to take our seats. “I'm sorry,” I said quietly, though, as we waited for the ceremony to begin. “You must think I'm a horrible person.”
“I think you're terrified of commitment,” Charlotte said with a shrug. She smiled a little to take the sting out of her following words: “And I think you're a misogynistic pig. But I don't think you're a bad person. Just misguided.”
I wanted to reply, but the familiar wedding march began to play right at that moment. I dutifully shut my mouth but reached over to squeeze her hand lightly.
Chapter Five
The ceremony was over more quickly than I'd expected, and we stood around for a little while chatting before heading over to the reception hall. Or rather, I stood around listening as Charlotte chatted with various family members. If I hadn't known better, I would have almost thought that this was real: she was putting in a lot more effort than I might have expected, really getting to know everyone. Almost as though she were staying.
I stood a bit off to the side, watching her.
Suddenly, Charlotte came over to me, giving me a quick hug. “You doing okay?” she asked, looking up into my face, her arms still wrapped around me.
I blinked down at her, trying to formulate a response. Then I shook her arms off me. “You're acting like we're dating,” I muttered, glancing around.
Charlotte snorted. “Isn't that what I'm supposed to be acting like?” She gave me a wicked grin, and I suddenly realized she was teasing me just like I'd been teasing her. Now that she'd been paraded around to all of my family members, they were going to be asking about her at the next family event, and when I said we'd broken up…
I groaned inwardly; clearly I hadn't fully thought things through. “Charlotte–“
“Relax,” she said, leaning in closer. For a second, I almost thought she was going to kiss me. I could feel her soft breaths against my lips, and she was looking up at me through her eyelashes in a way that was undeniably sexy. “Are you going to dance with me later?”
I stared at her for a long moment, finding it difficult to even think with her pressed up against me like this. “Yeah,” I said finally. “Have to keep Aunt Elaine happy.”
For a moment, her face closed off, as though that answer was disappointing to her. But then she was smiling at me again, and I wondered if maybe I'd imagined the disappointment. In the reception hall, I held my breath as I waited to see where we were sat. But it was a relatively tame table, with a few other cousins and people who were our age.
“You were afraid we were going to be sat with Aunt Elaine,” Charlotte guessed, smirking at me. “And we were, originally. I thought you might have more fun over here, though.”
I blinked at her. “You changed around the seating chart?” I asked incredulously.
“With the help of Lisa and Adriana,” Charlott
e confirmed. “You have to admit, Aunt Elaine is probably going to be happier seated over there with your Uncle Bill and myriad other stuffy individuals.”
I shook my head and squeezed her hand lightly. “You're a miracle worker,” I told her. I couldn't stop myself from leaning over to kiss her, gently working my lips against hers.
She sighed softly and leaned into the kiss for a minute, before pulling away looking embarrassed. “Let's go sit down,” she said, avoiding my eyes.
I had no choice but to trail after her as she headed confidently towards our table.
She hardly said two words to me as we waited for the reception to start, as we lined up to get food, and as we ate. Finally, I dropped a heavy hand on her knee, distracting her from whatever my cousin Lisa was droning on about. “Can I talk to you?” I asked quietly. “Outside somewhere?”
Charlotte looked momentarily torn, as though she wanted to say no but something was stopping her. Maybe she thought she wouldn't get paid if she declined. The thought made me sick in ways I didn't care to examine too closely.
I stood abruptly and caught her shoulder, tugging her up as well. “Humor me,” I muttered. I turned a bright smile on the table. “If you'll just excuse us for a second...”
I led Charlotte out into the hallway and then down into the cloakroom, pulling the door shut behind us. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Look,” I began, unsure what I really wanted to say.
Charlotte looked expectantly at me, her arms folded across her chest. “You weren't supposed to kiss me,” she said finally, when I couldn't seem to say anything.
Normally, a statement like that would have made me pull her into my arms and kiss her again. But I felt a strange hesitance around her. “I think I...like you?” I said slowly, blinking at her. “It's...this isn't something I...”
Charlotte gaped at me and then took a step back. “Oh no,” she said, shaking her head. “I'm not falling for a line like that, and we are not having sex in the cloakroom during your cousin's wedding. Nice try, though.” Her hand fumbled for the doorknob.
I reached around her to hold the door shut. “That's not what I was angling for,” I said, shaking my head. I felt totally bewildered. The thing was, most girls were falling all over themselves to fall into bed with me—and no, I'm not just that conceited; that was actually the way it felt. But Charlotte didn't want to just sleep with me, and she… I shook my head. “Damn it, I haven't felt like this about a girl since...” I shook my head again, not wanting to explain that I had probably never felt like this about a girl. I swallowed hard.
Charlotte looked almost as spooked as I felt. “You don't know what you're talking about,” she finally said. “With regards to me. You don't want to…whatever it is you think you might want to do.”
“I'd like to take you on a date,” I said boldly, not sure where the words were even coming from but knowing that they were true the second they left my mouth. I laid a hand on her arm. “Look, this was just supposed to be a ruse to convince my aunt that I had grown up and that I was capable of managing my finances or whatever. But instead, I–“
“You don't want to date me,” Charlotte interrupted. Her face twisted into a grim expression. “Beau...” She took a deep breath. “Beau, I dated a guy like you once. And I wound up with a son.” She smiled distantly. “He's five years old now.” She shook her head, looking serious again. “Beau, no matter what you think you might want, I'm sure fatherhood isn't one of those things—at least, not at this stage in your life. Maybe not ever. Maybe you just want to keep fucking girls in cloakrooms for the rest of your life—and that's okay. But that's not something I can do anymore. I have a son.”
This time, it was me taking a step back. I stared at her. “You have a son,” I said flatly, still trying to process.
Charlotte shrugged a little, hardly looking at me. “Yeah. His name is Michael.”
I smiled a little and then shook my head. “That's...” I didn't know how I felt about that. It was one thing to want to date her—and that was strange enough, in itself. That just wasn't something I ever did. But for her to have a kid as well…
Charlotte gave me a bitter smile. “I know, right? That's more than you bargained for.” She laid a hand on my arm this time. “I like you, Beau,” she confessed. “Once you get beyond the self-absorbed, rich asshole, you're actually a pretty decent guy. Your cousins have told me a lot about you. And your aunt says you're brilliant when it comes to reading people and to marketing towards specific demographics. I'd be interested in you, if you actually wanted to date me.” She sighed.
I reached for her, pulling her into my arms and kissing her gently. “Let's not think about the future now,” I breathed against her lips. Slowly, I caressed her sides, looping one arm around her waist to bring her even closer to me.
Charlotte moaned, arching against me for a moment. I could feel her pert nipples peaking beneath the fabric of her dress, and with no prompting, she tilted her head to the side to allow me better access. I kissed her slowly, surprised by how much I wanted to please her, rather than just to seek my own pleasure. I carefully caught both her hands in my grip, lifting them up above her head and pinning them there.
I pulled back to stare down at her. “I bet you submit beautifully,” I growled, clenching my hand around her wrists tightly enough that I was sure I'd leave bruises. “You have no idea how much I want to just open you up, make your body sing with pleasure, until you're desperate to have me buried inside of you, filling you up...” I slid one hand between her legs, teasing her, hinting at the pleasure I could give her. And she spread her legs a little, allowing me better access, begging without words.
I tugged her dress up and out of the way and slid my hand into her panties, finding that she was already wonderfully damp. She gave a needy whine, and I leaned in to capture the sound. We kissed as though we'd both been dying for it. I continued stroking at the velvety folds between her legs, but I couldn't keep from palming myself through my slacks as well. Suddenly, Charlotte's thin hand pushed mine out of the way. She paused with her hand on my belt.
This time when I pulled back to catch my breath, Charlotte pulled away. “Wait, stop,” she said, shaking her head. She sounded pleasantly breathless, but her face had totally closed off. “I have a five-year-old son, so when I say I come with baggage, I mean I come with baggage. And honestly, I don't know that I could ever trust you not to just...run off. You'd get sick of the lifestyle that I lead. You'd get sick of us.”
I groaned. “Charlotte, can we just forget about that for a minute and enjoy ourselves?” I reached out and tweaked one of her nipples, watching as her pupils dilated.
But she pulled away again. “It's not something I can forget about,” she said sadly. “Every waking minute of my life is about him—about us. If that's not something you're interested in, I can't do this.”
She fumbled for the doorknob again, and this time I let her go. She was right: a girl with a kid was more than I'd bargained for. But when she had left, I leaned my head against the back of the door, taking deep breaths as I tried to control the strange swirl of emotions inside of me.
Chapter Six
I didn't hear from Charlotte after the wedding, but I couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. I didn't know her well enough that I should have this depth of feeling about her, I knew. But I still wanted to share all the little anecdotes from my day with her.
“Dude, what the hell has gotten into you lately?” Alex asked, flicking me in the head. “It's like you're here but you're not really here, you know what I mean? Like, you're sitting right there, but you're hardly even drinking, and you're not chatting up that leggy blonde at the bar who's been eyeing you for hours now. What gives?”
I blinked at him and then shook my head, stirring the half-melted ice in my glass. “Just not feeling it, I guess,” I said.
“Didn't you just finally manage to unlock your trust fund?” Alex persisted. “You're supposed to be having, like, the pa
rty of a lifetime, and instead, you're...moody.”
I shoved my chair back and stood up. “Look, I'm just not feeling it, okay?” I said testily. I grabbed my coat and pulled it on. “Look, I think I'm going to go home for the night. Maybe I'm getting sick or something.” It wasn't that, but at least he and our other friends seemed to buy that excuse, lame as it was.
“Feel better,” Brody said, thumping my back.
“Yeah, feel better,” Alex agreed. He muttered something under his breath and tilted back the rest of his drink. I didn't bother asking him to repeat that; I just had to get out of there.
I took a deep breath of the crisp air when I left the club and just stood there for a second with my eyes closed. Then, I started walking aimlessly down the street. Going home now wouldn't help the mood that I was in: it was still early, so I wouldn't be ready to sleep for hours still, and the silence of my apartment would just be overwhelming.