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17
JAMIE
“I have a surprise,” Charlotte said, wearing a cheeky grin.
After a couple of hours, we’d settled into the dark, furniture-less cabin. An area was set up with sleeping bags and blankets, but Charlotte and I sat on the bare floor, eating out of cans with plastic forks. For someone who’d never experienced a minute outside the lap of luxury, I wasn’t too stressed about spending the night here. It was because of Charlotte. She was so chatty, chipper, and funny. I was thoroughly entertained and not once did I plunge into despair about the day.
“A surprise, huh? Is it another delicious can of…” I assessed the tin in my hand. “Mystery meat?” I grimaced and my stomach churned a little when I said it out loud because I wasn’t even sure what the fuck I was eating.
Charlotte chuckled. “Oh, come on. It isn’t caviar and fancy hors d’oeuvre like you typically eat but at least you won’t starve to death tonight.”
“True… I’m grateful. Besides, the canned peaches were a good treat.” I nodded to the empty fruit cans.
“That’s the spirit. You’re such a trooper.”
“I hate caviar by the way.” I took a sip from my water bottle.
“Oh, and here I thought you feasted on caviar and champagne for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Isn’t that what rich people's meals are like?”
I lifted an eyebrow but wanted to smile because I knew she was just poking fun. Nobody except my small group of friends ever teased me as Charlotte did. “Not by a long shot. Not for me anyway.”
As I gazed at her, I wondered if I should bring up the subject of last night. I was about to apologize earlier but I was interrupted. After that, we got caught up in making our little space as comfortable as possible. Now, I was wary about bringing it up for fear of ruining the lighthearted mood.
“I believe you,” she said. “Your group of friends are some of the most down-to-earth people I’ve met. I like you guys.”
My gaze locked onto her face as she peered into her canned dinner. Maybe she didn’t completely hate me after last night. I was unintentionally harsh. It was just so damn hard having her right there and not being able to tell her how amazing I thought she was… because I didn’t dare ruin Lincoln’s big plan to get her back.
Clearing my throat lightly, I asked, “So, what’s this big surprise?”
Her grin made me want to smile too. “Since your birthday meal wasn’t all that stellar. You’re about to get a special treat.”
“And that is…?”
“A shower.”
My eyebrows elevated. There was a bathroom but no running water, so I didn’t see how a shower was possible. We really needed to get cleaned up. Charlotte still had patches of mud caked to her pants and my shirt had dirt stains from carrying her.
“How exactly is a shower supposed to happen?”
“Come with me, birthday boy.”
As she scrambled to her feet, I remained frozen for a moment. It struck me that it was my most dreaded day of the year, yet all I’d done was smile during the few hours that Charlotte and I had been stuck together in the cabin.
Blinking out of my stupor, I jumped to my feet and helped her up. “Easy on the ankle.”
“Aye, aye, doc. You know, you can stop fussing over me like a mother hen. I’m pretty sure I’ll survive this sprained ankle. I mean it was touch and go there for a while…” she says, clutching her chest dramatically, “but I’ll pull through.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at her sarcasm and smile at the same time. Charlotte was super entertaining, so full of life and character. Why hadn’t I ever met a woman like her in my circle? If I had, I certainly would have told my father to fuck off when he breached the subject of the equivalent of an arranged marriage last year.
“I’ve never been likened to a mother hen before,” I grumbled.
My arm was wrapped around her waist and most of her weight was on me so we were pretty close. When she turned to me with a grin, the little devil on my shoulder said, Go ahead and kiss her again. You know you want to. She’s so close… so enticing…
“I’m sure your ego will be just fine,” she said with a chuckle.
I swallowed and faced forward, telling the little devil on my shoulder to shut it. When I helped her hobble to the bathroom, she broke away and disappeared into what looked like a closet.
“Hey, Jamie, give me a hand,” she called.
