“I guess that’s the thing, though.Thatpart of us was never difficult. And maybe that’s why it was so easy to, um, give in to it.” She searched Charlotte’s gaze for validation, her heart beating a little faster in her chest.
Because she’d put a lot of thought into this, and that was the conclusion she’d come to last night.
Charlotte nodded slowly, clearly turning Sutton’s words over in her mind. “I can see that. It was very easy to give in to this chemistry we have, you’re right.”
“And wecan’t,” she stressed. “That would complicate everything and make it all so messy. And the truth is, after thinking about this?” She gestured between them. “All night, I’ve been thinking about where to go from here…”
She paused, taking a deep breath, and it was of all times in this entire conversation thatnow, Charlotte sat up at attention, gaze intent.
“Yes? Are you thinking aboutnotworking with me anymore?” Charlotte cut right to the chase.
“Maybe I should.” Sutton shook her head. Becausemaybe she should. That was the easiest way out of all of this. “But I don’t want that.”
“You don’t,” Charlotte echoed, surprising flashing across her face.
“I don’t,” she confirmed, a disbelieving laugh leaving her, even as the confounding feeling weaved through her. “I thought that would be the best way, logically, but the truth is, I like having you in my life,” she admitted softly. “I look forward to talking to you.”
It was damningly true. Even when she was determined to keep things professional, even when she tried to keep a distant mindset.
There was a spot in her life that Charlotte just filled. She couldn’t describe it, and it wasn’t necessarily in only the physical sense. It was simplyCharlotte. There was a magnetism she had, that she had always had, that gave this sense of excitement just being in her atmosphere.
Sutton tucked her hair behind her ears. “I think beingfriendswith you, true friends, can work? Maybe? If you still think so, even after yesterday?”
Charlotte was quiet for a moment. She sipped her coffee again before she slowly set it down. Sutton waited on pins and needles. Yes, they’d discussed this before. The idea of being friendly, even earlier this week.
But Sutton hadn’t been in the right frame of mind for that. She had still been trying to deny their spark, deny everything about them that made them who they were.
“And I know we sort of agreed to this, earlier this week. To be… friend-like. I know,” she rushed to say. “But after yesterday, I think we just need to have it all on the table. Our attraction is out there and acknowledged, and I don’t think we can just reach back in time and grab the friendship we had been developing before we became… more,” she settled on, rolling her eyes at herself, worrying again at her lip as she tried to figure out what the hell she was trying to say. “It’s just, maybe we can skip past where we’ve been. Maybe we can be done with all of that—the stiltedness or acting like we aren’t comfortable around each other or anything like that.”
“So, to be clear, you don’t think we should keep things friendly. And you are not quitting. And you would, in fact, like to jump into a true friendship. Because youare, in fact, comfortable around me,” Charlotte surmised, her recap sounding a lot more concise and simple than Sutton’s ramble had.
She drummed her fingers once on the countertop before nodding sharply. “I, uh, yes. That’s what I’m saying. If that’s something you want?”
A whole other set of nerves set in as she waited for Charlotte’s response.
Charlotte sat up straight with a smile Sutton wasn’t entirely familiar with. It seemed satisfied, almost? Just verging on giddy?
She didn’t quite understand, and it sent both a rush of pleasure through her at having caused it, along with a little caution that skittered down her spine. Why did Charlotte react in this way?
Charlotte shook her head slightly, the smile toning down a bit. “Sutton Spencer, I would bedelightedto be your friend.”
Sutton slumped against the counter in relief. “Oh, thank god.”
“Did you think I would disagree? I don’t think I have been the one who has been against us being friends,” Charlotte teased, a lightness in her eyes that… honestly? It was nice to see and just be able to relax into it.
Somehow, despite their uneasy footing, despite Sutton’s attraction getting the best of her yesterday, this… felt easy?
“You’re right.” She rolled her eyes back. “But it’s only because you throw me off-balance! I don’t know anyone like you, and I’ve definitely never experienced our relationship before. So, excuse me for having an adjustment period.”
“I can excuse it,” Charlotte allowed after pretending to deliberate for a moment.
“Thank god,” she deadpanned and let herself enjoy Charlotte’s quiet laugh for a few seconds before she cleared her throat. “Should I let you get back to packing?” She gestured vaguely behind her.
Charlotte frowned. “I mean, if you have something to do, then sure. But if you’d like to stay, my flight isn’t until ten tomorrow morning, and I have nothing on my agenda today, for once.”
Sutton sat with the invitation for a second, debating.
On one hand, yesterday she had fucked Charlotte, without warning and unprompted, because she’d been overcome with how much she justwantedher, and something told her to be cautious of spending time alone with her now. Maybe it was a good thing Charlotte was leaving for two weeks; they could get their bearings and start on this new foot in a couple of weeks.
