Page 40 of Check You Out

Aidan: I did. Sorry for bolting.

I set the phone down and try to focus on slaying lava lurks and dodging hot heads. My phone vibrates while I’m on Floor Two in the middle of a barrage from magma sprites.

Charlotte: It’s ok. Did I do something wrong?

I blink at the screen. What does she mean? She did nothing wrong. If anything, it’s me who did something wrong.

My headphones echo with the death sound as the magma sprites finish me off. My pixelated avatar wakes up on the dock to a gentle rainstorm. I pause the game and focus on my phone.

Aidan: No. You didn’t.

I don’t put the phone down. Instead, I stare at the three dots blinking trepidation. What is she typing? Is she going to berate me for violating her personal space? Is she angry at me for leaving her?

Charlotte: Cool. I was worried. Thelma is pissed off at you though. She requests your presence at your earliest convenience. Will I see you tomorrow at the committee meeting?

This text is accompanied by a photo of her cat sitting by the apartment door with a displeased look on her face.

Aidan: Of course. I’ll be there. Please give Thelma my sincere apologies. I did not mean to offend her highness.

Charlotte: lol! Can’t wait!

Tilting my head to the side, I puzzle the meaning of her words. I don’t think she’s mad at me.

I swivel in my chair to gaze at Xander’s hunched body. He notices me in the reflection of his monitor and flips me off before grunting and diving back into his work.

Motherfucker! He’s right. Charlotte likes me.

Nausea roils in my stomach, but it is swiftly replaced by resolve. I close down Stardew and open a Word doc to plan out how I’m going to ask her out. By the end of the evening, I have no Cinder Shards, but I’ve drafted out multiple scripts of how I could ask her out.

Charlotte likes me.

17

Charlotte

34 Days until the Council Meeting

“Welcome to the second meeting of the Save The Summerville Library Committee,” I remark to the committee the next day, my voice echoing off the walls of the room. “It’s nice to see a few new faces here this evening. Welcome!” I take a sip of the London Fog that Aidan handed to me just before the meeting started, relishing the vanilla and Earl Grey flavors. And him.

We’ve added three more people to the group. Mr. Kaito Qiang of the Summerville Historical Society, Karen from Book Club, and Liam, Nicole’s coworker from Triple C.

“When can we protest?” Johnny asks from across the table. We decided to go with a long table that was already set up, instead of moving everything to the circle like last week.

Aidan is sitting next to me, scribbling on his notepad. A well-worn copy of Beloved by Toni Morrison sits by his elbow. His knee is very close to touching mine, and I’m giddy with the smell of coffee and cinnamon that’s emanating from either him or the latte sitting in front of him. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s wearing shorts, when his knee brushes against my thigh, it’s his skin I’m touching, not just fabric.

Xander is sitting on the other side of Aidan, and Nicole is next to me. A plate of chocolate croissants from Triple C sits in the middle of the table. Liam is sitting on the other side of her, scrolling through his phone, a bored expression on his face. I get the feeling that he’s here because of Nicole.

“I want to protest!” Karen cries, banging her fist on the table, rattling it. I scramble to grip my London Fog, so I don’t lose any of the liquid goodness. “That’ll get the attention of the council.”

“I’ll bring the pizzas,” Johnny offers, lifting one shoulder. “Georgie will supply the beer.”

I press my lips together. “Alright, let’s focus on a protest for today’s meeting. We’ve got a lot of traction with the flyers and our petition. All good things. But we’ve got to do this right. No one is getting arrested.” I jab a finger at Johnny. “No beer and pizza. We don’t have the permits.”

Karen snorts. “But Jane Fonda looks so good getting arrested.”

“She has a team of well-paid lawyers to get her out of jail.” I lift my eyebrows, and my eyes wander over to Aidan. A dimple in his cheek pops as the corner of his mouth lifts. “We need to do this right. Has anyone here actually organized a protest?” Silence descends over the room. “I’ll take that as a no—”

“I have,” Aidan’s voice breaks through.