Page 23 of Under the Radar

I shook my head slowly. “No.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Well, that was fast.” She sat back, sipping her coffee, looking around the kitchen. “When I first got here, Maxx and I struck sparks off each other. He made me mad, and I liked to push his buttons.”

“You still do,” I pointed out dryly.

She grinned. “But now I know what to expect. He’s going to get all growly and pissy and throw me down somewhere and get all his frustrations out.”

“TMI, Charly.”

“There is a point here,” she replied.

“Can we get to it? I’m getting uncomfortable.”

She laughed. “Whatever. Mom and Dad do have sex, Chase. A lot of it.”

I wanted to cover my ears, but I nodded. “Well aware. Everyone is.”

She chuckled. “It took us a while to admit our feelings. Especially Maxx. I knew I loved him early on. You’ve had feelings for Occifer Cinnamon for a long time.” She paused. “I think she has some for you. But you both have pasts. Your record.” She paused and took another sip of her coffee. “Whatever she is running from.”

I hunched closer. “She has nightmares, Charly. She cries in her sleep.”

“Do you wake her up? Or does she wake up on her own?”

“Neither. The first night, I went in to check on her. I stroked her head and talked to her a little, and she stopped. I-I’ve been doing it every night.”

Charly studied me. “You need to show her she can trust you.”

“How?”

“Show her that you trust her. Tell her about your past.”

“She could just look it up in the system. She might already know.”

“I don’t think Hannah would do that. But if she knows, then you have your answer. She does trust you. If she doesn’t, she has to know—it’s only fair.” She studied me. “I can tell you are feeling guilty about withholding it from her.”

I huffed out a deep breath. “You’re right. I am. I want to be honest, but I’m scared.”

“If this was just a roommate scenario, I’d say to leave it, but it’s obviously not. You have feelings for her, Chase. You have to be honest.”

“I know. I’m worried she’ll reject me.”

“Then at least you’d know. Don’t push this relationship forward without being honest, Chase. You saw what happened with Kelly and Brett. With Gabby trying to do everything on her own. Take it slow, and tell her when the time is right.” She leaned forward, clasping my hand. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Thanks, Charly.”

She nodded. “You were right to come to me. I am wise about this stuff.”

“Maxx would call you nosy.”

“Maxx is a man of few words. Same thing.”

I laughed as I stood and drained my coffee. “I’ll head into the garage now.”

“Okay.” She waited until I was at the door before she called, “Chase?”

I turned. “Yeah?”

“I like her, and I think the two of you would be an awesome couple.”