AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The night I first met Charley was one of the weirdest nights of my life. Like the kind of scenario you think only happens in fantasy land because no two people could really get along that well, could they?
But we did. And driving away from her on Christmas Eve affected me more than I wanted to admit.
She was everything I expected her to be and more. I’d already seen her face and heard her voice a million times, but having her right there in front of me was amazing. I’d wanted to reach out for her all night, but that would have made me look like a complete prick, so I behaved like the gentleman I was raised to be. I only touched her when we’d hugged, and when we’d danced together, and again when we kissed in my car.
But I’d wanted to hold her hand the whole evening.
She’d been gone from the U.K. for a few weeks, and I’d wanted to give her some time to get used to her new life before I messaged her. I knew she’d have a lot of things she needed to get used to. People to meet, learning to find her way around. There was a lot going on in her world.
“So, what have you been up to?” she’d asked as we messaged back and forth.
Brayden: Not much. Work’s been busy so mostly just that.
Charley: What happened to your social life? :p
I could just picture her smile, and it made me smile too.
Brayden: I’m still broke after Christmas! Headed out for drinks with the boys next weekend though!
Charley: Good! Sounds like you deserve a night out.
I started to type some words, then deleted them. Was what I wanted to say too much? Taking a chance, I let my fingers go free.
Brayden: Wish you were still here though.
There was a short pause at her end, then:
Charley: Me too. It’s not that I’m ungrateful to be here, and my room mate is lovely, but I really just want a hug from my mum, to exchange insults with my brother, and to see you.
I swear, I hadn’t had butterflies in my stomach since I was about thirteen, but her admission that she wanted to see me set something off inside me.
Brayden: We really didn’t get enough time.
Charley: Nope. Not nearly enough.
This time, it was her who started to type, then stop again.
Charley: Maybe we should move on to more neutral ground. I’m already homesick lol
I was sure she’d wanted to say more, maybe about the no promises pact, but I didn’t want to push her to find out. She was a long way away and months from coming home. It just wasn’t the time.
Brayden: Sure. So… was Captain America REALLY worthy of lifting Thor’s hammer? :p
She immediately sent me a laughing emoji at my change of subject, and we immersed ourselves in comic book and movie chat for a while.
That was how easy it was with her though. I’d learned when to push for more information and when to step back, and she did the same with me. We were so in sync it scared me sometimes. That kind of connection with someone had to be rare. Or maybe it wasn’t, but I’d simply never experience it before. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to lose it.
I didn’t want to lose her.
Chapter 6
Charley
Brayden's messages had well and truly put my head in a spin. I'd really thought that my being in America would be an end to any hope of "us".
But he messaged me. That meant he was thinking of me too. Probably not as often, granted. If he'd asked how many times a day I thought of him, I'd honestly be able to tell him, "once". I wouldn't admit that I woke up thinking of him and didn't stop until I went to bed. He was constantly on my mind, and sometimes in my dreams too. Whatever the hell this thing was between us, it was strong. Or, at least, it was for me. There was every chance he didn't feel that tug towards me that I felt towards him, but... part of me thought he did.
"Hey, Charley! Get your fine ass out of here, bitch! There are drinks calling our name!"
