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“You look as gorgeous as ever,” they told me as they opened the front passenger door for me.
I got in and waited for them to get seated before speaking as I handed them their coffee. “Aw, are you flirting with me, Charlie?”
Charlie blushed again as they started the car, but didn’t say anything, sipping their coffee. I added the address to the store I wanted to take them into the GPS and leaned back once the automated voice started giving out directions. “Are you excited for today?”
Charlie bit their lower lip as they nodded. “Yeah, I am. I loved the designs you did, and I found some cool clothes online. But I want to see this store. The idea of buying at a store seems more…personal in a sense. It would be a whole new experience, right?”
“Oh, yes. The first time I stepped into that store, I felt so overwhelmed. I mean, I’d known for a long time that I didn’t like the boring, plain clothes most men wore, and then I stepped into this store that’s full of colorful shit for people like me? It was like I’d discovered Narnia.”
Charlie chuckled at my example even as he nodded in understanding. Part of the reason I was so excited about this trip was that I wanted to see Charlie experience that overwhelming sense of belonging that I had when I’d first stepped into Misty’s Bits and Boots.
I was out of the car and at the driver’s side before Charlie had cut the engine when we reached our destination, and I grabbed their hand as soon as they stepped out of the car. “Come on, come on,” I urged them as I led them toward the small boutique store. A bell tinkled above us as we stepped in, and a light flashed in the back room. I smiled at the girl who stood at the cash counter before looking around the store.
“Is Misty here?”
“Yep. Want me to call her?”
I gave her a nod, and she flipped a switch, making the light blink in the back room again. Charlie looked at it in confusion for a moment before they seemed to understand what was up. I gave them a smile and squeezed their hand. The sound of heels clicking on the tiled floor had me turning and smiling as I spotted Misty. She grinned at me when she saw me and hugged me as soon as she was close enough. In her mid-forties, Misty was a fashion expert who had taught me everything I knew about dressing well. She’d designed all my flashy clothes, and she gave me the best ideas when it came to outfits and colors that suited me. With her blond hair tied into a ponytail and her professional-looking, cream-colored pantsuit, you would think she worked at a high-end law firm and not at a boutique that catered especially to gender-benders and defiers like me. Or nonbinary people like Charlie.
Pulling away, she signed at me, her hands moving in a flurry as she glanced between me and Charlie. ‘Who’s the hottie?’
Grinning, I signed back at her, ‘They’re a friend. We want to start a wardrobe for them. Mostly neutral clothes but some more femme ones too, I think.’ Charlie hadn’t really presented as female yet, or said if it was something they wanted, but I wanted them to have something in case they ever decided to try it.
‘Oh, I have just the clothes! Follow me,’ she said before turning around and walking deeper into the store. I looked up at Charlie in order to tell them what she’d said to find them staring at me with wide eyes.
“You know sign language?” they asked, voice full of wonder.
I shrugged as I led them where Misty had disappeared. “A few years ago, we had a kid at Voice Out who lost his hearing when some assholes beat him up. Mama D hired a tutor to teach him sign language. I sat in on the lessons to support him, and I found the language intriguing, so I took up studying it too. Now, when a Deaf or Mute kid shows up, I’m able to help them in a way others can’t, so I’m glad I learned it.”
“Every time I think you can’t get better…” Charlie trailed off, and I blushed, my eyes widening in horror as I did because Ineverblushed. Ever.
My hope that Charlie hadn’t noticed was destroyed when he grinned at me and said, “Are you blushing?”
“What? Me? No, of course not,” I denied, but Charlie’s grin just widened.
“Oh, you are. Is it because I said that you’re amazing, and I didn’t think you could get better, and yet you keep doing it?” I blushed harder, and Charlie started laughing. “Oh my god, you’re so cute!”
I glared at him, my hands on my hips as I spoke. “I am not cute.”
“Sure,” Charlie pacified me, but the grin was still there, and I wasn’t really convinced. But before I could say anything, Misty called from somewhere close by, her Deaf accent thick, “Brady?”
“Come on,” I nudged Charlie as I led him toward the back, where Misty had already gathered more than a dozen outfits on a table. I ran my hands through them, picking up the ones I thought would suit Charlie the best. When I had around six outfits picked out, I turned around and dumped them into Charlie’s arms as they scrambled not to drop them. I led them toward the changing room before waving them inside. “Give me a show,” I told them with a wink before shutting the door and getting seated in the plastic chair across from the door. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through Instagram as I waited for them to come out.
I looked up as the door opened, and my breath caught in my chest as I looked at Charlie.
They were wearing the black, V-split dress I’d picked, paired with the tiniest of denim shorts that I’d been able to find and showing off those gorgeous, muscular thighs of theirs. The dress ended at their calves, and I planned to get them some black, knee-length boots to go with the outfit. But even without them, Charlie looked absolutely stunning. I was up and walking to them before I’d made a conscious decision to. I cursed my small stature as I waved at them to lean closer. As soon as they were within reach, my hand latched onto the back of their neck, and I pressed my lips onto theirs for a light kiss. I’d wanted to do it for some time now, even if I’d been trying my best to stick to the friends label since that was what they needed. I pulled back slightly, still gripping the back of their neck as I murmured against their plush lips, “You look absolutely gorgeous. Tell me now if you want me to back off, and I will.”
Charlie’s eyes widened in surprise before I felt their lips spread wide in a smile against mine. I raised a brow at them, and they replied by closing the distance between our lips and taking mine in a sweet, explorative kiss as their tongue traced my lips. They pulled me closer, and I gripped their waist tightly as I kissed them, and damn, I’d never kissed like this before. Every nerve ending was on fire, and my heart was thundering in my chest. I’d neverfeltso much while kissing, and I never wanted to stop.
A tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my kiss-drunk haze, and I broke away to glare at Misty, who stood behind me with raised brows.
‘No making out in my shop,’ she signed, her lips pressed into a thin line that I suspected was mostly so she wouldn’t smile.
‘But they look so sexy I couldn’t resist.’ I knew I was pouting, but I was very annoyed at her for having interruptedthebest kiss of my life, and I felt like I deserved to sulk a bit about it.
Charlie’s face was bright red with embarrassment, and I leaned up to press a kiss on their chin just because I could. And because they looked damn adorable while blushing. I knew there was a ‘talk’ to be had, but after that kiss, there was no denying that we had chemistry, and Ireallywanted to try.
‘Well, they do look sexy, so why don’t you buy that outfit and then make out somewhere else?’ she offered, and I grinned at her.
