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‘Sure thing, ma’am.’
“Come on, let’s try out all the other clothes so we can get out of here soon,” I said, and Charlie nodded enthusiastically, his brown curls bouncing as he stepped back and into the changing room.
Damn, I couldn’t wait to kiss them again.
The dinner at Luke’s was awesome. As always, I loved Scott’s spaghetti carbonara, and Charlie promised to make me some later in the week if I wanted. Having them as a friend—and hopefully more—was proving to be more and more beneficial for me, especially my tastebuds. We didn’t stay too long since we’d been tired after spending all day shopping, so after hanging out with the two lovebirds for a few hours, we left them with a promise to see them soon.
Now, as I lay in bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about Charlie. About the moment right before I’d left them on their doorstep, when all I’d wanted to do was pull them closer and kiss them again. The kiss at the store had been pure instinct. I’d seen Charlie looking all gorgeous, and I’d justhadto kiss them. There had been no thinking, no moment of uncertainty.
I wouldn’t deny that I had found them attractive ever since I’d first seen them in my café all those weeks ago. But after spending time with them, after getting to know them better, I’d realized that they needed a friend a lot more than they needed a boyfriend. Which was why I’d put my attraction to them out of my mind. Or at least I’d tried to. It wasn’t like I wasn’t used to not getting what I wanted.
But now, after that kiss we’d shared, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. About them. The way they’d let me take over, let me kiss them the way I’d longed to. Could they really want the same thing I did? Or had it been a fluke? Maybe they’d let me lead because I was the one who had initiated the kiss, and they’d been too surprised to take over.
Where did this leave us, then? We hadn’t really talked about the kiss. It had almost seemed like Charlie had intentionally avoided thinking about it or talking to me. Would Charlie want to explore this, whateverthiswas? Or would they want to go back to how things were and forget that it ever happened?
“What do you think, Cherry? Would Charlie want to date your daddy?”
Cherry looked at me with her big, brown eyes before flopping onto her back and giving me her patentrub my bellylook. I followed the command, the questions in my mind quieting down a bit as I lost myself in the familiar, soothing gesture.
The ringing of my phone pulled me out of my belly rub trance, and I reached over to grab my phone from the bedside table. My eyes widened when I saw Charlie’s name flashing on the screen, and I quickly hit answer.
“Charlie?”
“Did you mean it?” Their voice was soft and slightly muffled, making me wonder what they were doing.
“Mean what?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew exactly what they were talking about.
Charlie made an impatient, huffing sound, and it made me smile as I snuggled into Cherry, pulling her closer as I waited for them to speak. “The kiss,” they said, their voice even softer than before, and the vulnerability I could hear so fucking clearly in their voice made me wish it was them I was holding instead of Cherry.
“Yes, I did.” I said the words as clearly as I could, making sure they could hear the sincerity in my voice. “Charlie, I’ve found you attractive from the moment I saw you in my café. The only reason I didn’t act on it was that I didn’t know if you were interested or ready. I’m sorry if I made you feel pressured or uncomfortable today.”
“You didn’t!” Charlie assured quickly, making me grin. They were so fucking cute. “I just…”
“Yeah?”
“I like you, Brady. I really do. You’re funny, sweet, so kind and so gorgeous. I want to try…” I could hear the hesitance in their voice, and it brought back to my mind our first conversation. Charlie had told me they had been completely in their closet before moving here. Did that also mean they’d never dated?
“Charlie, have you been with a guy before?” I asked softly, hoping they wouldn’t get embarrassed by the question. Maybe it was a good thing we weren’t talking face to face, huh? Usually, Charlie was so damn calm and collected, but right now, I had a feeling that the smallest thing would make them panic or end the call.
“Not—not like I want to be with you,” they mumbled, and I had to strain my ear to catch what they’d said. “I’ve had a few…hookups of sorts. But I don’t want that with you. Unless that’s what you want?” Their voice had definitely been panicky at the end, and I rushed to assure them.
“No, Ceebee, I definitely want to date you. We can take it as slow as you want, okay? Just hanging out together, going on dates, maybe some cuddles and kisses. How does that sound?”
“Wonderful,” Charlie breathed out, and I smiled, my heart fluttering in my chest excitedly as date ideas started popping up in my head.
“And you really want to date me?” Charlie asked, and I had half a mind to walk the few blocks to their apartment and give them a hug and tell them that I really did want to go out with them, but I didn’t want to seem overbearing.
“I really, really want to date you. In fact, I’m already planning our first date,” I informed them, smiling when they chuckled. Finally.
“Yeah?”
“Yep. Pick one: stay in or go out? I’ll plan the rest.”
“In, I think. At least this time. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t have given you the option if I wasn’t okay with it, right?”
“Yeah. So…when is our first date?” Charlie asked, and I could hear the smile in their voice.
