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“Have you not heard a word I fuckin’ said?” Draco asked in admonishment.
“Have you not heard a word I said?” Charlie countered. “You’re overreacting to nothing.”
“Charlie, he’s a bad guy,” Kara said, clearly frustrated with her best friend.
“I don’t ask for references when I’m serving fucking coffee,” Charlie replied. She shook her head tiredly. “I’m going to bed. I’m tired as fuck and I’m opening with you in the morning.”
She left the room a lot quieter than she’d entered, and we all just stood there, wondering what the fuck had just happened.
“I’m gonna call my pop,” Draco finally said, kissing Kara before striding out of the room.
“On a scale of one to ten,” I asked Kara.
“Fourteen,” she answered before I’d finished the sentence. “If you’re going to try and talk to her now, wear a cup.”
She turned back to her schoolwork and picked up a pen so I figured I should probably leave her to it. I went upstairs slowly, taking my time to make sure that I didn’t cross paths with Charlie again, at least not until I figured out what I was going to say.
Honesty was generally the best policy, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into it all when she was still so pissed. I understood why she’d been frustrated. She hadn’t asked me to go to her dad and I’d probably crossed a line there—but had she really expected me to do nothing?
I stripped off my shirt as I walked into my room, closing the door softly behind me. I was covered in grime from working, but I wasn’t about to shower in the bathroom I shared with Charlie…even though it had worked out pretty well for me the last time she was angry. A change of clothes was going to have to be enough until I could shower before bed. I’d just changed my underwear when my door swung open and Charlie stepped inside.
“Look,” she said, brushing her hair out of her face in frustration. “I think we need to take a step back from whatever this is.”
“A step back,” I replied dryly. “Did we ever take a step forward?”
“I was so clear,” she said, shaking her head. “I told you I didn’t have time for this. You know I don’t.”
I just stood there. It had become such a common refrain that I wasn’t even surprised. She was busy as fuck. I got it. We all got it. We fucking saw it.
“The drama is too much, alright,” she said tiredly.
“Drama?”
“Going to my dad, Bishop?” she said with a scoff. “Really?”
“Someone needed to know what was going on.”
“I have it handled,” Charlie replied through her teeth. “I told you that and you ignored it and now I’m going to have the entire club on my ass, just adding on to the shit I was already dealing with.”
“What shit?” I asked, frustrated. “If buyin’ a fuckin’ coffee cart makes you this overwhelmed then maybe you need to think of another life plan.”
She looked like I’d just slapped her and I was immediately sorry.
“I’m just—”
“No, I know,” Charlie said with a sad laugh. “The thing is, it shouldn’t be. The numbers were good. Everything was good when I bought the place, and now it’s tanking. No one is coming through. We barely have any customers and I can’t figure out what the fuck is going on.”
To say I was shocked was an understatement. Yeah, I’d known that she was stressed—but by the look on her face it was so much more than that. Charlie looked defeated.
“If I can’t turn it around—I’m toast,” she said calmly. “All those savings, gone for nothing.”
“Holy shit, Charlie,” I mumbled, unsure of what to say.
“I’d appreciate it if you kept this conversation to yourself,” she said tiredly. “My parents already know.”
“Hasn’t Kara noticed?” I asked in confusion.
“I only put Kara on the morning shifts,” Charlie replied with a rueful smile. “We still get a steady stream of cars then. It’s just not enough to sustain the business without the afternoon traffic.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked, dropping my ass to the bed.
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “But I’ll figure it out.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can help with.”
“That’s sweet,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ll expect you shirtless and waving a sign in front of the shop tomorrow.”
I glanced down at myself, sitting in my damn underwear.
“I’m joking,” Charlie said. “Mostly.”
“If I didn’t have to work,” I replied with a shrug.
“This was good,” Charlie said, gesturing between us. “It could be really good. End of the line, white picket fence kind of good. I just don’t have it in me right now.”
“Alright,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” she said hoarsely. She tapped on my doorframe. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
She left the room and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. When I’d thought she was dodging me before, I’d been pissed. This wasn’t that. Charlie wasn’t playing games—she was being honest. She was into me. She knew we’d be good together. She just didn’t have the time or inclination to start something real with me.
