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Mack: So sorry. Head down on my manuscript today. Pick you up at 6?
Charlie: Actually, I’d love to pick you up. I know where I’m taking you.
Mack: You gonna give me a hint?
Charlie: Wear something nice. Like a white t-shirt and jeans.
Mack: Those are the sexiest words I’ve ever heard. ;-) See you tonight.
A few hours later, Charlie tore up the stairs to shower, shave, and dress. She threw on some bangles, wing-tipped her eyeliner, and left her hair down.
A date. An actual date.
Was this really happening?
NINETEEN
MACK’S DRINK SPECIAL: SHAKEN (NOT STIRRED) ICED FIRST-DATE JITTERS
“Charlie’s gonna be here soon. Donotembarrass me.” Mack shot her mom a stern look, but her smile broke through. She smoothed her palm down her shirt and tugged on the bottom—for the gazillionth time in the last ten minutes.
“Aren’t you more worried about your dad embarrassing you?”
They both turned to her shirtless dad shaking his butt in a horrible attempt at twerking.
“Okay, that’s fair.”
“So, this is a thing, though, right?” Her mom filled a pot with water and grabbed noodles from the cabinet. “I mean, you’re wearing a button-down. I didn’t even know you owned anything except T-shirts.”
“It’s nota thing.” Tonight was absolutely a thing. Full-on doodling hearts on her notepad, scouring Charlie’s Instagram, no appetitething. All day zings and zaps ping-ponged in her body. In the last eight hours, the extra energy boosted her to write four thousand words, take two showers, iron her entire shirt wardrobe, and even contemplate for a hot second ironing her socks. She didn’t know all the dating rules and had no idea how to act. But her confidence never wavered from one subject: She was going all in tonight.
If she and Charlie were about to embark on a potential relationship, she wanted to do it right. She’d tell Charlie she’d been her inspiration to bring her main character, Shelby, to life. And pray to everything that was good and holy in this world that Charlie would understand.
She’d understand, right? Charlie was reasonable. Kind. Mack would just blurt it out sometime during the night, Charlie would laugh and maybe even say she was flattered, Mack would shake her head at holding it in, and all would be good.
Or… she’d freak out. Throw water in her face and tell her to go to hell. Stomp out of the restaurant with her head held high, as the music would come to a screeching halt, and the entire restaurant would stop talking and simultaneously stare at Mack in disgust. Mack would be forced to leave with tossed water dripping down her face and wander aimlessly in the city with a wet shirt and bruised ego.
The sloshing of sauce in a pan snapped her from her spiral.
Her mom stirred and adjusted the heat. “I’m so excited to meet this girl you spend so much time with.”
“Woman, Mom. We’re adults.”
The intercom buzzed, and Mack’s breath halted. Several hammering heartbeats later, knuckles rapped against the door.
A human sunset stood in front of Mack. No other person could wear such bright oranges and yellows, with that red hair and that fair skin, and pull it off. She wasgorgeous.
And that dress.My God.All of Charlie’s fullness and curves and femininity overflowed from the fabric.If Mack could dive into all that right now, she’d die happy.
“Whoa, you look great.” Charlie’s radiant smile filled the room.
“I was going to say the same thing.” Mack kissed her on the cheek, then immediately withdrew.
What were the rules again? Maybe Charlie didn’t want to be kissed. And maybe she did. And maybe Mack was too all up in her head and didn’t know what she was doing, andGod, she just smelled so good, and her hair was just so…
Stop. Breathe. Breathe again.
“Come on in.” Mack held the door open and escorted her to the kitchen. “Charlie, this is my mom, Kelli.”
