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Charlotte Ha.
What the hell was she doinghere?
Rick shook his head to ensure he wasn’t seeing things, that the blows he took from Wilkins hadn’t damaged his brain or vision. His gaze floated squarely on her since she stood out like a blazing sun on a planet of… apes.
She lookeddifferent.
Of course, he noticed the shorter-than-short hair first. Her long, wavy tresses were her signature feature. But now, with more than half hacked off, he found it much more appealing. There was something about the way the short hair brought out her facial features. She wore a light pink dress that had a squarish neckline and ended above her knees, and something shiny and expensive glinted from her ears.
Fashionable as always, and the way she walked in dangerously sharp heels clunked the ground like the pounding of drums announcing her arrival. The look on her face showed how out of place she felt. Besides the difference in apparel between her and the rest of the gym members, the atmosphere was a huge contrast.
Charlie’s footsteps were cautious of the sticky floor as she held onto her purse. Once she spotted him, her lips pulled into a smile, and his chest leaped strangely. Her uneasiness seemed to have faded as she sped up to him. A loud roar came next to her as someone rammed against the rope of the boxing ring, nearly knocking into her.
She shrieked, clutching her purse. He couldn’t stop his amusement as he watched her gather back up and excused herself.
Rick pulled off his gloves, grabbed the towel by the corner of the boxing ring, and spat out his mouth guard just before she approached him. It was maybe a week and a half since he’d last seen her when he dropped her off at her home after about a day and a half of crashing at his place. He recalled her long, frizzy hair and her wearing his old school clothes while walking her to her house.
The room was still quiet, gym members gazing in their direction when she stopped in front of him, and he cleared his throat with a little growl. Everyone resumed back to their workouts, and he saw Charlie relax, clearly not into the attention on her.
He stepped out of the ring and landed on the floor until they stood on the same level. Wiping the sweat off his face with his towel, he asked her, “Charlie? What are you doing here?”
She smiled and held up a small shopping bag he hadn’t noticed earlier. “I came to bring you back your clothes. I never got your number, and I remembered you saying you come here.”
“Thanks, you didn’t have to.” He took the bag from her, reached in, and felt the plastic covers. Looking inside, he stared in wonder. “Did you get thesedry-cleaned?”
“Yes, of course,” she said matter-of-factly, as though it would be insane if she didn’t.
“These are old and torn, not worth the dry-cleaning fee. I would’ve expected you to throw them out.”
“That’s nonsense! You’ve kept them after all these years. They must have meant something to you.”
No, not really. He was just too lazy to filter outclothes to throw away. “Okay, thanks. Did you really come all the way here to give me back my clothes?”
Her cheeks turned a subtle shade of pink, and he wondered if he was imagining it. “Well, kind of. I also wanted to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” he asked.
Her eyes darted left to right. “Can we go somewhere more quiet?”
This sounded serious. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Nick pretending to stay busy while listening to their conversation. Rick had told his buddy about what happened with Charlie, thinking the story ended when he took her home and not expecting to see much of her again. For her to show up in person, asking to talk was something he didn’t see coming, and he wasn’t sure by her tone if she had good or bad news.
“Sure, there’s a coffee shop across the street. Let me pack up and take a quick shower. I don’t want to go out reeking of sweat.”
Charlie nodded, then noticed his state of dress, or lack thereof. Aside from the drawstring sports shorts, he wore nothing else. Bobby pins Sarah bought him held the front of his hair back. He was covered in sweat and there was a high possibility of blood on his lips. Not a pretty picture.
After telling her to wait for him by the front entrance, he excused himself to the gym’s shower room and ignored Nick’s obnoxious grin. After five minutes of rinsing and scrubbing his hair with soap, Rick dried and dressed at record speed. With two coats of deodorant for extra measure, he was out with his training bag and found Charlie sitting on the couch like a lost little girl waiting to be picked up.
“See you later, Rick,” Marley, the front desk receptionist, called when he appeared.
“See you,” Rick returned and went to Charlie, who stood up immediately. “Ready?” She followed him out the door. Outside, he noted the scent of something breezy and floral emanating offher. Miles better than the testosterone-stuffed arena he was in for the past few hours.
The little main street was busy, as it usually was on a weekend. Cars filled the street parking, bottlenecking the roads with traffic, and shoppers crammed the sidewalk. Charlie matched his pace when they crossed and entered the coffee shop.
Charlie grabbed a table while he ordered their drinks. He sat across from her, leaving his bag on the ground. She seemed pensive and a little nervous, but he couldn’t wait out the suspense.
Before he spoke, she pulled something from her purse. “Here, these are for you.” She held it out to him, and he took it to see a pair of tickets to a baseball game. And the seats were astronomically good.
“Wow, where did you get this?” he asked, excited.
