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Charlie’s cheeks turned bright red as she peered around me. “It’s fine! Go inside,” she called back and then pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. “Oh my god, oh my god.”
Then she looked up at me and gasped again. “You’re bleeding!”
“A badge of honor, don’t worry about it,” I said, wiping the blood from my chin. Her eyes were fixed on her little teeth marks on my lower lip.
“I’m sorry – oh god, actually, no I’m not,” she said, going from horrified to pissed off in a blink. “This is all your fault!”
She stomped away from me, and I fought the urge to reach for her again.
“Hey, don’t blame the victim,” I called to her.
She spluttered, throwing me a panicked, embarrassed look. “I’m going,” she announced.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” I reminded her, watching as she practically scurried toward the doorway. “Date number two, my place, don’t be late.”
CHAPTER9
Charlie
So, last night hadn’t gone as planned, but that was ok, I could still claw my dignity back. At least, I could pretend that it had never happened.
I went to Sunshine Home early to meet Chris and finish planning the fundraising for the concert. The only problem was how distracted I was. I couldn’t get the kiss out of my mind.
“Earth to Charlie, what do you think?” Chris asked me.
I blinked at him. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening,” I admitted, hanging my head for a moment. I had to get it together.
“That’s ok. You’re human, not a machine after all. You can have a bad day,” Chris said with a soft smile. The words only made my guilt increase, because the truth was that it didn’t feel like a bad day. With the thrill of the date yesterday, and the upcoming date tonight, I was feeling a lot of things, and none of them were bad. Mostly, I was seriously wondering if tonight would end up in the bedroom at Ivy House, and if I really wanted a night with a literal rockstar, to be my first time.
Yep, that was right. I was pretty sure that Lars had no idea that the woman he’d decided to seduce was a clueless virgin. I had no real reason for being one, except the fact that Briar Vale was a very small town. I knew, without a doubt, that whoever it was I finally did the deed with, everyone in town would know about it. It didn’t help that I knew all the men in town and had never particularly wanted to date one. Maybe an out-of-towner was exactly what I needed to finally enter the halls of the experienced.
At least that way, I wouldn’t have to see him all the time. While Lars had inherited Ivy House, I already knew there was very little chance he’d be in Briar Vale often. He had to tour, play concerts, and record music. His life was in LA and Briar Vale was a small diversion for him. While that might be a red flag for others, maybe that would be the perfect setup for me. A man I was genuinely attracted to, who’d tactfully disappear after our dates, and I’d not have to run into every day at the local coffee place.
It was something to consider.
“Is it Lars Nilsen and Ivy House? Is he making it difficult for you? If you want, I can take over the organization of it all,” Chris’s concerned voice butted into my daydreams.
“No! I mean, no, it’s not him,” I tried to calm my wild tone. “There’s just always so much on at this time of year. My brain is on overload.”
“You need to chill out and rest. How about that dinner tonight? There’s a new French place over on 5th.”
His question took me off guard for a second, and I responded thoughtlessly. “I can’t I have a date.”
Chris frowned. “A date? With who?” His voice sounded disbelieving, as though he knew I was making up an excuse.
“Lars. I have a date with Lars,” I admitted, knowing that lying about it would only sound worse. It wasn’t a secret, and I didn’t want Chris to find out I was keeping things from him.
“Lars, are you kidding me?” Chris said, a note of anger entering his voice.
I blinked at him, taken aback by his rudeness. “No, I’m not joking.”
Chris stood up and went to the coffee machine in the window. His broad shoulders moved quickly up and down as if he was breathing deeply to regain his calm.
“Why?” he asked finally, a hard note in his voice.
“Why not?” I challenged. I was hardly going to tell him about Lars’s little three-date deal. More than that, the possessive, pissed-off tone in Chris’s voice was rubbing me the wrong way. I’d always been clear that I wasn’t interested in going out for dinner with him, inviting others, avoiding the subject, yet, he seemed wilfully determined not to realize my reluctance. Sure, I should have been clearer, but I didn’t want to make things awkward when we worked together. Trying to be nice had only got me into this awkward situation. It was the story of my life.
“Why not? I thought we were going to go out… everyone thinks we should be a couple, even your mother.”
