Loverboy (17 page)

She begins jumping excitedly. “You actually made it,” she says over the music. “I’m so happy you’re doing okay.”

Charlie nods. “Thank you.”

She glances at me and back to Charlie. “Who’s the hunky?”

Charlie smiles. “This is Nick,” she says. “Nick, this is Maggie,” she tells me. “Maggie, this is Nick, my…”

“Her boyfriend.” I smile, extending my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Her eyes widen. “Wow, Charlie, I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” She eyes me up and down for a moment. “I’d say he’s a keeper.”

Charlie laughs softly. “Thank you.”

“By the way, Professor Montoya has been wondering when you’ll be back in class,” she says. “He has no one to correct him in class, which means, he has no one to fight with.”

Charlie laughs again. “Baby steps for me,
Mags.”

She smiles, leaning in to hug Charlie once more. “I know; please call me if you need anything. I miss you, and I worry about you.”

Charlie nods. “I’m sorry. I know. I should call more.”

“Yes, you should,” Maggie tells her. “We can talk anytime; you know that.”

Charlie nods.

“Help yourself to anything,” she says. “And Charlie, don’t forget you owe me a dance.” She grins. “I’m going to go find Chris.”

Charlie nods, waving her off.

I lean next to her ear. “How you doing?”

She shrugs. “I’m still deciding.”

The screaming distracts us as we both turn to see an extremely inebriated young guy run past us completely naked. Charlie rolls her eyes, making a disgusted sound as I begin laughing.

She looks at me, shaking her head. “I am so sorry.” She laughs. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea.”

I laugh. “It’s okay,” I tell her. “I kind of figured it would be like this.”

“Well, we’re here,” she says. “Now what?”

I glance around and notice the kitchen is the next room over. “
C’mere,” I say, taking her hand. “Do you drink beer at all?”

“Not as much as these people do,” she says. “Just one.” She glances down as she steps over piles of red and blue plastic cups.

“Same here,” I tell her, heading for the refrigerator and opening the door. I pull out two bottles of beer. “Here, want to find a quiet spot?”

She nods and glances around. “Please.”

I smile as we trek back into the rest of the house, finding a flight of stairs. We head up them, and I open the first door to find a couple a tad too comfortable with one another on the bed to have not locked the door. Charlie covers her mouth laughing as I slam the door shut.

“Well, next room,” I say. “Shall we?” I laugh.

We find that whoever is occupying the next few rooms was actually smart enough to lock the door. Especially if that had the same plans as the first couple we had found. As we came to the end of the hallway, we swing open the last door, which seems to lead to a guest bedroom. It’s dark and quiet with no one in sight. I have one last look around the corner before leading her inside, where she turns on the dim overhead light.

I sigh. “You weren’t kidding.”

She shakes her head. “Told you.” She walks over, having a seat on a large hope chest at the foot of the bed. She takes a few breaths. “I didn’t think I’d actually come here tonight.”

I crack open the two beers and place their tops in my pocket. “One step at a time,” I tell her, sitting next to her as I hand her a drink. “And, even if you’re not mingling with,” I pause. “Well, what’s downstairs, you’re still out.”

She nods. “You’re absolutely right. And, as crazy as it is down there,” she tells me, “I’m glad you had me come tonight. If anything, to see Maggie. I’ve really missed her.”

I take a sip of the beer I’m holding and smile. “See? It’s nice to see friends.”

“Especially ones like Maggie,” she tells me, bringing the long neck bottle up to her lips.

For the first time in my life I have a brief moment where I want to be that bottle, if anything to feel her lips again. I snap out of it to smile. “She’s been really good to you,” I say. “Hasn’t she?”

She nods. “I knew absolutely no one when I got here. She helped me get my apartment and get my first job up here. Even though it wasn’t the most,” she pauses. “Ugh, the nicest job, it paid the rent and bills until the studio picked me up.”

“Then it’s a good thing you came to see her tonight,” I tell her. “Some friends are worth doing anything for.”

She nods and smiles. “And, that would be Maggie.” She glances around and makes a rather strange face. “We’re in someone’s house, in their spare bedroom, with two stolen beers from the fridge, and we have no idea who they are.” She laughs.

“Do you really think they’re going to miss two single beers with that mess down
stairs?” I ask.

She laughs. “You know, I do believe you’ve committed a crime, officer. Isn’t that theft?” She winks.

“And, that would make you my accomplice,” I tell her.

“Oh, ouch,” she says. “That truly hurt.” She brings the bottle up to her mouth and has another drink.

“Stolen beers taste better, don’t they?” I ask, making her laugh so hard she needs to cover her mouth.

“You’re the one who gave it to me.”

I laugh softly and move in closer to her. “You know, if there’s one thing I never did at parties,” I say, “It would be this. Apparently as you saw from two doors down, it’s all the rage.”

She giggles softly. “Until someone pops in.”

I laugh. “Well, not my fault; there’s locks,” I say. “So, here I am, in this room, alone with a beautiful woman who has completely stolen my heart.” I push her hair back showing off her face. “I should have you arrested.”

“For drinking stolen beer, or stealing your heart?” She asks.

“Both.” I smile. “This is okay, right?” I ask, realizing that I am very close to her, and if there is one thing I don’t want to do, it’s make her panic.

She smiles and leans in closer to me, pressing her lips softly to mine. I take this as it’s perfectly fine, and I bring a hand up to her face. She smells like vanilla, and despite the taste of beer on her mouth, it’s the sweetest kiss I’ve had in a long time. I hear her let out a little sigh as she wraps her arms around me. I repeat her action and feel her body relax as I do. It’s not long before a loud banging at
the door makes her jump. She gives me a funny look, but manages to shrug it off. I lean in for another kiss as the loud banging continues. I take a long breath in before sitting my beer down to go answer the knocking. I’m surprised to see the same scruffy kid from her apartment; Jason.

I turn back to glance at Charlie, who’s dropped her head and is holding her face in her hands. “What do you want, Jason?”

“Maggie said you came with your boyfriend. Is this guy your boyfriend?” He looks directly at me. “The cop who’s supposed to be guarding you.”

She nods. “He is. It’s a long story, and one that I’m sure as hell not telling you.”

“What the hell, Charlie?” He says, taking a few steps toward her.

I extend my arm across his chest and look down at him. “After hearing about you, you obviously have no right to even look at her, let alone think twice about her,” I tell him.

“And just what did little-miss-perfect tell you?” He mocks. “If it was that time I slept with Nicole...”

Charlie looks up. “You slept with Nicole, too?” She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, what does that bring your total to?”

He looks up at me. “You’re a man,” he begins. “You have to understand from the get go Charlie isn’t exactly the type who just runs and jumps in the sack,” he explains. “And, if you’re not getting it from home you get it from somewhere else.”

I shake my head. “No, I wouldn’t understand,” I tell him.
,
“If I had her waiting on me at home, I sure as hell wouldn’t be digging up something off the street,” I growl. “And furthermore, I’d be happy to have a woman who respects herself like Charlie does.”

“You think she respects herself?” Jason laughs. “Guess you never told him about working at Hooters.”

I turn to see Charlie’s head drop completely. “It was a job. It was just a job. One that Maggie helped me get, so I could have some income, especially after you cleaned me of all my savings!” She yells.

“Oh yes,” he says. “Boo-
hoo about it why don’t you.” He inches toward her to be blocked quickly by me. “I needed the money.”

“For a prostitute!” She screams. “You told me it was for your grandmother.”

He looks up at me with a serious face. “Strippers are not prostitutes.”

At that very moment I want nothing more than to punch him in the face. Would serve him right. For a moment I can feel my fist beginning to tighten as Jason pushes closer. I block him again, this time harder. I’m quite infuriated that he’s even thinking about her after what he’s done to her. I don’t know the kid, but I can honestly say that I don’t like him.

I hear Charlie sigh, and I turn to see her look up at him. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because we should fix things.” He smiles wide. “Don’t you believe in second chances?”

“Sounds like you had one too many second chances,” I snarl. “And it sounds like she’s very much too good for you,” I grumble. “I think you need to get the hell out of here.”

“You’re not exactly tough without your uniform,” he shoots.

“I don’t need a uniform to kick your ass,” I say roughly.

Within a split second he is out the door for me to shut and lock it again. I head for the hope chest to sit next to her. She looks up at me, and I can tell tears are straining against her eyes. I push her hair from her face, letting it fall down her back.

She lets out an awkward laugh. “Hooters.” She licks her lips. “The job Maggie got me when I first got here. I needed a job,” she says. “I just don’t like to admit having a job there to anyone. I mean, guys go there for the wings, right?”

I smile wide and take her hand in mine. “Guys just go there for the wings,” I tell her.

“It’s embarrassing.”

“You needed a job,” I say. “A job is a job. It paid,
right?”

She nods. “But still embarrassing. I’m not really that type of person.”

I press my finger to her lips. “Shh.”

“Nick,” she starts.

I shake my head.
,
“Shh.”

“But, Nick...” she begins again.

I laugh and shake my head. “Charlie, just shh. Close your eyes.”

She hesitates, but finally listens and closes her eyes.

“Charlie the past is exactly that, it’s in the past,” I tell her softly. “Don’t think about it. Think about you and me. We’re starting something brand new.” I can see her body beginning to relax as I speak. “We’re starting something amazing for us.” I press my lips to her cheekbone and then her eye lids. “Nothing is going to hurt you anymore.” I press my lips to hers, and she immediately loops her arms around me. I pull her close to my body and run my hands down her back. I pull back slowly. “Please don’t let that idiot hurt you.” I cup her face in my hands. “Open your eyes.”

She opens them slowly and looks right into my eyes. Her bright blue-green eyes no longer fight tears as the dim lighting makes them glimmer from all angles. She smiles wide. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry tonight ended up being a dud,” I tell her.

She gives her head a shake. “It’s okay. At least with me, things are certainly eventful.” She laughs.
             

“You do have a point,
.
” I tell her.

“I just really like to keep things interesting.” She laughs.

“I am sorry about Jason. He really seems like a jerk, and even I can’t stand him.”

“An even bigger jerk than my ex back from Indiana,” she admits. “At least it’s done and over with.”

I smile. “That’s one way to look at it.”

“Well, you said so yourself,” she tells me. “The past is in the past.”

I nod.

“So, would I be asking too much if I asked to leave?” She asks.

I shake my head. “No, I think that would be a good idea,” I tell her.

“Good,” she says. “Because, if you would have said no, I would have gone to begging.” She laughs.

“Aw, c’mon,” I say. “Was it really that bad?”

“Well, this part wasn’t bad, and seeing Maggie wasn’t bad,” she admits.

“But, Jason didn’t help.”

She nods.

“Anything else you want to do tonight?” I ask.

She gives her head a shake as her hair bobs back and forth. “I think after this I’m plenty good.”

I give her time to say her goodbyes to Maggie before we head to my truck. Maggie gives her a tight hug and reminds her several times to call her before we walk out the door into the chilly night air when Charlie shivers.

“I was leaving a party the night I,” she stops.

“I know.” I say, opening the door for her.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I just couldn’t help...”