This was the biggest house I had ever seen. Ever been in.
“Mm, yeah. He’s not here a lot, but he has staff to take care of the place. You know, a cook, someone to do the cleaning, that sort of thing.” Charlie placed his hands on my hips and tugged me closer before his lips found mine again.
I liked kissing Charlie. I didn’t have anyone to compare him to, but I was sure he was the absolute best. I wanted to kiss him all the time. I liked the way his tongue curled around mine. The soft little noises he made when I combed my fingers through his hair and how he nipped at my lips. How he tilted my head up to get a better angle, to takecontrol, even though I would let him have all the control he wanted. Charlie was divine, the man of my dreams, and I was afraid of what would happen the moment he wasn’t here. That he would forget me and go back to whatever he did back home. To someone else.
“Charlie.” I pulled back to look at him, into those ocean-blue eyes. “What’s going to happen when you leave me?”
He sighed softly. “Who said I was leaving you?”
“You’re not going to stay here in North Carolina, are you?”
Charlie smiled. “I would if I could. I have school in the fall. But that doesn’t mean we can’t continue this when I’m gone.” Something in the way he ducked his gaze and buried his face in my neck caused my stomach to clench.
“You won’t forget me, will you, Charlie?” I murmured. “I’m not as naïve as I look. I know how this is going to play out. I’ll stay here, you’ll go home, and... and...”
“Hey.” His big hands gently massaged my back. “Relax, Jonesy, don’t get so worked up. I could never forget you. You’re too important to me.” His lips brushed over my skin as he tightened his grip around me.
I swallowed hard as tears threatened to fall, thankful that Charlie wasn’t looking at me. I hardly knew the man, and I was already head-over-heels for him. But when I didn’t say anything, he released me and stepped back to stare at me, which only made me drop my gaze in embarrassment. Luckily, the oven went off, and it gave me a few minutes to gather myself together when Charlie went to take care of the pizza. I hopped from the counter, grabbed a paper towelso I could pat my face, and took a few deep breaths. This was too much, too fast. Even I knew that.
“Bashful.” Charlie’s voice was low in my ear. “Look at me.”
I slowly turned around to face him, my chin raised to meet his brown gaze. “I meant what I said. I won’t forget you. This face”—he cupped my cheek with the palm of his hand—”is too beautiful to forget. This heart...” He dropped his hand to place it over my chest where my heart beat too hard and too fast. “Is the sweetest, kindest one I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.” He leaned down to brush his lips against mine. “Want to help me bring the food back to my room?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Great.” Charlie smiled at me, and I watched as the dimples appeared in his cheeks.
Don’t break my heart, Charlie. Please. I silently begged as I watched him grab the food, some bottles of hard cider, which he handed to me, and napkins. Then I blissfully followed him back to his bedroom.
***
I woke with Charlie’s big body sprawled across mine, and I didn’t hate it. We had stayed up late watchingOuter Bankson Netflix, after I texted Mama to tell her I would be staying at his place, talking, and flirting before I crawled into Charlie’s lap to start kissing him, which turned into me shoving my hand down the front of his pants totouch him and him returning the favor. I was getting a little bolder with him. A little obsessed, maybe.
I combed my fingers through Charlie’s dark hair as he slept and watched the way his back lifted with each breath. I could go with him when he left, right? I mean, if he wanted. I wouldn’t push myself on Charlie, but if he asked me or mentioned it, I wouldn’t say no. They had racing up north. NASCAR was centered in North Carolina, but who was to say I would even make it here? I was still a teenager. I might not ever make it big time like I wanted. I could get a job working in a grocery store stocking shelves.
“Morning, Bashful.” Charlie’s voice was sinfully sexy when he woke up. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as he focused on me, and a smile spread across his face. “Whoa, you look serious. Everything all right? Is your mother mad that you didn’t come home last night?”
I shook my head. “No, everything is fine.” I had posted a couple of pictures on my IG earlier, though. Ollie and Travis had a lot of questions for me. They had blown up my phone with texts and gifs that had thrilled yet embarrassed me.
“Okay.” Charlie sat up as he dragged a hand through his messy hair. “Then why is there this line right here?” He tapped between my eyebrows.
I chuckled. “There’s no line there, silly. I don’t have lines or gray hairs or anything like that.”
“Are you sure, Jonesy? You’re not that much younger than me. You might have some crow’s feet.” He moved closer to peer at my face. “Maybe some lines—” Charlie smirked at me just as I grabbed his head and kissed him hard on the mouth, not caring about morning breath.
Everything about this boy did it for me. That reminded me. I had to ask Charlie about coming with me to meet Mama’s new boyfriend.
A loud knock at the door had him pulling away from me. “Charles, are you up? I have a few things I need to speak with you. We’re having dinner here tonight with my fiancé, and I wanted to make sure you were presentable.”
Oh, wait! Charlie’s daddy was outside the room. I started to scramble from the bed just as the door opened and a giant of a man stepped into the room. He looked like an older, much grayer version of Charlie. I shrank back against the pillows as his dark eyes dug into me like a dagger. His massive shoulders were covered in a white-collared shirt, and I was surprised he wasn’t wearing a tie around his thick neck. I couldn’t see a wrinkle or a smudge on the man. His hair might be gray, but it was trimmed properly, in place, and it looked good on him. At least I knew what Charlie would look like when he got older.
“You could have given me a couple of minutes.” Charlie sighed and climbed from the bed. “I have a guest.”
His father grunted. “I can see that.”
I felt like a bug on a windshield as he continued to stare at me with a look of disgust on his face. This was a heck of a way to find out your son was bisexual.
“Dad, Jones. Jones Matthews, my father Remington Callahan the Third.” Charlie waved a hand in his direction.
