Believe me, I’d have much rather stayed buried deep inside Charli, but I’d made plans to meet the guys for happy hour and I couldn’t cancel. They were ultra-curious as to who was occupying my free time, even when it was long-distance.
Peter had already texted twice that I’d better be careful or Adam was going to steal my girl. That certainly wasn’t helping my desire to go. While she took a shower, I reminded myself Charli liked me before.
I’d given her a fresh towel and left her to do her thing in my room, even though I wanted to join her. I knew if I did, it would be one more reason we didn’t make it to happy hour.
I also didn’t want to admit my experience in sharing a shower was limited to my senior year of high school and a few semesters of college. Anytime after that, I’d been hesitant to get naked under the bright bathroom lights. The bedroom was one thing but the shower was another.
Which was why I wanted to do it so badly with Charli. It seemed like the universe had good reason for limiting my experience—so the best experiences would be with her.
I heard her shoes click on the floor before I saw her. Harriette let out what seemed to be a murmur of approval, and I looked up. There Charli was in a black sundress that tied around her neck, a pair of strappy Grecian-style sandals and a shimmery silver cardigan hanging from her hand.
“Wow. You look stunning.” Her hair was down and blown into straight layers, her eyelids a smoky gray and her lips pink and shiny.
“Thank you. So do you.”
I’d quickly showered as she checked her e-mails earlier, and then changed while she was the bathroom. I felt underdressed in my faded jeans and black Coldplay tee. It was from a concert and pretty much a joke. I was trying to replicate the old me in the new me’s body, and now I felt like a fool.
“Nah.” It was too big and probably looked god-awful.
“I like the tee.” She ran her hand down my cheek. “Though I liked him better when he was married. He was lovable as a family man ... the lead guy.”
“I should change. You look like you could be in a magazine, and I’m ready for the neighborhood watering hole.”
“Come on.” She linked her arm through mine. “I don’t want to be late.”
We walked toward the ocean, and I held open the door to Bastion’s with a knot of regret in my stomach. This wasn’t the type of place she was going to like; I just knew it. It wasn’t sophisticated or chic.
“Lay!” Peter called from a stool at the bar, and Adam turned around on the stool next to him.
“Hey, guys.”
“We’re next up at pool, so make the intros quick,” Peter said.
Charli laughed.
“Meet Peter and Adam. Guys, meet Charli.”
“Hi.”
“Girl, you really are all he bragged about. I wish I’d seen a picture. I would’ve brought my A game tonight.”
“Adam,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Kidding!”
“You have a good flight and all that?” Peter asked, then sipped at his beer. “Oh, what do you two want? First round is on me.”
“Cabernet,” Charli quickly replied.
“Beer.”
We got our drinks and everything fell into an easier rhythm. Adam and Charli discussed some racy political drama on TV, and then she got on a laughing jag with Peter over some story he told of riding a cab in New York. He claimed the driver drove around the block fifty times, and he let him, wanting to see how far he’d run up the meter. Then Peter got out and did exactly what they said to do. Called the police.
I watched from afar as Charli’s chest rose with each laugh and fell with every breath. Her hair swung around her face as she moved, drifting over her shoulder when she gestured with her hands as she talked, and she was at ease.
At some point in the evening, she leaned into my shoulder and said, “I’ve never had this much fun, never been this happy or relaxed.”
I held her close with my hand on her hip, and turned her chin with my finger to kiss her softly. “Good.”
