“Come on, let’s go.”
She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the airport and back to bed. Before I could show her the garage. Long before Harriette could steal her affections from me (yes, my dog loved her more than me.) Way before I pulled out the other tactics.
That night, we ate sushi on my back patio. Yep, sushi. I’d learned to survive on it at least one night a week. Or maybe I was filled up on Charli? I didn’t need a large pie when I had her waiting in my bed for me.
Fuck it, not just my bed but my life. I’d definitely learned moderation since reuniting with the formerly bitchy woman. So had she.
“Do you think it was meant to be? Us, the plane?” She ran her fingers down my forearm while we lay on the lounge chair.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I only work in movies.”
“I know, but I was on this path to nowhere special, and now I’m here with you, living my life.”
“Then it was meant to be.” I wrapped our hands together and kissed her earlobe. She was seated between my legs and leaning back on my chest. I breathed in and she breathed out.
“It was. I know it was. You taught me what was important. Oh God, I sound like a sap. But you did.”
“I know.” I turned her face and kissed her quiet.
I let one week pass before I started pulling rabbits out of my hat. Not rabbits literally, but close enough.
One afternoon as the sun was setting and I knew Charli would be slowing down the banging on her keyboard, I walked across the small yard to her domain.
“Knock, knock.” I peeked my head inside the door.
“Hey.” She looked up from Lucy v. 2.0. She’d bought herself a new laptop after she signed her book deal.
I took a moment to take in the beauty in front of me. Charli sat at her desk in an old Stones T-shirt of mine. It hung well below the minuscule jean cutoffs she sported. Her bare feet were stretched out in front of her on an exercise ball, and of course, Harriette lay in the corner. The traitorous bitch didn’t even raise her head when I walked in.
I was back to wearing music tees most of the time too. I’d gone a tiny bit soft around the middle, mostly due to Charli’s love for ice cream and newfound freedom. She was living her life, and I was living mine beside her.
“You finishing?”
She nodded, hit a button, and shut her laptop.
“Come on. We have to be somewhere.”
“Really?” She stood and ran her hands down my back, sticking them deep in my back pockets and pulling herself close.
I couldn’t help it—I kissed the fuck out of her.
“Yeah, really.”
“Should I change?”
“Nah, but I’d put sneakers on. I’ll let Harri do her thing while you grab them.”
A few minutes later, we were settled in Charli’s new car with me driving. She’d bought a convertible, of course. Every transplant to Cali made that mistake. At the moment, she loved riding with the top down, no matter what.
We breezed down the canyon, her long hair flying around her face, her expression relaxed and her smile soft. She was at peace. Way more so than when I met her.
I pulled outside a ranch in the valley. A few kids ran around out front.
Charli gave me a curious look. “What are we doing?”
“You’ll see. Come on.”
She hesitated getting out of the car, but then I took her hand and led her to the garage.
