Chapter Ten
“Hello?” Reluctantly, Charlotte pressed the phone against her ear, a flash from the night before making her blush all the way to her toes. Opening her eyes, confusion swept through her for a moment because of the sunlight streaming in through the window beside her bed. Looking over her shoulder at the clock, it dawned on her that she slept for nearly twelve hours straight and it was six in the morning. When she would normally be wrapping up her shift.
“Are you sick? Why are you just waking up?” Her mother’s brisk accented voice made her sit up straight in the bed.
“My boss gave me the night off last night.” Feeling at once more rested than she had in years, and yet completely groggy from the change in her routine, Charlotte rolled out of bed and headed toward the kitchen.
“You in trouble at work? Is that why she didn’t let you come in last night.”
“No, Mama.” Charlotte rolled her eyes, something she would never do if her mother were there in front of her, but she took much enjoyment in over the phone. “The opposite actually. I pulled a twenty-four hour shift yesterday, and broke a major story, so she gave me the night off as a reward.”
“Hmprf.” Unable to tell if the reply from her mother was a simple acknowledgement of her words, or disbelief that Charlotte would be rewarded for anything, she decided to go with the more likely of the two scenarios and assume her mother wasn’t impressed.
“Actually, my boss offered me a promotion.” Normally she wouldn’t dare tell her mother something like this without having something solid to tell her. Possibilities meant nothing to her mother. Only achievements.
“Really? So, you will no longer be a glorified secretary?”
“I am not a glorified secretary, Mom. I’m the evening assignment editor. But my new title would be assignment manager, and I’d work day hours. I’d also get a raise.” The moment the words left her mouth, she wished she could suck them back in. Talking back to her mother was a wholly new experience, and she didn’t know what exactly had gotten into her. But she did know that this news would not impress the woman.
At this point in her life, Charlotte knew that little to nothing could achieve that. She’d forever be a disappointment because she didn’t have the desire to be a ballerina, nor did she have the desire to show her face on camera, or do any of the other high profile careers her mother thought would be worthwhile.
“Hmph. Assignment manager. So, you manage all the glorified secretaries. I suppose that is better than nothing.” And that was as close to a compliment as her mother would ever give her. “At least if you work normal hours, you can find a man to settle down with now. Give me those grandbabies I want.”
Honestly, Charlotte didn’t know why her mother focused so much on getting grandbabies. She hadn’t been a warm mother. She couldn’t picture the selfish woman who raised her cooing over cute babies, spoiling her grandchildren, or baking cookies with them. But ever since Charlotte had graduated college as a single woman, her mother had been berating her for not finding a man while she was still young and able to have children. Obviously at the ripe old age of twenty-four, Charlotte’s eggs were on a rapid decline.
Wanting to end their conversation on as high a note as possible, Charlotte made her excuses and hung up as soon as she could. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t rid herself of the dark cloud that slid in with her mother’s call. Not even remembering the hot phone call from Trey the night before did any good. Charlotte was officially in a funk.
Curling up on the couch, she turned her phone silent, wrapped the huge knit blanket she’d made the year before around her shoulders, and pulled out her Kindle, ready to disappear into someone else’s life. Hours later, she emerged, the veil of her imaginary worlds slipping away to reveal her sad one-bedroom apartment, and the reassuring weight of Weasley curled up in her lap.
Glancing out her window, she saw that the sun had set and night surrounded her. The internal clock she relied on had been all messed up from the change in schedule. She reached for the phone to check the time, and surprise zipped through her when she saw five missed calls and seven text messages waiting. She was pretty sure she’d never had that many missed calls in her life.
Three of the calls were from Bekah, one from Mira, and one from Trey. Heat bloomed in her chest, spreading out to pool between her thighs and just below her skin. Just seeing his name on her missed calls had her panties wet and her clit throbbing. Flipping over to her text messages, she had to laugh.
Bekah: Change of plans. Friday night, girls’ night, you, me and Mira. Be at my place by eight p.m., or else.
The next text was Bekah’s address. Then two more warnings from Bekah that if Charlotte didn’t show up there would be serious consequences. One text from Mira essentially had the same idea, but without the threats of bodily harm. Knowing the women wanted her to hang out with them, talk with them, made Charlotte’s pulse race, and her stomach tighten. She wanted to be friends with them, desperately wanted that. She loved Kym, but they really only hung out at the tattoo shop since Kym still had issues with leaving her safe zone.
But like always, fear sat heavy on her chest. What if she had nothing to talk about? What if they thought she was boring? What if the rest of the time they worked together the two women had to pretend to like Charlotte?
Shaking off the thoughts, she decided to put the decision of whether or not to go to girls’ night aside. The last texts were from Trey, and made her blood pressure soar once again.
Trey: Hey sugar, couldn’t stop thinking about you last night. When can I see you? Need to touch you. Make sure you’re real.
Forget butterflies. An entire flock of birds took flight in her stomach, nerves, arousal, and hope mixed together to form a strange nauseated sensation. That old familiar panic began to rise in her chest as she thought about meeting him in person for the first time. She desperately wanted that to happen, but at the same time dreaded it. There were so many unknown factors that could make everything fall apart.
Charlotte: I don’t know. I’m being forced into a girls’ night tonight. Then tomorrow, I’m supposed to be getting more work on my tattoo.
Charlotte stood from her couch, heading toward the kitchen to make lunch. Weasley, the little scavenger he was, followed behind her, begging for any scrap of food she’d be willing to give him.
“Oh, my handsome man is hungry?” She scratched beneath his chin, and his grumbly hangry meow greeted here. “Okay, how about some bacon and eggs?”
It was her firm belief that breakfast could be subbed in for literally any meal, and was the only thing she could cook well. She grabbed the eggs and bacon from the fridge and set to fry them both up, making an equal portion for her cat. Just as the bacon began to sizzle, her phone beeped with an incoming message.
Trey: You have tattoos? Jesus that is hot. What if I come with you? I can hold your hand, find fun ways to distract you.
Charlotte stared at the phone. Let Trey come with to Kym’s studio? Her time getting inked was time she got to be herself, no guards or concerns about embarrassing herself. She wasn’t sure she could be that vulnerable in front of a man the first time they met. On the other hand, Kym’s was the one place Charlotte felt truly herself. Plus, she’d have her friend there to help. For all her own neuroses, the one problem Kym did not have was shyness. She could talk to literally anyone about anything for hours on end. It came with her job.
Weasley hissed and batted at her phone as it buzzed on the counter next to them. The reaction jarred Charlotte back to Earth just before the bacon started to burn. Unfortunately, the eggs were a total loss. Switching off the burners, Charlotte took her breakfast to the tiny table she laughingly called her dining room.
