Matching the movements of his tongue, she kissed him, drank him in to try and quench the need he’d been building in her since the first night they talked. Mimicking his earlier move, she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, pulling it away for a moment before letting go. “I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw your picture. Your lips are obsession worthy.”
“Holy fucking shit, baby girl. You can’t imagine the things I’d do to you with these lips. With my tongue. My fingers. God, I can’t even think about what plans my cock has for you.” Trey smiled wide and open, bringing one hand down to trace his thumb over her cheekbone. “You blush so easily. Which part was it that made those cheeks go all pink for me. Was it me saying cock?” He pushed his hips against her.
A rush of warmth soaked her panties imagining all the things he’d do to her body. Things she’d only ever seen in black and white Tumblr GIFs. “It was all of it. It all makes me blush.” She looked up into his eyes, the words in her head one moment, spilling off her lips the next. “It all makes me wet.”
“Listen to you. You might be all blushing and big innocent eyes, but you have a dirty girl inside don’t you?”
Charlotte started to shake her head no, of course there wasn’t a dirty girl inside of her. There was just boring Charlotte. Lover of books and hater of crowds. But Trey stopped her by gripping her chin in his big hand, tilting her head back.
“Don’t deny it. I listened to you come on the phone the other day. I have you pinned against this door, your body writhing against me, trying to tempt me to push you inside and take what I want. You do have a dirty side, and I’m going to have a hell of a lot of fun bringing it to the surface.” Trey scorched her once again with his no holds barred kiss, then backed away toward the stairwell. “I’ll talk to you soon, sugar.”
“Wait, you’re leaving? Don’t you want to come in? I have lots of movies and popcorn, and a grumpy cat that will most likely hiss at you and run away. Or we could just, you know, do more of this on the other side of the door?” She was begging. Charlotte was begging him to come inside with her, but he just kept backing up until he hit the door to the stairs.
“You have no idea how I want that. All of that. But I have to be at the station in two hours for an overnight shift. Our time will come, Charlotte. And when it does, I’m going to take my time.” His eyes swept up and down her body, as if storing away the very sight of her to get him through. “Good night.”
Trey pushed through the door, and Charlotte stood dumbstruck in the hallway as his heavy footfalls echoed down the stairs. She’d thrown herself at him, and he left. For work. Important work, but still. Charlotte couldn’t help, or stop, the hurt and confusion that invaded her heated body in his absence. If he had really wanted to stay, spend more time with her, he would have, right?
***
“Oh my God, Chick-a-dee, you need a serious lesson in girl-friending. When I text to see how your date went, you answer. Like Immediately.” Bekah stomped up the stairs to assignment editors’ platform, hands on rounded hips, annoyance written on her face. “Details, now.”
Charlotte had read each of the texts Bekah and Mira sent over the last forty-eight hours, but she hadn’t had the strength to answer any of them. Because the one person she had wanted to hear from remained silent. Is this what dating is like? This torture of second, third, and fourth guessing whether or not he was into you? If so, fuck that. Maybe being a shy hermit would be better. Because this sucked giant donkey balls.
“Um, I don't really know how it went I guess.” The newsroom was quiet, the anchors had gone to the bathroom to do their makeup and prep for the eleven o’clock news. The photographers and other reporters were all either out at their assignments, or back in the editing bays. Charlotte was in her happy place. Alone at her desk. But before Bekah barged in, Charlotte hadn’t been happy. She’d been bored. After spending much of the week before in the bustling daytime newsroom, she found she wasn’t quite as fond of the emptiness her normal shift brought.
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be out at the scene of the crash for your live shot?” Bekah had been sent to a fatal car accident involving a tractor trailer that had crashed into a building and damn near exploded. So why was the woman standing right in front of her twenty minutes before the news started?
Bekah rolled her eyes and plopped down in the nearest chair. “Wow, you must be really out of it. I called the producer an hour ago. The police shut down everything around the scene in a two-mile radius. The closest live shot we could have done would have been a black hole of nothing behind us because none of the street lights were working. So, we decided to come back here and be live from the chroma key.”
“Oh.” If Charlotte had missed all that, she really wasn’t on top of her game. Decisions like whether or not the reporters stay out in the field or came back to the station usually involved her in some way. The disappointment of the past couple days bore down with a pressure that threatened to crush her under its weight. “The date didn’t go well. Or maybe it did. I don't know. I thought it did?”
Bekah nodded her head, like she knew exactly what Charlotte was saying. Or not saying. “I got twenty minutes before I have to be out on set. Sing it, sister.”
Without anymore encouragement necessary, Charlotte spilled all the details. How great their first meeting had been. Him holding her hand through the whole tattoo. His tattoo. The kiss that still seemed to haunt her lips even two days later, tingles spreading across that tender skin at the strangest of times. And Trey leaving. His radio silence since then. Her uncertainty about what any of it meant because of her lack of dating experience.
“You don't have to worry. He’s into you. A man doesn’t kiss a woman like that and not come back to finish the job.” The confidence in Bekah’s voice soothed a little of Charlotte’s worry.
“Then why hasn’t he texted or called? I know there haven’t been any major fires since our date. A couple smaller ones, but nothing that would keep him tied up this whole time.” Just like that the small amount of hope Bekah had built up vanished. “I really did think this would go at least a little further. That I’d at least get to lose my--” Charlotte looked around to make sure no one had snuck in during their conversation, “V-card finally. I mean aren’t guys supposed to hit it before they quit it? Am I missing something.”
“Listen, I understand this will he won’t he battle raging in your head right now. I’ve been there. You know what the cure is for it?” Bekah looked Charlotte directly in the eye, not letting her shy away for once.
Charlotte shook her head, at the moment, she knew nothing.
“The cure is you call him. Fuck waiting with your cell phone clutched in your hand jumping every time it beeps or vibrates. You call him, and you ask him out. You are a badass, smart as hell, gorgeous journalist who deserves respect and consideration. Demand it. Take it.” If it weren’t for Bekah’s stony face, Charlotte would laugh at the idea of demanding anything, let alone a strong man like Trey out on a date.
“You know I can’t do that. I know we have only hung out once, but we’ve worked together for a few years now. I don’t demand anything. I might suggest, ask, even implore. But I don’t demand.” Dread parked in her stomach like a boat setting anchor. If she took the promotion she would need to demand things from photographers, reporters, producers, heck maybe even Michelle. The idea made her nauseous.
“You can do it. I’ve seen you talk to unruly photogs with heat in your voice. You get annoyed, and they can tell. They don’t want to piss you off. I’ve heard some of them say you’re going to crack one of these days, and watch out when you do.” Bekah smirked, obviously amused at Charlotte’s shock. “Everyone knows you have to watch out for the quiet ones.”
Bekah glanced at the big digital clock on the wall. Turning to look herself, Charlotte’s eyes widened to see the red numbers read 10:55. “You need to get out on set, or Denny is going to piss himself.”
Already standing and pushing the chair back in, Bekah turned to her. “Okay, but as soon as I’m done with my hit, you are going to call that man, and I am going to sit here watching while you demand a date.”
Bekah spun around, strutting from the newsroom like she was walking down a runway. Knowing Bekah, she would follow through on her promise to watch Charlotte make that call.
More coffee was definitely needed.
