“I’m pretty sure that’s just what kids say because they are too lazy to wait for it to cook properly,” I tell him. That’s what I used to tell my mom before I learned patience.
“Yes exactly. It’s an acquired taste from childhood. Don’t knock it until you try it, Charlie!”
I hold up my perfectly golden-brown marshmallow. “Nah, I think I’m good Andy. This looks way tastier than yours.”
He helps me get the marshmallow onto the graham cracker before asking with a smile, “Probably. Wanna trade?”
“Absolutely not,” I answer immediately while cradling my now complete and arguably perfect smore to my chest while Andy laughs at me.
We each end up making one more smore before we pack up our things to head home. I haven’t laughed this much in a long time and Andy really did think of everything. He even brought baby wipes so we weren’t stuck with sticky fingers for the wholedrive back. What a sweetheart.
I don’t know what I did to get so lucky meeting Max and subsequently Andy. These two amazing men just appear in my life like heroes during what I thought was going to be one of the darkest times of my life. I still don’t feel too sure about this whole sharing me thing that they both seem to be okay with, but I think it could be alright. They have been so reassuring, and I have no reason to believe that this will end badly. At least, they haven’t given me one yet.
Not to mention what they all did for me with Chuck. Granted, I probably never would have stepped foot into that bar ever again without Max, but I probably would have run into Chuck eventually and I would have been so very fucking screwed if I was alone. My literal heroes.
Chapter 21
Andy
Our little excursion to the waterfall seems to have helped with Charlie’s mood since seeing those roses on her step. On the drive back to her place, her mood is bubbly and content. She keeps pointing out random things around town and telling me stories from when she was younger.
I think my favourite was probably when she pointed at the old horse racing track and informed me that that was where she gave her first hand job, under the bleachers. I didn’t even need to say anything. She squeaked so adorably and slapped her hand over her mouth, her face turning that delectable shade of red that it does when she says something inappropriate.
“Can you please forget I said that?” Charlie looks sheepish.
“Not a chance,” I retort quickly with a chuckle.
“At least don’t tell the other guys,” She urges. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“It can be our little secret on one condition,” I tell her.
“Okay, what’s that?”
“You let me take you there sometime,” I say with a wink.
“Oh my god,” Charlie whispers, laughing.
We reach her place too quickly for my liking, and Charlie looks over at me. “Wanna come inside?”
“What changed?” I ask her. Does it matter?
“You were nice to me, so let me be nice to you. Plus, there is agas fireplace, and we can warm up together.”
Well, I have better ideas about how we can warm up, but I don’t want to be presumptuous. I’ll let Charlie lead. This time.
“Okay let’s do it.”
We go inside and after getting our coats and boots off Charlie goes to the kitchen to put her rose in some water before meeting me in the living room. Charlie’s parents have a really nice place. And it’s clean. Too clean. Charlie must have been horrified when Max showed her our place.
“Well, it’s no bachelor pad but my parents like it enough,” she says as she flicks the switch that ignites the fireplace.
Charlie flops down on the couch and pats the seat next to her. I sit down and watch Charlie start gentling massaging her toes.
“If I had known you were going to take me hiking, I probably would have worn better socks. You really should tell girls where you are taking them,” she admonishes me.
I grab one of her feet and start massaging it for her. “You’re a Canadian. You should just have better socks.” I snap the elastic of her ultra-thin ankle socks.
Charlie sticks her other foot in my lap and leans back, clearly enjoying herself. “Don’t need better socks when all my hobbies are indoors.”
