In that moment, looking into Charlie’s eyes, Cora didn’t care about anything else. She didn’t care about doing the right thing, or Madison, or how unprofessional she was acting.
She leaned over and kissed Charlie Gill.
He met her lips as if he’d been waiting for them. Movie kiss perfect. He stroked her cheek softly as their lips met, until Cora’s hunger for him made it obvious that he could abandon any tender pretext. She heard him groan quietly as their kisses turned primal.
Oliver sighed and pushed against Charlie with his front paws, as if registering an editorial comment about what was happening right above his head, which halted the moment. Cora was mortified by what she’d done. How could she have let her libido drown out her common sense?
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She moved quickly to the edge of the bed, and Charlie grabbed her arm.
“Cora, it’s okay.” He stared at her. “If you hadn’t done it, I would’ve.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. I’m sorry, I have to get out of here. Madison—”
“I don’t want you to go.”
The room was dim, illuminated only by the light from the hallway. There was no question what would happen next if she didn’t leave. After ages of self-imposed celibacy, she was aching to strip off her clothes and lose her new-ginity to Charlie. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him and not stop. Instead, she hung her head.
“This isn’t who I am. I can’t, Charlie. You’re not thinking straight. You’re just lonely.”
“I’ve been attracted to you since the first time I saw you. C’mon, I know you could tell.”
Cora shook her head and looked at the door. She knew how easy it would be for him to woo away her shaky resolve if she met his eyes. She wanted to get up and leave but she was anchored to the bed.
“I don’t know anything anymore. I just know this isn’t right.”
Charlie moved across the bed until he was right next to her. “Are you saying you don’t want me to do this?” He leaned over and kissed her, and she melted into him. He straddled her and deftly lowered her flat on the bed. His hands were everywhere, grazing her breasts, skimming the tops of her thighs, dipping between her legs, and pulling impatiently at the buttons on her shirt.
A muffled metallic sound pierced the silence. Charlie sat up and grabbed at his back pocket.
“It’s Madison, right on time.” He jumped off Cora and struggled to turn on a lamp, and Cora ran to a dark corner of the room, tucking in her shirt. “Hey, babe! What’s up?”
He answered the phone with a stunning nonchalance given what had just been happening seconds earlier.
Cora was shocked.
He listened for a minute. “No, I didn’t see that! Seriously? No, I have no record that you tried to Skype me!” Charlie made a silly face at Cora. “Actually, can I call you back in a sec?”
Cora made her way to the door, but Charlie quietly snapped his fingers at her. “Stay!” he mouthed, and she froze in place. He turned his attention back to what Madison was saying. “Oh, okay. Sure, we can talk now.” He shrugged at Cora, and she mimed pointing at a watch. She had to get out of the room, quickly. There was no way she was going to listen to him lie his way through a conversation with Madison.
She walked through the dark house while echoes of his voice rolled off the walls behind her. Unable to find any light switches, she made her way to the kitchen in the pitch-black. She packed up her training bag slowly, hoping that Charlie would finish the call and come down to make sense of what had just happened between them. Her only escort was a subdued Oliver, who placed a companionable paw on top of her foot as she finished packing her supplies.
Cora paused at the bottom of the stairs and heard Charlie laughing. She couldn’t make out the words but the conversation was clearly nowhere near over, and he wasn’t breaking it to Madison gently. Anger bubbled inside of her.
She berated herself during the drive home.You’re nothing to him. But that kiss! Maybe he’s struggling with his feelings. But he said he wants to marry her.The flip-flopping made her even angrier.Don’t be so naïve!
She kept checking her phone, wondering if he was going to reach out to her, or if she’d have to pretend that his latest breach never happened, just like she did after sushi night. She was almost home when the text finally came through. “SO sry! Mad only had a few minutes to talk. I feel terrible. U hate me?”
Cora waited until she had parked her car to respond. “Do wht you have to do, it’s fine.”
He sent a smiling emoji back to her, then another text. “U still good to come to the gala?”
She sat in the car with the phone in her hand, imagining the different scenarios that might play out if she went. Even after everything that had happened, she still wanted to get dressed up and eat a fancy dinner with Charlie and his friends. She wanted to drink too much wine and fall into his arms and blame whatever happened on the alcohol. No one had ever kissed her like that before, not even Aaron.
“Sure.” The one-word answer was loaded, and they both knew it.
“Great!” A pause followed by another text. “And maybe we can finish what we started tonight?”
Cora replied immediately. “Nope. Can’t do that to Madison. Sorry.” The text sounded confident. She wondered if he could tell she was lying. Three long minutes passed before he replied.
