What About Charlie? (15 page)

Evan grinned, pleased with himself. Usually when he and Alan played against each other, they each won several games but today he’d won every match.

“I’m just feeling good.” Damn good, he thought. Life couldn’t be better.

Alan game him a skeptical look. “It’s more than that. It’s like you’re floating on air. You must have worked things out with Charlie.”

“Why do you always think there’s a woman involved when a man is feeling good?”

“Because most of the time, if a man is feeling good it’s because of a woman, if he’s acting like a pissed off grizzly bear, it’s because of a woman. Almost all things relate to women. You should know that by now.”

Evan snorted. “You’re much too cynical to be a married man.”

Alan smiled. “Not cynical, just facing the facts. Relationships are much easier that way.” Picking up a towel from a nearby bench, he asked, “So, what’s going on with Charlie?”

Evan picked up a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap. “Let me just say our relationship has progressed to a point beyond what it has been in the past.”

Alan nodded, catching Evan’s intended meaning – they were sleeping together. “I gather it’s been going pretty good.”

Evan took a swig of water, the cool liquid trickling down his chin and onto his sweat-stained shirt. “Great is more like it. I’ve never been in a relationship like this, Alan. Charlie is like a breath of fresh air. It’s so refreshing. I can’t wait to see her. I can’t wait to talk to her.”

“It sounds like you’re hooked.”

Evan picked up his towel and wiped his face. He didn’t know quite how to respond. He hadn’t thought about it before. “I suppose you could say I am.”

Alan regarded him closely. “Is she the one?”

Evan gave his friend an incredulous look. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit premature? A man doesn’t begin dating a woman with the intention of marrying her. We’ve just embarked on a different course in our relationship.”

“Surely you’ve thought about it though? Here she is – a pretty young lady, a virgin no less, until you come along. She’s had how many boyfriends since you’ve known her? Two, three? You know as well as I do she doesn’t date just to date. You don’t have a fling with a woman like her. You marry a woman like her.”

Guilt enveloped Evan and he cursed his shortsightedness. He had been ignoring Charlie’s innocence. He hadn’t wanted to put up any obstacles because he had wanted to be with her. But Alan was right. Charlie was different. Very different.

Seeing the confused look on Evan’s face, Alan shook his head in surprise. “Evan, you’re so methodical in everything you do, but when it comes to women, or at least Charlie, you don’t think half straight. She’s your best friend; she obviously means a lot to you. You need to think about where you want to go with this or it will blow up in your face.”

Giving Alan an irritated look, he said, “Why are you going on and on about this? First you encourage me to pursue a relationship with her, and now when I do, you’re giving me the third degree.” Evan felt angry, but not so much with Alan as with himself. He should have thought about all this, but all reason had left his mind; he’d wanted Charlie so much.

Alan clasped his friend’s shoulder. “I want you and Charlie to make it, Evan,” he said sincerely. “You two are perfect for each other. I’m not going to sit by and watch this relationship destruct before my very eyes. You’ve got to think this through, Evan. Charlie is not a woman you have a fling with. Charlie is the type of girl you take home to meet your family, the woman you send flowers and chocolates to for no particular reason except you love her. She’s the type of woman, when you propose, you get down on your knee and declare your undying love as you slip a ring on her finger.” Alan paused and looked his friend squarely in the eye. “Charlie is the type of girl you marry and spend the rest of your life with, Evan.”

Evan looked away from Alan. He’d known all those things about her, yet he had chosen to ignore them, knowing if he hadn’t, there would have been no way that he could have pursued his feelings for her.

What did he want out of this relationship? Where did he want it to go? He felt disgust. There was no way he could even attempt to articulate his feelings for her or their relationship to himself. How was he supposed to explain it to her?

His good mood had all but disappeared. Grabbing his duffle bag, he barked, “Let’s go get cleaned up. I’m taking Charlie out tonight.”

Charlie.

What had he gotten himself into?

Evan watched Charlie as she sipped her wine. Her hair was swept up. A pearl choker graced the smooth pale skin of her neck. Matching pearl earrings hung daintily from her ears. The backless burgundy sheath she wore hugged her breasts and emphasized her full hips. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds; a smile graced her full ruby colored lips. She was vivacious and alive - the picture of loveliness.

They were twenty-eight stories above St. Louis dining in a revolving restaurant atop the Millennium Hotel. They’d finished dinner and were now lingering over dessert. Soft jazz music floated in the background. The night was clear and the view magnificent. But Charlie surpassed it. She was breathtaking. From head to toe, inside and out.

After slowly rotating by the St. Louis Arch, Charlie turned her green eyes to Evan and smiled. “The view is spectacular, Evan. I’m so glad you brought me here.”

Looking out the window, he shrugged his shoulders and looked back to Charlie. “It seemed a little too…I don’t know…romantic I guess. Alan had told me that he’d taken his wife, Janine, here. She loved it because of the view, the music in the background, the atmosphere. And I thought I may do well to avoid such a romantic setting with my dates.”

Her curiosity peaked, Charlie asked, “Why bring me here, Evan? Why am I so different?”

“Hmm…you’re just different, Charlie. You’re a real person. What I see is what I get. No illusions. No false pretenses. No pretending to care about me…”

“Evan I…”

“Charlie, I know you care about me,” he said passionately. “I know when you look at me and smile it’s because you like me, not my bank account. You don’t expect me to be anyone else but the person I am. You’re genuine.” Searching her eyes, his voice dipped an octave. “Most women are interested in only one thing – themselves.”

His voice was filled with pain and bitterness. Charlie’s heart tightened. “Who hurt you, Evan?” she asked softly searching his eyes. “Who has caused you so much pain? Caused you to be so jaded?”

Waving off her question, he said, “It’s no big deal, Charlie.”

Cocking her head to the side, she spoke, her voice filled with passion and determination, “It is, Evan. You’re important to me. I lo…” she caught herself, almost saying love, “like you a lot. You’re my best friend. Whatever pain you feel, I feel also.”

The hardened expression left his face, replaced by an expression unrecognizable to Charlie. Was it uncertainty? Trepidation?

Reaching across the table, he grasped her hand. “Thank you, Charlie,” he said, rubbing her palm with his thumb. “That’s why you mean so much to me. You’re not only beautiful physically, Charlie, but, more importantly, you have a beautiful heart.”

Warmth stole up into her. “I think that’s about the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“It’s true,” he said earnestly. “Let’s enjoy each other’s company this evening, Charlie. I don’t want to spend our time talking about my past. But I promise we’ll talk about it later. Ok?”

Charlie nodded as he removed his hand from hers. She had a vague feeling that he was emotionally pulling away from her, too. Evan had been hurt, and her heart ached for him. She loved him so much. Would she ever be able to tell him? Would he ever grow to love her? The questions felt heavy in her heart.

Pushing away the melancholy, Charlie smiled and said in a teasing voice, “You know I have learned many things about you these past few weeks that I never knew before.”

“Yes. I never would have thought. Think about all those germs from your backwash!” Her eyes twinkled. “And you leave your television on 24 hours a day.”

“It sounds to me like Mrs. Turner is running the show instead of you running it.” Charlie laughed, recalling the times she’d met his cleaning lady. She was definitely a no nonsense type of person.

A wide smile crossed Evan’s face. “I think you may be right. Just please don’t let anyone find out that my housekeeper makes me clean out my own refrigerator. Bachelors are supposed to be slobs. You might ruin my reputation!”

The smile disappeared; her eyes suddenly filled with heat. “You’re a wonderful lover, Evan.” Her voice was soft and husky, just loud enough for him to hear.

A wave of desire jolted through him. He had the sudden urge to lean across the table and kiss her lips, but he stayed seated. “I’ve been told that before, but I never believed it.”

“It’s true, Evan,” she said earnestly.

“You don’t have any regrets, Charlie?”

“No regrets, Evan. I’m so glad it was you. I’ve never wanted to be with anyone else.” Her eyes were smoky; her lips begged to be kiss.

****

Lying beside Evan, Charlie rested her head on his wide shoulder and gently traced small circles in the soft golden hair on his chest. She loved having him so close to her. She loved hearing his heartbeat thump beneath her ear and see the steady rise and fall of his chest. She felt so close to him as if they were one. She felt safe and, yes, loved, though he never uttered the words.

Evan showed his feelings for her in the way he kissed her lips, in the way he caressed her skin with his fingers, the way he looked at her when he made love to her.

Charlie smiled, thinking about how they couldn’t get back to his place fast enough…

As soon as the front door closed they were groping each other, removing their clothes, their shoes, not caring where they landed. He kissed her mouth, her neck, and then finally settled on her breasts, caressing them, suckling them with his mouth.

Charlie, unable to control herself, took the hard length of his manhood in her grasp and slowly began to run her fingers up and down the warm, smooth skin. As she held him and caressed him, she could feel him swell even more in her grasp, becoming even harder.

Groaning with excitement, Evan then moved his hand to the smooth skin between her legs, his fingers finding their way into the moist folds between her legs, rubbing her.

“Evan…” she said breathlessly. She felt like she was soaring.

“Charlie, I love that you’re shaved down there,” he said in a rasping voice. “I love the feel of your soft skin. It turns me on so much.”

“Mmmm…that feels so gooood…Oh,” she gasped as he inserted his finger, moving it slowly back and forth, into the warm moistness inside her. “Evan, I need you inside of me. I need you…”

Picking her up, he carried her the short distance to his bedroom, gently placing her in the center of his king size cherry sleigh bed. The comforter had been turned back exposing cool and silky white satin sheets. The only illumination in the room came from the TV in the entertainment armoire in the bedroom.

Placing himself between her thighs, he entered her in one quick, smooth motion. He began moving back and forth with an urgency he’d never felt before. He had to have her. He needed to spill his seed inside her.

Charlie moved beneath him, meeting his thrusts with her hips. She felt the urgency, too. She needed him, too. Charlie felt heat course through her body. She brought her hand up to his face and lightly caressed his cheeks with her fingertips, marveling at how handsome he was, his green eyes changing in intensity of color with the flickering of the television. Desire so intense that she lost all thought except of Evan, of how he was making love to her, how he needed her as much as she needed him. A tingling sensation snaked through her body from the top of her head, to her fingertips down to her toes.