by Sarah Cole
“You’re amazing.” I think to myself. He surprises me at every turn, and I feel so right with him – like we were made for one another.
“You’re pretty amazing yourself.” He smirks, eyes twinkling.
“Well, that was an internal thought that apparently wanted to make itself known.” I say.
“Let’s take a shower so we can get some sleep, sweetheart.” He says pulling me to the beautiful slate tiled bathroom that is attached to his bedroom.
“Together?” I ask my pulse quickening. This is it!
“Together.” He says, with a serious look, setting me down on the large marble-topped vanity. He walks over to the large glass enclosed shower and turns on the water.
Andrew stalks back over to me and grabs the hem of my tank top, gently pulling it over my head. Thank God I wore good underwear. Running his hands over my black lace bra, he whispers in my ear, “Mine.” It sends shivers throughout my body and all I can do is nod in return.
“Tell me Charlie. I need to hear it. I need to know you’re in this with me.” he stresses.
“I’m yours. You’re mine. I love you. I’m in this.” I nearly pant because his hands haven’t stopped their assault of my body, and I’m out of my mind with need for this man.
“I love you too, sweet girl. Stand up.” he commands, and my goodness, the combination of tenderness and domination is seriously the last thread in my control.
I slide off the counter careful of my tender ankle, and he makes quick work of my zipper. He slides hands underneath the tight leather fabric, palming my backside before sliding them the rest of the way down my legs.
“Baby, all I could think about from the first time I saw you tonight was how badly I wanted to peel these pants off your tight ass.” He says, kissing and licking along the band of my black lace thong. “The sounds you make are going to make it hard for me to last.” He laughs softly against my stomach, placing gentle kisses along my scars. I reach down to pull his shirt over his head, as he starts to unfasten the button on his jeans. I think my heart is going to beat out of my chest with how fast my pulse is racing.
Stepping out of his jeans, he reaches for one of the drawers in the vanity and pulls out a brand new box of condoms. I feel a small sense of relief knowing it’s a brand new box and none have been used.
“Don’t look at me like that, babe.” He laughs. “I bought these for us, no one else. There hasn’t been anyone else in months.” He says. I grab the foil package from him and tear it open before sliding the condom down his length.
“Eager, are we?” he asks with that grin of his.
“You have no fucking idea.” I say right before I unhook my bra, shedding the last bit of clothing between us. His hands greedily roam my body.
“You are so beautiful, Charlie. In every single way.” He says, his eyes burning with desire. He reaches for me, pulling me into his solid frame before he bends down, taking my nipple into his mouth, sucking and biting gently. It sends a jolt of pleasure straight to my core, making me nearly uncontrollable with need.
“Andrew, babe. Now. I need you now.” I say, pulling his face up to mine, kissing him deeply before biting at his lower lip, as he growls into my mouth.
He doesn’t say a word, he just lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist and carries me into the shower where he slides into me and I let myself fall the rest of the way.
Andrew:
If I thought I loved Charlie before, what we just shared amplified that feeling a million times over. I have never felt anything more real and powerful than making love to her, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this woman is it for me. After toweling off and handing her one of my t-shirts, we head into my bedroom, where she immediately heads to my guitars. She picks up my acoustic guitar, strumming it lightly playing a cord, and closing her eyes to appreciate the sound. She turns to put it back on its stand, but I honestly just want to hear her play, for me.
“Play me something.” I say.
She turns to face me, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. “What do you want to hear?”
“Whatever you want to play me. You were amazing tonight Charlie. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it. You are incredibly talented. Have you ever truly considered doing something in entertainment? You were meant to be up there babe. You’re too good to be stuck in an office all day. Music is a part of you.” I say.
“Thank you.” She says. “No one besides my parents and Jay have ever really encouraged me to do something in music. I love to play, but it was never really a solid career choice. Tyler always thought my love of music and my interests were “juvenile” and was embarrassed to be seen with me when I wanted to perform or hang out with the band.” She continues as she absently strums the guitar. She sits down on the chair and I can see when the music begins to take over and pour out of her.
I settle back into the pillows, and just watch her trying to commit this beautiful moment to memory. She is amazingly talented, and I really don’t think she understands the effect she has on me… on the crowd. She has music in her soul and it needs to have an outlet. The song is a familiar Of Mice & Men song called When You Can’t Sleep at Night, but when she starts to sing, it becomes something more, with a completely new meaning.
She is so beautiful inside and out. I watch as her delicate, manicured hands move over the strings with skilled dexterity, her wet hair draped over her shoulder, and her long dark lashes are resting on her cheeks as she sings with her eyes closed. I’m going to marry this girl. Yeah, it’s probably a little soon, ok a lot soon, but damn it. I know. I know this is my forever – with her and our children. I could see the pain in her eyes when she talked about the difficulties she may face trying to have children. It killed me, but if she wants babies and a family I will give them to her, and I honestly cannot wait. I haven’t had that feeling before, and I certainly haven’t looked forward to the future for a long ass time. Not since I lost my brother. I know I need to tell Charlie about the accident, and explain everything, but it will have to wait for another day.
“C’mere baby.” I say holding out my arms to her as she finishes and sets down the guitar. She crawls up the bed towards me and fuck if I don’t want her again. The way our bodies fit together, the looks she gives me, and the sounds she makes… I tuck her into my side and pull the covers up, loving the way her small body fits next to mine. She’s so soft and warm and smells so good, my Charlie.
“This is where you should be every night. In my bed, in my arms, with me.” I say pulling her closer and burying my face in her neck.
“Mmmhmmm.” She mumbles.
“Baby?” I say, but she is already out like a light. She must have been exhausted. I turn the light off and wonder if it is too soon to ask her to move in with me.
Chapter 11
Charlie:
I wake a few hours later in the same position with Andrew wrapped around me, and I see that it’s a little after five in the morning. He will need to be up in a few minutes to make it to the hospital on time, so it is pointless to go back to sleep now. Sliding out of bed, I decide to make him some breakfast and pack him a lunch. It is insane to me how normal this feels for me. I want to take care of him like he is always trying to take care of me. I need caffeine though, so I turn on the coffee pot and go over to the fridge to see what he’s got. Not much. I find some turkey bacon, eggs, avocado and English muffins. I decide on making a breakfast sandwich, and find the ingredients to turn the chicken breast into a chicken salad wrap for his lunch. As I’m cutting up some strawberries for sides, I feel his strong arms wrap around my waist.
“Morning beautiful.” He rasps, kissing the back of my head, his voice still heavy with sleep, and it liquefies my insides.
“Whatcha doin’?” he asks planting one more kiss to my shoulder before he goes to pull out coffee mugs. I see he’s in a pair of expensive dress pants and a gray and white checkered dress shirt. He looks so professional without his tattoos showing, and all I want
to do is peel that shirt off him and lick him from head to toe. What? If you saw what I am seeing, you’d think that too. I feel the blush creep up my cheeks, and he smirks like he can read my mind.
“I woke up and it was already getting late, so I decided to just get up and make some breakfast.” I say setting a breakfast sandwich in front of him, and his face lights up.
“Thank you baby, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I wanted to. I hope you don’t mind, but I used that leftover chicken breast in the fridge and made you a chicken salad wrap with sprouts for lunch. I put that and some strawberries and carrots in that metal bento box for your lunch.”
He reaches out and wraps his arm around my waist, turning me so I’m standing between his legs as he sits at the island. Bringing our foreheads together, he kisses my nose.
“I love you so much, you don’t even know. Thank you.”
“Jeeze bud, it’s just chicken salad.” I say winking at him.
“No babe, it’s not. It’s you, and I love you and I love how thoughtful you are.”
“I think I’ll cook for you more often.” I laugh. “I’m going to go get dressed. Do you mind dropping me off at home one your way to work? We should have time still.”
“Of course.” He smiles giving me a pat on the behind.
The drive home was pretty quick since it’s still so early, and a Saturday. “Just pull up to the curb babe, it’s raining and I don’t want you to have to look for parking.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Andrew. I can walk the twenty feet to the door.” I say rolling my eyes.
He smiles and pulls me in for a heated kiss. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Well here’s the thing….” I say embarrassed. “There’s this thing on TV, and it’s kind of a tradition. Laney and our friends watch it, and since Jay and the rest of the band are in town until tomorrow night, they were coming over. If you want to come and bring people, you can.”
“What thing?” he asks with a puzzled look on his face.
“UFC Fight Night.” I say, but I’m pretty sure it came out UMFH FIMIT since I mumbled it into my hand. I hate that I feel like such a man sometimes when it comes to my interests. I want so hard to be refined and well mannered, someone that Andrew deserves, but I’m just not. Yeah I grew up in a successful family, but I grew up on a farm for all intents and purposes and our family was never formal. We only ate in the dining room on holidays and special occasions, we rode four wheelers and went fishing and grew vegetables in a garden. My Mom taught me how to make jam and can green beans, and my Dad taught me how to change my own oil. Tyler always looked down on that stuff, so it became the norm to feel ashamed of where I came from, even though I’m fairly certain that my parents were ten times more successful than he ever thought.
“What was that mumbles McGee?” he asks laughing, pulling my hand away from my mouth.
“UFC Fight Night.” I sigh.
He busts out laughing. I mean like toss your head back, booming laugh. “Are you serious right now?”
“Dead serious. You don’t have to come; I just thought you might want to get to know my friends a bit more.” I say defensively.
“No Charlie,” He says still laughing, he puts his hand on my thigh slightly squeezing. “Babe, that’s fucking awesome. It’s just so funny because the guys were just giving me complete shit yesterday because I was going to cancel on them. I have the subscriptions, but I figured that you wouldn’t want to watch that kind of thing. So now I can let them know that my girlfriend is the shit and they can shove it.”
“Really? Oh, thank goodness.” I say, smacking my forehead. “I’m so glad, because we get pretty serious about this in our house.”
“Ok, baby. I’ll be over after work. I have tomorrow and Monday off so we can spend the rest of the weekend together.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I say giving him a chaste kiss on the mouth. “Now, go save some babies.”
He waits at the curb until I get inside my building. Such a gentleman.
I unlock the door and step inside. I barely have time to set my purse down before Laney attacks me.
“Where have you been young lady? Do you have any idea what time it is?” she mocks putting her hands on her hips. She’s decked out in head to toe yoga gear, and it appears she came home and dyed her hair, yet again. It is now a pale gray color with pastels woven throughout, giving it an opalescent look. This only means one thing – she’s having boy troubles. Early morning hot yoga and messing with the hair… every damn time.
“Hello to you too, mother. You know where I’ve been. What’s wrong with you? Spill it.”
She sighs. “Why does anything have to be wrong for me to want to do book an early morning class with my bestie?”
Wait, what? “I hope the bestie you are referring to isn’t me, because I most definitely just want to face plant and become one with my bed.”
“Of course it’s you silly goose. Now go get changed into your gear. When we are done I will buy you coffee and we can go grocery shopping!”
“Oh boy!” I feign excitement, clapping my hands.
“That’s the spirit. You have fifteen minutes, girl.” She calls after me as I give her the finger behind my head, and the evil she beast just laughs at me.
Four hours, two venti double shot lattes, and a shit ton of groceries later, Laney and I finally are back home and putting away our haul.
“OK girl, it’s been four and a half hours, and you still won’t tell me why in the short time I was gone last night you dyed your hair, stress cleaned our home, rearranged the linen closet, ate all the ice cream in the freezer, and booked a disgusting torture class for us.”
Hopping up on the counter with one of the bags of chips we got, she finally looks ready to confess. “I made out with Parker last night.”
“Whhhhhhhattt? Like Andrew’s best friend, Parker?” I screech.
“Yes, that one.” She says wrinkling her nose.
“And, apparently that isn’t a good thing?” I ask.
“Umm, no. It was a very good thing. Until he decided to pretty much ignore me for the rest of the night and then leave with another girl.” She said, tears forming in her big blue eyes.
“That shit face.” I grit out, pulling her into a hug.
“I don’t understand. We were having such a good time. We were laughing and joking around and the conversation was just so easy. We just kind of clicked, ya know? To me it was kind of how you explained the chemistry you felt with Andrew. Then it’s like before it even began, poof, he was leaving with a skank face with terrible roots, or a really bad ombre. It was hard to tell. Her shoes had glitter on them. Glitter!” She sniffles.
“Well I suppose now would probably be a good time to warn you that Andrew is coming over for fight night, and he was supposed to invite the guys.” I cringe, waiting for a Laney style tantrum, but nothing. She’s a dud. It’s like her fuse blew.
“Ok.” She shrugs.
“Ok? Just ok? That’s it?”
“I can play his game Charlie. If I act like it affects me, he wins. Nuh uh, not happening. I’m not going back to being Laney Loser.”
“Laney, you were never referred to as Laney Loser. Stop being so dramatic.” I laugh.
“You didn’t know me in high school, Charles.”
“You were voted best dressed and you were prom queen; I’ve seen your yearbook. I’m pretty sure that isn’t Laney Loser.”
“Well that’s beside the point. The point is, Parker may be here but so will Jameson and all of the guys.” She winks at me.
“Oh no. Don’t you do something you can’t take back. Those guys are our friends.” I say, stressing the word friends for her benefit. I shake my head.
“Of course not. Just some harmless flirting, ignoring Parker. I got this.”
“Ok, well, while you come up with a better plan that that, I’m taking a shower and a nap.” I say with a yawn walking towards my room.
I throw on some black leggings and a loose cream-colored cable knit sweater over a loose tank top. In the bathroom, I style my hair in a loose ponytail and apply some bronzer, eyeliner, and mascara. I finish off with a spritz of body spray.
“Oh thank God you’re up.” Laney says, looking like a hot mess. “We have like ten people coming over in like two hours and so far, all I’ve managed to do is make a chip dip and burn three batches of break and bake cookies. I mean, how do you even do that?”
I just look at her. She needs a shower and a nap too. “Shoo. I have this. Please go fix yourself. You look like crap.” I say.
“I love you so much!” She says squeezing me tight and running off.
Ok, then… game plan time. Tying an apron on over my sweater, I roll up my sleeves and get to work. I decide on flatbread pizzas, bourbon barbeque chicken kebabs, a big salad, and a few dip recipes. I’ll just make some cookies to go with the ice cream we have and make some sauces. Boom. Done. Good thing Laney went all Merry Maids on me and cleaned already.
Andrew:
It’s been a long ass day. Two emergency surgeries, two planned surgeries, and quite a few consults, but all in all a good day. Now I’m just ready to get home and see my girl. Ethan and Parker are supposed to meet me there. I’m still in awe of the fact she was hosting a fight night at her apartment. I arrive at Charlie’s about twenty minutes before the fight is set to begin. Walking up to her door, I can hear that it’s rowdy inside, so instead of knocking I let myself in. I spot my friends talking with the guys from the band, Laney and a couple other people I don’t recognize. Parker looks super uncomfortable as he’s watching Laney, which is odd since he’s typically the life of the party.
