I woke up in Charlie’s bed.

I’d spent the last two nights here. It seemed silly to go home when he had such a big comfy bed and I never wanted to stop touching him.

He was still asleep, both arms slung over his head. I studied his face. He was always so animated when he was awake, always moving and laughing. In sleep, Charlie was relaxed, his chiseled face smooth, although last time I had heard him laughing while he dreamed.

Over the last two days, we’d had sex...a lot. And it was amazing. We just fit. With Edward, sex had been perfunctory, a means to an end. With Charlie, it was an adventure. Not in a let’s be as wild as we can just for the sake of it way, but more of a let’s see how many times we can get each other off way.

The best part, besides the off-the-charts sex, was that our relationship hadn’t changed. We still got up and stuck to our training schedule, although our banter had gotten flirtier. He still made me laugh more than I ever had. And I was still crushing unbelievably hard on him, but now I knew he was crushing just as hard right back.

I leaned over Charlie to examine the tattoos on the underside of his arm. Over the last few days, we’d spent more time naked than clothed, but I’d been distracted by his other parts, so this was the first time I’d really been able to study them. He was tattooed from shoulder to wrist. The arm closest to me had a black and grey background with a huge koi fish wrapping around, the tail near his underarm. It was intricate, and it was beautiful. I noticed there was Japanese lettering that had the appearance of being painted by a brush. I ran my finger over it, tracing each character.

“It’s the name of the town where my parents met,” Charlie said groggily.

I pulled my hand back, startled, but he reached out and caught it.

“I like waking up to you touching me. Don’t stop,” he said.

“I have no idea where my parents met. They weren’t really the lovey-dovey kind.” I laid my head down on his chest and smoothed my palm down his torso.

I don’t know how I became so invested in other people’s love stories when I didn’t grow up with one. But maybe that was exactly why they fascinated me.

“Yeah, my parents are pretty crazy about each other. You’ll see when you meet them. My sister and I used to run out of the room gagging when they kissed, but I think we both liked seeing them like that.”

“When I meet your parents, huh?”

He squeezed me against him, and I slung my leg over his. “When I convince you to come to Japan with me.”

I propped myself up so I could see him. “You’re really serious, aren’t you?”

Charlie rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip. “I really am. Think of it as one of our adventures. Except this time, we kinda have to pre-plan.”

“Charlie...it’s a lot.”

He pulled me on top of him and held me tight. “Just say yes, Eliza.”

“Are you rubbing your hot naked body on me to convince me?”

He grabbed my ass and moved me back and forth. “Looks like you’re rubbing your hot naked body on me.”

I took his bottom lip between my teeth and tugged playfully. “Why am I so tempted to say yes?”

“Because you have no actual reason to say no, and a helluva lot of reasons to say yes.”

He pulled my face down to his and kissed me leisurely, his tongue sliding against mine, one hand tangled in my hair and the other rubbing up and down my back.

I moved my knees to either side of his hips so he was pressing against my folds. Charlie grabbed my ass and slid me along his hardening length, hitting my clit with each pass.

Charlie broke off the kiss and sat up, taking me with him. He reached between my spread thighs and slid his finger into my opening while he kept his focus on my face. I’d learned he loved watching me react to what he did to my body. And the things he did to my body made me react in a big way.

“Is this you convincing me to say yes?” I asked breathily as I rode his fingers.

“No, Eliza.” He ground the heel of his hand against my aching clit. “This is me making you come.”

He took my breast in his mouth, sucking my nipple and swirling his tongue around the peak. I threw my head back, no longer able to keep my eyes open.

“Charlie, yes! Don’t stop!” I cried, gripping his shoulders to keep myself from flying off the bed as my orgasm hit me. He held the nape of my neck, keeping me steady while I trembled and clenched his finger deep inside me.

I needed Charlie in my body, so before I even came down from my orgasm, I straightened my legs and grabbed his erection, aligning it with my entrance. Then I slowly lowered myself down on him. I wiggled my hips back and forth as I went, sinking more and more onto him.

He rested his head on the headboard and exhaled slowly when I reached the bottom. I leaned in and kissed up both sides of his neck, ending on his lips. Neither of us moved for a long moment. We breathed in and out together slowly, my forehead on his.

We’d had “the talk” and decided we didn’t need condoms since I was on the pill and we’d both been tested. Having Charlie bare inside me had felt necessary after that first time. I wanted to be as close as I could to him. If it were possible, I would climb inside him. I had never had such an overwhelming desire to be close to someone as I did with Charlie.

Charlie gripped my hips, urging me to move. We started slow, as if we had all the time in the world. I languidly rolled my hips over him while I explored his chest with my hands and mouth. Our lips joined, sucking and licking and kissing until we were breathless.

“I need to take you hard now, Eliza,” Charlie groaned.

I held onto his arms, grinding my clit against his body. His grip on my hips tightened as he pistoned up into me while I pushed down. My thighs slapped against Charlie’s as we took each other frantically.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I tried to keep up with the pace Charlie set. I let him take control of my body, moving me how he needed. Seeing him so desperate for me brought me to the edge, where I teetered, waiting for him to come with me.

Our eyes locked, and I felt him harden inside me. I pressed down and circled my hips, giving my clit just enough friction to ignite my orgasm. Charlie groaned when I tightened around him, but he kept his eyes on me as he came. I moaned his name and raked my fingernails down his arms as I rode out his pleasure and mine.

“Charlie, Charlie, Charlie,” I sighed.

He pulled my trembling body against his and held me gently but fervently. He laid his head on my shoulder and whispered my name.

“Thank god today’s a rest day, because I can’t feel my legs,” he teased.

I giggled. “And I was thinking I feel like I could run a hundred miles right now.”

Charlie leaned back and cupped my face in his hands. “Eliza, tell me the truth. Did you just siphon my life force from my dick with your body?”

I snorted so loud, we both started laughing and shaking. He kissed my smiling lips with a loud smack, then carried me into the bathroom.

“Let’s get you clean, miss.”

I admired his smooth back when he leaned into the shower stall to turn it on. I couldn’t wait to see it covered in ink when he got his back piece. He’d put it off until after the marathon so he didn’t have to worry about healing while we were running long distances.

“I have to go practice my songs before work, so this can’t be a sexy shower. Got it?” I said sternly.

Charlie grabbed his chest. “You wound me. I can control myself.”

I stepped past him into the warm spray. “Well, maybe I can’t,” I said.

He groaned, and I giggled. He was much too fun to tease.

After we showered, I played the piano for a bit, then ran home to get dressed before work. When I was walking back to the salon, smiling to myself, I heard a whistle from across the street.

“Hey, pretty lady!” Charlie called from the sidewalk outside his shop.

“What do you want, crazy man?” I called.

He ran a hand over his hair. “Think you have time today to fulfill your side of our bargain?”

I motioned for him to come over, and he jogged across the cobblestone street. I looked up and down the sidewalk, finding it empty and quiet, so I jumped on him, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“Hi, again,” he said, grinning up at me.

“Hi, Charlie. You want a haircut?”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get shaggy. Do you have time?”

I nodded. “I do right now. Ready?”

He put me down, and I unlocked the salon door. I’d set aside time in my schedule to clean and organize, but spending more time with Charlie sounded better.

He stood just inside the door while I turned on lights and our computer. When he hadn’t moved after I’d walked around the salon, I gave him a curious smile.

“What’s up?” I asked.

He turned his focus to me and shook his head. “I haven’t been in here before. Eliza, it’s beautiful. I can’t believe you opened this when you were, what? Twenty-two?”

I patted my chair, directing him to sit down. “Yeah, twenty-two.” I ran my hands through his hair. “Just a trim?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, work your magic.”

I felt him following my movements in the mirror as I got out my clippers and shears. I plugged in the clippers and picked out which guard to use to cut the back of his hair. Then I unfolded a black cape and draped it around Charlie’s shoulders.

“How did you learn to do all this?” he asked.

I turned on the clippers, the soft buzzing sound filling the quiet room, and starting at the nape of his neck, I pushed them up, following the shape of his head.

“I never saw myself working in an office. I wanted to do something creative and this was my calling. As you can imagine, my parents adamantly disapproved and wouldn’t pay for cosmetology school, so I went to the owner of the salon where I got my hair done and asked if I could apprentice under him.”

“Huh. I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Mmhmm. For two years, I went to college and apprenticed with Ali. He recognized my distinct style right away and helped me hone it. After I got my license, I worked in his salon for two more years as a junior stylist while I finished my business degree. I met Rachel at Ali’s salon, actually.”

I laid my hands on his shoulders and smiled at him in the mirror. “Come on, let’s go wash your hair.”

Charlie followed me to the row of sinks in the back of the salon and sat down in the chair I pointed to. I laid him back, and he looked so cute, I leaned down and kissed him. Before I could stand back up, he wrapped his arms around me and brought my mouth back down to his. He licked the seam of my lips, opening them to his tongue. We took our time, kissing slowly and thoroughly before he let me go and I straightened.

“Well, that doesn’t usually happen when I shampoo my clients,” I said, my thumb rubbing over my swollen bottom lip.

“That was your tip. I hope you liked it.” Charlie winked up at me. Are these shampoo chairs sturdy enough for two? Because I’m way too tempted right now.

“Hey, girl, hey!” called Frannie as she walked through the salon.

She came to a stop when she saw I wasn’t alone.

“Sorry, E! I didn’t realize you had a client.” She covered her mouth and started to walk by, but I waved her over.

“It’s Charlie!” I said.

“Oh!” She leaned over the shampoo bowl and grinned down at him. “Fancy seeing you here bright and early.”

He gave her a wave. “Eliza said she wouldn’t be seen in public with me unless I got my hair cut, so here I am. She can be really brutal.”

I laughed and turned on the water. “Watch it, buddy, I’ve got a hose and I know how to use it.”

Frannie looked like she was holding in a laugh, her eyes crossing from the effort.

“I know, I know. Say it!” I said.

She danced in a circle, arms in the air, and sang out, “That’s what he said!”

Everyone laughed at how proud of herself she was. She walked away, arms above her head as though she was victorious.

I washed Charlie’s hair quickly, because I knew the salon would start getting busy soon and I wanted to have him to myself for just a little while longer.

The top of Charlie’s hair was long. Unless he used gel, it flopped down on his forehead, giving him a boyish look that drove me absolutely crazy. I liked it when he combed it to the side too. With his tattoos, and his uniform of jeans and T-shirts, it gave him a Rebel Without a Cause vibe.

As I combed his hair and held it between my fingers, snipping the ends, Charlie watched me in the mirror. More than anything, I wanted to stop everything and kiss him again, but along with Frannie, another stylist, plus our receptionist, had arrived for work, so it wasn’t happening.

“You know I’m really proud of you,” Charlie said quietly.

I met his eyes in the mirror and tilted my head to the side. “You are?”

“Mmhmm. You’ve really built something here. And I know you had money from your grandparents, but I’m picturing twenty-two-year-old Eliza, fresh from living under her parents’ thumb her whole life, striking out on her own. It’s really impressive.”

I had to look away. I knew my salon was nice, and when Rachel became my partner, we’d made it exceptionally nice together, but I never thought of anything I’d done as impressive. Except Charlie saw me that way, making me wonder if I should see myself that way too.

“Thank you, Charlie. That...that means a lot, coming from you,” I said quietly.

When I set down my comb and shears, he captured my hand and squeezed it briefly, then let it go.

After I ran gel through his hair and blew it dry, I whipped the cape off him and brushed the little hairs off the back of his neck.

“All done!”

He spun around in the chair to face me. “I love it. Best cut I’ve ever had.”

I kicked his foot. “You didn’t even look!”

“I can tell by feel. My head is happy.”

I held my hand out to him. “Come on, crazy. You gotta get out of here so I can work.”

Charlie and I walked outside, hand in hand. I studiously avoided looking at Frannie. I could almost feel the smirk on her face. She had to be dying to make a comment about us banging.

On the sidewalk, Charlie asked, “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

I nodded. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

Still holding my hand, he pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to my lips.

“You gonna come over tonight?” he asked.

“Want me to?”

“Uh, hell yes I do.”

“Then I will.”

He started to cross the street, and even though he was still in front of me, I already missed him.

So I yelled out, “Charlie!”

He turned back. “Yeah?”

“The answer is yes!”

He furrowed his brow, unsure of what I meant.

“Yes to adventure,” I clarified.

He raised his brows and tilted his head. “Yeah? We’re going to Japan?”

“We’re going to Japan!” I said.

He walked back to me, picked me up, and spun me around.

“You are the bee’s fuckin’ knees, Eliza.”

“And you’re fuckin’ rad, Charlie!”

When I finally went back inside, I couldn’t wipe the silly grin off my face no matter how hard I tried. Frannie stood behind the desk with her arms crossed and the smirk I’d known she’d have on her face.

“You’re a goner, girl,” she declared.

I couldn’t even deny it. I was so far gone for Charlie, I didn’t know if I’d ever find my way back.