Charlie was waiting in front of his building, but this time, he was wide awake, a big grin on his face when he saw me.

I crossed the street to him and couldn’t stop the smile that had bubbled up from deep inside my chest.

“You came!” he called.

I jogged to him, and we took off together. “I’m sorry I left you hanging yesterday,” I said.

“Yeah, what was up with that?”

“I just wanted to run a different route.”

“By yourself?”

“Yes, by myself. Sometimes I like quiet when I run.”

Charlie scoffed. “I can be quiet!”

I just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I can, Eliza. You have no idea how quiet I can be.”

“You’re right, I don’t.”

He elbowed my bicep. “You’re just too fun to talk to.”

“I think that’s you, Charlie.”

He chuckled. “So, you sure you didn’t want to run with me because of the thing?”

“What thing?”

“The thing that didn’t happen.”

I sighed. “I wasn’t trying to kiss you, Charlie.”

“That’s your story?” he asked.

“Don’t make me kick you! It’s not a story. I was trying to kiss your cheek, but you moved, okay?”

“Well, damn, I really screwed up, didn’t I? Can I get a do-over?”

“Nope. I was caught up in the vibes of the great day we had. Can’t be replicated,” I said firmly.

“That sounds like a challenge, Miss Eliza.”

“It really isn’t. Between learning three songs for Rachel and Joe’s wedding and other general bridesmaid duties I’m sure she’ll throw at me, plus training for the marathon, I don’t know if I’ll have time for any adventures.”

We turned around and headed back toward town. Today would be a shorter run, but according to the training schedule we were following, we were going to be running fourteen miles this weekend. I didn’t usually go beyond ten, but fourteen seemed doable. On the other hand, the most Charlie had ever run was six miles, so I had a feeling that would make it more of a challenge. Some sick part of me was looking forward to seeing how we conquered it.

“Nonsense. There’s always time for adventure!”

I giggled. “Did you just say ‘nonsense’?”

“It’s a good word!”

“It’s a fine word. I just don’t hear it in everyday conversation.”

“Well, I’m bringing it back. Along with egads, malarkey, bee’s knees, and rad.”

“I don’t even know what ‘bee’s knees’ means!”

Charlie turned around and jogged backwards in front of me. He gave me a big smile, then said, “Eliza, you’re the bee’s knees.”

I snorted. “That cleared up nothing!”

He gave me an exaggerated wink. “It means I think you’re rad!”

Smiling, I rolled my eyes. “Egads, what malarkey!” I said.

Charlie laughed and threw his arm around my shoulder. “See? You’re rad, and I don’t want any arguments.”

“On the subject of rad, you never told me what you did when you toured with a band.”

“Ah, my rock star years. I spent six years on the road with a semi-famous rock band. I was a guitar technician and assistant to the sound tech. They’re still touring, but those six years felt like double that. That lifestyle is rough on the body and spirit.”

“Ah, so the ‘too many women’ and ‘too much drinking’ makes sense now.”

“Yep. I’m glad I lived the wanderer’s life. I don’t regret any of it. But having roots is pretty rad too.”

“Rad is over, Charlie.”

“Don’t break my heart, Eliza.”

“I would never.”

He glanced over at me. “I don’t know. You strike me as the ultimate breaker of hearts.”

“That’s funny.”

“And by ‘that’s funny,’ you mean not funny at all?”

“It’s not accurate. Someone has to have a heart in order for you to break it, and I’m pretty sure Edward was completely lacking in that department.”

“He’s your only ex-boyfriend?” Charlie asked, disbelief in his tone.

“Basically. My parents were suffocatingly strict when I was growing up. I wasn’t allowed to date at all in high school. I snuck around a bit and managed to go to my high school prom with a guy I liked, and then in college, I dated here and there, but Edward was my only real relationship.”

“Huh. That’s hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“You’re just so…”

“So what?” I asked.

“You’re just a lovely person, Eliza. I picture you breaking hearts left and right without even knowing it.”

I scrunched up my nose. “That’s not a very flattering image.”

Charlie trailed his fingertips down the back of my arm. “I didn’t mean it as a negative. You’re just very easy to grow attached to.”

And there he went, making me blush again. It had only been a week and a half since he walked into Abe’s shop, but I’d grown attached to him too. I was scared to guess how much that attachment would grow by the time we ran the marathon.

“I’m not usually so friendly,” I said.

He chuckled, the sound traveling straight from his chest to mine. “I do recall the first couple times I met you. You scared the shit out of me.”

I laughed and hit his arm. “Oh my god! No I didn’t!”

“You did! In my mind you were The Lady in Black. I couldn’t picture you smiling, but I get it. You were pretty miserable, huh?”

“Not subtle at all, are you?”

He shrugged. “What’s the point?”

“Yes, I was miserable. I’m pretty sure I’m done with that phase of my life, though.”

When we got back to Main Street, we started walking to cool down, our hands on our hips, Charlie’s breathing heavier than mine.

“You going to come play the piano?” he asked.

“Is that okay?”

He grabbed my hand to stop me, then tilted my chin up with his knuckle so my eyes met his. “Of course it’s okay. You don’t have to just come in the morning. You can come during the day or at night too. You’re never going to bother me. Got it?”

“Got it. I might take you up on it. Rachel and Joe chose three of the most complicated songs, so I’m going to have to practice a lot in the next month.”

“I look forward to more Eliza time.”

We were in front of Charlie’s building, smiling at each other. He stepped toward me, and I looked away toward my apartment.

“Okay, I’m just going to go shower and get dressed. Then I’ll be back,” I said quickly.

“See you soon, Miss Eliza.”

After I showered, I stood in front of my closet utterly stumped. Wearing all black didn’t seem all that appealing today. But unless I wore my running clothes or jeans, that seemed to be my only choice.

I pushed through my rack of clothes until I found a dark purple, three-quarter sleeve, boat-neck top with the tags still on it buried in the back. I didn’t remember buying this at all, but I pulled the tags off and slid it on. It wasn’t bright, but at least it wasn’t black. I found a pair of grey trousers to pair it with and slipped on a pair of nude heels instead of my usual ballet flats.

My bangs were still driving me crazy, so instead of pulling them down on my forehead, I brushed them to the side and tied a narrow silk scarf around my head like a headband. I was so used to half my face being covered with hair, I felt almost naked and definitely exposed. Sighing, I pulled off the scarf. I wasn’t ready for that much change, but I did swipe on a dark purple lipstick instead of my typical glossy nude.

The shop was quiet when I got there. Charlie must have been giving me privacy to play. As much as I normally liked the solitude, I wouldn’t have minded so much if he had stayed and listened.

I worked through all three songs several times. I needed a lot of practice, but after playing the music, I felt just the tiniest morsel of confidence in my ability to get where I needed to be by the wedding.

Just for fun, before I left, I played my favorite Coldplay song. It was one I knew so well, I could lose myself and sing along too. I almost lost my place when a guitar suddenly started playing and Charlie began singing along with me, but I kept going.

I opened my eyes and smiled at him. He winked and continued singing, his voice as beautiful as he was, and I felt like I was being serenaded despite the fact that we were making music together.

Even though I needed to go to work, even though Charlie needed to open up the shop, we flowed right into song after song, smiling, laughing, and playing together. I had always been a solo musician, mostly playing at home by myself. In the last few years, I’d hardly played at all. My jam sessions with Joe were the start of a new era, and they were incredibly fun, but sharing music with Charlie could quickly become addictive.

I finally took my hands off the keys. “I really have to go! I’m going to be late, and I’m never late.”

Charlie strummed his guitar one last time, then set it down. “That was pretty rad. Let’s definitely do that again.”

I nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “We should. Next time I jam with Joe, I’ll let you know.”

He walked closer to where I stood by the door. “I’m into that. I’m also into what we just did, just the two of us.”

I grinned at him. “I’m into that too.”

After a long beat, Charlie leaned in close, and my eyes fluttered closed as I readied myself for an unexpected, but not unwelcome, kiss. My lips remained untouched, and the door chimed behind me. When I cracked my eyes open, I realized he’d been reaching around me to open the door, not leaning in for a kiss.

Not again!

Why did we keep having these kissing misunderstandings? And why was I completely ready for Charlie to kiss me? We were friends! Just friends.

To hide the blush in my cheeks, I bent over and picked up my bag. Then, without looking at him, I turned and hustled out the door, waving over my shoulder as I ran across the street to the salon.

Rachel was sitting at the desk and greeted me with a sunny smile.

“Hey, E! Don’t you look pretty in purple today!”

“Good morning!” I said with all the cheeriness I could muster.

I looked across the street, and Charlie stared back at me from his shop. He grinned, then blew a kiss and walked away. He. Blew. Me. A. Kiss. He totally knew I thought he was going to kiss me. BLARGH!

“Rach, I need to go on a date. Know anyone who’ll have me?”

She looked up from the computer, surprise written all over her face. “Really?”

I nodded determinedly. “Absolutely. Someone fun who will make out with me.”

She giggled. “Joe’s friend Alex asked about you when we all hung out a month or two ago…”

I remembered him. We’d met a few times. He was tall with a clean-cut vibe, and from what I could recall, he’d been friendly and pretty cute. Definitely more than acceptable for a make-out session.

“Can you set us up?” I asked.

“Sure. Actually, Joe and I are meeting him for a show at Lucky next weekend. Do you want to come too?”

“That sounds perfect.”

Rachel smiled. “Okay, I’ll let Alex know. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to have you as his date.”

I wanted to date, but going to a show with my friends where there would be loud music took a lot of the first date pressure off. We wouldn’t have to talk a lot and Joe and Rachel would be great buffers if we didn’t really hit it off. I was hoping we would, though. I needed to kiss someone before I went crazy and one of my misfired kisses actually landed on Charlie and I ruined everything.