Talon
I stared at the chemistry problem in front of me, but I couldn’t focus on the molecular structure long enough to formulate a guess as to what I was looking at. At the moment, I didn’t know my ass from a covalent bond, and it was all because I was so distracted thinking about Charlotte.
For the last four years, everything between us had been going so well. Then I had to start sneaking around behind her back, and now things were getting tangled up and complicated.
I hated keeping secrets from her, but what was done was done, and there was no going back now. I just had to make it through a few more days, and it would all be over.
None of this would even be a big deal, except Charlotte clearly knew something was up. I was so bad at keeping secrets, and she was not a stupid girl. She cared about me enough to notice when I was acting differently than normal. And I was definitely acting differently.
Why the hell did I decide to keep this a secret in the first place? Because you’re a moron, a voice in my head chimed in happily. I sighed and looked back at my test. The inscrutable problem hadn’t gotten any clearer, only confirming that I was, in fact, a moron.
I skipped the question and moved on to the next one. It wasn’t any easier than the last one, so I powered through it as best as I could. The rest of the test went like that until the TA announced that our time was up.
I dragged my feet as I walked up to the desk to turn in the scribbled mess of a final. I just hoped the professor would give me extra points for making him laugh at how clueless I was, or maybe he’d pass me out of sheer pity.
I checked my watch. It was three o’clock, exactly when I’d asked Charlotte to pick me up. I got to the parking lot, and she was sitting there in my gray SUV, waving at me through the window.
Seeing her face made all the pain of my last final seep out of me, and I smiled at her, feeling a warmth in my heart that only she could make me feel. It had been like that since we first met. I’d never believed in love at first sight, but when I saw Charlotte for the first time, something inside me melted under her brilliant smile.
The part of my heart that kept me from feeling real affection cracked open when she entered my life. I’d always thought I just wasn’t capable of falling in love. I blamed my parents. They’d barely showed their children any warmth, and with each other, they were ice cold. It was a classic case of a couple staying together out of obligation, not love.
I swore to myself I’d never end up in a dead, passionless relationship like them. Fuck that. I’d rather be alone than suffer through a lifetime of that. Being alone was fine, but being with someone in a relationship and still feeling alone seemed like utter misery.
I’d been with plenty of women, but I’d never really felt anything for them beyond physical attraction. That only lasted for so long, and I got tired of them quickly. But all of that changed once I met Charlotte.
She was my one and only. She was the girl that all those love songs talked about, only I didn’t know they were about her until I met her. Then it was like everything just clicked into place, and the world made sense to me.
And I was putting it all at risk over a stupid decision. I sighed. I was in too deep now. I had to see this through.
I got in the car, and Charlotte smiled at me. “So? How was the chemistry test?”
I slumped down in the seat. “Let’s just say I won’t be winning any Nobel Prizes.”
“And I’d already cleared off a spot on the shelf for it,” she said, grinning.
Her smile brought me back from the brink of despair. “I guess we can put my old baseball trophy there. It’s just as good, right?”
“It’s even better,” she said. “I’d rather date a sexy jock than a science nerd.”
I laughed. “Really? This from a woman who gets excited about numbers and equations?”
She bit her lower lip like she was turned on. “Equations are sexy.”
Even though she was just pretending, seeing her bite her lip like that got my cock stirring in my jeans. It had been a while since we’d been together. We’d fooled around a bit here and there, but we hadn’t really gotten hot and heavy like we usually did.
Charlotte’s sex drive was just as strong as mine, if not stronger. In the bedroom, she went wild. We could spend hours in bed together, tangled up in each other’s limbs and exploring each other’s bodies. I loved seeing the rapturous pleasure on her face when I made her come, and I would give her orgasm after orgasm, until we collapsed against each other, sweaty, exhausted, and throbbing with pleasure.
Fuck, just thinking about it had me worked up, and I knew I had to stifle these urges because I wouldn’t be getting the sweet release I needed anytime soon. I forced myself back to the present, with Charlotte in the car.
“Speaking of equations,” I said, clearing my throat. “I hope your final went better than mine.”
“Judging from your grumpy face, I’m pretty sure it did,” she said. “But you’re forgetting one crucial fact.”
“And what’s that, gorgeous?”
“We’re done!” She leaned over and wrapped me in a tight hug.
I buried my face in her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her. She smelled like vanilla, and it was like coming home. Not the lifeless house I’d grown up in, but the warm, loving home we’d built together over the last few years. Charlotte was my home now, and I couldn’t imagine living my life without her.
“You’re right,” I said. “There’s no point in worrying about it now.”
She let go of me and looked into my eyes. “Exactly. Now, it’s all Christmas and relaxing for the next few weeks.”
“I like the sound of that. So, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?”
“Well, my parents wanted to go get some last-minute shopping done,” she said. “If that’s all right with you?”
“Of course,” I said. “I’ve got a few things I need to pick up. I’d love to get something for Bob and Gloria, but I have no idea what they like.”
Charlotte laughed. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure that out for years. My dad doesn’t have any hobbies. Well, his work is his hobby, making furniture. But I tried buying him tools one time, and he pretended to love them, but it turns out he already had all of them, and way better quality.”
I smiled at her. “So, a sweater for Bob. Got it. And your mom?”
Charlotte’s face scrunched up in thought. “Well, she loves reading trashy romance novels.”
I chuckled. “Um, I can’t buy sexy books for your mom. Or can I?” I waggled my eyebrows suggestively at Charlotte.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “You better not.”
“So, a sweater for Gloria,” I said. “Well, that was easy.”
“You’re terrible,” she said, putting the car in drive and heading toward her parents’ hotel.
“Come on,” I said. “It’s the thought that counts.”
“At least make sure they’re not the same color. They’ll wear them at the same time, and I don’t want to be walking around with matching parents.”
“Well, now I’m gonna buy them matching sweaters,” I said, laughing. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
We picked up Bob and Gloria and headed over to the nearby mall. The place had every store imaginable, and I was sure I could find something decent for her parents at one of them.
The parking lot was packed, which was no surprise, considering Christmas was only a week away. Charlotte had to drive around for a while to find an open spot. Gloria filled the time by gushing about their trip to the zoo. It sounded like she had the time of her life, but she seemed to be particularly fascinated by the hippos. I made a mental note to look for something hippo-themed for her. I figured it would be a nice way to commemorate their visit.
Bob was still getting a sweater.
Charlotte finally bullied her way into an open spot at the ass-end of nowhere. It was a bit of a walk to the first store, but at least the weather was nice. It was cool out, but not frigid. The air felt good on my skin after being in the warm car for so long.
We got to the store entrance and stopped to make a game plan.
“I think we should split up for a bit,” Charlotte said. “Then we can meet up in a few hours for dinner.”
I nodded. “That works for me.”
I could use the time to look for Charlotte’s gift by myself, but Bob had other ideas. He slung a meaty arm around my shoulder.
“Talon and I will go one way,” he said. “Charlotte, you and your mom go another.”
Gloria looked excited. “Perfect. I could use some girl time with my baby.”
Charlotte nodded happily. “Let’s do it. Don’t get into too much trouble, you two.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Bob said.
Charlotte didn’t look worried, but I was less than thrilled by this turn of events. I had never spent any significant amount of time alone with Bob, and I wasn’t sure how that was going to go.
We split off, and I followed Bob’s lead. When we were by ourselves, he turned to me and gave me a hard look.
“Is everything, okay?” he asked. “Charlotte said you’ve been acting strangely.”
Crap. Fucking Bob was not big on dancing around a topic. When he wanted to say something, he charged right ahead like a bull, subtlety be damned.
“Everything’s fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’m just tired from finals and all that. After a few days of relaxing, I’ll be right as rain.”
“Don’t bullshit me, son. Charlotte is the most important thing in the world to me, and I will literally—not figuratively, but literally—murder anyone who hurts her.”
The smile evaporated from my face, and I let out a long breath. “Fine,” I said, looking Bob square in the eye. “No bullshit, Bob. You and I need to have a serious talk.”