CHAPTER FIVE
CHARLIE
I'd been on a lot of dates. Some of them formal, others informal, most where she assumes we're on a date and I know we're only there to bump nasties and never talk to each other again. This was nailed down to a science, an effortless collection of moves and lines and restaurants to woo a girl, fuck a girl, and then ditch said girl. My former shrink told me it was an unhealthy way of coping, but everything to her was an unhealthy way of coping—even my attempts to score in the sack with her, too. "Ethics". Whatever.
Despite all this, I felt... weird... standing outside Ashley's door. There wasn't another word I knew for it. I'd been with a lion's share of gorgeous girls and not one of them made me pause and wipe the sweat from my hands on my dark jeans. This wasn't the first time I'd considered not going through with it, but the reasons were a whole other animal.
"That's because you fucking like her." Rudolph hissed at me from the stairwell. He was going to shack up with Ashley's roommate while we were out because I'm always here to help a brother out.
"The fuck are you talking about?" I muttered back through clenched teeth. He was killing my psycho zen bullshit to get over whatever this was stopping me outside her door.
"You're acting like a little boy. Man the fuck up and knock on the door, dipshit. This is what happens when you actually like someone."
I ignored him and pressed on, if nothing else, to prove him wrong. Charlie Vermont didn't like anyone. He liked to fuck, drink, sweat, and turn in shit late to his profs out of principle more than anything. Being several years older than the average college student meant setting some ground rules, like how I wasn't a goddamn child.
Whitney threw open the door a whole two seconds after I knocked. I may as well have been invisible from the way she looked straight past me and into the dim exterior hallway.
"Staircase, opposite end." I lowered my voice. Whitney looked like she might come right then and there, which would have been pretty hot in itself had Ashley not just walked into the room.
Stunning. That was the word spiraling through my brain. She didn't just look hot or sexy, she looked stunning, even in a pair of jeans and a black silk top that left just enough to the imagination. Outside, I was cool as could be, complimenting her outfit and whisking her away before Whitney wet herself waiting for Rudolph to swoop in. Inside, I was talking down a raging hard-on.
The kid, I noticed, was nowhere to be seen. Was it appropriate to ask about her? The protocol for this shit was an unknown. Not that this was anything... probably. Lying to myself was also something I excelled at, but fuck if I'd ever admit that to Rudolph. Either way, I figured I’d bookmark the kid conversation for later, should the need arise, which it probably wouldn’t.
An unusual girl called for an unusual date, something off the beaten path. I parked outside Dave & Busters and turned to look at her without shamelessly staring at her tits. Something was definitely wrong with me.
"Full disclosure, this was Rudolph's idea. If you hate this place, we can leave."
Her full lips tugged upwards. "I like games."
"Perfect."
Halfway through the parking lot, I slipped my hand around hers, a subconscious move I didn't even catch until my fingers grazed hers. The fuck? Before I could pull them away, she wound her fingers between mine with a tiny hint of pink in her cheeks.
Our first stop was the bar, because I needed some lubricant to deal with this bullshit stirring up. I didn't get these feelings anymore. I made myself a cold, hard machine of flesh and cock. And yet here was Ashley, dredging up things that should have been shot dead and buried out back.
"I love Captain. How did you know?" Ashley sounded amazed when I sat her drink down at our booth. Her innocence drew me to her, like I could maybe have some of mine back if I stuck around long enough.
"I was your bartender, remember?" I shot her a wink and offered up my beer bottle. "A toast to me, the victor of an established bet. I'd like to say you were the real winner tonight, being out with me, but the truth is I feel like I got the better of you on all counts."
Ashley paused to look me over before clinking her class against mine. "You are an interesting guy, Charlie Vermont."
"How is it you know me, but I didn't know someone as beautiful as you?" I said.
"One of us has a reputation."
"The other of us has...?" I trailed off. She shrugged slyly and sipped her drink. I almost mentioned the kid, but didn't. "Ah, secrets."
"Secrets make people interesting." She said.
"I don't have any secrets." I closed the small gap between us, so my arm was resting against hers. She didn't look like she believed me, but she also didn't move away. "My life is an open book. I'm serious, try me."
"Okay.” She set down her drink and tried to look very serious. I began to question this move of mine immediately. “Do you really make it habit of sleeping with girls who have boyfriends?"
"Whoa." I acted affronted with a hand over my heart. Fair question probably, but to pull that out already? "That hurts. I would never willingly sleep with someone who is otherwise spoken for. I know it's hard to believe, but there was a code in the Corps. Some dicks ignored it, but I was not one of them."
"You've amassed quite a list." I could see the playfulness around her eyes and wanted to grab her and kiss her, right there. I wanted to know what she tasted like, what she felt like, how her hands would feel around me. I swallowed it down with another swig of beer.
"That's fair. I guess once the first one happened and word got around, other girls in similar, ah, predicaments sized me up as fair game. I'm the victim here, really."
Ashley laughed with a little snort, which caused her to snap both hands over her mouth in horror. It was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen.
"Did you just snort? Do people really do that?" I joked.
"Shut up!" She swatted at me, still red. "Plenty of people do it!"
A mischievous grin sprang up. "Is that a bet?"
"No!" Ashley shook her head firmly. "No more bets. Not yet."
Yet? Hello, opened door. We finished our drinks in silence. I watched her carefully and savored each moment she tried to sneak a glance my way, but was caught. To ease her embarrassment, I pulled us out to play a round of games. After kicking my ass mercilessly in air hockey, which I may have intentionally thrown, she opened like a little flower. We shared drinks and fought over game machines.
Ashley was exceptional at trivia and a formidable Mario Kart opponent, winning her some major points. We drank our way around the floor, laughing louder and growing closer, until I scored her a massive teddy bear from the claw machine. She squealed in delight and threw her arms around my neck, but I held tight before she could let go.
Everything in the room went quiet. Ashley didn't blush or look away or try to escape. Instead she laid soft hands on my cheeks and dipped her head so we were surrounded by her incredibly soft brown hair.
"I really want to kiss you," I whispered.
Her sweet eyes fluttered between my own and my lips. She finally breathed, "Please."
The last time I watched fireworks was the 4th of July for leave before I went overseas, seven years ago. My high school girlfriend and I kissed under the explosions, but by the time I returned, everything made me jumpy and she was fucking my former best friend. I swore off the goddamn things for life.
Ashley brought those butterflies back. It was cliché as hell, but there was no other word to describe the utter chaos flooding my brain. Kissing this girl with soft, full lips and a surprisingly talented tongue was the most exhilarating and confusing thing I'd done in a long, long time.
We stumbled into the claw machine and she laughed against my mouth.
"Sorry." I placed a kiss against her neck and sat her back down on the ground without letting go. "A kiss like that is... dangerous."
She looked at me, really looked at me, and said, "Maybe I need a little dangerous." And walked off to the next game machine with a wink.
This date had evolved into me trying to convince her I wasn't my reputation, I wasn't someone she needed to avoid, but old habits came roaring to life after she looked at me like that. I slid up beside her, my aching cock grazing her from behind. She arched back into it and I was done. I had to have her. Now.
I slid my hands up her arms and bent over to whisper in her ear. "I need you."
The words stopped after that. Every other line I'd ever had fell aside and left me with the simple truth. For the first time all night, I didn't even give a shit because it was true: I needed her.
Ashley spun around and flashed a sultry look that took every inch of willpower to not fuck her then and there.
“Let’s go back to my place.” She said with fire in her eyes.