Chapter Nineteen

Owen

“Charlie?” I repeat, watching her eyes glaze over. She’s deep in thought, but I have no idea what she’s thinking about. Is she still scared of storms? She used to be terrified of them.

“Sorry.” Shaking her head, she looks down at her phone. I follow her gaze, watching the radar move across the screen. It looks bad. She definitely shouldn’t be driving. “I’m just…I’m really tired.”

“I have a guest room and an extra toothbrush if you need it. I can loan you some clothes too.” I tip my head a bit as I look her up and down. “You always looked good in my white t-shirts. With no pants, of course.”

She doesn’t smile, doesn’t roll her eyes. The lack of response troubles me, making it hard to read her. “I actually have clothes in my car.”

“Preparing to stay the night with me, I see. I knew you couldn’t have resisted for long.”

She looks up with a glare. Now there’s that sass I was missing. “I was going to grab a room at the bed and breakfast in town.”

“With your cat?”

“She’s quiet. I could have snuck her in.”

I laugh. “I like this naughty side, Charlie.”

“Shut up,” she quips.

“I’ll grab your bag for you,” I offer.

“It’s pouring rain, you’ll get soaked.”

I shrug. “I’ll take my clothes off first and then will towel off.”

Her mouth falls open again, but she quickly recovers. “Let’s hope you don’t get struck by lightning then. Because I’m not dragging your naked body back inside.”

“You’d leave me out there and cause a spectacle for the neighborhood kids?”

“Oh, I would. It would be a lesson in what type of stupid shit they shouldn’t do.”

Chuckling, I pull my shirt over my head only to push her buttons. “Is your car locked?”

“Of course.”

Grabbing her keys, I run out through the garage to get her overnight bag from the car. I am soaked by the time I get back inside.

“Thank you,” she tells me, taking the bag.

“I’m going to change.”

“What happened to getting naked?”

I cock an eyebrow. “Is that an invitation?”

“You wish. Do you have any candles or anything?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, wiping my arms dry with the dishtowel from the counter. “In the cabinet next to the sink. There’s a lighter in there with them.”

I rush up the stairs to change and come down to find a few candles placed around the downstairs.

“I can do you one better.” I kneel down in front of the fireplace, opening it up and rearranging the logs inside. I haven’t used it in months, and it’s going to get hot in here fast, but at least we’ll have some light. It takes a few tries, but I get a small fire going.

“Now what?” she asks, sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine.

“You’re asking me how to entertain ourselves in the dark during a storm?”

“Owen,” she scolds. “No.”

“Your loss.”

She mumbles something that I can’t quite make out. An agreement, maybe? Moving away from the fireplace, I look at the light dancing over Charlie’s face. It’s not right for one person to possess so much beauty, both inside and out.

“I have an idea.”

“That involves keeping our clothes on,” she presses.

“Prude,” I tease and go to the closet next to the downstairs bathroom. Pulling out a stack of board games, I take them into the living room.

“It won’t be as much fun with just the two of us, but it’s something to do. Unless you think this is lame.”

Her smile lights up the room brighter than the fire. “No, not lame at all.”

*

“I hate Monopoly,” I grumble, watching Charlie make it rain with all the fake money she collected after she won the game.

“Don’t be a sore loser.”

“I spent the last two hours losing. I’m sore.”

She waves pink bills in my face and leans back on the couch, laughing. “It’s late.” Yawning, she pushes herself forward and starts putting the game pieces away. “Taking a mini leave from work was boring, but I very much enjoyed sleeping in.”

“I do too.”

“Right. You were never a morning person.”

We pick up the game and she stands, eyes going to the window. The storm quieted down, and I wonder if she’s thinking about leaving. It is late, though, and the power is still out. Eastwood has a lot of the older power lines that get knocked out during windstorms. It wouldn’t surprise me if the way into town was temporarily blocked off anyway.

“I should get up to bed.”

“Me too. I work tomorrow as well, but I don’t have to be in until the evening at least.”

Her eyes meet mine and our gazes linger. Everything inside of me wants to go to her, to pull her close and feel her heart beating up against my chest. But instead, I step aside and let her pass. She picks up her cat and her overnight bag, and heads toward the stairs.

Using my phone for light, I follow her upstairs and show her the guest room. Then I go back down, put out the fire, and look around the living room.

Charlie is here.

In my house.

In my bed.

Well, one of my beds. I’ve never wanted anything more, but she’s not just a physical temptation. I drag my ass into my own room, brush my teeth, and sink into bed. My hand falls to my waist, fingers brushing over my cock. I’m not going to hide in my room and jerk it like a teenager, but fuck, I’m getting turned on just thinking about Charlie in that white dress. The sleeves rested off her shoulders, and more than once while she was laughing and leaning forward to move her game piece along the board, one sleeve slipped down a little more.

The regret for letting her go eats me alive, churning my stomach and filling it with bile. Having her so close yet so far hurts more than I expected, and I need to figure out my next move to make her fall in love with me.

Though, really, I know there’s no one move that’ll sweep her off her feet. I hurt Charlie. Broke up with her when she thought I was going to offer her more. I told her I didn’t want to be with her when really I didn’t want to let her down. Back then, I saw it as merciful to let her go, thinking she’d move on to bigger and better things.

The only way to get her back is to prove to her that I really have changed. That this time, I willbe not only the man she wants but the one she deserves. Rolling over, I tuck my pillow under my arm and close my eyes. It takes a while, but I eventually drift to sleep…until another weather alert goes off on my phone.

This time, I shoot up, squinting at the glowing screen as my eyes adjust. It’s a tornado warning. One touched down in Newport and the storm is far from over. I pull up the weather radar and let out a breath of relief. The storm can circle back around at any moment, I know, but for now, it looks like the worst is going to miss us.

Still, I get out of bed and walk down the hall to the guest room. I crack the door open, not wanting to knock and wake up Charlie in case she’s still sleeping.

“Hey,” I say quietly, seeing her sitting up and looking at her phone. “You got the alert too?”

She nods and looks up. Even in the dark, I can see the fear in her eyes.

“Are you still scared of tornadoes?” I ask, stepping into the room. I shut the door so the cat doesn’t get out.

“Terrified.”

“I think it’s going to miss us.”

She nods again, pulling her lips around her teeth. “Hopefully.”

“Want me to sit with you? We can go into the basement if that’ll make you feel better too.”

“If the sirens go off, I’ll go down. And yeah…I’d, uh, I’d like if you sat with me.”

Crossing the room, I sit on the opposite side of the bed. Charlie puts her phone down and leans back against the pillows.

“Do you think it’s pathetic I’m still scared of tornadoes?”

“No,” I tell her honestly. “They are scary. You can’t do anything to prevent them or stop them. All you can do is hide.”

“Exactly. And the energy gets me all jittery.” She holds up her hand. “I’m shaking.”

I take her hand in mine, lacing my fingers through hers. “It’s okay. Try to go back to sleep if you want. I’ll listen for the sirens.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Not really. I closed down the bar a few times last week. My sleep schedule is always fucked up.”

“That would mess with you, I guess.”

She swallows hard, looking over me and out the window. It’s pitch black out there, and the rain comes down in sheets. Thunder and lightning tear through the sky, and the windows rattle. Charlie squeezes my hand a little tighter.

“Bad storms tended to break up before they got into the city,” she says. “We had storms, of course, but no tornadoes.”

“We won’t have one tonight either.” I give her hand a squeeze and settle down next to her. She’s still shaking, and it’s killing me not to comfort her more. Pulling the blankets back up to her shoulders, she wiggles a little closer. I don’t know if it’s on purpose or if she’s trying to get comfortable.

Heart hammering, I pull my hand from hers and rest it on her waist. The blankets are between my hand and her body, yet it sends a jolt through me. She moves closer again, and this time I know it was intentional. She rests her hand on top of mine and slits her eyes open, looking up at me.

“Thank you, Owen.”

“Of course,” I whisper back. Her blonde hair is a mess around her face, and I turn off the light on my phone. The storm rages around us, but Charlie is safe in my arms. Her breathing becomes slow and steady, letting me know she fell asleep.

It’s innocent and platonic, and I’m hit with the memory of holding Charlie while she slept off her first drunk experience. I’m working hard to tell myself that this doesn’t mean anything, yet I know this will be a new favorite memory of mine…even if it doesn’t lead to anything.