“No, Angel. No sadist here, I just don’t want to miss a second of what’s going on in that sexy little head of yours,” I tell her with a wink.
When is the last time I flirted like this? There is a reason, Trevor. You’re dangerous, don’t get caught up in attraction. This is not the life you get to lead.
My conscience is loud tonight.
Letting go of her hand, I lean back into my own space and she immediately starts again.
“Why do you keep calling me Angel? No, wait, you shouldn’t answer that. The one-night stand rules say, no telling your actual name. So, you call me Angel, and I’ll call you…” she pauses, thinking, then claps her hands together, bouncing in her seat like the child she said she wasn’t. “Got it, I’ll call you Charlie.” She sits back in her chair with a smile that could melt glaciers.
“Charlie,” I say, then it hits me, “Charlie’s Angels.”
“You got it!” she beams.
“I do,” leaning over the table, I say, “My Angel.” I love watching the blush that creeps over her fair face.
Chapter 6
-It Won’t Kill Ya, The Chainsmokers
Julia
I’m biting the inside of my cheek so hard I taste blood. Jesus, Jules. Do not speak. Do not do it.
Before I can embarrass myself further, we are interrupted by the waiter with our drinks. Reaching for mine quickly, I mumble a, “Thanks,” then inhale half my drink. Raising my eyes over my glass, I find Charlie watching me with a raised brow.
Feeling slightly defensive, I sense the chaos turning in my head. “What? I needed this,” I say a little too loudly. “I needed that, I-I,” oh shit, here it comes. “I hate these things, you know? I mean, really, they couldn’t for once find someone else to speak at a convention?” My giant freaking brain. I shift in my seat, hoping and praying my mouth will shut up. “Plus, I have to wear these stupid suits when I am much happier in my leggings and sweatshirts. These shoes I’m wearing? They are THE worst. Seriously, it’s like someone has my toes in a finger pincher. Do you know what those are? I got one once when I was a kid. It was the cheapest piece of crap, but I loved it because I knew the secret right away. Then there is actually being back in Boston-gah-what are you doing?”
In one fell swoop, Charlie has grabbed my hand and slid me closer to him. “I think you said I calmed your thoughts. And I think it happens when I touch you,” he says, reaching for my foot. Removing my shoe, he places it in his lap. My mouth opens and closes multiple times like a fish.
Chuckling, Charlie says, “Blink, Angel. Breathe.”
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have your feet in the lap of a sex god,” I grumbled. Realizing what I just said, I sit up, trying desperately to pull my feet away. Charlie tightens his grasp.
“Let’s talk, Angel. Just talk. Your feet are hurting, and while feet are usually the last thing I find sexy, I am very excited to be holding yours. If this calms your chaos, let it be, and let’s talk,” the timbre of his voice has already relaxed me. It’s deep and smooth with a hint of a southern accent.
Snorting in the most unladylike of ways, I ask, “Have you not heard me talk enough in your few brief encounters with me? Most people are trying to shut me up by now.” That’s it. I don’t continue about how people usually find me weird or how my ex would get embarrassed going out with me. I just stop talking like I do when Lanie is next to me.
Judging by the look on Charlie’s face, he expects me to continue as well. Thankfully, our waiter has impeccable timing and shows up with another round of drinks I hadn’t seen anyone order. I’m not a big drinker, mainly because I’m not a big person, but I’m liking this insane interaction I’m having with my handsome stranger, so I take another sip.
After the waiter leaves with our empty glasses, Charlie turns his focus back to me, “No.”
“No? What are you talking about?” I ask him, confused.
“No, I have not had enough of hearing you speak,” he looks me up and down and I swear his gaze could melt anyone’s panties right off. “Or watching you fidget. Or feeling the energy you bring to the room, so tell me, Angel, why is it you are so set on having a one-night stand?”
I’m mid-swallow, and before I can catch myself, my drink sprays from my lips across the table and lands all over his beautiful face. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” I say, reaching for napkins on the other side of the table. I’m spiraling, and somehow, he knows it too because he squeezes my right foot.
“Relax,” it’s a one-word command, and I respond hypnotically. Laughing again, this time definitely at me and not with me, Charlie grabs a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wipes his face. “That’s one way to swap spit, Angel.”
Burying my face in my hands, I shake my head. “Listen, you have been so lovely to me, but I am entirely socially inept.” Reaching for my clutch, I try to grab a twenty, but Charlie lays a hand across mine.
“Angel?” he asks so softly I’m compelled to look at him. “Do you want to leave? Or are you leaving because you’re embarrassed?”
“Both, this is not my scene,” I tell him honestly. “I’m here because I have to be for work, but normally, I would be at home on the couch with my best friend watching a hallmark movie or something.” Again, no rambling. “To be one-hundred percent honest, I’m also a little thrown. For whatever reason, I’m not babbling, and generally, that only happens two other ways. Either my best friend is with me, or I’m at work talking about numbers and security threats.”
“Hmm, so what you’re saying is, I have the magic touch,” he says with a hint of naughtiness.
“I can only imagine what kind of touch you have, Charlie, but I should go.”
Raising his hands from my feet, he tells me, “I’d like you to stay.”
Immediately, I miss his powerful hands. “You really are a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?” I eye him, trying to figure out the game he is playing, but I’m at a loss. Sighing, I finally give in and say, “Okay, let’s talk.”
Resting his hand back on top of my feet, he observes me.
“What?” I ask him self-consciously.
“I have so many questions for you, Angel, I don’t know where to begin,” he says truthfully.
“Okay, well, start wherever you want, just remember the rules. No proper names and nothing too personal,” I say, proud of my sudden ability to speak like an adult. I decided the day I walked out of that courtroom with a half-million-dollar debt, I would have no relationships of any kind until I have cleared my name and my credit.
“Ah, yes. The rules. Let’s go back to that. No drinks this time,” he tells me, smiling. “Why the one-night stand mission?”
Staring at the ceiling, I debate how honest I should be. Since he doesn’t even know my name and I’ll never see him again, I figure telling him bits of the truth couldn’t hurt.
“Where I come from, there aren’t a lot of options for dating, unless you want to date your third cousin once removed or your best friend's ex. Everyone there has known me since I was a kid, and you probably can’t tell, but I’m not really everyone’s cup of tea. Most people tune out after the first ten minutes with me, and well, I was horny as hell, so I told my best friend La-ah, my best friend, that I would have a one-night stand while I was here. I mean, guys do it all the time, right? Plus, I haven’t had the best of luck in the relationship department. I think I’m better off not expecting anything from anyone.”