Page 20 of Charming
With a smile, he leans forward, puts his arms around me, and kisses me, and with that, all traces of worry fade away.
“Spill it. Spill it now.” The door flies open the second I insert my key in the lock. Katie’s clearly been lying in wait ready to pounce the moment I return.
With a small smile, I plead, “I promise I will tell you everything, but let’s get ready first and go to the pool. I want some sunshine.”
She agrees but evidences extreme effort as she keeps opening her mouth then shutting it again when she catches herself. We hastily get ready, change clothes, and gather our beach supplies. At times when I turn and catch Katie’s eye, I see she’s staring at me. I know she’s dying for information, an explanation. I, on the other hand, am thinking about Asher. When we parted ways, we agreed to meet up at the pool. I awkwardly gathered my clothes from around the room and went to the bathroom to dress and splashed water on my face. With a smile, wave and promise to see him soon, I ran off to my room. I’m already feeling eager to see him again.
On the walk to the pool, several workers on the property smile and greet us with an, “Hola,” as we pass. I swear a few of them wear knowing smirks, but no doubt I’m paranoid. This whole thing is crazy, so of course I feel like everyone and anyone knows about it. Well, actually, I guess anyone could thanks to my informative Facebook post. I’m such an idiot.
Katie and I grab chairs and push them close together. After applying sunblock we lay on our stomachs, heads turned toward one another, enjoying the sunshine on our skin while I divulge everything. Once finished, Katie stares at me with her mouth wide open. What a unique expression for her. It’s been her nearly permanent expression since I returned to the room this morning. I’m starting to worry that she’s going to wear a shocked look on her face forever.
Finally she speaks. “Holy shit.”
“Wow, that’s it? I think I was expecting something… I don’t know… more profound.”
“Holyfuckingshit?”
“Mhm, a little better.”
“Ha. Ha. I just can’t believe you got married. It’s awesome and insane at the same time. I mean, not only did you get married, but you posted a picture that’s already had over a million shares and been picked up by who knows how many gossip websites and trashy magazines.”
“Oh god. I think I’m going to be sick,” I roll over to my back and place a hand on my stomach suddenly feeling queasy. “Obviously, I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Or, maybe you were. Maybe you do your best thinking when you’re drinking because hell girlfriend, good job. You married Asher Charming. Or should I call him Jack Danger? Do you think he’ll want you to call him Jack Danger in bed?”
“Oh my god, will you shut up? Jack Danger is just the character he plays in all those movies, not his name. You know that. Besides, we’re going to hang out for the week and then we’ll no doubt win some record for the shortest marriage ever.”
“No, I think you’re wrong,” she replies as she unscrews the lid on her bottle of water, “I’m pretty sure that reality star with the fake tits and ass that looks like her face is melting when she cries, was married for like forty-eight hours one time. So don’t worry, she’s got you beat.”
“Oh great, thanks,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Because that’s who I want to emulate.”
“Hey, if the shoe fits.”
“Bitch,” I call her, but she only laughs out loud and it makes me smile even though I pretend to be angry. “It sucks that I have to leave tomorrow. You are going to spend the week with Jack Danger, right? Man, I would love to stay here so I can watch.”
“Will you stop calling him that? It’s not funny and he’s just a guy who happens to have a job that a lot of people get to see. It’s not a big deal.” I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince her or myself. “And yes, like I told you, he asked me to spend time with him this week and I agreed. Afterwards, he’ll take care of everything regarding our…um… our…”
“Marriage?”
“Yeah,” I clear my throat uncomfortably, “that.”
She lifts her brows and laughs at me, “You can’t even say it.”
“No, I sure as hell can’t, and can you blame me? None of this even seems real.”
“Ella Charming. Mrs. Ella Charming. It has a nice ring to it. I wonder if it’s his real last name of if he changed it for his celeb name?”
“Shut up.” She laughs, but I’m totally not smiling this time. The sound of that name is ringing in my ears and I’m starting to panic. “Oh my god, this is nuts. I can’t believe I did something so… so….”
“Awesome?”
“Not the word I’m looking for. More like stupid, spontaneous, thoughtless, dumb…”
“Oh, please. Get over yourself.” Katie starts to giggle.
“What’s so funny?”
She smiles wide, “Remember last night when you told me not to worry about you and to go have my own fun because, and I quote, ‘what’s the worst that can happen’?”
