Page 2 of Charlie
Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 9 p.m.
Everyone is welcome.
“No, I… ehh…” I frowned and crossed my arms. “I don’t have a problem with porn.”
With a playful smile, she tilted her head. “As in you don’t watch it or you don’t think there’s anything wrong with watching it?”
Jeez! My heart was beating fast. I’d never discussed my view on porn with anyone.
When I didn’t answer or smile back, she withdrew a little. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to be funny. My friends say I lack a filter and I guess I just proved them right.”
“Charlie.” The barista placed my order on the counter in front of us, but before I could react, Miss No Filter reached for my warm drink, gave the barista a “thanks,” and lifted my cup of coffee to her lips.
My brow rose in surprise at the same time her face scrunched up.
“Excuse me but I asked for hot chocolate, this is coffee.”
The barista looked over. “I’m sorry, did I get it wrong?”
“No, it’s my order.”
She turned to me. “Yours? No, it’s mine – see, it says Charlie on the side.”
“I’mCharlie.”
Her eyes widened and then she burst out, “Shut up. You’re called Charlie? Me too. It’s short for Charlotte but I never liked that name. My friends call me either Charlie, Liv, and sometimes Chris.”
“That’s a lot of names for one person.”
“I know, right.” She smiled. “Liv is my middle name and Chris is short for Christensen which is my last name. What about you? I bet you’re a Charles. You look like a Charles, being so stoic and serious.”
My arms, which had been folded, dropped to my sides and I shifted my balance. I only appeared stoic and serious to people I didn’t know, and the bubbly personality of this woman was like a feather tickling and teasing me to let out my humor. If only she didn’t make me so nervous.
“Yeah, I’m Charles. Charles McCann.” So much for coming up with a funny or clever response; and to make it worse, my tics kicked in again.Come on, say something clever and interesting. Ask her a question.
There were a few seconds of silence and then she played with her hair. “I’m a freshman. Anoldfreshman, but that’s because I took a few years after high school to work and travel. You?”
“Not a freshman.” My tics were driving me insane.Just look normal for once.
I looked to the door, mentally marking my escape route from this fail of an encounter with a woman who was everything I dreamed of when I was alone.
“I bet you’re a numbers guy or a law student.”
Nodding my head, I confirmed it. “International law. Finished my undergrad last year.”
“Oh, so you already did the first four years. Then you only have what… three years left?”
“Something like that.” I looked down at my cup of coffee that she was still holding. It made her jolt.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. Here. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.” A faint redness spread in her cheeks, just as the barista announced:
“Here’s your hot chocolate with whipped cream.”
“Thank you, ehm, I also paid for a cinnamon roll.” Charlie took the cup and brought it to her nose, sniffing in the scent. “Yup, this is much better than coffee.” Her smile revealed that her teeth were white, straight, and as perfect as the rest of her.
“Did you have braces?” I could have face-palmed myself, but Charlie didn’t seem to mind my random question.
“I did.” She flashed another big smile that unleashed another annoying round of tics for me.
