Page 24 of Charlie
Late Night Texts
Charles
I was reading a book that Conor had recommended to me when my phone buzzed. It was a little past ten and I yawned.
Liv: Got the tickets. Departure point is outside Dublin City Gallery at 6:45. Be there at 6:30. The tickets are fifty dollars.
Charles: I’m afraid I don’t have any dollars. Will Euros work?
Liv: Yes. Bring a warm jacket. The weather can be changeable out on the cliffs. Prepare for rain and wind.
Charles: Yes, mom.
Liv: You’re welcome, son. Now be a good boy and go to bed. You have a day full of adventures tomorrow.
I chuckled at her tone. Liv was three years younger than me and I wasn’t used to anyone speaking to me the way she did.
Charles: I might be a rebel and stay up late.
Liv: As long as you’re not a grumpy ass tomorrow morning.
Charles: Was that another hint? Your fixation with asses is alarming.
Liv: Alarming or intriguing? I’m starting to think back-door sex is a turn-on for you. Are you hoping I’ll lean in tomorrow and whisper that my fetish is to lick butt?
I was grinning from ear to ear and texting as fast as I could.
Charles: I could take it off my bucket list if you did. It would be a first to meet a butt fetishist for sure.
Liv: Prepare for a lot of firsts tomorrow.
Her text made my heart rate pick up. Liv was definitely flirting with me and there had been amazing chemistry between us today at lunch. From the first time I’d met Liv, she had stood out to me. My mentor Conor had told me that with his teachings, I’d be able to attract anything I’d ever wanted in life. Maybe he was right.
Back when I’d met Liv five years ago, I’d been too introverted to make a real connection, but I’d grown more assertive over time and these past months, with the help of my mastermind group, my confidence had skyrocketed.
Liv would only be in Dublin for a few days, which meant that I wouldn’t have time to go slow. This was my chance to see if there was a reason for the breathtaking energy that I’d felt between us from day one.
I wrote a few answers and deleted them all. My fingers were tingling to take this correspondence up a notch. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the one woman whom I’d never gotten out of my head was here. It had to be a reward from the universe for all the hard work I’d done.
Pushing my luck, I wrote:
Charles: My eyes are wide open now. What kind of firsts are we talking about? Sex on a bus, a cliff, in Galway, what?
I kept staring at my phone waiting for her answer.
Liv: Whoa, whoa, I’m talking about our first time visiting the Cliffs of Moher and Kilmacduagh Abbey.
My face fell.
Charles: Oh.
Tics made me wink and my nose wrinkled up as I added:Awkward.
Her answer came fast and I had to read it twice to let it sink in.
Liv: Nahh, I’m flattered. I used to think you were the hottest guy at Harvard. Did you know that?
Was she serious? I had been told I was handsome before, but mostly by older women who were all married.
