Page 15 of Unburdening His Heart

I wish I’d gotten her on her knees last night. I want to see her bright red lips wrapped around my cock. Bracing myself on the shower wall with my free hand, I imagine my hand as her mouth. Her tongue circling the end of my dick, then sucking me deep into her throat. That thought tips me over the edge. My balls tighten as I find my release quickly.

The coldness of the marble shower wall bites into my skin as I lean against it. I take a few seconds to come down from this high. If only she were really here. But that can’t happen. It can’t ever happen again.

I lather up and wash with my favorite soap. I’ll probably be late now, but I don’t bother to pick up my pace. Knowing I won’t see Charlie again for a while doesn’t sit right with me. She has every right to be upset, but I don’t know what I can do at this point to fix it except apologize. Hopefully, that’ll be enough without much of an actual explanation.

I step out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. When I look at the clock, I realize I must have spent more time in the shower than I thought. I rush around my bedroom to get myself dressed, pulling on a pair of snug jeans and a fitted t-shirt. I rush back into the bathroom to grab my watch.

When I look in the mirror, I find a man I barely recognize staring back at me. A man who finally has a little light back in his eyes. Unwilling to dwell on why that is, I briskly turn and grab my keys to lock up. My phone rings as I head for the elevator.

I hit answer, but before I can say hello, Addy says, “Where are you?”

“Walking out the door. I’m hurrying.”

“Good. See you soon.” She hangs up.

She was pretty short with me. I wonder if Charlie told them what happened. Adalyn won’t like it, but she wouldn’t hold it against me for too long. However, Andrea is another story. Charlie is her best friend. She’ll be pissed if she thinks I used her. I imagine that might be how Charlie feels. It wasn’t at all my intention; I lost control. Then again, intention isn’t what matters.

I make my way into the parking garage, going straight for my car. I push Charlie out of my mind on the drive over. I have to accept things as they are, not how I want them to be. At least, that’s what the shrink tells me. I guess I need to make another appointment.

Fuck that. On second thought, I don’t have time for that right now. I have to make sure we get these convictions and ensure all the shady players in the background are brought to light.

As I pull up, I park in the restaurant parking lot. My heart rate ticks up as Charlie approaches my car. She leaves everyone else standing in front of the Greek restaurant Andrea picked. Apparently, she and Adalyn have eaten here and really enjoyed the food.

I get out of the car quickly, taking in her beautiful features once again. I can’t help myself. She’s standing directly in front of me with her arms folded, a cute flowy dress on with white sandals on her feet.

“Hey,” I say, feeling like an idiot. I don’t know what to say. My hands find my jean pockets.

“Yeah, hey,” she says, looking away for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she looks me in the eyes. “Look, I shouldn’t have left like I did. I should have pushed our shit aside and stayed for Andrea. I already apologized to her for that. She insisted that I come to dinner and make peace with you.”

I start to speak, but she holds her index finger up, letting me know she’s not finished. I groan internally. She’s not being nice, but at least she’s speaking to me. Progress, I guess.

“I don’t regret what happened between us. I don’t want this to be awkward. You’re my best friend’s brother, so we’re stuck with each other. Just put on a smile, and I’ll play nicely. Got it, Shaw?” She unfolds her arms from her chest. My eyes immediately drawn there.

“Charlie.” I take a breath, trying to get my mind to slow down enough to figure out exactly what I want to say. “I don’t regret being with you. But I can’t be with you, if you know what I mean.”

She nods. “I do. I know exactly what you mean. I don’t want to be with you, either, Andrew. You’re a great fuck, but I’m not looking for anything serious.”

Her words sting more than they should.

“What do we tell my sisters?” I ask, already feeling guilty I’ve kept this from them so far. Not that I think they’d want to know who I’m sleeping with. Even if Charlie is their friend.

Charlie furrows her brow. “Nothing. We won’t tell them anything. They have enough to deal with. They’ve been pushing us together since day one anyway, so telling them we banged once is going to give them false hope.”

I think she’s right. Charlie and I aren’t going to be together; neither of us want that. So, we’ll just proceed as usual. “Alright, then.”

“Now smile, lean down, hug me, and we’ll walk over there and have dinner. Everything is completely fine. Got it?”

Her bossing me around and taking the lead goes against every fiber of my being, but for now, I’ll do it. Just like that, I’m back to biting my tongue and gritting my teeth. I lean down and hug her gently. Her intoxicating scent makes me pull her closer. My fingers slide under the cut out in the back of her dress, splaying across her back. She inhales sharply at the contact.

She shivers before releasing me and pulling back. We walk together over to where everyone else is waiting, careful to keep our distance. I paint a big stupid smile on my face and act like I wouldn’t rather be railing Charlie in the back of my car instead of having dinner with my family.

Everyone studies us as we approach them, but no one comments.

We walk into the restaurant that’s decorated in whites and blues. It’s busy but not so much so that they can’t seat us right away. I hang towards the back, waiting for everyone else to go in front of me.

Jack and Andrea take seats next to one another. Nathan sits at the head of the table with Adalyn in the seat left of him, leaving only two seats, and they’re right next to one another. Charlie rolls her eyes as she takes the seat beside Adalyn. I take the seat on the other side of her.

Being forced to sit right next to her, smell her intoxicating scent and be unable to touch those smooth curves of hers is fucking torture. The tension between us is still alive and well.

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