Saving Charlie (Stories of Serendipity Book 9) (25 page)

Jason and Brandon were there, ready to go as soon as he arrived, Jason eager, Brandon bored. Par for the course. Jason was always excited to play, not having any other musical outlet for his horn. Brandon just drummed, it didn’t matter where. He was one of those people who drummed on anything, with any implements, much to the annoyance of those around him. He was more of a rock sort of guy, but he played along with Jason and Les’s standards whenever they asked him.

They were halfway through their second set when Les saw Charlie walk in.

Even dressed casually, she took his breath away. Unable to look away, he continued playing as he watched her take in her surroundings. He knew what she saw, the same thing everyone else did when they walked into the Gin. It was an old cotton gin, and still looked like that from the outside—an old tin building, taller than the other buildings around it. She was obviously surprised by the insides, probably from the duality of the atmosphere. The interior looked like the outside—corrugated tin, predictably covered with enormous posters of bikini-clad Budweiser babes, paired with sepia toned pictures of Old Serendipity.

As her gaze took it all in, the smoky haze dissipated around her as she slunk over toward the bar, her tattooed arms exuding a “don’t fuck with me” vibe that Les saw straight through. Her face looked hard, like she was there against her will, and he wondered what exactly had made her come if she didn’t want to be there?

He was thankful she was here, though. If she was here, he could watch over her, with immense pleasure, and make sure she was okay. Aside from looking like she wanted to be anywhere else, she seemed fine. Les had noticed she didn’t really seem to care much for social situations.

He watched other men notice her in her layered tight-fitting tank tops and worn jeans perfectly molding to her curves. They checked out her ass, and Les felt a rumble in his chest at the thought that they all wanted what he’d already staked a claim on. Thankfully, he wasn’t singing that measure, or else it would have come through the song, and he didn’t really think his cover of
Skyfall
warranted all that possessive growling.

Thankfully, the tattoos seemed to be doing their job, as the cowboys and young bucks watching her would eyeball them before chickening out of talking to her. That or the look on her face, or the way she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning on the bar, crossing her ankles over each other as she watched Les watch her while he sang.

As their set segued into a Maroon Five song, and Les crooned about sex and break ups, she relaxed a little and ordered a second beer. Les’s hopes rose that she might stick around for their break, when he’d get a chance to talk to her.

She was enjoying him now. He saw her foot rocking to the beats of the music, and remembering the night she let go and danced for him, his next song would be the song he’d written for her. When the last chords of the Maroon Five song faded out, he took a deep breath and leaned into the mic, watching her intently as he spoke.

“Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a trip across country with someone who saved me from being stranded in desolation with nothing but utter boredom to keep me company. Unfortunately for her, I’m in love now. And unfortunately for you guys, I’ve written a song about her, which I’ll regale you with now.”

The Female Deity

As my lady gestures me forth
And our shying glances connect for the very first time,
It’s the mesmerizing aura in her once vacant eyes
That exudes an almost dark and passionate desire.
I secretly hope over time, that she will one day bequeath her body and soul to mine.

CHORUS

You see, I am in awe of this female deity
If she could see the imprints that she has left on my heart
After bestowing a fleeting kiss upon my lips,
I’m sure she would honor me with yet another.

SONG

If only she knew how desperately I want to lie alongside her,
Snake my strong arms around her tiny waist,
Run my fingers through her silky hair,
Draw her close into my naked chest and feel her heart beat against mine.
I ponder as to what she would do.

CHORUS

You see, I am in awe of this female deity
If she could see the imprints that she has left on my heart
After bestowing a fleeting kiss upon my lips,
I’m sure she would honor me with yet another.

SONG

Once again, in the audience I see her.
This time she doesn’t beckon me forth.
She just raises her head and points her long lashes toward me.
She doesn’t avert her gaze.
She just holds my attention for what seems like minutes.
You see, Charlie; you will always be the unseen miracle in me.

CHORUS

And as I declare my undying love for you through our song
There are only eight letters I have left to say to you
Charlie…
“I LOVE YOU”

Les watched her eyes soften as he sang. He needed her reaction, and he got them all. He watched her eyes fill with disbelief at his words, then acceptance. To his extreme relief, desire filled her gaze as she licked her lips at the words of the second verse. Then, to his horror, he’d watched her shut down toward the end, and grief filled her entire body as her shoulders slumped before she slapped a wad of bills on the bar and leaving her beer half-drunk, she left.

It pissed him off.

She was denying what she felt for him, for whatever reason. And in denying herself, she was denying the both of them. After the set was over, he begged off the rest of the night and drove straight to Charlie’s house.

When Charlie heard him pounding on her door, she sighed, knowing he was here to confront her. That was okay. Charlie had a few words to say to him too. This was turning into too much. She couldn’t handle it like this. With The Man back in her life, she had to rethink everything. And Les had to be the first to go.

When she answered the door, he raked his hand through his hair, shuffling his feet. Her heart went out to him for what she had to say, but when he spoke, it wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Look, I know you’re trying. Honestly, I can see that. But I need more from you.”

Of course. He would always want more, wouldn’t he? She shut the door and pushed past him to sit on the steps, hugging her knees against her chest. Even though she hadn’t given him anything, really. Sure, Charlie had hinted vaguely at a rotten childhood, but she hadn’t really told him much had she? She stared at the stars for a while, trying to understand the emotions coursing through her. Charlie knew that she needed to break it off. Now. She was incredibly sad, which was odd, because this was something she’d done often enough.

Before Les.

He came and sat next to her, wordless. Giving her time to gather her thoughts, he leaned against the handrail and watched her.

“Do you ever wonder? About how there are millions of stars, and each star is a sun, with planets circling it? And each planet might have living things on it? Here on this one, out of billions of planets, humans have been formed by a bunch of random cells meshed together. And humans meet randomly and fall in love and have babies, who come from parents they don’t choose? Nobody to say, ‘you shouldn’t reproduce.’ Just everybody making spawn willy-nilly, some good and some bad. The human spawn all make random choices. And all the choices they make are relative to the choices their parents made and their parents and so on? All of those choices are also relative to their environments, and the choices made around them? Don’t you see some sort of futility in the randomness of it all?”

Les was quiet for a long time, and Charlie’s nerves ratcheted up a notch. She looked over her shoulder at him, and he was still sitting there, watching her. When he spoke, she had to struggle to hear him, leaning toward him a little.

“Sometimes I do feel small, when I look at the stars and think about the big picture. But I believe we were created for a purpose. All of us. I don’t think it’s at all random.”

“So, you think we’re fated to live the lives we lead? That our choices don’t matter?” A hopelessness filled Charlie. Hopelessness that she hadn’t felt in so long, and despaired at the thought that this wonderful man next to her was bringing out this emotion that she’d buried so long ago.

“I didn’t say that. I believe we have free will. And that we can choose our jobs and what we do with our lives. We can choose to fulfill our purpose or not. We can choose the person we’re destined to be with. Or not.”

He played with the cuff of his jeans leg while he talked, still watching her. “Charlie…I want to be your hero. I know that sounds stupid, and something tells me you’ve already been your own hero for so long. You don’t need help saving yourself, but I can see you hurting, and I want you to let me save you.”

She saw this conversation going two ways. Option one: she could tell him, right now, that she was The Liberator. She could tell him about The Man and her sham of a childhood and adolescence. She could give him what he wanted, her honesty, and see what he would do with it. She could let him stroke his ego by holding her and comforting her. Healing her with his love and his unwavering faith in humankind and God.

Or she could choose option two: what she’d always done. Push him away, go back to her solitary lifestyle, where all she counted on was herself. She knew she could depend on herself, take care of herself, improve herself.

“I’m not who you want me to be, Les.” Option number two hurt like a bitch. Tears clogged her throat, making it almost impossible to swallow.

“Why don’t you let me decide?”

“Because, what do I do if you agree with me? I let you in, and you reject me because it’s all too much for you? What do I do then?” She shook her head. “I’m not going to do that to myself. Sorry.”

She stood, Les scrambling up next to her, grabbing her waist. “Wait.”

“You’ll find someone else. You told me you were the fool for love. There will be other girls.”

His hands tightened on her waist. “You’re different. I know that sounds lame, but you are and I can’t explain it. I don’t think of you the way I ever thought of Renae, or Lindsey, or any of the others. You’re under my skin.” He sighed, and dipped his head closer. “I know we can’t go backward, but I wish we could. I wish you could see that I care for you, but now that we’ve had sex, fan-fucking-tastic sex, I’m afraid you think that’s all I want. I can get that elsewhere, Charlie. I want you. All of you. And I think you want me, too. Whether or not you tell me about your past, I will find out. And when I do, I’ll still be here. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m an extremely patient man.”

The warmth of his lips met hers in a soft kiss, nibbling and caressing hers in a way that made her feel treasured. She’d never had a kiss like it before. She responded, kissing him back, reining in her passions, keeping it gentle, when she just wanted him to make her forget everything. But his kiss only served to remind her of what she couldn’t have.

When he pulled away, his hands framed her face, his thumbs wiping away tears she didn’t realize were tracking down her cheeks. When she spoke, her words surprised even herself.

“You’re not going to stop, are you?”

He smiled ruefully, as he slowly shook his head. “Not on your life, Sweetness.”

“What are you doing next Friday night?”

“Dinner with my parents. But I can cancel. Why?” His raised eyebrows and the hopeful curve of his lips gave Les a ridiculously youthful appearance.

“Invite me,” she breathed before she could chicken out.

“I love you, Charlie,” he laughed before schooling his features and formally asking, “Charlie, would you do me the honor of having supper with my parents and me next Friday?”

“I’d like that.” Her voice was still weak, but when Les’s mouth lowered to hers and claimed another kiss from her lips, she was pretty sure it had been stolen. Nothing else would come out.

With that, he turned and disappeared into the night. She listened as his truck door slammed shut and he started it, driving off into the night.

The average age of a girl forced into prostitution is 13 years old.

—www.refugeoflight.org