Stand-Ups in New York

Chapter 41 - Late-Night Drinks part 1

Pete lay in the bed in his hotel room. He hated that he and Charlotte had to part ways. He knew she would be busy for most of the next day, with the wedding happening at 4:00 in the afternoon. Paul was nice enough to invite him and Victor to a late breakfast that the groomsmen were going to have while the women got ready at the venue, but as fun as Paul and Victor seemed, they weren't exactly who he wanted to see.

He picked up his phone to make sure an alarm was set for the morning and saw his lock screen. It was a picture of Charlotte sitting at his desk while she made notes on a script. She had one pen sticking out of her bun and was biting the end of another as she read, smiling. Pete remembered taking the picture, and Charlotte looking up at him after. She insisted on looking at it, she wanted to make sure she didn't have a double chin.

Pete unlocked his phone and set his alarm. Then he went into his favorites in his contacts. Charlotte had worked her way to the top of his list after a month of constant texts and calls. He selected FaceTime and waited for her to pick up.

Her smiling face appeared on the screen after two rings. "Did you miss me already?" Charlotte asked from the other end of the FaceTime. She was already lying in bed, make-up off and snuggled into the comforter. Her headphones were in, and she spoke softly.

"How could I not, knowing you're all alone in that bed?" he asked, leaning into the hotel pillows.

"Well, I'm not all alone, Emily is one bed over."

Pete heard Emily's voice faintly picked up over the mic. If you guys are going to do anything gross while I'm here, I swear I will kill you both.

Charlotte's nose wrinkled as she turned to her sister. "Ugh, Emily, that's so nasty, we would never do that with you in the room." She looked back at Pete and sounded genuinely concerned as she whispered, "That's not what you wanted to do right now, is it?"

Pete laughed. "No, I didn't want to have phone sex while your sister was trying to sleep in the bed next to you."

"Okay, thank God," Charlotte said, smiling. "You really impressed my dad tonight, he could not believe that you had actually worked with Adam Sandler on SNL."

Pete grinned. "I'm just glad your parents don't watch the show."

"Well, if I get on, you can kiss that luxury goodbye."

"You mean when you get on."

Charlotte's cheeks colored red. "Don't jinx me!" she said, returning Pete's grin.

Pete looked at Charlotte, her freckles showing up surprisingly well over the FaceTime. "I wish we could have slept in the same place this weekend."

"I know, me too," Charlotte answered. "Don't tell anyone, but I might have an arrangement for tomorrow night for us."

"Oh yeah, is someone leaving early?" Pete asked.

"No, but Jeanie's room will be vacant. She told me she would let us have it, and then she winked and said that there were plenty of condoms because she and Paul obviously wouldn't be needing them."

Pete laughed . "Wow, she is very open," he said, his cheeks turning red.

"Just wait until she knows you better, she'll start saying this stuff directly to your face," Charlotte said. She jolted and almost dropped the phone. "Sorry, Jeanie called me and it caught me by surprise."

"Uh-oh, the bride is calling you? You better get back to her."

Charlotte grimaced. "I really should. I'll text you tomorrow?"

"Sounds great," Pete said. "Love you."

Charlotte blew him a kiss. "Love you, too." As she hung up, Pete heard Emily shriek, Did you two just say I love you? before the screen went black.

Pete grinned. As weird as the beginning of the night was, Pete felt like he'd really bonded with Charlotte's dad. She was smart to bring up Adam Sandler, that was enough to keep Ed Costa talking for the rest of the night. Pete would have to remember to thank the Sand-man the next time they saw each other.

Pete was about to turn his lamp off when he heard a knock at the door. He got up and pulled some sweatpants on, wondering what the problem could be. It was already nearly eleven and nothing was broken in the room. He looked through the peephole and saw Mr. Costa standing in front of his door.

He opened the door and Ed looked up at him. "Hey, Pete, hope I didn't wake you."

Pete gave his head a slight shake. "Nah, I wasn't asleep yet, I'm used to late nights."

"I figured as much," Ed said with a small smile. Pete looked at his girlfriend's father. Charlotte didn't resemble him at all, except for the light blue eyes. The thought flashed through Pete's mind that he hoped he and Charlotte's kids would get those eyes, but it disappeared before he could acknowledge it.

"Is everything okay?" Pete asked.

"Oh, yeah, everything is fine," Ed said. "We were just wondering if you wanted to join us for a drink at the bar."

"Us?" Pete asked as he felt his heartrate pick up. Charlotte's mom had been kinder after she came back from the bar earlier that evening, but he wasn't sure if that would last.

"Yeah, Marie, Theresa, and Victor are saving a table downstairs." Ed paused for a moment, then added, "You know, it was actually Marie's idea."

Pete's eyebrow furrowed. "She doesn't seem like the late-night drinks type," he said.

Ed shrugged. "She usually isn't. But she said that she wants to get to know you a bit before you come to stay with Charlie for the summer."

The color drained from Pete's face. "Charlotte told her about that?" he asked.

Ed cast his eyes down, then looked back at Pete. "Listen, Marie can be intimidating, but she's only doing it to protect Charlotte. She wants to get to know you, to make sure you're a good guy. That's what we all want to do."

Pete nodded. "Well, then I'd love to go to the bar with you guys. Just let me grab a shirt and shoes."

Ed narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Maybe put on some real pants, too," he said. "I'll wait out here."

Pete almost laughed. That was Charlotte's exact Are you sure about that expression. "No problem," he said and closed the door.