Charlie's Web (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 2

"Why are you looking so bloody miserable?" Thea plonked herself back down beside her, scrutinising her thoughtfully. "Oh man, you're obsessing over why you're single again, aren't you?" She shook her head. "I'm telling you, Char, there's one out there for you. The minute you stop looking . . ."

"I will kill you, T," Charlie hissed through clenched teeth. "You complete that cliché and I will actually pick up one of those shards of broken glass at my feet and slice and dice you with it."

And, in that moment, she really meant it.

"You dropped another glass?" Thea tutted. "Oh, Charlie . . ." As one of the bar guys straightened up with his dustpan and brush, Thea caught his eye and smiled with just the right degree of flirtatiousness. "Could we have two more French Martinis please?" she asked.

"Of course." There was none of the contempt in his eyes that was there previously, when he looked at Charlie. He was smiling widely and rushing to Thea's beck and call. Despite the fact that this was a place-your-order-at-the-bar type of place. The bar staff didn't wait on you at your table. Unless you were Thea, of course.

"For shame!" Charlie cried. "Forgot about your boyfriend already? You were only on the phone with him a minute ago."

But Thea was distracted by a text message. From Craig. Of course.

If only there was an iPhone ap that could make Thea switch off from her man for just a few hours, Charlie thought longingly. So much for "whatever you want, there's an ap for that". Get to work, Apple!!!

As Thea texted, Charlie sat back and studied her best friend, not without the tiniest bit of envy. Wouldn't it be amazing to look as exotic as she did, with long wavy sheaths of black hair, the almond shaped, long-lashed hazel eyes, golden-toned skin and long,lithe limbs? It was incredibly irritating that Thea could look good without even trying; even tonight with minimal make-up, her hair scraped back and her casual uniform of jeans and a vest top on. Charlie felt completely dull and drab in comparison - and she was the one who actually made an effort tonight. She glumly wondered why she even bothered.

"I sometimes feel like guys are only interested in me when I'm not available," she mused aloud.

Thea looked up, momentarily distracted from presumably working out how many kisses to put at the end of her text message, Charlie thought uncharitably. "What?" she asked, looking perplexed.

Charlie accepted the freshly shaken French Martini the barman has placed in front of her and smiled at him. He looked right through her and turned to Thea. "Hope you enjoy," he smarmed. To her taken friend.

See, this was the story of her life, Charlie realised in a moment of clarity. Okay, it wasn't that she didn't realise for a moment that Thea was the female equivalent of a cold pint of beer to a thirsty man who had been walking in the desert for several hours, thinking he might die. She knew realistically that she would never have the instant effect on men that her best friend did.

But she also knew that when Thea was single, she was nowhere near as popular as she was now. Now she somehow gave off a "taken!" vibe that could not be avoided. Men could not resist a challenge, heading towards her like sleazy bees to honey.

And, Charlie realised, although she may have felt inferior in terms of attractiveness in comparison to Thea, she also used to give off those same vibes on the occasions she was involved with someone else.

"Guys always want what they can't have," she said, realisation dawning.

Thea didn't manage to disguise her snort of laughter at Charlie's words. "Seriously, dude, you're 29 and you've only just worked that one out?" she asked, disbelief darkening the otherwise light-hearted tone of her voice. "You have got to be kidding me."