illicit affairs | Charlie Barber x Reader

chapter eighteen: caught red-handed

HAPPY IA DAY AND WELCOME BACK!!! I'm sure some of you noticed but I took a week off last week and didn't update :( I wanted to take a little time for myself and just enjoy my time writing. I'm sure you guys missed our little affair between our favorite student and professor, though so I won't keep you guys long!! 

I do want to say: I hope you guys are taking care of yourselves! I hope you guys are washing your hands and drinking your water. I hope you're getting enough sleep and getting all your vitamins! Make sure you tell someone you appreciate them and remember that someone might need your kindness more than you think! 

Okay... enough of my rambling, enjoy and check out the links after :)

-dal <3
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This was a dreadful part of the year for you. With school out for break, many of your peers headed home for the holidays. You, on the other hand, stayed put in Los Angeles.

You had to admit, it was very lonely this time of year. With the sun setting sooner and the days ending quicker, it somehow made your apartment seem emptier than normal. You felt like a house of cards sitting vulnerably during a thunderstorm. The only thing grounding you was the books on your shelves and the theater ticket you saved from Charlie's show.

With loads of extra time on your hands, deep down you thought that Charlie would fill in those gaps. That with your open schedule, you would see more of the six-foot-something professor but you couldn't get your hopes up. Unlike you, he actually had somewhere to be during the holidays. He had a family to spend his time with, so you did what you did every year.

Work overtime.

While everyone around campus was spending time with their families, you would be pouring the regulars at the bar a drink. It wasn't so bad, to be honest. The bar never got slammed and you had the first pick of all the shifts you could get your hands on.

So, here you were with only a few days before Thanksgiving, working overtime and wondering what the only person you cared about was doing.

Since the holiday was approaching, the interactions between you and Charlie were limited to over the phone. You always let him reach out first, though, not wanting to bother him. After all, he was on break too.

The conversation always started the same, whether he called or texted.

"What are you up to, sweetheart? Are you busy?" It almost felt like he was wondering why you weren't reaching out. You imagined he would ask that, fearful that he wouldn't hear from you again.

But that was all in your head, no matter how many times he would ask you that.

Catching up to now, the sun was starting to set while you sat on your couch. The book in your hands was one of Andrea's picks, reading before it was time to head out for your next shift at work. Once you got the hang of it, the muffled conversations behind your walls became white noise, blending into the world at your fingertips.

You were almost too lost in words in front of you, barely noticing your cell phone vibrating in your back pocket.

Jumping in your seat, you quickly slipped your bookmark in between the pages before reaching for your phone. Your heart skipped a beat before you saw the screen, already knowing who the call was from. It seemed to be the only person you and your phone looked forward to hearing from...

"Hello?" You spoke into your phone, licking your lips as you set your book into your lap.

"Hi." That familiar baritone voice echoed into your ear, a warm feeling starting to grow slowly across your skin. "What are you up to, sweetheart?"