illicit affairs | Charlie Barber x Reader

chapter twenty one: welcome to new york

Happy IA day everyone!!! As you can tell by this chapter name, it's the first (of a few) chapters based in New York with Charlie!!! I literally just finished editing it and I got so excited to post, so if you see any mistakes, no you didn't!!!

Let me know what you guys think :)

Love, dal

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In all the years you spent at home and in California, you realized you've never had a real snow day. You had cold days before but nothing you've lived through could ever prepare you for the New York winter...

From the moment you stepped foot off of the plane, you couldn't stop shivering. You were practically hiding in whatever coat you had hanging in the back of your closet. Of course, being the native New Yorker that Charlie was, he thought this was hilarious.

"I told you to pack warm, darling." He chuckled down at you, peeling off his coat. He wrapped it around your shoulders while hailing a cab. You two were waiting just outside the airport, quickly slipping your arms through the sleeves.

"I live in California, this is warm." You couldn't meet his gaze, slowly warming up from his coat. Stepping foot into a new city for the first few minutes and you had your eyes glued onto your feet, hoping your toes wouldn't freeze off.

There was another low chuckle from the six-foot-something before his footsteps grew closer, grabbing the handle of your bags. You could hear a cab approaching, the tires crunching the snow on the roads.

"Not warm enough, apparently." He mumbled before leaning over. You felt him planting a soft kiss against the top of your head. "Get in, sweetheart."

Rushing to the back seat, you knew the cold wouldn't follow you there. Once you were settled into your seat, it seemed like you lifted your head for the first time.

Looking out of the window, you saw white everywhere. It was definitely a culture shock, being the first time you've seen snow. You had to admit, though, it was something you thought you'd never experience. Even while you were still at the airport, it was beautiful. The snow was slowly trickling from the skies above while you heard Charlie loading the bags in the back seat.

You were like a dog, practically hanging out the window until Charlie caught you off guard. Climbing into the seat beside you, his arm was gentle as he snaked it around your shoulders. He barked the destination to the cab driver while he pulled you into his chest.

As you laid against him, you sighed a relieving breath when you felt his body heat against yours. It didn't matter that Charlie pulled you away from your window, the two of you now sharing one together.

"It's snowing." You mumbled up to him, watching through the window as the cab started to drive off. Charlie hummed beside you, his hand running up and down your arm as he followed your gaze.

"I've never seen snow before." You hummed low. You kept your eyes on the glass, watching how you drove out of the airport and into what seemed like downtown New York. There were a lot of tall buildings, all covered in snow. It almost looked too good to be true like this moment was out of a picture frame.

"Really?" You felt his head turn, staring down at you. You could hear something mischievous behind his tone like he was planning something. Fortunately for him, you were so invested in the sights in front of you, there wasn't anything else in the world that could distract you.

There were so many buildings, you didn't know how they could fit any more in this city. Compared to California, you finally got why Charlie was so annoyed with people. There really wasn't much space here...