illicit affairs | Charlie Barber x Reader

chapter twenty-six: finding a new routine

Never let anyone know your next move, including updating IA not on IA day...

I'm getting my shit together, I promise guys... bare with me and i love you!!!Enjoy! 

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Being back in California, there was a certain exhaustion that clung to your shoulders. It was the type of tired where you left your bed unmade and forced yourself to shower. The food you ate was bland and the coffee you had always failed you.

Nothing was enough for you anymore.

You didn't know if things were starting to lose saturation or you just missed New York. With your suitcase begging to be unpacked, you thought it was a little bit of both. Going back to work in that shitty college bar didn't help either.

Charlie was nice enough to pay for that extravagant trip, rejecting your help many times but you still had responsibilities to worry about. Your trip to Europe and bills for your run down apartment were still there, waiting to gain your attention back.

The two of you flew back a couple of days before the new semester started, giving you a chance to find your old routine. Of course, you weren't looking forward to it. Between all of the hours you worked and studying you fit in between, you could tell that certain exhaustion was going to stay with you for a while.

There was another thing on your plate, though. The rough draft of your essay was left unwritten. Considering the professor who assigned it whisked you away, you didn't want to disappoint him after by leaving it undone.

Even if you two didn't have whatever going on, you wouldn't want to disappoint him.

So, while you walked into the bar, your laptop sat in your bag. You carried all of the notes you've written throughout the semester, that only being a reminder of how far you've come with Charlie.

While you stirred and shook a few drinks, the six-foot-something professor never left your mind. You thought about all those questions he asked you late at night in the library. All the times his hand grazed yours, you practically dying in your seat and wishing for more.

Now, all you could think about was the way he held you. Throughout your trip, he never let go of you. He held you in every waking moment he could and even when he didn't know it, he tried his hardest to keep you close.

In between making drinks, you were supposed to be typing out your paper. Instead, while you stared down at the lack of words you've written, you couldn't stop thinking about Charlie.

He was like your favorite book, rereading it every chance you got. He was the melody you couldn't get out of your head and the smile that made your cheeks hurt. He was the first chilly day after the summer heat and your favorite shirt you wanted to wear every day.

Part of you wanted to push your things to the side, knowing you wouldn't be able to focus. Charlie and the realization of being in love with him was too much for you, especially with a room full of drunks around you.

But then you remembered the topic of the paper. Comparing love stories... Forbidden love stories. Who else knew better about that topic?

Of course at that moment, Charlie's name came across your phone like you summoned him.

You looked down at your vibrating phone before you looked around the room. The full bar you once had was now down to a few stragglers. It was almost closing time, a small group of friends chatting in the corner as they finished their drinks.