Drawn

Weekends

It's lacking. I know. I'm sorry 😖 My brainstorms have been more like brainmists, so I feel like some of these chapters are just skeletons of what could actually be something good 🤷‍♀️ Legit, there's really no "meat" to this one. Maybe one day if I have time (ha!) I'll come back and edit.

The weekend spent with David had been wonderful. And so had the weekend after that. And when Pam insisted they take one more weekend to go do the most touristy thing of all and visit the Statue of Liberty, Charlotte readily agreed. Partially because she truly did want to see the Statue, and partially because she had really enjoyed getting to know David better. During the week they would text one another occasionally, though Pam suggested that she not be overly eager by texting him every day. By the time Friday came, Charlotte was nearly humming with anticipation as she waited for the Halperts to pick her up from her house after work.

Fri. 5:40 pm

Something came up at work
and I'm going to be late. Tell
Jim keys in the usual spot.

Ok. We'll start on dinner.
Let me know when you
head home. 

David parked in his driveway and let his head fall back on the headrest. Today had been hard. He was tired, but the realization that Charlotte was on the other side of his door made some of the weariness drain away. Last month when they had all gone to Chili's, David had been a desperate man, exploring the possibilities of his nearly instant attraction to Charlotte with chaste touches here and there throughout the evening. But he didn't want her thinking he was too desperate, and so in the following weeks he had kept things just as they were - harmless teasing and innocent touches, and of course texts scattered throughout the week so that she knew he was thinking of her. Nothing had moved beyond that, but he was certainly becoming more bold in how often his hand touched her back or his leg rested against hers when they were sitting side by side. And she never once shied away.

He finally climbed from his car, weariness gone, ready to see the woman he was becoming so fond of. The door opened before he could even reach the handle, and there she was standing on the other side.

Charlotte gave a sympathetic smile. "Hi."

"Hi," he returned her smile.

"I was just coming to check on you," she said as she reached out and squeezed his arm in greeting. She took his briefcase with her other hand. "Rough day?" she asked over her shoulder as they entered the house.

David shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the coat rack. "I've had worse, but yeah."

"Sorry," she cooed as she set his briefcase down. "Dinner's almost ready though. Go and relax for a bit with Jim."

David watched her walk to the kitchen before making his way to the living room and plopping down in his favorite chair.

"That's a sight you could get used to, huh?" Jim greeted him with a smile.

David chuckled and glanced at his friend. "Very much."

"You know Pam and I don't actually spend our weekends here for sightseeing, right? We come so you two can see each other."

"I figured. But honestly, I'm not sure how to move forward with her," he confessed.

"Do you still want to?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, she's..."

"Perfect for you?" Jim supplied

"Are you going to say, 'I told you so'?"

"Oh, absolutely," the younger man grinned, and David laughed.

"I mean, there's still so much more to learn about her, but yeah. Yeah, she's perfect for me."

"Told you so," Jim whispered. "And listen," he said quietly, "I'm not allowed to reveal the secrets between husband and wife, but I have it on good authority that you're doing everything exactly right with Charlie."

"Really?" David asked, sitting up straighter as Jim leaned back, nodding. "So she's talked to Pam about me?"

"Yes, and that's all I'm allowed to reveal, so let's go shoot some hoops."

Charlotte heard the tell-tale sound of the basketball on pavement that let her know the guys would be busy for the next half hour. "Ok, what do I do?" she turned to Pam, who was stirring a pot of soup on the stove.

"Um, I guess you can check on the bread in the --"

"No, not about the food," Charlotte slapped her forehead. "About David."

"Ah," Pam said with a giggle. "Well, are you wanting things to move forward?"

"I don't know," Charlotte groaned as she peeked into the oven. "Maybe? I mean, I really like him. But I'm not sure I'm even ready for hand-holding yet! And what if he gets bored with me?"

"He definitely isn't getting bored with you."