Hidden Melodies

Chapter Thirteen

Copyright Joelle Blue ©

Ozzie

"Hi sweetheart," he rumbles with his deep voice, leaving me speechless. He's bigger than the last time I saw him. He has a short beard, and his hair is a little longer. I can see in his eyes how wary and unsure he is. I feel ya buddy.

And the motherfluffer knows it's me.

My thoughts are interrupted by his sister, Calah, in her excitement.

"Oh my gosh, you were awesome! This is amazing. Can I hug you? No, of course not, sorry. I don't know how you guys do that, but I'd be dead. Oh my gosh. Oh sorry, so rude of me. I'm Calah and this is my brother Charlie. I dragged him here, but don't let him fool you, he enjoyed himself. I was supposed to come with my friend Lucia, but that's a whole thing. I've been listening to you since you posted your first video, and I was a fan right away, you guys are just so cool..." she's interrupted by Charlie.

"Calah, breathe."

"Right, sorry." She holds her huge smile.

Scarlet speaks first, not seeming to be bothered by people we know being here. "No problem. And thank you, that means a lot."

"Yes, thank you. Trust me though, we might sleep for an entire day after the adrenaline wears off." I add, trying to sound as unaffected as possible. Charlie's eyes don't waver from me at all, making me twitch.

Stop looking at me! I yell at him in my head. He doesn't listen.

"Why don't you stand here," Scarlet motions Calah to stand next to her, "and you stand by Velvet," she tells Charlie. You wench. We all pose for the photo, and I can smell Charlie, a mix of sweat and soap, and it's very distracting.

How did he know it was me?

"Thank you both so much! This was the best night ever! Bye!" Calah gushes and I just hope I smiled for the photos they got.

"See you soon, Els" Charlie mumbles quietly, and they both walk off. I look over to Scarlet, and she has a smirk on her face.

"What is that look for?" I whisper tersely. She shrugs just as the next group comes over. The rest of the night seems to go extremely slow. We finish with the meetups, which was actually really fun. Meeting and speaking to new people when they have no idea who you are is refreshing.

Once the meetups are over, we go to our room to wait for a text to let us know it's safe to go. Scarlet's phone buzzes with the text saying we're ready, so we grab our things, throw coats on, and throw the hoods over our head. We get into an unmarked suv with Diesel behind the wheel.

"Hey, baby," Scarlet says as she leans forward between the seats and gives him a quick kiss. He whispers something to her that makes her giggle, making me smile.

"Hey, D. So, tell us the truth, how was it?" I ask as he pulls out of the parking lot.

"Pretty fucking cool, I will say that. You guys were awesome, but I'm not surprised," he tells us with so much confidence that it almost brings tears to my eyes. To have his support and approval seems important. Like not a lot of people get it or deserve it, but we do.

"So how do you think Charlie recognized you?" Scarlet asks, making me glare. Diesel will have an aneurysm.

"What? Who?" He asks as he brings his phone out ready to call whoever the heck he needs to.

"Relax D, he won't say anything" I hope.

"Yeah no, name please." I roll my eyes.

"Charles Beaumont, he used to be her neighbor" Scarlet tells him. Kiss ass I mouth to her making her laugh.

"He looked good though. He's only gotten hotter," she comments, making D whip his eyes to the mirror. She smiles at him and winks. She's got some balls, he looks mad.

"Yeah, he did," I murmur.

We drive for a while as we chat about our night and wipe off our makeup. Around an hour later when Diesel is sure that no one is following us, he pulls into the garage of my townhouse. We go inside and both Scarlet and I run to the showers, her and Diesel staying in my guest room.

I turn the water scalding, and stand under the spray for a while, letting the heat melt away the nerves, excitement, adrenaline, and soon all I can think about is seeing Charlie again.

How different he looked, how mature he looked, how big he looked...

I feel my hands start to caress my body, knowing it so well. How would his hands feel? Those big hands, rough and calloused like a man, as they trailed over my arms, over my breasts. They would grip onto my hair and pull my head back as he kissed me and pulled me into him as close as possible. He would pull and pinch my nipples, lick and suck them as he moved his hands down to my pussy.

He would rub my clit slowly at first, then dip his finger inside briefly, only to keep lightly rubbing my clit.

He would tease me maybe, but I would beg him to give me what I need. Not being able to deny me, his rubbing would become more consistent as he attacked my breasts with his tongue...

I come so hard, I have to brace myself on the wall, and catch my breath.

I finish up my shower and barely brush my teeth and get moisturizer on my face before I'm falling into my bed.

I quickly check my phone and see a text. Right underneath the last one Charlie sent a little over eighteen months ago that I never deleted.

Charlie: You were incredible, Ellie.

When I wake up the next morning, and recount everything that happened last night, I don't know what to make of him.

I can still clearly hear the words he said in that hallway. The pang in my heart has weakened, but it's still there.

But I also see the remorse he had, and even though his reasoning was fucking dumb, I get it. Kinda. I don't know what he was going through, and I never thought to ask.

I also know the picture I saw was not in fact him hooking up after begging my forgiveness, he was literally drugged and assaulted. How can I punish a man for that?

Time and experience can change so many things, and I know I've changed in the last year and a half.

He still makes me feel goopy, but I need to be cautious. See what he's like away from those toxic people and out in the real world. Maybe he's not even interested in anything romantic like he was back then, maybe he just wants friendship. Maybe he wants nothing at all, and he didn't mean anything by see you soon, Els.

So, I decide to reply to him. Even if nothing comes from it, maybe talking about everything would be beneficial, maybe this is something he needs.

Ellie: Thank you. You free today?