Charlie & Charles

Cheap thrills

Charles: Out with friends tonight. Very good beer near Trafalgar. Fancy going?
Me: What time?
Charles: I'll pick you up at 8.
Me: Any chance of doughnuts?
Charles: See what I can do.

At 7:58 on the dot, the doorbell downstairs rang. Marmalade looked at me with her big cat's eyes in disbelief.

"What? I do can have a one night out from time to time," I whispered to her, stroking the thick fur on her head.

My relation with Charles was as weird as it possibly could be. Ever since the kiss incident (we successfully managed not to talk about it), we have met a few times here and there, on university premises mostly. He kept complaining that I spent way too much time there, which somehow caused him to attend more lectures ("when you study physics, for the sake of your mental health it's rather advisable to skip some classes, seriously").
In all the honesty, I had no clue what to think about any of this.

From downstairs, I heard Carrie's welcoming voice asking Charles to come inside. Marmalade turned away and nonchalantly (but with curiosity) headed towards the stairs.
I quickly glanced at myself in a mirror, checking whether my red lipstick still was visible and if my hair managed to stay wavy (although I assumed that once we were out, it would straighten and get puffy).

Having picked up my coat and a purse, I stormed downstairs.

"What a boy!" I could hear Carrie's voice surging with laughter, and as I walked into the kitchen I saw the two of them standing by the window, amused.

Charles looked impeccable, though casual, just as I thought he would (he was just that kind of person; one of the lucky people who happened to look nice regardless of circumstances). He wore a dark blue sweater, his hair was at the usual state of being slightly dishevelled.

"Evening," he looked at me happily, slowly examining my looks, "Ready to go?"

"Absolutely."

As Charles made his way out of the room, Carrie mouthed, "Like a Greek god! Look at his ass!" And I couldn't control my laughter. The old lady winked and smiled.

"You two have a great time! Just make sure she gets home wasted, I can't remember the last time she went out drinking!" Her words were snarky, but I knew Carrie. I was sure she'd already warned Charles that I better came home safe or she would beat his nice ass up.

"I'll do that with pleasure," He answered cockily, a smirk appearing on his lips, as he opened the door to let me out.

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The night was cold and a bit windy, but thankfully it wasn't raining anymore. We passed busy streets, glancing at those who got stuck in traffic jams or walked quickly through the mass of people. Our hands were side by side, touching occasionally, which caused my stomach to feel butterflies dancing inside of it.

We small-talked, discussing professors and Carrie, my manuscript, his flat, the royal family, green market and basic laws of physics (which was actually when he talked and I stayed quiet, pretending to understand). From time to time he would make a sarcastic remark about my shitty job at DVD rental shop or how hopeless some bus drivers were.

I liked the sound of him. Charles talked with strong, deep voice and had a pleasant RP accent. He appeared confident and therefore extremely attractive.

"Let's turn left, shall we?"He asked, pointing to a narrow street in between old buildings.

"Trafalgar's on right," I made a point, but he only smirked and took my hand.

"You wanted some doughnuts, didn't you?"

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The very first thing that hit me, was the smell. Strong aroma of spices lightly irritated my nostrils. A mixture of sweet chilli pepper, thyme and nutmeg slowly got lost in scents I couldn't recognise.

As we walked slowly through beautifully illuminated boulevard, salesmen encouraged other passers-by to try unusual products, some welcomed tourists to get inside restaurants hidden slightly behind stalls.

We were surrounded by a huge variety of mysterious fruits and vegetables. Several different tunes were being played, depending on the stand we passed. Those were countless - Chinese tea, African coffee, Indian spices. French herbs and tonnes of Italian pasta.

Charles smiled at me happily, "Thought you'd like it," and we walked to a small blue-painted bakery, situated between the sea-food restaurant and a fish and chips takeaway.

A smell of fresh, sweet doughnuts was mouth-watering. I stood there in silence, not sure which one should I pick, wondering whether it wouldn't be too much to take one of each.

Charles laughed, "Take as much as you like, I'll pay,"

I gave him the 'no way' look.

"Don't you fancy some free food?"

"I can handle paying for myself, you know?"

"Let me be a gentleman tonight," He winked and pointed towards the food in a welcoming gesture.

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We walked out with two amazingly tasty masterpieces from the bakery for each of us, and an extra one with loads of chocolate for Carrie. Although I insisted on paying for myself, he won.

Within 15 minutes we made it to "Golden pot. Irish beer pub." and managed to get inside. It'd be an understatement to say that the pub was cramped. It was overcrowded. Every table had already been taken; behind the bar staff tried to handle numerous customers at once. Charles took my hand probably so as not to lose me in this hot mess and slowly showed me to the table in the corner. I saw a blonde girl waving.

"Finally! An hour is not exactly what most people mean by being slightly late." She said loudly, to be sure he would hear it over the enormous noise of nearby Liverpool supporters, "You must be Charlotte," She turned to me, smiling, "It's nice that you decided to go out with this loser, he wouldn't shut up about you!" She giggled, her eyes already a bit slack thanks to the alcohol.

Charles looked at me apologetically. He turned to the rest of his friends, "Guys, that's Charlie," and introduced me to Ben (who just nodded, glued to the screen of his iPhone) and a dark-haired guy with tattoos all over his arms named Harry. Blonde girl's name, I found out, was Maggie.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll grab some drinks," Charles whispered into my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck. I nodded, staying alone with his friends.

Maggie patted the place next to her, encouraging me to sit down.

What have I gotten myself into?