Dancing with Danger

CHAPTER SIX: Charlie

Chapter Six: Charlie

Charlie looked absolutely good that night. He wore white, with sleeves folded to his elbows. I have always liked men's arms. I like that thick nerve that ran all the way to their hands. His black pants hugged his long legs, not in a skinny jeans kind of way but in a sexy kind of way, if there was such a thing and he wore simple orange sneakers.

He asked me to meet him in the park that Sunday night and I was grateful that I was able to get out of helping my mom clean after dinner. I was sitting on an almost rusted bench with the green paint leaving its surface when he came.

"Sorry," he began. "Were you waiting long enough?"

Charlie sounded genuinely apologetic for making me wait for less than five minutes.

I shook my head. "I just got here," I replied as he sat next to me. He sat close. His black pants touch the skin on my thigh. I moved a little to face him, losing physical contact.

"I wanted to talk to about last Friday," he began with an evidently nervous smile. I waited for him to continue but it felt like he was waiting for me to respond. He continued anyway. "I'm sorry if I came off too aggressive."

I managed a small smile in response because I had absolutely no idea what else to say. Did I need to say it was okay? Because I certainly did not feel that it was.

"But honestly, I am not sorry I did it. You have no idea how much I have wanted to kiss you. It ran through my mind every time I see you. When I walk with you, when I talk to you, when I feel like I must so I did," he confessed almost immediately. "Fuck sorry's. It's useless to say it if I don't mean it. And really, worrying about your reaction after was worth it."

I came out speechless. I did not know what to say or if I had anything to say.

"Look, you don't need to say anything," he interrupted my mind's panic to find words. "I just had to let it out there. And I still hope we're okay. And look, if you don't like me that way, no harm done, I will still try my best to be that friend to you."

But I do like him that way. And the way he looked, with black and white, and the way he glanced at me as he spoke made him more attractive than he already was. Charlie's rugged face managed a smile beneath his ultimate confession but I was still speechless.

"Thank you" was the only thing I managed to say.

"For what?"

"For still being my friend," I replied despite the fact that, God knows how much I liked him. I could smell his scent from where I sat and I wanted to bury myself to him.

Charlie smiled, that genuine smile that I have awfully forgotten. The way his skin creased beneath his eyes as he squinted, his smile showing his perfectly placed teeth. He was a beautiful boy.

"You don't need to worry about me," he said. "If all else, I'm the least you should worry about."

Was it weird that I wanted to kiss him now? I did not remember when the last time was that I felt that I wanted him more than I wanted him at that moment.

"Let's go, let me walk you home. I missed this last time," he said, standing up. He held out a hand to help me up even if I did not need it, but I took it anyway.

The thing was, he did not let go even if I was standing up. He gently held the tip of my fingers and for the first time, I felt how rough his hands were. He looked at me with his dark brooding eyes.

"I missed you," he whispered to me as I looked back at his eyes that were looking down on me.

"I missed you too," I replied softly, in the heat of the moment. I honestly did not know if I meant it.