Him and I {Chuck Clayton}

Chapter 7

My mind has been going a million miles per second since my encounter with Josie and Veronica Lodge. What could he be hiding from me? I know it happened a couple years ago but is he still that same person? Should I give him a chance to show that he's not that person? I'll call him later and ask him about it.

I distract myself with work and taking orders and even helping the cooks a little when we get our next rush. I admit that the distraction is nice, especially with the amount of people coming in or calling Pop's to order take out food. The smell of grease and the sight of milkshakes fill the room and before I know it the light outside has turned dark and it's 8 o'clock. I grab my things and get ready to clock out and I hear someone calling my name. I turn around and see Pop, the patriarch of the Chock'lit Shoppe giving me a big toothy grin and holding an envelope in his hand.

"Hey Serena. I'm glad to have caught you before you got out of here," Pop sounds relieved.
"You work so hard and I just want to thank you for being a leader here without the title; it means a lot. I want to give you a little something for your work."

Pop hands me the envelope and when I open it up I gasp and almost fall to the floor. There is a $2,000 check with my name on it and I can't fucking believe it. I look around for cameras because clearly I'm punk'd. Tears swell up in my eyes and I run over to Pop and give him a huge hug.

"Pop. This means so much to me. I was not expecting a thank you, let alone a $2,000 check." I cry a little on his uniform and then regain my composure.

"Pop, again I can't thank you enough for this. I can finally get my car and do more things with my life."

"I'm glad you are so happy Serena," Pop grins at me again. "Why don't you take the day off tomorrow so you can look at cars?"

I'm not really wanting to take the day off but since I have to deposit my check and add it to the savings I already have, I don't mind taking the day off for once.
"Sure, Pop. I guess I can use the day off now."
I thank Pop again and wave to Serena on my way out the door. Feeling a excitement buzz throughout my body, I order an Uber instead of taking the train. I put in two trips, one for the bank to deposit my check and the next trip home.
As I wait for the car, my phone buzzes and I see Chuck is calling.

"Hey handsome," I greet him playfully.

"What's up gorgeous," Chuck delivers in a seducing time. I imagine his dimples poking out as he says it.

"Nothing much, waiting on an uber so I can go home. How was your day?" I see a red Toyota Corolla with an uber sticker in the front pull up in front of Pop's.

"It was okay. I got some artwork finished I had been procrastinating about and I hung out with some friends."

"Oh cool. What's up with the procrastinating though? What was stopping you from finishing?" I inquire as I get into the car and greet my driver.

"I had a lot of distractions lately but I got rid of them now and I can focus. Of course there's you now" Chuck chuckles into the earpiece.

"Haha," I say sarcastically. "I had a very interesting day today."

"How's that?" Chuck asks.

"Your girl Josie came in with her Pussycats and Veronica Lodge." I pause a moment to gauge how he would respond to me. I hear just silence. I look at the phone to make sure he is still on the line.

"She had a lot to say about you. Josie I mean. She wanted me to ask you what happened two years ago."

"Oh did she?" Chuck tone of voice changes. He sounds irritated.

"Yeah it was weird as hell. I told her basically that you probably aren't the same person you were two years ago and I didn't appreciate the way she was toying around telling me this."

"You didn't have to defend me," Chuck responds coolly. "I was a shitty person back then. You have no idea."

"Are you a shitty person now? Are you doing those things that you did in high school?"

"No," Chuck nervously laughs.

"Then I don't care about what you did back then. People change."
I shrug and look outside the window. I recognize up ahead my bank and I begin to gather my things to make sure I have everything before getting out.

"Wow, most Riverdale girls here would have fed me to the wolves if someone gave them that information," Chuck says. The car slows to the stop in front of the bank and I get out my car.

"I'm not most girls Chuck," I sigh as I slide my card at the building door and go into the bank.

"You forget, I'm from Phoenix and I lived on the Southside practically all my life. I was bred different love."

"I see. You surprise me every day. Especially with yesterday. What are your plans tomorrow?"
I slide my card into the ATM and enter my pin so I can deposit my check.

"I'm actually off tomorrow I'm going to go look at cars. It's finally time. Oh and I gotta see my mom later." I squeal into the phone with glee.

"Well congrats," Chuck laughs into the receiver.
I finish depositing my check and walk out of the bank and get back into the uber.

"Thanks," I roll my eyes knowing he cannot see me do it.

"Well would you mind if I accompanied you? I would like to get to know you more."

"Yeah sure," I voice with surprise in my voice.

"Are you sure you won't be bored?

"I'm with you so I'll never be bored." Chuck says seductively once more.

Chuck and I engage in small talk and a few moments later I arrive at my apartment building. I give the driver 5 starts and I prepare my mind to go up the stairs and enter my apartment.

"So Chuck I just got here so I'm going to crash.

What time did you want to meet here?"
"Is 9am okay?"

"Nah, make it 10. I'll be fully functional by then."

"Okay love. Well good night" Chuck delivers.

"Good night."

I arrive at my front door and grab my keys and walk into my apartment door and practically throw my bag on the counter. I meant to dig more into why Chuck and Josie broke up but honestly it doesn't matter. It was two years ago and he's a different person. The fact that Josie is still hung up on it says a lot more about her than me. Shrugging those thoughts out of my mind, I shower and imagine Chuck is in here with me giving me sweet wet kisses and groping me in all the right areas. Not letting my mind go further, I hurry out of the shower and crash into the bed, going into a deep sleep.