Tamed

Chapter Twenty-Two: Friend-Zone

Oliver

(Present Day)

Charlie is still in my arms the next morning when I open my eyes.

Sometime during the night she curled up closer and pulled a blanket over us. Her leg is hooked around mine, our bodies half facing each other. I lean my head on the pillow and watch her. I like the way her lips are parted and the soft breaths that she takes. The concern she had on her face last night is noticeably gone.

I'm sure it doesn't make sense to her, but I worry about how she thinks of me. I didn't go off to school and become some football legend, get drafted into the NFL—or any other glory I thought I was destined to achieve. She didn't expect me to still be here. I feel like I'm a disappointment in more ways than one.

That's why I'm determined to make this adventure park work with my father. My current outlook isn't optimistic. It's not that we don't get along. He has the exact same attitude as I do, so maybe we're too similar. But I know that's not the problem. He doesn't think I can be serious. I've shown him time and time again that I'm more than capable of messing shit up and not giving a single fuck. That could be the problem.

I don't get to stay lost in my thoughts for long because the next time I look down at her, she's staring back at me. I tuck her hair behind her ear. "Good morning."

She smiles, but there's something shy about it. "Good morning."

A light blush spreads across her cheeks and my heart starts to beat faster. There was always something more intimate about lying in bed with her, fully clothed, wrapped in each other's arms. My lips physically ache from wanting to kiss her so badly. It's been so long that my willpower is rapidly fading.

When I look at her again, she's waiting for me to say something. I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

"I'm sorry I stayed."

Charlie laughs and it vibrates along the parts of us that are still pressed together. "No you're not."

"Yeah, I'm not." I wink at her and she rolls her eyes, pulling her leg from on top of mine.

She turns onto her back and sighs. I'm anticipating some kind of speech about how we shouldn't have done that and what a mistake it was for her to let me be here. But she doesn't say anything.

After another beat she turns her head on the pillow to look at me. "Don't you have school?"

I chuckle softly and rest one arm behind my head. "Yep, I do. It's Fall Festival week so we keep having these stupid meetings about teen drinking and being safe." I use air quotes to emphasize my disgust and she laughs. "It's so fucking stupid. You know they're gonna drink and do all kinds of other illegal shit no matter what we do. Everyone does dumb shit when they're young."

I half expect her to argue with me, but she doesn't. She shrugs one shoulder. "I had a lot of fun at Fall Festival. I got to be queen."

My stomach drops. The memory I'm having isn't the same as hers. She's picturing how good it felt to crowned. What I remember is how bad it sucked when the crown got passed to the runner up. I remember the smug smile on Carson's face when they gave it to her after winter break. When Charlie transferred for the last half of our senior year.

"I knew you would be," I say instead.

She gets quiet again and it makes me nervous. That night changed so many things for us. It wasn't just some high school dance. It was the beginning of the end.