Stand-Ups in New York

Chapter 13 - Off

Charlotte was having so much fun talking to Anna that she didn't realize that Pete was back in the bar until she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She turned and smiled. Pete's lips curved up, but his eyes were clouded. "You good?" she asked.

Pete nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Charlie turned to face him more fully and grabbed Pete's hand. "You sure?"

Pete nodded, but Charlie thought something still wasn't quite right. She turned back to Anna and saw that John was standing beside her again. He looked at Charlie and smiled. "So Charlotte, Pete mentioned as we walked in that you spoke to Lorne and he's putting you on for next week as a guest writer. Congratulations!"

"Thank you so much," Charlie said. "I still can't believe it."

"You're going to be writing for the show next week?" Anna asked. "Oh, you should write something about online dating like you did tonight on Weekend Update!"

"We'll figure out some good pitches, trust me," Pete said.

"Speaking of coming up with pitches, I was actually thinking Pete and I should get going so we can come up with a game plan for this week." Charlie looked at Anna and John briefly before turning her attention back to Pete.

Pete's smile widened slightly. "Oh, yeah, for sure. We'll catch up with you guys later."

"Yeah, sounds good man," John said, shaking his hand. He put his hand out to Charlie, who shook it. "Charlotte, I'm sure I'll see you at some point this week."

"Definitely," she said, then shook Anna's hand. "It was great meeting you."

"You too," Anna said, and stood up, giving Pete a hug. She thought she saw Anna say something quietly to Pete and then rubbed his back for just a moment before pulling away.

The pair left the restaurant and stood outside. "So," Pete said, "did you want me to get you an Uber so you could get back to Alec's? I'll ride with you if you want, then we can meet up tomorrow to brainstorm."

Charlie looked up at Pete. "You want me to go back to Alec's?"

Pete shrugged. "I don't know, it's up to you."

"I thought maybe you would want to hang out tonight." Charlotte wondered what Pete and John had talked about. "What's going on? You seem off."

"How would you know if I was off? We barely know each other." Pete seemed more hunched over than he was before.

"You aren't really good at hiding how you feel," Charlie said. "What's wrong? I thought we were getting along really well."

"We are, but I tend to jump into things a lot, which has been pointed out to me about a hundred times since you appeared on Update. I don't want to move too fast and hurt us both, you know?"

Charlotte nodded. "So you think because you were hurt before you will hurt as both now?"

"I didn't say that--"

"You implied it, though." Charlotte pulled out her phone and looked at the time. 3:00 AM. She never would have stayed out this late without getting a hotel room if she knew that she would have to disturb her friend.

"Charlotte, I'm sorry, I'm just still really fucked up over things that happened with my ex."

"Everyone has been fucked over by an ex, Pete. When you and Ariana's engagement broke off, I was... it was a bad time for me, too. But that was years ago now, and you have to get over it eventually, and I like you."

Pete looked at Charlie. "You like me?" he asked.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "No, I fucked you because I can't stand to be around you." She looked at him for a second, then continued, "Of course I like you. You're funny and nerdy and you make me feel really good when I'm around you. Not to mention you are the first guy to ever listen to my stand up and admit you thought it was good. Besides Alec, but he's my friend. He's enjoyed my humorous wit for years now."

Pete's smile from before returned to his face and he took Charlie's hand. "Well, if you would like to spend the night, I will gladly hang with you. I have a little apartment in the city for when I can't make the ferry back home."

Charlotte smiled. "That sounds perfect."

"I don't think we should have sex again tonight, though."

Charlie laughed. "It's 3:00 AM, Pete. We'll be lucky if I don't immediately crash as soon as we get to your apartment."

Pete's place was only a few blocks away from the restaurant, so the pair walked there arm-in-arm. They talked about their favorite comedians and sketch ideas for the week. The host was Jennifer Lawrence, so Charlotte freaked out over that for a good ten minutes before she could string together a coherent idea.

When they arrived, Pete gave Charlotte one of his oversized sweatshirts to sleep in (she silently thanked God that he bought clothes way too big, otherwise she would have never fit into any of his stuff). He plugged her phone in after she sent out a final text to Alec letting her know where she was. Charlie thought of how sweet that was, especially since he only had the one charger. Charlie started dozing first, and Pete pulled her head onto his chest. Charlotte smiled as she fell asleep.