SHIVER

Chapter 2 - A New Acquaintance

I stand there gazing at him. He is very easy on the eyes. Charlie McGreggor. Interesting. Something about being in his presence makes me feel safe. I realise I will be spending a fair amount of time with this man, and my heart rate picks up. My palms get sweaty too, and I have no idea why.

I'm not familiar with extremely good looking men. I have never had my first kiss and I have never been in love. The most I have ever done is hug Joe, but that doesn't count as I think of him as a big brother rather than a potential boyfriend. Every other male I have met was either too shy to talk to me or such a jerk that I walked away after the "Hello". i know one that I do my best to avoid, but he evads my peaceful sleep every night...

Charlie looks at me curiously and I realise I was staring at him too long daydreaming...

"Hello Charlie," I say eventually, gathering courage and fighting off a blush. "My name is Emily Ray, as you probably already know."

"Well Emily, Charlie, I shall leave you to it. Oh and Emily, I need you to check the files I left on your desk, don't forget!" Sarah pronounces before leaving the room. She seems too happy, which is always a bad sign. This makes me anxious as I know it has something to do with the files she has left me.

I glance at Charlie, and he smirks at me, as if he knows something I don't. A blush forms on my cheeks at his smile and I mentally curse myself for being, well, such a girl. I have know idea what has come over me. I never act this. I have trained myself to hide my emotions, and as soon as I see him I lose all sense of logic. This angers and confuses me.

"So, uh, Charlie," I stammer awkwardly, my blush becoming more prominent. "I think we should get to know each other better seen as how we will be spending a considerable amount of time together. How old are you then?"

"I'm twenty. How old are you?" he asks me. The look on his face takes my breath away, and I gulp hard and force myself to answer him.

"I'm 18," I retort. He smirks at me again, and I begin to feel irritated. "I'm actually very mature."

"So I have heard. I heard they also say you are very professional when it comes to your work, which will be interesting to see," he tells me. I hear the slight edge in his voice which makes me wonder if he is mocking me, and anger bubbles inside me. I glare at him, my blush turning into a flush of anger. I can tell by the look on his face that he knows he has got me very worked up.

"Mock all you want. If we are put into a sticky situation where you need my help, I won't provide it," I say proudly. He looks startled and I instantly regret my words. I can see the hurt and embarrassment in his eyes, and the awkwardness between us is noticeable. I feel as if I have blown any chance I may have had with him. First impressions count for a lot, and I seem to have blown mines due to the confusion he causes me to experience. Why on earth can he make me act irrationally

"Sorry, I've been having a bad morning," I admit. He gives me a sympathetic look. This nearly breaks my heart as the feeling of despair overcomes me. I've blown it.

Eventually I can't stand the tension anymore, and I make an excuse to leave. For once, I wasn't looking forward to what Sarah had planned for me at any point, as I can feel the tension between me and Charlie, and I feel that if we were left alone I might end up going completely insane, which could harm him or myself.

I had promised myself that I would not get myself caught in sticky situations, and to me, he is just another obstacle to avoid. If I can overcome these strange new feelings I now associate with him, then I should be fine.

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