now or never - charlie gillespie

chapter fifty seven

"So... What do you want to do?" Charlie asked me as we walked towards the door. He grabbed the door handle and held the door open for me.

I had to remind myself to be cool, but it was hard when he went and did things like that.

"I don't know..." I mumbled, unable to think of anything on the spot.

We had an hour or two to kill before I had to pick up my dress.

"Do you want to go back and chill with everyone?" he suggested and I instantly shook my head.

This time alone with Charlie reminded me of just how much I missed him. If we went back I just knew everything would go back to the way it was. I just wanted to spend a little longer with him.

"Do you want to go to the park? I've never been," I smiled at him, silently hoping I didn't sound as pathetic as I felt.

I watched Charlie's eyes go wide. "Central Park?" he asked and I wearily nodded my head.

"We can just go back if it's too far-" I started to say, scared of being too much of a burden. I knew that I wanted to spend more time with him, but the thought of him maybe not wanting to spend more time with me never crossed my mind.

"No! I actually think it's really close it's just that..." he hesitated, looking down at the ground.

I suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. Maybe he had other plans. It was silly of me to think he wouldn't have any other plans.

"Oh right you probably have other things to do. It's fine, i'll just meet you back at the-"

"Oh my gosh, Lake! Would you stop jumping to conclusions!" He said, raising his voice a little before rubbing his face and laughing. I scrunched up my nose in confusion. "I've never been to Central Park either," he finally looked at me and smiled.

"Really?" I asked, smiling at the ground and kicking the ground with my foot. "Does that mean you wanna go with me?"

"Yeah, I would love to. Come on," he said, placing his hand on my back,  leading the way.

I couldn't help but feel my stomach twist and turn. I was completely nervous.

The walk wasn't that far. We passed several restaurants and cafes and I couldn't help but deeply inhale and moan at the aromas that filled the streets.

"Are you hungry?" He chuckled. I felt my cheeks go red and I shook my head.

"Everything just smells so good," I confessed.

"Do you want to have a picnic in the park?" he said suddenly stopping and eyeing some food in a random shop.

"I really wanted to rent bikes and ride around the park," I murmured hoping he secretly wanted to do the same. "If you don't mind.." I added, slowly looking up at his face.

"Actually, I have an even better idea," he grinned and grabbed my hand, running into the shop. It was like a small market filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

He immediately started grabbing a bunch of food and shoving it into my hands. "Charlie um would you mind telling me what you're up to and then maybe I could help?" I said trying to juggle the boxes of strawberries, blueberries and oranges he had shoved into my hands.

"Just grab whatever you want!" He yelled as he walked further away, continuing to grab more food.

Five minutes later we were walking out of the shop with bags filled with fruits, a couple of drinks, and a couple of sandwiches.

"Are we close?" I asked as we continued to walk some more. My hands were getting tired. I knew we had bought way too much food but he insisted. The only reason I didn't fight him on it is because I knew he would be able to finish it all even if I couldn't.