Page 7 of About Time

“I’ll come and get you. Elisa is putting Wren to bed, and Martin has been drinking.”

I groan, realizing I have the misfortune of getting Charlie on the phone. I’ve had enough of arrogant jocks for one night. I certainly don’t want to owe him anything. Even if he is painfully hot, he’s still an ass. “Never mind. I’ll just walk.”

“The fuck you will. It’s dark out. This town might be small, but this world isn’t a safe place for women to go walking around after dark, even here.”

He’s not wrong, and I know I’m going to have to swallow my pride, even if I choke on it a little. “Fine, I’ll be waiting out front. Do you know where Judd Withers lives?”

“I know where just about everyone lives in this town. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he says and hangs up the phone without even saying goodbye.

The front lawn is still full of drunk idiots, so I wait close to the mailbox for Charlie to come and get me. All hope of slipping away unnoticed flies out the window the moment I hear one of the partiers shout, “Hey, isn’t that Charlie Storm?”

Followed by another person replying, “Dude, I think that’s the chick from my chemistry class, Hat or something.”

I’m not exactly popular in school. I’m not bullied, other than people constantly mispronouncing my name. Some dumbasses just call me Hat. That has to be the pinnacle of laziness to give my nickname a nickname. Then there’s my personal favorite, Haiti. I’m not sure if they think referring to that country should be an insult, or if they just hear the word hate in it. Basically, my classmates are idiots.

Outside of Donovan and Mandy, I’d say I’m mostly invisible. It’s not as sad as it sounds. I like being left to my own devices, so not being noticed works in my favor. Now though I’m afraid I won’t be able to escape being noticed. Not if these guys remember seeing me get in Charlie’s truck.

He barely pulls in front of the house, double parked, when I jump in the cab. I try and duck down a bit so no one else sees me. “Drive, you’ve been recognized.”

Charlie shrugs. “The perils of being a small town celebrity. What’s so bad about being seen with me?”

“For me? Not much. I’m sure I’ll get some cool points at school. Not that I really want the attention of these dumbasses. For you…do you want to be known as a dude who trolls high school parties for girls?” I ask him.

Quickly, he shifts the truck into gear and peels away from the house. “Point taken. I don’t really want to be labeled a sex offender.”

I roll my eyes. “Chill. You’re only giving me a ride because my sister couldn’t come and get me. Besides the age of consent is sixteen, so it would be grossly immoral, but not illegal.”

Charlie gives me the side eye. “Why do you know, off the top of your head, what the age of consent is?”

“Would you relax? You’re not my big brother, just his friend.”

He pulls his truck up in front of my house. “You make me nervous, kid. I’m going to be keeping an eye out for you.”

“Fun,” I draw out the word. “Look, if you want to be friends that’s cool, but I don’t need a babysitter or a big brother.”

He taps his fingers on the steering wheel, thinking for a minute, then nods his head. “Yeah, we can be friends. I can keep you from committing any more fashion disasters and save you from lame parties.”

“And I can learn to play shuffleboard and remind you to take your meds,” I quip.

“Hey now, I’m only ten years older than you,” he complains.

“So either I’m a kid, and you’re old, or you just realized that in a few years, our age difference isn’t going to mean all that much, and we can just be friends,” I reply.

“All right, smart ass. I got the message, I won’t call you kid anymore.”

I smile at him. “Glad we got that cleared up. See ya later Charles.”

“Later, Harriet.”

“Ugh, that name,” I groan.

He winks, and I really don’t feel like a kid at that moment. I scurry out of the truck and watch him leave from the porch. In my gut, I know that whatever is happening might be the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. Somehow I know I won’t get to experience one without the other, and even so, I can’t seem to walk away.

Chapter Four

Charlie Present- Age 53

Griffin groans.“I’m really uncomfortable with you starting this story when Hattie was sixteen.”

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