Page 14 of Gracefully Yours

“Listen, I… I have to go get ready for the wedding.” Charlotte looked towards the door as she dug through her bag, pulling on a soft t-shirt, forgoing a bra all-together. “The girls are meeting up soon to get ready, so I’m just going to go grab Gabbi and… go.”

“Don’t do this.”

“What?” She blinked up at me.

“Run away. Avoid me, because you want to avoid what happened last night.” I crossed my arms over my bare chest. “We need to talk about it.”

“That’s not…” She frowned. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“Isn’t it?” I cocked my head at her.

“No.”

“Then explain to me why you’re trying to run out of here like a one-night-stand would.”

Her expression turned into a scowl as she speared her gray eyes at me. “Don’t make assumptions just because we fucked last night.”

Charlotte’s words shot through me like a well-aimed bullet.Fucked.The word sounded so crude coming from her mouth, those lovely lips that had been all over my body.

Was that all it was for her?I didn’t know why the idea of me being a quick fuck or some hook-up was so hurtful to me, but… No. I’d seen her face when I’d pushed inside of her. I’d felt her pleasure racing against my own. Last night had been anything but casual for me.

“Charlotte.” My eyes caught hers, and she looked like a deer that was caught in the headlights. “Please.” I hoped she could hear how serious I was, how desperate I was to make this right. We’d slept together, sure, but she was still my best friend. “You’re too important to me to lose.”

I climbed out of the bed, not caring about my nakedness. She’d seen it all last night.

She continued to ignore me, pulling on a pair of panties and then running shorts. If I hadn’t been so irritated by her current behavior, maybe I would have been more focused on that tiny spandex garment.

Fuck. I needed to get my head on straight.

She’s your best friend!I screamed at my head—and my dick, who didn’t seem to get the memo last night.Off-limits.I shouldn’t have touched her. But I had anyway.

She hefted her dress bag into one arm and her shoes in another. I knew her well enough from all these years to know that she would tuck everything she needed inside her bag.

“Char—”

“I have to go. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” I said, and I meant it.

When Charlotte pulled the door shut behind her, leaving me alone in our hotel room, I couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Fuck!” I threw the pillow against the wall.

What had I done?

Had I ruined everything?

* * *

“How’s it going?”Matthew asked, plopping down in the seat next to me. I’d been sitting at our table at the reception, nursing a glass of wine and wondering how I’d messed everything up so quickly.

My eyes trailed over to Charlotte, laughing on the dance floor with Angelina. I hadn’t been able to talk to her for most of the day with the ceremony and pictures, and it felt like everywhere I was, she wasn’t.

She was avoiding me.

“I think I fucked up.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How’s that?”

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