Page 49 of If My Wishes Came True
“Good,” he says. “Because word on the street is, we’re running late for brunch.”
I grin. “I’ll go get changed.” But when I glance down expecting to see my shorts and tank top, all I see are paint splotches. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot I was wearing my smock!” I throw my head back, laughing. “How the heck were you able to kiss me that passionately, when I look this ridiculous?”
Charlie shakes his head. “Are you kidding me? You could wear a tent and still be beautiful.”
My laughter fades, and I gaze up at him, my heart melting.
Men don’t typically say I’m beautiful. Hot, or sexy, yes. But being called beautiful feels different. Like it’s not only about my physical appearance, but about me as a person.
“You okay?” he asks me.
I smile. “I’m just happy.”
He pulls me into him. “Yeah? Is therapy going well?”
“It really is. And I want to tell you all about it. But there’s a lot to catch you up on…and some of it is pretty heavy.” I sigh, feeling overwhelmed at the thought.
He lifts his hand to the side of my face. “There’s no rush. We have time.”
We have time.
My mind travels back to my last kiss with Hunter, before heleft my apartment that weekend. I remember wishing for more time together. But that wish never came true.
I guess you never know how much time you’re going to get. Which is why, when you find someone worth your time, you don’t waste it. You lean in.
And I’m ready to do that with Charlie.
When I meet Vanessa and Sam for drinks that night, I have to work hard to keep the lovestruck grin off my face.
I just had the most perfect day with Charlie.
After brunch, we took a leisurely stroll to Olive Park, since he’d never been before. We stopped at his apartment to pick up his camera on the way, because I guaranteed him he’d want to take pictures of the skyline. It’s early September, but it still feels like peak summer, and Chicago’s beauty is on full display. But even though Charlie was impressed with the view, he ended up taking more photos of me than anything else.
It started with a kiss that got a little carried away. It was my fault, of course—apparently my tongue has a mind of its own. But when we pulled apart, Charlie said I looked so beautiful, he wanted to take my photograph. I agreed, and it turned into a mini photoshoot. I sat on the grass, with the Navy Pier Ferris wheel in the distance behind me, and Charlie knelt in front of me. He looked through his camera lens, doing his photographerthing, and he was so sexy, it took all I had not to beg him to break our rules and sleep with me.
I don’t know how I’ll make it through an entire month of only chaste kisses. It’s not that I can’t go four weeks without sex. I’ve had much longer dry spells than that, and been fine. It’s just that this is the first time in years that I have feelings for someone.
And sex with feelings is something I haven’t had enough of in my life.
Not to mention, the connection I have with Charlie is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. If this were a romantic comedy, I’d be dancing in the streets right now, my heart feels so light and free.
“What’s with the smile, Jenna?” Sam asks as soon as I’m settled into the seat next to Vanessa. We’re in the back corner of a new wine bar on the north side of the city. It’s cozy and intimate, and the perfect place for girl talk. Which, I guess, is why Sam follows up her question with another, more direct one: “Wait…did you just have sex?”
A laugh escapes me, and I turn to Vanessa, who gives her friend a heavy dose of side-eye. “Sam, you didn’t even say hello, and you’re just going to launch into questions about Jenna’s sex life?”
Sam shrugs, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Well, look at her, V! She’s glowing.” She turns back to me. “And hello, by the way.”
“Good to see you again, Sam,” I say through a giggle.
Vanessa fixes her gaze on me. “You are kinda glowing,” she concedes.
“I didn’t have sex,” I say, shaking my head, but still grinning.
“New vibrator, then?” Sam asks.
I chuckle. “Nope.”But that’s probably not a bad idea, given how difficult it is for me to keep my hands off Charlie.“Just a really great date,” I continue.
“Looks like Charlie’s still giving you butterflies,” Vanessa says with her bright smile. “That’s her new neighbor,” she explains to Sam.
