Page 21 of Sweet Redemption
Chapter Eleven
Markus
Light filtered through my lids, waking up out of the first solid sleep I’d had in months. I reached over, looking for Charlie but she wasn’t there. The spot next to me was cold and empty.
“Charlie?” I called out as I got out of bed. I picked up my pants and slipped them on. I grabbed my cell phone and wallet and slid them into my back pockets. Not bothering with my shirt, I headed downstairs to look for her.
At the bottom of the stairs, I saw Charlie and an elderly woman talking. I debated if I should go back upstairs and grab my shirt, but…too late. The old woman’s eyes shifted upward and she gawked at me. I smiled and gave a small wave. Her face lit up with a big smile like a Christmas tree in a lighting festival. She waved right back.
Charlie turned around. Her cheeks flushed crimson, mortification apparent on her face. I lost my smile and swiftly turned and headed back upstairs to retrieve my shirt. Shit. She wasn’t happy.
By the time I made it downstairs, the old woman was gone, but the anger on Charlie’s face was up front and center. “What were you thinking?” she shouted. “Now Mrs. Mendes is going think of me as the town floozy.”
The words she used. It was too cute. “I highly doubt it. It’s not like she knew what we were doing last night.”
“It won’t matter to her, she’s the town gossip. By five, the whole county will think I sleep around.”
“Calm down, Charlie. Anyway, why was she here so early?”
Charlie’s brows furrowed so tight, they look like one. “It’s two in the afternoon, Markus.”
“Seriously?” I raked a hand through my hair. Not believing it, I pulled out my cell and checked the time. Charlie was right. “I’ve never slept that late.”
“That doesn’t matter.Merde!By the time I go pick up my car—Shit. I have Mike’s truck.” I began scrambling for my socks and shoes. “He’s going to kick my ass. I bet my car isn’t fixed.”
“Mike might kick your buttbut I’m sure he fixed your car. Now that you created havoc for me, can you give me a ride back to town?”
I stopped looking for my shoes and stared at her. She was something else. “Yes. Why ask if we’re going to the same place?”
“Because my Nana raised me right. It’s nice to ask, even though we’re heading in the same direction,” Charlie railed, folding her arms across herself. My eyes wandered down to her chest. Her nipples tightened under her cami, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“You want me again, don’t you Charlie?” I snagged her around the middle and drew her in to me. Her tight rosy buds pressed against my chest, and I wished I could feel them bare against my skin. I had a sudden urge to lift her shirt and devour them until she cried my name.
Charlie pushed at my shoulder. “We can’t…even though I want to. You have to return Mike’s truck and I need to pick up my car. But Markus?”
I squeezed her tighter. “Yeah?”
“When are you planning on leaving today?” There was trepidation and sadness in her voice.
I released Charlie, realizing that I had no time to stay and enjoy being with her any longer. I had to get going. “If my car is done, I need to get back on the road,as soon as possible,” I said solemnly.
Sadness swept across Charlie’s expressive face but she quickly masked it. “Oh. Right. Your mother’s funeral…I’ll get your shoes out of the closet.” Her voice dipped low that I barely heard the words. Yet, her disappointment was as loud as a bullhorn.
“Closet.” I remembered about the gossiping woman. “Right.”
With every step she took away from me, something inside me started to ache. I didn’t know what about Charlie I liked, but I realized I didn’t want to be away from her. As crazy as it sounded in my head, I wasn’t going to ignore the way I was feeling. Not this time.
Charlie returned with my shoes, but she wouldn’t look at me. Though, her frown matched mine, which lent some comfort that I wasn’t alone on the feelings department.
I took the shoes, dropped them and then took her hand. “Charlie, aside from the library, do you have any other jobs? Family obligations?”
There was confusion mixed with her sadness in her glassy eyes. “No. Why?”
“Come with me then. I know we don’t know each other well—or hardly at all, but these past twenty-four hours with you, I’ve been the happiest I have ever been. You make me feel so…normal.”
“Go with you to Chicago? To your mother’s funeral? Where your family is at?” Charlie’s cheeks blushed bright pink and that cute frown of her edged into a small smile. “Are you serious?”
I laughed, cupping her cheeks with both hands. “Yes to all three. Will you?” I then tugged her closer. “I know it sounds crazy—hell, it is. But I want you with me. Please come. Right now, you’re the only sane thing in my life.”
