Page 34 of Unearthed Dreams
CHARLIE
I couldn’t stop thinkingabout how different it felt when Trevor touched me.
Two months ago, that casual hand at the small of my back would have sent butterflies racing through my stomach. I would have overthought every microsecond of contact, analyzed the meaning behind it for hours.
But now?
Nothing. Less than nothing. It was like all those years of crushing on him had been erased by one heated conversation with Kai Callaghan.
The festival crowds pressed in around us as Shelby chatted about her summer internship, her familiar voice still sending a jolt of disbelief through me every time she spoke. They’d actually come. To Sable Point. To see me. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Shelby to reveal some other reason for the visit. Because people like her—bright, vibrant, actually-goes-to-parties—didn’t drive hours just to see their awkward ex-roommate who’d rather read books than socialize.
But I could barely focus on her story about the law firm’s drama, because I could still feel Kai’s eyes on me from the beer tent. I’d felt them all day, burning into me while I pretended to read the same paragraph over and over on my Kindle. Every time I’d sneaked a glance his way, he’d been watching me with that intense focus that made my skin tingle and my thoughts scatter.
Two weeks. Two weeks since he’d told me exactly how to touch myself, since his voice had dropped low and dangerous as he described what I did to him. Two weeks of avoiding each other, of pretending we didn’t both feel this electric current humming between us whenever we were near. Two weeks of touching myself exactly how he’d instructed, biting my lip to keep quiet in my childhood bedroom, imagining his hands instead of my own.
I was so tired of pretending.
Trevor’s hand still rested on my back as we walked, and all I could think about was how different it felt from when Kai had caught me on his stairs. How Kai’s touch had sparked something wild and desperate inside me, while Trevor’s just felt... friendly. Normal. Safe.
I didn’t want safe anymore. And maybe—just maybe—I’d been wrong about other things too. Like assuming Shelby would forget about me the moment we graduated. Like believing I didn’t deserve real friendships.
“Anyone want a drink?” Trevor asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“I could use a beer,” Simon said.
“Me too! Charlie?” Shelby asked.
“Oh, um... Sure.”
Trevor and Simon headed toward the beer tent. Toward Kai.
“Soooo, Trevor,” Shelby sing-songed the moment we were alone, nudging me with her elbow. Her ponytail swung as she gave me an exaggerated wink.
“Yeah, what’s he doing here?” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but my eyes were locked on the beer tent, where Kai’s jaw was visibly clenched as Trevor approached.
“Oh! I ran into him at the grocery store earlier this week. When I mentioned Simon and I were coming up to surprise you at the festival, he asked if he could tag along.” Her grin turned sly. “I think you moving away made him realize what he was missing. He asked, like, a million questions about you.”
Kai yanked the tap handle with more force than necessary, foam spilling over the edge of the cup he was filling for Trevor.
“Charlie?” Shelby waved her hand in front of my face. “Hello? Trevor? Making his move? Finally showing interest after years of you pining? This is exciting!”
“I’m not...” I swallowed hard, studying my sandals. “I’m not really interested in Trevor anymore.”
“What? But you’ve been crushing on him forever! What changed?”
My eyes involuntarily found Kai again across the festival grounds. Even from this distance, I could see the heat in his gaze, the barely contained frustration as Trevor leaned casually against the counter.
“Don’t look,” I whispered, grabbing Shelby’s arm. “But see the guy running the beer tent? The one with the white hair?”
Shelby immediately whipped her head around to stare directly at him. Of course she did.
“Oh my god, Charlie, he’s gorgeous,” she stage-whispered, not even trying to be subtle. “Wait, is he looking at us?”
I yanked her further away from the tent, my cheeks burning. Shelby may have been my best friend, but I’d never talked like this with her before, and she’d stopped sharing her sexcapades with me years ago when I’d been too much of a ‘prude’—her word, not mine—to handle it.
“Two weeks ago, he...” I took a deep breath. “He told me exactly how to... touch myself. In detail. At his bar. And I... I did what he said when I got home and...” I pressed my burning face into my hands. “Oh god, I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
“Charlie!” Shelby grabbed my shoulders, her voice dropping to an intense whisper. “Are you telling me you had your first orgasm because a hot older man gave you instructions?”
