Page 19 of Man Glitter
Finnie moaned and grasped the collar of my polo shirt before her hands slid around my neck and grabbed my hair. Shivers ran down my back as her fingers dug into my hair and tugged. The woman could kiss as well as she could stitch.
I couldn’t say how long we stood there in the moonlight kissing outside her new clinic. All I felt was every curve of her body, the way she hesitated at first and then dove into the kiss with a single-minded focus. The silky skin of her thigh distracted me as I inched up her skirt. The way I rolled my hips, and she mewled into my mouth. It went on forever and not long enough.
A car honked, most likely on the roundabout nearby that connected Brinestone Way to Main Street. Finnie jumped back, her skirt fluttering down around her knees. Her hand covered the mouth I’d just devoured, and I saw the fear flood back into her eyes.
Goddamnit.
“I, um, shouldn’t have done that.” She took a couple steps away from me and looked back, a million excuses poised on the tip of her tongue. “That’s clearly not the way to accomplish rumor damage control.”
“Why do you care so much?” I asked before thinking it through.
Hooking up with Crazy Charlie wasn’t exactly the way to make friends in town. She was a smart woman. I was sure she knew that.
She stood straighter, and I didn’t want to hear her answer. I wouldn’t like it, no matter how she explained it. Bottom line remained, I simply wasn’t good enough.
I nodded curtly and walked down the sidewalk in the direction of my truck. Time to end this not-a-date and get home to my canine companion, who thought I was pretty cool. The night had been nice while it lasted, but clearly I was delusional. There would never be a Finnie and Charlie. Never an us. Life had taught me I wasn’t cut out for a duo.
“Charlie!” Finnie called behind me, her sandals slapping against the sidewalk as she tried to catch up. “It’s not like that. It’s just—can you slow down?”
I didn’t. Couldn’t. Shame and anger swirled in my chest and I needed to get out of there. I wouldn’t leave her stranded, but I couldn’t look at her beautiful face for one more second. We both race walked down the sidewalk until we came to my truck. I unlocked the doors and climbed in, Finnie following me on her side. She was breathing hard when I started the engine and pulled onto the road to head home.
We sat there in uncomfortable silence until I pulled into my long driveway.
Finnie inhaled sharply. “I’ve made some horrible mistakes because of developing feelings. I won’t do that again. As lovely as that was, Charlie, I won’t let it bleed into my job.”
I ignored her, slid out of the truck without a word, and slammed the door. I didn’t know what she was talking about nor did I have the emotional space to explore that with her.
Nothing a jar of moonshine and a night out on my deck chair couldn’t handle.
9
Finnie
Well, I finally got what I thought I wanted: a serious conversation with Charlie. Turns out serious Charlie wasn’t nearly as fun as dance in the moonlight and drink green juice Charlie. Don’t get me wrong, the conversation all night had been amazing. More than amazing. But then I’d gone and pissed him off. He was no longer talking to me, which made staying at his house more than a little uncomfortable. I put my pajamas on, straightened the blankets on the lumpy couch, and hoped he’d come inside, touched by the moon magic and back to his joking, teasing self.
In the meantime, I’d spend one more night here, though I doubted I’d be getting much sleep. All I could replay in my mind when I shut my eyes was that incredible kiss. The way he’d cupped my face so gently with his rough hands, but then ground his obvious desire against me. I’d lost all track of time and space, forgetting we were out in the open in front of my soon-to-be clinic. I’d never had a kiss like that. Didn’t even know they existed until Charlie’s lips were on mine.
I whacked my pillow and tried to get comfortable. Chester had abandoned me to be outside with Charlie. There wasn’t a single noise or any reason I shouldn’t be asleep by now. But my skin was on fire, my heart was racing, and no amount of squeezing my thighs together could ease whatever Charlie had awakened in me. Just an endless loop of that kiss in my mind, over and over.
“No! Get out!”
A shout woke me from sleep. I blinked my eyes and realized I must have fallen asleep at some point.
“No!”
There it was again. Charlie.
I jumped off the couch and ran down the hallway without a single thought but getting to Charlie as quickly as possible. The door stood cracked open, so I barreled in and nearly tripped over Chester, who had his front paws up on the bed, his nose trying to rouse his human best friend from sleep.
Charlie thrashed against the pillows, his arms and legs fighting whatever it was he saw in his dream. His face scrunched up and he let out a low moan that raised the hair on my arms. That was all I could take. I needed to wake him immediately. I crawled onto the bed, being careful to avoid his thrashing legs.
“Charlie,” I whispered, not wanting to frighten him any further by waking him too abruptly. Night terrors were a scary thing.
He mumbled something I couldn’t catch, his legs heaving and tossing the sheet right off him.
“Oh, dear baby Jesus,” I wheezed, trying to stay focused.
The man slept naked.
