Page 88 of His Heart

“Well, fuck,” she said.

Charlie just laughed and pulled his shirt over his head, then looked at me. “How was work?”

“Um, fine,” I said. “But maybe you should put on pants?”

He glanced down at his muscular legs and shrugged.

“Shit, I’m not wearing pants either,” Olivia said. “Charlie, get in here.”

He grinned, then followed Olivia back into the bedroom.

They came out a few minutes later, both fully dressed. I pretended to be very interested in something on my phone while they said goodbye. Or kissed goodbye, rather. It took a while.

Charlie finally left and Olivia closed the door. She came over to sit on the couch, her cheeks flushed, her eyes dreamy.

“So, Charlie?” I asked. “Did this just happen?”

She bit her lower lip. “Um, not exactly.”

“What?” I asked. “When?”

“Well…” She drew out the word, scrunching her nose. “Kind of the first night I was here.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? You slept with Charlie the first night you met?”

“Yeah, I know,” she said. “It was crazy. We went out to dinner so you and Seb could talk. But then we wound up talking for hours. We didn’t leave until the restaurant was closing. When we got back to his place, you were still in Sebastian’s room. I didn’t have a key to your house or anything, so he invited me to stay and hang out. So, we did. And then, well, we did.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed. “I almost did, but I felt weird. Like you were going to be mad, since I’d just met him and he was your friend. I don’t know, maybe that doesn’t make sense. And at first, I didn’t know if it would amount to anything. But then we started texting, and talking. And we got together again, and well…”

“Wow,” I said. “I’m not mad. Just surprised. Either you guys have been hiding it pretty well for the last few weeks, or I haven’t been paying attention.”

“Mostly the second one,” she said. “You’ve been a little wrapped up in Sebastian.”

“Yeah, I guess I have,” I said. “So, what is this between you guys? Are you just messing around?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s the really crazy part. I don’t think we are. At first, I wasn’t sure what was going on. That’s why I didn’t tell you. It was this whirlwind of insanity, like in a movie or something. He’s… god, Brooke, he’s amazing. I really, really like him. And it’s not just the sex. Although oh my god, the sex is incredible.”

“Yeah, so I gathered.”

“Consider it payback for the times I’ve had to listen to you and Seb.”

I cringed. “Touché.”

“It’s no big deal,” she said. “My roommate in college used to fuck her boyfriend under the covers with me in the same room. You get kind of desensitized after a while.”

“Ew,” I said. “Is this why you’ve been procrastinating on going back to Phoenix?”

“Pretty much,” she said. “Can I tell you something that’s probably going to make you think I’m insane?”

“Yeah…”

She bit her lower lip. “Charlie doesn’t want me to go back, and… I think I might stay.”

“Why are you worried I’d think you’re insane?”

“Well, because I just met him and I’m considering packing up my life and moving halfway across the country,” she said.

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