I stop at a playground to catch my breath. Around me, children are playing, so happy with not a care in the world. An attractive redhead sits on the park bench, and a small boy runs into her arms. Her face becomes familiar, and moments later, I realize it is Charlotte’s friend, Nikki.
I’m not one to strike up conversations with strangers, but this has a purpose close to my heart.
“Hi.” I wave, taking small steps towards her. “Nikki, is it?”
Raising her eyes
to meet mine, she crosses her arms with a forced smile on her face. “Yes, it is, Mr. Edwards.”
I sense the sarcastic tone, and with my guard slightly up, I have to play this woman differently if I want to extract any information regarding Charlotte.
“Please call me Lex.”
“Whatever,” she mumbles.
The young boy beside her moves his attention to me. “Are you a friend of Mom’s?”
“Actually, I’m a friend of her friend.”
“He’s Charlie’s friend,” Nikki tells him, gritting her teeth.
“Oh, how cool.” The boy jumps off the bench, his face animated as he speaks, “Do you know Cha Cha takes me to baseball every Saturday morning? It’s totally awesome. She can play some mean baseball, and the coaches love her.”
Charlotte plays baseball? I laugh at the irony. She always hated sports.
“Honey, can you go play with Bailey while I speak to Lex?”
The boy nods, kissing Nikki goodbye before running off.
Nikki swings her head my way, a darting gaze bouncing off her angered face. “Stay away from Charlie, Lex. You’re no good for her.”
“You don’t even know me,” I respond as politely as I can without telling her to fuck off and mind her own business. “It’s a bit presumptuous of you to say I have bad intentions.”
“No, I don’t, Lex,” she states, matter-of-factly. “I don’t know the history you have, though I’m pretty sure it was more than just a high school crush. I do know that while I shared a room with Charlie in college, she’d cry herself to sleep every night and wake up asking for you.”
I’m rendered speechless, forgetting how much I hurt her. My arms become heavy as my shoulders slump, the weight of my past actions rearing their ugly head once again. I didn’t stop to think about what happened after I left, and I didn’t bring it up with Charlotte because I don’t want to drudge up the memories or reminisce about my stupidity.
“She’s better off with Julian,” Nikki continues, relaxing her stern gaze. “He treats her how she deserves to be treated. I know enough about your type to know you will only hurt her again.”
Déjà-fucking-vu.
Someone is telling me Charlotte is better off without me.
This time I’m not backing down, refusing to make the same mistake again.
“You might want to let Charlotte decide that for herself.” I straighten my back, chest out, and give her a polite smile. “Goodbye, Nikki.”
I start jogging away thinking about what Nikki’s just said. I don’t care what she thinks. Charlotte and I have history. After what happened last night, I know she will go to Julian’s place. I just need a plan. Running back to the hotel, frustrated of getting nowhere, I hit the gym. My body thrives off the pain.
Back in my room, I climb into a steaming hot shower. The water is amazing, soothing my muscles and relaxing the tension almost instantly. My mind begins drifting to last night, caressing her on the dance floor, feeling her body tighten as I sang to her.
Wrapping my hand around my cock, I begin to slowly stroke it, remembering how I pushed her against the cold fridge, watching the condensation run down the door as her skin burned, sucking on her beautiful tits, and feeling her wet pussy all over my fingers. Her body has changed. She has become a woman. Her hips are curvaceous, her ass nice and tight. I start stroking faster, imagining her lips on my cock. The way she used to take me in deep, the way she screamed my name as I fucked her.
As the pressure mounts and fire rises in my belly, I explode all over my hand, wishing it had been in her mouth.
First thing I need more than anything is stamina. I order room service which doesn’t take long. A hot breakfast will give me the energy since I’ve barely eaten anything the past few days. After I finish my meal, I grab my phone, scrolling through until I locate Eric’s number. He gave me his number at the charity ball in case I need anything. To be honest, I’m not sure if he wants dick or he’s trying to set up Charlotte, so I text him, asking for her number which he has no problem giving me.
I wasted most of the day in meetings, bounded by contracts and meetings scheduled from months back. As the early evening sets in, I officially go crazy playing this waiting game. I need to tell her last night with Samantha wasn’t what it looked like, so I decide to text her.