Chapter 15
First Words
TJ
Tracy had invited Charlotte over for dinner, and I was a little apprehensive.
Tracy’s cooking skills were questionable at best. I was hoping Charlotte could balance out the culinary disaster that was bound to happen.
Charlotte. Her name kept echoing in my mind. The more I saw her, the more I craved her presence. I wanted to know her, to spend time with her, but Tracy had warned me off. She said Charlotte was shy, and I might scare her away. So, for now, I was content with admiring her from a distance.
And there was a lot to admire. She was genuinely sweet and breathtakingly beautiful. She was one of those rare people who were beautiful inside and out. You might wonder how I knew she was beautiful inside when I hadn’t even spoken to her. Well, I had observed her.
One day, I saw her walk into a convenience store across the street in the pouring rain. She came out a minute later with an umbrella and a sandwich.
But she didn’t use the umbrella for herself. Instead, she gave it to an old man sitting alone on a bench nearby. She smiled at him and walked away in the rain, not caring that she was getting soaked.
As the evening wore on, I started to get hungry and decided to check on the girls in the kitchen. As I approached, I heard loud music and singing.
What on earth were they doing? I peeked around the corner and was taken aback. Charlotte, my sweet, shy, innocent Charlotte, was dancing and singing with my sister. For someone so reserved, she had an incredible voice.
I stood there, mesmerized, for a few minutes before realizing how creepy I must have looked. I decided to retreat to my room and wait for Tracy to call me when dinner was ready.
When Tracy came to get me, we walked downstairs to find Charlotte texting someone, a huge grin on her face. As soon as she saw us, she quickly put her phone away. Tracy teased her about it, so I was able to ask who she was texting without seeming overly interested. Tracy said that it was her friend—air quotes—and Charlotte looked sheepish.
Did Charlotte have a boyfriend?
The thought of her with someone else made me uncomfortable, so I quickly changed the subject.
During dinner, I sat across from Charlotte, stealing glances at her. She was looking down most of the time, so I didn’t think she noticed. At one point, I made a joke about Tracy’s cooking, and Charlotte giggled. Her laugh was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I wished I could hear it more often.
After dinner, I went back to my room to watch a show but quickly got bored. I decided to play an online game downstairs. The first few matches went well, but as the night wore on, my teammates seemed to get worse and worse.
“Damn it!” I shouted, frustrated as a teammate led the enemies right to us.
“Ahhhhh!” This was terrible. I needed better teammates.
“Shoot!” I was probably the only player left alive. How could the teams be so unevenly matched? There were at least three enemies in front of me. I kept attacking, hoping to make some progress.
“Look out, he’s gonna attack you,” a voice said from behind me.
I was so surprised that I dropped the controller and turned around. There stood Charlotte, in a spaghetti strap shirt and very short shorts. She looked stunning. I was so captivated by her that I couldn’t look away.
“You, um, were just killed,” she said quietly.
Wait, did she just speak to me?
“You talked to me!” I blurted out, before realizing how rude that sounded.
“I mean, did I wake you up? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was being so loud.”
“Oh, you didn’t wake me. I came downstairs to get some water and heard you. Would you like some help? Your team isn’t very good,” she offered.
She wanted to help me play? I wasn’t sure how much help she would be, but if it meant spending more time with her, I was willing to lose the game.
“Um, sure. Have you played this game before?” I asked cautiously.
“Nope, never heard of it,” she replied.
This was going to be interesting—but totally worth it.
“Oh, okay. Well, sit down, and I’ll get you a controller,” I said, picking up the second controller and connecting it to the system.
“Thanks. What do I do?” she asked quietly.
I quickly explained the controls and the concept of the game, then logged us into a match. As we played, I noticed that she was good at avoiding being shot, but she kept pressing the wrong buttons. That was when it hit me.
“You’re not used to playing games on a controller, are you? You’re used to a PC,” I said.
“What? Why would you think that?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“The controls on here are the opposite of the PC, and you keep hitting the wrong ones. Am I right?”
“Um,” she hesitated, then quickly changed the subject.
“Oh no, there’s a guy coming up behind you!”
After about twenty minutes, she had mastered the controls and was playing really well. She was adaptable and meshed well with my playing style. We were dominating the other teams. I wished I had set it up as a ranked match.
“You’re really good for someone who’s never played before,” I complimented her, hoping she would open up more.
“Oh, um, thanks. You’re pretty good too,” she said shyly. So much for that plan.
“So, how come you can talk to me now, but not normally?” I asked, still hoping to learn more about her.
“We’re not talking; we’re playing a game and coordinating,” she
replied.
That was a strange response.
“Hmm,” was all I could say.
We continued playing for another hour or so. I noticed Charlotte yawning more and more. I looked at the clock and saw that it was two-thirty in the morning. No wonder she was tired. I was so engrossed in being with her that I had lost track of time.
“I think it’s time we stopped playing and went to sleep,” I suggested.
“You’re probably right,” she agreed, yawning again.
“Tracy is going to wake me up in a few hours and wonder why I’m so tired.”
“You could always sleep in my room. Tracy knows better than to go in there or try to wake me,” I offered.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how they must have sounded.
“I didn’t mean it like that! I would stay in the guest room while you were in my room. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound inappropriate.” A wave of panic threatened to wipe me out.
I was pulled out of it when I heard her giggle.
“I’m glad you explained. I hadn’t really taken it in a perverted way, but even not perverted, I’m not comfortable sharing a bed with a guy. It’s sweet of you to offer, but I don’t want to have to explain to Tracy. She’s a little cautious when it comes to you and her friends,” Charlotte said.
“Yeah, I guess she would be. Her last ‘friends’ really hurt her,” I said sadly.
“She told me. Anyway, I’d better get to bed or else you’ll have to carry me up there,” she said, giggling.
The thought of carrying her upstairs was tempting. But I let it go.
“Yeah, good plan. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight,” I said as she left to go upstairs.
I couldn’t believe she had talked to me, sat with me, and even played a video game with me. Did I like her even more now that I knew she could play games? That was a thought for another night. I quickly put away the console and went to my room to sleep.
