Chapter 44 -
I watched Alice as Charlie pulled into the drive.
She looked…
Nervous?
"Alice" I probed gently, as she turned and smiled.
"Showtime?" she suggested, as I started to laugh.
The door opened, and Charlie walked into the room.
And stopped.
My eyes were now on my dad, who seemed to be taking a while to gather his thoughts. I watched him swallow. Hard.
"Hi Charlie"
Alice was the first to break the silence.
My dad nodded, "Hello Alice… Bella…." His voice trailed off as he looked from Alice, to me, and then back to Alice again.
"I hope you're both having a… nice evening…." He asked, his voice waving a little.
"Yeah, we were just about to watch a film, but if you want to watch the game instead, we can head upstairs"
My voice was calm, and collected. I was rather please with myself.
"The game?" Charlie asked. He was obviously still thinking about things. About me and Alice.
"Baseball" I replied, as Alice jumped and squealed again, making Charlie jump.
"I guess you like Baseball" Charlie asked, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"I love baseball" Alice replied, adding a small jump in for good measure.
"I play with my family sometimes" she continued, as I looked at her.
"Maybe you can teach Bells here how to hit a ball" Charlie continued, as he glanced at me with a smirk on his face.
"Anytime" Alice answered, as she stepped to my side and took my hand in hers.
I watched as Charlie froze a little, and then took a deep sigh.
"Well… okay then… that's… okay…" I watched as my dad stumbled across his sentence.
Alice, realising her action, released my hand immediately and bit at her lip.
So adorable.
Charlie cleared his throat, "Before you girls go upstairs, I'd just like to say… well, that is… I'd like to…"
Alice and I both watched as my dad stopped, and ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh hell, I'm not making any sense here…" he continued.
Alice took a small step towards my dad and held out her hand.
"Charlie… I know Bella has told you about us, and I'd just like to formally say, you don't have to worry – about us, about her… I respect Bella, and I respect any ground rules you may want to set"
I watched as Alice then shot Charlie her award winning smile.
He really didn't stand a chance.
Charlie took Alice's hand in his and shook it gently, a smile now appearing on his face.
Slowly he released it as Alice joined my side.
"Thank you Alice…" he then looked at me, "I don't have any specific rules, but you still have a 10pm curfew Bells"
I nodded.
"And… just… don't rush headlong into… things…"
Both Alice and I nodded.
