THE LAUNDRY REBEL ✧.*ೃ༄ charlie dalton

Saxophone Vibes

It's been almost a week since that small note was left on my sheets. And that's all I could think about as I did my daily task of laundry. Nothing could keep me from thinking on it... not the reek of underwear, the smell of the gym shorts, nothing. As the days and nights grew nearer to that day, my stomach grew more and more into knots.

Even Mrs. Petrov seemed to notice my skittish behavior at lunch and dinner. A couple day after I received the invitation by Charlie, she pried answers from me. I could imagine her voice in my mind, dripping with her Russian accent.

The Russian lady's wise eyes raked my figure, raising an eyebrow. "What happened to you, Victoria?" I gazed at her with a questionable look, but she took none of it. "Don't you lie to me. I know when something or someone has made a woman quake."

My eyes grew wide as I sat down with my plate. She might have meant me shivering with nervousness but another thing came to mind when she mentioned 'quake'. I answered her truthfully, keeping my voice low."The guy I mentioned... he wants me to meet him at the end of the week."

Mrs. Petrov's eyebrows seemed to get lost in her hairline, a large grin plastering on her lips. She boasted, "OH!" I immediately flushed. "Someone's got themselves a DATE!"

I shoved food in my mouth right then and there, not wanting to cause more commotion. Why am I so dumb sometimes?

It was tomorrow. The date.

Actually, I don't know what to call it now. He could honestly just want to hook up in the cave. He did leave me a bit of a reminder the last time we talked directly.

Did I forget to mention that class? Neil seemed to be less of a conceited douchebag as he looked up to me in awe while I sang. I sang and danced, my feet tapping rhythmically on Mr. Keating's desk.

I sang Fools Rush In by Jo Stafford, though I'll admit my voice is definitely not on her level. For most of the song, my eyes were stuck on Charlie's, as his were on mine. They were soft, unlike everything I had seen before. Something changed in him, I realized. But as soon as I began tapping to Me and My Shadow, he lost it again.

His eyes raked my body inch by inch. But unlike Mrs. Petrov, his eyes screams something more primal. Nothing short of sexual.

Something I desired as well, but clearly not as much as he.

—

The day finally came around. Butterflies knotted my stomach as I hummed around the basement floor, switching loads tirelessly. I didn't even hear the door rattle and open until I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.

Startled, I flipped around. The old headmaster stood before me, his face turned into a slight snarl. "I'm... sorry to intrude Ms. Ha'an, but I'm just inspecting."

I blinked, not sure what to do. But I found it quite suspicious that he decided to check up on me today of all days. I simply nodded, "Of course. Inspect away."

And he did just that.

~

Dinner with Mrs. Petrov seemed like a final meal. I had gotten used to her loud chewing, sudden yelling when the boys got too loud beyond our wall, and occasional stabbing with her fork in her food. Not like... normal plucking of food, no. It was like a release of some pent up anger for her. And I had gotten used to it.

But it honestly felt like it would be my last with her. What if someone caught me in the woods? In the act? I would be dead meat.

~

As the blue hues of moonlight clashed in through the window, I threw my long coat over my shoulders and grabbed a flashlight, heading out. With every nervous, quiet step, my heart only beat louder in my chest. I kept peering over my shoulder, hoping somehow that no one would be stalking.

I opened the side door, opening myself up to the crisp autumn air. It was pitch black outside, which only seemed to make the air colder. But I couldn't let it stop me, so I looked down at my map, flashing it with the light. And I ran.

—

It was all forests. Tall trees looked over me in a stunning view. They swayed in the wind, reaching over me like the branches were trying to pluck me up from the ground. Again, the pitch blackness didn't really help.

As rebellious as I was, there was something about the creaks and whistles of the woods that scared me to the bone. Soon enough though, I came upon a small clearing. So this is where he wanted to meet? The creepy ass forest?

My steps from a jog slowed to a walk, my feet dragging through the fallen leaves. I stopped suddenly when I heard another pair of feet dragging their way through the woods. But as I listened closer,  I picked up on more than one pair of steps. It wasn't just him. I flicked my heavy flashlight in the direction of the noises, shining light on the trees.

Just then, multiple figures appeared through the trees, jogging as I did. Seven, I counted. Hopefully Charlie was one amongst them. Some of the boys stopped in their tracks, seeming to be frozen as they shined their flashlights at me. It blinded me, so I whipped around. A voice spoke up amongst the crowd, "Don't worry, I invited her."

It was Charlie.

A smile tugged at my lips, my body turning back around slowly. I could feel my stomach flip as I looked on at the group, scanning for him. One figure in the middle stepped forward while the others stayed back. I shined my light on him, revealing it to be the man himself. This caused my smile to broaden. My voice was low, not knowing what else to say, "You didn't really specify that there would be more people here."

Charlie stepped up to me, my breath hitching in response. That's when I noticed something metal at his side. It was huge. I blinked, looking down at it for a fraction of a second. It was a saxophone. Interesting. I could only imagine his eyes locking on mine as he played sweet tunes from the instrument. The vision caused an internal moan from me.

He stood in front of me, his body emanating heat in comparison to the cool wind. His eyes screamed something he wasn't saying, but he simply gazed down at me and said, "To be fair, I didn't tell them you were gonna be here."

This made me scoff, my arms crossing. But as I crossed my arms, my forearms brushed against his chest, causing a soft chuckle out of him. We continued staring each other on for a moment or so before someone cleared their throat behind him.

"We going to start this meeting, or what?"