Chapter 18
Charlotte
Okay, you know that tingling feeling you’re supposed to get when you kiss someone? That feeling like you’re floating on air? That feeling that your heart’s about to beat out of your chest but it feels absolutely amazing?
Well, that’s exactly how kissing Ian felt like, all of it.
At first, I have to admit I was a little surprised but then I just let go and kissed him back.
And it was the best kiss I’ve ever had.
Sure, I had a few boyfriends in England – none that I got very serious with – but it was like Ian’s kiss erased the memories of those guys’ kisses.
So when he pulled back after a good few minutes of our lips moving together, I whimpered.
“Why’d you stop?” I asked.
He leaned his forehead against mine and grinned. “I thought you’d like to take a breath or two.”
I laughed. “Breathing is overrated,” I said, and started kissing him again.
“I’ve wanted to do that again for forever,” Ian said when we finally pulled apart again.
I laughed. “Me, too, you know,” I said. Then I thought over his words. I looked into his eyes, confused. “Again?”
He grinned and kissed me lightly on the lips. “You mean you don’t remember our first kiss? I think it was both of our first kisses,” he said. “And I can’t believe you remember everything else that happened that day except for that.”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “Well, if I don’t remember it, it must have not been very good,” I said.
He laughed and pulled me toward him and into his arms. I rested my forehead against his neck and breathed him in.
“It was after I feel into the stupid stingray take at the aquarium in fifth grade,” he said. “Mrs. Zink had left to go make sure everyone else was okay and you stayed with me. You asked me if I was okay and I said I was but then you started laughing. I kissed you just to shut you up. You were surprised and we never talked about it again. Until now, of course.”
Oh, my God. He was totally right! Why didn’t I remember that day like that?
“Hm,” I said. “It’s weird that I don’t remember that. But hey, I get to remember this one, right?”
He smiled again. Well, not really ‘again’, seeing as he hadn’t really stopped.
“And if I have it my way, there’s going to be way more than just that one,” he said, and leaned down toward me again.
We didn’t stop kissing until the rain started to let up until it was just a drizzle. When I leaned back to look at him, I felt tingly all over again.
“I’ve got a question for you,” Ian said, leaning his forehead against mine.
“Hm?”
He opened his mouth to say something but he closed it quickly.
I laughed. “Spit it out,” I said.
He took a deep breath, looking into my eyes.
“I know we’ve only been friends again since yesterday but it feels good, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Really good,” I said.
He sighed. “Well, it doesn’t feel good to me,” he said.
I frowned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?” I asked, pulling back to look at him fully.
I think he heard the hurt in my voice because he quickly tightened his hold on me. “No, no, that’s not what I mean,” he said quickly. “It’s just that…I don’t want to be just your friend. I want to be something more. I’ve always wanted to be something more with you.”
A slow smile started to spread across my face as I realized what he was going to ask. “What are you trying to say, Ian Macpherson?” I asked.
He took another deep breath, like he was nervous. “Would you ever consider being my girlfriend?” he asked.
I laughed. “Is that what you were getting at?” I asked.
He groaned. “Just answer the question, Charlie. Please,” he said.
“I would never consider being your girlfriend…” I started. I watched as his face fell. “That’s because as of right now, I am your girlfriend.”
The smile on his face was so big that I had to smile back. He picked me up so that my face was level with his and kissed me.
“Scared you there, didn’t I?” I asked, laughing, when he finally put me down.
“Yeah, you did,” he said, and he grinned again. “You can’t do that to your boyfriend.”
“As your girlfriend, I can,” I said, and kissed him again.
Well, we might have spent a little more time in the gazebo than we thought we did even after it stopped raining. So when I pulled out my phone when we got to our cars, I was surprised to see that it was past six o’clock.
“Oh, crap,” I said. “I didn’t know it was this late.”
Ian laughed and pulled me to his side, kissing my temple. “They’ll understand,” he said.
Just then my phone started ringing. And when I looked at the caller id, it was Freddie.
I rolled my eyes and answered.
“Hey,” I said.
“Where are you? You do realize that you’re supposed to be home, right? Dinner is almost ready.”
“Alright, alright,” I said. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“You went running, didn’t you?” he asked. “Ugh, you probably smell horrid, don’t you? I’m going to have to smell you all through dinner!”
I laughed. “I don’t smell,” I said. “I smell fabulous.”
Ian snorted from beside me and leaned in to kiss just below my ear. “I can agree with that,” he said.
“Oh, God,” Freddie said. “You’re with Ian now, aren’t you?”
Ian apparently heard him and took the phone from my hand. “Hey, Freddie,” he said quickly and then handed it back to me.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’m with Ian. But I’ll be home in a few minutes,” I said, and then hung up before he could say anything more.
“Why can’t we just go out for dinner?” Ian asked. “We could make it a date?”
I laughed and gestured to both of our clothes. “Dressed like this? I think not!” I said.
He grinned and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Then how about tomorrow night?” he asked. “We can go to dinner?”
“Sure,” I said. “That can be our first real date. How about that?”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said, and leaned down to kiss me.
I laughed against his lips and then pulled away. “Okay, I would gladly stay here forever but I need to get home,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”
“Of course,” he said, smiling. I swear it hadn’t left his face. “Then I can introduce everyone to my girlfriend.”
“That’s right, boyfriend, you can,” I said, and leaned up to give him a quick peck. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
On the drive home, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. And when I pulled into my place in the garage, Freddie was already standing in the doorway. I knew that he knew something was up with me when we talked on the phone.
“So,” he said as I walked toward him. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing,” I said, smiling, and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
“Then why are you so happy?” he asked.
“Just because,” I said.
Right when I walked past him, he pulled me around and looked at me straight in the eyes. Whatever he was looking for, he found it there.
“Oh, my God,” he said, a grin spreading across his face. “You and Ian are dating now, aren’t you?”
I just looked innocently up at him. “Whatever do you mean, dear brother?” I asked in my English accent.
“You are!” he said. “I knew it!”
I laughed. “Why are you so happy that we are?”
“Because I knew this would happen. When our parents first told us that we were moving back here, I knew that you and he would get together!”
“Then you approve?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He sighed and hugged me. “Of course, baby sister,” he said. When he pulled back, he gasped. “Dear God, he’s already branded you?”
My eyes went wide and I went inside to look in a mirror that was hanging up on the wall in the hallway leading from the garage door to the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a love bite just below my ear on my neck.
“Oh, God, how do I explain this?”
Freddie walked up behind me and I saw the mischievous grin on his face. “I know,” he said, and then he started to sing, walking toward the kitchen where I knew my dad and Liz probably were, “Charlotte’s got a boyfriend, Charlotte’s got a boyfriend!”
“Freddie, shut up!” I yelled, running after him. “How old are you, four?”
“Of course, darling,” he said, still walking toward the kitchen.
I jumped on his back just as he was about to step into the kitchen. I took down my ponytail so I could hide the love bite.
Our cook Laurel was setting plates of food on the table where Dad and Liz were already sitting at.
“Well, there you are,” Liz said when she looked up to see me and Freddie coming in.
“Sorry,” I said, climbing down from Freddie’s back. “I went for a run and then was handing out with Ian.”
Dad raised an eyebrow. “So what’s going on with you two?” he asked, grabbing his fork.
“Oh, nothing,” I said. I could see the look Liz was giving me. She always seemed to know when I wasn’t saying something important. Damn her awesome mom superpowers.
And Freddie didn’t help any either. “Dating,” he coughed. And just for it I smacked him upside the head.
“You and Ian are dating?” Dad asked in a not-so-surprised voice. “Well, it’s about time!”
If I had drunk any of my water, I think I would have spit it all over the table at his comment. “What are you talking about?” I asked, staring at him wide-eyed.
“Come on, Charlotte,” Dad said, laughing. “We always knew that you two would get together someday. Everyone knew it.”
“Who knew this exactly?” I asked.
“Steven and Michelle,” he said. “And me and your mother.” He looked down for a moment before looking back at me. “Your mother always wanted you and Ian to get together. She would have loved it.”
“Dad…” I said, grabbing his hand.
Everyone was quiet for a moment and he squeezed my hand tight for a second before letting go.
“Alright then,” he said. “Let’s eat.”
I was still smiling at him when he looked back at me. He grinned and started eating.
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