Of Course, Cutie ('69 #2) Page 7

  Damn. I could stay and still take it slow, right? I curled up at his side, and he wrapped both arms around me this time. I rested my head against his chest and heard his rapid heartbeat. It matched my own. “What do you like to watch, Charlie?”

  I tipped my head to look into his eyes. “Tinkerbell.” I smirked.

  Burke laughed. “Smartass. You didn’t have to stay for all seven movies, but it meant a lot to Tess. Thank you.”

  “She’s precious. I was happy to spend time with her.” I could take it slow and still flirt a little. “You’re not so bad, either.”

  Burke pulled me tighter against his warm, chiseled body. “Likewise, Charlie.”

  “I like hanging out with you.” My body told me to throw myself at him, but I took a deep breath instead. “And I like to watch witty comedies. Not that like slapstick in-your-face-trying-too-hard funny. What do you like to watch?”

  Burke grinned at me. “Witty comedies. And action shows where they blow up shit.”

  I laughed out loud and ran my fingers along his arms, tracing the lines of black ink. I’d have to ask him about all of his tattoos someday. “And you don’t count Jane Austen movies as witty comedies, right?”

  “Hell no.”

  We watched three episodes of The Good Place because he’d never seen it, and then I left before I did something stupid.

  12

  Burke

  Charlie used spearmint chapstick. That was part of why she smelled so damn good. Tess borrowed it during the Tinkerbell movie marathon. I fucking wanted to borrow it, too. That was the closest I would ever let myself get to tasting Charlie’s pretty mouth.

  I’d already touched her too much. She kept pressing that sexy little body into mine, and I caved. I touched her shoulders, her waist, her hair — her hair was what smelled like coconut. And she’d touched me right back. Her soft fingers traced the lines of my tattoos and left my skin screaming like the ink was fresh. Her hands touched my chest and my leg, and was she purposely showing a lot of cleavage in that sexy Guns N’ Roses top?

  I shook off my thoughts of Charlie and walked into ’69 to start my Monday afternoon shift. She could stay in the back of my mind and join me in my dirtiest fantasies. Other than that, cute little Charlie Cox had to go.

  Fuck.

  She was sitting on the bar talking and laughing with Sienna. Evan greeted me at the entrance with a friendly, “Hey, dude! How’s it going?” Did Charlie tell him she’d spent half of her weekend in my apartment? I guessed not.

  “Hey, man. Can’t complain. You?” I could complain plenty. I was borderline obsessed with a fucking teenager.

  “Doing well!” Evan’s smile was tight and stressed as he glanced across the bar at his fiancé and sister. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

  Fuck. Could he tell I was into Charlie? “What can I do for you?”

  Evan let out a deep breath and then shook his head. “This probably sounds stupid, but…” He glanced over at me with uncertainty all over his face. “In your opinion, am I doing an okay job running this bar?”

  I raised an eyebrow. That was not what I was expecting. “The place is usually packed, boss-man. Are you making more than you spend?”

  Evan nodded. “Yeah. I feel like I need to be making more, though, to take care of everyone.” He glanced at Charlie and Sienna again. “I don’t want my girls to ever have to worry.”

  I studied his face for a minute. “I hear that, but that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.” I followed his gaze to his sister and fiancé. “And those are some strong women. They look like they can take care of themselves.”

  Evan folded his arms and stared at the floor with a stoic expression. “They are strong.” He glanced back up at me. “You’re right. Thanks, Burke.” He gave me a half-smile and patted my shoulder.

  “No problem. You’re doing fine.” I walked away from Evan and slid behind the bar, immediately busying myself with prep work.

  “Um, hi to you too.” Charlie watched me with a smirk.

  I glanced up and smiled at her. I could be in the grumpiest ass mood of my life, but she would still be able to drag a smile out of me. “Hi, Charlie. Do you ever go to class? How are you passing?”

  Sienna laughed and patted Charlie’s knee. “That’s a valid question. How are you passing?”

  Charlie shrugged and bit her lip. “I can read the damn textbook, show up to a few classes, and spit out all the rehearsed answers that the professors want to hear. It’s easy.”

  “You’re too smart for your own good.” Sienna smiled and slid off her barstool. “Okay, I have to go meet with a wedding florist, and then I’m going shopping with your mom for someone’s birthday.”

  Charlie rolled her eyes. “Please don’t let her buy me any clothes.”

  Sienna laughed out loud. “Oh, come on, Charlie! The clothes she picks for you are darling!”

  “Yup. If I were still ten.”

  Sienna grinned and walked out of the bar, giving Evan a quick kiss before heading out the door. Evan watched his girl until she got in her car and pulled away. Then he sat at an empty table to make a phone call.

  Charlie still sat on the bar and twisted her body to face me.

  “So, you’re turning twenty soon, cutie?” My obsession with a teenager was about to end, but it was going to be replaced by an even stronger one with a twenty-year-old. Somehow just hearing “twenty” made me feel better about wanting to fuck her.

  Charlie smiled at me and nodded. “December tenth. When’s your birthday, Burke?”

  “August twenty-fifth.”

  Charlie ran her finger along the edge of the bar, staring intently at me. “And then you’ll be thirty-six?”

  “Uh,” I rubbed my beard and watched her hand inching closer to me. Did we really need to bring up the age difference? I was starting to think I’d been too worried about it. “Right. I’m old, Charlie.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Age is relative, Burke.” She sat up straighter and ran her hands through her hair, arching her back slightly. I was sure I could do things to her that would really make that back arch.

  Fuck.

  I tore my eyes away from her as she asked, “When’s Tess’s birthday?”

  Good. A change of topic. “She’ll be seven on April 4th. Speaking of Tess, she wanted me to ask you to come over again and help when we do Christmas cookies next weekend.” I smiled at Charlie. “You can say no.”

  Charlie laughed. “Is she worried that you’re going to burn them?”

  I nodded and rested my elbows on the bar.

  “Tell her not to worry. I will come and stop you from burning the cookies.” Charlie bit her lip and rested her hand on my arm.

  “You don’t have to come if you’re busy.”

  “Stop telling me I don’t have to come. You’re going to make me think I’m not wanted, Burke.” Her eyes sparkled, and her hand was still on my arm.

  “You’re wanted, Charlie.”

  “Good.”

  We weren’t talking about cookies anymore.

  Charlie slid off the bar and flashed me one of her brightest, cutest smiles. “I’m going to head out and do a few homework assignments so that I don’t waste my tuition money. See you, Burke.”

  “Bye, cutie.”

  ◆◆◆

  Charlie’s nose and cheeks were dotted with flour, but she kept pretending they weren’t while Tess laughed her little head off.

  “Right there! On your nose!” Tess wheezed.

  “Where?” Charlie laughed and wiped another stripe of flour across her forehead. “Right here?”

  “No!” Tess collapsed in a fit of giggles. “Your nose!” Tess climbed up onto the counter and wiped the flour off of Charlie’s nose herself.

  “Oh! Thank you! I forgot where my nose was for a minute.”

  I watched them with a smile and almost didn’t hear the oven timer when it beeped.

  “Daddy!” Tess groaned. “It beeped! Don’t burn the cookies!”

>   “All right, all right.” I laughed and turned to pull the tray from the oven. “Tess, sweetheart, go wash your hands and face in the bathroom while these are cooling.”

  Tess hopped down from the counter and headed for the bathroom. “Don’t start the frosting without me!” she yelled over her shoulder.

  Charlie grabbed a paper towel and blotted at her face to clean it off. I was overtaken by an uncontrollable urge to put my hands on her. “You missed some of the flour, cutie.” I backed Charlie up against the kitchen counter, pressing myself into her and swiping my thumbs down her cheeks.

  She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch. “Thank you.” Her eyes fluttered open when I slid my hands down to her shoulders.

  I grinned back at her. “Of course, cutie.”

  “I like you, Burke.”

  Her words took me by surprise, and I backed away. Tess saved me from answering by rushing into the kitchen. “I’m going to do a tree cookie first with pink frosting!”

  “A pink Christmas tree, huh?” I tore my eyes away from Charlie and smiled at my daughter. When I glanced back at Charlie, her eyes were downcast, and her arms were folded tightly across her chest.

  Shit. I hurt her feelings.

  Tess and I carried plates of cookies to the table, but Charlie stayed put, chewing on her bottom lip. When I headed back into the kitchen for the frosting, I couldn’t stand the sad look on her face. I caught Charlie’s hand and tugged it toward me, forcing her to unfold her arms. “Hey,” I kept my voice low so that Tess wouldn’t overhear. “I like you, too, but I shouldn’t.” I placed a container of frosting in her hands and grabbed the other two.

  Charlie followed me to the table, watching me with curiosity. She had the good sense not to force a conversation in front of my daughter, which reinforced the fact that she wasn’t an immature college kid. She gave me one more intense stare and then turned to my daughter. “If you’re going to make a pink Christmas tree, I think I have to make a purple one.”

  Tess let out a playful groan and covered her face with both hands.

  While we frosted cookies, the conversation turned to families and Christmas traditions. Tess talked about all the dumb shit Lexi had planned for her and how her new boyfriend, Scott, hired the real Santa for their party. I kept my eye rolls in check.

  “Is Scott nice?” Charlie asked, watching Tess’s face like she genuinely cared if my ex-wife’s boyfriend was nice to my daughter.

  Tess nodded. “He’s nice. He has to go to work a lot, but he plays with me sometimes.” She added half a bottle of silver sprinkles to her cookie.

  “Whoa, sweetheart, that’s enough sprinkles.” I slipped the bottle from her hands and set it on the table.

  Tess rolled her eyes. “Fine, daddy. What does your family do for Christmas, Charlie?”

  “Well, we do a huge Christmas Eve dinner, and Santa gives everyone new jammies. But my favorite thing was the car tree I did with my dad. We used to buy matchbox cars every year and glue ribbons on them and turn them into Christmas ornaments.” Charlie smiled at the memory, but there was pain in her pretty blue eyes. I couldn’t stop myself from resting my hand on her knee under the table.

  “So you had a tree with only cars? That’s so cool! Can we make a tree like that, daddy?” Tess took a bite of her cookie, getting frosting all over her cheeks.

  “Sure, sweetheart. It sounds like a cool idea.” I glanced over at Charlie. She had tears in her eyes, but she kept a smile pasted on her face.

  Charlie continued to engage with Tess and keep the conversation light and fun, but she grew quieter as the night wore on. The weight of missing her father looked heavy. I wanted to carry it for her.

  After I got Tess to bed, Charlie was by my front door, putting on her coat.

  “You heading out already?” That was for the best. I didn’t think I could keep my hands to myself.

  Charlie nodded. “Hey, Burke?”

  “Yeah, cutie?”

  She slid her arms around my neck and stood on her tiptoes. Then she whispered in my ear. “I know what I want for my birthday next week.”

  I wrapped my arms around her waist, heart pounding. I pressed my lips against the top of her head and inhaled the sweet coconut scent of her shampoo. “What’s that?”

  Her lips brushed my jaw and then my ear. “A kiss.”

  I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against hers. “Don’t do this to me. You know I can’t give you that.”

  “If it’s because you don’t want to kiss me, then I’ll leave you alone, but if it’s because you’re worried about the age difference, then stop.”

  “Charlie—"

  She pressed a finger to my lips. “You don’t have to decide right this second. Just think about it, Burke.” Then she pulled my door open and slipped out, leaving me alone with thoughts of my tongue in her mouth.

  Fuck.

  13

  Burke

  It wasn’t my weekend with Tess, and I wasn’t scheduled at ’69, so I sat on my couch, wasting my life away in front of the TV. I mean, it beat the oil rigs, but there had to be something more to life.

  There was more to life, and I felt it every time I was near Charlie. She engaged all of my senses the second she walked into a room like I’d never experienced before. I didn’t feel it with Lexi. I hadn’t felt it with my high school girlfriend or any of the women that walked into the bar and left me with their phone numbers.

  I picked up my phone and opened my messaging app. It was cutie’s birthday. I’d already texted to wish her a happy birthday and tell her I had a gift for her, but she didn’t answer. It wasn’t the gift she’d requested. I could never give her that, no matter how badly I wanted to.

  I let out a deep breath, slid my phone back into my pocket, and tried to pay attention to the episode of The Good Place on my screen. It was a funny show, like Charlie said, but I couldn’t get into it. I kept thinking about Charlie’s request for a kiss the last time I saw her. I switched off the TV just as my phone buzzed in my pocket.

  It was Charlie. Hey, Burke. You home?

  Sure am, cutie. Where the hell else would I be? You know I don’t like people and have no friends.

  And that’s why I like you.

  As I typed my response, there was a soft knock on my door. I stood to answer it. She looked adorable, all wrapped up in her winter gear, eyes sparkling. “Charlie, what are you doing here?” My heart pounded. “You should be out with your friends.”

  “I already saw the only friend I wanted to see.” Her gaze was so intense.

  I swallowed. “What about your family? Shouldn’t you be with them?”

  She shrugged. “We had a family dinner.” Charlie shoved her hands in her pockets and let out a soft puff of breath. “Can I come in for my present, or would you like me to leave?”

  My brain was mush. My mouth refused to work, but I stepped back to let Charlie inside my apartment. She closed the door behind her and tugged off her purple beanie. Next, she unraveled her scarf and slid out of her coat. I should have offered to take them, but my brain was still mush. That, and the skin-tight tank top Charlie wore made all the blood rush to my cock. My brain had no chance now.

  She hung her things on the hook by the door and headed for my living room. I was reduced to caveman-like thoughts. Follow pretty girl.

  Charlie sat on my couch and curled her legs up under herself. My eyes settled on her breasts and the dark purple bra showing through her white top. She noticed. I forced my legs to move and sank onto the couch, as far from Charlie as possible.

  She laughed and said, “Burke, do you want me to leave?”

  “No.” My voice sounded low and growly. Great. Now I sounded like a caveman, too.

  Charlie scooted closer to me. “I’m officially twenty years old now. Do you have something for me or not?”

  I cleared my throat and nodded. “I made you something, cutie.” I stood to retrieve a wrapped package from my kitchen table. When I placed it in her lap, Charlie�
�s disappointed expression made my heart lurch. She had to understand that I shouldn’t give her what she wanted. I couldn’t.

  “Oh, wow. Um, thanks.” She forced a smile and tore open the plain black wrapping paper to reveal the notebook I’d crafted for her. The cover was made of thin sheets of wood, and I’d burned all of her favorite rock band logos onto it.

  Now her stunning smile was real. “Holy shit, Burke. This is amazing.” Charlie’s eyes flashed up to meet mine. “Thank you.”

  “Of course, cutie. Happy birthday.” I sat back down beside her, aching to pull her into my arms. “I know that’s not what you asked for, but I hope you like it anyway.”

  Charlie clutched the notebook to her chest and smiled. “I love it so much.” She set the notebook on my coffee table. “Can I at least give you a hug?”

  I stared at her breasts as she leaned closer. I breathed in her sweet scent. “I don’t trust myself to touch you.”

  I heard her breath catch. “So you want to kiss me then?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you won’t because I’m so much younger than you.”

  “Yes.”

  She rested her hand on my thigh. “Okay, Burke. What if I kiss you?” Her voice turned low and sultry. “What if I slide onto your lap right now and take what I want, what we both want?”

  I groaned and ran my hands through my beard. “Then I’ll stop you, Charlie. Because this can’t happen.”

  Without warning, sexy little Charlie straddled me. My hands flew to her hips. I told myself I was going to lift her right off my lap and send her home, but my fingers sank into the soft skin right above her jeans. “Charlie,” I growled.

  She pressed her forehead into mine, lips hovering so close. I could smell the spearmint from her chapstick—almost taste it. Charlie slid her hands into my hair and brushed her lips lightly against mine. My mouth watered. It begged to take hers, but before I could make a move, she took mine.