Charlie
I come out of the shower less than fifteen minutes later to find Hudson digging things out of my fridge. I’ll admit it isn’t much; Lyla is the cook not me.
“Find anything good? I would kind of be surprised if you did. I eat a lot of takeout I’m afraid.”
“No worries. Want to go grab some tacos?”
“Sure, sounds great. I know the perfect place.”
We walk down to the beach and find Stan the Taco Man serving up San Diego’s best fish tacos. I give him a big hug, and he gives us a full bag of tacos that we take down the sidewalk and find a picnic table. The sun is about to set, and people are moving along around us, and yet our conversation verges very much on private. Hudson jokes about his time at the Creative Expression warehouse and promises next time I get to paint him and keep my clothes on. Sign me up for that right now, thank you very much. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that sexy in my life though; too bad we can’t paint each other and let things get out of hand. That disappointment must show on my face.
“What’s wrong? Bad fish?”
“No, of course not.” I look around like I’m afraid Stan heard us, and we both laugh a bit. The subject changes easily and we talk more about music. Soon the sun is setting, and we can barely see anything except the nearby buildings.
“Want to go for a walk?”
“Sure.”
Truth be told I’m not ready for this day to end. I remind myself it’s not a date but still have a hard time convincing the swarm of butterflies in my stomach. We walk by lots of local shops, and I stop in front of Willow’s tattoo parlor Moxie Misfits.
“This is Willow’s shop. I’ve never been inside; we have to go.”
“Willow is Cole’s sister who is your best friend’s husband, yes?”
“Yeah, great memory,” I say as I pull his t-shirt, walking us both inside. I must still feel a buzz from Mother Nature because I feel like doing something very un-Charlie-like right now.
“Hey, Willow!”
“Hey, Charlie! I can’t believe you’re here!” She looks at me in question, eyeing Hudson, but hugs me instead of getting nosy. Very much appreciated, Willow.
“Did you guys come to get some work done? Do you even have any more room?” she asks us both, but she means Hudson’s and his impressive artwork. His arms are sleeved, but I happen to know there is still room for more.
“I’m following her lead tonight.”
“I was actually thinking about getting a piercing. You said you offer that, right? You personally do it?”
“Yeah, of course, anything you want. Let’s head back to my room for some privacy.”
Hudson follows us back, but he’s not going to get to watch this time. Once back in her purple-painted room, I sit on the chair in the middle and whisper in her ear what I’m wanting. Her smile is priceless, and her beady eyes are bugging out because she knows me to be the wallflower I don’t want to be. This is exactly why I want to do this.
“Yeah! Fuck yeah, I can totally do that for you.” She looks to Hudson and understands. “You’ll have to wait outside for this one, rock star.” She backs him up as he peers intently at me, wanting to know what I’m doing. When she comes back and does her thing, I’ve almost shed a tear it hurt so much. I think I even yelled a profanity, which is also un-Charlie-like, and embrace it all. Coming out of her room, we give a very big hug to each other, and I find Hudson pacing the waiting area at the front of the shop. He’s clearly been running his fingers through his thick brown hair, and I give him my sweetest smile as I head to the front door.
“So, how did it go? What exactly did you do back there? Are you alright?” He says everything super slow like he doesn’t know if he should ask but is dying to know.
“I got a piercing,” I say casually, walking down the sidewalk, heading toward our apartments and feeling like a total badass. The day has been everything and more, and I can’t believe these lessons are working.
“So, what did you get pierced?”
“Oh, something very intimate,” I whisper, leaning close to him. I’m glad to see fire in his eyes as his jaw ticks tight. I love that I have the power to do that to him.
“Are you not going to tell me what it is, Charlotte?”
“Nope. Maybe someday you’ll find out, but tonight it’s my secret.”