Free What About Charlie? by Haley Michelle Howard Page A

Evan held a cup of hot coffee in his hand as he watched the sun rise. He was heading back to St. Louis today, and he could honestly say he was loath to do so. His career, his work was his life. But today he was having mixed feelings about leaving this place and Charlie.
    Charlie was doing much better. She was stronger. Every now and again he saw sadness in her eyes, but that was to be expected. Now, she was sleeping soundly at night without him. She was getting back to being Charlie again, laughing and smiling. She was going to be all right.
    To be honest, his trepidation about leaving wasn’t merely worry about Charlie’s emotional well being. It was much more. Truth be told, he was going to miss her. Their relationship had taken a turn, at least on his end, over the past few days. They had been constantly together – eating together, cleaning the kitchen together, even sleeping together. It had gravitated from mere friendship to something beyond. He could sense it and he had a feeling Charlie did too. On several occasions, he had found her staring at him, her beautiful green eyes filled with what he thought to be desire. Then, when she noticed him looking at her, she quickly blinked it away, acting as if nothing had been there at all.
    It was crazy, he thought. He’d been friends, best friends with her for the past five years. She’d been his baseball and hockey buddy - the person with whom he went to rock concerts and played Frisbee with in the park on warm summer days. They were buddies.
    Now when he saw her, he thought of her soft, full breasts and how they felt in his hand. (He’d awoken one morning to find that he’d been cupping one with his hand in his sleep.) He would often imagine lightly running his tongue over her full, rosy lips. He looked forward to seeing her bright, bewitching smile directed at him. Charlie made him laugh and smile; she let him be himself. She was indeed a rare woman. A treasure. On several different occasions, he actually thought about taking her on a date - to a nice show and dinner afterwards. It was all so crazy!
    He thanked God that she could now sleep at night. For the life of him, he didn’t think he could sleep with her another night without touching her even more than he already had.
    The thought made him start. Where had these feelings come from? How come they seemed to pounce on him out of nowhere? He needed to get this under control. Ruining their friendship was the last thing he wanted.
    It didn’t help that, in these past few days, he began to wonder if this was what it was like to be married. Granted they’d been living together in less than desirable circumstances, but the question was there just the same. Was it because his emotions were running high? That would be the logical explanation, but his little voice said it was something much more. Over the years he’d come to listen to his little voice. More often than not, it was right.
    He suspected marriage was like this if one was with the right person. The thought jolted him. What was he thinking? He couldn’t be saying Charlie was the right person. She was his best friend.
    No. All that was happening to him was a little wonder lust, like a kid wanting to taste a piece of forbidden candy. Soon the temptation would pass and he would be back to thinking of Charlie as his friend and nothing more.
    “Evan?”
    He turned to find Charlie standing in the doorway, her hair all tussled, her eyes still swollen from sleep. He enjoyed seeing her like that. She was as natural and sweet and fresh as a spring wildflower.
    He smiled. “Good morning, Charlie. You sleep ok?”
    She nodded, stifling a yawn. “Pretty good. What time are you leaving today?”
    Her voice held a hint of sadness. Evan didn’t miss it. He gazed into her eyes. Was she feeling the same way he was? She blinked and whatever was there had disappeared as quickly as it was first there.
    “Probably in a couple hours. I just need to take a shower and pack my