Wild Ride (23 page)

Looking over at Meredith and then back to Ashley he whispered
, “You really think she loves me?”

Meredith
could not believe what she was hearing from Josh.  They had been so close at one time, sharing their dreams and goals.  Aside from Ashley, he had been her closest friend and yet he couldn’t tell her until now that he was gay. 

He
opted to let her entire family think he was slime for bailing on her when things got rough.  In all reality it was just an out for him.

“Lance and I are moving in together and I wanted you to hear it from me before you heard the rumors.  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you
, Meredith, but I couldn’t even admit it to myself because I worried how my parents would react… my dad especially.  They aren’t happy about it but I have to be true to myself.  Marrying you to make them happy would have only resulted in
us
being unhappy,” he said.

“It looks like you have a good thing going with this guy Chuck.  He suits you Meredith… a whole lot better than I ever did
,” he finished with a laugh.

She couldn’t help but laugh and he leaned over and bumped her shoulder
. “Let’s go hit up a club.  You can meet Lance… we’ll have a drink or two… catch up.  Maybe the others can come too and Chuck.”

“I’m in Josh…
Let me call and see if some of my friends are up for a drink or two.  Lilly can’t because she’s pregnant, but the rest of them could use a night out before we leave next week,” Chuck said behind them.

“What?”
she asked in confusion.  “What do you mean you’re leaving next week?”

“We’ll talk about it later
,” he said.  Then he took out his cell phone and walking away he made a call.

After a few minutes he returned
, “Well, my friends are out… sorry,” he said. “Lilly and Bobby are watching the kids so Tommy and Dana can go out.  It’s his birthday today.  I’m still in though if the invite is good.”

They made plans to meet at a local bar.  Josh left to pick up Lance, dropping the girls back off at their hotel to change on his way.  It was so great to see them again
.  She was excited about the evening out and headed upstairs to shower and change. 

Once they’d both
cleaned up and dressed, Chuck drove them to the club in her car.  The bar was standing room only and they were lucky to even find the girls, Josh and Lance.  Knowing it would be hard for her to stay standing the whole time, she offered to tough it out for a while at least.

“Why don’t we pick up something to drink and go to my place?” Chuck offered
.

They readily agreed and she couldn’t help the excitement.  She hadn’t realized until this evening she’d never seen Chuck’s apartment.  He was always at her house for his community service. 

Caitlyn and Sara rode with Josh and Lance while Ashley rode with her and Chuck.  They stopped off at the store first before heading to Chuck’s apartment.  Unable to wait a moment longer she turned to him as he drove and said, “So where are you going next week?”

“Me, Lilly and Bobby have to testify in New York
,” he said. “Not sure how long we will be since Lilly has to testify against two other guys as well.”

“Oh
,” she replied. “I forgot about that.  I heard Dana and Lilly talking about it.” 

She realized her mistake too
late when Chuck looked over at her.

“When did you see Dana?”
he asked.

Seeing Lilly was one thing, but she technically shouldn’t have seen or heard from Dana since the one time she’d been over to Bobby’s for a cookout. 

Unsure if it was safe to say anything since Dana’s birthday seduction was probably under way at this very moment she said, “I didn’t… I heard them on the phone… talking to each other,” she lied.

She thought back to Tuesday when she and Lilly had watched as Dana danced over and over until she had every move down.  They had laughed and giggled hysterically as
Carla sat holding the baby and fawning over her. 

It was obvious that Dana and Tommy loved each other and she was a little envious of them as she was of Lilly and Bobby.  She and Chuck had no commitment of any kind to each other.  A certain level of assumption was there but nothing formal.

Chuck looked over at her as though he didn’t believe one word but only said, “Do you want to go with me?  Lilly, Bobby and I are being put up in a hotel but Dickie, Tommy, Dana and the baby will be staying in the camper about an hour away along with Lilly’s sister Sherri.  Gran is keeping Gretchen on the account of school.  That means you could share my room again… like at the Bama bike fest,” he smiled and winked at her.

Ashley leaned forward and said with a quiet giggle
, “Shame, Meredith… you’ve been holding out on me.”

Chuck grinned at her again and she quickly tried changing the subject
. “Did I tell you that I’m taking online courses and my final night class starts in three weeks?  As long as there is a way for me to do my school work on the internet I’d love to go.  I would need to talk to Mom about the boys first but… I think it’s a possibility.”

“I’m looking forward to having you all to myself for a little while then…
the wheels of justice turning might not be so bad!” he said with a sexy grin.

Making yet another attempt to change the subject she said
, “Maybe you should start thinking about going to college,
Charlie.
”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you
,
Edith?
” he smirked.  His cell phone buzzed and he handed it to her saying, “Read it to me.”

“It’s from Tommy…
he says to tell me thank you…” she read.  He looked at her questioningly and she shrugged.  From the sounds of it Dana’s dance lessons had the intended effect.

“Edith and Charlie?” Ashley said cutting in
.  “Those are some unique pet names for ya.”

“Long story
,” she replied laughing. “But seriously, you should consider taking some classes, Chuck.”

“I’ve never been real good at school…
I might get bad grades and flunk out from lack of motivation.  Are you going to keep me motivated?” he asked with a wicked grin.

“You know I read somewhere that guys think about sex every seven seconds.  I hadn’t thought that could possibly be true until just now
, Chuck,” Ashley laughed from the backseat.

She and Chuck joined in laughing and he said “Actually
, I would say it’s more of a constant thought and other things only filter in as a distraction.”

They pulled up to his apartment and he let them in taking the drinks and putting them in the refrigerator.  She followed him into the kitchen and was surprised at how clean everything was…
she was under the assumption artistic people were disorganized and scatter brained. 

Obviously that was not true at all… at least in Chuck’s case.  She could hear her friends out in the other room laughing and catching up.

“Your friends seem cool…
even Josh,” he said as he pulled some mugs down out of a cabinet.

She could see the questions in his eyes and leaning against a count
er she said, “We were engaged once.”

“Yea, Ashley told me.  You two get everything all squared away?
” he asked, pulling out a few beers and pouring them into the glasses.

“I was so angry with him at first…
between the accident and the breakup I felt like my perfectly ordered life was spiraling out of control.  You told me once that when my life got all messed up I took it as permission to wallow in my own misery.  You were right… I never really loved him like that and I wasn’t really living… just constantly striving for perfection.  Looking back I always knew he didn’t love me either… we were convenient… fit an image of what I thought the perfect life was,” she said.

“No one is perfect
, Meredith,” he said looking at her.

“Don’t I know that
now,
” she replied. “Thanks for not being perfect, Chuck.  If you were perfect, I’d probably still be trying to keep up… achieve perfection myself rather than just living my life the way I want... flaws and all.”

Grinning at her he said
, “I have flaws… I try to fix them but I could really use your help.  Did you bring that riding crop you mentioned earlier?”

She giggled and said
, “You can’t be serious for a second can you?”

“I’m seriously in love with you
…” he said, gathering most of the mugs in his hands and walking past her out into the living room.

She stood there for several minutes with her mouth hanging open. 
He’d just said he loved her!
  Her heart was soaring and she could hardly catch her breath. 

Her biggest fear was that not only did he not feel as strongly about her as she did for him but that he would grow bored and move on.  His admission made it seem unlikely that what they had together would be short lived.

“Be right back,” she heard him say and then he was back staring at her as if praying for a good reaction to his words.

She launched herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his head down so she could kiss his beautiful mouth. 

It must have been the reaction he was looking for because in the next moment he lifted her up onto the counter and was kissing her with such passion she felt tears burning her eyes. 
He loved her!
 
This
was love… this man and her.

Pulling back from her he said
, “I do love you, Meredith.  I’m as imperfect as they come but I hope you can learn to love me too… flaws and all.”

“I’ve been in love with you for a while now
,
Charlie,
” she grinned at him. “In spite of your flaws”

He kissed her again a little softer and then touched her mouth with his fingers as though testing the texture.  “No more looking through the glass
,” he whispered against her mouth. 

His gentle touch and whispered words brought up images of him drawing and touching her as she looked into his eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that, Edith, unless you want to give your friends a show they’ll never forget,” he warned with a grin.

Giggling
, she hugged him to her as he helped her back down off the counter.  He picked up the last two mugs of beer and followed her into the living room.  His living room was not that big and consisted of a couch and a chair. 

The girls sat side by side on the couch with Lance taking the last available seat next to them.  Josh sat on the floor leaning back against it next to Lance.  Sitting in the chair
, Chuck pulled her down with him.

“It is so good to see you up and mobile again
,” Josh said with a smile. “You get around pretty good… going to take up dancing again?”

“Actually I’ve already been doing a little dancing with some other friends of mine
,” she said. “More like instructing really.”

Chuck looked at her in surprise and she laughed
.  “That was the thank you from Tommy… I’ve been working with Dana… showing her some moves…”

“Ha! We knew something was going on but couldn’t figure it out.  It’s all making sense now, Lilly’s trips up town twice a week and Dana being convenient
ly unavailable at the same time,” he laughed.

“They made me promise not to say anything to you for fear
Tommy or Bobby would find out,” she laughed.

“She was quite the dancer in college
,” Ashley said, pointing at Meredith.

The conversation turned back to their college days and what each person had been doing since graduation.  She told them about working
toward finishing her degree and working part time at the shop. 

They questioned Chuck about what he did and what it was like to work at the shop.  They talked about their jobs, dating and parties they had been to. 

The conversation never lagged and time just passed all too quickly.  She enjoyed sharing Chuck with them.  Though their paths couldn’t have been more different, Chuck seemed to fit right in.

After a few hours had passed Josh stood up and said
, “We should get going… it’s getting pretty late.  We can drop you ladies at the hotel if you’d like.  It’s on our way.  Will you be ok to drive home alone, Meredith?”

“I’ll be fine, you guys go on
,” she replied.

They exchanged hugs and promises to get together soon and then the group was out into the night leaving her and Chuck alone.  After closing
and locking the door he turned toward her.  Grabbing her hair in his hand, he pulled her forehead to his.

“Call Carla and tell her you won’t be home
tonight,” he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Ok…” s
he replied.

He released her and she pulled her cell
phone from her bag and dialed her house.  Chuck began to pick up the snacks, empty mugs and bottles from the living room as she spoke quietly to her mother.  After Chuck disappeared into the kitchen, she hung up from her mother and made her way back the hallway, looking in doorways as she went.