Well hello again.
I'm not going to rehash the reasons for my extended absence. If you don't know, and you're interested, it's on my profile page. I will only say again that it's not an excuse. I don't think I need to make an excuse.
Having said that, I do want to apologize. It is not fair to have left off this. , and even though it is understandable why it happened, I am sorry that it happened. Hopefully, it never will again. And as I am firmly in the 'boys are icky' camp, pretty safe to say it won't.
This is a pretty short chapter, but one that took forever to get out. I was going to push forward but thought it ended on a great note. An awfully optimistic note. And the more I write, the easier it becomes, the more clearly I hear Damien and Charlie and everyone. So I, too, am optimistic about them. Funny how that works.
One final note – I had an issue with my email, and I wasn't getting anything from this site for months. If you emailed me and included your email address, I am sorry I didn't get back to you. I would have had I gotten your note. Still, I thank you for taking the time.
Of course, I need to thank X for their song – for all their songs, really – and their many many years of delighting with their music.
And I need to thank YOU. For reading, for encouraging, for your patience and your concern.
Soo...let's get to it, shall we?
-W
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"Becky!" Charlie called, spotting her friend easily in the throng of people in the Portland International Airport baggage claim. Even after a day of work and rushing to the airport and a connecting flight, she still looked impeccable.
"Hey! Charlie!" Becky said, hurrying to her friend and throwing her arms around her.
"Oh my god, I missed you!" Charlie said, hugging her friend back hard. "I'm so glad you came."
The two women broke the hug and stepped apart, hands linked and looking at each other. They smiled and began talking at the same time, asking questions and answering, talking over each other but still somehow managing to be heard.
"I can't believe how relaxed you..."
"It feels like years instead of weeks..."
"You are positively glowing..."
"You wouldn't believe what has been..."
Oblivious to everyone around them, including the tall, dark man with the small smile across his lips. Too busy laughing and squealing in delight to pay attention to anything or anyone else.
"I want you to meet Damien," Charlie said at last, looking over her friend's shoulder and smiling at her mate. Damien moved to Charlie's side and smiled at Becky, offering his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Becky. I've heard a lot about you," he said.
Becky shook his hand, eyeing him up and down, her expression almost wary. "Nice to meet you," she said as she dropped his hand, stepping back and cocking her head as she took the two of them in. Damien glanced at Charlie, uncertain in the face of such open scrutiny, but she just looked back at him with an amused smile on her face and shook her head.
"I wouldn't ever have put you two together," Becky said at last. "Never in a million years. But...it's so obvious you two belong together."
"Is that so?" Charlie said, cocking an eyebrow at her friend.
"Anyone with eyes can see it, Char. It's in the way you look at each other," Becky said, heading towards the baggage carousel as the luggage from her flight began to appear. "It's as if you two are talking telepathically."
"Is it?" Damien asked with a laugh as Charlie hurried to catch up to her friend. She looked at him over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out, making him laugh a little louder.
"What's so funny?" Becky said as Charlie reached her.
"It's...it's complicated," Charlie said. "But I'll tell you all about it on the way home," she added, beaming at her friend.
"Yes, I know you vill...," Becky said twirling an invisible moustache and wagging her brows. "I haff vays of making you talk."
"God I missed you," Charlie said, laughing and hugging her friend again.
Damien stood to the side, watching the friends. He smiled as Charlie laughed, watching her face light up as she and Becky caught up on the latest news and gossip. It was almost as if they spoke their own language, using silly catch phrases and pop culture references and making each other giggle as they wrangled two enormous suitcases off the carousel. The love between them, the bond between them, was almost palpable.
He took the bags out of the women's hands before following them out to the truck. Becky glanced back at him as she linked her arm through Charlie's and bent her head towards her friend's ear.
"Jeezus, Char," Becky said under her breath. She sent a fleeting glance back at Damien again before continuing. "He's is a big hunk of man, isn't he?"
"You don't know the half of it," Charlie said, giggling.
"Mmmhmmm...Big strapping guy like that, sweet little gal like you...I think I can figure it out." She gave her friend an elaborate and lewd wink. "I bet he makes you dirty. I bet he takes that asexual persona of yours, pins it down and makes you beg for it."
"Becky!" Charlie hissed. She could feel herself getting aroused as she pictured Damien pinning her to the forest floor and teasing her until she begged.
"What?" Becky whispered. "Tell me he doesn't." She knew that – regardless of how quiet her friend was being – Damien could hear every word.
"Just....not now, okay?" Charlie laughed. She looked back at Damien to find he was watching her. He wagged his eyebrows at her as he deliberately scented the air, grinning.
"So, Mr. Dimeo," Becky said, releasing her friend to walk with Damien, "tell me, other than impeccable taste in women and jewelry, what makes you worthy of my friend?" Damien barked a laugh at that.
"For fuck's sake...really?" Charlie said, falling back to walk on the other side of Damien. "Worthy? Really?"
"I'm not," he said, shaking his head and smiling broadly at Becky. "I'm just really, really lucky she doesn't know it yet."
"Good answer," Becky said as they reached the truck. "And likely the only one I would have accepted."
"So glad I passed the test," Damien said as he lifted her suitcases into the bed of his truck.
"It ain't over yet," Becky said, her eyes narrowing at the ease with which he handled her luggage.
"Yes it is," Charlie said, poking her friend in the arm.
"Owwww! Quit it." Becky rubbed her arm. "Dammit, Char, you still have the hardest damn fingers."
"Stop the inquisition, Beck," Charlie said, laughing at her friend's dramatics.
"Okay, okay." She turned to look at Damien as he opened the doors for them. "Truce?" she asked, holding out her hand.
"Truce," Damien said, accepting the offered handshake. He closed their doors behind them and winked at Charlie as he moved to the driver's side. She smiled back and gave a little laugh.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, turning in her seat to look at her friend.
"Starving."
"Can we stop for a burger or something?" she asked as Damien started them out of the airport parking lot.
"Absolutely."
"That sounds fab," Becky said, kicking off her pumps.
"We can hit the Five Guys over the river," Damien said as he merged onto the highway. "Will that work?" he asked, glancing at Becky in the rearview mirror.
"You bet," she said, looking out the window at the traffic.
"How was your flight?" Charlie asked.
"Good," Becky said, smiling distractedly.
"Beck...what's wrong?" Charlie said, noting the crease in her friend's brow.
"I was just thinking...I hope I brought something nice enough to wear. I thought for some reason it would be really muggy here, you know? So everything I brought is lightweight."
"Yeah, well...I'm sure whatever you brought will be fine, Beck," Charlie said. She smiled and glanced at Damien.
"What?" Becky said, catching the look that passed between them.
"Well...you know what? Let's get some food first, then we'll talk about the ceremony, okay?"
"That bad, eh?"
"What? No. Not at all," Charlie said, beaming at her friend. "It's just a bit much to go in to at the moment. Let's get something to eat, then...I'll tell you everything you want to know. Okay?"
"Aaaalllright...," Becky said with a shrug. She was intensely curious, and knew there was something big Charlie had to tell her, but she also knew that pushing her friend would do no good.
They chatted about everything and nothing on the way to the restaurant. Charlie relaxed a lot when she saw Becky and Damien both making an effort to get to know each other on more than a superficial level. She contributed a bit here and there, but mostly sat back and let them talk with each other. She looked out the window at the scenery whizzing by, smiling to herself a bit as she listened to Becky question Damien on his family and her mind wandered to the upcoming ceremony. While she was still nervous about it, she was also anxious for it to happen. She looked back at Damien as he laughed at something Becky said and smiled, amazed that she had found him, amazed that she got to have him.
"Geez, Char, moon much?" Becky teased.
"What?" Charlie asked, turning in her seat to look at her friend as Damien pulled in to Five Guys.
"You were just staring at Damien with a goofy, shit-eating grin on your face."
"No I wasn't," Charlie laughed.
"Yeah, you were," Becky said as she unbuckled and opened her door. As Charlie got out Becky faced her, mocking her friend with her own dreamy smile. "Just like that," she said, pointing up at her own face.
"Not even," Charlie said with a giggle, linking her fingers with Damien's as the trio made their way inside.
They stood and looked at the menu, discussing the options. The polite "I'll pay" "No I will" "No really, let me" contest ensued between Damien and Becky until Charlie stepped up to the register to place the order and pay. She turned to look at the two most important people in her life and sighed with a little shake of her head.
"Amateurs," she mumbled with a smile, holding out their drink cups to them.
"Why'd you get it to go? Is the ranch far from here?" Becky asked, taking her cup and heading for the soda fountain.
"Not far," Charlie said, following her friend. "We just have a lot to discuss, and it would be easier to do that in a more private setting."
