22

Charlie

It had been a few days since the ambush dinner, and things had been going nice and slow. The way I wanted it. So far Damon has been faithful to his word.

He texts me every day, constantly checking on me. However, he hasn't pushed for us to see each other again. I am grateful that he is giving me the space that I need.

Though, part of me is disappointed. I don't know if I'm ready for us to be alone together just yet. Or maybe I am just scared.

Who knows.

But I kind of wish that he did ask maybe once or twice. But that's not fair to him. I need to figure out what I want before asking him to do something or be something I don't want him to be. I was lying on the couch and had Romeo lying on my lap as I watched a movie.

Sarah walked in from her breakfast date with Robert and had this giant smile on her face.

"So, have you and Damon made a plan yet?" She asked me.

"A plan for what?" I looked at her as she came and sat on the other chairs in the living room.

"To hang out! It's been four days now. You guys need to do something if you're going to give him another chance." I rolled my eyes at her, but I knew she was right. How could I expect anything to happen between us if I didn't even hang out with him? I'm just scared, I guess.

"Look, I know you're scared, but for this to work, you got to put yourself out there. Invite him over tonight."

I sat up so fast that I scared Romeo, and I felt bad.

"Tonight? Here? At our place? No. Not." I scoffed and leaned my head back on the couch.

"Okay then, take him to that little place you like to go to. What's it called? The diner?"

"Mrs. P's," I interrupted her.

"Yeah! Take him there. Or have him meet you there and just talk over some root beer floats or something." I knew she was right, and I needed to listen.

"Okay fine. I will ask him to see if he is free." I pulled out my phone and went through his messages, confused about texting or calling him.

"Call him," Sarah said, basically reading my mind.

I tapped on the name and the phone icon. It started to ring, and after two rings, he picked up.

"Hey, Charlie." I could already sense that he had a giant smile on his face.

"Hey, sorry, are you busy?" I heard a bunch of people talking in the background; he must be out with friends.

"If you are, I don't mean to interrupt. I'll talk to you later."

"No! No. I'm not busy. I'm just at the mall. That's why it's so loud in the background. What's up?" I let out a sigh of relief, but that was short-lived. I was so nervous. Should I even do this? What happens if he says no?

"Yeah, um- I was just wondering- well, I was thinking- Actually." Damn it, Charlie, spit it out!

"Yeah, I'm free tonight. Did you have something in mind?" I could hear his smirk through the phone. Screw him and his cockiness.

"It's called Mrs.P's; it's a cute diner."

"What time?" I could hear someone calling his name, the voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't trace it.

"Is seven okay?" I asked him as I bit my lip nervously.

"Yeah, that's perfect. Look, I have to go. But I will see you then, okay?"

"Yeah, for sure."

A smile covered my face; I don't know why I was so excited to see him. I mean, I was the one that wanted to take things slow. He hung up the phone but not before he belted out a laugh at something someone said to him.

I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that someone was making him laugh like that. I wanted it to be me. Should I be feeling this way even though we just reconnected? I don't even know.

"Okay. Something is going on, and you need to be completely honest with me." Sarah blurted out to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, confused.

"He's not just your ex, is he? I don't think I didn't see the chemistry between you two. Plus, the way you talked to each other made it seem like you'd known him for a long time. So tell me, Charlotte, is he your mate?"

My eyes almost popped out of my head. It wasn't that I was trying to hide it from her; I was just trying to prolong it. I told her I didn't believe in them because I was still hurt. I stayed silent a little too long, and it answered away.

"Okay. Well, Charlie, you should have told me that!" She got up and ran to me, and pulled me into her arms. It was surprising; she wasn't the physical touch type.

"But I thought-"

"I know what you thought. Look, a vulnerable moment here. I have a mate. But he didn't choose me. He would rather be with some blonde bimbo. That's why I said I don't believe in them."

I pulled away and looked her in her eyes, and I saw all the hurt flash through them.

"I had no idea. You should have told me."

"Looks like we should be telling each other a lot of things." She said to me, and we both laughed at that.

"I think this is the first time we had a legit conversation before; it feels weird," I told her.

"Yeah." Sarah noticed and immediately pulled away from me.

"That hug was a one-time thing." She got up and moved away; I laughed a little bit under my breath at that.

"Anyways, what are you going to wear tonight?" She raised her eyebrow at me and smirked.

"I think something casual. It's just Mrs. P's. I go every weekend wearing a hoodie and jeans. If Mrs. P saw me wearing anything else, she would freak out and know something is going on."

"She's going to know something is up the moment that giant god-like man walks in and sits with you." I rolled my eyes at her, but she was right, plus a lot of my friends go there, and they will know something is up the moment he walks in and sits with me.

"If I were you, I would shower before you go. Also, shave. You know, just in case." Sarah smirked at me and walked back into her room.

"I don't need to shave!" I yelled back. Damn. I am shaving tonight.

••••••

I walked into Mrs.P's and went right to my usual table. I already recognized some of the other regulars, so I knew exactly how this night would go.

"You look nervous. You alright?" Mrs. P walked up to me and she set down my water and coffee.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm going to need one more glass. I have someone coming." She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked softly.

"You never have anyone join you..." She said softly.

"Yeah, I know." I sighed and leaned in the chair.

Mrs. P walked away and kept fiddling with my watch and looking out the window. He wasn't here yet. I mean, I can't be mad. I was extremely early because I was so nervous. I just hope he doesn't forget. If he forgot...I don't know what'd I do. It would be like how it was all over again. He'd show me that nothing had changed; he hadn't changed.

I looked at the clock, it said 6:55, and I tried to calm my nerves down even more. We said seven. We agreed on seven. So I will stay till seven. The clock felt like it was going slower and slower.

Though just when I was about to start eating, two SUVs pulled up, and there he was looking as great as ever. He had on a fitted black T-shirt and dark blue jeans. Very simple. But everything about it worked for him. I'm guessing whoever else was with him must have been security because they never got out of the car.

And I mean, he is still king after all. He walked in, and his eyes scanned the crowd, and they immediately fell on me.

I tried to hide the excitement on my face; I didn't want to seem overly eager.

"Hi." He said as he walked and sat down right across from me.

"You look great." He flashed a giant smile at me, and I could feel the blush rise on my cheeks.

"Thank you for coming. I know it was kind of last minute." I said, looking down at my plate.

"No! I am glad you called. This is what I have been waiting for since dinner. Though I was hoping, I would be the one to ask, and it would be somewhere a lot fancier." He chuckled softly, and I joined him too.

"So, why here? This place has some type of significance, yes?" Damon crossed his arms and leaned back, and his gaze was intense. He was genuinely interested in knowing me.

Something that he didn't show before.

"Yeah, well. After we broke up, this was one of the first places that I went to on my own. And I have come here every weekend ever since. This was my first bite of independence."

I told him honestly, but part of me started thinking that maybe I should have kept it to myself. This place has a special place in my heart, and ultimately Damon is the reason. So it only seemed fitting to tell him.

"It's great to see that you have made such a great life for yourself. I'm happy for you." My heart warmed at that. He wasn't mad. I mean, he had no right to be. But it's nice to know that he is being authentic.

"I know we talked a bit about your traveling, but tell me more about it. What all did you experience?"

"Yeah, I went everywhere. But I mainly was training and learning from other Alphas and getting mentored by them. I wanted to learn how to be the very best before I came back. And the only way to do that was to take time and learn from other people and see what made their packs so successful. I was humbled during his process. I learned to be a better Alpha, King, leader, friend, son, and mate. I wanted to be better not only for me but for you too. So, of course, the first person I needed to find was you when I got back."

"I thought about you every day. I mean that." I looked up and met his blue eyes. It was crazy how they were constantly changing between dark blue and light blue.

"Did you think about me at all?" The question caught me off guard. But I knew I had to be honest.

"I did a lot at the beginning. And then I didn't."

"I mean, I couldn't. I wouldn't have been able to become the person I am today if I did. The way you went to learn and grow, I did the same. And in doing that, I healed from life at the castle and mended my own broken heart. And in doing that, yeah, I didn't think of you." His eyes went slightly downcast, and I felt my heartbreak.

"I'm sorry, I could have said that nicer." I immediately blurted out.

"No, don't apologize. There's nothing to apologize for. You were being honest, and I respect you for that. Whether that was the answer, I wanted to hear or not."

The rest of the night went by so fast before we knew it was midnight, coming up on closing time. The conversation may have started heavy and awkward, but I could feel the mate pull start to come back as we sat there. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach every time he looked at me. Or when we made eye contact, it was like no one else was in the room.

Our hands were so close to touching many times, and you could just feel the heat come off of us. They want just to stay there and talk for hours grew, and I didn't want to leave his side. The conversation went from heavy and intense. To light, fun, and flirty. I was enjoying myself.

"I'm sorry, darling. But I am shutting down early tonight." Mrs. P said as she grabbed our third milkshake glass from the table.

"Of course! Sorry, Mrs. P, we're leaving now." I went to reach in my bag to get my wallet, but Damon beat me to it. He pulled out some cash and gave it to Mrs. P.

"Oh, that's too much. I don't need that." She tried to push it back to Damon, but he put it right back in her hand.

"It's a tip. Have a great night." Damon got up and walked behind me, and reached his hand out to grab to help me out of the booth. I hesitantly grabbed it, and all those sparks started to course through my body. Once I was up, I let go. I couldn't handle the heat from it anymore.

We walked outside and were standing outside, neither of us wanting to leave the other. But it was late, and there was not much else for us to do.

"I had fun; thank you for tonight." He spoke.

"No, thank you for coming. It was very fun. I can't believe I lost track of time, and we were here so late." I chuckled slightly.

Damon took a step forward and looked down at me. So many emotions ran through her eyes, and I began to feel them. I slowly pulled myself away and put space between us. I didn't want us to do something that we would regret.

"I should go; I have a long drive back to the castle."

Shit. I never thought about that. The castle is like two hours away; I shouldn't have chosen a spot so far from where he lived. I noticed that the other SUV had left, and there were only our cars there. I was going back and forth in my mind, and I knew I would regret this the moment I said it. But there was no way that I would have him driving back for so long this late.

"I mean, you could always come to stay at my place for the night. We have a very comfortable couch. Sarah is probably asleep anyways; you can leave before she wakes up. It's just really late, and I live close by." I found myself rambling off, and I regretted saying anything.

Damon just laughed at me, and I stopped talking and looked at him.

"You're cute." I knew I was blushing at that point.

"Sure, a couch sounds great. Lead the way." I let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding and let out a smile.

"Okay. Cool."

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