I give myself a two-second pep talk then clear my throat. “Don’t worry, Charlie. I already yelled at her enough for the both of us. Make sure to give her a hug the next time you see her, though. She’s already given me enough crap about not inviting you to tag along for brunch.”
“Aww, that’s sweet of her. And I guess I’ll let her off the hook. But only because I’ve never needed to in the past, so she’s kind of earned a free pass this time. So help me, though, if it happens again, your best friend will not be pleased.”
“Best friend? Is that all you are to me?” I tease before taking the stairs two at a time and effectively changing the subject. Enough talk about lies. My conscience can only take so much. I could take the elevator, but with all the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I figure the six floors are a good way to burn it off.
“You tell me,” she starts, but a muffled noise cuts her off. A few seconds later, her timid voice comes back on the line. “Hey. I have a few friends here to help me get ready for tonight, so I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Friends? Are these the same ones from the picture at the hair place you sent me the other day?”
“Yup,” she confirms. “Those are the ones. See you tonight!”
“Hey, Charlie?” I ask before she has a chance to end the call. There’s something that’s been on my mind ever since she agreed to go out with me, and I want to make sure we’re clear.
“Yeah?”
“Have you had a chance to tell Conner yet?”
There’s a heavy pause. Then, her soft voice comes through the line. “Not yet. But I promise I will. It’s just been a whirlwind, ya know?”
“I know, but….” My voice trails off, and I let her fill in the blank. The longer we sneak around, the longer it looks like we have something to hide. And we don’t.
“I know, Levi. Let me take care of it, okay? He deserves to hear it from me.”
“Okay. See ya, beautiful.”
Then the call disconnects, and all I’m left with are sweaty palms and a fresh dose of guilt.
When I open the door to my place, I come face to face with Conner.
“Oh. Hey,” he greets me before dropping his gaze to the keys in his hand. He flips them back and forth a few times; their jingling only heightens the awkwardness of our encounter.
Things have been…forced, to say the least since our little conversation at my desk, and we’ve been giving each other a wide berth ever since.
“Hey,” I return, shifting my weight between my feet. “You helping Alexandra?”
“No. I have to go drop something off at my dad’s, and then I’ll swing by once it starts.” He raises his hand to keep me from interrupting him. “I know, I know. I was supposed to help set shit up, but my dad said he’d handle it.” My lips pull into a thin line, but I keep my mouth shut. Sensing my resignation, he releases a sigh. “I’ve been trying to reach Charlie, but she’s been ignoring me.”
I rock back on my heels and shove my hands into my front pockets. “Oh.”
“You taking her?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Figured. I gotta go.” Brushing past me, he’s out the door without bothering to say goodbye.
He isn’t an idiot. He knows something is up, and I was too much of a dipshit to tell him the truth. Charlie said she’d take care of it, though. I just need her to do it soon before everything falls apart.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Charlie
When Levi asked if I’d attend the gala with him, I didn’t know it was tonight. He left to go see his mom after our little morning tryst in bed, promising to pick me up at 7 pm, which is only thirty minutes from now.
My phone vibrates with a message, and I anxiously check it to see if it’s Levi. It’s not.
Conner: Hey. Is everything okay? You haven’t been responding to my messages.
The text brings a fresh wave of guilt. Shit. I really need to talk to him before he finds out from Levi that I’m dating someone else. I type out a dozen responses before finally deciding just to keep it simple. It’s not fair to him to break this off over text.