You're Not What I Was Expecting To Find

Once the pair had decided that it was a little too cold today to stay sitting on the beach all day, they made their way back to Matt’s truck and climbed in. He reached into the back, searching for a spare jacket. He found it and placed it gently around Charlotte’s bare arms. She had not planned on being outside, sitting on the beach so she had just worn her work uniform of a black Charlie’s t-shirt, black pants and black shoes.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the barbecue?” he asked as he started the engine and pulled out onto the road.

“I kind of want to go now, if that’s okay. I feel silly now for not wanting to go earlier, when you first asked me,” admitted Charlotte.

“Okay, we can do that. It’s two o’clock now, so do you want to go to your place and change? I just need to stop by my place on the way to Jimmy’s, have a quick shower.”

“Sounds good,” Charlotte told him. They drove along in silence. Charlotte thought about the night ahead of her. She barely knew these people, yet she was letting Matt take her to hang out with them. On the other side of the truck, Matt was excited to be able to show off Charlotte to his best friends, even though they had technically set them up.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. Glancing again at the digital clock in his truck, he remembered that neither of them had eaten since breakfast that morning. Charlotte could feel her stomach rumble and she covered it with her hands.

“Uh… not really,” she lied. The truth was she didn’t want to eat. She had already eaten breakfast this morning and that was enough for the day, at least until she lost those last ten pounds. Plus, she was sure there would be plenty of food tonight at the barbecue. “I can wait until tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Matt asked. He glanced quickly at Charlotte, looking concerned. He had heard her stomach rumble and the way she covered it self-consciously, but chose not to say anything. Maybe it was just a coincidence, and it hadn’t actually been her stomach that had made that sound.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” insisted Charlotte. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Once inside Charlotte’s apartment, she made a bee-line for her bedroom, intent on changing and getting ready quickly so Matt would have time to have a shower and get himself ready at his house before they went to Jimmy’s. “Make yourself at home; I’ll be like ten minutes.” Then she disappeared.

While Charlotte was getting ready in her room, Matt explored her apartment a little bit more thoroughly. Earlier that morning he had looked around, but he hadn’t had very much time as he wanted to have breakfast ready when Charlotte woke up. But as he looked around he saw a few prints hanging on the walls, some decorative candles, and some dried flowers. But he didn’t see any pictures of Charlotte or any other people.

Thinking maybe she had a photo album, he slid open the drawers in the coffee table. What he found made him stop. A stack, several inches think of printed photographs, sat on the bottom of the drawer. He lifted them off of the wood and into his lap, to take a closer look. As he quickly scanned through the top few, he realized these pictures were at least a couple of years old. He saw Charlotte posing happily with various people, who he assumed were her friends and family. He found a bunch with what might have been the ex-boyfriend as well.

Matt heard Charlotte’s bedroom door begin to open and replaced the stack of photos, closing the drawer quickly. He looked up to find Charlotte wearing a casual purple top and grey cardigan. She wore jeans and some slip-on sandals. She smiled at Matt as she pulled her purse up onto her shoulder. “I hope this isn’t too casual,” she worried, biting her bottom lip slightly as she glanced down at her attire.

Matt walked up to Charlotte, taking her hands in his, “You’re perfect,” and kissed her lightly. Charlotte blushed slightly and hid her face. Matt chuckled and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the hall, letting her lock the door behind them. The pair once again made their way to Matt’s truck and climbed in.

“I think your truck is too tall,” Charlotte complained once they had both settled and Matt had pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

“I think you’re too short,” he shot back, smiling. Charlotte laughed and pushed his shoulder. But being his size and strength, she barely made him budge. Charlotte and stuck her tongue out at him instead. “Real mature, sweetheart,” said Matt. With a smile on both their faces, they finished the ride to Matt’s house in silence.

He pulled the truck right into the garage and led Charlotte inside. He kept hold of her hand as he pulled her up the big staircase and into the master bedroom. It wasn’t exactly clean, she noted, but he wasn’t too messy. There were some clothes on the floor, and the bed wasn’t made, but overall, not too bad. She gave him points for not being a total slob.
He set her down on his bed. “You can watch TV if you want. If you change your mind, I have a bunch of food down in the kitchen.”

Charlotte nodded, “Okay.”

“I’ll be like twenty minutes, tops,” Matt promised. He kissed her forehead quickly before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door. Normally he kept the door open while he had a shower. But he knew Charlotte would feel uncomfortable, so he opted for a little bit more privacy today.

Inside the cool bathroom, Matt stripped of his clothes and stepped into the shower. Turning it on, he let the hot water massage his shoulders as he reached for shampoo. As he lathered, his mind wandered to Charlotte, who sat mere feet away in his bedroom. Then his mind wandered to images of her in the shower with him. Her naked, wet body pressed tightly to his. He knew it was ridiculous to be thinking such things, but he couldn’t help it. He was physically attracted to Charlotte and he was definitely looking forward to being intimate with her. Unfortunately, when he looked down his body, he swore. He turned the shower cold and continued to curse himself as he reached for shower gel.

Back in Matt’s bedroom, Charlotte sat unaware as Matt struggled with his thoughts. She sat silently, listening to the water running. Hearing her stomach rumble again, she brought her legs up close to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She sighed as the water in the bathroom turned off. She sat where she was, but she turned her head to the side, and rested her cheek against her knees, closing her eyes. She could hear Matt as he moved around in the bathroom. She left her eyes closed as she heard the bathroom door open and Matt’s footsteps as he padded barefoot across the room towards her.

She felt his fingers running through her hair and she lifted her head to look at him. He smiled gently, and she noticed he wore nothing more than a fluffy pink towel. She blushed. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Charlotte told him, but Matt looked unconvinced. “Nice towel, by the way. That colour is really masculine.”

“My mom got them for me,” he explained defensively. But he smiled, knowing she was trying to distract him. He knew her well enough to know that she didn’t like a lot of attention focused on herself. Well, she better get used to it, he thought, I plan on giving her lots and lots of my attention.

Matt looked closer and, squinting his eyes, he noticed Charlotte looked a little pale. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look tired,” He asked again. Then he paused, thinking. “I can take you back to your place, let you sleep.” But Charlotte shook her head.

“No, I want to go. It feels good to be out of the house, being social with people other than you.” Then she stood up and went to leave the room.

“I just need to get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Charlotte told him and left him alone to change.