You're Not What I Was Expecting To Find

“I’ll drive you.”

“It’s not that far,” Charlotte told Matt, grabbing her bag and slipping on her shoes. It was just like almost every other morning that month. Matt would either sleep on the couch the night before or come over early to drive Charlotte to work. This month was no different.

After breakfast she had taken a shower and gotten ready as usual. She wore her uniform already and was ready to go. The pair stood at the front door, Matt blocking the handle with his large frame. Matt looked at her incredulously.

“It’s 6 blocks,” he told her.

“I take the bus,” she pointed out.

“No, I’ll save you the money.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s out of your way, your house is in the other direction,” she reasoned.

“I never said I was going to my house. Maybe I was going to see Brian,” he told her, then grinned. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m not letting you out of this apartment until you agree to let me drive you, so you might as well agree now.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes, “Fine,” she said, “I’m going to be late.” Matt grinned and opened the door for her. Watching her hips sway in the black pants she wore as she walked, he shut and locked the door, smiling as he did so. He followed her out to his truck, where they both climbed in and he drove off.

“When do you get off your shift?” Matt asked.

“Four.”

“Okay, what do you say I pick you up, I take you home, you get changed, and we go over to Jimmy’s for a barbecue? We’ll be a little late. He told everyone to be there around 3, but that’s okay,” he told her. Charlotte shot him a sidelong glance, with a nervous look on her face. She felt uncomfortable enough about her feelings for Matt, but now he wants to add his friends to the mix. She hadn’t been to a barbecue since she left home, and that was a long time ago. She thought back to that afternoon, almost two years ago.

Charlotte was running a little late, but she finally made it to her boyfriend’s house for his ‘barbecue’. More like an immature high school party, she thought. She saw cars lining the streets, and could hear the music blasting from the backyard. She sighed, but finally found a place to park. She called her best friend, Jessica, pushing her way through the mass of people, holding her phone tight to her ear. It rang a few times, but Jesscia didn’t answer. Charlotte hung up, shoving it into her pocket before finally stepping out into the backyard.

She grabbed one of Jason’s friends by his shirt and spun him around, “Have you seen Jason?” She saw his eyes glass over before he passed out. She looked down in disgust, wiping her hands on her pants, then continued walking. Suddenly she felt a hand grab her arm and she spun around.

“Jessica, I tried calling you,” Charlotte told her, relieved that it wasn’t some drunken asshole trying to cop a feel.

“I know, I’m sorry. You brother and I were a little…preoccupied,” Jessica said and she smirked.

Charlotte exaggerated a disgusted face before saying, “I don’t need to know about my brother’s sex life, thank you very much.”

“He’s my boyfriend, okay, I’m allowed.”

“Speaking of boyfriends, have you seen mine?” Charlotte asked and watched Jessica looked up towards the second story of the house.

“He’s upstairs with some girl, isn’t he?” Charlotte asked.

“That’s what I heard. I might be wrong though. I probably am.”

“No, you’re probably right. It’s just… nevermind.”

“No, Char, tell me,” Jessica insisted.

Charlotte sighed before grabbing Jessica’s arm and pulling her around the side of the house, “It’s just… it’s not the first time he’s done this,” Charlotte said quietly and sighed. She braced herself for her friend’s reaction.

“He what?! And you didn’t tell me?” Jessica asked, confused.

“We didn’t want people to know. He didn’t. Plus, he said he’d never do it again.”

“Well he’s a lying bastard. Once a cheater, always a cheater, you know that,” Jessica told her, sounding like a disappointed parent.

“But he sounded so sincere,” Charlotte told her weakly.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Jessica asked. Charlotte shook her head.

“No, I want to catch him in the act.”

They had found Jason in his bedroom, some slut underneath him. Charlotte didn’t need x-ray vision to know what was going on underneath the covers. She looked over at Matt again, and noticed his eyes were on the road. Yet he still waited for her answer.

“So, what do you say?” he asked, glancing over.

Charlotte hesitated. “I’m not so sure. Barbecues aren’t really my thing.” She hoped Matt wouldn’t see her lie as she covered her ears with her hair, hoping they weren’t turning red.

“Really, because I already told you,” he reached over to push her hair behind her ear, “Your ears give you away,” Matt told her, and then sighed. He glanced to her lap, where her hand rested, shaking slightly in her nervousness. He wanted to reach for her hand, wanting to feel it’s softness in his. He wanted to kiss it, then kiss his way all the way up her arm, to her mouth. But he stopped himself. Woah boy, you barely know this girl, he thought. Instead he asked, “What’s the real story? Do you not like burgers or something?”

“No, nothing like that,” she told him, “I’ve just had bad experiences with barbecues.”

“Are you going to tell me about them?”

“I had a boyfriend, and he cheated on me. He would get drunk and hook up with whatever he could find,” she said quickly, “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes it is, there’s no excuse,” Matt told her sternly, then softened, “I’m sorry, babe. I know how that feels, and it really shouldn’t happen to anyone.” Especially you. “But, hey, what do say you and I watch a movie again tonight. You can pick, I promise.”

“You should go to the barbecue.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because they’re your friends,” she explained, “I don’t think they want me taking you away from them every night.” Matt started laughing, but Charlotte turned her gaze out the tinted window of his truck.

“Taking me away from them?” Matt asked, then laughed again, “Babe, they’re the ones who wanted me away from them. I wasn’t the exactly best company for a while after the break up. They kept saying how sick and tired they were of seeing my moping around.” Matt had pulled into the parking lot across the street from Charlie’s, and turned off the engine, making the truck turn silent. He sighed and turned towards Charlotte, taking her chin between his fingers and making her turn her eyes to meet his. He was frowning. “Sweetheart, I’m not forcing you into anything. You can tell me to fuck off, and I will.”

Charlotte sighed, turning her eyes down. “It’s not that.”

“Then tell me. You can talk to me, I’ll try to understand.” Charlotte looked up at him, then down again. Her eyes started to water and she bit her lip.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. Matt waited a beat, and then pulled Charlotte into a tight hug. He rocked her, and rubbed her back as he felt her breath against his neck, where she had nuzzled her face. Matt pulled back to look at Charlotte as she blushed, embarrassed that she had let herself cry, let herself be vulnerable. She told herself she was done with doing that.

“Baby, tell me what you’re scared of,” Matt urged, trying to hold her gaze.

“I’m scared…I’m scared that you’ll leave me. I’m scared then you’ll find something better and forget about me. I’m scared to have my heart broken again.” She sniffed.
Matt smiled weakly, and raised her hands to his lips, kissing the palms gently. “I’m going to promise you something, as long as you do the same for me. If you promise to trust me not to hurt you, I promise I will try my hardest to never cause you any pain. Is that a deal?” Charlotte nodded, sniffing quickly. Matt smiled and leaned in to kiss her lightly, before pulling back.

Then Matt turned his head to glance out the windshield, towards Charlie’s, and suddenly had an idea.