Sell Your Soul

Cali tilted her head and looked at her tattoo in the mirror. She smiled slightly. Even if she and Charlie didn't stay together, it sure would make a nice story. She sighed and turned to Charlie. He looked up from his phone and smiled at her. She came over, and she sat down on his lap. He put his arms around her and kissed her.

"Jesus!" said George as he came in the room. "You both have a goal to blind me or something- do that in private."

"We were in private until you showed up," Charlie mumbled, rubbing Cali's arm.

"We're sorry, Georgey," Cali said.

"No we're not!" Charlie exclaimed. "We are most definitely not sorry." He put his hands on either side of Cali's face and kissed her again.

George pretended to gag as Matt and Maria came in the room. Matt clapped Charlie on the shoulder, smiling to himself. Charlie looked up for only a moment, but his attention was still focused on Cali.

"Atta boy, Charles," Matt laughed. He turned to George and shrugged. "What can you do? They're in love, Johnny Boy."

"Can they be in love elsewhere?" George replied. "I'm gonna lose my lunch."

Maria hugged George and said, "Love is a wonderful thing, George, and you'll know when you got it."

"Why? Does it feel like a cold? Or is it more like AIDS? Killing you slowly," George said.

Maria rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Charlie on the couch. Cali pulled away from Charlie, and she put her head on his shoulder. He smiled at her. Maria glanced over at them, and she coyly pulled a strand of hair around her finger. Matt sighed and went into the kitchen, followed by George. Cali looked at the time.

"Speaking of lunch, you want me to fix you something?" she asked.

"If you want to," Charlie replied. "I'm not too hungry, but if you wanna do it, go for it baby doll."

Cali kissed him and said, "Alright."

She left the room, and Charlie sighed to himself. He leaned back and put his head on the back of the couch. Maria glanced back toward the kitchen, and she scooted closer to Charlie. He looked up when he felt her leg touch his, and he saw her still playing with her hair. He adjusted his hat and focused back on the tv.

"I had fun last night," she said, resting her hand on Charlie's upper thigh.

"Me too," Charlie replied blankly. He scooted away from her a little bit, but she just scooted closer to him. "Did- eh...Did Matt or Cali say anything about- about their night?"

Maria shook her head and said, "No, but if you'd like, we can have a bit more fun."

"Well, I wouldn't mind that if I wasn't already committed to Cali," Charlie said. "And you've got Matt. So it's not bad."

"Don't you wanna little bit more adventure, Jordan?"

"No. Not right...well..."

Maria slid her fingers up and down Charlie's arm, and he relaxed a bit.

"I suppose another night couldn't hurt," he said. "I don't know though. I love Cali."

"I'm sure she won't mind," Maria replied. "She can have Matt another night if she gets lonely. But for now...I just want you all to myself."

She smiled devilishly, and she pressed her lips to Charlie's neck. He let out an exasperated
laugh, and she touched his leg again. The door to the kitchen opened, and George walked in. Maria immediately sat up, and she looked innocently at George. But he knew what he had just seen, and his eyebrows shot up. Charlie, still staring at the tv, didn't say anything. Matt and Cali followed him in, laughing at a joke Matt had just told, but they stopped when they saw George's expression.

"George?" Matt said. "You alright, dude?"

"I thought I just..." George trailed off.

Maria giggled a bit and said, "Musta been the tv."

Cali smiled and sat down between them with a bag of chips and salsa. Matt sat down on the back of the couch, his legs on either side of Maria, and he handed her a plate of leftover pizza. She thanked him and turned to George.

"You gonna sit down, George?" she said. "There's room for one more." She patted the seat to her left.

George took a drink of his whiskey and shook his head in disbelief. He reluctantly sat down next to Maria. Matt nudged his friend with his knee.

"You okay?" he said through a mouthful of pizza.

George glanced between Maria and Charlie, and he said, "Yeah. Peachy."