Something Sweet to Get You By

"I'll get it, I'll get it!" Nikki shouted as she ran towards her front door, rubbing her hands against the apron she'd been using while cooking. Charlie and Amanda remained in the kitchen, smirking and shaking their heads at each other.

Nicole had spent all of her time after work cleaning the apartment and getting herself dressed up. On more than one occasion, she'd changed her outfit and redone her hair. After deciding that she looked casual yet dressed up enough, she'd joined her roommates in the kitchen to prepare their meal. Looking into the mirror next to the door, Nikki fixed her hair before answering.

Seeing Beau Bokan on the other side of her doorway was something she had yet to get used to. He smiled warmly at her and held out flowers.

"Hey Nikki. You look pretty."

"Oh thanks, Beau," she said, taking the flowers out of his hand. "Charlie's in the kitchen. please, come in."

Beau entered the apartment, even more amazed at how immaculate the girls managed to make their home look every single time he'd been invited in. He looked back at Nicole as she closed the door.

"I'll give you the flowers back so you can give them to Charlie," she said as she led him into the kitchen. Charlie and Amanda had their backs turned as they huddled over the stove, still preparing their meal. Nikki cleared her throat and nudged Beau forward.

Charlie and Amanda turned around and smiled. Amanda quickly greeted him before turning back to the stove to finish preparing the soup. Nikki quickly joined her.

"You look gorgeous," Beau whispered in Charlie's ear as they exchanged a long hug. She tightened her arms around Beau's neck. smiling.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Bokan," Charlie whispered before letting him go and turning back to her friends.

Beau looked at the counter and was surprised to see so much food. He knew that if his bandmates were around, they'd hardly be able to stop themselves from devouring everything in sight. Lucky him, he thought, it was all for him tonight.

"It smells amazing in here. What are we having for dinner?"

"Well," Amanda began as she added some dried chipotle to a big pot, "We've all been missing home a lot lately - especially our moms' and grandmas' cooking, so we decided to use everything they taught us to make our own Mexican meal. Everything's authentic - none of that Chipotle, Taco Bell bullshit."

"So Amanda has managed to duplicate her mother's caldo de camaron; Charlie took care of all the guacamole, salsa, and rice; and I've suffered from horrible burns on my fingers making sopes. We also made some flan, and arroz con leche," Nicole bragged while tossing something onto the comal.

"Sounds like I'm going to leave a very happy and fat man tonight."

________________________________________________________

Beau was stuffed, but more importantly, he was happy. For the past couple of hours, he'd enjoyed watching Charlie interact with her best friends. They'd shared their fair share of embarrassing stories about each other. Beau now knew about the time Nicole peed in the middle of her 1st grade class, about the time Amanda cried hysterically on a kiddie ride at Six Flags, and about the time Charlie drunkenly stumbled her way through a McDonald's drive-thru and cried when she found out they didn't serve tacos.

They were a strange group of girls. Amanda and Charlie were extreme tom-boys. They enjoyed video games, comic books, and sports. Even Nikki, the girliest of the three, had boyish interests. Still, somehow, they managed to keep their femininity, and Beau admired them for it. They were smart, genuine, and funny. There was a constant struggle to keep their Chicagoan accents in check while speaking, but in moments of pure excitement, it slipped out. Beau was reminded of why he loved being in Chicago during tour.

Once everyone had finished their dessert, Amanda and Nikki began to clear the table. Charlie smiled at Beau.

"Wanna take a quick walk?" she asked.

Beau nodded. Charlie stood up and helped carry a few plates back into the kitchen, let her roommates know that she and Beau were going to step out, and walked back over to him. He grabbed her hand and walked to the door.

It was surprisingly chilly outside. Not having bothered to bring jackets, Beau walked behind Charlie, his arms wrapped around her torso.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Charlie asked after kissing Beau's jawline. She studied the details of his face contently.

"I did. I really did. The food was amazing. At this rate, I think I might have to marry all three of you just for the cooking."

"I don't think my roommates would mind that," Charlie laughed. "They seem to really like you."

"I like them too. They're nice girls."

Charlie led Beau over to a patch of grass and sat down, patting the spot next to her. He smiled as he sat down next to her.

"They're not always nice," Charlie said. She got on her hands and knees, one on either side of Beau's legs. She crawled up until her face was centimeters away. She mischievously grinned at him, her eyes on his lips. "And neither am I."

"You're bluffing," Beau challenged. His eyes were glued to hers as he watched her gaze drift back and forth from his eyes to her lips.

Her grin deepened, "Oh don't worry, I'll prove you wrong one day."

Beau closed the gap between their lips. The kiss was soft - as their first and every kiss after that had been. He could feel Charlie pushing her body weight forward. Instinctly, he began to lay down slowly until she was completely on top of his now flat body. His hands traveled up her body, before finding home on either side of her face.

Abruptly, Charlie pulled away. Beau frowned as he watched her rest her face on his chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm leaving for Chicago on Sunday. An old friend from high school is getting married and the girls and I got invited. We're some of the bridesmaids."

"Oh. How long will you be gone?"

"About three weeks," she said quietly as she glanced up at his face. "Do you completely hate me now?"

Beau shook his head. "No, of course not. This actually works out really well because I'm gonna be gone for about five weeks."

"Oh really? Where to? Back home?"

But Charlie knew the answer. He was going on tour. It was only a matter or time before he had to bring it up and now he was finally going to share the part of his life he'd been keeping a secret.

"No, some, um, friends and I are just going on a trip."

Charlie frowned. Why wasn't he going to tell her about the tour?

"Okay," she said while getting up from the grass. Beau looked up and her, confused. Charlie suddenly seemed upset and he didn't understand why. She offered a hand to help him up. He took it and wondered what he'd said that upset her so much as they walked back to her place.