Age Is But a Number

Charlotte sat out on the balcony of her hotel room, trying to breathe normally. She had been woken up from an irregular heart beat that was causing her to lose her breath. She needed fresh air and decided to sit outside, letting the cool sea breeze hit her face. It cleared her mind, let her think.

Without wanting to, she had found herself thinking about Kevin romantically. It was something that was still new to her considering she only had one boyfriend, and that was when her parents were barely starting to use, when it was safe for her to like someone and expose them to her parents. His name was Jacob Jefferson, or JJ. He had a cute, freckled face and light brown, curly hair. He would tease her and then tried to kiss her behind the slide of the playground at the church she met Caitlyn at.

After JJ, she realized her parents were becoming a danger - her dad, actually, and decided it would be best not to bring someone, a boy, anyone she cared about into a home that was dangerous. Caitlyn never came over either. She thought it would be best not to notice boys at all anymore. However, Kevin made his way through that barrier she had put it, and he was not leaving.

Problem is: He is twenty-one and she is not even sixteen yet. Doesn’t he know that? Doesn’t he know he’s making googly eyes at a minor when he is a legal adult? Maybe . . . maybe he doesn’t know that she is sixteen. But, how can he not know that?

“Charlie?” a voice asked, and she looked around to find the voice. “Charlie, look over here.” She looked behind her. “You‘re other here.”

“Isn’t there more than one here, Kev?” she asked and smiled, getting up to look over at the next-door balcony. “Morning.”

“Good morning,” he greeted and grinned. “Why are you up so early?”

“Couldn‘t breathe.”

“That‘s not particularly a good thing. Can you breathe now?”

“Yes, I‘m fine now,” she chuckled. “Don‘t need to panic.”

“I‘ll take your word for it,” Kevin replied, unconvinced. A moment’s silence passed and he asked, leaning against the railing, “Do you wanna go down to the beach? Or maybe walk around the pier?”

Charlie stroked her invisible beard and pondered it for a moment, making Kevin sweat, and then said to him, “Let me change and I will meet you outside, okay?”

Kevin smiled and nodded, watching her as she walked back inside her hotel room, arms crossed and the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile. He smiled up at the grey sky and saw the sunlight breaking through the clouds. He breathed in, feeling so incandescently happy, and then went back inside, careful not to wake his brothers up. He quietly dressed himself and, as he finished brushing his teeth, decided to fix his hair a bit. He hadn’t realized his hair was so out-of-control. Then he saw cologne, Joe’s cologne, and decided to spray a little bit of that. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head, laughing at how Charlie was making him feel right now, being so self-conscious and wanting to make himself more than just presentable to her.

“Dumby,” he chuckled, talking to himself.

“No, just weird,” Nick mumbled groggily.

Kevin jumped and let out a breath, putting his hand on the left side of his chest. “Scared me, Nick.”

“Where you going?” Nick asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Charlotte and I are going to the beach and walk around the pier.”

“Oh really,” Nick said in a teasing manner.

“Yeah, yeah.” He took a deep inhale. “Nick, I - I think I‘m just going to come out and tell her how I feel.”

“Mhm.”

“You don‘t think she already knows, do you?”

“Mmm,” Nick mumbled, falling back to sleep. Then he thought about what Kevin said and it processed. “Whoa, wait, wait!”

“What? What?”

“Don‘t try anything, Kevin, I mean . . . you know, just don‘t make any move on her is what I mean.”

“Why? I‘m not going to move that fast,” Kevin explained, swiping the tip of his nose. He does that a lot without realizing it.

“Maybe it‘s best just to keep your feelings a secret or just forget about them all together because she -”

“Whoa, wait, back up,” Kevin said. “Why stop liking her? Do you - ?”

“No! No, no, you know that I . . . and Caitlyn. . . .” Nick began to blush slightly.

“Does Joe?” Nick shook his head left to right. “Then what‘s the problem? Is it because she may not have that much time left? Nick, that‘s why I want to use the time I have with her to just be with her, you know? I at least . . . I don‘t know, if it‘s the right time I‘ll tell her. If not, oh well, there‘s always another day.”

“But Kevin, she‘s too -”

“She‘s waiting. See ya, bro. Get some rest.”

The door slammed a little loudly and Joe jumped, scared awake. “What? Wha’ happened?” he said sleepily.

“Kevin left,” Nick answered, placing his elbow on his knee and putting his cheek into his open palm. “He‘s going with Charlie to the pier.”

“How cute,” Joe mumbled, closing his eyes and letting himself fall back into a sweet, sweet sleep.

“Yeah, but he‘s planning on telling Charlie how he feels.”

“And that‘s just absolutely terrible of him,” Joe said sarcastically. “He should go to prison for that.”

“Joe, do you know how old Charlie is?”

“Nineteen, right? Isn‘t that what we all kind of guessed?”

“No, lower.”

“Eighteen.”

“Lower.”

“Twenty?”

“Joe do you need to go back to kindergarten?” Nick asked, somewhat exasperated.

“Seventeen, then,” Joe said, ignoring his answer.

“Not seventeen.”

Joe was becoming a bit concerned and sat up, looking at Nick intently. He was a bit confused, and he asked, “Is she sixteen?”

“Not until January,” Nick answered. “Joe, she‘s fifteen. She‘s two years younger than I am!”

“How could we not have known? She doesn‘t look that young. We‘ve been friends with her for about almost two months and we haven‘t even figured out her actual age? And Kevin . . . he‘s way too old for her!”

“Exactly.”

“Nothing is going to be able to happen between them. Mom and Dad won‘t approve, Mrs. Matters won‘t approve, no one will really approve.”

.:-:.

It was late afternoon and Laura waited for Nick and Joe to come out of their hotel room, which she knew they would be leaving eventually. She ran up to them, a big, fake smile on her face, and hugged them.

“Hey guys, I‘ve missed you,” she exclaimed, holding onto Joe tighter than she did Nick. She made sure to press her body against him the way she always did to catch a guy’s attention.

“Oh, hi Laura,” Joe said, trying to push her off a bit. “What brings you here?”

“Well, I ran into Kevin yesterday and I told him that I have some of his things that he left in my car.” She held up the small bag filled with random things. She knew they wouldn’t ask what those things were. “He said I could drop them off in his room.”

“Oh, um, okay,” Nick said. He vaguely remembered Kevin mentioning some things he would never get back because he left them with Laura by accident. He unlocked their door and opened it for her.

“He should be getting back soon,” Nick told her. “We text him letting him know that we want him and Charlotte to come back.”

“Oh yeah, Charlotte, he introduced me to her. Thanks, Nicholas.”

“Don‘t steal anything, La-la,” Joe teased, using his old nickname for her.

“Oh Jo-jo, why would I do that to my old friends?” she giggled. She smiled and waved as they went next door.

She walked inside the room, set the bag down on the bed and pulled out a piece of lingerie. It was red, lacy, and perfect for her plan. She put it on, played with her hair, and put on some more perfume that was also in the bag. She knew the way Kevin was turned on, though she never really got him to go far enough with her. She would get her way today; she always gets her way.

.:-:.

“If you like it, I‘ll buy it for you,” Kevin called out to Charlotte from the other side of the changing stall, a lime green curtain covering the doorway.

“Kevin, I have money, I can buy it myself,” Charlotte replied, putting on the green summer dress she had picked to try on.

“That’s great for you, but if you like it, I’m buying it for you.”

“Fine, fine,” Charlotte sighed. She checked herself in the mirror and fixed the fairly thick straps on her shoulder. She poked her head out from behind the curtain. “Tell me if it looks weird?”

Kevin nodded and his heart pounded as she came out from behind the curtain. He liked her in dresses. A lot. She looked good in that green, too. It brought out the green in her beautiful eyes. Charlotte blushed and looked down at her feet. She mumbled something along the lines of she liked it.

“All right, change and I‘ll buy it for you.” Charlotte nodded and walked back into the changing room. “Oh, Charlie?” She popped her head back out. “You look beautiful in it, by the way.”

Charlotte closed the curtain and tried to hide her blush. She figured out, thanks to Kevin, that she blushes easily.

As Kevin bought himself a new shirt and the dress for Charlie he got a text from his brothers saying they want him to come back so they could all go out for lunch together. He sighed, a bit disappointed that he didn’t get to tell Charlotte how he feels about her. Maybe she already knows. He still wanted to tell her himself, and he still hasn’t gotten around to it out of the three hours they have spent alone together.

“Caitlyn and my brothers want us to come back so we can all go to lunch.”

“We can‘t meet them anywhere?”

“Apparently not. Nick says I have to come back.”

“Oh, okay.” A few moments passed. “Thank you for the dress, by the way. And the new bag, and the necklace.” She played with the heart that was the color of her birthstone that hung from a thin gold chain.

“Of course. Anything for you.”

Charlotte blushed more as they reached his car and hurried to get in. He opened the door for her and smiled at her as she got in. She purposefully ignored his gaze and hopped in, buckling up. He came onto the other side and started the car.

By the time they were half way back to the hotel, Kevin was ready to explode. “Darn it, I just - Charlie, I have to tell you something.”

“Yes, Kevin?”

“Charlie, I . . . I feel like we have known each other more than just a month and a half. I really like being friends with you and . . . I enjoy your company?” He scolded himself for being completely speechless as he tried to confess his feelings for her.

“I enjoy your company too, Kevin,” Charlotte replied, giggling at his attempt to say whatever it was he was trying to say. “I also like being your friend. I trust you a lot. You‘re a great friend.”

“But, what if I want to be more than just your friend?” Charlotte was silent. “I really like you. I can‘t even begin to explain how much I actually like you.”

“I - I know,” she whispered. “Joe told me you did when we went golfing.”

“Joseph,” Kevin breathed.

“Kevin, I have a hard time believing that you like me,” Charlotte said, voice shaking.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I don‘t see how you could like me in that way at all, really. I‘m strange, messed up. There‘s just too many bad things in my life.”

“Charlotte, do you really think that affects how I feel?” She nodded, keeping her eyes on the road. “You‘re going to make me spill everything aren‘t you? Oh, boy.”

He cleared his throat and began: “I get there are things from your past that can still affect you. But I also get that those things have helped shape you into who you are now, and guess what? I am head over heels for you. I think you‘re beautiful, funny, and we just . . . click. There’s something about you the first time I met you that just made me like you, really like you and I - I had to be next to you. I still do.”

Charlotte was still trying to take it all in. Kevin basically spilled all the beans. But he missed a detail.

“Kevin, do you even know how old I am?” Charlotte asked.

Kevin was confused, but he just spilled everything, so everything felt strange at this point. “Nineteen? Eighteen?”

Charlotte’s heart gave a large thump and she placed the palm of her hand to her forehead, and leaned her elbow against the door. She was right: He didn’t even know how old she was. That’s why he kept on pursuing her; if he knew she was about to be a sophomore in high school he would not try and be with her. And if they were as close as she thought, her biggest secret would spill out, and everything he felt about her would disappear.

Maybe he really didn’t like her. Maybe he’s just having pity on her because she’s the girl with the broken wing. There is no other explanation besides the age being completely unknown to him.

“Why do you ask?” Kevin asked Charlotte.

“Kevin, I . . . just stop,” Charlotte breathed.

Kevin was taken by surprise. “What do you mean stop?”

“I mean stop liking me. You can‘t like me. You just feel sorry for the dying girl and you‘re taking that as you liking me.”

“Charlotte it‘s not that at all,” Kevin argued.

“It has to be. I can‘t see why you would like me at all. You don‘t even know how old I am, gosh darn it!”

“Charlotte you‘re crazy,” he chuckled, interrupting her. “I do, I like you for you, understand? Want me to prove it to you?” Charlotte stared at the window, avoiding his hazel eyes. “How about you and I go on a date tonight. Okay?”

Charlotte began to tear up. She just couldn’t comprehend the fact that Kevin actually has any romantic feelings for her whatsoever. It just doesn’t make sense. Why does he keep sugarcoating it?

“Charlotte, come on, please?” Kevin asked. Charlotte kept on shaking her head no. “A date? Tonight? Just you and me. Do you still not believe me?” She didn’t say anything. “What more can I do?”

Kevin realized he could answer his own question when he parked. Her statement, You don‘t even know how old I am stayed at the back of his mind. Charlotte was going to answer his question by turning to him when he just went for it. He kissed her. Charlotte was not prepared - neither one of them was prepared for the flood of emotions that swept over them. It was a short kiss, but it still sent both of them soaring ten feet in the air. Charlotte didn’t know what to do. Once Kevin pulled away she slapped him andran out of the car at lightning speed.

“Whoa, whoa, Charlie!” Kevin called. “What in the world - ?”

Don’t think anything of it, she told herself. You can’t pull him into your crazy life, Charlie. You can’t. Oh gosh that kiss was amazing . . . but it just made everything worse.

She reached for hers and Caitlyn’s hotel room door and tried to open it, but it was locked, of course, and she ran right into it. She rubbed her nose and began knocking rapidly. Caitlyn answered smiling. Charlotte ignored her, the two brothers sitting on the couch, and ran to the bedroom. Caitlyn’s smile faded and she tried to follow her. Charlotte shut the door. Caitlyn got the message.