As Charlie heard a feminine voice, he looked up from the pamphlet he was reading. He disagreed at first. He got more of a cheap air freshener than gas, but inhaled deeply through his nose before voicing his judgement.
Oddly enough, it was true. The gas fumes from the parking lot made their way to inside the building, and as this was a viewing party, of course popcorn was cooking.
Charlie's first reaction is to go back to his reading and just mind his business. But fuck it. He was gonna be here for the next four (maybe more) hours anyway, and why not make friends? "Popcorn Girl" has a certain pitch to her voice that tells she's probably a good time. He stands up from his seat and began to walk towards the rest of the crowd with the pamphlet in hand. He sees Michael on the way and waves.
"Charlie, what time are we starting?" Michael questions.
Charlie wants to lie, tell him a random time and get over to the drink table while there is some left. But no. He should socialize.
"Wish I knew."
"I'll go ask Colleen."
"Let me know what you find out!"
Michael gives him a thumbs up while walking.
Charlie continues his search for "Popcorn Girl".
He listens to the different conversations, paying attention to the many voices…No match.
He circles back. He still doesn't find her.
He spots a seat in the corner of the room. Charlie chooses to sit down instead of circling around again. The other cast members might begin to question his sanity. He can hear them now.
"Who's the crazy guy that keeps circling around?"
"You work with him? Is he okay?"
Charlie gets closer and closer to the seat.
All of a sudden, a red head takes it. She makes herself comfortable, oblivious to Charlie, as she pulls her dress down, covering her knees.
Then she looks up, and Charlie gets lost in her deep blue eyes.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry, were you gonna sit here? I can get up if you want."
"N-No, it's fine. Don't mind me. I was just scoping the room out." He mutters.
Charlie turns to go back to his previous seat.
"Hey! Are you new?" Mystery girl asks.
He turns back around.
"I've never seen you at one of these." She continues, he's foreign and she HAS to know who he is.
Mystery girl holds out her hand.
"I'm Deborah slash Jessica Hamby."
Charlie accepts her hand shake and his pulse increases as her soft hand makes contact with his.
"Charlie AKA Owen Slater."
"Boardwalk?"
He nods. "True Blood, right?"
"Yep. Going on my third season!"
"Congrats."
"Do you wanna grab some punch?"
"Yeah. I was gonna head -"
"Let's go."
Deborah grabs Charlie's hand and practically drags him to the snack room.
Charlie sets his jacket on a chair next to the microwave. He ponders grabbing a beer, but before he can decide, she pours two dixie cups with the neon red punch and hands him the cup with a cute nature print.
"You taste first. They never get it right." She equips.
"Why me first?"
"Because you're the new guy."
"Fine."
He sips slowly, taking in the taste.
"A trickle too sweet."
"A trickle? You're so posh."
"I'm not posh. I'm DEBONAIR." Charlie exclaims in his best impersonation of the Queen.
"Impressive. You know what? together we make up two-fifths of the Spice Girls."
He furrows his brows.
"Posh and Ginger." She grabs a piece of her hair for emphasis.
"Is that even your real hair color?"
"Maybe."
"Well Deb, I'm one step ahead of you. My accent, authentic. You - well, not to assume, but not so much."
She playfully punches his left forearm.
"So we're resulting to violence now?"
"Gingers are feisty. It's in my genes." She takes a sip of her punch and gives an unpleasant look.
"They must've put the whole damn box of sugar inside!"
As she speaks, Charlie's eyes go straight to her lips, stained a light red from her drink. He looks up into her eyes and they stare at each other, dark hazel on deep blue. Deborah leans forward first, her lips catching his in a chaste kiss. She starts to pull away in embarrassment.
God! What were you thinking? You just met -
He takes hold of her wrist just as she begins to pull away and brings her back in. They kiss again, passion escalating. She puts her arms around his shoulders, careful to not spill her punch.
She pulls away first, her lips red and swollen from the kissing, curled into a smile.
Charlie breathes in through his nose. "So this is where the popcorn smell came from!"
"That's really what you're gonna say?"
He takes her hands into his. "Yeah. That, and I know that…"
He leans in and whispers in her ear.
"You're a natural blonde."
"Damn! Caught me."
Charlie gives her a soft smile.
"D'you want to sit together for the screening?"
"I thought you would never ask."
They sit at each others side for the rest of the four hour night, hands in a tight embrace, and promise to keep in touch.