Bass was leaning over the open hood of some old lady's car, the woman had brought it into the garage this morning, explaining to him and Miles all about the 'ticking sound' coming from the engine. Miles came strolling out of the office, calling out to him, "hey, Grumpy, I'm going to get some coffee. Back in ten." He grunted noncommittally in response, unsure of why Miles had taken to calling him that lately.
When Miles got back from his coffee run, Bass wasn't sure if he saw her out of the corner of his eye, or if his body was just finely tuned to her presence. Either way, when he peeked around the corner, there was Charlie. Gray t-shirt and dark jeans, even dressed for a day around the house, she took his breath away.
The two of them were talking animatedly about something, Charlie gesturing in the direction of her car and Miles nodding in understanding. Bass pulled himself away from the garage door, with great difficulty, and went back to the old lady's car.
Miles came in a few minutes later and handed him a coffee, saying, "something is wrong with Charlie's car," he gestured out towards the lot, "she just brought it by. I told her I'd have it figured out by the time she got off work."
"Do you know what's wrong with it?" Bass asked.
Miles merely shrugged, "it probably just needs new spark plugs. She said it's been making a bunch of noise when she starts it up." The phone started ringing in the office, so Miles took off to answer it. Bass could hear his friend's urgent voice floating into the room and looked up curiously when he came hurrying back out with his car keys in hand.
"That was Nora," he said quickly, "Mia's in labor and Nora said I better get my ass down there if I want to be godfather, so I gotta go." Bass nodded watching his friend hurry off, completely wrapped around girlfriend's little finger. "Oh," he turned back around, "can you deal with Charlie's car for me? The keys are on the desk."
"Don't worry, brother, I'll handle it. You go meet your godson." Bass watched him go, trying really hard not to feel jealous of his best friend's growing family. Especially considering that his own chances were next to none. He was forty-nine years old, and while he liked Duncan, he just couldn't picture a future with her. Though that was mostly because he had already envisioned it with someone else.
He sighed, grabbing Charlie's keys and pulling the car into the other side of the garage. Miles had been right, all he had to do was swap out the spark plugs and she was good as new. Bass ran his hand along the the roof of the car, he loved this car. Not because of the make or model, but because of what it stood for. Standing in front of the driver's side door, he smiled, remembering the day Charlie had brought it in for an oil change.
She had dropped by early in the morning, Miles had been off that day, asking about the change oil light in her car. Bass had told her not worry and that he would handle it, but he hadn't expected her to hover around the garage, making small talk and showcasing her perfect tits in that tiny tank top all day. He had been trying to ignore his growing attraction to her for the better part of two years, but apparently, Charlie had been done playing games. Backing him against the car, she had trailed her lips up and down the column of his throat, asking him what he really wanted. Bass' only response had been to slam her up against the car, pants around his ankles, hers no where in sight, her long legs wrapped around him as he plowed into her perfect pussy.
After that, their relationship had just fallen into place. It had been easy, instinctual even, the way they just seemed to gravitate towards one another like magnets. It seemed like they spent more of their time together naked than they had dressed, lying in each others arms, sweaty and sated, talking about their future. Charlie wanted to go to the police academy, and Bass wanted to expand the shop to accommodate more workers. They wanted kids, one of each, Andrew and Anna. But most importantly, they wanted it together.
Bass felt so stupid now. How could he have really believed that they could ever work? Charlie was family, his best friend's niece. There was no way they could ever really be together. It was just a dream, one that he missed on a daily basis.
Late in the afternoon, Charlie popped her head into the office looking for Miles and her car keys. Bass ignored the way she pursed her lips, as if she'd been hoping to avoid seeing him.
"Hey," she gave him what he figured was supposed to be a convincing smile, "where's Miles?"
"Nora's sister went into labor this morning, so he's down at the hospital. You know how Nora is."
Charlie chuckled, "yeah, she keeps him on a tight leash." They lapsed into an awkward silence, Charlie trying to figure out how to leave without causing an issue and Bass thinking of a way to make her stay. "Do you know if Miles got a chance to look at my car?" She asked hopefully.
"No, he left just after you did, but I looked at it. You just needed some new spark plugs, so you should be good to go." He hated that she was uncomfortable around him, he just wanted things to go back to the way they were.
She picked her keys up off of the desk and started to leave. "Thanks, Bass. I have to go, so I'll see you around."
God, he wished she wouldn't go. "Where are you going?"
Charlie bit her lip. "I, uh... I have to go get ready for dinner. Jason's taking me to this new restaurant in town. It's all fancy, so I have to dress up and wear make-up."
Bass couldn't even bring himself to be fake happy for her, he went straight to being the jealous, pissed off, ex-boyfriend. Charlie took one look at his face and turned on her heel, heading straight for her car.
"Charlie, wait."
She spun back around to face him, anger evident in her eyes. "No," her finger poked at his chest, "you don't get to do that. You don't get to be mad at me for moving on. You're the one who broke up with me. I wanted to tell everyone about us, but you said-"
"I know!" He shouted in her face. "I know, you wanted to tell your family, but they're all I have and I can't risk losing what little family I have."
"Oh, so I'm not worth the risk?" She stepped back from him, the hurt obvious in her eyes.
"You know that's not what I meant, Charlie," he said gently, grabbing her hand and rubbing his thumb over her wrist.
She looked away from him, "whatever, Bass. I have to go." Snatching her hand out of his grasp, Charlie got in her car and slammed the door shut, not even sparing him a glance as she drove away. Bass watched her car turn the corner, wishing more than anything that he could take it all back. He would tell the whole world about him and Charlie if he could just go back and do it again.
"How long?" Duncan's voice startled him from his thoughts and he turned around, finding her standing in the office doorway.
"Hey," he forced a smile, "when did you get here?"
She ignored his question, giving him an oddly serious look. "How long, Bass?"
"How long, what?"
"How long were you guys together?"
Bass stared at her in momentary shock, trying to think of any excuses that could explain what had just happened. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't treat me like I'm stupid. I saw you two at the barbecue, the way you looked at her. I thought it was just a crush, but you two were actually together." Duncan was giving him a strange look. "Oh my God. You slept with her."
He scoffed, "well, yeah, we were together for eight months, so-"
"No," she snapped, "you fucked her at the barbecue! I saw you go in the house, but I didn't think anything of it until now. I can't believe you," she started walking quickly towards the exit.
"Duncan, come on."
She turned to look at him, disgust written on her face. "You know what? It's fine. We're done. I don't do cheaters, and there's no way I can compete with a twenty-four year old in a bikini."
Bass couldn't even bring himself to stop her. Duncan was right, not about her age or the bikini, but she would never be able to compete with the way he felt about Charlie. He watched her drive away, wondering why he hadn't just told Miles about he and Charlie from the start. If he had, maybe he wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with.
Turning off the lights and locking up the shop, Bass headed home for a lonely dinner. He laid in his empty bed, staring at the clock on the table. It was just after ten o'clock, Charlie and Jason were probably back at his apartment doing all sorts of things that Bass would much prefer he be doing to her.
The image of her all dressed up made his heart twist painfully in his chest. He really hoped that she wasn't wearing the green dress. The one that barely covered her ass and scooped so low on her back that she couldn't wear a bra with it. It was his favorite dress. Well, it was his favorite dress to take off of her. Her long, tan legs sticking out of the shimmery fabric, her perky tits jiggling with every step, and no panties underneath.
Fuck, he really hoped she wasn't wearing that dress.
Black heels, her hair twisted up in a knot on her head. Bass could practically feel the soft strands flowing through his fingers as he pulled at the pins holding her hair in place. Her plump lips just ready to be devoured. He threw back the covers on his bed and pushed his boxers down, allowing his hardened cock room to breath. He slid his thumb over the tip, spreading his pre-come along his shaft, slowly pumping up and down.
Her soft lips against his, their bodies sweaty and moving, his cock trapped in her delicious heat. Bass came embarrassingly fast, groaning Charlie's name into the darkness. He wiped himself off with the sheets and rolled over, hoping that maybe now, he could get some sleep.
Not even ten minutes later, his phone lit up and started vibrating on the table. Bass picked it up, thinking it was probably Miles calling about the baby, but his heart nearly stopped when he saw the name on the screen.
Charlie.
A/N So I really hadn't planned on continuing this, that first chapter was supposed to be it, but as soon as someone commented about there being more, I just couldn't help myself. :-) There will be one more chapter to wrap this up, then hopefully my brain will relax long enough for me to work on my other story without anymore interruptions. :-) Thanks for reading and reviewing guys, you're seriously the best people ever!
