Sorry this one took so long, it was a busy week! Thank you faithful readers and reviewers, please enjoy this one!
"You okay, pumpkin? You look a little strung out."
Charlotte stood in the doorway of Penelope's tech lair, running a frazzled hand through her long hair. Pen was right, she was strung out. And there was no one better to talk to it about.
"Pen, I know we've only been friends for a few weeks, but I really need to talk to someone. Girl to girl," she wrung her hands. "Are you free?"
"Course I am, darling!" Penelope gestured to her second swivel chair. "Have a seat."
Charlotte practically threw herself into the chair, grateful for Penelope's kindness. They'd hung out quite a bit since they met at Rossi's, and she was growing quite close to the vivacious tech queen.
"So what's troubling ya?" Penelope asked.
Charlotte sighed. "Where do I begin? You know how Spencer and I have been spending a lot of time together lately?"
"Yeah," Penelope grinned. "You two have been practically inseparable since Rossi's three weeks ago. Which I'm sure neither of you is complaining about."
Charlotte couldn't help but smile. She truly enjoyed spending all this time with Spencer. They watched Doctor Who, they played chess in the park, they drank tea on her balcony and just talked. She felt like she was really starting to get close to him, and she was liking him more and more. But therein lay her current problem.
"Derek was right when he said at Rossi's that you were a smitten little lady," Penelope laughed at the dreamy look on Charlotte's face. "Look at that silly smile."
"But that's my problem," Charlotte's smile fell. "I'm completely, totally smitten. And he wants to…well…go slow. And well…you know…"she trailed off, hoping Pen would get her drift.
Penelope's eyes got wide. "Oh. My. Stars. You are totally itching to jump Boy Wonder's bones!"
Charlotte blushed all the way to her roots. "Pen!"
"Okay, maybe not jump his bones, but you totally want to get more action!" Pen squealed. "Oh Charlotte, how is that a problem?"
"Because I don't want to push him!" Charlotte groaned, throwing her hands up in frustration. "He's still working out everything with getting over Maeve, I don't want to force myself on him. I want him to want it too, on his own terms."
"Only his terms are leaving you high and, well not so dry," Penelope smirked, causing Charlotte to blush even deeper. "What exactly are you guys even doing?"
"We hold hands, and sometime I kiss him on the cheek," Charlotte rubbed a hand over her face. "That is it."
"Oh pumpkin," Penelope sighed, reaching over to pat the younger girl's hand. "I see your pain. That is hardly adequate for two people so obviously deeply attracted to each other."
"It's killing me," Charlotte frowned. "But like I said, I don't wanna push him. He's gotta come to me, you know?"
"He will, sugarbean, he will," Penelope assured her. "He is a man after all. He can't hold out forever."
"Well, he's doing a pretty good job so far," Charlotte remarked sullenly.
"Chin up," Penelope stated firmly. "Spencer will get there, don't you worry. Are you guys hanging out tonight?"
"We're watching a Star Trek documentary at his place," Charlotte nodded.
"You two are such nerds," Penelope rolled her eyes, grinning. "Okay, so you don't wanna push him, that's fine. Doesn't mean you can't do a little bit of persuading though….that's it, I'm dressing you for your date tonight!"
LATER
Charlotte smoothed a hand down over her dress. Why did she let Pen talk her into this? She felt ridiculous. The sundress Pen had magically produced from the back of her closet was far too, well, lets just say it wasn't a dress you wear to watch a movie on the couch. It wasn't a club dress or anything, but it was definitely different from her usual attire. She had to admit, it did make her chest look awesome, and the pattern was really nice….oh what was she thinking, she should've just worn some jeans. Well, it was too late now.
She knocked on Spencer's door, still trying to tug the dress down another couple of inches.
"Charlotte! Hey, come on…."
Okay, so wearing this dress was a least worth the look on Spencer's face. His eyes opened wide, his jaw hanging slack. He looked as if someone had just momentarily stunned him. She held back a giggle. Score one for Pen.
"Hi Spencer," she brushed past him into his apartment. "Got everything all set up?"
She turned to face him, noticing how his eyes suddenly snapped up to her face. Good grief, was he actually just checking out her ass? She felt her cheeks heat up.
"Spencer?" she questioned, as he was still sort of staring at her with that dumb expression on his face.
"Right, y-yes!" he jumped, avoiding looking at her as he scurried past towards the living room. "I just need to put the DVD in."
She sat on the couch, watching him fumble with the DVD. Damn, he was so freaking adorable. And so freaking hot. She loved him in a button up shirt with a casual cardigan thrown over it, two buttons undone at the top so she could get a peek at that sexy hollow of his throat. She just wanted to pin him down and lick that patch of skin. And then perhaps just tear that shirt completely off…
Get a hold of yourself girl, she chastised herself as Spencer finally sorted out the DVD. He came and sat beside her on the couch, farther away than normal, she noticed, and didn't even look at her once. She hid a smile.
The documentary passed mostly in silence, both of them becoming absorbed in its content. Still, Charlotte noticed how every couple of minutes, Spencer would inch a little bit closer to her on the couch. By the time they'd got to the end, he was right up against her, their legs and arms pressing together. Progress, considering every other time he'd been at least 6 inches away, their clasped hands sitting between them like some sort of barrier. It made her nervous. Was tonight really going to be the night? Was she finally going to be able to actually properly kiss him?
The credits finished rolling, and the room plunged into silence. But it wasn't their normal type of companionable silence. It was thick and heavy, laced with something she couldn't quite place. Charlotte could feel the heat from Spencer's body seeping into her, could hear his short, unsteady breathing beside her. She felt herself begin to tremble slightly, anticipation pricking at her skin. Something was happening, she could feel it.
Without warning, she felt a gentle hand run softly through her hair. She froze, her heart beating erratically. The hand pushed the hair off her shoulder, letting it tumble freely down her back. There was a pause, and then long, gentle fingers began trailing themselves gently over her shoulder, leaving a trail of fire behind them. Charlotte sucked in a breath, plucking up the courage to turn and face him.
It was a good thing she was sitting, because her knees would have totally given out at the look Spencer was giving her. It was a hungry, almost needy look, his eyes turned dark. It was a look she'd felt only once before, the first time he'd kissed her almost a month ago. He'd run out on her that night. Something told her he wouldn't be doing that tonight.
His fingers continued to trail over her skin, now moving on to skim her collarbone. He started directly into her eyes, all adorable shyness gone.
"I can't do this anymore," he spoke quietly, his voice husky. She felt a shiver run through her entire body. "You're making it impossible."
"Making what impossible?" she managed to get out.
"Keeping my physical distance," his fingers moved to brush her throat. "It's been a month since we started this, and I find myself wanting more and we're doing isn't enough."
Charlotte could swear her heart was going to beat out of her chest. "Oh really?"
"Really," Spencer sighed, letting his hand rest gently on the side of her neck. "I've tried and tried to resist, to go slow, as we said, but I can't anymore. I can't. I've thought it over, and I'm okay with it. I need it. More, I mean. More of you."
Charlotte felt a warmth spread throughout her body at his words. This was real. He was actually telling her, with the most wonderful, sexy, truly honest look on his face. Still she felt compelled to ask, "Are you sure, Spencer?" in a small voice that sounded hopelessly needy and pathetic.
"I'm sure," Spencer nodded, his face serious. "No running out, I promise. I want this."
Charlotte let out a soft, almost relieved laugh. "Well, about damn time," she grinned, and without further hesitation, reached for his cardigan and yanked him towards her.
Their mouths collided in a flurry of tongues and teeth, both eager to express the pent up longing they'd kept inside these long weeks. They sank slowly back onto the couch, Charlotte letting out a soft mew of contentment as Spencer settled his body weight comfortably onto her. One of his large hands threaded itself into her hair, while the clenched her hip. Hers stayed fisted tight in his sweater, keeping him as close as possible. Good grief, she though distractedly as Spencer's tongue did something particularly nice against her own, we really owe Penelope now. Maybe we should buy her a muffin basket.
The thought made her giggle, causing Spencer to pull back with a semi frown. "Something wrong?"
"Oh no," Charlotte giggled again, reaching up to run a hand through his unruly hair. "Just thinking about how we are even more in Pen's debt now. She made me wear this dress tonight. If I'm not mistaken, it certainly helped us get to this point."
Spencer let out a chuckle, the hand on her hip rubbing the dress fabric rather affectionately. "It certainly did. You know, 85% of males state their favorite article of clothing on a woman is a sundress. I can see why," his eyes grew dark again. "You always look particularly lovely in a sundress, especially this one. I just couldn't take it any longer. I mean, it has been building for a while, I was just hesitant, for many reasons of course, but I am a man, and-"
"Spencer," Charlotte pressed a finger to his lips, "please just shut up and kiss me."
And Spencer was more than happy to oblige.
I'll try to be quicker with the next one, promise!