Chapter 10:
"Reid…stop." Charlene said as stern as possible. She used what strength she had and pulled the brush away from her cleavage.
"Come on Legs, don't keep denying yourself what we both want." He whispered lustfully in her ear, nipping her lobe and then placing heated kisses down her neck.
Charlie pulled together whatever she had left in her to say no until her cell rang. Thank god! She screamed in her head and quickly pulled out of his grasp, but he didn't want to let her go. "Reid that could be my grandma or Kara." Charlie said looking back at him almost daring him to protest.
Reid let out a very flustered grunt and released her and Charlene walked over grabbing her phone from her coat pocket. "Hello?" She answered turning and watching Reid. He clasped his fingers together on the back of his neck looking the other way but she could tell he was pissed she'd turned him down again.
"Change of plans meet the boys in town now and come to Reid's." She heard Kate practically order.
Charlene wasn't really certain why they were doing all of this when he clearly wasn't keen on celebrating his birthday, but Kate and Sarah wanted to and Charlene had said she'd help. "Ok thanks talk to you soon grandma." Ending the call Charlene walked in to her bathroom and rinsed the paint brush she'd been using.
"Hey." She turned to look over her shoulder at Reid and saw he'd put his shirts back on and she felt a little sad about that.
"Reid I have to go and pick up a prescription for my grandma and…"
"Whatever." Reid said and turned away from her.
Charlene grabbed a rag and washed the paint strip from her collarbone and walked out of the bathroom leaving her brush on the back of the sink. "Reid…"
"Let's just go Charlene." Reid said and he walked out of her dorm room door. Charlie sighed and grabbed her jacket, cell and keys and followed after him. Lie, say something before he's lost interest in talking to you! Her mind screamed at her.
"Reid wait!" She caught up to him while thinking up a believable lie. She stepped in front of him blocking his path momentarily. "I'm not ready." She blurted and mentally smacked herself in the head.
Reid looked at her angrily confused. "What?" He asked.
"I'm…not ready for sex I mean. I know that I act like it sometimes, I'm not though and not in the 'I'm a virgin and I'm not ready for that' sense more like the "I haven't known you that long" sense."
"You're babbling." Reid said unamused crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't rush in to sex even if it's just for fun." She said looking at him with her hazel eyes hoping that he didn't realize she was lying through her teeth. She'd ended up having sex with Derrick three weeks in to their relationship and then regularly through out their three year relationship.
Reid looked at her and her eyes diverted down, but her hands were nervously fiddling together and her stance was shy. He let a cocky smirk grace his lips. "So is that as good as saying you do want me?" He asked smugly.
Charlene looked up at him when he spoke and her lips turned up slowly in to a smirk. "You're so full of yourself Garwin." She said back playfully.
Reid grinned. "You'd be cocky too if you were me Legs."
"So you're god's gift to women?" She asked sarcastically.
"Something like that. Maybe sometime I'll show you why." He said in a serious tone but something about it was light and airy, which was not something you'd associate Reid with but then again neither was comfort.
Charlene grinned at him and turned around and started walking towards the exit to the student parking lot. Reid jogged after her catching up and slinging his arm around her shoulder and she looked up and over at him a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She looked ahead at the double doors and then pulled her keys from her pocket and held them over in front of Reid as they continued in step together.
"Here." She said softly.
Reid looked down at her and grinned. "You're going to let me drive your car."
"Please don't make me regret it." Charlene said smiling at him and he took the keys and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "We have to go to the drug store." She told him as they soon came up to the car park in the front row of the parking lot.
Reid nodded and they got in the car and Reid started it up. The minute they were both buckled in and the intense sounds of rock began to lowly boom through the back speakers Reid put the car in reverse and whipped out of the parking spot.
Charlene mentally kicked herself over and over again thinking how stupid she was for letting him have control of her car. "Please don't get us killed." She told him.
"I'm a better driver than you think." Reid said smugly.
"Than where's your car? You always mooch rides from the rest of us." Charlene said logically.
"That was a fluke accident." He said non chalant. "Some stupid prepubescent teen walked out into the street and I was already doing forty five, I swerved to miss him and ended up driving right through the guard rail and down the bank."
"Wait Reid you risked your life to save someone else?" Charlene asked looking over at him.
Reid shrugged. "It isn't some big thing. Besides the worst that happened was my head hitting the steering wheel, I blacked out."
"Reid that's…"
"One good deed isn't going to open the big purely gates for me…"
"If you believe in that sort of thing." Charlene told him.
Reid looked over at her a little bewildered and then back at the road. "You don't?" He asked.
Charlene shook her head. "I'm Agnostic, I believe in higher power just not a god. And truth be told I don't think you're that bad."
"Trust me I've done things that the devil can't even admit to doing."
"No you haven't. You're just being over dramatic Reid. Honestly I believe more in witches and spirits than I do in the devil or 'our lord and savor.'" (AN: I am NOT being atheist so please don't come after me, and I don't say this to offend anyone. Everyone has their own beliefs.)
"Really?" Reid said intrigue evident in his voice.
Charlene nodded. "Sounds insane being that my parents are both from religious backgrounds of sorts, but they never pushed their beliefs on to me. They always said to make my own opinions. They wanted me to have a brain of my own, thoughts that belonged to me and help me create who I was to become."
"Sounds nice. When my parents are around they always try to push me into becoming them. I don't have perfect grades and I could care less about school in the future. I would rather own my own night club or bar than be some lawyer or doctor."
"Is that what they want you to be?"
"Yeah. My dad wants me to go to Harvard law, but that isn't ever going to happen. Caleb's more qualified than me in that department, besides I like to break rules and argue for fun." Reid said with a sarcastic laugh.
Charlene grinned. "Sounds like you." She said teasingly and they pulled up outside the drug store. "How 'bout you wait here and I'll go grab those meds?"
"K. I'll just wait outside actually I need a smoke."
"That's bad for you, you should quit before it kills you."
"Other things will kill me faster." Reid said randomly and Charlene who didn't really want to get into a discussion about death shrugged her shoulder climbing out of the car and walking in to the drug store.
Once inside she pulled out her cell and text messaged Caleb that Reid was out front. Then went to the back counter where the pharmacist was. "Hi there what can I do for you today?" He elder gentlemen asked.
"Actually I was wondering if I go grab a bottle of aspirin can I pay for it here and get a medical prescription bag…see I sort of am trying to ditch a friend with some of his buddies to take fake meds back to my grandmother, because we're trying to be sneaky and throw him a surprise party." Charlene said and then took a deep breath.
The pharmacist chuckled and nodded. "Sure. Who's the lucky friend?"
"Reid Garwin."
"Ah yes Mr. Garwin, he's a regular around here." The pharmacist said and then looked over at a sign to an aisle. Charlie followed his gaze and smirked.
"Yeah that would be the right Garwin." She said laughing softly. Charlie went and retrieved the bottle of aspirin and brought it back to the pharmacist and had him bag it for her and ring her up. Afterwards she headed back out front and wouldn't you know it the guys were there talking to Reid.
Caleb was the first to notice her presence. "Hey Charlie." He said nicely.
"Hi Caleb. Boys." She said to Pogue and Tyler. "What brings you guys in to town today?"
"Sarah and Kate needed 'girl time.'" Pogue said using air quotes. Tyler had been brought in on the plan about Reid's surprise party so he knew what was going on without acting completely weird about everything.
"Ah, well I guess I should go, grams can't be late with her meds." Charlie said and then looked at Reid. "You should stay with the boys, spend a little quality guy time together." She said smirking at him.
"I see them every day…"
"No you just want to give my grandmother a heart attack when she sees I've brought you in to the house…I'd kind of like to keep my last family member alive if you don't mind." Charlie said mockingly.
Reid rolled his eyes with that same Garwin smirk on his lips and nodded. "Fine." He said simply.
"I'll see you later, maybe you could come over after hanging with the boys and we'll go see a late night movie." She suggested kindly.
Reid shrugged earning him an award winning smile brown Charlene and she moved around to the drivers side and then looked over the top of the car at Reid grinning and held up her hand. Reid slumped sarcastically and pulled the keys from his pocket tossing them back to her. "All the responsibility of a relationship and none of the perks." He said jokingly as she caught them.
"Shut up Garwin." Charlene said frowning at him playfully. "Happy Birthday!" She said loudly before climbing in the car and pulling away from the curb and speeding off down the road.
"You know man you hang out with her an awful lot." Tyler said. "I don't think I've seen you more than a few hours a day without her around." He commented smirking at his best friend.
Reid smirked. "Sometimes you gotta work for whatcha want." He said cockily.
"Reid don't start that. Charlene's a nice girl." Caleb said with that authoritve leaderesque voice.
"If only you knew my friend." Reid muttered.
"What?" Pogue questioned.
Reid shook his head. "Nothing, let's just go do something since she abandoned me with my brothers for the rest of the day."
With Charlie:
Charlie was let in to the Garwin home and Sarah and Kate came running over holding party streamers. "Please tell me you haven't hung any of those?" Charlene said.
Kate and Sarah looked at each other then at Charlie. "Why?"
"Streamers aren't cool and Reid won't appreciate his house being decorated like a piñata. I thought we agreed on blue, black and silver helium balloons covering the ceiling?"
"We did. And they are, but we thought…"
Charlene held up a hand halting Sarah's soon to come speech about streamers. "No. Just no, Reid really won't be amused. Did the cake I ordered arrive?"
"Yeah about an hour ago actually the maid put it in the fridge. Oh and Caleb and Pogue spoke to the staff they will clear out until morning after eight or so." Kate said.
Charlene nodded. "Alright so what was the emergency that you cut my time short for?"
"This?" Kate said. She whistled with her two pointer fingers in either corner of her mouth, lips pursed and Charlie was stunned when several scantily clad costumed girls came in a line from the back hall area. "I hired them to be the entertainment for the party, don't ask." She said smirking at Charlene.
Charlene grinned. "Reid will love you after this is over."
"And ever other guy coming to the party." Sarah laughed softly.
"So this is big news because…" Charlie trailed off looking at Kate as the girls lined up in front of them.
"One of their girls couldn't make it, so you're going to be the playboy bunny." Kate said.
Charlene's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?" She asked. "I signed up to help you plan not to be the entertainment."
"All you have to do is keep Reid company tonight." Kate insisted whining slightly.
"He isn't Heff owner of playboy mansion and I am not one of his floppy hoppy nude magazine models Kate."
"Come on, Sarah and I would but you know we have Caleb and Pogue and besides who else could we get on such short notice. And we sort of might've gotten him the velvet robe in black." Kate said smiling innocently at Charlie.
"I hate you." Charlene said glaring at her so called friends. "I really hate you. I had this really cute outfit put together and now I have to wear some stupid playmate outfit, floppy ears, and a fluffy bunny tail."
One of the entertainment girls held out the costumer to her and Charlie rolled her eyes, it was a playmate bunny costume. It consisted of a small strapless black velvet leotard, single white cuffs and a bowtie collar, with the black bunny ears and fuzzy tail." "Great." Charlene groaned.
Party Time:
"Ok so Pogue just called they are on their way. Reid's a little out of it, but they said it'll pass." Sarah said softly to Kate. Charlene overheard and turned towards them away from the bathroom mirror.
"What's wrong with him?" She asked.
Sarah and Kate shared a look and then their eyes moved back to Charlie's. "Small fight." Sarah said. Charlene could see she was lying, she smiled nervously a lot when she did that and licked her lips like they were the dryer then the Sahara desert.
Kate and Sarah smiled innocently at Charlene's piercing almost 'I know you're lying' gaze and then they looked away. "Ok so what's say we get downstairs with the other guests and prepair for the surprise!" Kate said cheerily.
"Sounds fun." Sarah said and both girls turned and started for the bathroom door. They looked back at Charlene and she was still eyeing them up. "Coming?" Sarah asked.
Charlene glance down at herself and the back to the girls and with an annoyed grunt she followed them out of the bathroom…
TBC!!!
AN: Sorry for the short chappie, but hopefully more to come Saturday. But I must retreat to be for an early morning today…lates!
