Charlie had wrestled with his desire all morning and lost the battle on several occasions. He was no match for it.
He was starting to drive himself crazy, so resolved to occupy himself with something other than the thought of Dani's visit this evening. Her kisses and the resultant surge of testosterone had blown his hangover away and now he buzzed with nervous energy and anticipation. Did she know what she was doing to him? Did this mean that they were now together? Had she grasped just how much he loved her? It was almost too painful to contemplate now that they were so close. He just hoped she was serious, there was no going back to hiding things for him now. He wondered where Tidwell fit into all this. He hoped Dani was setting him straight right now. Charlie wasn't interested in half measures, love triangles, or messing with another guy's girl.
He grabbed the keys to his new car and sank into the driver's street. It felt good. He had picked this car because he knew that it was one that Dani liked. He had to admit she had good taste. He opened up the engine once he reached a clear stretch of road, reminding himself that he was absolutely not allowed to develop any kind of attachment to this machine. There was no tape player installed; he was clearly going to have to invest in a CD of the zen teachings that he used to keep himself on the right path. Otherwise between the car and Dani he could quickly find himself hopelessly corrupted. The car purred as he accelerated, the sunlight glinting off its sleek lines and beautiful blue paintwork. He felt powerless against it, much as he had this morning in Dani's arms. There was no way he was returning this car to the showroom after his trial period; there was no way he was going to go back to purely being Dani's partner.
He spent the early part of the afternoon in the mall. He wandered around a department store, looking and feeling slightly lost. He was about to walk right out again when a sales assistant took him under her wing and interrogated him gently as to what he was there for. Charlie didn't really know, but he confided in the sales girl that he had a hot date. At that moment Jeanette the saleswoman knew she had him; there was nobody easier to manipulate into multiple purchases than a lovesick guy. Charlie trailed around after her as she tried to push wine, chocolates, flowers, expensive underwear, perfume, jewellery and even the finest linen bed sheets 'for if things go really well' on him. The more she continued on about the trappings of love and courtship, the more certain that Charlie grew that this was the wrong approach. Dani wasn't like other women he had dated, and in any case he wasn't in the practise of showering women with gifts so they would sleep with him. This thing with Dani wasn't like his dalliances with the badge bunnies. He hadn't been this nervous since he first got together with Jen all those years ago. His palms were sweating. He thanked Jeanette, agreed to take the sheets only so as not to completely waste her time, and left her perplexed at the cash register. On the way back to the car he dropped by a delicatessen and bought some fresh coffee beans. He figured that if Dani was serious he wouldn't need more than that.