Chapter 8

Hope you are liking this so far! This is my first time trying my hand at fanfiction, so I'm hoping you are enjoying it! I'm going to try to make my chapters a little longer and do at least one a day!

The Carlyle, 7:30 P.M.

Charles sat at bar and took a sip of the scotch in the glass in front of him. He glanced down at his watch. It was exactly 7:30. He tapped his fingers on the bar and felt his foot tapping the leg of his chair. God, he thought, why am I so nervous? I'm acting like a teenager on his first date. Pull yourself together man. You have successfully dated other women before. He ruminated on his past for a moment. In all actuality, he had only ever been with two women. He had dated Tori Stevens in high school, and he had met Pauline the fall of his freshman year of college. He and Radha had only been together for a few weeks, and they had never been intimate. He knew, in his heart, and his mind, that this was because he had been so far gone with Liza, that stringing Radha along would have been wrong. He had never felt this way about any of them, Pauline included.

"Hi."

She had quietly snuck up on him and spoke as she climbed onto the barstool next to him. He couldn't help but let his eyes slide down her body. She had gone home and changed after work. She was wearing a tight off the shoulder black dress that clung to her body and ended mid-thigh. Her shoulders were bare, and she wore only the gold L necklace that he had become accustomed to seeing around her neck every day.

"You look amazing." Liza smiled back at him as she ordered a vodka tonic from the bartender. She hadn't missed the way his eyes had darkened when he saw her as she sat down. She knew that tonight was just drinks, just talking, and hadn't planned to change. But when she told Maggie she was meeting him, at a hotel no less, Maggie had practically forced her to change. She had been the one to pick out the dress and had insisted on redoing Liza's au natural makeup. Her last words as she had pushed Liza out the door were "If Caitlin calls, I'll tell her you had to work late. Nobody cockblocks Mama."

"I'm glad we're doing this Charles. I've been on pins and needles for the past week. I wasn't sure you would ever want to see me again." Her breath caught as her emotions caught up to her. "I wanted to call you so many times last week, but I know you needed space. I know you need to process everything and…"

"What I need is you, Liza. I need you. I can't get you out of my head, Liza. When I met you, it was like a cloud lifted. Am I disappointed that you felt like you had to lie? Yes, I am. But that doesn't change my feelings for you. I want to be with you." He reached with one hand to grab onto hers, and with his other he cupped her face.

"I'm all in, Liza. Whatever that means. I need you in my life. I don't think you'll ever truly know how much you have helped pull me out of that dark pit I had fallen into when my wife left. You mean so much to me."

Liza felt a warmth come over her as Charles spoke. There was a truthfulness in his face that she couldn't deny. Perhaps, she thought, I've underestimated all of the people in my life. She nuzzled her face into his palm and leaned in to pull him to her, to kiss him, for all the world to see.

Two hours passed like seconds. They sat at the bar, holding hands, bodies grazing each other as the bar filled in and their seats were pushed closer together. They talked about everything: high school and college, children, failed marriages. Charles filled Liza in on the details of the last days of his marriage and Liza of hers. They spoke of insecurities and the shared experiences of parenthood. Liza had never felt so real.

It was around 9:30 when Charles caught Liza attempting to stifle a yawn. He smiled, and though he hated to do it, knew that the night needed to come to an end soon. If he wanted to see his girls before they were fully asleep, he should get home soon.

"I've had an amazing time tonight, Liza." He said, as he paid their tab and stood up. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as they made their way out onto the street.

"Me too, Charles. I'm glad we got to do this, away from the prying eyes at the office. But what do we do about the office?"

Charles had been avoiding thinking about that. It was the messiest part of all of this. "Honestly, Liza, I'm not sure. I have a meeting with my lawyer on Wednesday, and I'm going to talk to him about this. There has to be a way for all of this to level out. But until we figure it out, I'm thinking we should keep our relationship professional, at least at work."

Liza smiled as he said the world relationship. It was little things like that that just made her feel giddy. This thing, this relationship, was finally real.

"I agree."

"I'm glad we're on the same page. We usually are, though." He winked at her as he opened his phone and called a car for each of them. "Our Ubers should be here in about 10 minutes."

"Do you want to go back inside?"

Charles grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street a little way. "No, I've got another idea on how to pass the time."

He pulled her around the corner into a darkened alcove along the side of the hotel. He pressed her against the wall and leaned in to kiss her. One hand cupped the side of her head and neck as he pushed her mouth open with his tongue and deepened the kiss, while his other hand traced down the curves of her body, coming to rest firmly on her hip. He slid his hand along her backside and squeezed as he pressed his body up against hers.

Liza moaned into his mouth as she felt his hand begin to wander over her body. He responded with a low, throaty growl and pressed his body harder against hers. He lowered his mouth to her neck and traced warm kisses across her shoulder and collarbone before returning his mouth to hers. Her hands were running all over him. Into his hair, across his back, his arms. She wrapped one leg around his to pull him closer. She moaned again but was interrupted by a phone vibrating.

"Charles," she breathed. "I think our cars are here." He groaned and pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. He looked down at her, her lips swollen and her eyes dark, and knew that if it wasn't for that godforsaken phone, he could have taken her right there in that alley. He shook his head and grabbed onto her hand again, leading them back out into the street. He walked her to the black SUV and held the door open for her as she climbed in. Leaning in, he kissed her before asking. "Can we do this again this weekend? My cousin is going to take the girls for the weekend. Let me take you out on a proper date. Friday night."

"I would love that." She waved to him as he closed the door and stepped up onto the sidewalk. For the first time in a long time, Charles felt something he thought he had lost. Hope.