"Well that was an interesting night." Charles collapsed onto the couch a few hours later as Liza flicked on the lights in the living room. She sighed, kicking off her shoes and flopping down next to him, stretching her legs across his lap.
"I'm sorry about Josh. All the drama. You were a saint tonight, and he was a jerk. I'm sorry."
Charles rubbed her feet as she leaned her head back against the pillow. He could tell that she felt bad, and part of him hated this ex-boyfriend of hers for making her feel like that. But part of him pitied him at the same time. He knew what it was like to not have Liza but to want her desperately. It hurt. But she was his now, and all bets were off if Josh tried anything with her.
"Liza, it's not your fault. You can't control his behavior. You've laid all your cards out on the table with him, told him everything, and it's his problem if he can't get over you." He reached over with one hand and caressed her cheek. "You're not an easy person to try and get over. Trust me." She blinked slowly, closing her eyes and nuzzling her cheek into his hand. This man, her man, was so unfailingly kind and understanding and forgiving that it actually made her heart ache. She loved moments like this, when it was just the two of them. When they were alone their troubles just seemed to dissipate. Work and friends and responsibilities and complications just seemed to fade away into oblivion.
Maggie had been the one that suggested that they go home to have some alone time. She had sensed that Charles was growing weary of the crowd and the proximity to Josh. She had seen him later in the evening watch as Liza had stood at the bar talking to the willowy new bartender and grimace when Josh came up to them. Liza thankfully had introduced Josh to Clare and made her way back to the table. Maggie loved Josh, and liked Charles, but the emotions were still a little raw for everyone and she could see that both guys were a little too territorial when it came to Liza. So she had told Liza to head home, that she would hang out for a few more hours so that they could have some time to themselves.
"Where's your head at, Liza?" She opened her eyes again to see Charles gazing at her, concern written all over his face.
"Just thinking about how amazing you are."
"Oh yeah?" She nodded and shifted on the couch so that she was sitting on his lap, one leg on either side of his. She felt his hands slip under her shirt onto her waist as he sat up, moving his feet from the coffee table to rest on the floor and pulling her closer. His hands felt like fire on her skin. His touch lit a fire in her body that seemed to pulse though her veins. She leaned in to kiss his temple, trailing light kisses down the side of his face to his neck and up to his ear. Liza leaned back, running her hands through his hair.
"Whatever did I do to deserve you?"
"You saved me, Liza. You loved me. Despite my flaws, despite my mess, you loved me. For the first time in my life, I don't have to try to be happy. When I'm with you it just happens. You know," he paused, reaching back to grab her hand and pulling it to him, resting it on his chest, over his heart, "I never thought I would love again after she left me. But the first time I saw you, my heart whispered, 'that's the one'. You pulled me out of a very dark place, and I am just so grateful to have you in my life."
Liza smiled and wiped a tear from her eye with her free hand as Charles held onto the other. She could feel his heart beating under her palm, strong and steady. That's who he was to her – her strong and steadfast pillar, one of the only people she had in her life that she wholeheartedly knew she could fall back on, rely on. She leaned in to kiss him, gently at first, then opening her mouth and deepening the kiss. She wasn't sure she could convey in words her feelings for Charles as poetically as he had his, but she intended to show him.
Almost as if he was able to read her mind, she felt Charles wrap his arms around her as he stood, bringing her up with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her across the loft and through the open door to her bedroom. He used their bodies to close the door behind them, pinning Liza between the door and himself. He let her legs slide to the ground, but hitched one leg back up, his hand wrapped around her thigh as he ground his hips into her. She nipped at his lower lip and moved her hands between them to unbutton his shirt, trailing kisses down his chest and abdomen until she reached the final button, pulling his shirt out of his jeans and sliding it down his arms. He pulled her back up to him, crushing his lips against his as he slid her jacket off of her arms and pulled her top over her head. He expertly unhooked her bra with one hand and slid the straps off of her shoulders. They each reached down and unhooked their jeans, pulling them down with their underwear so they both stood there, bare to each other
Liza stepped back to him and pulled his head down to her in a slow, passionate kiss. She turned them slightly and pushed Charles gently back so that his legs buckled, and he fell onto the bed. She bit her lip to keep from laughing when his head almost hit the bookcase behind them. Before she joined him on the bed, she turned to turn off the overhead light, basking them only in the light from her bedside table. As she turned, Charles caught a glimpse of something he hadn't noticed before.
"I didn't know you had a tattoo." He said huskily, gesturing for her to come closer. He ran his hand over the ink. It was an hourglass on its side, the sand level on each half of the glass, with leaves coiled around the outside. It was beautifully done, from what he could tell, and it only took him seconds to realize who had probably given it to her.
Liza turned from where she sat on the edge of the bed to look at him. "It's supposed to represent the concept of living in the moment. Time standing still." A shadow crossed over her face for a fleeting moment. "I got it when I was with Josh."
"It's sexy. I like it." Liza smiled and crawled up onto the bed, straddling Charles. As their lips met their bodies seemed to melt together. Charles had sat up a little, resting his back against the wall of books behind them and he could feel every inch of Liza pressed against him. He ground his hips against her, and she moaned, throwing her head back. He leaned forward and kissed her neck, trailing warm kisses down to her clavicle. He took one of her breasts in his mouth, his hands trailing down her sides, across her back. Liza grasped onto his shoulder with one hand and ran her other through his hair, lifting her hips slightly to allow him to slip inside her. She started to cry out, but Charles met her mouth with his, silencing her. They started to move together, slowly, rhythmically, guiding each other into their blissful oblivion.
Saturday Night
"You ready?" Charles grasped Liza's hand as they stood outside the door to Bob and Julia's home. She nodded, squeezing his hand and smoothing the skirt of her dress with the other. Part of her was a little nervous to meet Bob. From the little bits that Charles had told him, he was his college roommate and closest friend. He was also his lawyer.
Charles reached out and pressed the doorbell for the apartment. Bob and Julia lived in a simple but elegant two-story apartment on the Upper East Side. Charles smiled reassuringly at her as the door swung open.
"Charles! Come in, come in." Bob held the door open for the two of them and stepped up to shake Liza's hand.
"And you must be…wait, Liza? Liza Miller, right?"
Liza furrowed her brow. This guy looked very familiar. She started to open her mouth, but his wife stepped into the entryway and everything clicked.
"Ohmygod! You're Rose's parents!" They were also, she thought, the couple she had seen Charles with the night she was supposed to meet him at the Carlyle.
Charles looked between them, confused. "What is going on?" He asked, thoroughly confused. "You all know each other?"
Liza laughed. "Bob and Julia's daughter Rose is Caitlin's roommate at Vassar. I met them at orientation. It's good to see the two of you."
Bob smiled but shook his head and gestured at Liza and Charles. "But how do the two of you know each other?"
Charles took Liza's hand. "Liza works at Empirical. She's an Associate Editor. And, my girlfriend." He gave Bob a look to indicate to move on from the subject, that they would talk about things later.
"Well," Julia said diplomatically, "I don't mean to make things more complicated, but Rose is home for the weekend. She brought Caitlin with her. They're upstairs and are planning on joining us for dinner.
Both Charles and Liza blanched. Charles had completely forgotten that Bob had said that Rose and her roommate would be around. Liza let out a nervous laugh. "Well, this will be interesting. Time to meet the family, babe." She patted Charles on the forearm.
"I'll get us drinks." Bob suggested. Julie smiled for a moment before saying something about the kitchen and scurrying back through the doorway from which she entered, leaving Liza and Charles alone for a moment.
"It'll be fine, sweetie." Charles smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead.
"This is not how I wanted her to find out about us. I don't wait her to feel like I'm ambushing her. Like we're ambushing her."
"Liza, she's almost 20 years old. She's an adult." Liza sighed, and rolled her shoulders back.
"Here we go," Bob carried two martini glasses to the couple in front of him and gestured for them to follow him into the living room. Julia came back into the room and sat down next to her husband. Liza sat down next to Charles on the sofa, where he placed one arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.
"Dinner should be ready in about 20 minutes, according to Louisa, and Rose just texted me to tell me that she and Caitlin would be down in about 10 minutes." Liza smiled, tightly, her mind running a mile a minute. God only knew how Caitlin would react.
"So," Bob began, "How long have you two been seeing each other?" He cocked his head at his friend.
Charles cleared his throat. "Well, officially, only a couple weeks. But it feels like a lot longer. We're very happy." He added the last bit with a pointed glare at Bob.
"Liza, tell us more about your job at Empirical. Charles said you're an editor?" Julia chimed in, sensing the vibe between her husband and Charles.
"Well, I'm an Associate Editor with our new imprint, but I'm also Diana Trout's assistant. Our head of marketing."
"Sounds like you keep busy."
"Definitely. But I love it. I worked at Random House right out of college, but I quit to raise Caitlin. I'm definitely lucky to have this job. And even luckier to have this guy in my life." She leaned into Charles, resting her head on his shoulder. He leaned down to kiss her lightly, and Bob found himself surprised at how serene his best friend seemed. Calmer and happier than he had been in a long time. In love.
"Uncle Charles!" Rose bounced into the room, running to Charles, who stood up to hug her.
"Mom?" Caitlin stood in the doorway, looking like someone had clubbed her on the back of the head. "What are you doing here? What's going on?" Liza stood, walking over to Caitlin.
"Caitlin, this is the man that I'm seeing. The one I told you about earlier this week, remember? This is Charles Brooks."
Charles strode over to Caitlin and held out a hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Caitlin. Your mom has told me so much about you." Caitlin took his hand, shaking it hesitantly and looking up at down at the giant of a man. He stepped back, wrapping his arm around Liza's waist.
"Uh, Mom, can we talk for a sec? Privately?" She started to pull Liza towards the doorway. Liza turned back to the group, "We'll be back in just a moment. Excuse us." She followed Caitlin into the hallway and out the front door.
"I'm so confused, Mom. Who is he? Why are you here at Rose's parents' house?" Liza sat down on the bench next to the door and gestured for Caitlin to join her.
"Like I said, Charles is the man that I'm seeing. I'm sorry that you're meeting him like this. I was going to have you over for dinner in a few weeks to meet him. But I really want you to get to know him. He's great. And I'm in love with him."
"How do you know him; how does he know Rose's parents?"
"He is Bob's best friend. They went to Princeton together. And I work with Charles." She paused, "I work for him."
Caitlin furrowed her brow, frowning. "What?"
"Charles owns a publishing company. Empirical Press. I work there. That's how I met him. I've known him for over a year, but we just started seeing each other a few weeks ago."
"Is he why you broke up with Josh?"
"He is part of the reason, yes. I've had feelings for him for quite a while. But Josh and I broke up for all the reasons I've already told you. I can see a future with Charles. I couldn't with Josh."
Caitlin exhaled slowly, nodding her head as if to try and process all of this.
"And it's cool that you work for him but you're dating? That seems kind of shifty to me."
"We're trying to figure that out. But it's his company. We're making this decision together. There's nothing 'shifty' going on. It's still new, but it's serious, Caitlin."
Liza stood, effectively ending the conversation. "I know you have questions, but this isn't the time. Please just keep an open mind. You'll really like him if you get to know him, I promise. He's a wonderful man." She opened the door to the apartment and gestured for Caitlin to reenter. They were met in the hallway by the other four, who were walking into the dining room for dinner. Charles met Liza's eyes and tilted his head questioningly. She smiled and nodded slightly to indicate to him that everything was all right. She reached out and took his hand.
Caitlin followed them in, watching her mom interact with this guy. Watched her smile at him, hold his hand, lean over and kiss him as he sat down after pulling out her chair for her. She'd never seen her mom act like this with her Dad, and she'd always been kind of edgy whenever they were together with Josh. They seemed genuinely happy, but Caitlin wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.
"I think that went well." Charles said as they got in the car a few hours later.
Liza blew out a big sigh, nodding. "Surprisingly well. Caitlin listened to me and was on her best behavior. She asked you too many questions, though. It felt like an interrogation room in there for a bit." Charles chuckled, running a hand through his hair.
"Hey, she's entitled. If Bianca and Nicole didn't already know and adore you, they'd do the same thing. By the way, I was thinking you could come spend next weekend with us. I want to introduce you to them as my girlfriend."
"I'd love to, but you don't think it's too soon?"
"Not in the slightest. I want my girls to be together. All of them."
"In that case," She leaned up and kissed him. "I would love to."
"I like Caitlin. She's spunky. And smart. Just like her mother." Liza smiled and laughed, pulling her phone out as it buzzed. A text from Caitlin.
I had fun tonight, Mom. I like him, and I like seeing you happy. Plus, I just talked to Rose about him and she had nothing but nice things to say about him. Talk soon. XX
Liza grinned and handed the phone over to Charles. He smiled as he read, and then switched the phone over to the camera. "C 'mere." Liza leaned in and Charles took a few pictures of them, faces pressed against each other, and one of them kissing. He handed the phone back to her. "Our first pictures together."
They talked about the dinner the rest of the way home, and Charles had filled Liza in on the conversation he had had post dinner with Bob in his study. Bob, ever the lawyer, had congratulated Charles on finding happiness, but cautioned him about being involved with an employee. Bob also had put two and two together and realized that Liza was the "young assistant" that Charles had pined over many months ago and had questioned him about that. Charles had confessed that Liza hadn't been entirely truthful about her age and that they did need to figure out how to navigate those particular waters.
"I thought he seemed a little leery of me after that two of you came back out. I'd love to talk to him, explain the situation from my point of view." She was worried that Bob may try to discourage Charles from continuing this relationship if he thought his best friend would get hurt somewhere along the way.
"That would help, I think. But he does like you, Liza. He told me that he thought we were a perfect match."
The car pulled up outside of Liza's apartment, and Charles opened the door and slid out to let Liza out. He was headed home alone tonight because he had to pick the girls up early in the morning and wanted to spend the day with them. They kissed goodbye, reluctant to end their time together. Liza finally stepped back. "Talk tomorrow?"
Charles nodded, climbing back in and rolling down the window when he closed the door. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. And I'll see you Monday." The car started to pull away, and she watched as it drove off into the night. She couldn't remember a time when her life was this perfect, when she was this content, and she didn't want anything to change. Nothing could ruin her happiness.
**Unfortunately introducing our least favorite blonde absentee mom in the next chapter. I'm undecided on when and how I want her and Diana to find out the truth about Liza's age and the relationship, so I welcome any suggestions! 😊**