On Monday, Charlie put the finishing touches on her packing and glanced at the clock to see it was nearly 10 a.m., the time when Bass was scheduled to meet her downstairs. The only time she'd spoken to him in the last few days was when he had called her after his fight on Saturday to let her know he was okay and to confirm he'd be picking her up Monday morning. Otherwise, she'd been busy finishing her schoolwork, and trying to stay under Miles' radar.
Charlie rolled her two huge suitcases out to Miles' front hallway, her backpack slung over her shoulders, her purse dangling from one arm. Dropping the bags, she stepped into the kitchen where Miles was sitting, drinking coffee.
"Miles, I'm heading out," she said, fighting for casualness, praying he would just let her go. She of course hadn't told him that Bass was driving her to Philadelphia, let alone that he was staying there with her for the foreseeable future. Though she and Miles had come to an uneasy peace, they had still been pretty cool with each other since Thanksgiving. Neither of them had spoken about Bass, and as far as Charlie knew, Miles hadn't spoken to him, either.
Looking up in surprise, Miles asked her, "What? I thought your train wouldn't be 'til later."
Uncomfortably, Charlie replied, "No, I'm going now," leaving his assumption about her transportation undisturbed.
Standing up and pushing his paper aside, Miles said, "Well give me a second to get dressed, and I'll drive you to the station. It would be crazy for you to take a cab."
Her stomach sinking, Charlie realized there would be no getting around the truth. "Um, that's okay. I have a ride."
Miles froze, anger washing over his features. "Please don't tell me Bass is taking you."
"Yeah, he is." She couldn't think of what else to add. 'I'm sorry' wasn't true. 'I hope that's okay' was futile.
"Charlie, please. Just let me drive you. It would mean a lot to me," Miles said, tense, clearly trying to hold his temper in check.
Blowing out a breath of air, Charlie finally confessed, "I can't. He's not just driving me to the train station. He's driving me to Philly."
"WHAT?" Miles exploded. "That—no! Absolutely not, it's out of the question. He's not driving you anywhere."
Exasperated, Charlie snapped back, "Guess what! You don't get to tell me what to do anymore! You don't get to bully me by threatening to kick me out before I can finish my semester. I'm already leaving. And I'm going with Bass."
Miles shook his head, his hands clenched at his side. "I thought you were smarter than this. How can you be so stupid?" he said disgustedly. "Do you really think that Bass cares about you? That he's going to do anything other than use you in whatever seedy roadside motel you stop at, then forget about you as soon as he gets back to Chicago?"
Tossing her hair defiantly, Charlie informed him, "Actually, Bass isn't coming back to Chicago. He's staying in Philadelphia. With me." She neglected to mention that she had no idea for how long.
Miles' face darkened with fury. Shoving his way around the table and brushing past Charlie, Miles tore out the front door, leaving it hanging open behind him. Charlie quickly gathered her bags, clumsily rolling her two suitcases as she pursued Miles down the hall. She heard the elevator door ding and called, "Wait!"
When she rounded the corner, she saw that he hadn't. Frustrated, she pushed the elevator button again, and waited.
Charlie finally struggled through the lobby and out the door of Miles' building. She saw Bass' car parked outside, waiting for her, and Bass and Miles standing on the curb, talking angrily.
"Hey!" Charlie called, causing both of them to snap their heads toward her. Immediately, Bass hurried over to where she stood, holding up his hand to indicate she should go no further. Meeting her eyes, he favored her with a tender smile, a smile that said everything was going to be okay. Bending close to her, he took her two heavy bags in his hands and walked them over to the trunk of the car.
"We are NOT done here," Miles insisted, pursuing Bass around the back of the car.
Bass slammed the trunk shut and whirled around. "I think we are. You don't want me to go, don't want me anywhere near Charlie. I can't agree to that, but I do understand. I really do."
"Well, I DON'T," Miles exploded. "Why the fuck are you doing this, Bass? Did I do something to piss you off? You want to hurt me, hurt me, but leave her out of it."
Closing his eyes briefly in impatience, Bass said, "Brother, this has less than nothing to do with you. This is about me. And her."
Frustrated, Miles urged him, "Find someone else."
Bass laughed humorlessly. "Shit, don't you think I know that would be easier? There's no one else. It's her. Only her."
At that, Miles shoved Bass violently against the car. Bass staggered back, and Miles raised a fist to punch him. Quickly, Bass maneuvered out of the way like the expert fighter he was and grabbed Miles' arm, shoving it down, pinning him.
"Just stop it, Miles," Bass gritted. "We're going. You want to spend the night in fucking jail on top of it?" Bass jerked his head back toward a few bystanders who had paused to watch the altercation. Miles followed his glance and reluctantly nodded. Satisfied, Bass released him, and Miles stepped back.
"You ready?" Bass addressed Charlie, who had been standing aside, watching everything. She nodded, unable to speak. Bass stepped around Miles and opened the car door for Charlie, standing between her and her uncle.
"You are so far from deserving her," Miles said nastily as Charlie slid into the car.
Bass shut the door. Through the window, slightly muffled, Charlie heard him say, "You really think you need to tell me that? That I don't deserve to be happy? Don't deserve a decent woman? Christ, Miles, do you know me at all?"
For a second, Charlie thought she saw Miles' face soften with empathy for his oldest friend. But it was gone as soon as it appeared, and instead he just sneered. Bass finally got in the car, meeting Charlie's eyes briefly with an intense stare.
Miles yelled, as a parting shot, "Don't bother calling me when this all goes to shit. EITHER of you," he added, looking in the window at Charlie. She met his eyes evenly, refusing to flinch.
Bass started the car and threw it in gear, pulling off faster than was necessary. Once they were a few blocks away, Bass glanced over at Charlie with a half-smile on his face. "Well, that was awkward," he understated.
Letting out a burst of semi-hysterical laughter, Charlie released her pent-up tension. Bass reached over and took her hand, and she squeezed his gratefully. Silently, they looked ahead as they left Chicago behind.
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Bass and Charlie took their time on the road, spending the night at an adorable bed and breakfast several hours outside of Philadelphia. Not at a seedy motel, Miles, Charlie thought. Still, she hadn't had sex with Bass that night. She told herself it was just because she was tired, not because of Miles' jibe.
When they pulled into town the next afternoon, their first stop was Charlie's apartment. The plan was for Bass to help her get settled, then go alone to the furnished apartment he'd found to sublet for the next couple months. As Bass and Charlie opened the front door, they could hear the sounds of laughter and female chatter drifting down the hall.
Bass shut the door behind them with a thump, and the sound brought Charlie's two roommates rushing up from the depths of the apartment, eager grins plastered on their faces.
"Charlie!" exclaimed one, a short brunette named Elizabeth. "Yay, you're back!" She threw her arms around Charlie in an exuberant hug, which she returned with one arm and a small smile.
"We missed you!" her other roommate, a curvy blonde named Tara added, throwing her own hug on top of Elizabeth's. "The girl you rented your room to was insane."
"Completely," Elizabeth agreed, untangling them all from the hug. "She left her dirty underwear pretty much all over the bathroom. And gave herself haircuts in the sink and didn't wash it out. Oh and had loud sex on the couch constantly. Though weirdly, never in your bed."
Charlie laughed. "Thank God."
"And she definitely ate pig's feet. I mean, ew," Elizabeth finished, Tara nodding in affirmation. Glancing up and finally seeming to notice Bass, she held out her hand to him, "Hi, I'm Elizabeth."
"Bass," he said, shaking her hand, and then introducing himself to Tara. Charlie could see a smile playing on the corners of his lips. "Nice to meet you guys."
"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you. Who are you?" Tara said, looking at Charlie with wide eyes.
Charlie evaded the question. "He just moved here. He's helping me get settled in," she non-explained, gesturing down at her suitcases. "We're just gonna go put this stuff in my room."
Elizabeth and Tara exchanged a knowing glance. "Okay," Tara replied. "Really nice to meet you, Bass." They wandered off to the kitchen, giggling to each other, leaving Bass and Charlie standing in the hallway.
Once they were safely behind Charlie's closed and locked door, Bass put the suitcases out of the way and plopped down on her bed. Running his hand through his hair, looking slightly stunned, he asked, "Those women are your age?"
Charlie laughed, sensing what he was getting at. "Yeah, we're all seniors."
"They seem younger," he muttered.
"Maybe I seem older," Charlie said. "They're always telling me I'm too serious. No fun." She left unsaid what she and Bass both knew: that being abandoned by her mother growing up, largely ignored by her father in favor of her ill brother, and pretty much left to her own devices had caused her to grow up faster than most.
Bass nodded in understanding and said, "Still. Kind of makes me feel like a dirty old man."
Charlie stepped over to him where he sat on her bed. Grinning mischievously, she climbed up onto his lap so she was straddling him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I didn't think there was any doubt left about that."
Bass laughed, "Oh there's not?"
"Mmm, I don't think so," Charlie said, beginning to move her hips against Bass', feeling the effect she was having on him. "At least not about the 'old' part. Not so sure about 'dirty.'" She pressed her chest against his, smashing her breasts into his body, causing him to groan.
"I'll show you dirty," he threatened. Before she could respond, he hooked one arm around her torso and threw her onto the bed below him, covering her with his body. Charlie stared up at him smiling, her face flushed, eyes sparkling.
Bass braced his arms on either side of Charlie, looking down at her. Nestling one of his muscular thighs between her legs, Bass moved against Charlie's heated core, making her cry out from the friction even through their jeans.
"Now Charlie," he said mock-reproachfully. "You heard your roommates. They don't like listening to loud sex." He ground his leg against her, causing her to whimper. She pursed her lips shut, and he grinned down at her. "I don't want them to get a bad impression of me."
Lowering his head, he kissed Charlie roughly, pressing her down into the mattress below him. Charlie tried to coil her body around him, but he still hovered over her infuriatingly, his leg pinning her in place.
"Bass," she whispered when he broke their kiss to suck his way down her neck. She writhed against him, angling her body just so… and was able to get a hand on his waistband. Determined, she pushed her hand into his jeans, finding his hardness and grasping him firmly. Bass bit her neck, hard, and groaned as she made contact.
Moving quickly, Charlie used her other hand to undo Bass' fly and pulled his cock out. She ran her hand over his hard length, and his smug smile disappeared into a mask of need and want. Charlie worked her hand over him the way that she by now knew he liked.
"Baby," he whispered between breaths into the side of her neck, so quietly she wasn't sure she heard him. "Feels so good…"
It was incredibly hot finally having Bass in her bedroom, on her territory, rather than being on his, as they usually were. Charlie felt herself getting turned on at the sight of him over her, his knees pressed into her teal sheets, his cock standing proudly at attention as she jerked him steadily. She wet her hand with spit and moved it over him slickly.
"Shit," Bass cursed, and pulled back, his eyes aflame with lust. Whipping his t-shirt off over his head, he lowered his body against Charlie's. She rubbed against him, savoring the warmth and strength of him.
Pushing his hands up under her shirt, running them over her thin bra, Bass said, "I swear, I need to be inside you. Right now."
She tried to laugh triumphantly, but the feeling of Bass' calloused hands over her aroused, hot nipples made it come out more like a gasp. Impatiently, he shoved his hands up under the cups of her bra, feeling her bare flesh. "Get this off," he commanded, pulling away from her and removing his own clothes.
Charlie sat up and removed her top and bra. Then she stood, staring down Bass, who was lying naked on the bed, leaning on one arm, stroking himself with his free hand, studying her. Deliberately, she slid her jeans down her legs, stepping out of them. Then, she turned her back to him and bent over slightly, hooking her thumbs under the sides of her cotton panties, certain that Bass could see that her arousal had soaked through the fabric. Charlie heard Bass' slight groan behind her as she stood motionless for a few seconds.
"Charlie," he croaked, and she stood up, leaving her underwear in place.
Turning to look at him over her shoulder, she asked sweetly, "Yes, Bass?"
With a growl, Bass raised himself up off the bed, stalking toward her. Charlie giggled and crossed the room, bending over her desk with her hands braced on its surface, wondering briefly where the chair had gone. She felt Bass molding himself to her back, his skin blazing hot against hers, his heavy erection jutting between her thighs.
"In a teasing mood, are we?" he asked in her ear, reaching around her to grab her breasts, rolling the nipples between his fingers, causing her ass to arch up into him involuntarily. Bass trailed his right hand down her body softly, dipping into the front of her panties, lightly trailing his fingers over her sensitized bud. Charlie hummed appreciatively as he went lower, finding her wetness then drawing his fingers back up over her clit. She pressed her hips forward, craving more friction, and he pulled his hand away suddenly.
Charlie yelped, and Bass laughed, holding her pinned between the desk and his body, his hands back on her breasts. "We can do teasing if you'd like, Charlie. I've got all day," he said.
In response, Charlie bucked her ass into him hard, causing him to stumble back a step. As Bass regained his balance, Charlie quickly thrust her panties down her legs to her knees and laid herself flat against the desk, exposing herself to Bass. She felt the blunt head of his cock rubbing against her slit, heard his breathing getting erratic behind her.
"No more teasing," she commanded. "Take me, Bass."
Almost before the words were out of her mouth, Bass thrust into her with a smooth stroke, causing them both to cry out with satisfaction. His strong hands kneaded her ass as he pounded into her, opening her to him further. Charlie turned her face slightly toward him, and he kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth as his cock was plunging into her body. She backed into him harder and felt his cock grazing her cervix, filling her perfectly.
Bass moved his lips to her shoulder. Charlie felt his breath on her, and his cock growing stiffer inside her. "Charlie…" he cried, his voice hoarse, desperate. She could tell he was riding the edge of his orgasm and pushed back against him.
"Not yet," she ordered, turning around to face him, taking his fluid-slicked cock in her hand, squeezing his base. "I need more of you."
Charlie kicked her panties the rest of the way off. She raised herself up and sat on the desk. Balancing her heels on the edge, she spread her legs wide and began to rub herself with one hand, using the other to brace herself.
Hungrily, Bass stepped forward and kissed her, then shoved his cock inside her waiting pussy, picking up a rapid pace. It was incredibly erotic, not touching him other than where his cock was entering her. Charlie watched him watch her as she brought herself close to her climax, ecstatic with the combination of his cock filling her and her own fingers skillfully working her clit.
Bass' pounding grew more insistent, and her legs slipped off the edge of the desk. Before she could drop down, Bass caught her, pulling her forward and into his arms, so that only he supported her hips and legs as he fucked her in midair. Charlie felt the sensation of nearly falling, over and over, with every stroke of his cock. She screamed as her orgasm surged through her, her hips undulating in Bass' grip, her legs squeezing tight around him.
Pulling her off the desk, Bass fell to the floor and dragged her down on top of him. "Ride me," he begged, grasping her thighs in his hands, stroking his cock up into her. Charlie shifted her hips back and forth against him, grinding down hard into his body, feeling his cock moving in her depths. Bass' eyes were closed, his face furrowed in exertion, the tendons in his neck standing out as he pounded his pelvis into her. He gritted and bared his teeth, a low groan starting deep in his chest and growing louder, finally bursting forth in an animalistic shout as he came. Charlie felt him pumping deep inside her, slamming her body down onto him, wringing every drop of his cum into her.
Charlie collapsed onto Bass' chest, resting her brow on his damp skin. For several seconds, neither of them could do anything but breathe. Eventually, Charlie rolled off of Bass and stood, dragging him to his feet so both of them could flop onto the bed. Turning so her back was to Bass, Charlie pulled the blanket over them both. She gave a deep sigh of satisfaction as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Good?" Bass murmured in her ear.
"More than good," Charlie replied dreamily, too thoroughly fucked to come up with a snarky response.
A pause, then Bass said smugly, "Guess I'm not such a dirty old man after all."
Laughing, Charlie corrected him. "No, you still are. But you're my dirty old man." She was very glad Bass couldn't see her face as she blushed, knowing her use of the possessive would not go unnoticed.
Bass tightened his arms around her. "Yeah, I am," he agreed simply. Though she wasn't altogether surprised, Charlie loved hearing wild, dangerous, untamable Bass Monroe declaring that he was hers.
They lay quietly for a few minutes, and then Bass spoke again. "You know, you can tell people we're dating," he said, his tone slightly condescending.
Charlie rolled around to look at him, "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Like your roommates. They can tell I'm not just some guy who's helping you move your stuff." Charlie noted the wry grin on Bass' face, as if he thought she was being silly. But in his eyes, she saw a hint of trepidation; maybe he feared that she wouldn't want to claim him publicly. Her heart gave a little lurch at that, the idea that he could feel vulnerable to her.
"I guess I got the impression you're not the type to go for the whole 'boyfriend' label," Charlie said, her heart pounding. All along, she had avoided any clinginess, never wanting to risk scaring him off.
Bass shrugged. "I'm usually not."
Somewhat confused, Charlie asked, "And now? Are you?" She wasn't even sure if she meant, 'are you the type to use labels,' or 'are you my boyfriend?'
Propping himself up on one elbow and tracing his thumb along her jawline, Bass replied, "Well, I moved to Philadelphia for you, so I'd sure as hell like to think so."
Charlie put her hand over his and laced their fingers together. With a smile, she said, "Yeah. I think so, too."
Smiling back, his eyes serious, Bass drew her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Then he dropped his forehead to hers, closing his eyes and relaxing down onto her pillow. Charlie closed her eyes, too, drifting off with the feeling of Bass' breath feathering her lips.
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